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The time Jimi Hendrix met Paul McCartney at a fancy event, and couldn’t handle it: “Paul McCartney’s walking towards me… What shall I do?”
Jimi Hendrix could make a guitar scream, set it on fire and generally look like the coolest man in the room. Put him in front of Paul McCartney without a guitar to hide behind, though, and even Hendrix got the nerves.
That’s what happened when the late legend was invited to a star-studded event at London’s Post Office Tower, as his former roadie Eric Barrett recalls in a new interview with Uncut.
With Hendrix arriving without his usual six-string safety blanket, things got particularly tense when he spotted Beatles star Paul McCartney heading his way.
“Jimi was invited to an event at the Post Office Tower, in the revolving restaurant at the top. Gerry [Stickells, tour manager] couldn’t take him, so I said I’d go along with him,” Barrett recalls. “I have no idea what the function was but I went to loads of events like that, just happy to get the free beer and a canapé and spend some time with Jimi.”
There was just one problem: Hendrix didn’t have his guitar.
“Jimi didn’t have a guitar, so he didn’t have a prop, something to hide behind,” Barrett explains. “We walked in and he saw who was there and started speaking out the side of his mouth: ‘Eric, Eric… Paul McCartney’s walking towards me… What shall I do?’ I told him to relax, it would be fine. Paul McCartney came over and was showering him with praise, but Jimi wasn’t good at that at all.”
According to Barrett, Hendrix was similarly uncomfortable around other famous musicians, despite being a hero to many of them himself.
“He was so shy, he didn’t know how to respond. And he was like that with all the stars he met,” says the former roadie. “He didn’t seem to understand why they were looking up to him. If he had met Paul McCartney in the studio, he’d have been much more comfortable.”
Barrett’s years on the road with Hendrix produced no shortage of memorable stories. In an excerpt from his new memoir, Experienced: On the Road with Jimi Hendrix and Beyond, he also looks back on the guitarist’s habit of destroying his instruments onstage – and what Hendrix told him when he finally asked why.
“Eric, I just couldn’t get any more out of it, man,” Hendrix explained. “I squeezed every note and every sound that guitar was ever going to give me. It had nothing left to give.”
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Meet the little-known boutique builder who makes the secret weapons behind some of metal’s most brutal guitar tones
Sometimes, Michael W. Klein is tagged in posts filled with horrifying noises. They’ve been shared online by musicians fighting to contain the fury and chaos of his Oni pedal, a high-gain collaboration with God’s Hate and Twitching Tongues guitarist Taylor Young that’s capable of peeling skin from skulls. “I’m like a proud father watching their kid round the bases,” Klein says with a laugh when he brings up the videos. “God, that thing is nasty.”
If he wanted to, Klein could field a whole baseball team of bench-clearing brawlers, having spent the past decade building a rep as an amp and pedal maker of particular renown among artists whose tastes run to these kinds of extremes. Alongside Young, also an in-demand producer whose Los Angeles-headquartered studio The Pit has become a hub for musicians seeking grimy, mosh-forward textures, his champions include Sammy Duet, of Goatwhore and sludge-metal comeback kids Acid Bath, Matt Harvey, main man of San Jose death metal veterans Exhumed, and thrash titan Gary Holt, who riffs in both Slayer and Exodus.
Sitting in his basement workshop as we talk over Zoom, Klein wears a cream Eyehategod shirt while surrounded by boxes of stuff – miscellaneous tools, screws, cables, stuff – that he’ll put to work in pursuit of noises that would terrify the average person on the street. “I hate to use the word craftsmanship,” he says, trailing off. But, in fairness, what other word is there? Klein’s approach is a fascinating marriage of creativity, technology and old-school trial and error – he will do the scut work of populating a circuit board by hand while contemplating what it means to devote love and care to something so outwardly confrontational.
“I’ve spoken with Taylor, Sammy, Matt about this – it’s almost like those guys and myself are philosophically grounded and driven,” he says. “As a fan of heavy music I tend to gravitate towards music that feels that way as I’m experiencing it. I’m into builders who are that way, too, like Dean Costello. When you hear his amps, and you see how he builds them, it’s so clear that there’s deeper meaning behind it. I’ve been fortunate that other nerds see that in my stuff.”
Michael W. Klein. Image: Kelly Powell, Elements Brand Haus
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
Klein is fully aware that he is never going to be a unit-shifter of any real note, and equally steadfast in his desire not to be. Based in Kansas City, he has a full-time job that he has no intention of quitting and his equipment is produced in small runs that are pored over in his spare time, reflecting a passion that has been there since he was a teenager studying the chugs on Metallica records. “A friend I used to jam with would tease me about how I spent more time trying to get my guitar rig to sound like [Sepultura’s] Chaos A.D. than playing together,” Klein recalls.
At the same time, the vibrant messageboard scene of the early internet opened doors in terms of starter-pack electronics knowledge and records that pushed his metal fandom towards more esoteric realms. When he emerged from college completely broke and minus all the gear he’d sold to buy food and other unfortunate necessities, Klein stopped short of replacing it. What if, he thought, instead of chasing gear that may or may not sound the way he wants it to, he made it himself? “It just built from there over time,” he says.
“One of the first tube amps I built was a 40-watt simplified Dumble circuit,” he continues. “I had never done anything from scratch quite like that. I remember finishing it, measuring everything, doing startup and it sounded great. That was a turning point for me. In my mind, there were so many legends about tube circuits, specific builders, and all this black magic. I realised there wasn’t anything special – if I could do it, anyone could.”
Image: Kelly Powell, Elements Brand Haus
Access All Areas
This punk commitment to accessibility is fundamental to Klein’s approach – he keeps his prices as low as possible, especially considering the labour involved, and is really only in it to help other people make the cool stuff he’s always liked. Once he realised he could do it, it was a short hop to thinking he’d like to bring some of the sounds in artists’ heads screaming into reality. A crucial moment arrived in 2015 when, following an Exhumed show, he wandered over to Harvey and offered to buy him a drink.
“I told him how much I appreciated what he does,” Klein remembers. “I was like, ‘I build guitar stuff, and if there’s anything you’d ever like to have, I would be honoured to build it.’ He had a pretty lofty idea – a preamp that had the distortion channel of an Ampeg VH-140C, a clean channel, and then built-in reverb that was assignable to either channel. At that time, I was making my circuit boards by hand, drilling every pad, etching them. That was a logistical nightmare to tackle, and it was also such a blast. That was the impetus for the word of mouth.”
Later, Klein approached Duet with a similar offer through Instagram, while Young was introduced to his work by his former Nails bandmate Leon del Muerte, who was himself introduced to Klein by Harvey, his former Exhumed bandmate. The circle, it spins. Now, having seen Klein in action, they’re all intent on hipping people to what’s going down in Missouri. “I really like working with DIY people,” Young observes. “And it doesn’t get more DIY than Michael’s ‘only-man’ operation.”
Oni pedal. Image: Kelly Powell, Elements Brand Haus
Oni Option
To make Oni, Klein was tasked with turning a “pedal chain of ridiculousness” into a box that Young estimates still gets used on 50 per cent of sessions at The Pit. “It was a combo of the original Slayer tone, an OD-1, Boss 10-band EQ and a RAT to get more grit and slime out of it,” Young says. “I floated Michael an idea for this chain as a pedal and he sprinted with it. We landed on modded versions of each pedal in one box, but each with their own individual low boost, and a switch to choose which is first in the internal chain.”
With Acid Bath playing stadiums alongside System of a Down thanks to a Crowbar-style TikTok glow up, plenty of eyes will also be resting on Klein and Duet’s Tube Screamer-esque Dybbuk pedal and their SPD100 amplifier, which both featured in Klein’s latest drop. Crucially, though, he’s not just slapping famous names onto things in order to glom some of their buzz. He’s making tools that are there to be used. “I like everything to make sense and have a purpose,” Klein says, and that extends to the process itself.
