General Interest

Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre has reflected on the pressure of recording solos before the digital age, noting that he only had “a couple of goes” at doing so during the making one of the band’s most successful albums.

During the recording of the title track of Aqualung, the band’s fourth album released in 1971, band founder Ian Anderson was apparently willing to replace the guitar solo with a flute solo instead, if Barre didn’t get it right within a couple of takes.

• READ MORE: “It’s good to be a little bit of a street gutter rat”: Lita Ford advises young players to do this instead of “Google guitar chords”

Asked if this is true in an interview for the print edition of Guitar World, Barre answers, “Yeah. [Laughs] It was never spoken of, but essentially, you had a couple of goes. You didn’t get 10 shots at a solo because the rest of the band had walked out; that’s what you got. If that’s the way it was for other bands, I don’t know, but we just didn’t do that.

“I remember reading about Brian May and how long he would take constructing his solos, like, days. It might not be true, but I was amazed. I could never have been there, and even today, it’s got to have that sort of inspiration. It’s got to have that fluidity, an instant improvisation,” he explains.

“I still do solos in one or two takes, and they’re going to be the best ones. If you overthink it, it starts to go downhill. That’s just me on my own. I mean… I could spend a month doing a solo if I wanted to, but I never, ever will.”

You can catch Martin Barre’s An Evening With Martin Barre & Friends tour throughout the UK this year – to get tickets, head over to his website. 

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Two Old Hippies Guitars, the parent company of Breedlove and Bedell Guitars, has announced the completed sale of the company to two Nashville-based artists and music industry advocates.

Pete Mroz and Shannon Pollard will now be looking after the acoustic guitar brands. In a press release from Breedlove, they are described as “two individuals who have each spent a lifetime immersed in music – as players, performers, and dedicated stewards of the musical community”.

• READ MORE: A pink acoustic signed by Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus has sold for $104,000 at auction

Pete Mroz is a singer-songwriter, formerly featured on NBC’s The Voice, who has long been part of the Breedlove and Bedell brands as an artist. Mroz brings “advanced business acumen” to the role, shaped by high-performing roles at brands like Ping Golf, Travis Mathew, and FootJoy.

Shannon Pollard, grandson of country music icon Eddy Arnold and founder of Plowboy Records, is a longstanding entrepreneur. Throughout his career, he has worked across music, design, and craftsmanship, including the award-winning Você community in Nashville, “where his passion for high-end woodworking and reverence for the natural landscape are deeply reflected”.

The duo will carry forward the legacy built by Tom Bedell, his team, and the generations before him. Bedell set up the Two Old Hippies brand alongside his wife, Molly. They purchased Breedlove in 2010, and subsequently relaunched Bedell guitars. Bedell is described as “a true believer – in peace, in music and in the relationship between the natural world and acoustic music making”.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Tom Bedell and the entire team for creating this foundation and vision for us to build on,” comments Mroz. “We can’t wait to get to know our partners, artists, community of players, and everyone who loves these instruments. This is a legacy we intend to honour and elevate.”

Pollard adds, “We feel a deep sense of responsibility and are honoured to help shape the future of these brands. This isn’t just a business venture – it’s a personal and passionate commitment to ensuring Breedlove and Bedell continue to inspire and serve players around the world.”

Operations continue uninterrupted. You can shop the current product ranges for Breedlove and Bedell Guitars via their respective websites.

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The move from brick-and-mortar stores to widespread online shopping has meant that brands can sell their products directly to consumers, without the need for middle men in the form of retail partners.

And while the shift certainly presents a threat to established music retailers like Guitar Center – with reputable brands like Fender and Gibson able to sell their instruments directly to musicians – CEO Gabe Dalporto isn’t worried, and instead sees it as an opportunity for his organisation to adapt.

• READ MORE: “Dude, come on!”: Tetrarch’s Diamond Rowe claims Slipknot’s Jim Root once asked her for guitar lessons

It’s worth noting, too, that retailers like Guitar Center face a threat not only from online direct sales, but from some of the biggest guitar brands opening up their own flagship stores, including Fender, Gibson, Yamaha and others.

Now, in a new interview with Guitar World, Dalporto suggests he isn’t phased by the modern-day challenges which may potentially affect his business.

“This is a competitive market. It always has been,” he says. “We welcome it. I think if we give an amazing experience, we win.”

