General Interest

Nearly three decades on, former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur has opened up about her tumultuous relationship with Courtney Love, and the “public witch trial” that followed her exit.

Appearing in the new issue of Uncut, Auf der Maur looks back on her five-year stint in Hole, a period that saw the band rise to mainstream success with 1998’s Celebrity Skin. The 54-year-old joined the alt-rock group in 1994, stepping in after the tragic loss of bassist Kristen Pfaff, and remained through some of the band’s most high-profile years. After leaving Hole in 1999, she toured briefly with The Smashing Pumpkins, fronted by Courtney Love’s ex, Billy Corgan.

• READ MORE: Jason Richardson on leaving All That Remains: “There’s just a lot of things on the business side that I was not happy with at all”

Reflecting on the emotional fallout of leaving Hole, Auf der Maur says, “We broke our own hearts along the way. I had dutifully stayed, trying to do what we set out to do, which is put women in a male-dominated landscape. We had a Top 40 hit, we were as big as ever, and Courtney turned away and explored Hollywood and I was pissed. But that’s her journey. She was surviving insurmountable pain – not just Kurt [Cobain] and being left alone as a mother and her own struggle with addiction, but a lifetime of not being loved.”

In the aftermath, Auf der Maur adds, the band’s reputation took a hit and the narrative quickly spiralled.

“And then it became a public witch trial. The legacy of Hole was in the gutters. No one took care of it because no one took care of her.”

The drama didn’t stop when she left Hole. When asked about Love’s reaction to her move to the Pumpkins, Auf der Maur admits it was complicated.

“She was respectful, but angry that I was leaving for her ex-boyfriend,” the bassist explains. “It was a lot of drama, but I’ve long said that Hole was my Bachelors in humanity and the Pumpkins was my Masters in music. I learned in Hole about how society treats women, and then I got to basically go on vacation and be the best bass player I’ve ever been by playing with the best musicians I’ll ever play with in my life.”

Playing with Corgan, she adds, pushed her creative and technical limits like nothing she had experienced before.

“The intensity of Billy Corgan and his work ethic, and the radical dexterity I needed to have as a bass player, was insane,” says Auf der Maur. “We were playing up to three hours a night, different setlists every night. It was Olympian-style musicianship.”

The post Hole bassist on the “public witch trial” that followed her leaving the band – and why she was “pissed” at Courtney Love “turning away” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Think you know the Stratocaster? Well think again. Prog guitarist Joshua De La Victoria and Iconic Guitars have reworked the classic S-type into a seven-string, multi-scale machine that looks somewhat familiar – but plays like nothing you’ve seen before.

Gone are the days of sticking to the classic three-single-coil formula. De La Victoria’s latest guitar blends an HSS pickup configuration, a custom offset humbucker, and an EverTune bridge with a multi-scale neck that stretches your fingers – and your imagination. Every inch of the build is designed to push the Strat into modern territory without losing the iconic charm that’s made it a legend.

• READ MORE: Fender wins legal battle over Stratocaster shape in Germany – is it the end for S-type guitars in the EU?

Revealing the new build on Instagram, De La Victoria explains how Iconic used their Solana 7 model as a starting point, then reworked the “whole center of the body” and neck to accommodate the multi-scale layout. The team also created a custom bridge humbucker to complement the 7-string single coil configuration.

“Bet you haven’t seen this before,” De La Victoria writes. “I had a chat with Kevin [Proctor, Iconic President] a few months back about a crazy new build idea, and it’s here. For the past year, I’ve been thinking about how an S-type guitar could work with multi-scale, and I gotta say it looks and plays incredible.”

“The mix of vintage and modern has always been something that I really connect with and look for. This is probably the most extreme version of that.”

Even Periphery’s Misha Mansoor couldn’t resist commenting: “Wow. Lemme get dat.”

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“Really proud of this dude and this guitar,” Proctor adds on Instagram. “Thanks to my dear friend Josh for the idea for this guitar and for trusting our team to bring this incredible Solana 7 multi-scale to life.”

In a dedicated YouTube video, De La Victoria explains the concept behind the guitar: The idea was to create “something that no one makes but that I wish they would,” he says. Growing up on S-style guitars, De La Victoria wanted something that felt “super familiar”, but with the capabilities needed for his current work.

“I’m writing a lot of music and I’m playing a lot of music. I’m out on tour playing music that uses extended range instruments. So, seven and eight string guitars,” says the musician. “I wanted something that could bridge the gap between the two… Something that’s vintage looking – so S-style – and then has the extended range and some of the modern features of extended range guitars.”

Watch the full build video below.

The post “One of the most unique guitars I’ve ever played”: This multi-scale 7-string S-type is a prog-ready monstrosity appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Master of Puppets may be “the best metal album ever made” in the eyes of Gary Holt, but the band behind it is no longer “the best” today, according to the Exodus guitarist.

Speaking to Metal Hammer Spain, Holt reflects on the long-running dynamic between Exodus and Metallica, tracing it back to the early days of the Bay Area, and the very different paths the two bands took as thrash exploded into the mainstream.

• READ MORE: Gary Holt: “All I listen to is Adele”

“I think the thrash bands that came after [us] – ‘cause, obviously, the first two in the [San Francisco] Bay Area were us and Metallica – were really chasing what Metallica did,” he says [via Blabbermouth]. “That’s why most of ‘em started doing ballads and they started following the blueprint a little, whereas Exodus kind of did our own thing.”

“For better or for worse, we made our own decisions,” Holt adds. “We tried our hardest not to be like Metallica.”

While Holt is quick to give James Hetfield and co. their due, he argues that the Bay Area pecking order has long shifted, with Exodus now firmly ‘crushing’ their old peers.

