General Interest

After recently calling out anyone who would criticise BB King’s playing – calling him “one of the only guitarists you can identify with one note” – Joe Bonamassa has shared more insight into his close friendship with the blues legend, with a hilarious anecdote involving the trappings of modern-day technology.

You might assume it would be Bonamassa who would have to lecture the blues great on new technology, but it was actually the reverse – when BB King once showed the young guitarist how to properly work an iPod.

• READ MORE: “The further I’m away from it, the more intense it is when I get with it”: Why Eric Gales rarely touches a guitar offstage

As JoBo explains in an interview in the latest issue of Guitarist magazine, after heavily inspiring him to pick up a guitar in the first place, BB King continued his mentor role when he showed him how to put his favourite tracks on his iPod.

“He showed me how to drag songs from a computer into an iPod when he was 80 years old!” Bonamassa says. “I didn’t know how to do that and he’s like, ‘Here, son, this is how you do it.’ How sad is that? I was 28 or something and he was 80. But he was a consummate professional.”

Elaborating on King’s professionalism, Bonamassa continues: “I remember one time in Charleston, West Virginia, there was a big snowstorm, and the governor of West Virginia called specifically to ask BB King to postpone the show and he wouldn’t do it. 

“He goes, ‘I told them I’m going to be here in March and I’m here.’ They’re like, ‘But Mr. King, it’s unsafe.’ He said, ‘Well, I made it!’ So that was him, man.”

“He was always touring,” he goes on. “I mean, he would do those summer runs and then go right back on the road in theatres and he was very much a road dog and he loved it a lot. I mean, he always said, ‘I want to die on the road, doing what I love,’ you know? But he didn’t know any other life.

“You’re talking about somebody who started working that much in the early ‘50s and never stopped for anything.”

BB King died in 2015 at the age of 89 following an impressive 70-year career, in which he left an indelible mark on the world of blues.

Joe Bonamassa has a string of tour dates planned for 2026. For tickets and a full list of dates, head to his official website.

The post Joe Bonamassa admits an 80-year-old BB King once had to show him how to put songs on his iPod: “How sad is that? I was 28!” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Guitar innovation generally comes in small increments; small upgrades to specific components as opposed to radical new designs altogether. But this new guitar built by YouTuber Mattias Krantz may have just pushed the envelope significantly…

It’s essentially the hollowed-out frame of a guitar resembling something like a double-cut, but the magic really lies in how the strings are attached – mostly in the fact that, well, they aren’t.

• READ MORE: Yungblud got the Changes gig just 48 hours before Black Sabbath’s farewell show

Rather than having the strings fed through a bridge physically attached to the guitar – as is convention – Krantz, who boasts nearly two million subscribers at the time of writing, has conceived a design whereby magnets suspend the bridge in thin air, while providing all the tension required to make the strings playable.

“This guitar looks pretty normal, until you notice the strings aren’t attached to the body,” Krantz says. “They’re pulling tension by these extremely powerful magnets.” 

He adds that the gap left between the two magnets “changes everything” about the way the guitar can be played, allowing for taps and movement of the floating bridge for subtle and emotive fluctuations in pitch. “Why does it sound so good?!” he says.

The guitar is certainly a radical concept, and as such, went through a number of design iterations before the final product was realised. First Krantz experimented with tying small magnets to each guitar string, but found they didn’t provide enough tension to actually make the strings playable.

He then tried bigger magnets, which offered enough tension for the open strings to produce a pitch, but it was still too low. “The forces needed are way higher than I expected,” he says.

After some further experimentation in pursuit of enough magnetic force to provide the right tension, Krantz posed the question: “What if I just put all the strings on the same magnet?” He ordered the right magnet for the job, one with 250kg of pull force. It even came in a box which warned: “Strong magnets. Handle with extreme caution.”

After some considerable trepidation about the safety of the build, Krantz finally came up with a playable design, and showcases it towards the end of his video.

You can watch the entire process Mattias Krantz undertook to put the magnetically hovering guitar together in the video below:

The post This guitar has a bridge suspended in mid-air by magnets – and it sounds (and looks) insane appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

From Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath to Birmingham politics – it’s not the most obvious career move, but Sharon Osbourne has revealed she is “seriously thinking” about running to become the city’s next mayor.

The music manager, TV personality and widow of heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne made the comments during a red-carpet appearance at this year’s Grammy Awards, where a brief exchange unexpectedly drifted from music into local UK politics.

• READ MORE: “You still have to pay for the actual gig”: Jack Osbourne says Back To The Beginning charities received around “£1.5m or £2m” each, despite media estimates being much higher

Speaking with Billboard, Sharon was told by host Leila Cobo that she was receiving praise for how well she had spoken at one of the Grammy-related events ahead of Sunday night’s ceremony (1 February). Sharon thanked her – then casually dropped the bombshell that those speaking chops might soon be needed elsewhere, adding that she was “seriously thinking about running for mayor of Birmingham”.

With the interview moving at red-carpet speed, Sharon didn’t go into detail about how serious those plans are or whether any formal steps have been taken. But the comment wasn’t entirely out of the blue.

In the days leading up to the Grammys, Osbourne had already hinted at political involvement in Birmingham after learning that someone with a terrorism conviction was allegedly seeking a seat on the city’s council. In comments reported by GB News, Sharon said, “This has nothing to do with racism. I think I’m gonna move to Birmingham and put my name down for the ballot to be on the council. I’m serious.”

The individual referenced is Shahid Butt, who was reportedly sentenced to five years in prison in 1999. According to GB News, Butt has claimed the charge against him was “fabricated” and that he was “falsely convicted”, and he continues to deny the allegations.

For now though, Sharon Osbourne’s political ambitions remain just that – ambitions. Should she decide to pursue the role and win, she would be required to serve as mayor for at least a year, taking over from Birmingham’s current Lord Mayor, Zafar Iqbal.

Elsewhere, the music manager also revealed she’s in early talks with Live Nation about bringing back Ozzfest, the legendary metal festival she co-founded three decades ago with her late husband.

“It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she told Billboard.

The post Sharon Osbourne as Birmingham’s mayor? Don’t rule it out appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

For most guitarists, the idea of not touching their instrument for weeks – let alone months – would sound like a nightmare. For Eric Gales though, it’s exactly the point.

In a recent conversation with Rick Beato, the blues-rock virtuoso explains why he almost never “engages” with a guitar unless he’s on tour or in the studio, and how stepping away actually makes his playing more powerful when it counts.

• READ MORE: Eric Gales downplays those who praise him as the best guitarist in the business: “I turn on YouTube or Instagram and see some of the baddest players in the world!”

“The first and foremost thing that I do is completely get [my head] out of the way,” Gales explains. “The more that I don’t think about it, the more fluent and expressive it will be for me. There’s no pre-setup, no thought…”

That mindset also extends to how he prepares for shows – or, more accurately, how he doesn’t.

