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In addition to his strong business track record – with numerous C-suite roles, including his current position as CEO of Guitar Center – Gabe Dalporto is driven by his genuine love of guitars.

But of all the guitars in his collection, which are his favourite? In a new conversation with Guitar World, he reveals he has two…

While attending Guitar Center’s recent VIP event in New York City to mark its Guitar-A-Thon, Dalporto explained his deep, personal connection with his favourite guitars. “I’ve got two favourite guitars, and both of [which] I inherited from my father,” he explains.

• READ MORE: Gibson’s $20k Back to the Future ES-345 is being listed on Reverb for over $100k – as scalpers look to flip the highly sought-after guitars for mega profit
  

One of his two favourites is his beloved and reliable 1964 Fender Stratocaster – a common staple in many guitarists’ arsenals. “It’s white, and it’s got a rosewood fretboard,” he says. “I’ve played that my entire life and that’s been my go-to.”

The other guitar is a bit more unique; the guitar was a personal Gibson mod project carried out by his father. “When my dad passed away, I inherited his 1956 Les Paul,” he reveals. “He modded [it], took the P-90s out and put humbuckers in. It’s a Goldtop and it’s just beautiful. I love that thing.”

While he is able to narrow down these two guitars as his favourites, he struggles to choose an outright winner. “It’s like [asking] ‘Which kid do you love [more]?’” he jokes. “It’s really hard to say!”

Ever since taking over as Guitar Center’s CEO, Dalporto’s mission has been simple: he wants to improving the guitar landscape, chiefly by looking to create more “long-term” musicians. Back in May, he said he was set on encouraging the next generation of “serious musicians” to emerge.

“One of the biggest challenges we have as an industry is, if someone picks up a guitar for the first time, for every 10 people who start playing guitar, a year later, one person is playing, and nine are not,” he said at the time. “What can we do to change that ratio?”

“We [want to] connect with people early in their music career and really get them deeply embedded, so they’re going to be in it for the long term,” he concluded.

Guitar Center is currently hosting its pre-Black Friday sale, with up to 30% off some items. Browse the full range at Guitar Center.

The post Guitar Center CEO has two favourite guitars, but can’t choose an outright winner: “It’s like asking, ‘Which kid do you love more?’” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Dave Mustaine has hinted that a track on Megadeth’s final album is technically a cover song, but one he actually wrote.

Fans suspect the ‘cover’ in question is likely a Metallica song, and could potentially be Ride The Lightning from the band’s 1984 sophomore album of the same name. Megadeth’s final album before their retirement, which is self-titled, is due for release in 2026 and features 13 tracks.

• READ MORE: “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad – we changed the world”: Dave Mustaine makes emotional statement as Megadeth announce final album

Mustaine was famously fired from Metallica in 1983 before the release of their debut record, Kill ‘Em All. His parts were re-recorded by Kirk Hammett, but Mustaine still has writing credits on a number of tracks, including Ride The Lightning.

So far, 10 tracks have already been named and one has been released as a single – Tipping Point. However, in a new interview with Norwegian radio station Stjernepose, Mustaine says [via Loudwire], “We have 13 new songs for the new album… One of the songs is a cover song but I actually wrote it, so it’s kind of like a cover, of my song.”

The band also recently shared a track list graphic to their social media, and some fans spotted that just below number 10, there’s a faint hint of some writing which could potentially spell out Ride The Lightning.

There’s no return you’ve crossed the line. Two more tracks revealed tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/7yQ9GkuGSJ

— Megadeth (@Megadeth) October 28, 2025

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A post shared by Loudwire (@loudwire)

The relationship between Mustaine and Metallica has been somewhat rocky over the decades, and earlier this year, Mustaine reflected on his exit. During an appearance on The Shawn Ryan Show, he argued that the band went on to use his music, despite him telling them not to.

Of his firing, he explained: “I said, ‘No warning? No second chance? You’re not gonna give me a warning? You’re just gonna kick me out?’ And I thought that was unfair. And it showed a grotesque lack of character. So that pissed me off and was a huge part of the fuel.”

“At the time, I was really mad and I didn’t wanna forgive them for what they did. I told them when I left, ‘Do not use my music. And of course they used it,” he said.

Mustaine highlighted Ride The Lightning as well as The Call Of Ktulu, Phantom Lord, Metal Militia, Jump In The Fire, and The Four Horsemen as tracks featuring his work.

“And I wrote a bunch of Leper Messiah [on Metallica’s third album, Master Of Puppets] too. They didn’t give me credit on that,” he said. “You listen to the riffs, you know they’re my riffs… I wrote a lot of their music that made them, and all the solos on that first record were mine – the best Kirk could try and copy them.”

To find out more about the final Megadeth album or view their current list of scheduled live dates, head over to the band’s official website.

The post Megadeth – Ride the Lightning? Here are the clues we’ve got that point to a Metallica cover on Megadeth’s final album appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Limited guitars with sky-high demand – perhaps it was predictable all along that Gibson’s Custom Back to the Future ES-345 and its cheaper Epiphone version would find themselves in the scopes of price scalpers.

The launch last week was hugely successful, with both guitars rapidly selling out. However, it now seems not all of those guitars went to hardcore Back to the Future fans, as some are already being listed on Reverb at vastly inflated prices.

The Epiphone model in particular is highly sought after, and is currently the top selling semi-hollow body guitar on the gear marketplace. The term ‘Back To The Future’ is also the site’s number one trending search.

• READ MORE: Online games have been doing it for years – are guitar brands cottoning on to the lucrative nature of crossover collaborations?

The Gibson Custom Back to the Future 1955 ES-345 Collector’s Edition was originally limited to just 88 models worldwide – a nod to the speed needed for time travel in the film – while the Epiphone model was also limited at 1,985 guitars globally, a nod to the year of Back to the Future‘s release.

The Gibson Custom version was priced at $19,999 and is now being listed in one case for over $100,000. The more affordable $999 Epiphone, on the other hand, is now selling for between $3,000 to $7,000.

Cyril Nigg, Reverb’s Senior Director of Analytics, tells Guitar World, “As a big fan of Back to the Future, there have been two items I’ve always wanted to own: a hoverboard and Marty McFly’s red ES-345 from the Enchantment Under the Sea performance.

“The original batch of guitars immediately sold out on Gibson’s site, leaving many unable to get the coveted guitar. Naturally, a lot of folks turned to Reverb to see if they could snag one on the secondary market,” he says.

“Less than an hour after the first Back to the Future guitars went up on Reverb, 10 had sold – and it hasn’t stopped there. Over the past week, ‘Back to the Future’ has been the number one trending search on Reverb.

“What we’re seeing is part of a larger, nostalgia-fuelled trend, as moments from the past continue to drive demand. In fact, the Epiphone edition is the top selling semi-hollow body guitar on all of Reverb at the moment, as buyer demand continues to outpace supply.”

Earlier this year, Gibson launched a worldwide search for the original Gibson Cherry Red ES-345 famously played by Michael J. Fox within the film’s famous ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ dance scene. When filmmakers began work on the movie’s sequel, the original ES-345 had vanished. Gibson is currently pursuing a number of leads, but the guitar remains yet to be found.

To view the full Back to the Future collection, including accessories and apparel, head over to Gibson.

