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Iconic British string manufacturer Rotosound is proud to reveal a fresh redesign of its electric andacoustic guitar string packaging. The new look delivers a clean, modern feel while paying tribute tothe brand’s rich legacy of serving music’s rebels, rule-breakers, and pioneers. Rolling out thismonth with the Rotos product line, the updated packaging will appear across other lines in thecoming months.

At the heart of the redesign is a celebration of Rotosound’s storied heritage. Created in-houseusing the company’s own archives of catalogues, advertisements, and vintage string packs, the artwork draws directly from designs dating back to the 1960s. For example, the Jumbo King, TruBronze, and Super Bronze sets repurpose graphics directly from one of the company’s earliest string packs. The aesthetic also draws inspiration from the visual language of early British rock and punk — including album art from Decca Records and the use of bold typography — connecting the new look to a lineage that includes The Who, Pink Floyd, The Clash, and The Damned.

Function Meets Familiarity with a Splash of Color

One of the key goals behind the packaging refresh was to improve product differentiation.Previously, many Rotosound string sets shared a similar visual identity, making it hard to distinguish between different lines — for instance, a regular gauge nickel set like Roto Yellows and an acoustic Tru Bronze set. The new designs give each line a unique visual identity, making it easy for players to find exactly what they need at a glance.Despite the fresh appearance, brand familiarity has been carefully preserved. Longtime Rotosound users will recognize the brand logo, gauge information, and key descriptors in their familiar positions. The British flag still adorns each pack — now in a clearer, refined form —representing the company’s proud tradition of UK manufacturing since 1958. Still using airtight foil pouches — containing the strings, a silica gel sachet, and nothing else — Rotosound’s packaging remains one of the industry’s most eco-friendly, with 90% less packaging material than other packing methods.To further streamline the experience, gauge-specific colour coding now links sets across different lines. For example, all 10–46 gauge sets, regardless of series, share a yellow theme;9–42 sets are pink.

Notably, packaging for the acoustic sets now match the colour of the string material itself, allowing players to connect what's on the outside with what they’ll find inside.

Designed with Players in Mind

Rotosound consulted players and retailers to better understand what information was most valuable on the shelf. The result is a dedicated product information box, placed uniformly across the new packs, which makes it easier to compare materials, instruments, and tonal profiles.Short, descriptive summaries have been added to help players understand each line’s sonic characteristics, whether they’re chasing warmth, brightness, or vintage feel.

New endorsees have also been added to Rotosound’s impressive artist roster of legendary and contemporary acts — from Jimi Hendrix to Blur, AC/DC to Idles. Last but not least, a QR code on the back of each pack links to extended product details, recycling advice, and GPSR compliance information, giving players more insight — and more options — than ever before.

Rolling Out from the Factory to the World

The new packaging is shipping now, beginning with the Rotos line. Other sets — including BritishSteels, Jumbo King, Tru Bronze, and more — will update gradually as retailers replenish their stock. Players around the globe can expect to see both old and new designs side-by-side on the shelves of Rotosound’s dealers across the world during this transition period.

Our columnist Barry O’Neal of XAct Tone Solutions revisits compression. Now that you know what those knobs and switches do, it’s time to add some seasoning.

In my last column, we talked about compressor basics, so now you’re totally comfortable with all the compressor controls. You’ve cracked the code on what all those little knobs and switches do and now comes the real fun: figuring out how to actually use the thing.

Maybe more than any other effect, compression is a type of seasoning, and like salt, the line between tastefully enhanced and completely ruined can be a thin one.

Clean Tone Glue
If you play clean, or even edge-of-breakup, compression might be the secret sauce you didn’t know you were missing. A compressor in front of your amp smooths out dynamics, helping every note ring with equal authority—great for funk rhythms, arpeggiated picking, and those bell-like Strat runs that just need a little more shimmer and staying power. Compression reins in dynamics, unifying your sound and gluing it together.

Country players have stuck with compression for decades. And not just any compression—often high ratios and fast attacks with liberal makeup gain to keep those percussive chicken-pickin’ runs present without being overwhelming.

Tightening Dirty Tones
You might think compressors are only for clean tones, but they can actually bring order to the chaos of an overdriven rig. Place a compressor before a dirt pedal or amp and it can tame uneven pick attack, keeping the signal more consistent. While compression can help make up for a slightly undisciplined right hand, don’t stop those picking exercises cold turkey. Too much compression into distortion can flatten your dynamics.

Some players also run compressors after overdrive. It can be a more surgical application, less about sustain and more about volume consistency. Think like a mastering engineer, and subtly control the chirps and squawks that fast, articulate playing sometimes produces.

Sustained Leads Without SaturationWant sustain for days without drowning in distortion? Try compression. By squashing the initial transient and boosting the tail of the note, a compressor can keep a solo singing even at lower gain settings. Add in some delay and reverb and you’ve just entered the realm of David Gilmour. Origin Effects’ SlideRIG stacks two compressors in series to add obscene amounts of sustain without getting into Soldano levels of distortion.

“One of the keys to understanding compression is experimentation.”

Want a cheat code for expressive lead playing? Try a lower ratio with a low threshold and longer attack. The lower threshold will mask the compression effect. You’ll retain articulation while getting more sustain than your amp can usually muster on its own.

Rhythm Precision
In the world of rhythm guitar, especially in funk, pop, or modern gospel, compression is your timing assistant. It helps keep chord stabs consistent in volume, enhancing the sense of groove. Fast attack and release times tighten up the transients, making you sound more locked-in. Don’t dismiss this use as a crutch for the weak. Instead, think of it as a finesse tool that allows the player to further clarify what good technique has created.

One of the keys to understanding compression is experimentation. Don’t be afraid to twist knobs. In fact, get used to over-twisting knobs, turning them past the useful setting and to the extremes where the effect is overdone and beyond good taste. Note the timbre changes at that extreme setting, lock into them, and try to stay locked in as you roll the control down to a more reasonable level. This type of ear training can help you identify what the compressor can do for you and how each knob can be manipulated to arrive at subtle squish while avoiding the super squashed.

Compression is one of those effects that, when dialed in just right, makes everything feel easier at your fingertips and more polished in your ear. The trick is knowing what you want before you start turning knobs. A compressor affords you so much control, it’s easy to get in the weeds if you rush headlong into adjustments.

Need more sustain? Tame a spiky tone? Control volume swings? Add some glue? A compressor can do all that and more, but only if you take a moment to move from seeing it as a mystery box and start using it like the tool it is. Get comfortable experimenting, and remember: If you’re not sure it’s on, but everything just sounds better, it’s probably working.

Fresh off a substantial break and a live acoustic recording from Paris’ infamous catacombs, hard-rock titans Queens of the Stone Age stormed back to life this spring with an American tour, including back-to-back nights in Boston at Fenway’s MGM Music Hall.

PG’s Chris Kies snuck onstage before soundcheck to meet with guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and get an in-depth look at the guitars, amps, and effects he’s using this summer.

Brought to you by D’Addario.

Echopark Shark

Van Leeuwen started working with Echopark Guitars luthier Gabriel Currie around 12 years ago, and this custom De Leon model is the product. It’s nothing fancy, says Van Leeuwen, with a walnut bolt-on neck and single-coil bridge/humbucker neck configuration, but it’s just made well. This one is tuned to C standard and strung with a custom set of Dunlop strings (.012–.058).

TVL’s RIY (Relic It Yourself)

This is the first-ever prototype of the signature oxblood Jazzmaster that Van Leeuwen received from Fender’s Custom Shop, and it also carries his first attempt at writing out his own signature. (It got better.) Van Leeuwen relic’d it himself with hard playing and natural wear and tear. It’s got a Mastery bridge.

