Premier Guitar

Floyd Rose has introduced a Limited Edition Laser-Etched Paisley USA Series Original Tremolo, an exclusive release that adorns the iconic double-locking tremolo with an eye-catching, timeless design.

Each limited edition Paisley Tremolo begins as a genuine chrome USA Series Original before receiving a precision laser-etched paisley pattern across the hardened steel base plate, saddles, and fine tuners. The result is a strikingly unique interpretation of the classic Floyd Rose look, combining vintage-inspired style with modern manufacturing precision.

More than just a finish, the etching creates a subtle, understated look that catches the light from every angle while revealing incredible detail. Inspired by the classic paisley motifs that have graced iconic guitars for decades, it brings a fresh take to the legendary Floyd Rose Original.

Each unit is built with precision machining and premium materials, so the Etched Paisley Original Tremolo delivers the tuning stability and professional performance musicians expect from a genuine Floyd Rose.

With only 50 pieces available worldwide, the Limited Edition Paisley USA Series Original Tremolo carries a $355 street price. For more information visit FloydRose.com.

When Fender launched the Twin Reverb in 1963, the music world was blessed with a high-powered, reverb and vibrato-equipped tube amplifier that would become a staple for performing bands. The tweed Twin amps of the decade prior featured totally different circuitry, with lower output power and more grit than we hear from the crystal-clear Twin Reverbs of the ’60s and ’70s. After 1963, spotting a Fender Twin Reverb in a band’s backline became commonplace.

On the bench today we have a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. The amp was brought to me by a client who described this one as his “daily driver.” This is the case for many musicians who don’t mind lugging around the 65-pound combo. The Twin Reverb’s power and clarity makes it a perfect pedal platform, and its durability makes it the perfect workhorse amplifier.

The main complaint was noise issues, including very scratchy controls. Once I removed the chassis, I was thrilled to see that the amp was almost totally original! The fact that this amp has been heavily used with its 60-year-old parts is a testament to the quality of the components and the circuit design. The filter capacitors were beginning to bulge and leak, so the owner and I decided it was time to give the amp a solid refurbishing to promote stability for future decades of use.

Each technician has their own method of refurbishing a Fender amplifier. Determining how far to go with a restoration is a delicate dance between reliability and originality. I want to repair the issues at hand, while also addressing the parts of the circuit that are prone to issues. In many cases, the bulk of the restoration focuses on the power supply and power amplifier. These sections of the circuit are handling a lot of power and high voltages, and over time they just wear out. Oftentimes, the tone-shaping components in the preamp are able to stay original.

Once I replaced the filter capacitors with high quality F&Ts, I moved on to the cathode bypass capacitors. These caps were also beginning to show signs of weakness, and I typically find myself replacing these in most of my Fender restorations. The last capacitor that I like to replace is the bias capacitor, which is in charge of filtering the negative bias voltage for the output tubes.

In most amps and many other consumer electronics made before the ’70s, the resistors used are called carbon composition resistors. These are small brown resistors that are made out of finely ground carbon, and mixed with a non-conductive binder. When serving as a preamp plate resistor, these small components have an important job. The plate resistors are connected to the power supply, and feed high voltage to the preamp tube plates. Once the signal is amplified through the preamp tube, that signal exits the tube through the tube’s plate and onto the rest of the circuit. In short, these preamp plate resistors see both high voltage DC and the AC guitar signal. Over time, it is common for the internals of the resistor to break down, which can impart some very noticeable popping and crackling into the signal path.

The last step is to address the vibrato effect. The funny thing is, Fender used the term vibrato but the effect is actually tremolo. In my initial testing of the amp, I noticed that while the effect was functioning, it was a bit weak overall. This is typically due to the oscillator capacitors drifting from spec over time, which can weaken the depth of the volume fluctuation. In this case, replacing the three oscillator capacitors helped get that “vibrato” stronger.

After a deep cleaning of all the pots, jacks, and tube sockets, I ran the amp to listen for any other miscellaneous issues. Many of the tubes in this amp are a variety of vintage tubes, and they passed testing with no noise, excessive microphonics, or overheating issues. Modern tubes are great, and we’re so lucky to have access to them. But I’m always excited to be able to leave in the old tubes, as the quality of manufacturing from decades prior and the mystical “mojo” of the old glass bottles tends to be desired.

The last step in a large refurbish job like this is to play through the amp for a while. I will wiggle the reverb RCA cables to make sure there is no cut-out, test the footswitch, and poke around to make sure I didn’t miss any poor connections or weakened solder points. The Twin Reverb truly lives up to its reputation. It is loud and proud, full-bodied and crystal clear.

Steadfast Designs has launched the Steadfast Stopbar™, a patented aluminum tailpiece that aims to eliminate string-change stress and keep guitars in tune longer. Designed for any guitar with a traditional Tune-O-Matic/stopbar setup, it reimagines the conventional stringing process by anchoring the ball-ends at the tuner and locking the free ends at the tailpiece with precision set screws.

The goal: faster string changes, improved tuning stability, and better tone from a stronger, lighter material than most factory-equipped stopbars. It's intended for gigging musicians, studio guitarists, guitar techs, and anyone who would like fast and easy string changes with better tuning stability and tone so they can get back to playing sooner and sound better too.

Key features of the Steadfast Stopbar™ include:

• Patented string-locking design aims to remove stress and cut restringing time by up to 75%.
• Innovative double-locking arrangement: created by precision set screws (at the tailpiece) and the string’s ball-ends (at the tuning post). Your guitar’s tuning stays put better than ever.
• CNC-machined in the USA from billet 6061 aluminum: stronger, lighter, and more resonant than the material used in most stock stopbars, with better sustain and clarity.
• Drop-in replacement is fully compatible with US and metric spacing. No drilling, no permanent modifications, zero impact to resale value – and easy upgrade to install.
• Available finishes: Nickel Plated, real 24K Gold Plated, black anodized, and silver anodized.

See the Steadfast Stopbar™ in action: https://www.youtube.com/@SteadfastDesigns

The Foundation Series is available now in five configurations: Faded ($99), Studio ($104), Pro ($109), Standard ($129), and Custom 24K Gold-Plated ($169). For more information on Steadfast Stopbars™ visit www.steadfaststopbar.com.

The chameleonic Connecticut-based band Goose have covered a lot of musical ground during their career, offering a little bit of something for just about everyone. Starting out as a self-described “indie-groove” outfit, they were quickly adopted by the jam-band community thanks to the group’s enthusiastic embrace of improvisation, and utter disregard for musical boundaries. Goose’s collision of genres—both onstage and over the course of five studio albums—has smashed together folk, jazz, funk, R&B, pop, progressive, and psychedelic rock. Thus far, they have yet to fold Swedish death metal into the mix, but give them time and they surely will.

Fans can personalize and interpret a band in a multitude of ways, but what does founding guitarist, singer, and primary songwriter Rick Mitarotonda want listeners to appreciate about Goose?

“I don’t think I have any ideas of what I want people to understand about the band,” he says. “For us, I think the goal is to just follow our instincts and creativity and be authentic to ourselves. And continue to uncover and unravel what that is and what that could be.”

He lets that sink in, then continues, “Everyone’s got their own prism through which they see the world and how they relate to things, and there’s no way to know or understand or try to intellectualize what people seem to be thinking about us or what they think of what we do or anything like that. It’s unknowable. It’s not up to us what people make of what we do. It’s just up to us to try to do the best we can with what we have.”

For the group’s growing and fiercely loyal legion of devotees—an audience now large enough to fill amphitheaters, pavilions, and arenas—Goose are doing just fine with what they’ve got. The band’s three-hour-plus shows are fast becoming the stuff of legend for their “anything goes” ethos in the grand tradition of premier jam bands both past and present.

