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These two players are doing so much to push guitar music forward Tim Henson has drafted them for the new Polyphia record
Back in 2013, a playthrough of Polyphia’s Impassion put the prog metal band on the map. The technical mastery at play instantly asserted guitarist Tim Henson as a young prodigy – and, 12 years on, Henson is keen to find the next wunderkind lurking in the shadows.
In a new interview with The Music Zoo, Henson reveals that he’s scouted a pair of up-and-coming guitarists to feature on Polyphia’s new record: RJ Pasin and Spiro Dussias. Considering Pasin’s intricate, videogame-soundtrack-worthy riffs and metal-infused hyperpop, and Spiro’s jawdropping shredding abilities, they’re sure to be a hit with Polyphia fans.
“We’ve brought them in for the Polyphia record, and it is insane – it is such a crazy sound!” Henson explains. “RJ Pasin can shred, and he can do all these [cool] things. And then, through working with [Spiro], I’ve rethought the way that I play.”
In terms of Spiro, Henson praises the gold-star shredder for his economy picking in particular. “One of the things that Spiro really tries for with his playing is, like, how easy can he make it?” he says. “He told me he wants to be an old guy who has no problem just [shredding], and it’s his approach to the economics of motion.”
“I learned economy picking when I was pretty young,” he continues. “And then you see players like Tosin Abasi who take that shit to the next level… then somebody like Spiro comes in, and just takes it up a whole other notch!”
It’s not the first time Henson has publicly praised Spiro. Back in February, the guitarist named Spiro as the next big guitar talent to watch out for. “That guy is fucking crazy,” he told Guitar World. “I’m definitely going to be hitting him up to see what kind of insanity he can bring [to the new record].”
While Henson’s background in classical violin has helped him forge his own unique style, he’s still keen to learn from the young prodigies of tomorrow. He points to Polish star Marcin Patrzałek’s insane percussive fingerstyle techniques and Italian jazz rocker Matteo Mancuso as examples. “They’re taking guitar to new heights,” he insists.
While Polyphia didn’t collaborate with Patrzałek on their upcoming record, Patrzałek has also shone a spotlight on one of Henson’s up-and-coming collaborators this year. The guitarist notably collaborated with RJ Pasin back in July… Small world!
“Every day, we continue to have absolute sicko monster players coming out,” he says. “It’s just getting crazier and crazier and crazier – and it’s awesome… Like, there’s Marcin, and all these other kids that are just absolutely incredible! They just play circles around me!”
“It’s cool, because, this late in the game, I’m so fortunate to feel inspired [by] my peers,” he reflects.
Elsewhere on the new record, Henson has also teased that there will be a collaborative track with System of a Down’s Serj Tankian. “The new record… it’s heavy!” he teased in conversation with Guitar World.
Check out Henson’s full chat with The Music Zoo below.
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The tastiest guitar tone ever? John 5’s pedalboard has been turned into a cake – complete with an array of edible Boss pedals
You could say John 5’s guitar tone is pretty delicious – but this is next level. With the Mötley Crüe guitarist turning 55 this year, one fan took on the challenge of transforming his pedalboard into a cake.
While John 5’s birthday was back in July, the cake looks like it was worth the wait. Commissioned by fan Merredith Mooth and made by Angie Martinez Hrndz, otherwise known as Cakes from the Crypt, the cake is a perfect replica of the guitarist’s famously Boss-heavy ‘board.
All six of his pedals have been expertly recreated, from his CE-2W Chorus to his NS-2 Noise Suppressor, to his DD-8 Digital and DM-2W Delay pedals. The pièce de résistance, however, seems to be John 5’s pair of SD-1 Super Overdrives. “The Super Overdrive never tasted so good!” the guitarist proclaims in an Instagram clip.
The board even has John 5’s Radial Engineering SGI 44 power supply, for an extra bit of tech to sink your teeth into.
As John 5 notes, the late arrival of the cake also coincides with the birthday of his guitar tech, David Vela. With that in mind, it’s a perfect gift for them to share – although we can’t imagine there’s much left at the time of writing… “Thank you, Meredith for this incredible birthday cake,” John 5 writes on Instagram. “My birthday was in July… David’s was a week ago. We really appreciate it. Thanks again.”
In the past, Vela has praised the Mötley Crüe riffer for his simple, no frills live rig. Speaking to American Music Supply last year, the tech explained: “Essentially, he has four pedals on that thing. You’re looking at six, actually. One of the pedals is doubled up, the Super Overdrive. He doubles up on the Super Overdrive because when he wants really high-gain pinch squeals and harmonics.”
“He’s got that, a delay, a reverb, and a chorus. And the noise suppression, but you don’t really hear anything from the noise suppression.”
Most significantly, Vela explained how “none of the pedals are modded”, which some find hard to believe. “They’re right out of the box,” he insisted. “Fans ask all the time, and I’m like, ‘No, those are just stock pedals!’”
In Vela’s words, “besides John’s fingers”, the secret to the guitarist’s ‘clean’ tone is his EVH 5150 EL34 amp.
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Fender opens its first Artist Showroom in China
Fender has opened its first Artist Showroom in China, in Shanghai’s Xuhui District.
The Fender Artist Showroom Shanghai marks Fender’s fourth Artist Showroom worldwide, following locations in Tokyo, London and Nashville. It will serve both as a working space for Fender’s Shanghai-based artist marketing and product teams, and to offer “elevated services to Fender China’s extensive roster of artists”.
The new showroom is housed within a two-storey building, with the first floor featuring a product display area, guitar tech station, and amp room – and regularly hosting community events including product trials, musician workshops and live performances – and the second floor serving as the workspace for the Fender China team.
Credit: Fender
“From London to Nashville, and Tokyo, each Fender Artist Showroom is more than just a physical location, it’s an emotional bridge connecting artists with the brand. It’s a place where musicians find inspiration and support, and where Fender gains direct insight from artists to co-create the future of music,” says Edward “Bud” Cole, President of Fender Asia-Pacific.
“Today, we are proud to extend this bridge to Shanghai – a dynamic, inclusive, and international metropolis. This move is not only a key extension of our global strategy but also a solid commitment reflecting our firm belief in the future of the Chinese market and our long-term investment here.”
Credit: Fender
“At Fender, we are committed to accompanying musicians and players at every stage of their music journey,” says Peggy Dai, General Manager of Fender China.
“With the establishment of Fender Artist Showroom Shanghai, we look forward to listening more directly to the voices of local musicians and players, translating their feedback into enhanced services and products that better meet local needs.”
With its new Artist Showroom Shanghai, Fender says it looks to “deepen artist relations and community cultivation”, while integrating “Fender’s brand spirit with Chinese music culture”.
Credit: Fender
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“They want Mummy and Daddy not to be divorced anymore”: David Gilmour and wife Polly Samson reflect on why fans keep clamouring for him to reunite Pink Floyd
![[L-R] Polly Samson and David Gilmour, with Roger Waters inset](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Polly-Samson-David-Gilmour-Roger-Waters@2000x1500.jpg)
Pink Floyd remain heavily in the rotation of prog lovers and music fans the world over, but they shouldn’t expect a reunion of any form any time soon.
The relationship between David Gilmour and Roger Waters remains acrimonious, to say the least; in October last year, Gilmour was on record saying he would “absolutely not” perform with Waters ever again, adding: “I tend to steer clear of people who actively support genocidal and autocratic dictators.”
Roger Waters has been accused of supporting President Vladimir Putin during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and even addressed the United Nations Security Council via video link in 2023 upon invitation from the Russian government.
Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson has also been vocal in her opposition to Roger Waters, writing in a 2023 tweet: “Roger Waters you are antisemitic to your rotten core,” going on to call him a “Putin apologist” among numerous other insults.
Sadly @rogerwaters you are antisemitic to your rotten core. Also a Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching,misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac. Enough of your nonsense.
— pollysamson (@PollySamson) February 6, 2023
Samson became somewhat professionally entangled with Pink Floyd following Roger Waters’ bitter departure in 1985, contributing many of the lyrics to the band’s 1994 album The Division Bell.
