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Joe Bonamassa has bought his own sunburst Fender Strat in preparation for his Rory Gallagher tribute gigs
New week, Joe Bonamassa will be playing a trio of Rory Gallagher tribute concerts in Cork. It’s a feat he’s called “the biggest honour and challenge of my musical life”, and he’s taking it very seriously – he’s even copped his own Fender Stratocaster from the exact shop that sold Gallagher his in 1963.
Bonamassa shared the news on Instagram, showing off his new sunburst Strat as he poses with the Crowley’s Music Store team. “I’ve always wanted to buy a sunburst Fender Stratocaster from Crowley’s Music Centre in Cork,” he writes. “Today I did. Big thanks to Sheena [Crowley] and all the great folks I met today.”
Hopefully, the guitar will help Bonamassa capture Gallagher’s sound onstage. The blues rock legend originally bought his own sunburst Strat for just £100. It was worth every penny; Gallagher used the ‘61 Strat until the finish had mostly worn away, the combination of sunburst and exposed dark alder wood giving it an almost rusted look.
While Bonamassa wasn’t sold his Strat by the man that sold Gallagher his, he was sold it by his daughter, Sheena Crowley.
Sheena was one of the first to respond to Gallagher’s Strat infamously being put up for auction last year. She launched a petition to raise $1 million to buy the guitar and have it permanently displayed in a local museum.
The Irish government also responded to the infamous auction, instantly plotting to attain the guitar and keep it in its home of Cork. They noted that the ‘61 Strat was “an important item culturally”.
Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Dan Boyle, who saw Gallagher play Cork City Hall several times in the early 1980s, also backed the plans. “Rory was one of the first to put Irish rock on the international stage,” he told the Irish Times. “I think it’s important that it should be kept in the State.”
In October, it was confirmed that the guitar would stay in its rightful home of Cork. It was purchased by Live Nation Gaiety Ltd for $1.16 million, with the company planning to donate it to the National Museum of Ireland.
Image: Bonhams
Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, expressed her appreciation: “I am absolutely delighted that Rory’s guitar is coming home to Ireland,” she said. “I look forward to hearing more of the museum’s plans to showcase the famous Strat, which I understand will include Cork, where the legendary musician grew up.”
Thankfully, Bonamassa wont be making that faux pas. He’ll have his new sunburst Strat to honour Gallagher’s legacy on 1, 2, and 3 July at his tribute gigs. The guitarist will be joined by British drummer Jeremy Stacey, bassist Aongus Ralston, and keyboardist Lachy Doley.
Earlier this year, a statue commemorating Rory Gallagher – who died in 1995 – was unveiled in Belfast, but it drew a few notes of criticism from fans. “I so confidently assumed it was Weird Al,” one person wrote.
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Why everyone is wrong about the iconic ‘Spirit In The Sky’ guitar sound
Over the decades Norman Greenbaum’s iconic psychedelic tinged 1970 hit, Spirit In The Sky has fuelled much debate on internet forums and among guitar enthusiasts, regarding how its uniquely sounding fuzz tone as heard on the song, in particular, it’s opening hypnotic guitar riff which underpins much of the song, was created.
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Many theories have been put forth, everything from it being a Gibson Maestro Fuzz pedal, to an amplifier speaker that had slots cut into it with a razor blade, to it being simply a Jordan Bosstone plugged into the guitar jack.
Spirit In The Sky is not a song short on debate – the song’s religious overtones have been at various times cited or dismissed for playing a key role in the development of the now globally influential Christian rock genre.
“It came out around the same time, maybe a year or two earlier,” Greenbaum recalls today. “To put that type of music to a religious lyric, hadn’t been done before. But in terms of being that type of music put to a religious theme song, and especially the fuzz box, it was the first of its kind.”
Hitch Your Wagon
The initial idea for the song came to Greenbaum from an unlikely source. “I had come across a greeting card of two American Indians sitting at their teepee with a little fire looking up to the sky, and beneath it was written, ‘spirit in the sky’, he remembers. “So ‘I go, oh, that’s quite interesting as everybody has their own way of God’. And as I liked country music too, I had watched this TV show, The Porter Wagoner Show where halfway through the show, Porter would always perform a gospel song. And on one particular episode, he had sung a song about a man who hadn’t been down to the church for many years. Until one day he went to the door of the church only to find a sign saying; ‘Pastor’s Absent on Vacation’. And I thought, ‘oh boy, that’s something for a song’.”
Once inspiration struck, Greenbaum picked up his guitar, and began writing the song’s lyrics. Needing music for it, he revisited a guitar riff he had in his bag of ideas, that until now, he hadn’t been able to put to use.
“The opening lick of the song, I had been playing it without the fuzz tone for years,” he explains. “I was just fooling around with it and never knew what I should do with it because I didn’t want to just write a blues tune; that was too simple and not really meaningful. So, I didn’t use it and just put it away. And then I came across the idea that I wanted to do a religious song, and because I don’t do things the normal way, the riff seemed to really fit the song.”
Photo: Arthur Grimm/United Archives via Getty Images
Fuzzy Logic
Not one to follow trends, Greenbaum decided to add a splash tonal color to the mesmerizing riff he had at his disposal. What he had in mind was some sort of fuzz sound. One that would make the alluring guitar riff stand out.
“I was talking to one of my guitar players about fuzz boxes and I said to him that I wanted to get a fuzz box, as I was thinking of using one on this song,” he reveals. “And he said that he knew someone who could build one for me right into my Fender Telecaster. I said, ‘really?’ And he replied, ‘He knows how to do it’, so I told him to go ahead and get him to do it. And that’s what he did. And it just had a great sound to it.”
Now souped up with fuzz sounding tone, it became one of the most sought after and much copied by guitarists, yet in the ensuing years, none have been able to replicate its original sound.
“Honestly, it’s never been captured the same way even after all these years,” says Greenbaum. “No one can do it. They can try to play the song which is hard enough in itself, but they can’t get the sound right.”
According to Greenbaum, this is largely due to the fact that no actual effect pedal was used. The sound was purely birthed from a device built into Greenbaum’s Fender Telecaster that was plugged into a Fender Twin Reverb.
“The guy who built the device, placed it in the guitar under the pickguard with a battery and a switch,” he points out. “And so, when I wanted to have the fuzz sound, all I would need to do was flick the switch, and that was it. When we eventually got to the studio to record the song, we weren’t even sure it was going to record. But surprisingly it [fuzz box] recorded well to tape. For a long time whenever I did interviews, it was always referred to as ‘Norman’s Heavy Duty Fuzz Box’.”
Photo by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
That’s The Spirit
Greenbaum was joined on the session by guitarist Russell DaShiell who contributed two lead solos – as well as some cool dive bombs. DaShiell’s set-up was more conventional, comprising an early ‘60s SG Les Paul, through a ‘68 Marshall Plexi 100-watt half stack, and for effects, a home-made overdrive pedal.
