Buyer’s remorse is a brutal thing, but it’s arguably worse when the guitars aren’t fully out of sight.

That’s certainly the case for Jeff Tweedy, who regrets selling two guitars in a pinch, only to discover the ZZ Top legend Billy Gibbons was the one to snap them up.

The Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, and alternate tuning maverick has credited his mother’s eye for a bargain when it comes to his greatest purchases, but for every dynamite deal he’s struck, he’s also lost beloved instruments along the way.

Speaking in the new issue of Guitarist, Tweedy says there are “tons” of trades he regrets, but one particular trade-off stung more than most, with his mom-found bargains – a ’56 Gretsch Duo and a ’50s prototype ES-350 – the collateral damage.

“Uncle Tupelo was going on the road, and Jay [Farrar]’s amp was broken,” he details. “We didn’t have time to fix it, so I traded [the Gretsch] for a Fender Twin for him. The other one, I think, was at the same place, but I can’t remember what I got for the 350.

“But I know where they are, because Billy Gibbons came through town in St Louis; I think it was at Silver Strings guitar store,” he continues. “They told me that he bought both of them. And I did talk to Billy, and he confirmed that he has those guitars.”

Getting those guitars off of Gibbons represents a pretty mammoth task, so they’re as good as gone. Yet it must feel worse knowing where they are, but they’re still out of reach.

In October, Tweedy teamed up with Martin for a new signature guitar, while also reintroducing a fan favorite 13 years after Tweedy helped bring it to life.

His full gear-centric chat with Guitarist features in the August ’26 issue. Print and digital copies, and subscriptions, can be found at Magazines Direct.

The issue also finds Brian Robertson discussing his doubts about Scott Gorham for Thin Lizzy, and trading guitars with Jeff Beck.

Right before his passing in December 2025, Stax guitar legend Steve Cropper was working on a new record featuring an all-star cast including Eric Clapton, Brian May, Billy Gibbons, and Ronnie Wood.

Now, Cropper’s final project, Watching the Tide – a reference to his performance on Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay – has been confirmed for release on August 28, with the first song, Ticket First, alongside Eric Clapton, giving us a taste of what to expect from the posthumous release.

Speaking about the single and the subsequent album, acclaimed songwriter-producer Jon Tiven – and Cropper’s close collaborator – says, “Making music was Steve's greatest joy. Steve was so encouraged by Friendlytown [his 2024, Grammy-nominated release]. He was adamant he wanted to do another record.

“I sent out some emails to guitar players I knew who had a great affinity for Steve, and two days later, I got an email back from Eric Clapton's manager, saying he’d be in Nashville for a concert and could we do it then,” Tiven recalls.

“He did, I believe, 11 takes on guitar. At the end, Steve and I looked at each other and said, ‘Man, you just turned the song inside out. I think we're gonna have to give you a writer's credit.’ Eric looked pretty stunned by that. And he said: ‘Well, anything to get my name next to Steve Cropper’s…’”

The A-list cameos continue with Brian May and Billy Gibbons, who lend their chops to the ballad My Angels Are Calling, Ronnie Wood on Until Now, and Tiven himself, who takes on lead guitar duties on Blood From A Stone and Here & Gone.

Yet, the process was far from easy, as those around Cropper knew he was running out of time. “I finished the mixes about a week and a half before Steve passed, and we brought a CD to him at the medical facility,” Tiven says.

“He called me the night before he passed to tell me how much he loved it. He was playing it for everyone who came to visit him, telling them it was the best record he’d ever made.”

“I know this record provided great joy to Steve in the last year of his life, and I’m so glad he was able to have this great creative burst that was so strong…” he concludes.

Watching the Tide is available to preorder via Provogue/Artone Label Group.

Back in March, Fender announced Tele Town, a star-studded concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Telecaster.

The vision of the show, which took place Monday night (May 4), was to bring Tele titans of every generation and genre together under one roof, with an emphasis – understandably, given the location – on the pioneering solidbody electric's massive role in the development of country music.

As announced, the lineup was already surely one of the greatest gatherings of country guitar virtuosity we've ever seen: Brad Paisley, Brent Mason, Brothers Osborne, Derek Wells, Guthrie Trapp, James Burton, Luke McQueary, Ricky Skaggs... Nashville Mount Rushmore, but you need room for a bunch more heads.

But the Tele has always been about much more than country, and the jaw-loosening caravan of special, unannounced guests that made their way onto the stage Monday night was a testament to that.

And most of these vaunted names all came together to close the show out with what we're confident in declaring as the greatest Tele jam of all time.

Of course, the concert made sure to highlight those who've been carrying the Tele torch for decades, but Fender also included on the bill a number of incendiary talents poised to bring the instrument into the future.

One of these, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, was reluctant to adopt the Tele at first, but now he's got two signature variations of the model. The reason he did take to the Telecaster at the end of the day was Prince, who he saluted with a funky cover of Cream.

First-call Nashville session titans like Guthrie Trapp and Brent Mason got some well-earned time in the spotlight during the show's middle section.

The household names in the building that were in the building that evening might have more Instagram followers, but it's players like Trapp and Mason whose Tele twang has reached the most ears – with appearances on thousands of records between the two of them – even if listeners didn't realize it.

Then came those marquee names. Billy Gibbons, for one, joined the sisters Lovell (Larkin Poe) to guide the proceedings into soulful territory with a salute to Steve Cropper in the form of a spirited take on Sam & Dave's classic shouter, Hold On, I'm Comin'.

Tommy Emmanuel, meanwhile, gave a lesson to those who didn't know already that he's just as much of a beast plugged in as he is on one of his signature Maton acoustics, with a stunningly lyrical version of his tune, Hearts Grow Fonder.

Jack White got a lot of attention, but country giga-star Brad Paisley was the show's anchor, reminding everyone that aside from his stadium-filling hooks, he's one of the greatest Tele slingers to ever walk the earth. He highlighted his brief solo set with some absolutely scorching, high-wire licks – just look at him go.

“75 years ago, Leo Fender had a pretty simple idea, and that idea was to build a guitar that worked for players – great tone, reliable, zero fuss,” Fender CEO Edward ‘Bud’ Cole said by way of an onstage introduction. “What came out of that was the Fender Telecaster, and it ended up shaping the sound of modern music.

“From James Burton to George Harrison to Sheryl Crow and to the incredible artists on this stage tonight, generations have picked it up and made it their own, and there's no better place to celebrate that than right here in Nashville. This city didn't just embrace the Telecaster. It helped define it.”

The concert is just the latest of the company's celebrations of the 75th birthday of its first marquee model. One of the most recent of these was the March release of five new Teles, including the return of a cult classic and some Tele firsts.

As a young boy, by way of his father who was involved in the music business, a young Billy Gibbons got the chance to sit in and watch B.B. King do his thing live and in the flesh while in the studio.

Surely, this would have impacted anyone, let alone an aspiring young six-stringer. But judging by Gibbons’ ZZ-Top catalogue, which includes big-time hits and even bigger and very old-school bluesy-meets-rock licks, one could say that said studio foray impacted Gibbons more than most.

As for what he learned as a child watching a legend like King, Gibbons tells Guitarist: “The importance of some serious professionalism at that moment took hold. B.B. and company were, well… they were gettin’ down to business with no foolin’ ‘round.”

Later in life, Gibbons got to know King on a personal level, as well as a professional one. It was only then that he learned the veteran blues icon wasn’t just a hell of a player but a quality person to boot.

“B.B. was all about respecting the opportunity to become a spokesperson of a style [that] was inherited,” Gibbons says. “And then, he developed that style to the level that enthralled friends, fans and followers at every turn.”

Nowadays, Gibbons is the old-guard professor with a guitar in hand who’s impacting millions. It’s the way of things – a proverbial passing of the blues-guitar torch. But even now, when he has a quiet moment, Gibbons still looks back on King’s body of work.

“The early releases found from the Kent label’s catalogue are all worth a deep review,” Gibbons says of his favourites. “The classic shapes of tone and feel continued to surround B.B.’s works right up to the climax of his output. Great stuff, all[-around].

You have a history with B.B. King. For those who don’t know, how did you end up sitting in on a session with him as a young boy?

Interesting encounter, to say the least! A visit to Bill Holford’s ACA Studios in Texas allowed me to jump aboard my dad’s ride to make the trip. Upon arrival, my dad said, ‘Take a seat over in that chair as a band is coming in to make a record!’

Next thing I knew, some guys came in and began arranging some gear, and then I spotted a guitar case entering through the side door… carried by none other than B.B. King. I remained quiet, yet at the same time something exciting was unfolding. When they kicked it in, I knew that was for me!

Gotta say, at seven years old, everything’s still quite new, and being in that room at that moment was simply beyond.

Did sitting in on that session with B.B. do anything to stoke your passion for guitar, or was that a runaway train, so to speak?

No question about it. The impact of that event zeroed in on the sound of electricity and hasn’t changed since. Coincidentally, [at a much later point in time] the sound of an unexpected B.B. shoutout stretched across an avenue in Las Vegas and, as it turned out, we were both residing just a stone’s throw down the same lane!

Upon invitation, we immediately gathered round and reignited a serious friendship, taking on the troubles of the world [laughs.] And then began delving into the depths, going way, way back, touching on Texas, Memphis and Mississippi.

Then there was the impact of some solid spiritual meaning, which appeared to have taken us both to that thing we called ‘the burden’, aka the electric six-string. Great tales ensued and the exchanges became ingrained with a sense of a righteous appreciation of this great American art form, the blues.

As you got older and more experienced as a listener and player, what did you notice about B.B. that perhaps an average listener wouldn’t?

Well, it’s fair to say just about anyone feeling the genuine delivery from B.B. and his entire outfit could take note that something of value was unfolding. B.B. exuded some honest enjoyment while working through years of delivering his inimitable style and savviness.

Have you ever tried to play any of B.B.’s music?

For the recent 10 years, an annual holiday gathering in Texas, known as ‘The Jungle Show’, takes the stage alongside Jimmie Vaughan, Mike ‘The Drifter’ Flanigin and Chris ‘Whipper’ Layton, where we open the performances with our version of one of BB’s great numbers [from the ’60s] named The Jungle.

We’re doing our best to remain interpreters within the scope of the originator. It’s nothing short of a blast.

There’s a story that, as adult, you met B.B. properly when you were 22. Did he remember you from the session you sat in on as a child?

Oh, yeah! In Las Cruces, New Mexico. We met somewhat informally while sharing a dressing room prior to the show, which sparked some lively discussions surrounding guitars. The recollection of that day back in the ’50s from the ACA session in Texas came much later when we gathered to join the tribute recording as B.B. was celebrating turning 80!

That same story says that B.B. asked to play your guitar and commented on how heavy your strings were. Is that true?

Yes. At the time, using heavy-gauge guitar strings was thought necessary for getting a big tone. When B.B. asked to try a few licks on my guitar, he quickly smiled and asked, ‘Why you working so hard?’ He then laid it down to show off a new set of his super-light-gauge strings. It was at that very moment that everything turned around. As B.B. then said, ‘Light is all right!’ [laughs]

How important was that switch to lighter strings when it came to harnessing your tone?

Ironically, the switch to lighten the load, so to speak, was automatic. First came the set of nines, then eights. And now, thanks to Jim Dunlop, we’ve slithered down to sevens. They stretch, stay in tune and they don’t break. B.B., we thank you!

If B.B. were here now, what tone secret or recommendation do you think he’d make?

Prior to his departure, B.B. kindly took time to offer encouragement with enthusiasm toward keeping an eye on authenticity. In as much as one would suspect, B.B. left his mark through so many superb recordings and shared that specialness with many.

From your standpoint, how do you recreate BB’s tone?

Getting close to creating something of a B.B. tone is more about taking time to allow some soul searching and inspiration. T’ain’t easy, yet B.B. would be first to offer a word of appreciation to go ahead with it.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

In the mid-’80s, ZZ Top went from being a group of Texas-bred blues bangers to a chart-topping powerhouse on the strength of albums like 1983’s Eliminator and 1985’s Afterburner. But neither of those now-classic albums could’ve happened without the “bridge album” that preceded them, 1981’s El Loco.

“The band, in the midst of the ongoing roadshows, returned to take advantage of some rare, non-performing days with re-entry into the studio in the early ’80s,” says ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons (via email) when looking back on this tweener period. He adds that the band’s aim was simple: “To make loud noise in Las Vegas, Memphis, Houston and back home in Los Angeles.”

Songs like Pearl Necklace, Tube Snake Bookie and Groovy Little Hippie Pad did a fine job of reflecting ZZ Top’s past. More importantly, they showed signs of what they’d eventually do so well on later hits like Sharp Dressed Man, Legs and Gimme All Your Lovin’.

“We were writing new material and recording the sounds the band is known for,” Gibbons says. “Following a wrap with sessions, it was us trippin’ into the desert surrounds back out in West Texas to capture the band in the shifting sands near their haunts at the Tex-Mex border. Tortillas and hot sauce meet rock ’n’ roll, as always.”

If that sounds roundabout – yet oddly encapsulating – that’s because it is. Gibbons has a particular way of viewing the world, which he filters through a quasi-poetic sense of humor that runs on through his guitar and out from his amps. So, if you really want to understand the vibe and feel of El Loco – or of any ZZ Top album – it’s best to just sit back, listen and take it in.

“All it requires is having a glance at the desert setting, which takes one directly into ZZ Top’s Texas heritage,” Gibbons says. “It’s that Lone Star State of mind making its ‘separate country’ status so mysterious. The poetry from song to song says it all quite succinctly.”

How did the reception for the album that preceded El Loco, 1979’s Degüello, impact your outlook on ZZ Top as the band rolled into the Eighties?

The great American art form of the blues, which we continued attempting to interpret, flavored the album’s content.

One of the favored tracks, the fine composition with Sam & Dave’s Stax recording of I Thank You, allowed the initial leanings toward taking a move with sounds of R&B.

Those new angles tempered new waves of experimentation for the band to move ahead and toward the future.

El Loco is interesting as it precedes Eliminator and Afterburner, ZZ Top’s ’80s explosion albums, but it came after the ’70s blues period, which you mentioned. It’s kind of an in-between record.

This is true! Then again, there was a landslide of inspiration and creative energies surrounding some insane scenes erupting everywhere. As the ZZ Top cornerstone of standing within our 12-bar circle expanded, the inventive impact from far and wide was instrumental in igniting a vibrancy from then to now.

What were the first songs the band wrote for El Loco, and did you have the new sounds of the ’80s in mind?

The many tracks included from the period, like So Cold, Instantly and Mark My Word, were just a few good ones as extra tracks that still exist following the more familiar numbers that landed in 12-inch vinyl upon the release.

The interesting challenge loomed large, having to hand-pick a scant few titles from the assembly that stacked up during the sessions.

You started El Loco at Sunset Sound in L.A. but moved to Ardent Studios in Memphis. How did that impact you in terms of tracking guitars?

Sunset Sound opened the doors to twist knobs on a lot of unusual features with their unreal stacks of compressors limiters and mic preamps surrounding the console… all favoring great response going to tape.

As the tour moved along, we returned to our home away from home, back in midtown Memphis, where Ardent Studios held Studio B on reserve for lighting the fuse for new ZZ Top songs to complete the wrap.

Why did you choose Bill Ham as producer?

The title of “producer” was actually more in line as keeper of the flame. Here were three wayward and unruly guys [Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard] that most likely would have stayed in the badlands. We were unaware of the job of maintaining the value of the group and rallying the gang to focus on defining what we were doing and refining the content.

We simply kept it raucous and raw and pressed on with loudness. An unabashed element was the constant ferociousness of the guitar tone coming from our trusted Pearly Gates [Gibbons’ 1959 Gibson Les Paul]. The sound out of that instrument actually made the signal stand up and bark.

Linden Hudson was also involved as a pre-producer.

Yes – a great guy with great insight with what makes for great sounds. That appreciative alliance emerged stridently with solid input on a creative level.

Linden was the engineer for Groovy Little Hippy Pad but wasn’t credited. How did he impact that track?

There was a constant openness to taking on fresh ideas with smiling support. Good times made it into the groove – an undeniable reality, front and center, with positive suggestions and exacting expertise.

Besides Pearly Gates, what guitars did you bring into the studio, and how did you shape your tone?

The style for making the kind of sound we were chasing fell right off the stage when the Jeff Beck Group delivered those smoking nights of great grind and grit. Standing behind a ’50s sunburst Les Paul, supported by a Fender Telecaster bass, said it all. Pushing it through those early Marshall 100s did the trick.

From that point forward, Jeff [Beck] arranged delivery with Marshall’s first factory arrival into the States, loading ZZ Top’s stage with stacks standing high. It solidified the initial offerings from the band’s newly formed “ZZ” sound without question.

What are the stories behind Pearl Necklace and Tube Snake Boogie?

During a hang with a long-standing pal, one of our friends appeared exiting his ride, making a fast clip to his front door, whereupon the question of “How was last night?” provided a quick and to-the-point response of a single word: Necklace.

One only needs a slight imagination to put it into proper perspective. Tube Snake Boogie emerged as a song having overheard a reference at a notorious surf spot from a shaper calling some new boards making the scene as “tube snakes.” A perfect title.

Terry Manning mixed El Loco. How important was he to ZZ Top’s sound?

Terry Manning – yes! We met Terry when he was working in a studio at Ardent in Memphis with Led Zeppelin. He accepted the invitation to take a stab at mixing the tracks later to reach success with the release entitled Tres Hombres.

On that record, the best move was the accidental slip of the splicing knife mashing together two numbers – Waiting’ On the Bus and Jesus Just Left Chicago – suddenly becoming the classic coupling, forever playing as a streamlined duo with a recognizable and most desirable effect.

What were your thoughts on El Loco the first time you heard it?

I thought Groovy Little Hippie Pad and Party on the Patio fit the times in a remarkable and cohesive manner. They’re still performed in concert with a speedy tempo, keeping the pulse beating with smoothness. Even now it maintains that stepped-up, accelerated sound.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Since its inception in 1999, Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival has featured the crème de la crème of guitarists who, in one way or another, have earned the blues-rock legend’s respect.

Now, the seventh edition of the festival will be held on September 26 and 27 in Austin, Texas, at the Moody Center, marking the 28th anniversary of the 1998 founding of the Crossroads Centre Antigua, the drug treatment facility spearheaded by Clapton himself.

Among the numerous Crossroads veterans returning this year will be Joe Bonamassa, Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Sonny Landreth, John Mayer, the Del McCoury Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jimmie Vaughan, as well as Clapton himself, who will be performing on both nights. Meanwhile, Trey Anastasio, Tommy Emmanuel, Julian Lage, and Pete Townshend will all be making their festival debut.

Guitar Center was also announced as the exclusive retail partner of the festival, and, in addition to onsite retail, there will also be a rare showcase of its Legends Collection. This includes Clapton’s 1956 Fender Stratocaster, “Blackie,” the 1964 Gibson ES-335 he played in Cream, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s iconic 1965 Fender Stratocaster, “Lenny.”

Speaking about the festival in a 2019 interview with Guitar Center, Clapton said, “My identity is always going to be linked to Crossroads. I can't walk away, so I've come back to do the thing I know how to do best, which is play, and also invite people that I have high admiration for in the music world.”

He continued, “I like to use the festival platform as a way of getting [musicians] to come and play to a big audience, maybe for the first time. I think it's quite nice for the other musicians to meet them, too. I like cross-fertilization. I mean, that was a fascinating thing for me, the fantasy. And it worked.”

Tickets for the event will go on sale on April 3 at 10 a.m. CDT. For more information, head to the official Crossroads Guitar Festival website.

Billy Gibbons may be one of the coolest cats ever to sling a Gibson Les Paul, but it took B.B. King playing his guitar to spark a string-gauge shake-up that changed the way he played forever.

With the recent release of Joe Bonamassa’s new tribute album to the King, Blues Summit 100, the late blues legend is back in the limelight. The record’s release coincided with what would have been King's 100th birthday, and, speaking in the new issue of Guitarist, ZZ Top maestro Gibbons reflects on his earliest memories of him. It proved to be life-changing.

They had met in the 1950s in Las Cruces, New Mexico, igniting “some lively discussions surrounding guitars”, including one line from King that left Gibbons re-assessing his belief about guitar tone.

“At the time, using heavy- gauge guitar strings was thought necessary for getting a big tone,” Gibbons quips. “When B.B. asked to try a few licks on my guitar, he quickly smiled and asked, ‘Why you working so hard?’ He then laid it down to show off a new set of his super-light-gauge strings.

“It was at that very moment that everything turned around. As BB then said, ‘Light is all right!’”

Gibbons practically restrung his guitar there and then, and the change was instant. His lighter string gauge, coupled with his decision to ditch guitar picks for pesos – “the serrated edge of the coin produces a delightful scratchiness,” he once said – transformed him into the player we know and love today. A guitar lesson from Jimi Hendrix didn’t hurt, either.

“Ironically, the switch to lighten the load, so to speak, was automatic,” he develops. “First came the set of nines, then eights. And now, thanks to Jim Dunlop, we've slithered down to sevens. They stretch, stay in tune, and they don't break. B.B., we thank you!”

The B.B. King tributes are set to continue following the announcement that he’s the latest musician to be the subject of a big-screen biopic. That follows recent films on Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, with further films on the Beatles and Sister Rosetta Tharpe also on the way.

The new issue of Guitarist is out now. Head to Magazines Direct to pick up a copy.

Before the giant beard, before the MTV stardom and spinning fur guitars, before he was seen onstage with bandmates playing 17-string basses, and even before the band that made him famous existed, Billy Gibbons was plying his six-string trade with the Moving Sidewalks, a true Nuggets-era psychedelic/garage-rock band. What can you say? The man's lived many lives.

Though they never quite made it big nationwide, the Moving Sidewalks' biggest single, 99th Floor, was enough of a hit in the band's native Houston, Texas to give the group some momentum as rock fully entered its tie-dye era.

That wind at the Moving Sidewalks' backs was enough to convince promoters to stick the band on the bill with some budding rock juggernauts when they rolled through town, particularly one James Marshall Hendrix, for whom the band opened in 1968.