She refused to pursue writing credits, partly due to “an internalised misogyny”, as she explains in a new interview alongside her husband with The Telegraph, and hinting that it was some part due to Roger Waters fans blaming her for his Pink Floyd departure.
“The fans of Pink Floyd at that point were very much a divided community,” she explains. “I mean, they want mummy and daddy not to be divorced anymore,” she says, referring to Roger Waters and David Gilmour.
“I was like some sort of mistress who’d gone along and taken daddy away from mummy.”
“[Fans] still fight like cats and dogs,” says Gilmour, adding that Pink Floyd in the mid ‘90s was “very much still a very misogynistic boys’ club”.
“It was difficult for Polly,” he says. “I don’t think I did my best. I don’t think I’ve done enough to protect her in those ways really but we got through it.”
In other news, David Gilmour recently reflected on how he felt Pink Floyd were never prog rock, as they are often labelled. “To me, progressive rock is very serious players who can really do their stuff,” he said.
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The Last Dinner Party’s Emily Roberts on why she decided to embrace her most “outrageous” guitar impulses on new album From The Pyre
Emily Roberts has just landed in London from an exhausting set at Hungary’s Sziget festival. She is, rightfully so, a little weary after The Last Dinner Party, the band for which she is lead guitarist, led a fiery set under the blazing sun. The crowd was hungry for hits; fervently screaming back most (if not all) the words to songs from their debut album Prelude To Ecstasy. But Roberts has a twinkle in her eye this sunny Tuesday evening, despite her full-on day. There’s some big news to discuss.
It was during a thunderstorm in Prague last year when an unsuspecting audience heard a piece of The Last Dinner Party’s upcoming sophomore album, From The Pyre, for the first time. The band called themselves the decoy name Yeehaw Interlude for this moment, but the lead single This Is The Killer Speaking had officially been performed. This wasn’t like what happened on the run-up to last year’s debut, when many of the songs on the record had already been played live during the band’s early rise to fame.
This time, The Last Dinner Party were well on their way to becoming a household name, ubiquitously appearing on the radio, on billboards and happily finding themselves atop the charts. So, aside from this one-off performance as Yeehaw Interlude, it means the London five-piece still have no idea how their new songs will be received before releasing them. That’s a new feeling of anticipation they’ve never known.
“We haven’t played about eight out of ten of these songs live before,” says Roberts of the track list on From The Pyre. “With the first record, we always wanted to play the songs live and the recording wasn’t an afterthought, but it came later. At the time, we just wanted to get out and get gigging since it was after lockdown and covid. But with this one, the process is the other way round.”
Roberts, alongside her bandmates Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Aurora Nischevi and Georgia Davies, is clear on the fact that From The Pyre is not a new era following on from Prelude To Ecstasy. They’re both a collection of abstract, theatrical stories based on personal experiences. But whilst Prelude To Ecstasy was a highly successful test of this format with the songs structured into sections (a prelude, interlude and postlude), From The Pyre ditches any particular order for the tracks and dives deeper into storytelling, telling richer and earthier tales that sound every way from fragile to riotous.
Image: Cal McIntyre
Look Who’s Back
“The start of this record is the opposite to Prelude,” Roberts continues, speaking of opening track Agnus Dei. “Prelude eased into itself and had this dramatic orchestral intro, but it made sense to have Agnus Dei at the start of this one because it just started things off with a bang.” Roberts’ guitar part narrates this track, striking a shiny three-note riff in an effervescent intro backed by crashing cymbals and momentous keys. As Morris slides into her first verse, Roberts drops down into three steady chromatic notes. She climbs them, tumbles back down and then glides beneath Morris’ sultry voice in effortless ease. It’s one way of yelling “look who’s back again” in the breeziest, most nonchalant way you can.
“It’s the most ridiculous song, but not in a negative way,” she laughs. “It’s unapologetic, it’s joyous and it’s silly, but all in a fun way.” Roberts also has a vibrant minute-long solo towards the end of the track – one which took two months to write.
“That solo took a really long time,” she admits. “I was kind of going back and forth. I kept thinking, ‘Is this too silly? Is it too outrageous?’ And because it’s such a long one as well, I realised I’d only ever written short guitar solos. I didn’t know how to write something that long that keeps your attention or tells a story over a length of time. So, that was quite challenging for me, but it was really fun to get to do that because I don’t think a lot of albums coming out in 2025 will have a minute-long solo at the end of a song.”
Roberts took influence from 60s rock for a lot of this record, pulling strands from The Rolling Stones and George Harrison to create a round, sustained sound with a bit of a bite that makes it her own. She used a combination of Music Man St Vincent signature models, a Gibson ES-330 and a Les Paul across the whole album to create a vintage twang throughout, but flavoured by that sharp bite from the St Vincent signatures and their bridge pickups. However, it’s not just her playing that reflects sixties icons – it’s also the way in which she’s written parts of the tracks.
“I definitely took inspiration from George Harrison and the way he writes in the context of a band,” she says. “We all needed to respect each other’s space. Writing my parts was something which was mine, and something I did. I do respect what the writer of the whole song wants but, at the same time, I want to bring my creativity to it as well. I feel quite protective over that. But we’ve just learned to balance those two things.”
Spooky Season
Roberts wrote bits and pieces of the instrumentals throughout From The Pyre, including an eerie, discordant vocal part at the start of Woman Is A Tree. The harmonies are hauntingly beautiful – they start off steady but bend unsettlingly upwards by a semitone. Then, like an elastic band, they snap, and a cold yelp escapes one singer like a gust of air. If you paired it with a horror film (it’s also ghostly a capella) you’d have a hard time sleeping.
“We were very meticulous with writing,” Roberts says. “We didn’t set ourselves many limitations, we just kept adding more layers to things. When I arranged the choir at the beginning of Woman Is A Tree, it was really fun, and it was kind of inspired by the Yellowjackets soundtrack. But I’d probably say it was the most challenging one to sing and to write. We hadn’t really done much of that [choral] stuff before. Lizzie’s usually the only one doing the backing vocal parts, so to have all of us singing in such close harmony was quite experimental and hard for us to do.”
The Last Dinner Party doesn’t choose anything safe or easy – From The Pyre straddles the line between truth and mythos. The record depicts a world where every story is character driven, written from specks of real life and lived experiences.
Image: Rachel Smith
The characters, including scythes, Mother Earth, saints, cowboys, sailors and even Joan of Arc, may be flamboyant theatrical metaphors, but the true origin of each story lurks down at the core. It forced each band member to surrender themselves to the music and allow it to reach intimate parts of their soul. It meant trusting an individual vision and acting on it.
“I’ve been a lot better at conveying my opinions authoritatively, even if they don’t always end up as the result,” says Roberts. “With Prelude, we were still understanding what we’re each good at. I was definitely a lot more shy then, and I’d sit quietly and observe things. But I think it’s always better to say things and contribute. I learned more about writing parts and what works well in which situation, and how to serve the right energy at the right moment.”
Second Best, the third track on the album, is a perfect example of that expert judgement coming into play. The song starts with a magnificent choral passage whose density and power, this time, completely engulfs the listener. For the guitar part, although she mostly used the St Vincent signatures and the Gibson on this album, Roberts chose a Les Paul to create a classic rock sound that she resonated well with on the last album. “I used that for the lead guitar on the chorus specifically,” she explains. “It gave it that rocky sound because the song is a bit more seventies or eighties, so it needed that kind of energy since it’s got that big, sustained sound.”
Sharper Focus
But since Count The Ways needed something sharper with a definite edge, there was an obvious guitar choice. Roberts has known and loved the St Vincent guitars since Prelude to Ecstasy, so why stray elsewhere and fix what ain’t broke? “I’m a bit stuck in my ways at this point,” she laughs. “What I like about the St Vincent is that it really cuts through a mix, and it’s quite high-end. I think that’s a great quality that it has and it just doesn’t sound like a Fender or a Gibson. I wanted something that, when you hear it, it’s not obvious what it is. I wanted people to go, ‘What is that?’ and for it to sound new.”
