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Dean’s parent company Armadillo has been ordered to pay over $4 million of Gibson’s legal fees, after its loss in the dispute over infringing body shapes.

• READ MORE: Gibson denied opportunity to appeal court ruling that its ES body shape is generic – but the final terms of its legal victory over Dean have been laid down

Earlier this year, the final result of the retrial between Gibson and Armadillo was declared. The second jury broadly agreed with the first, finding that Armadillo had infringed on a number of Gibson’s body shapes, and that Gibson was overall the prevailing party. However, it was not a total victory for Gibson, as its ES shape was ruled to be generic.

But, despite that one trademark decision, the rest of the ruling was still very much levelled at Dean and Armadillo. This march ruling declared that Armadillo must foot a $170,000 bill for at least some of Gibson’s legal fees, with the judge further stating that “all costs of court spent or incurred in this cause are adjudged against Armadillo”. This figure was unclear at the time, but following recent filings from Gibson, it has now been calculated as a total of $4,046,444.05: $235,417.92 in litigation costs, and $3,811,026.13 in attorney’s fees. Armadillo has until next Friday (9 October) to pay.

The $4 million payout comes just months after Armadillo declared bankruptcy, something the current company leader Pamela Keris-Rubinson blamed on extensive alleged fraud by her son, former CEO and president of Armadillo Evan Rubinson. In a bankruptcy filing made in June, Pamela Keris-Rubinson alleged that Evan’s appointment as company leader (following the death of CEO Elliott Rubinson) saw a previously successful Armadillo Enterprises start to decline severely. The rest of the bankruptcy filing revealed that Armadillo holds assets within the range of $1 million and $10 million – but owes $50 million in liabilities.

This fraught financial position wasn’t helped by the initial result from its spar with Gibson – even before the retrial, Dean was ordered to stop selling some of its most popular designs back in 2022. The disruption to the business was somewhat felt by customers – sharper, non-infringing Vengeance models were announced in 2021, but would not make it into stores for another two years. Dean has also recently entered into a legal conflict with the estate of Dimebag Darrell, who have also launched a new guitar brand in collaboration with Dean’s namesake, Dean Zelinsky.

Overall the recent filing is, of course, not good news for an already embattled Dean and Armadillo. Given the disparity between the company’s assets and its liabilities, an order to pay another $4 million in legal fees makes its future even more uncertain.

The post Dean parent company must pay Gibson $4 million in legal fees after trademark loss appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Johnny Marr is known for his distinctive look as much as his guitar playing in The Smiths and as a solo artist, but it was no accident.

As he explains in a new interview with LIFEJACKET on YouTube, the Mancunian legend recalls how his distinctive mod-crop hairstyle was inspired by the “Beatle who never made it”, Stuart Sutcliffe, and how he chose his look to complement a specific guitar in his arsenal. 

That guitar was, of course, his famous Jetglo-finished 1982 Rickenbacker 330, bought at a Manchester guitar shop in ‘83 and used extensively across the Smiths’ self-titled debut album and on tour.

“One of my heroes at the time was Stuart Sutcliffe,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘I really wanna look like Stu Sutcliffe.’ V-neck jumper, white polo neck, Ray-Bans. The shop I worked in, we were the first ones to sell the Wayfarers when they came back. So, I was like, ‘I’m having those.’

• READ MORE: Johnny Marr reacts to Andy Burnham playing the Smiths with Ukrainian soldiers: “It’s a victory for the guitar”

He continues: “The Smiths had the quiffs, the ‘ 50s thing. But because I was into Stu Sutcliffe, he combed his hair down and did the Beatle cut. So that’s where that came from. He looked even better when he combed his hair down.”

Marr remembers the first time he showed up to a Smiths photo shoot rocking his new look. “The rest of the band were like, ‘What have you done?’ I just rocked up and I had the bowl cut then. I thought it went better with the guitar. 

“I knew I was gonna get a Rickenbacker, so the bowl thing and the Rickenbacker. All of these obsessive little details came into play.”

Everyone’s influenced by someone, of course, and the Smiths quickly noticed following their rapid success that their fans were beginning to adopt their look themselves.

“The fans all dressed like different members of the band, which is kinda cool,” Marr continues. “So when you rocked up at Bangor University or Loughborough or somewhere like that, there’d be a bunch of kids outside, and you’d be like, ‘Okay, there’s Andy, there’s Johnny.’

“We’d look out the window of the bus and there’d be these kids dressed like us. And because we were kids ourselves, it’s kind of a bit of a buzz up there. Because you’re building a culture. You’re missing a trick if you think a band is just about the music. If you look at Fontaines D.C. now, they’ve got such a strong look. You’re always drawing from someone, it’s never entirely original.”

Marr’s ‘82 Jetglo Rickenbacker 330 found a new home last month, selling for a respectable £358,400 during a Christie’s auction which saw the Smiths guitarist sell off a bunch of guitars and other items from his personal collection.

The auction – which took place on 17 September and brought in £3,649,280 in total – also saw the sale of Marr’s Cherry Red 1960 Gibson ES-355, which sold for over £200,000, and the 1971 Martin D-28 acoustic used on Rusholme Ruffians, What She Said and Meat is Murder, which brought in £128,000.

The post “I thought it went better with the guitar!”: Johnny Marr reveals he chose his famous hairstyle to compliment this specific guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Ad feature with Positive Grid

Positive Grid’s Spark smart amp has been one of the most revolutionary new guitar products of the last decade. With its great sound and ease of use, it has completely changed what people expect from home practice amps, while the range has expanded to ensure that no matter what musical situation you might find yourself in, the Spark can help you sound great with minimal fuss. 

The latest addition to the range is the Spark Pedal, and it might be the most versatile and useful Spark product yet. With its compact pedal-based form factor, it has the potential to be a wonderfully useful bridge between home, stage and studio. These are our top five reasons why you need to give the Spark Pedal a try next time you’re in a guitar store. 

Its sounds and usability are as good as ever

The reason that so many guitar players have been charmed by the Spark ecosystem is how remarkably easy it is to build your own sounds, with rugged and clear multifunction knobs that make it easy to dial in sounds in a heartbeat. 

But that’s only part of it – the benchmark-setting companion smartphone app that controls all of the complicated stuff, you can easily build your signal chain in moments, hearing them in real time on the device. And what good sounds they are too – with 33 high-quality amp models and 43 effects using the same HD Tone engine as the Spark 2, you can run the gamut of all the classic amps and effects you’d ever need – and they all sound remarkably faithful and organic, whether running through a PA or headphones. 

It’s truly a Spark for any situation

While the original Spark was designed for relatively quiet home practice and recording, the various other models in the range have expanded the offering to cover any scenario – from full-on live performances and busking to bedroom headphone jamming. The Spark Pedal however, manages to be everything in one. 

Of course, if you want to play at home, you can either plug into the headphone jack and enjoy impressive sounds in cans, or you can run it into your PC speakers or a powered cab. If you’re recording? Well the built-in USB-C recording interface makes going direct a doddle, but there’s more. For gigging guitarists, the Spark Pedal might be the most versatile box yet – you can choose to run it direct into a powered cab or PA live, or you could bypass the amp models and use the onboard effects going into a traditional amp. Indeed, the Spark Pedal plays nicely at the end of your existing pedalboard, with stereo outs, an expression pedal jack, and even MIDI control to ensure that you can program any element of your performance to go off without a hitch. 

And with a built-in 60-second looper, the Spark Pedal is the perfect companion for solo guitarists looking to build their song from the ground up. And with simple and easy to understand controls for the looper built right into the Pedal’s three footswitches, you won’t have any trouble when it comes to overdubs and syncing your playing up just right. 

You don’t have to worry about powering it

If you’re trying to run light at a gig, or you’re performing at a location where plentiful supplies of power sockets are not forthcoming (and we’ve all been there) the Spark Pedal takes the stress out of your set-up. With its built-in rechargeable battery that offers up to 7 hours of playing time, you don’t need to fumble around looking for a power outlet – simply turn it on, plug it in, and you’re ready to rock. 

You can find your tone in a heartbeat

One of the most exciting features about the whole Spark ecosystem is how easy and fun it is to find the tone you’re looking for. Thanks to the busy folks on Positive Grid’s ToneCloud platform, there are now over 100,000 different user-created presets that you can search through, often ones aimed at nailing the tone of a specific song or artist. If you’re playing covers, this is an absolute godsend, and means that you can be as flexible in your set as your songbook allows. In addition to the onboard presets, if you don’t want to use something someone else has made, Spark AI’s Text to Tone feature lets the computer do the hard work, building a totally new tone from your prompt. 

It’s built for the road

The build quality and smart physical design of the Spark amps has always been a huge strength, and the Spark Pedal takes this and makes it even more useful. With its compact form factor, you can easily fit it in the pocket of a gigbag, but with a metal chassis and rugged metal footswitches, you don’t have to worry about it getting damaged. What’s more, a rubbery neoprene shell and rubber feet mean that you don’t have to worry about it moving around on stage too much either. 

Another reassuring thing about the Spark Pedal’s design is its stripped down control layout. There’s no LCD screen to worry about treading on here – with the deep editing done via the app, what’s on the pedal is designed for those moments where you need to make quick changes on the fly, and you can do those without worrying about how it’s going to mess up your sound if you get it wrong. 

