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Muse announce 10th album The WOW! Signal – listen to its lead single now
Muse have announced their 10th studio album The WOW! Signal, which is set to arrive 26 June via Warner Records.
The trio’s first full-length outing since 2022’s Will of the People, The WOW! Signal opens with the “opening salvo” of a lead single, Be With You, which starts with layered electronica and synth elements before Matt Bellamy enters the fray with some blistering high-gain guitar. Check it out below:
Per a press release, The WOW! Signal takes its name from a 72-second radio burst detected in 1977 “originating from the constellation Sagittarius with a bandwidth and intensity that suggested a possible extraterrestrial source”.
“The astronomer who discovered the anomaly famously circled the now-iconic sequence ‘6EQUJ5’ and wrote ‘WOW!’ on the printout beside it – giving the signal its name and cementing its place in scientific and pop-culture lore.”
As such, Muse’s new album seeks to explore “cosmic mystery, existential hope, and the exhilarating possibility of contact with something far greater than ourselves”.
See the full tracklist of The WOW! Signal below:
- The Dark Forest
- Nightshift Superstar
- Shimmering Scars
- Cryogen
- Be With You
- Hexagons
- The Sickness In You & I
- Unravelling
- Hush
- Space Debris
The WOW! Signal arrives 26 June. Pre-save and pre-order via the band’s website.
Credit: Muse
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“That was just a Tuesday and a lunch tab for Kirk Hammett”: Butch Walker reveals he had the opportunity to buy the legendary “Greeny” Les Paul – but couldn’t afford it
![[L-R] Butch Walker and Kirk Hammett](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Butch-Walker-Kirk-Hammett-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
As far as iconic guitars go, very few match up to Greeny. A 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard once owned by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, and then by blues ace Gary Moore, it’s a six-string with an inarguably mythical status.
Nowadays, the guitar is under the custodianship of Metallica guitarist and keen guitar collector Kirk Hammett, who bought it in 2014 for an undisclosed sum.
But had fate gone a different way, Greeny could have ended up in the hands of singer-songwriter and producer Butch Walker, who tells Guitar World in a new interview that he was unable to come up with the cash when the opportunity presented itself.
“Gary Moore was one of my heroes,” Walker says. “I had an opportunity to buy Greeny before it was really making the rounds, and Kirk Hammett bought it. But I just wasn’t ready to spend $250,000 on a guitar at that stage in my life and my career.”
While also recognised for a successful solo career as an artist, Butch Walker has enjoyed success as a producer behind music by P!nk, Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift and Fall Out Boy.
He continues: “My buddy was a guitar broker, and it started circulating that Gary was going to sell. It had belonged to Peter Green as well, which was cool, but I was actually more psyched that it was Gary Moore’s. I highly regret not coming up with the money somehow. Obviously, that was just a Tuesday and a lunch tab for Kirk Hammett.”
While Butch Walker clearly laments the missed opportunity to pick up a guitar owned by one of his heroes – not to mention one of the most legendary guitars to exist on Earth – it has found a responsible owner in Kirk Hammett, who regularly plays it onstage with Metallica, and has let a string of famous guitar players have a go, including Al Di Meola, Jack White and Jake E. Lee.
In March 2025, Hammett told The Telegraph about the numerous other guitar players who were offered the chance to buy Greeny before he got his hands on it, including his Metallica bandmate James Hetfield, no less.
“It’s been offered to other major players, and they passed on it for whatever reason, but when I saw Greeny, I knew in less than a minute that I was never gonna give it back!” he said. “I had such an instant connection to that guitar, it’s such an amazing source of inspiration and it’s my best-sounding guitar.”
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“It’s Kirk’s riff, it’s my lyrics”: Gary Holt jokes that he’s owed royalties for his part in writing this classic Metallica track
Gary Holt has joked that he’s owed some royalties for his part in writing Metallica’s megahit Creeping Death.
As the story goes, both Gary Holt and Kirk Hammett were bandmates in Exodus in the early ‘80s, before Hammett left to join Metallica in 1983, filling the slot left vacant by Dave Mustaine’s firing.
But before Hammett’s Exodus departure, the band recorded their 1983 demo Die By His Hand. And as Holt asserts, while Hammett wrote the song’s riff, he was behind its lyrics, which were later tweaked for the middle section of Creeping Death, which appeared on Metallica’s 1984 sophomore album, Ride the Lightning.
“It’s Kirk’s riff, it’s my lyrics,” Holt laughs in a new episode of the the Heavy Stories podcast [via Louder]. “I’ve never been credited, so yeah, that’ll tell you how I feel. I should get paid for that shit.”
He continues: “The song was ‘dying by his hand’ and they – James – changed the line to ‘die by my hand’.
“You know, I mean, I’m entitled to some money, James. I’ll send you my bank info! It’ll be a fat cheque! But those are Kirk’s riffs and he was more than welcome to them. They were his. I had zero ownership of any of that.”
Gary Holt has waxed lyrical on his appreciation of Kirk Hammett in the past. Back in 2024, he explained how he “owes it all to Kirk”.
He recalled meeting the Metallica guitarist in their teenage years: “We became immediate friends. One day, he just said, ‘Want to learn to play guitar?’ And I said, ‘Yeah’, because I always wanted to, but I’m the youngest of six.
“My parents had purchased pianos for my brother to take piano lessons. It ended up being a place to put family photos [on]. You know, there’d be a trumpet in the closet that someone played for six months, and I think my parents didn’t think I’d stick with it.”
“Six months later, I was in Exodus. So yeah, I owe it all to Kirk [laughs]. The first song he taught me was some Rolling Stone song; for some reason I can’t remember what it was – maybe Wild Horses, something like that.”
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“I sort of got off on that”: Ed O’Brien admits he was happy when Radiohead initially broke up – and didn’t expect the band to ever get back together
Radiohead’s return to the stage in 2025 marked the end of a seven-year hiatus – one that guitarist Ed O’Brien initially believed was permanent, and was, at the time, happy about.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, O’Brien looks back on the period following Radiohead’s 2018 tour, noting how he’d felt creatively and emotionally spent after decades in the band.
“I was done with Radiohead,” he says. “It had got to a place where I just wasn’t enjoying it. I just didn’t resonate with it anymore, and I wanted to do my own thing… I think we’d run out of road. We’d run out of inspiration.”
That sense of burnout had been building for a while. The sessions for Radiohead’s 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool were reportedly difficult, as was the tour that followed. While the rest of the band were keen to get back on the road, O’Brien admits he was reluctant.
“The others said they wanted to tour. I didn’t really want to tour, and they knew that,” the guitarist explains. “But I did it and I’m glad I did. I saw it through to the end.”
