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“I’ll probably be buried with it!”: Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka on his most beloved and battered guitars
Few guitarists have a bond with their instrument quite like Jake Kiszka and his 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG. And that bond was strong from the moment he laid his hands on it.
As the story goes, Kiszka and his now-beloved SG first met during the early days of Greta Van Fleet, when he paid a visit to Chicago Music Exchange, of which the band’s manager knew the owner. As he tells Guitar.com in the latest episode of My Guitars & Me, the owner suggested he try the guitar out, “based on everything I was into at the time”.
And the moment he plugged it in, it was a moment of “divine intervention”, he recalls. “It was like lightning split from the sky – it was really unbelievable. It was everything that I had been looking for sonically in a guitar my whole life was right here.”
While it commanded a hefty $25,000 price tag, the owner generously let Kiszka walk away with the guitar and take it on tour with GVF, on the condition that he pay him back when he was able. “It was incredible on him for letting me do that,” Kiszka says.
The ‘61 Les Paul SG has been Kiszka’s go-to guitar ever since, and you don’t need a magnifying glass to tell it’s taken some wear and tear over the years.
“This is what happens when you start wearing rhinestones on suits with no jacket over them. And this is what my nipples have done,” he jokes. “It looks like a cutting board, doesn’t it? It’s a lot lighter than when I got it – I’ve sanded it away!”
The wear and tear is so extreme, Kiszka says, that Gibson would have to invent an “entirely new specification of aging level” to recreate the guitar as a true-to-life signature model.
Through their thousands of hours together, Jake Kiszka has developed a bond with his SG that few guitarists will ever enjoy with their instruments.
“I’ll probably be buried with it!” he jokes. “There’s a piece of me in this guitar, but there’s also a piece of this guitar in me. In reality, a lot of my playing, and the way that I’ve developed playing have actually come from this very specific instrument.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Kiszka shows off the custom Martin 00-28 he had designed specifically for his side project, Mirador.
“I wanted to find something that could be the guitar that would be the Mirador acoustic. I went to Gibson. I went to tonnes of people to do something specifically, with certain types of inlays, obviously. I went to Martin and asked if they could do this and they said, ‘Yes.’”
Kiszka says he was after an aged-looking “renaissance”-style guitar, and one with a slotted headstock. “I’m like, ‘Could you guys build me a pirate guitar.’ This is what they came up with, which is quite brilliant,” he says.
Watch the full episode of My Guitars & Me with Jake Kiszka below.
The post “I’ll probably be buried with it!”: Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka on his most beloved and battered guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Ace Frehley cancels show following fall in his home studio
Founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley has cancelled his upcoming show at the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, California after suffering a fall in his home studio.
In a statement posted yesterday (25 September) on his social media channels, Frehley’s team offered more detail about the incident.
“Ace had a minor fall in his studio, resulting in a trip to the hospital,” the statement reads. “He is fine, but against his wishes, his doctor insists that he refrain from travel at this time. As a result, he is forced to cancel his performance at the Antelope Valley Fair on Friday, 26 September.
“Please go to the fair to support his friends in Quiet Riot and Vixen, and Ace looks forward to continuing on his tour and finishing work on his next album, Origins Vol. 4.
Despite the statement, the 74-year-old guitarist has yet to release the third installment of his Origins album series, following Origins Vol. 2 in 2020.
Earlier this year, Frehley told Eddie Trunk that Vol. 3 was in the process of being recorded with producer Alex Salzman, who also worked on the first two installments.
“We have a formula that we came up with and it seems to work,” he said [via Blabbermouth]. “I was listening to the records last night on YouTube, you know. In my office, on my desk, I have a set of Bose speakers, and the album sounds just as good as the new album, 10,000 Volts [which landed in 2024]. So I’m gonna keep that.”
“I’m gonna go back to my old formula with Alex and maybe I’ll bring back Steve [Brown, Trixter guitarist who also worked on 10,000 Volts] to do the studio album since he’s a very, very good songwriter and guitar player and engineer, as well.”
In other news, Frehley recently detailed how he declined an invitation to appear at the Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas event. “They asked me and I declined. There’s no way I’m gonna be involved in that,” he said.
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Brian May admits he still finds it hard to play Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody: “I still have to keep my wits about me or I’ll fall off the train”
You’d think after half a century of playing one of the most famous songs in rock history, Brian May would have it down cold. But according to the Queen guitarist, Bohemian Rhapsody remains as tricky as ever – so much so that he still has to ‘keep his wits about him’ every time he plays it.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, May shares how the complexity of Freddie Mercury’s writing made the track both exhilarating and challenging to play.
“The idea for all the instrumental stuff in Rhapsody was growing while I was listening to him developing the song,” he says. “Freddie had some amazingly lateral thought processes. It was always easier for me to play on his songs than mine, ’cause there was so much stimulation coming.”
That said, the six-minute track is no walk in the park, even for its original guitarist.
“Bohemian Rhapsody is never that easy to play, even after all these years,” May admits. “I still have to keep my wits about me or I’ll fall off the train.”
And while the song continues to test him, the grind of constant touring is another challenge altogether. Though fans may be clamouring for yet another Queen tour, May, now 78, admits that life on the road no longer holds the same appeal.
“ I’ve had 50 years of touring and there’s a part of me that thinks it’s enough,” he says. “I don’t like the idea that you wake up in your hotel room and you’re trapped. I had a few experiences recently where stuff happened at home with my family and I could not go home. It got under my skin and I just thought, ‘I’m not sure if I want this anymore.’ I feel like I’ve given up my freedom too many times. So my feeling at the moment is I don’t want to tour as such. I still want to play shows. I still want to innovate.”
That innovation may soon find a new home in Las Vegas. May has his sights set on a Queen residency at the Sphere, the high-tech venue with 360-degree visuals that left him stunned after watching the Eagles perform there.
“ I’m very keen on the Sphere,” says the guitarist. “It’s got my mind working. I sat there watching the Eagles, thinking, ‘We should do this. The stuff that we could bring to this would be stupendous.’ So, yeah, I would like to do it. We’re having conversations.”
The post Brian May admits he still finds it hard to play Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody: “I still have to keep my wits about me or I’ll fall off the train” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“Why would I want to do it the same?”: Why David Gilmour “never learned” this classic Pink Floyd guitar solo
Few guitar solos are as universally revered as the climactic second solo in Comfortably Numb. It’s the soaring, heart-wrenching finale to one of Pink Floyd’s most enduring songs, and the kind of performance many guitarists have spent decades trying to replicate. Yet the man who wrote it – prog wizard David Gilmour – admits he’s never actually learned it when it comes to playing live.
Speaking with Rick Beato in a recent interview, the Floyd guitarist explains that the solo, while immortalised on The Wall, has never been something he felt the need to reproduce exactly.
“I’m not thinking about the audience and what they want, to be honest,” he explains. “I just like it starting the way it starts, and the rest of it is so ingrained in me that the various parts of it are going to find their way into what I’m doing.”
“But I’ve never learned it. Yeah, I’ve never learned that guitar solo.”
For Gilmour, the live experience is about feeling the moment rather than sticking to a routine formula: “I mean, there are a lot of guys who can play that. But I don’t play it,” he laughs.
