Guitar.com

Guitarists often have wildly differing approaches to practice. Virtuoso Steve Vai, for example, last year recounted the crazy schedule he developed as a “neurotic” teenager, which found him happy if he managed to get in nine hours of practice a day.

Others, like Geese guitarist Emily Green, find dedicated guitar practice to be tiresome – she even calls it “boring” in a new interview with Guitar World – and prefer to hone their chops on the road and on stage. 

• READ MORE: “Washburn’s business model was too slow – I was so frustrated”: Why YouTube star Ola Englund launched his own company, Solar Guitars

It should be noted, in fairness, that Steve Vai also keeps his skills sharp on stage, and has performed hundreds – if not thousands – of shows over the course of his near-five-decade career. But Emily Green isn’t convinced by dedicated practice sessions.

“Practising is boring,” she says. “Getting better at guitar by playing in a band with people is much more interesting [and] the best way to learn how to play guitar. The scales and stuff just feel very dry to me.

“I don’t really know practical theory. It’s like I’m in a room with the lights off, and I know how to find my way around because I’ve been in that room my whole life. I know where everything is, but wouldn’t it be so much easier if the lights were turned on?”

The extent to which guitarists should know theory has long been a source of debate in the guitar community.

Last year, jazz-funk maestro Cory Wong made waves when he said guitarists should be able to point at every single note on the fretboard.

Unsurprisingly, virtuoso – and Steve Vai’s old teacher – Joe Satriani agreed with Wong, but other prominent guitarists expressed their opinion that a comprehensive grasp of the fretboard is not all that important.

Jack White responded hilariously, writing: “Ok it’s a deal; I’ll find the C, but I’m not learning all those other notes.”

View this post on Instagram

Guitarists all over weighed in on the debate at the time, with one writing in disagreement: “I’ve been playing guitar for 40 years and I couldn’t [name every note on the fretboard]. But I can write a good song. That’s all I care about.”

Another agreed with Wong, writing: “Only other guitarists would be so pressed over a professionally working guitarist saying you need to know the basics of your instrument. Sure, you technically don’t need to know squat for your original project but when you start working with true pros, you’ll be glad you worked out the basics of music theory.”

Check out all of Geese’s upcoming tour dates via their official website.

The post “Practising is boring”: Geese guitarist thinks the best way to learn guitar is by playing gigs, not woodshedding technique appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Modulation pedals are all about adding movement and colour. Imagine your guitar sound as a beautiful landscape photograph in black and white – now think of it turned into a video clip, with green grass swaying in the breeze and ripples moving gently across the blue water. And maybe a couple of rabbits, just for scale.

That’s what all the stompboxes in this roundup are doing – some in a simple and low-key way, others with a much more dramatically transformative effect. It’s an idea with a long and distinguished history, and the last half-century or so would have had a very different soundtrack without phasers, flangers, chorus pedals and the rest.

In fact, it’s widely agreed that the first ever effects unit designed for the electric guitar was a modulation device: the DeArmond Tremolo Control of the 1940s. Tremolo is one of the simplest effects of all, just making a signal rhythmically louder and softer – and it shouldn’t be confused with up/down pitch vibrato (although Fender famously did: if you see ‘vibrato’ on a black-panel amp, that’s the trem channel).

The psychedelic swirliness of phasing and flanging started out in the 60s as tape-based studio effects, but the transistor revolution soon paved the way for compact stompboxes that could replicate those sounds plus the shimmery warble of chorus – sometimes in glorious stereo – and the legendary Uni-Vibe effect, which can sound like all of the above going off at once.

Those, then, are the main pillars of modulation. But there are also some very interesting effects to be found beyond the vintage-correct basics – and they’re all covered below.

At a glance:

• Best pedal for chorus and vibrato: Mythos The Fates
• Best retro chorus: Ghost Note Audio The Swirls
• Best phaser: Beetronics Larva
• Best flanger: Walrus Audio Polychrome
• Best tremolo: Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar
• Best Harmonic Tremolo: Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk
• Best rotary speaker simulator: Neo Instruments Micro Vent 122
• Best Uni-Vibe-inspired pedal: ThorpyFX ER-2
• Best pedal for lo-fi wobbles:: Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII
• Best mutli-modulation pedal: UAFX Astra
• Why you can trust Guitar.com

[products ids=”Dj6GzrQhiBvY16DUZimpj,7Xl6gusfAkTHAu4ZTowMo,3UU5pfcASmXMmXZI9qtx5M,6cUUVfASegj91GOPxhdXOE,4R75Ukb8KrIE0aaYIA13I0,6hS9iXALEqmeEHkp5lsJSj,ug2AGZwoY4XKfVHaO3FOX”]

Best pedal for chorus and vibrato: Mythos The Fates

[products ids=”Dj6GzrQhiBvY16DUZimpj”]

It’s a miracle that chorus made it out of the 80s alive… and yet, having been overused so horribly throughout the decade of excess, it’s been having something of a revival in recent years. This simple but classy analogue effort from Mythos – based on the old Boss CE-2 – is about as good as it gets, bringing the watery wiggle in tasteful style.

And there’s more! The chorus effect is produced by applying a gently oscillating pitch-shift then blending it with the dry signal… so if you take that dry signal away, you’re left with pure pitch vibrato. With some chorus pedals this comes across as an afterthought, but the Fates – like the Jam Pedals Waterfall, which is a superb compact alternative – treats vibrato as a worthy modulation effect in its own right.

Need more? Read our Mythos The Fates review.

Best retro chorus: Ghost Note Audio The Swirls

Yes, the Swirls is another chorus – but the gap between this and the Mythos is so wide you could drive a 1984 Bentley Continental through it. For a start it’s stereo, and it’s digital… plus it’s actually two modulation effects in one (the second being a non-oscillating ‘detune’ shift), with a compressor thrown in for good measure. The overall result is what Ghost Note calls “an entire 80s rack in a pedal”.

And that’s exactly what it sounds like. A bountiful array of knobs and switches gives it supreme tonal versatility, but ultimately the Swirls is about one thing: gigantic, spectacular, shamelessly syrupy lushness. It’s worth buying a second amp just so you can set this thing up in stereo and bask in it until you feel queasy.

Need more? Read our Ghost Note Audio The Swirls review.

Best phaser: Beetronics Larva

[products ids=”7Xl6gusfAkTHAu4ZTowMo”]

When you buy a phaser you’re really getting two pedals in one box: at fast speeds it’s an agreeably pulsating wibble-wibble effect, but slow it right down and you have a gently sweeping frequency filter that arcs up and down in a uniquely musical way. The Beetronics Larva does both of those things brilliantly, and even lets you ‘ramp’ from one setting to another by holding down a footswitch.