With versatility, connectivity, portability and durability the Spark Pedal would be great anyway, but add all that to the great tones and ease of use that we’re already used to from Positive Grid, and you have a gigging guitarist’s new best friend.

Find out more about the Spark Pedal at Positive Grid. 

 

The post Five reasons why you need to try the new Spark Pedal appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

With his work alongside some of rock’s most notable legacy acts including Deep Purple, Kansas and Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse has been instrumental in shaping the world of rock music and guitar as we know it today. His career has exclusively been in music, though. For a brief period in the late ‘80s, the guitarist served as a regional airline pilot.

A longtime pilot and aviation enthusiast, Morse started flying as a teenager, and bought his first plane for about $4,000 while attending the University of Miami in the ‘70s. And his passion for flying ultimately led to a six-month stint as an airline pilot. But what prompted such a radical career shift amid a hugely successful music career?

• READ MORE: “The jazz people were laughing when they saw me at the audition with my Telecaster”: Steve Morse reflects on his early guitar journey

As the 72-year-old guitarist explains to Guitar World’s Matt Owen in a new interview, it came down to a disillusionment with the music industry and the increasing demand from record labels and management for music to have MTV and mainstream TV appeal.

“[MTV] had developed into this thing. I was in the band Kansas, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna write a bunch of cool instrumental stuff like Kerry Livgren did… I thought that was gonna be what we were doing.

“But there was a big push from management and the record company: ‘We need a hit single that could play on VH1 or MTV.’ And so these platforms were kind of ruling the musical decisions that were happening. And it was happening everywhere. You saw heavy metal bands doing power ballads just to have a video on VH1.

“And I was just at the point in my life where I said, ‘You know what, I knew the music business would change. I didn’t know what it would change to.”

Morse ultimately left Kansas in the late ‘80s to work on his own music. “I’m gonna record whatever I wanna record,” he remembers thinking to himself. “So it just became, ‘I’m gonna work on my own music. I don’t care what it is. I ended up writing some of the best stuff I ever did for High Tension Wires [his 1989 solo album], because I just didn’t care anymore.”

“It’s not that I didn’t care about the music, I just didn’t care about whether the record company or the manager liked it or not. I just said, ‘I know some people will like this, and I will find where those people go and play gigs where they are.’ It was very liberating.”

It was during this stint as a solo artist that Morse decided to obtain his licence to be a commercial pilot. He ultimately qualified and worked as a pilot for an Atlanta-based regional airline for six months, but notes his short time in the position was down to it being a “really bad time to be a pilot”.

“They had so many pilots applying for the positions that they could do anything they wanted, and they did,” he remembers.

“They didn’t pay us anything to start with, so I was broke. I was booking gigs on my days off. I had to work Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Ever and New Years. And on the days in between I booked a solo gig so I could make enough money to keep the electricity on in my trailer.”

Morse ended up in a face-off with his bosses: “They drafted me, and said, ‘You have to come into work.’ I said, ‘I can’t, I have a gig.’ They said, ‘You have to.’ I said, ‘I can’t.’ They said, ‘Well you’re gonna have to quit.’ And I did.”

The decision to quit being a commercial pilot was influenced, however, after he received an invitation to perform with Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“Gary Rossington had called me up right before that and invited me down to the Omni [venue in Atlanta, Georgia]. He was getting back together with Lynyrd Skynyrd… He said, ‘Morse, bring your guitar.’ And I get down there, they’re already on stage. The crew says, ‘Alright, go up now.’ And they said, ‘Alright we’re bringing out special guest Steve Morse!’”

Watch the full Guitar World interview below: 

The post “You saw heavy metal bands doing power ballads!”: Why MTV nearly made Steve Morse quit music for a VERY different career appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

There are few individuals who can definitively say that they have redefined the guitar industry, but Lloyd Baggs is one of them. Baggs has played a huge part in the evolution of amplified acoustic guitar sound over the last four decades. In fact, you can make a very strong case that, were it not for the innovation that Baggs and his counterpart Larry Fishman a few years earlier brought to the industry, the state of our live acoustic guitar sound might be a horribly unsatisfactory one.

• READ MORE: LR Baggs AEG-1 – is this the new best-sounding electro-acoustic on the market?

Since Baggs first transitioned from making carbon fibre guitars to designing his first pickup in his California garage in the mid-80s, Baggs has been on a quest to improve the sound we hear when we plug in an acoustic – whether that’s via the pickup, preamp, all the way through to building a game-changing instrument of his own, the AEG-1 in 2024.

Things are changing at LR Baggs, however. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would drop Lloyd’s initials from the company name and just be known as “Baggs” going forward. And then came the announcement of a partnership with Gibson on the new HiFi DNA pickup system that the man himself described as “a big leap forward” for acoustic pickups. So, what’s going on…?

Lloyd Baggs crafting an AEG-1 prototype. Image: Press

First up, why did you decide to change the company name after such a long time?

“That’s some news! We just rolled out our new website, and it is LR free, except for the history and friendships. It’s Baggs moving forward mostly to honor the team. Our daughter joining the company as creative director is huge. She’s been working on this for about a year to really tell the story of who we are.”

Most companies would be nervous about changing their name with such a long legacy and brand value…

“The change in name is not a change in philosophy. I think it’s more externalising the philosophy that the Baggs company already had. Jenny [Lloyd’s daughter] is just telling our story better. And the last thing I ever wanted us to be doing is relaunching and rebranding. It’s like, the three Rs brand management are: rebrand, relaunch, and resign! [laughs]. It’s funny, a lot of people have been calling us Baggs forever and we started it when we brought out the AEG guitars. We’ve been wanting to do this for about 10 years.”

The partnership with Gibson is a really exciting one, how did that all come about?

“Well, Gibson is our longest abiding vendor. They’ve been with us longer than any other OEM customer we’ve ever had. We started back in ‘87 with the just steel-string, and we just kind of rolled it forward through all the various iterations of the company.

“They became our biggest customers during the Henry [Juszkiewicz, Gibson CEO until 2019] years. And with the new administration, Cesar really opened it up and empowered the great people at Gibson. So, fast-forward to today and Cesar was giving us credit for being in their guitars and talking about it. I guess about three years or so ago, we introduced the first HiFis.

“It took Gibson a while to figure out how good the original HiFis was, and they started loving it, and their artists were asking for them. It made its way onto some models, and Cesar [Gueikian, former Gibson CEO and current board member] fell in love with it. And I asked Gibson if they would have any interest in expanding our business relationship with the HiFis on an exclusive level. But unfortunately, the horse was already out of the barn and, and several other Gibson competitors were already adopting the HiFi on their guitars. So, Gibson threw it back over the fence and said, ‘Well, how’d you like to create something for us that we could have on our own for a while and it might even be better?’”

Image: Press

When the original HiFi pickups were launched, there was a real buzz around the industry because of both the design of it, but also sounds and the affordability of the system, but this is something a little different right?

“Well it’s still a bridgeplate transducer, and let me back up here a tiny bit into what a bridgeplate transducer offers. Placing a transducer on the bridgeplate puts it further from the strings and from the saddle. It’s got more body in it, and it just sounds better to me. Plus the bridgeplate’s just a nicer place to pick up energy from than right directly underneath the string.

“There have been many bridgeplate pickups in the market over the years, of course. Some of them were more successful than others, but some were really feedback prone. But this new HiFi DNA is something brand new.”

Image: Press

How so?

“It’s got an upgraded, lighter, more flexible transducer, and it’s more sensitive. The first thing we wanted to see was if we could improve the sound of the pickups themselves. And I believe we’ve made a big improvement there. The sensor is 25 per cent of the mass and about 20 per cent of the thickness of the original sensor.

“But I think the most significant part that really puts it over the top is that the original HiFi sensor A and sensor B are summed together and then sent into the preamp. Now think about two nice big mic diaphragms sitting next to each other for a vocalist, you’re recording in stereo, only instead of each mic diaphragm having its own preamp, you wire them together and you put them into one preamp.

“The HiFi DNA system treats it as though each microphone diaphragm has its own preamp built into the microphone. We created an individual, all discrete, class A, studio quality preamp for each pickup, and we voiced it for that specific location.

“They don’t share an EQ; they’re not quite the same in gain. Basically, each one is doing its job maintaining the purity of the signal from that voice on that side of the guitar versus the other. Each preamp is maintaining the purity of each signal and conditioning each signal to be more ideal before they’re summed together actively after the preamps. You’re able to mix those independently instead of as the original HiFi where both were summed into one.”

Image: Press

And this is going to roll out to the whole Gibson range?

“They’re putting them in a lot of guitars right now – the Hummingbird, Dove and J-45 from the Modern Collection, and the SJ-200, Songwriter, L-00 and LG-2 in the Original Collection. It’s going to be a Gibson exclusive for three years.”

Hearing it in action, it seems to offer a very natural sound without the muddy bass or high-end brittleness that acoustic pickups can deliver.

“I believe this is the best thing that we have ever done, and what I’ve been trying to do since my experience of Ry Cooder swearing at his rack in the early days. Those were painful days of acoustic amplification, and the goal was to make the process of playing an acoustic guitar rewarding and enjoyable. It’s been our career goal to make that a reality. And I believe that the HiFi DNA is the closest that we have come to that goal.”

