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Thomann-owned budget gear brand Harley Benton has announced it’s closing its Reverb US online store, citing “changes in economic conditions” which have “made it increasingly difficult for us to continue operating in the US”.

The store is set to close on 31 January, 2026, with “no more products available” from 1 February. Harley Benton does say, however, that its team will remain active for warranty, repairs and customer support”.

• READ MORE: “My job is to imagine things worth existing, and then making them real as an artist”: Jacob Collier is championing a new way to play guitar

“This wasn’t an easy decision, and we’re truly grateful for the enthusiasm and support you’ve shown to our brand,” Harley Benton writes in a new post on social media.

It adds that until the store’s closure on 31 January, “this is your last chance to grab Harley Benton gear directly from our warehouse – discounted and without tariffs”.

“Thank you to our US community for the trust, passion, and love – you’ll still be able to order Harley Benton instruments anytime via harleybenton.com, shipped from Germany through Thomann. We still focus on our mission to provide high-quality gear at fair prices.”

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Tariffs implemented by US president Donald Trump over the past year have led to an increasingly hostile economic climate for guitar brands.

Just last month, Höfner – the German maker of Paul McCartney’s legendary violin bass – blamed its recent bankruptcy filing on the effects of US tariffs.

And a report in September from financial information and analytics expert S&P Global revealed that Fender had increased prices over the first half of 2025 to offset higher costs from tariffs, “especially from China, which makes up 40% of purchases (half of which enter the US).”

Speaking in July, guitar accessories manufacturer D’Addario said it expected to incur more than $2 million in tariffs in 2025 as a result of US international trade policy.

We caught up with John Mlynczak, CEO of NAMM – which is due to kick off later this week – in July to get his views on how Trump’s tariffs are shaping (and damaging) the musical instruments industry.

“We met with high-level members of Congress just to follow up and say… American-made brands can’t make these products unless they get wood from overseas,” he said. “We don’t grow these species of wood in the United States!’”

You can check out Harley Benton’s Reverb US store until 31 January.

The post Harley Benton closes US Reverb store blaming “changes in economic conditions” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

For Jacob Collier, music is its own solar system, and the possibilities are endless – because nothing you feel moved to create is right or wrong. You could write a song for a sitarist and an opera singer, or a harpsichord player and a shred guitarist. You could even write an album primarily for a unique five-string guitar, tuned to DAEAD.

As he became the internet’s favourite musical polymath – wowing the world first with his YouTube videos before embarking on a multi-Grammy-winning run of albums – there was a running joke that the 31-year-old had ‘completed music’.

Jacob Collier on the Guitar.com Cover. Image: Paige Margulies for Guitar.com

Indeed, the former Royal Academy of Music jazz piano student is capable of commanding an entire orchestra in real time – which is why his latest turn, to a new musical era that focuses on his voice and acoustic guitar, is so striking.

Pivoting to being a guitar guy is something that Collier has been thinking about since he started teaching himself to play in 2016, but it’s not a venture he felt prepared for until this moment. For starters, he’s had to develop a unique five-string guitar to realise his vision for the instrument. It doesn’t matter how an instrument should be played, Collier reckons. That’s why he’d choose five strings and an unconventional tuning over six any day.

“I learned a lot about guitar playing when I had to record takes in full… that was such a refreshing challenge”

“The guitar is such an important part of my musical vocab book,” he explains during some downtime on the final leg of his world-spanning Djesse Vol. 4 tour. The thing that clearly excites him most at the moment however, is his latest album, The Light For Days.

A huge sonic departure for Collier, the 36-minute album conveys the delicate beauty of his DAEAD-tuned five-string acoustic guitars and his rich, caramel vocals. The virtuosity and remarkable gift for harmony is present and correct, of course, but presented in a way that leaves him no hiding place as a musician.

“I learned a lot about guitar playing when I had to record takes in full,” he admits. “Because I didn’t lean on any studio-based techniques to get away with not playing real stuff. It’s all me playing, and that was such a refreshing challenge.”

Image: Paige Margulies for Guitar.com

At The Crossroads

Guitar has steadily crept into Collier’s musical output as he grew more comfortable with the instrument, but a tipping point came in 2024. Collier worked with Swedish ergonomic guitar innovator Strandberg to develop his own signature guitar – the first glimpse of his unique five-string vision for the instrument.

The guitar would feature prominently on Djesse Vol. 4’s boisterous track WELLLL, which was the final push launching him into this guitar-centric chapter.

“Spending time and attention with one instrument always tends to benefit,” he admits now. “When I played guitar nonstop for four days, it made me notice where my comfort areas are. I was trying some palm-muting things out for the first time and some different kinds of hammer-on effects, and even playing with some harmonics and thinking patterns. It was fun to be inventive.”

“I’d figured out stuff in my head that was only real once it was in my hand. I’d found this language”

Alongside the album, Collier also debuted a trio of new signature guitars with another forward-thinking guitar brand, Taylor. Again, the vision with these new guitars wasn’t to make something that had traditional mass-market appeal – even if two of the models have accessible price points.

All three guitars feature the same five-string layout, and are designed for that same unconventional tuning. There are other flourishes that set them apart from the norm. Collier’s interpretation of the popular GS Mini features a typically bold geometric soundhole rosette, while his Academy 22e model featured an eye-catching smoked eucalyptus bridge and fretboard that Collier quips is “really quite profound”.

But it’s unlikely to be the visuals of these instruments that cause guitarists to double-take – it’s that conspicuous absence of a sixth string. “If I hand a five-string guitar to people who are very familiar with playing six-string guitars, they’re delighted by the challenge,” Collier grins.

Image: Paige Margulies for Guitar.com

Take Five

“Challenge” might be an understatement since Collier’s playing style – which often sounds like a fluttering collection of notes in constant glissando – is equal parts Andy McKee and Tim Henson. But he’s keen to stress that the virtuosity he displays on tracks like Heaven is just one interpretation of the five-string concept.

“It’s like this strange hybrid of languages,” he continues. “It’s half-tuned like a mandolin or a bouzouki or a cello, in fifths, and it’s half-tuned in fourths, which is more like a bass guitar or a ukulele. It’s cool to see different people play it in their own ways.

“I remember handing one to Julian Lage, who’s one of the world’s greatest guitar players, and he had a really interesting approach. But then Chris Thile, one of Earth’s greatest mandolin players, had a completely different way of playing it.

“It’s an interesting kind of beast and it has refreshed me with a different perspective. It’s so easy to pick up and make it sound good – the shapes are straightforward and you can be really adventurous with that. It’s just a great place to start.”

“I’m a huge advocate for scrappiness in music”

The origin of this unique approach can be traced back to his initial forays into the guitar, which date back far before his recent infatuation, and it might surprise you to learn that it’s not as simple as wanting a guitar with one fewer string.

“I grew up playing tenor guitars,” he explains, referring to the once-popular four-string student models developed in the 1930s. “But I always had this wish to add another string. The five-string was initially an augmentation of a four, rather than a diminution of six.

“I mentioned the idea to my good friend Andy Powers, who’s Taylor Guitars’ master builder, and he built me this prototype. It was so mind blowing and exciting for me because I’d figured out stuff in my head that was only real once it was in my hand. I’d found this language, and it was really satisfying to see that language come to life on an instrument.”

Image: Paige Margulies for Guitar.com

Friends Indeed

Given that Collier has, at times, been described as the “Mozart of Gen Z” – and whose understanding of pitch and harmony is so unique and remarkable that legends like Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones decided to mentor him when he was still a teenager – it’s perhaps not surprising that he’s developed his own unique approach to playing guitar.

But Collier stands firm in the opinion that anyone can reach these lofty heights.

“Anybody in the world who has ever played an instrument to a high level has started on day one, just like everybody else,” he says. “It’s a levelling thought, that everyone starts equal. I really believe to my core that there are intuitions about life that exist in music as a parallel situation.

“Music is much more inherent than people think,” he continues, “and a lot of people are intimidated or even put off when they start out as a musician. They might have one of those teachers who tells them they have to play the right notes or that they’re doing it wrong.

“I’m not interested in people imitating me. I would much rather people be themselves”

“But look at me with my five-string guitar – it’s about having a sense that anything is possible. My job is to imagine things worth existing, and then making them real as an artist. That’s my duty.”

Perhaps not so surprisingly, this inclusive mindset has gained Collier his own burgeoning fanbase who are unabashed about their deep connection to the musician. When we ask him about a video posted to Instagram in which a wonderstruck fan turned 100 at one of his shows, he smiles wide in recognition.

“Oh, you mean Nancy?” he asks. “Yeah, she’s become a really close family friend now and she knows my mum. But I think of my whole audience as my friends. Many of us have grown up together and the thing I’m proud to have created more than anything is community.

“This space of Jacobean people – it’s such a diverse group. I’m such a non-believer in monoculture where everyone comes to a gig dressed up in the same way and everyone wears the same hat and the same outfit. I’m not interested in people imitating me. I would much rather people be themselves.”

