General Interest

Seven-string guitars belong in the pantheon of ‘extended range’ instruments. You’ll have read the same phrase in our recent guide to scale length. If we treat a six-string guitar as the norm, a guitar that opens up more sonic possibilities through longer scale length and/or additional strings is ‘extending the range’ of what we can work with.

While metal and its many sub-genres is dominated by seven-string guitars (not forgetting eight and nine-string guitars!), the creative applications for a seven-string guitar extend far beyond chugging ones and zeroes in Drop F#.

You don’t have to play metal, but it helps

While the origin of seven-string guitars can be traced back over two hundred years, in modern music the earliest incarnation can be traced to the 1930s. George Van Eps – one of the most celebrated jazz and swing guitarists to have lived – commissioned Epiphone to produce a seven-string guitar for him. Three decades later, an Eps signature electric seven-string was produced by Gretsch. His ‘lap piano’ style of playing set him apart from his counterparts and he would inspire many other jazz musicians such as Howard Alden and John Pizzarelli to adopt a seven-string in their work.

Jazz and classical held somewhat of a monopoly on the seven-string guitar. That was until the 1990s and the arrival of the Ibanez UV7 – Steve Vai’s signature guitar. It was something of a watershed moment for seven-string guitars in metal as more and more artists adopted the instrument. It was around this time that the fathers of djent, Meshuggah, would begin bludgeoning ears with their downtuned seven-strings.

In the 2000s and 2010s, the seven-string would find itself across multiple tracks by Muse, including ‘Supremacy’ and the live performance of ‘Citizen Erased’.

Finally, and this is slightly cheating, we have guitarists like Josh Martin, the innovative virtuoso of Little Tybee. While his seven-string days technically ended when he began college, his style and approach to extended range guitar is worth mentioning. Favouring an Ibanez S8, he plays using clean tones and effects, often blending ethereal arpeggio licks, glitch tapping and six-string capo placement so that the lowest strings remain open to add bassier frequencies when needed.

It’s a heavily truncated history, but hopefully these examples showcase the versatility of seven-string guitars and dispel the myth that they’re only used for metal. With all that being said, we anticipate the majority of people who have found this article are predisposed to heavier genres of music, and as such, many of the guitars in this essential guide will be made with metalheads in mind.

Is a seven-string guitar right for you?

You may still be on the fence on extended range guitars. It took four years writing and playing heavy music with my Bass VI – side note, I adore that guitar – before I decided I’d also like to experiment with a seven-string. The difference between the two cannot be overstated and there are riffs and songs I’ve written on one, that I’d never have thought to play on the other.

Playability is completely different with the different scale lengths and string gauges that you’ll find with a baritone or Bass VI, especially when coming from a six-string guitar. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading our complete guide to scale length – it will be massively helpful in understanding scale length and how it aligns with your playstyle and needs from a guitar.

But enough prep, let’s get into our recommendations for some of our favourite seven-string guitars across budget, midrange and premium price points.

Our favourite budget seven-string guitars

Price range: £150-£300

It’s good sense to diligently research any new guitar purchase, but that’s so much more true when making the switch to an extended range guitar. That extra string is going to take a little getting used to, not to mention that mutli-scale neck if you’re so inclined.

Whether driven by necessity or a concern that a seven-string might not be for you, there’s some great budget seven-string guitars on the market and we’re going to start with the one that I bought myself.

Jackson’s JS22-7 Dinky comes up a lot in threads around the best entry-level seven-string guitar and it’s easy to see why. Costing under £250 and sporting a wonderfully effective matte black finish, it’s immediately tempting. The 26.5” scale length and slim neck mean it can handle some chunky tunings while still being easy to play. The stock humbuckers are capable of producing some great high gain and clean tones and I found the tuners to be super stable. A lot of people buy the JS22-7 for a base and then swap out parts as needed, but out of the box this guitar is great value for money.

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Similar in price to the JS22-7 is ESP’s LTD MH-17 and the Ibanez GIO. Both ESP and Ibanez carry a lot of weight in the metal community and both guitars offer a solid entry point into the world of seven-strings. Unlike the Jackson, the scale length on the MH-17 and GIO is 25.5”, so anything beyond standard or Drop A may not yield the results you’re after. Aesthetically, the body finish and hardware on both these guitars offers a bit of variety if you’re not a fan of the Jackson’s all-black look.

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If the £250 mark is still a little more than you’d like to pay, the Harley Benton R-457MN WH comes in below £150 and is surely a familiar name even if you’ve done only the smallest amount of research into budget seven-strings. The price does come with some caveats. The tuners and pickups aren’t going to be the greatest and the 25.5” scale length might be off-putting if you’re looking to tune super low. All that being said, as your first foray into seven-strings it’s an unbeatable price.

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Our favourite midrange seven-string guitars

Price range = £500-£850

We’re moving away from entry-level into the territory of guitars for players with experience that are looking for a higher degree of quality. There are some great options in the £300-£500 bracket like the Cort KX307MS (£375), Schecter C-7 Deluxe (£439) or Ibanez’s RGA/RG7 series (£450). However, if you’re working with a budget of £300, I’d personally recommend looking at the £250 seven-strings we just highlighted. Similarly, at £500, you don’t have to add a huge amount on top of that budget to get a substantial upgrade. It’s why I’ve chosen to gloss over that price range.

Leading the charge on low price once again is Harley Benton, this time with their Amarok-7. Apart from looking considerably slicker than the budget R-457MN WH, the Amarok-7 sports a slim modern C profile neck, macassar fretboard (25.5” scale length) and EMG Retro Active Hot 70 pickups, among other things. It may still be lacking compared to others around this price range, but the affordability speaks volumes.

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Up your budget by almost £100 and you’ll find Schecter’s Omen Elite-7 – and there’s a lot to like about it. With a 26.5” scale length, five-way switch and Schecter’s Diamond Heretic humbuckers, the cleans are varied and the distorted tones pack a punch. The poplar burl top and colour range of the Omen Elite-7 really helps it stand apart, too.

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At £799, the Cort KX507 Multi Scale is reaching towards the top end of our budget, but it’s worth every penny. In our review, Darran Charles gave it a 9/10 saying, “…any guitarist wishing to explore the low-end while retaining sonic clarity for expansive rhythm playing will be served very well indeed by the KX507”. It’s the first multi-scale guitar we’ve covered in this guide, these can be a little intimidating at first but you’d be surprised at how quickly you adapt – especially when you’ve got those Fishman Fluence pickups delivering great tones out of the box.

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Our favourite premium seven-string guitars

Price range = £850 – £1,400

We’re actually going to start with a very affordable signature model from prog djenters, Periphery. Coming in at £879, the PRS SE Mark Holcomb SVN is a no-brainer for players looking for a versatile seven-string. Equipped with Holcomb’s excellent signature Seymour Duncan Scarlet and Scourge pickups, this guitar can croon and crush in equal measure.

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As we cross the £1K price point we have the Sterling by Music Man Kaizen 7. At £1,099, this is a much more affordable version of the Music Man x Tosin Abasi collaboration, which will set you back £2,999. While some of the premium features like the multi-scale neck or Music Man’s HT humbuckers aren’t present, the unique body and innovative Steinberger Gearless Tuners are present, as is the solid build quality. It’s a great intro to a more modern seven-string with Abasi’s flair to it.