“A lot of artists, before the show, they’re backstage, finger warming up and this and that. I don’t do any of that,” he says. “If I’m not on tour or doing a session or anything like that, it’s very rare that I engage with a guitar at all. It could be weeks, months go by that I haven’t touched the guitar.”

On the rare occasions he does pick one up at home, it’s usually prompted by something he’s heard rather than any sense of routine. “I might have heard a commercial on TV that sparked my [interest],” he explains. “Or I heard somebody do a riff on social media.”

Those moments, he adds, aren’t about practice so much as self-challenge. “Can I mimic that?” says Gales. “Just to kind of challenge myself – to see if I still got the learning mechanism that I had when I was a kid. And only in those times it’d be when I would pick up a guitar or anything like that.”

In fact, Gales says he’s more likely to sit at a drum kit or keyboard than reach for a guitar in his spare time. While he admits some players may find that hard to believe, the distance, for him, is entirely intentional.

“The further I’m away from it, the more intense it is when I get with it,” says Gales, noting, however, that it’s not an approach he’d recommend to beginners.

For Gales, the source of his playing isn’t technical preparation at all, but something far deeper and more personal.

“I have a source that I tap into that I believe wholeheartedly that comes from a location far above my head,” he says. “I’m able to tap into [it] any time of the day, no matter what time zone, no matter what continent, no matter what place in time. It doesn’t matter.”

“It’s an intense, insanely deep amount of pain that I play from every single night,” Gales continues. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way, because if the result is there’s some person out there that has gained some sort of revelation or some sort of inspiration from something that I played through the pain that I’m playing it from – and it helped them out – then that was well worth the pain that I went through to make that happen.”

The post “The further I’m away from it, the more intense it is when I get with it”: Why Eric Gales rarely touches a guitar offstage appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

One of the most talked-about moments from Black Sabbath’s star-studded farewell show almost didn’t happen. According to Tom Morello, Yungblud wasn’t even meant to be the singer for Changes until just two days before the band’s historic final performance.

In a new interview with 98KUPD radio, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist opens up about his role as curator for Black Sabbath’s all-star Back To The Beginning farewell show – an event that marked Ozzy Osbourne’s final appearance on stage. While the event may have looked seamless to fans, Morello says the reality behind the curtain was far more chaotic.

• READ MORE: Yungblud claims that the “bitterness” and “blind negativity” he experiences is discouraging the next generation of rock artists from “trying at all”

Asked when he realised the show was “more than just a concert”, Morello replies [via Blabbermouth], “Well, I had that in my bullseye from the beginning. If we’re gonna do this, we have to aim to make it the greatest day in the history of heavy metal. Heavy metal is the music that made me love music. It’s in the DNA of 90% of my favourite artists. And so if we’re gonna do this, we really have to treat it with the gravity that it deserves.”

“I will say that once the actual day started, and, dude, it was thousands of hours of preparation and worry and anxiety and changing around stuff – changed in the last 24 hours, et cetera, et cetera – but once it actually started, I had to let go. I’m, like, ‘Okay, the bands are now gonna play their songs or they’re gonna fall off the stage. I can’t control it anymore.’”

That last-minute uncertainty extended to some of the night’s most powerful moments. Asked whether there were any “hard calls” fans didn’t know about, Morello didn’t sugarcoat it.

“2,000 calls,” he says. “One of the greatest moments of it was Yungblud singing [a cover of Black Sabbath’s] Changes. Well, 48 hours before, he wasn’t gonna be the singer of that song. Things were changing… I landed at Heathrow Airport and I got a call, like, ‘That’s not happening.’ So I’m, like, ‘Okay, let’s figure it out.’ And it turned out to be one of the highlights. But that’s the gig. That’s what the gig is.”

Elsewhere, the musician also shares his final memory of Ozzy from later that night. At the afterparty, Morello was playing pinball with his son when someone tugged on his shirt mid–multiball. That someone, it turned out, was the Prince of Darkness himself.

“[Ozzy’s son] Jack Osbourne comes back and goes, ‘Dude, that was my dad.’ I’m, like, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ So anyway, I let the pinballs drop,” says Morello. “And I go over to him. And he was appreciative of everything that had gone on. I got to give him a kiss on the head one more time, thank him. And then this is the last words that Ozzy Osbourne said to me in person. He was, like, ‘Tell Sharon I wanna get the fuck outta here’ – in true Ozzy form and also sort of poetic in a way.”

The post Yungblud got the Changes gig just 48 hours before Black Sabbath’s farewell show appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Amp modelling platform now includes an updated version of Spark

$1,699/£1,399, fender.com

Back in the good old days – aka the early-to-mid 2010s – I was working for another sadly now defunct guitar publication (RIP Total Guitar) when I came across a model that would change my perceptions of the Jazzmaster.

• READ MORE: Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster review – “this guitar is like spending time with an old friend”

Before then, I’d always been an outside observer of the offset. I’d always been enamoured with the shape ever since I saw Feeder’s Grant Nicholas strap one on back at the tail end of my teens, but as a dyed-in-the-wool Les Paul Guy I couldn’t mentally make the leap to a guitar with single-coil pickups and a weird floaty trem.

Then in the office one day landed the very first iteration of Fender’s Road Worn Jazzmaster. The very first Road Worn Strat and Tele – Mexico-made, nitro-finished and with factory-aged finishes – were the sort of guitars that looked great at a distance but up close you could really tell they were aged to a template and not by years of hard wear.

Sensibly then, when the Road Worn Jazzmaster arrived a year later, the wear and tear had been scaled back a bit to make it a bit less obvious, but that wasn’t the big deal for me. The looks still might not have fooled anyone, but the feel… man the feel.

The ‘old pair of jeans’ thing is cliché, but that’s the best way to describe it – here was a brand new electric guitar that felt in all the ways that mattered like it had been properly played in. It was a magical guitar that I still regret not buying on the spot (see also the very first MIM Cabronita Telecaster, IMYSM). One that fully turned my head to offsets, and now here we are a decade later and I can’t stop wanting the damn things.

All of which is to say that the 2020s redux – in the shape of the Vintera II Road Worn range – has a lot to live up to… let’s see how this goes…

Image: Adam Gasson

Fender Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster – what is it?

You don’t need a Masters in cryptography to work out exactly what’s going on with the Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster. It takes the original Vintera II 50s JM – the guitar that we called ‘the best Jazzmaster Fender has made in the last decade’, by the way – given it a coat of nitrocellulose lacquer and then gone all Time Team on the finish, the hardware and everything else.

Except, a decade or so on, and the factory-ageing landscape at Fender is a little different than it was back when the original Road Worns were a weird ol’ curio in a range of otherwise pristine shiny guitars.

Back then, the only way to get a Fender with a relic job was to spunk a small house deposit on something from Fender’s Custom Shop. Here in 2026, we have things like the American Professional Classic range – which adds very subtly aged lacquer finishes to Fender’s most expensive production guitars – and various one-offs from Fender Mexico (like the Mike McCready Strat) that set new benchmarks for what factory-aged guitars can do.