​Rick Mitarotonda’s Gear

Guitar

• Greg DeLuis Empress custom model

Amps

• 1960s Fender Deluxe
• Vintage Marshall combo

Effects

• Ibanez Tube Screamer
• MXR Carbon Copy
• Strymon El Capistan Tape Delay
• Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker

Strings, Picks, & Cables

• D’Addario NYXL strings (.010 –.046)
• Dawg David Grisman mandolin pick
• Mogami cables

These aren’t just concerts; they’re more like communal experiences. And the group’s marathon improvs, led by Mitarotonda’s breakneck virtuosity, aren’t self-indulgent, murky ragmops. Each extended interlude is packed with fun, discovery, and a bit of high-wire danger, and carries a sharp emotional breakthrough. There isn’t anything calculated or predictable about Goose (the lineup also features guitarist-keyboardist Peter Anspach, bassist Trevor Weekz, and drummer Cotter Ellis); everything they do feels spontaneous and alive. Nowhere is this more evident than in their playful and promiscuous choice of covers, which can sashay from Laura Branigan to Bob Seger one night, Steppenwolf to A-ha the next.

How a band navigates success can be a tricky bit of business, particularly as it transitions from cult darlings to mainstream stars. Mitarotonda admits that Goose’s rocket-like ascent has presented some challenges. “Certain aspects of this are totally overwhelming,” he says. “There’s little junctures where things you do or things you intend get misinterpreted, and you have no control over it. That can be difficult to contend with. Plus, there’s a struggle to find a balance and wanting to have time to breathe and reflect and process and write and do other things in life that feed creativity amidst the constant ability to tour.”

“There’s no way to know or understand what people seem to be thinking about us or what they think of what we do.”—Rick Mitarotonda

Anspach, who joined Goose in 2017 following the departures of several guitarists and keyboardists, isn’t feeling the pressure. “There have been a lot of times where it’s felt like just tour, tour, tour,” he says. “The pace isn’t really locked down, though. Last year, we put out two albums [Everything Must Go and Chain Yer Dragon], but before that we were touring for two years without a new record. I think in general, we definitely want to keep making records. I don’t really see that slowing down just yet.”

Mitarotonda, for his part, isn’t letting fame affect his creative decisions. “We’re not that big where we’re at risk of jumping the shark,” he says with a smile.

For a band that consistently throws left curves to its audience, Goose’s new album, Big Modern!, is one hell of a wild ride. While it’s not a dedicated concept record—there’s no narrative story or stated theme—it does feel, in sometimes jarring ways, like an homage to the glory days of MTV-era 1980s. The sleek, pulsating groove of “Torero” recalls Jan Hammer’s lush, synthetic noir soundscapes in Miami Vice, while “Savenger” is a synth-pop pastiche that evokes the Human League, Howard Jones, and Mr. Mister. “Media” is a dense and chaotic cardio workout that combines Remain in Light-period Talking Heads with the Tubes at their commercial peak. And if you’re too lazy to search for Nena’s “99 Luftballoons” or Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America,” you can simply cue up “Pop,” a delicious power-pop knockout. It’s all over-caffeinated and overblown, wildly entertaining, and hooky as hell.

​Peter Anspach’s Gear

Guitars

• John Suhr Classic S
• Gibson Firebird (belonging to producer D. James Goodwin)

Amps

• 1960s Fender Princeton
• Vintage 100-watt Hiwatt

Effects

• Boss DD-20 Giga Delay
• Analog Man King of Tone

Strings, Picks, & Cables

• D’Addario NYXL strings (.010 –.046)
• D’Addario picks
• Mogami cables

Mitarotonda reasons that if Goose made an ’80s record, they did so unwittingly. “There’s no denying that’s a pretty consistent thread throughout,” he says. “It’s a very synth-heavy record. The drums and the guitar tones are big. A lot of things just pushed the material in that direction, but not in a contrived way. It’s funny, because obviously I wasn’t alive during the 1980s—I was born in 1990—but when I think about that period in time, it was like there was this big, superficial sense of forward momentum. Everybody was saying, ‘The future is now,’ and there were these extremes in sound and fashion. There was new technology coming very fast, and I think people were just inundated with stimulation. The aesthetic was loud, and I think that loudness is a perfect metaphor for the overstimulation that’s going on with technology right now.”

As has been the case since the early days of Goose, tunes are rarely born from jams. Much of the material on Big Modern! was written by Mitarotonda and his longtime collaborator, Matt Campbell. The two recorded “fairly fleshed out” demos that the guitarist says “really informed the trajectory of where we were going.”

“Usually, we kind of sketch out bare-bones demos and then fly by the seat of our pants hashing it out in a practice room,” he says. “This time, we went deeper with the demos, and it became a really valuable process because there were layers and textures that came out of it. We’d be working on a piece, and I’d say, ‘I want to add some bass on this.’ I would just track some bass, then play something and listen back to it, and I’d feel like it became a part of something. There were lots of weird little segments that stood out to me that just kind of added to the whole thing.”

Anspach listened to the demos and was faced with deciding between vintage ’80s-style keyboard textures or some level of dual-guitar attack. “There was a lot of keyboard stuff to learn and figure out for this record,” he says. “But there were also songs like ‘Torero,’ where I’m playing these keyboard layers, but then I switch to guitar. But we’ve developed the technology so that the synths can continue to play while I’m on guitar.”

Mitarotonda marvels at his bandmate’s multi-purpose capabilities. “Peter’s pretty clutch at all that,” he says. “On this record, we really built the shit out of these tracks to get them to sound really big. Then we had to try to figure out how to recreate it with just the four of us. There was a point when it was like, ‘Shit, do we need another guy to do some of this stuff?’ But Peter was like, ‘I can be three guys, actually.’ He figured out the game plan and the tech, and he’s playing guitar and four keyboards at the same time.”

“Torero” is one of the focus tracks on Big Modern!, but it almost didn’t see the light of day. The band road-tested it live to great effect before hitting the studio, but the song refused to behave once recording was underway. “We spent a whole day on it, and it just wasn’t there,” Mitarotonda recalls. “After dinner, we went back to it and figured out the arrangement and were just ripping takes. The energy that didn’t exist before became explosive. It was so cathartic, and the way Cotter dug into it, it was epic.”

So, too, is the guitarist’s splashy and exuberant solo, which hits like a ton of bricks. “Good 2B” features another turbulent lead break, but one that takes on a surreal quality as the song churns on. “That one presented some challenges because we knew we could really open the song up live,” Mitarotonda says. “Coming out of the drum break, there’s a ton of steam and it just wants to go on forever.”

His solo on the huge rocker “Salt” generates heat in a different way—it’s slow and full of legato lines, calling to mind George Benson’s unhurried manner of phrasing. “That was the biggest improv on the record,” he says. “We did a bunch of takes as a band, just trying out things, and they all went to different places. In the end, there was a long jam and it just seemed right to leave all those spaces between notes.”

“It’s a very synth-heavy record. The drums and the guitar tones are big.”—Rick Mitarotonda

For the most part, Mitarotonda improvised his solos while tracking with the full band. It’s taken him a while to adopt this approach, and he admits that when Anspach joined Goose, he still maintained a perfectionist’s attitude of crafting and nailing solos during the demo phase. “Peter finally said, ‘Dude, let’s just track it already.’ And he was right. Nothing can touch a holistic take when you’ve got everybody together. You just can’t fake that energy.”

Neither guitarist changed much about his guitar and gear setups for Big Modern! Mitarotonda relied on the same Greg DeLuis custom-made Empress model he’s been playing since 2023. “There’s only a couple of times I might pick up something else,” he says, “but I tracked the whole record with the DeLuis.” Likewise, he estimates that he recorded “perhaps 99 percent” of the album with his favorite amp, a 1960s Fender Deluxe, and “one tiny segment” with a vintage Marshall combo. “I’m not sure what kind,” he says with a smile. “I’ve always been a bit of a simpleton when it comes to gear.”

