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“We were getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands”: Trivium’s Matt Heafy reveals the ‘intense cliquiness’ of the metal scene when they came up
Matt Heafy has looked back on the ruthless cliquiness of the metal scene back when Trivium were just starting out in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
According to Heafy, the band faced bullying from other bands that they admired, and physical violence from music fans. These days, he feels things have significantly improved, and with rock and metal having somewhat of a mainstream revival (though for us it never went anywhere), there’s no time like the presence to form a band.
Speaking to Metal Hammer in its new print magazine, Heafy – who is a big supporter of rising talent within heavy music – is asked about his thoughts on the state of the heavy music world right now.
“It’s a good time to be playing heavy music, man. It’s a good time to be a younger band, too,” he replies. “You’re not having to deal with as much of the bullshit that we had to deal with: there’s not this intense ostracisation, this intense cliquiness.
“When we were coming around, we were getting glass bottles thrown at our heads, fans waiting for us outside of our van to try to fight us because they didn’t like the kind of music we played, getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands. That doesn’t happen anymore as much [to young bands].”
Interestingly, Devin Townsend has also spoken of how metal was overlooked and undervalued by the music industry when it first began to blossom, back in an interview with D’Addario in August.
He said, “Metal is a dynamic that I feel was undervalued by the music industry at large because it was tied to the aesthetic of Mötley Crüe and all that shit. Because I was a very sensitive kid and consequently, a very sensitive adult, I do find that it’s visceral in ways that other music isn’t, and it managed to scratch an itch, but as a dynamic, as a texture.”
The post “We were getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands”: Trivium’s Matt Heafy reveals the ‘intense cliquiness’ of the metal scene when they came up appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Does a better understanding of technique dim the magic of guitar playing? Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil weighs in…
While some guitarists thrive on expanding their technical and theoretical knowledge, others would much rather be without it – as is the case for Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, whose love of guitar thrives on a lack of technique.
The Biff released a brand new album, Futique, at the end of September. The record went straight to number one, marking their fourth album to reach the top spot in the UK Albums Chart. One element of their success as a band may well lie in Neil’s freeing “creative relationship” with his guitar, as he believes there can be such a thing as knowing too much.
Speaking to Guitarist for its new print edition, Neil shares some of his view points on gear, and the joy he finds in being curious about his instrument: “We all use gear in different ways, sometimes for things beyond what it may have been designed for. I used to think you needed someone’s rig to sound like them, but actually it’s all about the expression through your fingers,” he says.
“I’m still enthralled by the magic of the guitar, probably because I never conquered the technique side. It’s this box of wonder that I approach as a creative instrument. A lot of songs on this record are in standard tuning, though a couple were standard a step down. I know I’m about to go down a creative period where I start fucking with tunings. I needed a wee break from the guitar before this album.”
The band’s most recent releases prior to Futique were 2020’s A Celebration Of Endings and 2021’s The Myth Of The Happily Ever After. The time off from their last album to now was intentional, as having some time away from guitar also helps Neil to come back to it with a clearer head.
“We’d released two records during the pandemic and my guitar was my companion through that [so] I couldn’t look at my guitar for a year after that; I was scared of it. I felt this responsibility, where I had to write music every time I picked it up. So instead I went away and made some heavy metal music in Empire State Bastard [with Mike Vennart],” he shares.
“As soon as I came home, I picked up the guitar and the songs started to come out. It was playtime again. Being a novice when you are creating is actually a good place to be. You can have too much knowledge. Again, it’s that battle I’m having between being a better player and not ruining the creative relationship I have with my guitar.”
There’s perhaps an element of decision paralysis that may come into play when composing music as an advanced player, in that the number of theoretical options available to you may prove overwhelming and take you out of your creative flow. So is Simon Neil onto something? You be the judge…
Futique is out now. Biffy Clyro are also currently playing a number of live acoustic shows, and will kick off a headline tour in January – you can find out more via their official website.
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Comparing Taylor’s Gold Label Lineup: Which guitar is for you?
Ad feature with Taylor Guitars
Back in January 2025, Taylor’s Gold Label Collection was a bolt from the blue that shook up the perception of America’s most innovative guitar brand. Breaking with 50 years of Taylor sonic and visual ethos, the Gold Label Collection guitars were designed by Andy Powers to represent “a different flavour altogether” for the brand.
“It’s equally good, equally interesting, but probably speaks to a different musician, or a different use case” the man himself told us ahead of the launch. “And so this will be interesting to watch expand. There’s a lot that we can do with this coming in the future.”
Ten months on and Powers and his team have made very good on that prediction – after launching with four 800 Series models, the range has since expanded to offer 22 different combinations of wood, body shape, trim level and finish.
But such a rapid expansion of a concept can be a little dizzying for even the most dedicated of Taylor enthusiasts. With new Gold Label guitars coming thick and fast, how can you be sure you’ve picked the right one for you? Well, don’t fret, because Guitar.com is here to guide you through the most important stuff you’ll need to know…
The Body Shape
When the Gold Label Collection debuted, it also brought a new body shape to the Taylor recipe, the Super Auditorium. Adapted from the legendary Grand Auditorium body shape that has been a Taylor mainstay for decades, the Super Auditorium is a little longer and a little wider. This gives the Gold Label guitars more low-end power and an open, round response than a traditional Taylor.
But the Super Auditorium wasn’t alone for long in the Gold Label stakes – it was soon joined by a bigger brother… and boy is it big. The Gold Label Grand Pacific body shape is an evolution of the Grand Pacific design that Andy Powers created back in 2019. The Gold Label version keeps the handsome slope-shouldered dreadnought dimensions of the original, but makes things deeper in the body – 3/8-inch in practice. That means this is deeper even than a Martin dread or a Gibson Jumbo.
In sonic terms, that means you get a guitar that has the powerful acoustic projection and rich low-end warmth that you’d expect from a classic old-school dreadnought guitar.
The Wood Choice
The Gold Label Collection currently inhabits four different Taylor series levels, which determine the various woods used in their construction. As well as impacting the price of the guitar in question, these wood choices also impact the guitar’s overall sound – and so whatever you’re looking to spend, it’s important to know what you’re working with.
The most affordable guitars in the current range are the 500 Series models, and these guitars pair a top of torrefied spruce – where the wood has been cooked in an oven to get a jump on the way a guitar’s woods will naturally dry out over time – and mahogany.
This is, of course, an absolutely classic acoustic guitar combination, and as such offers a rich, earthy midrange character with a clear, woody response, powerful projection and hints of seasoned, aged-in sweetness right out of the box thanks to that torrefied top.
Moving up into the 700 and 800 Series models, we find another classic pairing in the shape of torrefied Sitka spruce and rosewood on the back and sides. On the 700 Series you’ll find Indian rosewood, while the 800 Series sports Honduran rosewood, giving subtle sonic differences. Both offer a blooming, harmonically rich tone with inspiring old-school sonic character when paired with spruce, though you may notice a little more midrange punch from the 800’s Honduran back and sides .
All of the above are available in either body type, but if you want something a little different (though still very classically Taylor) you can enjoy the Koa Series Super Auditorium, which offers a Hawaiian koa back and sides to add a rich midrange character to the Gold Label recipe.
All Gold Label guitars sport mahogany necks, West African Ebony fretboard and Honduran rosewood bridges, bringing some of the finest sustainable tonewoods on earth together in spectacular fashion.
The Looks
The first strum is with the eyes, someone probably once said – and there’s no doubt that the visuals of the Gold Label Collection are as striking as they are appealing. If you want your Gold Label guitar to look as classic and timeless as it sounds, every one of the guitars in the range is offered in the classic gloss natural finish – with a player-friendly satin-finished neck – but there are more eye-catching options to be found here.
The Gold Label Collection has debuted a new amber sunburst option that manages the rare feat of looking both very current and very classic at the same time – something that’s further enhanced by the option of either a cream or firestripe pickguard.
