General Interest

Over the past few decades, I’ve devoted much of my lutherie career to understanding musical-grade tonewoods and the instruments that they become. While some builders seem to assess wood instinctively, I’ve always needed real, solid data—something concrete to show how a material behaves and how to best use it. That meant diving deep into the science: analyzing frequency, weight, and stiffness to understand how, and why, these characteristics shape an instrument’s sound.

One of the most powerful tools for this kind of work is the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analyzer, which lets you track and study anything that vibrates or makes sound. When testing tonewoods or working on guitars, FFT analysis is indispensable. Over the years, I tried a variety of FFT systems, but eventually adopted SpectraPlus by Pioneer Hill Software. It elevated my analysis to a whole new level. Even mobile FFT apps, though a bit quirky at times, have their place. I’ve had one on my phone for over 15 years. They’re a great entry point for players and curious minds alike.

In 2024, a major breakthrough occurred: the launch of the Acousonix Sonic Hammer, which I helped develop. This handheld device detects and displays the primary resonant frequencies of almost anything you tap. For tonewoods, it reveals key modal frequencies that help gauge a piece of wood’s acoustic potential. For guitars, it’s both insightful and fun: You can tap the top to measure its resonance, hold it near the soundhole to detect air resonance, or tap the back to read the back plate’s voice. Together, these readings paint a clearer picture of the instrument’s tonal fingerprint.

Say you’re comparing two guitars: One feels more “alive,” but you can’t explain why. By sampling each guitar you’ll likely see frequency differences tied to weight, tension, and structural behavior. That kind of information can help guide buying decisions, repair work, or just satisfy your curiosity.

Although we originally developed the Sonic Hammer for tonewood analysis, its applications have since expanded. With smart software updates and continued experimentation, we’ve used it to fine-tune banjo heads, drums, archtop guitars, and even ukuleles. Today, it’s being used in studios, repair shops, manufacturing facilities, and by tonewood sawyers to help improve yield, quality control, and efficiency.

It’s no surprise that everyday players, collectors, and music shops have embraced the hammer, not just for smarter purchases, but to better understand their instruments, inventories, and collections. Once a guitar’s sonic footprint is captured, you can track it over time. Whether it’s aging, humidity, or environmental shifts, this tool provides a simple way to monitor and preserve an instrument’s acoustic health. In recording studios or on the road, if an instrument is problematic, the hammer helps engineers and guitar techs zero in on where the problem may lie. While broader implications are still unfolding, the technology is already proving both rewarding and, yes, a little disruptive. But in time, this kind of data will likely become standard in the industry.

“This handheld device detects and displays the primary resonant frequencies of almost anything you tap.”

The Founders Edition focused on detecting primary resonances, but what’s coming next is even more exciting: deeper analysis of voicing, damping, and admittance, plus built-in Bluetooth for integration with more advanced systems. Most importantly, this tool can support something I’ve long believed in: responsible tonewood use. If we want to conserve the world’s most valuable musical materials, we need smarter ways to measure and manage them. I believe the Sonic Hammer can play a meaningful role in that effort.

For guitar makers and players, we’re living in a truly exciting era. For years, I said, “This is going to take off,” and every couple of years it felt just around the corner. But during the COVID shutdown, something changed. People had time to explore, to experiment, and the science of acoustics started to catch fire. These are exciting times indeed.

For more info, visit acousonix.com.

Living up to its name, “Colossal,” this pickup set has more of everything. Play them softly and they deliver an unmatched airiness to the notes; play them aggressively and they will blow your hair back. These passive pickups are designed to effortlessly respond to soft touch, slap, or aggressive pick attack with ease.

As with our game changing Relentless™ pickups, we removed all the hard edges from the metal covers, and added an arch to the top contour, bringing the sensing coils closer to the middle strings. These improvements increase the string balance and overall dynamic range.

The Colossal™ pickups are a fully humbucking design and are completely shielded, making them a better choice for both recording and live shows. These pickups can be used with the coils in series, parallel, or split configurations, making multiple sounds easily achievable without the need for digital filters. The Colossal™ Bridge and Neck can easily be combined with active electronics.

Using a thick .09375” circuit board baseplate as the foundation, the Colossal™ pickups are simple to install and use our quick connect cable system. The soapbar shaped (EMG40® sized, 37.75mm x 101.25mm) pickups incorporate Neodymium magnets, producing significantly more output and dynamic range than traditional active or passive pickups.
To improve the balance when both pickups are used together, we made the bridge position pickup louder than the neck position pickup. When the pickups are blended, you get a better volume match.

Colossal™ pickups have a richly detailed mid-range that growls, delivering notes with definition and openness, and they work well with dropped tunings. The highs are present and precise without harshness, and the lows are thunderous and tight, like the footsteps of a giant.

Available in Nickel, Gold, or Matte Black finishes.

If you were to think of the best rock song ever, you’d probably start by casting your mind back to something truly classic, but for Brian May, one of the greatest tracks ever made was released in the 2010s.

The Red Special-wielding Queen legend says The Struts’ Could Have Been Me is one of the greatest, and wishes he could have heard its inspirational lyrics at a young age. May has recently teamed up with the band to release a new version of the song, which features him on guitar.

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Released in 2013, Could Have Been Me was originally the leading single from the band’s debut album, Everybody Wants. Speaking of his love for the song, May tells Classic Rock, “I wish I’d heard that song when I was a kid. It’s a classic.

“It’s one of the best rock songs ever,” he continues. “It was actually bigger in America than it was in Britain: it passed people by over here, and it shouldn’t have done. I’m hoping that this is an opportunity for the song to really connect all around the world.”

He adds, “It’s a very inspirational song. ‘I don’t want to look back and think I didn’t live my life and take all the opportunities that were in front of me’. I love that sentiment. You can say it in words, of course, but you really feel it in the song. Could it be me? It says everything that a kid needs to know when they’re growing up.”

As for the band’s vocalist, Luke Spiller, May thinks he actually has a lot in common with Freddie Mercury: “Working with Luke, I’m often thinking of Freddie. There are a lot of similarities. They both have this unstoppable belief. They have incredible voices, they’re great songwriters, but they have that extra ingredient: ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to let the world come to me.’ That’s what Freddie had, and that’s what I see in Luke.”

Check out the song below:

Could Have Been Me by The Struts and Brian May is out now on streaming services. The Struts are due to head out on tour later this September – find out where you can catch them live via their website.

The post “I wish I’d heard that song when I was a kid”: Brian May says this modern track is “one of the best rock songs ever” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

During the lead up to Back To The Beginning, it was looking like the organisation of the event was going to be pretty hectic. According to Zakk Wylde, that was certainly the case on the big day, as he likens the experience to “juggling chainsaws”.

Of course the madness all turned out to be worth it, with the event drawing in millions in ticket sales that will go on to support Ozzy Osbourne’s chosen charities. The final gig also brought a beautiful close to the Black Sabbath story, with Osbourne sadly passing away just a matter of weeks after.