Image: Paige Margulies for Guitar.com

Risky Business

This constant theme of originality in Collier’s artistry has lately earned him his 16th Grammy nomination for Keep an Eye on Summer, a track on The Light for Days. It’s a nod to the impact this new acoustic, five-string guitar era has had on the industry.

He’s already the first Brit to win a Grammy for each of his first five albums. It shows that taking a risk and playing an instrument your own way pays off.

“What’s interesting about the Grammys is that they’re voted on by musicians,” he says. “You have to have made music or have a credit on a published piece of music to be eligible to vote in the Grammys. Every system is very biased, but I feel so proud and so lucky to have been recognised by those particular peers.”

Collier is also the only person to be nominated twice without his records ever charting. “That’s something I’m very proud of,” he says. “I think there’s such a change in the air, and it makes me so excited about all the artists who are coming up who don’t have commercial success.

Image: Paige Margulies for Guitar.com

“I totally respect people who are suspicious [of the Grammys],” Collier adds quickly with a smile. “There’s no measuring stick for music and you can’t objectively say what the best is. That’s not real. Obviously the whole thing is made up. But I think there are real people involved who take music seriously.”

Arguably, no one takes music more seriously than Jacob Collier. As he says time and time again, there’s no such thing as the right way to play something, and he’ll continue championing this mindset for the rest of his career.

“I’m a huge advocate for scrappiness in music,” he says, “and I’m an advocate for five-string guitars. I’m grateful to celebrate their existence in the wild.”

Words: Sophie McVinnie
Photography: Paige Margulies
Styling: Morgan Grimes
Glam: Yuval Ozery

The post “My job is to imagine things worth existing, and then making them real as an artist”: Jacob Collier is championing a new way to play guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

NAMM is nearly here, and Boss is already debuting a range of exciting new gear to make the occasion. Not only has the brand unveiled a pair of new additions, the GX-1 and GX-1B, to its staple GX multi-effects series, but Roland, Boss’s parent company has also announced the new Cube Street Mini, a new addition to its busker-friendly Cube Street line.

If you’re heading to this year’s NAMM, you can trial out the new gear at California’s Anaheim Convention Center – just visit Boss in Room 202, Level 2.

• READ MORE: Boss XS-100 Poly Shifter review – even better than the squeal thing?

Boss GX-1 and GX-1B Multi-Effects Processors

Credit: Boss

Boss’s new GX models are designed to suit any calibre of player, whether you’re looking for a great entry-level processor or a new addition to an advanced set up. The GX-1 is designed for guitarists and the GX-1B is designed for bassists.

Both the GX-1 and GX-1B offer a wide variety of amps and effects which can be customised to suit your sound. And its easy to work your way through the vast selection, thanks to the clear hexagon-shaped panel buttons. You can also adjust the effect order, to make flicking through effects more intuitive to your personal preferences, with eight simultaneous blocks to utilise. Alongside that, there’s also a volume pedal and noise suppressor, to add that extra level of control – and you can also easily turn effects on/off with a single tap.

The processors has plenty of room for crafting custom setups and presets. Both come with 99 preloaded presets, while there’s also room for 99 of your own custom presets.

In terms of footswitches, both the GX-1 and GX-1B offer freely assignable footswitches, with wired and wireless options both compatible. Boss’ brand new FSC-10 Footswitch Cap is also a potential addition to your unit, designed to enhance the functionality of your pedals.

The GX-1 and GX-1B also offer Bluetooth and USB connectivity, as well as offering some ultra-travel-friendly power options (you can stick to an AC adaptor, but it can also be powered by batteries or USB).

Both the GX-1 and GX-1B are available for $229.99.

For more info, head to Boss.

Roland CUBE Street Mini Multi-Instrument Amplifier

Credit: Roland

Roland’s battery-powered Cube Street Mini shrinks down the power of the brand’s flagship Cube Street amp and transforms it into something super portable. Thanks to its size and nifty handle, it’s a great option for travelling musicians, street musicians, or for use in your own personal studios.

While its not designed for large-scale events, the Cube Street Mini is powerful for its size. It boats dual channels, plenty of built-in effects, and even an onboard tuner. The amp also supports Bluetooth, meaning you can even stream music via your smartphone without using up one of its two channels.

The main channel support inputs from guitar, microphone, and plenty of other stereo instruments. The second channel’s combo jack, on the other hand, is more suited to microphones.

With seven hours of battery life, it will also comfortably see you through the length of a full set time. And its water-resistant, just in case your on-street busking sees a heavy downpour.

The Cube Street Mini is available now for $199.99.

For more info, head to Roland. 

The post Boss makes a splash ahead of NAMM with new GX-1 and GX-1B multi-effects units, plus a new busker-friendly Roland Cube Street amp appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Fender Play has come a long way since its 2017 launch; while it originally focused on beginner-friendly lessons, Fender’s learning platform now offers something for guitarists of all calibres. Last year, we awarded it 9/10 – and now, thanks to a collaboration with Samsung, you can enjoy the service in an entirely new way.

While the Fender Play experience has previously been limited to mobiles and computer browsers, it is now available on Samsung TVs, too. The new Samsung TV app allows users to access the platform’s huge library of technique guides, theory lessons and feedback modes, all on your TV.

• READ MORE: “It looks like someone had a Fender Stratocaster described to them and then built their own version”: From Denmark Street to the TARDIS – Peter Capaldi reveals the story behind Doctor Who’s “junk shop” guitar

“With video-based lessons on Samsung TVs, learning an instrument fits naturally into daily life and helps players reach goals faster,” Hun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display (VD) Business at Samsung Electronics, explains.

“By bringing Fender Play to TVs for the first time, Samsung is turning the largest screen at home into a place to learn and play together,” he adds.

Alongside Fender Play’s extensive catalogue of lessons, spanning content for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass or ukulele, the TV app allows a fresh way to experience the app’s Jam Mode.

While Jam Mode does what it says on the tin – allowing users to ‘jam’ out to their favourite tracks – the TV version of the mode feels more immersive. The move to a bigger screen essentially turns your TV “into a stage”, with a customisable background to make you really feel like a rockstar.

“We are thrilled to bring Fender Play’s immersive learning experience to Samsung TV users, helping guitar enthusiasts take their skills to the next level,” Cliff Kim, President of the Fender Play Foundation, notes.

“Our mission has always been to educate and inspire players globally, and this partnership allows music lovers to learn, practice, and play with Fender Play’s high-quality, interactive lessons directly on their Samsung TV.”

For those interested in exploring Fender Play, our 2025 review praised the app for its sheer mass of content. With its varied selection of instructors and presenters, impressive library of tracks, and helpful feedback modes, its a great whether you’re a newbie or an established guitarist wanting to fine-tune your skills.

The app is set to drop in the first half of 2026, and will be free to download. Of course, you’ll need a Fender Play subscription, which costs £19.49 a month or £144.99 annually.

This isn’t the only news coming from Fender at the moment. Elsewhere, the guitar giant has taken a dive into the DAW market, launching its own fully-fledged DAW, Fender Studio Pro. The development comes after the company took its first baby steps into DAWs with Fender Studio.

Fender Studio Pro is essentially building on the bones Studio One Pro, the DAW Fender bought in 2021. At the time, purchase hinted that Fender was interested in crafting its own advanced DAW – and it seems 2026 is the time for it.

The company has also just introduced a new CEO, Edward “Bud” Cole, who will be taking the reigns officially on 19 January.

For more information, head to Fender Play.

The post Fender Play partners with Samsung TV to bring Fender Play to its biggest screens yet appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Rejoice, gearheads, for the 2026 NAMM Show is right around the corner. It’s a landmark event in the calendar for the music industry, where thousands of brands launch new products and showcase all the exciting new gear they’ve been working on.

The Guitar.com team will be packing our bags and trading grey, old England for sunny Anaheim to bring you all the biggest updates from the show as they happen, but until then, here’s a little bit of info about the NAMM Show to get you up to speed.

When and where will the NAMM Show 2026 take place?

As always, this year’s NAMM Show is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, a 1.8 million-square foot venue that’s just about big enough to host the hundreds of music brands across guitars, tech and beyond showcasing their latest innovations.

This year’s show will span across five days from Tuesday, 20 – Saturday 24 January, with early access to events and exhibits for NAMM members on the 20th, and the main floor opening to all visitors from Thursday the 22nd.

Which brands will be at the NAMM Show 2026?

While NAMM saw reduced footfall and presence from big brands in the years immediately following the Covid pandemic, the show feels back to its former glory, with some of the biggest players in the guitar world having a presence in one way or another.

Fender has a booth in which it’ll showcase its new Fender Studio Pro DAW – which was announced recently as a replacement to PreSonus Studio One – Gibson will have a presence alongside Epiphone, Kramer and Mesa/Boogie, (though their stall is invite-only this year and aimed at dealers only rather than the general public), and there’ll be a sizeable PRS booth, too.

Interestingly, Neural DSP has secured itself a large booth for this year’s show, which suggests something big might be coming from the amp and tone modelling giant… Nothing but a hunch at this stage, but we’ll keep you updated if we hear more.