The post Gibson’s $20k Back to the Future ES-345 is being listed on Reverb for over $100k – as scalpers look to flip the highly sought-after guitars for mega profit appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Imagine being in a band with your best friends for over 40 years, and each night you step on stage you get to play one more show. That’s exactly what guitarist Trey Anastasio and his bandmates in Phish think about right before every sold-out arena or amphitheater show. “We're all hyper aware now, every night,” mentions Anastasio. “I mean, we just love it so much. It's like, I can't wait for the tour to start.” Anastasio’s energy and passion is infectious, even when he isn’t talking about music. Bring up hockey, 6L6-based amps, or even his generationally deep Iowa roots and watch as his eyebrows raise.

We had to do something special for the 100th episode of Wong Notes. We caught up with Trey while he was preparing for a November tour with his solo band. In part one, Cory Wong brings Anastasio in with some hockey talk before diving straight into his current full-circle journey with his rig, and he reveals a bit of an epiphany that all true gearheads know, but sometimes are afraid to admit. —Jason Shadrick

John Mayer Convinced Trey to Try a Dumble

Cory Wong: Your rig looks quite a bit different now. Tell me about the transition to using Dumble amps. When and why? When and why?!?

Trey Anastasio: I've only played three shows through a Dumble, which was a borrowed Dumble. A guy lent me one. I was doing the Dead 60 thing out there in San Francisco, and John was like, “You gotta try a Dumble.” We were backstage just talking and he's like, “Have you tried a Dumble yet?” I'm like, “No, no, I haven't.”

Wong: He did the same with me. He makes a pretty convincing case. Did he give you the whole like cost-per-gig spiel? What was his method of marketing to you?

Anastasio: He was just talking them up, you know, and I said, well, I would get one except that you own a third of them. [Laughs.] When he [Alexander Dumble] started making those Dumbles, he was trying to beat Randall [Smith] over at Mesa/Boogie. So, they're kind of in the same family. When I tried the Dumble on the last tour, I borrowed it from a very kind person for the Alabama and Hampton shows. And maybe I might have had it at SPAC too. I'm trying to remember, but anyway, it really worked. All the people who are like the arms-crossed, tone haters out there were like, “Okay, this works, because it sounds Fender-ish, but just sort of better.” The reason I've never tried one before is because I always thought that the price was just so obscene that I kind of rebelled against the whole concept of the thing.

But I think what flipped me around on that is that the last couple years I played with this four-piece string section that was at the Beacon Jams and stuff, we called it the Rescue Squad. And these string players who don't make a ton of money were explaining to me how it works in orchestras. One of the women had a Stradivarius from 1700, which is worth millions of dollars, right? Well, she doesn't have millions of dollars. And she said the way this works is that the orchestra you play with, if you get a seat, you know, there's investors and stuff. People think of themselves as curators of these instruments for a while. And then they give them to the next person. So if you get a seat in the Boston Symphony, you're probably going to end up with a better instrument one way or another, based on all the practicing and hard work that you did. One of the caveats is that you get to play a really beautiful instrument for a while. Yes, it's worth an insane amount of money, but you're really just taking care of it. I think that's kind of what's happening now that there's such a finite number of these Dumble amplifiers. John was like, “You should call my buddy at this music store in Seattle, Trevor,” and I called him, he's really nice. And he said they have an amp that maybe I should look at. I went to look at it, and it turns out that Keith Urban owned it previously. Keith and I have met at a couple of events, and I texted him and asked what he thought of this amp. He told me a few things about it. He's really nice. And so they get passed around.

Trey’s Early Influences

Wong: Where did it feel like the main source of your voice came from? And when did you feel like you had it?

Anastasio: I felt that way pretty early. It's interesting. I saw a live show from 1990 recently, and I was kind of surprised—looking backwards—how much of the bulk of this material, it was all originals we were playing. It was like, “It’s Ice,” “Maze,” “You Enjoy Myself,” and all these things that became who we are were already in place by the time I was 25. There was an enormous amount of material and I was writing obsessively by fifth or sixth grade. Still to this day, my favorite part of the whole thing is writing. Even when we were playing at Nectar's, I think I already had an individuality, but I kind of grew up listening to a strange mix of music that influenced me pretty strongly.

I was obsessed with the same things that all the kids my age were. I had every Led Zeppelin record and all that stuff—of course, I had the whole catalog memorized by 14. I think I mentioned earlier that my mother had moved to New York in the late ’40s, and she was lucky enough to go to all the golden age of Broadway shows. She gave me all those records when I was very young. These very lyrical, deeply written, composed pieces of music.

There's a place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, called the Bucks County Playhouse that Oscar Hammerstein opened. It was a place where all those Broadway shows would come on Tuesday nights, and the original cast of the Broadway shows would do the show at an affordable price. Every week we would go see Gypsy or West Side Story. I was always interested in soaring melodies and also harmonically complex music.

My grandfather was a classical music nut. He and his brother had lifetime season tickets to the orchestra. When I went to his house, he would play me Brahms and Ravel and Rachmaninoff. He liked serious, heavy, melodic classical music.

When I was 15, I saw the Discipline Tour when King Crimson came through Alexander Hall [in Princeton, New Jersey]. There was just a lot of cool stuff going on in that era. I saw Zappa numerous times. I was a huge fan of his guitar playing much more than anything else he did. I was an absolute geek for Zappa's guitar playing and I was blessed to see him lots of times. He just ripped shit on that thing. I mean, it was just so cool. And I loved his rhythmic variation. And I love Fripp. I was obsessed with all of the early- and mid-’70s Eno albums. That was how I got into Talking Heads—through Eno. I kind of worshiped at the altar of Eno because I liked "Another Green World” and “I’ll Come Running” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.” That was one of the first solos I learned.

Thanks to some key years working at a celebrated music store, this band of brothers has the goods.

The Band Royale, the Chicago-based brotherly “yacht metal” outfit, know a thing or two about gear—guitarists Joel and Zach Bauman, plus bassist Marc Najjar, all worked at Chicago Music Exchange, one of the premier music shops in North America. PG’s Chris Kies traveled deep into the band’s bunker in Chicago for this Rig Rundown with Najjar and the Bauman brothers.

Brought to you by D’Addario.

Real One

This 1972 Gibson Les Paul Custom was Joel’s first “real” guitar, which he bought from CME. It’s all original except for the tailpiece, and weighs in at a whopping 11 pounds. Joel keeps it in open D6 tuning.

Mock Mockingbird

Someone brought this fake Mockingbird into CME one day, and Joel decided he had to have it. It boasts neckthrough construction with maple and mahogany, a Bill Lawrence dual blade pickup, brass nut, and heftier .012-gauge strings. The original builder must’ve liked the sticker he added to the body; it’s underneath the lacquer.

Warming Up

While Brian Carsten was still an amp tech at CME, Joel bought this Carstens Amplification Warm Machine off of him—the first he ever made. It’s designed around a master-volume, 50-watt Marshall head circuit, with a bit more warmth. Joel has had this one for over two decades now, and runs it through a Fender Bassman 2x12 cab with Celestion Creamback speakers.

He’s also been experimenting with a Quilter Overdrive 200 for a lighter solution, which he runs through a Bergantino 2x12 cabinet—Joel calls the cab and Quilter combo a “game-changer.”

Joel Bauman’s Pedalboard

The jewel of Joel’s board is a 1981 Ibanez Tube Screamer, gifted to him by Josh Klinghoffer. There’s also a Durham Electronics Sex Drive, EHX Micro POG, Xotic EP Booster, Friedman BE-OD, Boss CE-2W, Strymon El Capistan, and Strymon Flint, plus a Korg Pitchblack Advance tuner.

