General Interest

What would you do if you were one of the few lucky souls in the world who owned a Dumble amp? Probably not take it to a guitar retreat and let a bunch of strangers plug into it.

Though that’s exactly what Robben Ford did, as session ace Andy Wood reveals in a recent conversation with Rick Beato.

In their chat, Wood recalls the time Ford attended his Woodshed Guitar Experience: a four-day retreat in Crossville, Tennessee that brings together top-tier players and gear-loving guitarists for an immersive, no-frills hangout.

• READ MORE: JHS discontinues NOTADÜMBLË pedal after less than a month – after Josh Scott admits his “biggest mistake I’ve ever made”

“It’s a four-day weekend. We hard-limit it to a hundred people, and we bring in five or six of the best guitar players on earth,” says Wood [via Guitar World]. Previous guests have included Eric Johnson, Joe Bonamassa, and Andy Timmons, with Paul Gilbert and Mark Lettieri on the upcoming September lineup.

The vibe is intentionally relaxed. Think: late-night jams by the lake and live bands instead of backing tracks (“no iPad garbage,” Wood quips). Just “bad dudes from Tennessee” and 100-watt amps roaring into the night.

Still, nothing quite prepared Wood for what happened in the retreat’s second year, when Robben Ford rolled in.

“He’s a sweetheart and a monster player,” says Wood. “He comes in and I was like, ‘Hey, Robben, what kind of amp do you want me to have backline for you?’ And he goes, ‘I’ll bring an amp.’ He shows up with Dumble #102.”

For the uninitiated, Ford’s Dumble #102 isn’t just rare – it’s the stuff of tone legend. Built by the late Alexander “Howard” Dumble, these mythical tube amps were revered for their rich harmonic character and tight dynamic response. Ford’s own unit ranks among the most iconic, alongside those played by Larry Carlton and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

That said, what truly made the moment unforgettable wasn’t the amp itself but rather, Ford’s willingness to share it.

“I’m teaching a class and I have my phone in my pocket and it buzzes like, ‘Hey man, Andy, come down to the stage three and see about Robben’s amp,’” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, somebody poured a beer in it!’ I’m stressing out.”

“I get down there, and Robben’s sitting laidback, chill, smiling, and the campers are playing his amp. And I come over to him like, ‘Brother, you don’t have to do this.’ And he’s so sweet. He’s like, ‘No, man. They were all asking about what it felt like, and what it sounded like, so I figured it’d be best to let them play.’”

“That can never happen with 600 people,” Wood continues. “[But] you put 30 people in a room, that can happen. And that’s what it’s all about.”

The post What kind of maniac brings a Dumble to a guitar retreat – and lets everyone play it? Robben Ford, apparently appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Boutique pedal maker Resistor Head has never exactly played it safe when it comes to design, but their new limited-edition drop is as loud politically as it is sonically.

Meet the FUCK ICE overdrive pedal, a fully functional stompbox that doubles as a middle finger to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

• READ MORE: Fender adds two new affordable Hammertone pedals and a new “ultra-precise” tuner to its stompbox lineup for summer 2025

The release was announced in an Instagram post this week, and the pedal is now available for pre-order via the company’s website. While the guts of the unit are identical to Resistor Head’s existing ACAB pedal (no points for guessing that acronym), this version arrives with new graphics and a clear message.

Priced at $150, or $5 more than the original ACAB, the difference in cost goes to the National Immigrant Justice Center, an organisation that provides immigrants with vital legal assistance.

“That $5 will be donated… to provide immigrants with legal help,” says the brand.

As with the ACAB pedal, FUCK ICE is a clone of the Fulltone OCD, minus the association with Fulltone founder Mike Fuller, who’s been widely criticised for his public comments online. In the words of Resistor Head: “It’s a Fulltone OCD clone, offered for people who don’t want to support Mike Fuller of Fulltone for any of his documented offenses.”

The design blends elements of various OCD iterations (particularly versions 1.4 and 1.7), with some modern upgrades. Those include an internally bypassable output buffer with a trim pot to dial back the high end frequencies to deliver a warmer sound, if desired.

“The original Fulltone OCDs had output impedance issues that caused the tone of the pedal and output volume to change depending on the input impedance of the next activated pedal in the chain. My update eliminates this issue but still enables you to dial in the warmth that buffers can remove,” says the firm.

Visually, the pedal features professionally UV-printed graphics, topped off with a glossy, raised finish for a premium feel – in case you want a pedal that screams “FUCK ICE” in big bold letters to also look sharp on your board.