Want to really stand out however, and you can opt for the stunning Blacktop option for all 500 and 700 Series guitars. This painted top option really emphasises the visual inspiration that Powers took from guitars and banjos of the 1920s and 30s, but with all the usual Taylor charm, cleanness and precision.
Another more subtle visual delineation between the guitars are the inlays and peghead motif – the 500 and 700 Series guitars sport the new “Crest” inlays, while the 800 Series boasts the more elaborate mother-of-pearl “Continental” designs.
More In Common
While there’s a great degree of choice already in the Gold Label Collection, there are some killer features that are ever present throughout the range. For starters, all Gold Label guitars sport Powers’ latest guitar design innovation: the Action Control Neck. This patented design features a long-tenon joint that extends deeper into the body, enhancing the wood coupling to boost the low-end resonance. It also enables you to make quick, precise string height adjustments with a turn of a bolt through the soundhole – you don’t even need to remove the strings to do this, let alone the neck.
Another common feature of the Collection is the latest evolution of Taylor’s revolutionary V-Class architecture. The Gold Label guitars sport a fan-like arrangement of braces in the soundboard’s lower bout, giving the models a warmer, more resonant, more powerful sound than would be possible otherwise. Another common factor is the LR Baggs Element VTC pickup system that ensures you sound great plugged in, too.
There are no bad choices in the Gold Label Collection – each instrument is made with that remarkable blend of precision and care that makes Taylor guitars a lifetime companion. Now you know exactly which flavour is right for you, there’s nothing stopping you from making a Gold Label guitar your new favourite instrument.
Find out more about the Gold Label Collection at taylorguitars.com
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Black Friday 2025: Everything guitarists need to know
Black Friday is set to deliver its annual deluge of deals once again this year. The event and its follow-ups Cyber Weekend and Cyber Monday give guitarists a great chance to grab a saving on anything from a few packs of strings, to that dream instrument. The entire span from the week before Thanksgiving right through to Cyber Monday – AKA Cyber Week – is what serious gear-heads should be watching. Savvy shoppers in search of a new guitar, amp or effects pedal understand that the true savings often begin well before the day itself, with retailers such as Amazon, Sweetwater, Thomann, Reverb and zZounds launching early bird promotions to capture pre-holiday spending.
Where can you find savings? Well, if you’re in the UK or the EU, there are some great deals to be had at Thomann and Amazon, as well as Reverb and PMT. In the US, you’ll be able to grab some savings at Guitar Center, Amazon, Reverb and zZounds.
The Guitar.com team is primed to find the best deals for you across all of Cyber Weekend – so be sure to check back here, as this page will be regularly updated with our best picks! Until then, here’s just some of the places we’ll be trawling for savings:
| UK/EU Deals | US Deals |
| Thomann Save up to 70% | Reverb Up to 80% off |
| Reverb UK Up to 80% off | zZounds Black Friday savings |
| Positive Grid Up to 50% off | Sweetwater Up to 80% off |
| Gear4Music Black Friday deals | Positive Grid Up to 50% off |
| PMT Up to 70% off | Guitar Center Save up to 50% |
| Amazon UK Big savings | Amazon Black Friday deals |
| Guitar Tricks 20% off monthly sub | Tim Pierce Masterclass Free trial |
| Tim Pierce Masterclass Free trial | Guitar Tricks 20% off annual sub |
| Ultimate Ears EU Shop savings | Music & Arts 20% savings |
When is Black Friday 2025?
Black Friday 2025 will officially commence on 28 November 2025, with Cyber Monday 2025 falling on Monday, December 1, 2025. Across this weekend you’ll want to keep an eye on all of your favourite retailers, and indeed this very site – Guitar.com will be trawling the guitar world to find you the biggest and the best deals we can, on everything from string-winders to seven-strings.
It’s important to not just focus on the physical gear, too! Deals on plugins and amp sims are standar often featuring really hefty discounts. If you’re a bedroom producer, it’s a great time to stock your virtual gear collection with some industry-leading plugins without breaking the bank.
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.
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Ace Frehley 1951-2025: Guitar community mourns the death of Kiss’s trailblazing founding guitarist
Tributes have been pouring in from the guitar and wider music community following the news that Ace Frehley, Kiss’s trailblazing founding guitarist who was instrumental in their success, has died aged 74.
“We are completely devastated and heartbroken,” reads a statement from Frehley’s family, shared with Variety. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers, and intentions as he left this earth,” read a statement from the guitarist’s family.
“We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”
No official cause of death has been given yet, but TMZ reported the guitarist was on life support following a recent fall at his home studio, which caused a brain bleed and forced him to cancel a string of upcoming tour dates.
Kiss lead the tributes to their former guitarist, with a statement on the band’s social media reading: “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of Kiss’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello calls Ace Frehley his “first guitar hero”, thanking him for inspiring “generations to love rock ‘n’ roll” and for his “timeless riffs and solos”
Extreme virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt shares a similar sentiment, reflecting on how Kiss was the “first rock band I wanted to be like”, adding, “So long, Spaceman.”
“As far as I’m concerned Ace was the coolest dude out of the original four,” write Opeth. “He had some type of swagger that almost defined the term itself. A hard rocking Keith Richards of sorts, albeit in silver makeup and platform heels. Kiss was very much an introduction to my ‘school of rock’. All my childhood friends were fans of Kiss, and many of them regarded Ace as the ultimate rock-star.”
“I am so shocked and saddened that this happened to my hero and my friend,” adds John 5. “I’ve known Ace since 1988 and we’ve been very close ever since then. Ace changed the world. He influenced millions of people and changed my life. I will miss you my friend.”
Elsewhere, former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick calls Frehley “truly an iconic guitar player”, noting his “undeniable role in the creation and success of Kiss”, and his influence on “millions of guitarists around the world”.
Rush’s Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee say they are “absolutely stunned and saddened” at the news of Frehley’s death.
“Back in 1974, as the opening act for Kiss, Alex, Neil [Peart] and myself spent many a night hanging out together in his hotel room after shows, doing whatever nonsense we could think of, just to make him break out his inimitable and infectious laugh.
“He was an undeniable character and an authentic rock star. RIP Ace… thanks for welcoming us newbies into the rock and roll world.”
Frehley was born April 27, 1951, and started playing the guitar aged just 13. After spending his early 20s playing in various rock bands, he would successfully audition for a new project being formed by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss in 1972. He would help conceptualise Kiss, and launch the band in 1973.
As Kiss’ Spaceman, Frehley brought an old-school hard-rock attitude to the band’s lofty theatrics, drawing on his early influences such as Cream, The Who and Jimi Hendrix. While the band slowly garnered an audience in its first year, he established a frenetic playing style that provided a grounded counterbalance to his sci-fi persona and the band’s overall bombastic stylings.
Frehley would co-write the occasional song for Kiss’ early material, but increased his writing credits by the late 1970s – 1979 and 1980 albums Dynasty and Unmasked both featured three Frehley-penned songs. Despite this, he began to find himself pulling in a more experimental, less commercial direction than Simmons and Stanley, especially after Peter Criss’ firing in 1980.
By 1982, he had left the group and embarked on a solo career. In 1987 he released the self-titled record with his solo band Frehley’s Comet, which was well-received.
Alongside Criss, Frehley rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a successful reunion tour. After the band’s original lineup embarked on a ‘farewell’ tour in 2001, however, he departed and resumed his solo career. Following some disputes with the remaining members of Kiss surrounding payment, he didn’t return to the band to participate in their final tours.
He continued releasing music under his own name after his departure, with his next LP scheduled for released this year.
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Manson x Cort MBM-2H review – as sparkly as it is playable
£569, mansonguitarworks.com
Christmas comes earlier every year, doesn’t it? Particularly in this year, when it arrived in June with the launch of the Manson x Cort MBM-2H. It’s the latest entry to the affordable side of Matt Bellamy’s signature line, and the most striking addition is a finish option that looks like Saint Nick himself carved the body out of peppermint and magical reindeer noses. That’s no coincidence, of course – the finish echoes Bellamy’s own more high-end custom guitar, one nicknamed ‘Santa’ for its sparkly red-and-white colour scheme.
