Music is the universal language
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Jeff Loomis Teams Up with Von Frankenstein Monster Gear for Signature Raven VI and VII Strings
Von Frankenstein Monster Gear has teamed up with American heavy metal guitarist Jeff Loomis, best known for his work with progressive metal band Nevermore, his solo albums such as Plains of Oblivion, and projects including Conquering Dystopia; to release two new signature guitar string sets: the Raven VI six-string set and the Raven VII seven-string set. Engineered to meet the technical demands of high-speed shredding, complex neoclassical solos, and rhythmically advanced six and seven-string riffing, the new series delivers bench-built consistency and reliability for modern progressive thrash, power metal, and death metal players.
Every string in the Raven series is manufactured individually on a U.S. workbench using domestically sourced raw materials, deliberately avoiding mass-production processes. The construction utilizes treated hex steel cores meticulously wrapped with nickel-plated steel. This specific material selection and one-at-a-time wrapping process is designed to deliver the precise build quality, feel, and durability required by discerning players.
“These are the perfect gauges for half step tuning," Loomis says. "Not too light, not too heavy. These custom gauge sets are ideal when standing up with a strap in live settings and being comfortable doing deep bends and vibrato.”
For six-string setups, the Raven VI set runs a precise gauge spread of .009, .012, .016, .026, .036, and .048.
For players needing heavier bottom end, the Raven VII seven-string set takes that exact same foundation and adds a heavy-duty .062 gauge on the bottom end, delivering a total gauge lineup of .009, .012, .016, .026, .036, .048, and .062.
For more information, visit www.vonfrankensteinmonstergear.com.
Street Price:
Raven VI $7.99 USD
Raven VII $9.99 USD
Raven VI and Raven VII
Von Frankenstein Monster Gear teams up with American heavy metal guitarist Jeff Loomis, best known for his work with progressive metal band Nevermore, his solo albums such as Plains of Oblivion, and projects including Conquering Dystopia; to release two new signature guitar string sets: the Raven VI six-string set and the Raven VII seven-string set. Engineered to meet the technical demands of high-speed shredding, complex neoclassical solos, and rhythmically advanced six and seven-string riffing, the new series delivers bench-built consistency and reliability for modern progressive thrash, power metal, and death metal players.
Blackstar Unveils the Beam Control and Beam Mini Wireless Rig
Expanding on the company’s highly regarded Beam Mini smart amplifier, Blackstar has announced two new launches. First, there’s the Beam Control, a dedicated Bluetooth foot controller engineered for all Beam range products. In addition, Blackstar has introduced the Beam Mini Wireless Rig, a fully integrated, cable-free guitar package that integrates the Beam Mini amp, Blackstar’s Airwire i58 wireless instrument system, and the new Beam Control Bluetooth footswitch into a dedicated protective carry case.
Developed to eliminate cable clutter and give guitarists seamless, hands-free command over their sound, Beam Control links directly to Beam units via an out-of-the-box Bluetooth connection, allowing players to switch sounds and effects wirelessly without taking their hands off the instrument. The device expands the interactive capabilities of Blackstar’s home-focused Beam series.
Beam Control connects directly to Beam hardware in seconds with zero setup programming required, making it the only foot controller designed to work straight out of the box with the Beam lineup. The unit addresses the demands of home practice and rehearsal environments by removing trailing cables between the amp and player, eliminating trip hazards, keeping living spaces organized, and allowing musicians the freedom to place their Beam amplifier wherever desired.
To provide players with complete performance flexibility across a wide range of musical contexts and playing styles, Beam Control incorporates three dedicated operational modes that transform how musicians interact with their sound in real time. In Patch Mode, guitarists can instantly cycle through the five pre-stored sound patches on their Beam amplifier, executing effortless, instantaneous transitions between rhythm beds, pristine clean tones, and high-gain lead voicings without breaking musical flow. When direct sonic manipulation is needed during a song, FX Mode reframes the foot controller as a traditional pedalboard layout, empowering players to engage or bypass individual effects on the fly within whichever patch is currently active. For players requiring a completely tailored workflow, Custom Mode interfaces with the companion Beam app to enable granular mapping across the hardware, allowing musicians to assign each individual footswitch to their exact functional preferences and craft a personalized control setup uniquely tuned to how they play.
Engineered for portability and ergonomics, the foot controller features a compact, ultra-lightweight chassis weighing just 0.22 kg. It includes an integrated expression pedal input for expanded external control and is powered by a built-in USB-C rechargeable battery that provides up to 12 hours of continuous play time on a single charge.
Beam Control carries a $74.99 street price. Key features include:
- Compatibility: Dedicated foot controller engineered for all Blackstar Beam products
- Connectivity: Direct Bluetooth wireless connection; zero programming required straight out of the box
- Control Modes: Three dedicated modes: Patch Mode, FX Mode, and Custom Mode
- Patch Switching: Direct access across five stored hardware patches
- FX Switching: Individual on/off effect toggling within active patches
- App Integration: Custom footswitch assignment and mapping via the Beam app
- External Expression: Expression pedal input included
- Battery & Power: Internal USB-C rechargeable battery providing up to 12 hours of operational use
The Beam Mini Wireless Rig is an all-in-one solution engineered to eliminate setup clutter, reduce floor-cable hazards, and deliver extended mobile playing capability.
Arriving in a dedicated travel case, the bundle brings together Blackstar’s Beam Mini smart guitar amplifier, the Airwire i58 5.8GHz instrument transmission system, and the Beam Control Bluetooth foot controller. By combining low-latency wireless instrument connectivity, native open-source neural profile loading, and rechargeable battery operation across all hardware units, Blackstar targets modern guitarists seeking an unencumbered practice and performance ecosystem in a single grab-and-go package.
The core of the system is the Beam Mini smart guitar amplifier, which features an IP66-rated enclosure for dust and water resistance. Tone generation is driven by advanced component-level modeling alongside Blackstar’s patented Infinite Shape Feature (ISF) tone control. Spatial sound projection is handled via Super Wide Stereo technology, engineered to create an immersive playing experience as well as high-definition Bluetooth music playback for standard listening.
Expanding its digital footprint, the Beam Mini is the first hardware amplifier to natively load NAM A2 (Neural Amp Modeler) captures. Through a direct partnership with TONE3000, players can browse, audition, and wirelessly transfer thousands of community-crafted profiles straight to the amplifier using the free companion Beam app. In addition, the Beam ecosystem embeds Moises real-time stem separation technology directly into the practice routine, giving musicians the ability to isolate, attenuate, or completely remove original guitar tracks from commercial songs to generate custom play-along backing tracks on the fly.
Instrument connectivity is handled by the Airwire i58 system, which broadcasts across the 5.8GHz frequency band to steer clear of crowded Wi-Fi networks. The system operates with under six milliseconds of latency, supports an operational range of up to 35 meters, and includes switchable Cable Tone emulation to recreate the characteristic capacitive high-frequency roll-off of traditional copper cables. Hands-free command is maintained through the Beam Control wireless foot controller, which pairs over Bluetooth without requiring manual routing or programming. Operating in Patch, FX, or custom app-defined footswitch layouts, it allows users to switch presets and toggle any of the amplifier's 35-plus studio-quality effects seamlessly.