When that run finally came to a close, the band had stepped away – a move that, for O’Brien, felt both final and, in some ways, welcome.
“It was kind of scary at first,” he says. “I really thought that was it on Radiohead. Actually, I sort of got off on that. I was just, ‘I’m done with it. I want another life.’”
Thankfully for Radiohead fans, that feeling didn’t last forever. The band eventually regrouped, returning to the stage in 2025 for a limited run of shows across Europe, including Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen and Berlin.
For O’Brien, being back onstage with the band has brought a new perspective: “That tour was very, very emotional, very profound. We all felt that. We’d look at one another on that stage, like, ‘This is amazing.’ I feel like I’m the luckiest person on the planet, and I’m not just saying that.”
Looking ahead, Radiohead are taking a more measured approach to touring. Rather than jumping straight back into a full schedule, the band intends to spread things out.
“It’s definitely happening,” O’Brien says of future live plans. “What we’re going to do is, every year we’re going to do a different continent, and we’re going to do 20 shows each year. No more, no less.”
He also confirms that 2026 will be a quiet year for the band, with plans to reconvene the following year: “We won’t do anything this year, but we’ll do something next year.”
The approach, he adds, is about making sure they can still give each show their full energy.
“We want to give absolutely everything each night,” says O’Brien. We do not ever want it to be like we’re going through the motions or we’re having to run on empty. We’ve got to be able to do it. And you know what? We’re not spring chickens anymore.”
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“I was afraid of silence, of having to feel”: Dave Grohl admits he used music as a “crutch” after Taylor Hawkins’ death
Dave Grohl has opened up about life after the death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, sharing how he used music as a “crutch” while processing his grief.
In a new interview with MOJO, Grohl reflects publicly for the first time on Hawkins’ death in 2022, calling it a moment that “threw our world upside down” and fundamentally altered his outlook.
“Losing Taylor was never meant to be,” says the guitarist. “That threw our world upside down and made me question everything about life, that it was so… It was so unfair. I still have a hard time making sense of it.”
Grohl, who threw himself into work in the immediate aftermath, admits that he turned to music as a way of avoiding difficult emotions.
“I think I was afraid of silence, afraid of having to feel,” he says. “I could have used a bit more of the silence, a bit more of digging deeper. I never want to say music is a distraction, but I was definitely using it as a crutch for some broken limb.”
The musician also reflects on his wider career and the motivations behind some of his past projects, suggesting that not everything he pursued came from a place of necessity.
“I’ve had to reexamine my ambition and intention,” he says. “A lot of those projects over the years were surface validation to prove that I could do it – not that I needed to do it. I was always the guy who couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t take a vacation. I needed the TV on to put me to sleep. It was the silence – the still – that scared me.”
Now, however, “my horizon is much different,” Grohl notes. “There will be plenty of things that we’ll do in the next few years that will remind everyone that Foo Fighters love to circle the planet playing rock shows. Before, I was running on fumes and unleaded gas. Now, I’m just burning fucking diesel.”
Foo Fighters are set to release their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy, on 24 April.
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“Pinnacle of the Electromatic collection”: Gretsch’s new Electromatic Premier Jet packs “premium appointments” and upgraded specs into a sub-$1k package
Gretsch has unveiled the Electromatic Premier Jet, a revamped take on its workhorse Jet platform that focuses on improved playability, stability and a wider range of tones.
Positioned as the “boldest evolution yet” of the Electromatic and Streamliner Jet lines, the Premier Jet keeps the brand’s familiar look and feel but updates the spec where it matters most for modern players.
At the core of each guitar is a chambered mahogany body with a carved maple top and sculpted contours for what Gretsch calls “exceptional acoustic balance” and playing comfort. It’s paired with a mahogany neck in a performance “C” profile and a 10”-14” compound-radius ebony fingerboard with 22 Medium Jumbo frets. Pearloid neo-classic thumbnail inlays and Luminlay side dots round things out, offering exceptional visibility even on dimly lit stages.
Credit: Gretsch
Electronics are where things get especially interesting. The newly developed Sphera Twin Six humbuckers, powered by Alnico 6 magnets, deliver everything from pristine clean tones to aggressive overdrive right at your fingertips. Aimed at balancing vintage warmth with a more modern edge, they’re voiced to be “beautifully dynamic, exceptionally expressive and addictively powerful”.
As Gretsch explains, “each pickup features twelve adjustable pole pieces for precise attack and unrestrained flexibility. In the neck position Alnico VI magnets pair with clear poly sol coated wire, while in the bridge Alnico VI magnets pair with plain enamel coated wire. Specially calibrated coil winds create the perfect marriage of brilliance and brute force, while vacuum wax-potting keeps noise and interference to a minimum.”
Controls wise, a master volume with treble bleed keeps the top end intact when rolling back, while a push-pull Lumen filter and dual no-load tone controls offer a wide range of usable tones without overcomplicating things.
The hardware takes a similarly practical approach. A Lockdown locking wraparound bridge, locking tuners, and a GraphTech NuBone nut all work to keep tuning stable so you don’t have to babysit your guitars mid-set.
“For years, the Electromatic and Streamliner Collections have offered Gretsch power and fidelity to a broad range of players,” says Gretsch VP Jason Barnes. “While Gretsch has always been renowned for its truly iconic tone and style, the Electromatic Premier Collection elevates the playing experience even further with incredible sonic punch and definition, effortless playability and of course, signature Gretsch style.”
The Electromatic Premier Jet is priced at $799.9/£709/€829 and is available in four finishes – Vintage Pearl, Robusto Burst, Onyx Storm and Clairvoyant.
Learn more at Gretsch.
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Why Taylor’s Next Generation Grand Auditorium is the ultimate player’s guitar
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The guitar secrets of Steely Dan: as revealed by Walter Becker: “All of our equipment was always broken”
The inner workings of Steely Dan have always remained under a cloak of mystery and intrigue. Known for their perfectionist streak in the recording studio, Steely Dan’s esteemed hipsters Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, were a world unto themselves.
While vocalist and keyboardist Fagen remains the sole surviving member of the pair – guitarist and bassist Becker passed away in 2017 – the duo etched a musical legacy that continues to both enthral fans of their music, and musicians alike.
With albums such as 1972’s Can’t Buy A Thrill, 1976’s The Royal Scam and 1977’s Aja, Steely Dan married their love of the absurd with unique sophisticated musical complexity.
Tales of their studio escapades have become legend, best exemplified by the duo’s fastidious approach in capturing the right guitar solo for Peg where they churned through a succession of studio guitar aces such as Robben Ford, Rick Derringer, Elliot Randall and Larry Carlton among others, before finally settling for Jay Graydon’s blistering six-string offering.