Released in January 1970, Spirit In The Sky would become Greenbaum’s signature song, and go on to top music charts in many countries around the world, including Australia, the US and UK. Surprisingly, it almost came close to not being released. Greenbaum’s insistence prevailed, and the rest as they say, is history.
“There was also the problem of it being four minutes long,” he recalls. “When you go back to the early days of AM hit radio, two minutes and 20 seconds was what they liked. And so, the record company weren’t to sure about releasing it, so they were going, ‘I don’t know, it’s four minutes long’, but they eventually gave in, everybody gave into it as they realized it was a hell of a song. And in the end, it all worked out as it went to number one in just a month later. Everywhere!”
The reissued version of Spirit In The Sky is out now.
The post Why everyone is wrong about the iconic ‘Spirit In The Sky’ guitar sound appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Muse continue their growing foray into metal with a nod to Gojira during France show
Last weekend, Muse paid tribute to French metallers Gojira during their headline Hellfest set in Clisson, western France.
Considering Gojira performed at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, they’re the emblem of French pride right now – and, with Hellfest being hosted in France, Muse opted to honour the country’s most exciting metal export. The group churned out a snippet of Gojira’s Stranded, a single off of 2016’s Magma.
The performance was sprinkled in to spice up the band’s own track, a 2022 Will Of The People cut, We Are Fucking Fucked.
Elsewhere in the set, Muse paid respect to a handful of other artists. We Are Fucking Fucked was rounded off with a short snippet of Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box for good measure, while they also included nods to Rage Against The Machine during both Stockholm Syndrome and New Born.
The set also included another glimmer of metal inspiration, including a pinch of Slipknot’s Duality during Kill Or Be Killed.
It’s not uncommon for Muse to throw the odd cover into their sets. They’re famous for favouring jams over idle chit-chat, essentially letting the music do the talking. While some are pieced together in the spur of the moment, the group’s MK and Helsinki instrumental jams are favourites among the fans.
While Muse have certainly dipped a toe into metal on certain tracks, it seems like they’re keen to go a little heavier this year. The Gojira cut may just be a cover, but their latest single, Unravelling, hints at the group wanting to explore their heavier side.
The track could very well be a taste of Muse’s new record, and it’s an exciting development on from 2022’s Will Of The People. It captures an almost cyberpunk grit through punchy, crunchy breakdowns, balanced out with soaring choruses.
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Behringer changes name and artwork of its “counterfeit” Klon clone after legal filing
Behringer appears to have changed the name and artwork of its Klon Centaur overdrive pedal clone, following a recent legal filing from Bill Finnegan, creator of the original Klon Centaur.
Finnegan recently filed a lawsuit against Behringer’s parent company Music Tribe with the Massachusetts federal court following the release of its $69 Centaur Overdrive. Finnegan called the pedal a “blatant counterfeit” of his original Centaur.
Now, the Behringer website – along with product pages on several online retailers – show the newly refinished pedal, now sporting the name “Centara” instead of “Centaur”, and featuring an updated version of the cartoon centaur on the front, now holding a different pose than the centaur on the original Klon Centaur.
Crucially, the updated pedal now features Behringer’s logo on its front face where the first Behringer Centaur did not. This is important because trademark laws, in large part, are set up so that consumers are not misled into unknowingly buying an inauthentic product.
In his lawsuit against Behringer, Finnegan noted that “consumers expressed extensive actual confusion… with many rushing to purchase Defendants’ counterfeit pedal believing Defendants are delivering on a mass scale a discounted product licensed or endorsed by Plaintiffs”. By now putting its logo front and center, Behringer hopes to squash these accusations.
Credit: Behringer
It looks to be a somewhat stealthy rebrand, with no press release or official communications from Behringer shared with Guitar.com, and minimal coverage elsewhere online.
While there has been no official update on the original lawsuit against Music Tribe, it does appear that Behringer has at least bowed to Finnegan’s original cease and desist. The case will likely continue as the exact relief offered to Klon LLC is calculated.
For a bit of background on the legalities of guitar pedal clones, it’s not possible – in most cases – to patent the design of an electronic circuit, so designers instead use trademarks to protect their products’ trade dress, effectively the way the product looks.
Bill Finnegan would have seen Behringer’s first Centaur clone as an infringement of the trade dress of his original design, as it used both the same name and centaur logo. Now that the name has been changed and the logo altered, will it be enough for Behringer to avoid further legal challenges.
It’s also worth noting that, at least in the US, trademark laws are essentially written so that if a company doesn’t enforce its trademarks, it makes it much harder to fight trademark infringements – including exact clones and copies – in the future.
This formed the basis of Dean/Armadillo’s defence during its fight with Gibson – it argued that Gibson had taken too long to decide to enforce its trademarks. Despite the fact that Gibson was broadly successful, some of its trademarks might now be cancelled due as the jury ruled Gibson did not defend them strongly enough.
As we’ve said, where this leaves Bill Finnegan’s lawsuit against Behringer is unconfirmed, but stay tuned to Guitar.com for future developments.
Learn more about the Centara at Behringer.
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“I would say we are estranged”: Lamb of God’s ex-drummer Chris Adler hasn’t spoken to his brother and former bandmate Willie in six years
![[L-R] Chris and Willie Adler](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Chris-Adler-Willie-Adler-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
As Oasis have proven, being in a band with your brother isn’t easy. Lamb Of God have their own case of familial estrangement, with the removal of drummer Chris Adler in 2019 putting a rift between himself and his brother, guitarist Willie Adler.
Speaking to Blabbermouth, Chris reveals that he hasn’t spoken to his brother at all in the 6 years since his Lamb Of God removal. “I wish him all the best; I’m wishing them all the best, and I think about him all the time,” he says. “But I would say we are estranged. Since that email that I got, where he was not even willing to talk to me about it, we haven’t spoken.”
“At this point, I’ve got to work through resentments and regrets and all that stuff,” he notes.“I’m happy where I’m at. I hope [my brother is] happy where he is. Everything is cool with me.”
While Willie still remains in the band, Chris was replaced by drummer Art Cruz. Cruz had initially been a temporary stand-in whilst Chris was out of action in 2018 and 2019, a result of a motorcycle incident. However, Chris seems to think the incident put fear in Lamb Of God’s minds.
Chris believes that his permanent removal was the result of another physical issue he was struggling with – a movement disorder impacting that had been his foot since 2003. “Slowly, it got worse,” he explains. “By around 2016, I was touring with Lamb and Megadeth, and it was making a difference in the show in that there were points where I felt like I couldn’t control it.”
“I started going through all sorts of physical and occupational therapy,” he continues. “I ended up in a place in Richmond called Neurological Associates, which, because of the symptoms, had me bring in my pedals to solve what was going on… and I was diagnosed with a thing called musician’s dystonia.”
Task-specific focal dystonia causes involuntary muscle contractions due to it misfiring of nerves. In Chris’s case, the issue was his foot. “It happens to people who perform a repetitive motion for an extended amount of time,” he explains. “The nerves that are telling my foot to do this are worn out. Eventually, it stops doing what you want it to do.”