“Everybody makes their own musical decisions,” he says. “Metallica were the best of all of us. I mean, I don’t think so anymore – I think Exodus crushes them, but that’s my own humble opinion.”

Still, when it comes to the records themselves, Holt isn’t shy about showering praise on what he considers “the best” the genre has delivered.

“But [Metallica third LP, 1986’s] Master Of Puppets, to me, is the best metal album ever made,” says the guitarist. “I fucking love it. I’m jealous, that album is so good. It makes me jealous. Some people like [Metallica’s second album, 1984’s] Ride The Lightning better. I think Master Of Puppets is a masterpiece.”

“That album and Stained Class [by] Judas Priest are, to me, the two best metal albums of all time. [Exodus guitarist] Lee Altus likes Ride The Lightning better [than Master Of Puppets]. To me, it’s no choice. It’s, like, no – it’s fucking Master Of Puppets.”

In related news, Gary Holt recently joked he’s still waiting on royalties for Metallica’s megahit Creeping Death, claiming his lyrics from an early Exodus demo helped shape the track that later appeared on Ride The Lightning.

“It’s Kirk’s riff, it’s my lyrics,” he told Heavy Stories [via Louder]. “I’ve never been credited, so yeah, that’ll tell you how I feel. I should get paid for that shit.”

The post “Metallica were the best of all of us but not anymore”: Gary Holt says Exodus now “crushes” their thrash rivals appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

For episode 112 of the podcast, I’m talking with Otto D’Ambrosio.

Otto wears two hats—as a solo luthier and Chief Designer at Eastman Guitars—and he walks us through his journey from working with legends like Flip Scipio, John Monteleone, and Carl Thompson to his role today, bridging the gap between hands-on building and production design.

We talk about how the pandemic pushed him into 3D CAD, changing the way he collaborates with Eastman’s workshops, and dive into some of his design work—including the Fullertone neck system, his boutique archtop builds, and an upcoming project comparing domestic and European tonewoods.
Links:

https://dambrosioguitars.com/
Luthier on Luthier is hosted by Michael Bashkin of Bashkin Guitars and brought to you by the Fretboard Journal. This episode is sponsored by the Looth Group, Dream Guitars and StewMac.

Michael Bashkin’s Hub of Acoustics 2026 US Academy: https://hubofacoustics.com/en/#Colorado_Academy

Want to support Luthier on Luthier? Join our Patreon to get access to exclusive photos and content from Michael and his builds.

The post Luthier on Luthier: Otto D’Ambrosio first appeared on Fretboard Journal.

Think of Queen, and we’re willing to bet the Queen II artwork is the first image that pops into your head. Shot in 1974 by photographer Mick Rock, the artwork for the band’s sophomore record has since become one of the most recognisable shots in musical history. However, following Rock’s death in 2021, his family are now pursuing legal action, arguing that Rock wasn’t properly compensated for his work.

Speaking to The Sun, guitarist Brian May reveals that the Rock family are claiming that the late photographer was allegedly not paid enough for his work. “His family is suing us at the moment for vast amounts of money,” May says. “Mick was a lovely guy, very ambitious, quite money oriented.”

Queen ensured that they “paid [Rock] very, very well for what he did”. Despite that, Rock’s family are insisting that the payout wasn’t sufficient.

• READ MORE: “We were ludicrously compliant”: Brian May looks back on why Queen were “terrified” recording their first album

Alongside its recreation in the 1975 video for Bohemian Rhapsody, the iconic snap of Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor has since become a cultural touchstone, with countless bands imitating it in photoshoots and music videos. Yet that legacy has been soured, in light of the brewing legal battle.

Perhaps alluding to the later recreation of the shot for memorabilia and in the Bohemian Rhapsody video, May alleges that the Rock family are suing on the grounds that Rock should be compensated for every way in which Queen have benefitted from the shot.

“His dependents became incredibly greedy and decided that everything was his idea,” May explains. “[They believe] we owe him millions and millions, not just in the UK, but all around the world. So they’re suing us all around… it’s a little hard for me to be objective about the thing.”

May goes on to say that, if Rock were still alive, the matter could have been settled easily out of court. “I’m sorry he’s not around because I know if he was around, we’d go, ‘Oh, come on, we’ll settle this,’” the guitarist says. “We’d shake hands and it would be done tomorrow.”

News of the legal battle comes shortly after the re-release of Queen II, with an expanded edition of the record dropping just last Friday.

The post “His dependents became incredibly greedy”: Brian May reveals Queen are being sued by the family of the photographer who shot their most iconic album cover appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

With the increasing power of AI-driven LLMs, it was only a matter of time before digital guitar tones created from a single text prompt were made possible. 

Positive Grid really spearheaded the movement last year when it launched BIAS X, with a handy text-to-tone AI assistant that turns the tonal ideas in your head into reality. Now, the concept is available in a browser-based format courtesy of FUKKAUDIO.

• READ MORE: I tried using an AI-powered amp and effects suite to create my guitar sound for me – here’s what happened

Text prompt guitar tone creation, in theory, circumvents the often-tedious process of crafting the perfect signal chain yourself, essentially offering a faster route from the sound in your head to a sound you can actually use.

Unlike Positive Grid’s BIAS X – which can be used as a standalone application or as a plugin within a DAW – FUKKAUDIO is an entirely browser-based guitar tone generator, with no installation required.

So how does it actually work? Simply plug your guitar into your computer via an audio interface – input and output device dropdown lists are front and centre in the user interface –  then enter your prompt, like “tight modern rhythm” or “sparkly clean that makes chords feel expensive”, and FUKKAUDIO will do the rest.