Keep It Brief
When it came to a Dan recording session, guitarists hired for the session were usually given a brief prior to the session. “There were cases where we had lines or we had particular rhythm parts in mind, but a lot was always left up to the individual with the guitar,” Walter Becker explained to this writer in a rare interview in 2010.
“Guitar players are so idiosyncratic in how they voice chords and how they approach chords and so on. You want to tell somebody the effect you want to create, and what you want to end up with, more than you want to tell them how to create that effect because if you have strong, interesting players, they already have developed their own personal techniques for doing that sort of thing.”
An aficionado of the blues, Becker always sought a particular kind of guitarist to lay to tape a blues-infused solo. Yet, many times at the eleventh hour, it was Becker himself who wound up being tasked with the performance.
“In some cases, we just couldn’t find anybody that really was the right combination of things that could play blues style electric guitar, and also play over changes,” he said. “There weren’t too many people that really could do that back in the 70s. Now of course, there are lots of people who could do it.”
Keep It Low
While Becker himself was also a competent bassist, he and Fagen would also employ the services of bass virtuoso Chuck Rainey whose contributions, according to Becker, were integral to the duo’s recordings.
“Chuck always liked to hear the demos and hear the bass parts that I had on demos because he got a certain amount of information out of it,” recalled Becker. “There were a few things that were written that Chuck played, but mostly Chuck just got the chord chart. He would hear things on the demos that he liked or that told him something about what the general approach was.
“He basically created the bass lines himself and of all the great bass players that we’ve had a chance to work with from time to time, he was by far the best at that, at creating a part that really worked with the song and worked with what the other players were doing.”
Keep It Jazz
Fagen and Becker were one of the very few songwriters who were able to successfully incorporate jazz harmonies within a pop framework. “I don’t think most people wanted to do that,” admitted Becker. “Very few people really. Jazz and jazz harmonies, especially in the 60s and 70s, for many people evoked the notion of the music that their parents danced to at the USO or something, or the band that played the theme music for the Ed Sullivan show and stuff like that.
“So, jazz harmony and jazz instrumentation had been co-opted into sort of less reputable forms of music that didn’t have any of the interesting, powerful elements of jazz that we love, such as improvisation and really driving rhythm sections and that kind of thing. So, most people just weren’t even interested in doing anything like that.
“And I think probably up until a certain point, we were the only people really and we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to integrate. We experimented with a lot of writing and over a period of years, on how to integrate the different elements that were in our songs.
“In other words, how to integrate humour into the lyric of a song without them becoming novelty songs, and how to integrate jazz harmonies into rock band sounds, rock band combos and rock band rhythms and stuff like that without it sounding like half ass jazz or without it sounding like, without it evoking the sort of out of date, old generation.”
Their taste in adding those sophisticated jazz harmonies into their songwriting, saw the pair experiment with multiple chord voicings as a way to stamp their take on their music.
It was through this trial-and-error approach, that Becker and Fagen came up with the ‘Mu’ chord, which became an integral part of their signature sound. At its core, the ‘Mu’ chord is basically a major chord with an added 2nd, and due to the added 2nd being paired to the chord’s 3rd, it results in a mildly dissonant sounding chord.
“When we started writing, some of the songs that we wrote were sort of folk-ish types of songs,” explained Becker. “And so, we were looking for ways to make the triads sound better and richer and ways to add a little dissonance and colour to the chords. And that ‘Mu’ chord was one of the ways that we came up with doing that.”
Keep It Appropriate
While much of Steely Dan’s output has been noted for its production sheen, they made sure that polished veneer never replaced the music’s substance, of which was the primary goal for both Fagen and Becker. “First of all, the sense that from the beginning the substance of the song, is the substance of the song,” explained Becker cryptically.
“And that’s not always the case for everybody. I think a lot of pop music now is predicated on the idea that the style and the trappings are more important than the substance and that the substance shouldn’t interfere with the style and the trappings, which is just a completely different 180 degrees from the way that we look at it anyway.
“So, I think the thing is that the production has to be appropriate, has to advance the cause of the substance of the song. It has to add to the impact of the song rather than diminish it or obscure it or overwhelm it. There are times when you can create some interesting effects by having a very unlikely production combined with a particular song, but generally speaking, it’s very easy for things to be overproduced and over fussed with and over ornamented.”
Looking back over the group’s prolific 70s period, Becker admitted that both he and Fagen weren’t cut out to be touring musicians, preferring instead the studio environs where they thrived and could allow their creative spirit to run freely.
“In the 70s, we were completely wrapped up in the idea of writing songs and making records,” he expressed. “That’s what we really wanted to do, and the touring just seemed to detract from that; it burned up a lot of energy. All of our equipment was always broken and destroyed the flow of work as regards to writing and recording, so we stopped doing it.”
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Corey Davis, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Guy Davis New Album, Fight On!: True Blues Vol. 2 Release Date April 17, 2026
Press Release
Source: Mark Pucci PR
Corey Harris/Alvin Youngblood Hart/Guy Davis – new album, Fight On!: True Blues Vol. 2 (out April 17 on Yellow Dog Records), from three of today’s deepest, most decorated acoustic blues masters who reunite to summon ancestral spirits with songs both long remembered and newly created.
Advance music and album pre-orders HERE!
Even as they step back in time, Guy Davis, Corey Harris and Alvin Youngblood Hart—who won ardent acclaim for their first True Blues project in 2013—prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that African American blues remains as vital and vibrant as ever.
These three first met at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1996 and are now coming together nearly 30 years later for a powerful follow-up to their acclaimed first True Blues collaboration. The album features nine tracks blending traditional material (Charley Patton, Rev. Gary Davis, Virginia songsters) with original compositions.
“I have a photograph somewhere of Corey, Guy and myself at the Chicago Blues Festival, 1996,” remembers Alvin Youngblood Hart. “A time when we were being touted by the ‘Blues Establishment’ as ‘The New Saviors Of The Blues.’ So whatever man, it was destiny that we’d end up doing something like True Blues. This new album is a continuation, or reunion of the project we started over a decade ago.”
“The thematic tie of the record lies in the fact that we are three African-American bluesmen who are fighting to maintain our cultural legacy and heritage,” adds Corey Harris. “Each of these nine tracks represents a contemporary image of traditional Black lifeways.”
As for the album’s title, Guy Davis states: “The fight we are waging is to keep this precious music form alive. To us, there is not so much difference between our arrangements of blues classics and our newly created work. It’s all connected to the ancestral spirit.” Raw, heartfelt and sounding absolutely nothing like a dusty museum piece, Fight On!: True Blues Vol. 2 is a loving celebration of shared music and friendship, a long-dreamed-about project that now, countless tours and conversations later, finally arrives.
