Music is the universal language
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
General Interest
Peterson Launches StroboStomp EVH
The Gig Behind the Gig: Nobody Auditions Anymore
A guitarist in his 20s recently told me something that rearranged how I think about this whole business. He's auditioned exactly once in his life. One time, at the very beginning. Every single gig since then has come a different way.
I should mention that I'm not exactly in a position to act surprised. I haven’t auditioned for anything in years myself. At some point the phone just started ringing on its own. A gig would end and another would appear, almost always because someone I’d worked with knew someone who needed a player and my name came up in a text thread I never saw. I always chalked that up to time served. You pay your dues, you build a reputation, and eventually the auditions stop because the work comes to you.
But this kid hadn’t put in 30 years. He’d barely started. And he’d already skipped the part of the process I always assumed was mandatory.
At first, I just thought he’d gotten lucky, or that he was so good that word had spread quicker than usual. But that’s not what he described at all. What he described was, essentially, a life. He went to jams. He hung around clubs. He met people who loved the same music he loved, and he made friends with them, both in person and online. He used social media not to audition for strangers but to show what he was into, what he could do, the specific corners of music that lit him up.
And those friends, over time, became the entire engine of his career. Every call he got came from someone in that web of genuine relationships. Not connections. I hate that word—it makes what I’m talking about sound like a transaction, like collecting business cards at a conference. This was the opposite of that. These were real friendships built on a shared love of music, and the work was a byproduct, not the goal.
That distinction matters more than almost anything else I could tell you. People can smell the difference between someone who wants something from them and someone who genuinely loves the same things they do. One is exhausting. The other is the beginning of a friendship. And friendships, it turns out, are how most gigs actually happen now.
The thing that struck me most was his range. He wasn’t trying to be the best at one narrow thing. He was openly, almost joyfully curious about everything—country, indie, r&b, pop, the weirder stuff at the edges. That curiosity wasn’t a strategy. It was just who he was. But it had a side effect: Because he loved so many types of music, he could talk to anybody, play with anybody, and fit into almost any situation.
A genuine love of music and an honest curiosity about styles outside your lane will open more doors than any single skill you can name. Not because it’s clever positioning but because it makes you the kind of musician other musicians want in the room. The player who lights up when someone puts on a record they’ve never heard is a lot more fun to tour with than the one waiting for their solo.
Then there's the part that really separates the players who work from the players who wait. This guitarist doesn’t sit around hoping to be hired. He solves problems.
He related a typical scenario to me: A new artist wants to play live, but the budget is small. A full band is out of the question. Most players would hear that and walk away because there’s no gig there. He hears it and says, I can fix that. He takes the artist's tracks, drops them into Ableton, arranges them for the stage, pulls out the guitar parts, and shows up as a one-man band. Problem solved. The artist gets a live show they can afford, and he gets the gig he just invented out of thin air.
“The player who lights up when someone puts on a record they’ve never heard is a lot more fun to tour with than the one waiting for their solo.”
That’s the whole game right there. He didn’t audition for that. There was nothing to audition for. He looked at a problem somebody had and made himself the answer.
I came up in a different era, when the audition was the front door and you’d better know how to walk through it. That skill still matters, and I’ll always believe in being prepared. But I’d be lying if I told you the front door is where most of the action is anymore.
The action is at the jam. In the club. In the comments under a video posted by someone who loves the same obscure record you do. It’s in being a real person who genuinely loves this stuff, who’s curious beyond their own lane, and who, when someone describes a problem, leans in instead of backing away.
So if you’re young and waiting for the audition that’s going to change your life, I have slightly inconvenient news: It may not be coming. Something better might be, though, and it starts with putting down the practice routine for a night, going to where the music is, and making an actual friend.
Turns out that’s been the real audition all along. We just didn’t call it that.
Coffee Table Book 'Playable Art: A Life with Guitars' Features Evocative Photos And Stories
If you’re the kind of guitarist who enjoys eye candy and more, take note: A new coffee table book featuring stunning photos has arrived just in time for the holidays.
Playable Art: A Life with Guitars by author Errol Antzis explores the instruments, people and experiences that have shaped his musical life. And it contains stories that will be highly relatable for just about anyone who has a lifelong love of the guitar.
Ask a guitarist about a favorite instrument, and the answer often goes well beyond pickups, tonewoods, and neck profiles. There’s the first guitar, the one that got away, the unlikely find—and the one that will never be sold. For musician and collector Errol Antzis, those stories span more than 50 years.
Drawing on a collection of approximately 230 instruments, Antzis brings a player’s perspective and a collector’s curiosity to guitars that caught his attention for the way they look, feel, and play. His interests range from familiar makers to adventurous designs and instruments overlooked by the wider market.
Photographer Michelle Blum gives the collection an equally personal visual treatment. Working with Antzis’s home, grounds, artwork, and furnishings, as well as nearby locations, she places guitars within landscapes and interiors that invite readers to consider their shapes, materials, and character. The photographs bring humor and a sense of discovery to instruments ordinarily seen on a stand or against a plain backdrop.
“What makes this collection unusual is not the presence of celebrity guitars or textbook vintage classics,” Antzis writes in the book’s Introduction. “These are instruments that spoke to me.”
The journey began at age 14 with a used Hagstrom III purchased from an older neighbor for $30. Antzis stripped and refinished it himself. A Les Paul Custom followed, with his parents’ support, and remains in his collection today.
The book follows those connections through individual instruments. Stories include an aluminum Jackson Roswell Rhoads that sharpened Antzis’s appreciation of guitars as art, instruments he created with his daughter, and a signed Yamaha tied to a visit with Michael Jackson’s family. Contributions from Grammy-winning musicians and well-known luthiers add perspectives from the people who play and build the instruments.
Antzis also shares the less orderly side of collecting: changing tastes, purchases reconsidered, guitars sold and later missed. In one account, he decides that 250 guitars are too many and consigns 50 for sale—reasoning that he “only” needs 200.
The guitars have a sound beyond the page too. Readers are directed to Antzis’s Psychoteria recordings to hear music made with instruments that appear in the book. He continues to play, write, and record, maintaining the connection between collecting guitars and making music with them.
“But collecting isn’t just about acquiring objects,” Antzis writes. “At its best, it’s about connections: with history, with beauty, and with kindred spirits.”
For guitarists who remember their first instrument, still search for an elusive model or regret letting a favorite go, Playable Art offers a fellow enthusiast’s account of the pursuit—and the pleasure of living with the guitars that make it worthwhile. And those who are not players will also be fascinated by the photos, the stories, and the passion that are evidenced in the book.
Errol Antzis’ book Playable Art: A Life with Guitars is available for $95 plus shipping. For more information visit https://errolantzis.com/playable-art-guitar-book/
JVC Introduces HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece Wireless Earbuds
Finally: premium earbuds designed with guitarists in mind. JVC has introduced the HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece, a flagship set of true wireless earbuds built for listeners who want natural sound, immersive playback, and premium construction. Utilizing Bluetooth 5.4, the earbuds combine the company’s genuine wood-diaphragm technology with active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and electric-guitar-inspired styling.