Image: Adam Gasson
What is the MBM-2H?
So yes, in my hands is the new – sort of – Meta Series MBM-2H. It’s worth noting that, other than a new set of finishes and the addition of a neck humbucker rather than a P90, not much has changed from the previous Meta Series MBM-2. The rest of the spec-sheet all remains the same, with a basswood body, soft-V maple neck, compound 12-16” laurel fretboard and locking tuners
This particular model is also the most barebones version of the instrument, as there is also a slightly pricier option if you want to go with a Sustaniac in the neck position. You can even add a built-in ZVEX Fuzz Factory for a little extra again, if you want to get really close to Bellamy’s own loadout. And if you do happen to be a little less ‘LED shutter sunglasses’ in your aesthetic sensibilities, the MBM-2H does come in two other finishes that are a little less festive – olive green and black.
Image: Adam Gasson
Construction and QC
The construction and attention to detail here is generally pretty great for the price, but my eye is drawn to a few reminders that this is a sub-£600 guitar. The 12th-fret dot markers have been drilled noticeably askew, and a non-zero amount of glitter from the body has made its way under the otherwise plain neck finish. It’s worth highlighting that lopsided fret-dots were also present on previous iterations of this instrument, so it’s a little bit of a shame that this issue hasn’t been addressed. There’s also one pretty egregious tool mark along the fretboard edge, and the transition from the painted headstock to the laurel fretboard is rough at best.
Some of the hardware choices are similarly indicative of a more budget instrument, too – the line of strings is almost entirely flat to the body, but angled humbucker rings are still used, meaning that the pickups have one coil just slightly closer to the strings. Luckily, this issue is nowhere near as bad as it was on the similarly-priced Vintage REVO Integra, and the result isn’t audible here – especially as there’s no coil-splitting going on.
But in terms of any QC quibbles that impact playability, it’s thankfully a lot harder to find fault. There may be some rough spots to look at right up close, but under the hand, everything along the neck is smooth as can be, and the frets are polished and level. Intonation is also set perfectly out of the box, and the action has been dialled in for speedy riffing. So let’s do some of that.
Image: Adam Gasson
In use
In the hands and on the body the guitar is a very comfy experience – it’s light but well-balanced, and the soft-V neck and the generous comfort carves mean the guitar stays out of the way as you play. The factory action gives me a clue as to what this guitar has been dialled in to do – it’s low and slinky, which combined with a compound radius and a killswitch, makes this a guitar that invites big, silly riffs and shreddy solos. Not that I can shred very well, mind, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
Something that’s immediately striking when I plug in is just how damn good the bridge pickup is. It’s pretty much the opposite of a touch-responsive PAF, with bucketloads of output, quickly driving my amp into heavy saturation. This makes sense, of course. Subtlety is not a word neither Matt Bellamy or his LED sunglasses know: this is a guitar designed for big riffs and killswitch-stuttered solos.
With that said, though, the main addition here over the previous MBM-2 guitar is that the neck P90 has been replaced by a humbucker. This is, in my view, a bit of a strange change to make, as it does remove some of the versatility and identity from the guitar. There’s not even any coil-splitting to be had to compensate – the sheer power of these Manson-designed humbuckers makes the bridge position great for huge riffs, but can mean that the neck position becomes a little muddy and overwhelming.
So without the electronic curveball of a P90, a Sustaniac or a Fuzz Factory, this version of the MBM-2H approaches being generic. And generic does a disservice to a design rooted in kick-to-the-teeth impact and electronic whackiness, not to mention that finish.
There is still the killswitch, of course, which is a quality bit of kit. It has a nice smooth action and there’s zero crackle while using it. It is also well-placed on that upper-bout, being pretty easy to integrate it into your playing. This isn’t one of those killswitches that asks you to paw at hitherto unexplored areas of a guitar to activate the stuttering effect – it remains accessible in most imaginable playing positions. Equally, if you find yourself not wanting to use it for whatever reason, it is still a low-profile push-button – and so will stay out of the way.
Image: Adam Gasson
Should I buy an MBM-2H?
The MBM-2H has all of the hallmarks of a high-quality Indonesian-made instrument – and therefore will absolutely perform for you without breaking the bank. The playability-to-price ratio here is undeniable, and by most measures it’s an excellent guitar. Manson and Cort continue to prove themselves a worthy pairing when it comes to making excellent guitars at this price point.
However, there is something about it that doesn’t quite spark as much joy as, on paper, it should. It’s hard to put my finger on why. Maybe it’s the pretty generic satin-finished maple neck. Maybe it’s my aversion to the flashiness of the red sparkle. Maybe it’s the fact I’m looking at the slightly more anonymous version without a Sustainiac or a Fuzz Factory. Or maybe it’s the fact that the main change over the Meta Series MBM-2 makes the guitar, in my view, a little more generic.
But with that said, these are the kinds of criticisms that you may well easily dismiss. Maybe you personally would never have used a neck P-90, and are overjoyed about this change to a humbucker! And for the fans of Bellamy’s Santa guitars, it is cool to see such an out-there finish arrive at the more affordable end of things.
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Judge Dredd comic book-inspired ThorpyFX pedals? Yes, please
ThorpyFX has teamed up with multimedia studios Rebellion on a line of comic book-themed pedals inspired by 2000 AD characters.
Three pedals have been launched through the partnership – which are each respectively based on the characters Judge Dredd, Judge Death, and Rogue Trooper – and a range of funky picks are also available as part of the launch.
- READ MORE: These Fender Japan x Godzilla guitars might be the coolest we’ve seen this year – and possibly ever
2000 AD was first published in 1977, and has been in the care of Rebellion since the year 2000. Rebellion is one of the world’s most successful independent video games studios, and it also produces books, TV, film, board games, and more alongside its comics too.
Not only do these pedals look cool, they’re also made to “survive the rigours of the road and deliver consistent superior sound in all working environments.” Built around existing ThorpyFX pedals, each one aligns with the character it’s named after, and features exclusive 2000 AD collab artwork.
Judge Dredd has been honoured with The Lawbringer, based on the award winning British-style Gunshot overdrive, which “aims to place Law above all else in line with Judge Dredd’s singular uncompromising attitude”. At the heart of this pedal is a proprietary cascading ‘gain engine’, tuned to deliver maximum tonality for a wide range of amps.
Judge Death’s Deathbringer is built around the distortion Warthog pedal that ThorpyFX designed to be “the distortion to beat all others”. This one has an American voice, and can cover all kinds of tones from boost to fuzz.
The final pedal in the collection is the Rogue Trooper Fallout Cloud. It’s described as embodying “the dark vengeful theme of the dystopian Nu-Earth world, but with a soundscape that is as massive as the wastelands found on Nu-Earth.” It’s a special edition version of the original Fallout Cloud designed by ThorpyFX in 2016 and is branded as a Triangle era-inspired fuzz.
Each pedal is available to pre-order now via ThorpyFX and each is priced at £229. You can also find out more about 2000 AD via Rebellion.
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Guild takes aim at singer-songwriters and fingerstylists with two smaller concert-sized acoustics
Guild has lifted the lid on two new USA-made concert-sized acoustics, the M-50 Standard and M-40 Standard, with smaller bodies and wider nut widths aimed at singer-songwriters and fingerstyle guitarists.
A concert-sized body is essentially smaller and less deep than that of a standard acoustic guitar, and so is ideal for smaller players, or perhaps those seeking a travel guitar.
Both the M-50 Standard and M-40 Standard are available in acoustic and electro-acoustic configurations, with the latter featuring an L.R. Baggs Element VLC Pickup System, designed to “faithfully reproduce the guitar’s acoustic sound when amplified or recorded”.
Though similar, each guitar sports a slightly different build; both feature a solid Sitka spruce top, while the M-50 Standard features an Indian rosewood back and sides, and the M-40 Standard features a back and sides built using African mahogany.