• READ MORE: “My father always thought you were a c**t”: Jack Osbourne slams Roger Waters for saying he “couldn’t give a f**k” about Ozzy Osbourne’s music

Back in early July before the event took place in Birmingham, England on the 5th, Wylde shared that plans for the event were still up in the air: “Nobody knows what’s going on”, he said, and likened it to “Ozzfest on steroids”. Even now, he tells Guitar World (in its print magazine) just how chaotic it continued to be on the day itself.

“I was just more worried about making sure Oz was okay for the whole performance, you know? So, with Mama, I’m Coming Home, when we got the acoustic out, I had to be like, ‘Keep the guitar away from the microphone so I can sing,’ because Oz’s voice was having trouble at certain notes.

“I was just like, ‘I need to make sure I’m always there so I can double him,’ and I was three feet away from the microphone when I started playing the song,” he continues. “I started, and I go, ‘Wait, hold on a second, I’m like three, four feet from the friggin’ microphone.’ [Laughs] I was like, ‘I gotta gear near the microphone,’ so I had to almost stop playing, lift the guitar up and put it over the mic.”

Wylde concludes, “It was like juggling balls or chainsaws while being on a skateboard. It was actually pretty funny, but it was business as usual. But yeah… It’s supposed to be the most important show ever, and everything’s on the fly.”

Though the total amount of money Back To The Beginning has made has been disputed, namely by Sharon Osbourne herself, a group of economists at the University of Birmingham have suggested that they have a better estimate of the actual numbers from ticket sales.

According to Dr. Matt Lyons of the University of Birmingham, tickets for the monumental Villa Park show brought in a total of £33.8 million. The money raised is going to Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

The post “It was like juggling chainsaws while being on a skateboard”: Zakk Wylde on the pressures of playing with Ozzy Osbourne at Black Sabbath’s final gig appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Back in 1969, John McLaughlin was able to live out every guitarists’ dream – jamming with Jimi Hendrix. However, the experience proved to be more of a nightmare thanks to some shoddy gear.

Picture this – its the 25 March, 1969 and McLaughlin waltzes into Record Plant. The New York studio had hosted Hendrix while recording 1968’s Electric Ladyland – and he was back for more. “I walked into the studio with Mitch Mitchell [Hendrix’s drummer]… and it was LOUD,” the jazz guitarist tells Ultimate Guitar. “There was a big party going on, and that’s where I met Buddy Miles for the first time… Buddy was already playing some boogaloo… And Jimi was there.”

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Alongside McLaughlin, Hendrix and Miles, Dave Holland was also there on bass. And, as McLaughlin describes the jam – which lasted 6 hours, spanning from 2am to 8am – it sounds like quite the occasion. “There were quite a few guitar players there,” he recalls. “A lot of people. It was a big party.”

Unfortunately, McLaughlin was at a disadvantage – he only had an acoustic guitar to hand. “The only guitar I had was a Gibson Hummingbird,” he frowns. “I’d moved to Europe by that time, and I’d run out of money! I had to sell my really nice Gibson guitar.”

Strapped for cash, he’d only been able to afford the Hummingbird in lieu of a more expensive electric model. “It was pretty cheap, and I had a DeArmond pickup over [the sound hole],” he recalls. “It was a bit of a disaster.”

In his opinion, McLaughlin’s invention wasn’t quite up to scratch. “At that volume, I plugged my guitar in, and it was instant feedback,” he says. “It was really hard to play. It was unfortunate. I needed a solid body guitar on that session.”

Despite his handicap, the jam didn’t sour his relationship with Buddy Miles. In fact, the percussionist even gladly agreed to feature on McLaughlin’s 1970 record, Devotion.

While he didn’t have the chance to impress Hendrix on that fateful night of jamming, McLaughlin notes that he did end up meeting Hendrix again – and he didn’t seem to hold his acoustic nightmare against him. “He was a sweet guy,” McLaughlin says. “We had a chance to talk, and he was just totally unpretentious.”

“I think he knew he was causing quite a revolution on the electric guitar,” he adds. “He certainly affected me, and about another five million guitar players. He was a one-man revolution on the guitar. It was unbelievable what he was doing, with a wah-wah pedal and a Marshall amp. That was it!”

The post “It was a bit of a disaster”: Why John McLaughlin had to use a cheap acoustic during a jam with Jimi Hendrix appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Guitarist Jake E. Lee has assured that there were no hard feelings between himself and Ozzy Osbourne during their final meeting before the legendary Prince of Darkness passed away.

Osbourne died just a couple of weeks after his reunion with Black Sabbath for their final Back To The Beginning show together. Lee got to chat with him shortly at a photoshoot prior to the event, and says it gave him closure following a sour ending to his stint in Osbourne’s solo band.

• READ MORE: “I couldn’t get up to the top frets, but the SG suited me perfectly”: Why Tony Iommi never became a Les Paul player

Lee played in the band between 1982 and 1987, following Randy Rhoads’ tragic death. He was eventually fired over the phone by Osbourne’s wife and manager, Sharon, which he did not see coming.

Despite having not seen Osbourne since the firing, his recent and final catch up with the late vocalist went swimmingly. He tells Guitar World in its print magazine, “I did get to talk to him. There was a big photoshoot a couple days before the gig, and I talked with Sharon, and she brought me over to Ozzy.

“There’s no ill will; there has never been any on my part. Business is business. I don’t think anything they ever did was to try and fuck over Jake; it was always about business. I didn’t know how they’d be, but they were amazing, friendly, open, welcoming and loving. I hadn’t seen either of them in decades, and after the show, on the flight back, I got a text from Ozzy.”

Lee continues, “He said he was sorry he couldn’t spend more time with me. And he said that when he got back to LA, he’d shoot me a text and maybe we could get together and shoot the shit for a while. Everything’s cool. I’m glad it’s resolved and everybody still likes each other.”

He goes on to share how connecting with Osbourne again was a “big bucket list check-off”, stating, “There’s a certain amount of closure. For years, in the back of my head, it was like, ‘I hope I get to see Ozzy one more time.’ I would’ve hated for the last time I spoke to him to be in 1987. I wanted to tell him I’m grateful for the opportunity he gave me.”

The post “Nothing they ever did was to try and f**k over Jake – it was always about business”: Jake E. Lee reflects on seeing Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne at Black Sabbath’s final show appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Do you like watching people fail after they have talked themselves up? Of course you do, you’re human. Do you like watching the Hives fail after they have talked themselves up? Well, you’re still waiting to find out, aren’t you? Their new record The Hives Forever Forever The Hives won’t give you any closure on that front.

Arriving more than three decades on from the suited-and-booted iconoclasts’ formation in Fagersta, Sweden, it is another flex by a band who are still rattling along at high speed, powered by volume, treble and battleworn chemistry. “It kind of feels like we’re on an upward trajectory,” guitarist Nicholaus Arson, aka Niklas Almqvist, says and, remarkably, there’s a lot more than bravado behind his assessment.

