Music is the universal language
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
General Interest
Riffin’ with Dyads
In this lesson, Shawn Persinger shows us how to understand the essential elements of chords and use them to build riffs.
Electro-Harmonix Introduces The Pico Intelligent Harmony Machine
Expanding their line of powerful Pico-sized pedals, Electro-Harmonix has released the Pico Intelligent Harmony Machine. Like its full-sized counterpart, the Pico IHM follows your single note melodies to create multi-voiced diatonic harmonies. Set the pedal to any key to produce rich 2- and 3-part harmonies with ease.
Housed in the space-saving EHX Pico chassis, the Pico Intelligent Harmony Machine brings harmony to any pedalboard and boasts a simple control layout. The KEY knob and # button set the harmonic key while the INTERVAL knob selects from 10 different harmony interval modes. DUAL mode adds a second voice to the harmony producing lush 3-part harmonies. MIX and VOL knobs adjust wet/dry blend and overall output volume respectively. Just like all Electro-Harmonix pitch shifters and harmony machines, the Pico IHM features lightning-fast tracking that stays tight even with the speediest of licks.
The Pico Intelligent Harmony Machine ships with standard EHX 9V power supply and is available now with a U.S. Street Price of $149.00.
Treaty Oak Revival’s Family Tree
By all accounts, Treaty Oak Revival is doing a lot of things right. Over the past five years, the Odessa, Texas-based “rock band with a country accent” has issued two self-released, Gold-certified albums (2021’s No Vacancy and 2023’s Have a Nice Day), a host of Gold and Platinum singles, racked up over 1.4 billion global streams, and have played both the Grand Ole Opry and Lollapalooza.
Last October, the band made its first trip outside the United States on their four-stop “Treaty Oak Revival Takes Australia” headline run of dates Down Under. But what lead guitarist Jeremiah Vanley wants to talk about isn’t how the group sold out Melbourne’s 5,000-seat Hordern Pavilion; instead, he’s psyched about the time they played for 30 people in a Sydney bar.
“It was this girl’s birthday, and as it turned out, everybody in the place was a big fan of ours,” Jeremiah says. “They had a drum set and a sound system, so we just said, ‘Okay, we’ll get our guitars and play.’ It turned into our first pop-up show, and it was great. More and more we’re playing big places, but I still love a good club feel.”
Before he set foot on any kind of stage, Jeremiah was perfectly happy jamming with his buddies—bassist Andrew Carey and drummer Cody Holloway—in the back room of an Odessa vacuum cleaner repair shop. They called themselves Free Spirit, and on Tuesday and Wednesday nights they’d get together to drink Fireball Whisky and cut loose on classic rock covers. Eventually, they were joined on guitar by Jeremiah’s nephew Lance, who had just graduated from music school and was looking for something to do.
“They had about 10 cover tunes together,” Lance recalls. “It was kind of a crazy jam band—they did everything from ‘Free Bird’ to Fleetwood Mac to Van Halen. Jeremiah can shred on that stuff. It’s funny, ’cause the two of us never played together that much while I was growing up, but it felt really natural when we played in the vacuum shop.”
Jeremiah Vanley’s Gear
Guitars
- Gibson Les Paul Standard
- EVH Wolfgang USA
Amp
- Neural DSP Quad Cortex (Brit Plexi 50 model)
Effects
- Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
- MXR EVH Phase 90
- Morley Bad Horsie Wah
Strings, Picks and Cables
- D’Addario NYXL or Ernie Ball (.010–.050)
- Dunlop Flow 1.5 mm picks
- “Whatever cables we have”
The two Vanleys couldn’t be more different. While Lance started playing guitar at age nine and studied music theory in college, Jeremiah, older by 10 years, didn’t pick up the guitar until he was 18—and never took so much as one lesson. Lance grew up listening to rock, jazz, hip-hop and R&B; he calls John Mayer one of his biggest influences. “I love his rhythm playing and the way he builds songs,” he says.
Jeremiah, on the other hand, cites Metallica, Pantera, and Van Halen as his prime inspirations. “I still listen to Eddie Van Halen and have my mind blown,” he says. “It’s like, ‘How did he come up with all that amazing stuff?’” Interestingly, it’s self-taught Jeremiah who shoulders lead guitar duties in the band, while Lance is content to play in-the-pocket rhythm. “Jeremiah’s a shredder—he can just rip all night long,” Lance says. “I don’t mind playing rhythm guitar. A good band needs a solid rhythm guy. It’s really important.”
“More and more we're playing big places, but I still love a good club feel.”—Jeremiah Vanley
Shortly after Lance joined Free Spirit, singer Sam Canty came by the vacuum shop, and that’s when things got serious. “Sam had a cool stage presence about him, and he could sing really well, but we were like, ‘Wow, he’s pretty country,’” Jeremiah says. “We did some covers with him, and then he pulled out his original tunes. He played ‘Boomtown,’ and we were knocked out. We looked at each other and said, ‘We could do something with this.’ So we became more of a Texas country-rock band.”
Originally, both Vanleys played Telecasters through Fender amps, but that changed when Canty suggested that the band—rechristened Treaty Oak Revival in honor of the Treaty Oak in Austin—should forge a heavier sound. Jeremiah required no arm twisting. “I already had a Les Paul, so I went out and bought a Marshall amp,” he says. “Once I plugged that in, we got a grungier rock sound.”
“It made a huge difference,” Lance says. “With Jeremiah on the Les Paul, everything started to fall into place.”
Lance Vanley’s Gear
Guitar
- Reverend Stacey Dee Signature
- Reverend Charger Jr.
Amp
- Morgan AC20 Kemper Profile
Effects
- “All of my effects are in the Kemper”
Strings, Picks and Cables
- D’Addario NYXL (.011–.049)
- Dunlop Tortex 0.71 mm picks
- “We have a mix of cables—D’Addario and potentially Ernie Ball.”
The group started playing live, and their sound got tougher still—walls of bone-rattling power chords and flame-broiled riffs that provided turbulent canvases for Canty’s richly detailed narratives. The combination of revamped post-grunge and red-dirt Americana worked like a charm on TOR’s first two albums; songs like “Missed Call” and “See You in Court” went down like musical comfort food. Fifty-somethings could revel in rip-roaring ’90s nostalgia, while their kids could claim the band as their own without embarrassment.
Treaty Oak Revival’s newest album, West Texas Degenerate, is their grittiest, grungiest effort yet—at times, Canty’s twangy vocals are the only country element to be heard. The mean-spirited “Shit Heel” packs the guitar wallop of Everything Zen-era Bush, and the bruising title track could have fit alongside Pearl Jam, STP, or Everclear on any 1995 alternative radio playlist. The tone and style shift on “Bad State of Mind”—it’s a decidedly modern country affair, but even here its gloomy main riff owes more to the Pacific Northwest than, say, Music Row. “I came up with that opening bit,” Lance says. “I tend to be more of the riff guy. If there’s something that continues throughout a track, that’s usually me.”
“Jeremiah’s a shredder—he can just rip all night long. I don't mind playing rhythm guitar. A good band needs a solid rhythm guy.”—Lance Vanley
Jeremiah, meanwhile, snarls and snorts throughout the record. He’s like a “greatest hits” of classic rock, metal, and alt-rock licks and solos—there’s a pinch of Zakk here, a touch of VH there, a smidgen of Joe Walsh over there, and a sprinkle of Mike McCready for good measure—but he’s incorporated it all into his playing in an authentic and personal manner. Onstage, he’s a great showman (there’s a theatrical flair to his playing that would be absurd were he not so damn confident), and when he lets loose with a bracing, arena-ready solo on “Port A,” he’s letting you in on the excitement he feels.
“There’s a lot of improv going on in my solos, and it can take me anywhere from three to 15 takes to get something down, depending on how difficult it is,” Jeremiah says. “We go through the takes and pick out parts that sound good. It can’t be just some melodic, weird thing—it’s got to fit the song. I think everything we’ve done collectively fits well on this record. It’s worth listening to more than once.”