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If a purpose-built shred machine is the order of the day, then the (deep breath) Jackson Pro Series Signature Jeff Loomis Soloist SL7 (£1,355) might be the pick for you. In our review, Darran Charles really rated how focused a creation it was, saying, “If the brief set by Jeff was to build a no-frills, no-nonsense metal guitar, then Jackson has fulfilled it with aplomb. Versatile it is not, but everything from the sparse control layout to the neck dimensions has been designed to give an eminently comfortable platform for technical gymnastics of the prog-metal persuasion.”

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Our last pick is a Superstrat, specifically the new Angel Vivaldi signature Pro-Mod Nova-7 NAT from Charvel, which was released earlier this year. At £1,366 it’s basically the same price as the Loomis signature, but this is a very different seven-string. Visually striking thanks to its natural finish and gold hardware, the Nova-7 NAT draws on Vivaldi’s explorations in Latin, funk, fusion and acoustic genres. DiMarzio Tone Zero and Air Norton pickups give this guitar a rich and versatile array of sounds, and the double-locked tremolo bridge opens up the world of dive-bombs and modulation. It’s a premium instrument, but one tailor-made to suit a player that pulls from a diverse mix of inspirations.

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The post Extending the range – the essential guide to seven-string guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

£218.99, cogginsaudio.co.uk

If you tend to judge guitar pedals by how they look, you might have a surprise coming here. The Dinosaural Hypoid Drive gives off a distinctly wild and scuzzy vibe – it actually reminds me of the cover of the first Pavement album – but this thing is about as lo-fi as the London Symphony Orchestra.

• READ MORE: EarthQuaker Devices Easy Listening review – can an amp simulator this simple actually sound good?

Could this be a deliberate attempt by Dinosaural supremo Dan Coggins, one of the most exalted figures in stompbox history, to broaden the brand’s appeal beyond the somewhat saturated market of high-class overdrives? Or to look at it another way, is he trying to throw a few blues dentists off the scent?

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive – what is it?

Coggins was the circuit designer behind the near-mythical Lovetone pedals of the 90s, but the direct origins of the Hypoid Drive don’t go back quite that far: this is the latest evolution of his first offering under the Dinosaural name, the Tube Bender of 2003. That later turned into the OPA-101, and more recently found itself repurposed as the central section of the Cogmeister boost/drive/boost leviathan. And now it’s gone solo again.

So, we’re looking at a transparent-ish overdrive pedal with a much wider gain range than most, from light crunch to something like full-on fuzz. It has controls for volume, sustain (drive) and tone, plus a three-way toggle switch for reshaping the mids. That’s one up on the two-way switch of the old Tube Bender – which is great news, because it means now I don’t have to cry every time I think of the one I used to own and idiotically sold. That is, as long as the Hypoid Drive sounds as good…

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive – what does it sound like?

It sounds as good! Not that I have the old pedal to compare it with (see above), but through a clean amp the Hypoid Drive is so instantly magical that my ears refuse to believe it could possibly be better. Tonally it’s not completely uncoloured – there’s a distinct softening of the midrange – but, combined with rounded bass and clear treble, that just serves to make everything that little bit sweeter.

The gain range is just as wide as advertised: as you crank the sustain knob you feel it morph from low-gain fluffy drive into something close to a Fuzz Face or Big Muff – and that word ‘feel’ is key here, because what this pedal does best of all is disappear under your fingers. That is, it doesn’t sound like a pedal and it doesn’t respond like one either: the dynamics are so pure, you’d swear your amp had just grown an extra gain stage (or two).

The toggle switch also exceeds expectations: the middle position is fully open, and what the left and right settings offer is effectively a choice of two kinds of dip to the lower mids. They sound very different and the thinning effect can be quite extreme, but as long as you’re judicious with the tone control it never gets trashy. I could certainly find uses for all three positions without upsetting those blues dentists.

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive – should I buy it?

You shouldn’t buy it if you don’t like overdrive pedals that sound and feel like the gods of Mount Olympus pouring nectar directly into your brain. You shouldn’t buy it if it’s out of your budget. And you probably shouldn’t buy it if you already have a Tube Bender, an OPA-101 or a Cogmeister. Beyond that, sorry – I’m all out of excuses.

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive alternatives

To be fair, there are plenty of other pedals that take transparent overdrive in a smooth and silky direction. You might also look at the Great Eastern FX Co Design-A-Drive (£229), the Silktone Overdrive+ ($269/£279) or the J.Rockett HRM V2 ($229/£239)… and let’s not forget Dan Coggins’ current day job at ThorpyFX, whose Peacekeeper (£224.99) specialises in sweet low-gain crunch.

The post Coggins Audio Dinosaural Hypoid Drive review – a high-class overdrive with a difference appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

One of the most iconic rock guitarists of our generation, Kirk Hammett—legendary guitarist of the multi-platinum-selling, nine-time GRAMMY® Award-winning band Metallica—continues his long-standing partnership with Gibson. Today, the iconic instrument brand proudly unveils its latest collaboration: a bold new acoustic from Gibson Custom. Kirk Hammett teamed up with the master luthiers at Gibson Custom in Bozeman, Montana, to create the Gibson Custom Kirk Hammett Raven, a majestic counterpart to the legendary Gibson Hummingbird™. The Kirk Hammett Raven is limited to only 100 guitars worldwide—and available at authorized Gibson dealers, Gibson Garage locations, and on www.gibson.com.

While it shares the Hummingbird’s square-shoulder silhouette, Kirk Hammett’s Raven distinguishes itself with a dark, artistic twist on the Hummingbird aesthetic. Crafted with a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides, and supported by traditional scalloped Advanced X-bracing, it delivers the timeless acoustic tone that has captivated musicians and audiences for generations. Its mahogany neck features a comfortable Round profile and is topped with a bound ebony fretboard, complete with 20 frets and mother-of-pearl star inlays. A 16" radius makes it ideal for fast, expressive playing. Grover® Rotomatic® tuners ensure reliable tuning, while TUSQ® components—including the nut, saddle, and bridge pins—enhance tonal consistency and tuning stability. The headstock showcases the Gibson logo alongside a striking mother-of-pearl raven skull inlay, reinforcing the instrument’s bold identity.

Explore the Kirk Hammett Raven on Gibson.com HERE.

This limited-edition model also pays homage to Gibson’s tradition of wildlife-inspired designs, featuring intricately crafted double pickguards and a raven-themed tailpiece accent. It’s a visual and sonic statement piece. Equipped with an L.R. Baggs™ Element VTC +4 system, the Raven is ready for both stage and studio. The discreet soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls offer easy access without disrupting the guitar’s aesthetics, and the additional 4 dB of output provides extra headroom when needed. Each Raven ships in a black Gibson Custom hardshell guitar case adorned with a matching raven skull graphic and includes a certificate of authenticity and a custom raven-themed strap. Limited to only 100 guitars, each handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana, and personally signed by Kirk Hammett on the soundhole label, this Ebony-finished acoustic is destined to become a collector’s treasure. Availability is extremely limited—secure yours before they vanish into the night.

One of the most influential metal guitarists of all time, Kirk Hammett is the lead guitarist and contributing songwriter in the trailblazing band Metallica. Kirk grew up in California and formed the group Exodus during the birth of the Bay Area thrash metal movement. In 1983, he began his now 40-year career as the lead guitarist in Metallica, selling over 125 million albums and winning multiple GRAMMY® Awards. Kirk’s first Gibson was the legendary 1979 Flying V he used on Metallica’s groundbreaking early studio albums. These days, his number one guitar is “Greeny,” the 1959 Les Paul Standard formerly owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore. Both instruments have been painstakingly recreated by Gibson for a range of tribute models.