Sound:
At the heart of the HA-FW5100T is JVC’s genuine wood diaphragm, intended to reproduce warm, natural sound with depth and clarity. A dot-and-convex pattern on the driver minimizes internal reflections, so the earbuds can reproduce clear, refined sound.
JVC’s proprietary K2 technology upscales any audio source to near hi-res quality. It automatically restores digital detail lost in compression, aiming to bring playback closer to the original master recording on any device.
The earbuds’ Dynamic Spatial Audio feature is built on JVC’s proprietary EXOFIELD technology. It recreates the acoustic environment of a JVC recording studio for a spacious, three-dimensional soundstage.
To fine-tune playback further, the JVC app creates personalized correction filters that tailor sound reproduction to each listener. The earbuds also offer 10 sound modes, developed under the supervision of studio engineering experts. Five are conventional modes (Flat, Bass, Clear, Dynamic, and Vocal), and five are presets tuned by studio engineers, giving listeners a range of ways to hear their music.
Design and Comfort:
The HA-FW5100T takes its visual cues from iconic electric guitars, with a premium finish and durable construction. It combines that guitar-inspired look with JVC’s wood-diaphragm technology and acoustic engineering, and the earbuds play a guitar note when powered on. JVC says their accurate sound reproduction makes them well suited to listening to and monitoring music demos.
For comfort, the Spiral Dot Pro SF earpieces use a newly developed oval, low-profile umbrella shape. They provide a secure, natural fit that stays put during extended listening sessions, and they’re designed to reduce ear fatigue and improve stability.
Noise Cancellation:
A dedicated active noise cancellation IC provides flexible filter configuration and fast, accurate processing to boost ANC performance. The newly developed Spiral Dot Pro SF earpieces improve the seal for better noise-canceling performance and sound quality.
Calls and Microphones:
A high-SNR microphone from Knowles lowers the noise floor and makes subtle sounds more distinct. JVC’s AI-powered call noise reduction uses high-performance MEMS microphones to capture surrounding sound. AI analyzes that sound in real time to separate human voices and essential ambient sounds from unwanted noise. Even in loud environments, the system identifies the speaker’s voice and keeps calls clear, which helps with focus during online meetings and remote work.
Battery Life:
The earbuds provide up to 10.5 hours of playback on a single charge, and the charging case supplies an additional 21 hours.
Key Features:
- Genuine wood diaphragm for warm, natural sound with depth and clarity
- Dot-and-convex driver pattern that minimizes internal reflections
- K2 technology that upscales any source to near hi-res quality
- Dynamic Spatial Audio based on JVC’s EXOFIELD technology
- Personalized sound correction via the JVC app
- 10 sound modes: Flat, Bass, Clear, Dynamic, and Vocal, plus five studio-engineer-tuned presets
- Dedicated ANC IC with flexible filter configuration
- AI-powered call noise reduction with high-performance MEMS microphones
- High-SNR Knowles microphone
- Spiral Dot Pro SF earpieces with an oval, low-profile umbrella design
- Electric-guitar-inspired styling with a guitar-note power-on sound
- Up to 10.5 hours of playback, plus 21 hours from the charging case
The JVC HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece is available in Piano Black and Sunburst Brown finishes, with a street price of $299.95. For more information visit jvc.com/usa/headphones/true-wireless-earbuds/wo…
HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece
Finally: premium earbuds designed with guitarists in mind. JVC has introduced the HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece, a flagship set of true wireless earbuds built for listeners who want natural sound, immersive playback, and premium construction. Utilizing Bluetooth 5.4, the earbuds combine the company’s genuine wood-diaphragm technology with active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and electric-guitar-inspired styling.
“F**king shameful behaviour” boutique builder slams Behringer’s plan to release 300 $15 pedals to “disrupt” the pedal industry
Behringer has never been shy about shaking up the gear world, but its latest announcement didn’t quite land with those who make pedals for a living.
In a recent social media post, the company opened with a mock apology: “Dear guitar players. We owe you an apology.” It said it had been “so busy disrupting synthesizers, mixers and DJ gear” that it forgot about guitarists.
Its fix is 200 to 300 all-metal analog and digital pedals at $10 to $15 each. The range will run “from legendary legacy pedals to wildly innovative new designs,” including open-source pedals players can hack and modify themselves.
The post then raised the question itself: “will this upset a few boutique pedal manufacturers? Probably. Sorry about that,” it answered, with a laughing emoji, before adding that the photo of the pedals attached to the post was “just the beginning.”
For London-based builder Intensive Care Audio (ICA), the joke didn’t land. The team reposted Behringer’s announcement to their Instagram story with a caption: “Behringer openly joking about destroying small independent builders. This is fucking shameful behaviour.”
In a separate post, they laid out what the pressure feels like from the workshop floor. “Running a small operation like this is becoming increasingly difficult due to a wide range of complicated issues,” they wrote. “It feels like everything is against us right now. The last thing we need is a giant, faceless multinational company gleefully revelling in destroying the livelihoods of thousands of small builders.”
They also questioned where the designs come from. “Behringer did not design these circuits for the most part. They did not live on a shoe string budget to carry on doing what they love,” the post continued. “Things like this make it hard to want to bother carrying on.”
That last line will worry anyone who values the independent pedal scene. ICA was founded in 2020 and has built a name on characterful designs like the Fideleater lo-fi chorus and the Vena Cava Filter, the latter of which has been spotted on the pedalboard of IDLES guitarist Lee Kiernan.
Behringer’s critics have long argued that its model rests on copying other people’s work, a charge that has already led to legal disputes, including one with Klon. Its defenders say it puts classic sounds within reach of players who could never afford the originals and that many of its clone targets are long out of production. Behringer’s own post leans on the latter: “great tone should come from your fingers, not your credit card.”
The pricing is particularly provocative at a time when boutique builders – especially those based in the USA – are struggling to survive thanks to tariffs and other increased costs, though smaller builders all over the world are facing reduced margins due to the general state of the global economy.
Pricing like this is only possible at huge manufacturing volumes, something that a small workshop in North London simply cannot match, however good the designs are. What remains unclear is how many of the 200 to 300 pedals will be direct copies and how many will be original.
Behringer isn’t being shy about what their intention is here, posting in the comments underneath the post, “Tell us which pedal you’d love us to make next! And if you have the schematics, even better! We’re listening. Legendary classics, analog, digital, or something completely crazy. If the community wants it, we’re happy to build it.”
How many of those new pedals will impact the business of the boutique effects makers that have driven so much of the innovation behind the effects boom of the last decade remains to be seen, but clearly these small makers are apprehensive about the situation.
The post “F**king shameful behaviour” boutique builder slams Behringer’s plan to release 300 $15 pedals to “disrupt” the pedal industry appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Fender’s new Pokémon Stratocaster and Telecaster feature built-in effects that make your guitar sound like an 8-bit videogame
Fender and The Pokémon Company have announced two limited made in Japan electric guitars to mark the 30th anniversary of Pokémon: a “Red Version” Stratocaster and a “Green Version” Telecaster, each featuring an onboard ‘8-bit sound system’.
In practice, this seems to be an onboard heavily gated fuzz that is activated with a discreet press of a button on the volume knob, but the effect is rather effective in practice, as the below demo video illustrates, creating tones that are reminiscent of the original GameBoy soundtrack.