Which makes the vibe of this new Road Worn guitar rather interesting. In terms of the body, it’s a lot closer to those AmPro Classic guitars than the original Road Worns – there’s no faux-wear and tear to the finishes here at all aside from some very impressively done faux checking to the lacquer itself. You could argue whether the ‘Worn’ title really even applies anymore.

The rest is a bit more in keeping with the originals, however – the neck looks and feels very played-in, with some slightly artless grease and grime in the usual heavy traffic areas. The bridge, vintage-style tuners and trem also have a slightly grubby, dulled effect, which is again, on the artful side of ‘lost at the bottom of a lake for 50 years’.

It all has the vibe of a guitar that has been heavily used but still taken care of meticulously – potentially a bit of an anathema in the real world stakes, but the general vibe is very appealing in the flesh/alder.

Away from the cosmetics, this is every bit a Vintera II 50s Jazzmaster, complete with the love ’em or loathe ’em details therein. That means a 7.25″ radius, rosewood fretboard (with clay dots), vintage-style butt-adjust truss rod, and the vintage style Jazzmaster bridge with six threaded barrel-style saddles.

Image: Adam Gasson

Fender Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster – build quality and playability

The thing that charmed me so much about that original Road Worn Jazzmaster was how comfortable it felt – and the new guitar captures that vibe once again. Removing it from its supplied hard case, it really does feel nicely played-in – something that’s further enhanced by the factory-rolled fingerboard edges and that nicely sanded C-shaped neck.

If I were being picky, I’d say that the fingerboard desperately needs a bit of lemon oil – the vintage tall frets are nicely installed and polished, but the ‘board itself feels a little dry, and while it’s not a playability-killer at this point, it would really would benefit from some refreshment.

The hardware might have some of the sheen taken off it, but it doesn’t impact its function – the tuners are smooth and stable, while the vintage-style floating trem has smooth and stable operation out of the box.

If you’ve spent enough time on the more offset-y corners of the internet, you’ll have heard knowledgeable and well-intentioned people explain that the stock Fender bridge with its threaded barrel saddles is perfectly usable and stable with a perfect setup and suitably heavy strings.

And maybe that’s true with vintage guitars, but I’m here to tell you that I’ve played a LOT of modern Fender Jazzmaster guitars with this hateful piece of hardware sat in the middle and not a single one has been fully immune from buzzing, rattling and strings constantly being pushed out of alignment.

Image: Adam Gasson

It’s absolutely bananas to me that Fender is persisting with this in the year of our lord 2026. I can just about forgive it in the obsessively vintage-accurate world of the American Vintage II line. But the Vintera range isn’t so slavishly tied to vintage specs, so you have to ask who is really asking for this bridge on a $1,500 guitar?

All it’s really doing is outsourcing the job of making your guitar usable in a real-world situation to you. Yes, replacing the bridge is an easy job – but why should we the consumer be on the hook for at least $50 for a Mustang-style bridge (or a lot more if you go down the Mastery/Staytrem route) just to not have the strings pop out of place whenever you strum a mildly robust E chord?

While I’m grumbling about this thing, a word or two about the aesthetics. Firstly, I don’t really understand why Fender seems convinced that everyone wants 50s-style Jazzmasters.

The company is surely aware that the definitive version of the Jazzmaster is the mid-60s version – they know it enough to make the AVII model a 1966 spec after all – so why can we not get a bit of that mojo in the Mexican range? We’ll even settle for ‘transitional’ guitars with Custom Colours and no block inlays or painted headstocks if it’s a cost thing, just save us from the underwhelming Fiesta Red/Sunburst Boomer dichotomy offered here.

Furthermore, as much as I appreciate a gold anodised guard on a Sunburst Jazzer, there’s no escaping that the scratchplate here feels shiny new to an illusion-breaking degree. Would a parchment or tortie guard not have worked better?

Okay, I’m really splitting hairs here, so let’s plug this thing in and have some fun.

Image: Adam Gasson

Fender Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster – sounds

The sound of a Jazzmaster is one of life’s great pleasures, especially when plugged into a Fender amp with lashings of onboard reverb and tremolo – in this regard, the Vintera II lives up to the billing of its predecessor.

There’s warmth and clarity here courtesy of those big ol’ single-coil pickups, and with the brightness you’d expect from a good Fender guitar – but without the brittle nature that can plague some of its more popular siblings on the bridge pickup.

Take off the reins and add some fuzz or distortion to the party, however and that’s where things really get fun – it’s big, muscular and beefy, without ever veering into woolly territory (unless you accidentally hit the rhythm circuit, natch).

The much-maligned extra circuit on the Jazzmaster is often ripped out, but honestly, I think it does have a place – set the tone and volume controls correctly and it offers you an interesting fourth voice that can excel at well, rhythm, in the right context.

Image: Adam Gasson

Fender Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster – should I buy one?

The big question with this Road Worn specimen is whether the cosmetic changes here justify the extra near-$400 outlay over the vanilla Vintera II. Personally, I think the overall improvement in both look and feel makes it worth the investment.

People will gripe and debate the merits of factory ageing until the heat death of the universe, but when it’s done as subtly and sensitively as this, the pros in terms of playing comfort vastly improve the overall Vintera II package.

What’s more annoying are the compromises you’re going to have to make along the way – the insta-swap bridge and the limited finish options being at the forefront of my mind in that regard. But these are minor issues in the grand scheme of things – this is an absolutely fantastic guitar, end of story.

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Fender Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster – alternatives

If you can live without the nitro and the ageing, the regular Vintera II Jazzmaster ($1,309.99/£1,069) is a fantastic guitar for a lot less money, and has some serious discounts across the board at the moment – they’re regularly available for not much more than a grand right now. If you want something offset with more of a rock flavour, Epiphone’s new Futura Firebird looks a steal, while I’m very, very taken with Rivolda’s new stripped-down Mondata CC.

The post Fender Vintera II Road Worn 50s Jazzmaster review: “vastly improves the overall Vintera II package” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

NAMM 2026 is a wrap, and this year's show offered no shortage of gear to discuss. Tom Butwin sits down with longtime industry vet John Bohlinger and PG Editorial Director Richard Bienstock to trade stories and name the products they’re most excited about from the year's biggest gear event. Check out ALL of PG's NAMM coverage here

At NAMM 2026, Ashdown Engineering proudly announces Phase 2 of its return to UK manufacturing, following the successful September 2025 launch of the UK-built ABM EVO IV heads and UK-ABM and Classic cabinet ranges.

This next stage represents a continued, long-term commitment to British design, engineering, and production, building on the momentum established by Ashdown’s flagship UK-made products.

For NAMM 2026, Ashdown unveils five brand-new UK-built amplifier ranges, all scheduled to ship in 2026.

Every new model is designed, engineered, and handcrafted in Britain. These launches expand Ashdown’s renewed UK manufacturing focus into a complete, multi-tier amplifier ecosystem, delivering British-built solutions for musicians at every level.