There’s also set to be a strong turnout from the biggest brands in acoustic guitar, with both Taylor and Martin hosting booths, as well as Faith, Ibanez – showcasing its latest electric and acoustic models, naturally – and loads more.

What are organisers saying about the NAMM Show 2026?

Organisers say the 2026 NAMM show will see a “global audience” gather with “a powerful mix of retailers, distributors, corporate buyers, artists, influencers and media, educators and a range of other qualified attendees that deliver value to the 4,000-plus brands on display”.

“Each and every year, The NAMM Show delivers the most relevant and game-changing programming to help build a strong future for our music industry,” says NAMM President and CEO John Mlynczak.

You can learn more about the NAMM Show 2026 at namm.org. The Guitar.com team will be on the ground in Anaheim next week bringing you all the latest action from the show floor, so stay tuned…

The post NAMM 2026: what to expect from the biggest music trade show in the world appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Peter Capaldi has shared the backstory behind one of Doctor Who’s most curious props: the electric guitar played by the Twelfth Doctor – and why its origins were far more deliberate (and guitar-nerdy) than fans might expect.

In a recent Instagram post, Capaldi – whose tenure as the Doctor lasted between 2014 and 2017 – recalls pitching the idea to the sci-fi show’s production team.

• READ MORE: “You all can stop asking me if I am buying it now!”: Joe Bonamassa weighs in on the sale of Norman’s Rare Guitars

“I’d suggested that it might be fun if Dr Who played the electric guitar. I imagined he could plug it into the Tardis console and play very loudly and badly like a teenager,” he writes.

That search for the right instrument led Capaldi, director Daniel O’Hara and producer Derek Ritchie to Denmark Street on 17 December 2014. Often dubbed London’s Tin Pan Alley, the historic strip has long been a hub for songwriters, studios and guitar shops.

While a Telecaster initially seemed like a possible choice, Capaldi quickly ruled it out: “I had cited an old Telecaster as the most likely candidate, but they rarely come with tremolos,” he explains. “The Doctor needs a tremolo arm. And their classic shape produces a sort of ‘get me I’m a rock star’ look, which I didn’t fancy.”

Eventually, the team stumbled upon a guitar at the iconic Hanks Guitar shop that ticked all the boxes.

“It has a whammy bar, mock pearl scratch plate, and funny switches, all of which conspire to give it a junk shop aura. It is, for the guitar geeks out there, a Yamaha SVG 300 guitar,” Capaldi recalls. “I liked it because it looks like someone has had a Fender Stratocaster described to them and then gone off and built their own version. Perfect. And it had a tremolo arm. I loved it.”

The actor would go on to play the SVG 300 across seasons nine and ten of Doctor Who. Then, just as quietly as it arrived, the guitar vanished.

“I used it for two seasons of Dr Who and then, it disappeared,” says Capaldi. “I don’t know where it went. Vanished in time and space…”

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The post “It looks like someone had a Fender Stratocaster described to them and then built their own version”: From Denmark Street to the TARDIS – Peter Capaldi reveals the story behind Doctor Who’s “junk shop” guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the late Grateful Dead co-founder and guitarist Bob Weir, remembering him as a “great musician who inspired many people of many generations”.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the 78-year-old musician had passed away following treatment for cancer since last year, prompting an outpouring of tributes from across the music world.

• READ MORE: Carlos Santana thinks guitarists who play fast are no better than gym bros flexing their muscles: “Big deal, so what?”

McCartney was among those reflecting on Weir’s life and legacy, posting a heartfelt message on Instagram recalling the last time the two met.

“I last saw Bob when we went to the Sphere in Las Vegas to watch Dead and Co,” Macca writes. “He was very welcoming and during the interval in the show he invited us into his trailer, and it was a special moment to meet his family and friends. Bob showed me the recording set up that he had in the back of the bus so even though he was on tour he could make and record music.”

The former Beatle also reveals that the pair once came close to collaborating on new music together: “I offered to play the bass on one of the tracks he played me,” says McCartney, “but unfortunately that never came to pass.”

“His humour, friendship and musicianship inspired me and will inspire many people into the future,” McCartney continues. “Our family’s thoughts go out to Bob’s family at this time of loss, and I know they will remain as strong as he would wish them to be. God bless you Bob. See you down the road. Love Paul.”

As a founding member of the Grateful Dead, Bob Weir played a pivotal role in shaping one of the most influential and unconventional bands in rock history. Known for his distinctive rhythm guitar style and adventurous approach to harmony, Weir helped define the Dead’s eclectic sound – a fusion of rock, folk, blues, jazz and psychedelia that continues to influence generations of musicians.

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The post Paul McCartney reveals he nearly played on a Bob Weir record before his death: “Unfortunately it never came to pass” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$1,259/£1,149, gretschguitars.com

How close should a budget copy come to the original design? Not too long ago you could rely on some sort of tell to give the game away – a slightly off headstock, obviously cheaper hardware or even a sub-brand label and logo. Less so now.

• READ MORE: Gretsch Synchromatic Falcon review – “this guitar is going to make Falcons a much more common sight on everyday stages”

Gretsch has traditionally been happy to use the company’s name at a variety of price points, and relied on line extension to differentiate the various different strands of the family tree. Some models have, however, been reserved for the pricey stuff – until now.

Hot on the heels of the Synchromatic Falcon comes the Nashville – another entry into the Synchromatic series, which bridges the gap between the brand’s Indonesian and Korean-made Electromatics, and the Japanese Professional series.

Image: Adam Gasson

Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville – what is it?

To give it the typically over-verbose full name, the Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville Hollow Body with Bigsby is based squarely on the company’s original 6120 model. It was perhaps the most unapologetically orange guitar of the 1950s electric pantheon, and an iconic voice originally designed for Chet Atkins, subsequently seen in the hands of Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer, who also had signature versions of the design over the years.

This looks at first glance, if not like a vintage original, then very much like a Japanese-made one. We’ve got a deep orange stain finish on the all-maple body and the whole guitar is festooned with gold hardware from the Bigsby licensed B60 vibrato to the open back machine heads. There’s a pair of Hi-Fidelity Filter’Tron pickups and an Adjusto-Matic bridge with a pinned ebony base, too.

Controls-wise this is standard fare for a Gretsch with a treble bleed master volume knob, individual volumes for each pickup and a master tone. The shoulder-mounted three-way selector switcheroo feels positive and engaging. Did I mention this looks legit? The scratchplate even says Nashville on it.

There are some interesting things going on under the hood too. First we have the 24.6” scale length, which, while entirely appropriate for this model is considerably shorter than a Tele or Strat and a smidge less than you’d expect on a Les Paul or SG.

Also, while this is indeed a full-fat 2.5” depth hollow body guitar, there is some joined-up thinking going on with the inner architecture in the form of the Semi-Arc bracing – a modified take on trestle bracing with two ‘feet’ under the bridge but no need for the neck block feet seen in the traditional approach. The maple neck is carved to a soft C shape and features a genuine ebony fingerboard housing 22 frets. It feels immediately familiar and comfortable, now let’s plug in.

Image: Adam Gasson

Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville – playability and sounds

Pulling the guitar out of its included heavyweight hard case, and I’m instantly perturbed as to why the bridge is set quite as high as it has been – it’s a very quick and easy job to fettle it down to an acceptable height for comfortable playing, but still, odd.

That minor hiccup dealt with, and it’s onto the fun stuff. Few guitars respond to a straight into the amp approach like a Gretsch and I start by plugging directly into an old Cornford Hurricane with a curly lead. With all dials set at noon and the neck pickup engaged, a very convincing on-edge clean sound fills my studio.

On vintage models – often with heavy flat-wound strings – this evocative texture can easily get indistinct and woofy, but here we have much of the girth with none of the mud. Dial up the reverb and slide a tremolo in there somewhere and you are most of the way towards a very nice time indeed.

The middle position on any guitar is there for much more than funk and Hendrix-style double stops. That said, you can thoroughly enjoy both approaches here. It’s an exceedingly pleasurable in-between sound with enough poke to get through a mix while picking up the pieces or line dancing in a burning room.

It’s also the place to be when it comes to blending the pickup volumes to find new and delicious textures. Options are limited by the single tone control, but the guitar still responds well to changes in pick attack and hand position – you will get by, believe me.

The bridge ‘Tron on a Gretsch hollowbody is an iconic voice and this golden beauty gets us from Duane Eddy twang to Spaghetti Western in a heartbeat. This is très bon and encourages the player to unleash their inner Vic Flick. You can also get some very convincing Velvet Underground textures out of it which may well appeal to players who favour indoor sunglasses.

Aficionados may miss the “mud switch” tone control common to some models of the 6120 and there may also be those who would prefer nickel hardware to the spangly gold. A classic case of de gustibus etc. Nevertheless, this is very strong stuff indeed when played clean – time to filth it right up with a Crowther Hot Cake.