FUKKAUDIO doesn’t have quite the same post-prompt customisability as BIAS X, which formulates a full signal chain based on your prompt, after which you can swap out amps and effects to your heart’s content. Understandable, of course, considering FUKKAUDIO is a free browser application.

FUKKAUDIO does, however, grant controls for FX Intensity, Drive and output level, which can be tweaked to further refine your prompted sound.

“The focus is on getting to a usable tone quickly, especially for home players working with a laptop or simple setup,” the Finnish brand tells Guitar.com.

“That shift – from presets to plain-language tone – is the core angle. It turns guitar tone into something you can reach immediately instead of something you have to construct.”

Try FUKKAUDIO for yourself now.

The post FUKKAUDIO is a browser-based text-to-tone guitar tone generator appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

With Van Halen blood running through his veins, it’s no surprise that Wolfgang Van Halen knows his way around a guitar. However, Wolfgang’s father Eddie Van Halen was in no rush to teach his son guitar – in fact, he didn’t buy him his first acoustic until he had first become proficient on the drums.

In a new interview with Rick Beato, Wolfgang reflects on how this drum-first approach has helped him as a musician. “I think my dad was right to start me on drums,” he explains. “It’s a really good place to start rhythmically. You just understand music from that dynamic first, and you kind of grow from there.”

• READ MORE: Wolfgang Van Halen reveals he and his dad jammed a song on the new Mammoth album before he died: “I taught him how to play it on guitar, and I played drums”

As Wolfgang notes, his foundational understanding of percussion is something he utilises across his now-multi-instrumental arsenal. “I play guitar like a drummer, I play bass like a drummer,” he says.

“Everything I start with is the rhythm of it,” he adds. “The rhythm section is tight because it’s my instincts.”

Wolfgang Van Halen is a proficient multi-instrumentalist, but explains how it’s “always drums first”. And that approach stems from how he was taught by his father.

In a 2023 interview with MusicRadar, he revealed drums were the only instrument Eddie properly taught him, and he was largely left to his own devices while learning guitar. “Other than [drums]… there was never a moment where Dad sat down like, ‘I’m gonna teach you how to do this,’” he revealed.

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I like how I was able to teach myself from looking at guitar tabs on the internet and just trying to replicate every one of my favourite songs.”

Back in 2023, Wolfgang also told the  Talk Is Jericho podcast that his dad only got him a guitar after he has mastered the drums. “He had magazines on the table and was like, ‘do this and do this’… the second he saw I could do that he bought me a V drum kit and for my birthday the next year got me an acoustic kit,” he said.

In the same podcast, Wolfgang also praised Tool’s drumming for “expanding” his musical knowledge. “Tool was a big band for me… I noticed I became a better drummer when I learned how to play Tool songs,” he explained.

The post Wolfgang Van Halen says his father was “right” to start him out playing drums instead of guitar: “I play guitar like a drummer” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

For every guitarist who isn’t yet a digital amp modelling convert, there’s another who’s made the switch. Recently, the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson spoke of his hesitancy around amp modellers, admitting that “they’re getting close” to the real thing, but noting the “symbiotic relationship” a guitarist has with their analogue amplifier.

But on the flip side, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready has readily adopted a digital guitar rig, even admitting that doing so has made him a “better guitar player”.

• READ MORE: The 15 Most Expensive Guitars Sold At Auction

Speaking to Guitar World in a new interview, McCready shares that he used a Fender Tone Master Pro – which we gave a strong 8/10 in our 2023 review – while touring Pearl Jam’s 2024 album Dark Matter, and it also makes up part of his home rig.

He does, however, admit that he’s still very partial to analogue gear – it’s just about striking the right balance.

“It’s a mixture of modelling and real amps, so I keep both the analogue and digital worlds,” McCready says. “I love the Tone Master… I play on it every day. I can pick up any kind of pedal on that thing and it sounds pretty great.”

On Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tour, McCready ran the Tone Master Pro through Fender Tone Master FRFR (full range, flat response) cabs. He says his current rig – newer digital technology combined with classic analogue gear – has made him a sharper guitar player.

“I know there’s purists that probably aren’t into that, but I felt like my amp modelling system along with the old analogue stuff has made me a better guitar player,” he continues.

“It was the consistency of the amps over the Dark Matter tour that pushed me to play better than I have ever done. I just felt more confident.”

The post Mike McCready says using a digital amp modeller has pushed him to play better than ever: “I just felt more confident” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Ad Feature with Lutefish

The Lutefish Stream is a very capable solution for jamming remotely, in real time, with musicians up to 500 miles away, one that aims to get past the normal roadblocks that lead to session-ruining latency and frustration in online jam sessions. For bandmates who aren’t all in the same city, or just don’t want to have to deal with the traffic and the gear-lugging and the time commitment that can come with piling into a practice studio, it’s a gamechanger!

Making connections

So, how do you set the Lutefish Stream up if you’re a guitarist? At first blush, the Lutefish Stream resembles an audio interface – but it’s not quite the same. Most importantly, there’s no computer connected to the Stream – instead, the Stream sends audio directly through an ethernet cable connected to your router to reduce latency. The Stream cannot connect to your network via Wi-Fi, you must use an Ethernet cable. This is a big part of what makes the connection fast enough for playing music in real time.

The audio connectors on the device include two mono combo XLR/¼” inputs with individual gain controls and two headphone outputs for your preferred connector size (⅛” or ¼”). There’s also a talkback mic that transmits your voice – or acoustic instrument – over the same stream as the rest of the audio.

