Music is the universal language
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
General Interest
“I could put a record out right now”: John Mayer says he’s written enough songs to make a new album – but here’s why he’s not going to do it
Despite what the media would have you believe, it’s not easy being a rockstar. Years of effort go into a good album, and, when it comes out, there’s endless travelling, touring, and promotion junkets to endure. Rockstars are human too – and sometimes they need a break.
John Mayer is the latest rocker to admit that he needs a “breather”. While songs are easily “coming out of [Mayer]”, he’s yet to construct the follow up to his 2021’s Sob Rock. “I don’t know when it’s coming out,” he tells People. “But I’ve been going around making music, touring, making music, touring for a lot of years, and I think it would make sense at this stage in my life [to] just take a breather.”
Considering Dead & Company’s 30 date residency at Last Vegas’ Sphere only wrapped up last month, it makes sense that Mayer wants a break. Rather than running on empty, he’s taking the time to recoup, allowing himself to enjoy the songwriting process without the pressure of deadlines.
“I’m [figuring] out when I want to do it and how I want to do it,” he explains. “So I’m enjoying just taking it day-by-day and doing the projects I love.”
Of course, Mayer is still a songwriting machine, noting that he has “enough songs that [he] could put a record out right now”. However, he’s just not in the mood to tour right now. “If I put a record out right now, I would want to go on the road, and I just want to take a minute and practice this newfound ‘going with the flow’,” he explains.
He clarifies what this means, noting he has to learn to let life and inspiration “happen”, rather than forcing himself down a strict path. It is something he admits he is having to “relearn all the time”.
While Mayer is in no rush to release another record, he already has some festival performances booked in for September and October, including California’s Palm Tree Festival and Nevada’s Rise Festival.
The post “I could put a record out right now”: John Mayer says he’s written enough songs to make a new album – but here’s why he’s not going to do it appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Ty Myers Rig Rundown
The TikTok star goes legit on his latest tour with some plum Strats, a Two-Rock, and a masterbuilt pedalboard.
When Ty Myers got injured a few years back and couldn’t play sports, he took to posting videos of himself on TikTok. Before long, his song “Tie That Binds” went viral on the platform, blasting him to overnight-star status. Now, with his debut album, The Select, under his belt, the 18-year-old is taking his songs on the road to packed-out rooms.
PG’s John Bohlinger linked with country’s newest wunderkind at the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis to see how he brings his old-time-meets-new-world country to life onstage.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
San Antonio Strat
This Fender Stratocaster, the first nice guitar Myers bought himself, was purchased from a guy in a Home Depot parking lot in San Antonio, Texas. Myers swapped in Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups, and he strings it with Stringjoy .010s.
Eye-Catching Custom
If Myers played slide, it’d be with this Custom Shop Master Built Strat, built by Dale Wilson. He went to Carter’s Vintage in Nashville with another instrument in mind, but this one caught his eye, and he had to have it. He kept the pickups it came with, and pretty soon he intends to have the action lowered.
Barry’s Bond
Myers got his first Gibson SJ-200 around the age of 10, and this one, a gift from label executive Barry Weiss, is his current go-to. It’s got an LR Baggs pickup system and goes direct to front-of-house.
Package Deal
Myers’ biggest hero is John Mayer, so it tracks that he went after this Two-Rock Silver Sterling Signature. He saw this one at Carter the same day he bought his Custom Shop Strat, and didn’t even plug it in—he just bought it along with the Master Built.
Ty Myers’ Pedalboard
Myers’ stomp station was built by the pedal professors at XAct Tone Solutions in Nashville. After the Dunlop Volume (X) Mini and the Peterson StroboStomp LE, Myers’ signal hits an Origin Effects Cali76, JHS Pedals Berkeley, Keeley Katana, Analog Man/Boss GE-7, Greer Lightspeed, MXR Duke of Tone, Browne Amplification Protein, Keeley Noble Screamer, Boss VB-2w, Boss TR-2, JHS Flight Delay, and EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master. A Strymon Zuma and Strymon Ojai keep the lights on.
Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt Stratocaster
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master
“Johnny B. Goode with Marty McFly himself”: Aerosmith shares previously unseen footage of Steven Tyler jamming Chuck Berry with Michael J. Fox – who’s wielding an appropriate guitar for the job
Surfin’ Safari, Japan-Style: Meet the Intermark Cipher Surfer
It’s about that time of the year when the family goes “down the shore,” as they say in my part of the world, for our annual vacation. We’ve been all up and down the East Coast shoreline, from Maine to South Carolina, but we usually settle in Delaware and all the quaint little escapes to be found.
Personally, I don’t really do much at the beach except meditate and people watch. Sometimes I don’t even bring a chair. Instead I just scoop out a “recliner” in the sand and ponder all sorts of musings. I’m fascinated by ocean living, and have wondered what it would be like to live at a house where you have to tie down your garbage cans so they don’t float away in a flood. At one point in our vacation we experienced a horrific thunderstorm and I had my son convinced that our car might float out into the ocean since we were right near the water. Good times!
So a few weeks ago, there I was on a Delaware beach thinking about life and how if I could choose to live anywhere or be anything, like a start-over, I think I would’ve enjoyed living along the shores of California and being a surfer. An idealized version, I suppose, but it seems cool in my mind. Of course I’d have to be 30 years younger, 50 pounds lighter, and operate with some semblance of balance, but hey, endless summers, baby!
In 1966 there was an awesome surfer documentary called The Endless Summer that chronicled a global search for the perfect wave. Director Bruce Brown’s film was filled with a cool soundtrack and the whole endeavor created a phenomenon of sorts which featured travel, music, culture, and a lifestyle that I just adore.
“Why would you associate a 12-string with surf music? The ’60s were different times.”
There were already plenty of surf bands at that time, such as the Ventures and Dick Dale, who embraced mostly instrumental music. That really appealed to fans around the world because the language barrier didn’t exist. And of course, there were a plethora of guitar ads that combined surfing with instruments. But sitting there in Delaware, I got to thinking about guitars that had “surf” in their name. There were newer models like the Charvel Surfcaster, but I was having a hard time coming up with vintage guitars. And then, just like a lightning strike during that coastal storm, it hit me … the Intermark Cipher Surfer from 1965!
For about two years, the Shinko Gakki Company in Japan produced electric guitars in the Tatsuno Lake region (which is a great spot to visit). Shinko guitars were mostly sold in Japan but most of the electrics sold in the States were imported by the Intermark Corporation in New York. Intermark imported all sorts of stuff from Japan and often the Cipher name was attached to products. Hence, the long-ish Intermark Cipher guitars. There were all sorts of configurations, such as basses and 12-strings along with a number of pickup configurations and, sometimes, super-cool colors such as yellow, green bursts, and wonderful glitter finishes. Now the rub here is this: They labeled the 12-string the Surfer. Why would you associate a 12-string with surf music? The ’60s were different times.
The Surfer did turn out to be an excellent guitar anyway, mainly because Shinko really tried to make solid instruments when it came to build quality, and especially the great-sounding pickups. Modeled after Italian EKO units, Shinko decided to make these pickups a little stronger with the 12-string. The body shape is reminiscent of a curling wave, I suppose, with its exaggerated offset points. But the first thing I noticed when playing the guitar was that the neck was really robust. On some 12-strings I often find my fingers cramped on the fretboard, but the Intermark Surfer had plenty of room because the fretboard was wide and the neck was deep. I never worried about this guitar going out of tune. Two volumes and one tone knob were paired with simple on/off switches for each pickup, and an overall fine bridge was enough to make the Byrds play surf music!
“He has this really old black acoustic that everybody has signed. It’s got Johnny Cash’s name scratched into it, and he had me sign it”: How a rite of passage led Margo Price to etching her signature onto a guitar next to a country legend’s
“One day, when I was learning to play guitar, I was stomping around the house because my playing was in a rut. My dad, who's a great guitarist, said something I’ve always remembered”: Dimebag Darrell on the priceless playing advice he got from his father
“If two guitarists are too similar it gets bland”: Warren Haynes on how to create “magic” in a band
From The Allman Brothers Band to Gov’t Mule, it’s no secret that Warren Haynes is an axeman to be reckoned with. However, his dynamic blend of blues, rock and jazz has been refined by his fellow guitarists – because the true “magic” of performing is only revealed once you find the perfect collaborative partner.