As a lover of at least one signature guitar, Roberts has had her hopes set on one day releasing her very own signature model. When Guitar.com interviewed her last in 2024, she admitted she’d want it to be “modern-looking” and to “have the same ease for playing as a female”. Has there been any development on the idea since then?
“I’ve always wanted to design or make my own guitar, I just haven’t had any time to do that,” Roberts laughs. “I’d want it to be an amalgamation of different decades in one guitar, even if that’s really difficult to do. It would be cool to have a guitar that combines elements, like if it had different pickups from each other, or a switchable bridge pickup that changes from a P-90 into a humbucker or a Firebird. Having something with a lot of versatility that captures different decades of guitar playing and guitar history would be really cool.”
Image: Rachel Smith
Something unique about being the lead guitarist in a popular rock band is that a lot of fans cover your solos. In fact, if you click on YouTube and search for The Last Dinner Party guitar covers, you’ll find countless clips of people putting their own spin on Roberts’ parts. Perhaps it’s not something she’s quite used to yet.
“It’s such an amazing feeling to watch other guitarists, whom you’ve never met, play something that you wrote just alone in your room,” she smiles. “People covered the Nothing Matters solo and added their own personality to it, which I loved. One guy even added these shreddy licks in between phrases, and I just thought that was crazy.”
The Scythe solo, Roberts says, could be one fans tackle next, or perhaps even sing along to since it’s largely melodic and “hooky”. Or maybe it’ll be the jaunty Inferno chorus which Roberts co-wrote with Morris. That’s the thing about releasing an album whose tracks people mostly haven’t heard yet – the next part is unpredictable.
“I’m just excited to put a lot of the new songs onto our setlist,” Roberts grins. “We can now pick and choose a curated set rather than having to fill an hour. We don’t need to play all of our songs plus a cover to fill the time anymore, so it’s going to be really exciting and freeing to use some of that spontaneity.”
So far, it’s just lead single This Is The Killer Speaking that’s out. It’s a smart hint at what else is to come – starting off snarling and mysterious as it creeps towards a more dynamic, groovy chorus. The thing about From The Pyre is that it packages up tonnes of emotions in one record in a way that’s jaggedly contrasting yet entirely fitting. It’s a giant landscape painting with different characters travelling all over it, in different directions. It’s meant to be loud and busy. But it’s honest, truthful, and another clear masterpiece.
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The unexpected guitarist blues guitar hero Christone “Kingfish” Ingram calls a “prophet”
With his pioneering of Chicago-based soul music in the 1960s and ‘70s, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram would go as far as to call Curtis Mayfield a “prophet”.
Born in 1942, Mayfield first found success with vocal group The Impressions, before embarking on a solo career which would later spawn albums like his debut Curtis (1970), and the soundtrack to the 1972 movie Super Fly.
And it’s the latter which Kingfish cites as one of the six blues albums which influenced him most.
“Curtis Mayfield has to be here,” he tells Guitar.com in an interview. “Super Fly is an important album. I always say that Curtis Mayfield was a prophet. History repeats itself and he really prophesied a lot of what we are seeing today for sure man.
“Not only that but his black piano key tuning and his whole approach opening up the guitar to his melody and rhythm work. This record belongs here for sure. The title track says it all.”
And Kingfish isn’t the only one to rank Super Fly high on his list of top albums. In 2003, Rolling Stone placed the soundtrack at no. 72 in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Curtis Mayfield suffered an accident in August 1990, in which lighting equipment fell on him during a live performance, leaving him paralysed from the neck down. He continued to compose and record, and later released his final album, New World Order, in 1996.
Prior to his death in 1999, Mayfield was the recipient of two Grammy awards, and was a double inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
While deeply rooted in the blues, Kingfish wouldn’t regard himself as a blues purist, he explains.
“I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with ‘purists’ of the genre,” he says. “And that’s simply because I jump back and forth – one day I’ll play traditional blues, the next I’m all rocked up and rocking out.
“But here’s the thing, I will play whatever the hell I want to play, how I want to play it. And not only that, I feel that it’s cool to showcase the influence of the blues as much as the language itself.”
He continues: “We all know that the blues is the roots – all these other sub-genres like soul, blues rock, rock ‘n’ roll, they’re all the branches. Ain’t nothing wrong with showing what the blues has influenced.
“I feel like the more I go out the box musically people will always be able to hear the foundation of the blues in my music because I will always have that no matter what I do. Even if I’m doing a pop record it’s going to have some blues in there somewhere because that’s where I come from.”
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“Whether that was just a knee-jerk anger statement or it was true, I don’t know”: David Ellefson hasn’t spoke to Dave Mustaine in four years – but admits he would “take his call”
David Ellefson’s views on his soured relationship with Megadeth and Dave Mustaine have shifted, as he now says he would “take his call” if Mustaine were to reach out.
Ellefson was dismissed from the band in 2021, and hasn’t spoken to Mustaine in over four years. However, it seems the recent passing of Ace Frehley has reframed his thoughts on holding grudges.
During a special episode of The David Ellefson Show titled Remembering Ace Frehley, the bassist was asked by co-host Joshua Toomey if Frehley’s death – as well as other significant and recent losses in music, such as Ozzy Osbourne – make him want to get back in touch with Mustaine.
“I had someone say that [to me] after I finished [playing at] the Ozzy [Back To The Beginning] gig, just saying, ‘Dude, let’s just get over it,’” he says (via Blabbermouth). “The problem of it is me and Dave were always together as a band. We never just hung out just as buddies not in the band. It was always angled with us being in the band together.
“Look, he’s got his own [incarnation of Megadeth], he’s got his own record, he’s got his new music. I’m not part of that. I think he made it really clear in his press statement, he doesn’t wanna play music with me again. And whether that was just a kneejerk anger statement or it was true, I don’t know. But, look, I would take his call.”
He concludes, “For sure it would be nice if things between me and Dave and me and Megadeth, as just an entity, didn’t end on a sour note. I think that’s what [Megadeth’s] farewell statement has [done], sort of raised all those questions. Which is why I said right away, I would be open to [being part of] it, if for nothing else to just sort of close the circle, close the gap.”
Earlier this year, Megadeth announced that their 17th studio album, which will arrive in 2026, will be their final record. A farewell tour will also follow.
In an official statement from Mustaine, he said: “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played, and we changed the world.”
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“I’ll stay at any hotel you offer me!”: How Steve Harris convinced Sabaton to let him play at their Sabaton Open Air festival
![[L-R] Steve Harris and Joakim Brodén of Sabaton](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Steve-Harris-Sabaton@2000x1500.jpg)
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris managed to convince Sabaton to let his band British Lion play at their Open Air festival by offering to stay at any hotel they could land him.
Sabaton Open Air was founded in 2008 by the Swedish metal band, and ran until 2022. Located in their hometown of Falun at the Lugnet Ski Stadium, the event drew in thousands of people each year, and hosted a plethora of bands all picked out by Sabaton themselves.
Speaking to Metal Hammer about the festival, bassist Pär Sundström says that Harris’s offer to play at the event was a real surprise and honour for the band: “In 2017 Steve Harris’s British Lion played,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it! We toured with Iron Maiden, and Steve said he wanted to come and play the festival.
“I actually said no at first! I told him, ‘This is only a small town, we don’t have the infrastructure for an artist like you!’ But he said, ‘I’ve seen the crowds, I’ll stay at any hotel you can offer me, and I’ve seen you have a Sabaton cheeseburger – I’ll eat that.’ And he came! It was an unbelievable honour for us.”
Vocalist Joakim Brodén adds: “The only thing he demanded was access to some sports… That’s the one thing we have plenty of here. So we closed off the swimming pool for him [at the Lugnet sports complex] and he was happy as can be!”
Sabaton released their eleventh studio album, Legends, last week. They say it “takes listeners on an epic journey through the stories of some of history’s most iconic figures”, and that it delves into the lives of “legendary characters like Jeanne D’arc, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and the master swordsman”.
In an official statement, they explain, “With Legends, we usher in a new era – while our sound and songwriting remains intact, we are now entering into a new chapter hand-in-hand with our new record label, Better Noise Music. This is the first time in our history that every current band member has played an active role in the songwriting process on a single album.”