Designed for off-grid operation, the rig provides independent, rechargeable runtimes: up to 18 hours of play time from the Beam Mini amplifier, 12 hours from the Beam Control footswitch, and nine hours from the Airwire i58 wireless unit. All components pack into an impact-resistant, vegan-leather-finished carry case fitted with a heavy-duty handle and an internal zippered storage section designed for guitar accessories.
Beam Mini Wireless Rig carries a street price of $459.99. Features include:
- Rig Components: Beam Mini smart guitar amplifier, Airwire i58 wireless instrument system, Beam Control Bluetooth foot controller, and custom hard carry case
- Amp Modeling & Effects: Component-level digital modeling, patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control, and 35+ onboard studio-grade effects
- NAM Support: World's first hardware amplifier to natively load NAM A2 (Neural Amp Modeler) profiles; access to thousands of captures via TONE3000 partnership
- Practice Integration: Moises real-time stem-separation technology for song isolation and backing-track generation
- Audio & Audio Playback: Super Wide Stereo technology with Bluetooth streaming capability
- Durability Rating: IP66 dust- and water-resistant rating on the Beam Mini amplifier
- Wireless Instrument Band: 5.8GHz frequency band to mitigate standard Wi-Fi interference
- Footswitch Switching Modes: Patch mode, FX mode, and custom layout configuration via the Beam app
- Rechargeable Battery Life: Up to 18 hours (Beam Mini), up to 12 hours (Beam Control), and up to nine hours (Airwire i58)
- Case Construction: Impact-resistant shell with vegan leather exterior finish, rugged carrying handle, and zippered internal accessory pouch
Beam Control
Expanding on the company’s highly regarded Beam Mini smart amplifier, Blackstar has announced two new launches. First, there’s the Beam Control, a dedicated Bluetooth foot controller engineered for all Beam range products. In addition, Blackstar has introduced the Beam Mini Wireless Rig, a fully integrated, cable-free guitar package that integrates the Beam Mini amp, Blackstar’s Airwire i58 wireless instrument system, and the new Beam Control Bluetooth footswitch into a dedicated protective carry case.
“Give me a brand-new guitar, and after 2 gigs it looks like someone put it in the dryer”: The hilarious reason Joe Satriani doesn’t bother with vintage guitars
There’s a general belief in the guitar community that vintage guitars tend to be better. But not all guitarists are convinced. In fact, one prominent guitarist who doesn’t pay much attention to older, relic’d guitars is Joe Satriani, but it’s not for the reason you might think…
While cost tends to be the main barrier to entry for guitarists looking to add a vintage guitar to their collection, for Satch, the reason is more one of practicality – in that his instruments take such a beating on tour that it wouldn’t take long for a brand-new guitar to be bashed to the extent that it looks like it’s seen years of heavy road use.
“I don’t own any relic guitars,” he tells Guitar World in its latest print issue. “I don’t think I’ve ever purchased, like, a Tom Murphy $14,000 Les Paul or something like that. I tend to like doing all the distressing myself, which I seem to have a great talent for. Give me a brand-new guitar, and after two gigs it looks like someone put it in the dryer! I have literally gotten new guitars and scratched them as they come out of the case…”
The feature sees Satch and former student-turned-collaborator and fellow virtuoso Steve Vai discuss all things guitar ahead of the launch of their upcoming collaborative debut full-length, The Sea of Emotion.
Elsewhere, they discuss how they’re not particularly moved by the thought of a guitar being previously owned by someone famous or notable.
“I remember, I was doing a gig with Experience Hendrix in New York,” says Vai. “We had reached out to Paul Allen to see if he would send the Woodstock Strat. And he did. I remember feeling it and thinking, ‘This is hard to play.’ It put up a fight. Would I want to own it? Not really. I don’t have a romantic attachment to antique guitars or stars’ guitars…”
Satriani concurs: “I’m like you. I’m not really a guitar collector. You and I, we have our favourite-shaped neck and fret height. We’ll play two guitars for the entire tour. So I understand how when you pick up Hendrix’s guitar, you might go, ‘Wow, it’s hard to play.’ Because you’re not instantly Hendrix. A guitar would need some special connection for me to be able to get over its foreign feel.”
Joe Satriani and Steve Vai’s first collaborative full-length album together, The Sea of Emotion, arrives 6 November via earMUSIC.
The post “Give me a brand-new guitar, and after 2 gigs it looks like someone put it in the dryer”: The hilarious reason Joe Satriani doesn’t bother with vintage guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I would apologise for the loud guitar playing”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to his former neighbour, late Star Trek legend Patrick Stewart
![[L-R] Joe Bonamassa and Sir Patrick Stewart](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Bona-Stewart-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
Joe Bonamassa has paid tribute to his former neighbour and legendary Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who died last week at the age of 86.
In an Instagram post, Bonamassa recalls the actor as a warm and friendly neighbour who always asked him about his music career.
Stewart, best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, died at his Los Angeles home on October 28.
Bonamassa, a self-confessed Trekkie, says Stewart’s death is “a huge loss”. “As a massive fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I grew up knowing him as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. It was my favourite show,” he says. “Patrick Stewart was an actor’s actor that went way beyond Star Trek.”
He then shares a more personal memory. “In a former life Patrick was a neighbour of mine. He lived in the house across the street from me and was the nicest, most humble movie star I have ever encountered. He always made a point to say hello and ask me how the music business was. I would apologise for the loud guitar playing and we would have a laugh. Rest in peace, Sir.”
Tributes to Patrick Stewart have come from far and wide, including from SoCal guitarist Mason Stoops, who says the actor and his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, took him and his partner Brooks into their home after they were forced to evacuate amid wildfires in California in 2025.
“A year that would otherwise have been consumed by grief, confusion and loneliness was instead filled by their warmth, kindness and relentless hospitality,” Stoops writes. “We became our own chosen family. Cocktails and dominoes every evening, followed by arguably the best food Brooks and I have ever had, all made with love by Sunny.”
Stoops said Stewart “never stopped showing up for us”, adding that he helped Brooks choose her wedding dress and Stoops wore Stewart’s suit at the ceremony, which Ozell officiated.
“We are painfully grateful to have spent what time he had left together, playing his favourite songs, sharing our favourite stories, and holding each other close,” he added. “We love and miss you so much Patrick. Thank you.”
The post “I would apologise for the loud guitar playing”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to his former neighbour, late Star Trek legend Patrick Stewart appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“The concept for me is surprise”: Nene Royal on AGT, Avenged Sevenfold and the 1978 Ibanez that made her a star
By the time Nene Royal closed her set at a packed Singapore Indoor Stadium with Zombie, the 9,000-strong crowd knew exactly what was expected of them. As the 16-year-old guitarist blasted out the iconic Cranberries cover she reworked in hard-rocking style to win America’s Got Talent barely a month ago, the audience happily belted back the song’s refrain in a fitting coda to a the previous half hour when she’d run through the reworked covers that had propelled her to the season 21 title.