“It uses the muscles that [do the] opposite to the intended motion. If I were trying to depress my right foot, often it would lift, shoot to the side, or shoot back. It kept getting worse and worse.”
For drummers, Chris admits the diagnosis can be “a death sentence in many ways”. However, he is opening up about it due to Cannibal Corpse’s Alex Webster and Nickelback drummer Daniel Adair recently coming forward about their own experience with the issue.
However, Chris also believes an element of jealousy lead to his dismissal. “From my perspective, and I don’t mean to speak for anybody, I think when I took the Megadeth gig, that really strained things even further,” he says. “Nobody said, ‘We don’t want you to do it,’ or ‘You’re cheating on us’, [but] that was still the vibe. When Megadeth won a Grammy, that pushed it further.”
Despite Chris looking back and seeing the warning signs, the drummer has still struggled to accept how things turned out. “[It] was very difficult for me,” he reflects. “In many ways, that band was my identity. It’s everything that I worked for. I spiralled.”
“It was a big shock to me… I wasn’t given much of a choice. It was one of those emails: ‘Services no longer required.’ It took a while to dig out of that. I’m happy I did. It could have gone a different way.”
After a period of “spiralling”, Chris sought to re-invent himself. “I was just trying to find myself and even define what chapter two would look like; the only way around dystonia is to re-learn how to play,” he reveals.
To compensate for his nerve issues, Chris now drums with his left foot as his lead foot. “I worked out and talked to the doctors and specialists about changing it,” he says. “I have to build a different connection for it to work. That connection is now strong. I’m able to do it well, but not some of the things I was doing in Lamb.”
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Eastman FullerTone DC’62 review: “a doozy of a player that packs in a lot of quality at a very competitive price”
£899, eastmanguitars.com
Like a barbecue fork plunging into the well-cooked flesh of a vegan sausage, Eastman Guitars has launched a twin-pronged attack on the affordable solidbody guitar market. Maybe you’ve read my review of the first prong, the FullerTone SC’52.
Well this is the second: the DC’62 is another Fender-inspired model, but this time leaning more towards the Stratocaster than the Telecaster.
Designed by California-based luthier Otto D’Ambrosio and made in Eastman’s Beijing workshop, it’s not quite as cheap as the SC’52, probably because it has three pickups and a more complicated vibrato bridge assembly; but if the build quality and tones are up to the same standard, we’re looking at another bargain.
Photo: Adam Gasson for Guitar.com
Eastman Guitars FullerTone DC’62 – what is it?
The DC’62 is an HSS S-type. That’s a short sentence with a lot of abbreviations in it, so let’s begin by expanding them all. The ‘DC’ stands for double cutaway, which immediately puts us in Strat territory; the numbers take us to 1962, right in the middle of the pre-CBS rosewood fretboard era; and ‘HSS’ means it has one humbucker and two single-coil pickups. Oh, and ‘S-type’ just means we’re not allowed to call it a Strat because only Fender is allowed to make Strats.
Mind you, as we’ve already seen with the other FullerTone model, Eastman is definitely not making copies here. The basic configuration may be Stratty, but the unique two-bolt neck join certainly isn’t, and neither is the body shape. The neck is a 24-fretter that butts right up against the front pickup, and those pups are again Toneriders – including, at the bridge, the same foil-topped humbucker found in the neck position on the single-cut guitar.
Photo: Adam Gasson for Guitar.com
Eastman FullerTone DC’62 – sounds
First of all, I have to say that in my opinion, it’s not much of a looker. I wasn’t mad keen on the SC either, and plenty (including people at this very publication) disagree on that too, but this one doesn’t do anything to alter that impression – subjective as these things always are. That said, it’s also, at least with my skinny thighs, a little uncomfortable to play sitting down: there’s so much body mass to the right side of the waist (not helped by the brass vibrato block) that at times it feels almost in danger of sliding off.
But that’s a micro-gripe. What’s more important is that the neck feels just as slick and welcoming as the one on the SC’52 – and that the acoustic tone, while noticeably less fresh and zingy, has just as much fullness and sustain.
That means there’s plenty of substance for those pickups to work with, and the humbucker gets things off to a strong start. It’s relatively low-output for a ’bucker and does exactly what the ‘H’ in an HSS guitar is there for, offering a punchy tone with some upper-mids bite and none of the weediness you sometimes get from a standard S-type’s bridge pickup.
The two ‘noiseless’ stacked single-coils continue the theme of creamy clarity, with reasonably well balanced output levels and no shortage of quack from the in-between settings. They also cancel hum pretty well. This is basically everything you’d want from a rosewood-board S-type, whether you’re keeping it clean for choppy funk chords or turning up the gain and digging in for blues exploits with a high grimace factor.
The middle pickup is my favourite: full-voiced yet snappy, and letting you introduce an element of cluck without resorting to the full-on phase-cancelling of positions two and four. Hooray for middlies, the unsung heroes of three-pickup guitardom!
Photo: Adam Gasson for Guitar.com
Eastman FullerTone DC’62 – should I buy one?
This is not a guitar for people who crave edgy excitement… and in my view it’s not a guitar for hardcore aesthetes who insist that a musical instrument should look as beautiful as it sounds. But if you don’t mind the slightly gawky looks, and like your tones smooth and disciplined rather than raw and peppy, the FullerTone DC’62 is a doozy of a player that packs in a lot of quality at a very competitive price.
Eastman FullerTone DC’62 – alternatives
A similarly polite and sophisticated take on the HSS formula is the Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus (£1,280); but see also the Canadian-built Godin Session HT (£1,149) and, for something with an ‘F’ on the headstock, the Fender American Performer Stratocaster HSS (£1,389).
Photo: Adam Gasson for Guitar.com
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“Our Mick has passed, my heart just hit the ground”: Bad Company and Mott The Hoople’s Mick Ralphs has passed away
Founding member of Mott The Hoople and Bad Company, Mick Ralphs, has passed away at the age of 81.
The Hereford hard rocker had been bed-bound for almost a decade as a result of a stroke suffered back in 2016. It happened after his final-ever performance, a blowout Bad Company gig on 29 October at London’s O2 Arena.
“Our Mick has passed, my heart just hit the ground,” Ralphs’ former Bad Company bandmate, Paul Rodgers, shares in a statement. “He has left us with exceptional songs and memories. He was my friend, my songwriting partner, an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humour.”
“Our last conversation a few days ago we shared a laugh – but it won’t be our last,” he continues. “There are many memories of Mick that will create laughter. Condolences to everyone who loved him especially his one true love, [Ralphs’ wife] Susie. I will see you in heaven.”
Fellow Bad Company drummer, Simon Kirke, has also issued a statement: “He was a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter and an exceptional guitarist. We will miss him deeply.”
Ralphs’ impact on English rock music can be traced back to the ‘60s. After performing with a slew of acts through his teen years, he would eventually form Silence – a band that would later adopt the name Mott the Hoople after singer Ian Hunter joined the ranks in 1969.