Sabaton head out on tour in November, and you can still grab tickets via the official Sabaton website.
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The iconic rock band Wolfgang Van Halen thinks should have their own “Mount Rushmore”
Some bands have made such a seismic impact on the world that you could argue they deserve some kind of immortalisation in statue form. And Tool, Wolfgang Van Halen says, is one of them.
Speaking to Guitar.com about his five all-time favourite guitar players, the Mammoth bandleader and son of Eddie Van Halen is quick to name guitarist Adam Jones and his bandmates and single out their technical wizardry.
Wolfgang is a hugely proficient multi-instrumentalist himself, and therefore recognises the immense skill possessed by each Tool member.
“In terms of every instrument I play – bass, guitar, drums and singing – each member of Tool is on the respective Mount Rushmore for their instrument,” he says.
“The first song I heard from them was Third Eye [from 1996’s Ænima], which is funny, because it wasn’t a single or anything. It kind of opened my mind – opened my third eye, so to speak – regarding what music can be.
“I was like, ‘This is a 13-minute song! Not just a four-minute thing!’ It blew my mind when I was in seventh grade. There’s power in its simplicity: when Adam just holds down the rhythms and almost lets Justin [Chancellor, bass] take the lead, they have such a great connection.”
Wolfgang goes on to describe guitarist Adam Jones as the “Malcolm Young of metal”. “He is such a fucking awesome rhythm guy, and he’s a great lead guy, too,” he goes on.
But while Wolfgang Van Halen cites Adam Jones as one of his biggest inspirations, he says Tool’s influence on his music isn’t always so overt.
“In Mammoth, the influence of bands like Tool and Meshuggah will come out in places you don’t expect,” he says.
“If you listen to [the song] The End, the very end of it, there’s this double-kick, half-time, metal-ey thing. They just pop up! Even on the last album [2023’s Mammoth II], on Right?, there’s that Meshuggah-ey breakdown in the middle after the solo. It’s never intentional: I try not to stifle the creative process by overthinking and just do what feels right.”
Also in the interview, Wolfgang recalls his father Eddie being a “terrible teacher”, and even once calling virtuoso Paul Gilbert to give him a guitar lesson. “He laughed his ass off!” he says. “That just shows you how he felt about being a teacher!”
The post The iconic rock band Wolfgang Van Halen thinks should have their own “Mount Rushmore” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
From vintage oddball to alternative classic: the Gretsch CVT’s remarkable journey
Imagine, if you will, a vintage Gretsch electric. Chances are you’re thinking of a Falcon – the brand’s flagship guitars have largely been defined by big hollow bodies, bold accents and a maximalist approach to hardware and electronics.
What you probably didn’t imagine is the Corvette. It’s safe to say that Gretsch’s first solidbody design didn’t take the world by storm when it was launched in 1961, but in the following decades it developed a cult reputation and no shortage of artist associations – from Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallager, to Patrick Stump and Josh Homme.
The Gretsch CVT on the Guitar.com Cover. Image: Fiona Garden for Guitar.com
This is a golden-era guitar released by a major brand that still somehow has a certain outsider cachet. That’s a vanishingly rare concept in 2025 when everyone is looking for a guitar to stand out from the Strat– and Les Paul-toting crowd, and the most surprising thing is that it’s taken Gretsch so long to give the design its moment in the spotlight, albeit one with a new name: the CVT.
Perhaps it took Gretsch and its corporate stewards at Fender a while to realise the potential power of the Corvette because of how alien it is to the rest of the stable. Even 50 years on, it’s easy to forget what an impact guitars like the Les Paul, Strat and Telecaster had on what had been an exclusively air-filled existence for the electric guitar to that point.
Image: Fiona Garden for Guitar.com
“Solid bodies were like asteroids hitting guitar design!” explains Jason Barnes, the VP of the modern Gretsch guitar brand. “Looking back, it’s easy to get lost in what is and what is not ‘Gretsch’ – but think of the late 1950s and early 1960s. At the time music was so dynamic, sound was evolving so fast. Brands were just trying to make cool guitars that served the music of the day. The Corvette was certainly miles away from a Jet, and miles away from a G6120 – but maybe we have to temper the idea that Gretsch was breaking its own mould!”
The Corvette was, however, no Telecaster. Sales numbers never really took off, and it was discontinued by the mid-1960s. That wasn’t for a lack of variety – the Corvette shifted and changed just as quickly as the rest of the electric guitar world. The body bevels, the bridge and the number of pickups all varied across its short lifetime, and we got a couple of distinct variants, including the very edible-looking Peppermint Twist model and the Princess – the latter a guitar that instantly put the Corvette on a different course to the rest of the guitar world.
“The retro sensibility is there, but it still looks like it’ll kick you in the face!”
A Gretsch for her
“Now for the first time, a guitar that is unmistakably ‘hers.’ When she’s out in front of others, she’ll see the admiration in their eyes.” That was the marketing line that accompanied the launch of the Gretsch Princess in 1962 – a guitar designed to be “feminine in size, light in weight”, according to the catalogue.
The Princess was effectively a Corvette with a fabric pad on the back, a removable ‘Tone Twister’ vibrato and the word ‘Princess’ stamped on pickguard, but it was more than that. We may quite rightly cringe at the sheer 1960s-ness of it all, but the Princess stands out as a very early attempt to market the electric guitar – then an almost exclusively male-dominated cultural phenomenon.
Even by Corvette standards the Princess was not popular, and barely lasted a year in the Gretsch catalogue, but the intent, however clumsy, was there from the off: to appeal to those the mainstream electric guitar ignores.
Image: Fiona Garden for Guitar.com
“We’ve done some of our research that’s found that women are a much larger percentage of the market than perhaps we had been assuming,” Barnes explains. “So you wonder if the same thing happened with the Princess – was that what drove that decision to pitch it like that?”
Neither the Corvette nor the Princess was a big seller, but they had something. A definite spark of outsider cool means the guitar has regularly popped up in the hands of interesting and individual guitar players in the decades since – from G. Love to Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump.
“The Corvette is a guitar that’s being discovered by modern artists,” Barnes says. “It was short-lived, and wasn’t a commercial meteor, by any stretch of the imagination. So, as artists do, they stumble upon something and create an identity with it and for it. That’s definitely what led Jack Antonoff to it – the frozen-in-timeness of it!”
“It’s quirky, it’s cool, it’s got that approach of ‘grab something, mash it up, and see what the world says’.”
Doing what was needed
Ah yes, Jack Antonoff. The mega-producer might be the single most important driver behind the return of the Corvette to Gretsch’s production ranks for the first time in over a decade.
Last year, the Bleachers frontman revealed his signature model, based on his trusty 60s Princess – which fused the killer looks of the Corvette shape with a pickup configuration and tremolo borrowed from a Fender Jazzmaster.
It was a gloriously unconventional creation that this publication called “one of the most unique and fun electric guitars of 2024”. The internet agreed, losing its collective mind over what an undeniably cool and fantastic looking guitar the Antonoff Princess was. It was a culmination of a gradual building hype train for cool signature Corvettes – including models for Stump and G. Love – over the last few years.
“People loved it – we were blown away by the response,” Barnes says of the Antonoff Princess. “For that price, that look – you’ve just got to have it. It’s quirky, it’s cool, it’s got that approach of ‘grab something, mash it up, and see what the world says’.”
Image: Fiona Garden for Guitar.com
Crucially, it was also keenly priced compared to most artist signature models. It proved in many ways to be the first act of reviving the Corvette – keeping a focus on accessibility, but also evolving it so it didn’t slavishly recreate a guitar that was designed 50 years ago.
“We let the guitar do more of what I think it needed to do,” says Barnes. “Look at the Corvette’s neck pickup – it’s almost in the middle position! That gives it some of its sonic charm, for sure, but it’s not ideal for the killer double cut that we wanted it to be. We wanted something that looked cool, but we needed it to perform.”
So the CVT still costs just £499, but you get a pair of punchy Twin Six humbuckers, and a wrapover tune-o-matic bridge. Crucially, it’s also not a set-neck guitar – but being part of Fender meant that Gretsch’s team realised this was far from a downgrade. Instead, it was an opportunity to create something more sonically interesting.