Just note that, while most phasers set out for a degree of tonal transparency, this one has a preamp that colours the tone quite heavily. For some that might be an issue, but for others it’ll be a bonus – especially as, if you crank the gain, that preamp gets properly gritty, turning the Larva into a combined phaser and overdrive pedal. So I guess that makes it three pedals in one box?

Need more? Read our Beetronics Larva review.

Best flanger: Walrus Audio Polychrome

[products ids=”3UU5pfcASmXMmXZI9qtx5M”]

Flanging is closely related to chorus in terms of how the effect is produced, but the result tends to be more like a phaser with an attitude problem. A flanger can swoosh like a jet engine, it can clang like grinding sheets of metal… and if you’ve got a good one that lets you keep the feedback in the circuit nicely controlled, it can also sound surprisingly pretty. The Walrus Polychrome is a good one.

An analogue flanger that sets out to do everything, with the added perk of having a cute lizard on the enclosure, the Polychrome covers all the classic 80s indie/goth tones but can also go deep into more hazardous sonic territory. It’s a blast – though it has a strong rival in the ThorpyFX Camoflange, which sounds different but also has a lizard on it.

Need more? Read our Walrus Audio Polychrome review.

Best tremolo: Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar

[products ids=”6cUUVfASegj91GOPxhdXOE”]

There’s nothing basic about the cheapest pedal in this guide. In fact, compared to what the average tremolo pedal could do 20 years ago – and what a lot of similar-priced units can do even today – the pocketable Pulsar is a veritable multi-tool of modulation.

First of all, while some make do with rate and depth controls, this unit adds a volume knob – useful for boosting the output to compensate for any perceived level drop caused by the tremolo itself. And then you get the nifty combo of a triangle/square wave switch and a shape knob, allowing for complete control over the character of the sound. Oh, and if you use both outputs, it suddenly becomes a whole new effect: an automatic stereo panner.

Need more? Read our Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar review.

Best Harmonic Tremolo: Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk

[products ids=”4R75Ukb8KrIE0aaYIA13I0″]

Harmonic tremolo has come out of nowhere to hit the pinnacle of hipness, and the Harmonious Monk can take a slice of the credit for that. This pedal takes a simple idea – splitting the high and low frequencies of your signal and applying tremolo to them separately – and turns it into a wonderfully tangy effect, somewhere between standard trem and phasing.

If you really want to go to town on the harmonic bit, tweaking the crossover point and time lag between the two frequency bands for a rainbow of tonal coloration options, grab yourself the amazing Spaceman Effects Delta II; but for most people, there’s no need to look beyond the Monk. That is, as long as you don’t mind having a stompbox with a picture of Dan and Mick from That Pedal Show on the side…

Need more? Read our Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk review.

Best rotary speaker simulator: Neo Instruments Micro Vent 122

The rotary effect was never intended for guitarists: Donald Leslie’s original invention was designed for Hammond organs. But the harmonically complex Leslie swirl – created by the combination of a full-range speaker in a rotating drum and a high-frequency horn spinning independently – was just too lovely to be left to keyboard-clompers. Like a phaser, a rotary pedal sounds very different at fast and slow speeds; but unlike a phaser, it gets extra-swooshy when ramping between the two because the virtual horn and drum accelerate and decelerate at differing rates.

You have several great-sounding options in this category, most notably Neo’s own full-size Ventilator II and twin-footswitch Mini Vent II; but if you want a compact Leslie sim that runs off a standard 9v power supply, and are happy with mono-only output, the Micro Vent 122 is the undisputed champ.

Need more? Read our Neo Instruments Micro Vent 122 review.

Best Uni-Vibe-inspired pedal: ThorpyFX ER-2

[products ids=”6hS9iXALEqmeEHkp5lsJSj”]

The DeArmond Tremolo Control wasn’t technically a pedal, and the Leslie speaker definitely wasn’t… which means the Japanese-made Honey/Shin-ei Uni-Vibe of the late 1960s must surely qualify as the first ever modulation stompbox. Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour famously used it, but what actually is a Uni-Vibe? Well, it’s a sort of phaser, but with a distinctively throbby quality, and it’s powered by a lightbulb inside an array of LDRs (light-dependent resistors).

This is another category where your list of options is long, and many of them sound superb; but the ER-2 might just be the one to get because, quite aside from its perfect vintage tones and ultra-rugged build quality, it has a vibrato mode – the Uni-Vibe’s more subtle setting, largely ignored by most players – that sounds much nicer than it really should.

Need more? Read our ThorpyFX ER-2 review.

Best pedal for lo-fi wobbles:: Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII

[products ids=”ug2AGZwoY4XKfVHaO3FOX”]

The Generation Loss MkII does things that go way beyond modulation however you define it – including extreme tonal filtering and the addition of gratuitous background noise. The idea is to make your clean tone sound like something that’s been rescued from an old VHS videotape – a fine example of digital tech being used to create an analogue feel.

But it’s the other part of that ageing process that interests us here: a range of lo-fidelity vibrato and chorus effects with an element of randomness that adds depth, charm and – if you’re old enough to remember the pre-digital age – nostalgia. The Gen Loss is an expensive pedal, and the word ‘niche’ hardly feels strong enough for it, but it is addictive. And you can easily turn the background noise off.

Need more? Read our Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII review.

Best mutli-modulation pedal: UAFX Astra

Only got space on the pedalboard for one modulation unit and can’t decide which effect you need most? Ah, just get a bigger board. Or, if that sounds like too much fun, you could always compromise by investing in a single pedal that does the lot… or at least, most of it.

The Kernom Elipse is a strong contender here – an analogue pedal with digital control that lets you blend between different effect types and then dial in a bonus phaser – but Universal Audio’s compact Astra is probably a better bet. Yes, it has some annoying design quirks, but the bottom line is that UA’s digital chorus, flanger, tremolo and phaser sounds are simply unbeatable.

Need more? Read our UAFX Astra review.

Why You Can Trust Us

Every year, Guitar.com reviews a huge variety of new products – from the biggest launches to cool boutique effects – and our expert guitar reviewers have decades of collective experience, having played everything from Gibson ’59 Les Pauls to the cheapest Squiers.

That means that when you click on a Guitar.com buyer’s guide, you’re getting the benefit of all that experience to help you make the best buying decision for you. What’s more, every guide written on Guitar.com was put together by a guitar obsessive just like you. You can trust that every product recommended in those guides is something that we’d be happy to have in our own rigs.

The post The best modulation pedals: tremolo, chorus, flange, phase & beyond appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Neil Young has provided residents of Greenland with full access to his entire music catalogue for free as a gesture of peace.

Young’s decision to do so follows US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland for “national security reasons”. Young, who often speaks out on political issues, is a prominent critic of Trump, and has previously taken legal action to prevent him from using his music at campaign rallies.