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The Hives’ seventh album is, in some ways, a reaction to what came before it. By landing barely two years after the release of The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, it course-corrects the yawning, decade-plus wait for a follow up that took hold after 2012’s Lex Hives. It’s a record by a touring group, its songs gathering momentum on the road and reaping the rewards of hundreds of on-stage reps. It’s about striking while the iron is hot.

“Recording when you’ve toured for two years is both good and bad,” Almqvist says. “It’s kind of fatiguing, but you have a band that sounds good, you know? You have to rehearse the songs, but your timing is still intact. You don’t have to practise to start sounding like the band that you are. It’s already sorted.”

The Hives Forever Forever The Hives pulls together two threads in the Hives’ story — it’s both a high-gloss rock album by some old heads and also a lean, mean garage-punk LP by musicians who’re still connected to their roots. It’s their attempt at making an “arena record”, inspired by their experiences opening for AC/DC and the Rolling Stones, but in executing that it seems like they’ve realised that a Hives arena record is actually just a Hives record assembled in a manner that pays attention to the basics: knife-wielding riffs, shoutalong hooks and a remorseless rhythm section.

“What’s an arena record for us?” Almqvist asks. “Maybe Back in Black? It’s pretty traditional stuff. Traditional-sounding drums, traditional-sounding guitars, great sounds. Maybe that was our take on it — you don’t have to do so much weird stuff if you’re going to try to make a classic rock record.”

Like its immediate predecessors, it was partly recorded at Stockholm’s Riksmixningsverket, the studio co-founded by ABBA’s Benny Andersson, while there was also creative input from Mike D, he of Beastie Boys fame. Crucially, though, it was tracked with Pelle Gunnerfeldt, whose gonzo style characterised their first three records. It’s the first time he’s produced a full LP for the Hives since 2004, with everyone from Pharrell Williams to Josh Homme having a crack in the intervening years, even if he’s steadfastly kept a finger in the pie, whether that’s as a mixer, engineer or sounding board.

Here, there’s energy and grit beyond what might be expected from a band this deep into their career, a youthfulness that bursts from Paint A Picture’s ringing chords and the blown out swagger of Enough is Enough. “Pelle’s always been around,” Almqvist says. “Kind of like us, in a way, he’s in a good spot right now. He’s making great sounding music — he’s done magical things with Viagra Boys. We’re in good shape. The rest of it is work. You work until the record sounds good. A studio is a studio. It can be anywhere, really. I don’t think we trust magic as much as other people do. For us it’s always work. That’s just the grind, you know?”

Reflecting the momentum that led them into the studio and this direct approach to documenting these songs, Almqvist and his co-guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem (Mikael Karlsson) threw their live set ups at the problem. “We probably used our regular guitars way more than we ever did before,” Almqvist says. “I mean, we probably haven’t used them this much since the first record, when we had no other guitars. The second record we recorded in Pelle’s studio, and he’s always collected Travis Beans and Kramers with metal headstocks, stuff like that. We used a lot of his gear on that record and from Veni Vidi Vicious onwards we played anything, really, that was in the studio. Anything that sounded good.”

While Karlsson has pinwheeled between his one true love, a ‘59 Epiphone Coronet, plus a Les Paul, and a Flying V along the years, Almqvist’s choices have remained decidedly Telecaster-shaped. His Sundberg Arsonette, a guitar of his own design that is halfway between a Tele and a Firebird, sat this one out, but his 1970s Telecaster Custom, a battered and bruised road-dog with just a fizzing stock bridge pickup, was in full flow. Amp-wise, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives leans on another old face: a Standel Custom that’s been around since the Veni Vidi Vicious era. “This is where it gets a bit dull to talk to me about guitars, because I picked them 25 years ago and ran with it,” he says.

And how. The Hives are older now, but thankfully they’re not wiser. No prog song suites here, no plaintive reflections on mortality, just ripping garage-rockers. In that spirit, we asked Almqvist to pick his five favourite Hives riffs or, to put it another way, to tell us five times the Hives were the best band on the planet. Unsurprisingly, he found it quite difficult to narrow it down. “I came to the conclusion that there are a whole bunch of riffs that I really like,” he says.

“A lot of them are older, I guess,” he continues. “They kickstarted things for us, they were riffs we managed to craft into songs early on, when we were finding our sound. If you’re a high jumper, the first time you clear 2.40, that’s amazing, but when you’ve done it 20 times the novelty is going to wear off a little bit. That first time, when you’ve nailed it, is a good feeling.”

Main Offender (Veni Vidi Vicious, 2000)

“People always ask me, ‘What’s your favorite song to play live?’ And I always say Main Offender. I really love that little guitar intro going into what’s probably one of my favorite riffs. It’s very much an updated version of the Sonics, one of my favorite bands. We always try to be like a punk band with AC/DC riffs, you know? Maybe a punk riff, but they would have that start and stop element. Main Offender is totally one of those.”

Die, All Right! (Veni Vidi Vicious, 2000)

“It’s on that record, too. The verse from Die, All Right! is one of my favourite riffs. It’s also very Sonics inspired. Main Offender, or Die, All Right! are riffs. I guess some will say Hate To Say I Told You So but it’s more like chords in a sequence. Is that a riff? I guess it is, but it’s not like a blues riff or a boogie riff or something. I like Hate To Say I Told You So because it really gave us a career, even though it wasn’t the song that I thought would give us a career. I thought that was probably going to be Die, All Right!.”

A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T (Barely Legal, 1997)

“I really like A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T. The intro bit is really good, and I really like both the verse and the chorus. On that record, too, I really like Here We Go Again. That’s a great riff. Barely Legal was the first record where I felt, ‘This is so cool, this is what I want our music to sound like.’ I remember listening to the master in my basement on one of those CD Walkmans. It was so great [working with] Pelle Gunnerfeldt. He was probably the only guy recording music [in Stockholm] who had ever heard about the New Bomb Turks.”

Bogus Operandi (The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, 2023)

“To me, that’s a sort of a traditional Hives riff. What I like about it, too, is that it evolves during the song. There’s a key change, and there’s that bit at the end where you sort of cut the riff in half, and you play that outro bit. There’s a take on it through that middle eight, or whatever you want to call it, where you let it set sail and send it out to sea for a bit.”

Bad Call (The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, 2025)

“I should pick a favorite from the latest record, too. There are a lot of great riffs on there. Hooray Hooray Hooray has a great riff, Paint a Picture has a great riff, but I think my favourite is the verse to Bad Call. It’s the drums that are the star in that one, the chords accent the drums and then travel through the song. If it was just the drums, maybe you’d get a bit bored on your journey towards the chorus.”

The Hives’ The Hives Forever Forever The Hives is out on August 29 through PIAS.

The post Five times the Hives were the best band in the world (according to the Hives) appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Linkin Park went on hiatus for seven years after lead vocalist Chester Bennington’s death in 2017, but last September, the band announced that they were returning with new music and a new lineup—including vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain. A new album, From Zero, was released in November 2024, followed by the single “Up From the Bottom” earlier this year, and this summer, the band tore off on an international arena and stadium comeback tour. Founding lead guitarist Brad Delson is still a creative member of the band, but has elected to step back from touring. And so on the road, Alex Feder takes his place alongside founding guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, DJ Joe Hahn, and bassist Dave Farrell.