Dalporto says that while Fender and Gibson may be pivoting to a direct-to-consumer approach, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll scoop up a significant share of the market. He cites sports brands who have tried the same thing to back up his point.

“Nike tried to go direct and tried to pull back from retailers,” he continues, “and Nike got crushed. It’s important, if you are a brand, to have those relationships with your vendors, but bring the competition on. I just think we have a much larger, more integrated experience. You can experience all the products, not just one.”

In light of the ever-changing market conditions, Gabe Dalporto has explained numerous times in recent months how Guitar Center plans to offer a unique experience to its customers. And one way it plans to do so is by featuring more high-end guitars on its shelves.

“We’ve unlocked all of our guitars, and I can walk in and grab a really nice guitar off the wall, plug it in to these brand new massive pedal tables,” Dalporto said in a conversation with YouTuber Phillip McKnight back in March. “Actual time spent in our stores is up 25% because of that.”

McKnight added his opinion that “Amazon is ineffective in every way at selling high-end guitars”.

“Fender used to try and sell high-end guitars on Amazon but they don’t even do that anymore, because no-one’s buying a $1,800 guitar on Amazon.”

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For years, the studio monitor has been the holy grail of mixing setups—treated rooms, perfectly placed monitors, and that elusive sweet spot. But what happens when you're on the move, working from home, or simply don’t have access to a tuned room? This is where high-quality headphones not only come in handy—they can be powerful mainstays in your workflow. Fortunately, we’re living in a golden age of headphone technology, where top-tier listening experiences are no longer tied to physical speaker systems or acoustically perfect environments.

There are several core benefits to working with headphones—especially when it comes to critical listening, portability, and budget efficiency.

Forensic Detail

One of the first things you'll notice when you start mixing on high-quality headphones is how much easier it is to hear subtle problems in your mix. Low-end muddiness, harsh sibilance, resonant frequencies, and overly wet reverbs—these details can get masked or skewed by reflections in an untreated room. With headphones, you’re hearing a direct feed of your mix, free from the room’s influence.

This level of forensic detail is especially useful when performing tasks like EQ cleanup, editing, or automation. You’ll be able to focus on problematic areas with more confidence, especially in the early stages of mixing when clarity is crucial.

Always in the Sweet Spot

Unlike speakers, which rely on proper room placement and listener positioning, headphones keep you permanently in the sweet spot. Whether you’re leaning back in a chair, lying on a hotel bed, or sitting in a quiet café with a laptop, you're still getting a centered, consistent stereo image and frequency response—a massive advantage for many mixers who don’t have access to ideal monitoring conditions.

Freedom From the Room

If your mix decisions are being influenced by poor room acoustics, you’re already starting from behind. Treating a room properly can be expensive, time-consuming, or impossible if you rent or are constantly moving. Headphones eliminate this variable almost entirely. When you mix on headphones, you’re not at the mercy of reflections, standing waves, or bass traps.

Especially for beginners, headphones offer a more reliable environment to learn in. You’ll be training your ears to hear the actual mix, rather than the room’s response to it.

Mixing on the Move

I learned this lesson the hard way—by necessity. While traveling frequently, I couldn’t count on consistent studio access. So, I started bringing two pairs of headphones with me everywhere: the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x ($149 street) for closed-back isolation and punchy midrange, and the Sennheiser HD650 ($499 street) for open-back transparency and spaciousness.

These two became my mobile studio, whether I was mixing on a tour bus, in a hotel, or grabbing a few hours between flights at an empty gate. The proof came when I got back home: I’d pull the mixes up on my main monitors, and they would hold up—often needing only minor tweaks (still critical). It was an empowering realization that I didn’t always need to be tethered to a room to do meaningful, professional work.

Reference Still Matters

Even with great headphones, referencing is still a key part of the process. Once I’ve done the bulk of a mix on headphones, I always check it on loudspeakers to make sure the low end translates, the stereo image isn’t overly wide, and there’s no listener fatigue.

You should also reference your mix against other commercial tracks—ideally in the same genre—on your headphones to calibrate your expectations and better understand how your mix sits in context.

The Budget Advantage

Let’s talk about money. If you’ve got less than $500 to spend and you’re deciding between entry-level monitors or professional headphones, go for the headphones. A great pair of cans will serve you far better than cheap monitors in an untreated room.