The guitars take their visual cues from the original Pokémon Red and Green games, which launched in Japan in 1996 (and were later released as Red and Blue internationally), with GameBoy-accurate pixel-art graphics across the body. In a nice nod to the chunky 8-bit graphics of the original, the classic Strat and Tele pickguards have been given a blocky edge, and both show a fluorescent-like effect when viewed from different angles.
Both guitars also include a custom neck plate engraved with an exclusive 30th anniversary pixel-art logo, an illustrated certificate of authenticity, a dedicated hard case and a collectible pick tin containing 11 picks, ten with Pokémon pixel-art designs and one commemorating the anniversary.
The catch is that these Made In Japan limited editions cost ¥396,000 (around $2,600) and will only be available in Japan, sold via a lottery-based sales programme on Pokémon Center Online. Applications open at 12:00pm JST on November 19 2026 and close at 4:59pm JST on November 24. Lottery results will be announced on the site at a later date.
Shipping is available within Japan only and is expected in late December 2026. For other regions, Fender and Pokémon Center say to check their respective official websites, however, no international pricing or availability has been confirmed.
The collaboration marks two anniversaries at once. Pokémon Red Version and Green Version first arrived in Japan in 1996 and Fender, founded in 1946, is in its 80th year. The guitars are announced by Pokémon Center Co Ltd, the company behind the official Pokémon stores and Fender Music Corporation Japan.
“For 80 years, Fender has helped generations express themselves through music, while Pokémon has inspired creativity and imagination around the world,” said Giorgio Guerrini, President of Fender Asia Pacific. He described bringing the two brands together as “a natural celebration of that shared spirit.”
Fender has been on one with Japan-centric pop-culture collabs in recent years. Earlier this year the brand launched both Pac-Man and Godzilla tie-in guitars, while a few years back they also did a Monster Hunter team-up, and relaunched the iconic Hello Kitty guitar with an entire range of tie-in products.
Find out more at Pokemon Center Online.
The post Fender’s new Pokémon Stratocaster and Telecaster feature built-in effects that make your guitar sound like an 8-bit videogame appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Fractal Audio’s Axe-Fx III is getting NAM support and a built-in TONE 3000 browser
Over the last few months, the open-source Neural Amp Modeler amp capture technology has radically redrawn the landscape of digital modelling, and now one of the OGs of the game, Fractal Audio, has announced users will be able to use NAM captures on their hardware.
In a press release, Tone3000 – the online community that acts as a database for NAM captures – announced that it has partnered with Fractal Audio to bring NAM’s highest fidelity A2 captures to the Axe-Fx III, with the feature arriving on Fractal’s upcoming firmware 33 update.
The news caps off a remarkable few months for the open-source NAM technology. While previously bringing high-fidelity captures to affordable practice from the likes of Blackstar, Valeton and Lava Music, the A2 technology – which offered a significant improvement in sound and feel – has become a phenomenon that is rapidly rewriting the book of high-end modelling.
Headrush got the ball rolling by adding full A2 support to all of its current gen modeller pedals, and that was followed on by the Darkglass Anagram becoming the first dedicated NAM A2 product at launch.
Tone 3000 has since launched its own plugin to work with most DAWs, while Two Notes’ Genome amp software updated with NAM A2 support in version 2.0. Zoom announced a brand new NAM A2-powered pedal, the Neurig, just a few weeks ago, while its also emerged that Fender is trying to integrate A2 captures into its Tone Master workstation.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fractal being the first of the Big Four high-end modeller brands (alongside Neural DSP, Kemper and Line 6) to add NAM functionality to their hardware feels like another significant moment for the concept.
With the new firmware, Fractal owners will be able to load NAM A2 captures through a new NAM Player block. They can also search and install tones directly through the TONE3000 library inside Axe-Edit III, the processor’s free editor software, so there’s no need to download files and transfer them by hand. Firmware 33 will be a free update for all Axe-Fx III owners.
Using the library will require firmware 33.0 or newer and Axe-Edit III version 1.15.03 or later. Users can sign in with a TONE3000 account and search by sound or gear type, browse popular captures and creators and install straight into the unit. Existing TONE3000 users will find their previous downloads and favourites under “Your Tones”. The integrations runs on the TONE3000 API, so new community uploads should appear as soon as they are shared.
What the NAM Player block does is let NAM captures sit alongside the rest of the Axe-Fx III’s toolset. A capture can be paired with DynaCab speaker simulation or a cab IR, then combined with Fractal’s drive, modulation and other effects. The block also includes modelled analogue tone stacks with Bass, Mid and Treble controls, plus adjustable Bright and Bright Cap parameters.
With firmware 33, a preset can run two NAM Player blocks in A2 Full mode. Each block has four channels, allowing up to eight captures per preset. A preset using NAM Player blocks can also inclue one conventional Amp block. On non-Turbo units, the second NAM Player drops to Lite mode in that configuration. The units can store 256 captures or 128 on original Mark I models.
Image: Adam Gasson
Mark I owners should be aware that firmware 33 repurposes User Cab Bank 2 for NAM storage, so any IRs saved there should be backed up before updating. Fractal has also teamed up with Amalgram Audio to supply a free starter bank of captures.
Capture utility on the way
The companies say they’re working on a NAM capture utility within Axe-Edit for the Axe-Fx III, though no timeframe has been given. In the meantime, owners can use the unit as an audio interface and follow TONE3000’s existing capture process.
The update also brings a new Cygnus X-4 amp model, a reworked Drive block with remastered pedal modes and 13 new DynaCabs, including two “Pre-Rola” cabinets. The Pitch block has been upgraded with new Formant controls to improve Virtual Capo performance and the Flanger, Reverb, Plex, Filter and Megatap blocks have also been refined.
Background
Fractal Audio was founded in 2006 by Cliff Chase and made its name with the original Axe-Fx. Over the past two decades it has become a favourite among some of the most celebrated guitarists including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, John Mayer, Metallica and The Edge. The company’s own modelling recreates amp circuits component by component, whereas NAM uses a neural network to learn the responses of specific amp, pedal or signal chain at fixed settings.
TONE3000, formerly known as ToneHunt, says NAM A2 scored closest to real gear in a blind listening test of more than 1,000 participants using the MUSHRA (Multiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor) method. The announcement follows TONE3000’s recent integrations with Zoom’s NEURIG multi-effects pedal and Moises Studio.
Learn more at tone3000.com
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Martin 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa review: “Forget the name on the label, this is a great guitar”
$1,299/£1,329, martinguitar.com
There are few more widely feted guitar gear connoisseurs in the modern musical firmament than Joe Bonamassa. In addition to being one of the modern stars of blues guitar, JoBo approaches vintage gear collecting with a passion rarely seen – simply put, Joe knows what he’s talking about when it comes to old guitars.
This has made Bonamassa a frequent collaborator on very popular and well-regarded signature gear, from expensive custom shop instruments to affordable guitars (Joe recently claimed that he’d sold 25,000 Gibson and Epiphone signature models) – he’s even got a signature Tone Master amp now.
