Norse Guitar Feeds

Electric guitars can be marvelous contradictions. They are simultaneously robust mechanical objects and fragile ecosystems where a few small changes can turn poetry into prattle. The good news for those of us who prefer our magic quick and easy is that improvements don’t require a lot of money or late nights spent questioning life choices. Here are a handful of my favorite simple tweaks that can enhance performance and sound. I think of these as seasoning adjustments rather than major structural renovations—salt, not sous-vide.

1. Saddle-Slot Polishing: Who doesn’t benefit from a nice massage? I know I do. Microscopic burrs or rough casting marks on saddles—especially on import bridges—can rob sustain and introduce phantom harmonics as well as tuning issues. You don’t need to totally reshape anything, just a little buff and shine. Use a strip of 1000–2000 grit sandpaper or abrasive cord gently pulled through the string slot a few times. The goal isn’t to reshape anything, it’s just subtle smoothing. The audible result is a clearer attack, smoother decay, and fewer pings when tuning.

2. Trem Spring Alignment and Tension: Fender-style tremolo springs are usually installed once and then forgotten, but uneven spring tension can cause a bridge to return inconsistently. Try loosening the claw screws slightly and then retighten them evenly, counting the turns and matching the distance traveled. Be sure to mark where you began by drawing a line on a piece of masking tape. I like to snap a reference photo to remind me where I started. Symmetrical tension often yields a more predictable return-to-zero, so start there. Some techs advise removing a spring or two on the treble side where the tension is higher, but I always start with all of the springs on deck. Keep experimenting until you get the result you want. If things improve, you’re gold. If not, relax, because that photo will always be your map back home.

3. Pickup Screw Isolation: Here’s one for those of us not afraid of getting lost in the woods. Pickup-mounting screws can transfer vibration from the body into the pickup in unpredictable ways—especially if you play loud or use a ton of gain. Put a short length of surgical tubing over the adjustment screws instead of using traditional springs. The pickup becomes mechanically quieter, which translates to less microphonic behavior at volume. Larger tubing can quiet the springs themselves if that’s the problem. While you’re in there you can stick a length of self-adhesive foam rubber to the bottom of the pickup plate to calm down microphonics.

“Electric guitars are a microscope for vibrations, so it helps to start at one end of the fiddle and check everything that screws or bolts down.”

4. Contact-Point Cleaning: Electrical contact cleaner is cheap but the results are big. Your guitar has more contact points than you might imagine. Output jack, switch contacts, pot wipers, and bridge ground screws are all fair game. Oxidation is the silent tone thief, stealing high end and dulling your tone. A five-minute cleaning session can restore sparkle you didn’t realize had left the room. This isn’t mojo—it’s maintenance. If you’re feeling ambitious, take this opportunity to re-solder anything that looks questionable.

5. Tighten Up and Fly Right: Loose or rattling parts can introduce mechanical noise, especially at stage volume. Electric guitars are a microscope for vibrations, so it helps to start at one end of the fiddle and check everything that screws or bolts down. Start with the tuners and work your way down. The audible differences are minimal—until they aren’t. When you’re standing in front of a loud amp, eliminating one more source of chaos is an act of mercy.

6. Neck-Screw Torque Consistency: On bolt-on guitars, uneven clamping pressure can subtly affect resonance. Remove and reinstall the neck screws one at a time, tightening them evenly and deliberately—not crazy-tight, just consistent and snug. If you feel any of the screws very easy to turn going in, you might want to put a thin strip of wood in the body hole to improve positive mechanical contact. If you want, you can remove the neck altogether and look for stray finish or anything that might be between the neck and body that might rob the transfer of vibration.

Final Thoughts from the Bench: None of these modifications will turn a plank into a prima donna on their own, but that’s not the point. Guitars, like recipes, respond best to small, thoughtful adjustments made by you while paying attention. Every little thing contributes to the whole. Sometimes the improvement isn’t just the sound itself—it’s your relationship to the instrument after you’ve listened closely while messing with it. And if nothing else, you’ll have spent a few hours learning about your guitar in the most direct way possible: with your hands on it, instead of your wallet.

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have one of the deepest guitar-shredding relationships in the 6-string universe. Famously, Satch was Steve Vai’s guitar teacher back in their Long Island days, and they’ve developed their careers across the decades as solo artists, as partners in the G3 world, and now with their own co-led band, SATCHVAI. To celebrate, we’ve got a two-episode arc with each of the guys talking about the other one’s playing. First up is Satch talking all things Vai, from their early days in the lesson room to their upcoming Surfing With the Hydra tour.

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Legendary guitar icons Joe Satriani and Steve Vai return today with the SATCHVAI Band release of their brand new single, “Dancing,” out now via earMUSIC, alongside a wildly entertaining new video directed by Satriani’s son, ZZ Satriani.

The video stars actor, comedian and musician Brendon Small (Metalacolpyse. Dethklok), a longtime friend of both guitarists, who hilariously portrays an overzealous talent manager pushing the duo to cast dancers for the band’s upcoming live show. The chaos unfolds in sync with the track’s fast-moving melodic interplay between Satriani and Vai — a rapid-fire exchange of soaring guitar lines that mirrors the eccentric parade of auditioning performers. Eagle-eyed fans will also spot a cameo from the band’s powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, adding to the tongue-in-cheek energy.

Musically, “Dancing”— a reimagined interpretation of a song by iconic Italian singer, pianist, and songwriter Paolo Conte — showcases the SATCHVAI Band at full throttle — a vibrant, melodic conversation between two of rock’s most expressive guitar voices. Built on momentum, melody, and fearless musical chemistry, the track captures the spirit of spontaneity and joy that defined their electrifying European tour.

Satriani shares, “‘Dancing’ really captures the playful side of what Steve and I discovered on stage together last summer — that push-and-pull of melody and energy. The video gave us a chance to show that spirit in a completely different way. Watching ZZ bring this absurd casting concept to life — and having Brendon step into the madness — made it even more fun.”
Vai adds, “This band thrives on surprise — musically and visually. ‘Dancing’ is a perfect example of that. It’s melodic but relentless, and the video turns that energy into a kind of surreal comedy. It’s a glimpse into the personality of this band before we even hit the stage.”

The release arrives as the SATCHVAI Band prepares to bring their “Surfing With The Hydra” 2026 U.S. Tour stateside for the first time. Launching April 1 in Seattle and running through May 30 at Wolf Trap, the tour follows a celebrated European run that included stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and festival appearances at Hellfest, Umbria Jazz Festival, and Guitares en Scène.

Support on all dates will come from progressive metal innovators Animals as Leaders.

On the Surfing With The Hydra Tour, fans can expect a full-band, high-energy performance featuring more new material from the forthcoming SATCHVAI Band album alongside iconic favorites from both artists’ catalogs.