Despite Ralphs embracing the newer injection of glam rock, there was a clear rift between himself and the new frontman. Eventually, he would part ways with the band in 1973 – a decision that would allow him to form Bad Company with drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell the following year.
“I used to always feel a part of Mott, but things have changed a lot since the old days,” Ralphs told Rolling Stone around his 1973 departure. “Ian has sort of taken the initiative now, which is great for the band as a whole but not very good for me as an individual. I should be singing and writing more than I am, but rather than fight with Ian all down the line, I thought it best that I just leave.”
Earlier this year, Ralphs contacted Billboard to acknowledge Bad Company’s planned induction to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame this November. “I am elated and think that Bad Company’s induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is fantastic!” he said.
Mick Ralphs leaves plenty of marvellous rock tunes in his wake, from Mott The Hoople’s Rock And Roll Queen to their David Bowie-produced 1972 record, All The Young Dudes. The entirety of Bad Company’s Billboard chart-topping 1974 debut, Can’t Get Enough, is also full of top tier rock anthems.
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“Keep your cool. This may be a test”: Guns N’ Roses manager claims Slash fed a “little white bunny rabbit” to his pet python during their first meeting
While Guns N’ Roses have calmed down a bit nowadays, they had a reputation for debauchery in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. And manager Alan Niven has seen it all.
In his new book Sound N’ Fury, Niven charts some of the craziest stories from the rock juggernauts’ heyday, including the time Slash and Izzy Stradlin avoiding getting busted by airport security by taking their entire drug stash in one go. “That’s a fuckin’ waste of good smack,” Stradlin is quoted as saying.
Now, in a new interview with the LA Times, Niven recalls landing the GNR gig, and remembers his rather eventful first meeting with the band.
“Why was I managing Guns N’ Roses? Because nobody else would do it,” he asserts, adding that the firm previously managing the band “could not get away fast enough”.
“No one else would deal with them,” Niven goes on. “Literally, I was not bottom of the barrel, darling – I was underneath the barrel. It was desperation.”
Niven remembers his first meeting with the rockers, and what he now believes was a test by Slash to see if he could hack the job.
He explains how as he entered the house where the meeting was taking place, he walked past a broken toilet and “one of the better-known strippers from [the] Sunset Strip”, before encountering Slash and Stradlin. As the story supposedly goes, after the meeting began, Slash fed a “little white bunny rabbit” to his pet python.
“And I’m sitting there going, ‘Keep your cool. This may be a test. Just go with it and get through it.’ But that was my first GNR meeting,” he concludes.
The members of Guns N’ Roses have left that level of mayhem in the past, and nowadays Slash prefers to spend his time watching YouTube guitar tutorials, apparently – at least according to YouTube instructor Marty Schwartz.
“He said he had some of my instructional stuff saved on his computer and there were some really cool blues-style techniques that he learned from some of my stuff,” Schwartz said. “He was so nice and complimentary… That was one of [those] moments in my life where everything felt validated.”
Alan Niven’s new book Sound N’ Fury is out now.
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“People associate it with a ‘retro’ style of music”: H.E.A.T frontman on the state of the rock genre
As acts like Sleep Token steadily grow in popularity – finding success by flavouring metal with a slew of external genre influences and experimental sounds – it’s clear many modern heavy bands no longer fit the classic rock mould. But Kenny Leckremo, frontman of Swedish unit H.E.A.T, believes there’s a charm to classic rock ‘n’ roll that the modern genre lacks.
Speaking to Classic Rock, Leckremo explains how, while he doesn’t disapprove of up-and-coming bands toying with genre, he believes old school rock should still have a place on the radio. “What matters is that we get the message to younger generations who don’t even know what rock ‘n’ roll music is,” he insists.
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“I’ll go to the gym and put some music on, and someone will come up to me and say: ‘What the hell is this?’” he explains. “And I’m like: ‘What are you talking about? It’s Survivor! How do you not know this?!’”
Asked whether rock bands have become too apologetic and lost their ability to write strong songs, Leckremo replies: “It’s not just in rock, it’s in every genre. I guess people associate it with a ‘retro’ style of music.”
But he says H.E.A.T have no shame in sticking to the tried and tested rock blueprint. “We’re not going to do some sort of hip-hop or EDM song for the sake of pushing boundaries,” he jokes. “All the old-school bands we looked up to knew exactly who they were.” He adds: “In H.E.A.T we’re not ‘apologetic’ or ‘retro’. We love that kind of music.”
Leckremo is of the opinion that “rock is definitely a little bit underground at this moment”. “It’s definitely not the centre of attention,” he says. “You’re always going to have AC/DC and Iron Maiden and Springsteen, but regular rock bands aren’t gonna have the same space in the media as your Taylor Swifts.”
However, there are bands waiting in the wings for their time to shine. “It’s exciting right now,” he adds. “There are a lot of great fucking bands just waiting to reach that big audience. And there is a big audience for rock music, it’s just about reaching through the noise.”
And, as Leckremo notes, “the more noise we can make as a community, the better.”
On the same note, Ozzy Osbourne recently discussed how he feels the mainstream is ignoring the massive popularity of metal music. The singer – who is set to perform alongside his original Black Sabbath bandmates at their final show, Back to the Beginning, next month – said: “As far as the media goes, heavy music isn’t popular.”
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“If a fan got too excited and stood up, a security guy would bang them on the head with rolled up newspapers – it was like Whac-A-Mole”: Iron Maiden manager recounts band’s early Japan shows
![[L-R] Dave Murray and Steve Harris perform with Iron Maiden in 1981](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Iron-Maiden-1981@2000x1500.jpg)
Since forming in 1975, Iron Maiden have performed quite literally thousands of shows to audiences across the world. But doing so hasn’t made them forget some of the hilarious stories from their earlier gigs.
And as the British metal juggernaut’s manager for the last 45 years, Rod Smallwood has pretty much seen it all.
In a new interview in the latest print issue of Classic Rock, he explains how he wanted Maiden to be a “hugely successful international band”, which is why they opted to tour in Japan before America, a country widely considered to be the golden ticket to mainstream success.
“Metal is a worldwide thing, and I always wanted Maiden to be a hugely successful international band,” he says. “I wanted parallel development across the world.”
But those early Japan shows revealed customs they weren’t expecting beforehand, like audiences being seated during heavier rock shows.
“We loved Japan. It was such a different culture to experience,” he goes on, recounting a show at Koseo Nenkin Hall in Tokyo on 21 May, 1981.
“One of the weirdest things for us was how the audiences were all seated. If a fan got too excited and stood up, a security guy would bang them on the head with rolled up newspapers. So the fan would sit down, but then another would stand up somewhere else, and then – bang! – they’d sit down. It was like Whac-A-Mole. Quite extraordinary.”
Of course, Iron Maiden went on to conquer America anyway, and Smallwood recalls the first time he felt that they’d made it.