From Muse’s Hysteria to System Of A Down’s I-E-A-I-A-I-O, the viral social media hits came thick and fast. After her set however, she pulled off something even more impressive – joining the headline act Avenged Sevenfold on stage to blast through Bat Country and Unholy Confessions, singing and playing along with Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates and looking every bit at home.
Nene’s a natural performer, clearly, but even with the huge exposure that performing in front of millions on America’s Got Talent gave her, the Thai phenom still struggles with prematch nerves.
Speaking to Guitar.com the afternoon before her performance, she sums up her natural flow in a single word. “Surprise,” she explains. “If I play Zombie like the original, nothing changes, and the judges feel like nothing changes. But if I play my version, they go, ‘What is this song?’”
On the AGT stage, the teen prodigy converted the mournful 90s anthem into a palm-muted wrecking ball – surprising it certainly was, but she’s continued to confound and delight as her star has risen so dramatically over the last few months.
Image: Brite Panther
Let’s start at the beginning. Seven years old, Phuket. How did this all begin?
“Because of my dad. He’s not a musician, but he played rock on the radio: Deep Purple, Metallica, AC/DC. When I listened, it felt like it fit me. So I told him I really wanted to play rock, and he said, ‘Are you sure? It’s very hard.’ I understood what he meant — it’s mostly guys who play rock. My dad saw clips of people busking in night markets, and quickly said, ‘You should try that.’ The first time, I played five songs. People came up and said, ‘Oh my god, you’re going to be a famous rocker.’ I didn’t expect to become a rock star. But watching AGT, in my mind I was like, ‘I really want to be a rock star.’”
You didn’t play the market alone. How was playing with your band Ozone, and what did it teach you?
“We started in 2021, and I was still learning how to play with other musicians. More people started coming to the market, because we only play rock, and they all love rock. The biggest thing I learned is that being a good guitarist isn’t just about playing fast solos. It’s about playing together as a band and enjoying our music. We still play that market. It’s where we started.’”
So what actually made you send the tape to AGT?
“I sent in my audition four times. On the last one, they texted me: ‘You passed, you need to come to America.’ I prepared Zombie to make it my version, very, very me. When I walked on stage I was so nervous my hands were shaking. But when I played the first riff, my nerves were gone. I always imagined the stage was the night market, like it was my concert. The moment I really loved was when the audience stood up and sang along with me.”
And a week after the final, Avenged Sevenfold came knocking?
“At their Bangkok concert, they wanted to meet me, and I was shocked. Backstage I met M. Shadows, Johnny Christ and Zacky Vengeance. It’s crazy to think I started at a night market in Phuket and now I’m opening for my favourite band.”
You’ve called Synyster Gates your dream teacher, what about his style inspires you?
“I really want to put my own energy into the way I play, but I’m inspired by Synyster Gates. I love harmonic minor, pentatonic scales, sweeping. Honestly, on stage I don’t think too much about what I’m doing. The music just happens naturally.”
From a guitar perspective, it was hard not to not notice you kept using your 1978 Ibanez MC300 throughout AGT – why do you love that guitar so much?
“I have around 30 guitars, but on stage I only play Ibanez. I’ve used Yamaha and Gibson too, but for me it’s really important how a guitar feels in my hands. I got the main one when I was 13 or 14. A woman told me she was a big fan because she’d seen me at the night market. She has so many guitars, and she’s older and doesn’t play much any more, so she decided to give me that one.
“When I played it, it was so smooth that I didn’t touch the others at all. I’ve had it for three years and I’m still playing it. Sometimes in a concert I have two guitars, because some songs I need to drop (tune). Some songs I drop live, and for others my team swaps out my guitar. But it’s usually the same guitar.”
You used a Fender Deluxe Reverb during the auditions – what’s your signal chain now?
“I use the Fractal AX8. It’s very hard to find and very expensive. I’ve had it for four or five years. It’s reliable, it’s easy to press, and it has the wah for the solos!”
Your voice caught people off guard as much as the shredding. Did singing arrive with the guitar, or after?
“Together. I did guitar first, then I saw people who play and sing, and I wanted to do that. Music is all about expressing emotions. I love heavy riffs and crazy solos, but I also really love singing, because it’s the other way to express how I feel.”
Image: Brite Panther
You’ve started writing your own songs. What are they like?
“I have two songs so far. One is only a guitar solo. My biggest influences are Avenged Sevenfold and System Of A Down. I want my music to have that rock and metal energy, heavy riffs, powerful vocals, crazy solos. But I don’t want to sound exactly like anyone. I want to write lyrics about myself and make music that tells a story, like a movie. I also play drums, piano and bass, and I’ve written a slow song where I only play piano.”
What’s looking ahead for you?
“I want to keep playing with my brothers in Ozone, but they’re in school. So I want to perform solo and with the band.”
What do you tell the next kid setting up at the night market?
“Find your style. You don’t have to copy another person; if you copy, your performance will look weird and uncomfortable. And stage presence: even if it’s a small stage, keep doing it. It makes you more confident. You won’t be shy.”
The post “The concept for me is surprise”: Nene Royal on AGT, Avenged Sevenfold and the 1978 Ibanez that made her a star appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Peterson Launches StroboStomp EVH
The Gig Behind the Gig: Nobody Auditions Anymore
A guitarist in his 20s recently told me something that rearranged how I think about this whole business. He's auditioned exactly once in his life. One time, at the very beginning. Every single gig since then has come a different way.
I should mention that I'm not exactly in a position to act surprised. I haven’t auditioned for anything in years myself. At some point the phone just started ringing on its own. A gig would end and another would appear, almost always because someone I’d worked with knew someone who needed a player and my name came up in a text thread I never saw. I always chalked that up to time served. You pay your dues, you build a reputation, and eventually the auditions stop because the work comes to you.
But this kid hadn’t put in 30 years. He’d barely started. And he’d already skipped the part of the process I always assumed was mandatory.
At first, I just thought he’d gotten lucky, or that he was so good that word had spread quicker than usual. But that’s not what he described at all. What he described was, essentially, a life. He went to jams. He hung around clubs. He met people who loved the same music he loved, and he made friends with them, both in person and online. He used social media not to audition for strangers but to show what he was into, what he could do, the specific corners of music that lit him up.
And those friends, over time, became the entire engine of his career. Every call he got came from someone in that web of genuine relationships. Not connections. I hate that word—it makes what I’m talking about sound like a transaction, like collecting business cards at a conference. This was the opposite of that. These were real friendships built on a shared love of music, and the work was a byproduct, not the goal.
That distinction matters more than almost anything else I could tell you. People can smell the difference between someone who wants something from them and someone who genuinely loves the same things they do. One is exhausting. The other is the beginning of a friendship. And friendships, it turns out, are how most gigs actually happen now.
The thing that struck me most was his range. He wasn’t trying to be the best at one narrow thing. He was openly, almost joyfully curious about everything—country, indie, r&b, pop, the weirder stuff at the edges. That curiosity wasn’t a strategy. It was just who he was. But it had a side effect: Because he loved so many types of music, he could talk to anybody, play with anybody, and fit into almost any situation.