Gibbons and co's usual set, mind you, featured multiple Hendrix songs. Incredibly, the band kept that set – Purple Haze and Foxy Lady included – when opening for the man himself, something they cheekily chalked up to a lack of material.

Far from being angry, Hendrix was actually impressed by the sheer gall of his openers, and struck up a friendship with Gibbons.

Try to contain your shock, but during their time touring together, prime-era Hendrix made quite an impression on the young Gibbons. The rulebook-shredding that millions of guitarists only got to hear on record, Gibbons got to see up close and in-person.

“It was just wild. He knew all the tricks – five-way position on the toggle switch before it was five-way, bending the wang-bar up so that it'd go down farther, immobilizing the strings... it was just great to be near him to see all this stuff he was doing instinctively,” Gibbons recalled with some wonder in a 1984 Guitar World interview.

“I remember one night he came ripping into the hotel room and said, ‘Um, do you know this?’ and he'd slap down a lick that would last for 10 minutes. I'd shake my head and say, ‘Uh, no. Could you run through it maybe once more?’”

In a more recent interview on the YouTube show Rock & Roll High School, the ZZ Top man recalled another hotel room hang with Hendrix, during which the two guitarists sat in wonder listening to Truth, the debut album from the Jeff Beck Group.

Hendrix, Gibbons said, was himself left in awe by the album, asking Gibbons how Beck could've gotten such otherworldly sounds out of his Les Paul.

“I said, ‘Jimi, it would probably surprise you to know that Jeff Beck is probably listening to your record trying to figure out what you’re doing at the same time!’”

As the guitarist in Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the house band for Stax Records, Steve Cropper was a key figure in shaping the sound of soul music in the ’60s, backing legendary singers including Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.

He co-wrote the classic songs Green Onions and (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, and also recorded with rock icons John Lennon and Rod Stewart.

Cropper passed away on December 3 2025, aged 84, leaving a legacy of guitar parts that changed the face of music.

In 2024, he spoke to Guitar World’s sister title Total Guitar for what would be the final time. He was buzzing about the release of second solo album Friendlytown, which featured guest spots from Billy Gibbons and Brian May.

But he also found time to reflect on a storied career, and revealed that he didn’t particularly rate his own skills. What was most important to him was always groove and soul. And nobody grooved quite like Cropper.

How did Billy Gibbons come to be on the new album?

“Billy and I have been friends for 30 years, but we’ve never actually worked together before. He ran into Jon Tiven, my co-producer, in a grocery store and he asked, ‘What’s Steve doing these days?’ He told him we working doing an album and he said, ‘Good. Can I be on it? I’m not doing anything right now.’

“So he was there for two of the writing sessions. He played on all but one song, and we wrote Friendlytown, the title track, together. Most people put the title track of the album as the sixth or seventh song, but this one, I said, ‘It’s too damn good. We need to put it first!’”

How would you describe your guitar partnership with Billy?

“No song on this album is a battle of guitars or knowledge or wits – we’re both fans of one another. All these songs are under 3:30, they’re simple – two verses, two choruses and a bridge. Most songs nowadays are very long and poetic. Billy and I, we’re not bothered about poetry. We’re trying to show how it was back in the ’60s.

“Watching Billy’s hands in the studio, I learnt something I never knew – he plays two things at the same time. He always plays a bass part at the same time as his melody like Chet Atkins would do, and like I do. You know, the first time I saw ZZ Top, I said, ‘How do three guys make that kind of music?’ And I found out in the studio with him!”

And what about Brian May?

“He’s known Jon Tiven for years, and we met at James Burton’s birthday about a year ago. Everybody was there. Brian and I got talking and we sent him a track, but then we hadn’t heard from him in a while. My engineer called him and Brian said, ‘Too much stress – everything’s coming at me a million miles an hour!’

“Four or five days later we got a copy of the track and it was pretty good! So we called the song Too Much Stress and wrote the lyrics around it. We didn’t have modulation in the song until Brian got his hands on it. He’s very talented. I’ve heard a lot of great guitar players and he’s one of the best in the world, I think.”

Going back to your early days, what guitar did you learn on?

“My first guitar is under glass now at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. It’s only got three strings. I used to play it like a rubber band when I was eight years old. I bought it from the Sears Roebuck catalogue. It was a Country Western, a big round-hole, flat-top guitar.

“I’d sit on the porch waiting for that guitar to be delivered every weekend, waiting for the truck to turn the corner. And then it finally arrived. The strings were loose and the bridge needed fixing, and they wanted a 25 cent delivery fee – 25 cents! My mom said, ‘I’ll lend you that quarter if you become a guitar player’. She’s not around to defend herself anymore, but I think I did!”

What were some important lessons for you in developing your style?

“In the early days when I was playing guitar, I knew the world didn’t need another B.B. King, Chet Atkins or Les Paul. So, what are you gonna do now? I thought, ‘Just be yourself and do your thing. Don’t go changing’.”

Do you remember a moment you felt you were no longer a beginner guitarist?

“It would be doing Green Onions with Booker T. and the M.G.’s. Booker actually started writing that and then we worked on it together. A singer was meant to come into the studio but they never showed up – he’d been singing all night and he couldn’t even say his name in the morning so he never came in. So we were just jamming around waiting.

“A few weeks passed and we were working on the song Behave Yourself and the label said, ‘Do you have anything for the B-side?’ I said to Booker, ‘What were those riffs you had you thought would be good for a vocal song?’ We played it to them and they said ‘That’s pretty good’. And that was it. That was the record.”

What stands out to you in a guitarist?

“Groove. If someone’s got groove, they’re gonna last a lot longer than the person who doesn’t, whatever groove means to you. To me it means soul. And play in the box, not outside it. That’s what people like. If you play too far outside the box people aren’t gonna like it.

“My playing has always sucked, but it sells, because I keep it simple, I guess. I’m not a guitar player, I never took the time. I use it as a tool. I couldn’t afford to hire another guitarist on a lot of Stax records, so I learned to play rhythm and lead at the same time so when I was soloing the rhythm wouldn’t drop out.

“Randy Bachman from The Guess Who taught me a lick, and it was more of a country lick where you could bend two strings at the same time, but he did it with two fingers. I figured out how to do it with one finger. I’ll never use a capo, either. God gave you a capo right here [hold up his first finger], so I learnt how to play a lot of chords with three fingers instead of four. That was important.”

What was the last piece of gear you were excited about?

“The last guitar I bought was probably a Telecaster, but I’ve never been much of a collector, and I don’t play Teles anymore. I play Telecaster copies made by Peavey and I ran over the one I’ve got now. I ran over all the electrics; the tone and volume and the pickup switch. I hammered everything back into place and it all works fine.

“I plugged it in, looked and my engineer and said, ‘It still sounds good to me’, so it’s got something in it. I play it all the time. The problem with running it over is the pickup switch would keep rattling.

“I’d tighten it up and it would start rattling and changing position again. The bridge pickup is too damn bright for me. I’ve always preferred the middle position, so I took a bit of cardboard and stuffed in right in there so the switch can’t move!”

You’ve played with a lot of guitarists over the years. Has anyone surprised you?

“Dave Mason [formerly of Traffic] really impressed me. I didn’t think he was that good until I toured with him, then I found out how good he really is. Live, he’s something else. Jeff Beck, too. Whatever Jeff’s mind thought, his hands would go there. You couldn’t say, ‘You can’t get that’ to Jeff. He’d just reach for things and grab it.

“He did things that no one else thought was possible and he’d make it sound right. Working on The Jeff Beck Group album [produced by Steve and released in 1972] is one of my proudest moments.”

Has anyone not impressed you?

“There was a guy who came into Stax one time that put a handkerchief over the strings so that no one could see what he was doing and copy him. I didn’t care about any of that. I’m sure he was a great player, but it didn’t impress me.”

What about any non-guitarists; who impressed you the most?

“A magazine once called me up and said, ‘I believe Stax Records is the first label to use an automatic drum?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, his name is Al Jackson!’ With Al on drums, you could edit the intro of take one with the intro of take ten and no one would know - he was that good of a timekeeper. He was great to play with.”

What advice would you give to a young guitarist?

“Do not get into this business for money. Do it for fun, and if you’re good, somewhere along the way someone will pay you.”

Can you recall a moment when you felt like you’d failed as a player, or been embarrassed by a performance?

“I don’t ever remember having a bad show. I’ve had records that went out to market and didn’t sell, so I guess I failed there, but the records themselves have been pretty clean and spot-on to me. I don’t release junk, not with my name on it. It has to be quality stuff. It might not sell, but I’m happy with it. I don’t have any regrets.”

• Friendlytown is out now via Mascot.

When we think of guitarists with the name Guthrie, two probably come to mind first – English fusion virtuoso Guthrie Govan, and Nobels ODR-1-toting Nashville session ace Guthrie Trapp, who’s worked with everyone from Dolly Parton and John Oates to Alison Krauss and Garth Brooks.

“I haven’t really listened to the other Guthrie, to be honest!” laughs Trapp. “I guess we live in different worlds and come from different backgrounds. But I do know he’s a very respected player.”

Having grown up in a bluegrass household with very little Top 40 music, and benefiting from the guidance of his musician uncle Jerry, Trapp was molded from a young age. And while the 46 year-old is often typecast as a country player, he points out that, to have a longstanding and meaningful career in music, you need to think a lot broader.

This is well documented in his ArtistWorks School course, The Guitar Styles of Guthrie Trapp, which was recently relaunched. It’s a roundup of the most important things he’s learned, with tips and guidance on how to navigate through all kinds of musical situations.

“I don’t consider myself a country player,” he tells Guitar World. “I played in a country band with Don Kelley about 25 years ago, and I got pigeonholed. I’ve been trying to get away from that ever since! I just like music, you know?

“Of course, American roots music, bluegrass and traditional blues is important to me. I didn’t really idolize the big rock guitar players because I didn’t know any of them.”

Did any big rock guitarists that impress you later on?

Mark Knopfler was a favorite because his lines spoke to me. I’m not a diehard Pink Floyd fan, but I’ve always loved David Gilmour’s playing. Fast chops are impressive when you’re young, but that stuff doesn’t last. What does last is songs and melodies. Shredding is amazing but nobody can do that forever. Your hands will slow down, so you better learn how to play melodically.

Your approach is less singular and more contextual to the music situation.

It’s good to have speak different languages. If all you want to do is sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, you’re kinda fucked. There was only one of him and he did it better than anyone else.

The same goes for Eric Johnson or B.B. King. But honestly, I couldn’t care less about guitar players. I’ve kinda heard it all at this point, you know?

From an alternate picking perspective, country guitar is one of the hardest styles out there. How did you develop those techniques?

If you play those lines sloppy, it won’t work. The whole down/up thing came from the flatpickers. For the younger crowd who might not know Tony Rice and David Grier, I’d say Billy Strings is doing that right now.

You have to alternate-pick those lines because they’re from fiddle tunes. And 99 percent of everything should come from your ear. If you just focus on theory without knowing how to make music, it’s like a chef who can chop perfectly but can’t actually cook.

At this point I like to zoom out and wonder, “Why are we doing any of this? What’s the point of pedals or theory?” I find the “why” gets diluted by the “how.” The goal should be to write a song, record it and let others enjoy it.

You usually stick with boutique T-style guitars made by companies like Floyd and Russ Pahl, going into vintage Fender amps via a Nobels ODR-1, or your signature JTO pedal made by J. Rockett Audio.

Here in Nashville we all love the original Nobels pedals, which sound better than the reissues. They’ve shot up in price – I used to get them for $100 and Uncle Larry [aka Tom Bukovac] would pick them up for $30. Now they’re upwards of $1,500.

After playing it for 20 years, the Floyd guitar’s done. I had it refretted a while ago and it got weird. I gave the Russ Pahl guitar back because I wasn’t using it. I’ve moved on to this Dan Strain Danocaster that Uncle Larry sold me. Then there’s this 1969 335. Now that’s a good guitar.

So you’re pretty minimalist when it comes to gear?

I don’t have many electrics. There’s a Gretsch that Zac Brown gave me that I don’t use much. I’ve probably got the smallest collection out of any working musician in Nashville! I don’t own a Strat, Les Paul or anything with P-90s.

I have everything I need. You’ll never hear me do anything high gain unless I’m told to. The Nobels works great through my 1966 Fender Pro Reverb. I don’t even use my signature overdrive anymore.”

What else is on your pedalboard?

There’s my Boss tuner and Xotic RC Booster. Then I go into the Nobels, a tremolo, a Strymon Brigadier delay and a Strymon Lex. There’s also a Strymon Cloudburst synth reverb for intros. I love my EarthQuaker Dispatch Master, which is a delay and reverb.

I just got a Tomkat Super Day Dreamer which is another badass delay and reverb. I’m a big fan of having both together – it creates this cool ambient world.

I’m not into any digital things with memory banks where you need to program a bunch of shit. I’m old school! There are no amp modelers with me – none of that garbage.

Have you ever tried one?

I did play through a Fractal or Kemper once. I flew in and had to go straight to this stadium to play the kickoff riff. They supplied all the gear, including the guitar.

I plugged it into this box and realized that if you try to play with dynamics, the thing will stop tracking. It wanted signal the whole time, which felt like insanity to me.

But I saw Mark Knopfler twice on his last tour; he was using digital modelers and sounded so fuckin’ incredible, I was in tears. Of course his tech had it all dialed in. Uncle Larry once told me that good tone is heavy. When you pick up an amp with a proper transformer and good speakers, it’s not going to be light.

Billy Gibbons is a fan of your playing. How did you meet?

I met him at Todd Sharp’s amp shop eight years ago. During Covid I got an email from him – I thought I’d ended up on his newsletter by accident! But he wanted me to be a special guest for his lifetime achievement award at the Ole Opry House.

The email had been sent six days before. I thought I’d blown it! I replied immediately and we had a call soon after. He said he’d been checking me out and wanted to jam.

What did you learn about him?

He’s every bit as cool as he looks, if not 10,000 times cooler! He’s one of the most generous people I’ve ever met – always sending me crazy shit like hot sauce, knives, dice and pedals. He’ll chat to and take photos with every single person he meets.

We went to the grocery store once and he ended up talking to this woman for 45 minutes about tamales. She was in tears, being such a huge fan. There’s only one Billy Gibbons walking the planet. He’s less about music and more about humanity.

How important is theory for a career as a session guitarist?

I avoid a lot of that stuff. I don’t look at this as a day job. I’m not a big fan of that “this is my office today” mentality. It isn’t about clocking in and out. I don’t play for anybody, but I do play with a lot of great people. It’s about having dignity.

You have to own your shit to get anywhere. The only originality we have left in this world of AI is ourselves. I tell young people to get themselves out there in an authentic way. The only thing you have left that’s original is your story.

You released an album called In Stereo with Tom Bukovac last year. What did you bring out of each other?

It was original because we were only making music for ourselves. We’d occasionally walk into a $2,000-a-day studio with zero ideas, so we’d grab some acoustics and start playing. That’s fresh creativity.

I don’t want to play another train beat or blues shuffle in A. Don’t regurgitate the same old shit that’s been beaten to death. I don’t want to pay homage to country and blues; that’s been done. I respect those styles enough to leave them alone.

Remember that the guitar neck is a super-conducting lightning rod for building relationships that could change your life. That’s the bigger picture with this shit. It’s not about how tall the frets are on your Telecaster.

Music is a language. Think like that and you’ll be better off than anyone who only knows how to shred through A minor pentatonic.

• The Guitar Styles of Guthrie Trapp is available now at ArtistWorks.

ZZ Top’s 2009 show at the House of Blues in West Hollywood was already blazing hot by the time the encore rolled around.

They opened with Got Me Under Pressure. Waitin’ for the Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Cheap Sunglasses followed. The hits kept coming. A cover of Foxey Lady called back to Billy F. Gibbons’ early days supporting Jimi Hendrix with the Moving Sidewalks.

Then came the grand finale, and a moment that would take us from habanero to Carolina Reaper on the Scoville Scale. Enter John Mayer and Slash for an all-star set-closing performance of La Grange.

And while this moment was fully deserving of the Blu-ray treatment, to be savored in Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound – a few cold ones optional but recommended – luckily it was captured for posterity on YouTube.

You have the video embedded in this page, so you don’t need commentary from us. But to set the scene, you’ve got Slash in his top hat and wielding a Gibson Les Paul, because that is how he rolls.

Mayer was on a white Fender Stratocaster and – although it is hard to tell from YouTube footage – it looks very much like his signature guitar of the era, finished in Olympic White.

And, be still my beating heart, is that Pearly Gates with Gibbons? He takes the first solo and crowdsources suggestions for his successor. The crowd screams Slash (of course it does, we’re in Hollywood, home turf for the Guns N’ Roses guitarist).

Slash does his thing, one elastic note ringing out for Mayer – who looks kind of like he has just been ejected from a wedding reception, what with the suit trousers, black tie and white shirt, and sneakers. Mayerologists would no doubt be able to fill in the blanks here but Mayer… Well, he smokes this jam.

These things are not competitions but the comments say Mayer lit this thing up. “I’m a big slash [sic] fan but ya gotta admit John stole the show that was an amazing solo by him,” wrote Joe Lawlor.

Some complain that Slash hits some bum notes and he does. But that’s the nature of live improv. You don’t get a soundcheck. You’re not on in-ears. Head down and go.

Watching this makes us think that, if Slash decided to do a sequel to Orgy of the Damned – his star-studded blues guitar album – he should drop Mayer a call. He could sing, too. Maybe get Gibbons and Mayer on a track... and why not La Grange?

Gibbons would surely be up for it. He has a history of jamming La Grange with Slash. See below, when he joined Slash's all-star birthday bash for a jam. And he was on the first Orgy..., joining Slash on Willie Dixon’s Hoochie Coochie Man, bringing Pearly Gates along for the session.

“It’s fair to say Slash and our collective adventures cover wide ranges of bluesy influence,” said Gibbons, speaking to Guitar World in 2024. “Most everyone appears to enjoy maintaining an actual ongoing relationship with all things sonically ‘blue.’ Muddy Waters’ Hoochie Coochie Man is something [that’s], quite simply, fundamental.

“Slash and I approached the number with a sincere, personalized vision, forwarding the arrangement to expand the track with some extra breathing room and sound luster. It’s a Willie Dixon standby ‘oldie’ – and [it’s] still kickin’ in a big way.”

Now we need to bring the three together – Gibbons, Mayer and Slash – to do this one more time.

There’s a legend that has long circulated in guitar circles – one of those reciprocal, lighting of the flame moments – in which Billy Gibbons, vocalist and guitarist of Texas legends ZZ Top, attended a B.B. King session when he was just a child.

However, there’s truth to this particular legend. Indeed, the event left Gibbons indebted to the genre to the point that he went on to make a career of saluting the blues, seasoned-up with a heaped spoonful of boogie-woogie rock ‘n’ roll.

Gibbons has variously recalled being aged 5-7 at the time, but he’s never been quite clear on the exact timing – perhaps unsurprising given the 70-odd years that have passed since. However, writing to Guitar World, Gibbons recalls many details of the day with surprising clarity.

The trip, he explains, came about thanks to his father’s connections. Frederick Royal Gibbons was a noted orchestra conductor, concert pianist, and organ player who had a long and successful career – and, by the time Billy was born, a bulging contacts book.

“My dad extended the directive to climb aboard and accompany an excursion to the recording studio, where some executive biz was to take place,” Gibbons writes, in his own inimitable prose.

“I was ushered into the tracking room and took a chair against the side wall and was instructed to remain and stay quiet.”

The tracking room in question was the domain of record producer Bill Holford, located on the corner of Montrose and Westheimer in Houston, Texas – “and known nationally as the notorious ACA Studio.”

The site was famed for good reason. It was one of the first multi-track studios in the country and, as such, drew the great and good of early- to mid-20th-century talent. Lightnin’ Hopkins recorded there. Little Richard, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Memphis Slim also laid down tracks in the room.

At the time of the session, Gibbons was so young he could only dream of one day making music in such a spot, but he was not oblivious to what he was witnessing – or the unspoken exchanges.

“There was enough awareness as to what was going to take place that a wave of anticipation immediately fell swoop,” he remembers. “The space was fairly empty, and yet, the absence created a stir of curiosity. The lack of noise was intriguing.”

Gibbons found himself firmly fixed to the chair his father had left him in and watching as the previously dormant space transformed into a bustling scene – all ready for one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century to take up residence and do his thing.

“Here came a line of guys with their gear going about setting up and properly arranging the group’s designated spots at B.B.’s insistence,” Gibbons recalls. “My dad stepped in with Bill Holford to greet the ensemble, and then in came ‘The King.’”

Gibbons memory of first laying eyes on King is remarkably vivid. What’s more, King’s way of handling himself also made an impression.

“B.B. shook hands with a smile,” notes Gibbons. “He exchanged a few remarks about having worked previously in Houston, making records. [Then] after some discussion of B.B.’s selected songs, the getting-down-to-business was underway.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Gibbons says King soon noticed his movements being documented by this young apprentice.

“B.B. stepped over and asked if I liked electric guitar,” the ZZ Top man recalls. “I grinned – and that was it!”

As mentioned, Gibbons is uncertain on the dates. Guitar World has reviewed the ACA log books, now digitized and hosted by the University of Houston – and there were at least two B.B. King sessions at ACA in the ’50s, both of which appear to have taken place in 1953.

Gibbons has previously supposed the session happened later, around ’57, but Guitar World could not find a date that tallies with this in the log book, nor mention of the labels associated with King in the late-’50s documentation.

The tracks on the slate for the first session in ’53 are listed as Remember Me, What A Difference, I Don't Believe It and I Can't Put You Down. The second session lists takes of I Did Everything I Could, I've Learned My Lesson, Come On Baby Take a Swing With Me and (I Want You To) Love Me.

Many of these don't appear to have seen release – possibly because King was predominantly working with another label at the time – but the latter seems likely to be a working title for (Please) Love Me, released that same year.

Regardless of the specific tracks, Gibbons reports that the group did not waste time laying it down.

“A quick runthrough by the band got the ball rolling,” remembers Gibbons. “Take one came over and then the count. It was three minutes of masterful execution and then on to another number – a superb experience witnessing a series of one-take deliveries.”