Holesome

Zach Bauman isn’t bothered by the gaping hole in his 1990 Gibson SG; it gives the guitar a whole lot of character. This guitar has a Gibson T-Top Burstbucker in the bridge, and has been modded to have just two pots for master tone and volume. Zach strings it with .011–.052s.

Painted Paul

Zach snagged this 1979 Les Paul while working at CME, and scraped off a nasty previous paintjob with a card before getting to work making it his own. A friend painted the headstock, and another made him this custom pickguard. It’s also got T-Tops in the neck and bridge.

Mig Buff

Zach loves his Sovtek Mig 60 head, which he plays through a cab he built himself at a pipe-organ shop in Denver. Every glue joint is lined with thin leather for maximum air tightness, and it’s stocked with Celestion G12M Greenback speakers.

Zach Bauman’s Pedalboard

On Zach’s board, we find a Klon clone, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss VB-2W, Ibanez Mini Chorus, Strymon Flint, and Strymon El Capistan, along with a Dunlop Volume (X) pedal and a TC Electronic PolyTune.

Bergantino’s Best

Najjar has deep love for Holly and Jim Bergantino and their Bergantino Audio Systems products. He plays with both a Forte and Forte HP Ultra—a 2000-watt prototype—through a Bergantino HDN112 cab and special 3x10 cab.

Bass for Babies

Najjar’s Sandberg Forty Eight finished in shoreline gold, nicknamed the “golden baby,” was the first of its kind.

Going to California

This Sandberg California TT4 has ’70s-style J-bass pickups and a 34” scale. Najjar gets a “Geddy Lee-style” vibe from it.

Marc Najjar’s Pedalboard

Najjar’s tone temple is topped off with a Bergantino Super Pre brass preamp into his Neural Quad Cortex.

MXR Bass Synth

Neural DSP Quad Cortex

Quilter Overdrive 200

TC Electronic PolyTune

Boss VB-2w

Dunlop Volume Pedal

Ibanez Chorus Mini

Strymon Flint

Strymon El Capistan

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus

Ibanez Tube Screamer

Xotic EP Booster Mini Boost Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer

EHX Micro POG

Friedman BE-OD

Boss CE-2w

Gibson Les Paul

Gibson SG

[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]

Manson Guitar Works and its majority shareholder Matt Bellamy have dived into the Muse nomenclature to celebrate the launch of the brand’s first-ever compact effects pedal, the Supermassive Black Fuzz.

Named, of course, after Muse’s megahit Supermassive Black Hole, the pedal offers guitarists the same “lush, thick tones” heard on the 2006 track, and comes as the result of “several years” of fine-tuning by Bellamy and Manson. It was also conceived with help from legendary pedal maker Adrian Thorpe, the mastermind behind ThorpyFX.

“Adrian’s skills have meshed perfectly with our first pedal design, resulting in the sonic nirvana that fans of innovative music will be looking for,” Manson says.

• READ MORE: Manson Guitar Works launches the Verona MB, an exact recreation of Matt Bellamy’s stage-used Will Of The People guitar
  

Promising “astonishing results”, the UK-built Supermassive Black Fuzz is housed in a durable black anodised ergonomic chassis with striking cosmology-inspired visual appointments, with a layout comprising four rotary controls – Magnitude, Warp, Dimension and Gravity – as well as an EQ selector switch and two footswitches.

“Adhering to a long-standing Manson Guitar Works tradition, the control knobs themselves are as impressive as the tonal dimensions beneath them,” says Manson. “There are no loose-fitting, plastic push-on knobs to be found here.”

The Supermassive Black Fuzz sports UK-produced controls crafted from 6082T6 aluminium – “a substance so strong bridges are made with it” – and securely held via stainless steel grub screws. Elsewhere, LEDs identify the pedal’s power and Peak filter status.

But the Supermassive Black Fuzz hasn’t just been tested with traditional guitar setups; during development, Matt Bellamy noted that the pedal should be usable directly through a recording console, and so fine-tuned every parameter during sessions at various studios around the world, including the world famous Abbey Road.

There’s two versions of the Supermassive Black Fuzz up for grabs: the Standard Edition (£259), and Gold Edition (£359). 

The latter is limited to just 100 units, with each hand-signed by Matt Bellamy, and coming with an exclusive pick tin with the Supermassive Black Fuzz artwork engraved on the lid, a gold logo limited edition box, six signature plectrums and a Manson polishing cloth.

Credit: Manson Guitar Works

The Supermassive Black Fuzz will be available from official Manson Guitar Works dealers from 2pm GMT 30 October, and directly via Manson Guitar Works online from 2:30pm GMT.

You can learn more at Manson Guitar Works.

The post Harness Matt Bellamy’s legendary Supermassive Black Hole guitar tone with Manson’s first-ever effects pedal, the Supermassive Black Fuzz appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

When you’re the son of Eddie Van Halen, you’ve got a lot to live up to. Wolfgang Van Halen has certainly risen to the challenge; while he has admitted that living under the ‘shadow’ of his father feels like walking ‘a tightrope’, his solo project Mammoth has asserted him as a musical force in his own right.

In a new interview with Metal Hammer, though, Wolfgang notes how “unfair” it is to be considered by some to be a Van Halen “nepo baby”, as that attitude implies he hasn’t grafted to fine-tune his craft. “I’m one to talk, but I think the term ‘nepo baby’ is a bit unfair,” he explains. “I think it takes the individuality of the person away.”

• READ MORE: “We’ve gone from a jack-o’-lantern to a plastic pumpkin:” Creeper on the best horror-themed albums

He points to actor Jack Quaid, who has stars in the darkly satirical superhero TV series The Boys. While Quaid is the son of actors Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, Wolfgang notes that he is often referred to as “one of the ‘good ones’” when discussion of ‘nepo babies’ arises. “Who decides that?” Wolfgang asks.

Of course, Wolfgang is aware that nepotism has allowed certain acts to rise up through the industry without ‘merit’. However, he believes that labelling absolutely anyone with prior connections to the industry as a ‘nepo baby’ discredits the individual’s talent.

“I’m not going to name names, but in some cases, it does apply: the idea of people getting a leg up when they have no artistic merit or talent,” he admits. “All I’m trying to do is be myself and have my own artistic integrity and my own voice. I hope that people can see that.”

While Wolfgang’s days of performing with Van Halen certainly gave him a ‘leg up’, it’s not been the easiest of rides. Touring with his father at 16 lead to an influx of outside opinions, whether than be from Van Halen fans or his own peers. “When it comes to high school, I was almost a loser,” the rocker says. “I had a tutor when I took off for the first Van Halen tour in 11th grade, and when I came back for senior year, it was almost a dig.”

“People would be like [mockingly], ‘Oh, look! It’s the bass player for Van Halen!’” he recalls.

Since his Van Halen days, Wolfgang has made a point of carving out his own artistic identity. “I’m certainly trying to forge my own legacy,” he explains. “That’s my goal every day.”

He reveals that his ultimate goal is to live up to his father’s legacy, in his own right. “I’d be like, ‘You know what? We made it’ if we’re able to sell out a show at the Hollywood Bowl, because that was the last place I ever played with my dad,” he says. “If Mammoth are ever able to sell out a show at the Hollywood Bowl, I could die the next day and be like, ‘Job well done!’”

And he’s making sure it’s all earned through his own skill – that’s why he very rarely plays Van Halen songs anymore. To date, he’s performed Van Halen songs twice without his father, with the last time being in 2022 for the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert. Even then, he only agreed because wanted to honour Hawkins’ legacy.