Behringer takes Boss to court over alleged patent infringement
Behringer’s parent company, Empower Tribe, is suing Boss – and its parent company Roland – alleging its use of polyphonic tuning technology in several of its products infringes upon the patent of the TC Electronic PolyTune.
Polyphonic tuning – a method by which a guitarist can play and tune multiple strings at the same time, as opposed to monophonic tuning – is used in the PolyTune by TC Electronic, another brand under the Empower Tribe umbrella.
The technology also features in a number of Boss products, including GT‑1000, GT‑1000CORE, GX‑100, and GX‑10 multi-effects pedals. Empower says this breaches its patent for the PolyTune.
Boss filed a motion to dismiss the claim on 9 October, 2025, arguing that Empower’s original patent is invalid for a number of reasons. Firstly, Boss claims the technology simply collects and displays data, meaning it was never patentable as it’s an “abstract idea” rather than a concrete technological solution.
In Boss’ motion, while the nature and right to obtain patents for new technologies is acknowledged, it points to an exception “long-held” by the US Supreme Court: “Laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable”. Under this provision, Boss says Empower’s polyphonic tuning patent is not valid.
“Tuning is the quintessential definition of an abstract concept because musicians have been tuning stringed instruments by ear for as long as there have been stringed instruments,” Boss says. “A musician would play a note, compare it in their mind to what the note should sound like, and then adjust their instrument, repeating the process until the notes matched…
“Likewise, a musician has been tuning by ear multiple strings played at the same time allowing a person to differentiate ‘two pitch frequencies simultaneously’… Plaintiff’s opposition [Behringer/Empower] would have the Court believe that the ‘683 Patent [the PolyTune patent] invented polyphonic tuning.” Boss also says the PolyTune’s polyphonic tuning technology is achievable using generic hardware, and therefore not patentable for the same reasons that most guitar pedals aren’t patentable.
Empower has responded to this motion to dismiss with its own opposing motion, stating that Boss is “vastly oversimplifying” the technology described in the PolyTune patent in order to make its point, and overall strongly rebukes essentially all parts of Boss’ motion. In terms of the lack of an “inventive” aspect to the original patent, Empower argues that the court should at the very least undergo an “intensely factual inquiry” to determine if this is the rather than just “take [the] Defendant’s word for it”, and accept the motion to dismiss.
But why are we only hearing about this dispute now? Well, pending further ruling from the court, Boss has opted, as of March 2026, to remove the polyphonic tuner function from its GT‑1000, GT‑1000CORE, GX‑100, and GX‑10 multi-effects pedals.
This was discovered by YouTuber John Nathan Cordy, who posted a video earlier this week detailing the firmware update which removed polyphonic tuning from the above Boss pedals.
“Although [Boss parent company] Roland has developed many patented products on its own, it decided that instead of creating a polyphonic tuner itself, it would simply knock off Empower’s patented device instead,” Behringer’s initial lawsuit read [via Guitar World].
“[The] defendants have never sought or obtained a licence of the patent, and are not authorized to practice any claim of that patent,” Behringer says, adding that it contacted Roland to “reach an amicable solution”, but Roland “denied infringement” and “refused to negotiate a potential settlement”.
Many in the guitar and wider music gear community have been quick to point out that Behringer regularly produces products heavily inspired by classic pieces of gear.
This isn’t the first time Boss and Behringer have been at odds, either, after Boss sued Behringer in 2005/2006 over the trade dress (appearance) of many of its effects pedals. The suit was ultimately settled under confidential terms.
Just last year, Bill Finnegan, creator of the iconic Klon Centaur overdrive pedal, sued Behringer over its Klon copy. Behringer subsequently changed the name of its pedal from “Centaur” to “Zentara”, along with a number of visual design elements. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.
Guitar.com has reached out to both Boss and Behringer for comment.
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Gibson Custom Shop recreated Michael Schenker’s 1971 Flying V – and it sold out in a day
One of the most iconic Flying V guitars in history is being given its flowers. Gibson’s Custom Shop has faithfully recreated Michael Schenker’s 1971 Flying V, with a limited run of 50 hand-signed Collector’s Edition guitars selling out in just one day.
Based on 3D scans of the original instrument, which is currently owned by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, the Michael Schenker 1971 Flying V Collector’s Edition serves as a testament to one of the most influencial guitars in hard rock and heavy metal. The original guitar was used to record UFO’s first three records, with the guitar soon undergoing a striking black and white makeover. With its new look, the Flying V became Schenker’s signature axe.
This Collector’s Edition is crafted with a mahogany body, three-piece mahogany neck with a slim artist profile, and a one-piece rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets. Of course, the Flying V headstock and pickguard also boast the same black and white paint job as Schenker’s original Flying V.
Elsewhere, the guitar is also fitted with Schaller M6 tuners and a Corian nut. There’s also a pair of uncovered T-Top humbuckers with Alnico 5 magnets, each wired with unique volume controls and a shared tone knob. There’s also a Switchcraft three-way toggle, as well as a quarter inch output jack.
All 50 instruments have also been hand-signed by Schenker himself on the back of the headstock, which is sure to delight those that managed to snag a guitar. The instrument also comes housed in a custom replica flight case, while fans will also receive a commemorative mahogany display block featuring a #56 Medallion (presumably a nod to when the Michael Schenker Group’s 1980 track Cry For the Nations peaked at #56 in the UK).
Speaking about his limited edition Collector’s Edition guitar, Schenker sings praises for the Flying V. “When I was about 16 years old, I broke a string at a show and my brother was playing a V and I had to take a solo, so he quickly gave me his guitar,” he recalls. “That’s when I noticed there was something about the guitar… It almost became like part of my body.”
While the release coincides with the 50th anniversary of UFO, it’s a perfect way to reflect on the impact Schenker’s sound has had on the guitar world. Hammett in particular has spoken highly of Schenker, revealing in Gibson Publishing’s 2025 release, The Collection: Kirk Hammett, that having the Flying V in his collection feels akin to owning a “religious relic”.
Credit: Gibson
“Wolf Hoffman got it from Michael Schenker’s tour manager, who had been sitting on it for like, 20 years,” Hammett explained. “But it’s the original V that Michael Schenker played on UFO albums, Phenomenon, Force It, and No Heavy Petting. It’s crazy because you can still see some of the red finish, if you look at certain spots on the guitar.”