New wired smart guitar headphones offer immersive audio and built-in amp for listening or guitar/bass practice and play

Positive Grid announces Spark NEO Core, the newest member of the Spark NEO family of smart guitar headphones. These wired headphones integrate a Spark guitar amp in a lightweight, ergonomic design that offers plug-in simplicity for electric, acoustic and bass players. Users can also enjoy onboard guitar tone presets, access to dozens of amps and effects, plus AI-powered tone generation.

Just like the original wireless Spark NEO, the new Spark NEO Core doubles as premium Bluetooth headphones that deliver rich, detailed sound for listening to music or streaming podcasts. Designed for total immersion without distraction, Spark NEO Core makes it possible to experience premium tone anywhere––from late-night guitar jamming to quiet home practice and audio streaming.Clear, Immersive Sound

Spark NEO Core shares the same premium audio engineering found in the original Spark NEO, delivering high quality sound with crisp highs, tight lows, and balanced mids.

The custom 40mm drivers are tuned for guitar and bass frequencies, so every note resonates with rich, detailed, sound—from clean melodic passages to high-gain riffs. An Advanced Bio Fiber (ABF) diaphragm enhances sound clarity and durability, ensuring consistent performance across every genre of music or instrument type.

Endless Tone Options

Spark NEO Core connects seamlessly with the Spark app, unlocking access to 33 amps, 43 effects, and thousands of community-shared presets through Positive Grid’s online ToneCloud. Additional creative tools such as backing tracks and Auto Chords enable users to learn, experiment, and expand their musical ideas effortlessly.

Guitarists can also use the app’s Spark AI feature to instantly create or discover tones by describing their desired sound. Whether chasing classic warmth, modern drive, or shimmering acoustic textures, Spark AI intelligently delivers amp and effect combinations tailored to the player’s style and needs.

Designed for Comfort and Ease

Built for extended wear, Spark NEO Core features soft, ergonomic ear cups and a lightweight construction that minimizes fatigue. The noise-isolating design enhances focus, allowing users to stay immersed in their sound without external interference.

Players can quickly connect using a standard ¼” guitar cable*, for immediate performance and authentic Spark tone. Onboard controls allow fast access to four customizable preset tones and quick volume adjustments.

Long-lasting BatteryPower

With up to 6–8 hours of battery life and USB-C charging, Spark NEO Core supports everything from brief warm-ups to long creative sessions or podcast streaming.

Spark NEO Core comes in a classic black finish and is available for USD $159 through Positive Grid’s online store. It’s also available through Amazon and authorized music dealers worldwide.

For more information about Spark NEO Core, visit positivegrid.com/pages/spark-neo-core.

To see the entire Spark NEO family, visit positivegrid.com/pages/spark-neo-series.

What would one be most likely to discover in the basement of an old house in rural Alaska, deemed unfit for occupancy by local authorities? Smoked fish? A dog sled? A rare, possibly one-of-a-kind, turn-of-the-century banjo?

That’s exactly where this 1911 Vega Tubaphone tenor banjo was before it arrived at Fanny’s House of Music. It came by way of a local Alaskan musician who was helping move things out of the condemned house and found this instrument—over a century old, but looking as if it had left the factory earlier that week.

The rabbit holes of vintage banjo identification are myriad. It’s a Vega because of the stamp on the dowel rod, but why does it also say “Fairbanks Banjo made by Vega?” The serial number dates it to 1911, and of the banjo models Vega produced at that time—the Regent, the Imperial Electric, the Whyte Laydie, and the Tubaphone—this one is clearly a Tubaphone. Except Tubaphones never had an elaborate gryphon peghead inlay, so how can it be a Tubaphone? When did Vega switch from a grooved stretcher band to a notched one? And what the heck is a stretcher band, again?

That’s when it’s time to bring in the big guns.

Enter Karl Smakula, friend of Fanny’s and third-generation banjo expert. His grandfather Peter H. Smakula heard Pete Seeger in the 1950s and immediately bought himself a Kay banjo. He began repairing instruments and building banjos, eventually opening his own music store, where his son Bob also worked. Bob went on to open Smakula Fretted Instruments in 1989, where his son Karl also worked. Suffice it to say, if it’s a banjo, Karl and his family probably know about it.

“I would have never said the gryphon inlay was used on a Tubaphone until I saw this one,” says Karl. “My dad, who has seen everything, has never seen this.”

In the early 1900s, Vega was focused on guitars, mandolins, and brass instruments, but they were aware of the growing popularity of the banjo. The A.C. Fairbanks Banjo Company, a widely respected banjo maker, suffered a devastating fire in 1904 and made for a timely acquisition by Vega. (“After which Fairbanks made a hard pivot to bicycle parts,” reveals Karl.)

Vega kept making the Fairbanks Whyte Laydie model, retaining the intricate gryphon peghead inlay and scalloped tone ring. In 1909, they introduced a new model called the Tubaphone, with a leafy “flowerpot” inlay and a brand new tone ring design featuring a sequence of holes drilled into the side. Where the Whyte Laydie sounded sweet and refined, the Tubaphone was louder and more aggressive. It quickly made a splash among banjo players, as this customer letter from the 1912 Vega catalog shows: “I have tried them all but from now on it will be a TU-BA-PHONE and nothing else for me. Refer any inquiries you like to me ... and I will show them what a real banjo is.” Banjo players have always been an opinionated bunch!

Tubaphones are still highly valued among old-time musicians today, although it is important to note they were intended for what’s called “classic” banjo playing when first produced. Derived from classical guitar playing, it uses bare fingers and gut strings. While this style is little practiced these days, it doesn’t take a big intellectual leap to see how classic banjo combined with African banjo playing, jazz, and two-finger style to form the bluegrass “Scruggs” style we’re familiar with today.

“This old gal made it from rural Alaska to Nashville, nearly stumping two generations of banjo experts.”

“This banjo’s had a life, that’s for sure,” says Karl with a laugh. Karl noted the dowel stick at the end of the neck matches the rim, indicating the neck and gryphon inlay are, improbably, original to this Vega Tubaphone. “It shows they were figuring out what they were doing.”

This old gal made it from rural Alaska to Nashville, nearly stumping two generations of banjo experts. It’s in superb condition, and everyone who takes it for a spin at Fanny’s agrees with the 1912 Vega catalog, which proclaims, “There is Tone Value to the Vega with which every player should become acquainted. To know and realize that Vega Construction is the easiest way to advancement means that your future Musical Prosperity is assured.” It’s safe to predict the Tubaphone will be assuring musical prosperity for another 114 years at least.

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Today’s featured giveaway: the SoloDallas Orbiter Fuzz. Vintage‑inspired (by the 1966 Arbiter Fuzz Face) yet modernized with a unique bias circuit, “Sweet Spot” internal adjustment, and rugged road‑ready build.

SoloDallas Orbiter Fuzz

Discover the SoloDallas Orbiter Fuzz, a meticulously crafted effects pedal designed to combine genuine vintage tones with user-friendly versatility. Building upon the legacy of the 1966 Arbiter Fuzz, the Orbiter Fuzz adds fine-tuning circuitry to this already amazing vintage circuit.