He tells Metal Hammer that he would never have “been able to live if down” if he publicly messed up any of his father’s songs. “Many people who hate me say, ‘You’ll never be good enough and you have to play Van Halen to be relevant,’” he says. “If the one time I played Van Halen on my own, I ruined it and messed up… In my mind, it would have ruined my life. I took it very seriously.”

In an interview with Drumeo back in June, he also emphasised his aversion to playing Van Halen music since his father’s death. “I’m really just not interested in playing it any more without Dad.,” he said. “And I know [Alex Van Halen] feels the exact same way…. it’s really a tough thing for me.”

Mammoth’s third studio album, The End, dropped just last week.

The post Wolfgang Van Halen thinks it would be “unfair” to call him a “nepo baby” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

This special edition of the Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby Wah channels the raw intensity of the prolific artist’s latest solo record, I Want Blood. Finished in bold black and red, it features a killer custom-molded tread inspired by the album’s striking cover art, and its bottom plate features the no-holds-barred title track’s full lyrics.

Sonically, the Jerry Cantrell I Want Blood Cry Baby captures his fierce sound with a tight, punchy heel-down tone and a rugged side-control knob for fine-tuning the toe-down frequency. Go for blood, and get yours now.

Get the full story here:

https://www.jimdunlop.com/jerry-cantrell-i-want-blood-cry-baby-wah/

Jerry Cantrell I Want Blood Cry Baby Wah highlights:

• Special edition makeover inspired by Jerry Cantrell’s solo record, I Want Blood
• Bold black-and-red finish with custom-molded tread inspired by the album’s striking cover art
• Bottom plate features full "I Want Blood" track lyrics
• Custom-voiced for a tight, punchy heel-down tone
• Rugged side-control knob for fine-tuning the toe-down frequency
• Perfect for nailing Jerry’s famous wah tone

Availability

The Jerry Cantrell I Want Blood Cry Baby Wah is available now at $249.99 street/$357.13 MSRP from your favorite retailer.

Back in October of 1971, I bought my first guitar. It was the day after I had attended a concert by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. Elliot Ingber (aka Winged Eel Fingerling) had improvised a life-changing (for me) guitar solo at that show, which sent me to a guitar store to purchase a black Fender Telecaster. While there, I saw a book on the counter next to the cash register: Improvising Blues Guitar, by the staff of Green Note Publications. It contained tab transcriptions of electric solos by many of my favorite guitarists at the time: B.B. King, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, etc. I took the book and guitar back to my college dorm room.

The first thing I did was put a slide on my left hand and play along, making uneducated and non-technical sounds, with several albums that were favorites of mine. Those albums were from artists including the Grateful Dead, Captain Beefheart, Derek Bailey, and Sonny Sharrock, as well as a 1964 album of valiha music from Madagascar. Over the decades that followed, I came to meet and play and record with all of the artists that I played

along with that day. When David Lindley and I traveled to Madagascar in 1991 to record our A World Out of Time albums, we recorded with Sylvestre Randafison, my favorite of the valiha players on that 1964 album. How could this possibly have happened? I believe that I have guitar tablature to thank!

Like many self-taught guitarists today, tab was my primary mode of instruction for learning how to get around the fretboard. Tab was the way that I mastered the guitar solos of my guitar heroes—and, more importantly, their musical concepts and ways of expressing their ideas and feelings. In 2025, I’ve thought back about this, wondering how long tab has been in existence, and how it became a dominant feature of guitar instruction.

After a bit of online research, I decided to speak with many of the musical educators and artists who, 50–60 years ago, were involved with the published beginnings of tab in the U.S. Long before that, though, tablature likely originated with the Chinese guqin more than 1,500 years ago. Written guqin music did not directly tell what notes were played. Instead, it was written in a

tablature detailing tuning, finger positions, and picking techniques, comprising a step-by-step method and description of how to play a piece—just like the Improvising Blues Guitar book I purchased with my first guitar. Although that book did have conventional Western music notation printed above the tab.

“Like many self-taught guitarists today, tab was my primary mode of instruction for learning my way around the fretboard.”

As far back as the 15th century, Europeans had created lute tablature that closely resembled modern guitar tab. Yet it wasn’t until the 20th century that the system made its way to the guitar. The first appearance of published tab in America was in Pete Seeger’s 1948 book, How to Play the 5-String Banjo, in which he seemed to reinvent tab methodology. Tab then jumped to guitar in Pete Seeger’s The Folksinger’s Guitar Guide, in 1955. These books inspired guitar teachers to begin creating their own tab. The earliest example I’ve found on the West Coast is Jerry Garcia, who in 1964 was teaching at Dana Morgan Music in Palo Alto and drawing on the Seeger banjo book for his tab approach. On the East Coast, around the same time, Stefan Grossman was creating his own tab transcriptions of country blues 78s and tunes that he personally learned from Reverend Gary Davis. Stefan’s early books from Oak Publications are likely the first post-Seeger published guitar tab.

The first electric guitar tab likely showed up in a few Green Note Publications books, like that 1970 one I bought with my first guitar. Rather than notating simple melodies, they decoded the

intricacies of famous blues and rock players’ techniques. Tab eventually began to illustrate ornamentation and string-bending. Soon, it was appearing in guitar magazines and hundreds of books. Instructional audio and video tapes quickly followed. And thus, tab became an expected necessity of guitar education in America.

Tab has had its celebrators and its enemies. I’ll note that Stefan Grossman originally did not want Oak Publications to print misleading western music notation with his tab, as he felt that the rhythmically divisional form of notation could not represent the actual rhythms of Afro-American country blues artists. To Grossman, you had to hear the music along with the tab to understand that. As for me, I finally felt that I was a real guitarist when Steve Vai transcribed my solo on the Golden Palaminos’ Omaha in DownBeat magazine. Thank you, tab!

Sure, you can try to describe a guitar solo technically using music theory, pointing to its note selection, phrasing and so on. But the best guitar solos hold a magic within that can’t be explained. But these magic takes aren’t always kept…

As David Gilmour recalls in a new conversation on the Broken Record Podcast, there’s one particular Pink Floyd solo which he tried to recreate after the perfect take was erased. But despite re-recording the solo note-for-note, it never landed in quite the same way as the original take.

• READ MORE: Scotland’s Kenny’s Music becomes the latest musical instrument retailer to close its doors, “despite our strongest sales ever in recent years”

The solo he’s referring to was on Dogs, from Pink Floyd’s 1977 album, Animals.

“If it’s perfect, don’t mess with it,” Gilmour advises recording guitarists. “You’ve got to stick with when something is right. And if there’s something not perfect about the sound, that’s kind of secondary… You’d always think, something about the phrasing or the way the tremolo was working and the way this and that, was not quite perfect.”

He continues: “I did it once on the Animals albums years and years ago on Dogs, where I did a solo, and for some reason it got erased.

“But I had a stereo mix that I’d taken home because I thought that was nice. So I could learn it off that and then [redo it]. But I never thought that I got it quite as good again. Even though it’s sort of note-for-note perfect, how can you describe that difference between note-for-note perfect and original note-for-note perfect?”

Should guitarists be trying to recreate solos note-for-note anyway – especially when they’re ultimately performed in a live setting?

Gilmour recently explained why he “never learned” the legendary solo of Comfortably Numb. “To me it’s just different every time,” he told Rick Beato. 

“Why would I want to do it the same? Would it be more popular with the people listening if I did it exactly like the record? Or do they prefer that I just wander off into whatever feels like the right thing at the time? I don’t know. I suspect they prefer it to be real, and to be happening, you know?”