“Dancing” follows the duo’s previous releases, including the cinematic instrumental “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1” and the anthemic “I Wanna Play My Guitar,” featuring powerhouse vocals from Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple and Black Country Communion. A full album is expected later this year.

Together, these tracks preview a collaboration that is decades in the making. Despite nearly 50 years of friendship, the SATCHVAI Band marks the first time Satriani and Vai have formally united in a shared group — alongside Aronoff, bassist Marco Mendoza, and guitarist Pete Thorn — forging a live experience built on virtuosity, friendship and fearless creativity.

All ticket details available at SATCHVAIBAND.COM

SATCHVAI Band “Surfing with the Hydra” 2026 U.S. Tour (with Animals as Leaders):
April 1 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
April 2 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
April 4 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
April 5 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
April 7 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Terrace Theater
April 8 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
April 10 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre
April 11 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
April 14 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
April 16 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
April 17 – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park
April 18 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
April 20 – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre
April 22 – Pompano Beach, FL – Pompano Beach Amphitheater
April 24 – Clearwater, FL – Baycare Sound
April 25 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
April 26 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
April 27 – Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Symphony Hall
April 29 – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium
April 30 – Durham, NC – DPAC
May 2 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre
May 3 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
May 5 – Milwaukee, WI – The Riverside Theater
May 7 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
May 8 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavillion at Riverbend Music Center
May 9 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
May 10 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
May 12 – Buffalo, NY – Kleinhans Music Hall
May 13 – Toronto, Ont – Meridian Hall
May 15 – Northfield, OH – MGM Northfield Park
May 16 – Rochester Hills, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
May 17 – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theatre
May 20 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
May 21 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre
May 22 – Waterbury, CT – Palace Theater
May 23 – Virginia Beach, VA – The Dome
May 27 – Reading, PA – Santander Performing Arts Center
May 28 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
May 29 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata Hotel Casino & SpaMay 30 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap

Twin brothers Tim and Nick Frank were college students in their Canadian hometown when they built their first guitar.

It was the late 2000s, and Tim Frank was working a summer job at a canoe club that had taken over a decommissioned firehouse on Ward’s Island, just south of Toronto’s harborfront. There, he and his brother had access to a backyard shed equipped with a bandsaw, a MacGyvered drill press, and a dream.

It wasn’t the first time either of them had experimented with lutherie. When they were teenagers, Nick had gifted Tim a copy of a Dan Erlewine book on guitar repair, and Tim started doing fixups for his friends while Nick defretted his bass so that he could play more like Jaco Pastorius.

Building their own guitar posed a whole other challenge. The first one they built together at the canoe club had problems, but it showed a lot of promise. Tim and Nick kept honing their skills at college in Halifax, working out of a tiny room in Tim’s house that they converted into an ad-hoc workshop. When they returned to Toronto, they found a home in a 2,600-square-foot warehouse space in a century-old building in the city’s east end, which is where they decided to go all-in and start their own guitar company in 2014.

Fast-forward to today, and the Frank Brothers Guitar Company is established as an international purveyor of boutique guitars, with a small but mighty catalog of one-of-a-kind designs. Led by Tim and Nick, with business support from their older brother Jon, Frank Brothers has carved out a niche with its unique, vintage-inspired aesthetics and high-quality craftsmanship.

The company’s signature model is the Arcade, a double-arched solid body noted for its eye-catching look, comfortable playability, and warmth, sustain, and openness. When Frank Brothers brought the Arcade to the NAMM show just a few years into the company’s tenure, an early Reverb review commended the “superb build quality” and described playing it as “a raw and overwhelming experience.”

Since then, Frank Brothers’ reputation has continued to grow. The company’s roster of clients includes Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson, Zac Brown Band’s Clay Cook, Walk the Moon’s Eli Maiman, Dispatch’s Brad Corrigan, Arkells’ Mike DeAngelis, the Beaches’ Leandra Earl, and solo artist James Bay, as well as live and session players for John Mayer, Vulfpeck, and Lou Reed.

It’s been just over a decade since the Frank Brothers first broke into the boutique-guitar market. But for the full story of the family business, you have to go way further back.

A Local Legacy of Music

In the Frank family, there’s an ingrained appreciation for craftsmanship in musical instruments that’s been passed down through generations. The brothers’ father, Jim Frank, was an award-winning recording engineer who worked with artists like Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Bob Seger, and the Guess Who. Through him, the brothers learned about the value of high-fidelity sound. Their grandfather, Philip Frank, was an acclaimed violinist who played with Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony Orchestra and recorded with a golden-era Stradivarius. He taught them respect for quality instruments. “We grew up with this understanding that not all instruments were made the same, and that they didn’t have equal value or sound, and that there were some instruments that were just special,” Tim Frank says.

So, when the brothers started building their own guitars professionally, they wanted to make instruments that would sound great, feel great, and play great—and last for generations. “When we first started, there was this newbie attitude where we didn’t know any better, so we tried to achieve something that we didn’t have the skills for at the time,” Tim says. “But we were always chasing perfection.”

The Frank brothers also had access to a wealth of knowledge and guidance from several master luthiers based in Toronto. When Jean Larrivée gained international respect for his steel-string acoustics in the 1970s, he enlisted several highly talented craftspeople to help build Larrivée Guitars. When he later relocated to Canada’s west coast and then onward to California, Larrivée left behind a community of people like William “Grit” Laskin, Linda Manzer, David Wren, and Tony Duggan-Smith, who stayed in Toronto and became renowned luthiers themselves.

“There’s been a culture of guitar-making here in Toronto since the ’70s, and these people were still around,” says Tim. “We got the opportunity to talk to some of them, ask them questions.”

Finding Their Niche

In a world of Fenders and Gibsons, the twins wanted to stand out. For inspiration, they looked to the retro Japanese imports of the ’60s and ’70s. These were models that took the recognizable silhouettes of classic American guitars and twisted and stretched them into funky new shapes that still resembled the originals, but were different enough that the companies making them wouldn’t get sued. “We wanted to make something that was familiar but different,” Tim says. “Something that people would recognize, but would also be its own thing.”

Drafting their concepts by hand, Tim designed the body and Nick the headstock, each of them sketching separately. When they put their two pieces of draft paper together, the designs complemented each other perfectly. Call it twin telepathy.

By the time of their third guitar build, they had zeroed in on what would be recognized today as an Arcade. The design features an arched top and back, an extra-deep neck tenon, and their signature “blended heel,” with a 25" scale length, a 12" radius, and a deluxe, hand-painted finish.

“We grew up with this understanding that not all instruments were made the same.”—Tim Frank

A couple of years ago, they added two additional models, both with a body design that looks a tad like a Gibson SG but sits more like a classic Fender. The Radar Deluxe is a set-neck mahogany guitar with a 24 3/4" scale length and a 12" radius with Kalamazoo-style parts. The Sonar is a California-inspired design with an alder body and a maple bolt-on neck, with a 25 1/2" scale length, a 9.5" radius, deep body contours, and Fullerton-inspired parts such as a Mastery vibrato and a chopped T-style bridge.