“To me it’s just different every time. Why would I want to do it the same? Would it be more popular with the people listening if I did it exactly like the record? Or do they prefer that I just wander off into whatever feels like the right thing at the time? I don’t know. I suspect they prefer it to be real, and to be happening, you know?”
Still, his improvisational spirit doesn’t mean he’s completely unmoored from the studio version.
“There are cues within it, which I use to tell the band, ‘We’re going to end,’ or, ‘We’re going to do this,’” says Gilmour. “And so, they crop up as being the same every time, pretty much.”
The post “Why would I want to do it the same?”: Why David Gilmour “never learned” this classic Pink Floyd guitar solo appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Fender Player II Modified Telecaster – “this guitar just begs to be played for hours”
$1049.99/£949, fender.com
When Fender launched the Player II series last year, it felt like a significant leap forward in the quality and especially playability of the brand’s most affordable Mexico-made instruments.
Fender’s Ensenada factory guitars have also proved to be great modding platforms for pros and weekend warriors alike for decades now, and so it is that less than a year later, the Player II Modified range has sought to do the hard work for you.
Whether it’s Noiseless pickup-loaded Strats or Floyd Rose HSS offerings, the results have been pretty impressive so far – but can they say the same for Leo Fender’s original brilliant electric guitar design? Let’s find out…
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Player II Modified Telecaster – what is it?
The original Player II Telecaster was a very impressive guitar as it is. And many of the original’s best features are kept for the Modified version – that means an alder body and maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, and yes those ‘board edges are nicely rolled just like the original. That neck is the same 9.5-inch radius’d C-shape as the Player II too.
Another holdover on this test example is a three-colour sunburst finish, but unlike the vanilla Player II it’s accented rather nicely with a four-ply white pearloid pickguard to make it stand out from the rabble.
Under the hood, there’s a lot more going on, however. Most notably, you get a pair of Fender’s Player II Noiseless Tele units – which should come in handy for noisy environments – and more advanced wiring nestling in that body cavity.
In practice that means you get the ability to switch between series and parallel wiring, and there’s also a treble bleed circuit on the volume control to keep things clear and focused as you roll off.
You also get a set of Fender’s locking tuners to make string changes a doddle, while a soft-shell gigbag is included in the price here too – something that was notably absent from the basic Player II range.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Player II Modified Telecaster – feel and sounds
One of the chief concerns one might have when buying a conventional Telecaster, or any guitar with only single coils – at least if you are slightly more hard rock-inclined – is that the absence of a humbucker might prove inhibitive.
But thanks to the Player II Modified Telecaster’s push-pull tone pot-activated series mode – which utilises both the neck and bridge pickup at once in series – a sound is included in your palette which very effectively fills that humbucker void.
I’d class myself as a ‘recently country-curious’ player who primarily comes from a hard rock and metal background. With this in mind it’s a very pleasant surprise when I almost automatically dial in a high-gain tone and jam some quickfire palm-muted chugs in series mode.
Look, if you’re looking to venture into extreme metal territory you’re not going to find your perfect match here, but Player II Modified Tele definitely holds its own with heavier sounds with both pickups engaged – no doubt in part due to the Noiseless nature of the design. There’s a reason why Idles were involved in the marketing campaign for these instruments.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fun side note, though: there’s a space between the series-on and series-off settings on the push-pull tone knob where signal is cut entirely, so the more creative among you might be able to use it as a makeshift killswitch and channel your inner Tom Morello.
Moving into the sort of tones that you’d probably expect this guitar to handle, here the pickups show their versatility and their quality – with the Noiseless factor adding real punch and clarity to blues, country and rock licks.
The bridge pickup boasts that classic Tele twang, while the neck pickup has a gloriously warm tone, while retaining a level of articulation by which the guitar just begs to be played for hours.
The treble bleed circuit is another really useful extra tool to have in your arsenal when you’re indulging in grittier tones. The ability to roll off the volume and clean things up without losing clarity adds another string to this versatile instrument’s bow.
If there’s one slight bugbear I have with the guitar straight out of the box, it’s that the action is a little high to really get the most out of the playability. It’s a relatively easy fix that any half-decent tech can handle if you’re not confident with doing it yourself of course, but it’s still suboptimal.
Otherwise, the general fit and finish of everything is truly top class – there are zero noticeable visual hiccups or sloppiness. The neck itself is effortlessly smooth, with those rolled edges really enhancing things again, and it really does feel every bit the road-ready pro instrument.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender Player II Modified Telecaster – should I buy one?
Fender has expended a fair bit of energy catering to their ‘pro’ market in the shape of the American Ultra II and Ultra Luxe guitars, but those instruments are also priced at a level that many ordinary working musicians can’t really consider.
So for that reason alone, it’s great then that the Player II Modified exists. The standard Player II Telecaster will be plenty of instrument for many players, but if your needs are a little more unconventional and you venture into the heavier spectrum of sounds, this Modified version will be right up your street.
Fender Player II Modified Telecaster – alternatives
You could, of course, go for a non-modified, standard Player II Telecaster (from $839.99/£709) if you’re not overly fussed about the series mode, treble bleed circuit or locking tuners. The previous iteration of the Modified concept was the Player Plus range, and you can still find them kicking around with a healthy discount – they’ll also give you Noiseless pickups and those lovely rolled fingerboard edges.
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Selling your gear to make room for more? Reverb Wallet grants exclusive perks to sellers keeping their earnings on Reverb
Hot on the heels of the recent announcement that the marketplace was reducing its fees for sellers – down 3% to just 5% now – and adding a slew of smarter selling features, Reverb is continuing its innovative streak with a new Wallet experience.
Principally, sellers can now get even more value for their music gear by keeping their earnings from sales in their Reverb Wallet, and consequently take advantage of a 1% cashback bonus, faster earnings and future access to “exclusive perks that can help them fund their new sound faster”.
So, essentially at its core, Reverb Wallet offers sellers an alternative to cash for their gear sales, and the option to boost their earnings if keeping them within the Reverb ecosystem – certainly good news for sellers looking to shift gear to make space for more in their collection.
“One of the most important parts of music making is trying out new sounds,” says Reverb’s Chief Technology Officer, Jason Wain.
“Whether you’re upgrading from an Epiphone Les Paul to a Gibson, or starting a new project that needs the dreamy tone of a Roland Juno rather than the gritty sound of the Moog Grandmother, we want to make that journey as easy as possible.
“With Reverb Wallet, players get access to more gear when they turn their old guitars, synths, pedals, and other instruments into higher earnings that help them refresh their rig.”
Reverb says its new Wallet feature is backed by a “trusted and regulated payments platform”, and will see users granted access to “exclusive perks over the coming months”.
In terms of how Reverb Wallet works in practice, sellers can opt in by visiting “Shop Settings”, and selecting “Reverb Wallet” in the payment settings section on the “Policies” page.
The slew of new features in quick succession follows Reverb’s recent return to independence for the first time since 2019 after being sold by marketplace giant Etsy.
The sale was made possible by two investors: Creator Partners, also an investor in BMI, SoundCloud, Color Studios and Mogul; and Servco, which owns a majority stake in Fender.