PG’s Chris Kies headed to downtown Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena to meet up with Mike Shinoda, plus techs Mark, Ben, and Tracy, to learn how the band pulled off their much-anticipated gigs this year.

[Brought to you by D’Addario.]

Boredom Beater

This is Shinoda’s “workhorse” Strat, a longtime trusted pal that’s featured on songs like “What I’ve Done.” There have been plenty of times when Shinoda gets bored on tour, and at one point, he started painting his guitars to keep himself occupied—including this Strat.

Painted PRS

This PRS is from the band’s Meteora-era, a definitive instrument in the early years of the band. Again, the guitar’s aesthetic customizations were executed by Shinoda himself, with ink markers, spray paint, and a paint pen—plus some custom “etchings” on the fretboard. This and his other guitars are outfitted with custom Kill Spencer straps.

Blackout

This black Gibson SG came into the picture around Linkin Park’s third record, 2007’s Minutes to Midnight.

Empty Spaces

With new vocalist Armstrong’s voice filling a different spot in the band’s sound, Shinoda has adjusted some of his tunings and playing. This Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster helps give Armstrong’s voice space and keeps everyone in their sweet spots, frequency-wise.

Hybrid Theory Heavy

This 2008 PRS Custom 24 is a replica of Delson’s Hybrid Theory-era PRS, and sports Paul Reed Smith’s autograph on the back. It lives in drop C-sharp tuning, and if Delson is playing it, it’s loaded with D’Addario NYXLs (.010-.052). When Feder’s at the wheel, he goes for heavier top strings mixed with Delson’s packs, for a gauge range of .054-.044-.032-.017-.013-.010.

Another PRS, finished in grey and tuned to drop D sharp, features the Minutes to Midnight logo and gets brought out for “One Step Closer.” A sunburst PRS DC3 is equipped with even heavier strings for a drop A tuning: A-E-A-D-G-B.

’61 Standard

This Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Stratocaster has become a staple of the live show. It’s part of a set of three that were created for Delson, designed and relic’d to mimic a 1961 Standard Stratocaster. It stays in drop D, with Delson’s standard .010-.052 strings. He uses .72mm Dunlop picks, while Feder uses slightly heavier .88mm picks.

Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Alex Feder’s Rack Systems

Delson’s rig (used by touring member Alex Feder) lives on the left side of this rack, while Shinoda’s takes up the right. They both include a Radial KL-8, two Radial JX44s, two Shure AD4Qs, and two Fractal Axe-Fx III units. Shinoda’s setup also includes two Electro-Harmonix HOG2 pedals. The fractals use IRs that were captured by old FOH engineer Pooch, using a Randall cabinet.

MIDI handles all of the changes for the show, though there’s a Fractal FC-12 foot controller on hand in case of emergency for manual switching. Fred Carlton of Nerdmatics, who built the Linkin Park rig for this 2024-2025 run promoting From Zero, shared some more information with us after filming: “The backline gear consists of about 11 computers running Ableton, all receiving locator information from the main playback computers. We maintain redundant computer systems for Joe Hahn’s DJ rig, Mike Shinoda’s keyboard rig, the Audio FX rig, and the Playback system. Single-computer setups are used for both guitar rigs and the bass rig, as these stations only send MIDI patch changes and do not handle audio. Additional single-computer systems are in place at Monitor World, FOH, and within the Visual department.

Each station carries an updated timeline of the show, allowing techs to insert automation data such as MIDI or timecode to control their systems. Once changes are made to the main Ableton session, we distribute updated .ALS files to all departments, enabling them to integrate their specific data into the new timeline. This workflow allows us to implement changes quickly while keeping all departments aligned. Having separate computers also gives each tech the ability to test their own system independently. In the event of losing RTP network connectivity, they can punt the show locally without relying on external automation.”

Sharpened with Precision

This Fender Custom Shop Precision bass is Dave Farrell’s go-to, his tech Tracy explains. It’s tuned to either drop D or standard, and Farrell uses Ernie Ball Bass Hybrid Slinky strings (.045-.105) with Dunlop .88mm picks.

Ernie Ball Basher

This beloved Ernie Ball Music Man StringRay, with active electronics and neck-through construction, is the second-most used bass in the rack, and comes out for hits like “Papercut” and “In the End.” It’s tuned to drop C-sharp.

Mum Knows Best

Though his other StingRay gets more play, this is the original item, which Farrell’s mother bought for him. It gets tapped for tracks “Somewhere I Belong” and “Faint.”

Dave Farrell’s Rack

Along with the same accoutrements (Radial KL 8 and JX 44, Shure AD4Q), Farrell also uses a pair of Fractal Axe-Fx IIIs, and runs three signals—one of an Ampeg SVT model, a Marshall JMP-1 model, and a clean direct signal, run through emulations of two Ampeg 4x10 speaker cabinets—to front of house, which can mix and match between the three as needed.

Fender Stratocaster

PRS Custom 24

Gibson SG

D’Addario NYXL

Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Stratocaster

.72 mm Dunlop Picks

Dunlop .88 mm Picks

Radial KL-8

Radial JX44

Shure AD4Q

Fender Custom Shop Precision bass

Ernie Ball Bass Hybrid Slinky Strings (.045-.105)

Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay

Band Industries has unveiled Roadie 4, the latest generation of the company’s innovative automatic tuners.

Designed for fast, reliable tuning for nearly any instrument with geared pegs, the new tuner is built from the ground up with enhanced accuracy and usability. Roadie 4 delivers a smoother, faster, and more reliable tuning experience. With revamped algorithms and upgraded audio circuitry, it offers excellent noise immunity and pinpoint tuning accuracy, whether you're tuning on stage, in a noisy rehearsal room, or at home.

Key new features include:

• Completely reengineered algorithms and audio circuitry for superior tuning accuracy and better performance in noisy environments
• Larger 1.9" full color LCD screen with over twice the display area for greater visibility when tuning
• New intuitive scroll wheel for lightning fast selection and navigation
• Auto detect feature: In previous models, Roadie tuned your instrument in a fixed sequence lowest to highest string or required manual string selection. Now, just pluck any string. Roadie 4 will automatically detect which string you are on, tune it precisely, and notify you when it is in tune with a vibration and audible beep
• Redesigned peg connector to accommodate a wider range of larger and smaller pegs
• Improved ergonomics: Taller build, anti slip backing, and a more natural, secure grip

Band Industries introduced the original Roadie Tuner in 2014, followed by the breakout Roadie 2 in 2017 and the powerful Roadie 3 in 2020. Roadie 4 builds on that legacy and provides even better performance.

From electric and acoustic guitars to mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, and more, Roadie 4 tunes almost any instrument with geared pegs. It also winds new strings quickly and accurately, making string changes a breeze.