That brings Frank Brothers’ current catalog to six models in total, all fully customizable. There are four different Arcade models, with the base edition starting at $4,495, the thinline at $4,695, the signature at $5,795, and the semi-hollow at $6,795. The Sonar is the most affordable at $3,895 and up, while the Radar Deluxe starts at $4,395.

Almost all of Frank Brothers’ guitars are custom models that are made to order. Occasionally, they’ll make a few “brothers’ choice” guitars that they’ll sell on their website, and some are made for their 11 dealers in Canada, the U.S., United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Japan.

In the early days, it would take about 12 weeks to make one guitar. But their two-man operation has since doubled with the addition of two craftspeople so they can keep up with demand. Nowadays, the company makes two or three guitars a week; last year, they built 138 total.

A Meticulous Process

Step into the Frank Brothers workshop in Toronto and you’ll instantly be greeted by the rich, earthy aroma of freshly cut wood. On the day Premier Guitar stopped by, the air was filled with the sweet smell of Spanish cedar, evoking a sauna or a cigar box. (In this case, the guitar being built was for a cigar-loving client, so it was an intentional choice.)

Frank Brothers mostly uses mahogany for the Arcade model and the Radar Deluxe, but some are made with korina instead—for clients, like blues guitarist Josh Smith, who are seeking a body similar to mahogany but with a bit more presence and clarity in the mid-range. The Sonar is typically alder or maple.

“There are few people you can be as ruthlessly honest with as your brothers.”—Tim Frank

The company brings in ethically sourced shipments of new woods a few times a year, letting them dry out for over a year before cutting them into smaller chunks for body blanks, which are further dried for another six to 12 months until they’re ready to be milled. The milling process itself happens in gradual steps using their novelty-size jointer and Haas CNC machine to gradually pare down and shape the wood as its natural tension is released. “We’re not just milling it and then making the guitar,” Tim says. “We’re milling it, letting it rest, letting it de-stress, milling it again, and shaping it over time so that we get the most stable piece.”

During our visit, the CNC machine was in the process of milling the radius into a fretboard, having already been resurfaced three previous times. When it comes time for the fret slots, they’ll cut them in a pocket style rather than a straight line through the wood so that the fret tangs aren’t visible from the sides. Tim says this creates a firmer fit. “It’s a little detail that adds fractions of an amount of extra stiffness,” he says. “But, you know, we’re going for fractions.”

Once the fretboard gets glued to the neck, they use a highly precise straight edge to re-level the wood with sanding blocks until they reach their straightness tolerance of one half of a thousandth of an inch—less than the thickness of a human hair. They repeat that process again as they build in the tension of a single-action truss rod, and again as frets are installed.

Frank Brothers also take an unusual approach to their joints. For their angled headstocks, they use a “diamond” volute joint popularized by Martin acoustics prior to the First World War and typically found today on high-end classical or flamenco guitars. Tim Frank says it’s a highly labor-intensive practice, but it gives them a more sturdy, durable joint and, as a side benefit, the process uses a template that reduces wood waste. And then there’s Frank Brothers’ secret ingredient, the “blended heel.” Because the Arcade body is arched on both the top and the back, there’s no flat reference surface to build the heel. Instead, they do the build inside a block of wood, and only once they’re ready to glue the neck in do they cut the shape of the guitar.

“You get this big, Bo Diddley-looking thing with the neck in it,” Tim says. “And then we put it on the machine, and then we cut it out. It’s more like carving a statue from a block of marble than it is building a piece of furniture or a traditional guitar.”

While both brothers have a hand in each guitar from first cut to final finish, the woodworking is Nick’s area of focus. Tim’s specialty is the finishing, done entirely by hand with a nitrocellulose lacquer and great attention to detail, making it the most time-consuming part of the whole process.

Frank Brothers opt for classic colors like candy apple red, Pelham blue, shoreline gold, and sunbursts, but they put their own retro-inspired spin on these by tweaking and re-toning the paints so they appear aged. While finishing, Tim even takes it an extra step further by using a razor blade glued to a toothpick to meticulously scrape the color off along the edges to reveal the bony white binding.

“At this price range, it’s expected that it has to sound good, play great, look great,” Tim says. “But where we have a lot of fun is with those really small details—finessing those things into making these guitars go beyond expectation.”

“It’s a little detail that adds fractions of an amount of extra stiffness. But, you know, we’re going for fractions.”—Tim Frank

By the time a Frank Brothers guitar is ready to play, roughly 60 hours of manual labor have been undertaken at their Toronto workshop. Tim Frank says their pursuit of perfection is ultimately what has allowed them to grow their client base almost entirely by word of mouth.

“The feedback we get from people that play our guitars—even in Toronto, where the weather and humidity fluctuate like crazy—is that they really don’t need to mess with them,” Tim says. “They’re super, super stable because of all that engineering. The end result is a guitar that you don’t need to futz with much. And also, we think it makes for a better-sounding guitar—something that’s more responsive, a little bit more lively, and with better sustain.”

A Guitar to Last Generations

For the Frank Brothers Guitar Company, it’s all in the name. The Frank family fostered an appreciation for fine instruments, and now that the brothers are running their own family business, that brotherly dynamic powers everything they do. “There are few people you can be as ruthlessly honest with as your brothers,” Tim says. “That relationship has really influenced the way we build guitars and the level that we work at. We’re really focused on the details.”

Tim defines that standard as “heirloom quality”—the idea that a Frank Brothers guitar should be something that you’d be proud to pass on to your children and grandchildren, the same way their father and grandfather passed on their musical legacies.

“We’re trying to make something that you would not only be proud to own and play yourself, but also want to pass along to the next generation,” Tim says. “We’re trying to make timeless guitars.”

There’s nothing like a great deal on guitar gear to cure the early-week blues, and this time Positive Grid is delivering the goods.

For a limited time, guitarists in the US and Canada can take advantage of this sweet deal on the brand’s Spark NEO Core modelling amp headphones, and get them for just $135, down from $159. Meanwhile, players all over the world can get Positive Grid’s AI-powered BIAS X amp and effects suite at a massive 25% discount.

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

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Arriving in September last year, BIAS X is the next iteration of Positive Grid’s industry-leading amp modelling and effects software, BIAS FX. While it came with plenty of new amp and effects models, the biggest talking point was the addition of an AI assistant right within the software, which can turn ideas in the form of simple text prompts into fully working signal chains. While some guitarists love tinkering with the settings of their chain on a granular level, some of us just want a solid tone so we can start playing. BIAS X takes a lot of the guesswork – not to mention the time it takes – out of the tone-shaping process.