Double the Jazz

This is number two of two double-neck Jazzmasters produced by Paul Waller at Fender’s Custom Shop. The bottom 6-string neck is essentially the Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster, while the top splits the difference between an Electric 12 and a Telecaster, with a single-coil Tele pickup in the bridge and an offset pickup in the neck. A selector at the top toggles between top, bottom, or both signals, and basic controls for tone, volume, and pickup selection stay at the bottom.

Exploiter

This Echopark Explorer-style, nicknamed the “Exploiter,” came from a love of ’80s Ibanez and Hamer guitars. On its way back on a boat from Europe, it got exposed to seawater, which helped Van Leeuwen out with the relic’ing.

Van Leeuwen also packs a custom Echopark modeled after an old Teisco electric and a custom Fender 12-string Telecaster. Van Leeuwen hints that he’s been working with Squier to make an affordable version of the 12-string Tele.

A GMI PSA

Along with Currie and GMI’s Sean Romin, Van Leeuwen helped develop the GMI Public Address Systems 33F6. He describes it as having the power section of a Fender and the preamp section of a Marshall Jubilee. It’s a great pedal platform.

Van Leeuwen runs two 33F6s plus a Vox AC30. One 33F6 has his dry signal, and the AC30 carries the wet, while the second 33F6 carries wet lead signals. One cabinet is dedicated to the dry signal, while the other cab has one 12" speaker for the AC30 and two 12" speakers for the lead 33F6 signal. Three Austrian Audio condenser mics capture the signals.

Troy Van Leeuwen’s Board

All of Van Leeuwen’s pedals go through loops, with a RJM Mastermind PBC/6X and Mastermind GT/16 handling the switching, and most processing done through a Fractal FM3 and a pair of Eventide H9s. Van Leeuwen designed the boards, and his tech Cody helped build and program it.

Across the two boards, there’s a pair of both Electro-Harmonix Superegos and Way Huge Saffron Squeezes, plus Dunlop expression and volume pedals; EarthQuaker Devices Tentacle, Rainbow Machine, and Fuzz Master General; Way Huge Effect Pedal, Green Rhino, and Atreides; Echopark Echodriver; Ten Years Is A Decade; modified EHX Holiest Grail; and Dr. No Effects TVL Raven.

Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster

Vox AC30

Eventide H9

Electro-Harmonix Superego

EarthQuaker Devices Tentacle

EarthQuaker Devices Rainbow Machine

Hot news from Snark! Taking the company’s ultra-popular product line to a whole new level, Snark has introduced a trio of high-precision clip-on tuners: the Snark ST-1X HPT, ST-2 HPT and ST-8 HPT. These models feature all-new software with ultra-tight “in tune” windows for pinpoint accuracy with a broad range of instruments.

Adding to the best-in-class performance: a patented anechoic sound shield on the back of each tuner helps block room noise. This unique shielding allows each of the new high-precision Snarks to deliver faster and more precise tuning in any environment. The Snark ST-1X HPT, ST-2 HPT and ST-8 HPT all feature super bright LCD screens for easy viewing in the brightest sunlight or on low light stages.

All three models are rechargeable (no batteries needed!) and come with a USB cable/adapter for quick, easy charging. Each tuner’s screen includes a prominent battery gauge, so you can feel confident that your tuner has plenty of battery power available. No matter what you play – stringed instruments such as guitar, bass, and ukulele, or brass and woodwind instruments – you’ll find one of the new Snarks that’s perfect for you. All three tuners offer adjustable pitch calibration. Also, the ST-2 HTP provides a switchable option for selecting Mic mode or Vibration mode. Choose Vibration mode for regular clip-on use; switch to Mic mode and clip the ST-2 HTP to your music stand. Snark’s new high-precision ST-1X HPT, ST-2 HPT and ST-8 HPT rechargeable tuners have MRSPs of $24.99, $26.99 and $26.99 respectively.

Lollar Pickups has announced the release of a new line of single-coil pickups called the sB (single blade), based on the design of their popular dB (dual blade) humbucker. The first two offerings in the lineup are intended as drop-in replacements for Jaguar and Bass VI style instruments.

Featuring a large blade-style pole piece and modified coil design, the sB single-coils offer hotter, fuller, and fatter output as compared with the original standard Jaguar type of pickups often used in these instruments. The blade also provides improved overall consistency – in terms of both frequency response and string-to-string balance – thanks to its added inductance and unique physical properties. This is benefit particularly useful for the Bass VI, since some players feel that the conventional Jaguar pickup design can lack the fullness in low-end frequencies needed for more modern playing styles. This makes the sB a great choice for players seeking a more versatile pickup option for their instruments and those looking to play heavier styles of music.

The sB pickups for Jaguar and Bass VI are available for order now at www.LollarGuitars.com/sB-pickups and Lollar Pickups authorized dealers. They are offered in two-piece sets for Jaguar and three-piece sets for Bass VI, in parchment, white, black, and cream.

Foo Fighters mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s classic 1995 debut with the opening salvo of its next chapter: “Today’s Song,” the first taste of new Foo Fighters music since 2023’s universally acclaimed But Here We Are, is now available across digital platforms.

An indelible anthem in the time-honored Foo Fighters tradition, “Today’s Song” bristles with unbridled optimism from its subtle melodic intro through the peaks of its soaring crescendos. With lyrical themes of personal evolution and perseverance in the face of life’s uncertainty and the passage of time, “Today’s Song” is nothing short of a three-minute-fifteen-second epic.

In a note to fans that posted today, Dave Grohl wrote, "Over the years, we’ve had moments of unbridled joy, and moments of devastating heartbreak. Moments of beautiful victory, and moments of painful defeat. We have mended broken bones and broken hearts. But we have followed this road together, with each other, for each other, no matter what. Because in life, you just can’t go it alone.

It should go without saying that without the boundless energy of William Goldsmith, the seasoned wisdom of Franz Stahl, and the thunderous wizardry of Josh Freese, this story would be incomplete, so we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the time, music, and memories that we shared with each of them over the years. Thank you, gentlemen.

And... Taylor. Your name is spoken every day, sometimes with tears, sometimes with a smile, but you are still in everything we do, everywhere we go, forever. The enormity of your beautiful soul is only rivaled by the infinite longing we feel in your absence. We all miss you beyond words. Foo Fighters will forever include Taylor Hawkins in every note that we play, until we do finally reach our destination.”To read or listen to Dave’s full message, go to foofighters.com.

Foo Fighters are Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee.

“Today’s Song” artwork by Harper Grohl.

FOO FIGHTERS
Live 2025

Oct 2 - Jakarta, ID - Carnaval Ancol
Oct 4 - Singapore, SG - F1
Oct 7 - Tokyo, JP - Saitama Super Arena
Oct 10 - Osaka, JP - Glion Arena Kobe
Nov 14 - Mexico City, MX - Corona Capital

Tickets at foofighters.com

Supercool Pedals has unveiled the tenth pedal in their lineup: the Triniphase – a bold, all-analog phase shifter inspired by the technical legacy and cassette-futurism aesthetic of a golden TV age.

The Triniphase is a thoughtful and calculated approach to a classic and revered modulation effect, offering complex and organic analog phase modulation with a unique and intuitive control scheme.

The Triniphase offers expertly crafted replications of some of the most sought after vintage and modern sweeping phase effects, but what sets the Triniphase apart from its peers are the tactile controls of the RGB buttons that invite users to mix colors and sounds to spawn new and complex pitch and phase modulation adventures.