Anspach kept things basic, as well, using a John Suhr Classic S, as well as a Gibson Firebird that belongs to the band’s producer, D. James Goodwin. “That Firebird rips. It’s pretty sick,” Anspach says. Ampwise, he alternated between a 1960s Fender Princeton and a vintage 100-watt Hiwatt.

Controlling guitar sound in the studio is a far easier affair than achieving consistent onstage tone and balance—each venue offers its own variables, particularly for outdoor gigs, where sound waves are at the constant mercy of temperature and humidity.

“We try to deal with that as best we can,” Anspach says. “The fact is, it changes night to night, so you just have to embrace it and be like, ‘This is what we have to work with.’ We do as much as we can to keep things at a certain level, and we have a great guitar tech and audio team. There have been a few times where we’re feeling like something is really off, so you make little adjustments. Ultimately, you have no choice but to just ride the wave. The show goes on.”

Sometimes that show goes on without a soundcheck, as was the case last year at the Newport Folk Festival, when a series of thunderstorms and a shelter-in-place order threatened to nix Goose’s appearance entirely. When the weather cleared, the band took to the stage for a shortened set, which turned into a “you-had-to-be-there” moment when they were joined by Kenny Loggins for a high-octane performance of the singer’s cinematic mega-hit, “Danger Zone.”

“It was totally wild and hilarious,” Mitarotonda says. “We had no soundcheck, so it was pretty rough. Kenny couldn’t hear us, we couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t hear himself—it was crazy. We were literally in the danger zone with Kenny Loggins. It was quite the experience. Kenny’s the man.”

Hello, and welcome back to Mod Garage! After working on the neck of our Harley Benton guitar last month, let’s spend some money to spruce it up a bit more, starting with the tuners.

Last month we learned that the stock tuners were pretty heavy, which can lead to neck dive and discomfort. Their stability didn’t impress me, either, so let’s replace them. I wanted to keep our vintage look, so some Kluson originals came to mind. These are also available as locking tuners, which are usually a good choice, but they’re heavier than standard tuners and unnecessary on an Esquire-style electric without a vibrato system. After some research, I decided to use a set of “ClipHAUS” tuners from GÖLDO. This is German vintage at its best: The design goes back to a mechanism made by the ROKO (Robert Kolb) company in the ’60s. What looks like a roof at the top is a clip made of spring steel, pressing the worm shaft against the gear wheel, resulting in backlash-free movement.

However, the old ROKO machine heads, which were used by many guitar manufacturers such as Gretsch, Guild, Höfner, and Framus, were much clunkier and lacked the cool Kluson lining on the clip. Also, these new tuners use a patented “push-through” design: The strings are run through the shaft from the top and can then be clipped off as they sprout out the back—a handy way to avoid scratches and cuts from rogue string ends on your headstock. The housing, including the steel clip, is stamped from sheet steel with extreme precision. As an additional bonus, a set of ClipHAUS tuners is less than half the weight of cast-housing tuners. This particular model is available with different tuner buttons; I went with a set sporting the original oval Kluson shape for a vintage look, which set me back $75 for a full set.

Next, I wanted to give the tuners an “aged” look. First, I broke the shine by giving the tuners, bushings, and buttons a once-over with fine sandpaper or steel wool. If you want to mimic corrosion on the shafts, you’ll want to remove the nickel plating on them completely, a job you can accomplish with steel wool. I placed the tuners and the bushings on some old newspapers, got out my gloves and goggles, and applied some iron oxide (ferric oxide) liquid on them with a Q-tip. Careful not to get any in the tuners—we don’t want any oxidation inside.

Time to decide if you want to mimic the typical oxidation of original non-plated shafts. If you want to do so, apply the liquid only to the case and buttons, leaving out the shaft. Watch the process carefully, and if you like what you see, stop the process by wiping the liquid off the tuner with a wet cloth or paper towel. Afterwards, apply the liquid to the shaft only and watch and stop the process when you’re content. This will take longer on the shaft than on the cover, so I recommend doing it in two individual steps. Personally, I didn’t want oxidation on the tuner shafts, so I simply put on the liquid in only one step. Reminder: This is just one way for aging your hardware, which I chose because its cheap, easy, effective, and safe. There are plenty of others you can try!

Don’t forget to put a drop of oil into the tuners and turn the shaft several times to lubricate them. One drop is plenty, and will last a very long time.

After a quick check, I realized that the new bushings wouldn’t fit the holes in the headstock, and the old screw holes wouldn’t fit for the new tuners. That led to two easy tasks, if you have the right tools.

The headstock’s holes need to be enlarged, which at first might sound like an easy task. Unfortunately, it’s not, and a word of warning: Never try to enlarge a hole in a guitar’s headstock with your hand-held drill and standard drill bit! It will almost certainly end in disaster. Instead, here are three options I recommend:

-The quick and dirty solution: Use a sharp, fine, coarse, rounded file for wood, and enlarge the hole carefully until it’s big enough. If it’s not perfectly round, don’t worry. The bushings on top will mask your dirty little secret.

-The semi-pro solution: Use a very sharp countersunk drill bit in your stationary drill press, and choose a moderate speed. Don’t forget to wear gloves and goggles for this, and drill from the top towards the back of the headstock.

-The professional solution: Use a very sharp handheld tapered reamer. You’ll only need 20 seconds to do each hole.

I decided to use a reamer, so the new bushings will fit tight and snuggly.

For closing the screw holes on the back of the tuner, as well as closing one of the screw holes for the string trees, I decided to use toothpicks and some wood glue. Standard toothpicks are typically made out of any soft wood like birch, which makes them a poor choice for closing holes on a guitar, especially if you need to drill into them later on. Such soft toothpicks can be stabilized by using some super glue, but the better option is to use hard bamboo toothpicks, like you might find in a local Asian restaurant. They’re a bit thicker in diameter and much harder compared to standard toothpicks, so they’re a great match for this task.

After the wood glue has completely dried, you can chop off the toothpicks carefully flush with a sharp chisel, exacto knife, or razor blade. Because the area will be covered with the new tuners, you don’t need to be super careful, but putting a bit of tape to protect the surface won’t hurt.

We spent $75 on our tuners this month, so our budget for future investments is down to $121. We’re not out of the woods yet: Next month, we’ll press in the new bushings the right way and continue working on the neck, so stay tuned.

Until then, keep on modding!

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King Crimson members ADRIAN BELEW and TONY LEVIN, alongside STEVE VAI and TERRY BOZZIO approach the next chapter of BEAT. The quartet has announced a tour of the U.S. that will stage 40 appearances. The general on-sale is set for Friday, August 7 at 10AM local time. Tickets and VIP experiences will be available here: https://beat-official.com/tour. The artist pre-sale goes live on Tuesday, August 4 at Noon Eastern time with the password BEATTOUR. Fans can access the ticketing page and simply enter the code at checkout. All pre-sales will end at 10am local time Thursday, August 6.

Adrian Belew shares, “For those of you who’ve seen BEAT live, it’s important to note we’ll be adding some material from ‘90s Crim to our U.S. tour. Along with the addition of superman drummer Terry Bozzio, we feel this will result in a new experience for our audience. We’re very excited to play for you again. Don’t miss it!”

The global audience has celebrated the existence of BEAT, responding to the music, chemistry, spirit and respect this collective of esteemed musicians has brought to one of the most remarkable catalogs in progressive rock. BEAT continues to evolve whole remaining true to the music and the spirit that inspired it.