On one hand, each component finding its right place is about doing the job to the best of his ability, but on the other it’s also about how it makes him feel. “The thing I realised over time is that I was not only building and designing and modding stuff for this love of guitar tone, it was also a way of managing mental health issues,” Klein notes. “I’m dealing with depression and anxiety and suicidal thoughts, all this stuff.”
“It was a way for me to work with my hands and be creative in a way that helped quiet that stuff down, at least temporarily,” he continues. “I’m in a better place than I’ve been in a while. But that is still there. It’s crazy for me that people are interested in this thing I’ve done for myself, because I’m a hopeless nerd and because I have difficulties. If that interest suddenly stopped, I would still be down here in my shop building stuff because I need to. And, because it’s fun.”
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Save $250 on this killer metal-ready Epiphone Flying V prophecy
The Flying V might have been something of a dud when it originally launched back in 1958, but one of Gibson’s most unique designs is proof positive that some guitars are simply ahead of their time.
Indeed, it took a few decades for the circumstances to be quite right, but nowadays the iconic V shape has become a staple of rockstardom – particularly at the heavier end of the spectrum, where pointy guitars are almost mandatory, and shapes like the V and Explorer have become oft-imitated classics.
Thankfully, the success of the Flying V in the hands of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Michael Schenker or scores of others means that the guitar world is well-stocked when it comes to options from both Gibson’s range and the more affordable Epiphone end of the spectrum.
Back in 2021, Epiphone launched the Prophecy collection, which was set up metal fans from the off, complete with all-black livery and crucially, sporting a pair of Fishman Fluence active pickups – and now thanks to the good folk at Sweetwater, you can snag one for a very respectable $250 discount.
In addition to the none more black looks and the Fluence pickups, the Prophecy is a classic mahogany design with a 24-fret ebony fingerboard with an asymmetrical Slim-Taper-shaped neck. You’ll also find upgraded hardware that also includes Grover locking Rotomatic tuners, a LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge, and a Graph Tech NuBone nut.
Given that this guitar was originally over a grand, the $250 discount makes this guitar a real steal – the Fluence pickups would cost you about $400 on their own, and that’s without the guitar it’s attached to!
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This Taylor Swift-vibed Epiphone acoustic is over $400 off at Sweetwater – and that’s a steal whether you’re a Swiftie or not
While Taylor Swift’s 2023-2024 Eras Tour was a global phenomenon, her arsenal of guitars was equally as staggering. However, one guitar stood head and shoulders above the rest in her grandiose collection: the Gibson J-180. The J-180 was the true star of the show, with the superstar wielding multiple versions of the acoustic-electric, from pastel pink to rhinestone-adorned.
With Swift asserting herself as a modern guitar hero, her favoured guitar is certainly worth considering if you’re in the market. Thankfully, Sweetwater currently has a sweet deal on Gibson’s sister brand, Epiphone – meaning you can get an Epiphone J-180 LS for over $400 off.
While Gibson quickly jumped on the hype of Swift’s Eras tour, releasing a Gibson Custom Everly Brothers version of the J-180, that model will set you back by over $4,000. The Epiphone edition was a much more realistic $1,299 at launch, but that’s now been slashed to an even more appealing $899 – and it packs plenty of charm and quality into that price.
The Epiphone J-180 LS is a great way to capture Swiftie tones. Though there isn’t a silver, rhinestone-studded edition, you can get the same $400-off deal on both the lovely pastel pink and classy ebony black options. Both also feature a C-shaped mahogany neck, with popstar-worthy mother-of-pearl star inlays across a laurel fingerboard.
Credit: Sweetwater
With a classic Gibson 25.5-inch scale it’s a comfortable player for anyone, and the classic J-style body shape means much of the guitar’s mass is away from the player’s body, with that svelte waist offering easy access even for smaller frames. It also has onboard LR Baggs Element Bronze VTC preamp electronics for to help amplify and maintain a strong, warm acoustic tone.
While the Eras Tour saw Swift run through the full gamut of guitars she’s used and loved throughout her career, the J-180 was clearly her current favourite squeeze. If it’s good enough for Swift, it’s well worth your time.
While last year saw Swift releasing her album The Life of a Showgirl, this year has seen slightly less musical output from the pop superstar. Though, she did have a feature on the new Toy Story 5 soundtrack, releasing the country pop, acoustic-sprinkled I Knew It, I Knew You.
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“If you have a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and an eighth of speed – I’ll be there” Lemmy’s amazing response when Billy Morrison asked him to play a show
What exactly do you need to get Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister to play your gig? If you’re Billy Morrison, apparently just a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and an eighth of speed.
As Morrison recalls in the new issue of Classic Rock, Ozzy Osbourne had given him Lemmy’s number with the assurance that the singer was “easy to deal with”.
“I do these occasional all-star shows in LA, where we play covers with a bunch of famous people,” says the guitarist. “About twenty-five years ago, Ozzy gave me Lemmy’s cell number and said: ‘Drop him a line, he’s easy to deal with.’ So I cold-texted Lemmy Kilmister. And I’m terrified. Because I don’t know how this legend of debauchery is going to respond.”
Morrison kept the message simple, asking Lemmy if he would come down to the Roxy and play Motörhead classics Ace Of Spades and Bomber.
“Within seconds, he responded: ‘If you have a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and an eighth of Beryl’ – that’s Beryl Reid, which is Cockney rhyming slang for speed ‘I’ll be there.’”
True to his word, Lemmy turned up, bringing all the ingredients Morrison had apparently been promised. His guitar tech also brought along the Motörhead frontman’s famously enormous Marshall rig.
“At that show he was everything you would want Lemmy to be,” Morrison says. “His tech brought down his famous Marshall amp. It was ridiculously loud. The cowboy hat, the voice, the volume – he killed it.”
The experience also left Morrison with a unique perspective on Lemmy’s ability to perform through the excesses that had become synonymous with his image.
“I don’t think [playing under the influence] made any difference,” he says. “This is where everyone goes wrong in the music business, me included. You think you’re great, but you’re shit. There are precious few – Keith Richards being one, Lemmy being another – where, actually, it makes no difference. I’ve seen the man drink a bottle of Jack and snort three grams of speed, then I’d have a conversation with him.”
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“It could be the last time we see each other”: Ritchie Blackmore on his “very emotional” Deep Purple reunion
For anyone who thought Ritchie Blackmore and Deep Purple would never share a stage again, last Wednesday night at Jones Beach proved that time really does heal all wounds. More than three decades after his last gig with the band in 1993, the guitarist surprised fans when he walked out onstage to perform Smoke on the Water.
Speaking to Guitar Player, 81-year-old Blackmore reveals that the surprise jam was, in fact, entirely his idea.
“I woke up one morning thinking, the day before their show, ‘You know it would be good for the fans if I just got up for one song, probably ‘Smoke’ and just show that we’re not at each other’s throats and don’t hate each other,’” he explains.
Blackmore’s wife and Blackmore’s Night bandmate Candice Night then got in touch with Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, who gave the idea his approval.
“I said, ‘What do you think about me getting up for ‘Smoke?’ His exact words were, ‘It made me smile.’ He then put it to the band and it was thumbs-up all around.”
That said, stepping back into a Deep Purple rock show came with some understandable nerves for Blackmore – the guitarist hasn’t played a full-on rock gig since performing with Rainbow in 2019, and he wasn’t sure how he would fit into the band’s current setup alongside guitarist Simon McBride.
“I had my misgivings at first, as I didn’t know if I would be heard or too quiet or whatever,” he admits. “I could see the guitarist [Simon McBride], who is very good, had a big amplifier, and I thought I’ll just bring a 50-watt amp, but luckily it all worked.
The performance itself was deliberately stripped back. Blackmore says he didn’t want to overplay, given the short preparation time he had.