Both guitars have two finish options; the M-50 comes in either Natural or Antique Burst, while the M-40 comes in Natural and Pacific Sunset Burst.
Guild says the Indian rosewood of the M-50 Standard contributes to a “full and rich tone with excellent articulation”, while the M-40’s African mahogany means “warmth and an earthy richness”.
Further specs present on both models include a mahogany C-shaped neck, Indian rosewood bridge, compensated bone saddle and bone nut, tortoiseshell pickguard, white binding, Guild Peak headstock inlay and Guild Deluxe Vintage open-gear tuners.
Of the L.R. Baggs electronics featured on the M-50E and M-40E, Guild explains: “By detecting soundboard movement rather than picking pressure, the pickup captures the full and balanced tone of the guitar while eliminating the high-frequency ‘quack’ typical of undersaddle pickups.”
Learn more at Guild.
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Ronnie Wood reveals his marathon initiation when joining The Rolling Stones: “Keith kept me going… we hardly slept”
Ronnie Wood has looked back on his early induction into The Rolling Stones, and how he was given 300 songs to learn rapidly with a little help from Keith Richards.
Wood began working with the Stones during the recording of their Black And Blue album, just after the departure of Mick Taylor. Though Richards recorded the vast majority of guitar work on the record, the band also used it as a window of opportunity to trial Taylor’s replacement.
Wood became a touring member of the band in 1975 for their Tour Of The Americas, and became a permanent member in 1976. Speaking to Uncut surrounding the upcoming November reissue of Black And Blue, Wood looks back on the chaos of joining the band and having to catch up to the others.
Recalling his contributions to Black And Blue, he shares: “One of my favourites was Hey Negrita, the first song that I wrapped in the studio and said, ‘Right, we’re going to play this.’ And Charlie [Watts] said, ‘We’ve only known him five minutes and he’s bossing us around already.’ That was my classic introduction to the boys in the studio. I think I got an ‘inspiration by’ [credit] or something.”
He adds, “Joining the band, I had to take a deep breath and say, ‘Here we go.’ You’d either got it or you hadn’t. From Beggars Banquet onwards, I loved all those albums of theirs. When I actually joined, I thought, ‘I’m finally home now.’ I think I had about 300 songs that I had to learn rapidly. Keith kept me going. We were playing and playing, we hardly slept, and it was certainly a crash course.”
Speaking of the difference between being in The Stones’ inner circle and actually being a member of the band, he says, “[This was the beginning] of being a part of the outfit, the circus. And I remember Keith’s, ‘I’ve got a great idea – let’s not tell anyone you’re in the band.’ Great, thanks, Keith! I came in by osmosis. There was never actually an announcement, so I was still the new boy 20 years later.”
The new, Super Deluxe Box Set reissue of Black And Blue will be released on 14 November via Universal. Arriving as a 5LP vinyl box set and a 4CD box set, both editions come alongside a Blu-ray disc, a 100-page hardback book, and a replica tour poster. In other Stones news, producer Andrew Watt recently teased that another album is on the way from the band.
You can pre-order the Black And Blue Super Deluxe Box Set now, or check out more from the band via their official website.
The post Ronnie Wood reveals his marathon initiation when joining The Rolling Stones: “Keith kept me going… we hardly slept” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“My dad was a great guitarist but a terrible guitar teacher”: Eddie Van Halen once asked Paul Gilbert to give his son Wolfgang a guitar lesson
![[L-R] Wolfgang Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen, with a photo of Paul Gilbert inset](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EVH-WVH-Gilbert-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
Though rarely omitted from any conversation surrounding the world’s most legendary guitar players, Eddie Van Halen wasn’t the best teacher, or so says his son Wolfgang.
It’s certainly true that just because someone is proficient or highly skilled in something, doesn’t mean they share the same skill in imparting that knowledge. And as Wolfgang Van Halen explains in a new interview with Guitar.com, for Eddie, that skill didn’t come so naturally.
- READ MORE: Sean Long’s new Neon Pink Charvel signature model might secretly be the most metal guitar of 2025
“My dad was a great guitarist but a terrible guitar teacher – he’d tell you that himself,” Wolfgang recalls, adding that his father once tapped Mr Big and Racer X virtuoso Paul Gilbert to give him a lesson instead.
“He even called Paul Gilbert one time and asked him if he would give me a lesson, and he laughed his ass off,” he continues. “That just shows you how he felt about being a teacher.
“And, yeah, he was right. He’d be like, ‘Just do it like this.’ ‘Well, how?!’ You’re at such a different level, you’re just not even thinking in the same way.”
While Eddie Van Halen was, in large part, known for being technically gifted, what Wolfgang took from him the most was his sense of melody and musicality.
“When it comes to Dad, people always talk about the tapping and the shredding and stuff, but I think very much what he instilled in me is that melody is song,” he goes on.
“If you can hum it, if you can think of it and sing it, that’s the best kind of solo – which is another reason why I love Aaron [Marshall, Intervals] so much!
“But, yeah, I think his ability to not only be an amazing rhythm guitar player, but just to merge melody with the shreddiness, and never letting melody fall, is a very important thing as a musician. While shredding scales is technically impressive, it’s almost artistically stale.”
Read the full interview – in which Wolfgang Van Halen names his five favourite guitar players – at Guitar.com.
The post “My dad was a great guitarist but a terrible guitar teacher”: Eddie Van Halen once asked Paul Gilbert to give his son Wolfgang a guitar lesson appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Wolfgang Van Halen names his five favourite guitar players
When it comes to titles, Wolfgang Van Halen usually keeps things simple. He named his hard rock outfit Mammoth (formerly Mammoth WVH due to trademark issues), after one of the bands his legendary dad Eddie played in before forming Van Halen. The project’s first album was self-titled. Then, its second was given the logical moniker Mammoth II. Now, though, album three is breaking tradition, brandishing the somewhat ominous title of The End.
- READ MORE: The guitar influences of Kurt Cobain
“The evolution from the second album to this one warranted this being the first album to actually be titled,” Wolfgang tells me. “This just didn’t feel like Mammoth III to me. There’s a lot of songwriting evolution and maturity and confidence that I don’t think were there on the last two. It just felt like the right time to actually break out.”
In contrast to his dad’s famously exuberant work as the guitarist for Van Halen, Wolfgang started his career playing less showy rock’n’roll music, inspired by the likes of Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails to focus on the song rather than the shred. However, on The End, things feel less conscious, more fun. The title track opens with some invigorating guitar tapping that may seem like an homage to Eruption, but it’s actually a sequence that Wolfgang’s had in his back pocket for more than 10 years. Plus, throughout the rest of the album, there’s more soloing and theatricality, without compromising the simplicity and directness of Mammoth’s trademark hooks.
“This pre-production process was a bit different in comparison to the last few,” says Wolfgang. “Instead of doing it on my laptop, we had the studio all ready to go. I would just try something [on guitar], run out to the drums, play it, run back and play bass to it, and it was this really creative, electric, quick-reaction environment. You could tell if something was working or not right away, rather than wasting three hours on a computer trying to figure it out.”
Given the greater focus on the guitar on this new album, we went on to ask Wolfgang to name his five favourite guitar players. His answers ranged from the very obvious to the totally unexpected.
Image: Travis Shinn
Aaron Marshall, Intervals
“Aaron is a close personal friend of mine, so it’s a bit tough to separate that, but, man, he’s probably my most favourite guitar player out there right now. What’s so fantastic about him is that he has this melodic sensibility that’s unrivalled by a lot of other guitar players. Rather than being shreddy, he’s almost the singer of his band, as well as the solo guitar player. The first song off of his album [2020] album Circadian, 5-HTP, is probably one of my favourite songs ever. I know the guys get sick of it: every time I have a guitar in drop D at soundcheck, I end up playing that song.
“Growing up, you hit these phases of, like, ‘I wanna hear more of this type of music.’ When I heard Meshuggah for the first time, I started exploring and found Periphery and Tesseract, and then I came upon Intervals. I was like, ‘This is exactly my shit.’ I really fell in love with Aaron’s playing on their [2012] EP In Time, the songs Epiphany and Tapestry.