As Adrian, Tony and Steve approach the band’s upcoming activity, Terry Bozzio enters the fold behind the kit. Danny Carey remains an important part of the BEAT family, and simply his Tool commitments prevent him from being available for this upcoming run in the Fall. Steve Vai offers, “Terry is one of the truly legendary drummers of our time, whose remarkable career and unique musical voice make him the perfect artist to join us for this tour. He brings his own extraordinary artistry to BEAT, and that's something worth celebrating.” Adrian Belew shares, “Our deepest appreciation goes to our brother Danny Carey—a true BEAT-Poet. His extraordinary musicianship, generosity, humor, and explosive creativity helped establish BEAT as something far beyond a tribute. He helped create its identity. While Tool commitments keep him from joining us this fall, he remains an essential part of our family.

When the ensemble’s existence was first made public on April 2, 2024, the vision was simply to present a creative reinterpretation of the three iconic 80s KING CRIMSON albums - Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. Just over forty appearances were announced across the U.S., triggering a majority of those planned appearances reaching sold-out status in days. Additional performances were added, creating an inaugural run which staged 65 concerts across the U.S. Appearances in Mexico, South America and Tokyo’s legendary Budokan followed, most recently staging an extensive run of the U.K. and Europe performing in 31 cities this year.

When the band heads back out in the Fall, fans should anticipate some exciting additions to the repertoire being performed, with several songs rotating out while other classic King Crimson pieces emerging in to the set. Those details will come to light once the tour begins.

The itinerary kicks off on October 9 at the Quarry Amphitheater in Santa Cruz, CA, with a final appearance planned in at Riverside, CA’s Municipal Auditorium on December 3.

In front of the 2024 tour, guitarist Adrian Belew reflected, “The 1981 through 1984 King Crimson created a music all its own. Timeless. Beautiful. Complex. Fierce. For the fans who lived through it then, and the ones who never got to witness it, our aim is to bring it to life again. A monumental task but we're going for it! There are not enough exclamation points to express my excitement!”

Guitarist Steve Vai stated, “Being a part of this ensemble is an extraordinary privilege and opportunity to perform some of the most beloved, timeless, and monumental music of the 80’s (and beyond) with truly inspired musicians. This music resonates deeply with me. Father Robert Fripp is one of our historical geniuses. His highly specific and exceptionally brilliant guitar technique is studied and revered. His contribution to the quality of my musical life, and so many others is supreme.”

Bassist Tony Levin offered, “Revisiting some of my favorite music is a treat in itself. It’s also great that we’re not just playing a few shows, we’re hitting it hard. So, Road Dogs are coming to your area soon.”

Drummer Terry Bozzio shares, “All of these guys are my friends and excellent musicians who l’ve played with before! When l was asked to join this tour, l was honored & very grateful to do it!”

An exclusive meet & greet with Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Terry Bozzio will be staged at each appearance planned. There are three tiers available with limited availability. First, the “BEAT On-stage Experience” features one premium reserved ticket, the rare opportunity to watch the show from an exclusive on-stage VIP viewing area, early entry in to the venue, a pre-show meet & greet and a group photo opportunity with all four members of the band, access to a pre-show soundcheck, a limited edition autographed BEAT tour poster, commemorative BEAT ticket magnet, a specially designed BEAT record bag, an exclusive VIP merchandise item, and an official side-stage laminate and lanyard. This top tier has very limited availability. The second tier is the “BEAT Meet & Greet / Soundcheck Experience.” It features one premium reserved ticket located in the first five rows, early entry in to the venue, a pre-show meet & greet and group photo opportunity with all four members of the band, access to a pre-show soundcheck, a limited-edition autographed BEAT tour poster, commemorative BEAT ticket magnet, a specially designed BEAT record bag, an exclusive VIP merchandise item, and a Meet & Greet laminate and lanyard. The final tier is the “BEAT VIP Tour Package.” It features one premium reserved ticket located in the first 15 rows, a limited-edition autographed BEAT tour poster, commemorative BEAT ticket magnet, a specially designed BEAT record bag, an exclusive VIP merchandise item, and a commemorative laminate and lanyard. There is limited availability for each of these packages, which are available for purchase at https://beat-official.com/tour.

Flattley Pedals has introduced the “Centurion 10 AE”, the company’s special 10th Anniversary Edition of the Centurion transparent overdrive.

As it’s our 10th anniversary in 2026 at Flattley Guitar Pedals, we wanted to continue with the celebrations and add some special features to our existing Centurion transparent overdrive product by adding some extra mojo.

The Centurion 10 AE comes with purple laser etched control knobs, metallic black paint with the stunning eye-catching silver paisley skulls hydro graphics along with a purple halo LED light ring to light it all up.

The Centurion 10 AE version also got an internal make over and comes with special vintage germanium tube diodes giving the Centurion 10 AE version a whole different feel and sound than the standard version Centurion pedal. These vintage germanium tube diodes just sound so warm and soft which really suits the Centurion circuit.

The pedal’s purple halo light ring installed diffuses the light when playing live, so you can avoid being blinded by standard LEDs, and a purple laser etched aluminium foot topper gives you more real estate for contact when switching the pedal on and off during quick changes when playing live.

All Flattley "Platinum Range" pedals are hand processed in our Flattley paint shop, with a strikingly unique finish.

The Centurion 10 AE includes this control set:

Centurion 10 AE Controls

• Volume: Controls the overall output level.
• Gain: Controls the amount of gain/overdrive
• Tone: Controls the amount of treble/bass

Other features include:

• 9-volt external power operation (no internal battery option)
• 20mm purple anodised aluminium custom etched control knobs
• Purple halo light rings installed
• The Centurion 10 AE comes with a purple custom etched aluminium foot topper

All Flattley pedals are handmade and hand wired in the UK using high quality components.

The Flattley Centurion 10 AE carries a street price of $319/£259/€319. For more information visit flattleyguitarpedals.com.

Do you know that feeling when a well-restored vintage car slowly passes you on the street? You stop, you stare, you gasp, and for a fleeting moment, you dream. That is how I felt when I opened the case for the Fender Vintera III Early ’60s Bass VI. It was a peek into a time portal, and I felt an audible, focused exhale leave my lungs. But unlike all those vintage cars I see, I got to take this one for a drive. It was a pleasure that pointed the way to a lot of creative possibilities.

The Middle Way

The concept of a 6-string bass was around for several years before Fender introduced the Bass VI in 1961. Bu though it had formidable rivals—the more straightforward Danelectro 6-string bass, for one—the Bass VI had its own vibe. There’s a hint of chime, a hint of bass, and a trace of the dark arts. The Bass VI became a useful tool for players straddling the fence between octaves, and its 30" scale made it a useful compromise for guitar players wanting to play bass and bass players looking for more chances to get fired. But regardless of how it fits into an individual musician’s life, it remains a valuable tool for finding unusual sounds.

​Our Focused Era

As part of the Vintera III line, the Bass VI features many enticing 1960s-vintage details, including a real bone nut, clay dots, and a headstock decal applied over the finish. Fender also claims that the pickups and neck profile are more aligned with early ’60s specs. Given how much those elements could vary from guitar to guitar back then, it’s hard to pinpoint a definitive example. Still, this Vintera III version is outwardly inspired by the most desirable version of the Bass VI, which was discontinued in 1975.

“With almost any approach, the Bass VI is great. No, more than great. It’s inspiring. And plugging in and exploring the possibilities is pure joy.”

Let’s say it now: This bass looks like a million bucks. The gloss polyester candy apple red finish (olympic white and 3-tone sunburst are also available), mint green 3-ply pickguard, and matching headstock are a dazzling combination. The offset alder body and round-laminated rosewood fretboard combination (with clay dot markers) are equally complementary. The guitar is also well put together, with a tight neck joint, no fret issues, and a great setup.

Does it Bass? Does it Guitar?

Before I plug into any amp, I like to hear the resonance of an instrument on its own, and with the Bass VI, this process, in a way, involves listening to two instruments at once. You also have to account for how the different scale, strings, and body size change the way you play. For example, I often found myself strumming the top four strings and taking a more conventional bass approach for the traditional four strings of a bass. Your instincts might differ. But with almost any approach, the Bass VI is great. No, more than great. It’s inspiring. And plugging in and exploring the possibilities is pure joy.