• READ MORE: The guitar gear used by Neil Young on the classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Greenlanders who wish to take Young up on his offer will need to provide their name, email address and phone number to get free access to his complete archive for 12 months. In a statement shared via his Neil Young Archives website, the Canadian-American musician writes, “As a gesture of kindness and respect, we stand with you along with a strong majority of Americans.

“I would like to offer a free one-year subscription to all Greenland residents. I hope my music and music films will ease some of the unwarranted stress and threats you are experiencing from our unpopular and hopefully temporary government. It is my sincere wish for you to be able to enjoy all my music in your beautiful Greenland home, in its highest quality.”

He concludes, “This is an offer of Peace and Love. All the music I have made during the last 62 years is yours to hear. You can renew for free if you are in Greenland. We do hope other organisations will follow in the spirit of our example.”

Last year, Young played at Glastonbury Festival after originally withdrawing due to involvement from the BBC. He headlined its mighty Pyramid stage and brought out some of his most iconic instruments, including Hank Williams’ 1941 D-28, his Bigsby-loaded ’54 Goldtop and of course, his famous Old Black.

Find out more and sign up via the Neil Young Archives website.

The post “This is an offer of Peace and Love”: Neil Young gifts his entire catalogue to residents of Greenland appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The intersection of heavy metal and guitar YouTube has proved to be a verdant ground for innovative new guitar companies to bloom. Alongside Rob Chapman’s Chapman Guitars, Ola Englund’s Solar Guitars has been another key success story in this area.

Now nearly 10 years later, Solar is a widely revered guitar company catering to the heavier inclined, but what prompted Englund – who was with Washburn at the time – to do his own thing in the first place?

• READ MORE: Guitar.com Magazine: how to get your copy of the January/February 2026 issue

As he explains in the new issue of Guitar World magazine, Englund felt disillusioned with the speed at which his designs with Washburn became available to the public, and was inspired to start his own brand instead.

“I had a successful model with Washburn,” he says. “I brought them my designs, they released it and it did very well. But being a social media, YouTube guy. I know the world moves so fast now and people’s attention spans are so short.

“I felt that Washburn’s business model; was too slow. There was a bureaucracy behind everything – the making of the guitars, selling to dealers and getting them to distributors.

“It’s such a long process before an actual customer gets to see the guitar – like, about a year – and I was so frustrated because I knew people wanted the guitars but had to wait a long time before they could get them.”

Englund – who has nearly 1 million YouTube subscribers, and also plays guitar in bands The Haunted and Feared – explains that upon the expiration of his three-year contract with Washburn, he was faced with a decision: either renew for another three years, or take matters into his own hands.

“After my three-year contract ended, I figured I could stay there for another three years, but I knew I could do so much better if I could find some people to do a new company with me,” he continues. 

“The guy I worked with at Washburn had just left the company, so I gave him a call and we decided to create a model that went straight from us to the consumer because we know exactly what the audience wants. They tell me.

“I took my designs out of Washburn, and we formed Solar. We launched in late 2017 and had 300 guitars to sell and ship immediately. We’ve grown very fast.”

In other news, Extreme guitar legend Nuno Bettencourt made waves in the guitar industry late last year when he followed in Ola Englund’s footsteps, ending his 35-year relationship with Washburn to start his own guitar company, Nuno Guitars.

The post “Washburn’s business model was too slow – I was so frustrated”: Why YouTube star Ola Englund launched his own company, Solar Guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

When news of Rush’s 2026 Fifty Something reunion tour surfaced, prog fans were in a frenzy – the ‘rush’ for tickets lead to Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson expanding the sold-out tour within days, announcing a further 17 dates. Now, Rush are giving fans another reason to get excited: new music may be on the horizon

In a MusicRadar interview, Lee reveals that he and Lifeson have been brainstorming new Rush tracks. However, fans will have to wait until after tour before anything is finished. “My intent, before we got into this celebration of Rush’s history, was to put some music together,” he says [via Blabbermouth]. “I assumed I would be doing that on my own, not with Alex. When we started jamming, I started seeing the possibility of doing something. But that went on hold, because there’s too much work.”

• READ MORE: “I like grabbing something that I don’t think is the ‘right’ thing and seeing how that works”: Why Alex Lifeson still reaches for the $57 Japanese guitar his parents got him

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

Following on from drummer Neil Peart’s death in 2020, it seemed the Rush days were over; Lifeson was adamantly “not interested” in a Rush reunion back in 2024. Hell, even last January Lifeson told Classic Rock that he didn’t want to reunite and tarnish Rush’s “legacy” by sounding like a “bad Rush tribute band”.

Considering how adamant Lifeson seemed to oppose a reunion, it made the news of the 50-year celebration an even greater surprise to fans – news of new music is just an extra cherry to top things off.

While Peart’s iconic shoes are impossible to fill, German drummer, composer and producer Anika Nilles is stepping up to the plate to join the remaining Rush duo on tour. And, according to Lee, she might even be involved in crafting new Rush tracks.

“It would be fun to see what [Nilles] can do in a creative situation,” he tells MusicRadar. “That would be fun. But it’s all speculation until it isn’t, so…”

When news of Nilles joining the band broke, Lee and Lifeson emphasised how challenging it was to find a drummer that would honour Peart’s memory. “Life is full of surprises, and we have been introduced to another remarkable person; an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey,” they explained.

“Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fanbase, whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near impossible role… No small task, because as we all know Neil was irreplaceable.”

The post “If we manage to survive the tour, who knows what will happen”: Geddy Lee says new Rush music could be on the cards soon appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

JBL has launched its new line of BandBox Bluetooth speakers/practice amps – and with on-board AI-powered stem separation technology, they might just supercharge your guitar practice sessions.

While the BandBox line – comprising the Solo and more powerful Trio – will no doubt find an audience among Bluetooth speaker fans and general audiophiles, onboard stem separation makes them an alluring prospect for musicians looking to upgrade their practice. Ever wished you could remove the solo from your favourite track so you can play along yourself? With BandBox, you can.

• READ MORE: Looking for an affordable floor-based amp modeller? This one from Harley Benton is now under £200

That’s the general principle, but let’s dive a bit deeper into the specs on offer with both the BandBox Solo and Trio.

BandBox Solo

Aimed at individual musicians looking for a raft of practice-friendly features, the 30W BandBox Solo features a single guitar/mic input, and allows guitarists to stream songs via Bluetooth, and use JBL’s Stem AI feature to reduce or even completely remove specific elements of a track.

The Solo also sports a built-in looper, pitch shifter, tuner and integrated LED screen, as well as a range of amp models and effects including phaser, chorus and reverb, all controllable via the companion JBL ONE app.

There’s also a headphone in for quiet practice sessions, plus a USB-C output for recording straight into your DAW.

BandBox Trio

The 135W BandBox Trio offers a more powerful option, with four instrument inputs, as well as a 6.5” woofer and two 1” tweeters.