Collision Devices Unveils New Snack Series Pedals
Collision Devices has introduced a new line of pedals designed to be fun, tiny and useful while also being accessible: the Snack Series Fuzz, Pitcher and Delay are the first three effects in the new collection.
Snack Series is connected to the Collision Devices’ story which started with the Black Hole Symmetry first. This story of a space travel kept going with the following devices like Nocturnal, TARS DLX and Crushturnal. Now, Snack Series pedals are seen as little snacks people can take from their pockets when doing space travels. Each one has been designed with a specific purpose, Snack Fuzz as an energy boost. Snack Delay to reduce the effect of time while travelling, and Snack Pitcher to get through huge space distances.
Each Snack Series pedal has the following features:
- A new original enclosure designed to fit any pedalboard (130mm x 50mm x 60mm)
- Three presets to make it easy to save and load your preferences
- Expression pedal you can assign to any control
- A “magic” knob introducing some variations and glitches in the audio effects
The Snack Fuzz comes with these three presets :
- SOFT (analog style distortion)
- MID (dephased parallel fuzz)
- HARD (bit fuzzer)
- The Snack Delay comes with these three presets :
- TAPE (tape modulated delay)
- CRUSH (digital delay with bit crusher)
- GLITCH (glitched delay with pitch shifted feedback)
The Snack Pitcher comes with these three presets :
- OCT (octave pitch shifter)
- SHIFT (pitch drifter)
- ARP (pitch sequencer)
Each of the three Collision Devices Snack Series pedals carries a $190 street price and all three are available at collisiondevices.com.
Cort Guitars Unveils the KX600 Infinite
Cort Guitars announces the release of the KX600 Infinite, a new addition to its acclaimed KX Series of modern electric guitars. Built for players who demand exceptional sustain, modern tone, and uncompromising performance, the KX600 Infinite combines advanced tonewood construction with premium components to deliver a boutique feel in a production instrument. Available now worldwide through authorized Cort dealers and online retailers, the KX600 Infinite is designed for the stage, the studio, and beyond.
The KX600 Infinite features neck-thru-body construction for superior sustain and tone, with a basswood body that provides a balanced foundation and a smooth, resonant midrange response. Its 5-piece roasted maple and walnut neck ensures enhanced stability and resonance, while the roasted maple improves both feel and durability. The neck’s sculpted profile and 25.5” (648mm) scale length provide a fast, comfortable playing experience. The guitar is equipped with stainless steel jumbo frets on a precisely radiused fingerboard for effortless technical playability and long-lasting performance. Added refinements include Graph Tech® Black TUSQ nut (43mm width) for improved sustain and harmonic richness, and two striking finishes, Orange Crush Satin (OCS) and Black Satin (BKS), offering players a choice between bold and understated aesthetics.
For electronics, the KX600 Infinite is armed with a set of Fishman® Fluence Modern pickups, delivering innovative tonal versatility with clarity and punch suited for today’s players. The control layout is simple yet powerful, featuring a single volume knob with push-pull functionality and a 3-way selector switch, allowing seamless access to a wide tonal palette for both rhythm and lead work.
Hardware appointments include Cort Locking Tuners for quick, precise, and stable tuning, and a Cort Hardtail bridge that also enhances sustain and tuning reliability. Combined with the durable stainless-steel frets and the Graph Tech® nut, the KX600 Infinite is engineered for precision under demanding live and studio conditions.
The new KX600 Infinite is the next evolution of the KX Series — a perfect balance of sustain, power, and precision.
For full specifications and availability, visit www.cortguitars.com.
Or visit us at NAMM in Booth #6810
Street Price: $1399.99 USD
Is PRS teasing another McCarty model for this year’s NAMM Show?
PRS has shared a video to Instagram that suggests something related to the late and great Ted McCarty will land this month.
Although no details have yet been confirmed, it sure looks like either a new product or possibly a documentary exploring the life and legacy of McCarty will be landing on 22 January – just in time for this year’s NAMM event.
The video recaps how the original McCarty model first released in 1994 was unveiled at the NAMM show, and features footage of McCarty discussing how the guitar came to be: “One day, Paul met me at the trade show in New York. We talked about guitars and he said, ‘how about if we make a Ted McCarty guitar?’
“I said, ‘well, perhaps it would be fine. And I would be very thrilled and honoured to have one of your guitars with my name on it, but who’s gonna buy it? Because I’m not a musician, I don’t go around and play guitars.’ Paul said that he didn’t think I knew quite the reputation that I had,” McCarty concludes in the footage.
Ted McCarty was a pioneer of the electric guitar and the musical instrument industry. He was president of Gibson during its “golden age”, and became a longtime friend and mentor to Paul Reed Smith of PRS.
In the late 1980s, Paul Reed Smith asked McCarty to consult with him on guitar design and production techniques, and in 1994, PRS released the first McCarty guitar. Over the years since, the brand has launched a number of McCarty models across its brand.
More recently, PRS launched a 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition model in summer 2025 – a single-cutaway model that was both “a tribute to tradition and a modern performer’s dream” – limited to just 400 pieces worldwide. It also launched McCarty III pickups last year: vintage-inspired humbuckers that bring a vocal clarity to their full, warm tone.
Whatever it might be, PRS says the Ted McCarty news will land on 22 January. You can view its full product line up over at PRS Guitars in the meantime.
The post Is PRS teasing another McCarty model for this year’s NAMM Show? appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
The Good Stuff: The Reliable Roland Chorus Echo
When people say things like, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore,” I think of two production runs that began in 1974: the Volvo 200 series, which lasted until 1993, and the Roland Space Echo, which saw its final unit manufactured in 1990.
One afternoon 15 years ago, I packed up my VW Golf and was on my way to record a trio gig somewhere in the hills of Los Angeles. I pulled up behind a Volvo station wagon and Nels Cline got out. He opened the giant semi-rectangular trunk and took out his amp, guitar, and pedals. I was visibly amazed at the space inside. “The Swedish pickup truck!” Nels proclaimed as he slammed the metal door shut and we loaded in for the afternoon.
A while later, I bought my own 1989 Volvo 245 wagon (the four-door sedan model was the 240). One benefit of a 19-year production run was that you could drive to a local pick-a-part and take whatever you needed from a junker unit, and it just worked. Need a new rear-tail-lamp assembly? Ten dollars and a screwdriver will solve that problem. Missing the plastic cover over the emergency brake between the front seats? There are plenty out there to choose from. My old mechanic Russell (who also worked on Josh Freese’s Volvo 240) told me that he loved working on them because after 20 years, parts were still easy to find and he could easily move around inside the engine compartment.
One summer workday, my Isuzu box truck broke down and I loaded more than a dozen produce orders into the back of my 245 wagon. I left the South Bay and drove into the Valley. I finished the route, and by the time I was heading down Ventura Boulevard toward the freeway, there was smoke coming from under the hood. I jumped on the 405 South and kept an eye on my hovering temperature gauge. After a Sorcerer-like two hours in the slow lane, I was back home. The Swedish pickup never overheated or died on me. A day later, Russell told me there was a quarter-sized hole in the engine compartment, and then he repaired it.
“There are few sounds that could not be improved by adding a little tape echo, chorus, and/or spring reverb.”
Similarly, a Space Echo might not work perfectly, but it will still get the job done. Worn-out tape? Unscrew the top plate and replace it yourself. Echoes not self-oscillating? Try adjusting the trim pots. No high end on the echo? Get some 90% isopropyl alcohol and Q-tips on those tape heads! Broken spring reverb? Open it up and throw a new tank in there. Plenty of room to move around.
Like the Volvo 200 series, the Roland Space Echo came in a few simple variations: the classic three-head RE-201; the stripped-down RE-101 and 150, which omitted the spring reverb, EQ, and a tape head; the RE-301, which added a chorus circuit; and, finally, the RE-501/SRE-555. I have owned all of them, and the one I’ve used the most is my beloved SRE-555 rackmount unit.