A sly helping of classic rage is all it takes for the Nashville Hollowbody to start grunting very nicely. There’s a sweet spot with big hollowbody guitars when it comes to dirt – less is more as everyone from Billy Duffy to Sylvain Sylvain and Richard Fortus will attest. The way a larger instrument vibrates encourages all sorts of belligerent whoops and howls that you just don’t get with a solid body – it’s an exhilarating ride but not for the fainthearted.

Back to the neck pickup and yes, things do get a bit mushy when we swap out the Hot Cake for a Bigfoot Engineering King Fuzz in search of saw-toothed glories. Engaging the bridge pickup, however, gives me an immediate shot of trouser-flapping violence that makes it all worthwhile. You can wreak havoc behind the bridge, you can Bigsby it to within an inch of its life and it will come up smiling every time.

In all the fun I realise I haven’t even fed it any Chet Atkins – I can confirm that it loves a thumbpick-driven Taste Of Honey.

Image: Adam Gasson

Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville – should I buy one?

Not long ago the idea of a Chinese-made instrument commanding a four-figure price tag would have raised eyebrows. While there remains a palpable difference between this and the Professional series, there is a strong argument that the Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville Hollowbody represents extremely good value for money, regardless of the country of origin.

Image: Adam Gasson

Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville – alternatives

Another Asian-made guitar with real big brand pedigree is the Epiphone Swingster ($799/£799), while Eastwood’s Bill Nelson Astroluxe Cadet DLX ($1,599) is a fine example of relatively affordable rockabilly fun. Another brand that has its roots in the big-bodied jazz guitars of ol’ New York is the D’Angelico Excel 59 ($1,999).

The post Gretsch Synchromatic Nashville review – “it’s an exhilarating ride but not for the fainthearted” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

When Thomas Ripsam took over as Martin’s CEO back in 2021, he had his sights set on the “future”. That “future” is already starting to take form; in 2024, the company released the ultra-sustainable GPCE Inception Maple, with its combination of domestic tonewoods and a unique internal architecture marking the dawn of Martin’s next era.

In a new podcast with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto, Ripsam explains how Martin is keen to utilise even more alternative, sustainable tonewoods in future. “We still rely on a lot of traditional and exotic tonewoods… but those tonewoods get harder and harder to source,” he explains. “That means they become more expensive… so we are constantly looking for alternative materials.”

• READ MORE: How Wheatus distorted an acoustic guitar to make Teenage Dirtbag an early 2000s classic

He points to ebony as a case in point. While the company has previously relied on ebony for its fretboards, certain models now boast Richlite fretboards instead. “We still use ebony, but we also use Richlite, which is an alternative,” Ripsam explains. “We are trying to use multiple paths… and we are [trying to] find new ways to use materials.”

Other changes have come in the form of multi-piece backs, like the D-35 and DH-28, with their respective three-piece and two-piece rosewood backs. Whether a multi-piece back affects your tone is up for debate, but it certainly wastes less wood and looks pretty cool. “Aesthetics are a big part of what gets you excited,” the Martin CEO says. “It’s not just about the tone and the sound.”

“I think we’re only at the beginning of what’s possible in coming up with with new designs,” he continues. “Like earlier this year, we introduced the CEO-11, which is a blue guitar. We don’t use blue that often, and I love colours… there were a lot of people who provided feedback [saying] they were totally enamoured with the blue.”

When Guitar.com spoke to Ripsam back in 2024, he explained how the GPCE Inception Maple was just the beginning. “It’s a very exciting guitar for us,” he said. “And it’s the beginning for us to actually do more around the use of domestic tonewoods and alternative materials.”

“I think what’s really cool about this guitar was, we didn’t just use our established models and slap domestic tonewoods on it,” he later added. “No, we actually really thought about the particular sound and what we need to do about the inside of the body to bring out the tone and the sound that we wanted. So it has skeletonised bracing, and sonic channels – a couple of features that we’re very excited about.”

“This is the beginning of a line of more of these types of guitars,” he noted. “That doesn’t take away from anything – people still can get their standard models! But I think this just adds to the palette.”

The post Martin CEO says “we’re only at the beginning of what’s possible” with new guitar designs appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Norman’s Rare Guitars has been acquired by Carter Vintage Guitars and TNAG Global. The sale will see Carter Vintage Guitars acquiring more than 1,000 guitars, as well as Norman Harris’s personal collection, which he’s has been assembling for over 50 years.

Harris has been quite vocal about his desire to find a successor for his collection. In a 2024, a Norman’s Rare Guitars documentary saw the owner opening up about a slew of health scares, including a bout of cancer and a more recent heart attack. As a result, he’s been considering his legacy.

Time and time again, Harris has hinted that Joe Bonamassa was his first choice to inherit his collection. “For years, he’s been saying to me, ‘I want you to take over the store,’” Bonamassa revealed in the Norman’s Rare Guitars documentary. “But I have a job already.”

• READ MORE: Trivium’s Matt Heafy names the five up-and-coming metal bands everyone needs to watch in 2026

“The problem is, if Norm’s not there to run it, then it’s just a namesake,” he continued. “It would just be a brand. When you take him away, you take away the heart and the soul. It wouldn’t be the same. There’s only one Norman Harris.”

In light of the news, Bonamassa has also shared his best wishes for the shop going forward. “I am extremely excited to see my Uncle Norm enter into this new chapter of his life and career,” he writes on X. “We all know that he will still be around being the master of ceremonies and dealing the coolest guitars in the world.”

“Congratulations to my friend Ben and the entire team at Carters Vintage on securing the legacy of the greatest guitar store in the world,” he continues. “With that said, you all can stop asking me if I am buying it now!”

I am extremely excited to see my Uncle Norm enter into this new chapter of his life and career. We all know that he will still be around being the master of ceremonies and dealing the coolest guitars in the world. Congratulations to my friend Ben and the entire team at Carters… pic.twitter.com/GOJL5J9vUM

— Joe Bonamassa (Official) (@JBONAMASSA) January 14, 2026

In a statement, Carter Vintage Guitars’ CEO Ben Montague is adamant that the acquisition will preserve the spirit of Norman’s Rare Guitars.

“To put it simply, our mission is to protect what makes Norman’s special,” Montague insists. “As we have with Carter Vintage Guitars, [we want to] preserve its legacy, and guide the business into its next chapter while expanding its reach to a global community of guitar players and collectors.”

As a result, the acquisition will see little changing about how Norman’s Rare Guitars operated. It will continue to have a home at its iconic San Fernando Valley location, with the same team, and Harris will also remain “actively involved” in Norman’s Rare Guitars operations.

“I’ve always known there would come a time when I needed the right long-term partner to carry Norman’s Rare Guitars forward,” Harris himself reflects. “I couldn’t imagine a better steward for the shop and its legacy than Ben Montague and TNAG Global.”

“The goal has always been to share my love of great guitars with the community, and this partnership allows that community to grow, while protecting everything that makes the shop special. I feel a deep sense of comfort knowing the shop, its history and its values will still be here for future generations of my family and for guitar lovers around the world.”

For more information, head to Carter Vintage Guitars.

The post “You all can stop asking me if I am buying it now!”: Joe Bonamassa weighs in on the sale of Norman’s Rare Guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

“It was the first solo I cut on the album, and I was on the spot,” says guitarist Steve Lukather, speaking about his seismic, jaw-dropping lead run on Toto’s debut single, Hold the Line. “I was 19 years old, and I was scared shitless. I was in the studio with my guitar cranked to 10, and all of these guys were behind the glass looking at me like, ‘You better bring it, kid.’ They counted off four bars, and off I went.

“I had no idea what I was doing. I thought to myself, ‘If I fuck this up, I’m over.’”

• READ MORE: How Wheatus distorted an acoustic guitar to make Teenage Dirtbag an early 2000s classic

Given the circumstances, Lukather’s nervousness was understandable. It was 1978, and he was a relative newbie held to scrutiny by the watchful eyes and ears of the LA session scene crème de la crème. “Jim Keltner was there, so was Waddy [Wachtel] and Kootch [Danny Korthmar],” Lukather remembers. “I’m sure they were all going, ‘Who’s this young punk ass? How did he get in here? He must’ve jumped the line or something.’”

A couple of Lukather’s friends were there, too, namely keyboardist-singer David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro. The guitarist had played with them a year before on his first big-time tour backing up Boz Scaggs, then riding high with his smash album Silk Degrees (half of which featured songs co-written by Paich). At the conclusion of the tour, the three, along with fellow Scaggs’ alumni, keyboardist Steve Porcaro (Jeff’s brother) and bassist David Hungate, talked about playing together again.

Line In The Sand

Hold the Line would prove to be an important song for Toto; in many ways, it wouldn’t be untrue to say that it was a catalyst for the formation of the band. “I was invited over to Paich’s house, and some of the other guys were there,” Lukather remembers. “David had a spinet piano, and he started playing the song. We didn’t have our instruments with us, but we were rocking out. He played me the riff on the piano, and I could hear how good it would sound on guitar. It was exciting. Jeff looked at me and went, ‘Yeah, man, that’s the shit!’ We all knew it had something. Some songs aren’t there at first. This one was. It kickstarted us being in a band.”