“It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately,” he says. “I couldn’t warm up, but I wasn’t there to be playing correct notes. I was there to see old friends. I hadn’t seen in 40 years and we’re all getting older. I think we realised it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.”
“It was tricky; I didn’t play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple. I still lost my place at one point, but it’s not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds – but there weren’t any wounds. Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment.”
Gillan appeared to feel much the same way. After the performance, he turned to address the New York crowd: “I tell you, it was an absolute pleasure to have back on stage the founder member, the great legend, the immortal Ritchie Blackmore… I’ll see you in the bar.”
McBride also shared a backstage photo with Blackmore, describing it as an “absolute pleasure” to share the stage with the guitarist, whom he called “an inspiration to all.”
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Jimi Hendrix believed guitars were possessed by spirits, and he smashed them up to “set the spirit free”
We often hear guitarists talk about the ‘soul’ of an instrument, but Jimi Hendrix apparently took the idea quite literally. The guitarist believed that different guitars carried different spirits, and according to his former roadie Eric Barrett, he would sometimes smash an instrument to “set the spirit free” once it had given him everything it could.
In a new interview with Uncut, Barrett – who earlier this month released his memoir Experienced: On the Road with Jimi Hendrix and Beyond – recalls one particularly memorable example. Asked about Hendrix’s belief that the spirit of a guitar could depend on the wood it was made from, Barrett explains that the guitarist had certain instruments he would never destroy.
“Jimi believed that. Certain guitars he’d never smash because of the wood they were made from. One time, he smashed up a beautiful brand-new guitar. After the show I said, ‘Why that one, Jimi?’ He told me he couldn’t squeeze one more note out of it. It had given him everything it could, so he smashed it to set the spirit free.”
As dramatic as Hendrix’s guitar-smashing habit was onstage, it also led to some rather amusing moments when the band took its collection of instruments through customs.
“When we travelled we had to fill out a carnet,” Barrett explains, referring to the document used for transporting equipment across international borders. “You’d write down whatever you were taking out of the country. One time we were coming back into America and the customs official said he could only count 12 guitars but there were 22 on the carnet.”
“I opened a case and it was full of pieces of guitar. I said, ‘There’s your other 10.’ I’ll never forget his face.”
The spirit of Hendrix’s guitars wasn’t the only thing Barrett remembers from life on the road. The roadie also has some less-than-glowing memories of Woodstock, despite the festival’s legendary status.
“I was not crazy about Woodstock. It was not The Jimi Hendrix Experience,” he says. “We had to put up with some attitude from one or two of the new musicians, who looked down on Gerry and I – we were just the help. That left a bitter taste in the mouth.”
“We also went on so late,” Barrett continues. “After the show we were due to play The Dick Cavett Show. The band got some sleep in the house in Woodstock while I set up at the TV studio. I got a call saying that Jimi’s not coming. Mitch told me that the network sent a helicopter. Jimi had looked at the chopper and said, ‘I can’t get on that, it doesn’t have enough blades,’ and went back to bed.”
Released on 4 August, Experienced: On the Road with Jimi Hendrix and Beyond offers a firsthand account of Barrett’s years alongside Hendrix during the guitarist’s rise in the late ‘60s.
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What guitar does Taylor Swift use? The varied and unique instruments of The Eras Tour
The most famous person in the world is a guitar player. Yep it’s easy to forget that long before Taylor Swift became perhaps the defining cultural icon of the 2020s, Time’s Person Of The Year and an artist so universally popular that she can single-handedly boost NFL TV ratings and jersey sales, she was an aspiring songwriter with a guitar and a dream. But what guitars did Taylor Swift use?
And like any other guitar lover, the more famous and successful Tay-Tay has become, the more interesting and unique guitars she’s added to to her collection – mainly some acoustics but also a fair few interesting electrics along the way.
The epoch-defining Eras Tour has revealed the full gamut of Taylor’s unique and interesting guitar collection, and also showcased it to a wider audience than ever before – it is of course the highest grossing tour of all time, a $200-million cinema box office smash, and the sort of cultural event that defines an entire generation of music fandom.
Taylor with her baby blue Gibson J-180 (Photo by Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
The Eras Tour is a three and a half hour trip through Taylor’s entire career to date – from her self-titled 2006 debut all the through to Midnights – and most interestingly of all from a Guitar.com perspective, the tour has seen her showcase many of the guitars she used to write and perform those songs at the time.
As such, The Eras Tour gives us a definitive picture of what guitars Taylor Swift uses – many of which are custom-versions of standard models, or rare limited-run designs – read on to find out more about Taylor’s guitar history, and your best options to capture Taylor Swift guitar tones in the real world.
Taylor’s Taylors
Taylor with her diamante-clad Taylor GS6, which was retired in about 2007 (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
It’s perhaps not shocking that going all the way back to her earliest records, Taylor Swift has been a fan of Californian acoustic guitar company Taylor Guitars – after all, who needs a signature model when your name is already right there on the headstock!
Taylor’s Taylor guitars are clearly very sentimental to her, as she’s used them constantly throughout her career, and brought out some of her most cherished examples on the Eras Tour – they’re also some of her most iconic instruments, including her custom red Taylor 614ce that was the main acoustic on the Red Tour, and a diamante-encrusted GS6 that was used on the Fearless Tour in 2008.
Taylor Presentation Series PS-24ce Grand Auditorium
Taylor’s Taylor PS24 (Photo by Scott Eisen/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
If there’s one guitar that we think might be Taylor’s most sentimental instrument, it’s this one – this stunning guitar has a flamed koa body with a distinctive matching soundhole cover and a ‘Taylor Swift’ in what Taylor calls a ‘Byzantine inlay’ on the fingerboard.
A custom-build, this is based on Taylor’s super-high end Presentation Series PS-24ce Grand Auditorium model, but with a very unconventional ‘Florentine’ cutaway, which has a sharp point, unlike a regular GA model. The guitar also has an ebony peghead and bridge, Gotoh tuners and ivoroid binding.
Taylor started using the guitar around 2007, but it’s clearly a meaningful one as she’s been using it for several songs on The Eras Tour, and displaying it proudly on a stand in front of the audience when she’s not using it.
Get the sound: Taylor’s 214ce is an affordable route to a similar kind of look and sound, with Grand Auditorium body style and koa top
Taylor Grand Symphony “Living Jewels” Series
Taylor’s ‘Living Jewels’ Taylor Guitar (Photo by Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
This guitar is often referred to as the “Living Jewels” Guitar or the “Koi Guitar”, and is one of the most distinctive and unique instruments seen on The Eras Tour. She first began using the Living Jewels guitar around 2011-2012 during the Speak Now Tour, famously performing songs like Last Kiss. She also used it in 2022 for the music video Anti-Hero, and even put the guitar on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame until it was removed in 2023 for use on the Eras Tour.
This particular guitar came from a very limited series of acoustics designed by Pete Davies Jr. around the year 2000. Only around 100 of these guitars were made, in different designs – one featuring a grey whale, one with a sea turtle, and one with koi fish that Taylor owns. Each of the guitars features beautifully ornate inlay work of the aforementioned sea creatures on the body and fretboard.
Get the sound: Original Living Jewels guitars are almost impossible to find as they were made in very limited numbers and Taylor’s association with them has made them even more collectable, however if you’re not too worried about price, Taylor released a tribute to the guitar back in 2025 that, while not much cheaper, is a little more widely available on the used market.
If seventeen thousand dollars seems a bit rich for a guitar but you’re still in the market for a Taylor Swift-approved Taylor, well you’re in luck – the company has for some time made a Taylor Swift signature version of its entry-level Baby Taylor model. It’s a great starter guitar even without the various Swiftian embellishments.