For the young Billy, watching B.B. King play was electrifying in itself, but in another sign of things to come, he confesses he found himself enthralled by the tools the blues maestro wielded.

“I vividly recall – which I learned later – B.B. was using a blond, [Gibson] ES-5, triple-pickup, single-cutaway,” Gibbons tells Guitar World.

“There were a couple of [Fender] Tweed amplifiers across the room,” he continues. “They were out of the way to let the amps blare it out, away from the rest of the group. It was effortlessly lively and at the same time, agreeably stone serious.”

The ES-5 provides another clue to the date – there’s an amazing image of King [dressed in shorts – above] playing the guitar onstage with the Bill Harvey band in Memphis around 1950. It’s not conclusive, but does suggest that the session likely took place earlier in the decade than first thought.

Gibbons then remembers that the band decided to take an extended break, and he says he even took note of this.

“[It’s] a time-tested, studio must-do, which is practiced to this day,” observes Gibbons. “The art of taking one's time to settle into the pocket makes all the difference in laying it down and enriching the groove.”

Up until that point, Gibbons appears to have maintained a respectful silence – albeit it with a grin on his face.

“As the session wrapped, B.B. came over to tell me he knew my dad and asked if I had taken it all in with a good time,” recalls Gibbons. “Needless to say, I believe B.B. enjoyed my loud response of, ‘Yes, sir!’”

Gibbons would not receive his own electric guitar until his 13th birthday, but the King session seems like the starting point of his personal odyssey – before all of those more famous stories of his time with Jimi Hendrix, catching Elvis, or ZZ Top’s colossal success. Witnessing King proved truly formative.

Gibbons still describes the memory as “a treasured moment, which lingers on”. Indeed, some 50 years on from the session, Gibbons got to return the favor – performing Tired of Your Jive with B.B. King as part of the latter’s star-studded, 80th birthday celebration record, B.B. King & Friends: 80.

We can only imagine how the young Gibbons might have felt knowing that years later ‘The King’ would call him ‘friend.’

Joe Bonamassa has revealed his handy trick for minimizing string breakages on Gibson Les Pauls, which expands upon a stringing technique used by Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons in the 1970s.

Eagle-eyed Bonamassa fans who have closely inspected his Les Pauls over the years will have noticed that the ball end of his strings point towards the bridge, and stick out visibly from the instrument’s tailpiece. This, he reveals, is intentional.

In a new video interview with Guitarist magazine, Bonamassa reveals the string-saving hack that transformed how he strings his Les Pauls. Since adopting the technique, he claims he hasn’t broken a single string in over three years of touring.

Traditionally, Les Pauls are strung by threading the string through the tailpiece, with the ball end anchoring inside. Bonamassa’s method builds on the “top-wrap” approach that became popular in the ’70s.

In this setup, the tailpiece is screwed down flat against the body – something many players believe enhances resonance – and the strings are fed through the tailpiece from the neck side, wrapped over the top of it, and then strung to the machine heads.

“The top-wrap on the Les Paul was something I noticed in pictures of Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons when Billy was using heavier gauge strings,” Bonamassa explains. “You start thinking about it critically, and you go, 'They're decreasing the break angle over the bridge.'

“Now, you could do that by going through the bridge and just raising the tailpiece, but most of us Les Paul wielders tend to like the tailpiece screwed all the way down. So, how do you achieve both at the same time? You overwrap just like a Les Paul Junior.

“Once I did that, I was like, 'Wow, these 11s – I use Ernie Ball Burly Slinkies, 11-52s – feel like 10.5s. They're a little bit slinkier, they have more bounce to them.

“My former tech, Mike Hickey, came up with an extension of the over-the-top wrap,” he develops. “He would cut off the ball ends, put the string through there, then through the bridge, and then go over. That prevented the break angle from being right on the wind, preventing string breakage.”

He admits the method might not be for everyone, but encourages other Les Paul players to try it and find out.

“Now, Ernie Ball sends them us in bulk, but in the very beginning he'd tediously cut the ball ends off and it worked,” Bonamassa concludes. “We haven't broken a string on a Les Paul – knock on wood – for over three years. And that's not playing light!”

Bonamassa’s chat with Guitarist also looks at the action of a guitar and the value of finding an instrument’s sweet spot.

“Every guitar has a happy spot where it rings naturally and it's a case-by-case basis,” he says, noting the instrument itself, and a player’s action preference, as two contributing factors. “You can't paint in broad strokes.”

He goes on to say that older guitars usually need fewer truss rod adjustments “as the wood has been sitting for a long time, so, they're kind of cranky and stuck in their ways”. He finds newer models require a little more TLC.

On his preferred action, he adds, “Too low, and I feel the instrument starts to choke. But if there's too much tension with the truss rod, it's going to choke as well. When you hit a chord and it's blooming, the whole guitar will resonate. That's when you know it's set up [properly].

“I know people that use super low action and they get great sound out of it,” he concludes “So, it's just one man's opinion.”

Bonamassa, however, will be focusing on Strats in the coming months, with his Rory Gallagher tribute shows fast approaching. He has also recently paid tribute to underrated guitar hero Lowell George, whose Dumble Special Overdrive is now a key part of his touring rig.

Ted Nugent's decades-spanning career has now been encapsulated in his latest project: an archive (or, as he dubbed it, the “Nuge Vault”) which includes some pretty historic material from Nugent and his rock ‘n’ roll contemporaries.

The newly-available Nuge Vault promises to offer members access to “never-before-seen or heard concert footage, archival audio, and much more.” As Nugent shared with Sirius XM's Eddie Trunk, recovering this material was no mean feat considering the guitarist has been active since the ’60s – or, as he succinctly puts it, “a pain in the ass.”

“When Jason [Hartless, Nugent’s drummer] and I were rehearsing for the Adios Mofo tour with Johnny [Schoen, bassist], we were in my big barn in Michigan and there's just walls and acres – literally acres – of boxes and crates and big giant piles of tapes and videos and CDs and cassettes and stacks of photos and, and rehearsals and jam sessions,” he explains.

“And I had kind of walked past it every day as I do in my daily life, but Jason stopped and looked at it and started digging into these boxes.”

It was thanks to Hartless that Nugent decided to take on such a colossal project, with the two working together to go through each and every recording – a process that ended up unearthing a lot of memories for the guitarist.

“When Jason started digging into these boxes, his eyes bugged out,” he continues. “Because who doesn't want to hear the recording of Ted Nugent and Eddie Van Halen backstage in California jamming? Or with Billy Gibbons and so many amazing things that have taken place?”

Another hidden gem? A “jam session with the Mothers of Invention at the Fifth Dimension in Ann Arbor in 1967.”

“When he shows me this stuff, I get teary-eyed,” Nugent confesses, as he reiterates his gratitude for Hartless' dedication to the project. “I go, God, I remember that. Hanging out with these guys backstage. What a lucky, lucky life. And it's all chronicled.”

Last year, Nugent gave his hot take on top guitarists lists, sharing that he thinks Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck are overrated – and who he believes deserves more recognition.

Tom “TV” Jones has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments in the guitar world. He built the TV Jones company around his innovative technology, revived and modernized the classic Filter’Tron electric guitar pickup, and was instrumental in the Gretsch brand’s revival.

Working with acclaimed artists included Brian Setzer and Billy Gibbons, Jones has reshaped rockabilly, country, rock music and more. But the TV Jones story isn’t only about pickup design – it’s about a dedication and obsessive mission to craft a unique guitar sound.

Jones spent his formative years pulling electric guitars apart to learn about their inner workings. By the 1980s, he was playing in bands, and, like all tone chasers, he was unhappy with his pickups.

“In the late ’80s I was taking guitars apart, playing since I was 14. I decided to make a guitar and still have it.

“In the late ’80s, I decided to make a guitar – and I still have it,” Jones says. “Then in the early ’90s I worked in the guitar repair department at The World of Strings, a violin shop in Long Beach, CA, where I learned how to refine my craft.”

He launched the TV Jones company in 1993. “I started out as a guitar maker, then moved to pickups,” he recalls. “I started designing and manufacturing pickups that capture the tonal essence of vintage models that appeal to modern guitarists.”

He found inspiration in the Filter’Tron pickups found in vintage Gretsch guitars – a design known for clarity, warmth and bite. “It blooms with saturation as you dig in,” he explains.

“Brian Setzer’s guitar tech, Rich Modica, would bring his guitars into The World of Strings for work. I did fret jobs, reshaped necks, lacquer refinishes, and built custom guitars for Brian. He’s been my main client going on 32 years. His vintage ’59 Gretsch 6120 inspired me to learn how to build pickups.”

The big break came when Setzer, who wanted to augment his sound with increased reliability for recording and touring, adopted Jones’ version of the Filter’Tron. The pickup builder was catapulted into the guitar world’s consciousness, and earned him the trust of Fred Gretsch.

The result was Jones’ pickups being installed in the Gretsch Setzer Hot Rod guitar models, and a partnership with Gretsch that’s still going strong.

“We wanted to make it possible for musicians to try them in any type of guitar, so we devised all kinds of mounting options,” Jones says. “They were mentioned on the Gretsch Pages discussion forum, and production exploded after that.”

The timing was perfect – Gretsch was going through a revival due to a renewed interest in vintage-style guitars popularized by Setzer, Elliott Easton, Steven Stills and Bo Diddley. With TV Jones pickups aboard the Vintage Select Edition series among others, instruments delivered the vintage tones of past models with modern appeal.

In 1999, Fred Gretsch hired Jones as a consultant and go-between with artists to help design their signature guitars. The term “That great Gretsch sound” soon became synonymous with the tone of TV Jones pickups. In 2001, Jones relocated to a facility in downtown Poulsbo, Washington, where the company remains.

Then another big name appeared on the scene.

“I got a call from a gentleman who sounded like he was from Texas,” Jones says. “I asked, ‘Is this who I think it is?’ He said, ‘Yes!’ It was Billy Gibbons.”

The ZZ Top leader was interested in a pickup that sounded like a humbucker, but fit in a Filter’Tron housing for the Gretsch Billy-Bo guitar. By adding more magnet wire to the standard Power’Tron, the Power’Tron Plus was born.

TV Jones’ success was far from easy to achieve in a market saturated by heavyweights including Gibson, Fender, Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio.

The pickup builder relied on direct connections to musicians and word-of-mouth advertising to spread the word. His company triumphed out of respect in the guitar community, and players who tried TV Jones pickups became evangelists.

One of the trademarks in Jones’ approach is his commitment to personalization. While most manufacturers were offering standardized pickups, he focused on the necessity of tailoring tone to individual players, offering customers one-to-one advice.

From the vintage twang and growl of the TV Classic to the golden-age PAF vibe of the Power’Tron, the TV Jones range expanded over time – but the company has never lost its boutique ethos. Its tooling is all self-manufactured, and every pickup is crafted with the same care and precision of Jones’ early experiments.

Yet despite the accolades, Jones remains an underdog in the truest sense: a tone craftsman whose work reverberates louder than the name. His achievements are a reminder that persistence and passion will triumph.

While mass production can overtake artistry, Jones’ dedication to authenticity and quality sets him apart. He didn’t just build a brand – he forged a legacy built on the constant pursuit of tone. When players experience the magic of a TV Jones pickup it proves that, sometimes, underdogs can redefine the game.

And the reimagining of the Filter’Tron was the catalyst. “It gives you more dynamic control,” Jones says.

“I heard that when I played Setzer’s personal guitars. The magnets and pole screws are larger in the Filter’Tron; the bobbins are closer together and have less magnet wire. That translates to clarity and more dynamics.”

“I thought, ‘I have to recreate this!’”

• Head to TV Jones for more information.

Billy Gibbons has opened up on the time he proved he had cajones of steel when, while supporting Jimi Hendrix on tour, he played two of the electric guitar legend’s biggest hits in front of the man himself.

The bold play took place while Gibbons was submerged in psych rock sounds with his pre-ZZ Top band, Moving Sidewalks. Speaking on the Rock & Roll High School YouTube channel, Gibbons says he was “mystified” to have been offered the opportunity to support Hendrix across the States in the late 1960s.

The band had already weaved two Hendrix classics, Purple Haze and Foxy Lady, into their live set, and as the terms and conditions of playing on the tour revealed themselves, Gibbons was forced to do the unthinkable.

“We thought about it and I said [to the band], ‘The promoter’s really fussing at us, he said he’s holding us to this 40 minutes of material.’ I said, ‘The only way we can play 40 minutes is if we include Purple Haze and Foxy Lady.’”

That left the band pondering, “Dare we play this in front of Hendrix?” But they were left with little choice: “Well, we want to get paid,” Gibbons had concluded. Little did he know, Hendrix himself would be watching on from the shadows.

“As we were rounding out our portion of the show, I kept noticing that there was a lone figure standing off to the side in the shadows of the stage,” he continues. “And as we wrapped it up, I remembered passing by, being spun around and this guy grabbed me by the shoulders, and smiling he said, ‘Man, I wanna meet you. You got a lot of nerve, I like that.’”

That moment sparked an endearing friendship between the two guitarists. After their shows, they’d hang out, listening to music together on a “piece of furniture” hi-fi system in Hendrix’s hotel room every night.

“I gotta tell you, we became fast friends,” Gibbons says. “His door was always open. Hendrix would signal me over and say, ‘Hey man, come check this out.’ We sat cross-legged aimed at the speakers and he was playing the first Jeff Beck Group album, Truth, and Jeff Beck is peeling the sides off his Les Paul.”

Hendrix listened in awe and questioned how Beck managed to play the things he put on record. Gibbons had a sharp response for his new and virtuosic friend.

“I said, ‘Jimi, it would probably surprise you to know that Jeff Beck is probably listening to your record trying to figure out what you’re doing at the same time!’”

Gibbons would go on to form ZZ Top in 1969, citing the magic of Hendrix and Cream’s power trios as a reason for wanting one of his own. Elsewhere in the interview, he confirms new ZZ Top music is in the works, which will be the first since the passing of bass player Dusty Hill.

The band’s long-standing guitar tech, Elwood Francis, has since been sworn into the vacant spot. He’s made headlines for ripping part of the band’s set on a monstrous 17-string bass but has since pivoted to a more humble two-string after his joke backfired.

Joe Perry has recalled the time he was loaned a Fender Stratocaster that belonged to Jeff Beck – and revealed that he almost took the instrument out on the road with Aerosmith.

In a new interview with MusicRadar, Perry discusses his friendship and playing relationship with Beck and also talks about playing Beck’s ‘number three’ Strat with his side project the Hollywood Vampires – an appropriate outing for an instrument belonging to the late guitar hero.

“It was his number three [Stratocaster],” Perry explains. “The whole premise of the Vampires was to pay homage to the guys who had passed on. I think we were going to have it on the road with Aerosmith, but when that [the band’s Peace Out farewell tour] got cancelled, I gave it back to Jeff's guitar tech.”

A nightly outing for the Beck Strat on the road with Aerosmith would have been a tempting prospect for guitar geeks and fans alike, but sadly it was not to be following Steven Tyler’s vocal injury and the tour’s subsequent cancellation.

Both Perry and Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton have since discussed their hopes that Tyler might recover enough to get back on the road, with Hamilton recently saying, “Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it’s a big ‘if’.” However, even if that does happen it looks as if Perry’s moment with the Strat might have passed.

“[Beck’s former tech is] the guy helping the family put Jeff's stuff together for the auction,” explains Perry. “I think he might have given it [the Stratocaster] to Billy Gibbons to play just to keep it out on the road. I'm hoping to get a chance to play it again.”

The same Strat seems to have been played by the likes of Gibbons, John Mayer and Steve Lukather since, and Lukather has hinted it’s part of a wider Jeff Beck tribute project.

However, special its association, as Perry notes repeatedly in the interview, what surprised him most about Beck’s instruments, including the loaner, is how unremarkable they were.

“There's nothing special about it except that it was Jeff’s,” says Perry of the Strat. “Whenever I’d see him play live for real it was an off-the-rack Strat. He was never one to say, ‘I’ve got to play that. That’s my number one. That’s the one I can't live without.’ I think that was interesting. He looked at the guitars like tools, not something you get attached to.”

One model that truly would have been worthy of the term ‘remarkable’ would have to have been the off-the-wall and ultimately ill-fated Ibanez Jeff Beck signature guitar that came to light via Guitar World last year – also set to feature in the upcoming Jeff Beck guitar auction.

Earlier this year we introduced the Newman 5 String, a cracking version of a guitar that was designed in the late ’70s by the late luthier and Stones tech Ted Newman Jones III to originally cater for the five-string needs of Keith Richards.

It marked the first joint venture between the US company Newman Guitars, headed by Jeff Smith, and the UK’s Cream T Custom Shop, who makes the guitars in limited runs here in the UK.

If that 5 String was firmly rooted in the past, then this latest UK Newman brings the story bang up to date with an emulation of the USA Newman guitar that Billy F Gibbons has been touring with. The Big G, of course, already has ties with Cream T, who created his Whiskerbucker humbuckers and other pickups, and he also had some design input into the first Cream T guitar design, the Aurora.

It might have one string more and one pickup less than that 5 String, but this new addition also uses honeycomb chambering – developed by US luthier John Bolin who’s made many guitars for BFG – to the already lightweight obeche slab body. It’s capped with a thin maple top under the cream-bound Baby Blue opaque gloss finish, the only colour currently offered.

Another difference from the 5 String is that the 629mm (24.75-inch) 24-fret maple bolt-on neck here is chambered and then reinforced with a pair of carbon rods. The fingerboard is bound maple with abalone dots and a gloss finish, while the Newman-designed string-through bridge changes to a Music City wraparound.

What doesn’t change is the unique outline that Ted created, and in this chambered style it’s very light in weight at 2.62kg (5.74lb) but hangs beautifully on a strap. “It’s the old rockers’ guitar,” quips Cream T owner, Tim Lobley. “You can wear it all night!”

As we’ve seen with previous UK-made Cream T and Newman guitars, the craft is first-class and that includes the simple pull-out/push-in Guitar-X pickup swapping system.

And with five pickups in the pack (all coil-splittable, except the Original Banger), there’s plenty to listen to, not least two flavours of the Whiskerbucker contrasted by the subtly more Fender-style taste of that Banger & Mash.

Of course, you can buy any Cream T and other brand humbucker-sized pickups with the Guitar-X mounting, or simply buy the mounting frames and solder them on yourself.

A brave new world for pickup tinkerers and a superb guitar to play the host. If it’s good enough for BFG…

• For more details, see the Cream T Custom Shop.

Texas is home to some of the best guitarists the world has seen – and among the best are the underrated. Jim Suhler is primarily known for his lead role in George Thorogood and the Destroyers, but there’s more to his forceful talent for playing slide guitar, transforming that twang of blues into celestial quality.

Starting out in his trio, Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, he’s gone on to work with incredible artists, collating extraordinary stories along the way. Those including a memorable encounter with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons officiating his wedding, and Joe Bonamassa’s star appearance on Monkey Beat album Tijuana Bible.

Why did you gravitate towards slide technique?

“Initially it was Johnny Winter’s Captured Live! album. His cover of Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited really hit me hard. I remember going to a friend’s house and watching Dazed and Confused, sitting in his room listening to that; it just blew my mind.

“Slide came more naturally to me than anything else I was trying to do. I was also listening to Robert Johnson in my late teens and started trying to cop a lot of that stuff somehow.”

Monkey Beat’s second album Shake includes the track Snake Bit, where different instruments characterise a snake – slide movements up and down the fretboard, and 16th notes on shakers like a rattle. Was all that intentional?

“Probably only with the shaker! Not necessarily the slide – but now you mention it, yeah, I hear that! I remember cutting that solo. We did it at Compass Point Studios in Nassau in the Bahamas with Terry Manning producing.

“He wanted me to use a particular guitar sound on the solo, but I wasn’t digging the sound at all. Man, he was right! Once I listened to the track it really fit well within it. I’m glad he overrode me that day. I’d never thought of the snake vibe with the guitar before, but I guess you’re right!”

What guitar did you use on Snake Bit?

“It was a ’93 Gibson Hall of Fame Les Paul Junior with P100 pickups. The neck got snapped – I was flying overseas and when I opened the case, it had snapped at the headstock. I had it repaired; twice, actually, but it was never the same. I really miss that guitar. It had such a great sound and great vibe to it.”

Was Monkey Beat a Gibson gig, or did you switch it up?

“On the first album Radio Mojo, any electric guitar you heard would have been a Strat. But the second album going forward I was using more Gibsons. More humbuckers and P90s, just for a little textual variation.

“There were times where a Fender was a little thin. I’m always trying to find a happy medium between Gibson and Fender. It’s a never-ending battle. It’s easier for me to make the Fender sound like a Gibson than the other way around.”

When you joined George Thorogood and the Destroyers in 1998, was it an easy decision?

“My only question was: ‘When do I start?’ Things were slow – I was between albums and struggling financially. I’d actually thought to myself it would be nice to get a side gig with some big band. I got the call and started playing a few months later with them. I was elated. It was a very easy decision to make.”

How has George shaped you as a guitarist?

“First and foremost, George is an entertainer. Even before I was in the band, just watching him, I learned how to deal with the crowd and how to handle an audience. I had always liked playing with a second guitar player so that was easy. If George is playing one thing, I’ll find another thing to play.

“It’s not a ground-breaking musical idea, but learning how to listen, when to step up and when to stay back, is another thing I got with George.”

You opened for AC/DC in 2002. What was it like playing to their crowd?

“They don’t have a lot of patience for anything other than Angus – on the second show in Hamburg, the Black Crowes, who were opening, got booed off. The first show, we got into Bad to the Bone, then they were like: ‘Oh, those guys. I know who this is.’

“I remember AC/DC signed my Strat. I had everybody sign it – Neil Young, Jeff Beck… In fact, when Angus saw Beck’s signature he said: ‘Oh, the bouffant!’ They were great to us; gave us all kinds of access, like standing with the guitar tech. It was just a wall of Marshall amps for as far as you could see.”

How did you get Joe Bonamassa to appear on Monkey Beat’s Tijuana Bible album?

“Joe played on Deep Water Lullaby, which was a title I’d dreamed. A friend of mine – I didn’t know this at the time – had a family member who drowned. I don’t know where this stuff comes from, but it’s floating around.