Roadie 4 is available for street price of $139. For more information visit roadiemusic.com.

Brian Wampler, founder of the Wampler pedal brand, thinks the rise of digital amp modellers could go on to impact the gear industry in a similar way to Napster’s lasting effect on the consumption of music.

Growing numbers of big league artists are turning to brands like Neural DSP, Fractal, and Line 6 for their impressive amp modellers for touring and large shows. Though eliminating the need to carry around a hefty pedalboard while on the road sure is useful, it seems traditional pedal manufacturers are growing concerned with how such gear will go on to impact the sales of their traditional pedals and amplifiers.

• READ MORE: Metallica lawyer says Napster lawsuit was necessary to “set the ground rules for what music is worth”

For those unfamiliar with the infamous story of Napster, let us fill you in on the details: Napster was a peer-to-peer music sharing site that existed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, though reports suggest it will be returning in the form of an interactive music platform.

Around that time Lars Ulrich and his Metallica bandmates discovered that a demo version of their song I Disappear was being played on radio stations without their permission, which the group eventually traced back to Napster. The band’s entire catalogue was available to download for free on the site, leading to Metallica responding with a lawsuit, ultimately leading to its closure.

Some still argue that, despite its shutdown, the creation of Napster created a springboard for subscription-based streaming platforms to come along, which have drastically changed how we listen to music, and how we value its financial worth.

Speaking to Adam Wakeling on the Products of Music podcast, Brian Wampler believes a similar shift is occurring in the gear world: “I think, really, everyone in the pedal market is concerned. I think it’s going to take a big chunk of the market… as well as [create a] two-band market,” he says (via Guitar World).

Wampler feels there are “two paths” for manufacturers going forward: “You can always stick your head in the sand and ignore it and think, ‘It’s not going to happen to me,’ and then wonder what happens in five or 10 years. Or you can say, ‘It’s going to happen. I need to make a pivot here.’”

He later continues, “It’s analogous to Napster – for those who remember that, that’s where everybody who had music that you just uploaded to Napster, and now no one needs to buy any more music.

“So, the question is, ‘Well, what do you do?’ Eventually, Spotify forms, you know? I mean, is that good? Not if you’re an artist, it’s not good. Not really, not unless you’re just using the music as a marketing tool.”

Wampler’s move into adapting to the digital world has seen the brand release a line of plugins. Currently it sells three, which are virtual versions of some of its most popular physical pedals: The Terraform Multi Modulation, Metaverse Multi Delay, and its Catacombs Reverb/Delay.

Find out more about Wampler, or view its current range of plugins. 

The post Brian Wampler likens the rise of amp modellers to Napster’s impact on music: “I think it’s going to take a big chunk of the market” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols has broken his wrist, and the band have subsequently had to postpone their upcoming tour dates.

The Sex Pistols, fronted by Frank Carter, will eventually be rescheduling the shows they had planned across North and South America. The tour was announced back in March, with their North American run originally due to kick off at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas, on 16 September.

• READ MORE: “My father, a brilliant musician, didn’t believe in me”: Pete Townshend attributes his guitar-smashing antics to feelings of rejection from his father

In a post shared on social media, the band states: “We have some unfortunate news to share about our upcoming North and South American performances. We’ll let Steve explain what’s going on: ‘I’ve got some good news and bad news. What do you want first?

“‘Okay, the bad news: I’ve broken my wrist, so unfortunately we won’t be doing any shows for a while,’” says Jones. “‘The good news is the surgeon said I will be back playing guitar in the not-too-distant future. The other good news is I’ll be 70 tomorrow! God bless, and God save the wrist.’”

The band adds: “The performances will be postponed and rescheduled when Steve has fully recovered. Please check local venue websites and our social media for more information. We appreciate your understanding and support.”

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Jones recently discussed how Frank Carter has changed the live dynamic of the band in an interview with Guitar World. He told the magazine, “Frank’s a lot younger, so he’s got a lot more energy. He’s literally the best; I call him the ringmaster. He loves getting the crowd going; he goes crowd surfing and just takes the heat off of me, [Paul Cook] Cookie and Glen [Matlock].”

Carter is of course filling in for John Lydon, who has criticised the band’s decision to reunite with Carter on vocals. “He’s definitely not trying to be Johnny Rotten. He’s really something else, and he’s made it a lot of fun,” Jones said of the difference between the two.

“I’ve got nothing but love for John. He was brilliant back in the day, and I never would take that away from him. I would never deny it; he was fantastic. But I think we’ve just grown apart… l’ll never shut the door, but I don’t think he’d have the energy like Frank does, to be honest with you.”

The post “God save the wrist”: Sex Pistols postpone their North and South American tour dates due to Steve Jones’ injury appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Cory Wong and Mitarotonda go deep on jambands, feeling misunderstood, and more.

Sound the alarms, tell your neighbors, hire a banner plane: Wong Notes is back. Cory Wong’s beloved podcast returns after a healthy break, and this exciting comeback episode features Wong in conversation with Goose’s Rick Mitarotonda.

The Connecticut rock band’s guitarist and vocalist talks through the band’s origins and position in the jam-band and broader music scenes, and Wong and Mitarotonda debate an ancient, critical question: Can jam bands actually write great songs?

The duo talk through their philosophies on recording, staying sharp on your instrument, all-star moments and standout players in the jam community, and feeling misunderstood as an artist. Like a good jam set, there are plenty of rich tangents, fascinating rabbit holes, and unexpected insights, so tune in and keep your ears open.

At Blackstar, we believe great tone should be ready whenever inspiration strikes. That’s why we created BEAM SOLO — the most immersive, intuitive headphone amp on the market today. Whether you’re jamming at home, on the move, or just grabbing ten minutes of play time between everything else, BEAM SOLO gives you pro-level sound with complete creative freedom — wherever you are.

Designed for electric, acoustic and bass guitars, BEAM SOLO fits in your hand, plugs straight into your headphones, and delivers the sound and feel of a real amp. You can shape your tone directly on the unit using the tactile SpeedDial and Light Beam Display, which give instant visual feedback with no menus to navigate. Or you can take full control through the BEAM app, where a growing library of professional-grade amp, cab, mic and pedal models is waiting. Combined with our patented ISF, you can access an infinite number of tonal possibilities to explore, enjoy and create with.

With our unique and immersive ‘In The Room’ technology, we’ve made the headphone experience feel alive — like a real amp, in a real space. Every note resonates with depth and presence, making even silent practice inspiring. A single expressive control called XpressFX lets you control multi-layered effects in real time, with smooth transitions that feel natural when adjusting. We’ve also added a headset mic input with studio-quality preamps and reverb, so you can truly immerse yourself with both guitar and vocals wherever you are, and jam along to your favourite tracks seamlessly via Bluetooth audio.