“I was already a huge, huge fan of his, and then Mammoth came out. He messaged me and said he liked my albums, which blew my mind. I couldn’t believe that! Through the magic of social media, we met and hung out a handful of times, and we were actually able to tour together last year, which was really cool.”
Adam Jones, Tool
“I think, in terms of every instrument I play – bass, guitar, drums and singing – each member of Tool is on the respective Mount Rushmore for their instrument. The first song I heard from them was Third Eye [from 1996’s Ænima], which is funny, because it wasn’t a single or anything. It kind of opened my mind – opened my third eye, so to speak – regarding what music can be. I was like, ‘This is a 13-minute song! Not just a four-minute thing!’ It blew my mind when I was in seventh grade. There’s power in its simplicity: when Adam just holds down the rhythms and almost lets Justin [Chancellor, bass] take the lead, they have such a great connection.
“When it comes to rhythm playing, Adam is almost like the Malcolm Young of metal. He is such a fucking awesome rhythm guy, and he’s a great lead guy, too. Things like the talkbox solo on Jambi are just the best.
“In Mammoth, the influence of bands like Tool and Meshuggah will come out in places you don’t expect. If you listen to [the song] The End, the very end of it, there’s this double-kick, half-time, metal-ey thing. They just pop up! Even on the last album [2023’s Mammoth II], on Right?, there’s that Meshuggah-ey breakdown in the middle after the solo. It’s never intentional: I try not to stifle the creative process by overthinking and just do what feels right.”
Eddie Van Halen
“There was a benefit I played in fourth grade where I played drums and my dad played guitar. I remember, we went out to the car afterwards and some guy came up and asked him to sign something. He left, then he put on a different shirt and came back. I think – in moments like that, seeing that sort of desperation – I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, my dad’s probably a big deal, huh?’
“When it comes to Dad, people always talk about the tapping and the shredding and stuff, but I think very much what he instilled in me is that melody is song. If you can hum it, if you can think of it and sing it, that’s the best kind of solo – which is another reason why I love Aaron so much! But, yeah, I think his ability to not only be an amazing rhythm guitar player, but just to merge melody with the shreddiness, and never letting melody fall, is a very important thing as a musician. While shredding scales is technically impressive, it’s almost artistically stale.
“My dad was a great guitarist but a terrible guitar teacher – he’d tell you that himself. He even called [Mr Big and Racer X guitarist] Paul Gilbert one time and asked him if he would give me a lesson, and he laughed his ass off. That just shows you how he felt about being a teacher. And, yeah, he was right. He’d be like, ‘Just do it like this.’ ‘Well, how?!’ You’re at such a different level, you’re just not even thinking in the same way.”
Angus Young and Malcolm Young, AC/DC
“I couldn’t keep going without talking about AC/DC and how important those brothers are. I’m usually not the most bluesy guy – I respect it, but it’s just not my vibe – but what I love about Angus is how he manages to take the relaxing, sort of scaly stuff of blues and add this anarchistic punkiness to it, just by being so fucking crazy. It’s attitude: it almost doesn’t matter what he’s playing, it’s how he’s playing it. Look at songs like Down Payment Blues from [1978 album] Powerage. The solo is one note, and it’s also one of my dad’s favourite solos ever.
“Angus is still an incredible showman in his 70s. I know some people try to poke and make fun of him [for still wearing his schoolboy stage outfit aged 70], but I’d love to see you fucking do that. Personally, I try to avoid that sort of 80s-esque performance stuff. I get a lot of criticism from 80s music fans who love Van Halen, see me and go, ‘Why aren’t you jumping around?’ My idea is somebody like Tool or Meshuggah: they just stand on the stage and fucking destroy.
“Malcolm, to me, is the greatest rhythm guitar player to have ever lived. There’s nothing more perfect than his rhythm, his metre, his timing, and his tone was out of this world. If you listen to something like If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), there’s nothing like it. And he did some of the best background vocals ever, like on TNT and Thunderstruck.”
Mark Tremonti, Alter Bridge/Creed
“Mark is another guitarist where he’s got the shred but he knows what makes a song good. The shred never overtakes that. I think people are so surprised that the dude from Creed can shred like that. I don’t think enough people recognise how important Alter Bridge are and the versatility they have: you have [acoustic ballad] Watch Over You, but then you have [heavy metal track] Cry of Achilles.
“I was in Mark’s solo band from 2012 to 2016. I’m on [the albums] Cauterized and Dust, which is pretty funny, because I only played one or two shows of that material. I toured the whole first album [2012’s All I Was], and that was the first time I came to the UK and Europe to tour. He became a personal friend. He’s such a silly, fun dude. He doesn’t take anything too seriously.”
The End is out on 24th October via BMG.
The post Wolfgang Van Halen names his five favourite guitar players appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Justin Hawkins thinks there’s one guitarist who could have rivalled Eddie Van Halen – if only he was born 10 years earlier
Justin Hawkins of The Darkness believes there’s one virtuoso that could have rivalled Eddie Van Halen back in the 1980s, if only he wasn’t “born 10 years too late”.
Talking to Rick Beato, Hawkins claims Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt would be “competing with Eddie Van Halen if he were a bit younger”, but that his talents went under the radar in the ’90s.
- READ MORE: Sean Long’s new Neon Pink Charvel signature model might secretly be the most metal guitar of 2025
According to Hawkins, Bettencourt may have become better known if Extreme were thrust into the bigger limelight that was 1980s glam metal, rather than being subject to the differing tastes of the ’90s.
“Extreme was successful with their couple of ballads… More Than Words was such a big hit, and it transcended like an Everly Brothers type song… But Nuno is one of the greatest guitar players of his generation.”
He’s also quick to add that he doesn’t think the rise of grunge had anything to do with what killed off glam rock. Instead, he thinks that glam metal bands like “Nitro… killed it because then nobody’s going to be able to sing higher than Jim Gillette. Nobody’s going to be able to play as fast or as ridiculous as Michael Angelo Batio.”
“So I think Nitro was the natural conclusion of that, and it meant the end for bands like Extreme unfortunately and other interesting glam rock stuff from that period.”
Hawkins’ own band The Darkness gained success in the 2000s after Extreme, and reminisces about what his own band might have missed out on: “Rivalries are what got people excited about music. It seemed like the ’80s were this wonderfully tumultuous decade”.
Hawkins doesn’t believe that rock should return to the old days, though. As he told Kerrang! earlier this year: “It’s about getting to a certain age and realising that the world’s changing, and you’ve gotta change or that’s you fucked, you get left behind. And that’s rock.”
“It’s actually from the perspective of rock – rock is a middle-aged guy in a world full of people who are just generation… whatever the fuck it is now, and it has to wake up and be part of it.”
The post Justin Hawkins thinks there’s one guitarist who could have rivalled Eddie Van Halen – if only he was born 10 years earlier appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Sean Long’s new Neon Pink Charvel signature model might secretly be the most metal guitar of 2025
Charvel has once again partnered with While She Sleeps guitarist Sean Long on a new limited-edition version of his Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH HT M signature model. It’s essentially an updated take on Long’s Charvel signature model, which arrived back in 2022.
Sporting a fresh lick of paint – Neon Pink, no less – the new version boasts a similar spec sheet to its predecessor, including a set of EMG 57 and 66 pickups. The 57, Charvel explains, evokes an “unmistakably PAF quality with plenty of headroom and punch”, while the 66 in the neck position offers a “warm, smooth mid-range and expansive lows”.
Notably, where the original Sean Long signature model features a neon yellow cover on the bridge pickup, the new Neon Pink version’s pickups do not. We don’t blame Charvel here; pink and yellow would have been bold, to say the least…
Elsewhere, the guitar features an HT6 string-through-body hardtail bridge, designed for “improved intonation and enhanced sustain and resonance”.