A genuine love of music and an honest curiosity about styles outside your lane will open more doors than any single skill you can name. Not because it’s clever positioning but because it makes you the kind of musician other musicians want in the room. The player who lights up when someone puts on a record they’ve never heard is a lot more fun to tour with than the one waiting for their solo.
Then there's the part that really separates the players who work from the players who wait. This guitarist doesn’t sit around hoping to be hired. He solves problems.
He related a typical scenario to me: A new artist wants to play live, but the budget is small. A full band is out of the question. Most players would hear that and walk away because there’s no gig there. He hears it and says, I can fix that. He takes the artist's tracks, drops them into Ableton, arranges them for the stage, pulls out the guitar parts, and shows up as a one-man band. Problem solved. The artist gets a live show they can afford, and he gets the gig he just invented out of thin air.
“The player who lights up when someone puts on a record they’ve never heard is a lot more fun to tour with than the one waiting for their solo.”
That’s the whole game right there. He didn’t audition for that. There was nothing to audition for. He looked at a problem somebody had and made himself the answer.
I came up in a different era, when the audition was the front door and you’d better know how to walk through it. That skill still matters, and I’ll always believe in being prepared. But I’d be lying if I told you the front door is where most of the action is anymore.
The action is at the jam. In the club. In the comments under a video posted by someone who loves the same obscure record you do. It’s in being a real person who genuinely loves this stuff, who’s curious beyond their own lane, and who, when someone describes a problem, leans in instead of backing away.
So if you’re young and waiting for the audition that’s going to change your life, I have slightly inconvenient news: It may not be coming. Something better might be, though, and it starts with putting down the practice routine for a night, going to where the music is, and making an actual friend.
Turns out that’s been the real audition all along. We just didn’t call it that.
Coffee Table Book 'Playable Art: A Life with Guitars' Features Evocative Photos And Stories
If you’re the kind of guitarist who enjoys eye candy and more, take note: A new coffee table book featuring stunning photos has arrived just in time for the holidays.
Playable Art: A Life with Guitars by author Errol Antzis explores the instruments, people and experiences that have shaped his musical life. And it contains stories that will be highly relatable for just about anyone who has a lifelong love of the guitar.
Ask a guitarist about a favorite instrument, and the answer often goes well beyond pickups, tonewoods, and neck profiles. There’s the first guitar, the one that got away, the unlikely find—and the one that will never be sold. For musician and collector Errol Antzis, those stories span more than 50 years.
Drawing on a collection of approximately 230 instruments, Antzis brings a player’s perspective and a collector’s curiosity to guitars that caught his attention for the way they look, feel, and play. His interests range from familiar makers to adventurous designs and instruments overlooked by the wider market.
Photographer Michelle Blum gives the collection an equally personal visual treatment. Working with Antzis’s home, grounds, artwork, and furnishings, as well as nearby locations, she places guitars within landscapes and interiors that invite readers to consider their shapes, materials, and character. The photographs bring humor and a sense of discovery to instruments ordinarily seen on a stand or against a plain backdrop.
“What makes this collection unusual is not the presence of celebrity guitars or textbook vintage classics,” Antzis writes in the book’s Introduction. “These are instruments that spoke to me.”
The journey began at age 14 with a used Hagstrom III purchased from an older neighbor for $30. Antzis stripped and refinished it himself. A Les Paul Custom followed, with his parents’ support, and remains in his collection today.
The book follows those connections through individual instruments. Stories include an aluminum Jackson Roswell Rhoads that sharpened Antzis’s appreciation of guitars as art, instruments he created with his daughter, and a signed Yamaha tied to a visit with Michael Jackson’s family. Contributions from Grammy-winning musicians and well-known luthiers add perspectives from the people who play and build the instruments.
Antzis also shares the less orderly side of collecting: changing tastes, purchases reconsidered, guitars sold and later missed. In one account, he decides that 250 guitars are too many and consigns 50 for sale—reasoning that he “only” needs 200.
The guitars have a sound beyond the page too. Readers are directed to Antzis’s Psychoteria recordings to hear music made with instruments that appear in the book. He continues to play, write, and record, maintaining the connection between collecting guitars and making music with them.
“But collecting isn’t just about acquiring objects,” Antzis writes. “At its best, it’s about connections: with history, with beauty, and with kindred spirits.”
For guitarists who remember their first instrument, still search for an elusive model or regret letting a favorite go, Playable Art offers a fellow enthusiast’s account of the pursuit—and the pleasure of living with the guitars that make it worthwhile. And those who are not players will also be fascinated by the photos, the stories, and the passion that are evidenced in the book.
Errol Antzis’ book Playable Art: A Life with Guitars is available for $95 plus shipping. For more information visit https://errolantzis.com/playable-art-guitar-book/
Chord Shapes That Travel, Happy Birthday In Five Keys, And How To Get A Pick Out Of Your Guitar
Friday, October 30th. I’m running a little late today because I was at a Halloween parade, and our 2½-year-old grandson showed up dressed as Mr. Conductor. Trains are big in our house right now. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s go. New Lesson: Snowbird Nesh brought us Snowbird by Anne Murray, which went live […]
The post Chord Shapes That Travel, Happy Birthday In Five Keys, And How To Get A Pick Out Of Your Guitar appeared first on On The Beat with Totally Guitars.
JVC Introduces HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece Wireless Earbuds
Finally: premium earbuds designed with guitarists in mind. JVC has introduced the HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece, a flagship set of true wireless earbuds built for listeners who want natural sound, immersive playback, and premium construction. Utilizing Bluetooth 5.4, the earbuds combine the company’s genuine wood-diaphragm technology with active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and electric-guitar-inspired styling.
Sound:
At the heart of the HA-FW5100T is JVC’s genuine wood diaphragm, intended to reproduce warm, natural sound with depth and clarity. A dot-and-convex pattern on the driver minimizes internal reflections, so the earbuds can reproduce clear, refined sound.
JVC’s proprietary K2 technology upscales any audio source to near hi-res quality. It automatically restores digital detail lost in compression, aiming to bring playback closer to the original master recording on any device.
The earbuds’ Dynamic Spatial Audio feature is built on JVC’s proprietary EXOFIELD technology. It recreates the acoustic environment of a JVC recording studio for a spacious, three-dimensional soundstage.
To fine-tune playback further, the JVC app creates personalized correction filters that tailor sound reproduction to each listener. The earbuds also offer 10 sound modes, developed under the supervision of studio engineering experts. Five are conventional modes (Flat, Bass, Clear, Dynamic, and Vocal), and five are presets tuned by studio engineers, giving listeners a range of ways to hear their music.
Design and Comfort:
The HA-FW5100T takes its visual cues from iconic electric guitars, with a premium finish and durable construction. It combines that guitar-inspired look with JVC’s wood-diaphragm technology and acoustic engineering, and the earbuds play a guitar note when powered on. JVC says their accurate sound reproduction makes them well suited to listening to and monitoring music demos.
For comfort, the Spiral Dot Pro SF earpieces use a newly developed oval, low-profile umbrella shape. They provide a secure, natural fit that stays put during extended listening sessions, and they’re designed to reduce ear fatigue and improve stability.