The LR Baggs HiFi DNA pickup system is available exclusively from Gibson, and can be bought as an upgrade kit for $299. Find out more at gibson.com.

The post Lloyd Baggs on developing a revolutionary new acoustic pickup with Gibson, and why it’s the fulfillment of a lifetime of searching for better acoustic sound appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Calling all Iron Maiden fans – you can now get your hands on the signature Iron Maiden x Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal that launched earlier this year at The NAMM Show for less.

Now reduced to £169 at Thomann as part of its Guitar Day deals for a limited time only, fans and collectors alike can own the crucial wah tone used across the band’s landmark Killers album from 1981, which is certified Gold in both the US and UK.

• READ MORE: The best picks for electric guitar and acoustic guitar, from Jim Dunlop, Fender, Ibanez and more

The pedal has a rather cool design on its face, featuring none other than the band’s skeletal mascot, Eddie, taken right from the Killers album artwork. It also features the Killers title in the same font it appears in on the album’s cover, while the band’s logo runs along the side of the unit.

At the time of its release earlier this year, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett was one of the first artists to get his hands on the pedal. He shared a video to Instagram opening the pedal, in which you can also get a glimpse of its packaging – also worthy of display.

View this post on Instagram

Beneath its Iron Maiden design and fittingly metal exterior, the pedal itself is essentially the classic GCB95 Cry Baby Standard Wah. Find out more and get a better look in the short video below:

Iron Maiden were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, five whole decades after their debut. But interestingly, the band haven’t felt like making much of a fuss about it.

Speaking to Metal Hammer in June, bassist Steve Harris and frontman Bruce Dickinson made it clear that while they’re grateful for the recognition, it’s never been something they’ve spent much time thinking about.

Harris said, “It’s never really bothered me one way or the other, because awards aren’t what we do this for. But in a weird way I’m glad it’s happened so the Americans will stop banging on about it. To me, if you get offered something, you say, ‘Thank you very much.’ But did I lose sleep over getting it or not getting it? No.”

Shop the Iron Maiden CryBaby pedal at Thomann now.

The post Unlock the crucial wah tone of Iron Maiden’s Killers album with this discounted signature Cry Baby pedal appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

It’s the stuff dreams are made of. Just months ago, 16-year-old Rattikarn Amloy was a relatively unknown guitar player. But following an audition on the 2026 season of America’s Got Talent – during which she performed a blistering cover of Cranberries classic Zombie – her life changed forever.

Performing as Nene Royal, the guitar sensation – who originally hails from Phuket, Thailand – stormed her way through the competition, dazzling audiences and the nation with covers of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun, The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army and Muse’s Hysteria, and even joining Linkin Park themselves for a performance of their track The Emptiness Machine, before going on to win the entire show last week.

Yep, Amloy is just 16 years of age and she’s already achieved success most musicians only dream of. But she’s just getting started. In fact, her whirlwind story continues, as she’s been invited to open for one of metal’s biggest bands, Avenged Sevenfold, for their upcoming Singapore show on 13 October.

• READ MORE: Guitar legend John Mayer is playing six nights at the Las Vegas Sphere – here’s everything you need to know

In the past few months, she’s gained considerable experience performing to large audiences – not to mention millions viewing from home. But opening for A7X, one of her favourite bands? The pressure’s on…

View this post on Instagram

Speaking to Metal Hammer in a new interview, the guitarist explains how she landed the gig to open for Avenged. “The managers in Singapore text me: ‘Oh, I hear you wanna play with Avenged Sevenfold?’” she recalls.

“I was like, ‘Yeah!’ They said, ‘Well, Avenged Sevenfold want you to support them.’ They asked for me, ‘Do you wanna do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah!’”

As for her feelings in the runup to the show, she confesses she’s both excited and scared in equal measure.

“It’s my first time playing support to Avenged Sevenfold, so I was like, ‘I’m scared!’ And I’m going to play in front of how many? 40,000!”

Elsewhere in the interview, the Royal reveals she had no idea she was going to perform with Linkin Park before doing so during the AGT final. “I was practising on my own. I thought I was going to play alone,” she says. “But when I practised, a cameraman just came in, and then Linkin Park came in. I was like, ‘What’s going on?!’ I don’t know if Linkin Park are just gonna come and take a video, some shot, that’s all. But actually, [they] say, ‘We’re gonna join together onstage,’ and I was like, ‘There’s no way!’ My dream’s come true.”

You can catch Nene Royal opening for Avenged Sevenfold on 13 October at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets are available via the Avenged Sevenfold website.

The post “I’m going to play in front of how many? 40,000?!”: America’s Got Talent winner Nene Royal on being invited to open for Avenged Sevenfold appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

One of the coolest guitar releases of the year so far – hell, in recent memory – was the spate of limited-edition PRS Silver Skys outfitted in classic Land Rover Defender colourways launched last earlier this month.

It marked the announcement of an unexpected partnership between the guitar maker and Jaguar Land Rover, driven chiefly by the Silver Sky’s namesake John Mayer’s love of the legendary SUV. 

The collab consists of eight Silver Sky models boasting Defender finishes: four USA-made ones sporting classic Defender colourways like Arles Blue and Sandglow Yellow, and four SE models wearing some more contemporary finishes, like Petra Copper and Woolstone Green.

Credit: PRS

And a big part of the collaboration for Mayer was ensuring those with more SE-adjacent budgets weren’t being shortchanged in terms of the look of the guitars in comparison to the more expensive USA-made models.

• READ MORE: Guitar legend John Mayer is playing six nights at the Las Vegas Sphere – here’s everything you need to know

In a new interview with Guitar World following the launch, the guitar maestro – who has also just announced a huge six-night residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, his second stint at the venue after a lengthy residency with Dead & Company in 2024 and 2025 – explains why it was important to make sure the more budget-friendly Silver Sky Defenders also looked the part.

Notably, the SE models – which despite their limited run are priced at a reasonable £799 apiece – are the first Silver Skys to feature a highly requested black pickguard.

“It’s almost like the first appearance of Wolverine. Everyone’s waiting for it,” Mayer says. “I think it’s interesting that it makes its appearance on the SE line as opposed to just having it trickle down from the Core line.”

“I thought it was nice to give something to the SE,” he continues. “When I was growing up, the more accessible guitar got punished for being more accessible. I learned a lot from the SE.

Credit: PRS

“I originally had the idea like, ‘Oh, you tier it.’ Then guitar lovers of the world spoke to me. I learned that some people are going to have an SE forever. It doesn’t have to be a consolation and someday you’ll work your way up. That’s when I thought, ‘There should be a little bit to separate the lines.’”

It is, indeed, common for guitar companies to separate colourway options for their differently priced guitar lines, and some argue that the more aesthetically pleasing colours tend to be available on more expensive models. But that was the opposite of Mayer’s approach to the Defender collaboration.

“Teaming up with Defender to offer the Silver Sky guitar in their legendary 4×4 colors is a dream come true,” said Mayer, a keen Defender enthusiast, when the collab was announced. 

“I’ve always chosen colourways based on objects and materials that inspire me in the world, and as a collector and lover of Defenders, this collaboration is the perfect crossover between two great passions of mine.”

Learn more about the new limited-edition Silver Sky Defender guitars at PRS.

The post John Mayer thinks big guitar makers have “punished” affordable guitars by making them look worse than expensive ones appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

[Editor’s note: Guitar Center caters to US customers. If you’re reading from elsewhere, you’ll be shown similar deals.]

Guitar Center is currently offering up to 30 percent off a range of popular gear across its website, all thanks to its big Guitar-A-Thon event.

Running right now all the way through 7 October 2026, you can save on guitars from Fender, Epiphone, Squier, and even on a range of popular pedals too. 

• READ MORE: Want to test the prototype from Guitar Center’s new in-house guitar brand? Here’s how you can

If you’re new to guitar, or perhaps you’re looking to upgrade your rig, then we’ve found some great deals to help you out. We’ve rounded up some of the best highlights for players of all tastes and abilities below.

Fender Player II

Get up to 30 percent off on a range of Fender Player II models, including GC exclusive models such as the Fender Player II Telecaster in British Racing Green (now $679.99), Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS Plus Top in Blue Burst (now $650.99), and the Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS in Ocean Turquoise (now $622.99) – just to name a few.

Epiphone Les Pauls 

Epiphone offers a range of Les Paul models for a more accessible price point than your typical Gibson models, but with even more savings on top, you can really grab a bargain. Most of these discounted models are also GC exclusives, with some particularly spectacular finishes. Get a Les Paul Modern Pro model in Wine Red for $499 or a Les Paul Custom Quilt model in Cobra Burst for $649.

Credit: Guitar Center

Squier starter kits

Perfect for beginner players of all ages, Squier guitars make for a great starting point, and these discounted packs come with everything you need to get learning. For just under $300, you can get a Stratocaster in either Arctic White or Sonic Blue, with a compact Squier Frontman 10G amplifier, a gig bag, instrument cable, plus a strap and picks.