“The song is very Hendrix, so I was thinking, ‘This really calls for a superhuman to play a solo beyond my abilities.’ I knew Joe, so I called him. He was coming from Houston and had a night off, but he was sick. He came out to the studio, did the solo and killed it.

“He did a couple passes, one with a Les Paul and one with a Strat; I think we used the Strat solo. I tried to pay him some money but he wouldn’t accept it. I’ve got a lot of love for Joe. We go way back; he was still riding around in a van when I met him before he ascended the stratosphere.”

Can you remember the first time you met?

“I was playing with George in San Diego in 2001 and Joe was opening. I walked in and hear this guy playing Cradle Rock by Rory Gallagher, and I was like: ‘Whoa!’

“First of all, Rory wasn’t that popular, so that had my attention. Second, he was absolutely killing it. We became friends from then on. Monkey Beat would do shows with Joe whenever he came through Texas or Oklahoma. He came down to Dallas and played the guitar show with me a few times; he’s a good friend and a good man.”

On a slightly different note, Billy Gibbons officiated your wedding.

“Yeah! The crew working for the Destroyers also worked for ZZ Top and they were still in touch with Billy. I knew our tour manager had been married by Billy; I think they were the first couple. I jokingly said to a crew member: ‘I’m engaged – ask Billy if he’d do it!’

“Then Billy called me, and I thought it was a prank call. I don’t know what he knew about me, but he did it. It was as nutty as you’d think it was. He took it very seriously and his mother, Lorraine, was there. Then we all went down to the Texas coast.

“Billy sent us champagne, chocolates and flowers. You haven’t lived until you’ve gone out on the town in Texas with Billy Gibbons. His influence is very big on me, personally as well as musically.”

You’ve met Stevie Ray Vaughan – how did that come about?

“I never got to play with him, but I had seen him a bunch of times. I met him for the first time in ’89. We had a family jewellery shop in Dallas and Stevie had an old antique watch he brought in to get repaired. I just happened to be there when he came in; in fact I walked right past him when my dad was talking to him.

“My dad called me back and said, ‘Son, there’s somebody here you want to meet.’ And it was Stevie. I was in my late 20s, trying to get it together. I hadn’t met George at that point; so my dad asked him: ‘Do you have any advice for my son?’

“I was really embarrassed by that at the time, but Stevie said to me: ‘Yeah, keep it clean.’ To me, one of the greatest parts of his legacy was his sobriety and him helping others through that journey as well.

“He never come back to get his watch, so in 1990, the last time he played in Dallas, I took the watch out to where he was playing, got backstage and gave it back to him. He did have a light – an aura or energy – about him. It was palpable. It was real and he was very powerful. God bless him; he was a great man.”

While ZZ Top achieved mainstream success and worldwide aclaim with the stream of hits that came from their Eliminator album in 1983, they had long been Texas blues-rock trailblazers. And it’s a testament to Billy Gibbons’ stong musical identity that he’s still seen as an influence in his genre, over 40 years on.

Talking to Brian May about his impressions of Gibbons, the Queen guitarist told me: “I first heard Billy Gibbons because of Noddy Holder, the singer of Slade, in the 1970s. He had a couple of ZZ Top albums and was mad keen on the group.

“We were at his house and he played me La Grange and Tush, and some others. I thought Billy Gibbons was the coolest guitarist I’d ever heard, and that opinion hasn’t changed in 50 years! Always rooted in the moment. Never trying too hard. Solid as a giant rock.”

Billy has a few signature techniques, including pinched harmonics for that dramatic, squealing sound. He was using picking-hand tapping long before Eddie Van Halen came to prominence, and while he doesn’t use extended lines based on this approach, it’s a real feature of his sound. An influence on Larry Carlton’s classic solo on Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan, perhaps?

Gibbons’ phrasing is impeccable. As Dr May suggested above, his style is relaxed and totally uncontrived. This makes his approach perfect for classic solos, as Gibbons always plays for the song. He’s also a master groove player and his rhythm style often contains rootsy, almost country-tinged, doubled-stops and classic, soul-influenced guitar moves.

As a sharp riff writer, many of the band’s most successful songs hinge around simple but memorable hooks, often pentatonic in nature. Rather than Led Zeppelin-style monoliths, these are usually more like simple lick ideas that plant themselves as earworms in your brain. Think of tracks like Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin’, and Tush, for example.

In the licks below, I’ve crafted lines that reference some of his popular melodic shapes. While researching this article, it became apparent that many of Gibbons' tunes set up a solid groove within a key, but when it comes time for the solo he modulates elsewhere for a vamp or repeated chordal pattern.

For instance, in the ZZ Top classic, La Grange, Gibbons sets up a groove based firmly around A Minor, but the solo is based around C Major. Musically, this is the relative Major but a noticeable jump that lends instant excitement and lift to the tune. It’s a simple but extremely effective way to give a song a sort of ‘gear change.’

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 7, Bass 7, Middle 5, Treble 7, Reverb 3

Gibbons has an amazing collection of guitars, so anything will work here. Set up a sound that’s good for rhythm but also powerful enough for blues-rock solos. A little reverb is essential, while delay can add breadth to soaring leads. Add overdrive too, but don’t go overboard with the distortion; note detail is important here, and too much drive can get in the way.

Example 1

This uses double-stops, which are a staple in Gibbons’ solos, as are the pinched harmonics in the third bar – catch the string with the flesh of the picking-hand thumb.

Example 2

Triplets and more double-stops here. Notice that the bottom note moves down in bars 1-2 to add melodic detail against the repeating F note.

Example 3

Note the use of the #11 note (F#) here for an infectious bluesy sound. Jimi Hendrix also used this sound to great effect on Band Of Gypsys.

Example 4

We’re on a chord of F7 here, but note the bluesy Minor 3rd (Ab). Gibbons also often uses the blues scale built on the root of the chord he’s playing over.

Example 5

Here’s a line based around the 6th interval, which adds a definite hint of soul to the phrase.

Study Piece. The Solo

The solo puts the example ideas together to create a guitar break that feels composed and melodic. Notice how it takes its time to develop, melodically. Since phrasing is key to Gibbons' style it’s important to leave room to let the licks breathe. Laying back on the timing is vital, too – you’ll never hear Gibbons rushing ahead.

With respected producer Jon Tiven at the helm, the session icon is back again with Friendlytown, the follow-up to Fire It Up, the critically acclaimed debut album from his quintet Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour.

But this time, he’s called in some larger-than-life pals, Billy Gibbons and Brian May, to spice things up. In celebration, Guitarist checked in with the trio of guitar masters to break down their relationship in and out of the studio.

Steve, tell us about the origins of your new album, Friendlytown. What kicked this off?

Steve Cropper: “Well, I think Mascot got us going, especially after getting a Grammy nomination last time [with Fire It Up]. Once the budget came in for this one, I started writing right away.”

Billy, how did you become involved?

Billy Gibbons: “Having been acquainted with Steve from way back in the Memphis days, fast forward to the present by a chance exchange on the street with record producer Jon Tiven, whispering the name ‘Steve Cropper’. Needless to say, we got fired up!”

And where did you come in, Brian?

Brian May: “It was a roundabout way through Jon Tiven, like Billy said, the producer of the record. Jon is a very old friend of mine and we’d kept in touch over the years. He’s a very interesting spirit and great at getting spontaneity.”

This appears to be the first time the three of you have worked together, a phrase we use loosely, seeing as the way records are made these days doesn’t always involve an in-person experience.

Brian: “I met Steve properly at a concert we did as a tribute to Elvis’s guitarist James Burton. We did this wonderful tribute and I had the time of my life because James was such a hero of mine. But my other great hero, Steve Cropper, was there. We had an amazing time; I’ll never forget it.”

Brian, given your styles are so different, people probably don’t realise the impact of Steve’s playing on you.

Brian: “Yes! I’m a little nervous when I meet my heroes; I’m not really relaxed. I’m not quite sure what I said to him, but it was great. I supposed the actual playing together was a deal. When you hear the guy on the other side of the stage and you hear your guitars together, it’s an amazing feeling and such a privilege for someone like me.”

Billy, when did you first meet Steve?

Billy: “We both were residing in Memphis during the heyday making records that jolted a range of artists into international prominence. And, like so many, I was magnetised with what Steve was doing with his guitar and production sounds.

“And now, ‘fast-backward’ to a fateful encounter with Steve at the infamous Molly’s Mexican Casita down Madison Avenue between John Fry’s Ardent Records and Steve’s Trans-Maximus Studios. From that point forward, it’s remained our mutual admiration of the mystique of guitars, guitars and more guitars.”

Was he a big influence on you as he was with Brian?

Billy: “Yeah, man. Steve is legendarily low-keyed, with an upfront passion for tastefulness and tone. When seeing what is possible with the straightforwardness of a bare‑naked Fender slab-body straight into a Fender Tweed amp, it is better to stand back for the attack.”

What does your songwriting process look like now, and how has that changed from your early days recording for Stax?

Steve: “Songwriting has always been easy for me, like water off a duck’s back. But I can’t write by myself, I’m too critical. I love having someone there to say, ‘That was good, do that again.’ I usually put down titles first, then see what’s good for that day.”

Has that changed much since your early days with Stax in the 60s or doing sessions in the 70s?

Steve: “No, it’s pretty much the same. I’ve always loved co-writing. There are only one or two songs out there with just my name on them, like [Booker T & The MG’s’] Soul Dressing with The Mar-Keys.”

What was the first song you wrote for new record, Friendlytown?

Steve: “The first time Billy Gibbons came in, we worked on the song Friendlytown. I love one or two-word titles. ‘Friendlytown’ sounded good to me, so we decided to name the album that.”

Billy, once you got rolling, what was the process like working with Steve on riffs and songwriting?

Billy: “One word when working beside Steve is ‘acceleration’. The adrenaline works overtime, which ironically is balanced when creating laid-back guitar figures. The title track, current to this behind-the-scenes view with Steve’s disc, Friendlytown, slips a bluesy six-string smoothness throughout, which paves the way for absorbing the record’s feel.

“There exists a mutual awareness of the challenge of maintaining impact through simplicity. It might be fair to say Steve wrote the book on economy while staying focused on ferociousness.”

As far as tones, what gear did you use when recording Friendlytown, and did you consider what Steve used in order to create contrasting textures?

Billy: “Knowing Steve’s prowess playing stridently Cropper-like on just about anything, we waited for Crop’s arrival in order to spy out which axe of his many would be favoured for session ignition. Lo and behold, Steve, in fine fashion, strolled in, having a look around and, of course, grabbed the studio’s classic, 1960 Fender Esquire!

“Pearly Gates [Gibbons’ 1959 Les Paul Standard] was immediately put into service as a complementary tonal companion. Steve held back his twin-pickup Telecaster for extra sass. Fender and Magnatone amplification made the collection of sounds blend together handily.”

Brian, let’s talk about your track, Too Much Stress. That song originates from an email to Jon Tiven, where you initially declined to participate, right?

Brian: “So Jon emails me one day, saying, ‘Look, I’m producing this record for Steve Cropper. Do you want to play on it?’ I said, ‘Oh, I’d really love to, but I’m in the middle of all this stuff at the moment, including being on tour. I’d really love to, but right now there’s too much stress in my life. My apologies.’ I said, ‘Maybe I can do it another time, but at the moment, there’s too much stress.’

“Two days later, an email comes back from Jon, saying, ‘Okay, I hear your email. I’ve written a song about your email. It’s called Too Much Stress. Do you want to play on this for Steve?’ I had to say yes! He sent me the track and it was just full of life and fun. It made me smile.”

Of note, you and Billy share the solo on Too Much Stress. Can you tell us a bit about how that came about?

Brian: “That was an interesting situation because Billy had already played half a solo. Jon said to me, ‘Can you play the other half?’ I said, ‘Jon, look, can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’ Jon said, ‘No, this is the way it’s going to be.’ I said, ‘Oh God, all right.’ But I listened and thought, ‘Actually, this probably does make sense.’

“Billy, of course, is the coolest guitar player on the planet. He plays so little, but it counts so much. It’s just very, very cool. He’s not showing off or trying to prove a point. He’s just playing from his heart – so I did the same thing.

“I took over where he left off and did my half of the solo, and it was a very rare thing. My wife loves it. She doesn’t love anything I do, generally, but she loves this track. She said, ‘This is what you should be doing. Going out on tour with these guys and being on this record.’ [Laughs]”

Did you stick with the Red Special in your beloved Vox AC30?

Brian: “Nothing different from that – that setup is really an extension of me. The Vox and that guitar, along with a copy of the [Dallas] Rangemaster Treble Booster that’s slightly souped up. That’s basically what it is. It’s the sound of Rory Gallagher, though my sound ends up different.”

Billy, what was your perspective on sharing space within Too Much Stress with Brian?

Billy: “It was quite obvious we both were enamoured with the opportunity to keep the invitation front and centre. Ain’t no doubt the joint enthusiasm accompanied the performances to a satisfying sense of ‘Steve-approved’ style.”

Steve – Billy and Brian have dug into their gear a bit, but what’s the secret to harnessing the coveted Cropper tone?

Steve: “I don’t switch much. The first guitar I played for 14 years was just a regular run-off-the-shelf Telecaster model. The second one I’ve been playing for 10 years and I might retire it soon. I’ve had two custom guitars made up, but they’ve got to feel right, you know?

“I’ve been using a Victoria amp made in Chicago. It’s a handmade [Fender] Twin [clone], and I’ve been using it for years. People like Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy have played it, too. I just stick with what works for me. So, there’s no magic. If it’s comfortable, that’s what matters to me.”

And when you take a solo, how do you approach things?

Steve: “The guitars stayed the same for me. I prefer not to hear something before I work on it; I like reacting to it fresh. It’s not always the first take, but I keep at it until it’s perfect.

“My solos are more lyrical, kind of vocal-like. I always try to play the melody, like in (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, where I tried to mimic the sound of seagulls. I stick to that formula – it’s worked so far.”

Friendlytown is unique – if only because it features three contemporaries who have impacted each other and shaped the sound of guitar over the past 50-plus years.

Billy: “We positioned a sizable studio corner to allow that elusive element of providing a sense of space for everybody to enjoy a slice within each song. Steve’s direction was invaluable, indicating moments within each arrangement where a slight sonic stab might be enough, still leaving room for everyone on the session. Brian May’s injection dug in right, keeping the three-lane avenue wide open, joining three parts together as one.”

Brian: “What we have in common is that we don’t shred for the sake of it. In my case, it’s because I can’t! [Laughs] But guitar playing, for all of us, is the voice; it’s how you feel. If your guitar can express that feeling, you’ve done your job. We have that in common. Nobody is showing off or zooming up and down the fretboard. Everyone is playing what feels right, and there’s passion in it. There’s an incredible sense of integrity that Steve helped to create.”

Steve: “[Jon] Tiven ran into Billy and told him about the record. Billy said, ‘Can I be on it?’ That meant a lot to me. But other than Billy being a superstar with ZZ Top and playing his butt off – our styles are pretty similar! [Laughs] And I have always been impressed with Brian’s vocal harmonies. I’m just glad we were able to mix everything and figure out where it all should fit [on the record]. Thank goodness! Beyond that, I wouldn’t break it down; listen for yourself!”

Which of these tracks best represents the connections you made on this record?

Steve: “Aside from Too Much Stress, I’d say There’s Always A Catch. It’s the most R&B track, it’s unlike anything I’ve played before. The track is funky and sticks with you.”

What does this experience mean to you all?

Billy: “Just another day in Groovesville. Kinda tops it off in soothing the soul. If you need further reassurance of the depths of Steve’s importance, just take it from that well-known shout-out in the hit with Sam & Dave’s Soul Man. ‘Play it, Steve!’ says it all.”

Brian: “With Steve, there’s a form of unbroken coolness. That’s the beauty of a collaboration like that. The perk of doing what I do is playing with fantastic people; I’m so lucky. Steve’s guitar playing moves people, but it’s not just notes, there’s structure. Steve sees the whole picture – he co-wrote (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, he didn’t just put some guitar on. His playing is colossal and immortal. So yeah, he doesn’t feel like a contemporary… he feels like an icon to me.”

Steve: “I just hope to be remembered as a nice guy. That’s all I care about, so I don’t think about what’s next. I just focus on what I’m doing at the moment.”

• Friendlytown is out now via Mascot.

Not content to rest on his (formidable) legacy, Booker T & the MG's and Stax Records guitar legend Steve Cropper is still releasing new music, his most recent offering being this year's Friendlytown.

One byproduct of that aforementioned legacy, though, is that Cropper had little difficulty recruiting some famous friends for the album – Billy Gibbons and Brian May being the two most prominent.

Along with Cropper, both Gibbons and May sat down with Guitarist to discuss the making of Friendlytown, and their respective approaches to its material.

Though Cropper's immaculate, soul-flavored rhythm work, Gibbons' Texas-flavored blues riffology, and May's stadium-filling electric guitar heroics have little in common on the surface, according to May, the trio are more alike in their playing than you might think.

“What we have in common is that we don’t shred for the sake of it. In my case, it’s because I can’t!” May told Guitarist recently. “Guitar playing, for all of us, is the voice; it’s how you feel. If your guitar can express that feeling, you’ve done your job. We have that in common.

“Nobody is showing off or zooming up and down the fretboard,” May continued. “Everyone is playing what feels right, and there’s passion in it. There’s an incredible sense of integrity that Steve helped to create.”

Though he's the author of some of the world's best-known and beloved riffs and solos, May showed great deference to both Cropper and Gibbons during his appearance on the Friendlytown track Too Much Stress (Gibbons appears on almost every one of the album's tracks), to the point where May actually tried not to solo with the latter.

“Billy had already played half a solo. Jon [Tiven, the album's producer] said to me, ‘Can you play the other half?’” May told Guitarist in the same interview.

“I said, ‘Jon, look, can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’ Jon said, ‘No, this is the way it’s going to be.’ I said, ‘Oh God, all right.’ But I listened and thought, ‘Actually, this probably does make sense.’”

To read a full breakdown of Friendlytown with May, Gibbons, and, of course, Cropper, pick up the new issue of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.

Steve Cropper's 2021 record, Fire It Up, may be a tough act to follow considering it was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category.

However, with Friendlytown, recently released under the moniker Steve Cropper and the Midnight Hour, Booker T. & the M.G.'s founding member managed to one-up himself, recruiting Billy Gibbons and Brian May for a proper guitar extravaganza.

The collaborative spirit extended to the solos, as the two guitar icons shared one on the track Too Much Stress.

“That was an interesting situation because Billy had already played half a solo. Jon [Tiven, the album's producer] said to me, ‘Can you play the other half?’” May tells Guitarist.

“I said, ‘Jon, look, can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’ Jon said, ‘No, this is the way it’s going to be.’ I said, ‘Oh God, all right.’ But I listened and thought, ‘Actually, this probably does make sense.’”

May goes on to call Gibbons “the coolest guitar player on the planet”. Despite tending to play “very little,” his playing style resonated with May and perfectly complemented the Queen guitarist’s more flamboyant approach.

“He’s not showing off or trying to prove a point. He’s just playing from his heart – so I did the same thing,” May explains. “I took over where he left off and did my half of the solo, and it was a very rare thing.”

This solo nearly didn’t come to be, however. May initially passed on the project, telling Tiven he was dealing with “too much stress” – an encounter that ultimately inspired the song title.

For more from Steve Cropper, Brian May, and Billy Gibbons, plus new interviews with Martin Barre and Joe Perry, pick up issue 517 of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.

Seymour Duncan has partnered with Billy Gibbons to launch not one, but two signature electric guitar pickups, which elevate two classic ZZ Top tones through an assortment of single-coils and humbuckers.

The Red Devil – a new iteration of the ZZ Top icon’s Stratocaster-compatible humbucker – has been geared towards Telecasters, while the Hades Gates humbucker set is engineered for Les Pauls.

Naturally, both will produce their own distinct tones, but each new set has been fine-tuned to deliver Gibbons’ fiery hot Texas tone with some added oomph that previous sets don’t offer.

The Hades Gates humbuckers, for example, promise to be an evolution of Gibbons’ Pearly Gates P.A.F pickups – the same ‘pups that can be found in his coveted 1959 Les Paul Standard – bringing to the table added output and a hotter wind.

Hand-built in Santa Barbara, California, the Hades Gates humbuckers feature Alnico II magnets and are said to offer a more “fiery take” on the mid-forward, punchy sound that Gibbons and his Les Paul is responsible for.

These are available in a range of finishes and covers, from black and zebra to the more retro raw nickel with gold mesh covers.

“It took Pearly Gates and gave it an extra ‘bop,’” says Gibbons of the Hades Gates. “They offer a little extra output. When on stage, I think the essence of cutting through relies upon what emanates from the source.

“That’s the heart of what makes it sound so good. It’s interesting how something so subtle can be so dramatic on the player’s end.”

Continuing the theme of offering “extra heat”, the Red Devil Tele is a standalone mini-humbucker, which has been made available as a drop-in replacement bridge pickup for Fender’s single-cut (and, by extension, any T-style electric).

Again, a hotter wind that drives amps and pedals harder for a punchier output is utilized for the single-coil-sized humbucker, which is only available in black.

Prices for both new pickups start from $129.

In other Seymour Duncan news, the renowned pickup firm recently branched into the electric guitar string market, releasing the Antiquity string range.

Head over to Seymour Duncan to find out more.

When it came time for Slash to send out invites to the sonic party that would become Orgy of the Damned, his new blues-covers album, there was at least one obvious choice: Billy Gibbons. The well-traveled Texan has been shaking, baking and barbecuing the blues – with or without ZZ Top – since the late Sixties.

On top of all that, the Slash/Gibbons friendship dates back to the days when ZZ Top’s Afterburner and GN’R’s Appetite for Destruction duked it out on the shelves at Tower Records on the corner of Sunset and Horn in North Hollywood. As is always the case, the famous Texan showed up at Slash’s behest – expertly geared-up and raring to go – to help his host lay down a fine new version of Willie Dixon’s Hoochie Coochie Man.

Below, Gibbons chats about the Orgy sessions and gear, his relationship with Slash, the finer points of B.B. King and Kingfish and the health of the blues in 2024. Spoiler alert: blues fans have nothing to worry about.