The very first step is powering the unit up – the Lutefish is powered by a USB-C cable, and needs to be connected with the included USB-C power brick. Once it’s powered up and connected to your router via the included ethernet cable, it’s time to get it online. First, log into Lutefish.com, and go to the account settings page. Choose ‘device setup’ to ‘add new device’, and enter the serial number on the bottom of your Stream. If your Stream is powered on and connected to the internet – it’ll be showing a solid blue light. If so, you’ll get a message that reads “device connected”, and you’re ready to jam.

Using a mic

There are a few ways you can set up the stream as a guitarist. For more control over your sound, plug a microphone directly into the Lutefish stream. This is great for acoustic guitarists and singer/songwriters, as the two inputs let you use one mic for your guitar and another for your vocals – meaning a clearer mix for your bandmates, and clearer monitoring for yourself.

For electric players, you can mic up an amplifier as you would if you were recording with an interface – this will give you and your bandmates a great sound, of course, but it might not be ideal if you have neighbours or flatmates, and you want to turn your amp up to its sweet spot.

Going direct

If you want to avoid any noise complaints, going direct is the way! Thanks to the combo nature of the Lutefish’s input jacks, you can take whatever your favourite direct solution is – such as the IR-loaded line output on the back of your amplifier or a multi-effects unit – and go straight into the unit. If you play acoustic and have a pickup system in your guitar, you can go straight in with an instrument cable – or go through your favourite effects.

If your approach is a little more in-the-box, you could also take a ¼” line-out from your audio interface of choice and route that into the Lutefish. This will let you apply software effects and amp modelling to your guitar, while still going straight into the Lutefish – but keep an eye on your buffer size, as you’ll want to make sure you’re playing with the lowest latency possible.

Talkback only

In a pinch, you could simply engage the talkback microphone. This will also transmit your voice, so you won’t need to worry about leaning over to engage the talkback microphone.

There are a couple of downsides to this simpler setup, however – if you’re singing, you can’t balance your voice against your guitar, and depending on the space you’re in, this might lead to a bit of a boomy sound. It definitely won’t sound as good as using dedicated mics for your guitar and voice, or a built-in pickup.

Scheduling a jam session

First, make sure that you’ve connected with your bandmates on the Lutefish network by searching for their usernames and sending them a connect invite. You can schedule a Jam right from the main bar at the top of lutefish.com. Once you join a session on your device, you’ll be able to see your bandmates as if it’s a standard video call – but the audio will be going through the Lutefish Stream’s low-latency connection! This separate approach leaves as much bandwidth and processing power available for the most important part of any jam – the audio – to reach your bandmates’ ears unimpeded.

If you’ve picked a good setup for your instrument and your playing situation, you should have no trouble playing with your bandmates remotely. The Lutefish Stream can provide latency under 30ms, depending on connection speed and distance – which is great for a natural-feeling session. Once you’ve got a jam going, you can adjust your mix with the dedicated mixer panel, accessible via the controls in the top-right corner – or simply use the hardware gain controls to get the right balance. You can also add basic reverb effects, which is brilliant for elevating your guitar playing or singing and making a session feel even more real!

Find out more at lutefish.com.

The post Plug in and play 500 miles away: how to set up Lutefish for guitarists appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$69.99 (individual amps from $9.99), tone.net

People who work in pro recording studios spend all day every day doing creative stuff, surrounded by piles of top-quality gear – and they get paid for it. Is it any wonder they always seem to be so infuriatingly nice?

• READ MORE: Universal Audio Paradise Guitar Studio review – all the classic tones you need for home recording?

More importantly for the purposes of this review, studio professionals are the real experts when it comes to capturing the sounds of great guitar amplifiers. So in theory at least, when the people who run Heiga Studios in Miami decide to contribute a library of amp models to the ToneX digital platform, it should be seriously good.

Heiga Studios Amp Series For ToneX – what is it?

Just to be clear, this is not an app: ToneX is IK Multimedia’s modelling ecosystem, and the Heiga Studios Amp Series is simply a collection of extra sounds for it. So if you’re not using ToneX software or one of the ToneX pedals, you’re welcome to read the rest of this review but you might feel a bit like a pigeon fancier at a dog show.

As long as you are already on board the good ship ToneX, what you’re getting here – for a very reasonable price – is a total of 142 models captured from 10 of the amps in Heiga’s collection. Those amps are a Fender Twin Reverb, a Fender Hot Rod DeVille, a Vox AC30, a Roland JC-120, a Marshall JCM900, a Peavey 51050 II, a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo, a Fuchs Mantis, a Bogner Uberschall Rev Blue and – for the bass thwompers – an Aguilar Tone Hammer 700.

Notice anything? If you include the JCM900, five of the nine guitar amps are of the high-gain variety. That’s the kind of ratio that should have metalheads piqued.

Heiga Studios Amp Series For ToneX – sounds

I tested these sounds two ways: firstly by loading up the amps in the main ToneX desktop app and auditioning them through studio monitors; and secondly by using ToneX Editor to load two at a time into a ToneX One pedal then recording them. Initial setup via the IK Product Manager app was a faff, but that’s not Heiga’s fault… and the sounds themselves are glorious.

As a Vox obsessive, I had to start with the AC30 captures – and while only a tiny logo distinguishes the Heiga ones from IK’s own in ToneX Editor, telling them apart by ear is a lot easier. The factory sounds are pretty good, but the new ones are sublime: rich and lifelike at all levels of crunchiness, perhaps even better than the ones in UA Paradise Guitar Studio.