“When you have the mahogany-on-mahogany thing, you can kind of get some cloudiness in high mids, and sometimes the low end gets a little fuzzy,” Barnes says. “The bolt-on clears things up and gives you some nice snappiness.”
Image: Fiona Garden for Guitar.com
And far from 3D-scanning in an original example, the chance was taken to switch up the body and its balance. “We thickened the body for a deeper, tighter low-end and a stronger midrange. And if you mess with the mass it shifts how the guitar sits on you, so we chilled out that upper horn too. In all, we’re really pleased with where it ended up. The retro sensibility is there, but it still looks like it’ll kick you in the face!”
Barnes also notes that the CVT’s slightly “meaner” look was a deliberate choice, too. You may have noticed that a lot of heavy bands in recent years have really embraced vintage and the weird – and Gretsch guitars are a big part of that. Liverpool band Loathe are the obvious example: guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe puts a vintage-style Gretsch Baritone to work wreaking absolute havoc in double-drop tunings.
Barnes stresses that Gretsch is “totally tuned into” what’s happening in that regard. “Those lower-output pickups mean you’re not absolutely pummeling the front end of an amp, and when you’re tuned to those low registers, you’re getting so much definition out of, say, Broad’Trons. It’s not pure saturation – it’s about width. It almost sounds like a piano!”
For Barnes, this all goes back to a foundational – and extremely loud – use of a Gretsch in rock music. “We’re very much about powerful sound and fidelity and articulation. And you hear it, most exemplary, with Malcolm Young. That Marshall Super Bass isn’t set incredibly crunchy, but man does it take up space!”
“You can get into business, market share and all this crap, but the reality of it is you’re not successful in music unless you start with the music and the musicians.”
An outlier no more?
All this is to say that the modern Gretsch brand has firmly diversified its image beyond just cattle-branded country and quiff-toting rockabilly. The new CVT is far from a massive handbrake-turn away from those touchstones of the Gretsch identity – it’s more the next step of a path Gretsch has been on for a while. Ever since, really, a Sparkle Jet found its way into Chris Cornell’s hands.
The approach has paid off – in 2025, indie-guitar-cool-kids are some of the most talked-about artists globally. It’s notable to see both someone like Antonoff – whose in-demand production skills have defined the 2020s’ most influential pop – and Boygenius – whose members are some of the most influential indie artists of the last decade – on the same artist roster.
“You can get into business, market share and all this crap, but the reality of it is you’re not successful in music unless you start with the music and the musicians,” Barnes says. “I mean, that’s just a proven factor – we’ve seen over time, new designs full of great innovations – not a lot of them land! Because in most genres, I would say, guitar players aren’t looking for the brand-new shininess. They’re looking at ways to make their music better, ways to be inspired by the instrument. And, honestly, ways to look cool and add to that performance aspect.”
Image: Fiona Garden for Guitar.com
And so the new Corvette isn’t a sign of Gretsch deliberately pivoting away from the flash of big-box country guitars towards ‘cooler’ modern artists. If anything, Orville Peck’s signature Falcon is proof that those two concepts are absolutely compatible. Instead, it’s another example of what Barnes said Gretsch was doing upon the launch of the original Corvette: making “cool guitars that serve the music of the day.”
“You’ve just gotta give people good stuff. Cool stuff that doesn’t feel kitschy, doesn’t feel arbitrary, doesn’t feel market-share driven. And that’s where the CVT was so much fun for us – because it was a blank slate. The guitar was what it was. We saw a little resurgence. But every one of us, myself included, always had an eye on that thing. We just knew that if we did it right, the guitar would crush.”
Words: Cillian Breathnach
Photography: Fiona Garden
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Sam Rivers 1977-2025: Limp Bizkit pay tribute to founding bassist, who has died aged 48
Limp Bizkit have paid tribute to founding bassist Sam Rivers, who has died aged 48.
Sharing the news in a poignant tribute on social media, the band write: “Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat.
“Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player – he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound. From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced. His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.
We shared so many moments – wild ones, quiet ones, beautiful ones – and every one of them meant more because Sam was there.
He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human. A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory.
We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, always. Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends. Fred, Wes, John & DJ Lethal.”
Sam Rivers’ cause of death has not been disclosed at the time of writing.
Rivers was born in 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida, where he later founded soon-to-be nu metal titans Limp Bizkit in 1994, alongside frontman Fred Durst.
He played on all of the band’s six studio albums: Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$ (1997), Significant Other (1999), Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000), Results May Vary (2003), Gold Cobra (2011), and Still Sucks (2021).
He took a brief period of time out from the band between 2015 and 2018 while he fought liver disease resulting from chronic alcohol abuse.
Speaking to author Jon Wiederhorn for his book Raising Hell in 2020, Rivers revealed the extent of his alcoholism: “The doctor said, ‘If you don’t stop, you’re going to die.’ I had really bad liver disease. I quit drinking and did everything the doctors told me. I fought liver disease for a couple of years and it won. I had to get a liver transplant in 2017.”
This is a developing story.
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“No, no! Not to this song!”: Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz recalls the time he heard one of his songs played in a strip club
It’s every artist’s dream to have a song become so huge that they begin to hear it being played everywhere, but sometimes such a level of success can be a blessing and a curse.
Just ask Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz, who recently revealed that the band’s successful debut single, Mr. Jones, became such a huge hit that he even heard it in a strip club, and it became somewhat of a buzz kill.
The song was released as part of their 1993 debut album, August And Everything After, and speaking to Classic Rock magazine, Duritz says the song was originally written for another band he was in before Counting Crows, but it ended up not being used.
He recalls writing Mr. Jones directly after a wild night in San Francisco’s Mission District with his friend and Himalayans bandmate, Marty Jones. At the time, Jones’ father, who lived in Spain, was over in the US performing.
“He’d become one of the iconic flamenco guitar players in Madrid, and was playing with his old flamenco troupe who he’d played with many years before,” explains Duritz. “There were singers, dancers, musicians, a whole bunch of people who were all part of the scene, and they played this show and it was fucking outrageous.”
He adds, “I remember going home and needing to go to work [on it] right away. I’ve never been one of those people who wrote over chunks of time, I used to just sit down and do it and I’d stick with it until it was done.”
The actual recording of the song became tricky, and Duritz says he must have done “fifty or sixty” vocal takes. Though released as Counting Crows’ first single, they didn’t expect it to become such a huge hit.
“After SNL [Saturday Night Live], it got pretty big on the radio. By that summer, when we were playing, there was a lot of people who wanted to hear Mr. Jones. It seemed like the audience was there for Mr. Jones. But I noticed that more after the fact. I didn’t notice it blowing the record up, I just noticed that once the record blew up, Mr. Jones was really big.
“I remember being in a strip club in New Orleans and Mr. Jones comes on, and I was like: ‘No, no, this is not the vibe. Not to this song!’ I don’t mind getting a dance every now and then, but not to my song,” he says. “That is not okay.”
Counting Crows released their eighth album, Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets! back in May. Head over to their website to view their current tour dates.
The post “No, no! Not to this song!”: Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz recalls the time he heard one of his songs played in a strip club appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“We were getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands”: Trivium’s Matt Heafy reveals the ‘intense cliquiness’ of the metal scene when they came up
Matt Heafy has looked back on the ruthless cliquiness of the metal scene back when Trivium were just starting out in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
According to Heafy, the band faced bullying from other bands that they admired, and physical violence from music fans. These days, he feels things have significantly improved, and with rock and metal having somewhat of a mainstream revival (though for us it never went anywhere), there’s no time like the presence to form a band.
Speaking to Metal Hammer in its new print magazine, Heafy – who is a big supporter of rising talent within heavy music – is asked about his thoughts on the state of the heavy music world right now.
“It’s a good time to be playing heavy music, man. It’s a good time to be a younger band, too,” he replies. “You’re not having to deal with as much of the bullshit that we had to deal with: there’s not this intense ostracisation, this intense cliquiness.