I’ll tell you why:
I am one of those people who thinks there are few sounds that could not be improved by adding a little tape echo, chorus, and/or spring reverb. Once, when recording electric guitar overdubs on singer-songwriter Eamon Fogarty’s song “Utopia In Blue,” I set up a mic on the amp and a mic in the lobby of the studio, and I sent that distant microphone into the Chorus Echo. The result was a beautiful triangulation: the immediate amp guitar panned just off center, the distant mic panned left, and the tape echo’d distant mic panned hard right. For every strum, I was rewarded with three distinct sounds. For my purposes, the balanced XLR ins and outs of the 501 and 555 facilitate ease of use. I always have them operating at line level on an auxiliary send from a mixer or console, and it’s always “Aux 1.”
Sometimes a tool is so well made that even the routine feels inspired. The Volvo 245 wagon was outfitted with an optional rear-facing third row seat. I can’t tell you how fun it is to take a road trip with kids who are looking into the eyes of the driver behind you. Likewise, the Roland Chorus Echo invites you to experiment with combinations of sound. During a session for Cherry Glazerr’s cover of Leonard Cohen's “I’m Your Man,” I solo’d the drums and used the repeat rate to sync the Chorus Echo to the song’s tempo. Then, I took the echo off the drums and put it on Clem [frontwoman Clementine Creevy]’s electric guitar. She loved the sound and it transformed the guitar part. I printed the echo and went back to use a short slap on her lead vocal, which you can hear in the final mix (if you can find it).In this digital age, I will be the first to admit, “If it sounds good, it is good.” That said, there are a few pieces of analog outboard gear that I find irreplaceable. My Volvo 245 has long since retired from the road, and yet, the Roland Chorus Echo SRE-555 carries on.
How Touring Guitar Rigs Are Designed
We travel to the southwest Chicago suburbs to visit Best-Tronics to see how they design, build, and assure premium quality for their pedalboards, pro audio racks, input splitters, cables, big-rig setups, and all things tone. Join along as John Bohlinger gets the full breakdown of everything they do at BTPA.
The Sterling Kaizen was my favourite guitar of 2025 – but it looks like the new Ibanez Alpha Series is coming for the crown
[Editor’s note: I’m fortunate enough to get many guitars across my desk to review, but as a metal player, few impressed me last year quite like the Sterling By Music Man Kaizen 6. The quirky, prog-metal geared offset impressed me so much, in fact, that I gave it 9/10 in my review, and even included it in our roundup of the best new guitar gear of 2025. But is the all-new prog-focused Ibanez Alpha Series set to take its crown? It certainly looks a strong contender, and I’ll pass you on to my colleague, Rachel, to tell you all about the radically innovative new series… – Sam, News Editor]
Ibanez has launched a new lineup of prog-rock-ready electric guitars, the Alpha Series, offering seven or eight strings and contemporary body styles.
The Alpha series is described by Ibanez as being “forged for the modern, cutting-edge guitar player”. It says they “boast an array of truly unique and contemporary features”, including an ergonomically designed body silhouette and contours, and claims that the series “won’t just change how you approach playing; it will open completely new horizons for your music.”
The aesthetics of the Alpha models appear to be Ibanez’s answer to modern shred culture booming online, with progressive rock and metal causing new trends and desires to emerge among guitarists. The Alpha models were developed with both 7- and 8-string multi-scale configurations in mind, tailored to technically advanced players who may want to play around with tuning and expressive playing techniques.
Both the seven-string A527 and eight-string A528 offer a three-dimensional structure designed through “extensive analysis of ergonomics and playing posture”. Each also has a three-screw neck joint design — utilising two screws mounted within an oval-shaped stainless-steel plate, and one additional screw driven directly from the body into the neck – for better joint strength and improved access to the high frets.
The guitars are fitted with Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers, accompanied by a Fishman Fluency Voicing switch. Three finishes are on offer: Iron Pewter, Nebula Shift and Coral Mirage. Check out the videos below for more:
The features implemented in these guitars certainly echo that of Abasi Concepts and other modern brands including Kiesel and Strandberg. Tosin Abasi of prog outfit Animals As Leaders founded Abasi Concepts in 2017, with a focus on ergonomic design. Abasi had also worked with Ibanez on a prototype signature the year prior, and more recently teamed up with Ernie Ball Music Man on the Kaizen in 2022.
The seven-string Ibanez Alpha model has an estimated price of $1,899, while the eight-string comes in around $1,999. Find out more about the range via Ibanez.
The post The Sterling Kaizen was my favourite guitar of 2025 – but it looks like the new Ibanez Alpha Series is coming for the crown appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Peavey® Unveils New MegaBass™ 410 and 115 Speaker Cabinets
Peavey Electronics® is always thinking about the customer and this time, they’ve made touring life a whole lot easier with their new MegaBass 410 and 115 speaker cabinets. With reduced weight, more durable construction, and pop-out casters included, these new cabinets are compatible with any bass head and deliver bass the way it is supposed to be…felt. Not stale through a digital modeler or direct to the board.
The long standing miniMEGA™ series of bass amplifiers from Peavey® have always been a staple of bass rigs worldwide for a number of years. These new cabinets are an extension of that design philosophy and bring new building techniques for a more convenient experience. Four heavy-duty 10” neodymium woofers deliver that nice tight, bottom end at a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and a power handling of 1200 watts program and 2400 watts peak. A 1” diaphragm compression driver, horn-loaded tweeter with adjustable level control delivers full range bass performance.
The MegaBass 115 houses a 15” BW speaker and includes a 1” diaphragm compression driver, horn-loaded tweeter with adjustable level control to allow the cabinet to be used as a standalone unit or in combination with the MegaBass 410. To deliver the gut punching low end, the MegaBass 115 also runs at a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and a power handling of 1200 watts program and 2400 watts peak.
The ultra-light weight ported cabinet design uses a reinforced plywood construction to keep weight down and long-lasting performance up. Black vinyl covering, heavy-duty steel hardware, and an eye-catching power coated metal grille will keep these cabinets performing night after night for years on the road. And with recessed, spring-loaded handles and pop-out casters included, load-in and load-out is a breeze. Two twist-lock combo inputs ensure solid signal performance every time.
For more information booth 210A at NAMM, or online at www.Peavey.com
Street Price:
MegaBass 410 $999.99 USD
MegaBass 115 $799.99 USD
Keeley Oaxa Review
Running two effects of the same kind concurrently can yield amazing results. Stacked fuzzes or RATs? I’m in heaven. Other effects work less reliably well in pairs. Two reverbs, for instance, can sound killer but can turn an otherwise carefully crafted signal to smog. Twin phasers, in my experience, can be counted among the effects that are delicious together. It takes just two simple one-knob phasers to get very weird. Build two phasers into one, though, and add a few extra tone shaping controls, and the weird gets weirder fast.
Keeley’s new U.S.-made, digital Oaxa twin phaser can feel nearly as simple and straight ahead as two Small Stones running side by side, and honors the elegance and ease of that solution in many ways. There’s just three knobs—for rate, feedback, and depth. A small 3-position toggle switches between 10-stage phase, 4-stage phase, and a Uni-Vibe-style mode. Two footswitches select between the individual phaser or a combination of the two. If you want to keep things simple, you can dive in no further than that and have a great time. But Oaxa bears many secrets for deeper diggers.
Working the Waves
The phase effect is fun to use intuitively. And adding it in and out can be low stakes. Feeling that a riff sounds lifeless? Add a phaser and twist the rate. Maybe it’ll be exactly what a song needs. Maybe it will sit like rotten mayonnaise. But it won’t have taken much effort to try, and you’ll probably have fun along the way. The Oaxa is deeply satisfying in this manner.