The Gibson Eras
Taylor with her pink Gibson J-180 (Photo by TAS2023 via Getty Images)
As befits any country star worth her salt, Taylor has had a long love affair with Gibson guitars – particularly the brand’s acoustic instruments. However, the Eras Tour has seen Gibsons replace Taylors as her primary instruments, with a whole host of new and bespoke instruments of various types that often have colours and customisations that reflect the various albums that she’s referencing in that portion of the show.
While none of these guitars have become actual signature models for Taylor (yet!) they have quickly become as iconic as the popularity of the Eras Tour has exploded, with each of the unique instruments telling its own story about a period in Taylor’s glittering music career.
Gibson J-180
Taylor’s diamante-clad Gibson J-180 (Photo by Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )
While several of the guitars used on The Eras Tour are instruments she’s pulled out of the rack from the period in question, she’s also brought out several new instruments that are themselves designed to nod to those eras, but with her 2024 sonic preferences.
Key amongst these are a series of Gibson guitars derived from the company’s iconic SJ-200 model – first introduced back in 1937 and used by everyone from The Everly Brothers and Jimmy Page to Billie Joe Armstrong and Justin Timberlake.
Swift recreated her crystal rhinestone-encrusted Taylor Guitars GS6 that was used on the Fearless Tour for The Eras Tour, only this time she used a Gibson J-180 (a thinner-depthed version of the J-200). The GS6 was retired sometime around 2013, but the new guitar featured around 5,400 Swarovski Lead Crystals attached with silicone epoxy by Taylor and her family just days before the tour – the original GS6 was apparently also blinged out by Taylor and her mom.
One notable difference between the new guitar and the original – the addition of a “13” (Swift’s favourite number) rhinestone pattern just behind the bridge.
Taylor clearly really loves the J-180 body shape, as she’s also got several other customised versions of the guitar, including pink and powder blue examples, plus a black one that she auctioned off for charity in 2020 – the guitars are notable for having star inlays on the fretboard as opposed to the usual dots or blocks.
Get the sound: While Taylor still makes the only actual Taylor Swift signature model guitar, Gibson sensibly jumped on the hype train and quickly not only released a Gibson Custom version of the J-180, but also added a trio of more affordable Epiphone models into the line. Conspicuously, these guitars came in hues that were very similar to the custom colour J-180s Taylor used on the Eras tour including pink and blue. It’s a signature model in everything but name.
Gibson J-45
Taylor’s black sparkle Gibson J-45 (Photo by Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )
While the J-180 might be her preferred instrument, The Eras Tour also sees Swift playing two different versions of Gibson’s J-45 model – one in a deep red colour and one in a black sparkle finish. Unlike the J-180s these guitars just have standard dot inlays and feel a bit more restrained.
As with pretty much all of Taylor’s guitars though, these J-45s are certainly custom builds, given that they use non-standard finishes, and do not feature pickguards.
Get the sound: Thankfully, Gibson’s J-45 is still in production, though it’s certainly not cheap you can get it in both Cherry Red and Black. If your budget doesn’t stretch to that however, the Epiphone J-45 might be more up your street.
Gibson Hummingbird
Taylor’s Gibson Hummingbird (Photo by Scott Eisen/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Most of the guitars we’ve seen Taylor use on The Eras Tour have been heavily customised and personalised, but there’s one guitar that has the distinction of being stock – a Cherry Sunburst Gibson Hummingbird. Asides from the soundhole plug to prevent feedback (which is common with all her guitars) this instrument is pretty much identical to the guitar you could walk into a store and buy today – including that iconic hummingbird motif on the pickguard.
Get the sound: As mentioned, Taylor’s Hummingbird seems pretty much stock, which means you can buy one from Gibson’s Original Collection today. If you’re not up for spending thousands however, there’s an Epiphone Inspired By version that even comes in the right colour.
Taylor’s Electrics
Taylor with her diamanté-clad Les Paul (Photo by Larry Busacca/TAS/Getty Images for TAS)
The Eras Tour sees Swift relying mostly on her acoustic guitar collection, and leaving the electric guitar work to her backing band – that said, she has been known to use a variety of electric guitars over the years, including a red-sparkle Les Paul Standard, a similar guitar with mini-humbuckers, a Les Paul Studio with red diamante finish, and even Taylor T5 and a Johnny Marr Jaguar back in the day.
The Red Sparkle Les Paul Studio even got a run-out on the opening night of The Eras Tour, though the other guitars have yet to make an appearance – they’re all pretty stock spec-wise however.
Get the sound: Taylor has generally been drawn to Gibson-style single-cut guitars over the years, particularly the Les Paul – while her guitars are custom, the recently revived Gibson Les Paul Studio might be your closest bet here.
Taylor’s Gibson Les Paul with mini-humbuckers (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
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Red Panda RD-1 Pitch Delay review – a clever compact delay with multiple note-manipulating tricks
$229/£224, redpandalab.com
The job of a delay pedal is simple: to listen to what you play then repeat it back to you a few times. Some of them do this job very well – but the really good ones do it extremely badly.
The Red Panda RD-1 Pitch Delay is here to wreck stuff, and that word ‘pitch’ is your big clue as to how: from detuned weirdness to cascading octave screeches, this is all about digital manipulation of notes. Not everything it does is strange and discombobulating – there’s a nice reverse function, and plenty of scope for more standard delay sounds too – but that just means you can lower yourself into the madness gently.
Image: Richard Purvis
What is it?
The RD-1 has been designed as an alternative to the Red Panda Raster 2 for more compact pedalboards (and more compact bank accounts). If you’re familiar with that pedal, you’ll have a decent idea of what to expect here; if you’re not, let me just begin by telling you it’s a gem.
The Raster 2 is a stereo pedal with lots of multi-function knobs, a second footswitch for layered effects, and the ability to store and recall presets. You’re not getting any of that with its diddy sibling, but you are getting three different pitch-altering modes and an input for an expression pedal, plus a hidden tap-tempo option.
Those modes are called ‘frequency shift’, ‘detune’ and ‘chromatic transpose’, and they have a radical effect on what happens when you tweak the shift knob on the left. Like, radically radical…
Image: Richard Purvis
Sounds
The shift dial pitches downwards to the left and upwards to the right, naturally, so when it’s pointing straight up the RD-1 becomes a simple, non-mangling digital delay with standard controls for time, feedback and dry/wet blend. While this sound is nothing special it is pleasant, and you only have to tap the reverse button to turn it into something much more fluid and ambient.
But we’re all here for the pitch effects, so let’s get a shift on. The first one is the most out-there of the three, with strangely metallic repeats that can sound something like church bells run through a ring modulator. It’s extreme, but again the reverse function is a great sweetener; and while the pitch-shifting is cumulative, so that each repeat jumps off from the shoulders of the one before, hitting the ‘once’ button means it will only shift the first time – a very different, much more manageable effect.
The second mode measures its shifting in cents and only goes a couple of notes in either direction; the best use I found for this was setting the knob just a tiny twist beyond noon, with the ‘once’ button engaged, for subtle thickening with a hint of modulation.
But the third mode is the one that I suspect most people will end up sticking with. This offers fixed semitone intervals, so perfect harmonies – delivered with a pleasing hint of lo-fi jitteriness – are now in play. With a single shift of a fifth or an octave up, this can sound creepily pretty; now start dabbling with those two buttons and the feedback knob (plus an expression pedal if you have one), and you might just find yourself in glitchy pitchy noise-scape nirvana.
Image: Richard Purvis
Should I buy one?
Ideally, no, you shouldn’t buy the RD-1 – you should get the Raster 2. But what’s impressive here is how much of that pedal’s unique magic has survived the transition into a properly compact stompbox.
Of course it’s not as good, but it’s closer than I was expecting; and for some players – those who only ever play in mono and don’t need instant access to more than one or two unorthodox delay sounds – the smaller footprint and cleaner interface might even make it more appealing.