Credit: Charvel
The spec sheet is complete by an alder body – crafted into Charvel’s San Dimas Style 1 shape, of course – as well as a bolt-on maple neck with graphite reinforcement, with a Speed Neck profile and rolled fingerboard edges for enhanced playing comfort.
Further appointments include Luminlay side dots, 22 frets, a 12”-16” compound radius fingerboard, a heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel and Charvel-branded die-cast locking tuners.
Sean Long is the primary songwriter of Sheffield metalcore heavyweights While She Sleeps, and his Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH HT M signature model is designed to keep up with his “high-speed playing, scorching sound and sinister, yet eccentric style”.
“This is essentially the same as my original signature, the only difference is that it’s fucking pink, and this pickup [pointing to the bridge pickup], is black,” Long explains in the video above. Why? Because it’s awesome.”
He goes on: “I grew up listening to bands like Blink-182, Sum 41, Rage [Against the Machine], stuff like that. And then I discovered metalcore and metal. This kind of music completely captivated me – I’d never heard anything like it before…
“So the design – one of the fundamental aspects of my thinking was, I wanted it to be as simplistic as possible. I did not want it to be intimidating. I wanted it to seem aesthetically digestible. Because I remember when I was a kid going to music stores, it always felt like I wasn’t good enough to be there.
“If you looked at the guitars at the top, you would never have the balls to ask the guy to get it down. And that feeling has always sat with me. There was always this intimidating feeling with a lot of gear. So I wanted this to look appealing and approachable.”
The Limited Edition Sean Long Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH HT M is available now, priced at $1,469.99.
Learn more at Charvel.
The post Sean Long’s new Neon Pink Charvel signature model might secretly be the most metal guitar of 2025 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
The best electric guitars for all styles and budgets
Buying an electric guitar can be a somewhat daunting task – there are countless options out there, and rarely a “bad” instrument to be had, even at the budget end of things. So we’ve helpfully split this list of the best electric guitars into discrete categories, including our best overall pick.
Why? Well, the best guitar for you might be an affordable workhorse, ready to be thrown around on stage or into the back of a van without a care in the world. Or it could be a beautiful, premium instrument – a guitar to be looked after for life. The best guitar for you might offer up a palette of subtle, dynamic sounds. Or, it might pummel an amp’s front end to raise sonic hellfire. So, as well as our best overall pick, all of the guitars in this list excel in a given category – with everything from traditional classics to modern masterpieces, and premium instruments to beginner-friendly budget models represented. Let’s dive in.
The best electric guitars, at a glance:
- Our Pick: Fender Player II Modified Stratocaster
- Best Les Paul: Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard
- Best Jazzmaster: Fender Player II Jazzmaster
- Best Stratocaster: Fender Vintera II ’50s Stratocaster
- Best affordable guitar: Epiphone Les Paul Special
- Best high-end guitar: Gibson Murphy Lab 1959 Les Paul Standard
- Most unique guitar: Rivolta Forma Series Sferata
- Best metal guitar: Jackson LM-87 Lee Malia
- Best beginner guitar: Squier Sonic Mustang HH
- Best headless guitar: Strandberg Boden Essential 6
- Best baritone: Rivolta Mondata Baritone VII
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Our Pick: Fender Player II Modified Stratocaster
Image: Adam Gasson
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The Player II range represents some of the finest guitars to come out of Fender’s Ensenada, Mexico factory to date, and their overall quality-to-affordability ratio made them great options for the odd pickup swap or hardware change. Fender itself has always been keenly aware of the Ship Of Theseus mindset its guitars encourage – and so here we have the pre-modded Player II Modified Stratocaster, replete with some excellent noiseless single-coils, locking tuners and extra switching options.
The result is an extremely versatile Strat – even for a Strat – with some very road-ready hardware, all for a great price. What more do you need?
Need more? Read our Fender Player II Modified Stratocaster review.
Best Les Paul: Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard
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If you want an awesome Les Paul that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, then this collaboration between Epiphone and the Gibson Custom Shop could be it. Thanks to premium electronics and Gibson-spec pickups, there’s a wide range of responsive tone-shaping options on tap. Construction is solid and mostly sticks to vintage specifications, too – perfect if you want to see why the 1959 Les Paul Standard has remained one of the most legendary guitars of all time. It’s also a smart purchase when you compare it to what’s available at the most accessible end of the Gibson USA catalogue.
Need more? Read our Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard review.
Best Jazzmaster: Fender Player II Jazzmaster
The Player II Jazzmaster
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The Player II series from Fender has updated its core designs to be more approachable than ever – and the oh-so-singular Jazzmaster is always a tricky needle to thread in that regard. Complete purists may bemoan the lack of the rhythm circuit, but that aside there’s a lot to like, including the subtle wobble you can get from that Jazzmaster vibrato, and the bright, articulate single-coil pickups.
But the star of the show is undeniably the neck – first off, rosewood is back, replacing the mildly controversial pau ferro and generally being a lot nicer to look at. And on the playing side the fretboard edges are now rolled, meaning an incredibly comfy playing experience.
Need more? Read our Fender Player II Jazzmaster review.
Best vintage-style Stratocaster: Fender Vintera II ’50s Stratocaster
Fender Vintera II ’50s Stratocaster. Image: Adam Gasson
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Fender’s Mexican-made Vintera II line is an excellent place to turn if you want maximum bang for your buck in terms of sound, playability and looks. That remains true here with the Vintera II 50s Stratocaster: while it’s not a slavishly accurate recreation like the American Vintage II line is, there’s still a lot to love if you love a good traditional Strat, including the narrow-tall frets and the 7.25-inch radius.
The neck finds itself on the accessible side of vintage, with a softer V that takes the edge off its thickness, meaning a more characterful feel than that of the Vintera I necks. The concessions to modernity, where they have been made, are welcome ones too: a the bridge-wired tone control and five-way switch might not be totally accurate, but they sure are useful. In all, it’s a great Strat experience for a great piece.
Need more? Read our Fender Vintera II ’50s Stratocaster review.
Best affordable guitar: Epiphone Les Paul Special
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Compared to the pricey Custom Shop collaborations Epiphone likes to shout about, the standard Les Paul special – first launched as part of the Inspired By Gibson range in 2020 – is an affordable workhorse that, unless you really, really hate the Epiphone headstock, has no discernible compromises. Although its neck profile is on the chunkier side, it’s very playable – and not quite as fat as some baseball-bat examples out there. Importantly, its pickups aren’t messing around, either, with all of the vocal midrange P90s are famous for.
Need more? Read our Epiphone Les Paul Special review.
Best high-end guitar: Gibson Murphy Lab 1959 Les Paul Standard
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From an affordable student-model Les Paul to, well, quite the opposite. The Gibson Murphy Lab 1959 Les Paul standard is the absolute pinnacle of Gibson’s modern production guitars, recreating the absolute pinnacle of its vintage instruments. While you may baulk at any level of ageing, the Murphy Lab’s various wearing-in processes – from light to heavy – serve to make the guitar feel like a truly authentic 1950s example, rather than a new guitar built to the same specs. For those of us without six figures to drop on a vintage example, it’ll be the closest we get to owning the real deal.
Need more? Read our Gibson Murphy Lab 1959 Les Paul Standard review.
Most unique guitar: Rivolta Forma Series Sferata
The Sferata. Image: Adam Gasson
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There’s nothing wrong with the classics – the kinds of instruments that make a guitar-savvy audience member go, “Oh hey, it’s that guitar.” But maybe you want them to “what it that!?” – if that’s the case, look no further than the Rivolta Forma series. These awesome guitars chuck Gibson and Fender elements into a blender – along with a splash of brutalism, and a healthy dose of the sort of curves normally reserved for experimental Cold War-era aircraft. The Sferata is a particularly cool design standout, landing somewhere between a melted Jaguar and a Les Paul Junior.