Noise Cancellation:
A dedicated active noise cancellation IC provides flexible filter configuration and fast, accurate processing to boost ANC performance. The newly developed Spiral Dot Pro SF earpieces improve the seal for better noise-canceling performance and sound quality.
Calls and Microphones:
A high-SNR microphone from Knowles lowers the noise floor and makes subtle sounds more distinct. JVC’s AI-powered call noise reduction uses high-performance MEMS microphones to capture surrounding sound. AI analyzes that sound in real time to separate human voices and essential ambient sounds from unwanted noise. Even in loud environments, the system identifies the speaker’s voice and keeps calls clear, which helps with focus during online meetings and remote work.
Battery Life:
The earbuds provide up to 10.5 hours of playback on a single charge, and the charging case supplies an additional 21 hours.
Key Features:
- Genuine wood diaphragm for warm, natural sound with depth and clarity
- Dot-and-convex driver pattern that minimizes internal reflections
- K2 technology that upscales any source to near hi-res quality
- Dynamic Spatial Audio based on JVC’s EXOFIELD technology
- Personalized sound correction via the JVC app
- 10 sound modes: Flat, Bass, Clear, Dynamic, and Vocal, plus five studio-engineer-tuned presets
- Dedicated ANC IC with flexible filter configuration
- AI-powered call noise reduction with high-performance MEMS microphones
- High-SNR Knowles microphone
- Spiral Dot Pro SF earpieces with an oval, low-profile umbrella design
- Electric-guitar-inspired styling with a guitar-note power-on sound
- Up to 10.5 hours of playback, plus 21 hours from the charging case
The JVC HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece is available in Piano Black and Sunburst Brown finishes, with a street price of $299.95. For more information visit jvc.com/usa/headphones/true-wireless-earbuds/wo…
HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece
Finally: premium earbuds designed with guitarists in mind. JVC has introduced the HA-FW5100T WOOD Masterpiece, a flagship set of true wireless earbuds built for listeners who want natural sound, immersive playback, and premium construction. Utilizing Bluetooth 5.4, the earbuds combine the company’s genuine wood-diaphragm technology with active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and electric-guitar-inspired styling.
“F**king shameful behaviour” boutique builder slams Behringer’s plan to release 300 $15 pedals to “disrupt” the pedal industry
Behringer has never been shy about shaking up the gear world, but its latest announcement didn’t quite land with those who make pedals for a living.
In a recent social media post, the company opened with a mock apology: “Dear guitar players. We owe you an apology.” It said it had been “so busy disrupting synthesizers, mixers and DJ gear” that it forgot about guitarists.
Its fix is 200 to 300 all-metal analog and digital pedals at $10 to $15 each. The range will run “from legendary legacy pedals to wildly innovative new designs,” including open-source pedals players can hack and modify themselves.
The post then raised the question itself: “will this upset a few boutique pedal manufacturers? Probably. Sorry about that,” it answered, with a laughing emoji, before adding that the photo of the pedals attached to the post was “just the beginning.”
For London-based builder Intensive Care Audio (ICA), the joke didn’t land. The team reposted Behringer’s announcement to their Instagram story with a caption: “Behringer openly joking about destroying small independent builders. This is fucking shameful behaviour.”
In a separate post, they laid out what the pressure feels like from the workshop floor. “Running a small operation like this is becoming increasingly difficult due to a wide range of complicated issues,” they wrote. “It feels like everything is against us right now. The last thing we need is a giant, faceless multinational company gleefully revelling in destroying the livelihoods of thousands of small builders.”
They also questioned where the designs come from. “Behringer did not design these circuits for the most part. They did not live on a shoe string budget to carry on doing what they love,” the post continued. “Things like this make it hard to want to bother carrying on.”
That last line will worry anyone who values the independent pedal scene. ICA was founded in 2020 and has built a name on characterful designs like the Fideleater lo-fi chorus and the Vena Cava Filter, the latter of which has been spotted on the pedalboard of IDLES guitarist Lee Kiernan.
Behringer’s critics have long argued that its model rests on copying other people’s work, a charge that has already led to legal disputes, including one with Klon. Its defenders say it puts classic sounds within reach of players who could never afford the originals and that many of its clone targets are long out of production. Behringer’s own post leans on the latter: “great tone should come from your fingers, not your credit card.”
The pricing is particularly provocative at a time when boutique builders – especially those based in the USA – are struggling to survive thanks to tariffs and other increased costs, though smaller builders all over the world are facing reduced margins due to the general state of the global economy.
Pricing like this is only possible at huge manufacturing volumes, something that a small workshop in North London simply cannot match, however good the designs are. What remains unclear is how many of the 200 to 300 pedals will be direct copies and how many will be original.
Behringer isn’t being shy about what their intention is here, posting in the comments underneath the post, “Tell us which pedal you’d love us to make next! And if you have the schematics, even better! We’re listening. Legendary classics, analog, digital, or something completely crazy. If the community wants it, we’re happy to build it.”
How many of those new pedals will impact the business of the boutique effects makers that have driven so much of the innovation behind the effects boom of the last decade remains to be seen, but clearly these small makers are apprehensive about the situation.
The post “F**king shameful behaviour” boutique builder slams Behringer’s plan to release 300 $15 pedals to “disrupt” the pedal industry appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Fender’s new Pokémon Stratocaster and Telecaster feature built-in effects that make your guitar sound like an 8-bit videogame
Fender and The Pokémon Company have announced two limited made in Japan electric guitars to mark the 30th anniversary of Pokémon: a “Red Version” Stratocaster and a “Green Version” Telecaster, each featuring an onboard ‘8-bit sound system’.
In practice, this seems to be an onboard heavily gated fuzz that is activated with a discreet press of a button on the volume knob, but the effect is rather effective in practice, as the below demo video illustrates, creating tones that are reminiscent of the original GameBoy soundtrack.
The guitars take their visual cues from the original Pokémon Red and Green games, which launched in Japan in 1996 (and were later released as Red and Blue internationally), with GameBoy-accurate pixel-art graphics across the body. In a nice nod to the chunky 8-bit graphics of the original, the classic Strat and Tele pickguards have been given a blocky edge, and both show a fluorescent-like effect when viewed from different angles.
Both guitars also include a custom neck plate engraved with an exclusive 30th anniversary pixel-art logo, an illustrated certificate of authenticity, a dedicated hard case and a collectible pick tin containing 11 picks, ten with Pokémon pixel-art designs and one commemorating the anniversary.
The catch is that these Made In Japan limited editions cost ¥396,000 (around $2,600) and will only be available in Japan, sold via a lottery-based sales programme on Pokémon Center Online. Applications open at 12:00pm JST on November 19 2026 and close at 4:59pm JST on November 24. Lottery results will be announced on the site at a later date.
Shipping is available within Japan only and is expected in late December 2026. For other regions, Fender and Pokémon Center say to check their respective official websites, however, no international pricing or availability has been confirmed.