Image: Richard Purvis
Alternatives
It’s infinitely more fiddly than the RD-1, but the Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay (€272/£299/$329) can do extreme pitch swoops among its many digital tricks. A more simple option is the Dreadbox Raindrops (€214/£229/$299) – or you could keep it old-school with the Beetronics BeeBeeDee ($299/£289), an analogue delay with digital control.
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“It’s what we’ve been looking forward to for 21 hours of the day”: Slash on why Guns N’ Roses still love touring and have no plans to stop
For a band that has spent decades on the road, Guns N’ Roses still sound pretty enthusiastic about the prospect of getting onstage. And according to Slash, that enthusiasm comes down to keeping things fresh and, above all, making sure the band still enjoys what it does.
Speaking to New York rock station Q104.3, the guitarist was asked how Guns N’ Roses keep fans engaged after all these years. His answer was refreshingly simple: “We just sort of do what we do.”
“We throw different things in,” Slash continues. “[But] I think we’re more about keeping ourselves, you know, sort of inspired and having a good time and keeping it fresh for us and then we just come out there and do our thing.”
That enthusiasm becomes particularly apparent once the band reaches the venue. Slash explains that while the travelling and waiting that comes with touring isn’t exactly exciting, once they’re there and ready to play, it’s a different story.
“We’re one of those bands that has been around for a long time, but really loves what we do,” he says. “We spend most of our time humming and hawing about traveling until we get to the venue and then we finally get to get unleashed, and, you know, it’s what we’ve been looking forward to for 21 hours out of the day.”
The band also leaves plenty of room for spontaneity in its setlists. Instead of locking themselves into the exact same sequence every night, Guns N’ Roses keep a large pool of songs ready to go and decide what to play as they go.
“We don’t really have what you call a setlist either,” Slash says. “We have an opening song, we have an ending song, and we have a lot of tentpole songs that we’re going to play. And then we mix a lot of stuff up.”
He adds that the band has around 50 songs to choose from, pulling from across their catalogue each night.
In other news, Slash recently revealed that Guns N’ Roses are have been working towards the long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s Chinese Democracy.
“There’s a lot of writing going on with Guns,” the guitarist told Rolling Stone Australia. “So after I get back from [touring with The Conspirators], we’ll see if [Guns N’ Roses] can start putting some stuff together and getting in the studio.”
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Guitar Center CEO says they’ve turned their stores into “a theme park for musicians”
Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto wants its stores to be “a theme park for musicians”. It might sound like a fairly ambitious way to describe a chain of music shops, but the company has been putting that idea into practice, creating spaces where musicians can stick around, try out gear and connect with other players.
And so far, the numbers suggest the strategy is working. Guitar Center has recorded nine consecutive quarters of positive growth, with its most recent quarterly sales up 5.2% to $635 million [via Bloomberg]. Time spent across the brand’s roughly 300 stores is also up 16% year over year, while foot traffic has increased for the first time in more than a decade.
Much of that turnaround comes down to a fairly simple idea: make Guitar Center a place where people “want to come and play”.
Speaking to Modern Retail, Dalporto – a guitarist himself – says the company had drifted away from its core audience before he became CEO in 2023. Around 70% of its merchandise was made up of lower-end, entry-level products, despite its most dedicated customers being musicians for whom playing music is “a big part of their identity”.
Guitar Center has since flipped that ratio, with around 70% of its inventory now aimed at “serious musicians”. But it isn’t just about filling the stores with more expensive gear. The company has also made its instruments easier to try, moving guitars and keyboards to eye level, unlocking them and setting them up so customers can actually play.
“If you’re trying guitars, you’re going to try 10 or 15 of them before you find the one you like,” Dalporto says. “Imagine just the terrible experience that is [when products aren’t immediately available].”
The retailer has also put more emphasis on knowledgeable staff after previously scaling back employee training. The result, says Dalporto, is an “experiential environment, with knowledgeable people and great products”.
That experience doesn’t stop at the guitar wall. Guitar Center now runs monthly workshops covering subjects such as modifying guitars and building pedalboards, while individual stores have hosted events with musicians and producers including Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong and producer Zaytoven.
For Dalporto, those events are also a way to make Guitar Center feel like a local music shop rather than a standardised retail chain.
“What we’re trying to do is to engage with all the incredible local musicians in all of our markets locally and provide a national stage for them,” the exec says. “The last thing we want to be is Best Buy – a completely and utterly standardised national box retailer. We want to feel like the local music store who has deep personal connections with local artists.”
That same musician-first approach is now feeding into Guitar Center’s own gear. The retailer is developing a new private-label guitar, but Dalporto isn’t interested in simply slapping the Guitar Center name on another familiar design.
Staffers initially suggested making a version of a Fender Telecaster but Dalporto believes “the last thing the world needs is another Telecaster.”
Instead, the company is asking guitarists what they actually want from a modern instrument through its r/GuitarLab subreddit, where Dalporto and Guitar Center engineers have been gathering feedback on everything from hardware and controls to players’ frustrations with existing guitars.
The retailer is also experimenting with AI, although again with the aim of supporting musicians rather than replacing the human element. Earlier this year, Guitar Center launched Rig Advisor, an AI tool that can answer questions such as, “I want to sound like Jimi Hendrix on Purple Haze. What should I play?” The company is also giving employees access to ChatGPT and using AI to help train staff and improve its guitar-lesson operations.
Still, Guitar Center’s turnaround is far from complete. The company continues to carry significant debt and while the wider guitar market is dealing with pressure from tariffs and shifting consumer spending. But Dalporto believes the retailer has an advantage that online stores can’t easily replicate: giving musicians somewhere to try gear, meet other players and simply hang out.
“We don’t want to be the place where you just come and buy your string instruments and leave,” he says. “We want to be the place where you feel comfortable hanging out, playing [guitar], forming bands. … We’ve invested hugely in making Guitar Center a theme park for musicians.”
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Guitarist apologises after guitar-throwing stunt sends audience member to hospital
Japanese punk outfit Otoboke Beaver have apologised after guitarist Yoyoyoshie threw a guitar into the crowd at a show earlier this year, accidentally striking and injuring an audience member.
The incident happened during the band’s April show at Umeda Club Quattro in Osaka, Japan. The audience member was taken to the hospital by ambulance, where they were treated for a forehead laceration requiring seven stitches, as well as a cervical sprain.
Otoboke Beaver addressed the incident publicly on 11 August, writing on Instagram that they “wish the injured person a full recovery” and acknowledging: “we caused this accident.”
Beyond the physical injuries, the band said the incident had also caused the fan “significant emotional distress”.
The group – comprising singer Accorinrin, guitarist Yoyoyoshie, bassist Hirochan and drummer Leo – also admit that their response in the aftermath was not as swift as it should have been.
“Coordination between us and the staff member entrusted to act as the point of contact that day, as well as our follow-up response, was not prompt, resulting in a delay to both our direct apology and public statement.”
They added that the apology was being made “in good faith” before concluding: “We are truly sorry.”
The Osaka show was a significant one for Otoboke Beaver beyond the incident, as it marked a farewell to former drummer Kahokiss, who stepped away from the band to go on maternity leave. She was subsequently replaced by Leo.
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Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil says it’s “emotionally draining” working on new material using vocals Chris Cornell recorded before he died
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil says working on new material featuring Chris Cornell’s vocals has been a draining experience, but feels it would be a “disservice” to the fans and the band for them not to release them.
Cornell died by suicide in May 2017. Thayil revealed last year that the bwere planning to release the final album they worked on with Cornell before his passing, and that it had always been a goal for them to complete the record as a gift to the fans, and to Cornell too.
Now, speaking to Guitar World, Thayil shares that the process has been challenging emotionally, but exciting at the same time. Though he confirms they do not have a release date in mind yet, he does say it will “definitely sound like Soundgarden”.
“It’s emotionally draining and there are things about it that are sad and melancholic. But at the same time, it’s exciting to finish the work that we started with Chris. It’s a tribute to Soundgarden and a tribute to Chris. To not do this would be a great disservice to everyone, including the fans who knew we were in a writing cycle while we were touring,” he states.