The Triniphase highlights include:

• Unique sounds including classic phase sweeps, rotary-style univibe oscillation, formant-like voice effects, manic vibratos, and more
• 4-stage and 8-stage phase effects (via RED/DEPTH switch)
• 2 unique LFO modes (via GREEN/LENGTH switch)
• Phase-based pitch shift mode (via BLUE/MODE switch)
• RESO knob for aggressive or subtle feedback control of phasing effect
• RATE knob for a wide control of phasing effects from subtle sweeps to near self-oscillation
• All-analog signal path and control
• Eye-catching nostalgic design inspired by the legacy of the Sony Trinitron
• True Bypass switching with standard 9v center negative power supply
• Designed and assembled in Canada

The Triniphase is the 10th installment in the Supercool pedals lineup with a street price of $219 USD, and is available for purchase with worldwide shipping through www.SupercoolPedals.com as well as in select independent retailers.

Fat envelope and wah sounds are made even wilder with the help of an expansive octave effect that can be used in tandem or independently from the filter.

For those that haven’t delved too deeply into the subject or the sounds, envelope filters can seem a little loaded, stylistically speaking. Used well, they add bounce, joy, or even menace to a guitar or bass. Used wrong, they sound horribly corny. Used unconventionally, though, they can radically reshape guitar tones in surprising ways. Leveraging how they reshape tone with picking dynamics, for instance, is a great way to bust out of a box. They also pair well with distortion, fuzz, delays, modulation, and more (though if you aren’t willing to dig for gold in these combinations the results can confound at first).

Tsakalis Phonkify X FINAL VIDEO

The Tsakalis Phonkify X, an evolution of the original Tsakalis Phonkify, is, in part, a great envelope filter for the way it smooths the path to the outer edges of the effect’s potential. It’s got great range, which is enhanced by effective mix, gain, frequency, and Q controls. Using those controls together in the right combinations also makes the Phonkify X sound fat where other envelope filters can sound narrow, thin, and not terribly nuanced. (An internal voltage doubler that increases headroom is another contributing factor.) And with an octave section that can span corpulent and piercing regions of the sound spectrum—and be used independently or with the filter—the Phonkify X is a trove of powerful, odd, and uncommon guitar sounds, and a true provocateur for those in a rut.

Clarity, Body, and Brawn

One of the Phonkify X’s great strengths is the extra mass and air in its range and how easy it is to find it. As far as envelope filters—which can be counterintuitive to many players the first time out—go, the Phonkify X is very forgiving and responsive. The same qualities make it a great pair for radical or merely fattened fuzz and drive tones. Sixties-type germanium fuzzes coax fiery Hendrix- and Ron Ashton-isms that you can also utilize in traditional sweeping wah fashion if you add an expression pedal to the mix. It also sounds amazing upstream from a dark smoky overdrive that can blunt the sharpest filter edges while adding ballast and attitude.The octave effect is great on its own, too, not least because you move between deep octave-down settings and reedy high tones.

The Verdict

The latter can be a bit cloying and full of digital artifacts in some applications, but when the low octave content is used to temper that tendency, or dial it out entirely, you can summon very organic, complex, and rich tones that can be made rumbling and earth shaking with distortion or drive, or reshape the pedal’s filtered tones if you add it back in the mix. (An additional switch also enables you to situate the octave before or after the filter.). Together, these two effects that blend so seamlessly are a formidable combo.

To all the amps I’ve loved before—PG editorial director Ted Drozdowski’s odyssey through the world of amplification.

Amps are the mouthpiece through which the language of electric guitar tone is spoken. That makes them profoundly important. Since our gear theme this issue is amps, I’ve been obsessing about my own amp history. Amps can be part of a lifelong sonic odyssey. Here’s my journey.

While I’ve had some sweet ones over the years, my first amp was a mistake. I’d gotten my first electric guitar, a ’70s Strat, and I needed to plug it into something. I found an affordable new JMF Spectra 60-T, which had reverb, channel switching, and gain/master volume, so it seemed versatile and cool in blonde Tolex. I owned it for a year and was never happy with its buzzsaw distortion or plinky cleans, but concede that I was likely the reason it never sang like any of the guitars I heard on recordings or stages. I sold the Spectra to a violinist, who sounded awesome through it, and used the money to bump up to a black-panel ’66 Fender Twin Reverb.

Now, that amp gave me a toehold on the tones of my blues idols, or at least a pinky grip, given my minimal skills. I picked up a used MXR Distortion+ and soon played my first gig. As I was leaving the stage after my second performance, a friend, Dennis Keller, who co-owned Cambridge Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, grabbed me and said, “You need a Marshall.” Luckily, my wife, Laurie, overheard him, and bought me a 1972 50-watt Super Lead head for my birthday. (Yes, she is special!) I immediately picked up a matching-year 4x12 and an obsession was born: I started playing through two amps, switching between the Twin and Marshall for clean and distorted sounds, alienating sound engineers from that day forward.

The sonic expressionism of alternative rock/grunge really spoke to me as a songwriter and noisemaker, even though my deepest interests were in traditional American music and psychedelia. So I beefed up the double-amp setup after seeing my favorite band of the era, Catherine Wheel, take new Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers straight out of boxes and onto the stage at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut, where we were lucky enough to open for them. Such depth and power. Of course, I scored a Trem-O-Verb model, and ran it in parallel with my Marshall head through a pair of 4x12s. I used the Marshall au naturel and gussied up the Mesa with the fairly extensive pedalboard I’d built up. This was not a practical rig, but it was magnificent, and the Twin was relegated to the studio until I sold it a few years ago.

“I owned it for a year and was never happy with its buzzsaw distortion or plinky cleans, but concede that I was likely the reason.”

After the band I was in imploded, I trimmed back to the Marshall and a 2x12, and there I stayed as I played in both a psychedelic rock band called Devil Gods and transitioned into playing blues seriously, thanks to discovering the sounds coming from North Mississippi artists R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. In Scissormen, I was committed to taking that rusty trad sound, which I considered the aural equivalent of Zen poetry, into the present. As I extensively toured the U.S. and, occasionally, Europe, I scaled back to an Epiphone Valve Standard combo until, in about 2010, the great documentary filmmaker Robert Mugge, who is a friend and a fan of Scissormen, decided to make a movie about me and the band, BIG SHOES: Walking and Talking the Blues.

I had to game-up my sound again, and added a hand-me-down Peavey combo and, for the film and soundtrack, went back to playing in stereo, which I still do today. In subsequent years, I sometimes paired the Epiphone with a ’64 Supro Tremo-Verb Laurie had inherited, or the Marshall with a 1x12, or an Orange Micro Terror, which I contend is a cross between Chihuahua and werewolf.

When the Epiphone expired, I determined to get a nice boutique amp and finally, really define my sound. I auditioned over a dozen makes and models and bought a used Carr Vincent, which I like to think of as a super Fender. The random pairing continued with happy sonic results until 2022, when filmmaking entered again. This time, I was about to make a movie I created and crowdfunded that features my current cosmic roots band Coyote Motel. I thought The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South—a musical cultural history—would be a defining work as a musician and journalist. And it is. So, I needed an amp as harmonically rich and present as the Vincent. With consultation from Steve Carr, I acquired a Telstar. To my ears, the pairing, audible in all 10 of the film’s musical performances, is what I’ve always been looking for but I didn’t necessarily know it.

That’s the thing. Anyone’s amp odyssey is evolutionary, intensely personal, and sometimes accidental or motivated by circumstances. Mine may be over. But I’m not ruling out modeling or, really, anything. Today, my amps make me very happy. And I hope yours do the same!

PG contributor Tom Butwin features the all-new Hotone Verbera. The dual-engine reverb pedal blends IR realism with algorithmic creativity and adds the ability to clone your favorite reverb effects.

Hotone Verbera Convolution Reverb Pedal

Verbera Convolution Reverb Effects Processor

Ever imagined your sound echoing through a sold-out stadium? Or reverberating off the metallic walls of a NASA spacecraft hangar? What if your guitar fell into a cosmic white hole… or drifted through the vaulted ceilings of a centuries-old cathedral?