The brilliant, big rate knob can be adjusted with precision using just a toe (provided you have the right shoes). And while the depth and feedback controls might be an affront to Phase 90 and Small Stone users, Oaxa’s controls open up useful phase possibilities without leaving you feeling doomed to get lost in the weeds. The depth control, for instance, has so much range it can render the phaser all but subliminal—making it a killer always-on sweetener that can be nudged in and out of prominence via the depth knob. Those just-barely-there depth settings can also be subtly re-shaped by the similarly rangey feedback control, which acts like a filter, adding wah-like focus at mild depth. At more intense depths, the feedback adds appreciably more vowelly “wow” tonalities that give Oaxa more than a hint of a Mu-Tron’s beautiful vintage essence. This variation—and interactivity—among depth and feedback colors alone makes Oaxa a great production, arrangement, and guitar layering tool, particularly in spacious arrangements.
Bear in mind that all the phase phenomena I’ve described here were observed in the 4-stage phaser voice—my most natural and familiar phase space. But the 3-way toggle can also be configured for 10-stage voicing or as a Uni-Vibe-style phase effect. The 10-stage voice is a little more binary than the 4-stage, and can obscure some overtone nuance in the wash. At extreme depth settings it can even sound almost tremolo-like. For a lot of players, the more focused modulation waves in the 10-stage voice will be a perfect fit for rhythmic delays or staccato passages begging for a little extra wobble and a more interesting tail. The Uni-Vibe style setting, meanwhile, is a pretty authentic version of the effect and delivers a recognizable take on the drippy “whoop”-like phase created by a Uni-Vibe’s optical circuit. Like the real deal, it sounds fantastic with fuzz.Multiplied by Two ... and More
When both phasers are on, Oaxa’s jewel lamp flashes blue and red, and the visual suggestion of a party is apt. There are deep and crazy sounds here that can take you deep into the wee hours. But not all combinations are magic. Certain pairings of modulation rate and harmonic peaks can obscure details that might make a single phase voice pleasing. But the option to run the two phasers in parallel or series enables more or less detailed versions of a compound phaser voice, respectively. And just-right phase-rate relationships combined with contrasting voices, depth, and feedback can yield fantastic results. Fast-throbbing U-Vibe style modulations combined with slow, deep 4-stage phases are extra dimensional—as are just about any two high-contrast rates. Nailing these combinations and hearing them via stereo—the other great force multiplier on Oaxa—can pull you deeper still into the pedal’s capacities.
The Verdict
Do you remember what I said at the top about the Oaxa being simple? It’s true. It’s just that Oaxa’s elegant design also has a lot in store for troublemakers willing to dig a bit. And if the stereo and dual-phase settings aren’t trouble enough, you can use the footswitches and knobs to introduce compression or extra filtering, or reconfigure the toggle to include 2- and 6-stage phaser voices. I’d venture that using the most basic functions will make the $199 price well worth it over time. But you’ll likely celebrate the day you stumble across one of Oaxa’s more complex finds. I suspect such days will be many in number, too.
Victory sends blind guitarist custom braille amp in the most wholesome moment of 2026 so far
The news hasn’t been all that rosy so far in 2026, but we assure you, there’s plenty of really heartwarming things still going on.
Like British amp brand Victory sending a custom braille amp to blind guitarist and skateboarder Anthony Ferraro, who captured the moment it arrived on his doorstep in what’s sure to be one of the most wholesome clips of the year. And we’re just nine days in…
In the video – posted to his Instagram page, which boasts nearly 430,000 followers at the time of writing – Ferraro can be seen bursting through the door holding a massive Victory-branded box exclaiming: “I’m blind, what’s in this box?!”
“Dude, it’s an amp!” he yells, taking the white-finished combo amp out of its box to reveal its custom braille labels under each of the control knobs and on the routing information board on the back. “Are you kidding me? I’m gonna cry!”
A special braille note addressed to Ferraro also came in the box, which reads: “Dear, Anthony… We heard you wanted to try a Victory amp. So we set ourselves a challenge and came up with this unique design just for you.”
“I think this is the first amp in the world to ever do this,” Ferraro says. “Do you know how many times I’ve had to ask a friend, ‘Hey, what’s this control?’ This is the most amazing amp I’ve ever touched and I can’t wait to play this.”
Barely able to contain his excitement, Ferraro takes his shiny new amp to his jam room, plugging it into his PRS SE Silver Sky electric guitar and impressively kitted out pedalboard, where he showcases his enviable chops with a series of bluesy lead lines.
“[This is] quite truly one of the greatest things I have [ever] been given,” he writes in the post’s caption. “To say I cried when I opened it wouldn’t be a lie. I’ve been blind my whole life and music was one of the only things that made it feel like I wasn’t blind… until I felt my gear or had to ask someone to help me adjust a knob or tune my guitar.
“When I felt the braille on this amp my whole world changed instantly. I was free to do it on my own for the first time ever. Advocating for braille has become one of my biggest passions in life. As actual companies begin to take initiatives in accessibility it makes me think maybe it’s working… I can’t believe this is real. Someone pinch me.”
In a highly liked comment (61,157 likes at the time of writing) under the video, Victory responds to Ferraro’s heartwarming video: “It means the world to us seeing you connect with your amp like this, Anthony. Thank you for letting us be part of your journey.” Ferraro replies: “You actually changed my life. I don’t even know how to say thank you enough.”
It’s moments like these that make us proud to be part of the guitar community. Fair play, Victory. Fair play.
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“The Stratocaster hasn’t really changed since 1954”: Outgoing Fender CEO Andy Mooney says electric guitarists have “generally been reluctant to really accept innovation”
Innovation in the guitar world certainly happens, but it’s often in small increments – updates to single components as opposed to radical new guitar designs altogether. Big changes do happen, mind; just look at the MIDI-enabled self-playing Circle Guitar which we recently called “the most revolutionary new guitar in half a century”.
There’s perhaps an argument to say that the electric guitar – at its core – is a pretty great technology, and that the infrequency of massively radical new designs is more a reflection that guitarists are just happy where things are.
Outgoing Fender CEO Andy Mooney certainly has some insights, and in a new conversation with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto on his Inside the Noise podcast, speaks on the current demands of guitar players, and how things are different when it comes to amp innovation.
“Artists, generally, in the electric side, have been reluctant to really accept innovation,” Mooney says. “I mean, one of the guitars in my collection was a collaboration we did with Roland, which I thought was a very interesting guitar, but it didn’t attract an audience.
“I say to people that, you know, the Stratocaster hasn’t really changed since 1954. The only thing that’s changed is the neck, the frets, the pickups, the tremolo arm, and the paint application. And every one of those things, even the height of the frets, all are a reflection of what current artists are really demanding.”
He goes on: “On the amplifier side, it’s completely the opposite. Generally speaking, the player is now very receptive to digitisation. I know when I started using either digital foot pedals or digital amps, the quality just wasn’t there, and they developed a bad reputation. Now, when you listen to what’s capable with a digital amp and a digital signal chain, it’s actually amazing.”
In 2026, artists – particularly touring artists – are keener than ever to strip back their physical rigs to cut costs, and simply reduce the effort it requires to lug around a heavy, complex rig around on the road.
Many of the worlds’ top rock and metal artists have made the switch to digital amp modellers for live shows. Metallica guitar tech Chad Zaemisch even attributes the band’s improved live shows with their decision to do so. And in 2024, after saying he’d “never” use amp modellers, Slipknot’s Jim Root revealed he had been using a Neural DSP Quad Cortex live.
Mooney recognises this shift in player demand, too, adding: “In Eddie Van Halen’s day, he would have carted around 18 4x12s or nine heads. Now, people are moving towards a silent stage. Def Leppard are moving towards an entirely silent stage.”
Prior to his post at Fender, Andy Mooney worked at Disney as Chairman of Consumer Products. There, he gained invaluable insights from Steve Jobs, who was CEO of Pixar.
“We were a bit late coming to the party [with digital amp modellers],” he goes on. “But one of the things I learned from the conversations with Steve was that it’s okay to be second as long as you’re better.