“I made an aphorism earlier about having too many cooks in the kitchen. Well, now we have one less. But we have these recordings Chris is on, and we all have a strong understanding of Chris’ identity within the band, so we are going to honour that completely, even though Chris isn’t there to throw in his two cents. So, yes, it will definitely sound like Soundgarden and I’m going to sound like me.”
Last month, Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless shared her thoughts on Cornell’s work, and how it had impacted her life. The Pretty Reckless supported Soundgarden on their final tour with Cornell.
“I’ve listened to his solo work and to Soundgarden so many times, but every time I listen to them, it evokes something different in me,” she told NME.
“There is the sheer amount of depth and sensitivity and aggression… [but] also, it’s so smart. It’s musically exquisite and complex — like this never-ending onion where you discover something new about it and about yourself every time you listen to it. I think that is so powerful and so fucking rare. It’s coming from a place that’s so deep and so powerful that it touches your soul.”
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“I think you should stay there”: The great reason why Joe Bonamassa changed his mind about Jared James Nichols borrowing his guitar gear
![Jared James Nichols [main image] and Joe Bonamassa [inset]. Both are photographed on stage playing guitars.](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/jared-james-joe-bonamassa@2000x1500-2.jpg)
Jared James Nichols has been offering fans a peek behind the curtain on his new album, Louder Than Fate, and how a visit from Joe Bonamassa reframed both of their views on the amount of gear that should be used on a track.
Bonamassa has quite the reputation as a gear connoisseur, as his mighty Nerdville museum proves, but when he bought an entire rig over for Nichols to use on a track for his new album, the pair eventually settled on a less is more mind set, with a minimal set up.
- READ MORE: “Those amps are part of the DNA of rock music”: Jared James Nichols on becoming a Marshall endorsee
In an interview with Guitar World, Nichols says his use of gear forms not much of a long list “beyond the cable”. Though small and concise, he definitely utilised some pretty cool gems within his rig.
“I had the plexi and this special amp from Blackstar that’s a one-of-one, point-to-point handwired Series One. They’d made it for Jeff Beck but never got it to him. It’s more aggressive than the plexi, like an old JCM800. I used my Tube Screamer and for Runnin’ Hot I borrowed this [Electro-Harmonix Small Stone] big box phaser from the early ’80s,” he shares.
“The main guitars were Dorothy [his 1952 Les Paul Goldtop] and this Korina Futura for all the big-ass humbucker parts. I didn’t have to search when it came to tone. It’s funny; I remember doing this track with Joe Bonamassa, and he brought his whole rig over, saying to use whatever I needed. I brought my Marshall head, Dorothy and my Klon and started testing out tones with my stuff before asking him what I should try. His answer was, ‘I think you should stay there.’ That was it. I try not to overcomplicate things.”
Further speaking on his bond with Bonamassa and the Blues Titan’s connection to rare gear, Nichols looks back on the time he went to Bonamassa’s house to film a video on Gary Moore’s 1989 Soldano SLO-100 amp head (which you can watch below).
“Joe must have balls of steel because the amp hadn’t been serviced or even turned on. It literally just showed up in a shipping crate. It was like finding a classic muscle car, sticking some gas in and firing it up. Joe was cranking it right away with a 1959 Les Paul. In the video you can see the power sizzle down, shut off, then come back. It did that a few times. It’s like we were feeling Gary Moore’s spirit in the room,” he remembers.
Jared James Nichols’ Louder Than Fate is out now. Head over to his official website to find out where you can stream the album or buy a copy.
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Gretsch G2622TG Streamliner Ltd Ed Center Block Double-Cut with Bigsby review: “there are a million and one songs trapped inside this guitar, impatiently waiting to be unleashed”
$739/£549, gretschguitars.com
Gretsch guitars have always stood in a fascinating corner of the guitar world. Even music aficionados without a guitar-playing background know what a Stratocaster is, what it does, how it looks, and the fact Hendrix played one upside down. Similarly, fans with a penchant for the heavier side of the rock spectrum know the Les Paul ‘Burst in the gifted hands of Slash and Jimmy Page.
Gretsch guitars, however, have always seemed to exist in their own lane. From George Harrison’s early Merseybeat-jangle, to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ signature songcraft, and Neil Young’s raw, jagged riffs, Gretsch guitars have become the choice for players who prioritise character over familiarity.
Into this comes the new Limited Edition G2622TG Streamliner – a guitar that seemingly offers a very affordable route to that rich heritage, with visuals that lean towards the most famous Gretsch big-bodied guitars, but will the reality match up to the first impression?
Image: Adam Gasson
What is it?
The Streamliner designation of the ever-catchily named G2622TG means that it sits at the bottom of Gretsch’s three-tier production range after the Electromatic and premium Professional, but in truth you’d never notice from a distance. This is a beautiful instrument with the fancy elegance that has set the brand apart from the more utilitarian charms of its competitors.
In practice, that means a beautifully measured double-cutaway design finished in Vintage White (though the Midnight Sapphire option is also lovely), and paired with all the shiny gold hardware you could ask for. Some would say that a Gretsch is never fully dressed without a Bigsby, and here we get a lovely licensed B70 wobbler to pull the whole thing together.
The iconic “G” arrow logo on the control knobs never fails to make me smile, and the master volume knob includes a push/pull coil split option for extra Beatle-y twang when needed.
Image: Adam Gasson
Usability and build quality
When the G2622TG landed in my hands, before I even played a note, I had an immediate sense that Gretsch might have hit a home run. It looks, feels, and sounds far more premium than its asking price would suggest.
The laminated body feels solid, and is wonderfully resonant, providing that airy sound that semi-hollow body players expect. The soft ‘C’ shaped neck nests comfortably in the hand, and the 22 nicely finished medium-jumbo frets give a sense of familiarity to the fingers for long-time Gretsch-heads. Combined with a low, comfortable action out of the box, they never get in the way and are an ideal bed for a wide-style of approaches.
Then, there’s the golden elephant in the room: the Bigsby B70. Many guitar purists still shoot a side-eye towards the B70, and other die-cast, affordable Bigsby ‘licensed’ models. After all, the B70s are manufactured overseas and cost a fraction of their US-made B7 counterpart. However, as we sit here in 2026, I think the B70 and B7 are almost identical in use.
Yes, the B7 is a touch heavier, and feels a tad more solid, but I barely notice a difference when comparing the two. The fact that a vibrato of this quality is bolted on to the G2622TG at this price point is still staggering to me. That expressive wobble is synonymous with thousands of classic recordings and should not be seen as merely an afterthought. It provides exactly what you’d hope – some slight shimmer and movement, without turning tuning into your new full-time job.
The controls are laid out in the typical Gretsch fashion, which is to say slightly different to the classic Gibson four-knob method. What you get instead is a volume knob per pickup, a master tone knob, and the previously mentioned, and extremely welcome push/pull coil splitting master volume knob.
In practice this means that the two pickup volumes are only really needed for blending, or if you want to use the volume to roll some of the gain off a sound on one pickup. The master volume is likely all you’ll need for actually controlling volume.
Image: Adam Gasson
Sounds
This guitar’s tonal palette is fairly wide, whilst never sacrificing its character. That semi-hollow resonance instantly makes itself heard when plugging in – chords ring with authority, and lead lines are clear and articulate, with some satisfying snap about them in coil-split mode. To put it bluntly, this guitar sounds incredible. It just oozes Gretsch DNA and character.
The Broad’Tron BT-3S humbucking pickups are versatile, to a point, offering suitably punchy mids and predictably sparkling highs. Provided that you’re not going to push this thing into high gain territory, it can cover a lot of the rock-adjacent bases with aplomb.