UK-RBM

The UK-RBM Series is designed for professional bassists who demand maximum power, tonal control, and flexibility. Delivering Ashdown’s most recognisable sound in a modern, lightweight format, the range includes amplifier heads and newly designed UK-RBM cabinets, creating a complete, performance-ready system.

The UK-RBM amplifier heads combine powerful output with advanced tone-shaping tools to deliver deep, authoritative low end, articulate mids, and controlled high-frequency detail. Features such as Ashdown’s Sub-Harmonic Generator, onboard compression, valve-emulated overdrive, and Analogue Cab Sim allow players to shape everything from tight, punchy modern tones to rich, harmonically complex sounds with confidence.

The matching UK-RBM cabinets have been newly designed, tuned, sized, and ported to deliver optimal performance in lightweight plywood enclosures. Equipped with high-performance Italian Sica NEO speakers and adjustable high-frequency tweeters, they provide fast response, clarity, and controlled projection across a wide range of playing styles and stage environments.

Finished in a striking new heavy-duty Charcoal Tweed covering and custom grill cloth, the UK-RBM cabinets combine durability with a bold, modern aesthetic.

Handcrafted in the UK using premium components, the UK-RBM Series is built for demanding live stages, professional touring rigs, and bassists who want total command over their sound.

UK-OBM

The UK-OBM Series is designed for bassists who value clarity, simplicity, and reliability. Built in the UK, the range delivers clean, articulate tone with minimal fuss and maximum usability, making it ideal for players who want dependable performance without unnecessary complexity.

The UK-OBM lineup includes newly updated combo amplifiers featuring high-powered models and new Italian Sica NEO drivers, delivering improved efficiency, punch, and clarity. These combos are house in reengineered lightweight plywood cabinets, newly sized and optimised for balanced projection and portability.

Finished in Ice Blue and a new heavy-duty Charcoal Tweed covering with custom grill cloth, the UK-OBM combos combine durability with a modern, professional aesthetic.

With a refined features set and intuitive controls, the UK-OBM amplifiers are designed for musicians who want to plug in, dial in quickly, and get straight to playing. An open, balanced sound makes the series equally well suited to rehearsals, live performances, and studio work.

UK-SBM

The UK-SBM Series brings Ashdown’s studio-focused tonal philosophy into a range of compact, UK-built bass combo amplifiers. Designed for clarity, responsiveness, and musical transparency, the series prioritises clean tone and dynamic response in lightweight, portable enclosures.

Inspired by Ashdown’s Studio range, UK-SBM combos deliver a refined, natural sound that translates seamlessly in recording environments while remaining powerful enough for rehearsals and small live stages. Newly ported and structurally strengthened cabinets are engineered to handle higher power levels, ensuring confidence and control at increased volumes.

The cabinets are equipped with new, highly efficient Italian Sica NEO drivers, and articulate low-end performance. Finished in a heavy-duty Charcoal Tweed covering with custom grill cloth, the UK-SBM combos combine durability with a modern professional aesthetic.

Featuring DI outputs, FX loops, and onboard overdrive across the range, the UK-SBM Series offers practical versatility for practice, recording, songwriting, and intimate performance spaces.

UK-PBM

The UK-PBM Series is Ashdown’s answer to the modern bassist’s need for extreme portability without compromise. Designed and built in the UK, the range delivers genuine Ashdown tone in an ultra-compact, travel-friendly format.

Launching with the UK-PBM-200 “Pocket Bass Magnifier" AKA The ANT, the series delivers a surprising amount of real-world power from a palm-sized chassis. Despite its minimal footprint, its produces clean, articulate output with impressive low-end authority and ample headroom for rehearsals, smaller stages, and professional monitoring setups.

The UK-PBM is solidly built by design, retaining a touch of added weight to ensure stability and resonance. This robust construction helps generate real bass response while preventing excessive cabinet vibration, keeping amplifiers securely in place even when the low end is working hard.

With essential tone shaping, DI output, headphone out, line input, and auto-voltage operation, the UK-PBM Series is ideal for fly rigs, touring backups, studio use, IEM-based setups, and bassists who need reliable tone wherever they play.

UK-PEACMAKER

The UK-Peacemaker Series marks the return of one of Ashdown’s most iconic amplifier names, celebrating Dave Green’s formidable and widely respected valve amplifier design expertise. Handcrafted in the UK and refined for today’s players, the range revisits and updates legendary designs from Ashdown’s past.

Built for musicians who value feel, dynamics, and harmonic richness, the UK-Peacemaker delivers expressive British valve tone with depth, warmth, and authority. At its core, the series showcases Dave Green’s unmistakable valve amp philosophy, brought forward with modern reliability while preserving the character that made the originals so highly regarded.

The UK-Peacemaker Series is built using premium components throughout, included JJ valves, UK hand-wound transformers, and lightweight plywood cabinets loaded with UK-made Celestion Creamback speakers.

Hand-built in Essex, England, the UK-Peacemaker Series stands as a statement range - honouring Ashdown’s heritage while delivering timeless British valve tone for the modern guitarist.

From cabinets to flagship heads, and now a complete amplifier ecosystem, Ashdown’s UK manufacturing programme continues to grow with clarity and intent.

Every new range launching at NAMM 2026 is designed, engineered, and built in Britain.

After more than a decade of collaboration, Stringjoy has collaborated with guitar virtuoso and frontman of the Bros. Landreth, Joey Landreth, to release the Stringjoy Joey Landreth Artist Signature set.

Joey Landreth is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer known for his soulful voice and slide guitar virtuosity. As a founding member of Bros. Landreth, his playing and songwriting blends blues, rock, and Americana styles, and his stunning tone and penchant for first-rate gear have made him a modern guitar hero to players all over the world.

Stringjoy’s Joey Landreth Signature Set features:

• Gauges: .019 - .022p - .024w - .032 - .044 - .056
• Nickel wound Stringjoy Signatures
• Wound 3rd string
• Ideal for Open C and other dropped or open tunings on a standard scale-length guitar
• Optimal for both slide and fretted/hybrid playing
• As with all Stringjoy offerings, Joey Landreth Signatures are produced at Stringjoy HQ in Nashville, TN, with domestically sourced materials of the highest quality
• Stringjoy Signatures are wound at tension with high compression winds, increasing their output and naturally maximizing durability and lifespan

Stringjoy Joey Landreth Artist Signature strings were born of a decade-long collaboration between Stringjoy’s Scott Marquart and Landreth in which the two sought to formulate the perfect set for Landreth’s use of open tunings and hybrid slide technique.