Learn more about Reverb Wallet at Reverb.
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“Fender increased prices to offset higher costs from tariffs”: Report reveals how Fender is tackling tariffs and a “weaker macroeconomic environment”
President Donald Trump enacted hefty tariffs on the import of goods into the United States from countries around the world earlier this year, and they’re continuing to have a heavy impact on guitar manufacturers, including Fender.
Instrument and gear brands have been continually speaking out about the impact of these high tariffs on the guitar trade. Fender’s Executive Vice President Of Product, Justin Norvell, even travelled to Washington earlier this year in an attempt to mitigate the “devastating” impact of the global tariffs alongside industry figures including NAMM’s John Mlynczak and Gibson’s Erin Salmon.
According to a new report from financial information and analytics expert S&P Global [via Guitar World], Fender increased prices throughout the first half of the year to offset higher costs from tariffs, “especially from China, which makes up 40 percent of purchases (half of which enter the US).”
The report further claims that the Big F implemented a five percent price increase in July across its entire portfolio to tough out the financial challenges of the enacted tariffs, but also, it acknowledges the impact of a weaker economy on the business, and explains how sell-in habits – the sales from manufacturers and dealers – affect the brand.
The report states, “Sell-in has exceeded our expectations for retail partners like Guitar Center, SweetWater, and Amazon, as higher-income consumers continue to value the Fender brand.”
Despite this, it also notes: “Nonetheless, volumes continue to decline due to lower consumer discretionary spending, which we expect will continue throughout the remainder of the year. For example, smaller locally owned US dealers continue to tightly manage inventory amid a weaker macroeconomic environment as consumers trade down to the second-hand market or defer discretionary spending.”
S&P Global also claims that Fender is having some success in regards to its entry-level trade; it believes that Fender is “gaining market share” in low-end guitars due to competitor brands allegedly reducing “imports of low-end guitars from China due to tariff headwinds.”
In summary, S&P states: “In 2026, we expect improving volume trends from new innovations, though we continue to expect subdued consumer sentiment resulting in minimal revenue growth. We expect dealers will remain cautious on increasing inventory levels because of a weak macroeconomic backdrop with lower discretionary spending on big-ticket items like guitars.”
It continues, “We expect management will continue to exercise prudent cost management and limit marketing spending and compensation costs to offset its lower gross profit given a weaker macroeconomic environment.”
View the full product lineup from Fender, or find out more on how Fender and other guitar brands joined forces to try and mitigate the impact of high tariffs.
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Heritage Guitars’ Standard II Collection adds “meaningful refinements” to its original Standard Series
[Editor’s note: Heritage Guitars and Guitar.com are both part of the Caldecott Music Group.]
Heritage Guitars has unveiled its Standard II Collection, described as a refinement of its original Standard Series, and it’s kicking things off with the newly updated H-150.
The launch continues Heritage’s 40th anniversary celebrations, with 2025 continuing to be a “landmark year” for the brand. So far, Heritage has also notably debuted the Custom Shop H-717 archtop and the Ascent Collection: a line of accessible instruments designed to bring Heritage’s craftsmanship to a wider audience.
Marking the first model in the Standard II collection, the refreshed H-150 introduces several key enhancements in construction, tone, and versatility. It offers an updated headstock with a new veneer featuring the ‘Heritage’ logo, and its body is crafted from genuine mahogany with weight relief, offering greater comfort without compromising on tone.
It has a ’60s neck profile, which is slim for ample grip with a vintage-inspired feel, and it also comes in brand-new finishes including Wine Red, Bourbon Burst, and Chestnut Burst, alongside existing favourites Dirty Lemon Burst and Ebony.
Credit: Heritage Guitars
Further diving into tone and electronics, the Standard II H-150 is fitted with new Heritage Custom Shop 225 Standard Humbuckers – designed and wound in-house, and offering a “broad and expressive” tonal range. Built with 42 AWG plain enamel wire (neck) or 43 AWG poly wire (bridge) on Butyrate unpotted bobbins, and 2.5” roughcast Alnico 5 magnets, they feature potted covers to minimise unwanted feedback at higher volumes.
The model is also equipped with series/parallel switching via push/pull tone pots for tonal flexibility, capturing the brightness and clarity of a “single-coil” voice without the volume loss of traditional coil-splitting.
Speaking of the new series, Heritage Guitars adds: “With the Standard II Collection, Heritage Guitars reaffirms its commitment to continual improvement and refining every detail to deliver meaningful upgrades for today’s players, while staying true to its American-made legacy.”
The Standard II H-150 is priced at $2,599. To find out more or view full specifications, head over to Heritage Guitars.
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Judge orders Gibson’s damages in Dean legal case upped from $1 to $168,000
![Headstock of a Dean guitar [main image], and the headstock of a Gibson guitar [inset]](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dean-Gibson-new-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
Back in March 2025, Gibson triumphed for a second time in its legal battle against Dean, with the latter having been found to have infringed on Gibson’s trademarks for the Flying V, Explorer and SG. However, that victory was tempered somewhat by the jury’s recommendation that Gibson be awarded just $1 in damages.
Now however, the judge in the case has increased this award, ruling that Dean’s parent company Armadillo Distribution Enterprises Inc, will have to pay Gibson just over $168,000 for the infringement, which is to be taken in disgorgement of profits earned through infringement.
In legal speak, disgorgement refers to the relinquishing or forfeiture of unlawfully obtained profits toward either the state, or in this case, to the party harmed, Gibson.
The original figure was so low because the jury felt that Gibson had waited too long to protect its trademark rights – Dean had been making guitars using the Flying V and Explorer body shapes since the 1970s, but Gibson didn’t take action against them for decades.
Now however, US District Judge Amos L Mazzant – who presided over the case – has decided that the jury’s recommendation is insufficient given the profits made by Armadillo over the period from use of the infringing shapes, and increased the damages to $168,399
Mazzant had the option to treble the damages or award Gibson statutory damages, but he declined to do so as he felt that any further financial punishment for Dean would be “punitive”.
“By requiring Armadillo to disgorge the profits it earned through infringement, the Court places Gibson in roughly the same position as it would have been had the infringement never occurred,” Judge Mazzant wrote in his latest opinion handed down on Monday (22 September).
“Here, statutory damages are unwarranted,” Judge Mazzant said in the ruling handed down on Monday. “The court already determined that disgorgement and injunctive relief are the proper remedy based on the equities of this case and any additional monetary award would be punitive.”
“Also, awarding statutory damages would be duplicative of the disgorgement award.”
The case wasn’t a total loss for Dean/Armadillo, however. While the brand was found to have infringed on the body shape trademarks for the Flying V, Explorer and SG – as well as the ‘Hummingbird’ and ‘Flying V’ wordmarks – but was found to have not infringed on either the ‘Dove Wing’ headstock shape or the ES body shape. In fact the jury even recommended that the ES trademark should be cancelled as it is generic.
In his latest opinion Judge Mazzant declines to elaborate further on this, though it could end up being a hugely impactful part of the case. He also neither accepted or denied Gibson’s request for Armadillo to cover the brand’s legal fees – both of these will be addressed in the final judgement on the case.