“The Schenker Flying V is almost like a religious relic for me,” he added. “It represents so much of my youth and all the travails I went through in just trying to learn how to play guitar and be a great improviser and soloist like Michael Schenker. I spent so much time as a teenager just staring at this guitar on the back of UFO’s Force It album… I used to stare at it and go, ‘I need to get a Flying V’. Little did I know that, decades later, I would have the very Flying V that I was staring at!”
On the YouTube video announcing the release, some fans believe the recreation deserves to be a permanent part of Gibson’s offerings to honour Schenker’s impact on music. “Gibson, release a production model,” one user pleas. “Michael’s influence deserves way more than 50 guitars. He’s incredibly important.”
The guitar – which is now sold out – was priced at £14,899 / $16,999. You can find out more at Gibson.
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Sinners’ love letter to the blues won Best Score at the Oscars – and Buddy Guy, Kingfish and Eric Gales came out for a star-studded mid-show performance
Amid Sinners’ bloodthirsty vampires and Irish step-dancing, the 2025 blockbuster is a love letter to the blues. And that love was on full display at this year’s Oscars, with Ludwig Göransson bagging the award for Best Score and the cast pulling off a show-stopping performance of film’s track I Lied To You.
This weekend, Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre stage transformed into a Mississippi juke joint, a central location throughout Sinners. The stage felt equally as bustling and alive as the juke joint in the movie; as lead actor Miles Caton struts across the stage, vintage Dobro guitar in hand, multiple artists emerge to join in the performance.
A majority of those involved also played an integral role in the movie. Some played key acting roles, like Buddy Guy, who played the older version of Caton’s character, wielding a Strat, or Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, who served up blues licks on his signature Telecaster. Elsewhere, other artists worked on the score, with Brittany Howard performing on a Gibson SG while Eric Gales opted for a Kiesel.
But that’s not all – a few other artists hopped onstage for a boogie, too. Notably, hip-hop star Shaboozey even appeared, adding some further joy to the marvellous display of blues excellence.
With the majority of the film taking place in a juke joint, and central character, guitarist Sammie (played by Caton) finding a supernatural power within bluesy riffs, blues is the heart and soul of Sinners. Considering how much effort director Ryan Coogler put into honouring the blues, it’s no surprise that so many people wanted to show their support.
Of course, the movie’s love of music was rightfully honoured. Swedish composer Göransson was awarded the Oscar for Best Score, and he took the opportunity to thank the blues for guiding him throughout his life. “My dad bought his first blues album in Sweden in 1964,” he reflected. “It was a John Lee Hooker album, and even though it was from the other side of the world, in a place where my dad had never been, and could not relate to, the music was so powerful that it changed his life.”
“When I was seven years old, he put a guitar in my arms, and it became everything to me,” he continued. “The guitar opened up a lot of doors to me; it brought me to the States and eventually led me to one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Ryan Coogler.”
The post Sinners’ love letter to the blues won Best Score at the Oscars – and Buddy Guy, Kingfish and Eric Gales came out for a star-studded mid-show performance appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Jazz-Folk with Prawit Siriwat & Daniel Durst | Acoustic Guitar Sessions
The best value electric guitars: 11 affordable options for beginners and players on a budget
Any guitarist can tell you that there aren’t many things that’ll give you as much value for money as a good electric guitar. Over the years, you’re paying pocket change per month, or fractions of a penny per riff – but for many of us, the economic reality is that we’ll need to choose a value model to manage the up-front cost.
Some of the best value electric guitars are beginner models from the likes of Squier and Yamaha, providing a solid introduction to the instrument without daunting levels of investment. For those shopping a little further up-market, another reason to buy a value guitar is to add a totally different set of sounds to your repertoire – an affordable ‘second guitar’ can bring a much wider range of sounds to within your grasp, especially if you want to change up things like the bridge, pickup or scale setup from your main guitar.
It’s quite tricky to define a ‘value electric guitar’. Rather than fixating on the lowest-priced options, the potted reviews below are focused around relatively inexpensive guitars that are genuinely good examples of their type, with prices ranging from the low £100s to around £1,000. We believe that all of these guitars are genuinely good value, with craftsmanship and playability that you can enjoy for years to come.
At a glance:
- Our Pick:: Squier Classic Vibe Custom Esquire
- Best for advanced guitarists: Sterling By Music Man Rabea Artist Series Sabre
- Best value offset: Eastman Fullertone Offset ’62
- Best affordable Stratocaster: Squier Sonic Stratocaster HSS
- Best value rock guitar: Manson MBM-2H
- Best value guitar for speedy playing: EVH Wolfgang Standard TOM
- Best value singlecut guitar: Heritage Ascent+ H-150
- Best affordable guitar for clean sounds: Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet
- Best guitar for begginner guitarists: Yamaha Pacifica 112J
- Best value guitar for downtuned metal: Jackson Lee Malia LM-87
- Best affordable kids guitar: Squier Mini Stratocaster
- Why you can trust Guitar.com
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Our Pick:: Squier Classic Vibe Custom Esquire
Squier Classic Vibe Custom Esquire. Image: Adam Gasson
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It often takes a while for a guitarist to learn that simplicity is a virtue. Whether you’ve made that revelation after years of playing, or you’re looking for an outstanding first guitar, this Custom Esquire from the Squier Classic Vibe range will help you cut straight to what matters most: great tone and fun, fluid playing.
There’s only one pickup, but it’s a cleverly wired one supplying a different set of filtered tones for a varied sound. The faux-‘neck’ position is everything we’d hope for in an Esquire: bright, sweet, punchy, and capable of some really spiky sounds when used with gain-based effects.
As you can see, this guitar is quite a looker. Its classy, double-bound, early 60s, custom colour design is a classic vibe indeed.
Need more? Read our Squier Classic Vibe Custom Esquire review.
Best for advanced guitarists: Sterling By Music Man Rabea Artist Series Sabre
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If you’re a devotee of rock or metal, you’ve probably cast a few admiring glances (or at least an admiring ear) at the Music Man Rabea Massaad Artist Series Sabre. The only trouble with the YouTube heavyweight’s signature edition guitar is the price, which is well over £3,000/$4,000.
The good news for budget-conscious musicians is that you can now pick up an affordable version of the ‘Rabea’ that comes pretty close to the real deal: the Sterling By Music Man Rabea Artist Series Sabre. This rock and metal workhorse has a low action for easy soloing right up and down the neck, and it sounds awesome when it’s lathered in gain.
Need more? Read our Sterling By Music man Rabea Artist Series Sabre review.
Best value offset: Eastman Fullertone Offset ’62
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This guitar only just scrapes into the ‘value’ bracket, but it’s something special that might warrant the extra outlay, especially if you’re looking for an instrument to play long-term. We were enamoured at first glance with its offset vibes and unique Göldo trem system – and once our reviewer had actually played the Eastman Fullertone Offset ’62, it was true love.