Save on big-brands across pedals 

In need of a new distortion pedal? Obsessing on the idea of an overdrive? Grab a colourful BOSS Super Overdrive or Distortion pedal with a matching colour-coordinated cable included, now for $69.99 each, discounted from $99.99.

You can also save on further pedals such as an MXR EVH 5150 Bumblebee Overdrive, now down to $199.99, the ProCo RAT2 for $88, and many more, as well as deals on pedalboards and accompanying cases.

Credit: Guitar Center

To view all Guitar-A-Thon deals, head over to the Guitar Center website.

The post Need a new guitar? Pining for a pedal? Get 30% off loads of gear goodies with Guitar Center’s Guitar-A-Thon appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$999/£999, martinguitar.com

The world of bluegrass flat-picking acoustic guitar is in rude health at the moment, as a new generation is elevating and propagating the form to new audiences and new levels – from Billy Strings and Trey Hensley, to Chris Eldridge and Cody Kilby, and many others.

• READ MORE: Martin Road Series DC-13E Modern review: a stunning cutaway Dreadnought aimed at contemporary players

And then there’s Molly Tuttle. The 33-year-old Californian is a two-time IBMA guitar player of the year and back-to-back winner of the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and was even nominated in its hugely prestigious Best New Artist category in 2023. That’s an honour shared in recent years by everyone from Noah Kahan and Gracie Abrams, to Ice Spice and Chappell Roan.

All of which to say is that Tuttle is not just a flatpicking guitarist of rare talent, but one whose artistry is crossing the floor to bring a whole new audience into the realm of bluegrass and Americana.

As is usually the case with flatpickers, Tuttle has been a great exponent of the Martin dreadnought throughout her career, and so it makes all the sense in the world that Martin would honour her not just with one signature model, but two. There’s a fancy Nazareth-made D-18 for the well-heeled ($4,199.99), but interestingly also a more affordable Mexico-made version, we’re looking at the latter.

What is it?

The DX-2E Molly Tuttle is, like its US-made sibling, inspired by Tuttle’s most beloved and cherished Martin: a 1943 D-18. The most notable thing that sets it apart from a regular X Series dreadnought is the neck profile, which is a fast, comfortable 1940s carve with the same 1 11/16″ nut width. This 1941 carve has a soft V to it, and unlike most of the X Series guitars, it has a standard taper, so it doesn’t get narrower as you move up the neck.

The other striking differences are mainly cosmetic – the spruce top is finished with a lovely vintage sunburst, while the satin-finished HPL back and sides have a vintage mahogany pattern. The ebony fingerboard features a faux abalone and pearl custom Moon Phase pattern on it, and you also get a silver logo on the headstock, plus a set of open-gear tuners with custom oval buttons.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as a standard Martin DX-2E – with a solid top, HPL back and sides, a select hardwood neck, and Martin E-1 electronics. You also get a plush Martin-branded gig bag.

Image: Press

Build and playability

Upon pulling the guitar out of the aforementioned gig bag, the aesthetics of Tuttle’s DX-2E really grabbed my attention. The satin-finished top with its vintage sunburst gives a very ‘old’ vibe, and sat on a guitar stand across from my desk, it really does look like a pre-war Martin, at first glance at least. The more rounded shape of the headstock compared to a modern Martin, combined with those open-gear tuners, really does change the vibe of the guitar and make it seem more classic and worn in – a nice touch.

Picking it up, and on close inspection I’m less taken with the lack of binding – a feature common to all X Series but one that really does make the guitar feel less premium. I understand that there are likely cost and range-differentiation reasons behind this (the Road Series exists after all!) but on a signature model like this, especially one that costs $200 more than a regular DX-2E, it’s a shame to have the illusion broken so easily.

Because when you play the thing, it’s very easy to forget that you are in fact playing an X Series, because this satin-finished 1941 neck is an absolute superstar. I’ve played a few pre-war Martins, and you can tell the care and attention that’s gone into getting this profile and feel just right. When I closed my eyes, I really could tell myself I was playing a 1940s guitar.

What’s more, in contrast to say, the slimmer nut of the Billy Strings model that seemed more readily designed for bluegrass picking at speed, the fingerboard here feels like a nice, accommodating middle ground that will suit any playing style. It’s something that the original 40s Martin dreadnoughts did so well, and it’s very impressive that the company has recreated it here.

Image: Press

Sounds

It might be damning the DX-2E with faint praise to say that it sounds like a standard Martin dreadnought, but in truth that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. It’s absolutely not going to trick my ears into thinking that it’s a 1940s guitar in the way it fooled my eyes and hands, but this is a sub-$1,000 guitar we’re dealing with here, c’mon!

What it offers is a powerful, strident voice that’s warm and subtle, and I do notice a bit more treble and mid-frequency bite than a typical Martin dread, which is all rather pleasant.

Plugged into an amplifier, I found the E-1 system to be very usable and effective – it does a nice job of replicating the unplugged sound. The subtle soundhole controls are really handy in the heat of battle, as is the onboard tuner, which looks up at you from inside the bottom of the soundhole. Some may not love what it does to the aesthetics of the guitar, but I like how the E-1 system’s battery is stowed behind a flip-up plastic cover around the strap button – it’s a lot easier than fishing around the guitar for a velcro’d battery inside!

Image: Press

Should I buy one?

This is another really impressive Mexico-made signature model from Martin – the Navojoa team is doing some really fantastic work right now, and we’re seeing the best of it in how they’re being entrusted with artist guitars like these.

The great thing about this guitar in particular is how much of a great all-rounder it is – that neck is one of the finest Martin carves I’ve felt outside of the Nazareth factory, and you can tell it’s put a lot of time and effort into nailing the playability and feel of Tuttle’s guitar.

It’s a shame that the aesthetic appointments let things down somewhat, but the thing about looks is that they’re subjective – and the rest of the package far outstrips its price tag.

Alternatives

The regular D-X2E ($/£749) doesn’t have the wonderful neck of the Tuttle version, but it’s still a fine guitar for a lot less money. The other signature guitar in the X Series is the D-X2E Billy Strings ($949) and is another fine guitar that’s more ready to shred. Taylor’s Academy 10E ($799) is another quality Mexico-made dreadnought for not a lot of money.

The post Martin D-X2E Molly Tuttle review: “if I closed my eyes, I really could tell myself I was playing a 1940s guitar” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Over the years, guitars played by Eric Clapton have commanded some eye-watering price tags at the auction block. Just last year, among the vast guitar collection of late billionaire and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay lay Clapton’s SG, the Fool, which ended up fetching just over $3 million at auction.

Indeed, Clapton’s guitars have a long history of earning vast sums of money; in a 2004 auction at Christie’s in New York, the guitarist’s Cherry Red 1964 Gibson ES-335 – which he played during Cream’s last show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1968, and was recently remade as an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson model – sold for $847,500 (just over $1.5 million in today’s money, per usinflationcalculator.com).

• READ MORE: Buddy Guy’s 90th birthday concert – featuring Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa among a stacked contingent of blues elite – will be livestreamed on pay-per-view
  

The star of that 2004 auction, though, was Clapton’s black Fender Stratocaster, nicknamed “Blackie”. That one sold to Guitar Center for $959,500 (approximately $1.7 million in today’s money). It was the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction at the time. That figure was eclipsed quite significantly last year, though, by another black Strat belonging to David Gilmour, which fetched a staggering world-record $14,550,000.

The guitars at Clapton’s 2004 Christie’s auction were sold off to support his Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a substance-abuse rehabilitation centre which supports recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.

Clapton – a former alcoholic and drug addict himself – continues to champion the importance of his Crossroads organisation, and recently held the 2026 Crossroads Guitar Festival with proceeds benefitting the Crossroads Centre.

Though he admits it was ultimately the right decision to sell off some of his most prized instruments for a good cause, he jokes in a new interview with Guitar Center that it was a “big, big mistake” letting go of Blackie and his Cream-era 335.

“When the auction was going on, I had to constantly keep [reminding] myself: ‘This is your purpose. You are an alcoholic and if you don’t stay sober, you won’t be able to help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. So this is all for that purpose. Crossroads is for that purpose. So I’m out [disproportionately] obsessed with the survival of that place.”

“So these things, as sacred as they are, they have to be given away – sacrificed. That’s my thing – I really need to keep Crossroads alive, if I can.” 

He continues: “My primary purpose is to stay sober, and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. That’s above me being a musician or a husband or a father. It’s the number one thing.”

Elsewhere, Clapton speaks on the transformative power of musical instruments. “It’s the most reliable source of inspiration, salvation, if you like,” he says.

“If you’re in a bad place, and you pick up a guitar, there’s a strong chance you’ll get out of that. You’ll transcend whatever the problem is… They’re very sacred things to me, these guitars.”

Watch the full clip below:

The post Eric Clapton says he made a “big, big mistake” auctioning off his legendary “Blackie” Stratocaster appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

After partnering with Taylor last year to launch two new signature five-string acoustic guitars, musical mastermind Jacob Collier has now teamed up with D’Addario on a new set of strings “engineered specifically” to support the symmetrical D-A-E-A-D tuning used on the guitars.

A musician who’s anything but ordinary, Jacob Collier found his voice in a five-string guitar 10 years ago. “In 2016, I figured out a way for the guitar to make sense to me – it was by ripping one of the strings off a six-string guitar and leaving only five,” he told Guitar.com 2024.