But it’s not all about looks. The Forma series also come loaded with some awesome electronics, particularly a dramatically-slanted neck pickup – which our reviewer found to have an awesome and unique voice, thanks to the varied timbre of each string. They’re not the most affordable instruments out there, but Rivolta has a proven track-record of excellent guitars for the money, and, well, where else are you going for a guitar that looks like this?
Need more? Read our Rivolta Forma Series Sferata review.
Best metal guitar: Jackson LM-87 Lee Malia
Jackson Lee Malia LM-87 guitar. Image: Press
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This offset from Jackson is one of the best-looking metal guitars released in recent years, and it follows up its cooler-than-cool aesthetics with great playability and some crushing sounds. But thanks to its versatile set up pickups – with that single-coil in the neck – there’s a lot of range here, too, so it doesn’t always have to be drop-A and tremolo-picking. But, of course, this has ultimately been made for Lee Malia – and so will handle pretty much whatever heaviness you want to throw at it!
Need more? Read our Jackson LM-87 Lee Malia review.
Best beginner guitar: Squier Sonic Mustang HH
Squier Sonic Mustang HH. Image: Adam Gasson
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The Squier Sonic Mustang HH could be a perfect starter guitar, for a good few reasons. It is, of course, very affordable, at less than $200 – but it’s also no slouch in the playability department. It has a short 24-inch scale length, meaning that those with smaller hands will have an easier time with it – and string tension is lower, meaning easier fretting no matter the size of your mitts. And while the pickups aren’t the most deft and articulate humbuckers out there – for getting someone hooked on the sheer joy of a power-chord, they’re perfect.
Need more? Read our Squier Sonic Mustang HH review.
Best headless guitar: Strandberg Boden Essential 6
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It’s undeniable that a headless guitar is not for everyone – but it’s equally undeniable that they’re playing a massive role in the modern guitar landscape, espcially in the proggier, mathier outlands of heavier music. For the uninitiated, the Strandberg Boden 6 offers an enticing invite into that world – it has a rather reasonable price of $999, as well as an approachable featureset.
Six strings and a non-fanned fretboard mean that there’s only so much you’ll need to get used to if you’re coming over from a more traditional electric. Our reviewer found some truly excellent and versatile sounds on board, and had an excellent time with the ergonomics of the instrument. If you’re a fan of a comfortable, light guitar, there are very few lighter or more comfortable instruments – the Boden Essential 6 offers all of the awesome ergonomic benefits of a modern headless, with none of the extended-range hurdles, and all at a very approachable price.
Need more? Read our Strandberg Boden Essential 6 review.
Best baritone: Rivolta Mondata Baritone VII
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The Rivolta Mondata Baritone VII is, as you can tell immediately, an absolute stunner. But it’s as sonically beautiful as it is aesthetically, with a versatile combination of a humbucker and a P90 for exploring all corners of the downtuned sound. Need to get even more old-school? A strangle switch lets you starve some low-end for some bright tic-tac basslines, but whack things back up to full and let the 28-inch scale length add clarity to your ultra-low riffage.
Need more? Read our Rivolta Mondata Baritone VII review.
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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 to you in those guides is something that we’d be happy to have in our own rigs.
The post The best electric guitars for all styles and budgets appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Steve Morse reveals the guitarist with the best pre-show warm-up routine he’s ever seen
Most guitarists probably engage in some degree of a warm-up pre-show, but everyone has a different routine unique to them.
But few guitarists have a warm-up routine that rivals that of Dream Theater‘s John Petrucci, according to Steve Morse.
Deep Purple and Dream Theater have previously shared the stage, with the latter supporting the former on their Touring to Infinity shows in 1998.
“One thing I love seeing is how John Petrucci will just sit down and do a warm-up, no matter what, even if you’re talking to him, he’s going to keep on,” Morse tells The No Cover Charge podcast in a new interview.
“[He’s] got a metronome going. He’s going to build it up, build it up. And when he goes up on stage, it’s no problem… He keeps getting better with his musical ideas and everything, too.
“So he’s blown me away with the level that he’s been able to keep that alternate picking and even incorporating some hybrid things, just to serve the music. That’s as high of a level [as] I’ve seen of somebody preparing for a gig.”
Steve Morse’s appreciation for John Petrucci is certainly reciprocal, too. In a Guitar Player interview in 2022, Petrucci said that Morse’s playing was “The wildest, most incredible stuff I had ever heard.”
“There are moments that you can pinpoint and say they were truly life-changing, and for me, hearing Steve Morse play guitar was one of them.”
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Yardbirds drummer explains why Eric Clapton was difficult to be in a band with: “He took the blues up as his personal crusade”
Drummers often hold the band together. And this can mean getting a good read on the personalities of other members of the band, and situations where clashes may arise.
In The Yardbirds this was Jim McCarty’s job, and observing from behind the drum kit gave him a stark perspective of the dynamic between Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.
In a new interview with Guitar Player, McCarty reveals that working with these musical giants in their formative years was not always easy: “Going back to the time, they were all learning how to do it… We were all trying to play and having good fun playing that sort of music. And they were all very different. Very.”
Clapton was, as McCarty recalls, “a very moody sort of guy”. He explains: “We’d be travelling in a transit van, going to the shows, and he would sit in the corner and not talk to anybody.”
As McCarty explains, tensions arose over the band’s desperation to have a hit, versus Eric’s zealousness for the blues: “He’d be in a little world of his own, obviously quite unhappy with the way it was going.”
“Eric was coming from a difficult upbringing, because he wasn’t really brought up by his parents,” McCarty says. “He was brought up by his grandmother, who he thought was his mother. We met her, and she was a lovely woman, very chatty and very friendly. But that gave him a challenged outlook on things, and I think he took the blues up as his personal crusade.
“He was totally dedicated to the blues, and also seemingly very ambitious… Eric was obviously gonna go somewhere. You knew that yes, one day he’ll be a big star, ’cause he was driven to do that, and he was getting a reputation while he was playing with us. He used to copy blues solos – Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy or Buddy Guy or somebody – and copy them note for note before he got his own thing going.”
Clapton ultimately left the Yardbirds shortly after the release of For Your Love in 1965. In his own words, Clapton said he left the Yardbirds for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers because of their “earthier” blues sound, stating that he continued to play guitar in the same way but that the two bands’ interpretations of his music meant it came across differently.
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Is a Back to the Future Marty McFly signature ES-345 about to become a reality?
Back in June, it was announced that Gibson and actor Michael J. Fox had launched a worldwide search for the missing iconic Cherry Red ES-345 which appears in Back to the Future.
Well, it turns out Gibson had hatched a plan behind the scenes, as the brand is now teasing what looks to be a production run version of the legendary guitar played by Marty McFly in the film’s famous school dance scene.
Famously historically inaccurate for the scene – guitar trivia nuts have long pointed out that the 1958 ES-345 played by Marty McFly had no place in a scene set in 1955…
But this criticism is generally the subject of debate for a very small cross section of the general population, who otherwise lapped up the iconic scene which sees the film’s protagonist perform Chuck Berry classic Johnny B. Goode at the Enchantment Under the Sea school dance.
While the teaser is very much just a teaser, it points to something being announced on 21 October. The social media post shows a Cherry Red ES-345 shrouded in smoke, propped up against the DeLorean DMC-12 which doubles as a time machine in the movie. “Time circuits set for 21 October, 2025,” the caption reads.
That’s the extent of the information we have at this time, but we’re confident in our assumption that a Marty McFly signature ES-345 might be on the way…
Gibson’s search for the original guitar launched earlier this year recruited not only Michael J. Fox, but his Back to the Future co-stars Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Harry Waters Jr. and Huey Lewis.
“Guitar has always been a big part of my life,” Fox noted. “When we talked about the ‘Enchantment Under The Sea’ scene in Back To The Future, I sat down with the cinematographer and choreographer and said I want to riff through all of my favourite guitarists, like doing Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend doing a windmill, and the Eddie [Van Halen] hammer thing, it was so cool that they were open to that, and we laid it all out there.