Speaking on the band’s show at the Seattle Coliseum on 28 June, 1983, he remembers: “It was our first sell-out arena show in America. By this time we’d sold 380,000 albums there. I remember the exact figure.
“We’d done all of these support tours and now it was time to headline. So do we do theatres or do we go for arenas? If I knew then what I know now, then there’s no way I’d have done arenas. I mean, platinum albums don’t always sell out arenas. So I like to think it was inspiration, but looking back, it was more fucking madness that worked.
“Seattle was the sixth show on that tour. Sold out, 13,000 people. And believe me, I was very, very grateful. On that same tour we also sold out [New York City’s] Madison Square Garden. We rode to the venue in stretch limos, and I’ll never forget that feeling of: ‘Fucking great, we’ve done it!’”
View a full list of Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour dates via their official website.
The post “If a fan got too excited and stood up, a security guy would bang them on the head with rolled up newspapers – it was like Whac-A-Mole”: Iron Maiden manager recounts band’s early Japan shows appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“When you get to our age, things just go wrong. We’ll probably keel over after two songs!”: Ozzy Osbourne on Black Sabbath’s final show
Time is ticking now with under two weeks until Black Sabbath’s monumental final show, Back to the Beginning.
The event will be the final time Sabbath’s original lineup – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – perform together, and they’ll be supported by a stacked lineup of support artists including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Lamb of God and many more.
But while Ozzy Osbourne says he’s been following a strict training regimen in preparation for the show – walking and weight training, reportedly – he’s also aware that he and his bandmates are now all in their 70s, and so is expecting a few hiccups along the way.
Speaking to MOJO in its new print issue, he says: “I had an appointment in the hospital yesterday. I’ve also got a problem with a trapped nerve in my neck – nine months and it won’t shift. When you get to our age, things just go wrong. We’ll probably keel over after two songs!”
Indeed, Ozzy has already revealed that he’s not planning on doing a full set during the event, but will instead be doing “little bits and pieces”.
“I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,” he said recently. The 76-year-old Prince of Darkness, who last performed a full set at 2018’s Ozzfest, adds: “I am trying to get back on my feet. When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
According to Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, the Back to the Beginning show has been in the works for about two years. The idea first came about when Ozzy expressed regret at not being able to say a proper goodbye to his fans.
“My one regret is I can’t say goodbye and thank you for the life I’ve been given,” he told her, to which she replied: “Well why don’t we just do one big show and you can thank everybody?”
Tickets for the event sold out pretty quickly – in 16 minutes, per some reports – but you’ll still be able to catch it on the official pay-per-view livestream. That costs £24.99, and you’ll be able to rewatch the show in its entirety for 48 hours following the end of the event.
For more information, head to backtothebeginning.com.
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“Everybody shouted at once, ‘No! Don’t touch it!’”: How a microphone mishap led Mark Knopfler to finding the perfect guitar tone for Money For Nothing
Dire Straits very nearly gave up on making their smash hit Money For Nothing, with guitarist Mark Knopfler struggling to find the right guitar sound – until a microphone quite literally fell into place, that is.
The track – known for its iconic isolated guitar riff and guest vocal contributions from Sting – formed part of the band’s fifth album, 1985’s Brothers In Arms. At the time, Knopfler wanted to recreate the guitar tone of ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, but with technical issues amid the early years of digital recording technology and creative blocks arising, he was ready to give up on it.
Speaking to Classic Rock in its new print edition, Knoplfer says, “It was an interesting period with the digital recording. An adventure as well. Neil [Dorfsman, producer/engineer] was chasing after what he ruefully refers to now as ‘perfection’, which is not something you can actually get, but he’d learnt his craft. He was a tremendous engineer. I used to just sit and watch him work, taking it all in, and he couldn’t tell me to clear me off because it was my record.”
However, following a fault with some digital tape machines, the band had to technically start things over for the record. Money For Nothing was becoming quite the slog to finish at this point, but after drums were completed by Omar Hakim, and keyboardist Guy Fletcher had put down a synth part, a new lease of life was given to the track.
It was just down to Knopfler to nail that guitar tone, and as Fletcher says, he was “always looking for something different, some other element that wasn’t in the room” – that later turned out to be a microphone which had drooped down from a speaker cabinet towards the floor, unlocking that Billy Gibbons tone.
“One of the assistants spotted the mic and went to move it,” Fletcher recalls, “and everybody shouted at once: ‘No! Don’t touch it!’ Once Mark had his guitar lick down, the whole song took off and became its own lifeform.”
Brothers In Arms celebrates its 40th anniversary this year – a special edition of the record is available to buy or stream now.
The post “Everybody shouted at once, ‘No! Don’t touch it!’”: How a microphone mishap led Mark Knopfler to finding the perfect guitar tone for Money For Nothing appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Ed Sheeran’s track on the F1 movie soundtrack sees him collaborating with PRS for racing red exclusive guitar
Ed Sheeran’s collaboration for the upcoming F1: The Movie with Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl and John Mayer has finally been released – and the track has seen him collaborating with with PRS Guitars, too.
Drive’s music video showcases Sheeran’s one-off PRS model. Suitably racing red, the guitar reimagines PRS’ SE Hollowbody Baritone, adopting a unique fretboard design of yellow birds and a gear stick icon on the 12th fret.
Sheeran isn’t taking the collaboration lightly. He’s already road-tested it, and he’s keen to play it at even more shows down the line. “I wanted to create a bespoke guitar with PRS for F1: The Movie and song I did,” Sheeran explains.
Since 2018, Sheeran has been a firm PRS supported. The brand is his go-to for electric guitars, with his current favourite model being the Hollowbody II in a Prism Dragon’s Breath finish with cherries on the fretboard, a one-off purple Silver Sky gifted to him by his Drive collaborator, Mayer, and a stock Custom 22.
“This has been an exciting project to work on with Ed,” PRS Guitars Director of Artist and Community Relations, Bev Fowler, adds. “From his years of playing our electrics, he knew exactly what he wanted in terms of look, sound and feel. This unique creation will be incredibly memorable.”
Sheeran, Grohl and Mayer’s thumping rock tune sees Grohl on percussion like during his Nirvana days, with Mayer and Sheeran knocking out guitar. Sheeran takes vocal responsibilities.
The release of the music video comes days before F1: The Movie’s 25 June release in the UK, before releasing worldwide on 27 June. The full soundtrack will also be released on streaming services the same day.
Credit: PRS
Sheeran will be releasing his new album Play on 12 September, with singles Old Phone, Azizam and Sapphire already out. Alongside his new record, Sheeran is also embarking on a European tour at the end of this month.
Drummer Grohl will be continuing to embrace F1, with the Foo Fighters set to headline day two of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix this October.
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“The road manager would show me great big shards that just missed my head”: Billy Idol recalls the chaos of early Generation X shows
Billy Idol has reflected on the volatile crowds that attended Generation X shows, noting that his manager would later pick up large shards of glass on stage that had nearly hit him mid-performance.