“So when we looked at the Tone Master Pro again… Steve, one of the things he really did with his products was the user interface had to be so elegant that you didn’t need an owner’s manual, that you could take it straight out of the box, [and you] didn’t need an MIT degree to figure it out. So that’s what we tried to do with the Tone Master Pro, everything is intuitive.”
It was revealed this week that Andy Mooney is to step down from his position as CEO of Fender next month, with the company’s current President of its Asia-Pacific operations Edward “Bud” Cole to step into the role.
“Leading Fender has been a highlight of my career,” says Mooney. “I’m deeply grateful for the creativity and commitment of the Fender teams around the world and proud of what we’ve accomplished. I’m excited to pass the baton on to Bud and confident that under his leadership, Fender will continue to inspire players for generations to come.”
During his time as President of Fender Asia Pacific, Edward “Bud” Cole has overseen the expansion of Fender into 14 countries across the region including mainland China and Korea, established full regional commercial and operational capabilities, and played a pivotal role in numerous Made-in-Japan launches.
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Ted Nugent brands Yungblud as “the real McCoy” among a flurry of strange praise for rock artists
Ted Nugent kicked off the new year with a video on his YouTube channel, in which he dished out a bunch of praise – and quite a few insults too – for the rock musicians of today.
Among those he both praised and criticised all at the same time were Jack White, Green Day, and Yungblud, who came out the most unscathed. Nugent celebrated Yungblud, who’s garnered a whole new swathe of fans since his performance at the Black Sabbath Back To The Beginning event, as “the real McCoy”.
In the video, titled Let’s Talk Music, Nugent begins discussing Yungblud by mentioning his recent EP collaboration with Aerosmith: “Now, I got to tell you this, what’s this Yungblud guy? Limey freak madness. This guy’s the real McCoy. Watch this Yungblud that’s working with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. It gives you hope that the really piss and vinegar, the James Brown, the original Chuck Berry, Little Richard is alive and well and this kid called Yungblud, he’s a screamer,” he says.
Nugent then moves on to Jack White, discussing his half time show with rapper Eminem at the Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving football game in November: “Jack White, is that his name? Anyhow, he was great. It wasn’t like a 10 like Sammy Hagar or James Brown. I think Sammy Hagar and James Brown and Steven Tyler, those are tens. Angus Young of AC/DC, that’s a 10. The guy’s a maniac. Billy Gibbons in the blues, rhythm, and soul music category, he’s a 10.
“Jack White, he’s not a 10. He’s like a four and a five, but he really delivered real rock ‘n’ roll. Real Detroit piss and vinegar. And Eminem… Both of those guys, Eminem and Jack White: total idiots,” he says. Nugent then goes on to berate their political views, with “they don’t want their country to have secure borders. They think men should destroy women’s sports” being just two of his claims.
He then goes on to add, “Green Day – there’s not a brain amongst them, I don’t think. But man, can they play. Really, really killer stuff, like Tom Morello. Come on, Tom – you’re not raging against the machine, you are the machine.”
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Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster review – “this guitar is like spending time with an old friend”
$1,599/£1,349, fender.com
There’s an argument to be made that Fender’s Vintera II range is the absolute sweet spot in the company’s line-up – electric guitars that look, feel and sound impressively close to the Golden Era originals, but with prices more in line with guitars made in FMIC’s Ensenada, Mexico factory.
Back when the range initially launched in 2023, my colleague Josh went so far as to call the Vintera II Strat “the new benchmark for import Strats” and you can see why – for less than half the price of an American Vintage II guitar, you can own a Strat that has much of the mojo and a fair dollop of the vintage accuracy of the USA flagship. And now they’re about to turn all that up to 11.
It’s been a decade or more since Fender first experimented with factory ageing in the Ensenada factory. The original Road Worn guitars were well-received back in 2013, but even at the time the artificial wear and tear felt a little templated. Since then, Fender has clearly been hard at work – the Mike McCready Strat that came out late in 2023 showed that Ensenada’s factory relic’ing had come on leaps and bounds, but it also suggested there might be limits to mass-produced wear and tear as well.
For the revival of the Road Worn concept then, Fender has taken a more considered path – but one that might be the best of all worlds.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster – what is it?
In simple terms, it takes Fender’s Vintera II 60s Strat, strips it off the standard gloss polyurethane finish, and swaps it out for a bona fide nitrocellulose lacquer job. However, unlike the previous Road Worn guitars, you won’t find any over-the-top wear patches or faux-buckle rash here. Not a single pair of heavy keys has been chucked at it in anger. Instead, you have something that, from a distance, has more in common with Fender’s Lacquer series from 2015 – a Mexican guitar with a nitro finish that appears pretty much pristine. However, when you look closer you’ll find it’s more interesting than that.
Rather than spray a lacquer top coat on the guitar and wait 60 years for anything interesting to happen to the finish, Fender has helped it along by a few decades. That means that while the guitar’s finish is factory-fresh at a distance, closer inspection reveals lacquer checking across the body and neck, while the hardware has all been aged too.
It’s the sort of Closet Classic treatment that previously has only been available at a Custom Shop level, which will set you back the thick end of five grand, though it’s interesting that the USA-made Ultra Luxe Vintage range took a similarly restrained approach to factory ageing with its ‘Heirloom’ finish – are we finally seeing players move away from the heavier relic thing? Time will tell.
Image: Adam Gasson
Finish asides, it is, as mentioned, a Vintera II 60s Stratocaster – that means you get an alder body, Vintage-Style 60s Single-Coil Strat pickups, bent steel saddles, and the Vintera II policy of ‘close but not quite’ when it comes to vintage accuracy.
For example, while the guitar has the body contours of a 60s guitar and a vintage-style 7.25-inch radius and tall vintage frets, it doesn’t go so far as to give you a period-correct three-way selector switch – and that’s probably a smart choice.
The neck is slightly more perturbing, however – this black finish comes with a one-piece maple neck: a combination that was only available in 1965 as a custom order. Given that this combination of finish and neck was much more standard in the 50s, I’m somewhat at a loss as to why they didn’t give it a single-ply white pickguard instead of the green-hued three-ply version here, throw in some 50s pickups and go full Clapton’s Blackie.
There is a rosewood-boarded Sonic Blue option if you want something that feels more traditionally 60s. But occasional concessions to historical incongruity are part and parcel of the Vintera II range, and if you want something that’s more rigorously faithful, well you’re welcome to spend an extra grand to get yourself an American Vintage II.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster – build quality and playability
Cork-sniffingly accurate it might not be however, but pulling the guitar out of its supplied vintage-style hard case it’s hard not to be impressed. The finish is beautifully thin, and the Road Worn effect is impressively restrained. You have to hold it up to the light to really see the cracking and checking, while the hardware is dull but doesn’t look like it’s been sitting at the bottom of a lake for 50 years. It all adds up to a beautiful ever-so-slightly worn-in feel to the whole thing – like a pair of good boots that have just been broken in.
The contours of the body are convincingly svelte like many a 60s original, and the alder body is nicely lightweight at just under 7.5lbs.
That maple neck’s 60s C-shape profile is reassuringly chunky, but not so much that it ever gets uncomfortable in the palm – sitting down with this guitar is like spending time with an old friend. That said, the tint to the fingerboard and the level of checking around the headstock are perhaps the only areas of the guitar where the relic job starts to look a little fake, in my opinion.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster – sounds
Played unplugged, the light weight, and perhaps the lack of heavy finish to the body and neck, combined with that lovely feeling neck and vintage frets, add up to a resonant and chimey voice with sparkle, body and plenty of sustain.
The natural place to go from here is to plug in my old Deluxe Reverb and see if things continue to impress – they certainly do, greeting me with a superb classic Strat tone from the bridge single coil. To my ears, vintage-sized frets can also sound a touch clearer and more defined than modern jumbo ones, and played clean the Road Worn has all the clarity and definition you could require for funk and pop playing, while still having ample midrange to cut through a mix.