Learn more at Resistor Head.

The post “F**k ICE” guitar pedal launched by Resistor Head to raise funds for immigrant legal aid appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

UK music retailer guitarguitar says it is welcoming applications from employees who have been made redundant from PMT, following the chain’s entry into administration last week.

In a new post on social media, the retailer writes: “We were saddened to hear about the recent job losses at PMT. At guitarguitar, we understand how challenging redundancy can be, and we want to offer our support to the hardworking staff affected.”

• READ MORE: “Clone me, you bastards!”: Iced tea with Ozzy Osbourne’s actual DNA now for sale at $450 a pop
  

It goes on: “If you have recently been made redundant from PMT are are passionate about music, retail or customer service, we encourage you to apply for opportunities with guitarguitar.”

It explains that those affected by redundancy should send an application “whether we have an open role which currently matches your skills and experience or not”.

The retailer says prospective employees should visit the vacancies page on its website, or email a CV to jobs@guitarguitar.co.uk.

“Join our team of employee-owners and continue to share your passion for music,” the statement concludes.

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The closure of PMT was a significant loss for the UK music retail industry, as it was the largest brick-and-mortar musical instrument chain in the UK with 11 stores, as well as the fourth largest in terms of revenue. PMT explained that the current retail climate presented challenges that “proved too difficult to overcome”.

The announcement of PMT’s entry into administration was sudden, and all of its stores were closed with immediate effect, with 96 employees being made redundant. 48 people were retained to assist administrators. The retailer’s remaining stock was sold to another UK-based musical instrument operation, Gear4music, to the tune of around £2.4 million.

In the wake of the news, which follows the similar recent closures of GAK and Bax Music, YouTuber KDH offered his opinion that UK musical instrument retail was “heading towards a monopoly”.

“Small retailers close down, and now even the bigger retailers close down because they can’t compete with online prices, well, what’s gonna happen?” He asks. “You’re gonna be left with one or two who might have started out cheap, but then when there’s no competition, raise the prices up.”

The post guitarguitar is welcoming applications from those made redundant from PMT appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The Ozzy Osbourne merch machine has entered a truly bizarre phase. Hot on the heels of his upcoming Where’s Ozzy? seek-and-find book, the Black Sabbath icon is now offering fans the chance to own cans of iced tea infused with his actual DNA.

• READ MORE: “As far as the media goes, heavy music isn’t popular”: Ozzy Osbourne thinks the mainstream press is ignoring the massive popularity of metal

That’s right. In collaboration with canned water brand Liquid Death, Osbourne has unveiled a limited edition run of ten cans dubbed “Infinite Ozzy”. Each one has reportedly been sipped and lovingly contaminated by the Prince of Darkness, before being lab-sealed and signed for good measure.

The price? A modest $450 per can, because nothing says rock ‘n’ roll like highly collectible, semi-hydrated human essence.

“Clone me, you bastards,” Osbourne commands in a statement. And apparently, that’s more than just a punchline.

“Yes, we really got the Prince of Darkness to drink from 10 cans of our low-calorie Iced Tea,” Liquid Death confirms. “And yes, he actually crushed each can himself. In the process, he left behind trace DNA from his saliva that you can now own. He even hand-signed each packaging label.”

The company also declares that “once technology and federal law permit, fans can use this DNA to try to clone Ozzy in the future and enjoy him for hundreds of years to come.”

The release is, of course, timed perfectly – just ahead of Ozzy’s final show with Black Sabbath, which takes place 5 July in Birmingham, England. Whether you drink it, frame it, or cryogenically store it in your garage lab, one thing’s clear: rock memorabilia may never get weirder than this.

Learn more at Liquid Death.

The post “Clone me, you bastards!”: Iced tea with Ozzy Osbourne’s actual DNA now for sale at $450 a pop appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Do you play bass? Can you rock a bowl cut and nail every note of Come Together? Well, you may want to audition to be the next Paul McCartney for the popular tribute band, The Bootleg Beatles.

Having formed back in 1980, the tribute to the Fab Four have played over 4,500 gigs, and are due to play at Glastonbury festival this June. They’ve even formerly supported Oasis, notably during their famous Knebworth show on 10 August 1996.

• READ MORE: “The Beatles are above and beyond anything that anybody’s seen in music over 200 years”: Gene Simmons names The Beatles as some of the greatest musicians of all time

The band consists of Stephen Hill as George Harrison, Gordon Elsmore as Ringo Starr, and Paul Canning as John Lennon. Steve White, who has played as McCartney for over 10 years, is due to retire later this year.