The Bass VI has three single-coil pickups that can be switched on individually or in combination, with dedicated on/off switches. The fourth switch is the bass-strangle switch, which filters the low end. Making my way through various pickup configurations, I found rich, useful tones across the board, but very different uses for different ones. The neck pickup solo is probably my favorite for bass-side picking. But the middle and bridge pickup combination is my favorite for more guitar-style playing.

As a dedicated bass, the Fender is interesting, unusual, and effective. It shares a certain sense of feel with a short-scale 4-string bass, and encourages certain short-scale bass techniques. But the subtle differences in the pickups take the Bass VI from a deep 4-string bass voice to something more pointed, and players looking for more focused tones outside of typical bass range will love what they find here.

In terms of feel, the only rub for me is the string spacing, which is much tighter than my Precision Bass-trained hands are accustomed to. Most players new to the Bass VI will have to adapt in some way. It feels truly unique. But it doesn’t take much practice before you sense that you can make it work creatively.

On the guitar(-ish) side of the equation, the Bass VI can sing as well as it can rumble. In more guitar-like applications, the pickups give me tones that range from dark and brooding (neck and middle) to downright twangy (bridge only). The strangle switch helps the pickups shine a little brighter, too. Splash a little chorus on the signal and nudge the floating tremolo, and the Bass VI becomes an instrument well outside conventional guitar or bass categories.

An Old Idea Made New

Though it was sometimes derided—and more often removed— in its time, the 1960s-era string mute that Fender has re-introduced in this Vintera III version is, for me, a secret weapon. Located between the bridge pickup and the bridge, this very simple device can be rocked into place to mute the strings. At least for me, it was an instant game changer. I think a muted bass line speaks volumes, so I love this option.

The Verdict

The Fender Vintera III Early ’60s Bass VI is a beautiful creation. It sits in a sweet spot between tonally interesting and extremely useful, making it an essential studio staple in my book. Guitar players that play bass on their tracks will love it, and bass players will appreciate its 1960s tone vibes. I went for years without any experience with a Bass VI. Now? I am smitten.

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Epiphone has announced the Marcus King El Dorado, a limited-edition signature acoustic guitar based on a 1970s-era Epiphone model. King, a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and GRAMMY®-nominated artist, has cited a personal connection to the El Dorado, which was his first guitar and a gift from his father. He named his 2020 solo debut album El Dorado after the instrument. The Marcus King El Dorado Limited Edition is available in Antique Natural at authorized Epiphone dealers, Gibson Garage locations in Nashville and London, and at Epiphone.com.

The Marcus King El Dorado is built with a square-shoulder dreadnought body, solid rosewood back and sides, and a solid spruce top.

“This guitar means the world to me. My first El Dorado was a gift from my father, and it carried me through some of the earliest and most important moments of my musical journey,” says Marcus King. “It has always represented family, home, and the songs that shaped me. Partnering with Epiphone to share that feeling with players around the world is an incredible honor, and I hope this guitar inspires people to write their own stories for years to come.”

Highlights include:

• Solid rosewood back and sides, solid spruce top
• Neck: 25.5″ scale mahogany neck with a C profile, headstock volute, and dovetail neck joint
• Body: Four-ply top binding, single-ply back binding
• Headstock: 70s MIJ-style design, bone nut, Epiphone Deluxe tuners with metal buttons, mother-of-pearl Epiphone logo
• Fingerboard: Three-ply bound rosewood, 20 frets, rounded-corner mother-of-pearl block inlays
• Bridge: Belly-down rosewood bridge with compensated bone saddle and black pins; inlays depict South Carolina's outline and Tennessee's Tri-Star emblem
• Pickguard: Custom design based on King's original vintage El Dorado
• Electronics: L.R. Baggs™ Element Bronze under-saddle pickup and preamp, with volume and tone controls mounted at the edge of the soundhole (requires one 9-volt battery, not included)
• Case: Hardshell case with Marcus King signature graphic

Available in Antique Natural finish for a limited time, the Epiphone Marcus King El Dorado carries a street price of $999. For more information visit Epiphone.com.

The release coincides with the Marcus King Band's Darling Blue / No Room For Blue, released May 1, the second half of the Darling Blue project first issued as a Record Store Day exclusive. The 12-track collection is available on all streaming platforms and covers themes including clarity, growth, heartbreak, addiction, and renewal, spanning rock, bluegrass, country, blues, and Americana.

King and his band are touring in support of the release on the Waltz Across Texas Tour and Darling Blue Pt. 2 Tour, with dates in July, August, and September 2026, including markets such as New York City, Nashville, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta, festival dates, and select shows with Mumford & Sons.

For tour updates, see King's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube accounts, or marcuskingofficial.com.

Tour Dates

• Aug 20: Pittsburgh, PA — PPG Paints Arena (with Zach Top)
• Aug 21: Allentown, PA — PPL Center (with Zach Top)
• Aug 22: Bangor, ME — Maine Savings Amphitheater (with Zach Top)
• Aug 26: East Hampton, NY — The Clubhouse Hamptons
• Aug 28: Gilford, NH — BankNH Pavilion
• Sep 11: Raleigh, NC — Red Hat Amphitheater
• Sep 12: New York, NY — Summerstage in Central Park
• Sep 13: Ithaca, NY — State Theatre of Ithaca
• Sep 15: Burlington, VT — Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
• Sep 18–20: Telluride, CO — Telluride Blues and Brews Festival
• Sep 20: Charlottesville, VA — John Paul Jones Arena (with Mumford & Sons)
• Sep 22: Grand Rapids, MI — Acrisure Amphitheater (with Mumford & Sons)
• Sep 23: Madison, WI — Kohl Center (with Mumford & Sons)
• Sep 29: Birmingham, AL — Coca-Cola Amphitheater (with Mumford & Sons)
• Oct 1: The Woodlands, TX — Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with Mumford & Sons)
• Oct 2: Bossier City, LA — Margaritaville Resort Casino

In the world of boutique bass building, lineage matters. Knowledge is passed from mentor to apprentice, from workshop to workshop, and from one generation of builders to the next. Few contemporary builders embody that tradition more clearly than Wil DeYoung.

Today, DeYoung serves as general manager and oversees the custom shop for Spector, one of the most recognizable bass companies in modern music. And though his path to becoming a builder was buoyed by family tradition, his rise to his current positions was more circuitous. In fact, DeYoung didn’t even start out wanting to build instruments. Long before he found himself guiding Spector’s future, he was a college jazz student searching for a place in music. And before he worked with some of the most respected builders in the industry, he was tinkering with inexpensive instruments on his own to better understand how they worked. “My dad dropped out of college to open a record store,” DeYoung says with a laugh. “I was probably doomed from the start to be obsessed with music.”

Growing up in Michigan, music was a constant presence in the DeYoung household. Records by Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Larry Carlton, and other artists from the golden era of sophisticated studio musicianship formed the soundtrack of his childhood. Like many aspiring musicians, DeYoung’s first instrument arrived in the form of an inexpensive beginner guitar package that quickly found its way to a corner of the basement, which is surprising considering curiosity and generosity would become the hallmarks of his career.

DeYoung’s formal musical journey began in middle school, not on guitar or bass, but on trombone. Around the same time he joined his school’s band, the church his family attended featured a praise band that needed a bass player. Recognizing their son’s passion for music, DeYoung’s parents bought him a Mexican-made Fender Precision bass. He’d already been plucking his way around a double bass on the side in orchestra and jazz band, but this time, rather than gathering dust, the new instrument became a gamechanger. “I learned a lot on that bass,” he recalls. “It started in church, but then it expanded into every musical opportunity I could find.”