“Long before anyone was paying attention to what my band was doing or what I was doing as a guitar player, [Stringjoy] were supporters of what we were doing,” says Landreth. “We landed on 56 on the bottom with 19 on top, which supports lower tuning really, really nicely and opens up the possibility for some really clean playing, whether I’m playing slide or fretted. This set has helped me get to the places I want to get as a player, and it also celebrates my friendship and collaboration with Scott [Marquart] and Stringjoy. I’m really proud of it

“I still remember the first time Joey told me he played 19s,” says Stringjoy’s Scott Marquart. “Nineteens!? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. But once I saw his full specs and understood how he plays—and especially after hearing him play in person—it all clicked. Joey and I have spent the better part of the last decade refining this set together, and it represents years of friendship & experimentation. I couldn’t be more proud to have both of our names on it.”

Stringjoy Joey Landreth Artist Signature strings carry a street price of $13.99. For more information visit stringjoy.com.

At the dawn of the 1990s, grunge was king. From Nirvana’s definitive 1991 record Nevermind to iconic releases from Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains, the first half of the decade was grunge-central. However, a sharp musicians always needs to be ahead of the curve – and Billy Corgan believes that The Smashing Pumpkins outgrew grunge just in time.

In a new interview with Classic Rock, Corgan explains how sonic evolution allowed his band to survive beyond the “grunge explosion”. Sensing that grunge was on the downturn, the Smashing Pumpkins made sure that their 1995 double album, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, pushed beyond the adolescent pessimism of grunge. The focus was on exploring a more mature palette.

“We were the first band of our generation that started to grow up,” the frontman explains. “The band was coming off a golden moment, which was the grunge explosion. But all movements start to run out of gas.”

• READ MORE: The Molotovs want to be the solution to the problem of “insular and wallowing” guitar bands – this is how they’re going to do it

He notes that a final nail in grunge’s coffin came when “gatekeepers” began to infiltrate the scene. When grunge tops the charts, it lures in people who weren’t there from the start – and, ironically, those people tend to preach about what the genre “really means… when they had nothing to do with authoring it”. It’s often the first sign to jump ship.

“We made the move to grow up before anybody else,” Corgan reiterates. “Then we were sort of singled out for criticism as far as other people were concerned, either because the party needed to continue, or growing up was some sort of sell-out of something.”

Despite certain gatekeepers disliking the Smashing Pumpkins’ evolution, the rest of the world welcomed the release of Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness with awe. The record’s blend of art-rock, spellbinding prog riffs and glorious orchestral movements proved a hit, topping the US Billboard charts and proving that the band were no one-trick pony.

Aided by engineer Flood, who had worked with Nine Inch Nails and PJ Harvey, as well as The Jesus And Mary Chain/My Bloody Valentine engineer Alan Moulder, the record was a dynamic step up from the band’s grunge era.

However, the record still captured that same raw emotion and catharsis that had initially lured fans in. Elsewhere in the Classic Rock interview, Corgan explains how Fuck You (An Ode To No One)’s “cataclysmic ending” solo quite literally saw him lobbing his guitar into a studio cabinet. “Whether or not my fingers bled, I don’t remember,” he says.

The post Billy Corgan believes The Smashing Pumpkins were the first grunge band “that started to grow up” musically appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Fret wraps can be an invaluable tool while recording and performing, but their ability to eliminate or diminish dud notes or mistakes have led some guitar purists to see their use as cheating. Those who make this argument say fret wraps alleviate the onus on the guitarist to make sure their playing is free of mistakes.

But in the case of YouTube shredder Sophie Lloyd, she’s more than happy to use fret wraps when performing live with Machine Gun Kelly, and even makes light of the fact some regard the practice as “cheating”.

• READ MORE: The 12 new guitar albums you should all be excited for in 2026

In a new Rig Rundown video with Premier Guitar, Lloyd insists the “extra safety” fret wraps provide keep her performances clean and allow her to focus more on the fun of the performance. “I always have fret wraps on my guitars… I cheated at school, I’ll cheat a guitar!” she laughs.

Lloyd goes on to explain that the wraps are most useful when she’s tackling a solo, as it eases the fear of playing dud notes. “It’s loud as hell in an arena, so you wanna make sure you’re playing well,” she says.

Of course, even if you use fret wraps, you still have to possess chops and know what you’re playing. With her formidable skills, not only has Sophie Lloyd amassed millions of followers and earned a spot in Machine Gun Kelly’s band, she also earned herself a signature axe with Kiesel. “I was the brand’s first female signature artist for Kiesel,” she smiles. “That was crazy!”

The opportunity to collaborate with the brand came after Rob Caggiano of Anthrax and Volbeat fame told her to check Kiesel guitars out. It lead to Lloyd cold-emailing the brand and linking to her YouTube channel – and Kiesel ended up wanting to work with her. “I had, like, 20,000 followers or something…” she recalls. “Then they sent me [a guitar] that later became my Sophie Lloyd Signature Series.”

The chance to collaborate with Kiesel was the perfect opportunity for Lloyd to concoct the perfect guitar for her playing style. Namely, she wanted a guitar that was a little lighter so she could really let loose on stage. “I loved played Gibsons before, but they were kind of too heavy for me,” she admits. “Especially for a long two hour show. I like to be silly and throw things around and bend backwards… so [my Kiesel signature] is is a lot more lightweight compared to a Gibson.”

Just like chucking on a fret wrap, the ability to perform with a lighter axe just makes performing that little bit more enjoyable. Other female guitarists have also opted for lighter instruments in the past, like Olivia Rodrigo praising St. Vincent’s quirky, lightweight and boob-friendly St. Vincent’s Ernie Ball Music Man Goldie guitar.

Lloyd’s signature Kiesel is similarly considerate of those with a larger chest. “Tonally, the guitar was everything I wanted, and the shape fit me a lot better,” she explains. “Girls know, when you play something, it can be a little bit sore on the boob! But this one fit perfectly.”

Her rig also focuses on being portable. “My ideal rig is a Diesel amp in parallel to an EVH, but I can’t really transport that very easily,” she says. “But we’ve kind of built it into [a Kemper]. We’ve captured it a bit – you can’t get it exactly the same, but it’s still sounds great.”

The post “I cheated at school – I’ll cheat at guitar!”: Why Sophie Lloyd swears by fret wraps appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Laney has launched the DB-EAST-PRE Nathan East Signature bass preamp pedal.

What separates the DB-EAST-PRE from generic bass preamps is simple: Nathan East didn’t just approve it. He designed it around the exact problems he encounters every week as a working musician, and it’s designed with enormous flexibility in mind.

Nathan doesn’t play one bass, in one style, in one context. He moves between acoustic and electric basses. Four-string and five-string instruments. Active and passive electronics. Sometimes all within the same set, on the same stage. Most preamps make this painful. Switching instruments means stopping to re-dial input trims and levels. That’s not realistic in a professional environment.

The DB-EAST-PRE solves this with dual inputs, including independent trim control on Input 2. Switch instruments and your levels are instantly matched. No volume jumps. No tone shifts. Just seamless transitions.

The DB-EAST-PRE ships with Nathan East’s favourite LA·IR impulse responses pre-loaded. These aren’t generic cabinet simulations—they’re IRs taken directly from the rigs that have defined his touring and studio sound.