“I’m really happy with the scene because it was an expression of my love for guitar and all the great players. I didn’t realise the influence the scene had on people. John Mayer said, ‘I play guitar because of you,’ and Chris Martin said the same thing, and I am glad they took it further than I did, they went to the trouble of being really good players. I just love the guitar, and I love the movie.”
Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian added: “This is one of the most exciting moments at Gibson for me. Back To The Future is one of the most important and significant movies of my life, and the ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ school dance scene marked me musically in a profound way.
“Working with Michael J. Fox, Bob Gale and the rest of the Back To The Future team is a dream come true. I hope we find Marty’s Gibson ES-345! To everyone out there who is as passionate as I am about this iconic film, please help us find it!”
If you need a refresher on that classic school dance scene, you can check that out below:
We’ll keep you updated with more info on this teaser as we have it…
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Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay review – a dynamic delay that lets you wire it up how you want it
$329/£299/€272, gamechangeraudio.com
Don’t ever stop being weird, Gamechanger. Eight years after stealing the show at NAMM 2017 with the Plus Pedal, this Latvian company is still going all-out for radicalness. And in the case of the Auto Series, that means three stompboxes – a delay, a reverb and a chorus – that each have a patchbay and a set of cables for customising the circuit.
- READ MORE: Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble review – a compact Leslie sim that doesn’t compromise on features
This, then, is a stereo delay pedal that thinks it’s a synth module. So if you like the idea of creating unique sounds where different aspects of the effect are controlled by playing dynamics or pitch – or possibly both – then things are about to get interesting. And if you don’t? Well, it could still be fun. In parts.
Image: Press
Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay – is it easy to use?
Relax – it doesn’t have to be bamboozling. Ignore the left footswitch, focus on the four full-size knobs in the green section, and you can lower yourself gently into the world of the Auto Delay without fear of setting fire to your brain. Because, to start with at least, this is a straightforward stereo echo generator.
Those knobs control delay level, tone, time and repeats (feedback), while a three-way slider lets you set the stereo panning – none, 50 per cent or full ping-pong – and another flicks between tape, analogue and digital modes. Easy – but brace yourself, because that’s where the simple stuff ends.
With the ‘auto’ footswitch engaged, the idea is to use the cables to set up secondary settings (adjusted via the mini-knobs) that will kick in according to the level or pitch of your playing. For example, patch from ‘dynamics’ to ‘level’ and you can make the delay get louder when the input signal hits a certain threshold; or link ‘pitch’ to ‘repeats’ and you can send it into cascading feedback whenever you go up the neck.
There are two patch outputs from the dynamic section, and two from pitch, so you’re free to set up multiple parameter changes at the same time – and you can of course choose the levels at which these changes happen. Sound fiddly? It is, and the manual is too wordy to be much help, but it’s mostly quite intuitive once you’ve cracked the concept.
Image: Press
Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay – what does it sound like?
In theory, you could buy this pedal as a standard delay and use the patchbay as a place to keep your mid-gig Snickers. If you do this, you’re unlikely to have any complaints (apart from getting chocolate on your fretboard); it does the job well, in mono or stereo. It’s a pity there’s no DMM-style modulation option, though – this might have been more useful than the three-way mode switch, which largely duplicates what the tone control is doing.
But it’s the dynamic effects that have brought you this far – so are they any good? On the whole, yes. There are obvious use cases for some setups: having the repeats get quieter when you’re playing low notes could be a nice way to stop things getting mushy, while toning down the brightness on louder lead breaks might prevent an overload of percussive hits. More creatively, you can also use delay time changes to create wild pitch-sweeps as you cross the threshold.
Sometimes the results of a new patching arrangement turn out to be less musically appealing than you might expect, and I’ve a nagging feeling that, for some players, the fun won’t last very long beyond the initial exploration. But Gamechanger must be used to that by now – it’s the price you pay for being weird.
Image: Press
Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay – should I buy it?
The Auto Delay doesn’t catapult you into unknown sonic territory in the way that some of Gamechanger’s previous efforts do – the advanced effects take a bit of dialling in, and can be more subtle in practice than they might sound in theory. So this is possibly the company’s narrowest niche yet… but if you want to add dynamism to your delay sounds, and don’t mind a bit of hands-on tinkering, it’s a unique piece of kit.
Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay alternatives
The Rainger FX Echo-X (£229) packs some similarly ingenious functionality into a titchy format, with help from the included Igor foot controller. More straightforward multi-mode digital delays include the Walrus Audio Mako Series MkII D1 ($399.99/£379) and Boss DD-200 ($274.99/£249).
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R&B legend and neo-soul pioneer D’Angelo dies at 51
Grammy-winning R&B legend D’Angelo – one of the pioneers of neo-soul – has died aged 51 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
In a statement shared with Variety, his family confirmed the singer and guitarist – real name Michael Eugene Archer – died on Tuesday morning (14 October) at his home in New York.
“The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life… After a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer, we are heartbroken to announce that Michael D’Angelo Archer, known to his fans around the world as D’Angelo, has been called home, departing this life today, October 14th, 2025,” the statement reads.
“We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind. We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time but invite you all to join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”
Releasing three albums over the course of his career, D’Angelo was a pioneer of the neo-soul R&B subgenre, which blends classic soul with influences from the likes of jazz and hip-hop, often flavouring R&B with more live instrumentation.
Releasing Brown Sugar and Voodoo in 1995 and 2000, respectively, D’Angelo subsequently spent over a decade out of the public eye, before returning with the critically acclaimed Black Messiah in 2014, which featured hits like Really Love and Sugah Daddy.
D’Angelo earned Best R&B Album Grammy wins for both Voodoo and Black Messiah.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, 1974, the son of a Pentecostal minister, D’Angelo taught himself to play piano aged only three. Through his adolescent years, he performed in groups locally, and won an amateur talent competition at Harlem’s Apollo Theater for three consecutive weeks, drawing the attention of EMI executives, who quickly signed him to a publishing deal.
His debut album Brown Sugar was a commercial and critical success, and helped him go on to collaborate with legends including Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Q-Tip.
After over a decade out of the public eye after 2000’s Voodoo, D’Angelo returned to music in 2014 with Black Messiah, an album in the works for years, but finished after witnessing the national unrest spurred by protests over the deaths of unarmed Black men Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
This is a developing story.
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Wolfgang Van Halen thinks it’s a “miracle” Van Halen’s final album was even made
In recent years, Van Halen’s final record, A Different Kind of Truth, has faced its fair share of controversy. Most points of contention come from former frontman David Lee Roth, who has publicly slammed the 2012 release and allegedly even got the album pulled from streaming services between 2022 and 2024.
However, the slew of controversies hasn’t soured how the record feels to Wolfgang Van Halen. In a new interview with Noise11, the musician notes that A Different Kind of Truth was a “miracle” record that came together despite the odds.
- READ MORE: Wolfgang Van Halen admits he finds it “bittersweet” to play his father’s iconic Frankenstein guitar
A mishmash of new tunes and “earlier demos recorded in 2009”, A Different Kind of Truth certainly wasn’t an easy record to piece together. “It took a long time…” Wolfgang admits. “A lot of [the tracks] were rooted in original demo ideas that were never completed. We thought it was a great way of getting the band back into that mindset of how they used to write music.”
“The fact that that record happened at all, I think, is kind of a miracle,” he notes. “But we pulled it off.”
Despite the difficulties, Wolfgang notes that the experience of using the old demos in the studio was like planting a “little seed” to then grow the record from. And it was one of the only chances Wolfgang would have to make a record with his father, Eddie Van Halen.
“I’m glad I got to at least do that once with Dad, have that making-an-album [experience],” he explains. “It was fun. It was a lot of work and it took a lot of time, but I’m very happy with how we got it done.”
Of course, David Lee Roth will probably never see the “fun” in the record. Last February, Roth posted a now infamous YouTube video entitled ‘Family Therapy..’ sharing his views on the 2012 release. In it, the singer labels the release as ‘dead on arrival’, ‘a complete faceplant’ and a sign of Van Halen being ‘kicked to the curb’.
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