According to Haynes, a strong guitar partnership brings out the best in both parties. “[You need] the right mix of contrast and similarity,” he tells Classic Rock. “If two guitarists are too similar it gets bland; too different and it can clash. But when there’s that balance, something magic happens.”
Haynes has been lucky enough to find his perfect muse in guitarist Derek Trucks. “Derek and I have been playing together for so long we almost don’t have to think about it,” he explains. “We can finish each other’s musical sentences. There’s trust, respect, shared philosophy about what music is. You need that – and a healthy amount of competition, but not one-upmanship.”
It’s a view Haynes has parroted time and time again; guitarists need to be able to listen to one another and work together. It’s not about being the best and standing out, but about adapting and working with those around you.
“To play music to the best of your ability, you have to learn how to listen to everyone else while you’re playing and adapt to that – even if it’s just from a tuning standpoint, or what register you’re playing in standpoint, or rhythmically,” he told Sweetwater back in March. “That’s the key in improvisational music, without question,”
“If you’re just concentrating on your own part and you don’t realise that the rhythm section is kind of laidback or pushing, then you’re adding to the problem,” he continued. “So, I think musicians that improvise on a certain level are all deeply listening to each other. All the years that I played with The Allman Brothers, that was the key ingredient – being locked in, together.”
Haynes’ upcoming record, The Whisper Sessions is set to drop this September. The record will serve as a “companion piece” to 2024’s Million Voices Whisper, comprised of solo and duet alternative takes on each track. “When I listened back, I thought there was something unique about hearing the songs in that raw, singer-songwriter form,” he tells Classic Rock. “Then Derek and I recorded a version of Melissa – just one take – and someone suggested putting it al out as a release.”
Pre-order The Whisper Sessions now before it arrives 12 September.
The post “If two guitarists are too similar it gets bland”: Warren Haynes on how to create “magic” in a band appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“Mesa/Boogies have what they call ‘suggested settings.’ I have it set for death metal”: Why Walter Trout uses a metal setting to dial in his blues guitar tones
“They asked me and I declined. There’s no way I’m gonna be involved in that”: Ace Frehley on his current relationship with Kiss
![[L-R] Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ace-Frehley-Paul-Stanley-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
Despite being a founding member, Ace Frehley was nowhere to be seen throughout Kiss’ End Of The Road World Tour – because the glam rockers rescinded his invitation.
According to Frehley, him and founding drummer Peter Criss were both originally set to perform at Kiss’ final Madison Square Garden show in December 2023. “About nine months… both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were saying, ‘We’re going to bring everybody out on stage,’” he tells Guitar World. “And then, a few months before the concert, they both changed their tune.”
Considering Frehley previously reunited with the band in 1996, fans were confused as to why Frehley did not perform at Kiss’ final show. And he would have, if the Stanley and Simmons hadn’t changed their minds.
Some rather rude comments only added insult to injury, too. “Paul went on to say, ‘If Ace and Peter got on stage with us, the band could be called Piss,’” Frehley recalls. “So, I kind of got into an argument with him.”
Following the snub of being uninvited to Kiss’ final show, the guitarist is understandably less keen to involve himself in Kiss-related projects. Most recently, Frehley has declined the invitation to attend Kiss’s Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas. “They asked me and I declined,” he explains.
The event in question, which is set to take place this November, pales in comparison to the grand Madison Square Garden send-off. “There’s no way I’m gonna be involved with that, you know?,” he says. “Their biggest mistake is that they should have done that at Madison Square Garden, not in Las Vegas in a 5000-seater, or whatever it is.”
However, Frehley isn’t entirely ruling out working with Kiss in the future. While the invitation to attend Kiss Kruise (which isn’t even a cruise this year) may feel insulting, he still loves his Kiss family. “I’m the kind of guy that never says never,” he says. “I don’t hate Paul or Gene, you know? We’re rock and roll brothers – and Peter, too. So, anything can happen.”