The collaboration marks two anniversaries at once. Pokémon Red Version and Green Version first arrived in Japan in 1996 and Fender, founded in 1946, is in its 80th year. The guitars are announced by Pokémon Center Co Ltd, the company behind the official Pokémon stores and Fender Music Corporation Japan.
“For 80 years, Fender has helped generations express themselves through music, while Pokémon has inspired creativity and imagination around the world,” said Giorgio Guerrini, President of Fender Asia Pacific. He described bringing the two brands together as “a natural celebration of that shared spirit.”
Fender has been on one with Japan-centric pop-culture collabs in recent years. Earlier this year the brand launched both Pac-Man and Godzilla tie-in guitars, while a few years back they also did a Monster Hunter team-up, and relaunched the iconic Hello Kitty guitar with an entire range of tie-in products.
Find out more at Pokemon Center Online.
The post Fender’s new Pokémon Stratocaster and Telecaster feature built-in effects that make your guitar sound like an 8-bit videogame appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Fractal Audio’s Axe-Fx III is getting NAM support and a built-in TONE 3000 browser
Over the last few months, the open-source Neural Amp Modeler amp capture technology has radically redrawn the landscape of digital modelling, and now one of the OGs of the game, Fractal Audio, has announced users will be able to use NAM captures on their hardware.
In a press release, Tone3000 – the online community that acts as a database for NAM captures – announced that it has partnered with Fractal Audio to bring NAM’s highest fidelity A2 captures to the Axe-Fx III, with the feature arriving on Fractal’s upcoming firmware 33 update.
The news caps off a remarkable few months for the open-source NAM technology. While previously bringing high-fidelity captures to affordable practice from the likes of Blackstar, Valeton and Lava Music, the A2 technology – which offered a significant improvement in sound and feel – has become a phenomenon that is rapidly rewriting the book of high-end modelling.
Headrush got the ball rolling by adding full A2 support to all of its current gen modeller pedals, and that was followed on by the Darkglass Anagram becoming the first dedicated NAM A2 product at launch.
Tone 3000 has since launched its own plugin to work with most DAWs, while Two Notes’ Genome amp software updated with NAM A2 support in version 2.0. Zoom announced a brand new NAM A2-powered pedal, the Neurig, just a few weeks ago, while its also emerged that Fender is trying to integrate A2 captures into its Tone Master workstation.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fractal being the first of the Big Four high-end modeller brands (alongside Neural DSP, Kemper and Line 6) to add NAM functionality to their hardware feels like another significant moment for the concept.
With the new firmware, Fractal owners will be able to load NAM A2 captures through a new NAM Player block. They can also search and install tones directly through the TONE3000 library inside Axe-Edit III, the processor’s free editor software, so there’s no need to download files and transfer them by hand. Firmware 33 will be a free update for all Axe-Fx III owners.
Using the library will require firmware 33.0 or newer and Axe-Edit III version 1.15.03 or later. Users can sign in with a TONE3000 account and search by sound or gear type, browse popular captures and creators and install straight into the unit. Existing TONE3000 users will find their previous downloads and favourites under “Your Tones”. The integrations runs on the TONE3000 API, so new community uploads should appear as soon as they are shared.
What the NAM Player block does is let NAM captures sit alongside the rest of the Axe-Fx III’s toolset. A capture can be paired with DynaCab speaker simulation or a cab IR, then combined with Fractal’s drive, modulation and other effects. The block also includes modelled analogue tone stacks with Bass, Mid and Treble controls, plus adjustable Bright and Bright Cap parameters.
With firmware 33, a preset can run two NAM Player blocks in A2 Full mode. Each block has four channels, allowing up to eight captures per preset. A preset using NAM Player blocks can also inclue one conventional Amp block. On non-Turbo units, the second NAM Player drops to Lite mode in that configuration. The units can store 256 captures or 128 on original Mark I models.
Image: Adam Gasson
Mark I owners should be aware that firmware 33 repurposes User Cab Bank 2 for NAM storage, so any IRs saved there should be backed up before updating. Fractal has also teamed up with Amalgram Audio to supply a free starter bank of captures.
Capture utility on the way
The companies say they’re working on a NAM capture utility within Axe-Edit for the Axe-Fx III, though no timeframe has been given. In the meantime, owners can use the unit as an audio interface and follow TONE3000’s existing capture process.
The update also brings a new Cygnus X-4 amp model, a reworked Drive block with remastered pedal modes and 13 new DynaCabs, including two “Pre-Rola” cabinets. The Pitch block has been upgraded with new Formant controls to improve Virtual Capo performance and the Flanger, Reverb, Plex, Filter and Megatap blocks have also been refined.
Background
Fractal Audio was founded in 2006 by Cliff Chase and made its name with the original Axe-Fx. Over the past two decades it has become a favourite among some of the most celebrated guitarists including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, John Mayer, Metallica and The Edge. The company’s own modelling recreates amp circuits component by component, whereas NAM uses a neural network to learn the responses of specific amp, pedal or signal chain at fixed settings.
TONE3000, formerly known as ToneHunt, says NAM A2 scored closest to real gear in a blind listening test of more than 1,000 participants using the MUSHRA (Multiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor) method. The announcement follows TONE3000’s recent integrations with Zoom’s NEURIG multi-effects pedal and Moises Studio.
Learn more at tone3000.com
The post Fractal Audio’s Axe-Fx III is getting NAM support and a built-in TONE 3000 browser appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Martin 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa review: “Forget the name on the label, this is a great guitar”
$1,299/£1,329, martinguitar.com
There are few more widely feted guitar gear connoisseurs in the modern musical firmament than Joe Bonamassa. In addition to being one of the modern stars of blues guitar, JoBo approaches vintage gear collecting with a passion rarely seen – simply put, Joe knows what he’s talking about when it comes to old guitars.
This has made Bonamassa a frequent collaborator on very popular and well-regarded signature gear, from expensive custom shop instruments to affordable guitars (Joe recently claimed that he’d sold 25,000 Gibson and Epiphone signature models) – he’s even got a signature Tone Master amp now.
Joe’s had plenty of signature electric guitars over the years, but acoustic guitars have been less plentiful and rather harder to get hold of. Back in 2024, Joe partnered with Martin on a recreation of his beloved 1941 000-45, but that was $20,000 and limited to just 45 units.
Now, however, Martin has launched another signature collaboration with JoBo, and this one’s a lot more attainable – not least because there’s two of them. Based upon his 1937 00-18, the new Joe Bonamassa models comprise one US-made guitar, but also a more affordable Mexico-made version.
Martin has been doing this a lot with artists and their signature models lately – the likes of Billy Strings, Jeff Tweedy, Jason Isbell and Molly Tuttle have all done it in the last year or two, and it’s a great idea.
Because let’s not beat around the bush here, at nearly $4,000, the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa is still a serious investment for most of us, but the $1,299 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa? Well that’s a lot more intriguing…
Image: Press
What Is It?
Like all of Martin’s other more affordable signature guitars, the 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa is made in Martin’s Navojoa factory in Mexico – which has been making budget guitars for the brand for over three decades.