The team here at Guitar.com all had a go, and were thoroughly impressed by the range of awesome sounding virtual gear available, plus the reliability of its AI-powered features. And for a piece of software that’s so useful – and may very well change the way you craft guitar tones – you can get it right now at 25% off, for just $111. Alternatively, there’s a number of upgrade options available for existing Positive Grid customers too, in which you can also save 25%. So don’t wait to have a go at AI-powered tone creation yourself.

Positive Grid’s Spark NEO Core headphones, meanwhile, offer a formidable headphone amp solution for guitarists, pairing a suite of powerful amps and effects with AI-powered tone generation, plus high-quality 40mm drivers tuned for guitar and bass. Simply download the Spark app and plug the cans straight into your guitar, and you can enjoy high-energy practice sessions without the fear of disturbing your neighbours, family members, or anyone else who might put a premature stop to your best riffs ever.

Shop Positive Grid’s full product range now.

 

The post Save big on Positive Grid’s AI-powered BIAS X and Spark NEO Core smart guitar headphones appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when a guitarist goes all-in on vintage gear, just look at Joe Bonamassa. The blues legend and self-professed vintage connoisseur’s home gear museum, Nerdville West, reportedly holds over 1,000 items – including no less than 600 guitars.

However, even a collector of Bonamassa’s caliber admits there’s a limit. During a recent chat on the No Cover Charge podcast, the musician reveals he’s finally hitting the brakes on new acquisitions, as there’s only so much gear a person can meaningfully explore.

• 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

“As far as acquiring stuff, I’ve really slowed down, because there’s a saturation point,” he explains. “I’d like to get to the stuff that I own, and discover the sounds that I can get out of those pieces, before it just starts piling up and piling up and piling up.”

The guitarist says last year’s Los Angeles wildfires helped put his obsession into perspective. Clearing out his collection in the wake of the fires reminded him just how overwhelming hundreds of instruments can be.

“You never want to go into a situation, I’ve done this when I cleared out this place after the fires, where you’re pulling out cases and have no recollection of when, where, or how you acquired it. And it’s probably starting to get to that point,” says Bonamassa.

“Obviously, you can’t evacuate everything. So, you have to prioritise. And I thought about it for years. I said, ‘Well, if we gotta go, here’s what’s going.’ This being one of them, you know – Mr Skinner [Bonamassa’s ‘Skinnerburst’ Les Paul] has to come along.”

Elsewhere in the chat, Bonamassa also reveals his tactical approach to collecting rare gear.

“What I do is, I never telegraph anything. You won’t know I’m interested until I’d be like, ‘I’ll take it,’ or, ‘I’ll cut you a check.’”

The guitarist says he tends to acquire gear in batches, securing spares and matching pairs of key amps and instruments: “Like, you notice there’s two [Marshall] JTM45s. There’s three in here, and one in Nashville. So, I’m usually ‘a pair and a spare,’ And you look at the back wall, there’s a bunch of Blackface Fender amps, and Selmers behind you, and [Fender] Tweeds and everything.”

The post “You don’t want to have no recollection of when, where or how you acquired it”: Why Joe Bonamassa is hitting the brakes on his vintage gear collection appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Walking away from a band you’ve called home for years is never easy, as former All That Remains guitarist Jason Richardson knows well.

In a recent chat with Guitar World, Richardson – who joined the metal band in 2018 after the tragic passing of founding guitarist Oli Herbert – says his departure last July was driven not by personal conflicts but rather, frustrations over management and the handling of the band’s 2025 album, Antifragile.

• READ MORE: Dave Mustaine claims Megadeth would have been less successful if not for the motivating factor of Metallica “trying to hold me back”

When asked whether leaving was a “difficult” decision, he admits [via Blabbermouth], “Kind of, but not, simultaneously. I don’t wanna get into the weeds of it publicly, but I’m still cool with all of the guys in the band. It was mostly just a business thing. And things just were not executed like they were promised to be, from management and the people tasked with putting the record out.”

“I’m glad the record exists, but the fact that it’s already been out almost a year and there hasn’t been one show. So it’s, like, there’s just a lot of things on the business side in the back end that I was not happy with at all.”

The guitarist is quick to stress that it wasn’t about personal relationships.

“It has nothing to do with anyone’s personality or anyone in the band at all,” he says. “It just wasn’t, in my opinion – like, I could be doing other things than trying to make that work when it so clearly was not going to – from my perspective, at least.”

Despite the frustrations, Richardson looks back on the album fondly: “I still love the guys. I love the record. I loved working with [producer] Josh Wilbur, the guy who did the album. He’s phenomenal. And that’s probably one of the best things about that record, for me at least, is now I have a great relationship with him, and we’re gonna keep working together. But I am happy all those songs are real, so there’s that at least.”

Following Richardson’s exit, former Unearth and As I Lay Dying guitarist Ken Susi has officially stepped in as his replacement, opening a new chapter in the band’s story.

The post Jason Richardson on leaving All That Remains: “There’s just a lot of things on the business side that I was not happy with at all” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Every guitarist has that one guitar they can’t live without, and for Joe Perry, it’s the “Burned Strat”. From small club gigs to MTV stages, the Fender/Warmoth hybrid has been a constant in Perry’s musical journey – an instrument so personal he calls it his “desert island guitar,” and one he can “pretty much do anything” on.

Speaking to Guitar World, Perry reflects on the axe’s origins, describing it as a “work in progress” even after decades of tweaks and shows.

“The inspiration for putting it together was when I left the band, I put most of my Aerosmith guitars aside and basically put this guitar together out of Warmoth parts,” Perry explains. “I was going back to playing clubs and theaters, just cruising the country in a van with a band and playing. In a way, that guitar fit in with my philosophy of leaving the Aerosmith thing to the side and playing this one guitar that I’d put together.”

• READ MORE: The time Joe Perry snapped the headstock of one of his favourite guitars: “Steven wanted to throw it into the audience – I had to wrestle him for it!”

“You can tell it was played a lot because I did a lot of shows back then, and there’s just a sound and a feel to it,” he adds. “It had a left-handed neck and body, and it was my go-to guitar for those three years. When it was time to start going back on the road with Aerosmith, I thought, ‘Well, I’ll pull that one out’ because it symbolised so much of me; it had a sound and felt really comfortable.”

By the early 2000s, Perry and his tech built the current Burned Strat to preserve the original.

“I didn’t want to take a chance on the original guitar being lost, so somewhere around 2001, me and my tech put another one together with the same philosophy – just bits and pieces, you know?”

As for what makes the Burned Strat so unique, Perry explains, “It’s the same guitar as far as the Fender body and Warmoth neck. It’s kind of a relic; I’ve changed the pickups, the vibrato bar and the bridge. I carved off more of the body to make it comfortable, and I even put it in the freezer overnight and then took a blowtorch to it so the finish would crackle, which gave it a jump-start to the way it would look over the years.”