Perfect for group sessions of band setups, the four-channel mixer allows you to balance levels while crafting tones and applying effects, while a replaceable battery means you can undertake longer practice sessions without fear of running out of charge.

As with the Solo, the Trio is loaded with a built-in tuner, metronome, looper and integrated LCD colour screen, as well as steam separation capabilities, JBL ONE app compatibility and a USB-C output for DAW recording.

“JBL BandBox is created with musicians’ needs in mind, and made possible by cutting-edge technology,” says Carsten Olesen, President of Consumer Audio at HARMAN, JBL’s parent company. 

“This is the first speaker to feature an on-device Stem AI algorithm capable of removing vocals or instruments, without the need for cloud processing or an internet connection. With this breakthrough, it’s easier than ever to practice, improve and enjoy playing music either on your own or with friends.”

Pricing and availability

Available from February, the BandBox Solo is priced at £199, while the BandBox Trio is £529.

For more info, head to JBL.

The post These Bluetooth practice amps from JBL have AI stem separation – and might just change the way you practice guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The first Guitar.com Magazine of the year is out this week – and comes in a bundle with NME Magazine! Here’s how you can get a copy of the January/February 2026 issue.

Last April, we announced the relaunch of the Guitar.com print edition after a four-year hiatus, featuring Mateus Asato and Yvette Young on the covers of the first two issues. This Thursday, you’ll be able to get your hands on the third issue of Guitar.com Magazine, featuring unmissable features and reviews, which comes with a copy of the January/February 2026 issue of NME Magazine.

Mark your calendars for Thursday January 29 at 2pm GMT – that’s when the cover stars of both magazines will be revealed and the mags go on sale exclusively via retailer Dawsons. The waiting room is open, so check it out now.

Besides Guitar.com, MusicTech has also returned to print. Guitar.com, MusicTech and NME are sister publications under NME Networks. The new Guitar.com and MusicTech print editions alternate with every bi-monthly edition of NME Magazine – which itself was relaunched in 2023 – meaning three print editions per calendar year for each brand.

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

The post Guitar.com Magazine: how to get your copy of the January/February 2026 issue appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

It’s Mei Semones’ world and we’re all just living in it. Well, it certainly feels that way when you’re at one of her concerts and the room erupts in a vortex of jazz, indie pop, accompanying scat singing and threads of bossa nova. It’s funny, feeling so overwhelmed by the technical prowess blasting from stage yet melting totally into its magnetism.

• 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

But this Brooklyn-based guitar enthusiast embodies genre fusion in its truest form, wielding her usual PRS McCarty 594 to produce spellbinding jazz-adjacent songs that build from the foundation Chet Baker laid down. And with her full-length debut album Animaru a raging success, this Berklee alumna is well on her way.

“One of the things I love about jazz is that it values the individual voice of a musician, and you really need to have your own voice and your own sound,” Semones tells us from her home in New York. “It’s a tradition that people are learning from, and transcribing what other people have played and taking that language to make it your own… I don’t know, I just really like that part of it.”

But it wasn’t always jazz guitar for Semones. In fact, it wasn’t always guitar at all. At four years old she’d picked up the piano – a gift from Grandma to Semones and her sister. But it didn’t feel quite… right. “I switched to guitar when I was 11,” says Semones.

“I just wasn’t enjoying piano as much anymore, and I watched this movie called Back to the Future.” A sly smile tugs knowingly on her lips before she continues: “There’s that scene where Marty McFly plays a Chuck Berry song and I thought it was really cool. I wanted to play electric guitar because of that.”

Shining Light

Still, it took a little longer to find the area of guitar where Semones now feels most comfortable. Although she’d expressed a new interest in learning guitar, she first had to try nylon-stringed models, classical guitar and rock before she settled on jazz in high school. “My school had a really good jazz program, so that’s when I got into it and started writing my own songs,” she says. Her songwriting and immediate talent for the instrument shone right through, earning Semones a place at Berklee shortly afterwards, which is when she moved from her home town in Michigan to New York to start a blossoming music career.

When Guitar.com speaks to Mei Semones now, she’s just finished a busy tour in Europe and is gearing up to perform in Japan before ending the show run in the US. One of the things her fans adore about her style is how you can hear grains of rock and chamber pop in every third or fourth bar when Semones’ PRS and her bandmate’s drums marry at just the right volume and ferocity. But the next bar might fall into this intoxicating jazz scale that Semones effortlessly mimics with her weightless, dainty vocal. In truth, you never know what you’re going to get at a Mei Semones gig.

“Writing this way comes pretty naturally to me,” says Semones after a pause. “I’m not necessarily thinking about blending different genres to go from bossa nova to rock, say, because I don’t really think of that. I just happen to enjoy these different types of music and they’re also my influences. That’s what I’ve listened to and that’s what I’ve studied, so what comes out is just a blend of those things together.”

Tools For The Job

But as much as you can credit the songwriter and performer for creating such charismatic music, the player must also pick the right instrument and equipment that works best for their style to get the most attuned result. Semones is no exception to this rule:

“My primary guitar is the PRS McCarty 594, semi hollow body, mostly because of how it feels to play, the tone and how comfortable it is. But my first electric guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul, which my dad got me. Not long after that I went to a guitar building camp and made my own Stratocaster-style guitar, which was my second one. Then I got my first acoustic steel string guitar, which was a Hohner, and I still have it now.

“My dad then got me an Ibanez Artcore guitar for high school jazz before I got my PRS for college as a professional-grade guitar. We picked it up from Sweetwater at their headquarters in Indiana, which we drove to from Michigan, and we were there for around eight hours because I tried out so many guitars.

“At first, I didn’t like the bird inlays on the neck of the PRS because I thought it was a bit too flashy. But I just fell in love with it as soon as I played it. Now, it’s probably my favourite guitar I’ve ever had.”

It’s no wonder Semones loves her PRS so much – it’s taken her from being a humble college student to a rising innovator, known for writing original work orchestrated to fit both English and Japanese lyrics.

Since her debut EP Kabutomushi came out in 2024, it’s been clear the 25-year-old is brilliant at conveying feelings of platonic love in both languages. “Both feel pretty natural, because I feel like I’ve been writing songs with lyrics in both languages for a good while now,” she says. “Whatever pops into my head first or fits the melody better in that moment is what I go for.”

Everything Semones releases feels entirely original, and it’s pretty difficult to find another artist she directly sounds like. And when that’s the case with a musician, it can be pretty hard to guess who their inspirations were growing up.

Semones has a good think about her answer for this question before she delves into one: “When I was younger, it was definitely Nirvana for me,” she begins. “But when the Smashing Pumpkins came about, I’d say they were the first band I got into that were directly similar to my own taste. But other than that, I listen to a lot of jazz grades. I really like [Thelonious] Monk and Charlie Parker and Wes Montgomery. There are those classic [musicians] that a lot of people love like Jim Hall or Wayne Shorter as well, but on the flip side I really enjoy João Gilbertoi who’s a Brazilian artist and a huge influence for me.”