Regardless, Frehley is continuing to focus on his own work. He explains he’s “having too much fun doing my own thing” at the moment. “Maybe I’ll eventually get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist,” he notes.
Kiss are set to perform two unmasked sets over the course of the three day Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas event. The sets will feature all but Eric Singer from the final Kiss line-up, with Simmons, Stanley, and Tommy Thayer on lead vocals. But remember – Kiss have broken up. They’ve definitely broken up. Yep.
Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas will take place 14-16 November. You can grab tickets now.
The post “They asked me and I declined. There’s no way I’m gonna be involved in that”: Ace Frehley on his current relationship with Kiss appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“Though this 15W combo is technically advertised as a practice amp, it can churn out some serious sonic damage”: EVH 5150 Iconic Series 15-watt 1x10 Combo review
Meet Jesse Welles, Fiery Folksinger on the Rise
“Dave's a good storyteller, but there's some truth in between the showmanship”: Sammy Hagar believes David Lee Roth’s story about being visited by the ghost of Eddie Van Halen
“Randy Bachman called me up and said, ‘I found my guitar. I can tell you how I did it’”: 60 years after he sold it, Neil Young has been reunited with his Squires Gretsch 6120 – thanks to a little help from Randy Bachman
“A class act, delivering fat, smooth and richly textured fuzz that can attain a fierce edge”: ThorpyFX Hanami Germanium Fuzz review
“Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for players at every level”: Squier’s 2025 Classic Vibe drop has arrived – with some head-turning new configurations
When Fender announced its Standard Series – the cheapest new Fenders you can buy – at this year’s NAMM Show, many industry watchers wondered about the future of the Fender-owned Squier brand, which has long made affordable, entry-level alternatives to Fender’s classic guitar designs.
Indeed, earlier this year, Fender’s EVP of Product Justin Norvell revealed the brand had briefly considered replacing the entire Squier line with Fender-branded instruments, but ultimately realising there was “so much equity in the Squier brand name”, so it would have been “crazy to get rid of that”.
Yep, it certainly doesn’t look like Squier is going anywhere, and the brand has just launched a plethora of new additions to its Classic Vibe line, which offers ‘50s-, ‘60s- and ‘70s-inspired instruments with period-correct aesthetics, tones, neck profiles and more.
There’s 10 new models on offer, with a selection of new finishes and hardware options that are sure to make even the most hardline Fender purist tempted by its budget sister brand.
“At Fender, we’re always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible within the world of instrumentation – for players at every level,” notes Justin Norvell.
“We’ve built this range to inspire creativity and elevate the playing experience in every genre. We’re proud to carry forward our legacy by continuing to shape the future of music whilst also paying homage to our heritage and the traditions that got us here in the first place.”
First to stand out in the drop is the new Custom Telecaster SH outfitted with a Bigsby tailpiece, just below a classic vintage-style Tele bridge plate. The Bigsby, in this case, features a string-through design for easy restringing – welcome, no doubt, for less advanced guitarists – and a floating bridge with barrel saddles for optimal tuning stability.
The Classic Vibe Custom Telecaster SH Bigsby is a tribute to the double-bound body Tele models of the late ’50s and ’60s, complete with Fender-designed alnico single-coil bridge and humbucking pickups.
Credit: Squier
Two new Stratocasters join the Classic Vibe lineup: a ‘50s-inspired one with a stable hardtail bridge and string-through-body design for “optimal body resonance”, and a ‘70s hardtail bridge-fitted HSS model, with ‘70s-inspired headstock markings, nickel-plated hardware and a slick vintage-tinted gloss neck finish.
Credit: Squier
There’s also a new Jazzmaster, Esquire and even the return of the Duo-Sonic, an offset design with a single coil/humbucker pickup configuration, complete with a short 24” scale length.
Credit: Squier
The drop also makes room for the bass players, with a new ‘60s Jazz Bass, Active ‘70s Jazz Bass, Telecaster Bass and Active ‘70s Jazz Bass V.
Credit: Squier
For more information on the latest Classic Vibe models, head to Squier.