Joe’s had plenty of signature electric guitars over the years, but acoustic guitars have been less plentiful and rather harder to get hold of. Back in 2024, Joe partnered with Martin on a recreation of his beloved 1941 000-45, but that was $20,000 and limited to just 45 units.
Now, however, Martin has launched another signature collaboration with JoBo, and this one’s a lot more attainable – not least because there’s two of them. Based upon his 1937 00-18, the new Joe Bonamassa models comprise one US-made guitar, but also a more affordable Mexico-made version.
Martin has been doing this a lot with artists and their signature models lately – the likes of Billy Strings, Jeff Tweedy, Jason Isbell and Molly Tuttle have all done it in the last year or two, and it’s a great idea.
Because let’s not beat around the bush here, at nearly $4,000, the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa is still a serious investment for most of us, but the $1,299 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa? Well that’s a lot more intriguing…
Image: Press
What Is It?
Like all of Martin’s other more affordable signature guitars, the 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa is made in Martin’s Navojoa factory in Mexico – which has been making budget guitars for the brand for over three decades.
Now, the Tuttle and Strings signature guitars were both part of Martin’s most affordable X-Series line, and used the instruments from that range as their base. But Joe – gear appreciator that he is – has opted to have his affordable signature come from the more upmarket Road Series.
The Road Series means that you get all-solid construction – in this case a spruce top with sapele back and sides – while the Retro designation means you get nice little vintage-y touches like nickel open-gear tuners, Old Style 18 inlays, and an ebony bridge and fingerboard.
The finish is the thing that’s going to catch the eye most readily, however. Applied to the top of this 14-fret 00 body is a rather fetching sunburst – or a Shade Top in traditional Martin parlance. This is no ordinary burst however, as this 1937 Joe Bonamassa Sunburst (yep that’s what they call it) is a printed recreation of the wear pattern of Joe’s actual 1937 original.
The concept of artificial ageing is a polarising one in the guitar world, but the way Martin does it – by digitally printing a wear pattern onto the wood – is one that Martin has got pretty good at, having previously used it on the Navojoa-made Junior Series Streetmaster and Streetlegend finish options.
To compliment that worn-looking top, the 00-10E features a satin finish all over – just like other Retro series guitars – and you also get Martin’s E1 electronics for amplified sound, and a soft shell gigbag.
Image: Press
Build Quality & Playability
I’ve been seriously impressed with every Road Series guitar I’ve played so far, especially the Retro model, and combine that with Bonamassa’s exacting standards as a guitar collector and player, I went into this with high expectations.
Nevertheless, removing the guitar from its gigbag, I was immediately struck by the eye-catching top. The danger with this sort of thing is that it can look a bit too fake, and while nobody is going to be fooled that this is a vintage guitar up close, that’s not the point.
It’s a fascinating thing to admire and examine the myriad scratches and other wear patterns reproduced here, knowing that they’ve come from a bona fide vintage instrument – it gives you a real sense of the original guitar’s long-lived existence.
I’m less keen on the all-over satin finish – personally I feel that the gloss on the Nazareth version wears the printed top and the general vibe of this guitar better – but it has its plus points. A glossy Martin is a fingerprint magnet, and one that seems to attract dings and pick scratches with worrying regularity.
While I’d never mistreat a guitar, the fact that this guitar already looks well-played and loved means that you can be a little less precious about it, and play it as hard and as enthusiastically as you desire.
Elsewhere, it’s all rather well executed – the Performing Artist neck profile is a frequent flyer on Martin guitars and it’s easy to see why, comfortable and easy to play without being too skinny, the taper up the neck is nice too.
The overall build is excellent too – with no finish issues throughout, neat and tidy workmanship inside, and smooth, precise tuners. Regardless of where its made, a great guitar is a great guitar, and this one certainly feels and plays it.
Image: Press
Sounds
Typically, I am not a Martin 00 body shape kind of guy. They look and sound incredible, but I have always been drawn toward Martin’s dreadnought and parlor body style instruments for my playing style or lack thereof.
Compared to other Martin body shapes the 00-14 to my ear delivers more middle frequency with a slightly reserved bass and treble comes in second to the mids. What this means however is that it plays very well with other acoustic guitars because it is not competing to dominate the bass frequency or treble tone spaces.
That said, this also means that when plugged in, it can really step up for solo situations. Set flat, the E1 electronics really emphasise the bass strings more to give a fuller and more rounded sound. It’s still mid-dominant but the bass frequencies are coming up close behind. The advantage of the guitar’s slight lack of acoustic bass frequencies is that it’s probably going to feed back less in a live setting, too.
Should I Buy One?
Part of the success of Joe Bonamassa’s signature guitar offerings is that they tend to be just as appealing even if you’re not a fan – as someone who really understands vintage instruments, he’s got a knack for pulling out rare curios that deserve a wider audience.
You can definitely put the 00-10E in that bracket – there aren’t many affordable 00s in the Martin catalogue, but now we have one that is worthy of a close look even if you’re not a Bonamassa sound.
The advantage of this being a Road Series instrument is that the solid woods involved will make this guitar sound better and better as it ages – while that thin satin finish should continue to wear nicely as it gets older.
If I’m honest, I would still prefer a gloss finish to this model, to compliment the USA-made version, but that’s purely personal preference. Sonically, it probably isn’t the sort of guitar that a solo artist would want to back themselves up for a coffee shop gig or open-mic, but as an accompanying instrument to another guitarist, it has a sound that sits really nicely in the mix.
It’s not the cheapest Martin to come out of Mexico in recent years, but like the Jason Isbell 0-10E before it, it does a great job of bringing some of the magic of small-bodied vintage Martins to a much more broad audience.
Alternatives
Another small-bodied Martin with all-solid wood construction and artist association is the rather fine 0-10E Jason Isbell ($1,049) while the regular Road Series 000-10 Retro Sapele ($899) is a cool, vintage-vibed option too. If you don’t mind a smaller body, you can even get a US-made instrument for another $700, the Gibson L-00 Special ($1,999) has plenty of 1930s charm.
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State of the Stomp: Pedalboards for Vocalists
It started with a classic parental fantasy: I was going to launch a punk-rock project with my kid. Standard vocals weren’t going to cut it. We wanted a sound with some real weirdness in it. I wanted a playground: one rig that could handle vocals, a drum machine, a noise generator, and synth patches. Above all, it had to be dead simple. Unfortunately, that kind of all-in-one setup usually means a high-end multi-effects unit like the Headrush Prime or Line 6 Helix Floor. I don’t hate nice things, but my wallet demanded a more practical, if slightly mad-scientist, approach.
That led to a tempting question: Could I pair a basic guitar multi-FX unit with a few stompboxes and call it a day? Armed with optimism and a soldering iron, I set out to find out.
Before you try this, there’s some basic physics to make peace with. Microphones and electric guitars produce very different signals. A dynamic mic puts out a much weaker signal than a guitar pickup, and most guitar pedals are designed for instrument-level signals unless they have a dedicated XLR input. So what happens when you plug a mic straight into a standard stompbox with a cheap XLR-to-1/4" cable? It sounds thin and distant, like shouting into a tin can. Your instinct will be to crank the pedal’s gain until it’s loud enough, and that’s when the trouble starts: a rising noise floor, harsh clipping, and feedback. The fix is good gain staging and a few simple hacks.