“When we were coming around, we were getting glass bottles thrown at our heads, fans waiting for us outside of our van to try to fight us because they didn’t like the kind of music we played, getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands. That doesn’t happen anymore as much [to young bands].”
Interestingly, Devin Townsend has also spoken of how metal was overlooked and undervalued by the music industry when it first began to blossom, back in an interview with D’Addario in August.
He said, “Metal is a dynamic that I feel was undervalued by the music industry at large because it was tied to the aesthetic of Mötley Crüe and all that shit. Because I was a very sensitive kid and consequently, a very sensitive adult, I do find that it’s visceral in ways that other music isn’t, and it managed to scratch an itch, but as a dynamic, as a texture.”
The post “We were getting bullied to our faces by our favourite bands”: Trivium’s Matt Heafy reveals the ‘intense cliquiness’ of the metal scene when they came up appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Does a better understanding of technique dim the magic of guitar playing? Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil weighs in…
While some guitarists thrive on expanding their technical and theoretical knowledge, others would much rather be without it – as is the case for Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, whose love of guitar thrives on a lack of technique.
The Biff released a brand new album, Futique, at the end of September. The record went straight to number one, marking their fourth album to reach the top spot in the UK Albums Chart. One element of their success as a band may well lie in Neil’s freeing “creative relationship” with his guitar, as he believes there can be such a thing as knowing too much.
Speaking to Guitarist for its new print edition, Neil shares some of his view points on gear, and the joy he finds in being curious about his instrument: “We all use gear in different ways, sometimes for things beyond what it may have been designed for. I used to think you needed someone’s rig to sound like them, but actually it’s all about the expression through your fingers,” he says.
“I’m still enthralled by the magic of the guitar, probably because I never conquered the technique side. It’s this box of wonder that I approach as a creative instrument. A lot of songs on this record are in standard tuning, though a couple were standard a step down. I know I’m about to go down a creative period where I start fucking with tunings. I needed a wee break from the guitar before this album.”
The band’s most recent releases prior to Futique were 2020’s A Celebration Of Endings and 2021’s The Myth Of The Happily Ever After. The time off from their last album to now was intentional, as having some time away from guitar also helps Neil to come back to it with a clearer head.
“We’d released two records during the pandemic and my guitar was my companion through that [so] I couldn’t look at my guitar for a year after that; I was scared of it. I felt this responsibility, where I had to write music every time I picked it up. So instead I went away and made some heavy metal music in Empire State Bastard [with Mike Vennart],” he shares.
“As soon as I came home, I picked up the guitar and the songs started to come out. It was playtime again. Being a novice when you are creating is actually a good place to be. You can have too much knowledge. Again, it’s that battle I’m having between being a better player and not ruining the creative relationship I have with my guitar.”
There’s perhaps an element of decision paralysis that may come into play when composing music as an advanced player, in that the number of theoretical options available to you may prove overwhelming and take you out of your creative flow. So is Simon Neil onto something? You be the judge…
Futique is out now. Biffy Clyro are also currently playing a number of live acoustic shows, and will kick off a headline tour in January – you can find out more via their official website.
The post Does a better understanding of technique dim the magic of guitar playing? Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil weighs in… appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Comparing Taylor’s Gold Label Lineup: Which guitar is for you?
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Back in January 2025, Taylor’s Gold Label Collection was a bolt from the blue that shook up the perception of America’s most innovative guitar brand. Breaking with 50 years of Taylor sonic and visual ethos, the Gold Label Collection guitars were designed by Andy Powers to represent “a different flavour altogether” for the brand.
“It’s equally good, equally interesting, but probably speaks to a different musician, or a different use case” the man himself told us ahead of the launch. “And so this will be interesting to watch expand. There’s a lot that we can do with this coming in the future.”
Ten months on and Powers and his team have made very good on that prediction – after launching with four 800 Series models, the range has since expanded to offer 22 different combinations of wood, body shape, trim level and finish.
But such a rapid expansion of a concept can be a little dizzying for even the most dedicated of Taylor enthusiasts. With new Gold Label guitars coming thick and fast, how can you be sure you’ve picked the right one for you? Well, don’t fret, because Guitar.com is here to guide you through the most important stuff you’ll need to know…
The Body Shape
When the Gold Label Collection debuted, it also brought a new body shape to the Taylor recipe, the Super Auditorium. Adapted from the legendary Grand Auditorium body shape that has been a Taylor mainstay for decades, the Super Auditorium is a little longer and a little wider. This gives the Gold Label guitars more low-end power and an open, round response than a traditional Taylor.
But the Super Auditorium wasn’t alone for long in the Gold Label stakes – it was soon joined by a bigger brother… and boy is it big. The Gold Label Grand Pacific body shape is an evolution of the Grand Pacific design that Andy Powers created back in 2019. The Gold Label version keeps the handsome slope-shouldered dreadnought dimensions of the original, but makes things deeper in the body – 3/8-inch in practice. That means this is deeper even than a Martin dread or a Gibson Jumbo.
In sonic terms, that means you get a guitar that has the powerful acoustic projection and rich low-end warmth that you’d expect from a classic old-school dreadnought guitar.
The Wood Choice
The Gold Label Collection currently inhabits four different Taylor series levels, which determine the various woods used in their construction. As well as impacting the price of the guitar in question, these wood choices also impact the guitar’s overall sound – and so whatever you’re looking to spend, it’s important to know what you’re working with.
The most affordable guitars in the current range are the 500 Series models, and these guitars pair a top of torrefied spruce – where the wood has been cooked in an oven to get a jump on the way a guitar’s woods will naturally dry out over time – and mahogany.
This is, of course, an absolutely classic acoustic guitar combination, and as such offers a rich, earthy midrange character with a clear, woody response, powerful projection and hints of seasoned, aged-in sweetness right out of the box thanks to that torrefied top.
Moving up into the 700 and 800 Series models, we find another classic pairing in the shape of torrefied Sitka spruce and rosewood on the back and sides. On the 700 Series you’ll find Indian rosewood, while the 800 Series sports Honduran rosewood, giving subtle sonic differences. Both offer a blooming, harmonically rich tone with inspiring old-school sonic character when paired with spruce, though you may notice a little more midrange punch from the 800’s Honduran back and sides .
All of the above are available in either body type, but if you want something a little different (though still very classically Taylor) you can enjoy the Koa Series Super Auditorium, which offers a Hawaiian koa back and sides to add a rich midrange character to the Gold Label recipe.
All Gold Label guitars sport mahogany necks, West African Ebony fretboard and Honduran rosewood bridges, bringing some of the finest sustainable tonewoods on earth together in spectacular fashion.
The Looks
The first strum is with the eyes, someone probably once said – and there’s no doubt that the visuals of the Gold Label Collection are as striking as they are appealing. If you want your Gold Label guitar to look as classic and timeless as it sounds, every one of the guitars in the range is offered in the classic gloss natural finish – with a player-friendly satin-finished neck – but there are more eye-catching options to be found here.
The Gold Label Collection has debuted a new amber sunburst option that manages the rare feat of looking both very current and very classic at the same time – something that’s further enhanced by the option of either a cream or firestripe pickguard.
Want to really stand out however, and you can opt for the stunning Blacktop option for all 500 and 700 Series guitars. This painted top option really emphasises the visual inspiration that Powers took from guitars and banjos of the 1920s and 30s, but with all the usual Taylor charm, cleanness and precision.
Another more subtle visual delineation between the guitars are the inlays and peghead motif – the 500 and 700 Series guitars sport the new “Crest” inlays, while the 800 Series boasts the more elaborate mother-of-pearl “Continental” designs.
More In Common
While there’s a great degree of choice already in the Gold Label Collection, there are some killer features that are ever present throughout the range. For starters, all Gold Label guitars sport Powers’ latest guitar design innovation: the Action Control Neck. This patented design features a long-tenon joint that extends deeper into the body, enhancing the wood coupling to boost the low-end resonance. It also enables you to make quick, precise string height adjustments with a turn of a bolt through the soundhole – you don’t even need to remove the strings to do this, let alone the neck.