Generation X, which was fronted by Idol, formed during the 1970s in London. The punk band released three albums together before he moved to New York in 1981 to pursue his own solo project alongside Steve Stevens, and clashes among subcultures at some of their shows led to some brushes with danger for Idol.
Responding to a reader question in the print edition of Uncut regarding these hectic Generation X shows, and whether or not they influenced his decision to go solo and head over to the US, Idol responds, “It was par for the course, yeah.
“There were a few shows like that where people were throwing beer, pint glasses, and the road manager would show me great big shards that just missed my head. But it was really more that Derwood [Andrews, lead guitarist] and Mark [Laff, drummer] left the group. That’s what began the dissolution of Generation X.”
He adds, “Once a group’s not going in the same direction, it’s a nightmare – you might as well end it. So if I was going to start up on my own, it made sense to go somewhere else, because if you stayed in England you might end up propping up a bar – people feel that you’re over.
“I had an American manager by that time, and he was saying, ‘You should come to New York – this city’s bankrupt, anything goes. It’s a hell of a lot of fun at the moment.’ And it was,” Idol concludes.
Billy Idol is touring throughout June-September – you can grab tickets to see him live via his official website.
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Sine is Verso Instruments’ latest and greatest experimental guitar
Every year, the NAMM Show in California brings the music industry together under one very large roof to check out the newest and most interesting instruments. In 2025, one piece of gear that turned an inordinate number of heads was the latest creation from Verso Instruments. And with good reason: it looks less like a guitar than something yanked straight from the pages of a mid-century furniture catalogue.
A sleek mix of wood and metal, bold colours and minimalist approach, the new Sine is not of any mainstream guitar-design lineage – but one spawned by a one-man company in Germany that embraces the unexpected. What’s Verso’s design philosophy? “Building funky stuff and not rejecting the errors is a big part of what I’m interested in,” says founder Robin Stummvoll.
The Verso Instruments Sine is on the Guitar.com Cover. Image: Rachel Billings for Guitar.com
Stummvoll’s path to building his own instruments under the Verso name began as a deliberate leap away from tradition. A lifelong guitarist who started his first punk band at 13, he’d found himself neglecting the instrument while studying for his degree in industrial design. “I found it interesting to look at why I was abandoning it more and more, and how to make it more appealing to me again,” he explains. He decided to use his degree’s final project to re-enter the world of guitar – his own way.
“I started doing a lot of research, and I found that the guitar – the electric guitar especially – is carrying this burden of the iconography of big rock stars,” he explains. “And I totally get that. I’m a fanboy of many guitar heroes, Hendrix and so on. But on the other hand, I feel it’s a big difference to, say, the violin or piano, where you just have this archetypal instrument: people don’t really expect you to play any one specific thing.”
“Building funky stuff and not rejecting the errors is a big part of what I’m interested in” – Robin Stummvoll, founder of Verso Instruments
Stummvoll started to look at how that archetype might be expressed for the electric guitar. “A ridiculous thought,” he says, “as that’s basically what Leo Fender did with the Telecaster. But I thought it would be interesting to start with the most minimalist guitar that I could and go from there.”
The centerpiece of Verso Instruments’ first three guitars is a curved sheet of steel, which takes the place of a traditional body. The pickups, being magnetic, aren’t attached in any one place. Instead, you’re free to move them around underneath the strings as you see fit. Moveable pickups are not totally new, but this approach to achieving them certainly is.
This ever so slightly bouncy bent steel body was introduced with Verso’s first guitar, Cosmo, launched in 2020. Two variations came in the years following, the Gravis and Orbit, a bass and baritone respectively. But Sine redefines the formula once more with the Sine Pad, one of those rare genuine innovations on the electric guitar’s design.
Image: Rachel Billings for Guitar.com
Happy accident
Sine’s main body is now wood, and the steel plate with moveable pickups is now independent from the neck and bridge. And so when you press down on this pad, you increase the pickup-to-string distance for an interactive volume reduction. You can volume swell, you can do manual tremolo, and, thanks to a collaboration with renowned utility pedal manufacturer Lehle, you can output this bending motion as expression, CV or MIDI to control synths and pedals. The possibilities quickly start to boggle the mind.
The flexible pickup pad was inspired by the slight springiness of Cosmo’s body – something many would have considered a problem. “Maybe someone [else] would have screwed Cosmo together to keep it still,” Stummvoll adds. But after he seriously contemplated what use the springiness could bring, one man’s design flaw turned into Sine’s defining feature. “It was a quality you could dive into more. With Sine, that was the case – it was another happy accident.”
“I thought it would be interesting to start with the most minimalist guitar that I could” – Robin Stummvoll, founder of Verso Instruments
Stummvoll loved the idea for the Sine Pad from the beginning, but it wasn’t always going to be an actual Verso product. It was in 2024 when he actually decided to make Sine official. One of its most intriguing features also came about relatively late in the process: the electronics module, a collaboration with Lehle. Using a hall effect sensor, the Sine Pad’s motion is translated to your choice of CV, MIDI or expression – opening up endless control options for pedals, synths and more. “It is such a versatile and interesting instrument because of it,” Stummvoll says admiringly.
The result of using the expression outputs only get more complex when combined with the physical effects of using the Sine Pad. It is in some ways a volume control, but the effect it creates isn’t just a linear drop in signal. All sorts of tonal interactions happen as you move the pickups towards and away from the strings, including a slight signal created by the movement itself. Combine this with the MIDI and expression outputs and the guitar is perfect for tone-chasing far beyond the traditional.
Fittingly, then, one player who has been testing Sine out is Scott Harper, AKA Knobs, who you may know from his own excellent demos of outré pedals and his collaborative design work with Chase Bliss. “I think he’s the perfect person for it,” Stummvoll says. “He really dove deep into what’s possible – he’s still not figured out everything, but he definitely surprised me with certain combinations.”
Image: Rachel Billings for Guitar.com
Elements of surprise
An interesting consequence of attaching pickups to a big steel plate is that it ends up creating a pretty big microphone. “When you knock on the body, you really hear it,” Stummvoll says. “And if you record something and there’s a drummer in the same room, you can hear the drums in the guitar track.”
While this means that Sine isn’t technically recommended for high-gain, high-volume playing, Stummvoll doesn’t rule anything out. “People have proved me wrong before. I have players who use Cosmo for death metal. I don’t limit my guitars anymore, they’re really open for anything.”
The lively, microphonic sound was, like many other aspects of Sine, one more “happy little accident” that ended up informing a large part of the guitar’s personality. “It contributes to the sound of the guitar – the microphonic character is what I like about it,” says Stummvoll. “It’s funny, it sounds very wooden, ironically, and very open. And it’s really a shapeshifter in sound, of course, thanks to the moveable pickups.”
“It’s funny that we think of ‘play’ as something childish” – Robin Stummvoll, founder of Verso Instruments
But perhaps that woody, open sound isn’t so ironic. Despite the steel being a central element, Verso guitars feature wooden necks and, in the case of Sine, a mostly wooden body underneath that steel Sine Pad. “The warmth and feel of an instrument is very important,” Stummvoll says. “You don’t want to get rid of the heart of the guitar! If the body is sheet metal, you’ve got to be careful not to make it headless, or add an aluminium neck and make it too alien.”