Needless to say, there’s certainly an amalgam of inspiration swirling around the music industry. There are the classic trailblazers Semones so aptly credits, plus new performers alike who are inventing their own pocket of genre, but it’s hard to imagine any jazz performer or similar going without crediting Chet Baker at some point. In 2025, Semones contributed towards a collaborative album, Chet Baker Re:imagined, which featured various other young, inspirational musicians like Matilda Mann and dodie covering some of Baker’s greatest hits.

“It was great because I actually love Chet Baker so much,” says Semones of her experience covering My Ideal for the record. “In terms of vocal inspiration, Chet Baker is one of the big ones. Alongside Gilbertoi, they’re my two main vocal inspirations, I would say. So, I was so happy when they reached out to me about [contributing to this record]. I had three options for the songs I wanted to pick, and My Ideal happened to be one of them. It’s actually my favourite song on Chet Baker Sings, so I was really happy about that.”

Having achieved so much in her short career so far, Semones wants to continue reaching for the stars. But, at the same time, she doesn’t have too many expectations as of yet. “I just want to keep going this way and developing as a songwriter,” she says. “I guess the main focus and my long-term goal would be to continue practicing guitar and getting better at it. I want to be the best guitarist that I can be in my lifetime. Hopefully one day I’ll get to the point where I’m good enough at guitar to record a jazz trio album or something like that, because I would love to do that. Or, although it’s definitely not time yet, maybe one day I’ll get to do a jazz standards album and have friends come on and feature on it with me.

“I just hope everyone can listen to and enjoy my music. What makes me really happy is seeing kids at my show who are there with their parents, because I think that’s really sweet. And sometimes I’ll get to meet fans who are learning the guitar and say my music is inspiring them to do it, and that makes me really happy. Music can be interesting to everyone, of all ages too, and I just love it.”

The post Meet Mei Semones, the jazz-founded guitar virtuoso whose genre-defying music knows no bounds appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The amp modeller market is ever-expanding, especially hot on the heels of NAMM, but their high cost means a large number of players are often priced out of getting their hands on one.

Harley Benton offers a super-affordable amp modeller unit, and you can get one for just under £200 via Thomann. The DNAfx GiT Pro offers over 50 amp models, more than 40 effects, and 31 IR cab sims that can be configured and stored as patches in up to 200 memory slots using its colour display.

• READ MORE: Boss makes a splash ahead of NAMM with new GX-1 and GX-1B multi-effects units, plus a new busker-friendly Roland Cube Street amp

Now just £199, this Pro version is the flagship model in Harley Benton’s DNAfx GiT line, which also features a standard version and streamlined core version, both of which are also reduced over at Thomann down to £111 and £77 respectively. It’s low price point and wide array of tones make it great for beginners or those looking to try out a modeller for the first time.

The 51 amp models included with this Pro version offer reproductions of a wide range of well-loved rock amplifiers, from the warm, clean sound of Californian vintage amps and to the rugged overdrive of British amps, and more. These can be combined with its cab simulations and effects such as a compressor, EQ, wah, distortion, reverb, and delay.

Its five inch display is accompanied by five controllers located directly below the screen, which allow users to create and organise their patches, control a built-in looper, and check the tuning of their guitar with the integrated tuner.

Hear it in action below:

Shop this deal and more via Thomann.

The post Looking for an affordable floor-based amp modeller? This one from Harley Benton is now under £200 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

It’s been a landmark few days in the world of heavy metal, as genre titans Megadeth have just dropped their final-ever album. As you might expect, Dave Mustaine’s swansong is chock-full of abrasive riffs and searing solos (try Let There Be Shred on for size).

One of the biggest things that’s got people talking in the runup to the album’s release, though, is the inclusion of Ride the Lightning, a cover of the Metallica classic which Mustaine helped write all the way back in the early ‘80s.

• READ MORE: NAMM 2026 is done and dusted – and loads of the gear debuted is already available at Sweetwater

But Mustaine helped write a number of Metallica songs before he was fired in 1983, including a selection from the band’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All. So why did he choose Ride the Lightning for Megadeth’s final record?

“We were working on the album and my son, Justis, said, ‘Why don’t you do a Metallica song, Dad?’” he recalls in a new interview with Record Collector.“I thought, ‘I don’t think so.’ 

“Then I thought about it more and the idea just felt good, so I agreed. I wanted to close the circle and pay my respects to James [Hetfield, Metallica frontman] and Lars [Ulrich, Metallica drummer]. I personally have always thought James was an excellent guitarist, so I think it was the right thing to do.

“Panic [Mustaine’s first band] was never solidified as a real band, so my first real band was Metallica. Now that I’m going into retirement, I think it’s the right way to pay my respects.” 

While it was important to pay his respects to his former band, Mustaine says he was also conscious not to make the cover too similar to the original.

“When the time came to actually do the song, we thought, ‘Do we want to make it a little longer? Do we want to make it a little fast? Do we want to extend the solo section?’ We started working on it and everything came together nicely. We did speed it up a bit and we did try to do a couple of things a little different from the original version. It was a great song to play.

“Because I wrote music in that song, it just makes sense. It’s not a cover song. It’s a song that I wrote part of, and it just feels different. It doesn’t feel like we’re doing a song by another band.”

Asked whether he’d ever consider recording covers of the other Metallica songs he had a writing credit on, Mustaine replies: “Not anymore. No. I think I said what I wanted to. Unless something gigantic happens, I don’t know that I’ll be going into the studio again. If I do, it probably won’t be for a very long time.

“With my hands the way that they are, it’s hard to sit in the studio all day long and play guitar. Nine months we were in the studio working [on Megadeth], every day, from the morning hours up until seven o’clock at night. My hands got roasted.”

Megadeth’s last-ever album is out now. The band will embark on a massive final world tour from February. See the official Megadeth website for tickets and details.

The post “It’s not a cover song. It’s a song I wrote part of… It doesn’t feel like we’re doing a song by another band”: Dave Mustaine on Megadeth’s Ride the Lightning appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Have you ever dreamt of a pedal with Dr. Phil’s face on it? Maybe you’d enjoy a Fuzztin Bieber or a Splitney Spears? Well, look no further than this bizarre lineup of stompboxes from Celebrity Pedals that are straight out of a fever dream.

Handmade and all-analogue, these pedals take inspiration from celebs and meme stars, and have incredibly great punny names and designs. Not just for laughs, these weird delights have been used by some pretty huge musicians who have played with artists like Beyoncé, John Mayer, Phoebe Bridgers, Miley Cyrus, and more.