Even better, the system is intelligent. Select Input 1 and the corresponding IRs load automatically. Switch to Input 2 and the cabinet responses adapt to match. It’s fast, musical, and invisible in use.

Run the DI output straight to a front-of-house console, into a DAW, or into a powered speaker system. Using the companion app, you can manage real-time parametric EQ and store cabinet IRs tailored to specific venues or recording situations.

Every control on the DB-EAST-PRE exists for a reason. The master volume lets you shape the preamp’s character while maintaining precise control over overall output. The TUBE channel includes dedicated EQ voicing for players who want to refine the drive characteristics of their tone.

The RANGE control reinforces low-end weight within the drive section, while selectable mid pre-shapes allow you to fine-tune presence, punch, and articulation.

This isn’t complexity for its own sake. It’s acknowledgement that professional bass players need precision, adaptability, and control—night after night.

Key Specifications

• Signature Dual-Input Bass Preamp – Designed with Nathan East for seamless switching between multiple basses, active and passive
• Independent Input Trim Control – Automatic level matching between instruments for uninterrupted live performance
• LA·IR Advanced Impulse Response Technology – Pre-loaded with Nathan East’s personal touring and session cabinet IRs
• Professional DI & Recording Ready – Optimised outputs for live consoles, DAWs, powered speakers, and silent practice
• Precision Tone Shaping – Tube channel voicing, selectable mid pre-shapes, RANGE low-end control, and master output control
• Handcrafted in England – Built at Laney’s Black Country Customs workshop; compact, pedalboard-ready

Handcrafted in the UK the DB-EAST-PRE is pedalboard friendly and robust enough for demanding session and touring work.

The DB-EAST-PRE is carries a street price of $429.99. For more information visit https://www.laney.co.uk/amps/bass/digbeth/bcc-db-east-pre.

Italian effects maker Dophix®, known for its handmade analog pedals that blend sonic artistry with Tuscan craftsmanship, announces the release of the Magnifico Dual Independent Boost Pedal. The pedal is the result of a collaboration with Artur Menezes and the first ten will be personally signed my Menezes. Available now worldwide through select retailers, the Magnifico represents a refined evolution in the pursuit of expressive tone and musical warmth.

Inspired by the spirit of Lorenzo de’ Medici’s “Il Magnifico”, the celebrated patron of Renaissance art and culture, the new Magnifico pedal embodies both elegance and power. This dual channel boost pedal offers players exceptional dynamics, precision, and tonal control in a fully analog, hand-wired design.

Featuring two completely independent boost circuits, each has its own Level control and dedicated input/output jacks for true signal separation. Whether used to push an amplifier into natural overdrive or to elevate solos with transparent volume lift, the Magnifico gives guitarists total command over their tone.

Constructed with discrete, high-quality components and vintage-grade resistors, the Magnifico delivers the warmth, clarity, and harmonic richness that define the Dophix sound. Each pedal is handcrafted in Italy, employing true bypass switching to preserve tonal integrity when not engaged. Designed for flexibility and musical sensitivity, it draws only 19 mA with LED on and operates on a 9V DC external power supply.

Rooted in the artistic legacy of Florence, Dophix continues its mission to merge Italian design, handcrafted quality, and vintage sound philosophy. The Magnifico stands as both a tribute to Renaissance craftsmanship and a modern tool for discerning guitarists who demand authentic analog character.

For detailed specifications, please visit www.dophix.it.

Street Price: $350.00 USD/€300.00 EUR

Blues-rock virtuoso and legendary collector Joe Bonamassa joins Axe Lords for an episode that dives deep into the wild, weird, and sometimes downright wicked world of vintage guitars. Buckle up as Joe tries to convince Tom to stop weighing his instruments, expounds on the mythology of double-white PAFs, explains why taking a Flying V into a motel room is “sick and wrong,” and reveals that having a stage persona (and a good suit) is the true path to spiritual liberation.

Mike Hickey, Joe’s longtime guitar tech, also drops into the conversation. Shenanigans ensue.

This episode originally aired in April 2024 as part of Season 1 of Axe Lords.

Axe Lords is presented in partnership with Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East, NYC. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge.

Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff.

Follow Joe ⁠@joebonamassa

As a Fender amp guy, I frequently cross paths with musicians and guitar players in all sorts of situations. What I enjoy most is fieldwork—setting up amps onstage or troubleshooting tubes, fuses, speakers, and rattling noises on the fly. Here are a couple of stories where I got the last-minute call to save the gig.

In 2013, organizers of the Kongsberg Jazzfestival in Norway reached out in urgent need of guitar amps for Robben Ford and Matt Schofield. I was thrilled—I knew I had the perfect amps for these blues aficionados. Though I had never seen Ford play live, I knew from reading interviews that he liked black panel Fenders. Schofield was more familiar to me. I’d caught him several times, always playing his SVL guitars through Two-Rock amps. I particularly remember one time he taped over the logo of a 4x12" Marshall speaker cabinet, probably because he didn’t want to be associated with the brand.

I loaded my car with my best Super Reverb, a silver panel Vibrolux Reverb, and a silver panel Deluxe Reverb as backup amps, both converted to black panel specs with modern upgraded speakers. The Vibrolux had a pair of 10" Weber 10A125s and the Deluxe a 12" Celestion Century Vintage, the very first guitar amp speaker with a neodymium magnet. Together with a custom pair of 6L6s, this amp was both lighter and twice as loud and punchy as a normal Deluxe Reverb.

For Matt, I borrowed my brother’s Two-Rock Custom Signature v3 and a 40 kg oak cabinet loaded with four heavy-duty Weber 10A150 and 10F150 speakers. It even had a cool Weber logo on the front. At soundcheck, I met up with Simon Law, Matt’s guitar tech and the founder of SVL Guitars. He was a bit unsure about the robustness of the original CTS speakers in the Super, but I assured him that they could take a beating.

We set up both the Super and Vibrolux for Robben and the Two-Rock for Matt on top of the huge Weber cabinet. I remember Matt spending a lot of time rotating the Two-Rock’s knobs to find his tone. Meanwhile, Robben didn’t even look at his amps before he struck a chord, and he was shocked by the loud volume! He walked back a few meters to dial down the level on both amps.

“The whole shop erupted when Kirk demoed a few Albert King licks—powerful bends, vibrato, and those unmistakable facial expressions to match.”

During the gig, I stood right in the line of fire of all the amps and enjoyed the show. Robben’s ES-335 sounded clean and articulate, and Matt had his typical saturated and fat single-coil neck-pickup Strat tone. They both sounded fabulous. It was great seeing them perform, and also meeting them before the gig.

A few years later, I was introduced to two of my all-time guitar heroes, Kirk Fletcher and Josh Smith. The meeting came via the talented Adam Douglas, who also lives in Norway. Adam came up with an idea to do a daytime jam session with Kirk and Josh in a guitar store. So I texted with the owner of Vintagegitar, a high-end boutique shop in Oslo, who immediately said yes. I lifted 15-20 different vintage Fender amps into my Fenderguru trailer and headed for town.