The bridge pickup is clear, bright and spanky, with the sort of cutting midrange that makes it a usable clean twanger while also having plenty of ability to cut through when you start piling on the gain. Again, don’t expect to have your mind blown by the clarity and punch with excessive gain here, but everything up to this point sounds fantastic.
The neck pickup is a much thicker, more rounded affair that really shows its mettle when you add some distortion to proceedings – it’s chewy and meaty, and really suits bluesy lead lines.
The middle pickup offers a nice blend of both worlds that seems to be begging you to lean into the Hermanos Gutierrez vibes, add a bit of reverb and slapback, and start putting the Bigsby through its paces. It’s got a nice compressed quality when you add a bit of fuzz into the mix too.
Speaking of the Bigsby, provided that you don’t throw yourself too recklessly into extreme wangling, it stays in pitch nicely enough, though the nature of the beast means that its best suited to polite wobbles if you want to keep things in tune.
The coil-split does what you’d expect it to, bringing even more spank and twang on the bridge pickup, though you do lose a lot of the low-end – you have to be careful how and when you deploy it because there’s a real risk of things getting a little shrill here.
The middle and neck positions are more forgiving, and the blended sound in particular really opens up the sound, adding in some single-coil airyness to proceedings that can work really well as a contrast. Nobody is going to be mistaking this for a Strat any time soon, but it’s a nice extra option to have.
Image: Adam Gasson
Should I buy one?
The Gretsch G2622TG Streamliner won’t be for players angling for tonal neutrality, or an ultra-modern feel and aesthetic. Instead, those wanting to immerse themselves into the world of Gretsch, with an instrument that is bold in character and elegant in design, this is the guitar for you.
Above all else, this just feels like it has the raw materials to take you on a journey as a musician and a songwriter. It’s a cliche to say that this guitar feels like it has songs in it, but that was my experience every time I picked it up to play.
The quality of its tones, the playability, and the versatility here means that you can easily find yourself coming across fresh inspiration, and there’s something so refreshing about that – especially for a guitar that is so competitively priced.
The $799 outlay not only gets you a guitar that looks, sounds and feels high-quality, but also grants you a lifetime membership into the Gretsch players club. The G2622TG doesn’t just make you want to play it over and over – it reminds you exactly why you fell in love with guitar in the first place.
Image: Adam Gasson
Alternatives
The natural semi-hollow competitor for the G2622TG is, of course, the ES-335, and Epiphone’s version ($599/£599) is a very good guitar for the money. Another affordable take on the semi-hollow with bags of vintage pedigree is Guild’s Starfire I DC ($599/£659), while D’Angelico Premier DC ($799/£699) is another semi with a name from the annals of guitar history.
The post Gretsch G2622TG Streamliner Ltd Ed Center Block Double-Cut with Bigsby review: “there are a million and one songs trapped inside this guitar, impatiently waiting to be unleashed” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I was just up my own arse” Johnny Marr recalls the moment he realised he was being “ridiculous” not playing The Smiths songs live
Johnny Marr has opened up about life after The Smiths, including the years he spent treating the band’s songs as too “precious” to revisit onstage.
Following the band’s acrimonious split in 1987, Marr says the idea of performing The Smiths’ material felt “wrong and raw” – until one very casual suggestion from a fellow musician changed his mind.
- READ MORE: “We lost your guitar… deal with it”: Johnny Marr blasts FedEx for losing Ella Feingold’s guitar
Speaking to MOJO, Marr recalls the moment during a 2001 soundcheck for Crowded House frontman Neil Finn’s charity project 7 Worlds Collide, when Finn suggested that Marr play The Smiths’ There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.
“[For years], the idea of performing Smiths songs felt wrong and raw and just very, very precious. Too precious,” he says. “He just assumed that it would be absolutely fine me doing a Smiths song that day. He went, ‘Hey, Johnny, how about doing There Is A Light?’”
Finn’s matter-of-fact attitude made Marr realise just how much he had been overthinking it.
“And in that moment I saw how ridiculous it was to be so precious,” the guitarist explains. “He didn’t say it, but it was like I was just up my own arse.”
The realisation came after Marr had already spent years carving out a career beyond The Smiths. After the breakup, he worked with artists including The The and Electronic before joining Modest Mouse in 2006, an experience that reignited his enthusiasm for live shows.
“My role was to be the guitarist in Modest Mouse. It really got me back into playing live,” says Marr. “And it showed me a new way of writing as a lyricist. Modest Mouse and The The were very alike. A lot of testosterone.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Marr also reveals a particularly memorable conversation with former Beatle Paul McCartney after The Smiths’ breakup.
“[McCartney’s wife] Linda was so generous as a person, she was asking me all about my life. And he was sat there so I just told him about the break-up of the band. I looked to him and waited and he just said, ‘That’s bands for you.’”
“It’s such a brilliant answer coming from him,” says Marr. “Over the years, I’ve been asked to give advice. There is just a time to say, ‘That’s bands for you.’”
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Joe Bonamassa’s second collaboration with Martin is a stunningly accurate recreation of his prized pre-war 1937 00-18
Joe Bonamassa’s got one of the most impressive vintage guitar collections in the biz, so big that it has to be housed at two museum-style locations in Nashville and Los Angeles. And among his collection sits a 1937 Martin 00-18 shade-top…
Now, an instrument of this calibre tends to be out of reach for most guitarists, but thanks to two new Martin Joe Bonamassa signature models directly inspired by that guitar, the idea is a little more in reach than before.
Meet the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa and 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa, two new acoustic guitars that aim to give players the look and feel of the blues maestro’s treasured pre-war 00-18.
Martin’s second collaboration with Joe Bonamassa – the first being an epic $20k recreation of the guitarist’s 1941 000-45 – the two guitars include a handcrafted model built at Martin’s headquarters in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and a more accessible version made at Martin’s Navojoa, Mexico factory.
Both guitars sport a custom 1937-style sunburst and carefully recreated top wear to give it the feel of an instrument that’s seen decades of use.
In terms of build, the pricier 00-18 Joe Bonamassa pairs a solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides for a “warm, clear and responsive voice”, with a compact 00 body suited to blues, folk and fingerstyle playing. The guitar also features Martin’s Golden Era scalloped X-bracing, a faux tortoise binding, and a Golden Era modified Low Oval neck profile with a standard taper for a vintage feel.
Meanwhile, the more affordable 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa features a solid spruce top, sapele back and sides, scalloped spruce X-bracing, Performing Artist neck and a high-performance taper and Martin E1 electronics with volume, tone and phase controls and a built-in tuner. Martin says Joe Bonamassa road-tested the E1 electronics onstage before approving the final production model.
Both guitars come with a case, the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa a hardshell case and the 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa a softshell.
Credit: Martin
“If you told me when I was a kid that I’d be sitting here in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, with not one, but two signature guitars, I’d be like, ‘You’re out of your mind,’” says Bonamassa.
He also says the sound of the Nazareth-built model stands up to that of his 1937 pre-war original. “When we put the mic in front of it, my producer said, ‘I like that one better,’” he recalls.
Both guitars are available now from Martin.
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What are pots anyway? A working guide to the knobs on your guitar, and what they actually do
We talk a lot about guitar construction and the components that can have an impact on your tone, but one item is far too often left out of the equation, and they appear on nearly every electric guitar model made today. The pots – these are the things underneath your guitar’s control knobs that control what happens when you turn said knob.
A guitar pot (short for potentiometer) is a variable resistor with three lugs. Inside the case sits a horseshoe of carbon-resistive material and a wiper that sweeps across it when you turn the shaft. It’s really quite simple. The full resistance of the track lives between the two outer lugs, and the wiper picks off a point somewhere along it. The design has barely changed since the 1930s, and the part still costs a few dollars. It also has more say over how your guitar sounds than most of the hardware players actually obsess over.