And if you’re curious about expanding your collection or exploring other options, keep an eye on other reputable brands like Neumann, Beyerdynamic, and Sony.

Each of these brands has a range of models catering to different budgets and tonal preferences, from analytical studio response to more musical listening curves. That said, it’s best not to get lost in specs—pick something with proven reliability and learn its sound inside and out.

As long as you’re mindful of your mix decisions, check your references, and develop an intimate familiarity with your headphones, you can make world-class mixes from virtually anywhere.

So, next time you’re packing your gear bag, don’t underestimate what a great pair of headphones can do for your mix. They might just be the most important investment you make.

Sharing with you David Byrne's new (yet to be announced) album coming this September 5th- his first in 7 years! Who Is The Sky? is produced by Kid Harpoon, and in addition to being incredible, it’s the exact antidote for the times. It’ll be out Sept 5th on his new label Matador Records and will be announced on June 10th along with a world tour.

The album builds upon the themes laid out by American Utopia, the album and tour but more specifically spelled out by the Broadway show and subsequent film. With this offering, David continues his exploration of human connection, optimism, and the potential for societal unity against the chaotic backdrop of the world. Who Is The Sky? is particularly cinematic, humorous and joyful but often with a lesson baked in. But most importantly, the songs are so David Byrne - they ride the razor's edge of avant-garde and accessible pop.

Since releasing his last solo album American Utopia over 7 years ago, David’s already iconic profile has risen even more. American Utopia went on to be a Broadway show and Spike Lee-directed film for HBO. He received his second Oscar nomination (he won for his work on “The Last Emporer”) for his song for “Everything Everywhere All At Once” with Mitski and performed at the ceremony. Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” was re-released by A24, bringing a whole new generation of fans to what many call the best concert film of all time. David and Fatboy Slim’s musical Here Lies Love, also made it to Broadway. And hopefully you saw David's recent performance with Robyn at SNL 50 - was such an incredible time!

One name to grace the monstrous lineup of Black Sabbath’s final concert, Back to the Beginning, is Mastodon, who alongside Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and more, will support the original Sabbath lineup as they bow out for one final time.

And as all the bands on the bill gear up for the show – which is now less than a month away – Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher has reminisced on the first time he and his bandmates played with Black Sabbath on tour.

• READ MORE: Didn’t get tickets to Black Sabbath’s final show? You can livestream it – here’s how

Mastodon toured with Black Sabbath back in 2005 as part of Ozzfest, but as Kelliher recalls, the moments he had to interact with the band were few and far between.

“Those guys are pretty well-padded,” he says in the new issue of Guitar World. “They’re kinda like fine china at this point. They’re not rubbing elbows with the common folk too much [laughs]. But I remember sitting down with [drummer] Bill Ward a couple of times, and he had nice things to say about us.”

Asked whether he had the opportunity to talk to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi or Geezer Butler, Kelliher says he met Ozzy “for a second”, but “both of us had a few substances in us”.

“The only time I spoke to Mr. Iommi was when we were accepting an award in London, 10 or 12 years ago; he was accepting an award, too,” he says.

“We were all standing there and were going to perform a couple of songs. He was about to accept his award, and it was dark behind the stage; as he was getting ready to walk out, instead of being like, ‘Hey man, you’re my favourite guitar player, let’s get a picture,’ I was like, ‘Watch out for that cable running across the floor!’

“He was like, ‘Oh yeah, thanks, dude.’ That was my interaction.”

But despite his limited interaction, Kelliher is quick to note how much he’s inspired by Iommi.

“They’re the quintessential heavy metal band,” he says. “They’re like the original fucking metal band, really, in my eyes. His playing influenced just about every metal riff you’ve heard. Whether you want to admit it or not, he created a lot of those iconic harmonies.”

Black Sabbath’s farewell show, Back to the Beginning, takes place 5 July. For more info, head to blacksabbath.com.

The post “They’re not rubbing elbows with the common folk too much”: Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher reveals he didn’t even meet Tony Iommi when the band supported Black Sabbath on tour appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Billy Duffy isn’t one to keep his vintage guitars locked up in a box, and would rather them be functional “work tools”.

For this reason, The Cult guitarist feels the tuners fitted on a vintage model make a huge difference, and will swap them out with upgrades if needed – and he did just that on his original TV Yellow 1950s Gibson Les Paul Junior.