“And I tuned it in a very unusual way. I did this for the first time on the day of a gig, and then I played it on the gig, which was a very funny experience.”

• READ MORE: “My job is to imagine things worth existing, and then making them real as an artist”: Jacob Collier is championing a new way to play guitar
  

That love of five-strings reached a high point in 2025 when Collier launched, alongside Taylor Guitars, an Academy 22e and GS Mini.

Hand-picked by Taylor CEO Andy Powers, Collier’s new Specialty XS Phosphor Bronze String Set is designed for these signature guitars, with a custom .012-.053 gauge range optimised for D-A-E-A-D tuning. The wound strings in the set feature an ultra-thing XS film coating, while the plain steel strings feature a unique polymer treatment for “maximum corrosion resistance and extended tone life”.

And if that wasn’t enough, the strings are launching alongside a new D’addario Jacob Collier Signature Vegan Guitar Strap, which features colourful custom artwork reflecting Collier’s vibrant aesthetic.

“An artist’s voice isn’t something you find; it’s already there, like the Michelangelo quote: ‘Remove what’s not the sculpture, and the sculpture was there all along,’” says Collier.

“Trying to find my voice led me to fall in love with the five-string guitar. For me, it’s important that a string has a lot of life to it. D’Addario strings embody that – they are made with incredible care and attention to detail.”

He continues: “There is a miraculous tone and sublime feel to these D’Addario strings. This set was handpicked by Taylor’s own Andy Powers to balance the tension, feel, and pitch accuracy of this symmetric five-string tuning that forms the backbone of my custom Taylor guitar models.”

The 12-53 Jacob Collier Taylor 5-String Set and Signature Vegan Strap are both available now via D’Addario.com.

The post D’Addario launches five-string set designed for the Jacob Collier’s signature five-string Taylor guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Guitar.com Magazine is back this week – here’s how you can get the September/October 2026 issue, which comes as part of a bundle with NME Magazine.

So far, the relaunched print edition of Guitar.com Magazine has had Mateus Asato, Yvette Young, Jacob Collier and Grace Bowers grace the cover. This Thursday, the fifth Guitar.com Magazine will launch. Mark your calendars for October 1 at 2pm BST – that’s when the cover star will be revealed and when this issue will go on sale exclusively via retailer Dawsons. If you’d like a sneak peek at the issue, solve the mini crossword in the waiting room, which is open now.

Subscribe here for more information about the Guitar.com Magazine and for the chance to receive an exclusive queue jump opportunity, where readers can get their hands on a copy before anyone else. Guitar.com will be sending out queue jump tickets shortly before the magazine goes on sale to randomly chosen subscribers.

The post Here’s how you can get the Guitar.com September/October 2026 issue appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

“It’s actually annoying how long we’ve been working on this music for,” Joe Langridge-Brown quips from the other side of a Zoom call, the heads of a couple Fender and Gibson guitars poking out from behind his head. The Nothing But Thieves guitarist is talking from his London home about the band’s fifth studio album Stray Dogs, out 25 September, before bandmate and fellow guitarist Dom Craik pops up on screen too.

• READ MORE: How Fairlane Guitars built a brand beloved by some of the coolest artists on the planet

“This record was built for live,” continues Langridge-Brown, “which we’ve never really done before. We started [lead single] Evolution in March, I think, and we’ve been keeping an eye on how we want to tour it from the beginning, which has taken a long time. But I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’s a long time living with music, but it’s time for the world to have it,” adds Craik.

Ten years after debuting with a critically-acclaimed self-titled album, Nothing But Thieves found themselves back where it started in Angelic Studios. Three other albums had passed since the rock quintet returned to record Stray Dogs, but this record won’t try anything experimental. The writing process was based on what the band sounds like live – allowing the five-piece to dissect footage of themselves to compose new material that feels… bespoke. Like a tailored suit. For an album themed around familiarity, community and togetherness, they’ve quite literally stuck to what they know.

“To be totally honest, Angelic is an amazing studio,” says Langridge-Brown. “It’s for residency so you go and stay there for a few weeks, and there aren’t many of those in the UK, so we love it there. But it also just made sense. We’re referencing something that harnesses how we sound, and there’s also the subject matter being about our lives and community, so it felt right to go back somewhere we were familiar with.”

Image: Steve Gullick

True Path

For a seasoned outfit like Nothing But Thieves, every album is a stylised foothold on the journey to their true identity. 2023’s Dead Club City turned tables with a riskier route down a pop-tinted road, for example, with experimentally layered tracks and a lot more groove than fans were used to. But 2020’s Moral Panic leaned into girthy guitar and streaky choruses which, judging by the album’s angst and self-assuredness, felt like the band’s ultimate comfort zone.

“I do think the Foo Fighters stuff is in our DNA,” says Langridge-Brown, coming from his own perspective when a comparison is made between Stray Dogs and the shredded gnarliness of Dave Grohl’s rock megastars. “I listened to Wasting Light in the car for about two years every single day, and I don’t think that’ll ever leave. But in terms of other references in the guitar tones, either consciously or subconsciously, there’s probably a bit of Smashing Pumpkins and early nineties stuff in there. Pearl Jam too, which is kind of grunge, but with incredible guitars and some progressive stuff as well.”

“It’s quite interesting because it’s not like we sit down at the start and go, ‘Well, what’s the palette of the guitar tones?’”, says Craik. “Often the song comes first, and we try to shape the guitar tones around Connor [Mason’s] voice. Sometimes the heavier the guitar tones, the more challenging it can be. We’re almost steered by trying to accommodate Connor’s vocal and the song best.But there were those touch points like Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, the rawer nineties and the grunge stuff.

“There are always guitar tones that we take inspiration from, like Radiohead, as I’m sure a lot of bands do,” he continues, “just because of the variety and level of experimentation that they always do. There’s an endless pool of sonics to dive into there, so that’s something that we try and incorporate. But when we were writing this record, it was quite fun because we hadn’t really experimented with this wall of fuzz guitar sound before, and that gave Joe and I an opportunity to dig out some pedals, old and new, and plug those in to see how we could make it work with our sound.”

The Fast Lane

Talking of old and new, there were a few other changes this time round for Craik and Langridge-Brown, most notably their introduction to South London boutique builder Fairlane Guitars. The pair were approached by Fairlane – who you can read all about in their recent Guitar.com cover story – before they started using the brand’s flagship Zephyr.

“Reuben just approached me and said, ‘Look, I’ve got some guitars; would you like to try one?’”, chuckles Craik at the memory. “And I couldn’t believe this thing, it was unbelievable. It’s like an inverted Firebird body with a mastery bridge and a Fender scale length. It’s not anything too crazy, but the build quality is unreal, and they have these Monty’s handwound pickups which are just, again, unbelievable.”

The quirky Zephyr was so mesmerising that it became a feature on almost every Stray Dogs track. And it’ll likely feature pretty heavily on tour, too. “I remember when we started writing, we’d play just one chord and the boys were like meerkats at the back of the room,” Craik continues, grinning wide. “Their ears pricked up. And it’s one of those guitars that sounds like something new, so it was hard not to put it on everything. I think it might be on every song in one way or another. It’s just a beast of a guitar.”

The band’s something old, if you like, had to be all the other gear; the amps and pedals and speakers they’ve used for decades gone by whilst getting to grips with their identity. Stray Dogs might be decorated by a few shiny ornaments like the Fairlane Zephyr, but it’s those same sturdy foundations that give it a touching thrill of familiarity.

“This album was asking us to delve into all the gear that we’ve collected over the last decade and the new bits that we’ve been acquiring and not only learn them, but try and find new applications for them,” says Craik. “We were using a lot of sixties Fender Bassmans – we had a black and a silver one, which were both amazing. But I was also slowly getting to grips with the sound of different speakers: the difference between a 10-, 12-, and even a 15-inch speaker, which I know is quite unusual. But by the end of the process, I was able to dial in amp tones pretty quickly. It was definitely like going to the gym, though; it took a while to warm up.”

Image: Steve Gullick

Playground Games

With the right gear, the writing process in the studio becomes a playground for inspiration. “That’s what’s so exciting as a guitarist,” says Langridge-Brown. “When you pick up a guitar and it makes you play something that you’ve not played before, or you put a pedal in the chain and it comes out as something completely new. When we were travelling in the US, I picked up this 12-string Strat and that made me think in a different way. There’s a song called Number Five on the record which has this chorus-y 12-string sound on it and I think that was a change in the arrangement that we didn’t initially have. So, it’s always fun as a guitarist to pick up a piece of gear and be like, ‘What can I make of this?’”

But there’s trouble with a project harnessing too much familiarity; it gets too comfortable, even a little stale. A few fresh perspectives on gear and a couple different tricks up sleeves might not be enough to salvage it. But Stray Dogs is crisp. It’s a record evolved from the past – for sure – but it’s emboldened and vitalised by nuanced songwriting and pulsing vigour that’s, to be honest, pretty palpable. It’s fresh because Nothing But Thieves have themselves as their muse. There are sly winks of Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam if you claw back the thick, wiry layers of raw guitar power, but those guys aren’t the blueprint.