The clean stuff also has plenty of depth – this might be the first time I’ve actually enjoyed playing through a JC-120 – but the high-gain amps are where things get really impressive. There’s lots of tonal variety between the different models, and none of the oversaturated washiness that often characterises this kind of modelling: no matter how much bite you want or don’t want in the midrange, the top end always remains crisp yet smooth. I don’t think Heiga Studios is particularly associated with metal bands, but on this evidence maybe it should be.

Heiga Studios Amp Series For ToneX – should I buy it?

Just as my theory about studio professionals predicted, these amps sound top-class – so if you are a ToneX user and you fancy a realism upgrade, this library will absolutely provide it. The only pity is that it’s limited to one software system – a system that, incidentally, I wasn’t able to get working within my DAW of choice, Logic Pro. I’d love to see a standalone Heiga plugin, making these excellent models – especially the metally ones – easily available to everyone.

Heiga Studios Amp Series For ToneX alternatives

Last time I checked, there were 639 ‘tone partner’ collections for ToneX available through tone.net – so you might want to have a browse through that lot for a start. Otherwise, you have strong options for home recording in Positive Grid Bias X ($149) and Universal Audio Paradise Guitar Studio ($149).

The post IK Multimedia ToneX Heiga Studios Amp Series review – a collection of all-star amps taken from a world-class studio gives Tonex a serious quality boost appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Ross “The Boss” Friedman, guitarist and co-founder of The Dictators and Manowar has died at the age of 72.

Friedman passed away on 26 March, weeks after publicly disclosing that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). News of his death was confirmed via a statement posted to his official Instagram account.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of the Bronx’ own Ross ‘The Boss’, Friedman who died last night after battling ALS,” the statement reads. “A legendary guitarist and beloved father, his music and spirit impacted fans around the world as much as you impacted him. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support you all have shown throughout his career and especially these last few months.”

“His music meant everything to him & his guitar was his life’s breath,” it continues. “This insidious disease took that away from him. His legacy with The Dictators, Manowar, Ross the Boss Band and other collabs will live on forever in our hearts and ears.”

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Born in the Bronx, New York, Friedman emerged in the early 1970s as a co-founder of The Dictators alongside bassist and songwriter Andy Shernoff and rhythm guitarist Scott Kempner. Formed in 1972, the band became an early fixture of the city’s developing punk scene, releasing three albums during its initial run: The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! (1975), Manifest Destiny (1977) and Bloodbrothers (1978). Of those, Manifest Destiny reached the Billboard 200, marking the group’s only chart appearance.

Following his tenure with The Dictators, Friedman briefly performed with Shakin’ Street, who toured as a support act for Black Sabbath, before linking up with bassist Joey DeMaio to form Manowar in 1980. During his decade with the band, Friedman recorded on six studio albums, including 1988’s Kings of Metal, one of their most commercially successful releases.

In 1984, Manowar set the Guinness World Record for the loudest band in the world, a record they have since broken on multiple occasions.

Friedman left Manowar in 1989 but continued working steadily as both a recording and touring musician. He later fronted the Ross the Boss Band, revisiting material from across his catalogue, and played with a range of acts including Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom, The Hellacopters, The Nomads and The Brain Surgeons. He also reunited with The Dictators on several occasions, with the band releasing their sixth studio album in 2024.

Friedman was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History in 2017. A tribute from the organisation describes Ross as a “pioneering force in both punk and heavy metal”: “His powerful playing, unmistakable tone, and uncompromising spirit helped shape generations of musicians and fans around the world… From the raw energy of early punk to the epic scale of heavy metal, his work left a lasting mark on the genre and on everyone who experienced it.”

“Beyond his achievements on stage and in the studio, Ross was deeply respected by his peers and beloved by fans across continents. His legacy will live on through his music, his influence, and the countless lives he touched.”

The post Ross “The Boss” Friedman, pioneering Dictators and Manowar guitarist, dies aged 72 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Rush made their long-awaited return to stage at the 2026 Juno Awards, performing live for the first time in over 11 years. The appearance also marks the band’s first performance together since the death of drummer and lyricist Neil Peart in 2020.

• READ MORE: “The only thing that calms him down is to go eat a pig somewhere”: Rush’s Geddy Lee explains the secret of his enduring relationship with “emotional” Alex Lifeson

For the evening, frontman Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson were joined by new touring drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, who will also be part of Rush’s upcoming Fifty Something tour. Together, the band kicked off the ceremony with a surprise performance of Finding My Way, the opening track from Rush’s 1974 debut album.

Asked why they chose that particular song, Lee tells reporters [via Blabbermouth], “You really can’t ask us what song to play. If we have to choose one song, it’s almost impossible. We have so many. So we just asked management, and they said first song, first album.”

“Also, it’s the only song we know how to play,” Lifeson adds.

Rush will take this lineup on the road for the Fifty Something tour starting this June, with dates across Canada, the US, and Mexico. The initial 22 dates sold out immediately, prompting the addition of more shows. The tour now totals 58 shows across 24 cities, with over half a million tickets sold for 2026.

Sharing his excitement about the upcoming run, Lee says: “We can’t wait to get back to all these cities we haven’t played in so long, as well as hitting some new places we’ve yet to play. Both Alex and I are loving the hours of rehearsal time we’re spending with Anika and now Loren, learning around 40 songs which will enable us to keep the shows evolving, playing some different songs on different nights.”

“We are thrilled that many of our longstanding crew have come back to help us design the kind of Rush show that fans have grown accustomed to expect from us. We dearly hope you will come along and help us celebrate 50 years of Rush music, while giving Neil the long overdue tribute he so richly deserves.”

Watch Rush’s full Juno Awards performance below.

Check out the full list of dates for Rush’s Fifty Something reunion tour on the band’s official website.