• Vintage Tone: The Orbiter Fuzz promises immediate inspiration with a range of smooth musical fuzz tones that sing out with cutting sustain.
• Vintage Power: Our unique power circuit internally converts modern wall power to emulate the draw of a vintage carbon zinc battery.
• "Sweet Spot" Dial: We included an internal mini potentiometer to dial in the perfect impedance response for your favorite pickups.

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has teamed up with the master luthiers at Gibson Custom in Bozeman, Montana, to introduce the Kirk Hammett Raven, a “majestic counterpart” to the firm’s legendary Hummingbird model. 

Limited to 100 guitars worldwide – and consequently priced at a handsome £4,399 – the guitar shares the Hummingbird’s square-shoulder shape, but sets itself apart with a “dark, artistic twist on the Hummingbird aesthetic”.

• READ MORE: “Do you want heavy?!” Remind yourself why Metallica’s Sad But True is one of the hardest-hitting classic metal riffs in this new pro-shot live video

Supported by a traditional scalloped Advanced X-bracing, the Kirk Hammett Raven sports a Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides, with a round-profile mahogany neck topped with a 20-fret bound ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl star inlays.

Grover Rotomatic tuners complete the spec sheet, alongside TUSQ components – including the nut, saddle and bridge pins – ensure tonal consistency and tuning stability.

Where this instrument really stands out, though, is in its visual appointments. The Kirk Hammett Raven pays homage to Gibson’s tradition of wildlife-inspired designs, with an intricately ornate double pickguard, raven-themed tailpiece accent and a striking mother-of-pearl raven skull inlay in the headstock.

The guitar is also bolstered by an L.R. Baggs Element VTC +4 electronics system, with discreet volume and tone controls located inside the soundhole. They offer “easy access without disrupting the guitar’s aesthetics”, plus an additional 4dB of output for extra headroom when needed.

Each Kirk Hammett Raven ships with a black Gibson Custom hardshell guitar case decorated with a matching raven skull graphic, as well as a certificate of authenticity and custom raven-themed strap. In a very cool touch, too, each guitar is hand-signed by Kirk Hammett himself on the soundhole label.

“This Ebony-finished acoustic is destined to become a collector’s treasure,” says Gibson. “Availability is extremely limited – secure yours before they vanish into the night.”

While these days much talk of Kirk Hammett’s guitar collection centres around Greeny, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard formerly owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and Gary Moore, he certainly has a penchant for gothic six-strings, including his White Zombie and Ouija ESP signature models, which are staples in his Metallica live arsenal.

Learn more about the Kirk Hammett Raven at Gibson.

The post “Secure yours before they vanish into the night”: Gibson reveals the Kirk Hammett Raven acoustic, a super-limited “audacious counterpart” to the Hummingbird appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Since it was first introduced in 1958, Vox has released myriad iterations of the AC15 combo—built variously in England and Asia, and offered in both hand-wired and PCB formats. The new AC15 Hand-Wired suggests a strictly old-school ethos, but several of its features—most notably a move from EF86 to 12AX7 preamp tubes—are deviations from vintage form. That does result in a different feel in some situations; at times it sounds and feels more like a half-power, 1x12 AC30 than a vintage AC15. But this iteration is arguably more flexible than its predecessor, too.

Channel Crossing

Given the microphonic tendencies of EF86 tubes, the switch to 12AX7s is an intriguing and practical move. Elsewhere among the tube complement, there’s a 12AT7 for the preamp and phase-inverter, two EL84s in the output stage for 15 watts RMS, and a GZ34 tube rectifier. It’s all housed in a classic Vox combo cab measuring 22 1/4"x23 1/4"x1 1/2".

The AC15 Hand-Wired’s normal channel has just a single knob for volume. But its voicing can be tweaked via a bright switch and the tone cut knob in the master section, and there’s also a boost switch to increase gain. The top boost channel features volume and dedicated treble and bass controls, but no boost or bright switch. Both channels have high and low inputs, and the latter can be handy for taming hot humbucker-equipped guitars.

The fine-tuning capabilities of the amp extend to the footswitchable, tube-driven, spring reverb circuit, which has a tone control in addition to its level, enabling you to fine-tune the frequency emphasis of the reverb itself. Send and return jacks for the effects loop—along with a bypass switch and a –10/+4 dB level switch for compatibility with both rack and pedal effects—are smartly positioned along the lower edge of the upper-back panel, rather than on the underside of the chassis. Dual speaker-outs have an impedance switch for 8- and 16-ohm operation. (The combo’s Vox-labeled Celestion Alnico Blue requires the latter.)

Vox was careful to reproduce the windings of a vintage AC15 output transformer circa 1963, which results in a heftier chunk of metal than you might expect in an amp this size. Vox makes up some of that weight by using slightly thinner plywood for the cabinet walls, which are just less than 1/2" in thickness—matching vintage specifications and, in Vox’s estimation, enhancing resonance and dimensionality. As with many AC15s past, the transformer and alnico speaker help push this new edition to 50 lbs, making for a surprisingly heavy combo of this size and output power. It might have been nice for Vox to slim things down. On the other hand, the amp might lose what turns out to be a strong, audible vintage spirit without those heavier design elements.

Chiming In

Paired with a Gibson ES-335 and a Fender Telecaster, the AC15 Hand-Wired plated up many impressive slices of vintage Vox tone, with plenty more versatility on top. With all knobs at noon and the boost and bright switches on the normal channel engaged, the two channels sound remarkably similar. There might be just a touch more grind and sparkle on the top boost side, but it’s close! At these levels, both channels still summon plenty of break up with a Telecaster. Switching to the ES-335’s humbuckers predictably kicks the overdrive up a notch at the same settings.

The boost switch on the normal channel isn’t always a breeze to manage. It delivers a pretty big jump in gain and, with it, a slightly ragged edge at some settings. With both boost and bright switches down, though, the normal channel is rich, warm, and muscular, and makes an excellent, adaptable platform for gain pedals (in my case an Analogman Prince of Tone and a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe). Knock this normal channel volume up to around 2 o’clock and it segues into toothsome sounds that dip into clipping under heavier pick attack.

Arguably the most delectable tones are found in the top boost channel with all three knobs set to around 11 o’clock. Here, the AC15 Hand-Wired achieves its closest approximation of vintage Vox tone: chewy midrange, lots of chime and sparkle in the highs, and a dynamic edge-of-breakup touch sensitivity that you can control and vary via pick attack. Cranked up, the top boost channel roars with a throaty, shimmery vintage lead tone, although at the expense of the delectable dimension and clarity achieved at lower volumes.

The amp’s master volume, by the way, is very effective at tailoring the AC15 Hand-Wired for a range of room requirements, and is essential for smaller venues. This amp is loud when maxed—probably a lot louder than you’d expect from a 15-watt 1x12" combo—which is another classic characteristic of the AC15. It’s worth noting that things can get a little ratty with the master below 10 o’clock and either channel volume up high, but that’s par for the course with such circuits.

The Verdict

Vox’s new AC15 Hand-Wired combo does a good job of capturing much of the vintage-voiced spirit of the classic while offering many features that are must-haves for modern guitarists less burdened by complete vintage correctness. And if it’s not a point-perfect reproduction, it honors the sound and spirit of the original—and looks the part onstage, too.

Time to start training for your local rock and roll marathon: Foo Fighters have confirmed their first stadium tour since the massive 2023-2024 Everything or Nothing at All run that sold out football and baseball fields the world over. Kicking off August 4 at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, the new tour will see Foo Fighters bringing the maximum volume euphoria of the band’s recent surprise US club gigs and overseas outdoor / arena spectaculars to a total of 12 North American cities, concluding (for now) September 26 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

Queens of the Stone Age will be direct support on all dates except September 12 in Fargo.