Welcome to Verbera — where imagination meets reality. This is not your typical software convolution plugin. Verbera is a standalone, hardware-based convolution reverb pedal — with Instant IR loading, stunning tweakability, and boundless sonic range. Whether you’re recreating iconic spaces, vintage hardware, or crafting otherworldly reverbs never heard before, Verbera gives musicians and engineers a powerful new tool for both live and studio setups.

Surf’s up—it’s summertime. On this episode, we’re talking about the most legendary, well-choreographed, reverb-drenched surf rockers of all time, the Ventures. They not only created the template for instrumental guitar music, they influenced just about every classic rock guitar hero you can think of. And their catalog is truly epic, so where do you get started? That’s what we’re discussing.

From “Walk, Don’t Run” on, the Ventures made a splash. Let’s look at their hottest hits, and maybe a few odd choices along the way.

Co-designed with low-end professor and tone connoisseur Ian Martin Allison, the MXR Bass Synth will turn your bass into a filthy funk machine, delivering a range of monophonic synth tones that call back to hits from Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Parliament Funkadelic, and more. This pedal is ready made for intergalactic grooves, capturing vintage analog-style vibes with killer tracking and sustain to serve up thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects with the flexibility and control that modern players demand.

A full, player-friendly suite of controls allows you to shape not just the aforementioned effects but every other detail of your bass synth tone: blend dry and wet signals, sculpt filter sweeps from rubber-band bounce to syrupy slow-motion, adjust filter cutoff and resonance for extra punch, switch between triangle, sawtooth, or square waveforms, and add harmonically rich oscillators for more complex textures.

Or you can skip straight to the groove with eight presets that Ian crafted, inspired by iconic tracks from Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, and more. And for tone chasers who love to dive deep, the Bass Synth offers advanced parameters, stereo capability, and flexible rig integration to take your sound anywhere you want it to go.

Whether you’re replicating pop hits in a cover band, holding down the low end at church, or touring the world, this pedal gives you instant synth bass magic. Get down on the one with the MXR Bass Synth.

“Over the years, I have tended to make synth sounds either with individual pedals or with blocks in a multi-FX unit, and while those sounds can be super cool and get close to legit synth sounds, the MXR Bass Synth gets closer and, in some cases, even totally indistinguishable from an incredible keys rig,” Ian says. “We worked tirelessly to make this thing as perfect as we possibly could—to tweak every single parameter, to get every aspect of how the knobs turned and what effects they controlled just right—and especially the latency and tracking. I wouldn’t relent until we got it perfect. This is perfect.”

MXR Bass Synth highlights:

• Intergalactic grooves and vintage analog-style vibes reminiscent of your favorite funk hits
• Designed in collaboration with Ian Martin Allison
• Thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects
• Killer tracking and sustain
• Eight different presets to plug you straight into the groove
• Three different waveforms, additional oscillators, tap and expression control, and more

Availability

The MXR Bass Synth is available now at $269.99 street from your favorite retailer.

“There are other worlds (they have not told you of). They wish to speak to you.” —Sun Ra

Middle Eastern or Mediterranean guitar music is an entire musical world with its very own guitar heroes, legendary solos, coveted gear, mysterious deaths, and (of course) some wigs as well. As the ’60s arrived with a fresh wave of guitar madness, musicians worldwide chose the electric guitar as their voice, working it into their region’s musical vocabulary, which was often based on the local folk instruments. Guitarists like Omar Khorshid and Aris San created guitar history as they infused their regional influences with their new love of the electric guitar and brought a new style of playing to life. To me, these two legends are the Middle Eastern equivalents of the Western guitar world’s beloved Jimi and Jimmy.

A little bit about our stars: Omar Khorshid of Cairo, Egypt, took part in monumental recordings, often with Strat in hand. He played with Oum (also known as Umm) Kolthum, one of the most renowned vocalists in Arabic music. His collaborations with Hany Mehanna are pure Middle Eastern psychedelia. He has an extended list of covers of western tunes (including “Popcorn” and The Godfather theme), and his music goes everywhere from soloing along with huge orchestras to trippy tunes with just synths and drum machines. Khorshid’s playing is always spot on, tasteful, and with the melody as the top priority.

Full lesson playlist on YouTube

Aris San is from Greece, and his life story makes those of Elvis, Hendrix, or Cobain seem mundane by comparison. With an incredible voice and an ability to bring bouzouki chops to the electric guitar, San’s style is second to none. Shifting from various random European guitars, Aris eventually championed the Gibson ES-335 and turned himself into a musical powerhouse with a massive recording catalogue. At one point he even had his own music club in New York (donning the aforementioned wig). After a few encounters with the New York underworld, he returned to Europe and rumors abound.

Let’s dive into some of the techniques and tools that make this music so special. The more you practice and study them, the more you can add to your own music and enrich your style.

Scales of Choice

Here’s one interesting scale out of a vast melodic world of Middle Eastern music. It’s a great place to start as you’ll quickly realize this scale is used everywhere, which is why it has so many names. This scale appears in many a Kirk Hammett solo, as well as in Eastern European klezmer music. It’s the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale and is also called Maqam Hijaz, Ahava Raba, and Phrygian Dominant. Check out Ex. 1 and then listen to Aris San’s “Mish Mash.”

Ex. 1

Ex. 2 is reminiscent of Khorshid’s take on the tune “Habbina Habbina,” written by Farid El Atrash.

Ex. 2

Glissando

The Middle Eastern guitar style features guitarists who can play melodies with a deep vocal quality and a round, lyrical feel to their phrasing. A glissando, or slide, is an expressive tool that is often used in that way. Ex. 3 is similar to what Khorshid played with Oum Kulthum, keeping it classy as he takes his solo with the orchestra.

Ex. 3

Here’s another example (Ex. 4) by Yehudah Keisar, an incredible guitarist from the generation of musicians who followed the rise of Aris San. Keisar made a big contribution to the repertoire.

This is from the hit song “Basbusa” by Shariff, which was produced and played by Keisar.

Ex. 4

The 1980s era of recordings incorporated more drum machines and had a guitar tone consistent with 335’s plugged right into the PA with a short digital delay on them. That gave the player a quick, tight sound that worked perfectly for these melodies.

Right Hand Rhythmic Picking

Percussion and rhythmic elements play a central role in Middle Eastern music. That’s why you would sometimes see Khorshid playing with three percussionists on the bandstand. Here’s one example of that amazing line up:

Check out the rhythmic opening guitar part and how it sits perfectly together along with the percussion, and then try Ex. 5.Another example of tight rhythmic playing is on the opening bars of Aris San’s “Dam Dam,” which you can find in Ex. 6.

Ex. 5

Ex. 6

Harmonizing

Harmonized guitar parts were always a great device to strengthen melodies, long before the days of arena rock or the Eagles. Here’s the traditional Greek song “Afilotimi” in Ex. 7 to showcase that technique. You can play this with another guitarist, multitrack it, or even dare to play both intervals at once.

Ex. 7

Trills and Embellishments

Trills give the music its nuanced accent and dialect. Some are easy to pick up while others are a little trickier. This last piece is by Moshe Ben-Mosh, another pivotal guitarist who recorded and produced many hits with an emphasis on his Yemenite-Jewish roots. Here’s the title track from the Haim Moshe album Ahavat Chayai which was released in 1982.

Our final example, Ex. 8, covers the points we went over about trills. Notice how many of our examples are played across a single string, which echoes the regional folk instruments, such as bouzouki, oud, and baglama. It’s a doozy, but taking the time to learn it slowly and gradually will help to internalize all the techniques listed here. Practice slowly and make sure you dance to the music!