Switching to the middle pickup we get plenty of Stevie snarl and bite, and with a bit of overdrive, the most vocal of the three voices. Adding some fuzz, I revel in the Hendrixy neck pickup tones that offer plenty of flutey chime to single notes, double stops and chordal fills, especially when reducing the volume a touch.
The in-between positions give us authentic Mayer and Knopflerisms aplenty, and it’s to this guitar’s genuine credit that each position really does demonstrate an almost cliché level of appropriateness of how a dream Strat should sound.
Despite the midrange having an authentically 60s-style light scoop, the pickups demonstrate plenty of bite, snap and twang across the board, beautifully enhancing the sonic characteristics of the alder body, maple neck combo. Compared to my vintage 1962 Strat, the Vintera perhaps doesn’t quite have the 3D depth and top-end sweetness to the pickups, but to be this close to the real deal for this price? That’s hugely impressive.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster – should I buy one?
The original Vintera II 60s Strat was a seriously impressive instrument, and while the price bump to make it Road Worn is significant, in terms of feel, playability and overall vibe I think it’s worth the extra $300 – it elevates this guitar into something that really could be your guitar for life.
While I still think it’s crying out for a more 50s treatment given the spec sheet, there’s no denying that it’s a superbly resonant, tuneful and enjoyable instrument. Some players will want bigger frets and a 9.5 radius, but that’s not really what the Vintera II range is for, and this Road Worn version doubles down on that in the best way.
This is a guitar that doesn’t embarrass itself put up against not just the USA-made American Vintage II range, but also Custom Shop guitars – it’s a long time since I’ve played a Mexican-made Fender guitar that was this inspirational, and I don’t think I’ve ever played one that captures the vintage aura so well.
The only downside, really, is that they’re limited edition – so don’t wait on this one, grab one while you can, you won’t regret it!
[products ids=”3oUtJohp5K1H1ERKxVHCZB”]
Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster – alternatives
If the nitro thing isn’t an issue for you, the regular Vintera II 60s Strat is a steal at $1,209/£999. If you want something that nails the vintage thing even more closely, the American Vintage II 1965 Stratocaster is a lot of guitar for $2,419/£2,299. If you want something that veers from tradition while still keeping a lot of the vintage vibes, John Mayer’s PRS SE Silver Sky ($949) is seriously impressive.
The post Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60s Stratocaster review – “this guitar is like spending time with an old friend” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Under the Microscope: How Vintage Verified Is Revolutionizing Guitar Authentication
We don’t often talk about Renaissance high art and ’50s rock ’n’ roll guitars in the same breath, unless we’re forming a new rockabilly-prog band called Hot-Rod Maximus. (You’re welcome.) But in the modern world of art and guitar collecting, items reputed to be the work of either Leonardo Da Vinci or Leo Fender are subject to much the same scrutiny from experts in the field, are known for fetching vast prices from discriminating buyers, and, given the millions of dollars potentially involved in even a single sale, are likewise expected to stand up to the most rigorous high-tech scientific analysis. Right?
Well, almost. While the worlds of high art, medicine, astronomy, police forensics, and environmentalism have all taken that last cue to heart by making data-driven determinations with the latest tools of chemical analysis, the vintage guitar market—and its many rightfully respected authorities—has generally proven resistant to sharing the process of authentication with the likes of spectrometers, microscopes, and 3D imaging, tools that have long proven their worth in identifying the material composition of everything from planets to polyps to paint thinners. Black lights on the backs of headstocks have typically been about the latest “tech” in the room.
Until now. In a story that feels ripped from The Da Vinci Code or Cold Case Files, two remarkably down-to-earth—if undeniably intrepid—guitar-shop guys from Nashville, Jon Roncolato and Zach Riemer, have quietly upended the vintage-guitar market in a matter of months. Fueled by rotating batches of fresh-ground coffee, an abundance of nerve, and stomachs for study, they’ve tapped some of the most advanced and expensive analytical machines available to capture, catalog, and compare hundreds of thousands of data points from countless vintage and modern instruments—their lacquers, pigments, pots, pegs, pickups, and parts—building the largest dataset for guitar-component and finish comparison in existence.
In the process, they’ve issued a gentle challenge to dealers, appraisers, and collectors—and yes, they’ve even shifted the status of some long-held vintage “treasures.” Although they no longer appraise or sell instruments themselves, they’ve still managed to ruffle a few feathers and attract more than a few legal threats. At the same time, they’ve leveraged their diligence and strong reputations to assemble a trusted advisory team made up of some of the most respected minds in guitars, art, and hard science: icons like George Gruhn, repair guru Joe Glaser, cultural-heritage scientist Dr. Tom Tague (who authenticated Da Vinci’s “lost masterpiece” Salvator Mundi), Music City session legend Tom Bukovac, pickup mastermind Ron Ellis, and analytical chemist Dr. Gene Hall, among others.
Jon and Zach are guarded about the technology, as you might expect. They don’t post selfies, they don’t have a podcast, and they won’t be starting one. As Riemer puts it, they’d much rather “keep our heads down and keep hammering away” with laser-based spectrometers, plumb the deepest secrets of Fullerton Red Strats, and compare the chemical makeup of Duco paints (ironically, both Pollock and Fender’s mutual go-to.) In their scrupulously clean Nashville HQ—which will expand to offices in L.A. and N.Y.C. in 2026—they seem pretty resigned to their current controversial status, and remain motivated primarily by going after, y’know, the truth.
Okay, that and a good cup of coffee.
What was the genesis of this idea to apply these types of cultural heritage sciences to vintage guitars? Is the problem with inaccuracies, refinishes, and forgeries really that widespread?
Jon Roncolato: We met while I was the GM at Carter’s Vintage Guitars, later North American Guitars, here in Nashville. I was photographing and cataloging the instruments for our online store, among other things. Zach’s originally from California but had come over to Carter’s after learning the ropes at Joe Glaser’s legendary repair shop in Berry Hill. At some point, it was decided that rather than us owning most of the guitars we’d sell, the business should follow more of a consignment approach, which meant hitting the road [and going to] dozens of guitar shows, bringing hundreds of instruments back from other dealers to consign.
And, look, there were instances at the store even with good-faith experts making the calls where we’d catch a refinish being passed off as an original color. But at the guitar shows, we really began to see how wild west this all was: $8,000 guitars passed off as original that literally had the wrong headstock glued on them. Things like that.
Zach Riemer: Everybody misses now and again. Most dealers are trying their absolute hardest with their experience, eye, and gut to tell an original from a fake or a refin. There’s simply some things you just can’t know unless you look at them with the kinds of tools that we’re bringing to the table. And it shouldn’t be that controversial: after all, literally every other collectible industry has a third party unassociated service like ours. The most obvious one is PSA with collectible sports cards. PSA is a little different than it used to be, but everybody still sees a sports card and a PSA box and if it says, “PSA 9,” for instance, you know you’re in good shape.
“In the art world, scientific validation has long been standard practice—pigment analysis, canvas fiber studies, dimensional scans. Sometimes it changes the story. That’s not an attack on tradition. It’s the pursuit of truth.” —George Gruhn, Gruhn Guitars
Jon Roncolato: In the art world, if you can’t scientifically confirm the authenticity of a piece, then you can’t certify that it’s attributed to a given artist. In the world of dealing guitars, though, even if you’re not 100 percent sure, you have to absolutely stake all your credibility on a guitar, even if there’s some doubt. You’re not going to sell a $250,000 custom color Fender if you come out and say, “Well, I think it's a custom color. It looks good to me.” So that’s just been the structure of the industry. Being in the underbelly of the whole thing, as we were, we realized what a big problem this was.
There must have been a ridiculous learning curve. You guys are guitar dudes, not scientists. Takes a bit of brass to bite off something like that, no?
Jon Roncolato: We have a framed picture in the kitchen, a quote from Wilbur Wright: “There are two ways of learning to ride a fractious horse: One is to get on him and learn by actual practice how each motion and trick may be best met. The other is to sit on a fence and watch the beast awhile, and then retire to the house.” That said, we spent the first year-and-a-half not offering any services at all, just studying the science, including week-long training seminars where everybody but us had a doctorate attached to their name, consulting with the top experts in the cultural heritage field.