The post “I never thought I got it quite as good again”: David Gilmour reveals a lost solo on this classic Pink Floyd song was better than what ended up on the record appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

In this feature, we’ll trace the history of the acoustic archtop guitar—from its 19th-century origins and golden-era prominence to its postwar decline and modern-day revival.

Scottish musical instrument retailer Kenny’s Music has ceased trading, the firm confirms in a new communication with its supplier partners, seen by Guitar.com.

The company – which ran an online store, as well as brick-and-mortar stores in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dunfermline and formerly Dundee – reveals its intention to move into Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL), “despite our strongest sales ever in recent years”.

“The rapidly rising cost base across both stores and e-commerce, combined with continued pressure on margins, has made it impossible for us to operate sustainably within the traditional music retail model,” writes Alex Marten, Managing Director at Kenny’s Music. “Continuing to trade would not have been responsible.

“Although this chapter is ending, I remain committed to the MI industry and hope to contribute again in future in a way that better reflects the changing needs of musicians and suppliers alike. In the meantime, I will do everything I reasonably can to assist you and the proposed liquidator through this process.”

At the time of writing, the Kenny’s Music online store is offline, with a short message which reads: “Our online store is currently unavailable.”

Kenny’s Music is just the latest in a string of musical instrument retailer closures in recent years.

In the last five years alone, we’ve witnessed Guitar Center enter and exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection – which allows a struggling business a chance to reorganise their finances while continuing to operate – and legendary US music chain Sam Ash file for bankruptcy and close all its stores.

The picture in the UK hasn’t been pretty either: now Kenny’s Music, but this year also saw the closure of iconic Brighton-based retailer GAK, and the collapse of large UK chain PMT in summer.

Elsewhere, Bax Music – one of Europe’s largest online music retailers, with six physical stores across the Netherlands and Belgium – was declared bankrupt earlier this year after struggling with financial woes exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, and subsequently by a fire in 2023 which damaged a number of instruments at a facility in Goes in the southwestern Netherlands.

The industry doesn’t look healthy right now, especially looking only at these high-profile closures. But it’s not been all bad news.

Following the rapid spate of closures and the understandable crisis of confidence in customers, Andertons Music Co main man Lee Anderton reached out to us in June to offer his thoughts on the changing nature of the industry and how retailers can continue to thrive in a rapidly changing economic environment.

“We’ve been getting all sorts of comments coming through with orders saying, ‘Please confirm that you’ve definitely sent this today, because I’m a bit nervous that you’re gonna go bust tomorrow as well’,” Anderton revealed.

“So it’s really important, I think, that we put some balance back into the debate. Because the underlying guitar business is actually pretty resilient… you don’t have to worry about the good retailers.”

Anderton also touched on the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic on music retailers: “You just couldn’t have thrown a worse curveball, to a business with a large number of retail stores.

“And then I think, honestly, it’s never recovered. I think Covid accelerated customers’ propensity to shop online, and probably accelerated what was going to happen anyway over a 10- or 15-year period, into a two-year period.”

Anderton did acknowledge the difficulty brick-and-mortar stores have in competing with online retail: “If I add up the number of guitar amp and pedal products that you could order today on the Andertons website – I’m not even counting strings and cables, just guitars, amps and pedals – there are 14,000 different products. And 10,000 of them are in stock! How on earth is your average bricks and mortar store gonna get close to that? It’s financially not possible to have that kind of operation in every major city.”

Image: Press

But he said where physical stores will always have the edge over online retail is in providing a top-tier experience for in-person customers.

“I do still think that the greatest experience that you can have in retail is in an amazing bricks and mortar store,” he said. “Doesn’t matter what you want to buy, a really amazing store with amazing demonstration facilities, and a vibe, and a great sales person and great after-sales service… if that can happen, it’s amazing.

“But when in reality did you last experience that? It’s so hard to consistently achieve that experience. I certainly think that part of the reason Andertons has never opened a second store is that it’s hard enough trying to do it most of the time in one store, yeah, trying to do it most of the time let you know, let alone all the time in 15 stores.”

Andertons isn’t the only European music retailer continuing to thrive. Last year, we took a trip to Treppendorf, Germany to get an inside look at Thomann’s monumental operation.

The brand’s headquarters sits in a town populated by only a couple hundred people, but serves hundreds of thousands of customers daily; it operates out of Europe’s largest warehouse, with 120,000 square metres of floor space, and shipping over 100,000 items every single day.

So it’s safe to say there’s still a strong demand for musical instruments and gear. Perhaps what we’re seeing amid shifting customer habits and changes in economic conditions is a metaphorical shifting of MI retail’s tectonic plates, and far from an end of the MI retail world that some have feared.

The post Scotland’s Kenny’s Music becomes the latest musical instrument retailer to close its doors, “despite our strongest sales ever in recent years” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Seven-string guitars belong in the pantheon of ‘extended range’ instruments. You’ll have read the same phrase in our recent guide to scale length. If we treat a six-string guitar as the norm, a guitar that opens up more sonic possibilities through longer scale length and/or additional strings is ‘extending the range’ of what we can work with.

While metal and its many sub-genres is dominated by seven-string guitars (not forgetting eight and nine-string guitars!), the creative applications for a seven-string guitar extend far beyond chugging ones and zeroes in Drop F#.

You don’t have to play metal, but it helps

While the origin of seven-string guitars can be traced back over two hundred years, in modern music the earliest incarnation can be traced to the 1930s. George Van Eps – one of the most celebrated jazz and swing guitarists to have lived – commissioned Epiphone to produce a seven-string guitar for him. Three decades later, an Eps signature electric seven-string was produced by Gretsch. His ‘lap piano’ style of playing set him apart from his counterparts and he would inspire many other jazz musicians such as Howard Alden and John Pizzarelli to adopt a seven-string in their work.

Jazz and classical held somewhat of a monopoly on the seven-string guitar. That was until the 1990s and the arrival of the Ibanez UV7 – Steve Vai’s signature guitar. It was something of a watershed moment for seven-string guitars in metal as more and more artists adopted the instrument. It was around this time that the fathers of djent, Meshuggah, would begin bludgeoning ears with their downtuned seven-strings.

In the 2000s and 2010s, the seven-string would find itself across multiple tracks by Muse, including ‘Supremacy’ and the live performance of ‘Citizen Erased’.

Finally, and this is slightly cheating, we have guitarists like Josh Martin, the innovative virtuoso of Little Tybee. While his seven-string days technically ended when he began college, his style and approach to extended range guitar is worth mentioning. Favouring an Ibanez S8, he plays using clean tones and effects, often blending ethereal arpeggio licks, glitch tapping and six-string capo placement so that the lowest strings remain open to add bassier frequencies when needed.

It’s a heavily truncated history, but hopefully these examples showcase the versatility of seven-string guitars and dispel the myth that they’re only used for metal. With all that being said, we anticipate the majority of people who have found this article are predisposed to heavier genres of music, and as such, many of the guitars in this essential guide will be made with metalheads in mind.

Is a seven-string guitar right for you?

You may still be on the fence on extended range guitars. It took four years writing and playing heavy music with my Bass VI – side note, I adore that guitar – before I decided I’d also like to experiment with a seven-string. The difference between the two cannot be overstated and there are riffs and songs I’ve written on one, that I’d never have thought to play on the other.

Playability is completely different with the different scale lengths and string gauges that you’ll find with a baritone or Bass VI, especially when coming from a six-string guitar. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading our complete guide to scale length – it will be massively helpful in understanding scale length and how it aligns with your playstyle and needs from a guitar.