The post “Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for players at every level”: Squier’s 2025 Classic Vibe drop has arrived – with some head-turning new configurations appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I can’t believe the pick scrape became a thing. It was born by mistake”: Gojira’s Joe Duplantier on the origins of his trademark technique, playing Ozzy Osbourne’s final show – and what he’s got cooking with ESP
“My friend told me if I go to a folk club I have to know how to play Angi. When I played it, they said they haven’t heard it in 10 years!” How seven years of busking and Nick Drake’s influence were the making of England's new folk guitar hero Chris Brain
“The Japan team is free to create guitars with a fresh perspective”: Fender Japan remains a mystery to the western world. I went behind the scenes and found out why its guitars are so radically different – and what’s stopping them reaching the US
EarthQuaker Devices Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter review – heavy fuzz tones with a voltage-starving twist
$189/£189, earthquakerdevices.com
Ah, how nice it is to be able to talk about EarthQuaker Devices in the context of some pure bouncing-bunny-rabbits good news: the launch of a really tasty fuzz pedal.
It’s tempting to think the deathly skulls adorning the Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter are a reference to the grim future of the American stompbox industry – the Ohio company’s CEO Julie Robbins has been one of the loudest voices warning about the potential impact of the Trump tariffs on EQD and other makers – but the artwork is actually a tie-in with the Rancho de la Luna recording studio in Joshua Tree, California. It’s cute anyway. Macabre, but cute.
David Catching with the Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter. Image: Dalton Blancho
EarthQuaker Devices Dirt Transmitter – what is it?
On the inside, this is not a new pedal: the Dirt Transmitter was one of the first fuzzes EQD ever made. It was brought back last year in a limited-edition Legacy Reissue, and now it’s been re-reborn.
Loosely based on the Fuzz Face circuit, it has something that’s been cropping up on a lot of dirt pedals recently: a bias knob, letting you lower the voltage to the two 2N1711 silicon transistors for sputtery gating effects. The other controls are the standard-issue level, tone and fuzz; it’s true bypass and has a soft-touch footswitch.
Image: Vice Cooler
EarthQuaker Devices Dirt Transmitter – sounds
Conventional wisdom says silicon fuzzes sound bright and raspy compared to their soft and fluffy germanium counterparts. Well get ready for some unconventional wisdom, because the Dirt Transmitter is about as dangerously abrasive as a duvet.
It’s not muffled, but the treble response is fundamentally moderate even with the tone knob maxed out. The bottom end, in contrast, is thoroughly well rounded, while the mids have the smooth, slightly scooped character of a classic Fuzz Face – albeit without the same looseness in playing feel. It sounds extremely pleasant with the fuzz around halfway, scuzzy but sweet with the guitar’s volume turned down a couple of notches, and sludgily colossal with everything at maximum.
Turn the bias down too far and things get spitty in a way that really isn’t musical, but the right half of the dial is well worth exploring for subtly tightened-up tones with an element of ripping texture and, on single low notes, good old-fashioned squelch. It’s this extra dimension, in the end, that might just leave you wondering why the Dirt Transmitter was discontinued in the first place.
Image: Vice Cooler
EarthQuaker Devices Dirt Transmitter – should I buy one?
You might be inclined to buy this pedal because you appreciate EarthQuaker’s efforts to raise awareness of the existential threat facing the US pedal-making industry. You might want to buy it just because you think EQD is a cool company… or because you’re a Day Of The Dead obsessive and it’s got skulls on it. But no, let’s get serious: you should probably buy the Dirt Transmitter because it’s excellent.
EarthQuaker Devices Dirt Transmitter – alternatives
Two of the pioneering voltage-starved fuzz pedals of the 90s are still around in one form or another: the ZVEX Effects Fuzz Factory Vexter ($199/£189.99) and, an evolution of the Lovetone Big Cheese, the ThorpyFX Field Marshal (£209.99). Or if you really are all about the skulls, your other option is the superb Flattley DG Fuzz (£259).
The post EarthQuaker Devices Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter review – heavy fuzz tones with a voltage-starving twist appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Death By Audio Introduces Crossover Fuzz
Pages