And so Verso Instruments guitars do still display a lot of traditional guitar-making techniques, despite their out-there appearance. “The mixture of tradition and then something different is what’s appealing to me. That’s why I’m using very very traditional surface finishes for the necks, like oil and shellac polish.”
Image: Rachel Billings for Guitar.com
Time to play
Stummvoll had to deal with the odd cynical internet comment dismissing Sine as a “toy” or a “gimmick” – such is the lot of anyone who makes something new and weird, of course. But this sentiment can be particularly potent in the world of electric guitar, where 70-year-old designs are still broadly held up as the gold standard.
“It’s funny, as the electric guitar is a symbol of freedom and for breaking out of restrictions,” Stummvoll muses. “But in some ways it’s not that open. It can be conservative. Not all guitarists are conservative – but I find it very funny when I see some people comment on the work I do who are offended by certain guitars.”
Stummvoll isn’t insulted by comparisons to toys, either. “It’s funny that we think of ‘play’ as something childish,” he says. “Playing an instrument is a perfect example of how you can ‘play’ very seriously. I’m always wondering when we start to not play anymore and become adults. I try myself to keep that spark alive – and I think many artists do that.”
Image: Rachel Billings for Guitar.com
What will Verso do next to keep that spark alive, now that Sine is out? “I have an idea for a lap-steel guitar,” Stummvoll says. “I’m really not sure where it will lead me – maybe it’s more like a tabletop instrument for synthesiser geeks, maybe it’s more like a traditional lap steel. What I’m curious about is making something a bit more industrial, something I can assemble a bit more quickly and a bit more affordable. I haven’t built a prototype yet, so I’m curious if it will work!”
Whether it works or not is perhaps besides the point – instead, it’s Robin Stummvoll’s unending curiosity that remains the engine of Verso Instruments. Sine is a testament to what you can achieve when you turn tradition on its head and take that leap into the unknown.
This story appeared in the Guitar.com Magazine May/June 2025 issue.
Words: Cillian Breathnach
Photography: Rachel Billings
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Meet the new Martin Junior Series: small guitars, big Martin sound
Ad feature with Martin Guitar
How do you pack the classic Martin tone into a smaller instrument better suited for portability? The answer lies in Martin’s Junior Series, which pairs a familiar 24.9” scale length with smaller bodies across the brand’s Dreadnought and 000 blueprints, meaning more portable instruments with the same iconic – and big – Martin sound.
The newly overhauled Junior Series arrives nine years after Martin made its beloved Dreadnought smaller with the Dreadnought Junior, and sits in the brand’s lineup as its most accessible range of acoustic guitars.
- READ MORE: Learn how Martin guitars are shaped by the iconic musicians who play them in the 2025 Martin Journal
The series comprises seven models in total, three 000s, three Dreadnoughts and even an acoustic bass. I’ve been fortunate enough to check out two of them – the D Jr E and 000 Jr E Sapele – and I can confirm that that ‘small guitar, big sound’ ethos certainly checks out.
Both guitars, like the rest of the Junior Series, feature 24.9-inch scale lengths for a familiar Martin acoustic feel, but with a slightly smaller-than-usual body which saves both space and weight, perfect if you’re someone who takes your guitar on the move regularly.
Elsewhere, every guitar in the Junior Series is crafted with a bevelled fingerboard edge, so whether you’re playing chords in the lower registers or intricate leads in the upper, this feature contributes to a truly comfortable playing experience.
In the interest of portability, each Junior Series acoustic comes with a built-in tuner, as part of a Martin-designed E1 electronics system. This also includes volume and tone controls, and an option to reverse the phase by 180 degrees, which can decrease feedback and increase bass response, if so desired.
First of the two guitars I’m demoing in the video above, the D Jr E offers the power and timeless aesthetic of a Martin Dreadnought in a more travel-friendly size, and one better suited to people with smaller frames. In terms of build, this guitar features a sapele back and sides for warmth, punchy mids and clear trebles, paired with a spruce top for crisp tone and superior dynamic range.
Meanwhile the other guitar you see here is the 000 Jr E Sapele, which sports an all-sapele build for a more vintage-inspired look. Further visual appointments include a sleek satin finish, as well as faux abalone inlays.
Of course, guitars marketed as travel guitars would be no good without a bag for safekeeping, so you’ll be glad to know that each Junior Series model comes with its own softshell case.
So whether you’re looking for the perfect acoustic guitar to take on the go, or simply an instrument with a smaller form factor to add to your collection, Martin’s Junior Series is certainly the way to go.
For more information on the Junior Series, head to Martin.
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“That’s the one I played Wonderwall on!”: How a guitar-smashing bust-up between Liam and Noel Gallagher led to a studio engineer owning an iconic Oasis guitar
![[L-R] Liam and Noel Gallagher](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Liam-Noel-Gallagher-25@2000x1500.jpg)
Oasis engineer Nick Brine has revealed how he acquired the legendary Takamine Acoustic that Noel Gallagher wrote Wonderwall on. The fateful moment was back in the ’90s when Oasis were working on Be Here Now, and Brine was working closely with the band as a mix engineer at Abbey Road’s Studio Two.
According to the BBC, the incident that led to Brine acquiring the instrument was a fight that broke out between the two Gallagher brothers, allegedly over a comment that Noel had made about Liam in the news. Liam Gallagher was reportedly hungover from the night before: “I’m in Abbey Road’s Studio Two setting up equipment and hungover myself, then looking up I saw a guitar come flying over from the control room” Brine recalls.
Nick had worked with Oasis on (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, and knew to leave Liam alone if such “flashpoints” occurred. However, chaos ensued well before Noel Gallagher had entered the building, and Liam was causing some real damage in the studio: “Noel’s Fender Jag [was] smashed to bits. I run to the control room and Liam also made a big dent in Abbey Road’s mixing desk.”
Oasis’s Abbey Road mix engineer says he also witnessed firsthand the moment when his own acoustic guitar went “flying over the top and [lay] in a thousand pieces on the floor…” It was shortly after that Noel Gallagher came in and asked “what the hell is going on?”
The two brothers argued over whose acoustic guitar was smashed, before Nick sheepishly admitted to Liam it was his. “Then there was a big argument about who was going to buy me a new one. I told them it’s not valuable but it has quite sentimental value as my mum gave it to me”, Nick says. Liam offered to take Nick to Denmark Street for a replacement, but Noel was not having any of it. “What do you know about guitars?” he quipped.
After some heated discussion, and even an apologetic phone call to Nick’s own mother, Noel handed him the Takamine Acoustic that he had not only played Wonderwall on, but had also played at the Knebworth and MTV Unplugged concerts. “I was gobsmacked, I said ‘it’s OK, it’s fine’ but Noel insisted I take it…”
Since then, Nick has had to insure the guitar, and according to the BBC, some auction houses estimate that it would command around £100,000 if he were to ever sell it.