Beautifully, ergonomically sculpted, the Offset ’62 practically melts into the player’s body. It sounds as good as it feels, with impressive pickups delivering plenty of snap, jangle or punch, as per your selected settings. For guitarists who play with feeling, this elegant and idiosyncratic offset can capture the mood.
Need more? Read our Eastman Fullertone Offset ’62 review.
Best affordable Stratocaster: Squier Sonic Stratocaster HSS
Image: Adam Gasson
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A good beginner guitar doesn’t just have to be cheap – although the Squier Sonic Stratocaster HSS is – it’s also got to be approachable. Who’s going to want to continue learning through sharp fret-ends, terrible sounds or miles-high string action? Luckily the Sonic Strat is a very approachable instrument indeed, with a pleasantly playable satin-finished neck, and far better-sounding pickups than a guitar at this price point has any right to be loaded with. And whether you were inspired to pick up a Strat by Hendrix’s dive-bombs or by more subtle wobble, the standard vintage-style vibrato unit will get you there.
Need more? Read our Squier Sonic Stratocaster HSS review.
Best value rock guitar: Manson MBM-2H
Manson x Cort MBM-2H. Image: Adam Gasson
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Carrying more than a sprinkling of Matt Bellamy stardust, this Cort collab from Manson is one of the best (relatively) affordable options from the Muse virtuoso’s workshop. Our reviewer found this guitar a delight to play, with lightweight, well-balanced construction, a soft, V-shaped profile to the neck and generous custom carves to accommodate your forearm, thigh, or whichever other body parts you might happen to rest your guitar against.
The MBM-2H is as playable as it is sparkly, with a low, slinky action, highly responsive pickups and a fun killswitch that you can use to stutter your guitar sound (or simply shut it off during the quiet bits of a song).
Need more? Read our Manson MBM-2H review.
Best value guitar for speedy playing: EVH Wolfgang Standard TOM
EVH Wolfgang Standard TOM. Image: Adam Gasson
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Not content with single-handedly making two-handed tapping cool, the late, great Eddie Van Halen also managed to design one of the best accessible hard rock guitars in history: the Wolfgang. The Standard TOM is a wallet-friendly version of the maestro’s masterpiece, and while it replaces the original’s Floyd Rose vibrato system with a Tune-o-Matic bridge, it’s largely true to the blueprint.
This may be the cheapest EVH Wolfgang out there, but the Standard TOM plays beautifully and sounds impressive. It’s lightweight, resonant, and has a smooth, oiled finish to the maple neck that’s perfect for fleet-fingered playing.
Need more? Read our EVH Wolfgang Standard TOM review.
Best value singlecut guitar: Heritage Ascent+ H-150
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This Heritage is an ornately-finished single-cut that demonstrates impressive craftsmanship and great playability. It packs two humbucker pickups, each with a push/pull potentiometer that can split the coils for a single coil sound, and these deliver a superb range of classic rock tones, from smooth, dark sounds at the neck to honk and snarl at the bridge. It’s a great guitar for retro chords and riffs, with plenty of sustain and resonance.
Need more? Read our Heritage Ascent+ H-150 review.
Best affordable guitar for clean sounds: Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet
I hope you don’t mind the brief first-person intrusion, but I (the compiler of this article) have one of these lovely-looking, spangly Gretsches at home, and I’d highly recommend it as a first (or alternate) guitar. It’s my go-to for warm, mellow sounds when playing Motown, pop or folk-rock songs, and I often find my hand drawn to the chunky tremolo arm for added retro wobble.
The short-ish scale length is ideal for beginners or guitarists with smaller hands as it makes elaborate chord positions easier to achieve, while the slender, U-shaped neck profile offers plenty of purchase for your thumb.
Best guitar for begginner guitarists: Yamaha Pacifica 112J
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Surprising beginner guitarists with its superior playability since the 1990s, Yamaha Pacifica is the budget S-type (Stratocaster-like) guitar line par excellence.
There are Pacificas for all sorts of budgets these days, but arguably the best option at a minimal cost is the 112J. It’s a versatile choice for adventurous beginner guitarists, with a host of tones available via its trio of pickups (two single coil; one humbucker) and a softly rounded neck that goes easy on your fretting hand.
The finishing on this budget model is understandably basic, but the 112J is nonetheless a solidly made guitar that will suit beginners and newcomers – as was ever the case with Yamaha Pacificas.
Best value guitar for downtuned metal: Jackson Lee Malia LM-87
Image: Press
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Maybe you’re into Bring Me The Horizon. Maybe you’re not. The Jackson Lee Malia LM-87 – named for the BMTH lead guitarist – is an excellent value guitar, either way. This distinctive signature edition from Jackson brings bucketfuls of vintage cool and metal aggression, with an eye-catching yet accommodating offset shape and a Tune-o-Matic hardtail bridge for easy tuning adjustment – perfect for drop tunings.
What we liked best is how the LM-87 sounds. The distinctive-looking bridge pickup with its large, hex-head polepieces is excellent at picking up the detail from individual strings, so you can hear the complexity of crunchy chords, even when you have some gnarly distortion in play.
Need more? Read our Jackson Lee Malia LM-87 review.
Best affordable kids guitar: Squier Mini Stratocaster
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You’re never too young to rock out – the only thing standing in your way is that most electric guitars are not made for little hands. Thankfully, the youngest guitarists can start out with a mini guitar, such as this cute, scaled-down Strat from Squier.
Don’t mistake this for a toy: the mini Stratocaster has three proper single-coil pickups, sports a decidedly decent Indian laurel fretboard and is designed by Fender. Helpfully, it also has a slender, C-shaped neck profile that’s relatively easy for younger guitarists to fret, and the hardtail bridge offers decent tuning stability for parent-pleasing tonality.
Why You Can Trust Us
Every year, Guitar.com reviews a huge variety of new products – from the biggest launches to cool boutique effects – and our expert guitar reviewers have decades of collective experience, having played everything from Gibson ’59 Les Pauls to the cheapest Squiers.
That means that when you click on a Guitar.com buyer’s guide, you’re getting the benefit of all that experience to help you make the best buying decision for you. What’s more, every guide written on Guitar.com was put together by a guitar obsessive just like you. You can trust that every product recommended in those guides is something that we’d be happy to have in our own rigs.
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Zakk Wylde says the riff for Miracle Man was inspired by this classic Jimi Hendrix song
Ever heard a riff so darn good you wish you’d written it? It’s happened to most of us, and those moments invariably inspire us when we write our own riffs later down the line.