Ex. 8

One of the two electric guitars I play most is my beloved and battered 1952 Les Paul. Seventy-three years ago, it was cutting-edge. First, it’s a solidbody guitar. Although the solidbody concept debuted with the Rickenbacker A-22 “Frying Pan” in 1931, and notched up with the Fender Broadcaster in 1950, the Les Paul started with Les’ the Log, built in 1939. As Les accurately predicted, the tone was purer than hollowbodies, sustain improved, and feedback was no longer an issue.

My ’52 was later upgraded with innovations like the then-new Bigsby vibrato (introduced in 1951), a Tune-o-matic bridge (1953 technology), and a humbucker in the bridge position (circa 1957). Numerous other guitar innovations have emerged over the past seven decades. And some stuck, including:

• The compound radius fretboard, pioneered by luthier Denny Rauen in 1978.
• Locking tremolo systems, invented by Floyd Rose in the 1970s and widespread by the 1980s.
• Hybrid acoustic/electric designs that blend electric pickups with undersaddle piezo pickups. (With a toggle flip, my PRS can shift from angry distorted humbucker to a convincing, warm acoustic sound—or blend both.)

Other innovations fared less well, like Gibson’s ill-fated Firebird X, of 2011. This ambitious, controversial solidbody electric guitar aimed to modernize the iconic Firebird with digital technology. Originally priced at $5,570, its standout features included three FBX mini-humbuckers, a piezo pickup, and onboard effects (reverb, delay, distortion) via a pure analog DSP engine, controlled by complex toggle pots, sliders, and a gear shift knob. It also had robot tuners with 11 preset tunings, Bluetooth footswitches, and a G-Node USB interface, with software (Guitar Rig 4, Ableton Live Lite) for recording and patch creation. While some praised its innovation, many players saw it as a betrayal of Gibson’s heritage. The model performed so poorly that Gibson reportedly destroyed over half the Firebird Xs with an excavator.

Legacy companies like Gibson face a dilemma in evolution. Gibson’s bold innovation made it iconic, giving us the Les Paul, ES-335 (and 330, 345, 355), Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, and SG. Today, most players crave those classic guitars designed 60 to 70 years ago. This raises the question: What will the 2052 Gibson Les Paul, marking its 100th anniversary, be like?

“Nano-humbuckers might blend PAF warmth, single-coil snap, and synth-like capabilities, with AI tweaking tones in real-time to nail vintage or futuristic textures.”

I’m an original-recipe guy and have no clue what the future holds, so I asked AI for its prediction. Here’s what it envisioned: The 2052 Les Paul will likely retain its single-cutaway swagger, solid body, and maple cap, but sustainability will dominate—think lab-grown timber or carbon-neutral composites to address 21st century mahogany scarcity. Nano-coatings could offer self-healing sunbursts or holographic finishes that shift for stage flair, though, given the popularity of Murphy Lab relics, I suspect players will prefer keeping their dings and scratches but enjoy the ultra-thin finishes. AI-optimized chambering could trim weight to a svelte 6 to 7 pounds, paired with a slim-taper neck with a 10"–16" compound radius for easy playability. Hardware will be feather light. (I’ve been loving the TonePros Tune-o-matic, which is light and sounds great, but I suspect it will get lighter).

Electronics are where the 2052 Les Paul goes sci-fi. Nano-humbuckers might blend PAF warmth, single-coil snap, and synth-like capabilities, with AI tweaking tones in real-time to nail vintage or futuristic textures. The 1/4" cable will eventually be obsolete, replaced by quantum wireless systems or direct neural interfaces. Solar-powered circuits could keep the guitar eco-friendly.

Even crazier are ideas like haptic feedback, which uses touch sensation, like vibrations or pulses, to guide beginners or sync tempos. Augmented reality could overlay patterns on your fretboard to steer your fingers, turning your instrument into a Guitar Hero game where you are actually playing music.

Other potential innovations include features like biometric integration sensors that could monitor hand fatigue or heart rate, adjusting playability for long sessions—ideal for touring musicians. There could also be holographic pickguards with interchangeable designs, offering visual flair without physical changes. Also on the table are climate-adaptation sensors that will adjust string tension and electronics for humidity or temperature changes, ensuring reliability in diverse venues.

Here’s where it gets a bit Black Mirror for me. AI predicts that within 40 years guitars may use neural interfaces that would allow players to control effects, tone, loops, amp settings, recordings, and more via thoughts. Or you can ditch the guitar entirely and just use brain-computer interfaces (like Neuralink, already in trials) that would enable musicians and nonmusicians to compose music directly from thoughts. Electrodes might translate neural patterns into melodies, bypassing physical instruments so you can imagine “playing” a Les Paul riff in your mind and sounding just like Jeff Beck, Joe Bonanamassa, Paul Kossoff, or anybody else, with AI rendering it as a perfect studio track.

In 28 years, my goldtop will be 100 years old and I’ll be my father’s age. When I get to this imagined future, I can’t imagine the thrill of composing in my head can come close to the sensation of that old ’52 goldtop vibrating against my body when I hit the low E.

For years, an old upright piano soundboard had sat in the hallway of the tattoo studio where Robin Wattie worked. Wattie, the vocalist and guitarist of Montreal experimental post-rock trio Big Brave, knew it was destined for the garbage dump, but neither she nor any of her coworkers wanted to actually carry it to the curb. Wattie’s bandmate, guitarist Mathieu Ball, had walked by it plenty of times, but one day, he got a notion: It’d be fun to make use of the piano strings still tensed inside the soundboard.

Wattie worked down the hall, listening as Ball spent an afternoon using vice grips to snap the wooden pegs holding the lowest strings, each one cracking loose with a thunderous PLUNK. Ball estimates that he extracted 50 strings that day; 50 violent PLUNKS cutting the air of Wattie’s studio. “It was really, really funny to listen to,” says Wattie. “Also, like, the swearing.”

Ball, a woodworker, disappeared for a day. He returned with “the Instrument:” a stringed instrument made of a maple plank, measuring 9" wide and 5' long, strung with the salvaged piano strings. With the Instrument assembled, Big Brave had a new task: figuring out how to play it. “It’s not something that comes with a manual,” says Ball. He used a double bass bow to generate sounds; Wattie used mallets, and drummer Tasy Hudson took a turn, muffling it with a pillow before striking with the mallets.

Robin Wattie’s Gear

Guitars

• Fender Jaguar

Amps

• Orange OR50H
• Orange 2x12
• Darkglass Microtubes 500v2
• Ampeg 4x10

Effects

• Boss FV-500H volume pedal
• Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop
• Dirge Electronics gain pedal
• TC Electronic Spark
• Line 6 Verbzilla
• Lehle Little Dual Switcher
• Strymon Zuma power supply

Strings & Picks

• Ernie Ball strings
• Dunlop Nylon .73 mm or .88 mm

This learning process was happening at Seth Manchester’s Machines with Magnets studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where the band was slated to create a collaborative record with experimental metal duo and Rhode Island natives the Body. When that band couldn’t make the sessions, Big Brave decided to record their experimentations with the Instrument; learning to play it, writing the songs, and recording them all happened at the same time. The result is OST, a collection of eight compositions centered on the Instrument. Wattie thinks that for followers of the band, it will be the most “challenging” music they’ve ever released.

That’s probably true, even though Big Brave’s music has never been particularly accessible. The songs on OST are sparse, shapeless, and heavy, taut with tension and discomfort. The Instrument is accompanied only sporadically by moments of percussion, electric guitar, or voice, and its essential sound is not melody-driven. “Is it an eerie-sounding record?” wonders Ball. “What’s really interesting is that you can’t really play chords on the Instrument. If you pluck a single string, it sounds kind of dark on its own. To me, that’s the fundamental sound.” That’s okay for Big Brave: “I don’t think we’ll ever be making happy music,” continues Ball, “because it’s not the world we live in.”