Now, the Tuttle and Strings signature guitars were both part of Martin’s most affordable X-Series line, and used the instruments from that range as their base. But Joe – gear appreciator that he is – has opted to have his affordable signature come from the more upmarket Road Series.
The Road Series means that you get all-solid construction – in this case a spruce top with sapele back and sides – while the Retro designation means you get nice little vintage-y touches like nickel open-gear tuners, Old Style 18 inlays, and an ebony bridge and fingerboard.
The finish is the thing that’s going to catch the eye most readily, however. Applied to the top of this 14-fret 00 body is a rather fetching sunburst – or a Shade Top in traditional Martin parlance. This is no ordinary burst however, as this 1937 Joe Bonamassa Sunburst (yep that’s what they call it) is a printed recreation of the wear pattern of Joe’s actual 1937 original.
The concept of artificial ageing is a polarising one in the guitar world, but the way Martin does it – by digitally printing a wear pattern onto the wood – is one that Martin has got pretty good at, having previously used it on the Navojoa-made Junior Series Streetmaster and Streetlegend finish options.
To compliment that worn-looking top, the 00-10E features a satin finish all over – just like other Retro series guitars – and you also get Martin’s E1 electronics for amplified sound, and a soft shell gigbag.
Image: Press
Build Quality & Playability
I’ve been seriously impressed with every Road Series guitar I’ve played so far, especially the Retro model, and combine that with Bonamassa’s exacting standards as a guitar collector and player, I went into this with high expectations.
Nevertheless, removing the guitar from its gigbag, I was immediately struck by the eye-catching top. The danger with this sort of thing is that it can look a bit too fake, and while nobody is going to be fooled that this is a vintage guitar up close, that’s not the point.
It’s a fascinating thing to admire and examine the myriad scratches and other wear patterns reproduced here, knowing that they’ve come from a bona fide vintage instrument – it gives you a real sense of the original guitar’s long-lived existence.
I’m less keen on the all-over satin finish – personally I feel that the gloss on the Nazareth version wears the printed top and the general vibe of this guitar better – but it has its plus points. A glossy Martin is a fingerprint magnet, and one that seems to attract dings and pick scratches with worrying regularity.
While I’d never mistreat a guitar, the fact that this guitar already looks well-played and loved means that you can be a little less precious about it, and play it as hard and as enthusiastically as you desire.
Elsewhere, it’s all rather well executed – the Performing Artist neck profile is a frequent flyer on Martin guitars and it’s easy to see why, comfortable and easy to play without being too skinny, the taper up the neck is nice too.
The overall build is excellent too – with no finish issues throughout, neat and tidy workmanship inside, and smooth, precise tuners. Regardless of where its made, a great guitar is a great guitar, and this one certainly feels and plays it.
Image: Press
Sounds
Typically, I am not a Martin 00 body shape kind of guy. They look and sound incredible, but I have always been drawn toward Martin’s dreadnought and parlor body style instruments for my playing style or lack thereof.
Compared to other Martin body shapes the 00-14 to my ear delivers more middle frequency with a slightly reserved bass and treble comes in second to the mids. What this means however is that it plays very well with other acoustic guitars because it is not competing to dominate the bass frequency or treble tone spaces.
That said, this also means that when plugged in, it can really step up for solo situations. Set flat, the E1 electronics really emphasise the bass strings more to give a fuller and more rounded sound. It’s still mid-dominant but the bass frequencies are coming up close behind. The advantage of the guitar’s slight lack of acoustic bass frequencies is that it’s probably going to feed back less in a live setting, too.
Should I Buy One?
Part of the success of Joe Bonamassa’s signature guitar offerings is that they tend to be just as appealing even if you’re not a fan – as someone who really understands vintage instruments, he’s got a knack for pulling out rare curios that deserve a wider audience.
You can definitely put the 00-10E in that bracket – there aren’t many affordable 00s in the Martin catalogue, but now we have one that is worthy of a close look even if you’re not a Bonamassa sound.
The advantage of this being a Road Series instrument is that the solid woods involved will make this guitar sound better and better as it ages – while that thin satin finish should continue to wear nicely as it gets older.
If I’m honest, I would still prefer a gloss finish to this model, to compliment the USA-made version, but that’s purely personal preference. Sonically, it probably isn’t the sort of guitar that a solo artist would want to back themselves up for a coffee shop gig or open-mic, but as an accompanying instrument to another guitarist, it has a sound that sits really nicely in the mix.
It’s not the cheapest Martin to come out of Mexico in recent years, but like the Jason Isbell 0-10E before it, it does a great job of bringing some of the magic of small-bodied vintage Martins to a much more broad audience.
Alternatives
Another small-bodied Martin with all-solid wood construction and artist association is the rather fine 0-10E Jason Isbell ($1,049) while the regular Road Series 000-10 Retro Sapele ($899) is a cool, vintage-vibed option too. If you don’t mind a smaller body, you can even get a US-made instrument for another $700, the Gibson L-00 Special ($1,999) has plenty of 1930s charm.
The post Martin 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa review: “Forget the name on the label, this is a great guitar” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
State of the Stomp: Pedalboards for Vocalists
It started with a classic parental fantasy: I was going to launch a punk-rock project with my kid. Standard vocals weren’t going to cut it. We wanted a sound with some real weirdness in it. I wanted a playground: one rig that could handle vocals, a drum machine, a noise generator, and synth patches. Above all, it had to be dead simple. Unfortunately, that kind of all-in-one setup usually means a high-end multi-effects unit like the Headrush Prime or Line 6 Helix Floor. I don’t hate nice things, but my wallet demanded a more practical, if slightly mad-scientist, approach.
That led to a tempting question: Could I pair a basic guitar multi-FX unit with a few stompboxes and call it a day? Armed with optimism and a soldering iron, I set out to find out.
Before you try this, there’s some basic physics to make peace with. Microphones and electric guitars produce very different signals. A dynamic mic puts out a much weaker signal than a guitar pickup, and most guitar pedals are designed for instrument-level signals unless they have a dedicated XLR input. So what happens when you plug a mic straight into a standard stompbox with a cheap XLR-to-1/4" cable? It sounds thin and distant, like shouting into a tin can. Your instinct will be to crank the pedal’s gain until it’s loud enough, and that’s when the trouble starts: a rising noise floor, harsh clipping, and feedback. The fix is good gain staging and a few simple hacks.
Hack number one: the Impedance Converter. This innocent-looking XLR-to-TS adapter houses a tiny internal transformer that magically elevates weak microphone signals to the beefy instrument level your pedals crave. With the gain staging salvaged, your pedals behave like civilized gear instead of screaming banshees. Alternatively, you can pull off a neat party trick with a passive DI box by running it entirely backward: plug your mic into the XLR output and run the TS input straight to your pedal chain. Of course, this upside-down engineering requires an XLR female-to-male adapter to fix the gender mismatch on your cables. Just keep in mind that not all passive DI boxes are born equal, as transformer quality varies.
Hack number two: the active mic preamp or buffer. There are plenty of battery-powered portable mic preamps floating around the gear market these days. Much like the DI box trick, they get the job done, but each comes with its own personality flaws. FET-based mic preamps are particularly adept at boosting weak signals to line level, but beware: that blistering hot output will easily send your stompboxes into nasty clipping territory if you don’t dial back the input gain to a safe harbor.