And so it was on that fateful day in Studio 55, when Lukather, gripped with fear and eager to prove that he had the right stuff, let loose with a spontaneous one-take wonder that combined impeccable phrasing and flamethrower intensity. When he was done, he looked at the folks behind the studio glass and asked, “Am I still in the band?”

“I wanted to be in the band so bad,” he says. “I was young and hungry. I mean, as far as I was concerned, this was the ultimate band. It was insane. And [singer] Bobby Kimball was a firecracker of a human being. Being near him was like sitting next to an M-80 – he was a big presence. That voice of his could break glass. Boy he could sing.”

The solo – like the song itself – sounds so well composed.

“We got in the studio, and everybody played the right part the first time,” he remembers. “I think we did two or three takes – that was the record. There were no demos. All the sessions we did, there were no demos or rehearsals – for anything. It was just a guy or a gal playing an acoustic guitar or piano, and we’d go, “Okay, there’s a chord chart.” We’d make little notes and come up with our own parts. After that, it was a question of where we gonna take it.”

Did David have the lyrics written out?

“Probably. He’d come into the studio with finished songs.”

That powerful rhythm guitar crunch – where did that come from?

“That’s what I brought to the band. Truth is, it was the most obvious part to play. I mean, it wasn’t like, “Wow, that’s genius.” I was just following the bass and piano part. Now, in doing that, it toughened things up. It wasn’t going to be just a little pop song. Jeff dug in with his drums a little harder than he would have on some other session. We were just discovering who the hell we were.”

Were you using a Les Paul on that?

“Yeah, that was a Les Paul. I may have just bought a 1958 goldtop. I did the main track on a ‘71 Deluxe burst, and when I overdubbed the solo, I think I played the goldtop. I think. It was a little bit ways back.”

Do you remember the amp?

“Absolutely. I was using a Fender Deluxe Reverb modified by Paul Rivera. I bought it off of a buddy of mine. Oh, I loved the amp so much. I begged him for it. He sold it to me for a couple hundred bucks – God bless him.”

Was it always known that you would play a solo in the song?

“The solo was built in. Paich was like, ‘Oh, you’re going to solo over this section’. I said, ‘Oh, wow.’ I was in the hot seat. It was one take until the very end when I did the harmony guitars. Dave insisted on that – ‘I want that Queen-Boston thing.’ For that, he punched me in and I played the first harmony, and then I doubled it. We did it as a three-part thing.”

Let’s drill down a bit. So you knew there would be a solo, but you didn’t plan it out at all, even a little bit?

“No! It was like, ‘Go. Play. Now.’ It was improvised. The solo was one take out of fear.

You made quite an entrance at the start of the solo. You must have known you had to come on strong.

I played something like that, and the rest was a stream of consciousness. I flubbed one thing at the very end, and Paich said, “Don’t worry about it. I was going to make you do that again to put the three-part harmony in there.”

Were you happy with what you played? After the one take, did you say to the guys, “I think I can do it better”?

“No. I was just hoping I was still in the band. [Laughs] I mean, we all mess up. Everybody thinks, ‘one take’, but I mean, when I was young and cocky and confident, I could go in there and nail it. I was sure I could. I already knew I could nail it before I nailed it. I wasn’t an asshole about it, but I knew inside myself, ‘I’m going to bring this. I’m going to be one of those guys that gets one or two takes and it’s done’. I would do that.”

I understand that you ran around the house in your underwear the first time you heard the song on the radio.

“That’s true. I was in my first house with my first wife, Marie. The album had just come out, and back then there were two stations we listened to – KMET and 95.5 KLOS. Those were our local rock stations when we were in high school. They kept saying, ‘You’re going to be on sometime.’ Oh, man, that was the dream. I got a call from Paich – ‘Turn on 95.5 right now!’ I’m in my underwear, I had just woken up. I turned on the radio and started screaming. Of course I’m dancing around the house in my underwear. Who wouldn’t? We were on the radio.”

What was it like to hear the sound of your guitar on the radio? I imagine the EQ might have sounded strange at first.

“It was surreal – the dream had come true. But you know what they changed the most? They cut the solo the fuck out to make it shorter so it could be on AM radio. They cut it out like it never happened. I remember being in my car going, ‘All right, we’re on the radio!’ Then it gets to the end and I’m like, ‘What?’ That’s what stations did. Most of the time, they played the whole thing.”

Has Toto ever done a show without playing Hold the Line?

“No, man. I mean, there’s certain things you have to do. I don’t play the solo exactly like on the record because I’m too lazy to learn it.”

You even play the song with Ringo and his All-Starr Band.

“Well, that was scary. They made me sing it, and I had to lower the key and everything. I have [saxophonist-singer] Warren Ham cover the really high bubble parts. I’m not a lead singer per se, but at least I’m not lip syncing it. You know what I mean? Nobody’s perfect. That’s the whole thing about fakery – people expect it.”

What’s it like to turn around to see Ringo Starr playing one of your songs?

“That never gets old. Never, ever.”

The post “I thought if I f**k this up, I’m over” Steve Lukather on Toto’s Hold The Line: his ultimate guitar solo appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

When I tell people I play guitar, they’ll often ask me, “acoustic or electric?” to which I’ll reply, “erm, both?” But not every guitarist has time for both, like Biffy Clyro and Oceansize guitarist Mike Vennart, who pulls no punches on his thoughts on playing acoustic guitar.

In an interview in the latest issue of Guitarist magazine, Vennart explains how he “can’t think of anything more boring” than playing the acoustic guitar.

• READ MORE: Carlos Santana thinks guitarists who play fast are no better than gym bros flexing their muscles: “Big deal, so what?”

Asked about the best bargain he’s found when buying guitars, he notes the time he bought a Godin 5th Avenue – a ‘50s-inspired hollowbody archtop with F-holes – for just £350 on eBay, and how he’s able to “get away” with using it at acoustic shows.

“Over lockdown, I’d accumulated a ton of air miles and, obviously I couldn’t use them, so I changed them into points and bought a Godin 5th Avenue on eBay for like 350 quid,” he says. 

“It’s not my usual kind of guitar at all, but it’s got class, and I can kind of get away with using it at acoustic shows, even though it’s not really acoustic. It makes me feel a certain way, it’s got a beautiful sound, and it’s nice and easy to play.”

He goes on: “But I fucking hate playing acoustic guitar. I can’t think of anything more boring! [laughs], so this thing brings the best out in me – I can get a lot of inspiration out of this guitar. It’s got one single P-90 in the neck, and that’s all it does. It’s fantastic.”

Back in October, Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil weighed in on whether having a better understanding of technique can diminish your creativity as a guitar player.

“I’m still enthralled by the magic of the guitar, probably because I never conquered the technique side,” he said. “It’s this box of wonder that I approach as a creative instrument.”

The post Biffy Clyro touring guitarist says he “can’t think of anything more boring” than playing acoustic guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

If your idea of great guitar playing is shredding scales faster than a coffee-fuelled gym bro curls dumbbells, Carlos Santana has a message for you: “Big deal. So what?”

Speaking on the new issue of Guitarist, Santana suggests that too many players mistake technical skill for musical expression, forgetting that music’s true power lies in the way it moves people.

“Music isn’t a sport at the end of the day, especially for the listener,” he says. “If you just practise all day and night going really fast, after a while it’s a bit like going to the gym and seeing somebody flexing their muscles. Big deal. So what? Playing with spirit is like giving someone a hug that lasts for infinity. Time stops.”

• READ MORE: “I’m not that fast on the guitar, but I don’t want to be”: David Gilmour explains why speedy solos never interested him

According to Santana, it’s the heart and soul that make a guitar player memorable: “The only thing people will remember about your music is how you made them feel. They are not going to remember all the fast scales and ‘Look at what I can do!’ moments,” says the guitarist.

“But they will remember those three notes that made the hairs stand on the back of the neck and tears come out of their eyes, even if they don’t know why. That’s a whole other element, one I call spirit. Some people don’t know how to play with spirit, heart and soul. Those are three very important ingredients.”

Improvisation, he explains, is central to this approach and it’s all about embracing the unknown.

“Anybody can practise scales up and down. But there’s something about coming down a water slide. You don’t know how you’re going to land; it might be on your head or on your feet. That’s what happens when you deviate from the melody,” says Santana.

He cites John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Wayne Shorter as teachers of this art, recounting Shorter’s wry advice on practising: “He’d tell them, ‘We don’t know what we are going to play; how do you practise the unknown?’”

Santana also credits a wide array of influences beyond the usual guitar pantheon. “I learned improvisation from Coltrane. I learned cosmic music from Sun Ra. I learned down-to-earth music from the Grateful Dead because they were heavily immersed in the folk and bluegrass worlds. And don’t dismiss the guitar playing of Bob Dylan. He played a lot of great guitar, which worked beautifully with his vocals.”