On Instagram, they write, “We’re very sad to announce that Steve White, our fab Macca for over 10 years, is retiring from full-time touring with BB’s this autumn. He has been an outstanding contributor to this wonderful BB ‘institution’ and we all wish him well with his future musical projects.”

If you manage to land the role, you’ll be touring with the band from autumn. Anyone with the right skills can apply, but you must have “the look, the voice, bass guitar and keyboard skills”. You’ll also need to be prepared to commit to full-time touring.

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In other Macca news, he recently joined Bruce Springsteen at his Liverpool show on 7 June to play The Beatles’ Can’t Buy Me Love. The appearance marked the first time that McCartney has played live in Liverpool since 2018.

If you’d like to apply to The Bootleg Beatles, you’ll need to send a CV, photos, and video/audio clips to auditions@bootlegbeatles.com – you can also find out more about the band via their official website.

The post Could you be the next Paul McCartney? The Bootleg Beatles need a new bassist appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Marcus King has teamed up with Gibson on his second signature guitar, the Marcus King ES-345 Sixties Cherry.

Inspired by his treasured 1962 ES-345, affectionately known as Big Red, this latest model is a tribute to the iconic six-string passed down through three generations of King’s family.

• READ MORE: “Bring the competition on”: Guitar Center CEO says he’s not afraid of big brands like Gibson and Fender selling products direct

Originally introduced as a Custom Shop-only release in 2021, the new ES-345 now joins Gibson’s core Artist model lineup in a streamlined version that reflects King’s personal playing preferences.

Finished in a bold Sixties Cherry, the guitar keeps things simple and focused. Notably absent are a whammy bar and Varitone switch – features found on the original – which were deliberately omitted in favour of “only the features that Marcus finds essential”.

That includes mono wiring, two Custombucker humbuckers, and a fixed Vibrola tailpiece to enhance tuning stability while maintaining the vintage aesthetic. Other classic ES-345 appointments remain, such as the 3-ply maple/poplar/maple body, a solid maple center block for sustain and feedback resistance, and gold hardware throughout – including an ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and Grover Rotomatic tuners with kidney buttons.

The guitar’s mahogany neck features a rounded profile that averages .875” at the first fret and .975” at the 12th fret, while its Indian rosewood fretboard features acrylic split parallelogram inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets.

A Graph Tech nut and a custom stud anchor cover round out the build. Each guitar also comes shipped in a Gibson hardshell case.

For King, the connection to this model is deeply personal: “The guitar for me as a kid was a release, an escape, a best friend, and a babysitter,” he tells Gibson. “I don’t really like talking about myself, but it being my grandfather’s guitar really helps me feel like I’m able to carry on his legacy. I want to share with everyone else what he shared with me.”

The Gibson Marcus King ES-345 Sixties Cherry is now available for $9,499.

Learn more at Gibson.

The post Marcus King and Gibson reunite on a stripped-back ES-345 in Sixties Cherry appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Acclaimed guitarist, educator, songwriter, and all-around-great-human Adam Levy is back on the Fretboard Journal Podcast!

We talk about his new instrumental album, ‘Household.’ We discuss the concept behind this record, his desire to expand his band beyond the trio format; the unorthodox recording process he used to make the album; drummer Griffin Goldsmith (Dawes); and so much more.

It’s a fun chat with one of our favorite musicians.

https://adamlevy.bandcamp.com/album/household

Watch the FJ’s new documentary with Ben Harper here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5crA4bqLv8

We are brought to you by:

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com
(Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

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https://fretboardsummit.org/ (August 21-23, 2025 in Chicago!)
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The post Podcast 505: Adam Levy Returns first appeared on Fretboard Journal.

Essence-GA4

The Essence Series offers a pure acoustic guitar experience. By focusing on core elements, we’ve crafted a guitar that delivers exceptional sound and playability at an affordable price. The solid torrefied Sitka spruce top produces a rich, warm tone, perfectly balanced by mahogany back and sides. The intricate herringbone rosette and purfling add visual appeal, while the Fishman preamp system ensures your sound remains clear and vibrant, even on stage. The Essence Series offers the perfect blend of value and performance to suit your style.