On the shop floor, we had nearly every Fender blackface amp in existence, plus a few great silver panels. Kirk played his flametop Les Paul while Josh had his regular black Chapin T-Bird. I plugged them into different amps and started turning knobs. Josh spent time with my 1966 Princeton Reverb, loaded with a custom '60s Jensen C10n speaker. Meanwhile, Kirk grabbed a Flying V hanging on the wall. I plugged him into a stock 1964 Twin Reverb with Oxford 12T6 speakers. With the volume between 4 and 5, the Twin was loud, and the Flying V's hot humbuckers filled the room with sustaining single notes.

The whole shop erupted when Kirk demoed a few Albert King licks—powerful bends, vibrato, and those unmistakable facial expressions to match. Goosebumps.

Kirk liked that Twin so much he asked to borrow it for his gig that night. A few songs from that October 2015 show at Herr Nilsen are documented on YouTube for anyone wanting to hear some serious blues guitar.

Finally, after 5 years of talking Fender amps for Premier Guitar, the time has come for me to say goodbye to all of you. I’d like to offer a huge thanks to all the readers and the professional, fun, and knowledgeful people at PG, in particular my editors Ted Drozdowski and Luke Ottenhof. I have really enjoyed working with you, and I hope my contributions have inspired older and newer generations to enjoy the classic Fender amps and to keep the legacy going.

Though now back on home turf atop the throne in Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy has performed with many bands over the years, including Adrenaline Mob and Liquid Tension Experiment – two bands he co-founded – and even Avenged Sevenfold throughout 2010.

And in a new interview with Metal Hammer, Portnoy reflects on the rumours that he was even in the running to join Rush following the death of Neil Peart in 2020.

• READ MORE: Demand has been so high for Rush’s reunion tour they’ve added 17 more dates

Last year, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson reflected on being “bombarded” with offers from drummers offering themselves in the wake of Peart’s death. “After Neil passed, it didn’t take more than a few minutes before we started getting emails from all kinds of drummers who wanted to audition for the band, thinking that we were just gonna replace somebody that we played with for 40 years…” he said. “I don’t know what some of these people were thinking.”

Indeed, it didn’t look like a Rush reunion would ever be on the cards given repeated comments made by Lifeson and Geddy Lee. That is until they sent prog fans into a frenzy in October, and announced plans to head out on the road once again in 2026, with drummer Anika Nilles in tow.

Asked by a fan in the new issue of Metal Hammer whether it crossed his mind to try and put himself forward as Rush drummer should the prog powerhouse start the machine up again, Portnoy answers simply: “No.”

“I did send my condolences to Geddy and Alex after Neil passed, but I never tried to throw my hat in the ring for Neil’s gig,” he says. “It’s a sacred role that should only be filled if Geddy and Alex choose for it to be so. Sure enough, here we are with them choosing to finally do so [with Anika Nilles], which has been incredible.”

Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson photographed ahead of their reunion tour announcement in October 2025. Credit: Richard SibbaldBut Portnoy makes the distinction between offering himself up for the role, and how his stance would have changed if he had instead been asked by Lee and Lifeson.

“If they hypothetically ever approached me with it, of course, I would have done it with the utmost respect and honour,” Portnoy goes on. “But frankly, I’m relieved they didn’t. First of all, filling Neil’s shoes is going to be impossible. If anybody ever thought Mike Mangini filling my shoes was tough, try filling Neil Peart’s shoes!

“And I came back home to Dream Theater, which is where I belong. So if, hypothetically, they’d approached me with this reunion that they’re doing, it would have put me in an awkward position because of the timing of it all.”

Things have changed drastically in the Rush camp in recent years; Geddy Lee recently sent pulses racing when he hinted at potential new Rush music in the future, depending on the success of their upcoming tour.

“My intent, before we got into this celebration of Rush’s history, was to put some music together,” he said. “I assumed I would be doing that on my own, not with Alex. When we started jamming, I started seeing the possibility of doing something. But that went on hold, because there’s too much work.”

“If we manage to survive the tour, go back to Canada, and have a rest, who knows what will happen,” he teases. “But I suspect some music will eventually come out.”

Tickets are available for both Rush and Dream Theater’s respective 2026 tours now.

The post “It’s a sacred role”: Why Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy was “relieved” Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee didn’t ask him to be Rush’s new drummer appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Long before Deep Purple, Kansas, or the Dixie Dregs made him a household name among guitarists, Steve Morse was figuring out how to make music work – on his own terms.

In a new interview with Classic Rock, the guitarist reminisces about his early journey, including the very first time he picked up a guitar.

“[I was] about 10 or 11,” says Morse. “My brother brought home a guitar and was learning the three chords for his first lesson. Maybe I could get lessons too? There were group lessons at our music store for $1.50 each. The store rented me a guitar for $5 a month, a Gibson LG-O acoustic. I was left-handed, but the instructor said, ‘We don’t have any left-handed guitars. Try this’ – a regular right-handed guitar. So that’s the way I learned.”

• READ MORE: Don’t hold your breath for a Deep Purple reunion with Steve Morse: “A couple of guys in the band were really glad for me to be gone”

That adaptability would go on to become a hallmark of Morse’s playing – and his career. At 16, Morse was admitted to the University of Miami, one of the only places in the US at the time where one could seriously study guitar. But his arrival didn’t exactly go smoothly.

“The music programme at Miami wasn’t ideal,” Morse recalls. “I was very interested in classical guitar. I wasn’t that interested in the jazz department, because I was playing Jimmy Page songs and weird, teenage angsty music. So I didn’t know how that was going to work out.”

“When I got there I didn’t fit in with the classical people. I wasn’t advanced enough. And the jazz people were laughing when they saw me at the audition with my Telecaster – that wasn’t the right presentation,” he says. “You were supposed to have an acoustic hollow body guitar with a pickup on it, like Wes Montgomery.”

“So they rolled their eyes and said, ‘Put him in the rock ensemble,’ which was really a Latin jazz group. There were only six of us in that programme; guitarists like me that failed the jazz audition. So Miami started off really bad, but being around all those other guitarists, suddenly I could relate to them.”

For Morse, that period also marked a shift away from “pure rock” and toward the eclectic style that would define the Dixie Dregs and his later work.

“During that year I wrote a lot and played with people. We did hybrid music, crossing between jazz and rock, using polychords. I ended up writing and presenting ideas that were closer to what Kansas were doing than to what Jimmy Page was doing,” he says.

Morse also admits that he first felt confident he could make a career as a professional musician when he accepted that the music he loved wasn’t destined to top the charts.

“I thought to myself that the music that I liked was never going to be big or achieve the big numbers, but if I worked hard I was going to be okay,” says the guitarist. “I knew I wasn’t destined to be a rich star [but] I knew I could come up with stuff that people would like to listen to. Although I never could come up with stuff that record companies wanted to listen to!”