“It’s a weird balance where you’re trying to make a guitar-based record that isn’t cliche,” agrees Langridge-Brown. “It’s nineties-influenced, but you don’t want to come out with a record that feels like it belongs in the nineties. It’s got to have another added part of the conversation.

“You could look at our pedal boards now,” he continues. “I’m using this Chase Bliss Preamp MKII, which is a really posh distortion preamp, but with a RAT pedal. Those things together – even the order you put those pedals in – creates something completely new. And that’s one of the fun parts of the job, playing around with the sound and getting to call it a living.”

Reference Points

In truth, we’re moving through a period of reference culture where every art form has a standard of success. We’ve seen the best of what’s come before us, and it still stands up today – so how do you recreate the same effect without copying the past? “There’s a David Mitchell quote which is about culture eating and re-eating itself,” says Craik. “It’s about regurgitating anything that was good in the first place. It’s funny, because there’s definitely a bit of an eighties resurgence and the nineties has definitely been the ‘in’ thing. Whether we fell into that was definitely by accident, but we’ve always been inspired by the nineties, and it’s no bad thing for guitar music, especially in the UK, to be having a real moment. But it never goes anywhere.”

As Craik speaks, Langridge-Brown is in his own world of contemplation. “I think the David Mitchell quote Dom’s talking about is the human centipede of music,” he begins. “I think that’s where the magic is. There’s a song called Baby Kool on this record and a reason why it’s one of my favourites is because you have two worlds that are really the antithesis of each other. There’s a glam verse, and then there’s this nineties grungy chorus. If you just made a record that’s derivative of the nineties, that’s less appealing.”

Craik nods, adding: “Taking the best bits of multiple facets of genres – that’s the sweet spot. It’s hard to do, but when we land on it, something magical happens.”

Now that the album’s finally out, the biggest thing left to do – and perhaps the most important thing all along – is tour. And it’s the largest headline tour Nothing But Thieves have ever done, so it’s going to be huge.

“We’ve been doing a bunch of rehearsals, making sure the tone is bang on and making everything feel as powerful as possible, translated best from the record,” says Craik.

“At the heart of the record,” adds Langridge-Brown, “it’s us playing in a room with that simplicity of what makes a band good – without the bells and whistles. We’ve just got to give it the best version of itself live.”

Stray Dogs is out now.

The post “The Foo Fighters stuff is in our DNA”: Nothing But Thieves on reference culture, musing on their past and falling in love with Fairlane Guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Hold on to your hats, as guitar maestro and all-round six-string heartthrob John Mayer has just announced a six-night residency at the Las Vegas Sphere for 2027.

Mayer will take to the stage at the much-talked-about spherical venue on 8, 10, 11, 15, 17 and 18 April 2027, with each night split into three distinct sections: a solo set, a section where Mayer performs alongside his full backing band, and finally a segment with the John Mayer Trio, which also features bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan. The residency also marks the John Mayer Trio’s first live shows since 2017.

Of course, it won’t be the first time John Mayer takes to the stage inside the Sphere, after a hugely successful and lengthy residency with Dead & Company in 2024 and 2025.

• READ MORE: PRS Silver Sky x Land Rover Defender: an unlikely collaboration that goes kinda hard

And Mayer’s long shown his praise of the Sphere as a venue and how it facilitates “big league” bands putting on their best show.

“I think what we all love is that there’s finally once again a live-music space race,” he said in 2024. “There’s the social-media space race, the podcast space race, the AI space race. But live music pretty much stayed the same for such a long time.”

“I think this is the first time in a long time where we feel kind of honoured to be a part of something that’s so culturally right up in everyone’s view,” he added. “We’re all sort of like, how cool is this?”

So while his Sphere experience to date has been limited to Dead & Company shows, expect to hear Mayer’s biggest hits like Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Gravity and Your Body Is a Wonderland when he returns to the venue next year.

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The announcement comes on the heels of a new collaboration between John Mayer and Jaguar Land Rover, which saw a limited drop of both his signature SE and USA-made Silver Skys outfitted in classic colourways seen on the car maker’s legendary Defender SUV. Will he take a couple for a spin during his Sphere shows? We’d put money on it…

John Mayer marks the latest high-profile artist to play a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. So far, the venue has seen residencies from the likes of Eagles, Dead & Company, U2 and electronic artist Anyma, while Metallica are scheduled to begin their Life Burns Faster residency from 1 October.

John Mayer at the Sphere – how to get tickets

Tickets for John Mayer’s Sphere residency start at $129, with Artist Presale beginning on Wednesday, 7 October at 10AM PT. A SiriusXM presale will also begin on 8 October, followed by general public on sale from 9 October at 10AM PT. Limited VIP packages will also be available from 30 September.

Learn more at johnmayer.com.

The post Guitar legend John Mayer is playing six nights at the Las Vegas Sphere – here’s everything you need to know appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

As a guitarist, have you ever felt not particularly motivated to practice? You’re not alone – in fact, you’re in the company of Radiohead lead guitarist and all-round six-string legend Jonny Greenwood, who confesses in a new interview that he hasn’t always been totally disciplined when it comes to guitar practice.

Greenwood – who also plays guitar in The Smile, a three-piece also featuring his Radiohead bandmate Thom Yorke – tells The Independent [via NME] that while he’s now “hooked” on guitar practice, that wasn’t always the case in the early days of Radiohead.

• READ MORE: How Jackson and Charvel broke new ground for Sleep Token’s double signature models: and created 2026’s biggest artist launch

“I will sit and play guitar every day now,” he explains. “It’s funny. It’s something I kind of never wanted to do. I used to distrust any sort of fluidity and think that was somehow part of that thing of technical playing. But now I just feel different about it. And it feels lucky that my fingers do these things.

“I’ve got a certain facility with it, so I’ve decided to accept it, and have realised that I really love playing the guitar.”

Despite helping pen some of British rock music’s most enduring hits alongside Radiohead, Greenwood admits he “always felt like a clumsy guitar player” who was “always lazy”.

“Now, just through repetition, I’ve got hooked,” he adds. “I’ve just got addicted and want to play all the time.”

Radiohead reunited last year to embark on a tour of the UK and Europe, their first shows since 2018. While the reunion led some fans to speculate about new material from the Oxfordshire five-piece, we’ve not heard anything to suggest new music is planned or on the way.

Speaking to The Times in February, Jonny Greenwood reflected that “it was great to revisit songs” on tour, but that he “found it strange not to be doing anything new”.

“I guess we are all doing new music elsewhere now so that’s where our creative energies are going.”

Asked about the possibility of a new album from the band, he replied, “I’ve no idea. I mean, I’m surprised that the tour actually happened and that we all enjoyed it so much. But venues get booked so far in advance. To do another we would have to decide now, and even then it wouldn’t happen for 18 months.”

Well, they’ve agreed to continue performing shows, and are scheduled to play 21 shows in 2027 across Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia and Saitama, Japan.

Learn more at Radiohead.com.

The post “It’s something I never wanted to do”: Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood admits he was a “lazy” guitar player in the band’s early days appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray has taken aim at bands who lean on backing and click tracks on stage, arguing that pre-recorded guitars and vocals drain the spontaneity from a live show.

In an interview with Metal Hammer, Gray says Mudvayne have never played to a click, and while he doesn’t call out any specific bands, he does singles out stacked guitars and layered backing vocals as his main gripes.

• READ MORE: “If you can’t play your s**t, then why the f**k are you onstage?”: Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray voices opposition to live backing tracks
  

He says bands that sound exactly like their studio records because of backing tracks need to “keep it f**king real a little bit”.

His argument centres first on tempo. Without a click, he explains, a band drifts naturally, giving live music a sense of movement and life not achievable if using a click or backing tracks on a rigid musical grid.

“When you’re live, there’s an actual push and a pull that happens,” Gray says. “Say you’re playing a mellow verse and a heavy chorus is coming – by the third or fourth measure of that verse, the tempo naturally starts to speed up right before the chorus hits.

“It slowly slides into what’s coming. That builds anticipation and excitement for the crowd because they know what’s coming, and then bam! that shit hits.

“When you’ve got a click, you can’t create momentum because you’ve got a bunch of backing tracks running along with you.”

Gray isn’t calling for a blanket ban on backing tracks, though. He doesn’t expect a band with an orchestral bridge to tour with a full orchestra. His issue is with stacked guitars and backing vocals, elements which a band could already play or sing themselves.

This orchestral exception echoes a line drawn by Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, who admitted to using orchestral tracks while performing some tracks from Stone Sour’s 2012/2013 double album House of Gold & Bones. He wasn’t a fan of the experience, though.

“Obviously, all the guitars were real, the drums were real, vocals were real, bass was real, but we used track for some of the orchestral stuff and some of the connector pieces,” he said. “‘Cause we were playing some of the stuff that would connect. And being a slave to that felt so stifling that I was like losing my… I was, like, ‘We’ve gotta get off this fucking shit.’”

Wolfgang Van Halen took a comparable stance that year, arguing that backing tracks should be kept to a minimum live and that he never does anything in the studio that he can’t do live.