Mathieu Ball’s Gear

Guitars and Basses

• Gibson SG Special

Amps

• Musicman RD Fifty
• Hiwatt Custom 50
• Orange 2x12 cabs

Effects

• Dirge Electronics gain pedal
• EQD Hoof
• EQD Tone Job
• EQD Swiss Things
• Line 6 Verbzilla
• Strymon Big Sky
• MXR Carbon Copy

“We’re big-feeling people,” adds Wattie. “We do have a lot of joy, and we try our best to find joy. It’s really hard to, but this is kind of what comes out. It’s not in us to make happy music, because if it was, then we would make happy music.”

The record’s most unnerving and intense moments are on “innominate no. vii.” Ball’s vocals on the track are frightening and tortured, beginning as deep, uncomfortable groans before crescendoing into throat-cleaving screams. “I guess I’m only comfortable doing that in the studio,” says Ball, “but that’s how I want to just be walking down the street all the time. Luckily, we get to do it in the studio where people don’t cross the sidewalk.”

“I don’t think we’ll ever be making happy music, because it’s not the world we live in.” - Mathieu Ball

Ball and Wattie met while studying visual arts in Montreal, and Ball introduced his new friend to minimalist composers like John Cage, Tony Conrad, and Steve Reich. Ball became Wattie’s “unofficial guitar coach,” and imparted a critical lesson: If it sounds good to you, then that’s all you need to know.

Big Brave was initiated around the values of minimalism, tension, and space in sound, and OST is certainly the most extreme exploration of those values. Ball describes it as a “process-based project,” where the act of creating came first, and the conceptualizing and thinking came later. “I felt so free,” Wattie smiles, recalling the sessions in Rhode Island. “Playing the guitar, for me, is a bit of a weighted thing. I’m kind of bogged down by having to prove myself all the time on the guitar, even though now I don’t necessarily have to because of where we are. I love not knowing how to play an instrument, because the shit that you can come up with from not knowing, because you’re not bogged down by the technicalities and theory and all of this stuff. I’m not classically trained at all, clearly. It’s really freeing, especially when no one else knows how to play it, because there’s not a proper way to play this instrument.”

“We’re gonna burn it so no one will ever get to learn how to play it,” quips Ball.

As they’ve grown together as a band, Big Brave have turned more and more to the unexpected and incidental elements of their music. They never say no to an idea one of them brings to the table. Saying no without trying something is “a bad idea for so many reasons,” says Wattie. The approach is also partly a rejection of the ultra-professionalization of music work. “It’s what we’ve been doing more and more, just fully deconstructing and rejecting technicality, and making simpler and simpler music,” says Ball. “Like utilizing feedback that’s seen as a bad thing. There’s more and more mistakes in our music that I just see as character, like a buzzy string. It’s adding character to music that gets lost when something is too perfect.”

“There’s some beauty about not knowing what you’re doing.” - Robin Wattie

The approach reminds Wattie of Nan Goldin, the untrained photographer whose work influenced the fashion world. Wattie appreciates the same untrained character in visual art. “I really love seeing people’s drawings who aren’t technically trained,” explains Wattie. “They’re like, ‘I love to draw, but just for myself.’ I want to see it because it’s some of the loveliest drawings I’ve ever seen. It shows how they think about lines and color and how they make up a composition. It’s also why I’m okay with not knowing how to play the guitar, to a point.”

On a few occasions, Wattie has heard from thoroughly trained musicians who, in some ways, regret their training, and envy her lack of it. “It was engrained in them that this is correct,” she says. “It’s impossible to unlearn for them. There’s some beauty about not knowing what you’re doing.”

YouTube It

Ball, Wattie, and Hudson float through waves of feedback and distortion for a live performance of their 2024 song “Theft” in Montreal’s Studio Concrete.

Following the successful launch of its Gold Label Collection in January 2025, Taylor Guitars, a leading global builder of premium acoustic guitars, today announces the expansion of the collection with a suite of new Gold Label Grand Pacific models. The new models mark the second wave of guitar models in Taylor's exploration of warm, heritage-inspired acoustic flavors, featuring Taylor master builder Andy Powers' reimagined Grand Pacific body shape, a round-shoulder dreadnought, now with a deeper body design that delivers enhanced sonic fullness and low-end expansiveness.

Gold Label Grand Pacific: Deeper Body, Deeper Sound

The new Gold Label models feature a Grand Pacific body that's 3/8-inch deeper than Taylor’s standard Grand Pacific design, giving these guitars extra "lung capacity" and a deeper resonant frequency. This translates into more low-end power and projection — providing greater sonic push toward an audience or microphone while maintaining pleasing musical clarity. Even the treble notes have enhanced warmth and depth.

The Grand Pacific bodies are voiced with Taylor’s proprietary Fanned V-ClassTM bracing architecture — exclusive to the Gold Label Collection — a new variant of its award-winning V-Class bracing platform that here adds midrange richness, enhances the sonic depth, and creates the pitch accuracy that V-Class is known for. While Fanned V-Class is also used to voice the Super Auditorium body style that made its debut as part of the original Gold Label launch in January, the Gold Label Grand Pacific leans even more toward a warm, powerful sound.

"Compared to the Super Auditorium body, the curves and depth of the Grand Pacific produce even more volume and tonal dimension," says Andy Powers, Taylor's Chief Guitar Designer, President and CEO. "Its voice is earthy, honest and uncomplicated. It’s a reliable acoustic workhorse — both seasoned and soulful."

The Grand Pacific model offerings build around two classic tonewood pairings, Indian rosewood or mahogany coupled with a torrefied Sitka spruce top. Each wood pairing features three top finish/model options: natural, sunburst and blacktop. Mahogany 500 Series models include the Gold Label 517e (Natural), Gold Label 517e SB Cream, Gold Label 517e SB Firestripe and Gold Label 517e Blacktop; rosewood 700 Series models include the Gold Label 717e (Natural), Gold Label 717e SB Cream, Gold Label 717e SB Firestripe and Gold Label 717e Blacktop. Additionally, each of the two sunburst-top models is offered with a choice of either a firestripe or cream pickguard, bringing the count to eight Grand Pacific model variants.

The mahogany/torrefied spruce pairing produces a woody, warm voice with focused midrange character. The Indian rosewood/torrefied spruce combination delivers lush rosewood depth and complexity with enhanced warmth from the torrefied top. All models feature gloss-finish bodies.

Distinctive Gold Label Aesthetic

Fitting into the distinctive design aesthetic of the Gold Label Collection, all Grand Pacific models feature Andy Powers' modified headstock shape with an angled back cut and script-style Taylor logo inlay, a different pickguard shape, and a Honduran rosewood Curve Wing bridge. Clean, understated appointments reflect a down-to-earth, workhorse spirit, including:

• "Crest" inlay motif in cream featuring simple dot/diamond position markers in the fretboard crowned with a new headstock inlay
• Cream binding with simple black/white top purfling and a single-ring rosette in cream and black with black/white purfling
• West African ebony fretboard
• Taylor Nickel tuning machines
• 1-3/4" nut width and 25-1/2" scale length
• Fanned V-Class bracing
• LR Baggs Element VTC electronics
• D'Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light strings
• Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Case with "British Cocoa" vinyl exterior

Revolutionary Action Control Neck™ Technology

All Gold Label Grand Pacific models feature Taylor's patented Action Control Neck™, which combines the tonal benefits of a long-tenon neck joint with unprecedented ease of instant string height adjustment. The long tenon extends deeper into the guitar body and, together with the heel structure, enhances the wood coupling to produce greater low-end resonance and a sound comparable to traditional neck designs.

Unlike Taylor's existing neck design that incorporates tapered shims to calibrate the neck angle, the Action Control Neck™ is shimless. The string height can be adjusted in seconds by using a quarter-inch nut driver (or standard truss rod wrench) on a bolt in the neck block, accessible inside the soundhole. Neither the neck nor the strings need to be removed to make adjustments.