Placing particular emphasis on learning from soul singers, Santana says that “playing along to soul singers is something nearly every guitar player could learn from. I don’t care who you are, whether you are Al Di Meola or not, I’d recommend this to any guitar player. If you spend even one day learning how to play and phrase like those lady soul singers, you will become a better musician. This is the truth.”

The post Carlos Santana thinks guitarists who play fast are no better than gym bros flexing their muscles: “Big deal, so what?” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Electro-Harmonix has announced the Effects Interface Hardware Plugin, a “first-of-its-kind” studio-and-stage tool designed to blur the line between physical pedals and software plugins.

At its core, Effects Interface is built to tackle two familiar problems for modern guitarists: running tracks from your DAW through real pedals, and integrating plugins into a physical rig. Rather than relying on special converters or direct boxes, the Effects Interface handles your signal and delivers it with care between your hardware and software via a single USB-C connection.

• READ MORE: Lazy J x ThorpyFX The J review: “one of the best sounding, most tactile and responsive dirt pedals I’ve ever played”

The Effects Interface operates in three distinct modes. Hardware Plugin Mode allows users to send audio from their DAW through pedals or other outboard gear just like software plugins on a track. Vocals, synths and even MIDI instruments can be routed through guitar pedals with minimal setup.

Pedalboard Mode flips that concept on its head. Here, players can route their instrument into a DAW, process it with plugins, and send the signal back out to their amp or pedal chain – effectively turning plugins into stompboxes. For players who rely on software amp models or effects that don’t exist in hardware form, this opens up new hybrid rig possibilities, both live and in the studio.

Finally, we have the Audio Interface Mode, which allows the unit to function as a traditional 2-in/2-out USB audio interface.

Physically, the Effects Interface is designed to live comfortably on a pedalboard. It features straightforward controls, a single footswitch, stereo I/O with dedicated level control sliders, and a headphone output for monitoring. Power supply and USB-C cable are included, keeping setup as simple as possible.

EHX describes the Effects Interface Hardware Plugin as a way to “knock down the walls between physical and plugin effects”, and the concept will likely appeal to guitarists looking to bridge the gap between modern DAW workflows and traditional rigs.

The Effects Interface Hardware Plugin is available now for $359.

Learn more at EHX.

The post Turn pedals into outboard gear – and plugins into pedalboard-ready effects – with Electro-Harmonix’s new Effects Interface appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

When Mateus Asato announced last week that he’d ended his 12-year partnership with Suhr, speculation quickly followed. After more than a decade with the brand – and a run of signature models along the way – fans were left wondering if another guitar company might already be waiting in the wings.

• READ MORE: “The Stratocaster hasn’t really changed since 1954”: Outgoing Fender CEO Andy Mooney says electric guitarists have “generally been reluctant to really accept innovation”

Those questions only grew louder days later when the 33-year-old shared a video of himself performing Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing on a Stratocaster.

“Could it be that Fender made a move and signed one of the best modern players around? (please say yes),” a fan commented on the post.

Though Asato was quick to shut down the idea: “You guys are funny. Imagine playing Little Wing on a guitar that isn’t a Strat… Could it work? Maybe.”

“In my case, I just picked this strat because it fits the storytelling the most. Regarding this topic, I’m really chill. ‘Single’ & happy where I am at this point. Tchau tchau!”

In a longer follow-up comment (translated from Brazilian Portuguese), Asato reiterated that the Strat appearance isn’t a hint at a new endorsement deal.

“Dude, 95% of this video is me performing Little Wing. Imagine the heresy if this wasn’t touched in a strat?! Can’t. I just wanted to live up to the story told. Concerning this matter, I’m calm and waiting on God for direction of whatever next chapter. Hug!”

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With brand rumours put to rest – for now – Asato is turning his attention back to music. The guitarist’s highly anticipated debut solo album is due in the coming weeks, and features the singles Cryin’ and The Breakup Song, which are now out.

“The album is definitely a journey through all the sides of Mateus,” Asato said in an interview with Guitar.com last year. “The Mateus who’s a sideman, Mateus as the Instagram boy, and then the Mateus that got more mature over the years. Who developed a different vision regarding music, regarding how I see guitar.”

The post “‘Single’ and happy where I am at this point”: Mateus Asato addresses rumours of him joining Fender following Suhr exit appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Fuzz is the most honest of all the guitar effects. It has no interest in trying to sound transparent, organic or amp-like: buy a fuzz box and your tone is going to be truly, deeply, thoroughly messed up. That’s in a good way, of course – at least, as long as you get the right one.

The early fuzzes were, in a word, nasty. Pioneers like the Maestro Fuzz-Tone of 1962 brought heavy distortion with a brassy, mids-focused tone that cut through the mix but didn’t offer much sustain. It wasn’t until the Brits got involved – notably with the Fuzz Face and Tone Bender – that things took a turn for the smooth. Then came the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff of 1969, a sonic steamroller of full-frequency hugeness with violin-like sustain… and all the main foundations of fuzz as we understand it today were in place.

If you’re after a ‘normal’ fuzz pedal, then, the first thing you need to decide is whereabouts on that timeline you want to go for inspiration – from lo-fi buzz to silky sweetness – and whether you want your midrange to be strident, scooped or somewhere between the two.
There are, however, other options that go well beyond the basic brief of turning the plinky-plunk of the electric guitar into something bigger and angrier. Curious about octave fuzzes, gated fuzzes and filter fuzzes? They’re all covered below.

At a glance:

• Best classic fuzz: EarthQuaker Devices Barrows
• Best multi-voice fuzz: Walrus Audio Eons
• Best Big Muff-style fuzz: Electro-Harmonix Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi
• Best octave fuzz: Beetronics Octahive V2
• Best Harmonic Percolator type: Land Devices HP-2
• Best combined fuzz and overdrive: Great Eastern FX Co Focus Fuzz Deluxe
• Best fuzz for soundscaping: Noise Engineering Dystorpia
• Best fuzz for gated effects: ThorpyFX Field Marshal
• Best vintage-style nasty fuzz: Fredric Effects Nouveau Super Unpleasant Companion
• Best filter fuzz: Dreadbox Disorder
• Why you can trust Guitar.com

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Best classic fuzz: EarthQuaker Devices Barrows

EarthQuaker Devices Barrows. Image: Press

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Of all the early Brit fuzzes, the best for many people is the MkII Tone Bender – and that’s the source material for this mini pedal from the ever-excellent EQD. It’s super-smooth and rich, with that extra punch in the midrange that really represents the main difference between a Tone Bender and a Fuzz Face. It’s also a real cutie, if that word can reasonably be applied to anything with a picture of human remains on it.

Just be aware that, while it may be powered by three germanium transistors in true vintage style, this is no faithful replica: it’s thicker and bloomier than a real MkII Bender, making it ideal for doomy rock chords but not for snappy punk riffing.

Need more? Read our EarthQuaker Devices Barrows review.

Best multi-voice fuzz: Walrus Audio Eons

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Not to be confused with the Ages (five flavours of overdrive) and Eras (five flavours of distortion), the Eons is Walrus Audio’s attempt to capture the universe of fuzz in one compact stompbox – and while it won’t replace any pedal geek’s whole collection, it covers an impressive amount of ground.

Its primary weapon is a rotary switch that lets you choose from five different clipping circuits, covering everything from traditional silicon fuzz to a raging high-gain roar. But just above that is another special feature: a ‘lightning bolt’ control that you can crank for maximum clarity or pull back for spluttery voltage-starved effects. For sheer versatility, this goat might just be the GOAT.

Need more? Read our Walrus Audio Eons review.

Best Big Muff-style fuzz: Electro-Harmonix Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi

Image: Electro-Harmonix

This version is a nano-sized reissue of one of the very earliest models, so called because of the logo at bottom right (which was never actually supposed to be a ram, but never mind). It sounds enormous, naturally, and errs on the side of warmth rather than straying into the nasal buzz that can be a weakness with some Muffs.

Note that, while the link below is to our review of the J Mascis signature Ram’s Head, the plain grey version is the same on the inside – and cheaper.

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Need more? Read our Electro-Harmonix Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi review.

Best octave fuzz: Beetronics Octahive V2

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Octave fuzzes are a riot, but don’t get too hung up on the ‘octave’ part. Because while the Roger Mayer Octavia used by Jimi Hendrix on Purple Haze does bring out the squeals in a big way, many pedals of this type are more about boosting harmonics to create gnarly textures than actually generating extra notes. And the Octahive is a fine example.

In standard mode, this is a thick fuzz with all the warmth of a tiger’s cuddle. But double-tap the clever footswitch to engage octave mode and that tiger suddenly remembers it hasn’t had its breakfast, coming for your eardrums with a savagely snarly midrange. And yes, it will also give you an up-octave if you play single notes high up the neck.

Need more? Read our Beetronics Octahive V2 review.