Hack number one: the Impedance Converter. This innocent-looking XLR-to-TS adapter houses a tiny internal transformer that magically elevates weak microphone signals to the beefy instrument level your pedals crave. With the gain staging salvaged, your pedals behave like civilized gear instead of screaming banshees. Alternatively, you can pull off a neat party trick with a passive DI box by running it entirely backward: plug your mic into the XLR output and run the TS input straight to your pedal chain. Of course, this upside-down engineering requires an XLR female-to-male adapter to fix the gender mismatch on your cables. Just keep in mind that not all passive DI boxes are born equal, as transformer quality varies.
Hack number two: the active mic preamp or buffer. There are plenty of battery-powered portable mic preamps floating around the gear market these days. Much like the DI box trick, they get the job done, but each comes with its own personality flaws. FET-based mic preamps are particularly adept at boosting weak signals to line level, but beware: that blistering hot output will easily send your stompboxes into nasty clipping territory if you don’t dial back the input gain to a safe harbor.
Now, I hear the gear snobs whispering: “Why not just use a condenser mic?” Sure, on paper, a condenser brings its own active power, pristine gain, and robust output to the party. But this introduces a whole set of stage-rig headaches—namely, sourcing dedicated 48V phantom power on an already chaotic pedalboard. Perhaps you need an additional supply. Perhaps an adapter. Perhaps a dedicated phantom-power box. Perhaps another cable. Before long, your supposedly simple vocal pedalboard has acquired enough supporting infrastructure to qualify as a minor telecommunications installation. It’s an ergonomic nightmare. On a cramped live stage surrounded by loud monitors, guitar cabinets, drum cymbals, and musicians making increasingly poor decisions about volume, it can become a feedback magnet.
“Before long, your supposedly simple vocal pedalboard has acquired enough supporting infrastructure to qualify as a minor telecommunications installation.”
Another option is the mini-mixer. Most compact mixers have an FX send and return. You plug your vocal mic into one of the mixer’s XLR channels, send that signal out the FX send to your pedalboard, and bring the processed signal back in through the FX return. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can plug your guitar into another channel and run both through the same chain of stompboxes. The downside is size and complexity. Even a “mini” mixer takes up a lot of space on a pedalboard, which works against the whole idea of a compact, self-contained rig.
Ultimately, navigating this sonic labyrinth depends entirely on your tolerance for gear logistics and how much chaos you want underfoot. But once you conquer the impedance barrier, a brave new frontier of vocal expression awaits. Imagine taking the stage, stepping up to the mic, and running your vocals straight into a Korg Miku, a screaming wah pedal, and maybe the ghostly pitch-tracking of an EHX Mel9 or Superego. You won’t just sound different—you’ll leave the audience questioning reality itself.
Meet the D’Addario Backline Acoustic Guitar Case
On Bass: Humble and Hustle
A few years back, I sat down with Amos Heller, who plays bass in Taylor Swift’s band, to talk about his musical journey for a column in this magazine. Full disclosure: Amos is a dear friend of mine, and bass talk is usually the last item on our list of things to catch up on—although we always get to it eventually. Amos has arguably one of the biggest gigs on the planet, and the number one question he’s asked by the bass community is how he landed it.
The reason I rope Amos into this column now is because in our interview he said something that stuck out above all else, and still rattles around my brain all these years later. He told me, “I’m asked all the time about getting the gig, but never about how to keep the gig.”
Friends, that right there is the mindset of a professional.
Getting—and more importantly, keeping—the gig is a balancing act. As a bass player, we have to remember: “It’s not about us.” Rather, it’s about the song, or the show, or the record we’re playing on. But does that mean we’re relegated to a life of unimportance? Of course not.
Bass, at its essence, is a foundational instrument. Words like “solid,” “confident,” and “grooving” are adjectives used to describe what we do. These words are important to remember because, unless called upon to take a spotlight, we don’t get one. Our job is to lock with the drummer and keep the music moving in that solid, confident, and grooving way.
Getting the gig can occur in a few ways. Your network can recommend you for a gig or an audition. Some artists don’t want to try out new players, so they lean on the Music Director or band leader to find “the one.” This is where your reputation precedes you. If you’re solid, dependable, easy to work with, and can play the parts, you have a leg up on people out of the loop.
Getting “the call” doesn’t just happen out of thin air; it takes years of relationship cultivation (remember all those bands on the bill you didn’t want to talk to?) and demonstrating that you’re the one for the job. Whether it’s an audition or a trial-by-fire gig, being prepared and handling yourself professionally is what makes a good impression. Stay humble and hustle.
So you’ve shown up and showed out. Congratulations! Now you have the gig. How do you stay there? Again, be humble and hustle. The first part is, in many ways, more important than the second. Being humble and not getting too comfortable in the gig too quickly is essential to keeping the gig. I know amazing musicians who are very “well-traveled”; that’s a nice way of saying they’ve landed a lot of huge gigs, only to be replaced quickly—not for lack of musicianship, but because they couldn’t get out of their own way.
“Playing music for any kind of money is a privilege, not a right.”
Being a cog in the machine is hard for some people, especially if they’ve had some success in their own band. When I made the jump from bandmember to sideman, I had to remind myself of my place more than once, because it wasn't about me anymore. Plenty of gigs have been lost by sidemen offering the artist unsolicited advice. Every situation is different, and over time an artist may come to trust you enough to ask your opinion. Until then, best to leave that stone where it lies. (See: balancing act)
Playing music for any kind of money is a privilege, not a right. You may have landed the gig, but that doesn’t give you permission to make it about you. You may become the perfect companion to the artist, but remember who’s name is on the marquee and the bus lease.
And remember: Just because you’re a sideman today, that doesn’t mean you won’t front your own band later. But the key word there is later—not now. Every step in your journey leads to the next. I hope yours lands you the gig you’re after, and that the 100 steps that follow keep you in it for as long as you like.
Podcast 569: Fake Names’ Michael Hampton and Brian Baker
Today, we take a deep dive into hardcore history with guitarists Michael Hampton (The Extorts, The Faith, Embrace, One Last Wish) and Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, Minor Threat).
These two legendary DC musicians make up one half of punk supergroup Fake Names, whose third album, Punk Ruins, is out now on Epitaph.
Our guest interviewer for today’s show is John Drenning, who recently penned a feature on Baker for the 60th issue of our magazine. Read some highlights here.
During this chat, the duo reminisces about the early days of hardcore, Gibson SGs, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, The Decline of Western Civilization, the formation of Fake Names, and so much more.
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Robert Keeley: 25 Years of Changing the Guitar Pedal Game
It all started with a two-knob compressor 25 year ago. Robert Keeley and his innovative team have sold over 1-million pedals developing a legendary brand that continues to influence and inspire stompbox builders and guitar players alike.
The company's founding wizard Robert Keeley sits down with PG's John Bohinger discusses the ups-and-downs of his career, details what still excites him as a designer, and shares his greatest joy as a business owner.