Now, I hear the gear snobs whispering: “Why not just use a condenser mic?” Sure, on paper, a condenser brings its own active power, pristine gain, and robust output to the party. But this introduces a whole set of stage-rig headaches—namely, sourcing dedicated 48V phantom power on an already chaotic pedalboard. Perhaps you need an additional supply. Perhaps an adapter. Perhaps a dedicated phantom-power box. Perhaps another cable. Before long, your supposedly simple vocal pedalboard has acquired enough supporting infrastructure to qualify as a minor telecommunications installation. It’s an ergonomic nightmare. On a cramped live stage surrounded by loud monitors, guitar cabinets, drum cymbals, and musicians making increasingly poor decisions about volume, it can become a feedback magnet.
“Before long, your supposedly simple vocal pedalboard has acquired enough supporting infrastructure to qualify as a minor telecommunications installation.”
Another option is the mini-mixer. Most compact mixers have an FX send and return. You plug your vocal mic into one of the mixer’s XLR channels, send that signal out the FX send to your pedalboard, and bring the processed signal back in through the FX return. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can plug your guitar into another channel and run both through the same chain of stompboxes. The downside is size and complexity. Even a “mini” mixer takes up a lot of space on a pedalboard, which works against the whole idea of a compact, self-contained rig.
Ultimately, navigating this sonic labyrinth depends entirely on your tolerance for gear logistics and how much chaos you want underfoot. But once you conquer the impedance barrier, a brave new frontier of vocal expression awaits. Imagine taking the stage, stepping up to the mic, and running your vocals straight into a Korg Miku, a screaming wah pedal, and maybe the ghostly pitch-tracking of an EHX Mel9 or Superego. You won’t just sound different—you’ll leave the audience questioning reality itself.
Meet the D’Addario Backline Acoustic Guitar Case
On Bass: Humble and Hustle
A few years back, I sat down with Amos Heller, who plays bass in Taylor Swift’s band, to talk about his musical journey for a column in this magazine. Full disclosure: Amos is a dear friend of mine, and bass talk is usually the last item on our list of things to catch up on—although we always get to it eventually. Amos has arguably one of the biggest gigs on the planet, and the number one question he’s asked by the bass community is how he landed it.
The reason I rope Amos into this column now is because in our interview he said something that stuck out above all else, and still rattles around my brain all these years later. He told me, “I’m asked all the time about getting the gig, but never about how to keep the gig.”
Friends, that right there is the mindset of a professional.
Getting—and more importantly, keeping—the gig is a balancing act. As a bass player, we have to remember: “It’s not about us.” Rather, it’s about the song, or the show, or the record we’re playing on. But does that mean we’re relegated to a life of unimportance? Of course not.
Bass, at its essence, is a foundational instrument. Words like “solid,” “confident,” and “grooving” are adjectives used to describe what we do. These words are important to remember because, unless called upon to take a spotlight, we don’t get one. Our job is to lock with the drummer and keep the music moving in that solid, confident, and grooving way.
Getting the gig can occur in a few ways. Your network can recommend you for a gig or an audition. Some artists don’t want to try out new players, so they lean on the Music Director or band leader to find “the one.” This is where your reputation precedes you. If you’re solid, dependable, easy to work with, and can play the parts, you have a leg up on people out of the loop.
Getting “the call” doesn’t just happen out of thin air; it takes years of relationship cultivation (remember all those bands on the bill you didn’t want to talk to?) and demonstrating that you’re the one for the job. Whether it’s an audition or a trial-by-fire gig, being prepared and handling yourself professionally is what makes a good impression. Stay humble and hustle.
So you’ve shown up and showed out. Congratulations! Now you have the gig. How do you stay there? Again, be humble and hustle. The first part is, in many ways, more important than the second. Being humble and not getting too comfortable in the gig too quickly is essential to keeping the gig. I know amazing musicians who are very “well-traveled”; that’s a nice way of saying they’ve landed a lot of huge gigs, only to be replaced quickly—not for lack of musicianship, but because they couldn’t get out of their own way.
“Playing music for any kind of money is a privilege, not a right.”
Being a cog in the machine is hard for some people, especially if they’ve had some success in their own band. When I made the jump from bandmember to sideman, I had to remind myself of my place more than once, because it wasn't about me anymore. Plenty of gigs have been lost by sidemen offering the artist unsolicited advice. Every situation is different, and over time an artist may come to trust you enough to ask your opinion. Until then, best to leave that stone where it lies. (See: balancing act)
Playing music for any kind of money is a privilege, not a right. You may have landed the gig, but that doesn’t give you permission to make it about you. You may become the perfect companion to the artist, but remember who’s name is on the marquee and the bus lease.
And remember: Just because you’re a sideman today, that doesn’t mean you won’t front your own band later. But the key word there is later—not now. Every step in your journey leads to the next. I hope yours lands you the gig you’re after, and that the 100 steps that follow keep you in it for as long as you like.
Podcast 569: Fake Names’ Michael Hampton and Brian Baker
Today, we take a deep dive into hardcore history with guitarists Michael Hampton (The Extorts, The Faith, Embrace, One Last Wish) and Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, Minor Threat).
These two legendary DC musicians make up one half of punk supergroup Fake Names, whose third album, Punk Ruins, is out now on Epitaph.
Our guest interviewer for today’s show is John Drenning, who recently penned a feature on Baker for the 60th issue of our magazine. Read some highlights here.
During this chat, the duo reminisces about the early days of hardcore, Gibson SGs, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, The Decline of Western Civilization, the formation of Fake Names, and so much more.
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The post Podcast 569: Fake Names’ Michael Hampton and Brian Baker first appeared on Fretboard Journal.
Robert Keeley: 25 Years of Changing the Guitar Pedal Game
It all started with a two-knob compressor 25 year ago. Robert Keeley and his innovative team have sold over 1-million pedals developing a legendary brand that continues to influence and inspire stompbox builders and guitar players alike.
The company's founding wizard Robert Keeley sits down with PG's John Bohinger discusses the ups-and-downs of his career, details what still excites him as a designer, and shares his greatest joy as a business owner.
Sponsored by Stewmac
Visit stewmac.com Wintergrass Sessions: The Fretless
The Fretless is a Canadian folk ensemble redefining what it means to be a string quartet. Though this is the Fretboard Journal, we couldn’t resist asking these amazing, fret-free players to perform for us at Wintergrass 2026. They delivered three compositions: “Lost Lake,” “Little Snake” and “Caledonia” (featuring vocalist Madeleine Roger).
We also asked the quartet about the instruments used on this session.
Register now for Wintergrass 2027. The lineup in 2027 will include Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas Band, East Nash Grass and other bluegrass favorites.
Video by Brad Wagner, audio by Juan M Soria.
We’ll be sharing more highlights from Wintergrass 2026 on a weekly basis here and on our YouTube channel.
The post Wintergrass Sessions: The Fretless first appeared on Fretboard Journal.
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