Another common feature of the Collection is the latest evolution of Taylor’s revolutionary V-Class architecture. The Gold Label guitars sport a fan-like arrangement of braces in the soundboard’s lower bout, giving the models a warmer, more resonant, more powerful sound than would be possible otherwise. Another common factor is the LR Baggs Element VTC pickup system that ensures you sound great plugged in, too.
There are no bad choices in the Gold Label Collection – each instrument is made with that remarkable blend of precision and care that makes Taylor guitars a lifetime companion. Now you know exactly which flavour is right for you, there’s nothing stopping you from making a Gold Label guitar your new favourite instrument.
Find out more about the Gold Label Collection at taylorguitars.com
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Black Friday 2025: Everything guitarists need to know
Black Friday is set to deliver its annual deluge of deals once again this year. The event and its follow-ups Cyber Weekend and Cyber Monday give guitarists a great chance to grab a saving on anything from a few packs of strings, to that dream instrument. The entire span from the week before Thanksgiving right through to Cyber Monday – AKA Cyber Week – is what serious gear-heads should be watching. Savvy shoppers in search of a new guitar, amp or effects pedal understand that the true savings often begin well before the day itself, with retailers such as Amazon, Sweetwater, Thomann, Reverb and zZounds launching early bird promotions to capture pre-holiday spending.
Where can you find savings? Well, if you’re in the UK or the EU, there are some great deals to be had at Thomann and Amazon, as well as Reverb and PMT. In the US, you’ll be able to grab some savings at Guitar Center, Amazon, Reverb and zZounds.
The Guitar.com team is primed to find the best deals for you across all of Cyber Weekend – so be sure to check back here, as this page will be regularly updated with our best picks! Until then, here’s just some of the places we’ll be trawling for savings:
| UK/EU Deals | US Deals |
| Thomann Save up to 70% | Reverb Up to 80% off |
| Reverb UK Up to 80% off | zZounds Black Friday savings |
| Positive Grid Up to 50% off | Sweetwater Up to 80% off |
| Gear4Music Black Friday deals | Positive Grid Up to 50% off |
| PMT Up to 70% off | Guitar Center Save up to 50% |
| Amazon UK Big savings | Amazon Black Friday deals |
| Guitar Tricks 20% off monthly sub | Tim Pierce Masterclass Free trial |
| Tim Pierce Masterclass Free trial | Guitar Tricks 20% off annual sub |
| Ultimate Ears EU Shop savings | Music & Arts 20% savings |
When is Black Friday 2025?
Black Friday 2025 will officially commence on 28 November 2025, with Cyber Monday 2025 falling on Monday, December 1, 2025. Across this weekend you’ll want to keep an eye on all of your favourite retailers, and indeed this very site – Guitar.com will be trawling the guitar world to find you the biggest and the best deals we can, on everything from string-winders to seven-strings.
It’s important to not just focus on the physical gear, too! Deals on plugins and amp sims are standar often featuring really hefty discounts. If you’re a bedroom producer, it’s a great time to stock your virtual gear collection with some industry-leading plugins without breaking the bank.
Why You Can Trust Us
Every year, Guitar.com reviews a huge variety of new products – from the biggest launches to cool boutique effects – and our expert guitar reviewers have decades of collective experience, having played everything from Gibson ’59 Les Pauls to the cheapest Squiers.
That means that when you click on a Guitar.com buyer’s guide, you’re getting the benefit of all that experience to help you make the best buying decision for you. What’s more, every guide written on Guitar.com was put together by a guitar obsessive just like you. You can trust that every product recommended in those guides is something that we’d be happy to have in our own rigs.
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Ace Frehley 1951-2025: Guitar community mourns the death of Kiss’s trailblazing founding guitarist
Tributes have been pouring in from the guitar and wider music community following the news that Ace Frehley, Kiss’s trailblazing founding guitarist who was instrumental in their success, has died aged 74.
“We are completely devastated and heartbroken,” reads a statement from Frehley’s family, shared with Variety. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers, and intentions as he left this earth,” read a statement from the guitarist’s family.
“We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”
No official cause of death has been given yet, but TMZ reported the guitarist was on life support following a recent fall at his home studio, which caused a brain bleed and forced him to cancel a string of upcoming tour dates.
Kiss lead the tributes to their former guitarist, with a statement on the band’s social media reading: “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of Kiss’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello calls Ace Frehley his “first guitar hero”, thanking him for inspiring “generations to love rock ‘n’ roll” and for his “timeless riffs and solos”
Extreme virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt shares a similar sentiment, reflecting on how Kiss was the “first rock band I wanted to be like”, adding, “So long, Spaceman.”
“As far as I’m concerned Ace was the coolest dude out of the original four,” write Opeth. “He had some type of swagger that almost defined the term itself. A hard rocking Keith Richards of sorts, albeit in silver makeup and platform heels. Kiss was very much an introduction to my ‘school of rock’. All my childhood friends were fans of Kiss, and many of them regarded Ace as the ultimate rock-star.”
“I am so shocked and saddened that this happened to my hero and my friend,” adds John 5. “I’ve known Ace since 1988 and we’ve been very close ever since then. Ace changed the world. He influenced millions of people and changed my life. I will miss you my friend.”
Elsewhere, former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick calls Frehley “truly an iconic guitar player”, noting his “undeniable role in the creation and success of Kiss”, and his influence on “millions of guitarists around the world”.
Rush’s Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee say they are “absolutely stunned and saddened” at the news of Frehley’s death.
“Back in 1974, as the opening act for Kiss, Alex, Neil [Peart] and myself spent many a night hanging out together in his hotel room after shows, doing whatever nonsense we could think of, just to make him break out his inimitable and infectious laugh.
“He was an undeniable character and an authentic rock star. RIP Ace… thanks for welcoming us newbies into the rock and roll world.”
Frehley was born April 27, 1951, and started playing the guitar aged just 13. After spending his early 20s playing in various rock bands, he would successfully audition for a new project being formed by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss in 1972. He would help conceptualise Kiss, and launch the band in 1973.
As Kiss’ Spaceman, Frehley brought an old-school hard-rock attitude to the band’s lofty theatrics, drawing on his early influences such as Cream, The Who and Jimi Hendrix. While the band slowly garnered an audience in its first year, he established a frenetic playing style that provided a grounded counterbalance to his sci-fi persona and the band’s overall bombastic stylings.
Frehley would co-write the occasional song for Kiss’ early material, but increased his writing credits by the late 1970s – 1979 and 1980 albums Dynasty and Unmasked both featured three Frehley-penned songs. Despite this, he began to find himself pulling in a more experimental, less commercial direction than Simmons and Stanley, especially after Peter Criss’ firing in 1980.
By 1982, he had left the group and embarked on a solo career. In 1987 he released the self-titled record with his solo band Frehley’s Comet, which was well-received.
Alongside Criss, Frehley rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a successful reunion tour. After the band’s original lineup embarked on a ‘farewell’ tour in 2001, however, he departed and resumed his solo career. Following some disputes with the remaining members of Kiss surrounding payment, he didn’t return to the band to participate in their final tours.
He continued releasing music under his own name after his departure, with his next LP scheduled for released this year.
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Manson x Cort MBM-2H review – as sparkly as it is playable
£569, mansonguitarworks.com
Christmas comes earlier every year, doesn’t it? Particularly in this year, when it arrived in June with the launch of the Manson x Cort MBM-2H. It’s the latest entry to the affordable side of Matt Bellamy’s signature line, and the most striking addition is a finish option that looks like Saint Nick himself carved the body out of peppermint and magical reindeer noses. That’s no coincidence, of course – the finish echoes Bellamy’s own more high-end custom guitar, one nicknamed ‘Santa’ for its sparkly red-and-white colour scheme.
Image: Adam Gasson
What is the MBM-2H?
So yes, in my hands is the new – sort of – Meta Series MBM-2H. It’s worth noting that, other than a new set of finishes and the addition of a neck humbucker rather than a P90, not much has changed from the previous Meta Series MBM-2. The rest of the spec-sheet all remains the same, with a basswood body, soft-V maple neck, compound 12-16” laurel fretboard and locking tuners
This particular model is also the most barebones version of the instrument, as there is also a slightly pricier option if you want to go with a Sustaniac in the neck position. You can even add a built-in ZVEX Fuzz Factory for a little extra again, if you want to get really close to Bellamy’s own loadout. And if you do happen to be a little less ‘LED shutter sunglasses’ in your aesthetic sensibilities, the MBM-2H does come in two other finishes that are a little less festive – olive green and black.