Today, I was thinking about the differences between players and collectors. Like, how do you view your passions when it comes to the guitar? Right now, I play a little and collect a little, but that’s changed over time. Some players scoff at the idea that they are collectors just because they buy and sell a ton of gear, always searching for some tone or sound. Others revel in the idea of collecting and having a trove of gear stacked like cord wood, basically insulating their homes! And yet, there remains another classic of the genre where there is either delusion or confusion—a hazy, gray-area group.

There was a time when I was a faithful responder, meaning I answered every email or query that came my way. I was in the habit of coming home from work, making dinner for everyone, and then retreating to my basement where I would spend a few hours researching and answering questions related to guitars. Sometimes I would simply be a librarian answering with facts, and other times I would play psychologist by assuring people of purchases and potential buys. It was here that I discovered the haziness of us guitar folk, the ones caught betwixt and between.

For instance, the players were often the coolest peeps. They asked the fewest questions and often looked at instruments as tools. Collectors also didn’t ask many questions, because this group was looking more at rarity, resell, and looks—like art collectors! But the group of people in between those designations couldn’t figure out what they were. They often thought of themselves as gigging musicians, but I think most rarely left the house. This group of guitar enthusiasts were as eclectic and bizarre as the guitars!

Here is where I encountered someone we’ll call “Bob.” Bob could go either way when it came to our conversations. Bob had discovered my website and was particularly interested in vintage Italian electrics; he would send extremely long emails that went this way and that. He told me about his grandiose exploits and how he was a studio musician (which he wasn’t), and he would often ask the same questions over and over, even though I had answered him beforehand. Anyway, things became totally surreal when I posted a picture of a recent find, an Imperial Tonemaster 30V that was made by the Italian Crucianelli Company in the mid 1960s.

In short, Italian electrics had a so-so run of imports to the U.S. Most of the companies in Italy were making accordions, and many of them switched to guitars in the early ’60s since the supply chains were already in place. But pretty soon the Italian guitars were pushed out of the market by Japanese competition. The Italian electrics were also pricey, right in line with some Fender electrics of the time. Finding these old Italian guitars can be difficult, and I’ve only ever had about 12 examples in my collection. Most of the Crucianelli guitars I had were rather well-made, but often electrically complicated, as in all the push-button combinations you can see on this model. Perhaps the two coolest things on this guitar are the pickups, which are amazing mini-humbuckers, and the finish. It’s really hard to photograph, but it’s like this zig-zag, black-and-silver, television-static pattern that’s just gonzo—like pearloid gone wild, in the true style of the Italian designers. Of course, when Bob saw the pic of this guitar, he had to have it.

“Sometimes I would simply be a librarian answering with facts, and other times I would play psychologist by assuring people of purchases and potential buys.”

Somehow, Bob knew that this particular pearloid finish was rare, and he basically obsessed over it, saying how it would “pop” on stage. Then the incessant questions: How does it sound? Aggressive and crunchy. How does it play? Not too well. Is the case original? Don’t know. What do the switches do? They activate the pickups. And so on, and so on, every day the same questions about the smallest details. Was he seeing cracks in the finish? Why wasn’t there a zero fret? What’s the fretboard radius? Are the frets nickel or steel?

It never ends with these Bobs. Mostly, they’re just tire kickers with some sort of compulsion; this gray group of Bobs never seem happy, and I’d guess they just want to be heard, but I don’t know for sure. Now that I think of it, they’re sort of gonzo gray—like the finish on this Imperial Tonemaster!

Punch Brother and friend of the podcast Chris “Critter” Eldridge drops by to talk about the great Tony Rice. Not only is Rice one of the most reputable legends of bluegrass guitar, he also served as Eldridge’s mentor.

Eldridge, who paid tribute to Rice in 2022 with the Punch Brothers’ Hell on Church Street, shares his firsthand stories of listening to music with Rice on his home stereo and taking his legendary guitar to a jam session. Plus, he shares his Tony Rice listening list.

Line 6, Inc. has introduced the Helix® Stadium Family of products. Leveraging powerful DSP and the entirely new Agoura™ modeling methodology, they deliver extraordinary sound and responsiveness, a sophisticated yet intuitive user interface, and unparalleled control capabilities. The Helix Stadium Family includes the Helix Stadium XL Floor and Helix Stadium Floor processors, the Expand D10 digital I/O expansion unit (VDI, L6 LINK™, and other connectivity), the EX2™ expression pedal/toe switch, and the Helix Stadium Backpack.