The post Rush have performed for the first time since reforming – and you can watch it right now appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

When your entire set falls through at the very last minute, what do you do? Go out and perform some crowd-pleasing Jimi Hendrix covers, of course. That’s exactly what Paul Gilbert did when a health emergency rendered blues guitarist Albert Collins unable to join him onstage at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival back in 1991.

Despite the panic that coloured the few hours Gilbert had to practice the impromptu set, the unplanned tribute to Hendrix was a huge success. In fact, it was so good that it’s now being released digitally, to mark the 25 year anniversary of the marvellous set that happened by pure chance.

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Originally, Gilbert and Collins were set to headline the festival with a joint set. When Collins was forced to pull out, the promoters begged Gilbert to go out and perform regardless. “The promoter was panicking and asked me to be the headlining act instead,” Gilbert explains [via Guitar World]. “I didn’t have a band with me. And I didn’t have any solo material prepared.”

However, Gilbert improvised. He recruited a bassist and drummer from the band Ten Years After, and then the trio started brainstorming. They quickly discovered a common ground in Hendrix. “The only thing I could think to do was to quickly rehearse some Jimi Hendrix songs,” Gilbert admits.

The crux of the issue, however, was still the time restraints. So Gilbert came up with an ingenious plan: “I had to make the solos long enough to fill up a whole set… I told the promoter, ‘We only have time to learn 5 songs, so I’m going to have to play REALLY LONG SOLOS.’”

That’s how Gilbert and two parts of Ten Years After ended up onstage having only prepared five Hendrix songs. However, the limited setlist of Red House, Hey Joe, Highway Chile, Midnight and Purple Haze was scattered with plenty of long, self-indulgent solos – and it went down a storm. “It turned out great,” Gilbert recalls. “I don’t think I’ve ever played such long solos in my life!”

“In the end, the pressure of pulling everything together quickly in front of an audience,” he adds. “And being worry-free about endless guitar jamming may actually have brought me closer to Hendrix’s spirit than if I had planned everything while sitting in a chair.”

Gilbert goes on to praise Hendrix’s music for lending itself so well to a good ol’ jam. “Jimi’s songs are such great vehicles for jamming,” he notes. “His writing invites musicians to play with each other and listen to each other. The songs are flexible enough to allow musicians to keep their own style and still make the song work.”

Gilbert’s Tribute To Jimi Hendrix album is set to drop on 12 June. The first track, Purple Haze, is available now.

The post “I don’t think I’ve ever played such long solos in my life!”: Paul Gilbert’s unplanned 1991 tribute to Jimi Hendrix is being released digitally for the first time appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Today, Queen are globally recognised as one of the best-selling rock acts of all time. However, things were very different back in the early 1970s. When the now-rock legends were recording their 1973 debut, there was no guarantee it would be a hit – so the entire period of recording at Soho’s Trident Studios was a “terrifying”, high-stakes process.

Without the ability to see into the future, the young band had no clue of the success that lie ahead. As a result, it meant that every second of their self-titled debut mattered – it had to be all killer, no filler. “We were ludicrously compliant on the first album because we were terrified that it was going to be out only chance to record,” guitarist Brian May tells Uncut.

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With the pressure well and truly on, Queen would put everything into their two year stint recording in Trident Studios between 1971 and 1972. And it was a respectable studio for a young band to be using – David Bowie, Lou Reed and Paul McCartney were also all using the studio across the same period. However, they had a far less glamorous experience, having to settle on cheaper, late-night slots.

“We’d start our sessions near midnight,” drummer Roger Taylor recalls. “By six in the morning we’d have to reset everything in the studio ready for whoever had booked in the next day.”

As a result, it meant that 1973’s Queen left the band slightly unsatisfied. Inspired by the Beatles’ knack for “using the studio as an instrument”, Queen also wanted to have full reign over the studio layout – but having to reset things every evening meant they were unable to do so. “We wanted drums that throbbed and reverberated and soaked into the rest of the studio, which meant reorganising the entire space around the drum kit,” Taylor explains.

“That’s the big difference between Queen and Queen II,” he continues. “The second album is the sound of us starting to get the sound we wanted.”

It’s a sentiment shared by May. “Queen II was the first time we could behave as if the studio belonged to us,” he says. “We’d been rehearsing ourselves to death, and by this point we are very ready. All this stuff is already prepared, we just have to fulfil the promise that was in our heads.”

Despite coming just one year after their debut, 1974’s Queen II was far more grandiose and ambitious. The cover art alone has stood the test of time, with the artwork serving as the most iconic snap of the band to this day. “We weren’t turning up and plugging in and playing, as we did on the first album,” May notes.

This involved whacky moves like bassist John Deacon crafting a DIY amp from a radio speaker from a recycled circuit board, a device that captured a sound not unlike a synth. “We were finally able to orchestrate these huge arrangements that were in my head. We were able to build orchestras in the sky.”

The post “We were ludicrously compliant”: Brian May looks back on why Queen were “terrified” recording their first album appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Ah, yes. The perpetual analogue vs digital guitar gear debate. It divides the guitar community like few other topics, with prominent and well-qualified voices on both sides.

Last month, Analog Man legend Mike Piera weighed in on digital guitar gear and amp modellers, saying those who use them are missing out on a huge part of guitar tone. He added that digital amp modellers are “not any fun”. 

Meanwhile, Joe Bonamassa recently questioned the cool factor of digital gear, pondering whether Eddie Van Halen would have made the same splash were he using a Neural DSP Quad Cortex instead of vintage analogue gear. JoBo is, of course, an avid vintage gear collector – with two physical locations in Nashville and LA housing his vast collection – but we’ll park that for now…

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But not everyone is married to the idea that vintage is always better; in November, AFI guitarist Jade Puget revealed he’d ditched tube amps in favour of a digital Line 6 Helix as the former made him feel “constrained”.