He’s also upgraded the tremolo with a Vega-Trem bridge and even used a Dremel on it – “just to make it a little more of this or that,” says the guitarist. “So I can divebomb on it and use it as another musical tool – but I also can get the classic vibrato sound.”

Recent pickup swaps to a pair of Seymour Duncan P-Rails have expanded the guitar’s tonal palette as well.

“Each one has a P90 and a Strat-style pickup in it; those two sit in a humbucker slot. We went from three pickups to two, but with those pickups, there are really four positions, and you can switch them with the microswitches we added. I can have the pickups separate or together, and the toggle lets me pick which one I want and when. I can pretty much do anything on that guitar.”

Perry recently put the Burned Strat through its paces at the MTV Video Music Awards with Steven Tyler and Yungblud, as well as on Aerosmith’s latest collab EP, One More Time.

“Everything you hear I did with that guitar and just a few foot pedals,” he says, noting that its hybrid string setup and fat frets let him bend notes comfortably – even with arthritis starting to kick in.

“At this point, it is and will continue to be my ‘desert island guitar,’ but you never know,” Perry laughs.

The post Inside the heavily modded – and blowtorched – Fender/Warmoth hybrid Joe Perry calls his “desert island guitar” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

What does it feel like to get your hands on one of the most famous guitars in rock history? For Myles Kennedy, it’s something he still struggles to put into words.

Reflecting on the time he was able to hold Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Frankenstein axe, the Alter Bridge frontman admits the moment caught him off guard.

“We weren’t tracking with Frankenstein. Have I held Frankenstein? Yes,” Kennedy tells Guitar World. “Was it a total, Excalibur-level experience? I don’t even know how to articulate that, but I got emotional – that was a pretty special moment.”

• READ MORE: Channel your inner Eddie Van Halen with this new reverb plugin inspired by the sound of the Sunset Strip

Even though Frankenstein didn’t feature on Alter Bridge’s latest record, Van Halen’s legacy was still close at hand when the band tracked the album at the legendary 5150 Studios in Los Angeles.

“As far as amps and whatnot, there was a 50-watt 5150 III that we used when we were doing pre-production, so I plugged into that,” Kennedy explains. “I had it set up because I couldn’t fly out my Diezels. I fell in love with that amp, and it became a big part of the sound. I ended up marrying it with the [Diezel] VH4 when I was actually tracking.”

That EVH head didn’t just win over Kennedy. Fellow Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti was equally impressed when he paired it with his own signature PRS amp.

“I thought [the 5150 III] sounded so good, especially mixed with what I was using, which was my signature PRS head,” says Tremonti. “I loved it so much that I got one; they were nice enough to give me one, and I took it on the last tour we did. So now it’s a part of my sound.”

“It’s given me a new appreciation for 50-watt heads. As long as I’ve been playing guitar, and as long as I’ve collected amplifiers, I don’t think I’ve ever owned a 50-watt head – maybe a single 1×12 combo that was 50 watts. I never appreciated how aggressive a 50-watt head is. When you pair it with 100-watt heads, it’s got a certain character – a bite that cuts through the mix. But it’s not harsh.”

Elsewhere, Kennedy also opens up about what it meant to be invited into 5150 by Wolfgang Van Halen himself – and the responsibility that came with it.

“Wolf was incredibly kind enough to bring that offer up with our manager,” says the musician. “We were like, ‘Really?’ We knew the history of all the incredible music that had been made there. Just the fact that he trusted us enough to come in and not totally ruin the legacy really meant a lot. When we all showed up, we were very cognisant of that, and we wanted to honour the situation.”

Alter Bridge’s new album is now out. Listen below:

The post “Was it a total, Excalibur-level experience? I don’t even know how to articulate that”: Myles Kennedy on holding Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstein guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$149.99, digitech.com

It has now been a few years since JHS’ Josh Scott gave the invisible hand of the free pedal market a little push, and accidentally kickstarted a craze for the original DigiTech Bad Monkey. Reverb listings for the pedal soared to stratospherically silly prices, and the presence of true magic within it was hotly debated. There were those who claimed that the Bad Monkey was a better Klon than some Klons. There were also those who claimed that all of these comparisons were proof that most overdrive pedals can be set to sound pretty similar.

• READ MORE: Neural DSP Quad Cortex Mini review: “this is the most universal Quad Cortex yet”

Regardless, talk of a reissue was inevitable, one that might fit into the lineup of a newly-reinvigorated DOD/DigiTech – and here we are. First things first, this is a DOD reissue of a DigiTech pedal, presumably because it’s an analogue stompbox, and Cor-Tek (parent company of both) now wants to keep things consistently and sensibly divided – DOD dedicated to the analogue, DigiTech the digital. It’s also, as we’ll explore, more than a straight ‘reissue’ – we could have gotten a simple four-control remake of the original circuit, updated to modern spec with a better buffer and a less dated enclosure. That’s all here, but there’s a lot more to unpeel, including a totally unique barrel control that can blend together three discrete variants of the circuit.

Image: Adam Gasson

Build and layout

The Badder Monkey is packed into the standard DOD single-stompbox format, used for everything from the Overdrive 250 to the Carcosa. It’s a really sturdy platform, with a solid build and a cool little reversible backplate if you want pre-attached velcro. The only real negative for some might be the side-mounted jacks, but overall it’s still a well-executed version of the standard single-stomp.

The Badder Monkey does look uniquely great. The barrel draws the eye, of course, but the UV print on the enclosure is also brilliantly glossy and very three-dimensional – I have to give a nod to the design execution on the titular Monkey bending the bars of an otherwise abstract control outline, labels included.

Even discounting the barrel, the full control scheme is pretty whacky – for good or for ill. If you thought the Supermassive Black Fuzz’s control scheme was ‘theme over function’, it shows Boss-like restraint compared to the Badder Monkey. Here Bananas and Curiosity are gain and volume, while Mood is a concentric EQ control – Screech and Grunt for treble and bass, respectively.

I can see the logic on the EQ side, but Bananas and Curiosity do seem totally arbitrary – you’ve just got to remember that gain’s on the left and volume’s on the right. These knob names are unusually whimsical for DOD – even its other strongly-themed pedals such as the Carcosa or Chthonic still have knobs called things like “output” and “high cut” rather than “Eldritchness” or “Cyclopeanity”. But it’s only a slight knock against the pedal, really – it’s clearly having a lot of fun with the whole vibe, and so themed control names were perhaps inevitable.