In addition to the authentic Blackstar amp models, BEAM SOLO also includes Ampton – our collection of classic software amplifiers, designed at Blackstar HQ in Northampton UK – home to our world-class R&D department. Built on decades of experience in both valve and digital amplifier design, Ampton fuses authentic valve character with advanced digital algorithms, developed by a design team with a unique technical heritage. The name itself is drawn from Northampton, reflecting the roots of our engineers and the history behind the company.

Ampton designs are more than just static profiles, they are the result of meticulous design, testing and optimisation – component by component, sector by sector. Starting with Blackstar founder Bruce Keir’s original digital models of our legendary Series One valve amplifiers, every element has been refined over decades. This dedication extends to the tiniest tonal interactions, from cathode follower behaviour to the modelling of preamp DC offsets, ensuring unmatched realism, tone and feel.

Another unique aspect of the Ampton designs are the completely accurate tone-stack models. These retain the exact interactivity between controls as the valve amp references, to deliver musicality and interactivity that a mere “capture” snapshot cannot. The power amplifier models go beyond traditional emulation, recreating the true interplay between valves, output transformers and speakers.

Our method blends deep analysis and literally hundreds of hours of critical listening. AB sonic tests are matched with precise electrical analysis, while the design team use their decades of voicing expertise. Every nuance is considered while intelligent optimisation results in elegant algorithms with extremely low latency.

If you head over to the BEAM app, you’ll find Official Artist Patches to explore from an ever growing list of all-stars including Doug Aldrich (The Dead Daisies), Gus G. (Firewind), Will Sergeant (Echo & The Bunnymen) and many more. You can join in the fun and share your own tones on the online community and download other creators’ patches within a vibrant global community of players just like you. You can even share your favourite patches over message to your friends with just a simple tap.

Within the ‘Music’ section of the app, you’ll find a host of backing tracks and video lessons to make sure that you can stay inspired and continue your learning journey. The BEAM SOLO is a complete one-stop solution for guitar players today.

We designed BEAM SOLO to give every guitarist the freedom to play and create anywhere, instantly, and without compromise. Whether you’re shaping your sound with a twist of the SpeedDial or diving deep into your rig choices via the app, it always feels intuitive and immersive. You can record vocals, jam with backing tracks, or just enjoy the feel of a cranked valve amp in your headphones — all from a device that fits in your pocket.

We’re constantly adding new sounds and features to the BEAM app, so your rig evolves with you. With ISF, XpressFX, SpeedDial, Light Beam Display and community connectivity, BEAM SOLO gives you the tools to stay inspired, have fun and sound incredible — wherever you are.

On the heels of the excitement from the recent announcements of their upcoming 8th studio album and their Blackbird festival in Wales next summer, acclaimed rockers Alter Bridge are releasing the first piece of music in over two years, “Silent Divide.” The track from the quartet comprised of Myles Kennedy on vocals/guitars, Mark Tremonti on guitars/vocals, Brian Marshall on bass and Scott Phillips on drums shows the band is back and ready to pick up where they left off in 2023. The brooding track begins with the signature guitar tones of Kennedy and Tremonti before the rhythm section of Marshall and Phillips join in. The chorus is powered by Kennedy’s haunting descent as he sings: “Keep your head down, ride out the silent divide.”

A music video for “Silent Divide” is also available today that the band has been teasing for days. A comedic opening skit was released of Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips calling Kennedy’s mom to get the band back together as Myles hangs in his mom’s basement. That scene gives way to a performance of the 4 guys playing together in a small room – a throwback to the way it all started for them. The video was directed by JT Ibanez, and the song can be found in all formats here:

With more than two decades performing together, Alter Bridge show no signs of slowing down. The new, self-titled album from Napalm Records, Alter Bridge, is comprised of 12 all new tracks from the band and features some of their most iconic moments on record. Songs like “Rue The Day,” “Disregarded” and “Scales Are Falling” will fit alongside any of the classic songs from Alter Bridge’s catalog. “Trust In Me” shows Myles and Mark sharing vocal duties as Myles handles the verse duties while Mark takes the chorus. That strategy is flipped on “Tested And Able” as Mark handles the verses and Myles takes on the choruses behind one of the band’s heaviest intros to date, giving way to an unforgettable melody. The album closer “Slave To Master” is an epic track that Alter Bridge has come to be known for and is the longest song the quartet has recorded to date. The band worked with longtime collaborator and producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette on their eighth album. Alter Bridge will be released on January 9, 2026, and is now available for pre-order at: https://www.lnk.to/AB-AlterBridge.

The track listing for Alter Bridge is:

1) Silent Divide (5:06)

2) Rue The Day (4:46)

3) Power Down (4:08)

4) Trust In Me (4:48)

5) Disregarded (3:55)

6) Tested And Able (4:36)

7) What Lies Within (5:07)

8) Hang By A Thread (4:11)

9) Scales Are Falling (5:54)

10) Playing Aces (4:05)

11) What Are You Waiting For (5:00)

12) Slave To Master (9:03)

To coincide with the release of the new music, Alter Bridge is announcing a headline U.S. tour to accompany their already announced European tour. The band is heading out on the What Lies Within U.S. Tour featuring Filter or Sevendust and Tim Montana as support in select markets. The tour kicks off on April 25 in Orlando, FL and runs through May 24 where it wraps in Tampa, FL. Along the way, the tour will make stops in Dallas, TX (April 29), Chicago, IL (May 6) and Huntington, NY (May 12) to name a few. More information on all tickets and VIP packages for the upcoming tour can be found at www.alterbridge.com.

What Lies Within U.S. Tour

Apr 25 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues – TM

Apr 26 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy – 7D/TM

Apr 28 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center – F/TM

Apr 29 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom – F/TM

May 1 – Tulsa, OK – Skyline Event Center at Osage Casino Hotel – F/TM

May 2 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha – F/TM

May 5 – Green Bay, WI – EPIC Event Center – F/TM

May 6 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed – F/TM

May 9 – Atlantic City, NJ – Event Center at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa - F

May 10 – Boston, MA - Citizen House of Blues Boston – F/TM

May 12 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount – F/TM

May 13 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater - F/TM

May 18 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Roxian Theatre – F/TM

May 19 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit – F/TM

May 21 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle – 7D/TM

May 22 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company – F/TM

May 24 – Tampa, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center – F/TM

Previously announced What Lies Within Tour Dates

Jan 15 – HAMBURG, GERMANY – Sporthalle

Jan 17 – OSLO, NORWAY – Sentrum Scene

Jan 18 – OSLO, NORWAY – Sentrum Scene

Jan 20 – STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – Annexet

Jan 22 – HELSINKI, FINLAND – Ice Hall Black Box

Jan 24 – COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – KB Hallen

Jan 25 – BERLIN, GERMANY – Columbiahalle

Jan 27 – GLIWICE, POLAND – Prezero Arena Gliwice

Jan 28 – BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – Barba Negra

Jan 30 – VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Gasometer

Jan 31 – ZAGREB, CROATIA – Bocarski Dom

Feb 02 – ROME, ITALY – Atlantico

Feb 03 – BERGAMO, ITALY – ChorusLive Arena

Feb 05 – ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The Hall

Feb 06 – LYON, FRANCE – Halle Tony Garnier

Feb 08 – BARCELONA, SPAIN – Razzmatazz 1

Feb 10 – LISBON, PORTUGAL – Sagres Campo Pequeno

Feb 12 – MADRID, SPAIN – Palacio Vistalegre

Feb 13 – BORDEAUX, FRANCE – Arkea Arena

Feb 15 – LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG – Rockhal

Feb 17 – OBERHAUSEN, GERMANY – Oberhausen Turbinenhalle

Feb 18 – PARIS, FRANCE – Zenith

Feb 20 – MUNICH, GERMANY – Zenith

Feb 22 – AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Ziggo Dome

Feb 23 – BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – Ancienne Belgique