How, when and where did you meet Slash?

“Backstage following a ZZ Top show in Los Angeles. I maintained residence up the Sunset Strip nearby a notorious liquor store and happened by there one day to “resupply.” Our guy was there choosing the appropriate libation, and a friendship ensued.

“He’s kind of unmistakable, and I guess he figured we were connected and latched onto all things ‘six-string’ in very short order. We’ve knocked around pretty much ever since; I’d place that encounter somewhere in the late ’80s when Appetite was making some noise. Truly a sympatico cat if ever there was one.”

How do you approach bringing something new to Hoochie Coochie Man, a song that’s been around the block a few times?

“It’s fair to say Slash and our collective adventures cover wide ranges of bluesy influence. Most everyone appears to enjoy maintaining an actual ongoing relationship with all things sonically “blue.” Muddy Waters’ Hoochie Coochie Man is something [that’s], quite simply, fundamental.

“Slash and I approached the number with a sincere, personalized vision, forwarding the arrangement to expand the track with some extra breathing room and sound luster. It’s a Willie Dixon standby ‘oldie’ – and [it’s] still kickin’ in a big way.”

What guitar and amps did you use on Hoochie Coochie Man? Any other notable gear?

“Oh yeah, man! ‘Pearly Gates’ [Gibbons’ 1959 Gibson Les Paul, which he acquired in 1968 and has used on every ZZ Top album since 1971’s ZZ Top’s First Album], our long-standing fave-rave six-string, entered the studio to do that righteous thing. And it ain’t no secret that the new Magnatone line of amplifiers were on hand, which are now taking the front and center spot on stage and in the studio. We brought the two together, making for a ferocious combo.”

Slash tells us you’ve occasionally bent his ear about Magnatone tube amps. Why are you such a fan?

“Magnatone is the way to go for many reasons – its heritage, the look and, most importantly, the pre-amps can feed the power stages with as much grist and grizzle as one might lean into. Magnatone’s inimitable true vibrato is unbeatable and very real, just as when Buddy Holly and Lonnie Mack played it to brilliant advantage.”

It turns out you and Slash are also bigtime B.B. King fans. Can you detect any B.B. in Slash’s playing?

“Sure ’nuff! Anyone qualifying to enter bluesman territory certainly includes inspiration from the King; B.B. set a far-reaching standard for tone and taste and still abides to the present day.”

Speaking of which, what would you nominate as the one B.B. King album you can’t live without?

“Live at the Regal. It’s really all there.”

B.B. played a modified Gibson ES-335 on Live at the Regal, and now Slash has his new signature ES-335. Do you have your own 335 story?

“Well, something we feel [that’s] close enough. We carried on, early on, with a rare, mid-’50s Gibson ‘Switchmaster’ ES-5. Big box, big sounds.”

When can we expect the follow-up to 2021’s Hardware?

“Glad you asked, as we’ve just recently squeezed into the studio between roadshow dates, getting back to extending some added recorded loudness.”

Who’s on your list of favorites among the new breed of blues guitarists?

“Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram is on it, in that there’s a resonance with a strident Mississippi presence, bringing on that wisdom of the Delta. Also, Quinn Sullivan has entered the scene, a Buddy Guy discovery going on to play at the Mahindra Blues Festival in India. Both join the wave of up-and-comers with a genuine kind of approach and intensity.”

Is the blues in good hands in 2024?

“Ain’t nothing much to worry over on this. It steadfastly endures underlying most everything and keeps bouncing back. This is the artful creation that underpins and expresses the human condition – the low stuff and the high stuff. Gotta say it – ‘You can’t lose with the blues!’”

• The inaugural S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival is under way – see here for dates and ticket details.

Before taking over low-end duties from the late Dusty Hill in ZZ Top, Elwood Francis was a DIY punk who traveled the world as a tech for some of rock’s biggest stars. With an affinity for Frank Zappa and a knack for tearing into guitars with reckless abandon, Francis worked with Joe Perry, Steve Vai, Izzy Stradlin and Gilby Clarke before a case of burnout led him to step away from the industry.

But when Billy Gibbons came calling, it led to a wild adventure that’s seen Francis go from restringing “pain in the ass” fuzzy guitars to brandishing a 17-string bass for ZZ Top. “I don’t know if I can put it into words,” he says. “It’s just a weird feeling stepping into that role.

“I stepped away from social media because, man, I’m not the most confident person, and Dusty was immensely talented. All I gotta say is the fans have been really cool about it.

“If there had been too much backlash, I would not be doing it. I wouldn’t be able to handle it – I’m just trying to help out. It was never my intention to play bass in fucking ZZ Top.”

You’re playing bass now but you’ve always been a guitarist. What drew you to the instrument?

“My mother’s record collection, I guess. She had good records, like Bill Haley and all that. But Frank Zappa was the one that made me really want to play guitar. The way Frank played guitar solos is how they should sound – especially his ’70s output.

“It was such a barrage of notes, and sometimes it was pretty sloppy. Such a barrage and so different. It was a different choice of notes; it just grabbed me. I never would have thought people could reach that. I’m never going to be that good.”

Can you remember your first guitar?

“It was a Harmony; the one with the little Hershey bar pickups. I don’t have the guitar, but I’ve still got that pickup. I’ve always taken my guitars apart, painted them, and kinda devalued them in every possible way.”

There’s something about making a guitar your own rather than keeping it pristine that appeals.

“You’ve got to make it your own. The value and the resale thing never came to me until much later. When you’re young, all you know is, ‘My fucking Harmony is brown, and I really don’t like the way it looks. I don’t want to play a brown guitar!’”

You started in the punk scene before moving into the guitar tech world. How did that happen?

“My first band was when I was 15, and it was called the Armpits! I was already a sound tech, but I didn’t know there was such a thing as guitar techs. I did road work, setting up gear and I had access to reel-to-reel to record. I’ve still got that – it’s fucking horrible.”

You were Joe Perry’s guitar tech in the ‘80s. What got you into that field?

“It was Joe Perry! I would get little kits, start messing with fuzz boxes and try and modify stuff. I didn’t mind fucking my own shit up, but just from meeting and talking to Joe Perry, that’s how I ended up doing guitars. He asked me to take care of his guitars, and I’m like, ‘Okay, yeah, I can do this.’”

How did you and Joe first meet?

“I was in Boston doing the local scene thing. Joe was doing The Joe Perry Project, and I was with a sound company doing sound. My brother a front-of-house mixer, took a job with The Joe Perry Project, and I would go visit them. I met Joe through my brother and we started talking.”

Joe is very adventurous with gear now, but maybe not as much back then. What were the keys to his rig in those days?

“He was still using his Aerosmith rig with a custom pedalboard that was shaped like a big ‘A.’ For the Rocks tour they had all these racks built, and he would carry two stacks, if I remember correctly.

“The cabinets were on swivels, so they would aim the bottom cabinet at his ears with the top cabinet aimed down. So there was a point on stage where you were in the direct line of fire, and it could be incredibly fucking loud.

“It had a distinct sound. I remember using a lot of Bill Lawrence products, and they even had their guitars wired for three-pin connectors. But when you got in that line of fire where it crossed, it was fucking brutal, man.

“He used that pretty much up until Aerosmith got back together. Then he went to just a couple of pedals – a delay, octave, not much at all. But we had these splitters built to where it was just a pile, you know, a wall of different amps, which sounded fucking awesome.”

Did Joe offer you any words of wisdom about guitars that stuck?

“We talked a lot. Obviously, I picked things up, whether it was intentional or not. But what I got from Joe mostly is how all his alternate tunings worked. I had no idea so much Aerosmith stuff was in open tunings.

“And just the tone he’s got – I don’t know how to put it into words. There’s just a cool factor, you know? It’s not like he’s teaching, but if you open your eyes and pay attention, you will learn.”

You eventually got to work with Steve Vai. Being a big Zappa guy, picking Steve’s brain must have been fun.

“Steve was fucking awesome. I was one step away, you know, one degree away from Zappa. I went out there all bright-eyed and full of enthusiasm. I bounced between Steve and Aerosmith until there was a conflict; and Joe gave me my start, as much as I loved the Steve Vai job.”

Steve must have been pretty different from Joe.

“They both sound like their personalities. I hear his sound and I hear Joe’s personality, and it’s the same with Steve. They’re so in tune with playing from the heart. But I lean towards Zappa, and Steve had that.

“This was when Floyd Roses were getting big. I had never seen a Floyd Rose – though I lied and told him I had! He’s like, ‘Man, can we make this whammy bar go backward? I want to pull up. Can you dig it out back there?’

“So it was stuff like that; creating something new and being involved with pushing designs. And now, if you fucking look at it, everyone has a floating whammy bar.”

Not long after, you worked with Guns N’ Roses as a tech for Izzy Stradlin and Gilby Clarke.

“I met the guys in Guns when they opened for Aerosmith. I liked to smoke pot, so once Aerosmith started doing their no-drugs thing, I had to move on. And Izzy happened to call me and ask me to do his guitars, which was perfect fucking timing.

“I started doing that, then about a year and a half later, Izzy quit. There was a whole lot of sitting around, but they paid me. I sat at home, not knowing what the fuck was going on, but the checks were coming. And finally, they called me and said, ‘Izzy quit,’ and my checks stopped.

“But about a week later they’re like, ‘We got this guy Gilby,’ and the checks started again. I’m like, ’Okay, cool,’ and I went up there, and Gilby was fucking awesome.

“At that point, it was the eye of the hurricane; then it got a little bit crazier, a little bit weird, and I left. I had enough of touring, I was approaching 30, and I needed to take a break. I took a break until I got a call from Billy; I went down there, and that was it.”

How did you help dial things in for Billy?

“He has a very different way of doing things. You have to learn that way, and you have to learn his touch. He’s playing with .7s, really distorted, and not loud at all. And he plays the guitar so low that if I wear his strap, I can’t even play the guitar in tune.

“I’ll try and make a D chord in the cowboy position, and I’m naturally pulling the strings off the fucking neck! His way is all about homogenization of the guitar tone.”

And he’s more into pedals than some people realize.

“Yeah, and he knows exactly what he wants. Steve Vai was on an adventure. Billy does not do that, especially when touring. It’s set a certain way, and we’re going to do it like that, and there’s no stepping off. It’s by the book, whereas Steve was a lot more experimental.”

Is it true Billy loves cheap pedals from Amazon?

“He doesn’t use pedals a lot. They’re just for an extra flavor, so he can change them all the time. And he does buy these cheap Chinese pedals – the smaller, the better. I’ve seen him go through boxes of those fucking pedals!”

What was the key to working with Dusty?

“I don’t think I did anything with Dusty’s sound. Billy knows what he wants and he has no problem describing it. Dusty wouldn’t tell us what to do; he was just like, ’Give me my bass and let me perform,’ while Billy was thinking about other things.”

After Dusty passed, was there any trepidation about stepping in on bass?

“When I first started doing it, Dusty was just sick and going home for a few weeks. It was entirely different; I was just helping out. I didn’t have to worry about the weight of the crown because I was just helping.

“They pulled me aside and said, ‘Can you honestly say you can’t play his parts?’ I said, ‘I can do it, but I don’t think people would enjoy me doing it.’ They said, ‘You can cover him for a few weeks.’

“Originally, it was going to be three weeks, but it didn’t turn out that way. We’d done some gigs when Dusty passed; and by that time, I wouldn’t say I was comfortable – because I’m still not fucking comfortable.

“I had a piece of paper on the rise the first two shows for if I got in trouble; and by the third show I got rid of that and just did the show.”

What’s it been like stepping into that role?

“It’s just weird. Dusty is their bass player. I’m not the bass player. I’m not in the band. I’ll never be in the band. I shouldn’t be in the band. It’s Dusty’s thing. Sure, I’ll still play with them, but it’s a weird thing, man. I get shit for playing with a pick, but it’s not a big deal.

“Billy requested I play with a pick. So right off the bat, things are different, because not only did Dusty play with his fingers, but he was a master at it. His fingers were misshapen through a lifetime of playing bass. He could play like a machine gun with three fingers, and I’ll tell you what – I’ve had problems with some of those things.”

You’ve been playing with a pretty wild 17-string bass here and there. What’s the story there?

“I did it to myself… I hate playing that fucking bass! I found it late at night while internet surfing on one of those Chinese websites. I couldn’t believe they were making something like that.

“I took a screenshot and sent it to Billy, saying, ‘We should order one of these and I’ll play it. It’ll be hilarious.’ Three fucking months later, we fucking got it. It came in all the way from China, and Billy pulls out this big-ass yellow 17-string bass and he’s like, ‘Okay, we’ll play it for a song, right?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I guess I can do this.’

“We decided to keep all the strings on it because it’s even more absurd. Man, the guitar tech barely got the thing ready for the show.

“We don’t do soundchecks; I didn’t even play the guitar until the first time, so it was a baptism by fire while we were out on stage. I was like, ‘God damn, this thing is hard to play!’

“I was seriously struggling – you don’t always know where you are, and if you look at it from the bottom, it’s a big blank neck; I was having trouble finding the frets to play.

“Once it was over, I was like, ‘Okay, cool. Hope everyone laughed.’ I thought it was over – but the son of a bitch went viral, and I woke up to all these messages and links to all this fucking bullshit.

“I’m like, ‘Great… now I got this reaction, Billy’s never going to not let me play it.’ And now, at this point, more people ask me about the 17-string bass than they do the fuzzy guitars!”

The fuzzy guitars must be a hell of a challenge too.

“The biggest challenge with those is changing the strings. You would not believe what a pain in the ass that is. Playing them is okay, and it’s just for one song. With the 17-string bass, I was thinking, ‘I’ll never have to play it again’ – but now I’ve got to play it.”

ZZ Top is set to get back on the road, but are there plans for any new music?

“We’re touring at least up until November. As for new music, I can only repeat what Billy has said: there are songs with Dusty on them in the can. I don’t know anything more than that.

“Billy says he wants to do another record, but officially, I’m not part of that. I just know what Billy has said; I can’t talk about what will or won’t happen other than that.”

• ZZ Top head back out on tour starting August 9.

In 2022, ZZ Top guitar tech-turned-bassist Francis Elwood made headlines throughout the guitar press and beyond when he whipped out an almighty 17-string bass guitar with the Texas blues-rock legends.

And although Elwood has since admitted he feels uncomfortable in the role he has occupied since Hill’s passing in 2021, his new addition to the ZZ Top arsenal continues the band’s great tradition of wacky instruments (the spinning fur guitars that starred in the Legs video being their most famous examples).

Now, in a new interview with Guitar World, Francis has detailed the origin story behind the unlikely extended-range behemoth, which started life as a cheap knockoff of YouTuber Jared Dines’ 18-string Ormsby creation (and is most definitely not a Fender, no matter what that gargantuan headstock logo says).

“I did it to myself,” Elwood laughs. “I hate playing that fucking bass. I found it late at night while internet surfing on one of those Chinese websites. I couldn't believe they were making something like that.

“I found this guitar, took a screenshot, and sent it to Billy, saying, ‘We should order one of these, and I'll play it. It'll be hilarious.’ And three months later, we fucking got it. It came in all the way from China, and Billy pulls out this big-ass yellow 17-string bass and is like, ‘Okay, we'll play it for a song, right?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I guess I can do this…’”

Unsurprisingly, the instrument proved somewhat challenging to play, not least because the very first time Francis used it was on stage – to tackle, appropriately enough, ZZ Top classic Got Me Under Pressure.

“Man, the guitar tech barely got the thing ready for the show,” he says. “And we don’t do soundchecks; I didn’t even play the guitar until the first time, so it was a baptism by fire while we were out on stage. I was like, ‘God damn, this thing is hard to play.’

“I was seriously struggling because you don’t always know where you are, and if you look at it from the bottom, it’s a big blank neck; I was having trouble finding the frets to play.”

Once it was all over, Francis breathed a sigh of relief – “Okay, cool. Hope everyone laughed” – thinking he’d never have to play the monstrosity again. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the case.

“I thought it was over, but the son of a bitch went viral, and I woke up to all these messages and links to all this fucking bullshit,” he says.

“I was cringing because I knew I was struggling to play that piece of shit. I’m like, ‘Great. Of all the things to happen… Now that I got this reaction, Billy’s never going to let me not play it.’ I was thinking, ‘If I can just get through this… it’s just one song, and I’ll never have to play it again.’ But now I’ve got to play it [every night].”

And it looks like it could stay that way for some time – the 17-string bass has attained such notoriety, it has even surpassed some of ZZ Top’s most iconic guitars in fans’ estimations.

“At this point, more people ask me about the 17-string bass than they do the fuzzy guitar,” Francis laughs. “Now, the 17-string bass is the thing they want to hold!”

Read Guitar World’s full interview with Elwood Francis, where he discusses stepping into Dusty Hill’s shoes, and his teching years with Joe Perry and Steve Vai.

Gibson’s electric guitar catalog is in no short supply of iconic designs. However, there are a few lesser-loved Gibson creations – such as the wild headless 1981 Futura prototype – that aren’t as well-known.

That’s usually either because of the sheer scarcity of the design, or due to the fact some models are just downright weird.

There are a few of these oddball electrics to choose from, but in the latest issue of Guitarist, Gibson’s Mat Koehler and Jason Davidson named what they believe to be the most unusual custom guitars from the firm’s early experimental era of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

For Davidson – Gibson’s Director of Product Development and Archive Curator – the answer was simple: a quirky Les Paul-style build that was custom-made for Torpedo Joe in 1966.

“I like... what was it, Mat? Torpedo Joe!” he says. “That was an interesting one.”

It certainly was interesting. The Torpedo Joe model is sort of a Les Paul, but it’s slightly bulkier, with more substantial body proportions and a half SG-style pickguard that’s screwed to the body.

It’s also got a Bigsby, and a secondary pickguard emblazoned with Torpedo Joe’s name attached to the upper bout, as well as some not-very-Gibson body mods.

For Koehler, the Torpedo Joe model embodies a rather “dark period” for Gibson, during which the firm had suspended the creation of its standard Les Paul design.

“This was a guitar in that dark period between when the [single-cut] Les Paul was discontinued and when we started making it again in ‘68,” he explains. “So there was this... somewhat Les Paul-shaped solidbody guitar that they made for this musician, Torpedo Joe.”

Sightings of the Torpedo Joe Gibson are quite rare, but back in 2014 it was snapped by First Flight Music store in New York, who can be seen showing the oddball electric to than Billy Gibbons. Some sources claim Gibbons actually owns the guitar, but that much is unconfirmed.

Given Gibbons’ penchant for weird and wonderful guitars, though, it’s probably safe to say he’s certainly at least a firm admirer of Torpedo Joe’s design.

Elsewhere in the Guitarist interview, Koehler names another unusual model that demonstrates how Gibson's absurd custom builds weren't exclusively electric in nature.

“There’s the guitar that Kent Westberry ordered,” he goes on. “He was one of a few guys in ’58/’59 who ordered a J-200 with a Bigsby-style, six-in-line headstock. So they just received the order and used an Explorer-style headstock in that instance.”

Again, that guitar is seldom seen in the public eye, though it was the subject of one Facebook post from 2015 that sought to trace the guitar’s origins and whereabouts.

As is the case with all oddball custom guitars from the ‘50s and ‘60s, sourcing pictures and charting stories is tricky, and as Koehler explains, there's a whole lotta oddball Gibsons out there to wade through.

“There was not a lot of consistency,” Koehler continues. “It was just whoever received the order: ‘Okay, let’s go down to the floor and see what we can make happen.’ Those are obviously very unusual, but you’d see a lot of customer-name inlays in them.”

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitarist, which features the full conversation with Koehler and Davidson, as well as interviews with Junior Marvin and Scott Gorham.

Earlier this week, Fender hosted the grand opening of its new Nashville HQ, which was attended by a huge array of electric guitar players.

Similar to the ceremonious ribbon-cutting activities that took place at the new Gibson Garage UK earlier this year, the opening day of Fender’s newest location looked to be a well-attended spectacle.

Some key names from the event include a handful of both Fender and Nashville’s most prominent and prolific players, with Guthrie Trapp taking to social media to reel off the star-studded guest list.

As per Trapp’s post, the party was attended by Billy Gibbons, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Cory Wong, Brent Mason and Jack White, as well as Chris Stapleton, Jon Randall, Rob McNelley, Steve Mackey and Patrick Clifford.

Chris Shiflett, Joe Glaser, Brett Papa, Raul Malo “and a bunch of other characters”, including brand CEO Andy Mooney, were also involved in the festivities.

Some of those A-list attendees also sat round for an all-star impromptu jam session – footage of which, fortunately, was also shared by Trapp.

“It was yet another epic evening in Music City, Guitar Town aka Nashville, Tennessee,” Tripp writes. “Our good friends at Fender invited us all to attend the grand event for the opening of their new headquarters in East Nashville. 

“This town always has a way of reminding us often why we all still live here. There’s no where on the planet that these cats would be in the same room together for such a cool low key hang. It was great to catch up with so many old friends. The adventure continues!”

The new multi-purpose Nashville HQ will double as both a space for offices and guitar building, and for artists relations.

“Designed to meld with the city's pulsating artistic energy, this new space becomes an active participant in the city's music culture, while sparking inspiration in the upcoming generations of musicians,” explains Powell, the firm that worked on the project.

“The ground floor is home to the Fender Woodshop, the pulsating creative hub where guitar prototypes and bespoke creations are painstakingly sculpted and fine-tuned. 

“The first floor comes alive as a lively nerve center for Artist Relations. This vibrant area offers artists a space to immerse themselves in Fender's extensive collection, engage in discussions about custom projects, and experiment with a diverse range of instruments.”

Visit Powell for a more in-depth look at Fender’s new facility.

The guitars and basses acquired by Jason Momoa during the making of his Max show On The Roam are going under the hammer as part of Julien’s Auctions' forthcoming Music Icons sale.

The Hollywood actor may be best known for his onscreen roles, but he has built a reputation in music circles as an enthusiastic guitar collector (he’s the proud owner of the first Martin D-28, among several other rarities). 

His show On The Roam is essentially an excellent excuse for Momoa to tour the US, meeting the craftspeople behind some of his favorite inventions – from motorbikes to electric guitars and custom basses.