However, the injunction handed down now permanently bars Armadillo and Dean from making, advertising or selling products which infringe Gibson’s trademarks. Counsel for both Gibson and Armadillo have not commented on the matter at this time.
Brief history of Gibson vs. Dean
The legal battle between Gibson and Dean goes back to 2019, when Gibson accused Dean’s parent company Armadillo of trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting, unfair competition and trademark dilution.
Armadillo subsequently launched counterclaims, saying a number of other guitar companies have been selling products with strong visual similarities to Gibson’s designs for decades. It argued, therefore, that Gibson’s trademarks should be cancelled for genericness.
But in 2022, Dean and Armadillo were found guilty of trademark infringement and counterfeiting pertaining to Gibson’s Flying V, Explorer, SG and Hummingbird shapes. At the same time, the jury found that Gibson had delayed in asserting its trademark rights for the Flying V and Explorer body shapes, and the Dove Wing headstock shape.
The case then went to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which in July 2024 ordered a new trial after finding that the district court had improperly excluded evidence.
However, after a second seven-day trial in March, Gibson once again triumphed – albeit in a more limited fashion than the first case. The jury found Dean had infringed on the Flying V, Explorer and SG – as well as the ‘Hummingbird’ and ‘Flying V’ wordmarks – but was found to have not infringed on either the ‘Dove Wing’ headstock shape or the ES body shape, and recommended the cancellation of the latter.
Guitar.com has reached out to both Gibson and Dean/Armadillo for comment on the latest ruling.
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Noel Gallagher’s 1960 Gibson ES-355, which Liam Gallagher destroyed right before Oasis’s breakup, is headed to auction – and could fetch up to £500k
There are certain instruments which hold an unassailable place in music history. And Noel Gallagher’s 1960 Cherry Red Gibson ES-355 is one of them.
While Oasis are back now stronger than ever – and in the midst of a world tour, one of the most highly anticipated in history – the Gallagher brothers have had to fight through their share of differences to get to this point.
It was inevitable that the band’s breakup in 2009 would be climactic, and ultimately saw a fight break out between Liam and Noel backstage at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris. The bust-up was not without collateral, either, as Liam grabbed Noel’s ES-355 and swung it “like an axe”, causing the damage which can be seen on the instrument today.
This guitar played a big part in the story of Oasis’s contentious breakup, so now that it’s headed to the auction block, it’s understandable experts are predicting such a high sell price: £250,000 – £500,000, to be precise.
According to PropstoreAuction – the auction house hosting the sale – Liam chose this guitar to swing around because he knew it was one of Noel’s favourites. “So then he leaves and goes to his own dressing room and picks up a guitar,” Noel explained in 2011. “He comes back in and he starts throwing it around like an axe.”
Noel later announced he was leaving Oasis, saying he could no longer work with Liam, and the band subsequently split.
Credit: PropstoreAuction
Aside from its big part in Oasis’s 2009 breakup, the ES-355 was used by Noel and Gem Archer during Oasis’s Dig Out Your Soul tour in 2008, as well as extensively in the studio. Archer also played the guitar during the band’s performance of Don’t Look Back in Anger at Wembley Arena in 2008, and Noel played it during an acoustic performance at Koko Club in Camden on 2 November, 2006.
Online bidding for the guitar is open now, with a minimum starting bid required of £125,000. The auction will end on Thursday, 23 October.
Noel Gallagher’s 1960 Cherry Red Gibson ES-355 is just one item in PropstoreAuction’s mega Music Memorabilia Live Auction. Other items headed to the auction block include:
- Noel Gallagher’s Takamine FP460SC acoustic used to record Wonderwall (Est. £200,000 – £400,000
- Lyrics handwritten by Jimi Hendrix for Straight Ahead (Est. £40,000 – £80,000)
- Slash’s 2019 Gibson Les Paul Appetite Burst “Prototype 2 of 2” (Est. £20,000 – £40,000)
- Trevor Horn’s Sarm West Studio 2 Solid State Logic SL 4048E+G Series Mixing Desk (Est. £100,000 – £200,000)
- Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal music video white fedora (Est. £40,000 – £80,000)
- Elvis Presley’s original pair of worn Grand Prix sunglasses (Est. £8,000 – £16,000)
“Propstore’s auction is a celebration of music history, with guitars that shaped the sound of a generation, handwritten lyrics that capture the first spark of legendary songs, and personal items that offer a glimpse into the lives of the world’s greatest music artists,” says Mark Hochman, Propstore’s Music Specialist.
“From John Lennon’s unmistakable glasses to Noel Gallagher’s iconic guitars, these are not just collectables; they’re cultural touchstones that have inspired millions. The Oasis online auction is a particular highlight, perfectly timed with the band’s return to the stage, and offering fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a tangible piece of their enduring story.”
Learn more at PropstoreAuction.
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Christone “Kingfish” Ingram picks his six most influential blues guitar albums of all time
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram burst onto the blues scene a decade ago as a teenage electric prodigy. Now the erstwhile son of Clarksdale, Mississippi is back with Hard Road – a new album of modern blues released on his new label Red Zero Records and an upcoming world tour to support it.
Anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing Ingram’s calling down the thunder with his soulful vocals interspersed with searing lead lines – from his signature Fender Telecaster Deluxe no less – will be expecting great things and this album does not disappoint with some stand out guitar moments. More about Hard Road later, but we really wanted to find out more about the records that have inspired Kingfish to become the 2025 blues colossus that he is. So here are his top five – well six actually – influential albums in the man’s own words.
I’ll Play The blues For You – Albert King
“The title track is the first song that I learned how to play – on bass! This album has to be first on the list. The whole record is great but my favourite song has to be Answer To The Laundromat Blues. He’s really digging in. I don’t know if this is a weird statement but I really like blues players that play with a lot of authority – not necessarily fast – they really dig in. Albert King is one of my biggest influences and he does that – especially on this record.”
Showdown – Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland
“This is a classic amongst blues historians. Well, for me it’s a classic. It was a collaborative thing between Albert Collins, Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland. The first track – T-Bone Shuffle – Johnny Copeland plays one of my favourite solos on that song. I love his opening licks on that solo. I play those licks in my solos and I got them from this record!”
Live At The Regal – BB King
“Man, you can’t mess with this. Yes sir, that’s classic blues – in fact you can’t say classic blues without Live At The Regal. What can I say about the guitar work on this album? Listen to the whole thing! That’s all I can say! I love that sound – When I first started I played a Gibson 355 – that sort of guitar has certainly been part of my journey and sound.”
Are You Experienced? – Jimi Hendrix
“Jimi Hendrix was a big influence on me. Well, look, outside of classic blues – I love a lot of music, I’m looking at my computer right now and there is so much to choose from – this ain’t easy! But this record… I love the whole thing but there is this one song in particular that is special to me – May This Be Love. This song showcases Jimi’s R&B chordal influences and that’s why I love it. It’s beautiful. He was a master of rhythm guitar.”