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Speaking to Guitar World in its new print edition, Duffy says, “I remember the first time I saw the New York Dolls on television, in 1973, on [the British TV series] The Old Grey Whistle Test. [Johnny] Thunders wasn’t playing a Junior – I think it was a Vox Teardrop – but the TV Yellow Junior became synonymous with him after that.

“Sylvain Sylvain, interestingly, was playing a single-cutaway White Falcon [the Gretsch model synonymous with Duffy],” he recalls, “so there’s a big part of my guitar journey right there on that clip.”

Further speaking on the Junior, he adds, “I actually don’t remember how I got the Junior. I was always trading up to get better guitars – around that late ’70s/early ’80s I only really ever had one guitar at a time… It was an original ’50s model. The Junior would’ve been totally stock, except the original tuners, which were rubbish. I only ever buy guitars that are players; I don’t need something to be totally authentic if it’s not functional.”

Duffy continues, “I do have a little of the approach where I treat them as work tools rather than sacred objects, though I understand the value of authenticity in the vintage market. But if the tuners are no good, the guitar is no good, so it had Grovers, which were an upgrade. This was the guitar I used to audition for Theatre of Hate.”

Billy Duffy is touring with The Cult across Europe this June. You can view the full list of scheduled shows via his website.

The post “If the tuners are no good, the guitar is no good”: Billy Duffy on what’s really important for a vintage guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

As one of the most promising nu metal bands in the scene right now, Atlanta four-piece Tetrarch have deservedly caught the attention of some of the genre’s biggest names.

Seriously, listen to the likes of I’m Not Right and Freak and you’ll see why…

• READ MORE: Didn’t get tickets to Black Sabbath’s final show? You can livestream it – here’s how

To date, the band have released three studio albums – the latest being The Ugly Side of Me, which landed in May this year – and supported such heavyweights as Avenged Sevenfold, Seether and Alter Bridge.

But for guitarist Diamond Rowe, her most treasured endorsement will no doubt be the time Slipknot’s Jim Root asked her for guitar lessons.

In a new interview with Stereoboard, Rowe recalls the time she received a DM from the Iowa outfit’s #4.

“I got messaged by Jim Root and he was like, ‘Dude, you need to give me guitar lessons!’ I was like, ‘OK, dude, come on!’ I was like, ‘How about we exchange guitar lessons?’”

Even for a guitarist as decorated as Jim Root, Diamond Rowe’s signature glitchy DigiTech Whammy-flavoured leads clearly proved too alluring not to try and add to his toolbelt.

Elsewhere in the interview, Rowe speaks about her and her bandmates’ ambition for the future, despite their success so far.

“When we were just 11, we were like, ‘We want to be one of the biggest bands in our genre,’” she says. “I don’t want to sit around and celebrate our new album for too long, because there’s still a lot to do. We want to play bigger shows and bigger tours and become a household name, and do this until we can’t do this anymore.”

Listen to the lead single, Never Again (Parasite), from their new album below:

Both Tetrarch and Slipknot are touring Europe in June. Visit tetrarchmusic.com and slipknot1.com for more details.

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Johnny Marr has spoken of his adoration of late guitar legend Rory Gallagher, particularly of the “purity” and “integrity” of his playing.

In a new interview with the Irish Mirror, the Smiths guitarist reveals he’s just added a new decorative item to his studio: a poster of Gallagher performing at the Rainbow Theatre in March 1973.

• READ MORE: “We have a young man, a local young man from Liverpool, who’s going to play with us tonight”: Watch Bruce Springsteen bring out Paul McCartney at Liverpool show
  

“It’s a sweet picture,” Marr says of the poster, as he commemorates the month of Gallagher’s death 30 years ago, when he passed away at just 47.

Marr notes how the Irish guitarist has long been a big inspiration of his, noting his “integrity” and “purity” as a player. “It’s all very well doing that with lasers and banks of keyboards, but when you’re doing it with a really beat-up old guitar and beat-up amps in jeans and sneakers, without all the bells and whistles, it’s pretty powerful,” he says.

Marr says “as an idealistic young musician that was really alluring” and that this fed his desire to become a professional musician at an early age, well before he founded The Smiths. “I was such a big fan of him as a teenager. Not only did I enjoy his music and loved his shows, but I kinda clocked him in a way of carrying yourself as a musician.”