The nine instruments that are headed to auction are therefore all relatively recent builds, but showcase some of the finest US luthiery out there.

There are three guitars a-piece from the Gibson and Fender Custom Shops. From the Fender stable are vintage correct recreations of a 1954 Stratocaster, a Nocaster, and a 1951 Esquire – all of which have been relic’d by the firm and built specifically for the auction.

On the Gibson side, meanwhile, Momoa has procured Custom Shop recreations of Billy Gibbons' Pearly Gates Les Paul, alongside Slash’s Jessica and AFD models (based on the GN’R man’s go-to late ’80s Gibson stage guitar and the Kris Derrig replica that he used on Appetite for Destruction, respectively). 

Both the Slash Jessica and Gibbons Pearly Gates models have been signed by their signature namesakes.

Currently, the most valuable model in the auction is the Pachyderm bass guitar built by Dan Maloney – as used by Primus bassist Les Claypool. As the Julien’s Auctions listing notes, “the bass has been given the nickname ‘Momoa's Koa’ by the luthiers for its exceptionally figured top made of wood found only in Hawaii.”

For our money, the best value item currently looks to be the Carl Thompson bass – another luthier famed for his collaborations with Les Claypool [and the creator of the first six string bass and set-neck heel block design – Ed]. 

That has a current bid of $2,000, but – given Thompson’s builds normally go for $5,000+ and have a long waiting list, to boot – it’s looking like a steal. We imagine that won’t stay the case for long, though – especially now we’ve written about it on the internet. 

Still, it’s all for a good cause, with the proceeds going to an array of charities, including MusiCares, the Fender Play Foundation, Make A Wish, and St. Judes Children's Research Hospital.

For more information on all of the lots in the forthcoming Music Icons sale – including John Lennon’s Help! acoustic – head to Julien’s Auctions.

Session heavyweight and soul guitar legend Steve Cropper has dropped an interesting revelation: after nearly 70 years of influential guitar playing, he still looks at his fretboard inlays to navigate his instrument. 

The Missouri-born 82-year-old guitarist helped found the famed Stax Records house band, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, and has contributed parts, songwriting, and production to countless iconic hits, such as Soul Man and Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay.

But in an upcoming interview with Guitar World, the guitarist opened up on his reliance on inlays to help him move around the fretboard of his guitars.  

Cropper made the admission when discussing In the Midnight Hour and Knock on Wood – two tracks he co-wrote, Cropper once told Ronnie Wood, by simply “following the dots”.

His penchant for following the dots goes beyond his songwriting, though, with Cropper observing he still uses the humble inlay as a point of reference for moving between guitars.

“It’s true about following the dots. Every guitar has one and they're basically all in the same place if you look at the dots. I can't play without looking at the dots.” he admits. 

“I just play what's needed. I use the guitar as a tool rather than as an instrument. I had to use whatever was called for on a day during a session. 

“Somebody asked me one time, ‘How come there's only one guitar on most of the songs?’ I replied, ‘Because we couldn't afford two guitar players in those days.’ It was hard enough just to have three horns on the songs.” 

In his upcoming interview, Cropper also revealed he is set to return with his 12th studio album, and the record will feature two high-profile guest artists: Billy Gibbons and Brian May.

“The new album is much like 2021’s Fire It Up album, which got nominated for a Grammy,” he reveals. “I don’t know when we're going to release it, but it's mostly done, all written... the record company already has it and they love it. 

“It's got Billy Gibbons playing on it and Brian May from Queen. Brian plays on one song while Billy plays on 11 of the 13 songs.”

Keep your eyes peeled on GuitarWorld.com for the full Steve Cropper interview, in which he recalls classic studio sessions with Otis Redding and Sam and Dave.

After publishing a brief social media tease earlier this week, Slash has now finally announced details of his long-awaited blues solo album – and with it, he’s unveiled the guest stars he’s recruited for the ride.

Slash’s sixth solo album – a blues cover record officially named Orgy of the Damned – was first revealed to be in the works back in 2023, when the Guns N’ Roses titan surprisingly shared the fact it would take the form of a fully fledged blues record.

Since then, anticipation surrounding the LP has only grown, with an all-too-brief audio clip posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday of this week heralding the onset of the album’s marketing campaign.

Now, the floodgates have opened, and the Gibson Les Paul loyalist has revealed both the tracklist (complete with a full list of guest musicians) as well as its lead single – a cover of Howlin’ Wolf classic, Killing Floor, which features AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson.

Johnson will be joined on the 12-track album by Tash Neal, Beth Hart, Paul Rodgers, Iggy Pop, Dorothy, Chris Stapleton, Billy Gibbons, Gary Clark Jr. and Chris Robinson, as well as pop star-turned rock artist Demi Lovato, whose own involvement in Orgy of the Damned had already been confirmed.

Neal, who sings on a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s Living for the City, will also make up part of Slash’s blues band, which is rounded out by his ‘90s-era Blues Ball collaborators Johnny Griparic (bass) and Teddy Andreadis (keyboard), as well as drummer Michael Jerome.

The ensemble can be heard (and seen) in action alongside Johnson for Killing Floor, which also features Steven Tyler on harmonica.

For it, Slash swaps his Les Paul out for a more traditionally blues-style, Bigsby-clad ES-335, which plays host to his swampy 7th chords, shuffle-y arpeggios, and a guitar solo that leans heavily into B.B. box bends and searing pentatonic runs.

“Killing Floor is one of my favorite Howlin’ Wolf songs, but also one of the iconic blues riffs that turned me on as a young guitar player,” Slash reflects. “I've always wanted to cover it in some capacity and this record was the perfect vehicle. 

“But playing it with this band, and with Brian Johnson singing, it was an achievement I would never have imagined back then. Let alone Steven Tyler providing the harp.”

Johnson added, “I had a ball with Slash in the studio, and I think we did this great old song justice.”

Not only is it set to be an all-star blues party, Orgy of the Damned is also positioned to be a celebration of the genre that has had a deeply influential impact on Slash’s own style.

Having been introduced to blues and British rock ‘n’ roll early on by his family, Slash immediately took to the music of B.B. King. Since then, the blues has had an informative presence on his playing.

“Orgy of the Damned showcases a lesser-heard aspect of Slash’s musical prowess,” a statement reads. “While he has always embraced a broad range of styles and genres, the album offers a rare opportunity to explore a unique side of his playing and bring to the forefront a rollicking journey through his strong, blues inspirations, that have long been in the background of his illustrious career.” 

As Slash himself has previously stated, “I'm a rock guitar player that's firmly rooted in blues. If you were to listen to anything that I do, you can see how big the blues influence is.”

Orgy of the Damned will see Slash tackle historic blues standards and some lesser-known cuts originally penned and performed by the likes of Robert Johnson, T. Bone Walker, Albert King, Willie Dixon, Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins and more.

There is also one new original track that has been composed by Slash for the record: Metal Chestnut.

A full tracklist can be found below.

1. Crossroad Blues feat. Gary Clark Jr. (written by Robert Johnson)
2. Hoochie Coochie Man feat. Billy F. Gibbons (written by Willie Dixon)
3. Oh Well feat. Chris Stapleton (written by Peter Green)
4. Key to the Highway feat. Dorothy (written by Charles Segar, William Broonzy)
5. Awful Dream feat. Iggy Pop (written by Sam (Lightnin’) Hopkins, Clarence Lewis, C Morgan Robinson)
6. Born Under a Bad Sign feat. Paul Rodgers (written by William Bell and Booker T. Jones)
7. Papa Was a Rolling Stone feat. Demi Lovato (written by Barrett Strong, Jesse Norman Whitfield)
8. Killing Floor feat. Brian Johnson (written by Howlin' Wolf)
9. Living for the City feat. Tash Neal (written by Stevie Wonder)
10. Stormy Monday feat. Beth Hart (written by T-Bone Walker)
11. Metal Chestnut (written by Slash)

• Orgy of the Damned is available to preorder now via Gibson Records ahead of its release on May 17.

Dave Lee understands the skepticism he faces when asking artists to participate in Cardboard Sessions, a recurring YouTube series that finds players squealing out leads on a fully functional yet primarily cardboard six-string.

The feeling changes when they start work with the awe-inspiring, Strat-style game-changer, which is Master-Built at Fender’s Corona, CA facility. Fit with hardware like a classic set of ’69 pickups and beveled like one of Leo’s legendary pieces, it’s not your standard solid body – you can literally see through its thousands of lightweight corrugated flutes.

And though it has more in common with an Amazon delivery box than your average alder-made S-shape, folks like Billy Gibbons, Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis and LP manage to make Lee’s eccentric twanger sound fat as hell.

“A lot of artists will see the cardboard guitar for the first time and joke, ‘You guys just took some pizza boxes and started stacking them together to make a guitar!’” Lee says. He adds of the principles behind Cardboard Sessions: “What we’re doing is taking different types of cardboard – different types of flutes – and figuring out what’s going to be the best.”

Lee has plenty of experience redefining the DNA of our favorite playthings. Around 2008, the pro snowboarder’s Signal Snowboards company began building one-of-a-kind oddities to show off on YouTube. They included a glass snowboard, as well as a rideable/riffable bass-board with functional pickups set between its boot bindings. Duff McKagan test-rode its action before Lee and co. took it to the hills.

Signal later partnered with California’s Ernest Packaging for the Cardboard Chaos series, billed as a place “where progressive concept ideas in sports and music are crafted from cardboard.” Concepts included cardboard snowboard ramps – and in 2015, the first-ever cardboard Strat.

If you’re still suspicious of how the thing actually works, you may not be alone, but just check how it sings through the last years’ worth of cardboard sessions. The likes of Keanu Reeves’ Dogstar, Hot Snakes’ John Reis, and math-rock adventurists Battles have been jamming on the growing pool of corrugated guitars, P-basses, drum kits and more.

Speaking with Guitar World, Lee talks us through surprisingly durable builds and – as Billy Gibbons recently sung in his session with former Guns ‘N Roses drummer Matt Sorum – why it’s high time we start “slamming on a cardboard guitar”.

Why did you start off with a Strat shape for this project? Were you fiddling around with any other classic body ideas?

“It was S-shape all the way. I’m a guitar player; I have a Fender Strat. We also just happened to know an amazing Master Builder over there who was excited to build this thing and see if it would work. Honestly, we had no idea that it was going to perform the way it did, or if it was even going to be shown to anyone.”

What was it like to see the first cardboard guitar come together in Corona?

“Because of the fragility of cardboard, Paul Waller, the Master Builder there, hand-shaped it. We were able to go into this room where you could pull the Strat template from the ‘60s, and basically put in this block that’s cuts into the Strat shape. Then you’d hand-sand it. That’s how they used to be done back in the day, before there were CNCs.

“When we gave Paul our block of cardboard, all those beautiful curves of a Strat were laid into it – it was rounded perfectly. You could see the corrugated paper flaking around the sides, and then you could twist the body and see through it. Dude, we were all just blown away. All we wanted to do was make something that was sturdy enough to be able to handle the tension from the strings.”

Do you have to be precious with this instrument, or can you just rock it like a good old Strat?

“The first one we made was pretty delicate. It was completely cardboard; we didn’t fill in the neck with the eco-resin that we now use. So, you were bending notes and you could feel those flutes. 

“After they get played a lot, or if they’re sitting in Palm Springs and it’s super-hot, things change. That material is not as sturdy as wood, obviously, so there are some minor tweaks that need to happen.

“But they all have truss rods; you’re able to tweak ’em. The structural integrity is pretty amazing for cardboard. You can totally rock it. If you watch the episode with Jordan Cook from Reignwolf and Brad Wilk, I thought that guitar would never work again after Jordan held it – he put it through its paces.”

Your Strat is mounted with the classic hardware, including a traditional bridge. I haven’t seen someone use a whammy bar on one of these sessions…

“You can use one. It’s just no-one’s actually chosen to.”

As a Strat player yourself, how does it absorb tone compared to a classic solid body?

“You know when you play an unplugged hollow body and it has a little bit of that acoustic ring to it? Because of the air passing through the cardboard flutes, you get a pretty good ring from just playing it unplugged. Which is kind of wild!

“The last session, someone remarked about how the notes tend to sustain. They hold longer. I’m not that good a guitar player to notice that! When I’m playing it plugged in, though, it really does come down to the fact that the pickups are amazing in it.”

Could you explain what’s coating the body and the neck? Cardboard cuts can be pretty nasty.

“Yeah, they hurt. Everything is basically covered in a bio-resin. We make all of the moulds out of cardboard, and we stack all the right combinations of flutes into the blocks, then soak that cardboard in this bio-resin.

“You want it to really seep through those flutes and stiffen up. That’s what gives the guitar longevity. If it didn’t have that coating, it would be a one-and-done type of performance.”

Looking at some of these sessions, Billy Gibbons and Matt Sorum wrote a very situation-specific blues jam. It’s baked right into the chorus: “Slamming on my cardboard guitar!” That had to be a trip.

“It was a total privilege. We started this off as a jam format, because we didn’t have a lot of money to talk to labels about music rights. But, yeah, Billy came in with a song! A legit song about him playing a cardboard guitar, done in a traditional sort of blues format: ‘I’m going to go do this thing, and I’m going to write a song about it.’

“He had the lyrics before he arrived, but it was chicken scratch so he was changing some of it. He had one riff. I don’t think Matt Sorum had played it yet. We watched them finish writing, then record and sing it, and then play that song for us all in one day.

“I’m almost like speechless thinking about it. It was so incredible to watch a legend just come in have fun with it. I mean, you can see it in the video – he’s sitting there smiling while looking at Chad, our engineer. ‘Pretty cool, right?’ And I think the riff is just amazing – a really sick blues riff. 

When you had John Reis on, the band ended up passing the cardboard guitar around the room by the end of the jam – they’re all wearing cardboard helmets, too. What do you remember about that session?

“I remember John going, ‘You want me to play cardboard?’ Yup! So he came in with these five boxes and drew faces on them for the rest of the band.

“John, and anyone who plays with him, always has that awesome, super-fun, don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously – but they absolutely destroy when they play.”

A full-cardboard performance came out of Dogstar recently, though.

“They didn’t use the keyboard, because they don’t have a keyboard player, but they had the guitar, drums and bass. A good friend of mine is friends with Keanu. He showed him what we were doing, and Dogstar thought they would like to do it. 

“It was one of those things that happen in less than a month, and you’re grabbing your crew going, ‘Okay, we’re going to hang out with Keanu and Dogstar – Let’s go!’ And it was awesome, man. Keanu’s a total music nerd. He showed up early. He loved playing the bass.”

You’ve got the drum kit, the P-Bass, the Strats. Even a cardboard-encased Wurlitzer. Are there anything other pieces of cardboard equipment in the works? Amp casings, maybe?

“Yeah, maybe! It’s so odd, right? You have these fun, creative ideas and all of a sudden they become something. No-one’s played legit cardboard instruments before, like a Fender Strat or a real drum set made out of cardboard. It just keeps growing.

“If you saw the episode we did with Eric Gardner and Nick Reinhart in L.A., it also features Manny Nieto, a really well-known microphone builder, and fixer of ribbon microphones. I thought that would be cool to try, to make a couple old-school mics. Amp casings would be easy if we wanted to deck that out. We don’t have any plans to do that yet, but you never know.”

Obviously you’re making instruments for these sessions, but could the concept of a cardboard guitar ever go mass-production as a cost-efficient – or even green – way to build guitars in the future?

“I wonder that, too. I don’t know, because I don’t mass-produce guitars. But I would assume that there would be ways to take this material the way that we’re working with it, and make a more eco-friendly version of a guitar.

“Most people that pick it up, like LP, are really hoping that’s the direction. I think there’s still a lot of work to get it to that point – for a production-ready thing – but we’re showing that it’s possible.”

Let’s draw this back to your own musicianship. What kind of riffs are you playing on the cardboard Strat?

“I’m playing your basic ‘90s rock: power chords and bad solos! I’m not a great guitar player by any stretch, but I love to play. This happens to some people, but I stopped playing for a long time. I turned 50 this year; raising kids and working on things, I just played less and less.

“But kicking Cardboard Sessions off has got me completely inspired. I’m playing a lot more again, which has been a real bonus.”

• See all episodes of the Cardboard Sessions on YouTube.

Magnatone has lifted the lid on a new compact combo amp and head, the Baby M-80, that has been developed with the input of Billy Gibbons.

While not a signature amp as such, the US-based firm says the ZZ Top man’s input was crucial in its development.

“Gibbons worked with Magnatone to perfect this amp’s small size and gain structure,” says the amp-maker. “In keeping with Billy’s directive to ‘retain the gain or feel the pain,’ this little gem of an amp delivers a big tone in a compact size.”

In keeping with the firm’s retro charms, it’s a Marshall-inspired ‘British’ tube amp circuit, using a 3x 12AX7 preamp. However, the firm has saved some space in the power section, with a pair of miniature NOS 6AQ5 tubes.

These are roughly half the length and width of the traditional EL34 power tube and have allowed the manufacturer to shrink the overall size and weight of the amplifier, while still ensuring it kicks-out a substantial 12-watts of power. 

Given Magnatone’s reputation for volume, we feel secure in predicting this will be a small but mighty amp – and it should be more than capable of handing home, rehearsal and small gig applications. 

Controls include Master, Bass, Treble and Gain, with a mini-switch to engage a Hi or Lo gain mode and, in a surprising move for such a small build, there’s also a tube-buffered FX loop.

Though the tone-sculpting controls are quite limited (which is often a good thing, in GW’s experience) Magnatone promises there’s a lot of variety on offer. 

What’s more, the firm points out that despite the fact the Baby M-80 has no dedicated mids control, the amp’s designer – “long-time Magnatone engineer and tube amp guru” Obeid Kahn – honed the 8-10 range on the bass control to force the mids to dip, enabling you to still dial in a more aggressive, scooped tone.

The Baby M-80 will be available from January in a 1x10” combo and head and there’s also a matching 1x10” speaker cabinet. 

Price-wise, it just ducks the $2,000 mark at $1,999 for the combo, $1,899 for the head and $1,149 for the cabinet – which makes the combo the no-brainer in terms of bang for your buck, but it’s nice to have options…

The amp-maker has clearly determined to finish out 2023 in some style. Just last month, Slash announced his intention to endorse Magnatone (alongside Marshall) and said he was developing a “killer” new signature amp.

For more information on the Baby M-80, head to Magnatone.

Jim Irsay has announced plans to host a free show in LA on January 11, featuring an incredible selection of guest talent and, we think it’s safe to presume, some of the world’s most expensive guitars.

The Jim Irsay Collection Exhibit and Concert (to give the event its full title) is described as “a traveling museum of rock music, American history and pop culture” and is set to hit LA’s Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall next month.

A string of A-list special guests have already been announced, including Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Ann Wilson and Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band. 

Elsewhere, Irsay will take on vocal duties for selected songs, with backing provided by even more guitar talent: namely, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Nashville session legend Tom Bukovac, while REM’s Mike Mills (bass) and Kenny Aronoff (drums) will handle the rhythm section.

While the show takes place in the evening, ticket holders will also be able to view the the Indianapolis Colts owner’s guitar and pop culture collection in the venue’s expo hall.

As regular readers will recall, the Jim Irsay collection was valued at more than $1 billion earlier this year and features David Gilmour’s Black Strat, Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Mustang and Jerry Garcia’s Wolf guitar, among many other iconic instruments from The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Prince. 

Previous Irsay performances have seen the collector allow some of the most expensive guitars in the world to be put through their paces onstage by artists. For instance, the time Kenny Wayne Shepherd performed Comfortably Numb on David Gilmour’s Black Strat.

We’re hoping for more of the same from the January show – and perhaps even an outing for one of Irsay’s most recent acquisitions, Eric Clapton’s 1964 ‘The Fool’ Gibson SG. 

To get hold of tickets for the Jim Irsay Collection Exhibit & Concert, Los Angeles on January 11, 2024, head to Eventbrite.

Slash, Billy Gibbons and Myles Kennedy were three of the guest stars at Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC this past weekend (December 9) – and one of the set highlights was their collective cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man.

Kennedy joined mainly on rhythm and vocal duties, leaving the three electric guitar icons – Slash, Gibbons and Haynes – to divvy up lead duties throughout the nine-minute performance.

It’s a great take on the Skynyrd classic, reprising the guitarists’ Gary Rossington tribute from this year's CMT Awards. This time round it lacks Paul Rodgers, but benefits from Kennedy and Haynes’ alternating vocals.

The December iteration is also a little more relaxed and off-the-cuff to our ears, and one of the things that really stands out here is that all of the soloists are performing the same track using a Gibson Les Paul, yet they all sound unique.

Gibbons gets the nod from Haynes to take the first solo pass [around 2:40], melding the track’s epic Rossington bends with his own shuffling rhythms and that distinctive, almost metallic ‘Top tone. 

He then takes a backseat and seems to find his pocket with some almost percussive rhythm playing, pulling out mutes and chucks to make space for the three other guitarists (and keyboardist) in the mix.

Next, Slash gets a run – and the biggest lead section – at around 4:50, hitching his LP to its trademark 45 degree solo position and mixing in a generous handful of his rapid pick 'n' bend technique, bringing a little LA scuzz to the Southern classic. 

He’s impeded somewhat by losing a string [you can see it’s hanging off at about 6:13], but persists nonetheless before handing the lead to Haynes.

Now it should be said that music is not a competition and obviously you can’t win a jam, but... supposing for a minute that it is a competition and you can win a jam: we’d give the prize to Haynes. 

The Gov't Mule man’s section is comparatively short-lived, but his tone is just riding the edge of clean and crunch and you can hear the pick digging into the strings. He weaves in some killer volume control work, riding notes in and out, but also heads down the lower-end, finding some new spaces to play in, as the solo sections conclude.

Elsewhere in the set, Haynes, Slash and Kennedy performed a stomping version of AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long [above] and the Bob Dylan/GN’R favorite Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, while Gibbons delivered ZZ Top hits like Jesus Just Left Chicago and Sharp Dressed Man.

When it comes to onstage collaborations, the Gov't Mule man has clearly been busy – it was only last week that footage emerged of Haynes performing an epic cover of Neil Young’s Cortez The Killer with J Mascis.