Upon graduating high school, DeYoung enrolled as a music education major at Adrian College before shifting his focus to performance and jazz studies. While saxophone remained his primary instrument academically, bass and guitar steadily became larger parts of his musical identity. He started taking guitar lessons with Professor Dick Lange, and before long, he discovered a well-known truth: Bass players tend to stay busy. “My professors used to tell me, ‘We know you want to be a guitar player, but don’t stop playing bass—every guitar player needs a bass player,’” DeYoung recalls. “That turned out to be absolutely true.”

“The more instruments I worked on, the less it became about my playing and the more it became about what’s possible.”

Yet even as his playing developed, another fascination began to emerge. He wanted to know why instruments felt the way they did. What began as simple curiosity evolved into a hands-on education in repair and modification. DeYoung bought inexpensive instruments, disassembled them, experimented with setups, reshaped necks, and gradually taught himself the fundamentals of guitar construction. “The more instruments I worked on, the less it became about my playing and the more it became about what’s possible,” he says. “I wanted to know how far I could push things.” That curiosity eventually led him into repair work at Guitar Center in Toledo, Ohio, where he spent years developing practical skills—setups, re-frets, acoustic neck resets, bridge repairs, and countless other jobs provided daily education in what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to instrument design.

Perhaps the most important lessons came from the builders who welcomed him into their shops. One of the earliest was Michigan bass builder Matt Kiefer of Better Mousetrap Guitars. At a time when boutique basses were becoming increasingly sophisticated, Kiefer’s instruments represented the modern aesthetic that appealed to DeYoung: multi-laminate necks, exotic woods, extended-range designs, and meticulous craftsmanship.

Equally influential was archtop builder Denny Kopp of Kopp String Instruments in Ohio. Though DeYoung would go on to a career centered around bass-building, his deepest passion remains the archtop jazz guitar. “I’m still obsessed with archtops,” he says. “D’Angelico and D’Aquisto are the pinnacle for me.” Kopp became both mentor and inspiration. During the construction of DeYoung’s own custom archtop, a 17" Betty Swing Archtop, Kopp documented nearly every step of the process, sharing photographs, explanations, and detailed notes. The experience provided a masterclass in craftsmanship and generosity.

“It was incredible,” DeYoung recalls. “He didn’t have to do any of that. He just loved building guitars and loved sharing what he knew.” Watching a single builder transform raw materials into a finished instrument left a profound impression: “I couldn’t help but be hooked at that point.”

While pursuing graduate studies in jazz guitar, DeYoung knew repair work alone would never satisfy him. He had learned how instruments functioned, how to diagnose problems, and how to improve existing designs. He knew after watching Kopp build him a guitar that what he wanted was to start from scratch. “I’d done enough repair work to understand both the possibilities and the limitations,” he says. “I wanted to see what could happen when you build an instrument from the ground up.” An opportunity to do just that arrived when his future wife, Mia, relocated to New York City. “I figured I’d follow her and see what happened,” DeYoung recalls. “Worst case, I could keep doing repair work, but I knew I wanted to build.”

For a young bassist immersed in jazz, there was one destination that stood above all others: Fodera. Like many players of his generation, DeYoung had spent years listening to artists associated with the company. Victor Wooten, Matt Garrison, Janek Gwizdala, James Genus, Lincoln Goines, Lincoln Schleifer, and Anthony Jackson represented the pinnacle of modern bass playing. Their sounds—and the instruments behind it—had become part of his musical DNA. “That sound was always in my head,” he says. “Why wouldn’t I want to work there?”

The problem was that he had never built a bass professionally. Undeterred, he began calling the company—repeatedly. Over the course of several months, he continued reaching out until persistence finally paid off. “I basically annoyed Laura Fodera into giving me an interview,” he says with a laugh. The interview itself was not what he expected. “I showed up wearing a button-down shirt and khakis, ready for a normal interview.” Instead, he was led directly into the woodshop. “They handed me a bass body and said, ‘You’re going to carve this.’” The practical test functioned more like an audition. Fortunately, it was exactly the kind of challenge DeYoung had spent years preparing for through repair work, experimentation, and self-directed learning.

“I wanted to see what could happen when you build an instrument from the ground up.”

In 2015, he moved to New York City and joined Fodera. Once there, he approached the position with a singular goal: learn everything. “I wanted to understand every part of the build,” he says. “Whether it was my department or not, I wanted to know how it worked.” He stayed late, went in on weekends, and sought opportunities to work in every area of production. Alongside founders Vinny Fodera and Joey Lauricella, builders Aaron Younce and James Michelson became important early mentors. Over time, DeYoung carved necks, routed bodies, installed electronics, fabricated wooden pickup covers and control knobs, performed fretwork, and eventually assumed responsibility for final assembly and setup. For much of his tenure, every bass leaving the shop passed through his hands before reaching its owner.

The role also exposed him to one of the company’s most ambitious technical initiatives: adapting Plek technology to meet the demands of modern electric basses. While Plek systems had originally been developed around acoustic guitars, Fodera’s instruments presented entirely different challenges. Long-scale neck-through basses behaved differently under tension, requiring extensive experimentation and collaboration with the German manufacturer. “We spent a lot of time helping refine what the machine was doing for basses,” DeYoung says. “It taught me a tremendous amount about precision and consistency.”

Years later, when the opportunity emerged to join Spector, DeYoung found himself unexpectedly connected to a much deeper story. The history of Spector and Fodera intersected decades earlier through a woodworking co-op in Brooklyn—Vinny Fodera was Stuart Spector’s first employee. What initially appeared to be a simple career move soon felt more like a continuation of a lineage.

At Spector, DeYoung inherited a legacy unlike any other in the bass world. Stuart Spector and Ned Steinberger created one of the most influential bass designs of the 20th century. The elegant and now-iconic NS body shape transformed the way players thought about ergonomics, comfort, and performance. A generation of bassists, including Sting, Doug Wimbish, Eddie Jackson (Queensrÿche), Rachel Bolan (Skid Row), Guy Pratt (Madonna), and Graham Maby (Joe Jackson), embraced the design. Yet honoring a legacy requires more than preserving the past. For DeYoung, the challenge has been balancing heritage with innovation.

“Anything that’s built for 45 or 50 years is going to be built differently and look differently than it did in the beginning,” he asserts. “It’s going to have all these different benchmarks along the way, indicative of different eras. I spent a lot of time with different instruments evaluating what worked and what didn’t. I wanted to build something that really delivered on the original intention of the design but also included the best of everything that Spector has done over 50 years.”

“Being an enabler of people to grow their own skills and think critically about the jobs that they’re doing, so they can improve the instrument, is such a rewarding thing.”

What he noticed right away about the NS-2 was that some important design elements had changed over the years, whether intentionally or not, including the shape of the body, the neck thickness, and overstand of the fretboard to the top of the body. DeYoung took all of that into consideration when he developed a plan centered on having one definitive, idealized 3D model of the 4-string NS-2. He now refers to that bass as the brand’s “North Star.” Everything else—5-string, short scale, and so on—would be based off one standardized design. “I wasn’t designing from the ground up, but the ethos of every tiny detail mattered,” he attests. “Everything had to be reconsidered.”

The other goal for embarking upon what he now dubs his “revision process” was the import business of Spector, which had historically been separate from instruments coming out of the Custom Shop in upstate New York. “Over the years, there were various Spectors—whether they were made in Korea, China, Indonesia, or Europe—that all had their own identity.” Having elements of the Custom Shop’s craftsmanship flow downstream into the international product line and to a wider audience became part of his grand plan. “If you buy a $179 Squier Strat or buy a $20,000 Masterbuilt Strat, and you put those side by side, you see the same design language. It’s still identifiably a Strat. The pickguard is the same shape; the neck carve is essentially the same—all the stuff that makes it a Strat is still there. And that wasn’t necessarily the case with Spector.”