Image: Adam Gasson

In Use

I first stay a little more conventional, and begin my testing with only the original Bad Monkey in the mix. This circuit is, as you may or may not already be aware, essentially a Tube Screamer-derived thing with the addition of a two-band active EQ. By itself, it is very easy to see why this gained status as a hidden gem from the early 2000s – that original slightly clunky enclosure was indeed hiding a fantastic overdrive sound.

Thanks to the two-band EQ it is as full or as sharp as you need it to be, and still allows the core sound to provide the all-important midrange presence. Like any good TS-inspired thing it can bring a clean amp to life as well as it can clear up gainy chugs. More extreme EQ settings behave as you’d expect – feel free to remove all the bass and pretend your guitar’s coming through an Amazon Basics walkie-talkie, or remove all of the treble and pretend you’re playing it underwater.

The real beauty, though, lies in the pedal’s versatility within the context of a full sound. You can target problem areas of both fizz and mud far more effectively than you could with a single tone control. These are all of the things that made the original so ripe for a modern revival, and so in terms of a straight-ahead reissue, DOD has absolutely done the job. But of course, like those well-meaning activists at the beginning of 28 Days Later, it is now time we open the cage and let the Badder Monkey run truly rampant.

Image: Adam Gasson

Barrel of fun

Did you know that the phrase “more fun than a barrel of monkeys” dates all the way back to the 1800s? The phrase, along with a few other interesting things, has led to a sort of vague general association between monkeys and barrels within the collective unconscious. Imagine, if you will, a whimsical pirate ship. There’s obviously a monkey there, who has likely poked his head out of a barrel, one full of either gunpowder, gold doubloons or bananas. And before you write in, Donkey Kong’s love of throwing barrels at plumbers doesn’t count as part of this association, as he’s an ape, not a monkey, and as such will not be mentioned again in this review.

The Barrel/Monkey continuum also brought us that children’s toy with loads of plastic monkeys in it, a copy of which is actually included as case candy with the Badder Monkey. It has also spawned the new 360-degree barrel control, a patent-pending continuously-rotational potentiometer that is employed to blend between three variants of the circuit: Behaved, Bad and Badder. Behaved is a smoother, more tonally subdued variant of the pedal, while Badder is a more chaotic and aggressive version – Bad is simply the original circuit.

With all the talk about how a lot of overdrive circuits can sound nearly identical, here the trio of circuits do all have a very distinct flavour. Behaved is indeed very subdued – there’s a noticeable roll-off to any barking high-end, and there’s a fair bit less gain. Badder, however, lives up to its name with a far more aggressive approach to both the distortion and the midrange hump.

The fact that the barrel is a three-way continuous blend control means you can choose your preferred blend of any two of the three circuits on offer – which is, for an analogue pedal, a completely wild thing to be able to do, and has to be commended from a pure engineering standpoint. But it does also offer real tonal flexibility: the three voices, while all ultimately being variants of a very green-flavoured overdrive, are all disparate enough to make the in-between positions worthwhile – for instance, blending both Behaved and Badder gives you a very smooth overdrive sound with a subtle undertow of snarl somewhere beneath the surface – it’s a very effective thing.

If you want to throw all subtle blending to the wind, however, just use the middle toggle switch to select ‘troop’ mode, which engages all three circuits in parallel – the resulting sound is extremely full-fat – it may not perform quite the same with the exacting tone-shaping precision as a single or a blended sound, but it is a hell of a lot of fun.

This switch can also set the blend to be out of phase, which leads to a rather weird but nonetheless engaging sound – it makes the effect far more of a character overdrive for adding an ear-catching texture to solos, more so than pure utility. It’s a strange experience, sweeping through the middle positions in the inverted mode, leading to a sort of infinitely variable clash of the different characteristics of the circuits.

Image: Adam Gasson

Should I buy the Badder Monkey?

It’s hard to overstate just how much joy the Badder Monkey brings me – DOD didn’t have to do any of this. It didn’t need to be a whacky, three-mode reissue with a totally unique blend control and the option for nasal out-of-phase sounds and an included copy of Monkeys In A Barrel. This could have been an easy win – but DOD took the stranger, far more creative path. The initial furor around the DigiTech pedal strayed a little close to the sun of discourse, and risked just being frustrating and draining as people bemoaned the hype and the hipsterishness of it all – this is the perfect inversion of any of the phenomenon’s negativity into something far more joyful.

All that has been discussed above is interesting enough, tonally and experientially, that you might assume it’s relegated to some exclusive boutique overdrive that’ll require a remortgage or two. And given the price silliness from the first spike in demand plus the barrel, DOD could have also probably gotten away with charging something like £200 for this thing. But the Badder Monkey is instead pretty damn reasonably priced at £129 – that’s not much over the going rate for a new official TS9, and about £100 less than the JHS Bonsai, another multi-circuit Tube Screamer-inspired pedal, albeit with a very different approach.

The Badder Monkey is also one of the few fun Tube Screamer-derived things out there – the circuit has such a reputation as a utilitarian tone-scalpel that it tends to evaporate any whimsy in its vicinity. The Badder Monkey, on the other hand, is more fun than a… well, you know the phrase.

Image: Adam Gasson

Badder Monkey alternatives

The world of Tube Screamer-derived things is fairly massive, with everything from ultra-affordable clones to more in-depth boutique variants out there. Listing them all here would balloon the wordcount of this review to that of the Silmarillion, and so I shall mention but two. If you fancy something a little more budget and prosaic, there is always the Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini ($79.99 / £49.99), a far cheaper single-mode version of the green overdrive sound. For another well-regarded refined boutique take on the thing that won’t break the bank, consider the EarthQuaker Devices Plumes ($119 / £124.99) – a straightforward take on the pedal with three clipping modes.

The post DOD Badder Monkey review: much-memed pedal gets a bananas reissue appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

As pedal builders, we often field questions about effects, but many players endlessly chase tone without grasping that the guitar-pedal-amp ecosystem is an inseparable whole. The initial signal from your guitar is the primary architect of your tone’s gain structure and frequency response. It’s the “first domino.” Every subsequent device in your chain—every capacitor in that boutique pedal and every line of code in your modeler—is just reacting to the ghost that your pickups sent into the wire.

The relationship between pickups and pedals is highly dynamic—an interaction between impedance and signal level. Consider one of the most popular pedals: the Ibanez Tube Screamer. In the hands of a metalhead with an active-pickup guitar and a high-gain amp, it functions as a reliable booster, yielding an aggressive metal sound. Conversely, in the hands of a bluesman with a Strat and single-coils plugged into a Fender amp, the Tube Screamer becomes the heart of a very SRV-esque blues tone. The same pedal, yet its response and character drastically change depending on the input signal.

The most extreme example is the fuzz pedal. (Personally, we focus on building fuzzes and other unique pedals.) In my experience, fuzz is the most idiosyncratic and signal-responsive pedal, affected not only by the pickup but also by whether the signal passes through a buffer or not. Empirically, my hypothesis is: Fuzz generally struggles to produce a clear, usable sound with high-gain or active pickups.