But enough prep, let’s get into our recommendations for some of our favourite seven-string guitars across budget, midrange and premium price points.

Our favourite budget seven-string guitars

Price range: £150-£300

It’s good sense to diligently research any new guitar purchase, but that’s so much more true when making the switch to an extended range guitar. That extra string is going to take a little getting used to, not to mention that mutli-scale neck if you’re so inclined.

Whether driven by necessity or a concern that a seven-string might not be for you, there’s some great budget seven-string guitars on the market and we’re going to start with the one that I bought myself.

Jackson’s JS22-7 Dinky comes up a lot in threads around the best entry-level seven-string guitar and it’s easy to see why. Costing under £250 and sporting a wonderfully effective matte black finish, it’s immediately tempting. The 26.5” scale length and slim neck mean it can handle some chunky tunings while still being easy to play. The stock humbuckers are capable of producing some great high gain and clean tones and I found the tuners to be super stable. A lot of people buy the JS22-7 for a base and then swap out parts as needed, but out of the box this guitar is great value for money.

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Similar in price to the JS22-7 is ESP’s LTD MH-17 and the Ibanez GIO. Both ESP and Ibanez carry a lot of weight in the metal community and both guitars offer a solid entry point into the world of seven-strings. Unlike the Jackson, the scale length on the MH-17 and GIO is 25.5”, so anything beyond standard or Drop A may not yield the results you’re after. Aesthetically, the body finish and hardware on both these guitars offers a bit of variety if you’re not a fan of the Jackson’s all-black look.

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If the £250 mark is still a little more than you’d like to pay, the Harley Benton R-457MN WH comes in below £150 and is surely a familiar name even if you’ve done only the smallest amount of research into budget seven-strings. The price does come with some caveats. The tuners and pickups aren’t going to be the greatest and the 25.5” scale length might be off-putting if you’re looking to tune super low. All that being said, as your first foray into seven-strings it’s an unbeatable price.

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Our favourite midrange seven-string guitars

Price range = £500-£850

We’re moving away from entry-level into the territory of guitars for players with experience that are looking for a higher degree of quality. There are some great options in the £300-£500 bracket like the Cort KX307MS (£375), Schecter C-7 Deluxe (£439) or Ibanez’s RGA/RG7 series (£450). However, if you’re working with a budget of £300, I’d personally recommend looking at the £250 seven-strings we just highlighted. Similarly, at £500, you don’t have to add a huge amount on top of that budget to get a substantial upgrade. It’s why I’ve chosen to gloss over that price range.

Leading the charge on low price once again is Harley Benton, this time with their Amarok-7. Apart from looking considerably slicker than the budget R-457MN WH, the Amarok-7 sports a slim modern C profile neck, macassar fretboard (25.5” scale length) and EMG Retro Active Hot 70 pickups, among other things. It may still be lacking compared to others around this price range, but the affordability speaks volumes.

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Up your budget by almost £100 and you’ll find Schecter’s Omen Elite-7 – and there’s a lot to like about it. With a 26.5” scale length, five-way switch and Schecter’s Diamond Heretic humbuckers, the cleans are varied and the distorted tones pack a punch. The poplar burl top and colour range of the Omen Elite-7 really helps it stand apart, too.

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At £799, the Cort KX507 Multi Scale is reaching towards the top end of our budget, but it’s worth every penny. In our review, Darran Charles gave it a 9/10 saying, “…any guitarist wishing to explore the low-end while retaining sonic clarity for expansive rhythm playing will be served very well indeed by the KX507”. It’s the first multi-scale guitar we’ve covered in this guide, these can be a little intimidating at first but you’d be surprised at how quickly you adapt – especially when you’ve got those Fishman Fluence pickups delivering great tones out of the box.

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Our favourite premium seven-string guitars

Price range = £850 – £1,400

We’re actually going to start with a very affordable signature model from prog djenters, Periphery. Coming in at £879, the PRS SE Mark Holcomb SVN is a no-brainer for players looking for a versatile seven-string. Equipped with Holcomb’s excellent signature Seymour Duncan Scarlet and Scourge pickups, this guitar can croon and crush in equal measure.

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As we cross the £1K price point we have the Sterling by Music Man Kaizen 7. At £1,099, this is a much more affordable version of the Music Man x Tosin Abasi collaboration, which will set you back £2,999. While some of the premium features like the multi-scale neck or Music Man’s HT humbuckers aren’t present, the unique body and innovative Steinberger Gearless Tuners are present, as is the solid build quality. It’s a great intro to a more modern seven-string with Abasi’s flair to it.

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If a purpose-built shred machine is the order of the day, then the (deep breath) Jackson Pro Series Signature Jeff Loomis Soloist SL7 (£1,355) might be the pick for you. In our review, Darran Charles really rated how focused a creation it was, saying, “If the brief set by Jeff was to build a no-frills, no-nonsense metal guitar, then Jackson has fulfilled it with aplomb. Versatile it is not, but everything from the sparse control layout to the neck dimensions has been designed to give an eminently comfortable platform for technical gymnastics of the prog-metal persuasion.”

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Our last pick is a Superstrat, specifically the new Angel Vivaldi signature Pro-Mod Nova-7 NAT from Charvel, which was released earlier this year. At £1,366 it’s basically the same price as the Loomis signature, but this is a very different seven-string. Visually striking thanks to its natural finish and gold hardware, the Nova-7 NAT draws on Vivaldi’s explorations in Latin, funk, fusion and acoustic genres. DiMarzio Tone Zero and Air Norton pickups give this guitar a rich and versatile array of sounds, and the double-locked tremolo bridge opens up the world of dive-bombs and modulation. It’s a premium instrument, but one tailor-made to suit a player that pulls from a diverse mix of inspirations.

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The post Extending the range – the essential guide to seven-string guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

£218.99, cogginsaudio.co.uk

If you tend to judge guitar pedals by how they look, you might have a surprise coming here. The Dinosaural Hypoid Drive gives off a distinctly wild and scuzzy vibe – it actually reminds me of the cover of the first Pavement album – but this thing is about as lo-fi as the London Symphony Orchestra.

• READ MORE: EarthQuaker Devices Easy Listening review – can an amp simulator this simple actually sound good?

Could this be a deliberate attempt by Dinosaural supremo Dan Coggins, one of the most exalted figures in stompbox history, to broaden the brand’s appeal beyond the somewhat saturated market of high-class overdrives? Or to look at it another way, is he trying to throw a few blues dentists off the scent?

Image: Richard Purvis

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive – what is it?

Coggins was the circuit designer behind the near-mythical Lovetone pedals of the 90s, but the direct origins of the Hypoid Drive don’t go back quite that far: this is the latest evolution of his first offering under the Dinosaural name, the Tube Bender of 2003. That later turned into the OPA-101, and more recently found itself repurposed as the central section of the Cogmeister boost/drive/boost leviathan. And now it’s gone solo again.

So, we’re looking at a transparent-ish overdrive pedal with a much wider gain range than most, from light crunch to something like full-on fuzz. It has controls for volume, sustain (drive) and tone, plus a three-way toggle switch for reshaping the mids. That’s one up on the two-way switch of the old Tube Bender – which is great news, because it means now I don’t have to cry every time I think of the one I used to own and idiotically sold. That is, as long as the Hypoid Drive sounds as good…

Image: Richard Purvis

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive – what does it sound like?

It sounds as good! Not that I have the old pedal to compare it with (see above), but through a clean amp the Hypoid Drive is so instantly magical that my ears refuse to believe it could possibly be better. Tonally it’s not completely uncoloured – there’s a distinct softening of the midrange – but, combined with rounded bass and clear treble, that just serves to make everything that little bit sweeter.