“I felt like that people were reachable if I could get in front of them. I said to myself, ‘It’s going to be a modest existence, but it’s going to be possible. I have to work hard and be versatile, be ready to play lots of different kinds of gigs.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

The post “The jazz people were laughing when they saw me at the audition with my Telecaster”: Steve Morse reflects on his early guitar journey appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Could anyone capture the voice and vision of the legendary Joni Mitchell on screen? According to reports, Meryl Streep is about to try.

Producer and music executive Clive Davis apparently confirmed Streep’s casting at a post-Grammys party, and director Cameron Crowe has since referred to Davis’s comments, though neither Streep nor Mitchell has officially spoken on it.

• READ MORE: “One night he got really stoned and we talked him into showing us” Jason Isbell claims that David Crosby once showed him Joni Mitchell’s ‘secret’ guitar tunings

The project has quietly been in development for several years, with the multi-time Oscar winner long rumoured to be involved. There have also been whispers (via Stereogum) that Anya Taylor-Joy could play a younger version of Mitchell, though those reports remain unverified.

Crowe has previously stressed how central Mitchell herself is in shaping the project. Speaking on The Late Show last year, he explained: “We’ve been working on it for about four years. We have regular meetings where I can ask her anything and she speaks with her heart about all kinds of stuff. It’s a movie that will be not from a distance… This is from her perspective, her life, looking out.”

He also hinted at the depth of material available for the production: “She’s kept all of her costumes, all of her clothes, all of her instruments. She’s even still the landlady of her famous house in Laurel Canyon. So this is a really personal, wonderful look at her life and music.”

Mitchell has always been protective of her story on screen. In 2014, she famously “squelched” a proposed biopic starring Taylor Swift, later remarking in a New York Magazine interview, “I’ve never heard Taylor’s music. I’ve seen her. Physically, she looks similarly small-hipped and high cheekbones. I can see why they cast her. I don’t know what her music sounds like, but I do know this – that if she’s going to sing and play me, good luck.”

The post Meryl Streep to star as Joni Mitchell in upcoming biopic appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

If speaking in reverse is the work of the devil, then playing a guitar solo backwards is just devilishly impressive work. Sure, modern digital techniques have made a backwards – or backmasked – solo as easy as the press of a button rather than having to manually reverse the tape, but the uniqueness and inventiveness of a well-positioned backwards solo still requires acute attention to composition. And a decent reverse mode on your delay pedal perhaps.

• READ MORE: The Molotovs want to be the solution to the problem of “insular and wallowing” guitar bands – this is how they’re going to do it

Debate surrounds exactly who did it first – while George Harrison’s solo in I’m Only Sleeping no doubt was the most important and impactful early example, Joe Walsh may have pipped him to the innovation first on Nancy Sinatra’s Sand recorded just a few months earlier.

Either way, those early experimenters were having to flip the physical tape to create the otherworldly sound, and it soon caught on with the likes of Jimi Hendrix (Are You Experienced?, Castles Made of Sand and Drifting), REM (What’s The Frequency Kenneth?), or Rush (Chain Lightning and Mystic Rhythms), The Beatles (I’m Only Sleeping, Tomorrow Never Knows, Rain), My Bloody Valentine, Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Give It Away, Slow Cheetah) and Garbage (Only Happy When It Rains).

Refining the Formula

But what does it take to truly nail the concept? Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci took a leaf from George Martin’s playbook and pursued the same method the Beatles’ visionary producer used decades earlier. On Dream Theater’s track Misunderstood from 2002, Petrucci went through the rigmarole of old-school steps to achieve an overall sense of unease the song demanded. Petrucci is on the line from his New York home, where he’s spending Christmas between a heavy touring schedule that began in October 2024 and continues from February through May 2026.

“It’s a pretty weird song, I think, as far as the sounds that were used and the arrangement of it,” he says. “So, if there are any songs to have a backwards guitar solo, that was the one. Also, lyrically, it kind of speaks to being displaced in your life, and the feeling that you have of a surreal disconnect.”

The inspiration was an interview with Billy Joel that Petrucci heard, where Joel recalled coming off stage, having played to a stadium of 60,000 people, and the next thing he does is return to his hotel room to eat his dinner alone.

“Having a guitar solo that’s backwards, I think, speaks to that, because it creates a disconnect. It’s like, ‘Well, this sounds normal-but-not’. You can’t tell what’s making it sound so weird. The backwards guitar solo is really appropriate for that song.”

The method, says Petrucci, is thanks to DT drummer Mike Portnoy’s Beatles fandom.

“Mike was aware of a technique that George Martin used, and so we tried that,” he explains. “And the technique is as follows: We were recording to tape at the time so, basically, I played the guitar solo the way I would normally do a guitar solo. I constructed it the way I wanted it to sound from front to back. Then, we flipped the tape so it was backwards, and instead of just playing that back in the master mix, I learned the backwards version, note for note, and then I recorded the backwards version myself, then harmonised it. And then we flipped the tape back over.”

It’s a lot of course, but the idea and the whole point of doing it backwards, is to create something that unsettles the listener.

“You get the original construction that I intended of the solo, but it sounds bizarrely backwards,” says Petrucci. “So, it’s not actually backwards. Doing it that way, the Beatles way, lets you construct the solo the way you want it front-to-back, which then gives you a sense of ‘normal but not’ and the harmony I added to it also made it sound strange.”

Performing the song live is a challenge, but Fractal Audio’s flagship Axe-Fx comes in handy.

“In the Fractal Axe-Fx are some backwards effects that don’t make what you’re playing sound backwards, but I can sort of emulate the backwards phrasing a little bit. The backwards delay just makes it sound a bit off-putting and surreal. That’s the closest I can get to the studio result in the live arena.”

Back To Basics

When the Beatles were experimenting with backwards sounds in 1966 however, they were having to essentially innovate the method from scratch. Initially, John Lennon had been experimenting with reversing vocal takes, but they soon branched out to trying it with other instruments.

In his book Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, The Later Years, 1966-2016, historian Kenneth Womack recalls the recording of the Paperback Writer B-side track Rain in 1966 as epiphanous in the experimental recording sessions of the band. Harrison, Womack claims, “was ecstatic over the possibilities that backward recording entailed.”

Womack quotes Harrison as saying, “With Rain, George Martin turned the master upside down and played it back. We were excited to hear what it sounded like, and it was magic – the backwards guitarist! The way the note sounded, because of the attack and the decay, was brilliant. We got very excited and started doing that on overdub. And then there was a bit of backwards singing as well, which came out sounding like Indian singing.”

Whether it’s tape-flipping, studio effect, or post-production trickery, the backwards guitar solo remains a tool in the composition kit worthy of exploring, and between Dream Theater, The Beatles, Garbage and My Bloody Valentine, the effect evidently knows no genre boundaries.

The post The art of the backwards guitar solo – and how Dream Theater’s John Petrucci nailed it appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.