Sponsored by Stewmac
Visit stewmac.com Wintergrass Sessions: The Fretless
The Fretless is a Canadian folk ensemble redefining what it means to be a string quartet. Though this is the Fretboard Journal, we couldn’t resist asking these amazing, fret-free players to perform for us at Wintergrass 2026. They delivered three compositions: “Lost Lake,” “Little Snake” and “Caledonia” (featuring vocalist Madeleine Roger).
We also asked the quartet about the instruments used on this session.
Register now for Wintergrass 2027. The lineup in 2027 will include Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas Band, East Nash Grass and other bluegrass favorites.
Video by Brad Wagner, audio by Juan M Soria.
We’ll be sharing more highlights from Wintergrass 2026 on a weekly basis here and on our YouTube channel.
The post Wintergrass Sessions: The Fretless first appeared on Fretboard Journal.
Luthier on Luthier: Mike Doolin
Mike Doolin is a guitarmaker whose curiosity and willingness to challenge convention have led him down some fascinating paths in guitar design.
Mike has never been afraid to rethink how guitars are built, from pioneering double-cutaway acoustic guitars and exploring the possibilities of seven-string instruments to harp guitars, adjustable neck systems, and, more recently, Ken Parker-inspired archtops.
We talk about his unconventional journey into lutherie, the technical problems that have shaped his designs, and the discoveries that continue to drive his work.
https://www.doolinguitars.com/design.html
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.
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: Mike Doolin first appeared on Fretboard Journal.
NAM compatibility is coming to the Fender Tone Master Pro
Fender has confirmed that Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) A2 compatibility is on the way to the Tone Master Pro, in what could be the modeller’s most significant update yet.
The news comes as Max Gutnik, Fender’s Chief Product Officer, addressed rumours circulating online in a post on the official Tone Master Pro Users forum. The post was later shared on Reddit, yet no release date has currently been announced.
Gutnik said Fender’s in-house team is testing the feature, with the company trying to bring it to market quickly without rushing it. He said the aim is to make the Tone Master Pro “an amazing platform to play NAM.”
According to Gutnik, NAM captures will sit in the signal chain just like any other ramp. They will also work with the pedal’s touchscreen and companion app and users will be able to give each capture its own graphic.
NAM A2 launched in June. It’s an open-source architecture that lets players capture their own gear, as well as browse amp, cab and pedal models made by brands and other users. Its developers describe it modestly as the most accurate and best-sounding amp modelling technology in history and it reportedly outperformed several leading rivals in a blind listening test.
Fender joins a growing list of manufacturers adopting the tech. Devices with NAM access, including Zoom’s new Neurig and the Blackstar BEAM Mini, can tap into thousands of professional and user-made tones through the TONE3000 platform and that library keeps expanding. Fender is also one of the first major modeller makers to commit to NAM A2, ahead of rivals such as Neural DPS, Line 6 and IK Multimedia.
NAM is unlikely to replace the amp models built into modellers entirely, but it significantly widens the tonal options of any unit that supports it.
The Tone Master Pro’s last major update arrived in December 2025. Fender’s decision to announce the NAM A2 feature before its ready suggests the company is keen to get ahead of the competition.
The post NAM compatibility is coming to the Fender Tone Master Pro appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Seymour Duncan adds Janick Gers signature Strat set to Iron Maiden pickup range
To celebrate one of heavy metal’s most influential band’s 50th anniversary, Seymour Duncan has launched a Janick Gers signature Strat pickup set and loaded pickguard with maiden coded collectible packaging.
The Janick Gers Signature Strat Set pairs a JB Jr. for Strat in the neck and bridge positions with a Hot Rails for Strat in the middle. Seymour Duncan says the combination delivers the lead tone and rhythm crunch Gers has brought to Iron Maiden’s live performances. It’s also available as a loaded pickguard.
- READ MORE: How Californian car, surf and skate culture inspired Powers Electric’s revolutionary guitars
The new set joins the existing Dave Murray signature Strat Set and Loaded Pickguard and the Steve Harris Signature P-Bass pickup. Seymour Duncan says the range captures the tones behind Maiden’s music across five decades, from Murray’s fluid lead playing to Harris’s aggressive low-end attack.
The Murray set uses Hot Rails for Strat in the neck and bridge positions with JB Jr. in the middle, the reverse of Ger’s layout. Harris’s signature P-Bass pickup is a medium-output design originally developed in Seymour Duncan’s Custom shop. It has hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets and is wax potted to reduce noise and it’s a drop-in replacement for the split-coil P-Bass pickups.
Every pickup set and loaded pickguard in the collection now ships in its own individually illustrated box. Each is a different take on the brand’s official artwork and features Eddie, Iron Maiden’s mascot. Seymour Duncan is pitching the boxes as collector’s pieces, marking more than five decades of the brand’s history.
To purchase and for more information, visit seymourduncan.com.
The post Seymour Duncan adds Janick Gers signature Strat set to Iron Maiden pickup range appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Death By Audio x Rainger FX Amp Crash Review
Some of you are lucky enough to avoid bouts with the guitar doldrums. Me? I get stuck in ruts more than I would like. Death By Audio’s wares have bailed me out these troughs more than once. And the company’s new Amp Crash, designed with fellow mad scientist David Rainger of Rainger FX, is yet another device, full of surprises, that can awaken jaded musical hearts.
The Amp Crash is many things—none of which seem all that crazy on the surface. It can be an overdrive or a fuzz. It can be a reverb, delay, or chorus. As the grate on the pedal’s face suggests, it can be a little self-contained amplifier that will make your Pignose nervous. You can use it as an amp out in front of your DAW. And because it’s a real amplifier, it can drive an 8-ohm passive cabinet. So where’s the weird, you ask? Well, DBA and Rainger had the good (sick?) sense to wire a microphone into this circuit—one that picks up the sound from the tiny 2" speaker, as well as ambient room sound, and folds it back into the circuit, generating feedback, unexpected overtones, and sound warpage that can be mangled further with the onboard effects.
This opens up a lot of possibilities. At times playing the Amp Crash was like getting locked in Lee “Scratch” Perry’s lunchbox. Other times it was like wandering a house of horrors hosted by psych-punk thugs. But the Amp Crash is also very happy making sounds that fall within the range of conventional—most notably saturation that’s redolent of a vintage low-wattage amp set anywhere from warm to boil.
A Meeting of Melted Minds
DBA is not afraid of building less-than-petite effects. But given how much is stuffed in the roughly 5 ½" x 3 ½" x 2" enclosure, the Amp Crash’s dimensions don't seem like an indulgence. Like many DBA pedals, it looks like it was pinched from the Space: 1999 props department, and in this case the mutant retro-futurist styling is heightened by the speaker grate, which gives the Amp Crash the look of a vintage com-link unit.
The speaker works, of course, because the Amp Crash has a true power amp inside—two, actually. (This accounts for the relatively heavy 300-milliamp draw, and you’ll definitely need a dedicated power supply.) One drives the small speaker. The other, which drives an additional op-amp section along its own signal path, is routed via the output that you plug into a guitar amplifier or a DAW. (A second output is dedicated to driving an external 8-ohm cabinet if you want to go that route.) The pedal’s gain range spans surprisingly clean tones and filthy ones. But the drive it generates—particularly through a guitar amp—is uniquely flavored.