Oasis will begin their highly anticipated 2025 run of shows in early July. For more info, head to their official website.
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The automatic Roadie 4 makes tuning “faster, more precise and more effortless” than ever before
An automatic tuner uses robotics to sense the pitch of a plucked guitar string and automatically tune it to the correct note. Several brands have developed their take on the technology, but Band Industries reckons its developed the best yet with its Roadie 4.
Designed with “completely re-engineered algorithms and upgraded audio circuitry”, the fourth generation of the brand’s Roadie tuner tunes up your strings with one pluck, no fuss.
All you need to do is place the tuner on one of your tuning pegs, pluck a string, and the device will do the work for you, based on the tuning you tell it to set it to prior.
Using its built-in contact microphone, the Roadie 4 analyses pitch through vibrations, and is essentially noise-immune, allowing you to tune up without worrying about your environment’s noise levels.
A demo video shows the tuner in action, with Roadie’s CTO and co-founder Bassam Jalgha tuning up his guitar. After selecting an open D tuning, the Roadie 4 has him fully tuned up in around 30 seconds – and it probably would have taken less time were he not explaining the tech at the same time.
As well as the tuning precision improvements, the Roadie 4 also has an anti-slip backing and a bigger 1.9” LCD display screen. The new scroll wheel also allows users to navigate through features with ease, meaning you can quickly flick through the 150+ built-in tunings styles.
The Roadie 4 also has a wider selection of instrumental tuning options available, now able to tune acoustic, electric, mandolins, banjos, ukeleles, and lap guitars. This is possible thanks to the re-designed peg connector, now upgraded to grip both bigger and smaller pegs. However, it still can’t tune a bass – but the company does have a specialised Roadie Bass tuner for that.
The device also has a built-in metronome with optional beep and vibration modes, as well as a battery that should last for months at a time.
“Roadie 4 is our most powerful and user-friendly tuner to date, built to make tuning faster, more precise, and effortless,” Band Industries explains. “With cutting-edge vibration detection, completely revamped audio circuitry and algorithms, a high-torque motor, and improved resistance to background noise, Roadie 4 delivers flawless, reliable tuning, whether you’re at home, on stage, or in the studio.”
The Roadie Tuner app has also had a bit of an upgrade to help you log each string change. It’s a perfect way of keeping tabs on what strings and gauges you’ve been using, or just a good way of setting reminders for when you might need to swap your strings out for new ones.
While the product’s Kickstarter campaign has far exceeded its initial £7,458 goal, currently sitting at £118,480, you can still back the project. You can pledge $39 to simply back the project and receive Roadie T-shirt, but you’ll have to pay $109 to get a Roadie 4 – which is $30 cheaper than the retail value of the tuner.
For more information, head to the Roadie 4 Kickstarter campaign.
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“I have to be careful what I say about Roger or he’ll be sacking me next”: Pete Townshend says he “couldn’t see anything wrong” with Albert Hall gig that caused Zak Starkey’s firing
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably caught wind of The Who’s recent drummer drama: Zak Starkey was fired, briefly reinstated, then fired again for good, all in the span of a few chaotic weeks.
Now, in a new interview with The i Paper, Who guitarist Pete Townshend opens up about the whole saga involving the band’s longtime drummer, offering some candid (and carefully worded) thoughts on working with frontman Roger Daltrey.
“It’s been a mess,” Townshend says. Asked about the Albert Hall incident – where Daltrey publicly called out Starkey mid-show for allegedly overplaying during The Song Is Over – he admits, “I couldn’t see anything wrong. What you see is a band who haven’t played together for a long time. But I think it was probably to do with the sound. I’ve lost my sound man as a result.”
“I think Roger just got lost. Roger’s finding it difficult,” Townshend adds. “I have to be careful what I say about Roger because he gets angry if I say anything about him at all. He’ll be sacking me next. But that’s not to say that he sacked Zak. It’s a decision Roger and I tried to make together, but it kind of got out of hand.”
Pressed on whether it was a difficult decision to let Starkey go, Townshend pauses: “Well, I’ve never been a huge… I didn’t invite him in, right? Roger invited him. And at that time, I don’t know quite why he chose Zak, but Zak is another Keith Moon. He comes with real, real bonuses and real, real difficulties.”
That said, “I will miss Zak terribly,” says the guitarist. “But quite what the story is, I don’t fucking know. I really don’t know.”
As for what’s next, The Who are set to embark on what’s billed as their final tour in August. Though Townshend doesn’t sound entirely sold on that either.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been up for doing anything with The Who since 1973,” he laughs. “But I am looking forward to it. Not because it’s the end, but because I hope that we can continue to explore other things.”
In related news, Zak’s father, legendary Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, has also weighed in on the fallout. According to Starkey, Starr told him [via Rolling Stone]: “I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band,” in what appears to be a thinly veiled jab at Roger Daltrey.
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Matt Bellamy’s signature Manson Meta MBM-2H returns in Red Sparkle, adds Satin Olive Green and new hardware options
[Editor’s Note: Meng Ru Kuok, Founder & CEO of Caldecott Music Group is a part owner of Manson Guitar Works. Guitar.com is part of Caldecott Music Group]
Fans of Muse frontman Matt Bellamy’s signature guitars are in luck: Manson Guitar Works and Cort have expanded the Meta Series MBM-2H range with fresh colourways, left-handed options and new hardware finishes.
Leading the 2025/26 updates is the return of the much-requested MBC-1 Red Sparkle finish, a glittering, high-gloss lacquer that pays homage to the iconic “Santa” guitars used extensively by Bellamy on stage and in the studio.
The release is available in two formats: a twin-humbucker version featuring Manson-designed pickups for powerful, versatile tones, as well as a Sustainiac-equipped variant for you to dial in infinite sustain.
In the Sustainiac model, the neck humbucker is swapped out for the same pickup system Bellamy uses in his instruments. The pickup can be switched to work as an active and detailed regular neck pickup or switched into Sustain mode where three alternative Sustainiac modes are available, each offering endless sustain.
Credit: Manson Guitar Works
Joining Red Sparkle is a brand-new Satin Olive Green finish, also available in both humbucker and Sustainiac-equipped versions. The new colourway is paired with black hardware – a first for the series – adding a stealthy, more aggressive look to the instrument.
Left-handed players can finally get in on the action as well. For the first time, the Meta Series MBM-2H will be available in southpaw versions (no extra charge required), so Bellamy fans of all stripes can get their hands on the celebrated instrument.
As with previous iterations, the Meta Series MBM-2H continues to deliver premium features including a sleek compound radius neck, a kill-button for stutter effects, and Manson’s signature design and playability – all at a remarkably accessible price point.
The MBM-2H is priced at £569, while the MBM-2H-Sustainiac will cost you £899. Both are available now via Cort and Manson dealers worldwide.
Learn more at Manson Guitar Works.
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