General on sale for all shows is Friday, October 31 at 10am local time. Don’t sleep on information re: tickets, pre-sales and more at foofighters.com

If that’s not enough good news for you, today sees the release of new Foo Fighters song “Asking for a Friend.” Featuring a decidedly darker melodic approach than the smash hit “Today’s Song,” “Asking for a Friend” ratchets up the energy and intensity of its predecessor in favor of hypnotic opening verses that build and explode into impassioned refrains of “What is real? I’m asking for a friend…” By the time the song's final breakneck rave-up screeches to a halt with a throat-shredding “Or is this the end?”, FF fans of all ages will find themselves joyfully bludgeoned into submission.

Dave Grohl wrote at length about inspiration for the new music and upcoming tour, in a post that read in part:

"Since our return to the stage in San Luis Obispo five weeks ago, we have been reminded of why we love and are forever devoted to doing this Foo Fighters thing. From reuniting as a band and staring at a list of 30 years worth of songs to brush off, to reimagining versions with the incredible blessing of the one and only Ilan Rubin behind the drums, to reconnecting with our amazing fans and blasting them with everything we’ve got (no matter the size of the venue) because we would not be here without them, we have the most solid core. And the sun is finally rising over the horizon.

What better way to share the view than with close friends?

In 1992 I first saw the legendary Kyuss perform at the Off Ramp in Seattle and met Mr. Josh Homme. The band were friends of a friend, and before long their album Blues for the Red Sun became the soundtrack to that summer. 33 years later and with many miles behind us, I have shared some of my life’s most rewarding musical moments with my dear friend, Josh. A lifelong bond that goes far beyond the sound we’ve made together. So it is with great happiness that we can share this next chapter together with his almighty Queens of the Stone Age.

Take cover.

But none of this would be complete without new music to share from Pat, Nate, Chris, Rami, Ilan and I. ‘Asking for a Friend’ is a song for those who have waited patiently in the cold, relying on hope and faith for their horizon to appear. Searching for ‘proof’ when hanging by a wish until the sun shines again.

One of many songs to come…”

To read the full statement, go to https://FooFighters.lnk.to/DG-TakeCover

Many more shows to come as well -- keep an eye out for impending announcements and sign up to the mailing list at: foofighters.com to stay inFFormed.

Foo Fighters are Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Ilan Rubin.

FOO FIGHTERS

2026 Stadium Tour

August 4 — Toronto ON — Rogers Stadium
August 6 — Detroit MI — Ford Field
August 8 — Chicago IL — Soldier Field
August 10 — Cleveland OH — Huntington Bank Field
August 13 — Philadelphia PA — Lincoln Financial Field
August 15 — Nashville TN — Nissan Stadium
August 17 — Washington DC — Nationals Park
September 12 — Fargo ND — Fargodome
September 15 — Regina SK — Mosaic Stadium
September 17 — Edmonton AB — Commonwealth Stadium
September 20 — Vancouver BC — BC Place
September 26 — Las Vegas NV — Allegiant Stadium

Fans can sign up for Artist Presales now through Sunday, October 26 at 11:59pm PT.

If you are already on Foo Fighters Newsletter, sign up using the same email address at https://livemu.sc/foofighterslist for first access to tickets during the Newsletter Artist Presale. Tickets will be available beginning on Tuesday, October 28 at 10am local time

If you are not signed up to Foo Fighters Newsletter, sign up at https://livemu.sc/foofighters for access to the General Artist Presale. General Artist Presale begins on Wednesday, October 29 at 10am local time.

Fender has endowed blues maestro Christone “Kingfish” Ingram with a newly finished version of his signature Telecaster Deluxe.

Dubbed the Kingfish Delta Day Telecaster Deluxe – for his Mississippi Delta origins and strong delta blues roots – the new guitar is, specs-wise – the same as his previous Mississippi Night-finished Telecaster Deluxe which arrived in 2022, but now sports a Daphne Blue finish plus a three-ply white Parchment pickguard.

• READ MORE: Do all the coolest guitars come out of Japan? Meet the HZK1, a souped-up 7-string signature model for Nemophila shredder Hazuki

Otherwise, the guitar’s spec sheet features an alder body with a gloss urethane finish, dual Custom Kingfish humbucking pickups – controlled via two volume pots, two tones and a three-way toggle switch – and an Adjusto-Matic with an anchored tailpiece.

The Delta Day Telecaster Deluxe, like its predecessor, also rocks a V-shape roasted maple neck with a 21-fret slab rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays, satin urethane neck finish and ’70s Style headstock.

There’s also a custom serialised neck plate with Kingfish’s logo, for a little bit of extra visual eye candy.

“Recognised at a young age for his exceptional musical talent, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram’s path has taken him from hometown hero to global star,” says Fender.

“Christone’s raw and inspired guitar playing, soulful vocals and mature songwriting have captured the imagination of legions of new fans and fellow musicians alike, propelling him to become the face of a new generation of blues artists.”

You can watch Kingfish take his new Delta Day Telecaster Deluxe for a spin in a new episode of From the Factory Floor with Fender below. Watch him perform Voodoo Charm, Bad Like Me and Nothin’ But Your Love:

Last month, we caught up with Kingfish to ask him to name his six most influential blues guitar albums of all time. BB King, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny “Guitar” Watson all got mentioned, as well as the unexpected guitarist he calls a “prophet”.

The Kingfish Delta Day Telecaster Deluxe is available now, priced at $2,249.99 / £2,599.

For more info, head to Fender.

The post Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is one of today’s top blues guitarists – do yourself a favour and watch him rip some tasty licks on his new Fender Delta Day Telecaster Deluxe appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of guitar and bass pickups, effects pedals, and pedal amps, is proud to announce The JB Jr. for Tele® is now available to order from seymourduncan.com and from authorized Seymour Duncan dealers.

The JB Jr. for Tele

The legendary JB tone, now reimagined for Telecasters. The JB Jr. for Tele brings high output, tonal versatility, and signature harmonic richness to your Tele bridge, all in a single-coil-sized humbucker design.

Seymour Duncan is proud to offer this special pickup set featuring:

• Design: Single-coil-sized side-by-side humbucker for Telecaster bridge position.
• Magnet Type: Ceramic.
• Output: High-output design for powerful and dynamic tones.
• Wiring: 4-conductor lead wire, enabling series, parallel, and split coil wiring options.
• Compatibility: Fits most standard Telecaster bridge single-coil routs.
• Construction: Hand-built in Santa Barbara, CA, and vacuum wax potted for squeal-free performance.

MAP pricing: $129.00

Looking for a way to inject your Telecaster® with the raw power and versatility of Seymour Duncan’s legendary JB humbucker? The JB Jr. for Tele® is here to deliver. Designed specifically for Telecaster bridge routs, this single-coil-sized humbucker captures the beloved punch, harmonic sparkle, and searing highs that made the original JB a classic.

For decades, the Seymour Duncan JB humbucker has been the go-to pickup for guitarists across countless genres. Its distinct sound has shaped iconic tracks and defined legendary performances. The JB Jr. for Tele continues this legacy, bringing that same tonal magic to the timeless simplicity of the Telecaster.