DeYoung’s persistence with Korg USA, Spector’s parent company, about disseminating the design language to their international partners, ultimately led to his appointment as general manager, and recently came to fruition with the introduction of the Icon series, based out of Indonesia. “The Icon was designed in the Custom Shop with the same neck profile, the same body curves, it has crown inlays, and the same headstock shape,” he explains. “I made sure that all the 3D drawings that we’re using were the same, just adapted for a bolt-on neck for the [Indonesian] factory in the format that they needed. When you put it side-by-side with a custom-shop build, we want people to recognize the design language but also know what it’s going to feel and sound like. It’s a known thing. The NS-2 is iconic.”

Another one of DeYoung’s first initiatives at Spector was to import the holistic approach to bass building he learned at Fodera. “It felt like such an opportunity to open doors for people," he says. It’s a perspective that harkens back to his time with Denny Kopp. Yes, DeYoung got hooked on building, but it’s also abundantly clear that he adopted the concept of generosity Kopp embodied so thoughtfully throughout that process. “Being an enabler of people to grow their own skills and think critically about the jobs that they’re doing, so they can improve the instrument, is such a rewarding thing."

Though he’s been handed the keys to the proverbial castle, DeYoung clearly understands his role as caretaker of an iconic brand, and remains focused on the same qualities that first drew him into the craft: curiosity, continuous improvement, and a deep respect for the musicians who bring these instruments to life. “My role is to bring in a new perspective and a different way to think about things,” he says. “When it comes to guitar building, there’s no one right way to build a guitar.”

Touring behind their 2025 record From the Pyre, English art-rockers the Last Dinner Party stopped at Nashville’s Pinnacle on June 10. PG’s John Bohlinger met up with the band ahead of the show, where guitarists Emily Roberts and Lizzie Mayland walked him through the key pieces of their road kits. Bassist Georgia Davies suffered an injury before the tour, so her tech Max Lilley was filling in on bass. Brought to you by D’Addario.

When the Saints Come Marching In

This Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent signature has been Roberts’ primary guitar for the last four or five years. It features custom goldfoil pickups that are actually built using a Firebird profile for a brighter, aggressive sound.

Fly Away

Roberts borrowed this Gibson Flying V from a relative, and it’s used for heavier rock songs in the setlist.

British V Power

Roberts runs this Victory Copper and a Vox AC30 in stereo.

Emily Roberts’ Pedalboard

After a JHS Mini A/B, Roberts runs a Lehle Mono Volume pedal, TC Electronic PolyTune 3, Fulltone OCD, Warm Audio Warm Chorus Vibrato, Supro Tremolo, Warm Audio Pedal76, Centura Klone, Boss EQ-9, Xotic Effects RC Booster, Boss Space Echo RE-202, Strymon BigSky, and Source Audio EQ.

An RJM Music Technology Mastermind PBC helps navigate the stomps.

Sneaky Greek

This Greco semi-hollow electric has replaced Mayland’s Nashville Tele as her main squeeze these days.

Heavy Hitter

This Fender Jazzmaster comes out for heavier, drop-tuned numbers.

Hot-Rodded Ox

Mayland uses two Fender Hot Rod DeVille IV amps (one clean, one dirty) paired with Universal Audio OX boxes to drive the amps while keeping stage volume reasonable.

Lizzie Mayland’s Pedalboard

Mayland runs two boards. The larger includes a Boss TU-3, EQD Arrows, MXR Dyna Comp, EQD Hummingbird, EQD Hoof Reaper, Strymon Timeline, and Strymon BigSky. Utility boxes include a Strymon Multi Switch Plus, Lehle Little Dual, GigRig QuarterMaster, and JHS Mini A/B.

A small second board holds a Strymon Mobius, Hologram Infinite Jets, and GigRig Latchmo X2.

Bass Camp

This Fender American Vintage II Precision bass is used for most of the set.

Baby Blue

This flashy Epiphone Jack Casady, strung with flatwound strings, provides a warm, round sound in the show.

Super(bass)man

Lily runs Fender Super Bassman 800 heads with 6x10 cabinets.

Georgia Davies’/Max Lilley’s Pedalboard

The board runs a Dunlop Volume X Mini, Boss TU-3, Boss NS-2, EQD Blumes, Boss SY-1, Origin Effects Cali76, Darkglass Electronics Microtubes B3K, EHX Bass Clone, Boss DD-200, Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, and a GigRig QuarterMaster to help with changes.

As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary, Kramer has introduced the Malina Moye Pacer Deluxe signature model, developed in collaboration with one of guitar’s most distinctive modern players.

Finished in striking Splash Blue and designed to match Malina Moye’s explosive technique and genre-defying playing, the Pacer Deluxe blends stage-ready sophistication with the fast, responsive feel players expect from Kramer. Built for musicians who demand both versatility and precision, this guitar features a maple neck with skunk stripe, as well as DiMarzio® pickups, with a Virtual Vintage® Blues in the neck position, an Area 67™ in the middle, and a Super Distortion® in the bridge position. The pickups are selected using a five-way blade switch. A master volume and two tone controls (one for the middle pickup and one for the neck pickup) complete the controls, all of which are mounted in a tortoise shell-colored pickguard. It also rocks a Kramer modern two-point non-locking vibrato system, gold knurled knobs, and Kramer locking tuners. In an essential nod to Moye’s own distinctive playing approach, a left-handed version is available. A premium Kramer gig bag with a reproduction of Malina’s signature on the exterior to help keep it safe wherever you go.

Moye’s relationship with the guitar is as original as her sound. Known for playing upside down and left-handed, she has built a striking style that fuses rock, blues, soul, and funk into something instantly recognizable—technically fierce, emotionally charged, and unmistakably her own. Her musicianship places her in the same musical conversation as Eric Gales, Albert King, Elizabeth Cotten, and Jimi Hendrix, while her individuality sets her apart as a truly singular voice.

Whether headlining international tours, releasing boundary-pushing music or inspiring the next generation of players, Malina Moye continues to carve out her own lane in modern guitar culture—proving that true originality isn’t just heard, it’s felt. Her latest album, Dirty, captures that same intensity in recorded form. Blending gritty blues, high-voltage rock, and groove-heavy funk, the project showcases Moye at her most unapologetic and fully realized. The album reinforces what fans and fellow musicians already know: she is an artist who does not follow trends or expectations—she creates her own lane.

The launch of the Malina Moye Pacer Deluxe marks a meaningful milestone in Kramer history, with Moye becoming the brand’s first female signature artist—but its true significance is rooted in artistry, musicianship, and a career forged through talent, vision, and persistence.

Kramer’s Malina Moye Pacer Deluxe carries a street price of $1299. For more information visit kramerguitars.com.

Jeff Tweedy, mastermind of legendary alt-rock act Wilco, is a total gear-head—always seeking out another guitar or amp or bass for his massive collection, seemingly hoping each strange and tantalizing toy sparks some form of inspiration. In January 2025, he opened up his treasure trove for an interview with Reverb, showcasing some of the boutique pieces that have captured his eye and ear. One obvious standout was a Grez Mendocino bass: a lightweight, semi-hollowbody that, with its sharp lipstick pickups, scans as a quirky tribute to the vintage Danelectro aesthetic. “I saw the instrument, [and] it looked austere and interesting,” he says in the video. “I listened to some clips of somebody playing one, and it sounded like something I didn’t have. It’s not like a Danelectro. It’s not like, really, anything.”

That’s basically the creative and business philosophy of Grez Guitars owner/luthier Barry Grzebik, who formed the small but surging company in 2009, operating out of a converted backyard horse barn in Petaluma, California. “I think most of these instruments are pretty versatile, but they’re not infinitely versatile,” he tells Premier Guitar, highlighting his compact line of 4-, 6-, and 12-strings. “I look at it less like ‘Who’s the right player for the instrument?’ A lot of people are. I look at it more like, ‘Who isn’t the right player?’ That’s a smaller group and more easily defined.” He points to the Tweedy-approved Mendocino: “If you’re playing slap-bass, super brash and bright with the treble cranked; if you’re looking for that crazy articulation and a super-fast vibe, these aren’t the instruments for you. Now, if you want something that blooms more interestingly and is a little fatter and richer-sounding, maybe if you’re deciding whether to put flats or rounds on it? [Give me] flat-wounds through a [Ampeg] B-15, and I’m just happy. Whatever that conjures in your mind tonally, that’s the vibe I want to embrace.”