Technically, this happens because traditional fuzz circuits (especially those using germanium transistors) have low input impedance and severely limited headroom. High-gain pickups send a signal that is simply too “hot,” causing excessive and uncontrolled clipping at the fuzz pedal’s input. This results in a muddy, indistinct sound (or what’s often called “splattering”). Low-gain pickups, on the other hand (like single-coils, P-90s, or PAF-style humbuckers), provide a quieter initial signal, preserving the fuzz circuit’s headroom and allowing it to produce rich, dynamic textures.

The Ampless Rig: A New Challenge

So, what about the current era of all-direct or ampless rigs? Let me share an empirical experience. I’m a huge fan of the sound of a Les Paul plugged into a tube amp. However, the reality is I’m an amateur player who can’t afford a crew to haul that heavy gear to a gig. Whether I like it or not, I had to embrace the modern ecosystem. I started experimenting with a direct system using analog/digital amp and cab simulators.

The results were surprising: My Les Paul with high-gain pickups sounded terrible—dirty and muddy—in this direct setup. Then, I tried a guitar with low-gain pickups, and it worked!

This success wasn’t because the low-gain pickup was magically better, but because it unintentionally fixed a fundamental technical issue: gain staging.

1.Digital Input Clipping: High-gain pickups produce a much higher output voltage. When this hot signal enters the input of a digital multi-effect or direct box, which has headroom limitations on its digital preamp or analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the signal undergoes digital clipping even before the amp simulation begins. This is what leads to a “broken” and indistinct sound.

2. Optimal DSP Headroom: Low-gain pickups naturally send a lower initial signal, providing much better headroom for the digital signal processing (DSP) to optimally handle distortion, modulation, and EQ.

In the modeling era, the biggest challenge is strict gain staging. Different manufacturers—Boss, Line 6, Fractal, Valeton, Nux, Hotone—implement very different analog front ends and output drivers, so results vary. Ultimately, we just have to stick to the golden rule: If it sounds good, it is good!

The bottom line is that when we talk about stompboxes, pedals, multi-effects, or modeling—none of them can stand alone. The sound of an Ibanez Tube Screamer will remain a mystery until you plug it into a guitar and an amp.

If you want to “tweak” your pedal or multi-effect, you must also tweak your guitar’s pickups. Perhaps the problem isn’t the pedal’s algorithm or the modeling itself, but your gain staging is ruined because your pickup is too hot, making the signal too large to be ideally interpreted and processed mathematically by the multi-effect you are using.

And all of this can change with time and need. For me, when gigging with a tube amp, I like using a Seymour Duncan El Diablo in the bridge position (to aggressively push the tube preamp). When using a direct or modeling setup, I prefer a Seymour Duncan Jazz Model in the bridge position (because the cleaner, low-output signal provides better headroom for the digital processor).

Think of your pickup as the lens on a high-end camera. You can have the most powerful image processor in the world—the flashiest DSP or the most expensive boutique pedal—but if the lens is blurry or letting in too much light, the final “picture” will always be a distorted mess.

Adding to the company’s line of boutique effects, Lucky Dog Guitars has introduced the Chicken Nugget compressor, capable of delivering old school guitar compression made famous by country players throughout the decades, but with modern updates. The Chicken Nugget combines classic dynamic compressor sound and feel with an added sparkly clean tone in a separate, parallel channel. The two channels are completely independent and have their own dedicated volume knobs for maximum flexibility as you blend them together. Both channels offer plenty of output above unity gain, so both can be used as volume boosters.

The Chicken Nugget’s eye-grabbing graphics are augmented by a large retro-style jewel pilot light (in a “fried chicken” color) and playful descriptions for the control set. The compression channel offers three knobs and a two-position toggle switch for tone shaping. The “Cluck” knob controls the amount of compression; “Crow” varies the compression release time; and “Comp” adjusts the output volume level of the compressor channel.

The compression channel’s two-position toggle adds EQ flexibility: its “Greasy” and “Crispy” settings can tailor the effect to your guitar’s pickups. Use the “Greasy” setting with bright single coils for classic compression twang. Use the “Crispy” low-cut setting for tightening up a humbucker by eliminating muddy low-end frequencies.

The pedal’s clean channel offers two control knobs. “Gain” adds body and juice to your clean signal, while “Volume” controls the clear, uncolored signal parallel that can be added to the compressed signal.

Other features include:

• Soft switch controlled mechanical true bypass – if the pedal loses power it immediately goes into true bypass so you don’t lose your signal
• 9-volt operation using standard external power source – no battery compartment
• Retro-cool graphics and “chicken head” knobs, color coded for ease of use: cream for the compression channel and red for the clean channel

The Lucky Dog Chicken Nugget carries a $189 street price and is available through luckydogguitars.com

On-Stage, a leading supplier of music instruments and accessories and brand of The Music People, has released the GSWB5000 Guitar Stand Workbench, a guitar-maintenance solution that safely supports an instrument while making it easier for the user to perform tasks ranging from simple string changes to intricate repairs. Its adjustable height and tilt allow the user to dial in the best angle for working on various projects.

Compact and portable, this versatile tool conserves floor space and can be set up anywhere work needs to be done on an instrument. The guitar-holder assembly provides four tilt options, letting the user choose the best angle for working on setups, pickup swaps, potentiometer and switch replacements, nut filing, or hardware upgrades. Plus, when it’s not being used as a workbench, this versatile accessory can be configured for use as a traditional guitar stand.

- YouTube

The headstock and body yokes adjust to fit a wide range of instruments including electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. Bumpers and nonslip padding protect the guitar’s finish from scratches and increase instrument stability. The height of the stand can also be set to optimize viewing and comfort while work is carried out. To ensure ideal weight distribution and balance, the guitar-holder assembly can slide so that the heaviest part of the guitar is positioned over the base.

All of these adjustments are quickly and easily achieved through the use of twist-and-pull knobs that require minimal turning and securely lock settings in place. And rotating leveling feet make it possible to compensate for uneven flooring.

The On-Stage GSWB5000 Guitar Stand Workbench carries a $99.95 street price. For more information visit On-Stage.com.

Looks can be deceiving. But there is something extra playful about the graphical subterfuge Monger Pedals employs to conceal the ferocity of their latest stomp, The Little Guy. Behind the Beatrix Potter/Timmy Willie-styled enclosure art depicting a wee country mouse and creeping vines, there lurks a beastly mash-up of op-amp fuzz and operational transducer amp (OTA)-based phaser. But The Little Guy’s roar is not just ferocious, it's also unconventional—making the most of the unusual phaser section to twist staple psychedelic sounds into many altogether weirder things.