Whether you’re chasing the sounds of legendary players or crafting your unique voice, the JB Jr. for Tele captures the spirit and flexibility of the classic JB.

It rhymes with cello for a reason—EHX’s new attack filter lends beautiful blooms to every note.

Electro-Harmonix is excited to introduce the Pico Swello Attack Envelope pedal. Inspired by the legendary POG2 ATTACK slider, the core effect of the Swello is a polyphonic attack filter which applies individual volume swells to each note you played, even within chords and through sustained arpeggios. This unique effect is paired with an adjustable Low Pass Filter for smooth swells and envelope filter-style effects.

Housed in EHX’s Pico-sized chassis, the Swello has a simple four knob/one button layout. VOL adjusts the overall output of the pedal while ATTACK sets the attack envelope time. Low ATTACK settings attenuate just the initial attack of your instrument, while higher settings offer epic, long note swells. The Low Pass Filter is controlled by the FILTER button as well as the FREQ and MOD knobs. FILTER engages the LPF and applies an adjustable high or low resonance setting. The FREQ knob sets the cutoff frequency of the LPF and the MOD knob controls the depth and direction of the filter modulation akin to an envelope filter. Turn MOD up from noon for an upward filter sweep or down from noon for a downward filter sweep.

The EHX Pico Swello comes equipped with a standard EHX 9 Volt power supply. It will be available Mid-September and features a U.S. Street Price of $149.50.

Few heavy metal riffs hit quite like Metallica’s Sad But True. Sure, there have been many metal subgenres since its release with the Black Album in 1991 which arguably blow its ‘heavy factor’ out the water, but those stomping D standard chugs that follow the intro’s precipitous chord hang just smack differently.

So every time we see Metallica have uploaded a new pro-shot live performance of the track, you can bet we’re watching it on repeat (even if just to relive the time I saw the song live at Twickenham Stadium in June 2019…)

• READ MORE: Predictable: Korn just released a pedal which channels the guitar tone of their landmark album – but it’s already sold out

The latest pro-shot performance comes after the band’s recent set at San Francisco’s Chase Center, during Salesforce’s annual Dreamfest fundraising event, which raises money for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

Available in glorious 60fps, the video sees frontman James Hetfield asking fans (for the thousandth time, probably): “Do you want heavy?!” to which the crowd responds with stadium-filling rapturous noise. We can’t quite make it out, but we reckon there were a few yes’s in there…

Following Lars Ulrich’s four-count, Hetfield and Kirk Hammett enter with the track’s suspenseful opening power chords – armed with a black ESP Snakebyte and Jackson Rhoads model, respectively.

And when that mega riff finally lands, you’re taken back for the thousandth time to the first time you heard it. Sort of like a comfort blanket that punches you in the face.

Anyway, that’s enough rambling from us, let the performance speak for itself…

Metallica performed a 12-song set during the event, which also saw a performance from pop megastar Benson Boone.

The set was entirely populated by the classics, with Creeping Death as the opener, followed by For Whom The Bell Tolls, Fuel and The Memory Remains, and closed out with Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman. Take a look at the full setlist below.

1. Creeping Death
2. For Whom The Bell Tolls
3. Fuel
4. The Memory Remains
5. The Unforgiven
6. Sad But True
7. Wherever I May Roam
8. Nothing Else Matters
9. Seek & Destroy
10. One
11. Master Of Puppets
12. Enter Sandman

The annual Dreamfest benefit concert has previously seen performances from Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and many more. Since its inaugural event in 2010, the shows have raised $120 million for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.

Metallica’s M72 World Tour continues, with an Australia/New Zealand leg set to kick off on 1 November in Perth, and a string of Europe shows planned for summer 2026.

View a full list of the band’s upcoming tour dates at Metallica.com.

The post “Do you want heavy?!” Remind yourself why Metallica’s Sad But True is one of the hardest-hitting classic metal riffs in this new pro-shot live video appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Japan gets all the cool guitar toys once again. Ibanez has just unveiled the HZK1, a seven-string RG signature for Nemophila and Koiai metal guitarist Hazuki – and yes, it’s a Japan-only release.

Visually, the HZK1 is an absolute stunner. The HZK1 pairs a turquoise stone-inspired spalted maple top with an alder body, creating a guitar that’s equally striking on stage as it is on display.

• READ MORE: Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer Ad guitar becomes the sixth most expensive ever sold at nearly $3 million – here are the five that sold for even more

Under the hood, the HZK1 is all about shredding comfort. The ultra-thin Wizard-7 neck is made from a five-piece maple/wenge laminate, while the bound rosewood fingerboard boasts Luminlay side dots, stainless steel frets, and Ibanez’s signature fret edge treatment. Offset mother-of-pearl inlays add a subtle touch of elegance amid the metal mayhem.

Tonally, the HZK1 is just as formidable. Two Fishman Fluence Modern active humbuckers in chrome cover everything from searing leads to chunky riffs, while the Lo-Pro Edge 7 bridge delivers Floyd Rose-style dive-bombs without compromising your tuning.

Notably, the HZK1 also comes without a tone knob, a tweak Hazuki requested after repeatedly hitting it with her strumming hand. Coupled with its lightweight design, this change lets her tackle hours-long sets with far less fatigue.

“The RG was my sidekick when I was a music student; I have a lot of memories with it,” says Hazuki. “I have played many guitars, but the RG sounds exactly the way I want a guitar to sound… This guitar has changed my playing on stage so much.”

At ￥440,000, the HZK1 is priced for serious collectors – and heartbreakingly, only available in Japan. For everyone else, it’s a bittersweet reminder that some of the coolest Ibanez signatures seem destined to stay an island affair.

Check out the HZK1 in action below.

Learn more at Ibanez.

The post Do all the coolest guitars come out of Japan? Meet the HZK1, a souped-up 7-string signature model for Nemophila shredder Hazuki appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Slash apparently isn’t sold on the idea of Guns N’ Roses ever taking on a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, an immersive venue in the heart of the world’s entertainment capital.

Since opening in 2023, the $2.3 billion, state-of-the-art venue has hosted residencies from U2, Phish, the Eagles, and even the Backstreet Boys. A second Sphere venue has also been confirmed for Abu Dhabi.

• READ MORE: Slash confirms that he didn’t like this iconic Guns N’ Roses song: “I have to admit I did have a thing with it”

Speaking on a recent episode of SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Slash says that while the Sphere “looks amazing”, he’s skeptical about whether the experience fits the raw spirit of a rock gig. Asked if Guns N’ Roses could ever take on a residency at the venue, the guitarist’s answer was less than enthusiastic.

“Everything that I’ve seen, or most everything that I’ve seen of it, looks amazing,” he says [via NME]. “I’m real trepidatious about playing there, because…it’s a great visual show. I think that in almost every case for a band, it becomes a visual show as opposed to seeing a rock and roll show. So there’s that.”

He adds that after speaking with Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh – whose band performed at the Sphere – his doubts only grew stronger.

“[My concern] is that it’s not really sort of rock and roll friendly, the way that it’s set up. So it’s just one of those things where it seems like a really cool thing and conceptually there’s probably a lot of cool things that you could do, but I don’t think it would be the right environment for a proper rock and roll show.”

Still, the guitarist admits there’s at least one band that could make it work: Metallica.

“I could see them doing it because I can imagine them… because you have to prepare your mind to put on not just a band performance, but 50 per cent of what you’re doing is going to be the projection, or whatever you call that – the outer wall…what you’re putting on as content,” Slash says.