The output for the speaker is shaped by the gain and tone controls. The same controls configure the gain and tone profiles of the second opamp-assisted section, where they are complemented by the DI-out level and the mic-out level controls. The last of these governs how much of the onboard microphone signal is mixed with the DI-out.
Through the whole tone knob range (which is pretty extensive), the output is colored by a snorkely mid range—sometimes in hints, sometimes boldly. Living at the brightest or darkest end of the range doesn’t really eliminate this emphasis as much as it stacks something else on top of the midrange bump. I struggled to think of exact tone parallels. At various times I heard traces of DOD 250, a less screechy Tone Bender, a Way Huge Red Llama, a fixed wah pedal, and the fuzz section in a ’60s solid state Vox amplifier. More commonly, though, the midrangey-ness suggested one, or some combination, of those devices, driving a 8" speaker in a low-watt tube amp. At lower gain settings, these qualities lend the output an edgy growl. At its fuzziest settings, it is brutish and nasty but focused.
“At its fuzziest settings it is brutish and nasty but focused.”
Mutant Zones
All of these sounds can be reshaped, both subtly and radically, by adding feedback via the mic-out control, and zest from one of the three onboard effects. The mic-out control and effects (as well as the mic gate toggle) are very interactive. The feedback from the mic can generate and emphasize various overtones in the output—to subtle, pretty ends if you’re mellow with the mic-out level and effects, or with chaotic outcomes if you lay either one on too thick. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push it, though—in true DBA and Rainger FX fashion, some of the most rewarding tones live at these nearly out-of-control extremes.
While the Amp Crash is unorthodox, it is not just a studio tool. There’s no reason you can’t use the Amp Crash as a fuzz or drive in live situations without fear of unwanted surprises. The payoff in distinctive tones could be considerable. But unique sounds are just one possible studio attribute. It’s often the methods Amp Crash encourages that yield the most interesting studio dividends. The strange tone composites you hear in the combination of onboard speaker and guitar amp speaker, for instance, can be recast by varying a microphone’s position relative to the two sources—or by miking amp and pedal speaker in different spaces entirely and sending those signals to two desk inputs. Similarly, endless variations on this effect can be enabled by miking the internal speaker and sending the output to your DAW and whatever sound processing tools live downstream.
The Verdict
We talk a lot about sliding scales here in the “verdict” section. A pedal that is a font of inspiration for one player might confound another. And like many DBA products that commit to a genuinely different approach, the Amp Crash resides in that category. Those inclined to use its tasty drive and reverb/delay/modulation section exclusively will probably find the $395 price hard to justify. Those who delve into the fullness of the Amp Crash’s potential could end up considering that a bargain—particularly if the sounds on tap here become a foundational part of their sound palette.
But that is a very plausible scenario, because the Amp Crash is as rich with distortion suited for common musical settings as it is brimming with strange, esoteric tones. For players who can make use of sounds from both sides of its flavor spectrum—and you can count me among them—the Amp Crash might merit rounding up on all the performance scores listed here.
Death By Audio x Rainger FX Amp Crash
Fairlane Zephyr Review: “sell every guitar you own and buy one of these”
£3,480, fairlaneguitars.co.uk
Rock stars are famously demanding customers. And when it comes to their gear, who can blame them, really? After all, they’re the ones stepping out on stage in front of thousands of people every night, and the last thing they want is to look silly ’cause their guitar won’t stay in tune or something.
This is perhaps why the names of Kevin Williams and Reuben Gotto are mentioned with a certain knowing nod in the upper echelons of the UK guitar world. For a combined half a century, the pair have been taking care of the guitars of some of the biggest names on the planet – either on tour, or back in the workshop.
The pandemic was, to say the least, quite a rough time for people whose livelihoods were based on serving the needs of touring musicians, but it was out of this situation that the company that was originally called Providence Guitars was born.
As our recent cover feature with Williams and Gotto explained, they started doing repair work – first at homes and then in a dedicated space in London. The pair quickly built a reputation for stellar work, and before long the great and good of the capital’s guitar scene were clients. Inevitably, they started contemplating doing more than just set-ups and repairs.
The pair alighted on a Non-Reverse Firebird-inspired design called the Cardinal, and eventually evolved it into the more distinct guitar you see before you: the Zephyr.
It didn’t take long for the pair’s musician clientele to start asking questions about the weird guitars they had on the wall of their workshop. As word got around about how good these guitars were, in relatively no time at all they had an artist roster that much bigger brands would kill for: Ed O’Brien, Stuart Braithwaite, Conor Curley, Beabadoobee, Dallas Green… even Billy Bragg.
So, what’s all the fuss about?
Image: Adam Gasson
What is it?
Like the Cardinal before it, the Zephyr is a guitar that clearly owes some of its visual identity to the oft-neglected Non-Reverse Firebird – a shape that is desperately in need of some love from Gibson and everyone else here in 2026, in my opinion.
The Zephyr takes the Firebird shape and makes it more overtly offset-y – there’s a more pronounced swoop down from the upper horn to the lower one, and the whole thing is a little more rounded and balanced as a result.
The headstock is a Firebird-style six-in-a-line affair, and the ebony ’board here has a Gibson-style 12-inch fingerboard radius, though that’s where the Gibson similarities end when it comes to the neck – the roasted maple neck is bolted on to the tempered pine body in Fender style, while the scale length is a longer 25.5-inch scale.
The hybrid Fender/Gibson vibe is continued on the body itself, where a Mastery bridge and Jazzmaster-style tremolo are paired with a simple Gibson-style two-pickup pairing. Here we have a custom Monty’s P-90 in the bridge with a Monty’s Firebird pickup in the neck.
In terms of looks, we have a stunning white-over-sunburst heavy relic job here, complete with heavy lacquer checking all over the body and headstock, while the neck has been sanded down to the wood across most of the usable area.
Fairlane guitars are made to order, so the spec options here are pretty broad. You can choose between pretty much any combination of Monty’s pickups you desire (Williams worked for Monty’s Matt Gleeson before he moved his operation out of London), various bridge and vibrato options, and of course whatever level of relic (or not) gets your particular rocks off.
My only tiny issue is that it sports a heel-adjust truss rod, which will make any seasonal adjustments more of a hassle than you’d like. That said, given the pair are vastly more qualified to talk about guitar maintenance than I am, I will assume there’s a good reason for that over a more straightforward adjustment option.
You can save yourself £200 and spec it without a case if you’re happy to go to London and pick it up, but this review model arrived in the reassuring embrace of a Mono M80 gig bag.
Image: Adam Gasson
Build Quality & Playability
Firstly, let me make this clear – the Zephyr is not a small guitar. Put atop my own Jazzmaster, it’s slightly longer thanks to that big ol’ headstock, and has more overall body mass thanks to chunkier horns. It’s also not a guitar that’s stripped down on the hardware front, rocking a set of vintage-style sealed-gear Gotoh tuners, and a full Jazzmaster-style bridge and tremolo.
I say this because somehow, this guitar weighs barely 7.4lbs – for an offset guitar of this size with this much hardware on it, that’s rather remarkable. This is no doubt greatly helped by the guitar’s tempered pine body – Dennis Fano has extolled the virtue of pine as a guitar body for some time now, and it’s great to see more makers use it.