"Helix Stadium XL Floor and Helix Stadium Floor are in many ways a new type of product,” said Eric Klein, Chief Product Design Architect. “In addition to featuring the best-sounding, most powerful, and most flexible processing Line 6 has ever offered, they can serve as performance workstations that aim to upend the way you approach playing—whether that’s writing and learning songs, jamming with friends, or controlling your band’s entire stage rig. And most of all, they’re fun to use.”

The flagship Helix Stadium XL Floor and the streamlined Helix Stadium Floor feature high-resolution 8" touch screens, high-contrast OLED scribble strips (XL only), the ability to morph between ultra-authentic and idealized amp sounds with a single control, 8-channel audio interfaces, Matrix cue mixers, and Showcase™ automation and playback engines that enable them to serve as the centerpiece of entire stage setups.

Whether you are a current Helix owner seeking to further your sonic adventure (your Helix/HX® presets can be loaded into Helix Stadium), or you are considering upgrading from another modeler, or even if you are a traditional amp and effects player intrigued by the convenience and nearly unlimited tone-crafting possibilities offered by multi-effects—Helix Stadium can help you realize your musical vision.

Pricing

U.S. customers can expect to see advertised prices starting at $1799.99 USD for Helix Stadium Floor, $2199.99 USD for Helix Stadium XL Floor, $219.99 USD for Expand D10, $149.99 USD for EX2, and $249.99 USD for the Helix Stadium Backpack. For customers outside the U.S., please contact your local Line 6 retailer for pricing information.

 Availability 

Starting on June 25th, you can reserve your Helix Stadium online and in stores. Helix Stadium XL Floor will be available Fall 2025, and Helix Stadium Floor in Winter 2025.

We continuously work with our retailers in the U.S. and in international markets to ensure our customers have experiences that reflect the quality of the Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. brands. To protect our retailers’ ability to offer top-of-the-line customer service and education, Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. unilaterally established a minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policy for the advertisement of certain Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. products by its retailers in the U.S.

Learn more at:

https://line6.com/helix-stadium

Like so many pedals that became legends, the Klon Centaur spawned legions of copies and imitators that possess unique virtues all their own. You can now count Keeley’s new Manis among the Klon-inspired stomps that took a great idea and shaped something uniquely awesome in the process. As far as klones go, it’s a great one. Tested alongside a very accurate klone that I use as a benchmark in Klon tests (it was A/B tested with a real-deal Klon once owned by my colleague Joe Gore), the Manis was virtually a mirror image, and often a more satisfying one for its slightly less compressed voice.

One of the most practical attributes of good Klon-style pedals is the relative ease with which they pair with very different rigs. The circuit’s inherent ability to span mellow boost and ferocious, chugging distortion while maintaining dynamic response and detail makes it an invaluable tool for coping with luck-of-the-draw backlines and adjusting to venues of varying size. With options to use germanium transistor clipping and a bass boost, however, Manis multiplies this multifacetedness considerably.

The Deadly Manis

Germanium clipping diodes are, of course, among the most critical parts of the original Klon’s architecture, and the Manis sounds beautiful and accurate in germanium-diode mode. But when germanium transistors take over the clipping function, the character of the pedal changes perceptibly. The Manis is audibly and tangibly less compressed, there’s more air and space in the output, and it’s easier to summon extra grit from your signal by changing pick intensity. You might hear a little less focus in germanium transistor mode, which can adversely affect the pedal’s ability to slot in a busier mix. But in isolation, the germanium transistor clipping sounds and feels much more awake and dynamic. The ability to switch between the two also makes the Manis more versatile when stacking with fuzz and other overdrives, and merely flipping between clipping modes could significantly recast the personalities of Big Muffs, Fuzz Faces, and even other klones without diluting their essence.

“The Manis is audibly and tangibly less compressed, there’s more air and space in the output, and it’s easier to summon extra grit from your signal by changing pick intensity.”

Switching in the bass boost, which gives the Manis a 3 dB kick one octave below the circuit’s usual cutoff frequency, also adds a significant breadth to your available tone spectrum. It can lend warmth to the most authentically Klon-like voices in germanium diode mode, or lend an almost Marshall-like sense of oomph to a signal without compromising much in the way of dynamics.

Ultimate Klon Killer? The Keeley Manis Overdrive Demo with John Bohlinger | First Look

The Verdict

If the Manis was merely a klone that hewed close to its inspiration, it would be an admirably authentic example of the breed. But the bass boost and transistor clipping modes make the Manis a potentially invaluable survival tool for any player that faces changing amplifiers, venues, and recording situations, and needs to extract the most utility possible from every pedal. It might well be the only klone you ever need.