Feb 25 – NEWCASTLE, UNITED KINGDOM – Utilita Arena

Feb 26 – MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM – AO Arena

Feb 28 – DUBLIN, IRELAND – 3Arena

Mar 02 – GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM – OVO Hydro

Mar 04 – LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – The O2

Mar 05 – NOTTINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM – Motorpoint Arena

Jun 27 – CARDIFF, WALES – Blackbird Festival @ Cardiff Castle

Back in 2004, four lifelong musicians got together down in Florida. Even though they had traveled separate paths, similar lessons learned, wisdom earned, and dues paid united these gentlemen—Myles Kennedy [vocals, guitar], Mark Tremonti [guitar, vocals], Brian Marshall [bass], and Scott Phillips [drums]—as Alter Bridge. Over the ensuing two decades, the band endured countless trials and tribulations, defied every odd, and rose to the head of the pack as a hard rock juggernaut, cementing a singular legacy by selling out arenas, gathering nearly 1 billion streams, inciting international acclaim, and quietly attracting a diehard audience. Beginning with the Top 5 entry of 2004’s gold certified One Day Remains, the band have scored six consecutive Top 20 debuts on the Billboard 200. Among a myriad of highlights, Guitarist Magazine applauded “Blackbird” for the “Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time,” the ABIII single “Isolation” vaulted to #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart, 2013’s Fortress received rare perfect scores from KERRANG! and Total Guitar, and Walk The Sky shook the Top Rock Albums Chart at #1. Beyond packing O2 Arena and Royal Albert Hall, Classic Rock hailed 2022’s Pawns & Kings as “the Rolls-Royce of Alter Bridge records” in a 4.5-out-of-5-star review. Plus, the latter LP garnered praise from American Songwriter, Guitar World, and Loudwire, while Billboard christened them “one of America’s premiere hard rock quartets.” Channeling the same hunger, the band continue to push themselves on their self-titled eighth full-length offering, Alter Bridge [Napalm Records]. It embodies everything they’re known for such as the precise riffs, towering hooks, and solos that practically break guitar strings as they burst through the clouds.

Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters has reignited an age-old feud with Black Sabbath, snubbing the late Ozzy Osbourne in a new interview – and Ozzy’s son Jack isn’t too happy about it.

Speaking to The Independent Ink, Waters discusses how pop culture often diverts attention away from politics and humanitarian issues. He namedrops “Taylor Swift [and] Kim Kardashian’s bum” as unimportant topics the media uses to detract from vital topics – before, unfortunately, opting to lump Black Sabbath and The Prince of Darkness into the same category.

“It all doesn’t matter… and Ozzy Osbourne – who just died, bless him!” he adds to his list of media buzz topics. “Whatever that state that he was in his whole life, we’ll never know… He was all over the TV for years, with his idiocy and nonsense.”

• READ MORE: Birmingham University economists say Black Sabbath’s final show made £33.8 million from physical ticket sales

After already criticising the late musician, he also decides to criticise Black Sabbath’s music on the whole. “The music, I have no idea,” he says. “I couldn’t give a fuck!”

“I don’t care about Black Sabbath, I never did,” he announces. “I have no interest in ‘BLAAAAH!’, biting the heads off of chickens, or whatever they do. I couldn’t care less.”

Now Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away on 22 July just weeks after Sabbath’s grand Back To The Beginning farewell show, has responded by calling the former Pink Floyd man a “cunt”.

“Hey Roger Waters – fuck you,” he writes in a new Instagram post. “How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become. The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bullshit in the press.”

“My father always thought you were a cunt,” he adds. “Thanks for proving him right.”

This isn’t the first time Waters has shared his dislike of Sabbath’s music. Speaking in music magazine Melody Maker back in 1970, he critiqued the band’s debut album Paranoid, honing in on the album’s cover of Crow’s Evil Woman.

“Well, well, well… I’m speechless,” he said [via Louder]. “Well, almost. It’s got that kind of Dragnet, Peter Gunn, American detective series beginning. You keep thinking it’s going to start. You think that for the first minute but then, if you are really perceptive, you realise it isn’t going to start, and that’s all there is.”

It’s a comment that would stick with Sabbath for many years, with Tony Iommi even mentioning it in a radio interview with Planet Rock in 2017. “I used to read the slaggings we’d get and I’d just think ‘Why?’” he said. “There was one comment that really hurt and that didn’t actually come from the press. It came from Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters.”

“He reviewed Paranoid when it came out as a single because he was reviewing the singles that week for a music paper,” Iommi recalled. “He gave it such a terrible review. I thought ‘Blimey!’ Hearing that from a fellow musician seemed really harsh.”

The post “My father always thought you were a c**t”: Jack Osbourne slams Roger Waters for saying he “couldn’t give a f**k” about Ozzy Osbourne’s music appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Disturbed’s Dan Donegan has looked back on the band’s first ever set at Ozzfest, and how they managed to draw a crowd of “thousands” despite playing in broad daylight at 10am.

The travelling festival, founded by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, was launched in 1996. The idea for the fest was born after Sharon had tried to get Ozzy on the bill at Lollapalooza but was rejected, and decided that the pair should make their own festival that celebrated the best established and growing bands in metal.

• READ MORE: “Probably had a better chance of getting struck by lightning”: Watch Daron Malakian join System Of A Down covers band onstage in Chicago – it’s the stuff of dreams

Disturbed made their Ozzfest debut in the year 2000, when they played the festival’s second stage bright and early (in festival time, that is). Speaking to Guitar World for its new print edition, Donegan says it took the band to new heights.

“It was a steady climb, gradually going upward. I’ll never forget – our first show was in West Palm Beach in Florida, and we were the first band to open the second stage, which was basically a stage set up in the parking lot. There were so many good bands coming out at that time, so there was this friendly competition, with everybody trying to leave their mark.

“We were on at 10 in the morning, so we were like, ‘Is anybody even gonna show up?’ Sure enough, we start playing at 10am and nobody’s there yet,” he says. “The festival people said, ‘They’re coming in, don’t worry about it,’ and by the time we got to the second or third song, there were thousands of people watching us. It was great exposure, and it really helped launch our career.”