Best Harmonic Percolator type: Land Devices HP-2

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In the 21st century, Interfax is the name of a Russian news agency. Back in the 1970s, it was a small electronics business in Milwaukee run by a man named Ed Giese. History doesn’t record whether Ed knew much about the Soviet Union’s GDP, but he certainly knew how to design a fuzz pedal – and that was the Harmonic Percolator.

Made famous by the late Steve Albini, the Percolator has a bucketful of gain and provides all the gurgles and splutters suggested by its name, but it’s actually tighter and more controllable than many fuzzes. The Land Devices HP-2 is one of the best-known and best-loved modern takes on that quirky circuit, and for good reason. It’s choppy and chunky, with great clarity, and sounds surprisingly sweet with the guitar’s volume backed off a few notches. Be prepared for some hiss, though: Percolators tend to be noisy.

Need more? Read our Land Devices HP-2 review.

Best combined fuzz and overdrive: Great Eastern FX Co Focus Fuzz Deluxe

Image: @mydeargear

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There are lots of overdrives that can be pushed into the fuzz zone when you crank the gain, perhaps the best example being the insanely good Hudson Electronics Broadcast. But the Focus Fuzz Deluxe does more than that: as well as nailing those prized Tone Bender sounds, it can serve as a medium-gain overdrive or even a clean boost… and has a second footswitch for engaging a raspy octave mode.

It also has the same midrange-tightening ‘focus’ control as the original non-Deluxe model, which is a feature that plenty of other dirt pedal designers would do well to learn from, and serves up all of this multi-mode magic in a little golden box that positively stinks of sheer handmade class.

Need more? Read our Great Eastern FX Co Focus Fuzz Deluxe review.

Best fuzz for soundscaping: Noise Engineering Dystorpia

Image: Richard Purvis

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Noise Engineering isn’t really a guitar pedal maker – it’s a company that specialises in synth modules, but decided to knock up a couple of stompboxes just for a laugh. And that lack of baggage is probably why the Dystorpia is such a fearlessly radical device.

Despite being a digital fuzz, this pedal can create some more or less traditional tones… but you won’t stick with them for long, because its array of knobs and switches opens up all sorts of possibilities for extreme noise creation. That includes some wild glitching effects, and even a freeze function for generating fuzzy ambient drones.

Need more? Read our Noise Engineering Dystorpia review.

Best fuzz for gated effects: ThorpyFX Field Marshal

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The idea of ‘boutique fuzz’ originated in the 90s with two pedals: the Z.Vex Fuzz Factory from the USA, and the Lovetone Big Cheese from the UK. This is a reworking of the latter, made in collaboration with original designer Dan Coggins, and it’s every bit as fruity as the original.

Its first trick is rich, thick, gravelly fuzz that will win you over in seconds; its second trick is a mid-boost mode for something sharper and more focused; and its third trick is the same squelchy, splatty mayhem – ‘gating’ the fuzz by using voltage starvation to clamp down on notes as they fade – that first made the Big Cheese famous.

Need more? Read our ThorpyFX Field Marshal review.

Best vintage-style nasty fuzz: Fredric Effects Nouveau Super Unpleasant Companion

The Maestro Fuzz-Tone wasn’t the only 60s pedal to assault the ears with a lo-fidelity buzzsaw blast: Japanese company Shin-ei kept churning out raucous noise-bringers long after most makers had switched to the more easygoing Fuzz Face formula. This little black wedge is a tribute to Shin-ei’s FY-2 Companion Fuzz and FY-6 Superfuzz, offering both circuits in one enclosure and adding extra tonal options.

Mind you, those options don’t include anything that isn’t downright hostile. Our review included the words ‘obnoxious’, ‘fanatical’, ‘insect-like’, ‘belligerent’ and ‘tinnitus in a box’. Don’t expect the sonic equivalent of an Indian head massage, then – but do expect a whole lot of fun.

Need more? Read our Fredric Effects Nouveau Super Unpleasant Companion review.

Best filter fuzz: Dreadbox Disorder

There is a way to make high-gain filth sound even cooler, and that’s to pair it with powerful EQ filtering. In the case of the Disorder, that means running an analogue CMOS fuzz through dual filters with adjustable resonance and the ability to track the dynamics of your playing.

Even in fixed mode, those filters give you much more tone-shaping flexibility than you’ll ever get from a traditional fuzz box; and once you engage the envelope mode, that flexibility gains the power of movement, with notes and chords getting either brighter or darker as they fade. It can be subtle, but it can also be a recipe for outlandish sci-fi swoops.

Annoyingly, while you can control the filters using an external device via CV, you can’t do so with a standard expression pedal. For that you’ll probably want the (much more expensive) Collision Devices TARS or Death By Audio Crossover Fuzz.

Need more? Read our Dreadbox Disorder review.

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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.

The post The best fuzz pedals for all styles and budgets appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

£329 / $399, thorpyfx.com

Collabs are all the rage in the pedal world these days, but it’s still exciting when you see someone enter the field that hasn’t been there before. Jesse Hoff, the main man behind Lazy J, has won a reputation as one of the world’s foremost boutique amp makers over the last few decades. You’ll find his takes on vintage Tweed amps on stages and in studios with everyone from David Gilmour and Noel Gallagher to Ed O’Brien and Joe Satriani.

• READ MORE: Horrothia Effects Triage Deluxe review – the ultimate all-in-one gain machine for fussy tonehounds?

Hoff is also no stranger to effects either, having put out the well-regarded Cruiser boost/drive pedal well over a decade ago. But collaborations? That’s a new one.

Thorpy main man Adrian Thorpe is much more familiar with that sort of thing of course – whether that’s making signature gear for Chris Buck and Danish Pete, or collaborating with pedal legend Dan Coggins to revive both the Dinosaural and Lovetone brands.

Two tone connoisseurs teaming up to make something altogether a bit different for both of them then? Well, that sounds like a lot of fun…

“I like to work with good people who genuinely inspire me,” Thorpe tells me. “Jesse is such a great guy, one of the great amp builders. I’ve been an owner and huge fan of his Lazy J J 20 amp for years. It’s such a harmonically rich and beautifully tactile amp to play. It’s taken us about four years of collaboration to develop The J pedal, and we’re really proud of the result.”

Image: Press

Lazy J x Thorpy Fx The J – what is it?

As Adrian implies, the primary mission of The J is to faithfully emulate the tones and response of a J 20 amp in compact pedal format, itself derived from the classic Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe amp. To do that, The J includes a built-in transformer that can mimic the real amp feel, paired with a circuit chock full of high-grade audiophile capacitors and such. All of it is built to Thorpy’s famously military-grade specs, and differs from the usual Thorpy fare by squeezing it all into a rather lovely UV-printed enclosure. It’s still recognisably a Thorpy pedal of course, but one that feels equally indebted to the Lazy J boutique amp lineage.

As with the original, you get the option of a normal or bright channel, and the controls are suitably spartan for an amp based on the similarly simple J 20 – with independent volume for each, as well as a presence control, single tone and a master output. Things you won’t find on the top of the J 20 include a toggle switch to select X or Y mode – the circuit’s impression of either 12AX7 or 12AY7 valves – as well as a ‘supply’ switch, which is designed to emulate the J 20’s impressive attenuator.

Image: Press

Lazy J x Thorpy Fx The J – usability and sounds

I’ve owned, gigged and recorded with both vintage tweed amps and J 20 for over a decade, and so I approached The J with a bit of trepidation. Surely it couldn’t capture the magic touch-sensitive 3D sonic experience of an amp that’s simultaneously chiming with top clarity and snarling with chewy, barking midrange?

Plugging my Strat into a Deluxe Reverb set sparkly clean, I set The J in the lower gain 12AY7 mode and select the normal channel. One thing that’s worth being aware of here is that, like the J 20, the positioning of the volume of the channel you aren’t using does have an impact on the gain of the one you are – a weird eccentricity for sure but one that I respect Thorpy and Hoff going to the trouble of recreating here.

With the supply, output and normal volume set high (and the bright volume low), I’m greeted with a fat, harmonically rich, very sweet edge-of-breakup up tone, just what I love about tweed amps.

The bright channel is – as you’d expect – a touch brighter, but also more gainy than the normal channel. But utilising the additional controls I can dial in everything from a fat clean boost to snarling fuzz tone freakouts, much like a great old tweed amp.

Plugging in a Tele is Keef riff and Cropper heaven, and upping the gain with my P-90-loaded Les Paul has me revelling in the rich tonal spectrum of Neil Young. It’s a chewy feeling, slightly flabby, gorgeously addictive and crucially, superbly touch responsive guitar tone that the Thorpy J convincingly nails, even when tried back-to-back with my J 20 amp.

As a tweed emulator pedal The J responds magnificently to a lighter touch or guitar volume manipulation, and not only crucially captures both the playing feel and tone of a cranked amp, but also a lot of the quirky nature of the unexpectedly interactive control set. Hours of lush tonal experimentation await the tone curious player.

Image: Press

Lazy J x Thorpy Fx The J – should I buy one?

Thorpy has been producing some truly superb pedals for many years now, but The J might very well be the brand’s crowning achievement. It’s a superb tweed amp emulation that more than lives up to the Lazy J name, but there’s more to it than just that.