The post “Tripled and quadrupled guitars? Let’s keep it f**king real a little bit”: Mudvayne frontman slams bands who use backing tracks live appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The biggest signature guitar launch of 2026 was for two musicians who have never said a word publicly, have never given an interview, and whose faces have never been seen. And yet within days of their Charvel and Jackson instruments being revealed to the world, they had completely sold out – despite the four figure price tag. Strange? Well…

Sleep Token signatures on the Guitar.com Cover. Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

And in truth, nobody was really surprised. The masked collective known as Sleep Token are, to put it mildly, a phenomenon – their huge, ever-growing presence has seen them bring death growls and djent-inflected riffs to staggering arena-sized shows, and become one of the newest bands to headline Download festival.

As well as a formidable listenership they’ve also crafted a whole universe of intricate mythology from behind their masks and bodypaint that has built a remarkably devoted and passionate following. This was never going to be a normal set of signature instruments, or a normal launch.

For starters, it was the first ever joint launch for Jackson and Charvel – with guitarist IV opting for a signature Jackson, and bassist III creating his own Charvel bass. The two brands have been under the wider Fender Musical Instrument Corporation brand for a long time now, but they’d never collabed like this before. But here’s where it gets really tricky…

Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

Within their music, Sleep Token offer up cryptic storytelling, hinting at but never overstating a deeply-imagined lore. But, remarkably for a band of their size, everything else is a mystery. Outside of their songs and their other “offerings”, the band maintain an anonymous, enigmatic presence – an approach that’s hardly forthcoming to the usual cycle of interviews and demos that would usually accompany a launch like this.

The total number of words said by bandleader Vessel in his extremely rare interviews could fit on about six post-it notes, and even then he presents the project pretty cryptically. Drummer II did a video with Drumeo in 2023. But for III and IV? Nothing – no rig rundowns, no tour diaries, no get-ready-with-me TikToks. The band members don’t even appear in music videos anymore.

So how do you go about launching not one but two signature instruments for Sleep Token, when the band’s non-music communication mostly consists of mysterious lore and runic symbolism? Tim Hillier-Brook is the artist marketing manager for Fender’s specialty brands, and helmed the collaboration between Sleep Token, Jackson and Charvel – and it was up to him and his team to find out.

“Guitar is one of the most exciting places it’s been in for a long time, Sleep Token are a really important part of that”

Old friends, new connections

Since he started in his role, a Sleep Token collaboration was always a goal for Hillier-Brook. Then a few years ago, the former Architects guitarist crossed paths with an old friend.

“By complete coincidence, their guitar tech is an old mate of mine from back when I played in bands,” he says. “He reached out to us, saying, ‘Hey, Sleep Token is growing, and we’re looking to get some more instruments’. I was delighted to hear that, particularly as it came through a friend – there’s a level of trust there.”

Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

“It quickly became all about getting them the perfect guitars for what they do,” Hillier-Brook adds. Things started with existing production models, such as Gretsch Baritones, but after around a year of discussions, it was time for some custom instruments. “We made an eight-string for IV, and there’s a four-string non-multi-scale for III – those let us troubleshoot some things, and find what was going to be the main instrument for both of them.”

Given how broad the Sleep Token sound is – going from expansive, cinematic pop to pummelling, brutal metal – it was going to be impossible for the signatures alone to cover everything III and IV needed. But the team took aim at the instrument that could work for the bulk of a given set. “It was about looking for something that would be what they needed for the most amount of time. So we landed on the specs from a lot of trial and error. III and IV are both exceptionally knowledgeable about gear and what sounds they need – they were very much like this is how it has to sound’, and it was always in a very positive, creative way.”

“Artists are not only being more creative with blending genres, they’re also being more creative with signature guitars”

A double offering

The collaboration has netted some truly singular guitars. “They’re both extremely bespoke to the music that the band makes and performs live,” Hillier-Brook says. “IV’s guitar is a 30-inch baritone, fitted with an EverTune and custom tension modules – tuned E-E an octave down, all wound strings. Essentially it’s a Bass VI designed for metal, and pretty much the first-ever production 30” baritone with those specs. There are other 30” guitars out there that players like to mod for metal, but this one is unique.”

III’s bass marks some firsts too – “it’s the first ever production reverse headstock Charvel has done, and it’s the only multi-scale Charvel bass, too – including custom. The prototype was literally the first time we’d done that. from has ever done,” Hillier-Brook says. “It’s a more gradual multi-scale, too – Sleep Token use a load of different tunings, and both of these instruments reflect the ability to switch between them. The way we’ve done the multi-scale helps with that.”

Those tunings are, as a rule, extremely low, and obviously a 30” scale helps keep things tight and percussive on the guitar side, particularly when tuning more than an octave lower than E standard. But it’s about more than sheer string length:

“For both of them, I think the main word is clarity,” Hillier-Brook says. “It’s obviously very easy when tuning that low for it to be an inaudible mess. So with the bass, it’s got the multi-scale, and the active Fishman pickups in it with multiple voicings which help things stay controlled.”

Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

“And for the guitar, it’s got a mahogany body, but with a maple cap on top alongside its quilted veneer. That’s a tonal choice to add a bit of that snappiness and brightness to things. It’s all about how those notes are going to cut through live. If you’re playing a big arena in those kinds of tunings, with those impactful and dynamic moments in the music, you need to hear every note.”

And despite those arena-ready sounds and specs, the guitars don’t sport custom-shop price tags. “That was really important to me, and the wider team, and to Sleep Token too,” Tim says.

“It can be a difficult thing when developing a signature model with an artist, to hit the specs where it’s something they will genuinely use live, especially in venues of that size, but still to make it attainable. That was definitely top of mind – getting the right specs while staying at a price-point where they’re obviously not cheap guitars, but they’re not an impossible thing for a fan to purchase.”

“III and IV are exceptionally knowledgeable about gear and what sounds they need”

Unmasking the signatures

“Anonymous” and “signature” may seem like antonyms, but that tension was something that ended up helping the designs have, weirdly, more personality. There are some literal signatures on the guitars, with a IV on the guitar’s headstock, a III on the bass’ fretboard – but for Hillier-Brook, the identity present within them comes from Sleep Token having “complete creative control” – something masked personas don’t really get in the way of.

So you don’t need to peruse their wild spec-sheets to have them stand out – these guitars will remain pretty recognisable even through a haze of fog and stage lights. “Obviously we do the Monarkh, and we do the San Dimas bass but there are little details about these that make them so unique,” Hillier-Brook adds.

“It’s not quite the same as doing a Soloist with a signature on the back of the headstock. That can be really cool, but these are something else. No matter where you see them, you’ll know exactly whose signatures they are straight away, without needing a big name on the headstock. And that all came from III and IV – they were really smart about the aesthetics as well as the specs.”

Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

A unique moment

The fact that the Sleep Token collection of guitars are so singular for Hillier-Brook reflects on where the wider world of guitars is at right now. “It’s in one of the most exciting places it’s been in for a long time,” he says, “and because of that, people are trying new things. One of the benefits of streaming is that every genre ever is in everyone’s phone – which has made people approach guitar very differently. Sleep Token are a really important part of that, where players are doing things sonically and stylistically that haven’t really been done before.”

When it comes to guitar themselves, we can see that approach reflected in other recent releases. Jack Antonoff and Lee Malia’s recent signatures, for instance, certainly garnered attention from beyond their respective fanbases thanks to their cool, genre-agnostic mashup vibes.

Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

“The name is the stamp of approval,” Hillier-Brook notes. “But it isn’t the thing about it. Lee [Malia]’s guitar doesn’t have ‘Bring Me the Horizon’ across the fretboard, and these don’t say ‘Sleep Token’ across theirs – and I think it’s linked to that trend. Artists are not only being more creative with how they’re blending genres, they’re also being more creative with guitars when the opportunity of a signature arises.”

Cynicism about signatures as a whole has also declined. “Some people used to be like, ‘I don’t want to play a guitar with someone else’s name on it’,” Hillier-Brook says. “I had it myself, years ago, when I played a Jim Root Tele in Architects! Like, ‘Oh, that’s someone else’s guitar, why are you playing it?’ – but I love Telecasters, and they’re designed for metal. Why wouldn’t I? – but there’s less of that.”

More players – particularly within the heavy world, seem keen to embrace the unique potential within the world of other artists’ signatures. “And I think we’ll see so much of that with these instruments,” Hillier-Brook notes. “Just because they do such a unique thing, and again that attitude of, ‘I’m not playing so-and-so’s guitar’ is less common. Some people might get annoyed about it, but if you are… don’t buy one. That’s fine too!”

“A lot of the positive response isn’t from Sleep Token fans – people are just excited about the guitars!”

Ready for launch

From the start it was pretty clear to the whole team that these guitars would land with a splash, no matter what happened. “Working on the whole campaign was very exciting, just because of all of the firsts,” Hillier-Brook notes, “so we had to work out how to make this the biggest thing. The run would have sold out anyway, really, because the guitars are incredible and Sleep Token are who they are, but it was so important for us to really amp it up to 11.”

The fan response to the guitars speaks for itself, and, yes, as predicted, the first wave of guitars sold out extremely quickly. But the impact went beyond units sold, particularly thanks to the fact that for the launch III and IV had finally appeared in a music video of sorts, performing a never-before heard instrumental version of Vore. For a band in such clear control of their audiovisual presence across, getting to contribute to a bonafide capital-O Offering is a pretty big deal.