Grzebik never set out to build basses at Grez, having initially focused on guitars. Then again, he really couldn’t have pictured any of this organic rise—making his name as a luthier, spinning that name into a brand, getting online shout-outs from world-famous musicians—given that he spent most of his early career in the realm of electronics and pro audio. Early on, he dreamed of being a player—at least until he had a sobering epiphany of sorts.

“I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but I’ve always wanted to play guitar,” Grzebik says, looking back to his childhood. “The idea of being a musician was always fascinating to me, though I was never successful at doing it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not this thing you desire to do. I tried to play guitar as a young kid—maybe I was 8 or 9. My parents rented an acoustic guitar for me, and I went to a community center and took some group lessons. It didn’t stick, and I don’t even know why. And the guitar vanished because it was rented.”

He continues: “It cropped up again when I was 15 or 16—I got an electric guitar and started to learn to play. Then … while I was still in high school, I realized that I wasn’t really a guitar player. I love it, but it’s not for me. How should I put it? They say if you practice enough, you can become great at the guitar. And I know that when I practice, I become better. But I guess I’m also realistic about how much practice it takes me to get better versus someone else. As a kid, I’d run into other people who play guitar at parties and they’d just smoke me. I realized that, although I love it, it’s not what I’m meant to do—I should put my energy into places where I have more natural talent.”

“As a small custom builder, we’re kind of big, but we’re tiny in the grand scheme of things.”

That area happened to be design. “I was always a mechanical kid,” Grzebik says, recalling how his dad bought him his own toolbox back in the ’70s. “I was fixing my bike, then my buddy’s bike, eventually motorcycles—taking things apart and understanding them.” Those skills dovetailed with music due to his “weird fascination” with hi-fi. “Having a boombox was a new thing, having a stereo,” he says. “When I realized I wasn’t going to make any money playing guitar, I took an electronics class at a local junior college, and the lights just went on: ‘This is amazing. It’s just these parts? There’s not even that many kinds of parts? You put them in a certain order and it does these things?’ All of the sudden, the mystery was gone. It’s like when you learn how a magician does their magic trick. I thought, ‘I can be around guitar and music, but in a different way.’ I feel lucky that I figured that out really early.”

Grzebik experimented a lot—making his own guitar amp, crafting “little battery-powered preamps that you could put in your bass.” By the early ’90s, that obsession led him to work with audio company Apogee, initially designing products like equalizers, amplifiers, and compressors. “That was completely fascinating to me. I was obsessed with that—so much so that I completely stopped playing guitar for a while,” he recalls. “Eventually I was designing loudspeakers. As a junior engineer, you’re not really designing the whole product—the look, the feel, the idea—you’re just given this little thing. ‘Lay out this circuit board.’ ‘Design a power supply.’ ‘We need a heat sink that works better or fits in this spot.’ But as you work your way up the chain, you’re in charge of the whole thing and you’re setting the tone of how a product is going to look and feel and work. So I started to realize that I was a designer. It slowly became more and more the thing I loved to do.”

Around this time, a theme had clearly emerged: Grzebik was an adaptable worker and a creative thinker, willing to go where the road happened to lead. Soon enough, Apogee noticed his customer service skills and started sending him into the field, where he traveled all over the world to oversee installations for major events like the Oscars and the Grammys. “If you spent $100,000 or $200,000 for a sound system for your venue or touring rig, you might expect someone from the company to show up and hand-hold you through the installation—show you what it does, how to tune it,” he says. “That took me away from guitar, but it was so fascinating and exciting.”

“I look at it less like ‘Who’s the right player for the instrument?’ and more like, ‘Who isn’t the right player?’”

After a while, Grzebik realized he could do this kind of thing on his own: “Having been director of engineering for Apogee Sound for a long time, I had a few contacts, and people would call and hire me. I would work as a consultant, and I still do a little bit—designing recording studios here and there. But I realized after a few years that I kind of missed designing products.”

In 2008, he devised an acoustic guitar amp for a small startup, but when the economy tanked, the whole thing unraveled. There was a silver living, though. “That product forced me to drag the guitars I hadn’t used in a decade out of the closet,” he says. “And once they were out of the closet, I didn’t put them back. Then the idea started to creep in: ‘I could probably design a guitar. I know about guitars and woodworking and cabinetry and electronics and sound.’ I would have never thought, when I was in my 20s trying to become a product engineer, that I would be a guitar builder for a living. It didn’t even cross my mind at the time, but it just sort of morphed into it.”

Flash forward to 2026, and Grez is one of the most reputable brands in the custom-guitar space, selling everything from Junior models to baritones, even a Mendocino Bass VI. The company produces somewhere around 100 instruments each year—about two per week—with 40 percent of sales going to dealers and 60 percent direct to customers, plus custom orders on request. “I have the ability to maybe do 150 in the facility I have, and then that’s it,” Grzebik notes. “And by ‘facility,’ what I really mean is ‘horse barn in the backyard.’ Once we get to about 150 a year, which is a place I slowly envision getting to, that’s it. We don’t make more than that. The goal isn’t necessarily to be giant. It’s just me and a few helpers, and we’re enjoying ourselves as best we can making a living. As a small custom builder, we’re kind of big, but we’re tiny in the grand scheme of things.”

“I’m trying to make racehorses that you go out and race.”

For their bass models, the ratio is way different: almost 90 percent direct. But Grzebik isn’t too analytical about that divergence—it’s all been “morphing” slowly, as he moved from semi-hollows and archtop hollowbody guitars into the occasional 4-string. “It was this tiny little growth curve [for bass],” he says. “I made one, and then I made another, and then a few more. It was a slow-motion kind of growth.” Given how labor-intensive the instruments are, he eventually settled into the staple Mendocino model—first as a guitar, then a baritone, then the Bass VI, then the short-scale bass. “Some of it sold well because there’s not a lot of what I’m doing out there,” he continues. “Admittedly, I make weird stuff. I’m not making copies of Fenders. The Mendocino short-scale bass is conceptually based on the Danelectro short-horn bass—it’s a nod to that at its core. It’s a super niche instrument, and you’re only going to sell so many. But as a tiny company, I don’t need to sell that many. I can make these weird things, and if I sell a dozen of this weird model and a dozen of that weird model, all of the sudden I’m making a living.”

Part of that sustainability boils down to resourcefulness. Using as much reclaimed wood as possible, Grzebik maximizes every piece he has: “Because of my manufacturing background, I’m fairly good at keeping common materials. If I have a chunk of Honduran mahogany as a body blank, one piece in stock, that can be used for almost any model I make.” But it also comes back around to the uniqueness of his instruments, which continue to intrigue players like Tweedy, Ian Martin Allison, and Allman Betts Band bassist Justin Corgan. (The latter, Grzebik notes, recently hit the road with a Grez Grand Tour: a 16", semi-hollow double-cutaway model.)

“The people who are into bass, when they look up onstage and don’t quite know what the guy is playing, that really piques their interest,” Grzebik says. “They get a lot of people coming up post-show asking about the instrument. The reality is that most people don’t know Grez. When they look up there and see this thing, they’re asking about it all the time. I think [bassists], most of the time, are getting more attention than they’re used to.”

It all ties back to the Grez ethos: crafting eye-catching objects that are built to be played, not simply admired. “I’m not trying to make show ponies,” Grzebik says with a smile. “I’m trying to make racehorses that you go out and race.”