By now, it seems like the “tone is in the hands” school of thought is a widely accepted theory of guitar playing. In a nutshell: no matter what gear an individual plays through, they will always sound like themselves, owing to the unique nuances in feel and touch between every guitarist.

We’ve seen countless artists supply anecdotes about playing their peers’ gear only to sound exactly like themselves – and as if we needed any more evidence to support the tone hands argument, Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen has now provided another.

Speaking to MusicRadar, Van Leeuwen was quizzed about Funny Little Boxes’ Skeleton Key – a new overdrive pedal that supposedly nails the QOTSA tone – and asked whether that one pedal would be enough to capture the band’s heralded sound.

Naturally, Van Leeuwen was skeptical (“There’s not one pedal that does it, so good luck!”) and went on to offer his own perspective on sound by observing, “My philosophy is that a lot of the way you sound as a guitar player is in your fingers.”

To prove his point, Van Leeuwen recalled the time QOTSA were visited by Billy Gibbons – who appeared on the band’s 2006 single Burn the Witch – and reflected that the ZZ Top icon still sounded exactly like himself while playing through an unassuming, off-brand digital amp simulator.

“When we worked with Billy Gibbons, he brought some gear to the studio,” Van Leeuwen explained. “This was our first meeting. I don’t even think it was a Line 6 POD; it was some off-brand amp simulator, and we were just like, ‘Yo, plug into one of our amps!’ 

“But the funny thing is, we heard him playing through this thing and it was like, ‘Wow! It sounds like fuckin’ Billy Gibbons!’”

Of course, Gibbons doesn't play through this unnamed amp simulator all the time, so the fact he was able to harness the individualistic feel he gets from his various Marshall tube amps from what seems to be a budget digital product is pretty strong evidence in favor of the fact that, yes, tone is in the hands.

But Gibbons is hardly fussy – after all, he gets his pedals on Amazon – and his favorite brand starts at $15.

Van Leeuweun went on, “Billy Gibbons wouldn't sound like Queens ever because he just sounds like he does and it doesn’t matter what he uses. 

“Yeah, we could go through all this gear, all this stuff, and there are a lot of secrets we’ve been keeping over the years, but I think that’s the fun part, the magic of being an individual. It’s about teaching people to get their own sound. That’s where I’m coming from.”

As mentioned above, this is by no means the first time a high-profile player has argued that tone truly is in the hands – and you can be assured it won’t be the last, either.

Another guitarist whose own opinions on the matter would align with Van Leeuwen’s is Steve Lukather, who recently affirmed “there’s no magic guitar, just magic people”. “I’ve played Eddie Van Halen’s guitars, Jeff Beck’s guitars,” he told Guitarist, “and I sound like me.”

Bettencourt would also agree. Speaking to Rick Beato earlier this year, the Extreme virtuoso said he played Eddie Van Halen’s guitar rig in a bid to sound like his hero to no avail: “[Playing Van Halen’s rig] was the big[gest] bitch slap of all time when you realize, ‘Holy shit, it’s all about you. It’s all about your fingers.’”

The list goes on: John Mayer once made an Epiphone Les Paul and Roland practice amp sound like a PRS Silver Sky/Dumble combo, while Joe Bonamassa told Guitar Player that a player’s individual touch was more important than gear.

In December, Julien’s will hold a massive auction of instruments and memorabilia from the collection of late ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill.

Though it contains a number of notable mementos from Hill's 50+-year tenure with the Little Ol' Band From Texas, the collection's most significant highlight is the fur-covered Dean Zelinsky bass guitar that Hill used in ZZ Top's Legs music video.

Appearing alongside an identical fur-covered electric guitar Zelinsky made for ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, the bass and its six-string counterpart were both attached to rigs worn by Hill and Gibbons that allowed the instruments to spin. The end result helped make the Legs video one of the most iconic of the '80s. 

Hill's Explorer-style bass and Gibbons' guitar sprung from a 3 a.m. phone call made by the latter to Zelinsky while ZZ Top were on tour. At the end of the call, Zelinsky recalled in a blog post, Gibbons told the luthier, “I’m sending you some sheepskins I purchased while in Scotland, I want you to put them on some guitars.

“Weeks later, the sheepskins showed up and I got to work,” Zelinsky recounted. “I made a matching pair – a Dean Z guitar and bass – painted them white including the fingerboards, painted the Eliminator logo down the necks, and applied the sheepskins... I remember we were still gluing the fur on the tuning keys when the FedEx driver showed up to pick up the guitars. He waited while we boxed them up – they had to make it to the video shoot the very next day.”

Hill's Legs Dean Zelinsky bass is valued at $80,000 - $120,000.

The auction of Hill's collection will run from December 7 to December 9, with a portion of the proceeds going to MusiCares.

The sale also includes Hill's beloved, road-worn 1953 Fender Precision bass. Used by the bassist extensively on the road, the instrument appears on the cover of ZZ Top's 1975 Fandango! LP, and is also valued at $80,000 - $120,000.

For more info, visit Julien's Auctions. 

Billy Gibbons is best-known, for good reason, as the electric guitar icon who brought Texas barrelhouse blues – with long beards, catchy hooks, and some of the zaniest guitars west of the Mississippi on the side – to the mainstream with ZZ Top. 

Before the MTV stardom, before the radio hits, and even before the Little Ol' Band From Texas existed, however, Billy Gibbons was already a hot commodity in rock, leading a blues-influenced psychedelic combo called the Moving Sidewalks.

Though they never broke through nationally, the band's most well-known tune – the seminal 99th Floor – was a huge hit in the Houston, Texas area in 1967, and secured the Moving Sidewalks opening slots for some of the biggest rock stars of the day, including the Doors and one James Marshall Hendrix.  

As he did with so many other guitar players, Hendrix in particular left a significant impression on Gibbons. Though their respective spins on the blues they grew up on were worlds away from one another, Hendrix's sheer fearlessness on the guitar stayed with Gibbons the most.

“It was unspoken but quite evident that Hendrix threw caution to the winds, and decided to do things to and with a guitar that were not necessarily written in any of the how-to books,” Gibbons told Guitar World in a 2008 interview.

“For instance, it was considered a no-no to chain two Fuzz-Tones together,” he went on, “but I saw Hendrix chain five of them together! And he’d do this personalized dance, stomping on five different pedals, sometimes playing with all five of them on at once.

“I think it’s fair to give him the award for breaking the rules and starting to do things that no-one dared do before. That was part of his genius: a total lack of fear.”

Despite the fact that the Moving Sidewalks were opening for Hendrix – and therefore privy to the unwritten rule that openers don't go too over the top, lest they upstage the headliner – Hendrix encouraged the band to embrace their penchant for onstage showmanship.

Though the band's love for pyrotechnics got them fired from their opening slot on a Doors tour, another visually loud element of their set of the time – involving a contraption that produced a phosphorescent rain shower at a strategic point in the set – met with approval from the guitar god.

“That was actually a notion from Jimi Hendrix,” Gibbons explained of the band's captivating stage presence to Guitar World in 1994. “As we accepted the opening slot, followed by the Soft Machine, on Hendrix’s 1968 tour, he recommended that we continue this entertaining sort of appearance.”

As the '60s gave way to the '70s, the Moving Sidewalks dissolved, and subsequently evolved – with a few personnel changes along the way – into ZZ Top. Hendrix's words of advice on showmanship stuck with Gibbons, though, and inspired one of the trio's other trademarks: wild custom guitars. 

“I remember me and Billy drove up to Dallas, where they had a lot of pawn shops back then [the early '70s], and he spied this old Telecaster bass,” late ZZ Top bass guitar player Dusty Hill told Guitar World in 1994.

“I think we only paid 90 bucks for it – a real steal. And when we drove back, we picked up these two girls hitchhiking, and that’s how we wrote the song Precious and Grace… but that’s another story.

“Anyway, that bass was the first guitar we ever modified. When I played it, I noticed that I either had the volume knob wide open or else completely off between songs. So we took that knob off and got one of those little window cranks – like for the vent window on an older car – and put that on. If you slapped the crank, the volume went all the way on or all the way off. So I’d have to say that window crank was the start of it all.”

In the annals of bands known for brandishing outlandish and strange instruments, few hold a candle to the Little Ol' Band From Texas, ZZ Top.  

After all, you're talking about a trio that used custom-made "spinning fur" guitars in one of their most famous music videos, and whose bassist made headlines last year for wielding a 17-string (!) bass guitar at a concert in Huntsville, Alabama.

Now, you can add one more unorthodox instrument to that list. 

Recently, ZZ Top's bearded electric guitar hero, Mr. Billy F Gibbons, was invited by one-time Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum – who played on the guitarist's two most recent solo albums, 2018's The Big Bad Blues and 2021's Hardware – to Goodnoise Studio in Palm Springs, California to play a Stratocaster made almost entirely out of cardboard. 

Gibbons, of course, picks it right up, and was even inspired to write and record a song in tribute to the ultra-lightweight six-string, titled Cuttin' Up Paper.

The appropriately-named tune contains everything you'd want and need from a Billy Gibbons song – gravelly vocals, biting, blues-y leads, and the thickest, grooviest riffage west of the Mississippi.

Cardboard Sessions has been around for a few years now, first coming about when Signal Snowboards and Ernest Packaging teamed up to find new, unconventional uses for cardboard.

Eventually, in 2015, the two firms joined forces with the Fender Custom Shop, creating a cardboard Stratocaster with standard Strat parts. 

Gibbons seems right at home, even with the odd body material, exclaiming at the video's end, “Man, I like this thing!“

The ZZ Top man isn't the first prominent guitarist to take a cardboard Strat for a spin, either. Earlier this year, alt-rock guitar legend J Mascis dropped his usual Jazzmasters and Telecasters in favor of a cardboard Strat of his own.

For more Cardboard Sessions videos, visit Signal Snowboards' YouTube channel.

Yesterday (May 22), a huge ensemble of A-list electric guitar heroes converged on London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall for the first of two Jeff Beck tribute concerts.

As previously reported, the event was a who’s who of guitar talent, with the likes of Eric Clapton, Gary Clark Jr., Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, John McLaughlin and many more all coming together to pay tribute to the late guitar great, who passed away earlier this year.

The evening itself was filled with high-profile collaborations, but the biggest of all occurred right at the end of the night when everyone – yes, everyone – squeezed onto the historic stage for an eight-minute jam of Going Down.

If ever there was a competition for the most guitar stars to feature on the same stage, this lineup would stake a strong claim, with all those mentioned above performing alongside Ronnie Wood, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Depp, Doyle Bramhall II and Kirk Hammett, who made a surprise appearance with Greeny.

Outside the guitar department, Jeff Beck band members Rhonda Smith and Anike Niles lead the rhythm section, with Rod Stewart, Imelda May, Olivia Safe and Joss Stone all assuming vocal duties.

Having that many people on stage at once was always going to be a logistical challenge – a fact made clear by the drastic level differences between each player’s guitar.

Having said that, a guitar band of almost 20 players was never going to deliver a super-polished performance of Going Down, but that was never really the goal anyway.

Instead, the participants ensured their eight-minute rendition of Going Down turned out exactly as it should have: a gloriously improvised, larger-than-life guitar jam in honor of one of the most influential guitar players of all time. 

Clapton was the de facto conductor of the cover, kicking things off and then conceding the six-string spotlight to his fellow guitar-paying peers for a huge melting pot of solos.

Gary Clark Jr. – with his Gibson ES-335 in tow – took the first 12 bars, followed by a PRS-wielding John McLaughlin, and then a Telecaster-toting Depp, who spent much of last year touring and recording with Beck.

Two solos that especially cut through the mix were the closing efforts offered by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. Trucks took the lead, utilizing his Gibson SG for yet another guitar slide masterclass, while Tedeschi went to town on her Tele for 12 bars of bend-heavy blues.

It proved to be a poignant ending to a marathon show, which had been prefaced by an emotional Clapton who told the crowd, “I wish he were here.”

The cover of Going Down was just one of numerous tracks performed by the assortment of guitar heroes in honor of Beck. 

Highlights from the setlist included McLaughlin joining Smith and Niles for a cover of You Know You Know – a Mahavishnu Orchestra track that Beck played live – Depp, Hammett and Gibbons teaming up to perform Isolation, and Clapton sharing the stage with Trucks and Tedeschi for The Sky is Crying.

The second and final Jeff Beck tribute show is set to take place tonight (May 23) at the Royal Albert Hall.

Billy Gibbons is known for his wild custom guitars and wall of Magnatone amps, but as it turns out, his pedalboard is populated by some serious cheap stompboxes – all available from Amazon.

The revelation comes from Larkin Poe, who recently revealed what they learned on tour with Gibbons – and his unlikely gear choices. The band, led by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, recorded with Gibbons for his 2021 solo album Hardware, and toured with him in 2022 for the Outlaw Music Festival dates.

We confirmed their story with Gibbons’ old tech, and found that his pedal choices were far less exotic than we expected.

“Billy is one of the more gear-obsessed people that we’ve ever crossed paths with,” laughs guitarist Rebecca Lovell.

“Every time we see him, he’s always got some new pedal or some new system that he’s preaching the gospel of. Most recently it was these mini pedals connected by these adorable mini jumper cables. He’s like [does gruff Gibbons impression] ‘Girls, I’m gonna send you a link. Check your emails! I’m gonna have my tech send you one. I tell you what: shorter signal path, purer tone! Cleaner tone!’”

We at Guitar World were intrigued, so we contacted Gibbons’ former tech for comment. We assumed the guitarist would be rocking some boutique exotica for this “purer tone”, but it turns out his gear choices are much more down to Earth.

The tech told us Billy’s favorite pedals were made by Rowin, Mosky and Mimidi, all ultra-cheap budget brands. Mimidi pedals are mainly available from Amazon, and their initial offering was a mini fuzz for just $15. Mimidi’s current lineup starts around $35, while Mosky are best known for a DOD 250 clone that sells for $18.93 on AliExpress. Rowin offer a range of analog and digital mini pedals, starting at $31.99.

Megan Lovell, Larkin Poe’s lap steel wizard, was amused seeing Gibbons do battle with the micro-pedals in his cowboy boots.

“The one I loved was this mini pedal, like this big [makes a rectangle with her thumbs and index fingers], and then he was like ‘but they’ve got an even tinier one!’ He pulls out another box and it’s the size of a postage stamp! He said, ‘This is my fuzz and this is my slap echo.’ It’s like, ‘How do you find this stuff?’ I don’t know, he must have some really pointy-ass shoes.”

Despite her amusement at Gibbons’ gear, Rebecca says she’s learned some lessons from his approach.

“I appreciate Billy because even at this point in his career where it would be very easy and tempting to just skate and tune out, he really gets into the mechanics and the nuts and the bolts of his performance,” she smiles.

“Typically, our conversations hang in the gear domain. He’s still just as ever zoomed-in on his guitar playing and his rig. It’s really sweet. I think what we can take from it is that you’ve got to constantly reinvent yourself. Reinventing your playing, reinventing the tones you’re getting. It’s really inspirational staying out of the rut.”

An A-list ensemble of electric guitar heroes and music heavyweights joined forces at last night’s CMT Music Awards show to pay tribute to the late Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist, Gary Rossington.

As reported late last week, the CMT Rossington tribute was headed up by Slash, Warren Haynes and Billy Gibbons, who sought to emulate the Southern rock outfit’s triple entente of six-string action with the help of a handful of guest vocalists as they performed a medley of the band’s biggest hits.

Paul Rodgers, Cody Johnson, LeAnn Rimes and Wynonna Judd assumed vocal duties, with longtime Rolling Stones touring keysman Chuck Leavell also making an appearance.

Since 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), Slash and co kicked off with a track from the 1973 effort, Simple Man, for which Johnson and Rodgers shared lead vocal duties. 

Layering up the emotive progressions of the verses, the Gibson Les Paul-wielding duo of Slash and Haynes took turns to embellish proceedings with plenty of pentatonic licks in between vocal lines, with Gibbons getting involved with some tasty turnarounds of his own via the fretboard of his Red Devil Fender Stratocaster as the cover reached its peak.

Towards the end of their two-minute take of Simple Man, Haynes can be seen switching from his own Les Paul to a red Fender Stratocaster – a more apt sonic choice for the ensemble’s second Skynyrd track, Sweet Home Alabama, for which the Allman Brothers star took the lead.

Slash’s humbuckers proved a potent partner to Haynes and Gibbons’ single-coil antics, instilling the twangy track with plenty of beefy licks before the trio were each given eight bars to let loose on a quick-fire guitar solo.

Members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd family were in attendance for the show, including Rossington’s wife and band backing singer Dale Krantz Rossington. Some of Skynyrd’s touring operation was also present, including singer Johnny Van Zant.

Rossington passed away early last month at the age of 71. His passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from a huge range of musicians and guitarists.

The band served up their own tribute to Skynyrd's founding guitarist with a touching rendition of Tuesday's Gone during their first performance after Rossington's passing.

Elsewhere on the CMT Music Awards show bill, Gary Clark Jr. paid tribute to blues guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan with a blazing cover of The House Is Rockin’ from the fretboard of what looked like a charcoal flame burst Gibson ES model.

The forthcoming CMT Awards will pay tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington with a live performance featuring Billy Gibbons, Slash and Warren Haynes, among a host of other rock and country music talent. 

The last of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s founding members, Rossington passed away earlier this month (March 5). The 2023 CMT Awards show will take place on April 2 and will take time to celebrate the life of the guitarist in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of ’Skynyrd’s first album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd).

As you’d hope, Gibbons, Slash and Haynes will handle electric guitar duties for the tribute. Vocals will be provided by former Free vocalist Paul Rodgers and country star Cody Wilson. 

Elsewhere, the lineup features Rolling Stones (and former Allman Brothers Band) touring member Chuck Leavell sitting in on keys, while backing vocals will come from the somewhat over-qualified pairing of LeAnn Rimes and Wynonna Judd –performing here as ‘The Honkettes’.

Other members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd family will be attending the show, including Rossington’s wife and band backing singer Dale Krantz Rossington, plus vocalist Johnny Van Zant and guitarist Rickey Medlocke.

Rossington passed away aged 71 on March 5 and his death drew tributes from a huge range of guitarists and other musicians, many of whom had crossed paths with the ’Skynyrd legend across his 50 year career. 

His cause of death has not been revealed but the guitarist had suffered with ill health and recurring heart problems across recent years. On March 12, Lynyrd Skynyrd paid their own tribute to Rossington during a performance of Tuesday’s Gone at their first show since his passing,

The 2023 CMT Awards will be hosted in Austin, TX and broadcast live via CBS at 8pm ET / 11pm PT. For more information, head over to CMT.

Last Sunday (March 12), the Musician Treatment Foundation – an organization that assists in paying for surgical and nonsurgical care for the shoulder, elbow, and hand injuries of uninsured and underinsured professional musicians – held a benefit concert at the Brooklyn Bowl Nashville.

Elvis Costello, who serves on the Musician Treatment Foundation's board of directors, headlined the show, alongside ZZ Top electric guitar legend Billy Gibbons.

Though Gibbons and Costello have led very different musical careers over the last several decades, the two came together for a good cause in Music City, jamming together on a number of ZZ Top – and blues and soul – classics.

You can watch the two – along with Costello's long-serving band, the Imposters – tackle ZZ Top's slow-burning blues, Jesus Just Left Chicago, below.

Obviously, you'd expect to hear Gibbons break out some swaggering, Texas-sized blues phrases, but it's a treat to hear Costello – whose extensive, remarkably eclectic discography has traversed everything from punk to classical to country – explore his bluesier side; just listen to that vibrato!

Costello and Gibbons also ran through ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man, Thunderbird, and La Grange, with versions of Sam & Dave's I Thank You and Robert Johnson's Sweet Home Chicago thrown in for good measure.

Costello and the Imposters' presence added some muscle to the ZZ Top songs, which on record and onstage are typically one-guitar affairs. That, in turn, allowed Gibbons to engage in crowd-pleasing fretboard acrobatics like the one-handed soloing he employed for Sharp Dressed Man.

It was recently announced that Gibbons would be on the bill at the two all-star Jeff Beck tribute concerts that are set to occur at London's Royal Albert Hall this May.

Led by Eric Clapton, the shows will also feature – in addition to Gibbons – Gary Clark Jr., Doyle Bramhall II, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, John McLaughlin, Robert Randolph and many more.

It’s been announced that Eric Clapton is set to team up with a huge array of artists and electric guitar stars for two upcoming tribute shows, which will be hosted in honor of the late Jeff Beck.

Set to take place on two dates at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall this May, the shows will see Slowhand team up with the likes of Gary Clark Jr. Doyle Bramhall II, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, as well as Billy Gibbons, John McLaughlin and Robert Randolph.

Beck’s close friend and guitar partner Johnny Depp will also make an appearance at the tribute concerts, as will some of Beck’s other close musical collaborators, such as Imelda May, Olivia Safe, Rod Stewart and Joss Stone.

Members of the Jeff Beck Band Rhonda Smith, Anika Nilles and Robert Stevenson are also slated to feature on the nights. Most of these guest musicians are expected to take part in both concerts.

As star-studded as the above list already is, even more musicians and guitarists will be confirmed for the show in due course, with the full guest list set to be finalized nearer the date of the performances.

According to a press release, surplus income from the shows will be donated to the Folly Wildlife Rescue, which is based in Kent, UK. Beck’s awareness for environmental activism was recently highlighted by Paul McCartney, who shared a previously unreleased track that featured the late guitar great.

Tickets for the Jeff Beck tribute concerts – which will take place on May 22 and 23 – are set to go on sale next Wednesday (March 15) over at Bookings Direct. Pre-sale will take place the day before, and registration for access is available at See Tickets.

Jeff Beck passed away earlier this year at the age of 78, prompting an outpouring of tributes from across the music world.

Seymour Duncan has announced it’s bringing one of its most popular humbuckers, the Pearly Gates, to the Telecaster.

The Pearly Gates has long been prized by guitar players seeking a P.A.F. tone with a little extra attitude. Now the iconic humbucker has been shrunk down to fit the footprint of a typical Tele single-coil bridge pickup.