The Value
Let’s start with the number stamped on the case, usually 250k or 500k. That figure is the pot’s total resistance. Higher numbers mean a brighter guitar, which is backwards from how most people guess. In electronics terms, a volume pot sits across the pickup as a load to ground, and that load bleeds off a little high end constantly, even with the knob wide open. A 500k pot bleeds less than a 250k, so more treble survives the trip to the amp. The load also flattens the pickup’s resonant peak, which is the bump in the frequency response that gives a pickup its character. Lower values flatten it harder.
That relationship explains the standard pairings. Humbuckers run slightly dark on their own, so they get 500k pots to hold onto their highs. Single coils are already bright, sometimes harsh, so 250k takes the edge off. Drop 250k pots into a Les Paul and it plays like there’s a blanket over the cab. Put 500k pots in a Strat and the top end gets glassy, sometimes brittle.
These pairings are just conventions. Gibson has shipped plenty of guitars with 300k volume pots, which splits the difference and shaves a little sparkle off a humbucker. Fender put 1 Meg pots in the Jazzmaster and Jaguar, and that enormous value is a big part of why the offsets sound so open and spiky on top. If your humbucker guitar sounds dull, checking the pot values and replacing them with something brighter is a lot cheaper than shopping for new pickups.
The Taper
Taper is a separate spec, and it governs the shape of the sweep. A linear pot changes evenly, so at halfway around the shaft you’re at roughly half the resistance. An audio pot, also called log, saves most of its change for the last part of the rotation. The curve exists because human hearing is logarithmic. An audio taper feels even to your ear on a volume control even though the resistance underneath isn’t. Wire a linear pot into the volume position instead and the sweep feels bunched, with nearly all the audible change crammed into a narrow slice of the travel. Tone is less settled, and plenty of players run linear there on purpose because they want a slower roll-off.
Get ready for some unavoidable electronics jargon. On modern CTS pots, current Alpha imports, and current Japanese pots, A means audio and B means linear. However, the old European DIN convention ran the opposite way and used A for linear, and the vintage Japanese JIS scheme did the same, so an old European pot, a vintage ALPS or Panasonic, or an unmarked one from a parts drawer can be exactly reversed from what you assume. When you can’t trust the stamp, measure it with a multimeter. Set the shaft dead center and read resistance from the wiper to each outer lug in turn. Roughly equal readings mean linear. A lopsided split, something like 10 to 20 percent of the total on one side, means audio.
Every pot carries a manufacturing tolerance, and even good ones drift off their rating. CTS’s factory standard is plus or minus twenty percent, so a stock “500k” can legitimately measure anywhere from 400k to 600k. The tighter ten percent pots sold by suppliers like StewMac are special-order runs, and some boutique parts houses go further, speccing nine percent tolerance with the nominal value bumped upward so the pot never lands under its rating. This is part of why two guitars off the same rack can sound slightly different. Builders chasing a specific voice will sit with a multimeter and hand-pick pots to hit a target number.
What The Tone Pot Is Actually Doing
A tone control uses the same kind of potentiometer as the volume knob, but wired with a capacitor to ground to create a variable low-pass filter. Turn it down and the pot lets more signal drain through the cap, which only passes high frequencies. The cap value sets how dark the fully rolled-off sound gets. Modern convention puts .022 microfarad caps with humbuckers and .047 with single coils, though vintage Fenders used values as big as .1, which is why an old Strat’s tone knob goes so muddy so fast. With the knob on ten, the cap barely matters.
Fender’s no-load tone pots go a step further. They have a detent at ten where the resistive track is physically broken, lifting the entire tone circuit out of the signal path. The guitar gets a touch brighter and more open at full, and behaves like a normal tone control everywhere else.
Shaft Size Does Matter…
US-made CTS pots use a 3/8 inch bushing. Metric pots use 8mm, so a metric replacement drops loose into a CTS-sized hole and a CTS pot won’t fit a metric hole without reaming. Split knurled shafts differ too: US pots carry 24 splines, metric pots carry 18, and push-on knobs made for one won’t seat on the other. Carved tops like a Les Paul need long-shaft pots to clear the carved maple top. Check all of this before ordering. The right electrical spec is useless if the part won’t mount. So shaft size does matter, no matter what anyone says!
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“Eddie said, ‘I can’t play on that!’” Albert Lee reveals the genre that Eddie Van Halen was reluctant to play
Eddie Van Halen could tap, shred and generally make a guitar do things that seemed physically impossible. But according to country guitar legend Albert Lee, there was one style that had the rock virtuoso briefly questioning whether he could pull it off.
That moment came when Van Halen joined Lee’s Biff Baby’s All-Stars for a handful of gigs. The unlikely supergroup brought together some serious guitar talent, and during one of their shows, Van Halen found himself tackling Lee’s country classic Country Boy – complete with its chicken-pickin’ passages.
- READ MORE: Two of Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer guitars are up for auction – accompanied by his used cigarette butts
Speaking in a new interview with Guitar World, Lee recalls, “On a couple of gigs, we had Eddie Van Halen playing with us. He said, ‘I can’t play on that!’ I said, ‘Yes, you can – you can do all that tapping!’ And of course he was great.”
Van Halen apparently didn’t see country picking as part of his usual vocabulary, though Lee was quick to convince him otherwise.
“He didn’t think it was his style. I said, ‘Of course it is!’”
That said, Biff Baby’s All-Stars was never really a band in the traditional sense. Put together by Ernie Ball’s son Sterling Ball, the group featured a rotating cast of the era’s top guitarists including Lee, Steve Morse, Steve Lukather and, on occasion, Van Halen for impromptu performances and the occasional “odd gig”.
That included a memorable appearance at NAMM with Van Halen and Morse, a performance Lee says fans still bring up decades later.
“We did one at the NAMM show, which people still talk about,” says the guitarist. “They used to say, ‘That show you did with Steve Morse and Eddie Van Halen was great. Any chance of any more?’ I’d say, ‘I don’t think so!’”
Watch the full interview below.
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“I didn’t even get the question out”: How Peter Frampton convinced Tom Morello to play on his new album
Earlier this year, Peter Frampton released Carry The Light, his first album of all-new rock material in 16 years. Written and produced alongside his son Julian Frampton, the album features guest appearances from Sheryl Crow, Bill Evans, H.E.R., Graham Nash, and Tom Morello.
In a new interview with Guitar World, Frampton reveals how a shared manager and a mutual admiration for each other’s work led to Morello joining the record – and, as it turns out, the Rage Against The Machine guitarist didn’t need much convincing.
“I’ve known Tom for a while now – I keep bumping into him,” Frampton says. “We’re managed by the same person, and I’ve been a huge fan of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, and – rest in peace – Chris Cornell. I’m a big fan of his.”
That connection eventually gave Frampton the opening to ask Morello about joining him in the studio.
“So a couple of years ago, I said to Tom, ‘If I’d a song, would you…,’ and he said ‘Yes!’ I didn’t even get the question out! It was wonderful, and he said some lovely things about Frampton Comes Alive! and how it affected him.”
Morello’s contribution ended up on Lions At The Gate, a protest song about the concentration of wealth and power among billionaires. Frampton says the title was inspired by the huge lion statues he saw outside mansions when he first visited Beverly Hills in the late ’60s.
“To me, that always made me feel like they were showing off their power,” he explains. “Basically it’s a protest song, saying that we’ve got to stick together. There’s safety in numbers, and we’re a band of brothers, and we’ve got to fight this.”
For Frampton, Carry The Light also arrives at an important point in his relationship with the guitar. The guitarist revealed in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with inclusion body myositis (IBM), a progressive neuromuscular condition that has affected his ability to play.
Rather than stepping away from the instrument, however, Frampton says he has embraced the “challenge” of continuing to perform as the condition progresses.
“I can’t complain about my life at all,” he told People recently. “Yes, it’s not the most pleasant thing to have. It changes your life. It’s not going to end it, but yeah, it’s a little difficult. But really I’ve gotten used to it, and I like the challenge of being able to do what I do as it progresses.”
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