Yep, the pool of digital converts is expanding, but don’t count the Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson among them quite yet.

In a new interview in the latest print issue of Guitar World, Robinson says that digital amp modellers are “getting close, but you can never account for the physics of a room”.

He explains: “What’s the humidity like? What’s the oxygen level like? Are you at high altitude or low altitude? What’s the shape of the room? Where is the microphone being placed? All of these things can have a big effect on your sound.

“Your tone that comes out will always be what it is, but everything else needs to be taken into consideration. 

“Then there’s the feeling aspect. You have this symbiotic relationship with your amp. You’re literally connected to it. You’re plugged in and feeling that. It’s vibrating the floor and you’re hearing it, feeling it and playing with it. I think that’s when it becomes like this big oscillation. You’re in it.”

Part of Robinson’s favour of analogue gear over digital is his dislike of computers, as he explains.

“The whole purpose of rock ‘n’ roll is to [play with] abandon. It could go off the rails at any time. If everybody is on a computer listening to a click track playing their music around the light show rather than the actual songs, there’s no chance of greatness or failure… There’s nothing more boring than sitting at a computer.”

The Black Crowes have a series of tour dates planned throughout 2026, making stops in Australia, Japan, the US, and Europe. For tickets and a full list of dates, head to their official website. They also have a new album out, A Pound of Feathers. Check out one of its singles, Profane Prophecy, below:

The post “They’re getting close, but you can never account for the physics of a room”: Why the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson isn’t yet a amp modeller convert appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

How much of a threat to musicians is AI? It’s been the subject of intense debate in the last year or more, and guitarist Zakk Wylde reckons there’s actually not that much to be worried about.

In a recent Q&A session, the Black Label Society frontman and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist called AI a “fun” tool, but dispelled fears that it could actually replace human artists. “You can’t replace what’s coming out of Ozzy’s mind,” he said.

And now, Wylde has doubled down on his assertion that AI isn’t as scary as some make it out to be, telling Qobuz [via Blabbermouth]: “To me, it’s no big deal.”

• READ MORE: Zakk Wylde says the riff for Miracle Man was inspired by this classic Jimi Hendrix song

Specifically talking about AI music generators which are trained on large datasets to come up with music based on simple user prompts, Wylde says: “Whoever the artist is that you love, whether it’s Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, you’ll never be able to replace what’s gonna come out of Tony [Iommi’s] riffs, what Geezer [Butler] is gonna write lyrically, what Bill [Ward] is gonna play, what melodies Ozzy’s gonna sing, because they’re creating it.”

He continues: “But I get it. I mean, if AI listens to all of Ozzy’s melodies and gets a feel for what Ozzy’s style is, and then hears Tony’s riffs and then it could hear the tendencies Bill plays, certain fills he does, and the way Geezer plays bass, and it listens to the lyrics… and it comes up with something, it’d be no different than a songwriter trying to come up with something that Black Sabbath would write.”

He says the same principle applies to an AI algorithm trying to replicate the music of Jimi Hendrix, for example.

“Everyone’s terrified of [AI],” Wylde goes on. “I just think you can’t take away what’s in the mind of Jimi Hendrix… You can try and emulate it. 

“All I look at it is the computer is just giving a compliment to the sound of whatever band that they’re trying to [emulate], like the Eagles or something, [and write a song like Desperado or Hotel California].

“It doesn’t bother me, because I’m still gonna buy the record from the Eagles.

Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society are currently on tour in the US. Check out the band’s website for tickets and more details.

The post “It’s no different than a songwriter trying to come up with something Black Sabbath would write”: Why Zakk Wylde feels AI-generated music is “no big deal” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$2,749/£2,549, taylorguitars.com

You have to admit, it has been a bit weird looking at the full range of Taylor acoustic guitars over the last few decades without seeing a single square-shoulder dreadnought in the USA-made offering.

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Sure, the stripped-down Mexico-made Academy series offered one, and Taylor re-released a limited run of the 810e to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary a few years back. But that guitar felt more like a nostalgic glance in the rear-view mirror rather than a new direction.

Taylor’s apparent reticence in the dreadnought department is understandable though. The success of the round-shouldered Grand Pacific design – arguably a much more versatile guitar than the classic dread – meant that another big body chugger was surplus to requirements. So what’s changed? Well, it’s time to unpack the new Taylor Gold Label 510E and see if it’s still hip to be square.

Taylor Gold Label 510E – what is it?

Taylor’s Gold Label series has gone from a retro indulgence to a fan favourite in a remarkably short space of time. The combination of 1930s-inspired visuals – including a tweaked headstock design and inlays – coupled with some typically forward-thinking under-the-hood design, and well-judged wood choices, has definitely had an impact on the acoustic scene.

Since I first checked out the range, I’ve been looking forward to seeing where the Gold Label goes next. I must admit, I was surprised when the answer was to adopt a shape that Taylor’s core line seemed to have left behind a long time ago, but given the Gold Label’s ethos of looking back at classic techniques and influences, perhaps it shouldn’t have been.

The 510e is a non-cutaway dreadnought with solid neo-tropical mahogany back and sides, and a solid, torrified Sitka spruce top. The neo-tropical mahogany neck features a West African crelicam ebony fingerboard, and it joins the body at the 14th fret as all classic square-shouldered dreads should be. Not so traditional, however, is the fact that the guitar is built around a 25.5” scale length – making it a touch longer than the Martin D-18. Interesting.