The gain range is just as wide as advertised: as you crank the sustain knob you feel it morph from low-gain fluffy drive into something close to a Fuzz Face or Big Muff – and that word ‘feel’ is key here, because what this pedal does best of all is disappear under your fingers. That is, it doesn’t sound like a pedal and it doesn’t respond like one either: the dynamics are so pure, you’d swear your amp had just grown an extra gain stage (or two).

The toggle switch also exceeds expectations: the middle position is fully open, and what the left and right settings offer is effectively a choice of two kinds of dip to the lower mids. They sound very different and the thinning effect can be quite extreme, but as long as you’re judicious with the tone control it never gets trashy. I could certainly find uses for all three positions without upsetting those blues dentists.

Image: Richard Purvis

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive – should I buy it?

You shouldn’t buy it if you don’t like overdrive pedals that sound and feel like the gods of Mount Olympus pouring nectar directly into your brain. You shouldn’t buy it if it’s out of your budget. And you probably shouldn’t buy it if you already have a Tube Bender, an OPA-101 or a Cogmeister. Beyond that, sorry – I’m all out of excuses.

Dinosaural Hypoid Drive alternatives

To be fair, there are plenty of other pedals that take transparent overdrive in a smooth and silky direction. You might also look at the Great Eastern FX Co Design-A-Drive (£229), the Silktone Overdrive+ ($269/£279) or the J.Rockett HRM V2 ($229/£239)… and let’s not forget Dan Coggins’ current day job at ThorpyFX, whose Peacekeeper (£224.99) specialises in sweet low-gain crunch.

The post Coggins Audio Dinosaural Hypoid Drive review – a high-class overdrive with a difference appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Positive Grid expands the Spark NEO family with Spark NEO Core

One of the most iconic rock guitarists of our generation, Kirk Hammett—legendary guitarist of the multi-platinum-selling, nine-time GRAMMY® Award-winning band Metallica—continues his long-standing partnership with Gibson. Today, the iconic instrument brand proudly unveils its latest collaboration: a bold new acoustic from Gibson Custom. Kirk Hammett teamed up with the master luthiers at Gibson Custom in Bozeman, Montana, to create the Gibson Custom Kirk Hammett Raven, a majestic counterpart to the legendary Gibson Hummingbird™. The Kirk Hammett Raven is limited to only 100 guitars worldwide—and available at authorized Gibson dealers, Gibson Garage locations, and on www.gibson.com.

While it shares the Hummingbird’s square-shoulder silhouette, Kirk Hammett’s Raven distinguishes itself with a dark, artistic twist on the Hummingbird aesthetic. Crafted with a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides, and supported by traditional scalloped Advanced X-bracing, it delivers the timeless acoustic tone that has captivated musicians and audiences for generations. Its mahogany neck features a comfortable Round profile and is topped with a bound ebony fretboard, complete with 20 frets and mother-of-pearl star inlays. A 16" radius makes it ideal for fast, expressive playing. Grover® Rotomatic® tuners ensure reliable tuning, while TUSQ® components—including the nut, saddle, and bridge pins—enhance tonal consistency and tuning stability. The headstock showcases the Gibson logo alongside a striking mother-of-pearl raven skull inlay, reinforcing the instrument’s bold identity.

Explore the Kirk Hammett Raven on Gibson.com HERE.

This limited-edition model also pays homage to Gibson’s tradition of wildlife-inspired designs, featuring intricately crafted double pickguards and a raven-themed tailpiece accent. It’s a visual and sonic statement piece. Equipped with an L.R. Baggs™ Element VTC +4 system, the Raven is ready for both stage and studio. The discreet soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls offer easy access without disrupting the guitar’s aesthetics, and the additional 4 dB of output provides extra headroom when needed. Each Raven ships in a black Gibson Custom hardshell guitar case adorned with a matching raven skull graphic and includes a certificate of authenticity and a custom raven-themed strap. Limited to only 100 guitars, each handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana, and personally signed by Kirk Hammett on the soundhole label, this Ebony-finished acoustic is destined to become a collector’s treasure. Availability is extremely limited—secure yours before they vanish into the night.

One of the most influential metal guitarists of all time, Kirk Hammett is the lead guitarist and contributing songwriter in the trailblazing band Metallica. Kirk grew up in California and formed the group Exodus during the birth of the Bay Area thrash metal movement. In 1983, he began his now 40-year career as the lead guitarist in Metallica, selling over 125 million albums and winning multiple GRAMMY® Awards. Kirk’s first Gibson was the legendary 1979 Flying V he used on Metallica’s groundbreaking early studio albums. These days, his number one guitar is “Greeny,” the 1959 Les Paul Standard formerly owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore. Both instruments have been painstakingly recreated by Gibson for a range of tribute models.

New wired smart guitar headphones offer immersive audio and built-in amp for listening or guitar/bass practice and play

Positive Grid announces Spark NEO Core, the newest member of the Spark NEO family of smart guitar headphones. These wired headphones integrate a Spark guitar amp in a lightweight, ergonomic design that offers plug-in simplicity for electric, acoustic and bass players. Users can also enjoy onboard guitar tone presets, access to dozens of amps and effects, plus AI-powered tone generation.

Just like the original wireless Spark NEO, the new Spark NEO Core doubles as premium Bluetooth headphones that deliver rich, detailed sound for listening to music or streaming podcasts. Designed for total immersion without distraction, Spark NEO Core makes it possible to experience premium tone anywhere––from late-night guitar jamming to quiet home practice and audio streaming.Clear, Immersive Sound

Spark NEO Core shares the same premium audio engineering found in the original Spark NEO, delivering high quality sound with crisp highs, tight lows, and balanced mids.

The custom 40mm drivers are tuned for guitar and bass frequencies, so every note resonates with rich, detailed, sound—from clean melodic passages to high-gain riffs. An Advanced Bio Fiber (ABF) diaphragm enhances sound clarity and durability, ensuring consistent performance across every genre of music or instrument type.

Endless Tone Options

Spark NEO Core connects seamlessly with the Spark app, unlocking access to 33 amps, 43 effects, and thousands of community-shared presets through Positive Grid’s online ToneCloud. Additional creative tools such as backing tracks and Auto Chords enable users to learn, experiment, and expand their musical ideas effortlessly.

Guitarists can also use the app’s Spark AI feature to instantly create or discover tones by describing their desired sound. Whether chasing classic warmth, modern drive, or shimmering acoustic textures, Spark AI intelligently delivers amp and effect combinations tailored to the player’s style and needs.

Designed for Comfort and Ease

Built for extended wear, Spark NEO Core features soft, ergonomic ear cups and a lightweight construction that minimizes fatigue. The noise-isolating design enhances focus, allowing users to stay immersed in their sound without external interference.

Players can quickly connect using a standard ¼” guitar cable*, for immediate performance and authentic Spark tone. Onboard controls allow fast access to four customizable preset tones and quick volume adjustments.

Long-lasting BatteryPower

With up to 6–8 hours of battery life and USB-C charging, Spark NEO Core supports everything from brief warm-ups to long creative sessions or podcast streaming.

Spark NEO Core comes in a classic black finish and is available for USD $159 through Positive Grid’s online store. It’s also available through Amazon and authorized music dealers worldwide.

For more information about Spark NEO Core, visit positivegrid.com/pages/spark-neo-core.

To see the entire Spark NEO family, visit positivegrid.com/pages/spark-neo-series.