• READ MORE: RhPf Electronics Mosrawr review – a noise-bringer that’s designed for post-rock and shoegaze

Rated five stars on Reverb no less, the Celebrity Pedals catalogue includes some real highlights, one being the Taylor Shift octave pedal, which is available in three variations. Also right at the top of its listing is the Millie Wah-bie Brown: a wah inspired by Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown and her character Eleven, complete with glowing eyes.

This one is an envelope filter loosely based on the Mutron with an added volume knob to prevent the volume boost that sometimes occurs with old school envelope filters. It also has a low pass switch to keep the warmth and bass frequencies present, and a handy sensitivity control.

View this post on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Some of these celeb names work just great – you can also get an Adam Driver (yep, an overdrive) or a Distorsean Paul distortion pedal, both of which are priced at £160 respectively. Most pedals are priced between £100-300, though there are some great deals across the Celebrity Pedals range.

The Djent Reznor – described as a combination of a BB Preamp and a Tube Screamer, with symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping switch – is now reduced to £150. You can also grab a Hocktave (based on the ‘hawk tuah’ meme) with 21 percent off, or a Splitney Spears II signal splitter for just £89.

Find out more or shop now via the Celebrity Pedals Reverb shop. 

The post Djent Reznor and Millie Wah-bie Brown: check out these unhinged celeb-inspired pedals appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The Guitar.com team is heading home after an action-packed visit to the Anaheim Convention Center for NAMM 2026. This year’s show saw groundbreaking new guitar gear innovations and exciting launches from Gibson, PRS, Neural DSP, and so many more, and loads of that gear is already available to buy at Sweetwater. So if you wanna stay ahead of the curve, well, now you can…

One of the biggest launches from NAMM came from Neural DSP, when the brand launched a downsized version of its flagship amp modeller with the Quad Cortex Mini. It offers the full sound and processing power of its flagship Quad Cortex amp modeller in a significantly smaller unit, measuring just 22.8 x 11.8 x 6.5 cm, and weighing just 1.5 kg. You can order it right now through Sweetwater, and you’ll even get a free Eminence IR Sampler Pack thrown in.

[deals ids=”5fnT7eeWJnc5H7fKGSRasA”]

Also listed on Sweetwater is the new PRS Silver Sky Limited Edition Wild Blue model, and Ed Sheeran’s new PRS SE Hollowbody I Piezo Baritone in Cosmic Splash (the latter is available for pre-order). This limited signature model features eye-catching artwork created by Sheeran himself, and there are only 1,000 available worldwide.

• READ MORE: In pictures: check out the coolest new guitars from Gibson and Epiphone at NAMM 2026

Yamaha’s new single-cut Pacifica guitars are also listed, and its new Chris Buck signature Revstar. Developed in close collaboration with Buck to faithfully reproduce the sound and feel of his custom REVSTAR, it features P90 style pickups tuned to his preferences, a wrap-around bridge, a chambered body and a carbon-reinforced neck.

View the full range of NAMM launches now available through Sweetwater, or catch up on all the biggest highlights from our live blog.

The post NAMM 2026 is done and dusted – and loads of the gear debuted is already available at Sweetwater appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

CHF149/€159/$179, rhpfelectronics.com

Some people believe guitar pedals sound better when they’re pink. Some believe they sound better when they have dinosaurs on them. These theories require further research, but if they’re both right then things are looking seriously good for the RhPf Electronics Mosrawr.

Vibrantly pink and fiercely dinosaury, this compact fuzz box is handmade in the cauldron of rock’n’roll that is Basel, Switzerland. It’s an original circuit, designed in collaboration with Loopy Demos, and claims to be the ultimate summoner of mids-focused rage.

• READ MORE: Gamechanger Audio Motor Pedal review – a radical synth pedal for sonic extremists

RhPf Electronics Mosrawr – what is it?

According to RhPf, this MOSFET-powered pedal “delivers dense walls of fuzz” and “speaks the language of shoegaze, noise rock and post-rock”. This tells us two things: firstly, that it’s not just another Fuzz Face or Big Muff clone; and secondly, that it’s been designed to work with other pedals for creating layered textures of immersive noise.

RhPf is a fairly new operation and this is the first of its pedals I’ve tried. The others in the range look very nice too, but the graphic design by Sketchy Pedals has given the Mosrawr a distinct lift… that is, as long as you’re OK with cartoony artwork and candy-store colours. You won’t want to look at it too long while hungover.

RhPf Electronics Mosrawr – what does it sound like?

The first challenge is to get a handle on the controls. They seem simple enough – basically gain, level, bass, middle and treble – but the way they work is not always predictable. For a start, it never gets very bassy even with ‘low’ at maximum, and it never gets very dark, even with ‘hi’ at minimum. The good news is, it sounds glorious with everything set to halfway so that’s a safe place to start.

Used on its own as a simple fuzz, the Mosrawr lives up to the second part of its name (in the sense of both ‘raw’ and ‘roar’) with the force of a hungry Jurassic carnivore ripping the bars off your protective cage. In EQ terms it’s something like a Tone Bender, but high gain and a pronounced lack of headroom give it an edge of splatty delinquency, almost like an extra-gnarly octave fuzz.

RhPf says this pedal can go from sticky velcro tones to something much more smooth and open; in practice it doesn’t get very far along that road, but that’s no tragedy as a million other fuzzes cover that stuff already. What you can do is manipulate the controls to accentuate the features that are already present: the biting treble, the lower-midrange grunt, the soaring sustain.

For the real test, though, this lonely dinosaur needs to find some friends. My live pedalboard includes a phaser, a flanger, a Leslie simulator and two delays (one of them set to reverse mode), and the power that’s unleashed when they all join forces with the Mosrawr is really quite spectacular. It sounds enormous, just as you’d expect, but also has a midrange focus that keeps it commandingly present in a band mix. If you think fuzzy soundscapes have to be soft and washy, this pedal might make you think again.

RhPf Electronics Mosrawr – should I buy it?

First things first: if you’re a classic rock or blues player looking for velvety fuzz textures, please turn back, you’re lost. But for those of a more shoegazey disposition, things get a little more complicated.

The Mosrawr will be too boisterous for some tastes, even within the parameters of alternative rock – it is a great textural tool, but the textures in question are more gravel than silk. Where it will find a place – at least, where it certainly deserves to find one – is on the pedalboards of noise-scapers with attitude.

RhPf Electronics Mosrawr alternatives

The Fender Shields Blender ($346.99/£235) is a multi-layered distortion unit with My Bloody Valentine pedigree; or if you want to get your whole wall of noise from one box, try the combined fuzz and reverb of the Keeley Loomer ($299/£315). Just need to make wild noise? It doesn’t come any wilder than the Ritual Devices Grimalkin Fuzz (£195).