Monger of the Mangled

Op-amp fuzz can take many shapes in the hands of a clever builder, but most players would consider the op-amp Big Muff and the Pro Co RAT as the archetypes of the effect. Of the two, The Little Guy aligns most closely with the Big Muff. I don’t have an op-amp Big Muff in my pedal collection, but the Little Guy (like a real op-amp Big Muff) has a sonic signature much like a raspier 4-silicon transistor Big Muff. Of the Big Muff types I used for comparison, a ram’s head-type sounded most similar to the Little Guy’s fuzz, and the two share a capacity for sizzly, buzzsaw-like tones that define the op-amp Big Muff. That said, the tone control in the Little Guy’s fuzz has enough range that I could dial in sounds nearly equivalent to those from a Sovtek Big Muff, which tends to be rounder and more bass-rich than an op-amp Big Muff.

Certainly, the Little Guy’s fuzz section is versatile. I may not be in the majority in this sentiment, but my favorite among the fuzzy, distorted sounds I coaxed from the circuit were those I derived when fingerpicking (using the flesh of my thumb, rather than nail or pick) and working with low-gain, treble-attenuated fuzz settings. This application is more consistent with Monger’s description of the fuzz as “lo-fi”—often evoking Steve Malkmus, Sonic Youth, and Graham Coxon in their hazier states. Yet it’s a combination that’s surprisingly sensitive to touch dynamics and yields more high-mid range detail and a much more oxygenated tone environment than you would expect. Just switching between neck and bridge pickups can reveal whole worlds of color with this approach. The Little Guy’s fuzz rips at the other end of its operational spectrum, too, and it rarely sounds lo-fi here. Settings in the latter third of the pedal’s gain and tone control range are searing but still massive in a way that suits Fender single-coils and PAF humbuckers alike.

Vexing Vortices

If the Little Guy’s fuzz section is agreeable and intuitive, the phase section is a tougher nut to crack. Familiar sounds in the fashion of a Phase 90 or Small Stone (the latter of which shares an OTA as foundation for its architecture) lurk among the interactions between the five controls, but tend to be more subtle. In fact, for all the phaser’s weirdo capabilities, in much of its range it generates super-subtle modulations. This isn’t a bad thing, especially if you like phase as a constant, backgrounded presence. The Little Guy excels at producing this mellow phase texture in a way that a Phase 90 or Small Stone cannot.

But there are many other low-key modulation colors here. You can dial in super-slow (and I mean slow) modulation rates, and then emphasize peaks in those lazy cycles by using feedback from the regen control and narrowing the frequency range with the range control. The LFOs width control is excellent for subtly backgrounding modulations so you don't mask tone nuances from elsewhere in your chain. That capability is enhanced by the effect send and return, which lets you situate pedals between the fuzz and phase effect.

"For all of this phaser’s weirdo capabilities, in much of its range it generates super-subtle modulations."

The Little Guy’s weirder phase voices are refreshingly unique. The pedal is able to generate a variety of rich, vowel-y, “wow”-type pulses more reminiscent of a vintage Mu-Tron or Ludwig Phase II. It’s also capable of fresh takes on lively auto-wah and filter sounds, and slow, sweeping versions of these tones can take on a sort of parked-wah-on-nitrous-oxide personality that I don’t encounter every day.

The Verdict

Monger’s The Little Guy sells for just less than $225. That’s a great price for almost any pedal that combines two wide-ranging effects. But it strikes me as an especially good deal when you consider the very high build quality, clear sense of craft, and thoughtful design execution. The Little Guy won’t be a great value for every player. Rather than aping canonical phase sounds, it inhabits many very idiosyncratic corners of the fuzz/phase tone realm. And if you just want a Big Muff and Phase 90, there are simpler, less-expensive, and less space intensive solutions. Consequently, you should consider my enthusiastic tone and value ratings on a sliding scale relative to your needs.

But if you’re on the hunt for variations on the fuzz/phase theme that can set a track apart and inspire new directions, Monger’s Little Guy is brimming with them—particularly if you’re willing to probe the sometimes complex and idiosyncratic interactions between its controls.

February 27, 2026 Today’s Update was quite different from recent, if not most ones. It was inspired by a comment from a student just this morning who had recently been taken by an old, original piece of mine, Sweet Child. This was a tune I recorded for my 1992 album Yesterday’s News. I started with […]

The post Totally Guitars Weekly Update February 27, 2026 appeared first on On The Beat with Totally Guitars.

February 20, 2026 A little Grateful Dead, some Neil Young and a few classic riffs were on my mind today, but the main thing I wanted to get to was a few thoughts on practicing, particularly with a metronome. At the top I went into some of last week’s TG Live where we went into […]

The post Totally Guitars Weekly Update February 20, 2026 appeared first on On The Beat with Totally Guitars.

Canadian boutique builder Deslongchamps Guitars has unveiled their latest electric guitar model: The Puffin.

The Puffin pays homage to the SG guitar and the Firebird, blending classic designs with modern sensibilities, aesthetics and playability. Built with premium materials and craftmanship, the Puffin model is lightweight and the shape makes it agile and comfortable.

The Puffin can be built in two configurations: an okoume body with a flamed maple top all of it bound in white, quartersawn flamed maple neck coupled with a dark rosewood fretboard; or an ash body coupled with a torrefied maple neck and fretboard for even lighter weight and feel.

Players can choose among a variety of different Fralin pickup configurations, including PAF-style humbuckers, P90s, singlecoil Thunderbird pickups and more.

Specs:

• Okoume or Ash body
• Maple neck
• Maple of rosewood fretboard
• 24.75” or 25.5” scale length
• Tune-o-matic and stop bar bridge or Descendant bridge and tremolo combo
• Gotoh tuners
• Includes a hard case

The Puffin carries a $3500 street price. For more information visit www.deslongchampsguitars.com.



For Episode 111, I’m joined by highly respected guitar builder Raymond Kraut.

Ray shares why he’s embraced unconventional sound ports while staying true to his traditional tone, how his porting designs have evolved over time, and what he’s learned through real-world testing.

We also dive into Ray’s Derrio Wood Company, which sources and supplies desert ironwood and other unique tonewoods. Ray talks about what makes desert ironwood so special, its tonal character, and why it’s becoming an exciting alternative for guitar builders.

Links
https://www.derriowoodco.com/

The post Luthier on Luthier: Raymond Kraut first appeared on Fretboard Journal.



Acclaimed vintage guitar repairperson Mark Stutman (Folkway Music) joins the Fretboard Journal Podcast once again.

 

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

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

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com

Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Mike & Mike’s Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

The post Podcast 539: Mark Stutman (Folkway Music) Returns first appeared on Fretboard Journal.

The Lamb of God shred king sits down to discuss making LoG's 10th album Into Oblivion, designing his new signature Gibson Les Paul, writing his memoir Desolation, and he offers three hot takes on guitar culture.