“And so that is something that’s gonna be the main focus of your show and the main focus of what everybody’s gonna be looking at. And so you have to sort of get into that mindset, and I think that’s hard for us to go that far into it. But we’ll see. Maybe down the road.”

The post “It’s not really rock and roll friendly”: Slash doubts Guns N’ Roses will ever play the Las Vegas Sphere, but names the metal band he reckons would pull it off appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Been a Korn fan since the early days? Guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer has unveiled the Indigo Sludge Preamp + Fuzz, a limited-edition pedal that captures the heavy, fuzzed-out tones of the band’s first records.

Designed to channel the same high-gain aggression and woolly fuzz that powered Korn’s landmark debut album and 1996’s Life Is Peachy, the pedal brings the rawness of the band’s Indigo Ranch sessions straight to your pedalboard.

• READ MORE: “We’re going on a pedal quest!”: This YouTuber has created a Dungeons & Dragons inspired pedalboard game – and we wanna play…

Limited to just 500 units, the Indigo Sludge combines a searing high-gain preamp section with a fuzz circuit based on the same modded pedals used during Korn’s mid-’90s recording sessions with producer Ross Robinson.

The result is that unmistakable down-tuned aggression, sustain-heavy distortion, and the same “preamp roar and fuzzed chaos” that fuelled classics like Blind and Shoots and Ladder – all housed in a compact, road-ready enclosure.

Visually, the pedal mirrors the intensity of Korn’s early era with a striking red-and-black design. It offers a full EQ section with Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain, Volume, and Presence controls, plus independent fuzz parameters that let players shape the balance between tight crunch and full-blown sonic sludge. There’s also an octave switch for extra low-end depth – perfect for down-tuned chugs and subterranean riffs.

True bypass switching and standard 9V power ensure easy pedalboard integration, while a rugged chassis makes the Indigo Sludge ready for the stage or studio alike.

The Indigo Sludge isn’t just “‘inspired by’ Korn’s tone. It’s built on the same ingredients that forged it,” says the band.

“It really takes me back to the days of the Indigo Ranch,” Munky adds.

Priced at $250, each pedal comes with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Munky himself and is available exclusively through Korn’s official website.

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Learn more at Korn’s website.

The post Predictable: Korn just released a pedal which channels the guitar tone of their landmark album – but it’s already sold out appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Two Octobers ago, on Friday the thirteenth, Creeper released their third album, Sanguivore, a sprawling, electrifying glam-rock concept record centring on vampires. This Halloween, they’re following it up with Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death. Writing a sequel was new territory, especially for a band who, much like their chosen subject matter, tends to kill off and rebuild their artistic iterations after each record. “I imagine Creeper like American Horror Story,” guitarist Ian Miles tells Guitar.com. “It’s the same cast, but a different theme per season. And this is Season Sanguivore.”

• READ MORE: The Last Dinner Party’s Emily Roberts on why she decided to embrace her most “outrageous” guitar impulses on new album From The Pyre

Sanguivore II doesn’t continue the first record’s storyline, but instead pivots to exploring a different set of characters within this fictional universe. Set against the backdrop of the Satanic Panic, Sanguivore II follows a hedonistic vampire rock band, played by Creeper, as they’re chased by a vampire hunter called the Mistress of Death. Bodybuilder Sarah Page takes on the character of the “anti-hero,” as Miles calls her. “We were very typical cliché rock stars, and so it’s the Mistress’s job to hunt us down and end our reign of terror,” Miles elaborates. “Will [Gould, frontman] was really keen on the idea of it being a powerful female to turn that role on its head.”

Creeper often play with conventions – particularly regarding gender and sexuality – in their music and visuals. “We’re not a serious political band, but we like to challenge when we can,” Miles explains. That comes from the hardcore scenes they grew up in. “Ethics has always been deeply ingrained in everything we do. But that’s not what we’re telling you,” Miles laughs. “What you’re getting is silly gay vampires dressing up and running around and drinking vials of blood like they’re cocaine.” He’s referring to the music video for Blood Magick (It’s a Ritual), which subverts rock’n’roll excess.

In the opening of Blood Magick, after the swaggering guitars, and before the verse kicks in, “There’s that little motorbike revving guitar part, and then a squeal,” guitarist Lawrie Pattison details. It allowed him to tap into a particular sound. “I just have a lot of fun doing that kind of shit,” Pattison explains. “That’s where the virtuosos I got into when I was a teenager – like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani and Frank Zappa – that’s where those guys come into my playing style a little bit more. That’s what works really well for this record, because it’s that eighties metal vibe.”

Sanguivore II leans into that era and embraces bigger, pop-style singalong choruses than its predecessor. “We wanted to make this record more anthemic, more of a hard rock record,” Miles says. It also marks a shift in tone between the two Sanguivores. “We’ve gone from a jack-o’-lantern to a plastic pumpkin,” Miles laughs.

They’ve dialled up the humour, which has always been integral to Creeper. “In this band, we’re a bunch of goofballs, aren’t we?” Miles asks his bandmate. “We’re a bunch of idiots.”

“When the six of us are together, it’s just chaos, but very silly,” Pattison agrees. “It sounds like a bunch of kids in a playground.”

Pattison had been a session player for Creeper since 2021 and joined the band full-time shortly after the release of Sanguivore. “After touring Sanguivore I with Lawrie fresh in the band, we felt like we unlocked a new part of Creeper with dual guitar work,” Miles says. “We never really had that before.”

They were then able to take Creeper’s guitar playing to another level. “We’ve worked on harmonized parts together purposefully built for the live setting, to try and put fucking those big guitars back in rock music,” Miles enthuses.

Having two guitarists opened up a lot of new possibilities, whether it’s playing at the same time or more of a back-and-forth, like for the solo on blistering single Headstones. “It feels like a question-and-answer, that classic call-and-response thing,” Pattison adds.

For Sanguivore II, and playing live with Creeper, Pattison has stuck to Charvels. “The first time I played the Charvel, must have been a couple years back now, [I] just had a quick little go on one in the music shop, and was just like, ‘Man, I feel like it’s been custom built for me,’” he elaborates.

Miles alternated on his choice for guitar. “There was something about holding that white Gibson James Hetfield Explorer in the studio, and lots of the rhythm, the big chuggy parts, I was just like, ‘Oh, this feels just right,’” Miles says. He opted for his Gordon Smith on the lead parts.

And the album does feature some intense lead parts. The nearly six-and-a-half-minute epic album closer, Pavor Nocturnus, showcases Creeper at their most expansive – it has an interlude that runs close to two minutes, going from sweeping piano accented by strings to a wailing guitar solo to dramatic choir vocals. “The outro was going to be shorter, and then we were both just like, ‘We need more time for our solos,’ because we felt like we were rushing them,” Pattison recalls. “Initially, we just went once around the chord progression each and we were both like, ‘Nah, we’re gonna have to double this,’ double both of the guitar solos, double the piano solo as well.’”

It’s a suitably grand conclusion for the album, capturing the band’s all-out approach to music, as well as narrative and worldbuilding. In the same spooky blood-soaked vein, we asked Miles and Pattison to pick their five favourite scary records for Halloween:

Misfits – Famous Monsters (1999)

Miles: “The first visual representation [of Misfits] I saw when I was younger was the video for Scream! which is obviously massively Halloween-coded. It’s the first video I ever saw with blood in it. So that was a big first look into… horror music in general. And seeing that video when I was younger, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is like all the B movies that I grew up watching secretly away from my mum’s eye.’”