A Real Mother For Ya – Johnny Guitar Watson
“Yes sir, Johnny Guitar Watson is definitely an influence when it comes to my phrasing, funk playing, he was a great blues player too – just so inspiring. This is just a great record – listen to the title track. So much feel, and humour too. But I need one more, can I have one more?”
Of course!
Superfly – Curtis Mayfield
“Curtis Mayfield has to be here. Superfly is an important album. I always say that Curtis Mayfield was a prophet. History repeats itself and he really prophesied a lot of what we are seeing today for sure man. Not only that but his black piano key tuning and his whole approach opening up the guitar to his melody and rhythm work. This record belongs here for sure. The title track says it all.”
“I don’t consider myself a blues purist. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with “purists” of the genre. And that’s simply because I jump back and forth – one day I’ll play traditional blues, the next I’m all rocked up and rocking out. But here’s the thing, I will play whatever the hell I want to play, how I want to play it. And not only that, I feel that it’s cool to showcase the influence of the blues as much as the language itself.
“We all know that the blues is the roots – all these other sub-genres like soul, blues rock, rock n roll, they’re all the branches. Ain’t nothing wrong with showing what the blues has influenced. I feel like the more I go out the box musically people will always be able to hear the foundation of the blues in my music because I will always have that no matter what I do. Even if I’m doing a pop record it’s going to have some blues in there somewhere because that’s where I come from.”
Image: Jen Rosenstein
You recently set up your own record label – that is an interesting step forward!
“That’s right – Red Zero Records. This was an idea that my manager and I formulated back in 2019. We wanted to create an avenue for a lot of the young blues-based musicians that we felt weren’t getting the recognition they deserved. I’m not the only one that’s out. Here doing it you know – there’s a host of young talent out here and I wanted to help. You have to give back – someone gave me an opportunity and now I’m at a point in my career where I can pass that forward.”
Did you feel a new level of creative freedom?
“Definitely! I feel like everyone knows me for the blues and blues-rock but you listen to this new record and you will hear R&B on there, you’ll hear soul, I really wanted to make a record that would showcase my voice and my vocal range too – and then all the other stuff comes in. Tom Hambridge, Patrick “Guitarboy” Hayes, and Nick Goldston did a great job with the production too – those guys know what they’re doing – I love how this record sounds.”
Hard Road is out 25 September on Red Zero Records
The post Christone “Kingfish” Ingram picks his six most influential blues guitar albums of all time appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Boss brings the Whammy into the 21st century with the all-new XS-100
Boss has unveiled its 21st-century answer to the Whammy pedal with the all-new XS-100, as well as a smaller unit adopting the brand’s compact pedal format, the XS-1.
Boasting a huge eight-octave range – and, of course, an onboard pedal for linear control of the four octaves above and below the centre line – Boss is confident the XS-100 is a “powerhouse expression machine that will transform how guitarists and bassists perform with pitch”.
Meanwhile, the XS-1 takes the XS-100’s core features and distills them into the treasured Boss compact pedal format, offering instant drop tunings, capo simulations, octave effects, and even linear pitch control, if pairing with an external expression pedal.
Linear pitch shifting has long been an effect much loved by guitarists. But with the development of the XS series, Boss says it has pioneered new methods to “advance real-time pitch shifting and eliminate the tonal artefacts common in conventional designs”.
“Powered by finely tuned algorithms and a specially selected DSP platform, the XS series provides balanced polyphonic performance that feels natural and musical across all playing styles, pickup positions, and pedal setups,” Boss says.
“The attack and tonal character are fully preserved, and even complex chords and sustained lead tones – typically a challenge for pitch shifters – are reproduced with stunning clarity.
Let’s take a closer look at what both the XS-100 and XS-1 have to offer.
XS-100 Poly Shifter
Credit: Boss
In addition to four octaves both above and below, controllable via an onboard expression pedal, the XS-100 also enables motor revving-style tones via independent pitch-change speeds for each pedal direction.
There’s also an integrated toe switch, whereby at the end of the pedal’s travel, players can experiment with momentary pitch jumps with adjustable range and rise/fall time. Additionally, there are two footswitches which can be used to bypass the pedal shift and quickly retune an instrument at fixed semitone steps across the eight octaves.
The pedal’s range is also customisable, meaning musicians can create different presets for specific songs and bank them to 30 onboard memory slots.
And if one pedal wasn’t enough, the XS-100 supports up to two external footswitches or an expression pedal, further expanding real-time control options. There’s also MIDI I/O functionality for more advanced applications, like sending MIDI commands using the pedal and footswitches.
XS-1 Poly Shifter
Credit: Boss
Meanwhile, the XS-1 doesn’t have an onboard expression pedal – though an external one can be integrated – and is thus packed into Boss’s smaller compact blueprint for a more pedalboard-friendly footprint.
Offering a range of seven semitones and three octaves up or down, the XS-1 can be used for a variety of applications, including drop tunings, key changes, or capo simulation, to name a few.
Its easy-to-grasp interface features a dedicated Balance knob for adjusting the mix between wet and dry signal, while there’s also a Detune mode for experimenting with doubling effects.
The XS-1’s pedal switch can be assigned to on/off for momentary operation, while up to two external footswitches can be connected for quick access to alternate tuning modes with your preferred Balance settings. An external expression pedal can also be used to turn the XS-1’s operation more into that of the XS-100.
Pricing and availability
Both the XS-100 and XS-1 will be available in October 2025, priced at $349.99 and $199.99, respectively.
For more information, head to Boss.
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Say goodbye to hours of painful tone tweaking: Positive Grid’s new BIAS X platform uses AI to deliver the perfect guitar tone instantly
Sick of endless knob-fiddling to get that perfect tone? Positive Grid’s latest AI-powered guitar tone platform BIAS X is here to change that. Available for Mac and PC, BIAS X combines cutting-edge AI with a next-generation tone engine, taking musicians from a spark of an idea to a mix-ready sound in just moments.
From subtle dynamics and soaring leads to punchy modern metal and dreamy ambient swells, BIAS X delivers tones with an authenticity that mirrors real tubes, speakers, and circuits. Whether used as a standalone tone lab or as a DAW plugin, BIAS X is designed to help players spend more time making music and less time fiddling with settings.
What really sets BIAS X apart is its use of agentic AI, which is said to “understand tone like a musician”. Players can describe the sound they want – via text prompts referencing a favourite artist, song, genre, or even an abstract feeling – and the software generates a matching tone almost instantly. Musicians can also upload audio clips to recreate tones or request iterative refinements such as “more bite,” “less fuzz,” or “add crunch”. This dramatically streamlines the creative workflow, which is clearly one of BIAS X’s primary goals.
The platform itself comes equipped with 33 amps, 62 effects, and an all-new cab simulation. All of which have been crafted with an advanced tone engine that combines decades of Positive Grid’s amp and effects modelling expertise with machine learning and circuit-level simulation.
Over 200 classic amps were analysed during development to capture their tonal character, while adaptive circuit modelling and harmonic fingerprinting ensure that every note responds dynamically to a guitarist’s pick, volume, and playing style.
BIAS X also features an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface – reminiscent of Positive Grid’s popular BIAS FX 2 amp and effects suite – that encourages fast experimentation without breaking creative flow. Musicians can easily mix and match amps, cabinets, and effects to build custom rigs, while the revamped preset manager and gear browser make it simple to recall, compare, or swap gear on the fly.