In a February interview with the Garza Podcast, Zakk Wylde touches on Ozzy Osbourne‘s tendency to borrow ideas from his favourite riffs. The guitarist explains that the Prince of Darkness was particularly inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s Foxey Lady, which inspired the riff for Ozzy’s 1988 track, Miracle Man.
Plenty of artists take inspiration from their peers, using music as a springboard to create something new. “That’s why I always tell kids [songwriting] is just like cooking,” Wylde explains [via Ultimate Guitar]. “You learn how other songs are written, and you’re inspired or influenced by them. Or you remember it, and then you tweak it and bend it [to make a new song].”
Wylde goes on to explain that Ozzy was inspired by other artist’s riffs throughout his career. The guitarist picks out N.I.B from Black Sabbath’s 1970 debut as a case in point, noting how it twists elements of Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love. “You end up mutating it, bending it, and changing it,” he says. “Then it’s a whole new song, which is awesome.”
Even the most legendary and accomplished guitarists take inspiration from their heroes when writing guitar parts. Wylde also notes how late Pantera axeman Dimebag Darrell compared an unspecified track with its inspirational origin. “I went ‘If you didn’t tell me that, I would have never got it, because you changed it around a bit,’” he says. “But that spark of inspiration led [him] to where [he] ended up with a specific song.”
Countless riffs have been borrows and twisted, from Metallica nabbing a riff from David Bowie’s Andy Warhol for Master of Puppets, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers taking inspiration from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Mary Jane’s Last Dance for their 2006 smash hit Dani California.
On the flip side, those whose riffs serve as inspiration for others often don’t mind. In 2006 rumours floated around that Petty was going to sue the Chili Peppers, but he quickly shut that down in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent [from the Red Hot Chili Peppers],” he said. “It doesn’t bother me,” he confirmed. “If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs.”
“A lot of rock and roll songs sound alike,” he adds. “Ask Chuck Berry! The Strokes took American Girl [for 2011’s Last Nite]. I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, ‘OK, good for you!’”
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Compression Pedal For Bass Guitar
Sammy Hagar says Eddie Van Halen’s death made it “necessary” for him to carry on performing Van Halen music: “Those people who grew up with that music, they’ve got to hear it again”
Sammy Hagar feels it’s important to keep playing Van Halen music live, in order for the work of Eddie Van Halen to carry on.
Hagar and his Best Of All Worlds band are currently performing shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM for a residency. The band’s lineup includes Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, Kenny Aronoff and Greg Phillinganes (stepping in for Rai Thistlethwayte).
Speaking to Las Vegas Magazine, Hagar says that after Eddie’s passing in 2020, he felt it was necessary to continue performing their music for fans. Their current residency shows are billed as the “deepest dive” into the band’s catalogue yet.
“I started thinking, geez, we’re never going to play together again. Then Alex Van Halen made an announcement that he can’t play drums anymore due to his health. It’s so necessary to carry the legacy of that music on,” he says.
“The Van Hagar catalogue, I wrote every song with Eddie. Eddie wrote the music, I wrote the lyrics and the melodies. Those people who grew up with that music, they’ve got to hear it again.”
Asked if any Van Halen songs mean something different to him now, he replies, “A song like Right Now – every time I sing it, I think how it’s about right now, because something else is happening right now than what was happening in ’91 when we wrote it. And Love Walks In, I wrote about aliens and automatic writing. Now all this UFO stuff is coming out, and when I sing that song, I have a feeling it’s touching people differently.”
Soon, Eddie’s recorded work may also live on, as his brother Alex Van Halen has confirmed that he’s working on a project involving archival Van Halen material. The forthcoming project will utilise old demos, but it’s not yet clear if it will go out under the Van Halen name.
Alex has already suggested that he originally wanted Free’s Paul Rodgers to take on vocal duties, who was eventually unable to take on the job, but he’s now “looking for somebody else”. Michael Anthony, who played bass for the band between 1974 and 2006, thinks they should go forwards without one. A release date is yet to be confirmed.
The Best Of All Worlds residency ends on 21 March. The band will then continue to tour from June 2026. Find out more via the Red Rocker website.
The post Sammy Hagar says Eddie Van Halen’s death made it “necessary” for him to carry on performing Van Halen music: “Those people who grew up with that music, they’ve got to hear it again” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“The one that started it all”: Fender celebrates 75 years of the Telecaster with new limited-edition collection – including new Cabronita model
It’s been 75 years since the Telecaster made its debut, and Fender is celebrating that three-quarters of a century in style with a brand-new range of special-edition Tele models.
Paying homage to the world’s first mass-produced, solidbody electric guitar, the 75th Anniversary Telecaster Collection comprises five instruments, spanning a range of price points across Fender’s Vintera, Player II, American Professional and American Ultra lines.
The Fender Telecaster started life in late 1950 as the Fender Broadcaster, a two-pickup version of the Esquire, which hit the market months earlier in April 1950.
Due to a trademark conflict with Gretsch over its Broadkaster drum kit, the Broadcaster guitar was renamed the ‘Telecaster’ in 1951. Taking direct feedback from players, Leo Fender sought to create a guitar which unlocked a “new level of expression”. Since then, the Telecaster has become one of the most iconic and recognisable guitar designs of all time.
Let’s take a closer look at the five new 75th Anniversary Telecasters on offer:
75th Anniversary American Professional Classic Cabronita Telecaster – £1,799
Perhaps the most noteworthy of the five is a new Cabronita Tele, the first time the concept has appeared in the standard Telecaster line in the classic double Filter’Tron pickup configuration since the model’s debut for Fender’s 60th Anniversary in 2011.
Pairing “vintage charm with modern performance”, this guitar features TV Jones pickups, along with a modern “C” neck and pearloid button tuners.
75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster – £1,599
This one features authentic ‘50s specs with a swamp ash body, plus an early ‘50s “U” shape neck, Road Worn nitrocellulose finish and Pure Vintage 1951 pickups for “crystal-clear chime and raw, steely twang”.
75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster – £2,899
Arriving as the most high-end offering of the new collection, the 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster features a Liquid Gold finish, ebony compound radius fingerboard, and advanced pickup system – with a 75th Anniversary Noiseless Single-Coil and Fastlane humbucker – with dual S-1 switches.
75th Anniversary American Professional Custom Telecaster – £2,499
The second entry to the American Professional line offers a flame maple top with a double binding and two-tone sunburst finish, plus 75th Anniversary V-Mod pickups and push/push pot for series wiring, along with gold hardware.