The post RhPf Electronics Mosrawr review – a noise-bringer that’s designed for post-rock and shoegaze appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The NAMM Show 2026 is in full swing, and the big guns have brought some exciting new instruments to the show that will suit players of all styles and budgets.

Gibson might not have a giant booth at the Anaheim Convention Center this year, but that hasn’t stopped the Nashville-based brand from showcasing some intriguing new releases to the show floor – especially in terms of acoustics, where Gibson is celebrating 100 years of the Gibson flat-top acoustic with the brand new Century Collection – an assortment of 12-fret acoustics with matt finishes and a definite Depression-era vibe.

Epiphone fans have plenty to be excited about too, not least with the new Futura collection – a range that brings some of Gibson’s most interesting shapes to the party, with Chromashift colour-changing finishes and features that will appeal to heavier players including stainless steel frets and compound radius fretboards. There’s even an RD model!

Check out some of our highlights from the Gibson launches in the gallery below.

The post In pictures: check out the coolest new guitars from Gibson and Epiphone at NAMM 2026 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Suhr may have just seen the departure of social media sensation – and now fully-fledged solo artist – Mateus Asato, but it still has a healthy artist roster, and has just launched new signature models for Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden, Lady Gaga guitarist Tim Stewart and loads more.

Alongside new Madden and Stewart models are new signature guitars for Big Wreck’s Ian Thornley, Pete Thorn, progressive guitarist James Norbert Ivanyi and virtuoso Andy Wood, alongside new additions to the brand’s range of OSO short-scale models.

• READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: The latest guitar launches and news from the biggest music gear event on the planet

View this post on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Learn more about the new Signature Series additions at Suhr.

The post Suhr unveils raft of new signature models for Benji Madden, Pete Thorn and Lady Gaga guitarist Tim Stewart appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

After unveiling the ID:X Floor – a new floor-based digital amp modeller – Blackstar has offered up something for the practice amp enthusiasts with its new Beam Mini desktop amp.

Designed for electric, bass and acoustic guitar players after portability and intuitive controls without sacrificing tone, the Beam Mini packs in Blackstar’s advanced digital modelling and powerful DSP into a small, portable, acoustically tuned cab for the classic Blackstar sound anywhere.

• READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: The latest guitar launches and news from the biggest music gear event on the planet

Loaded with two 60mm full-range drivers – as well as two passive bass radiators and Blackstar’s Super Wide Stereo technology – the Beam Mini is said to offer an “expansive, room-filling sound that belies its dimensions”.

Harnessing component-level modelling, Blackstar says the digital Beam Mini even offers up the dynamic feel of tube amps, despite its tiny size.

It also features 12 amp models – six Blackstar designs and six Ampton recreations of classic amps – as well as three bass amps, two acoustic voices, an acoustic simulator, and of course, Blackstar’s patented ISF control, which essentially allows the user to blend between British and American-style voicings.

Intuitive operation is key to the Beam Mini’s design, with a simple, large SpeedDial and Light Beam Display, offering “instant visual feedback” without having to navigate menus. There is, however, a Beam app, through which users are given deeper editing and creative options, as well as a growing library of amps, cabs, mics and pedal models, and thousands of user- and artist-generated patches.

Beam Mini also features XpressFX, which allows the user to adjust the intensity of multiple effects simultaneously with the single movement of the SpeedDial. It also sports a studio-quality mic input for recording guitar and vocals together, as well as Blackstar’s IR-driven CabRig technology.

Portability isn’t just served by its light weight and form factor; the rechargeable Beam Mini also features an IP66 dust-tight and weatherproof design, and offers over 18 hours of playtime on a single charge.

The Beam Mini is available now priced at $299.99.

For more info, head to Blackstar.

The post The Blackstar BEAM MINI harnesses a tube-driven feel in a digital desktop amp format – with plenty of amp models and even ISF control appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

As we reported earlier this month, PRS looked to be teasing something related to the late, great Theodore “Ted” McCarty.

As it turns out, that was a new full-length documentary celebrating the guitar innovator’s life, packed with archival interview footage, as well as new interviews with PRS head honcho Paul Reed Smith, McCarty’s daughter Sue Davis, and a number of PRS employees. And the 73-minute doc is available to watch right now at PRS’s YouTube channel.

• READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: The latest guitar launches and news from the biggest music gear event on the planet

Ted McCarty served as vice president of the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1949, and later as president between 1950 and 1966. The man behind the Tune-O-Matic bridge – also working alongside Les Paul to develop the Les Paul guitar format – McCarty was also partially responsible for the humbucking pickup alongside engineer Seth Lover, as well as the Explorer, Flying V, SG, ES-335 and Firebird.

As PRS explains, Paul Reed Smith first discovered McCarty’s name in the US Patent office in the early ‘80s, and later enrolled him as a manufacturing and business consultant. PRS introduced its first McCarty model in 1994, and continues to honour him with new guitar designs. Ted McCarty sadly died in 2001 at the age of 91.

“Ted McCarty was a legend. Incredibly smart. Really exceptional,” says Paul Reed Smith. “He was a champion, an industry icon, a leader, a mentor, a friend. In the end, he was family.”

“If you ask anyone who’s an expert over the age of 50, ‘Can you teach me,’ they say ‘Okay, I’ll teach,’ because they don’t want to die and have their gems of knowledge not be passed on,” he continues. “Ted was a prime example of that. He wanted his knowledge base to be passed on, and he decided to pass it on to us (at PRS Guitars), which I loved.”

“There is no better time to reflect on our history than as we close our 40th anniversary,” adds PRS Guitars COO Jack Higginbotham. 

“Ted is a part of our foundation. He’s central to who we are. As we continue to grow the company and evolve and create new instruments, he’s fundamental in our thought processes of building great instruments. Ted will always be a part of the story of PRS Guitars as it goes forward.” 

“I feel so proud that PRS has once again honoured my dad – this time through a great video tribute to his life and impact – and I am delighted and honored to have been a part of this project as well,” says Ted McCarty’s daughter Sue Davis. 

“When Paul asked my dad to put his name on a guitar, dad wasn’t so sure anyone would want to buy it. Paul and PRS have made sure that the name Ted McCarty – and the man that he was – will be remembered for a long time to come. And for that, I could not be more thankful.”

You can watch the full documentary, The Legacy of Ted McCarty, below, or at PRS’s official YouTube channel.

The post PRS releases full-length documentary celebrating the life of guitar industry legend Theodore “Ted” McCarty appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Ashdown has announced a major expansion of its Classic Custom Shop UK-Built Studio Peacemaker series at this year’s NAMM show. Building on the brand’s existing 2-watt Peacemaker models, the new lineup adds full-power heads, combos, and matching speaker cabinets designed for studio and stage use.