"The design serves players by allowing them to adjust their string height for different playing styles, applications or climate conditions as often as they like," added Powers.

Street pricing for the new Gold Label models are as follows:

• Gold Label 517e - $2,599
• Gold Label 517e Blacktop - $2,799
• Gold Label 517e SB - $2,799
• Gold Label 717e - $2,799
• Gold Label 717e SB - $2,999
• Gold Label 717e Blacktop - $2,999

For more information on the Gold Label Collection and more, visit taylorguitars.com.

With a tone vocabulary that spans clean, smoky, grinding, and growling—plus a Two notes speaker simulator—the 25-watt Airwave is a ferociously fun, potentially formidable amp for any size stage or studio.

Needless to say, the splashy news about Supro’s Airwave is its onboard Two notes cab sim that expands the amp’s studio and live capabilities, not to mention a player’s creative options. Having Two notes cab simulations onboard is a cool thing. It takes many of the cab sim tailoring capabilities of, say, the Universal Audio OX or Boss’ WAZA Tube Expander, and makes them part of the Airwave’s amp architecture, which is no small victory for convenience.

- YouTube

But the 2x6V6 Airwave is a very cool stage and studio amp before you ever touch the cabinet simulation capabilities. At 25 watts, with tube-driven tremolo and spring reverb, it’s a cool alternative for players considering a tweed Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb, Princeton Reverb, or, for that matter, any of Supro’s excellent low- to mid-power combos. But while it’s not quite the blank slate a Deluxe Reverb is (the Airwave’s voice is generally more compressed, with lower headroom), if I had to record or play a show with the Airwave, a delay pedal, and a guitar, I’d do so confident that I had about 4-zillion awesome, tender-to-gnarly textures to work with.

Little Basher

The Airwave is a handsome amp, designed with lots of vintage Supro motifs, a wide aluminum control panel, rocker switches, and a control layout that are more than a little evocative of the Rolling Stones’ early Ampegs. There’s also a little Stones swagger in its voice. For while it can do a very convincing approximation of bright, almost-cleanish Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb sounds, it’s basically grittier than either of those. Not in a way that confines the Airwave to garage-rock trash realms, but which hints at sepia-tone speaker sounds and a loud, rowdy vintage Supro or tweed Fender edge when you dig in with a flatpick. These savage-around-the-edges facets of the Airwave’s personality are tempered, perhaps, by the 12'' speaker, which adds thickening counterpoint to the barky midrange growl and enhances bass frequencies. It helps make the 3-band EQ section feel more sensitive and interactive, too.

The tone variations available between just the EQ and master volume/gain control interplay are plentiful. But all those sounds can be dramatically recast and even made electrifyingly aggressive with the onboard, switchable boost and drive, which are activated by the two rocker switches on the front panel or optional footswitches.

Alternate Realities

To interface with the Airwave’s Two notes capabilities, you download the Torpedo Remote app. But you can obtain excellent sounds without going deep, thanks in part to the amp’s onboard boost and drive switches. They feel like pedals perfectly selected to work with the amp and each other. The drive in particular is tough and snarling. And though your results may differ, to me the effects feel organically enmeshed in the fabric of the amp’s output. Both effects can be gritty, punchy, and explosive extensions of the amp, and together they can make it sound huge for 25 watts. The Torpedo Remote app calls up more-or-less photorealistic representations of several studios and live spaces (ancient temples included!), microphones, and cabinets. As in many other cab sim applications, you can readily and easily change microphones, slide microphone positions back and forth, switch between virtual cabinets of various sizes, as well as add preamps and reverbs with easy-to-use analog-style interfaces. If the wealth of sounds here isn’t already everything you need to get a great recorded sound, they get you off to a great start. What’s important, though, is how seamlessly they function with the whole range of the amp’s tones.

The Verdict

Although $1.5K might seem like a lot to pay for an Indonesia-built tube amp, it’s noteworthy that amps like the Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb reissue are now pushing the $1.8K barrier. But the Airwave includes a useful and well-integrated Two notes Torpedo cab sim solution worth several hundred dollars by itself. Most impressively, Airwave excels in both the purely analog and digital cab sim realms without compromising capabilities in either. The amp has loads of personality and range. It’s up for a punky Kinks/Ramones rumble or Alvin Lee rippage, but just as eager to please as a clean-cut extra in a Jaguar-and-spring-reverb surf party flick or vintage soul session. If you’re the kind of artist inclined to do a little of all that in your recording and performing life, the Airwave satisfies on every count.

With a tone vocabulary that spans clean, smoky, grinding, and growling—plus a Two notes speaker simulator—the 25-watt Airwave is a ferociously fun, potentially formidable amp for any size stage or studio.

Needless to say, the splashy news about Supro’s Airwave is its onboard Two notes cab sim that expands the amp’s studio and live capabilities, not to mention a player’s creative options. Having Two notes cab simulations onboard is a cool thing. It takes many of the cab sim tailoring capabilities of, say, the Universal Audio OX or Boss’ WAZA Tube Expander, and makes them part of the Airwave’s amp architecture, which is no small victory for convenience.

- YouTube

But the 2x6V6 Airwave is a very cool stage and studio amp before you ever touch the cabinet simulation capabilities. At 25 watts, with tube-driven tremolo and spring reverb, it’s a cool alternative for players considering a tweed Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb, Princeton Reverb, or, for that matter, any of Supro’s excellent low- to mid-power combos. But while it’s not quite the blank slate a Deluxe Reverb is (the Airwave’s voice is generally more compressed, with lower headroom), if I had to record or play a show with the Airwave, a delay pedal, and a guitar, I’d do so confident that I had about 4-zillion awesome, tender-to-gnarly textures to work with.

Little Basher

The Airwave is a handsome amp, designed with lots of vintage Supro motifs, a wide aluminum control panel, rocker switches, and a control layout that are more than a little evocative of the Rolling Stones’ early Ampegs. There’s also a little Stones swagger in its voice. For while it can do a very convincing approximation of bright, almost-cleanish Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb sounds, it’s basically grittier than either of those. Not in a way that confines the Airwave to garage-rock trash realms, but which hints at sepia-tone speaker sounds and a loud, rowdy vintage Supro or tweed Fender edge when you dig in with a flatpick. These savage-around-the-edges facets of the Airwave’s personality are tempered, perhaps, by the 12'' speaker, which adds thickening counterpoint to the barky midrange growl and enhances bass frequencies. It helps make the 3-band EQ section feel more sensitive and interactive, too.

The tone variations available between just the EQ and master volume/gain control interplay are plentiful. But all those sounds can be dramatically recast and even made electrifyingly aggressive with the onboard, switchable boost and drive, which are activated by the two rocker switches on the front panel or optional footswitches.

Alternate Realities

To interface with the Airwave’s Two notes capabilities, you download the Torpedo Remote app. But you can obtain excellent sounds without going deep, thanks in part to the amp’s onboard boost and drive switches. They feel like pedals perfectly selected to work with the amp and each other. The drive in particular is tough and snarling. And though your results may differ, to me the effects feel organically enmeshed in the fabric of the amp’s output. Both effects can be gritty, punchy, and explosive extensions of the amp, and together they can make it sound huge for 25 watts. The Torpedo Remote app calls up more-or-less photorealistic representations of several studios and live spaces (ancient temples included!), microphones, and cabinets. As in many other cab sim applications, you can readily and easily change microphones, slide microphone positions back and forth, switch between virtual cabinets of various sizes, as well as add preamps and reverbs with easy-to-use analog-style interfaces. If the wealth of sounds here isn’t already everything you need to get a great recorded sound, they get you off to a great start. What’s important, though, is how seamlessly they function with the whole range of the amp’s tones.