75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster – £949
Outfitted with a Diamond Dust Sparkle finish and a selection of contemporary visual appointments, the 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster is loaded with Thunderbolt pickups for “rich, powerful tones with enhanced clarity and punch”.
Learn more about the 75th Anniversary Telecaster Collection at Fender.
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Les Claypool says he chose to be a bassist because the guitar sounded “wimpy”
Les Claypool, known for his unique approach to bass, has said he chose the instrument because the guitar sounded “wimpy” to him when he was younger.
The Primus frontman’s bass style combines varying techniques such as tapping and slap bass. Regarded as one of the best bassists by music media for his authentic approach, it seems his journey with the instrument started out purely because it sounded much richer – even though he grew up in the era of Eddie Van Halen’s reign over guitar culture.
- READ MORE: Rick Beato says excessive phone scrolling is the reason he can’t downpick like James Hetfield
In an interview with The Guardian promoting his collaborative concept album on AI, made with Sean Ono Lennon, Claypool says, “To me the bass was a more sultry instrument, whereas the guitar sounded kind of wimpy.” He also explained his playing style as “holding down the root of the bass but also trying to play the rhythm guitar parts”.
Elsewhere in the interview, he also spoke of how his bass chops led him to audition for Metallica to replace Cliff Burton after his sudden passing. Kirk Hammett was a former classmate of Claypool’s, but it just wasn’t meant to be: “I didn’t know how popular they were,” he says. “We played a song or two and I said, ‘Hey, you guys want to jam on some Isley Brothers?’ Nobody laughed.”
Claypool also spoke of his early friendship with Hammett during an interview with Rick Beato last year. Hammett actually wanted Claypool to be a singer in one of his early bands when they were just teenagers, and gave him some cassettes so he could learn a few tracks for an audition, including Cream’s Sunshine Of Your Love.
“But also on there was Hendrix. I’d never heard Hendrix before. I was 14 or whatever so he turned me on to Hendrix and all these different things. But I chickened out. Back then I was total Bobby Brady, you know, croaking and cracking. But I met this other guy that needed a bass player,” Claypool recalled.
“Everybody wanted to be Eddie Van Halen, so bass players were a very rare commodity… I didn’t find out till years later that [Hammett] was kind of pissed at me for bailing on his thing to go play bass in this other band.”
Claypool’s band with Sean Ono Lennon, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, will release their third album, The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy, on 1 May. The concept album features 14-songs reflecting on morality, mortality, and the warnings of AI. You can pre-order the album now.
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Acorn Amplifiers Solid State Preamplifier review – the ‘Peavey in a box’ you didn’t know you needed?
$179/£169, acornamps.com, joespedals.com
The clip is easy to find on YouTube – just search for “Josh Homme’s secret weapon”. The Queens of the Stone Age frontman goes off to find the amplifier, a crappy little 1980 Peavey Decade practice combo, then pops it up on his lap and tells the interviewer: “This thing is incredible.”
That was enough to prompt Peavey to create a signature reissue of the amp itself, as well as including a Decade model in the line of pedals it put out last year. And it also prompted Atlanta builder Acorn Amplifiers to give this 10W titan the proper boutique stompbox treatment – in the shape of the Solid State Preamplifier.
Image: Richard Purvis
Acorn Amplifiers Solid State Preamplifier – what is it?
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a Peavey in a box – it’s a Peavey in a box in a box. Because the SSP is a compact version of the Acorn Solid State, a bigger pedal that includes a recreation of the Decade’s output stage and can be plugged straight into a speaker cab. The preamp-only model might not be able to do that but it keeps all the core features – three-band EQ, footswitchable ‘normal’ and ‘saturated’ channels, pre and post gain controls – and adds a toggle switch marked ‘thick’ for a chunkier tone option.
The main drawback of the downsizing process seems to have been in reducing the gap between the two footswitches. Hitting one and not the other on an empty floor can be tricky; in the middle of a packed pedalboard, it’ll surely be like trying to perform brain surgery with barbecue tongs.
One design feature I do like is the light-up Acorn logo, which turns from cheery green to fiendish red when you engage the saturated channel (and is extra-bright when running off 18 volts). Pity there’s no way of telling which channel is selected when the pedal’s in bypass, though – you just have to remember how you left it.
Image: Richard Purvis
Acorn Amplifiers Solid State Preamplifier – what does it sound like?
Deliberate spoiler for anyone who just wants to know if it sounds like Songs For The Deaf: yes, in the right setup, it absolutely does. But between the channel footswitch and the toggle, there are four very different sound zones to explore here and that’s just one of them.
The normal channel goes from clean to medium-scuzzy, adding a crisp edge to the top end and some decidedly solid-state firmness to the bottom. This could certainly serve as an always-on tone improver for some players. The firmness doesn’t last long when you flip the switch down, however: now you get a more wiry kind of crunch that flirts with horribleness at times but mostly keeps things nicely clear and ultra-sparkly.
Switch to the saturated channel and the first thing you might notice is a fractional difference in output level – up or down, depending on where the pre gain is set and whether you’re using 9v or 18v. Sadly, there are no individual volume controls to correct that; happily, this channel is a monster. The effects of the toggle seem to be magnified here: the thin mode is beautifully abrasive, in stark contrast to the chunky richness – albeit still edgy – of the thick setting.
In both cases it really does sound just like the dirty channel of a small transistor amp from the 80s: raw and insolent in the best way imaginable. It’ll even do the old doomy scoop if you kill the thickness, set the mids to zero and max out the gain.
Image: Richard Purvis
Acorn Amplifiers Solid State Preamplifier – should I buy it?
The sound of this pedal is hard, dry, unrefined – all the things that some of us longed to escape from when a little practice amp was all we had. But that stuff has a vibe of its own, and a usefulness beyond mere nostalgia, especially when it’s presented in such a smart and multifaceted package.
Practical issues might limit its appeal for live work, but maybe it’s fitting that the SSP’s real strength should lie behind the scenes as a recording tool – just like Josh’s old Peavey.
Image: Richard Purvis
Acorn Amplifiers Solid State Preamplifier alternatives
It’s made in Taiwan, but the Peavey Decade Preamp ($199/£179) does have the right name – in the classic spiky font – on the front. More interested in the Josh Homme connection? The Stone Deaf PDF-2 (£160) is the latest version of a drive and EQ pedal he actually uses, while the Funny Little Boxes Skeleton Key (£99) is a ‘dirty boost’ inspired by the sounds of QOTSA.
PS. Thanks to Joe’s Pedals, Acorn’s UK dealer, for the loan of the SSP.
The post Acorn Amplifiers Solid State Preamplifier review – the ‘Peavey in a box’ you didn’t know you needed? appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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