Even if you never cared about capturing the authentic sound of a tweed amp, The J is a fantastic overdrive pedal in its own right – in fact, it’s one of the best sounding, most tactile and responsive dirt pedals I’ve ever had the privilege of playing.

Image: Press

Lazy J x Thorpy Fx The J – alternatives

Capturing Tweed in a box is a notoriously tricky task, for a decent flavour however the Catalinbread Formula No. 55 ($189) is a JFET-based overdrive designed to replicate those classic Tweed Deluxe flavours. More pricey, but the Origin Effects Deluxe55 (£279) is an all-analogue tribute to the legendary Fender 5E3 with some twists. If you’re after a more digital emulation of the tweed thing, the Universal Audio Woodrow ’55 ($399) is worth a look.

The post Lazy J x ThorpyFX The J review: “one of the best sounding, most tactile and responsive dirt pedals I’ve ever played” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

After the final Black Sabbath gig in early July last year, extremely high estimates of how much the mighty celebration of metal had earned its chosen charities were reported across the media.

Ozzy Osbourne’s son Jack has since spoken out about these figures, and has said that each of the three charities selected by the band received around £1.5–2 million, with the rough total coming in at around £6–7 million.

• READ MORE: Nuno Bettencourt recalls his final conversation with Ozzy Osbourne – as “the only guitar player who said no” to playing for him

The gig was held at Villa Park in Black Sabbath’s home city of Birmingham, UK. It raised money for Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice. The show featured solo music from Ozzy as well as a performance from the original lineup of Black Sabbath, and a mighty roster of other rock and metal greats. Ozzy sadly passed away just a few weeks after the event.

Across the media, estimate figures of the gig’s earnings for charity were as high as $190 million. Sharon Osbourne also shut down these claims, and similarly to Jack, provided a rough total of around $11 million (about £8 million): a brilliant total that will have a real impact, nonetheless.

Speaking on the Punk Rock Sober podcast, Jack says, “This is how you know the news is probably 90 percent bullshit, ‘cause it was, like, CNN and New York Times was saying ‘Ozzy raised $150 million.’ And it wasn’t that. I think what it came down to was, like, when all was said and done, because it was a charity gig, you still have to pay for the actual gig. No bands got paid, and most of the crew donated their time.”

He adds, “But I think when all said [was] and done, each charity got, like, one and a half or two million pounds [approximately $2.7 million] each. So, it was, I think, six or seven million pounds [approximately $9.4 million]. That’s what was donated to the three charities. I mean, we would’ve loved it if it was hundreds of millions. We would have been, like, ‘Fuck yeah.’”

You can watch the full interview with Jack below:

The post “You still have to pay for the actual gig”: Jack Osbourne says Back To The Beginning charities received around “£1.5m or £2m” each, despite media estimates being much higher appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Gibson has revealed a new partnership with Keith Richards, unveiling two new super-limited Collector’s Edition ES-355s based on the Rolling Stones man’s own treasured 1960 ES-355.

150 guitars are available as part of the launch – 50 signed both on the instrument and label, and 100 with only a signed label. Developed in close collaboration with Richards, these guitars expectedly don’t come cheap, with the former priced at $19,999, and the latter at $29,999.

• READ MORE: The ’58 Goldtop Slash couldn’t walk away from: “He said, ‘I don’t need any more of these.’ And then he plugged it in and said, ‘Alright, I’ll take this one!’”

Keith first used an ES-355 in 1969, both on the road and in the studio, namely during the recording sessions for Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. His black 1960 model, meticulously recreated for this launch, has accompanied him on every Rolling Stones tour since 1997.

According to the Gibson Gazette, the guitars have been handcrafted in the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, and are “exact replicas”. Its details were recreated using advanced 3D scanning, period-correct materials and construction techniques, with Murphy Lab hand-aging completing the guitars.

Both feature a multi-ply bound body made from three-ply maple/poplar/maple, with red spruce bracing and a maple centreblock for enhanced sustain and reduced feedback, weight-relieved at Richards’ request. Each has a mahogany neck with a custom Keith Richards profile, while premium hardware includes a Bigsby B7 vibrato tailpiece and Grover Rotomatic tuners with Milk Bottle buttons.

Each hosts a pair of unpotted Custombucker pickups with Alnico 5 magnets, wired to CTS 500k audio taper pots and paper-in-oil capacitors. These guitars ship in a Gibson Protector series case with a certificate of authenticity and a replica of the strap that Richards uses.

Check out the launch video below, featuring producer Andrew Watt, who worked with the Stones on their most recent album, Hackney Diamonds.

“This is my standard tuning six-string,” Richards tells Watt. “This is the other side of my thing. My six-string stuff has always been, you know, a great Gibson – that’s where I feel the most comfortable. And also with the sound. Put it through just about any amp, and it will sound the way you want it, because this has so much more room for expression.”

Find out more about the Keith Richards 1960 ES-355 Collector’s Edition at Gibson.

Credit: Gibson

The post Gibson uses 3D scanning and period correct materials to create an “exact replica” of Keith Richards’ prized 1960 ES-355 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Following last year’s launch of Fender Studio – a GarageBand-style, beginner-friendly DAW app for recording and jamming – Fender is taking things to the next level.

Now, Studio One Pro, the renowned DAW software from PreSonus – which Fender bought in 2021 – is transitioning into Fender Studio Pro, bringing a number of updates to visual design and UI, new amps and effects, faster mixing workflows and loads more.

• READ MORE: “The Stratocaster hasn’t really changed since 1954”: Outgoing Fender CEO Andy Mooney says electric guitarists have “generally been reluctant to really accept innovation”

But Fender isn’t stopping there; PreSonus’s Quantum and AudioBox interface lines are also moving under the Fender name, and will now be the Fender Quantum Series and Fender AudioBox.

In addition to an updated UI, new amps and effects – 57 guitar and bass amp models via Mustang and Rumble Native plugins – and faster workflows, the reimagined Fender Studio Pro environment also introduces upgraded samplers, as well as AI-powered audio-to-note conversion.

Credit: Fender

“For more than a decade, Studio One Pro has set the standard for modern music production,” says Max Gutnik, Chief Product Officer, FMIC.

“Its balance of power, creativity and ease of use has inspired countless artists and shaped how music is made today.

“With Fender Studio Pro, we are taking those celebrated features and enhancing them with a modernised interface, Fender’s award-winning amp and effects models and new intuitive workflows and capabilities that make creating music faster, more inspiring and more connected than ever.”

Fender says it “remains dedicated to inspiring generations of artists and creators”, and that the new Fender Studio brand – which brings PreSonus’s Studio One and Quantum and AudioBox interfaces under its umbrella – is the “next evolution of that vision, where tradition and innovation meet in the service of creativity”.

To showcase the potential of Fender Studio Pro, Fender has tapped Nile Rodgers and Grammy-nominated producer Alissia Benveniste for a demo video. Check it out below:

“Having authentic Fender amps and pedals built straight into the DAW is a game-changer,” says Benveniste. “Fender Studio Pro delivers true analog warmth with a seamless workflow.”

Also worth noting, MyPreSonus – the platform through which you manage and access your PreSonus gear and software – is being replaced by the new MyFender platform. This platform will also serve the wider base of Fender customers who purchase guitars, amps and effects.

While Studio One Pro is becoming Fender Studio Pro, and the Quantum and AudioBox lines are moving under the Fender name, PreSonus will continue to serve customers with pro audio products including its Eris Monitors, StudioLive Series III SE Mixers, Air XD Loudspeakers and more.

In terms of pricing, a perpetual license for Fender Studio Pro comes in at $199.99/£169.99, while a monthly subscription is available at $19.99/$19.99 per month. A number of upgrade options are also available for existing users.

Alongside the launch of Fender Studio Pro, the company has also issued an update for its Fender Studio app, introducing a new transmit feature which seamlessly sends sessions to Fender Studio Pro, as well as new Chord Track, and Drum Metronome features.

To learn more about Fender Studio Pro, head to Fender.

Credit: Fender

Elsewhere in the Fender world, it was announced last week that CEO Andy Mooney would be stepping down, with the current President of the company’s Asia Pacific division Edward “Bud” Cole assuming the role of CEO from February 16.

“Leading Fender has been a highlight of my career,” says Mooney. “I’m deeply grateful for the creativity and commitment of the Fender teams around the world and proud of what we’ve accomplished. I’m excited to pass the baton on to Bud and confident that under his leadership, Fender will continue to inspire players for generations to come.”

During his tenure as President of Fender Asia Pacific, Edward “Bud” Cole has spearheaded the opening of Fender’s flagship Tokyo store, overseen the expansion of the brand into 14 countries across the region including mainland China and Korea, and played a pivotal role in numerous Made-in-Japan launches, like the widely publicised Godzilla Stratocasters back in October.

The post PreSonus Studio One is now Fender Studio Pro, as Fender launches its own fully-fledged DAW environment appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.