As with all AI learning models, BIAS X evolves with the user, which means it will, in theory, adapt to your preferred style and preferences the more you play.
BIAS X is available for $149. Check out the software in action below.
Learn more at Positive Grid.
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“We knew there was going to be quite a bit of scrutiny”: Jake Kiszka felt “pressure” at what Greta Van Fleet fans would think of his Mirador side project
Jake Kiszka says he was prepared to face some scrutiny when releasing music for his new project, Mirador, from the fans who came to know him in Greta Van Fleet.
Launching Mirador has allowed Kiszka to make music without his brothers and GVF bandmates – Josh and Sam Kiszka – for the first time. He’s teamed up with Ida Mae’s Chris Turpin for the project, and the pair released their self-titled debut album earlier this month.
Opening up on the formation of Mirador, Kiskza tells SPIN, “There was some pressure around that, especially to begin with. We knew that if this was going to be a thing, there was going to be quite a bit of scrutiny around it from Ida Mae fans and Greta Van Fleet fans and everybody.
“In one way or another, there’s a skepticism about it. We really have to show up. We really have to deliver. In one way, as a promise to ourselves. But in another way, it was trying to do our best to represent this idea. It was trying to show people not only Mirador as a band, but that it exists because of this relationship and friendship and brotherhood. That’s part of the story. The reason we did this to begin with was because the philosophy, what Mirador means, transcends the music,” he states.
Further speaking on the differences in communication between the Greta Van Fleet camp and his work with Turpin, Kiszka adds: “The creative input is coming from four different sides of the table [in GVF]. There’s a stark contrast because there’s so many ideas. You’re really chasing a moving target, and that’s exciting, and it’s exhilarating, and it holds its place within the chemistry of Greta Van Fleet. But I’d never really worked with another person outside of my brothers.”
He continues, “That creative kinship is a rare thing. I have written or worked with other people where we’re seeing eye-to-eye to a certain degree, but not completing the other one’s sentences. It really started with a guitar, the phrasing. It was evident we were coming from the same place, that we spoke the same language, that our musicality and that vernacular was going to be shared and intertwined, because it was that way with the guitars.
“There was no question that if we could play together like that, with that kind of chemistry, we were of one mind. It was two people locked into one thing. I never had that before…. An interesting contrast to what I’ve been used to.”
The debut album from Mirador is out now, and you can also catch them on tour from September-November this year.
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Andrew Watt is producing another Rolling Stones album: “It’s like working for Batman… When the tongue is up in the air, you just go”
Producer Andrew Watt is working with the Rolling Stones again, as he confirms that they’ve been recording new music together.
Watt produced the band’s Grammy-winning 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, and has since gone on to produce for Pearl Jam, Lady Gaga, and for the collaborative album, Who Believes In Angels?, released by Elton John and Brandi Carlile earlier this year.
Though remaining very tight-lipped on the fine details, producer Watt tells Rolling Stone, “I’ve said it before, but it’s like working for Batman. When the tongue [logo] is up in the air, you just go… I can say we did some recording together, but that’s all I can say.”
Watt’s involvement in what sure seems to be another full-length record comes after speculative reports from inside sources, which suggested the band had been spending time in the studio again, and a Record Collector interview with Keith Richards’ son, Marlon.
He told the outlet that the band were “nearly done” recording and that they had enough material left over from Hackney Diamonds to work with on a new project: “They have enough left over from the last one. [It] gave them a Grammy so now they’re all hyped up on that: ‘Oh, yeah – we can do another one like that! We’ve got more like that if you want…’. I think they’re doing the follow-up,” he said.
Watt reflected on the making of Hackney Diamonds earlier this year, sharing his pride in how Paul McCartney helped him to land the gig, and how the Beatle got involved on the record for track Bite My Head Off.
“He got to just be the bass player in the band, and he fucking loved it,” Watt told Mojo. “As I was walking Paul out of the studio, he said, ‘I just fucking played bass in The Rolling Stones, and I’m a fucking Beatle!’”
The post Andrew Watt is producing another Rolling Stones album: “It’s like working for Batman… When the tongue is up in the air, you just go” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
I tried using an AI-powered amp and effects suite to create my guitar sound for me – here’s what happened
Ad feature with Positive Grid
The guitar world is a place where true innovation often feels hard to come by – after all, a lot of the technology used to make guitars, amps and effects do what they do is many decades old.
Positive Grid has been trying to change that in recent years, and the brand’s revolutionary Spark smart amp has changed the game for thousands of guitar players who want to streamline and simplify their practice routine.
Now the brand is looking to make the tone-sculpting experience even more frictionless in its impressive new amp and effects software suite, Project: BIAS X – and it’s doing it with the help of 2025’s main character: AI.
One of the most common complaints about any kind of comprehensive amp and effects product is that the sheer volume of options can act as a hindrance to creativity. Option paralysis is a real thing, and how often have we got distracted auditioning different amps and effects instead of actually making music? It can be fun, but it’s not always productive.
Image: Positive Grid
As you’d expect, BIAS X is a hugely powerful tool for in-the-box guitarists, offering over a hundred brilliantly modelled amps, cabs and effects, and all the signal-routing options you could dream of.
You could spend many hours exploring all the different sounds that are available. But for those who want to get down to it, BIAS X adds something potentially revolutionary – a chatbot-style AI Assistant that will take your prompts and attempt to turn them into the guitar sound you’re looking for in seconds.
I don’t know about you, but even as an experienced BIAS user, I often find there’s a gap between the tone I envision in my head and the one I’m able to create – especially when I\m stepping outside of my musical comfort zone.
Could BIAS X’s AI Assistant help me dial in the sound I’m looking for more easily and accurately than I could on my own? I was keen to find out, so I took the plunge?
Image: Positive Grid
How do you use the AI Assistant to create tones in BIAS X?
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the last year or so, you’ll probably have had some conversations with an AI agent, and the chat window popup in BIAS X is reassuringly familiar if you have.
Rather than answering your inane questions like ChatGPT, however, BIAS X’s AI Assistant has the much more worthwhile task of taking your user prompt and using its machine learning to build a signal chain from its myriad options. Once that’s done, you can check it out and then manually tweak and refine parameters to your taste.
As Guitar.com’s resident high-gain aficionado, my first port of call is to see how the AI Assistant can handle some crushing metal tones. There are plenty of amazing classic metal amps in BIAS X, so my hopes are high.
As with any AI prompt, I find it helps to be as specific as possible to get good results – “Give me a thrash metal tone” is not likely to yield exactly what you’re after for example, given the huge scope of that particular request.
Instead, I drill down: “Give me a high-gain tone for thrash metal,” I write. “Use a gate to limit unwanted noise, and make sure it has enough clarity so I can hear many notes in quick succession.”
I wait in quiet anticipation as the Assistant tells me it is ‘dialling it in’, and barely 10 seconds later I’m presented with a shiny new preset based on my request. This is a lot quicker than building it yourself.