“There was more to him than just show business”, Marr goes on, “It was almost something religious. You knew there was a vocation there.” It was a “live by the guitar die by the guitar sort of philosophy, which turned out to be quite prophetic.”

It was Gallagher’s vocation that would later become Marr’s own when he founded The Smiths with Morrissey, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce in 1982.

In other news, earlier this year, a statue commemorating Rory Gallagher was unveiled in Belfast, but many fans weren’t exactly happy with how it looked.

One user on Instagram compared the statue’s appearance to comedic actor “Weird Al” Yankovic, while others criticised the appearance of the Tele, suggesting it looks as though it has six low E strings. Another comment on X read, “nice tribute, poorly executed”. One Facebook commenter wrote: “Great talent. Brilliant performer. Bloody awful statue!”

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Michael Anthony says his one regret is how things ended between him and Van Halen, and that he wishes they’d have gone out with a bang.

Anthony – who played bass in Van Halen and was replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang – left the outfit in 2006. Though Anthony joined fellow ex-Van Halen member Sammy Hagar on his recent Best Of All Worlds tour and Las Vegas residency, he didn’t actually get a chance to make amends with Eddie before his passing in 2020.

• READ MORE: “Oh man, I’ve really been playing a lot of cello!”: Sammy Hagar claims Eddie Van Halen was spending a lot of time playing an instrument that wasn’t guitar before he died

During an episode of Get On The Bus, Anthony says (via Ultimate Classic Rock): “The only regret that I have is how things, unfortunately, turned out for Van Halen. It should have gone out with a fricking bang that shook the world, and it was more like a whimper, the way everything ended.”

He continues, “Unfortunately Eddie and I never [made amends]. We had some issues, and I’m sure that if he had not passed when he did that we would’ve reconciled or we would’ve really calmed all that stuff down, because I did hear, and I’ve talked to Wolfgang about it, that they were planning on coming to all of us and putting together a big reunion tour with all of us.

“And at that point in Ed’s life, I think he was a little bit more, like, ‘Hey, the past is the past. Let’s all… ‘Fricking water under the bridge,’ that whole bit,” he says. “But, unfortunately, it was not to be.”

Last year, Anthony spoke of his bond with Wolfgang in an interview with Sally Steele, and said that building a friendship with him offered him some “closure” on his disagreements with Eddie. He also clarified that he held no grudges against Wolfgang for taking his position within the band.

“We’ve always been friends,” he said. “Eddie, he wanted to play with his son. The way I kind of feel is that Wolfgang probably wasn’t excited, really, about being in Van Halen.”

He added, “That’s why in his band, he doesn’t play any Van Halen, ’cause he wants to carve out his own niche. But just to be able to get up and play with his father, I can totally understand that.”

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As far as surprise guests go, few would top an appearance from an actual Beatle. And that’s exactly what happened during Bruce Springsteen’s recent Liverpool show on 7 June, when he brought out none other than Paul McCartney to help him play two tracks.

“You’re lucky tonight,” the Boss told the Anfield crowd. “We have a young man, a local young man from Liverpool, who’s going to play with us tonight. I think he has a lot of talent, and I believe he’s gonna be going places…”

• READ MORE: A pink acoustic signed by Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus has sold for $104,000 at auction
  

Backed by Springsteen’s E Street Band, the pair performed covers of The Beatles’ Can’t Buy Me Love and Little Willie Littlefield’s Kansas City. The appearance marked the first time Paul McCartney has played live in Liverpool since 2018. Watch the moment below:

There had been some speculation from fans the day before, after the two were spotted at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, founded by McCartney in 1990. Springsteen was presenting a guest lecture here, according to mxdwn, and was introduced by The Beatles songwriter. For Springsteen, “Being in Liverpool and playing with a Beatle” was a “dream come true, right there”.

Springsteen fans were also given a generous encore by the American songwriter, which included Born in the U.S.A., Glory Days, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark and Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out. Springsteen is currently on his European Land of Hope and Dreams tour, with this gig being his second in Liverpool.

This is not the first time that the pair have duetted together. Springsteen joined McCartney in 2022, where they played tracks by The Boss like Born in the U.S.A. Glory Days and early Beatles hit I Wanna Be Your Man. Macca also joined Springsteen for his headline slot at Hard Rock Calling back in 2012, making this a rare – but not totally unexpected – treat.

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