Zach Riemer: I can't even express how difficult it was to make heads or tails of any of this at first. John and I were not chemists, and basically what we do now is largely analytical chemistry. So the learning curve on that was incredibly steep. We always joked that we were smart enough to have the idea but dumb enough to think we could do it. And while this process exists in other industries, the finished-instrument industry is totally unique. The instruments are so modular, and you have finishes, plastics, hardware, pickups, so you have to have an answer for all that information.
Jon Roncolato: That’s right. The process is designed to have an answer for anything and everything on the instrument. The headstock decals, the finish, the hardware, the fret wire, the fingerboard inlays—we have a data-driven answer for everything. That was really critical, because we didn’t want to give incomplete information. Another absolutely critical principle for us was that anything we put in one of these reports has to be defensible in court. If we get subpoenaed to go to court, which inevitably we will, we need to know that Zach or I can show up and we can defend this and prove this. Our other guiding principle is that we remain completely independent, and not touch the buying and selling of the instruments.“Vintage Verified is doing what we couldn’t do 20 years ago. They’re bringing in real tools—from forensics, from art conversation, from aerospace—and applying them to guitars. And it’s not about replacing experience. It’s about supporting it.” —Joe Glaser, Glaser Guitars
Fair enough. So, what’s the most difficult or highly sensitive area of your analysis?
Jon Roncolato: Finish is easily the most complicated part of what we do—an absolute maze of information, and it’s also where you see the biggest value swings. Traditionally, if a guitar’s been refinished, even if it’s just a standard guitar (not a custom color) refinished, the rule of thumb is that it cuts the value in half. Nowadays, it probably cuts the value by 40 percent. But if you start talking about custom colors, like a Fender sherwood green Strat, or the fullerton red we have in our lab right now—this Strat here is probably a $250,000 Strat, assuming the finish is original. If the finish is, in fact, not legitimate, then potentially you’re looking at a $20,000 Strat.
And to determine this, you don’t just need that guitar’s own fingerprint, if you will, but you need to be able to conduct comparative analysis against a bulwark of trustworthy data. Where does that come from?
Jon Roncolato: We’ve been very fortunate to have guys like Joe Glaser and George Gruhn in our corner, who put their own cred on the line to help us scan and analyze literally thousands of vintage guitars, plus Dr. Gene Hall, whose work decoding Jackson Pollock paintings means he has the largest collection and database of Duco paints on the planet, the same paints Fender used in their golden era. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We now have millions of data points across several different machines, a good $300,000 worth of spectrometers and other analyzers. We spent eight hours a day collecting data as much as we possibly could.
So is it very much a one-to-one comparison? “This finish’s chemical composition is true to the year this guitar purports to be, so we’re good”? Or is it more complex than that?
Zach Riemer: A little of both. Sure, the data that I just grabbed matches this certified sample pretty well, so therefore we can say with certainty that’s period-correct. But what really blew the doors open for us was when we got past that level, and started to have a fundamental understanding of these lacquer formulations, how various formulations over time were interacting with each other, and how the different components in a lacquer formulation—plasticizers, pigments, etc—all interact and evolve. How did those components morph over time?
If the industry set regulations, what was the regulation attached to? If you look at a piece of data on a lacquer, you’ll have hundreds of chemical compounds—a ton of information in there. What we had to do was figure out which chemical compounds were going to be chief identifiers of who was using what, and when. Building out this timeline for the major manufacturers was the bulk of our work, just as much as developing an understanding of the complexity of the materials. In other words, you have to understand your data as much as you need to own the data, right?
You’ve gotten some backlash, and some dealers who ended up being supporters eventually even got their lawyers on the phone early on. What’s your message to dealers, appraisers, collectors, working players, and the business as a whole?
Jon Roncolato: If something like this does not happen in this industry, the industry will go away at a certain point, and that’s already happening. For instance, right now you have literal billionaires who won’t buy custom color Fenders, and won’t buy Explorers and Flying Vs. Won’t touch them. Because they’re under the impression that they’re all fake. This is the top of your market, and they won’t touch this guitar unless we look at it. So, already we’ve seen that many of these people who previously were not buying custom colors are now joining that market again because they have the trust that these are authentic.
Zach Riemer: Our mission is to make sure that the data and the information we provide is absolutely correct. That’s our lane. We’re not the guitar police. We are not policing transactions, and we do not appraise or assign values to any instrument, ever. We’re hoping that we can help dealers begin to understand that this is designed to be an asset. It’s designed to help you protect yourself. And look, as soon as we print out a report, and I hand it to you, you can throw it in the garbage if you want. But it’s an option for you. Ultimately, it’s something that we believe helps give people the confidence to buy that rare instrument, and know exactly what they’re getting.Andertons and CME Launch the Fender Player II Lavender Haze Collection
Andertons Music Co. and Chicago Music Exchange have teamed up with Fender to introduce an exclusive new range: the Andertons x Chicago Music Exchange Fender Player II RW Lavender Haze Collection. The lineup features four classic shapes – the Jazzmaster®, Stratocaster®, Telecaster®, and Jazz Bass® – each finished in a striking, never-before-seen Lavender Haze colourway and equipped with CME’s all-new proprietary Fender “Full Dip” pickups.
Lavender Haze is a could-have-been-but-never-was finish, inspired by mid-century appliances, classic cars, and the golden era of electric guitars. Matching painted heads on the Jazz Bass® and Jazzmaster® select models complete the look, giving the series a cohesive and unmistakable visual identity.
At the heart of the Lavender Haze collection is Chicago Music Exchange’s proprietary “Full Dip” pickups, developed in collaboration with Fender and informed by decades of vintage expertise and player feedback. Built on Fender’s Vintera II pickup recipe, “Full Dip” introduces two key refinements: AlNiCo 2 magnets to smooth harsh frequencies and allow notes to bloom naturally, and 5% overwound coils to deliver added punch and grit. Each model also features unique circuit enhancements that unlock tonal options not available with standard wiring, expanding the range of these Player II instruments.
“The Player II already delivers exceptional tone, feel, and reliability, and this collaboration takes it even further. Pair that with CME’s new “Full Dip” pickups, which have real warmth and musicality, and you’ve got guitars and basses that don’t just look incredible, they inspire you to play. We’re thrilled to bring them to Andertons customers!” said Lee Anderton, Managing Partner of Andertons Music Co.
“I love to romanticize the golden years at Fender and imagine what could have been, but simply wasn’t - Lavender Haze is exactly that. Anyone desiring something comfortable and familiar, but overtly distinctive both aesthetically and sonically should look no further.” said Daniel Bordonaro, Product Director at Chicago Music Exchange.
The Andertons x Chicago Music Exchange Fender Player II RW Lavender Haze Collection is available now in limited quantities. For more information, visit Andertons Music Co. and Chicago Music Exchange.
Model Line-Up & Key Features
Player II Jazzmaster® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway with matching painted headcap
- CME “Full Dip” Jazzmaster pickups (AlNiCo 2 magnets, Non-Beveled .472, Flat Pole, +5% Turns)
- 4-way series/parallel blade selector switch
- Body pre-routed for traditional rhythm circuit installation
Player II Stratocaster® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway
- CME “Full Dip” Strat pickups (AlNiCo 2 magnets, Non-Beveled, Vintage Stagger, +5% turns)
- Strat “Blender Mod” electronics circuit for added pickup combinations
Player II Telecaster® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway
- CME “Full Dip” Tele pickups (AlNiCo 2 magnets, Non-Beveled +5% turns)
- 4-way series/parallel blade selector switch
Player II Jazz Bass® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway with matching painted headcap
- CME “Full Dip” Jazz Bass pickups with hybrid magnet design:
- Bass: AlNiCo 5 Beveled .781, Flat Pole, +5% Turns
- Treble: AlNiCo 2 Beveled, .781, Flat Pole, +5% Turns
The Lavender Haze Player II Telecaster and Stratocaster each carry a $949.99 street price. The Lavender Haze Player II Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass carry a street price of $979.99 each. For more information visit chicagomusicexchange.com.