The Next Generation Grand Auditorium guitars have seen Taylor start to move away from the venerable ES2 pickup system, but while those guitars make use of the new in-house Claria system, the Gold Labels have always been spec’d with an LR Baggs Element VTC active pickup – that continues here. This boasts an onboard low-frequency compressor “tuned specifically to the natural texture of acoustic guitar tone,” according to Taylor, which is going to make things interesting.

Taylor Gold Label 510E – build quality and playability

Part Gibson J-50, part Collings or Bourgeois, the Gold Label 510e is a pleasing aesthetic mash-up that feels more posh, small workshop than pawnshop weird. The golden Sitka top, minimalist inlay design and fire stripe pickguard – albeit without the banjo-inspired art nouveau motif – all promise a sound and playing experience that veers from the uber-clean and precise vibe of a typical Taylor guitar.

The neo-tropical mahogany back and sides look inviting under the gloss finish. There is some striping reminiscent of sapele but it’s good-looking stuff. Although subtle, the body of this guitar is actually a touch deeper than a standard dread. How much difference this makes to the sound remains to be seen but it certainly feels comfortable against the body.

This model features Taylor’s Action Control Neck design, which allows for quick and easy fine-tuning of the action in a matter of seconds, without the need for a visit to a guitar tech. In fact if you buy the right bendy screwdriver off Amazon, you can do it yourself in a few seconds without even having to detune the guitar.

For touring players this is a godsend, and it’s another step forward in easy maintenance that has been such a hallmark of Taylor’s innovation over the last few decades. Despite the fancy engineering under the hood, Taylor necks always feel good. The Gold Label series version feels a little meatier than the standard issue but that could just be the power of suggestion.

This guitar features Taylor’s V-Class bracing which – like so many innovations before it – continues to divide opinion. Whereas personality is subjective, response is not. This is a lively and engaging guitar and the bracing may well be part of that.

Taylor Gold Label 510E – sounds

A mahogany dreadnought is just crying out for some big pick energy and with a BlueChip in hand, it’s time to dig in. As expected, the Gold Label 510e absolutely loves this. Big strums, liquid leads and fat G-runs. This is a very good time indeed.

There’s a lot of power and headroom to explore coupled with a pleasingly wide timbral range from the bridge to the end of the fretboard, which emphasises the fundamental of the note without denying us some of those good overtones. The initial attack may come across as a touch rounded if you’re used to the immediacy of a rosewood dread, but that is the nature of the beast.

Played fingerstyle in standard tuning, the Gold Label 510e is a little less happy. This is still a very young instrument, of course – fresh from the production line to my studio. Thumbpick enthusiasts will still find a lot to be happy about, but if you play softly with bare flesh, it can feel like steering an oil tanker.

Given that Taylor’s first foray into Gold Label dreads was a near-identical signature model for all-world flatpicker Trey Hensley, perhaps none of this should surprise anyone. Thankfully, the Taylor range is packed with dedicated fingerstyle instruments, and some of them are in the Gold Label series too.

Dropping the machine into DADGAD yields predictable results. The sympathetic resonance and lower frequencies immediately make the guitar sound more lush and open – the sustain envelope is smooth along the neck and there is no evidence of wolf tones or dead notes.

Any guitar with an E in the name is begging to be plugged in, so I ease the Gold Label 510e into a Fishman Solo Amp. The Baggs VTC element system is based on an undersaddle piezo pickup. The interesting bit of VTC is the C, which stands for compression. Yes, this pickup system has an in-built proprietary analogue compressor that operates below 400Hz. The soundhole-mounted volume and treble tone controls are easily accessible.

Plugged in, I am greeted with a pokey sound that still leans into the ping of the attack but can deliver warmth behind the initial transient. It’s not the cooked quack of an older piezo, but it lacks the warmth of something like a K+K. This will sit beautifully in a band mix, despite being a touch aggressive for a solo player without some gentle EQ shaping from the amp.

Taylor Gold Label 510E – should I buy one?

The Taylor Gold Label 510e is priced keenly. It’s considerably cheaper than its main competition and forefather – the Martin D-18 – and the other obvious mahogany choice, the Gibson Hummingbird. Aesthetically, it manages to sit in the middle of those two venerable ancestors, but the sound is still very Taylor.

While the unfinished bridge and internal glue blobs are a little scruffy for this company, they do fit the idiom, and this is a welcome addition to the world of the mahogany square-shoulder dreadnoughts.

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Taylor Gold Label 510E – alternatives

There is no shortage of quality square-shouldered dreadnought options out there, of course, but as mentioned above, the Gold Label 510e does offer a significant value proposition against the non-electro Martin D-18 ($2,999 / £3,199, the D-18e is currently discontinued) and the Gibson Hummingbird ($3,999 / £3,799). One truly exceptional guitar that can compete on the price front is the Bourgeois Touchstone Country Boy (£2,650), which utilises a hybrid US/Chinese build process to produce a truly stupendous boutique guitar at a more real-world price.

The post Taylor Gold Label 510e review: “Taylor’s return to the dreadnought is crying out for some big pick energy” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.



This week, the Fretboard Journal’s Sofia Wolfson talks to Tulsa, Oklahoma-based songwriter Ramsey Thornton. Ramsey is a multi-instrumentalist with a love for both banjo and guitar. In fact, he’s one of those rare individuals who boasts a graduate degree in banjo!

We hear all about it and about Ramsey’s forthcoming debut album, I Called It! 

Follow Ramsey here: https://www.instagram.com/ramsey.thornton/

Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Register today: https://fretboardsummit.org

We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com

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The post Podcast 541: Ramsey Thornton first appeared on Fretboard Journal.