Image: Adam Gasson
Construction and QC
The construction and attention to detail here is generally pretty great for the price, but my eye is drawn to a few reminders that this is a sub-£600 guitar. The 12th-fret dot markers have been drilled noticeably askew, and a non-zero amount of glitter from the body has made its way under the otherwise plain neck finish. It’s worth highlighting that lopsided fret-dots were also present on previous iterations of this instrument, so it’s a little bit of a shame that this issue hasn’t been addressed. There’s also one pretty egregious tool mark along the fretboard edge, and the transition from the painted headstock to the laurel fretboard is rough at best.
Some of the hardware choices are similarly indicative of a more budget instrument, too – the line of strings is almost entirely flat to the body, but angled humbucker rings are still used, meaning that the pickups have one coil just slightly closer to the strings. Luckily, this issue is nowhere near as bad as it was on the similarly-priced Vintage REVO Integra, and the result isn’t audible here – especially as there’s no coil-splitting going on.
But in terms of any QC quibbles that impact playability, it’s thankfully a lot harder to find fault. There may be some rough spots to look at right up close, but under the hand, everything along the neck is smooth as can be, and the frets are polished and level. Intonation is also set perfectly out of the box, and the action has been dialled in for speedy riffing. So let’s do some of that.
Image: Adam Gasson
In use
In the hands and on the body the guitar is a very comfy experience – it’s light but well-balanced, and the soft-V neck and the generous comfort carves mean the guitar stays out of the way as you play. The factory action gives me a clue as to what this guitar has been dialled in to do – it’s low and slinky, which combined with a compound radius and a killswitch, makes this a guitar that invites big, silly riffs and shreddy solos. Not that I can shred very well, mind, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
Something that’s immediately striking when I plug in is just how damn good the bridge pickup is. It’s pretty much the opposite of a touch-responsive PAF, with bucketloads of output, quickly driving my amp into heavy saturation. This makes sense, of course. Subtlety is not a word neither Matt Bellamy or his LED sunglasses know: this is a guitar designed for big riffs and killswitch-stuttered solos.
With that said, though, the main addition here over the previous MBM-2 guitar is that the neck P90 has been replaced by a humbucker. This is, in my view, a bit of a strange change to make, as it does remove some of the versatility and identity from the guitar. There’s not even any coil-splitting to be had to compensate – the sheer power of these Manson-designed humbuckers makes the bridge position great for huge riffs, but can mean that the neck position becomes a little muddy and overwhelming.
So without the electronic curveball of a P90, a Sustaniac or a Fuzz Factory, this version of the MBM-2H approaches being generic. And generic does a disservice to a design rooted in kick-to-the-teeth impact and electronic whackiness, not to mention that finish.
There is still the killswitch, of course, which is a quality bit of kit. It has a nice smooth action and there’s zero crackle while using it. It is also well-placed on that upper-bout, being pretty easy to integrate it into your playing. This isn’t one of those killswitches that asks you to paw at hitherto unexplored areas of a guitar to activate the stuttering effect – it remains accessible in most imaginable playing positions. Equally, if you find yourself not wanting to use it for whatever reason, it is still a low-profile push-button – and so will stay out of the way.
Image: Adam Gasson
Should I buy an MBM-2H?
The MBM-2H has all of the hallmarks of a high-quality Indonesian-made instrument – and therefore will absolutely perform for you without breaking the bank. The playability-to-price ratio here is undeniable, and by most measures it’s an excellent guitar. Manson and Cort continue to prove themselves a worthy pairing when it comes to making excellent guitars at this price point.
However, there is something about it that doesn’t quite spark as much joy as, on paper, it should. It’s hard to put my finger on why. Maybe it’s the pretty generic satin-finished maple neck. Maybe it’s my aversion to the flashiness of the red sparkle. Maybe it’s the fact I’m looking at the slightly more anonymous version without a Sustainiac or a Fuzz Factory. Or maybe it’s the fact that the main change over the Meta Series MBM-2 makes the guitar, in my view, a little more generic.
But with that said, these are the kinds of criticisms that you may well easily dismiss. Maybe you personally would never have used a neck P-90, and are overjoyed about this change to a humbucker! And for the fans of Bellamy’s Santa guitars, it is cool to see such an out-there finish arrive at the more affordable end of things.
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Judge Dredd comic book-inspired ThorpyFX pedals? Yes, please
ThorpyFX has teamed up with multimedia studios Rebellion on a line of comic book-themed pedals inspired by 2000 AD characters.
Three pedals have been launched through the partnership – which are each respectively based on the characters Judge Dredd, Judge Death, and Rogue Trooper – and a range of funky picks are also available as part of the launch.
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2000 AD was first published in 1977, and has been in the care of Rebellion since the year 2000. Rebellion is one of the world’s most successful independent video games studios, and it also produces books, TV, film, board games, and more alongside its comics too.
Not only do these pedals look cool, they’re also made to “survive the rigours of the road and deliver consistent superior sound in all working environments.” Built around existing ThorpyFX pedals, each one aligns with the character it’s named after, and features exclusive 2000 AD collab artwork.
Judge Dredd has been honoured with The Lawbringer, based on the award winning British-style Gunshot overdrive, which “aims to place Law above all else in line with Judge Dredd’s singular uncompromising attitude”. At the heart of this pedal is a proprietary cascading ‘gain engine’, tuned to deliver maximum tonality for a wide range of amps.
Judge Death’s Deathbringer is built around the distortion Warthog pedal that ThorpyFX designed to be “the distortion to beat all others”. This one has an American voice, and can cover all kinds of tones from boost to fuzz.
The final pedal in the collection is the Rogue Trooper Fallout Cloud. It’s described as embodying “the dark vengeful theme of the dystopian Nu-Earth world, but with a soundscape that is as massive as the wastelands found on Nu-Earth.” It’s a special edition version of the original Fallout Cloud designed by ThorpyFX in 2016 and is branded as a Triangle era-inspired fuzz.
Each pedal is available to pre-order now via ThorpyFX and each is priced at £229. You can also find out more about 2000 AD via Rebellion.
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Guild takes aim at singer-songwriters and fingerstylists with two smaller concert-sized acoustics
Guild has lifted the lid on two new USA-made concert-sized acoustics, the M-50 Standard and M-40 Standard, with smaller bodies and wider nut widths aimed at singer-songwriters and fingerstyle guitarists.
A concert-sized body is essentially smaller and less deep than that of a standard acoustic guitar, and so is ideal for smaller players, or perhaps those seeking a travel guitar.
Both the M-50 Standard and M-40 Standard are available in acoustic and electro-acoustic configurations, with the latter featuring an L.R. Baggs Element VLC Pickup System, designed to “faithfully reproduce the guitar’s acoustic sound when amplified or recorded”.
Though similar, each guitar sports a slightly different build; both feature a solid Sitka spruce top, while the M-50 Standard features an Indian rosewood back and sides, and the M-40 Standard features a back and sides built using African mahogany.
Both guitars have two finish options; the M-50 comes in either Natural or Antique Burst, while the M-40 comes in Natural and Pacific Sunset Burst.
Guild says the Indian rosewood of the M-50 Standard contributes to a “full and rich tone with excellent articulation”, while the M-40’s African mahogany means “warmth and an earthy richness”.
Further specs present on both models include a mahogany C-shaped neck, Indian rosewood bridge, compensated bone saddle and bone nut, tortoiseshell pickguard, white binding, Guild Peak headstock inlay and Guild Deluxe Vintage open-gear tuners.
Of the L.R. Baggs electronics featured on the M-50E and M-40E, Guild explains: “By detecting soundboard movement rather than picking pressure, the pickup captures the full and balanced tone of the guitar while eliminating the high-frequency ‘quack’ typical of undersaddle pickups.”
Learn more at Guild.
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