Speaking to Metal Hammer earlier this year, Sharon Osbourne looked back on the festival as one of her proudest achievements. “It was brilliant,” she said. “For 23 years, it was like summer camp. There was one band in particular who I just always adored, and I got the honour of working with them for a while, which was Motörhead [who played Ozzfest in 1998]. I just loved Lemmy to death.”

Of the festival’s success, she said, “It passed the torch. So many great bands came out of Ozzfest that are still going today and still so relevant.”

The post “We start playing at 10am and nobody’s there yet… Two or three songs in there were thousands of people watching us”: Dan Donegan on how Ozzfest helped “launch” Disturbed’s career appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Zakk Wylde has been reminiscing on his bond with Ozzy Osbourne, and has shared what their friendship was like outside of music.

Osbourne passed away back in July, just a matter of weeks after his giant final show with Black Sabbath in their home city of Birmingham, England. The monumental metal celebration brought in a total of £33.8 million in ticket sales, according to Dr. Matt Lyons of the University of Birmingham, and proceeds from the event were pledged to Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

• READ MORE: “They say never meet your idols, but that’s just not true. Sometimes you get lucky”: M. Shadows reflects on interviewing Ozzy Osbourne in 2017

Since his passing, friends, fans, and music figures alike have been sharing their stories of meeting or working with the Prince of Darkness. As one of his solo band guitarists, Wylde has spoken of the advice Osbourne used to give him, and why his excellent sandwich making skills kept him in Osbourne’s good books in a new interview with Guitar World.

“You’re always gonna learn along the way. You trust somebody, and then you get screwed on a business deal or whatever. When anything would happen, Oz would be like, ‘Zakk, I remember with Sabbath this or that…’ Stories about thinking someone was a good guy, and they end up screwing you over,” he says.

“Obviously, all of us live and learn on our own, too. But Oz would always be there for advice. He’d poke me in the eye, and I’d be like, ‘What was that for?’ He’d say, ‘Life’s tough. That’s why.’ [Laughs] I’d go, ‘Yeah, but I really didn’t need that.’ He’d go [in a British accent], ‘Oh, go make me a sandwich, light on the Colman’s [Mustard].”

Wylde followed in the footsteps of Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee within Osbourne’s band. Asked why he felt Osbourne chose him to take on the gig with such big shoes to fill, he jokes, “Because I went light on the Colman’s! Forget the guitar playing; the way I made ham sandwiches with the Colman’s was amazing.

“I was the Randy and the Jake of ham sandwiches and Colman’s,” he laughs. “With anything, if it works and it’s easy, that’s how it should be with bands and relationships. I mean, with your wife, your friends, anyone – if they don’t bring you peace, why are you with these people?”

The post “Forget the guitar playing; the way I made ham sandwiches was amazing!”: Zakk Wylde on the ‘real’ reason he was hired as Ozzy’s guitarist appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

€299/£265, crazytubecircuits.com

Vintage guitars are rightly held as some of the most inspirational tone-creating machines out there in guitar land. Vintage pedals, however, are often dismissed for being overly big and bulky, noisy and needing a power supply last seen powering a 1980s Casio keyboard. Yes, there are the well-trodden and bank-busting Tube Screamers and Klons, and much love for round Fuzz Faces abides on forums, but outside of a few classics, many of today’s players find these ‘quirky’ boxes are just too much to handle.

For others however, the quest for tone means they will tolerate the original pedals in all their idiosyncratic glory.

• READ MORE: EarthQuaker Devices Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter review – heavy fuzz tones with a voltage-starving twist

One such is the Tube Driver. Designed by BK Butler in 1983, it was initially developed from a circuit designed to overdrive keyboards – in the style of Deep Purple in the late 1970s. However, it was quickly refined as a guitar pedal and despite numerous versions over the years, remains a somewhat overlooked iconic pedal.

Relied on by players such as David Gilmour, Billy Gibbons and Joe Satriani, and a core part of Eric Johnson’s smooth violin-esque lead tone, original models are big, heavy, mains powered and, feature a real ECC83 inside giving oodles of juicy smooth gain to even a clean amp.

While Butler has once again began making Tube Drivers in very limited runs, he’s a one-man operation, so they’re both hard to get and pretty pricey on the used market. Thankfully for those of us without the patience to wait, Crazy Tube Circuits is here to help.

Crazy Tube Circuits Venus – what is it?

The Venus is effectively an attempt by CTC to cram all of that valve-powered goodness into a compact modern enclosure, complete with some refinements that you won’t find on the original – most notably a three-band EQ. It’s also less than half the size of the original Tube Driver, and you can power it straight off your pedalboard’s power supply (albeit with a 400mA current draw), which again, you won’t be able to do with the original.

As luck would have it, I happen to own an original vintage non-bias control Tube Driver that’s fitted with an ECC83 valve – what better way to see how the new kid on the block stands up?

Crazy Tube Circuits Venus – sounds

Despite the ‘real tube overdrive’ moniker of the original unit, I’ve always felt like Tube Drivers should be best approached like fuzz pedals, they work great at imparting huge walls of gain on even the cleanest amp, yet are quite tricky to dial in. Often their best tones, at least for anything other than rich compressed super-sustaining lead tones, are best found by working your guitar’s controls to dial them back a bit.

Owners of original units will debate endlessly whether higher gain ECC83 or lower gain ECC82 valves sound best so for their reworking of the classic pedal, CTC have used an ECC823 dual triode in their Venus as they felt this offers the best of both worlds, although users can swap out for any other dual triode should they wish.

Plugging my Strat into a Deluxe Reverb set squeaky clean is usually kryptonite for drive pedals, but with the Venus’ volume and drive set at noon I’m greeted with exactly the thick, harmonically rich lead tone I hoped for. Smooth, sustaining notes bloom and blossom into feedback as I turn up the volume.

Side by side, it’s perhaps a touch fuzzier around the edges compared to the original unit, but definitely a wonderful expressive tone that is more dynamic than the vintage pedal, cleaning up far better from my volume control.

Utilising the onboard bias control to presumably starve the valve of voltage, I can go from smooth to Velcro-esque spitty fuzz tones and all points in between. Special mention should also go to the addition of this powerful 3-band EQ – it offers a myriad of tonal tweaks not possible with the original unit, making it much more versatile as a result..

Crazy Tube Circuits Venus – should I buy one?

It’s very rare that a modern pedal is an improvement over the original, but for size, flexibility, tone and practicality, Crazy Tube Circuits may well have created a masterpiece here, a new Goddess of tone!

Crazy Tube Circuits Venus – alternatives

Bargain hunters looking for a Tube Driver fix may wish to seek out a TC Electronic Tube Pilot, which manages to pack a real ECC83 tube in for a frankly bonkers low price of around $67.90/£50. For a non-valve take on a similar tonal palette, you might be lucky and find a used Dover Drive by Hermida out there, but it won’t be cheap! The Butler Audio recreation of the original Tube Driver will cost you $299, but Butler makes them one at a time so prepare to be patient.

The post Crazy Tube Circuits Venus review – ”Crazy Tube Circuits may well have created a masterpiece” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.