Tim points towards the flipside of this, too. “A lot of the positive response isn’t just from Sleep Token fans – a lot of people are just excited about the guitars! Really, I’ve just been embarrassingly glued to my phone since the launch. The response has been unbelievable, more so than you might expect – and that’s extremely validating for us as a company, and for them as musicians.”

Image: Joseph Bishop for Guitar.com

Building worlds

In talking about these two instruments it’s easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of specs – but it’s good to remember that their uniqueness doesn’t just come from ultra-low tunings or any given set of pickups. It’s a reflection of the totally singular approach that’s made Sleep Token the band they are.

“In terms of artists that build worlds, whether you like them or not, they’re the best at it,” Hillier-Brook says. “And these guitars are just a symptom of them being so at the top of the game in terms of everything they do, from that world they’ve created, their aesthetic, down to every last tiny little detail of spec of these guitars.”

And for Hillier-Brook there’s one main takeaway from the craziness of the launch. “The way they’ve been received, the reaction from fans, artists and influencers to all of the things we tried to do with them – to see that come to fruition, as, really, just a positive thing for the whole guitar community? That’s the biggest success of these.”

Words: Cillian Breathnach
Photography: Joseph Bishop

The post How Jackson and Charvel broke new ground for Sleep Token’s double signature models: and created 2026’s biggest artist launch appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Though one of the most influential rock bands of all time, the Van Halen camp hasn’t been without its conflict through the years. Following the death of guitarist Eddie Van Halen in 2020, much talk was made about a potential Van Halen tribute tour. But in 2024, drummer Alex Van Halen claimed plans fell apart after David Lee Roth objected to an overt acknowledgement of Eddie during the shows. “The moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin’ popped a fuse…” he said.

But tensions seem to have settled as of late, with both Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth putting aside their differences to sit down for a conversation thanks to TEDxFargo. The conversation itself actually took place on 30 July this year in Fargo, North Dakota, but has just been uploaded to YouTube.

• READ MORE: Joe Satriani recalls David Lee Roth’s “crazy” attempt to recruit him for a Van Halen cover band in the ‘90s: “I said, ‘But Dave, Ed’s still alive!’”

As David Lee Roth explains, during the Van Halen years, what seemed like a harmonious performance onstage would often mean chaos backstage.

“We never showed behind the kitchen,” Roth says. “These are the first times Al and I are discussing Hell’s Kitchen in the back…”

He continues, elaborating on the times he and Alex have come to blows behind the scenes: “There should be a star in front of three different clubs in Hollywood where we practiced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu over the setlist!”

Elsewhere, Sammy Hagar, who took over from David Lee Roth as Van Halen frontman in 1985, recently spoke of his desire to stop “being the Van Halen guy”, after years of touring his Best of All Worlds tour alongside Joe Satriani and Michael Anthony.

“I’m kinda done with being the Van Halen guy,” he said. While he vowed to “always keep some [Van Halen tracks]” in his show, he reflected on how the Best of All Worlds trek evolved into a bigger thing than he had originally planned.

“Originally, the Best of All Worlds tour with Joe Satriani was supposed to only be once in 2024,” he said.

Watch the full TEDxFargo conversation between Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth below:

The post “There should be a star in front of three clubs in Hollywood where we practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu over the set list!”: David Lee Roth jokes about his tumultuous relationship with Alex Van Halen appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$299/£249/€299/, t-rex-effects.com

Nobody really needs a reverb pedal – for authentic ambience, simply do all your guitar playing in an empty swimming pool or disused cathedral. There is, however, an obvious advantage to harnessing the power of digital processing to make reverb more practical, and one of the first pedals to do that successfully was the T-Rex Room-Mate.

• READ MORE: T-Rex TwinBlaze review – one tube-driven pedal to cover all your rocking needs?

This tube-driven unit first came out around 20 years ago, but it’s been out of production for a while. Is that because it was struggling to keep up with rivals that came along later offering more modes, more controls and more dreamy epicness? Quite possibly… and so here, on a mission to fix those shortcomings (and remove a hyphen), comes the RoomMate D’Luxe.

What is it?

The hyphen has gone and the enclosure has changed from white to blue, but in some ways the D’Luxe model picks up right where the second version of the original Room-Mate left off. It’s still a fairly compact reverb pedal with stereo output and a full-size preamp valve at its heart. But the main difference is a significant one: a doubling of effect modes, from four to eight.

So you’re getting long and short springs, a plate, two rooms, two halls and – replacing the old ‘reverb plus chorus’ sound – a hall with octave-up shimmer. You’re also getting a new knob, marked ‘optional’, that does different things in different modes: it controls low-end damping for the two spring effects, adds a pre-delay in the next five, and sets the level of the octave in shimmer mode – something that can also be controlled using an expression pedal.

The other knobs are standard fare – decay time, reverb level, master volume and tone – plus input gain, for making sure you don’t overload the unit when it’s plugged in at the end of a mile-long chain of overdrives, fuzzes and boosters. Mind you, since when was overloading a tube something to be avoided?

Oh, one more point to note before we enter the virtual cathedral: while most T-Rex pedals these days are manufactured in China, this one – like newcomer the TwinBlaze that I’ve already reviewed and the FuzzTopia – is made in the company’s home country of Denmark. That doesn’t necessarily make it a better product, but it’s good news for the purists and anyone who’s not keen on outsourcing in principle.

Image: Adam Gasson

Usability and build quality

When a pedal has eight modes and six control knobs, the first thing you might be looking for is some sort of preset switch. With the RoomMate D’Luxe, you might as well look for a bottle opener, because this thing is strictly manual. Personally, I don’t think that’s a bad thing, as it’s a simple device at heart – and how many different reverb sounds does the average guitarist need to have at hand?

The control markers glow yellow when the unit is engaged, which will be easy to spot even on the darkest of stages, and the one above input gain turns orange when it’s overloaded. There’s also a warm glow from the JJ ECC83S valve, even in bypass, but this is actually coming from an LED at its base. Now, that might make you think it’s only there for show – not least as T-Rex doesn’t quote an operating voltage – but the pedal runs on a 12v power supply (included) and draws over 600mA of current according to the manual, so my guess is it’s cooking at the same 250v as the original.

Image: Adam Gasson

Sounds

Here’s a sizzlingly hot take for you: lots of people like to play guitar in stereo, but nobody likes to listen to guitar in stereo. I don’t know if there’s a solution to that paradox, but I am glad the RoomMate D’Luxe is stereo if only for the self-indulgent joy of plugging into two amps and basking in the gigantic space between them. And besides, it also has stereo inputs so it’s not limited to us guitarists and our silly little monophonic plink-sticks.

So let’s just get this out of the way: it sounds great in stereo, but I’ll be doing most of my testing in a one-amp setup because that’s how most people are likely to end up using the pedal. And luckily, it also sounds great in mono.

The spring algorithms are up first, and they’re both totally convincing. At matched settings there’s actually no obvious difference in decay time between the two, but the ‘long’ version is a little smoother and mellower. The plate is smoother still, as you’d expect, and this might be your first port of call if you’re not actively seeking the wobbliness of a spring: it’s just a really nice reverb, nuff said.

I’ve never really seen the appeal of room reverbs – who wants to emulate bad acoustics? – but the two here are certainly realistic. It’s in the three hall modes, though, that the fun really begins – and where you might well want to wheel out that second amp for stereo immersion. There’s no audible modulation on offer, so it never goes as richly celestial as something like the OBNE Dark Star Stereo or Strymon NightSky, but for pure hugeness this is all the reverb you’ll ever need.

The shimmer effect is on the assertive side, and can get shrill at times, but that’s easily fixed by dialling down the mix and/or the tone… and that brings us to the real strength of this pedal: its tweakability. T-Rex has put that high knob count to smart use, bringing total control over every aspect of the effect so you can get it sitting exactly where you want it in every mode.

That’s most strikingly true of the input gain. Keep this down around 11 o’clock for textbook clean effects, but if you slam it towards maximum the reverbs take on a pushy intensity that makes everything feel that much more exciting. And no, I never did get it to distort – but you can use the output volume for a nice boost on the way out.

Image: Adam Gasson

Should I buy one?

T-Rex has done what it needed to do to bring the RoomMate up to date with the 2026 reverb market. The result is a strong contender that covers all the key varieties while offering excellent audio quality and, above all, supreme tonal versatility.

This is not a dedicated ambient soundscaping tool – its heart lies somewhere more traditional than that – but it is a fine all-rounder, at a good price for something that’s been made in Europe by a company with real pedigree. If T-Rex really is going back to boutique, this is a very encouraging sign of what’s to come.

Alternatives

At the top of this review I mentioned rival reverb pedals with “more modes, more controls and more ethereal epicness” than the old Room-Mate. Well, let’s run through some of them. Among your most obvious options are the Boss RV-6 ($153.99/£169), Neunaber Immerse ($269/£269) and Strymon BlueSky V2 ($379/£359), while a relatively newer contender offering pristine audio quality is the UAFX Golden Reverberator ($399/£379).

The post T-Rex RoomMate D’Luxe review – a trusty all-round reverb pedal is reborn for the modern era appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.