The light weight hasn’t made the guitar unbalanced in any way, however – it sits much more comfortably than a Non-Reverse Firebird does in the lap, and there’s no hint of neck dive on a strap either. It’s supremely comfortable.
Comfort really is the order of the day when you start playing, too. As someone with smaller hands, I often wince when I see words like “chunky” used to describe a guitar’s neck profile, but here I needn’t have worried.
While there’s a little more heft than a generic C here, it’s a beautifully sympathetic carve that sits wonderfully in the hand – allowing you to really get hold of the thing without feeling like you’re going to have sore hands at the end of a long playing session.
And play it long, you will certainly want to, because the wonderfully sanded and oiled neck feels about as smooth and inviting as any guitar I’ve ever played – even where the finish transitions to gloss at the top end of the board, it’s still remarkably smooth and un-sticky.
The fretwork is absolutely flawless, with a beautifully executed transition from the ends into the rolled ’board edges – from the first fret to the 21st, you won’t find the merest hint of friction here.
Image: Adam Gasson
That also applies to the frets themselves, which are expertly levelled and polished – bends are as smooth as on any guitar I’ve ever played, with no hint of choking anywhere to be seen.
This guitar also earns bonus ‘pour one out’ points for rocking Jescar’s EvoGold fretwire – this halfway house between stainless steel and regular nickel-silver is beloved by luthiers because it’s easier to work with, but still very hard-wearing.
Unfortunately, the company that made the alloy used in its construction stopped producing it, so when current stocks of EvoGold are gone, that’s it. Reuben tells me they likely only have enough left over for another one or two builds, so if you want it – get in there asap!
You may well have strong feelings about artificially ageing guitars, and if you hate the look, I’m unlikely to convince you of its merits in a few sentences here. If you’re less closed off to such things, however, I can confirm that the finish job here is beautifully done – with nicely haphazard checking all over, and a very convincing colour-over-sunburst wear job, especially on the neck.
It looks great, in my opinion, but more importantly it all feels very worn in – like a broken-in pair of jeans, it adds an extra layer of playing comfort to an already very inviting instrument.
Image: Adam Gasson
Sounds
The Zephyr has a resonant and lively quality about it even before plugging in – the tempered pine vibrating rather tellingly across the guitar’s large body in a way that usually means good things.
You would expect that for the thick end of three grand you were going to get a great-sounding instrument. I’ve played plenty of expensive boutique guitars to know that this isn’t always the case, but generally good pickups plus good wood makes for an enjoyable sonic experience.
I wasn’t quite prepared for just how good the Zephyr sounds when plugged in. In fact, it’s the sort of transcendent guitar playing experience that will stick with me long after this guitar sadly heads back to Fairlane at the end of this test.
The combination of a P-90 and Firebird pickup is a well-known one of course – Neil Young’s Old Black has become legendary with this arrangement – but generally speaking it tends to be a P-90 in the neck and Firebird in the bridge.
Fairlane has flipped that script, and it might be a stroke of pure genius. Because what you’re left with then is the fat, humbucker-adjacent power of a P-90 screaming away like a great old Les Paul Junior, mixed with the brightly-accented precision of a Firebird pickup where things usually get woolly.
The results are some of the most compellingly balanced, articulate solidbody sounds I’ve ever heard. The Full Monty P-90 is a wonderfully snarly take on the classic P-90 formula – with more midrange punch and general output than a vintage unit, but still retaining the dynamics that make soapbars so beloved by many.
And then there’s the neck pickup. I have a colleague in this industry who will tell anyone who listens that the Firebird pickup is the most underrated and unfairly ignored pickup design of all. Brothers and sisters, I am a believer; come join me.
The genius here, I think, is that Monty’s take on the form is slightly overwound compared to a classic Firebird unit, meaning that it’s a little beefier and less shrill in practice, while still maintaining an impressive level of articulation.
Running through a Deluxe Reverb, both pickups offer warmth in abundance and subtly different flavours of chiming cleans – and wonderfully balanced with it. But it’s when you step on a dirt pedal that the true magic happens.
Fuzz especially really reveals the wonder of the Firebird neck pickup, delivering wonderfully punchy, scuzzy fuzz tones that still have a remarkable level of string-separation and clarity. You can get into the deepest Jack White or Dan Auerbach-shaped hole with this thing, and unlike almost any other neck pickup I’ve ever played, it neither shirks on the power nor loses itself in the noise.
The Mastery tremolo system only further encourages you into these sort of wig-outs, providing wonderfully musical and expressive wobbles to punctuate the impressive sustain as you let your notes ring out.
Image: Adam Gasson
Should I buy one?
There is a mindset that a lot of smaller boutique builders seem to hold that if you simply take the best possible raw materials and put them together in a logical way, an electric guitar worthy of boutique prices and boutique acclaim will magically appear at the end of it.
But the work of Kevin Williams and Reuben Gotto is a powerful reminder that a great electric guitar is so much more than the sum of its parts. Yes, the components and materials used here are first-class. Yes, it is a visually stunning instrument that threads the rare needle between vintage veneration and doing your own thing.
But the reason that the Fairlane Zephyr is one of the very finest electric guitars I’ve ever played is about so much more than that. It’s the informed craftsmanship that focuses on the small details that sets them and this guitar apart.
These are the details that separate good from great, and the pair’s wealth of high-level experience means they’re clearly aware of this. This sweating of the small stuff is what elevates this guitar to a level that very few small builders can operate at.
Unquestionably, this guitar is no small investment – but that doesn’t mean it’s not great value. You could take the better part of a grand off the price of this guitar by removing some of the cosmetic flourishes (like the heavy relic job) and bring it down to a price that’s not much more than the top end of Gibson and Fender’s USA production-line stuff.
And with respect to both brands, the level of workmanship and attention to detail on this Zephyr blows that out of the water. You’d have to go to the scarier end of the Custom Shop at both brands to get an instrument that feels close, and that’s gonna basically be double the price.
I’ve played a lot of great guitars in my time in this job, but I am also a killjoy – it’s vanishingly rare that I don’t find enough negatives to knock a mark or two off the score. This is not one of those occasions – the Fairlane Zephyr is a truly superlative instrument. Maybe those rock stars know what they’re on about…
Alternatives
The lack of Non-reverse Firebirds in the Gibson line-up is, frankly, a national disgrace, but there is one – the Gibson Custom 1965 Non-Reverse Firebird V Reissue ($4,499/£4,399) is a lovely bit of 60s nostalgia complete with two Firebird pickups and a Maestro Vibrola. Despite the boutique guitar world being a cornucopia of interesting and unconventional guitar designs, there’s a real dearth of Non-Reverse ‘Bird-inspired designs, but one really good one is the Fano Alt De Facto PX6 (from $3,499) – now under the stewardship of Dennis Fano again, one of the very finest builders on earth. If you want to keep it UK-based, the scene is in rude health right now. Trent’s Model 1 (from £2,095) is another cool offset thing with some big-name artist endorsement – Elliot Trent even machines his own unique JM-style tremolo system.
The post Fairlane Zephyr Review: “sell every guitar you own and buy one of these” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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