Slipknot – Iowa (2001)

Pattison: “I remember seeing Slipknot videos on TV when I was a kid, and it was before I really knew their music, and this was when some of their videos could only be shown past 10 p.m.

“I turned the TV down a little bit because, you know when you’re watching a horror movie, and you’re like, ‘If I turn the sound down, it’s not scary anymore’? I don’t know what age I would have been, but I remember seeing it and being kind of freaked out… It’s just so hectic, visually. To be fair, that was probably before I’d really gotten into horror movies in general. It’s weird to think that it was probably bands more so than movies that became a gateway into horror movies for me.”

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads (1996)

Miles: “That flips what we’ve been talking about on its head in terms of, aesthetically, it’s just some dudes wearing suits, but the music on that record – you don’t need a visual… It conjures up the image in your head, and it lets your imagination do the work. And the content of the songs is scary. I remember [the] first time, listening to that record. I just had to stop and sit and listen to the words and be like, ‘Oh my God. He’s getting away with writing lyrics like this? They’re literally all about killing people.’ And some of them are so beautifully subtle as well. That record is aggressive, scary, dark and timeless.”

AFI – All Hallow’s EP (1999)

Miles: “They just opened my eyes to a whole new view of music, rather than it just being something that I would sit and listen to and enjoy sonically, it added a new element of visuals to it for me, which has become, obviously, super important with where we are as a band… Marrying the image and the audio is something that resonated with me from being a big movie nerd as well and it’s like, ‘Oh, people do that with music.’”

Honourable Mention: The Cramps – Off the Bone (1983)

Miles: “I listened to The Cramps [for the first time], and I was like, ‘This is fucking sick.’ And I could see why the likes of Tiger Army and AFI reference The Cramps, because you can hear it in their music, the more psychedelic surf-rock and the fucking punk rock attitude that The Cramps have.”

Creeper – Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death (2025)

Pattison: “I think the stuff that I do like about Halloween is the stuff I liked about Halloween when I was a kid, and it is the more kitsch, silly, fun things, rather than the really horrific horror stuff. And I think that’s the cool thing about this record, is that it’s just fun… The video for Prey For The Night does that so well, because it’s fun and it’s silly, but you can still see the horror elements in there. It’s still a vampire story.”

The post “We’ve gone from a jack-o’-lantern to a plastic pumpkin:” Creeper on the best horror-themed albums appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Adrian Belew has spent his career on the cutting edge of guitar sounds, inventing the most forward-thinking tones to ever appear on record. His work as a solo artist and with King Crimson would be enough to land him on every guitarist’s radar. But that’s just one facet of his musical life, and he’s famously spent time with some of the biggest artists of all time: David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails. He even appears in places you’d never expect experimental guitar, like Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.”

To talk about Adrian, we called up Blair White. As co-owner of Nashville’s Eastside Music Supply, White and Belew struck up a friendship and they ended up working together to decode some of the tones that Belew needed for the much-lauded Beat tour and beyond. Blair gives us some insight into Belew’s playing, his process, and helps us solve a mystery.

IRON MAIDEN today announces the highly anticipated North American dates of their critically acclaimed RUN FOR YOUR LIVES WORLD TOUR. In celebration of their 50th Anniversary, the band will be performing at stadiums and major amphitheaters across the United States and Canada, allowing fans the chance to witness the brand new, state-of-the-art production, on the scale it is intended for – huge stages in outdoor venues, to accompany the once-in-a-lifetime setlist of songs from the band’s groundbreaking first nine albums. They will also headline America’s biggest rock festival, Louder Than Life at the Highland Festival Grounds in Kentucky on 17th September 2026.

Steve Harris says, “We are greatly looking forward to bringing this RUN FOR YOUR LIVES TOUR to North America and hope the fans enjoy seeing the show and hearing the set list as much as we do playing it. It’s an added bonus to have a few of our good friends on the tour with us. MEGADETH are playing all the shows and it’s an honour to have them join us on their last ever tour. We also have Anthrax with us on the bigger shows, we had a great time with them when they came out with us on Ed Force One around the world in 2016. We’re delighted to have both bands with us for this tour and know our fans will enjoy seeing them.”

Bruce Dickinson adds, “This whole tour has been such great fun. I really enjoy belting out all these great old songs, and the whole band are loving playing them too! We’ve got all the big ones from that early period including Hallowed, Run To The Hills, Trooper, Number Of The Beast, Killers, Powerslave, 2 Minutes… and some of them we haven’t played in the US for over 20 years!! Plus there’s some real epics including my particular favourite ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ and Seventh Son... We are doing them all and more. I mean, who wouldn’t for a 50th birthday party!”

“For a tour celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Iron Maiden” notes Manager Rod Smallwood, “the scale and incredible visual aspects of this tour deserve larger venues than the arenas we have generally played in the past. We particularly chose this time of year to go bigger outdoors but to give us darkness when we go on stage so you will see the best of the production. Fans certainly won’t be disappointed in the show or the 50th anniversary set list that is for sure!

“We particularly look forward to playing the huge shows in Montréal and the Alamodome in San Antonio, two of the biggest shows we have ever played in North America plus, of course, Louder Than Life – America’s biggest Rock Festival! Along with the stadium shows in Los Angeles, New Jersey and Hershey we have also chosen to play a few of the biggest amphitheaters as they always have a fantastic atmosphere and great visual sight lines. We’re also going to be doing everything we can to bring the hugely popular Eddie’s Pop-up Dive Bar experience across the Atlantic for the very first time. Our European fans just loved these and we’re convinced that the mix of Maiden fans, Trooper Beer & exclusive Tour merch makes for a winning combination.

“Likewise we will continue to offer the well-loved Trooper VIP Experience at all venues.

“Finally it was really special on our European dates this year to see that the vast majority of our fans appreciated and respected our request to severely limit their use of phones at our concerts, ideally just keeping it in their pockets the whole time, especially in those standing areas in front of the stage. Our fans’ understanding and cooperation made a colossal difference to the atmosphere of every show and increased the enjoyment enormously for the band and fans alike.

So for all our North American shows we are once again requesting that fans keep their phones in their pockets and enjoy the show ‘in the moment’, rather than raise their phone in the air trying to film sections and thus inconveniencing those around them and annoying the band. So if a so-called fan near you thinks they are special and filming what they selfishly want please just ask them, very politely of course, to put their phone somewhere the sun doesn’t shine!”

These upcoming tour dates will mark 45 years since IRON MAIDEN first visited Canada and the USA on the 1981 Killer World Tour, and feature some of the biggest shows the band has ever played there. The return to BMO Stadium concert in Los Angeles on September 25th will be the 25th time the band has played in the City of Angels. A history-making tour for sure!

There will be an exclusive Iron Maiden Fan Club presale beginning on Tuesday October 28. Headline shows go on general sale on Friday October 31. Head to ironmaiden.com for all ticketing and tour information.

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

AUGUST 2026

29 Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena *

SEPTEMBER 2026

03 Montréal, QC - Parc Jean-Drapeau *^

05 Harrison, NJ - Sports Illustrated Stadium *^

09 Boston, MA - TD Garden *

11 Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live *

12 Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion *

15 Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium *

17 Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival

19 Shakopee, MN - Mystic Lake Amphitheater *

22 Chicago, IL - Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre *

25 Los Angeles, CA - BMO Stadium *^

* Megadeth
^ Anthrax