To my great pleasure, the tone it gives me is a gnarly, heavily driven but not muddy sound – it’s frankly, mix-ready. The only thing I really have to do is tweak BIAS X’s global gate to reduce some heavy noise, but that may be more to do with my input level than anything fundamental about the AI-generated tone itself. Did I say it did this in 10 seconds?
A big tick for metal then, but how will the AI Assistant handle something a little more nuanced – like a crunchy blues-ready lead or a delicate and immersive clean for arpeggios? And what happens if I dial back on my level of detail in the prompt?
Keeping it simple this time I simply ask, “Give me a crunchy blues lead tone” and instantly you can tell the difference. While the basic result it provides me sounds good, it definitely needs a bit of refinement to get it to where I need it to be. It’s a touch wooly for my tastes, and the mids need scooping.
Thankfully, the AI Assistant exists in a continuous chat window, so I can ask it to make whatever refinements I desire. “Keep everything the same, but apply some subtractive EQ to the 400 – 600 Hz range to reduce grating peaks,” I tell it.
And voila, not 10 more seconds later, I’m served up a refined blues tone based on more than one of my prompts that sounds so good, and has me jamming for long enough for me to forget I’m working right now on writing this article.
My only real hiccup occurs the first time I ask for a clean tone – the Assistant generating a tone that’s significantly quieter in level than the previous two generated. Again, this would be an easy enough fix, but out of interest I simply ask the same prompt again.
The power of the AI inside means that these steps are not predetermined – so there’s every chance that the Assistant will output something different each time. Second time out, I’m delivered a gorgeously ethereal and reverb-washed clean tone that’s good to go.
It’s also worth noting that in my weeks with BIAS X, the quality of response from the Assistant has improved significantly with each software update pushed out pre-release. It’s a good sign that this will get even better over time.
It’s not just about text either…
What’s more, text-to-tone is just one of two principal ways the AI Assistant can help you achieve the sound you’re after. The other, ‘music-to-tone’, is perhaps even more exciting – as it allows you to upload an audio file, which BIAS X then analyses and delivers a guitar tone based on what it hears in the track.
Giving it a go myself, I uploaded an mp3 of a royalty-free track which begins with a riff, followed by a more full instrumental. I’m asked which snippet of the song I want BIAS X to analyse – it’s generally more successful if you choose a section with less instruments surrounding the guitar.
Once again, in 10 seconds or less delivers me four presets to choose from. I did notice that these presets were often quite different, but given that the AI is trying to account for the all-important guitar-shaped variable, that’s probably for good reason. Ultimately, every time I’ve given this feature a go, at least one of the generated presets sounds scarily like the original track.
Image: Positive Grid
So, do I really need an AI Assistant in my guitar software?
A lot of the conversation around AI at the moment is basically ‘Does X really need AI in it?’ but with something like BIAS X I can really see the user benefit.
The AI Assistant isn’t going to replace your need to have any kind of input in your tone-shaping endeavours – you still have to think and engage with what it’s spitting out in order for you to get the exact sound you want for your gear, playing style and needs.
Sure, you could create anything that the Assistant does yourself, but there’s no doubt that it gets you there a hell of a lot faster than the old-fashioned way. For me, it massively expedited the process of turning the sound in my head into a usable, functional guitar time, and let me focus on what really matters – making music.
Find out more about BIAS X at Positive Grid.
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“I wrote it so that Joe and I could play even harder than we did on Hotel California”: Don Felder on the guitar duel that never made Eagles’ last 70s album
Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder has re-recorded his 1981 solo cut Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride) for his new album, The Vault – Fifty Years of Music. The song, he reveals, has its roots in the band’s late ’70s heyday, when he envisioned it as the ultimate guitar showdown between himself and bandmate Joe Walsh.
Felder explains that the track was written in the wake of the Eagles’ career-defining Hotel California, where his traded solos with Walsh had become the stuff of legend. With The Long Run on the horizon, Felder says he wanted to push that energy even further.
“It was going to be a follow-up on The Long Run,” he tells Guitarist. “It had a real kind of heavy hand to it and I wrote it so that Joe and I could play even harder than we did – or edgier than we did – on Hotel California, against each other. It had harmony parts, trading-off solos and a much harder rock edge.”
A basic track for the song was cut during sessions for The Long Run, but deadlines (“We were just dying to get through this record,” the musician recalls) and tour commitments meant the band never finished it.
“We had a basic track, but it just died in the Eagles’ vault,” says Felder. “We just didn’t have time to do everything we needed to do. There were a lot of dropped ideas along the way, but I took the idea and turned it into Heavy Metal.”
The unfinished idea was resurrected years later when Felder was approached to contribute to the soundtrack for the animated sci-fi film Heavy Metal. Retitled Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride), the song found new life outside the Eagles’ orbit, but Felder has never stopped imagining what it might have sounded like as a full-blown Eagles guitar epic.
Now, more than four decades later, Felder says revisiting the track for his new album gave him the chance to finally update its sonics.
“After listening to it since 1981 or ‘82, just the tonality and the quality of it sounded kind of dated, you know? I thought, ‘I really like that song. I love playing it, and I play it at almost every one of my live shows. I just want to do a fresh version of it,’” he says.
Recorded with modern tools and production values, Felder insists the 2025 version captures the power he always heard in the song: “I used 96k Pro Tools, and with the remastering that we have today you can make things sound really great. So I went back and re-recorded it. It was fun to do and it just sounds a lot better to me.”
“Without the title Heavy Metal, that song could have, and should have, in my opinion, been finished on an Eagles record with Joe and I following up on Hotel with some dazzling guitar solos and stuff,” he says.
The post “I wrote it so that Joe and I could play even harder than we did on Hotel California”: Don Felder on the guitar duel that never made Eagles’ last 70s album appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Unseen Nirvana footage from 1990 gig – where Kurt Cobain smashed two guitars – surfaces at auction
A rare piece of Nirvana history has hit the auction block. Previously unseen footage of the band’s February 1990 gig at Iguanas in Tijuana, Mexico is going under the hammer – and it’s expected to fetch up to $150,000.
- READ MORE: The Guitar Gear Used on Bleach by Nirvana
The video, which runs just over 45 minutes, captures the grunge icons in their early Bleach era. The night also saw legendary frontman Kurt Cobain smashing not one but two guitars: a DIY pink Mustang and a 1970s Gibson SG.
The footage was captured across two Sony Video 8 master cassette tapes, labelled “Original Master Camera-A” and “Camera B”, complete with scrawled tape stickers reading “Nirvana I” and “Nirvana II.” Bonhams, which is handling the sale, expects the lot to fetch between $100,000 and $150,000.
It’s not just the tapes that are included. The package also comes with digital transfers of the footage on two Sony mini DVs, a portable SSD drive loaded with the “complete, digitised raw footage from both cameras, the professionally edited version of the concert, the edited version of the concert with a security watermark, and some stills taken from the video files”, as well as a US Copyright Office Certificate of Registration for the filming and editing of the show.
Collectors will also find some choice extras, including an original Nirvana tour poster for their 15 February show at Raji’s nightclub in Los Angeles – just two nights before Tijuana – plus a Sub Pop first pressing of Bleach on white vinyl, limited to just 1,000 copies.