• READ MORE: ID:X Floor – Blackstar’s first “high-performance” digital floor modellers deliver the tone and feel of real amps with hands-on controls

Handcrafted in Essex, the UK-Peacemaker Series revisits one of Ashdown’s most iconic amplifier names, combining “traditional British valve tone” with modern reliability. The expanded range caters to guitarists at every level, from home practice and recording to full-scale live performance.

At the top of the range is the UK-PM-80H, an 80-watt, two-channel all-valve head designed for stage performance with unmatched headroom and authority. It’s joined by the UK-PM-20H, a compact 20-watt head aimed at delivering boutique tones with simple controls for the studio or small stage, and the UK-PM-20C, a 20-watt combo loaded with a 12-inch Celestion Creamback speaker.

Ashdown has also introduced three matching cabinets: the UK-PM-112 (1×12), UK-PM-212 (2×12), and UK-PM-412 (4×12), all fitted with Celestion Creamback speakers for classic British punch and projection.

Together with the original 2-watt PM-2H and PM-2C, the expanded Peacemaker range now covers the full spectrum of tonal needs, delivering the dynamic feel and harmonic richness British valve amps are known for.

The series is built with premium components throughout, including JJ valves, UK hand-wound transformers, and lightweight plywood cabinets loaded with UK-made Celestion Creamback speakers. It also celebrates the work of British engineer Dave Green, whose valve circuit designs shaped the Peacemaker name into one of Ashdown’s most respected platforms.

Designed for musicians who prioritise feel, dynamics, and tone, the UK-Peacemaker range preserves the character of Ashdown’s classic designs while offering a modern, professional-grade amp family entirely made in the UK.

The expanded Peacemaker lineup will be available worldwide through authorised Ashdown dealers and distributors.

Learn more at Ashdown Engineering.

The post Ashdown supercharges its UK-made Peacemaker series with bigger heads, combos, and cabinets for the modern guitarist appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Martin has teamed up with Grammy-winning guitarist and bluegrass icon Molly Tuttle on two new signature guitars: the D-18 Molly Tuttle and the D-X2E Molly Tuttle.

Both models take direct inspiration from Tuttle’s beloved 1943 Martin D-18, an instrument that has shaped her sound and playing style for years. While the D-18 Molly Tuttle aims to channel the punch, clarity, and fast-playing feel of that vintage guitar, the D-X2E Molly Tuttle brings those same artist-driven details into a more durable, accessible X Series build.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing Martin guitars ever since I started playing the guitar,” says Tuttle. “To see my name on this Martin guitar and to have had a hand in designing it, it was just a huge moment for me.”

• READ MORE: In pictures: check out the most stunning new Fender Custom Shop guitars of 2026

Leading the launch is the D-18 Molly Tuttle, the more premium of the two models, and one Martin describes as being “all wrapped in timeless tone and vintage style”. The guitar features rear-shifted scalloped bracing, a slim 1 11/16-inch nut width favoured by bluegrass flatpickers, and an authentic 1940s-style neck profile designed for speed and comfort.

Custom moon-phase fingerboard inlays reflect Tuttle’s personal aesthetic, joined by a silver Martin script headplate logo, oval tuner buttons, and a classic vintage sunburst top. Crafted with a solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, and ebony appointments, the guitar delivers the balance, clarify, and punch D-18s are known for.

“I just love how D-18s sound,” Tuttle says. “It has that classic D-18 sound… it’s wonderful to use in the studio because the notes are so clear.”

The guitar ships in a vintage-style light blue molded hardshell case reminiscent of 1970s Martin designs and is priced at $4,199.99, with both right- and left-handed versions available.

For players looking for a more affordable option, the D-X2E Molly Tuttle brings those D-18 core specs into Martin’s X Series for the first time. Notably, it’s the first X Series model to feature a 1940s-style neck shape with a 1 11/16” nut width, a profile Tuttle describes as “extremely comfortable to play”.

The guitar’s solid spruce top is paired with figured mahogany HPL back and sides for added durability, while scalloped X-bracing, moon-phase markers, and Martin E1 electronics make it stage-ready straight out of the box.

“You could pick this up and go down and play a gig with it that very day,” says Tuttle. Priced at $999.99, it offers a far more accessible route into the Molly Tuttle signature lineup.

The moon-phase motif that appears on both guitars carries personal meaning for Molly as well: “I feel like the moon represents creativity, inspiration, your subconscious,” she says. “Sometimes when I realise it’s a new moon, I think that’s a good time to plant the seeds of new ideas.”

She hopes these guitars spark that same creative energy for other players: “I hope you pick one up. I hope you love playing it. I hope they kind of unlock some new ideas in your playing.”

The D-18 Molly Tuttle and D-X2E Molly Tuttle will be available online and through authorised Martin dealers following their debut at The 2026 NAMM Show.

Learn more at Martin.

The post “It has that classic D-18 sound”: Molly Tuttle teams up with Martin on two new signature models inspired by her 1943 D-18 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Córdoba Guitars has unveiled the new Stage Artist Series, an update to its Stage Series of solidbody nylon-string electric guitars aimed squarely at performing players. The lineup includes three models – the Stage Artist Agave Burst, Stage Artist Habano Burst, and Stage Artist Traditional – all priced at $1,199.99.

“Stage Artist guitars were designed in response to feedback from Córdoba artists and specifically crafted to meet their performance needs,” says Nick Beach, Product Manager at Fretted Instruments.

• READ MORE: A totally new guitar, an upgraded Nexus Series and an international debut – here’s what Faith Guitars has launched at NAMM 2026

“They have thicker mahogany bodies and larger internal chambering than our Stage guitars, resulting in a more substantial feel, louder acoustic sound, and fuller amplified tone. They also have deeper body contours and sculpted neck heels that compensate for the thicker bodies, letting them rest comfortably against the player.”

Across the range, all three models feature premium appointments, including ebony binding with bold maple purfling, flamed maple Arches logos, and rosewood knobs with maple inlays.

The Agave Burst and Habano Burst models feature Córdoba’s Exotic Top design, pairing an ultra-thin flamed maple veneer with a solid spruce top. They also share Córdoba’s Fusion neck profile, which is slightly slimmer than a traditional nylon-string neck for a playing experience closer to that of a steel-string guitar.

By contrast, the Stage Artist Traditional caters to players who prefer an instrument that looks and feels like a traditional nylon-string guitar. Features include a solid cedar top, antique-tinted gloss finish, flat fingerboard, and a wider 52 mm (2″) nut width.

All guitars are fitted with the Stage Pickup System, co-developed with Fishman, which combines an under-saddle transducer with an internal body sensor for a detailed and balanced amplified tone. Onboard volume, EQ, and Body Blend controls allow for quick tone shaping in live or studio settings.

Learn more at Córdoba Guitars.

The post Córdoba’s new Stage Artist solidbody nylon electrics are built for the gigging guitarist – and they’re serious lookers appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.