The Verdict

Although $1.5K might seem like a lot to pay for an Indonesia-built tube amp, it’s noteworthy that amps like the Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb reissue are now pushing the $1.8K barrier. But the Airwave includes a useful and well-integrated Two notes Torpedo cab sim solution worth several hundred dollars by itself. Most impressively, Airwave excels in both the purely analog and digital cab sim realms without compromising capabilities in either. The amp has loads of personality and range. It’s up for a punky Kinks/Ramones rumble or Alvin Lee rippage, but just as eager to please as a clean-cut extra in a Jaguar-and-spring-reverb surf party flick or vintage soul session. If you’re the kind of artist inclined to do a little of all that in your recording and performing life, the Airwave satisfies on every count.

Epiphone introduces the Jeff Beck 1954 Oxblood Les Paul, a tribute to the iconic guitar immortalized on the cover of Jeff Beck's groundbreaking album. Featuring Gibson USA pickups, solid wood construction, and premium electronics, this limited edition guitar is a must-have for fans and collectors alike.

For over 150 years, Epiphone has been a leading innovator in instrument design. By leveraging its iconic past and leaning into the future, Epiphone has set the stage for the next era of sound for present and future generations. Epiphone’s game-changing Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection, developed in close collaboration with the skilled luthiers at Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, continues to expand, establishing a new tier of premium Epiphones for every stage. Featuring Gibson USA pickups and premium electronics, world-renowned Gibson “open book” headstocks, solid wood construction, and one-piece necks, Epiphone’s Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection brings Gibson Custom designs to the masses, adding to Epiphone’s full array of instruments for all player levels.

Today, Epiphone is proud to introduce the Jeff Beck 1954 Oxblood Les Paul from Epiphone, an Inspired by Gibson Custom recreation of one of the most famous guitars in history–Jeff Beck’s famous Oxblood, the heavily modified 1954 Les Paul that was immortalized on the cover of his groundbreaking 1975 album Blow by Blow. The world-famous guitar is now available worldwide at Authorized Epiphone dealers, the Gibson Garage in Nashville and London, and online via epiphone.com.

“Bringing the Epiphone version of the infamous ‘Oxblood’ Les Paul to life was something Jeff Beck wanted, and the team has now truly delivered,” says Lee Bartram, Head of Commercial and Marketing EMEA at Gibson. “Making this guitar accessible to a wider market was important to Jeff and his family; this Epiphone guitar turned out truly exceptional and is a worthy tribute to the legacy of a legend.”

In the minds of many of his fellow guitarists, as well as those of countless fans, Jeff Beck remains one of the finest players ever to pick up the instrument. From his early work with the Yardbirds to his work with the Jeff Beck Group, Beck, Bogert & Appice, as a session musician and throughout his solo career, Jeff Beck was one of the most influential lead guitarists of all time. A guitarist’s guitarist and sonic innovator, Beck was a master of genres who played rock, blues, hard rock, and jazz fusion, and helped popularize the use of feedback, fuzz pedals, and distortion, influencing countless players to this day with his inimitable style. An eight-time GRAMMY® Award winner, including six times for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, Jeff Beck also received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds and as a solo artist.

Known to millions as the Oxblood due to its unique chocolate brown/oxblood finish, Jeff Beck’s heavily modified 1954 Les Paul™ was immortalized on the cover of Blow by Blow, his groundbreaking first solo album. This past January, the original Oxblood recently sold at auction for a record-setting $1.3 million. In 2009, Gibson Custom first recreated the Oxblood in a limited edition run of only 50 aged guitars, which collectors still highly value. Now, Epiphone, in collaboration with Gibson Custom, is immensely proud to introduce the Jeff Beck Oxblood 1954 Les Paul™, based on his iconic 1954 Les Paul. It features a mahogany body with a maple cap, a one-piece mahogany neck with a long neck tenon and a Jeff Beck Custom Large C neck profile, a rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and aged mother-of-pearl trapezoid inlays, and a Gibson “open book” style headstock with an Epiphone logo inlaid in aged mother-of-pearl. The headstock is equipped with a low-friction Graph Tech® nut and Schaller M6 90 tuning machines. It is powered by a pair of USA-made Gibson Custombucker humbucker™ pickups that are connected to CTS® potentiometers and Mallory capacitors using 50s-style wiring. Other thoughtfully considered details are included to match the original guitar, including gold Speed knobs, a Les Paul pickguard with a gap above the bridge pickup, and a Gibson Historic Wraparound bridge. It comes packaged in an Epiphone hardshell guitar case with Inspired by Gibson Custom graphics and includes a vintage-style replica strap. The Epiphone Jeff Beck Oxblood 1954 Les Paul is available for a limited time, so do not miss this rare opportunity to own an accessible tribute to one of the world’s most famous, cherished, and valuable electric guitars and the master instrumentalist who made it famous–Jeff Beck.

For more information, please visit epiphone.com.

Epiphone Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar - Oxblood

Jeff Beck Oxblood '54 LP , Oxblood

Peavey® introduces new Cirrus™ bass guitar models, featuring 4-string and 5-string options in nine styles. With Peavey VFL humbuckers, 3-band active EQ, and exotic hardwoods, these basses pay homage to the original 1997 design. Starting at $3299.99.

Peavey® announces the debut of new Cirrus™ bass guitar models. Featuring 4-string and 5-string models, in an encompassing collection of nine different styles, Cirrus bass guitars deliver the high level of craftsmanship and sonic character that helped bring Peavey fretted instruments to a new standard. Featuring Peavey VFL humbuckers, 3-band active EQ, and visually striking designs, Cirrus basses are back to make their boldest statement yet.

The initial launch of handcrafted Cirrus basses in 1997 helped Peavey guitars gain a new level of respect among professional players. Peavey’s master luthier, the late Mike Powers, achieved excellent tone with a lighter, neck-through design. In the new Cirrus bass models, Peavey brings back this essential feature, as well as the use of exotic hardwoods, state-of-the-art electronics, and a 35-inch scale length to improve the low-end.

The new Cirrus bass design improves upon the VFL (Vertical Flux Loading) humbucker technology that originally debuted with this model. VFL was another Powers innovation that optimized the magnetic field for less inductance and enhanced high-frequency performance. Peavey’s VFL electronics include 3-band active Cirrus EQ, blend control, and master volume, allowing players of various styles to dial in their perfect tone.

The two main models are the Cirrus 4-string and 5-string. Each model offers Flame Maple, Flame Maple Trans Black, Flame Maple Trans Blue, or Wenge wood for the top material. The Cirrus 4 offers the additional option of a Quilt Maple top. The maple tops are paired with alder bodies, achieving a harmonious balance of brightness and midrange warmth. Similarly, the pairing of the wenge top with walnut creates a distinctive tonal fusion resulting in a rich, balanced sound. A natural oil finish is used, with the exception of the Flame Maple Trans Blue and Trans Black models, which have a corresponding Gloss Burst finish for a dazzling splash of color.

On each model, a rosewood fretboard with 24 medium jumbo frets is reinforced by purple heart wood stringers, which not only add to the tonal depth but provide an eye-catching design that complements each instrument’s overall look. Another captivating signature feature is the Cirrus inlay on the 12th fret.

The engineering team also tips their hat to the lightweight 1997 design by using graphite pultrusion, as well as a graphite top nut and graphite overlay headstock with Peavey’s block letter logo. Wood is the material of choice for the back plate, battery cover, and dual-action truss rod cover, secured with machine screws.

While most of the models have sleek black hardware, the Quilt Maple and Flame Maple models offer a unique flair with gold hardware. Dunlop-style strap locks come standard.

With the debut of new Peavey’s Cirrus bass guitars, past and present reunite to provide players endless possibilities for a new musical journey.

Street prices starting at $3299.99 with TKL hardshell case included.

For more information, please visit peavey.com.