Thirteen songs made the setlist that night, all delivered with the feral energy that would soon make Nirvana world-famous.
The sale is part of Bonhams’ Unplugged & Unforgettable: Music Auction, which closes Thursday, 24 September, at 12pm PDT.
Learn more at Bonhams.
The post Unseen Nirvana footage from 1990 gig – where Kurt Cobain smashed two guitars – surfaces at auction appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Emerald Ox FX GLTTR! review: “one of the most out-there ‘effects’ you’ll ever play”
£136, notpedals.com
While there may be a disco-ball on the front of the GLTTR!, have it place you under no illusion. There is little understating how totally unsuitable this unit is for attempting some funky Nile Rogers-style chops. You’d sooner kickstart the next disco revolution by cutting a goose in half with a guitar string.
- READ MORE: Meet NotPedals.com, a marketplace that’s making boutique handmade pedals more accessible than ever
What is the GLTTR!?
First of all, it’s a pedal with an exclamation point in its name – so no, the question in the sub-heading above has not been delivered in a desperate shout, but it would be appropriate if it was. The GLTTR! is one of those things that get listed as “other” or “glitch/weird” – and it earns it. Engaging the pedal for the first time I am met with an overwhelming, incomprehensible wall of sound. As per the manufacturer’s copy, GLTTR! “generates cascading noise that evolves over time,” and “even reacts to your playing when it feels like it.”
Indeed, this is only sort of an effects pedal review – in reality, the GLTTR! is a synth in disguise. It will allow you to mix in your guitar sound, and it even distorts it for you as well, because why not. However, the interaction between your playing and the sounds the GLTTR! produces is arcane – it’s there, but it’s hardly a one-to-one relationship.
While a delay chip is the heart of the GLTTR!’s noise-generation, there are a scant few settings where your signal is repeated back to you in any tangible way. And, for the most part, you can use the GLTTR! totally on its lonesome, without anything plugged in, if you so desire. It’s a pedal that can do the job of a big pile of modular gear, in the specific setting of noisily feeding everything back into itself to create violent cochlea sandpaper – the job of the musician, in the case of things like GLTTR!, is less about playing the gear and more about shaping it and directing the flow of the output.
Image: Press
This is because regardless of what’s going on at the input stage, GLTTR!’s output resembles a Merzbow album – replete with digital, harsh pulses and totally abstract howls, as if the little delay chip in here was granted the ability to feel pain. For genres where consonance, rhythm and harmony have been abandoned, though, the GLTTR!’s controls are extremely inviting.
The texture of the noise is thick, and the various controls poke and prod the resulting oscillations in various directions– the manual describes the “!!!” control as the “most important”, however it’s how it works in tandem with the various switches – specifically the “???” switch – to give you some really varying outputs, going from low growls with occasionally digital screeches at random intervals to high, piercing screams with blasts of white noise.
The on-board LFO, when set right, will also let you dance between some varying extremes, pushing and pulling the texture of the noise in great crashing waves. At some settings it even tortures the delay chip so drastically that it simply gives up and turns off, leading to stark, sudden silences amidst the total chaos. In these moments, before the howls return, you contemplate life before the GLTTR!, life after the GLTTR!, and the gulf between these two things.
Who is the GLTTR! for?
I would heartily recommend the GLTTR! To anyone who genuinely likes a bit of noise music in their life – you could otherwise achieve a similarly three-dimensional and variable noise sound with a more in-depth modular setup, but the GLTTR! Lets you dip your toes into that world in a familiar stompbox format.
With that said, anyone who is expecting a guitar effect that’s, well, an actual guitar effect, may feel like this is unusable in most circumstances. If you turned this pedal on during a “normal” guitar set, the sound engineer will probably start trying to figure out what just exploded. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its place in a ‘band’ setting – for some alarming noises between songs, I can see the GLTTR! doing a great job too. Just keep in mind that for best results, you may need to crouch down and do some knob-twiddling on stage.
The post Emerald Ox FX GLTTR! review: “one of the most out-there ‘effects’ you’ll ever play” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
With intricate LED-lit, hand-painted renditions of 9 American roots heroes and gold-plated strings, we’re calling it: This is the most incredible boutique guitar ever made
Boutique guitars are a chance for highly skilled luthiers to let their creativity shine. Fender’s annual Custom Shop offerings are just one example of imagination gone wild.
But might this be the most beautiful boutique guitar ever built? It’s a tough title to steal, but we reckon Retablo has the credentials.
The work of luthiery legend John Page – formerly of the Fender Custom Shop, now heading John Page Guitars – Retablo is the result of thousands of hours of development (over 2,350, to be precise) over two years.
The guitar depicts – literally within its body – a crop of some of the most influential musicians from American roots music, including Sister Rosetta Tharpe, BB King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Robert Johnson.
Credit: John Page
Perhaps it’s only right, then, that a guitar of this calibre – designed by a luthier of such status – should have its own hour-long documentary. And John Page himself has come through to deliver on this.
A new documentary on John Page’s YouTube channel showcases the guitar’s painstaking design process, from the process of drafting countless sketch sheets to that of using religious imagery to elevate these musical heroes to sainthood status.
“I am not a religious person,” Page explains. “My father was a minister, and to say that my childhood soured me on it would be an understatement. But that being said, I love religious art.” He also reveals how his wife, Dana, collects religious art, and so he’s “constantly surrounded” and predictably inspired by it.
Credit: John Page
While initially intending to have each of the American roots heroes painted by someone else – his rolodex after an illustrious career would have suggested a contender in no time – after trying his own hand at painting his wife in a saintly pose, Page felt confident he could complete the entire project with his own two hands.
“If this piece was going to be a Retablo, then I decided that its creation must all be at my hands,” he explains.
Credit: John Page
Page says Retablo’s primary function is to be a work of art, but of course, it is also a fully functioning electric guitar. “The goal is to blur the line between fine art and functional craft,” he reasons.
And we’re not yet even getting into the intricacies of the materials used to build the guitar…
Retablo features a roasted African mahogany neck and body, with an African ebony fingerboard inlaid with mother of pearl and Honey Jasper TruStone, in an interpretive rendition of a Gothic cathedral’s steeple and spires.
Its headstock is overlaid with ebony, recess routed with Page’s signature and gilded in 24K gold. It also sports custom Gotoh M6 mini tuning machines, and 22 gold EVO frets and 24K gold plated strings. Both the body and neck are finished with multiple coats of Osmo Polyx-Oil, a satin hard wax finish made in Germany.
Protecting the sculptural assembly cavity is a .118” sheet of non-glare Acrylic, held in place via a rabbet in the side walls of the body by a custom-made solid brass, Gold plated trim ring, and 28 Gold plated #2 flat-head screws.
The guitar is also loaded with nineteen 1mm Soft White LEDs powered by a 3.7 volt LiPo battery, encased in the rear centre cap.
You can learn more about Retablo at John Page’s website, or settle in and watch the hour-long documentary about the instrument below:
The post With intricate LED-lit, hand-painted renditions of 9 American roots heroes and gold-plated strings, we’re calling it: This is the most incredible boutique guitar ever made appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.