What would one be most likely to discover in the basement of an old house in rural Alaska, deemed unfit for occupancy by local authorities? Smoked fish? A dog sled? A rare, possibly one-of-a-kind, turn-of-the-century banjo?

That’s exactly where this 1911 Vega Tubaphone tenor banjo was before it arrived at Fanny’s House of Music. It came by way of a local Alaskan musician who was helping move things out of the condemned house and found this instrument—over a century old, but looking as if it had left the factory earlier that week.

The rabbit holes of vintage banjo identification are myriad. It’s a Vega because of the stamp on the dowel rod, but why does it also say “Fairbanks Banjo made by Vega?” The serial number dates it to 1911, and of the banjo models Vega produced at that time—the Regent, the Imperial Electric, the Whyte Laydie, and the Tubaphone—this one is clearly a Tubaphone. Except Tubaphones never had an elaborate gryphon peghead inlay, so how can it be a Tubaphone? When did Vega switch from a grooved stretcher band to a notched one? And what the heck is a stretcher band, again?

That’s when it’s time to bring in the big guns.

Enter Karl Smakula, friend of Fanny’s and third-generation banjo expert. His grandfather Peter H. Smakula heard Pete Seeger in the 1950s and immediately bought himself a Kay banjo. He began repairing instruments and building banjos, eventually opening his own music store, where his son Bob also worked. Bob went on to open Smakula Fretted Instruments in 1989, where his son Karl also worked. Suffice it to say, if it’s a banjo, Karl and his family probably know about it.

“I would have never said the gryphon inlay was used on a Tubaphone until I saw this one,” says Karl. “My dad, who has seen everything, has never seen this.”

In the early 1900s, Vega was focused on guitars, mandolins, and brass instruments, but they were aware of the growing popularity of the banjo. The A.C. Fairbanks Banjo Company, a widely respected banjo maker, suffered a devastating fire in 1904 and made for a timely acquisition by Vega. (“After which Fairbanks made a hard pivot to bicycle parts,” reveals Karl.)

Vega kept making the Fairbanks Whyte Laydie model, retaining the intricate gryphon peghead inlay and scalloped tone ring. In 1909, they introduced a new model called the Tubaphone, with a leafy “flowerpot” inlay and a brand new tone ring design featuring a sequence of holes drilled into the side. Where the Whyte Laydie sounded sweet and refined, the Tubaphone was louder and more aggressive. It quickly made a splash among banjo players, as this customer letter from the 1912 Vega catalog shows: “I have tried them all but from now on it will be a TU-BA-PHONE and nothing else for me. Refer any inquiries you like to me ... and I will show them what a real banjo is.” Banjo players have always been an opinionated bunch!

Tubaphones are still highly valued among old-time musicians today, although it is important to note they were intended for what’s called “classic” banjo playing when first produced. Derived from classical guitar playing, it uses bare fingers and gut strings. While this style is little practiced these days, it doesn’t take a big intellectual leap to see how classic banjo combined with African banjo playing, jazz, and two-finger style to form the bluegrass “Scruggs” style we’re familiar with today.

“This old gal made it from rural Alaska to Nashville, nearly stumping two generations of banjo experts.”

“This banjo’s had a life, that’s for sure,” says Karl with a laugh. Karl noted the dowel stick at the end of the neck matches the rim, indicating the neck and gryphon inlay are, improbably, original to this Vega Tubaphone. “It shows they were figuring out what they were doing.”

This old gal made it from rural Alaska to Nashville, nearly stumping two generations of banjo experts. It’s in superb condition, and everyone who takes it for a spin at Fanny’s agrees with the 1912 Vega catalog, which proclaims, “There is Tone Value to the Vega with which every player should become acquainted. To know and realize that Vega Construction is the easiest way to advancement means that your future Musical Prosperity is assured.” It’s safe to predict the Tubaphone will be assuring musical prosperity for another 114 years at least.

SOURCES:

Banjo Studio, Vega 1912 banjo catalog, Fanny’s House of Music, Smakula Fretted Instruments, Banjo News, Vintage Instruments, Mugwumps, Vega Style M webpage, Bill Evans YouTube channel

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Today’s featured giveaway: the SoloDallas Orbiter Fuzz. Vintage‑inspired (by the 1966 Arbiter Fuzz Face) yet modernized with a unique bias circuit, “Sweet Spot” internal adjustment, and rugged road‑ready build.

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SoloDallas Orbiter Fuzz

Discover the SoloDallas Orbiter Fuzz, a meticulously crafted effects pedal designed to combine genuine vintage tones with user-friendly versatility. Building upon the legacy of the 1966 Arbiter Fuzz, the Orbiter Fuzz adds fine-tuning circuitry to this already amazing vintage circuit.

Key Features:

• Vintage Tone: The Orbiter Fuzz promises immediate inspiration with a range of smooth musical fuzz tones that sing out with cutting sustain.
• Vintage Power: Our unique power circuit internally converts modern wall power to emulate the draw of a vintage carbon zinc battery.
• "Sweet Spot" Dial: We included an internal mini potentiometer to dial in the perfect impedance response for your favorite pickups.

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has teamed up with the master luthiers at Gibson Custom in Bozeman, Montana, to introduce the Kirk Hammett Raven, a “majestic counterpart” to the firm’s legendary Hummingbird model. 

Limited to 100 guitars worldwide – and consequently priced at a handsome £4,399 – the guitar shares the Hummingbird’s square-shoulder shape, but sets itself apart with a “dark, artistic twist on the Hummingbird aesthetic”.

• READ MORE: “Do you want heavy?!” Remind yourself why Metallica’s Sad But True is one of the hardest-hitting classic metal riffs in this new pro-shot live video

Supported by a traditional scalloped Advanced X-bracing, the Kirk Hammett Raven sports a Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides, with a round-profile mahogany neck topped with a 20-fret bound ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl star inlays.

Grover Rotomatic tuners complete the spec sheet, alongside TUSQ components – including the nut, saddle and bridge pins – ensure tonal consistency and tuning stability.

Where this instrument really stands out, though, is in its visual appointments. The Kirk Hammett Raven pays homage to Gibson’s tradition of wildlife-inspired designs, with an intricately ornate double pickguard, raven-themed tailpiece accent and a striking mother-of-pearl raven skull inlay in the headstock.

Credit: Gibson

The guitar is also bolstered by an L.R. Baggs Element VTC +4 electronics system, with discreet volume and tone controls located inside the soundhole. They offer “easy access without disrupting the guitar’s aesthetics”, plus an additional 4dB of output for extra headroom when needed.

Each Kirk Hammett Raven ships with a black Gibson Custom hardshell guitar case decorated with a matching raven skull graphic, as well as a certificate of authenticity and custom raven-themed strap. In a very cool touch, too, each guitar is hand-signed by Kirk Hammett himself on the soundhole label.

Credit: Gibson

“This Ebony-finished acoustic is destined to become a collector’s treasure,” says Gibson. “Availability is extremely limited – secure yours before they vanish into the night.”

While these days much talk of Kirk Hammett’s guitar collection centres around Greeny, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard formerly owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and Gary Moore, he certainly has a penchant for gothic six-strings, including his White Zombie and Ouija ESP signature models, which are staples in his Metallica live arsenal.

Learn more about the Kirk Hammett Raven at Gibson.

Credit: Gibson Credit: Gibson

The post “Secure yours before they vanish into the night”: Gibson reveals the Kirk Hammett Raven acoustic, a super-limited “audacious counterpart” to the Hummingbird appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.