Andertons and CME Launch the Fender Player II Lavender Haze Collection
Andertons Music Co. and Chicago Music Exchange have teamed up with Fender to introduce an exclusive new range: the Andertons x Chicago Music Exchange Fender Player II RW Lavender Haze Collection. The lineup features four classic shapes – the Jazzmaster®, Stratocaster®, Telecaster®, and Jazz Bass® – each finished in a striking, never-before-seen Lavender Haze colourway and equipped with CME’s all-new proprietary Fender “Full Dip” pickups.
Lavender Haze is a could-have-been-but-never-was finish, inspired by mid-century appliances, classic cars, and the golden era of electric guitars. Matching painted heads on the Jazz Bass® and Jazzmaster® select models complete the look, giving the series a cohesive and unmistakable visual identity.
At the heart of the Lavender Haze collection is Chicago Music Exchange’s proprietary “Full Dip” pickups, developed in collaboration with Fender and informed by decades of vintage expertise and player feedback. Built on Fender’s Vintera II pickup recipe, “Full Dip” introduces two key refinements: AlNiCo 2 magnets to smooth harsh frequencies and allow notes to bloom naturally, and 5% overwound coils to deliver added punch and grit. Each model also features unique circuit enhancements that unlock tonal options not available with standard wiring, expanding the range of these Player II instruments.
“The Player II already delivers exceptional tone, feel, and reliability, and this collaboration takes it even further. Pair that with CME’s new “Full Dip” pickups, which have real warmth and musicality, and you’ve got guitars and basses that don’t just look incredible, they inspire you to play. We’re thrilled to bring them to Andertons customers!” said Lee Anderton, Managing Partner of Andertons Music Co.
“I love to romanticize the golden years at Fender and imagine what could have been, but simply wasn’t - Lavender Haze is exactly that. Anyone desiring something comfortable and familiar, but overtly distinctive both aesthetically and sonically should look no further.” said Daniel Bordonaro, Product Director at Chicago Music Exchange.
The Andertons x Chicago Music Exchange Fender Player II RW Lavender Haze Collection is available now in limited quantities. For more information, visit Andertons Music Co. and Chicago Music Exchange.
Model Line-Up & Key Features
Player II Jazzmaster® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway with matching painted headcap
- CME “Full Dip” Jazzmaster pickups (AlNiCo 2 magnets, Non-Beveled .472, Flat Pole, +5% Turns)
- 4-way series/parallel blade selector switch
- Body pre-routed for traditional rhythm circuit installation
Player II Stratocaster® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway
- CME “Full Dip” Strat pickups (AlNiCo 2 magnets, Non-Beveled, Vintage Stagger, +5% turns)
- Strat “Blender Mod” electronics circuit for added pickup combinations
Player II Telecaster® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway
- CME “Full Dip” Tele pickups (AlNiCo 2 magnets, Non-Beveled +5% turns)
- 4-way series/parallel blade selector switch
Player II Jazz Bass® RW – Lavender Haze
- Lavender Haze colorway with matching painted headcap
- CME “Full Dip” Jazz Bass pickups with hybrid magnet design:
- Bass: AlNiCo 5 Beveled .781, Flat Pole, +5% Turns
- Treble: AlNiCo 2 Beveled, .781, Flat Pole, +5% Turns
The Lavender Haze Player II Telecaster and Stratocaster each carry a $949.99 street price. The Lavender Haze Player II Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass carry a street price of $979.99 each. For more information visit chicagomusicexchange.com.
“What could have been”: Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange team up with Fender on exclusive Lavender Haze-finished guitars and basses
UK retailer Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange have partnered with Fender on an exclusive Lavender Haze-finished line of classic guitar and bass models.
Comprising a Jazzmaster, Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazz Bass in the “never-before-seen” finish, each model also sports Chicago Music Exchange’s new proprietary Fender “Full Dip” pickups.
Developed in collaboration with Fender and informed by “decades of vintage expertise and player feedback”, these Full Dip pickups are infused with DNA from Big F’s Vintera II line, but with two key refinements: Alnico 2 magnets to smooth harsh frequencies and 5% overwound coils for “added punch and grit”.
Elsewhere, each model in the limited-edition range features unique circuit enhancements which unlock tonal options not available with standard wiring.
Described as the “could-have-been-but-never-was” finish, Lavender Haze is inspired by mid-century appliances, classic cars and the golden era of electric guitars, Andertons and CME say.
“The Player II already delivers exceptional tone, feel, and reliability, and this collaboration takes it even further,” says Lee Anderton, Managing Partner at Andertons.
“Pair that with CME’s new ‘Full Dip’ pickups, which have real warmth and musicality, and you’ve got guitars and basses that don’t just look incredible, they inspire you to play. We’re thrilled to bring them to Andertons customers!”
Credit: Andertons/Chicago Music Exchange
“I love to romanticise the golden years at Fender and imagine what could have been, but simply wasn’t – Lavender Haze is exactly that,” adds Daniel Bordonaro, Product Director at Chicago Music Exchange.
“Anyone desiring something comfortable and familiar, but overtly distinctive both aesthetically and sonically should look no further.”
The Andertons x Chicago Music Exchange Fender Player II RW Lavender Haze Collection is available now for pre-order.
For more info, you can head to Andertons or Chicago Music Exchange.
The post “What could have been”: Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange team up with Fender on exclusive Lavender Haze-finished guitars and basses appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Dave Mustaine thinks there’s a “changing of the guard” at the top of metal: “All of our elder statesmen have satisfied their roles”
2025 saw the loss of some of the metal genre’s greatest figures, including, but not limited to, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley and Mastodon’s Brent Hinds.
And in a new interview in the latest issue of Metal Hammer, as Megadeth gear up to launch their last ever album and embark on a landmark world tour to wrap things up, frontman Dave Mustaine reflects on the “changing of the guard” at the top of metal.
“All of our elder statesmen have satisfied their role as models,” he says, remembering some of the legends who have passed, both recently and in the last two decades.
“Some of the people we lost have really affected me. Lemmy [Kilmister, Motörhead frontman], [Ronnie James] Dio [Black Sabbath singer], Ozzy [Osbourne]… You hear about them going and you think, ‘No!’ That’s the way of the world now, though.”
Last year saw the passing of other legends including founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley at the age of 74, as well as some outside the metal realm including Beach Boys pioneer Brian Wilson.
Dave Mustaine himself has suffered his share of health conditions in recent years, famously revealing in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. While he confirmed that he was “100% cancer-free” the following year, in 2022 he shared that he had almost lost control of his left hand while undergoing chemotherapy.
“I wish I would have kept in touch with [late Megadeth drummer] Gar [Samuelson],” he said in a recent interview with Guitar World.
“You see that Ace Frehley passed away and how sad that is. Whenever stuff like that happens, I feel fortunate because I’m still kicking. But on the opposite side of the coin, I think, ‘Fuck… that could have been me,’ but by the grace of God, it’s not.”
Megadeth are due to commence their mammoth swansong tour on 15 February in Victoria, British Columbia, before putting on a number of Canada shows, and then heading to South America, Mexico, Europe and the US later in 2026.
But despite the band’s long list of members who have passed through the fold in the last four decades, Mustaine says former members won’t be performing with them during the tour.
“We’ve already done that with Marty,” he told Guitar World, referring to the times Marty Friedman joined the band onstage twice in 2023. “And I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with… there’s a lot of people. [laughs]
“That would be a huge undertaking. I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.’”
You can see a full list of dates on Megadeth’s upcoming final tour on their official website.
The post Dave Mustaine thinks there’s a “changing of the guard” at the top of metal: “All of our elder statesmen have satisfied their roles” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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