The design was first developed for ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons in the late ’70s. Gibbons wanted a road-worthy reproduction of the P.A.F. pickups found in his priceless ’59 Gibson Les Paul ’Burst, nicknamed the Pearly Gates. 

Seymour Duncan gained access to the instrument and replicated the higher-output sound of Gibbons’ originals, naming the resulting design after the guitar. Since then the pickups have become synonymous with the hotter Texas blues sound.

In particular, players prize the Pearly Gates for its rich, thick dynamic response. When paired with the right amp, it allows you to surf the line between clean and distorted tones, using only your picking attack to drive the tone into heavier territory.

While the Pearly Gates news undoubtedly steals the headlines, the firm has also announced the BG1400 – a popular custom shop option – is now available in its standard line.

Again aimed at Tele players, the BG1400 offers a vintage-style tone with, as Seymour Duncan puts it, “a little extra howl and growl”. It’s designed to fatten up the Tele sound without compromising on its iconic twang, and features a pair of stacked, overwound coils, resulting in a noise-cancelling pickup that offers a little more attack.

Both the Pearly Gates for Tele and BG1400 pickups are available to order from Seymour Duncan now, for $119 and $129, respectively.

Head to Seymour Duncan for more information.

Billy Gibbons celebrated his 73rd birthday on December 16 and took to stage the night before to perform with a rotating cast of talented performers, among them The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and Joe Bonamassa.

The relaxed show took place at The Troubadour in Hollywood, Los Angeles and featured a number of other big names, including brass players Joe Sublett and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, drummer Joel Taylor and actor/musician Paul Hipp, among others.

The set took in ZZ Top classics, such as La Grange, along with a Doors cover, Roadhouse, led by Krieger and Hipp and a boozy rebranding of Ben E. King classic Stand By Me to Drink With Me. 

In addition, Joe Bonamassa – in blistering form – reprised an old favorite in the form of Further On Up The Road, tipping the cap to Gibbons’ origins with the skittering Texas blues standard beloved by Eric Clapton. 

Bonamassa, like all of the assembled, is otherwise content to play sideman – for instance, you can spot him helpfully signing a ‘C’ to Hipp as the latter steps in for a solo on the La Grange jam in the wrong key. For his part, Hipp immediately pulls it out of the bag and offers a great vocal on Roadhouse, to boot.

It seems most of those present, including Gibbons himself, were happy to mingle in and out of the onstage lineup throughout the set, which appears to have been largely strung together on the fly. 

Of course, fan footage has emerged in a steady stream, documenting the event for posterity. Check out the clips above for a fans‘ eye view of the night.

The event is becoming something of a tradition. Gibbons hosted a similar party at The Troubadour last December, inviting Joe Bonamassa along for a note-perfect cover of Foxy Lady – a lick Gibbons was famously taught by Hendrix himself.

Justin Hawkins has long been channeling his thoughts on anything music-related via his Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube channel. In his latest post, Hawkins watches the new video from The Winery Dogs, and reacts to Billy Sheehan’s dazzling bass chops, at one point commenting: “What?! Split harmonics on the bass? First of all, how? And second of all, why?”

After watching the video for Xanadu, Hawkins goes on to provide further musical analysis on Kotzen’s guitar sound. “That sort of guitar playing you only really hear on Strats. It’s not as abrasive as a Les Paul. I’m dying to know which pickup setting he’s using there.”

Elsewhere, he delves deeper into his own rock tutorial. “What I love about the guitar solo is that the rhythm guitar stops,” he says. “It’s just  him with the drums and the bass, which reminds me of Van Halen records where the bass is enough of a harmonic accompaniment for the guitar solo to really hit you in the face.”

Having played literally thousands of gigs with Talas, his band from Buffalo, New York – not to mention his high profile work with David Lee Roth, Mr Big, Niacin and more recently Sons of Apollo – Billy Sheehan’s no-holds-barred bass lines have ensured his status as a rock bass icon. 

This month though, Sheehan’s announced that he'll be hitting the road with The Winery Dogs once again. In addition to the tour, fans will be excited to hear that following a seven-year hiatus from the studio, the trio has released the opening track and lead single from their aptly named third album III. Directed by Vicente Cordero, the video for Xanadu can be found on the band’s YouTube channel.

The new single is typical Winery Dogs – with Sheehan enhancing Kotzen’s big riff energy with his own signature licks and screaming harmonics. Sheehan has always had a very guitaristic approach. The pinch harmonic that you hear at 00:20 is a case in point.

Pinch harmonics (or split harmonics as Justin refers to them in his analysis) have long been popular among guitarists, but they’re much less common in the bass world. “When a guitar player plays a pinch harmonic he slips off the pick and the soft part of his thumb hits the string,” said Billy in a 2014 interview for The Flo Guitar Enthusiasts.

“Since I don’t have a pick, I use my fingernail up against my thumb. I actually got it from Billy Gibbons who I saw opening for Alice Cooper. I just had to figure out a way to get that sound. Since I didn’t have a pick, I found a way to do it with my fingernail.”

For a full list of tour dates, and to preorder III, head over to The Winery Dogs' website. Xanadu is available on digital formats here. 

In terms of actual geographical size, Texas is pretty much a pipsqueak compared to, say, Alaska. (For those keeping score, Alaska accounts for 665,384 square miles versus Texas’ total area of 268,596 square miles.) 

But if we’re measuring Texas’ mark on American culture, specifically through music, it’s hard to make an argument that any other territory comes close to the Lone Star State’s impact. 

From cowboy prairie songs to Tejano and conjunto music, from Western swing to the blues, from early rock ’n’ roll to hip-hop, and dozens of genres and sub-genres along the way, the sounds of Texas have enthralled and inspired listeners in ways that are almost incalculable.

The state also boasts bragging rights when it comes to the number of influential guitarists who have called it their home. Which begs the question: just what is it about Texas, and why has it been such a fertile breeding ground for guitarists? 

The oft-used phrase “There must be something in the water,” comes to mind, though no doubt Billy Gibbons would make a strong case for tequila. But perhaps there’s something about the state’s sheer magnitude, its rich history and renegade spirit that inspires guitarists to dream big and channel those ideas into their music unbound by restrictions. Or maybe it’s simply what choreographer (and Texas native) Tommy Tune once said: “I think Texans have more fun than the rest of the world.”

When we crafted the following list of Texas guitarists, we had to consider what actually constituted a “Texas guitarist”, and our criteria was based on anyone born there, raised there or who made their greatest impact there. There were, however, certain qualifiers that could be seen as subjective. 

For example, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio was born in Fort Worth, but since he moved to New Jersey when he was three and then relocated to Vermont – where he’s famously lived ever since – it would be a gigantic stretch of the imagination to call him a “Texas guitarist”. (Should we ever publish an issue celebrating guitarists from the Northeast, Anastasio will be there.)

Be advised: after reading about the 30 guitarists we’ve highlighted here (which are not presented in any sort of numerical “order”), you might find yourself playing guitar with a new sense of swagger. In which case, don’t thank us – thank them. 

1. Stevie Ray Vaughan

“I’m really just another Texas blues guitarist, but I think I’ve got something special to say with my music,” Stevie Ray Vaughan told us back in 1988. Then, prophetically, he added, “But I have to keep these things in perspective, because they’re gifts. It’s all a gift, and I have to give it back all the time or it goes away.”

More than any other guitarist, Vaughan embodied and celebrated Texas. Its grandeur ran through his spectacularly untamed sound that erupted with the force of an oil gusher. Its sense of danger inhabited a vibrato that could hiss like a rattlesnake. 

With his colorful scarves, silver rings and his trademark Plateau hat, he looked like a badass outlaw. And yet, he comported himself like a modest country gentleman. Referring to the bluesmen he studied – people like Albert Collins, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, along with B.B., Albert and Earl King – he said, “Those guys are the ones who really ought to have the recognition. They’re the pioneers and the innovators.”

So much of Vaughan’s tale now reads like legend: how he came up following — and eventually equaling – his older guitar-playing brother, Jimmie; his rise through the Austin club scene and his smash appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he was tapped by David Bowie for Let’s Dance; his signing to Epic by John Hammond (who also snagged Dylan and Springsteen). 

When he released his major-label debut, Texas Flood (boasting treasures like Love Struck Baby, Pride and Joy and the righteous title cut, a masterpiece of hellacious, over-the-top bends), it hit like a hurricane.

Others had been called the heir apparent to Hendrix, but Vaughan’s virtuosity and the fullness of feeling he brought to his playing made the claim manifest. His studio cover of  Voodoo Child (Slight Return) refined some of Hendrix’s caterwauling madness, but with his supreme musicality – those artfully applied wah squawks and slinky turnarounds – he made it his own.

Backed by his ace rhythm section Double Trouble (drummer Chris Layton, bassist Tommy Shannon and – a bit later on – keyboardist Reese Wynans) and invariably armed with his Number One Strat, Vaughan recorded an encyclopedia of guitar gems like Couldn’t Stand the Weather, Scuttle Buttin’ and Cold Shot, and after beating alcohol and drugs, he released In Step, which featured Crossfire and Tightrope. 

His death in a helicopter crash, in August 1990 at age 35, was mourned by music fans across the globe. Posthumously, his album with brother Jimmie, Family Style, was issued a month later. 

2. Dimebag Darrell

“I grew up a heavy metal kid and we are a heavy metal band,” Dimebag Darrell told us in 1994. “I know it’s not fashionable, but I’m proud to say that’s what we are and that’s what we do.”

Dimebag Darrell Abbott loved heavy metal so much that he helped reshape and reinvent it. With his band Pantera (which included his drummer brother, Vinnie Paul Abbott), he took what had become toothless and predictable and made it raw and ferocious again – and suddenly it all sounded disarmingly new.

Darrell called the band’s relentless attack a “power groove,” and countless groups tried to emulate its blunt force, but as is often the case, you just can’t improve on an original.

It was obvious from the start that Darrell (born Darrell Lance Abbott in Ennis, Texas, in 1966) had it in him. The son of a musician and recording studio owner, he took to the guitar as a kid and jammed religiously to his favorites (Kiss, Van Halen and Black Sabbath were the biggies). At age 14, he dusted all comers at a local guitar contest (the prize was a Dean guitar), and within a couple of years he was banned from such competitions – he was that good.

Pantera – and Darrell, who for a time went by “Diamond Darrell” – took a few beats to find their footing. Dispensing with a brief glam metal period, they arrived in full with 1990’s Cowboys from Hell, which set the blueprint for the band – there were elements of thrash and traces of the emerging hardcore aesthetic. 

As “Dimebag Darrell”, the guitarist cranked the mosh-pit heat to extreme levels on Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven, perfecting his deployment of face-frying solos, drop tunings, unorthodox modes and what he called “harmonic screams” (check out the end of This Love for a stunning example). In his Guitar World column, he wrote, “Harmonic screams are my way of ‘singing out,’ using my guitar instead of my throat.”

Following 2000’s Reinventing the Steel, tensions mounted in Pantera, and in 2003 the Abbott brothers ended the group and formed a new outfit, Damageplan. Supporting their debut album, New Found Power, the band toured throughout 2004, and on the night of December 8 of that year, in Columbus, Ohio, Darrell was shot to death on stage in an attack that left three others dead. At Darrell’s funeral, Eddie Van Halen placed his famous Charvel “bumblebee” guitar inside the casket.

3. Eric Johnson

There are guitarists with an identifiable sound – and then there’s Eric Johnson. With his exquisitely crafted mix of clean and overdriven tones, and his inimitable, sweeping, violin-like solos, his sound is as unique as a fingerprint. 

As he told us, “It’s one thing to become a good player and write songs that people like. But to have a sound where people can pick you out and they know it’s you, that’s pretty cool.”

As it turns out, the Austin native is one hell of a songwriter, too. His 13 solo albums (two this past year) showcase a guitarist steeped in Brill Building songcraft (one of his first gigs was backing up Carole King). 

For an example of Johnson’s compositional genius, there’s 1990’s Cliffs of Dover, a remarkable piece of ear candy full of incandescent, almost free-form soloing that, astonishingly, Johnson wrote in all of five minutes. Or as he puts it, “It was like a gift from the universe.” 

4. Freddie King

Freddie King is the third of “Three Kings of Blues Guitar” (the other two being Albert and B.B.), and his influence on guitarists across the globe can’t be overstated. British players such as Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green and Jeff Beck count him as a major inspiration, and in his homeland he’s been heralded by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lonnie Mack and Joe Bonamassa, among others.

Born in Gilmer, Texas, King started playing guitar at age six, but after moving with his family to Chicago when he was 15, he came under the spell of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, T-Bone Walker and Elmore James, all of whom he sat in with when sneaking into the city’s nightclubs. 

Rejected by Chess Records (the label thought he sounded too much like B.B. King), he signed with Chicago’s Federal Records in 1960 and released Have You Ever Loved a Woman, which brilliantly showcased his spitfire single-note phrasing and piercing sound (he used both a plastic thumb pick and a metal index finger pick). His 1961 hit Hide Away is considered the gold standard in blues. 

An irresistible good-time shuffle, full of spikey and spunky turnaround licks, its famous mash-up of Jimmy McCracklin The Walk and The Peter Gunn Theme made it all the more memorable. King died of pancreatitis in 1976 at age 42.

5. Albert Collins

He was crowned “The Master of the Telecaster” for the guitar that never left his hands, but he was also nicknamed “The Ice Man” and “The Razor Blade,” references to his stinging yet piquant phrasing and tone. Whatever you called him, one thing was clear: Albert Collins was a true original and a giant among Texas guitarists.

Hailing from Leona, Texas, Collins (born Albert Gene Drewery) was taught guitar by his cousin, Lightnin’ Hopkins. From another cousin, Willow Young, he was introduced to the open F minor tuning (F C F Ab C F) that he would employ throughout his career. 

After moving to Houston, Collins began performing in clubs alongside the likes of John Lee Hooker and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. To complement his unorthodox tuning, Collins incorporated a capo and dispensed with a guitar pick – and his sound was complete. A natural showman, he also favored a 100-foot guitar cable that allowed him to stroll around venues and get close to his fans.

With his shivers-inducing tone (he dialed back the bass on his cranked-to-
the-max amp), Collins made his mark on aptly titled cuts such as Frosty, Cold, Cold Feeling, The Freeze and Thaw Out (later adapted by Jimi Hendrix on Drivin’ South). Among his standout albums is one of his personal favorites, 1986’s Cold Snap, which earned him a Grammy nomination. Collins passed away in 1993 at age 61.

6. Lightnin’ Hopkins

He’s one of the most prolific blues guitarists in history (some 85 albums and 200 singles), and he’s certainly one of the most influential. Recognized for bringing the blues from the back porches of the country to rural and city stages, Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins did more than simply play music; he let you in on a feeling – pain tempered with joy.

Born in Centerville, Texas, in 1912, Hopkins made his first guitar out of a cigar box after watching Blind Lemon Jefferson play. In time, Jefferson befriended Hopkins and allowed him to accompany him during church gathering performances – a rare distinction, as Jefferson never let anybody play alongside him. 

Already, Hopkins had developed his distinctive style of acoustic playing, a deceptively simple approach involving plucking bass-note rhythms and melodies (with a thumb pick) while fingerpicking two- and three-note chords on higher strings.

At first, Hopkins was paired with singer and pianist Wilson Smith (the pair were dubbed “Thunder and Lightnin’”), but with Katie Mae Blues in 1946, Hopkins began his own recording career as a guitarist and singer, and in a short period he churned out a treasure trove of material, including T-Model Blues, Coffee Blues and Baby Please Don’t Go. 

After falling out of favor in the ’50s, Hopkins was rediscovered by blues fans, folkies and rockers in the ’60s. He continued to record and tour until his death in 1982 at age 69. 

7. Willie Nelson

By the end of the ’60s, Willie Nelson (born in Abbott, Texas, in 1933), had already written a slew of standards, most significantly Patsy Cline’s jukebox smash Crazy, and had established himself as a Grand Ole Opry staple. Still, true stardom eluded him. 

Then, in 1969, he bought a Martin N-20 classical guitar that he outfitted with a Baldwin “Prismatone” pickup, and its dulcet tone perfectly complemented his plaintive singing voice. He nicknamed the guitar Trigger, and it became his constant companion on breakthrough albums like Red Headed Stranger and Stardust that brought him international success. 

A virtuoso player, heavily influenced by gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt, Nelson is noted for his ferocious strumming style (his flat pick has gouged sizable holes in Trigger) and his syncopated yet melodic soloing – On the Road Again is a masterpiece of inventive phrasing. At age 89, he’s still recording and touring.

8. Charlie Christian 

One of the true pioneers of jazz and swing, and perhaps the leading figure in establishing the electric guitar as a lead instrument in a band, Charlie Christian was born in Bonham, Texas, in 1916. 

A musician since his childhood, he played guitar in various jazz outfits through the South and Midwest, and in 1937 he purchased his famous Gibson ES-150 electric hollowbody (which sported a bar-style pickup later called the “Charlie Christian pickup”), on which he perfected his unique, horn-like approach to soloing.

Hired by bandleader Benny Goodman, who was intrigued by the sound of the electric guitar, Christian became a star player in the Benny Goodman Orchestra. The guitarist’s lively, single-note soloing dominated cuts like Honeysuckle Rose and Solo Flight, and he would soon join Goodman in a new group, the Benny Goodman Sextet. Sadly, Christian never recorded his own music as a bandleader. He died of tuberculosis in 1942 at age 25.

9. Trini Lopez

Just as Bob Dylan was bringing folk to the mainstream, Trini Lopez exploded on the scene in 1963 with his exuberant cover of Pete Seeger’s If I Had a Hammer (played on an electric guitar, no less). The Dallas-born performer became a major star in the ’60s with other briskly strummed hits like Lemon Tree and I’m Comin’ Home, Cindy.

So huge was his fame that he played a major role in the Steve McQueen blockbuster The Dirty Dozen. Lopez was also asked by Gibson to design a signature guitar, and he came up with two: the Trini Lopez Standard and the Lopez Deluxe. Dave Grohl prizes his 1967 original Trini Lopez Standard, and a reissue of the 1964 model is available now. Lopez died from Covid complications in 2020.

10. Johnny Winter

For virtuoso guitarist Johnny Winter, spreading the gospel of the blues was his mission in life, and one could make a strong case that the music was always there to save him. 

Born in Beaumont, Texas, in 1944, he was afflicted with albinism (a condition shared with his younger brother, multi-instrumentalist Edgar) and was legally blind. Taunted by classmates, he sought solace with the records by bluesmen like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf (he would often joke that they, too, had problems because of skin color).

Winter’s guitar skills stood out early (almost from the start he used a thumb pick), and by age 15 he cut a Chuck Berryesque single, School Day Blues, with his band, Johnny and the Jammers (which included Edgar on saxophone). 

By the late ’60s, he had developed his high-velocity pinky-finger slide playing to a dangerous degree, and he cut the indie album The Progressive Blues Experiment. After an appearance with Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper in New York City, Winter signed with Columbia and released his eponymous major-label debut, which signaled to the world that a new voice in blues had arrived.

Career highs (producing mid-’70s albums for Muddy Waters) and lows (heroin addiction, unscrupulous management) followed, and after a brief dalliance with rock, Winter recorded the classic 1977 album Nothin’ But the Blues, on which he recommitted himself to his true calling. 

Rarely without his 1963 Gibson Firebird V, he recorded and performed until his death in 2014, aged 70.

11. Billy Gibbons

With his carefully cultivated image – shades, hats and an unruly beard that would grow to mid-chest level over the years – Billy Gibbons looks as if he walked off the set of an imaginary Western. 

But perhaps more iconic than the guitarist’s easily recognizable appearance is his distinctive guitar sound – growling, greasy, expressive, outrageous, beautifully expressive and big as the Lone Star State itself. Since 1969, it’s been the backbone of ZZ Top’s mighty roar – “that little ol’ band from Texas” as they modestly called themselves – and it’s thrilled and influenced fellow players across the globe. 

As a young guitarist, Gibbons was enthralled by blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Lightnin’ Hopkins. His biggest influence, however, was B.B. King, whom he would meet early on in ZZ Top’s career.

“I was in the dressing room and B.B. said to me, ‘Can I play your guitar?’” Gibbons told us. “I said, ‘Sure man.’ He strummed it a few times and said, ‘Why you working so hard?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Those strings. You got real heavy, heavy strings.’ I said, ‘Well, isn’t that how to get the heavy, heavy sound?’ He said, ‘No! Don’t be working so hard!’”

Ever since then, Gibbons’ guitars, particularly his trusty “Pearly Gates” 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, have featured super-light strings, which he used to maximum effect on ZZ Top’s early hits such as Tush and La Grange and on through multi-platinum smashes from Eliminator (Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs) and beyond. 

On boogie-based groovers or modern synth-laden cuts, Gibbons’ economic guitar style is a rich mélange of his influences. Key to his approach is his crafty application of “squealing” pinch harmonics (“it’s meat on metal on wood”), tapped bend licks and hybrid picking, as well as sweet and soulful legato finger slides that he employs in many of his solos. 

None of it came easily, however. As he told us, “Learning to play that agonizing F chord was miserable. In fact, I would encourage anybody just starting out to be sure to take time to, as the old adage goes, ‘practice, practice, practice,’ and then practice some more.” 

12. Jimmie Vaughan

Perhaps unfairly, many refer to Jimmie Vaughan as Stevie Ray’s big brother, but as Stevie told us back in 1984, “I think he’s the better player – so there!” Vaughan grew up playing the music of Magic Sam, Buddy Guy, Lonnie Mack, Jimmy Reed and, of course, the Three Kings. 

By the early ’70s, when he formed the Fabulous Thunderbirds, he was considered one of Austin’s top guitarists – soulful yet refined, his every note impeccably placed but rendered with a cutting tone (treble rolled all the way up, bridge pickup raised) that commanded your attention. 

After years of commercial disappointments, the T-Birds crashed the charts in 1986 with the good-time cut Tuff Enuff. By the start of the new decade, music fans who longed to hear the two Strat giants together got their wish as Jimmie and Stevie Vaughan finally recorded a duet album, Family Style. 

Tragically, Stevie Ray passed away a month before the record’s release. For a time, Vaughan shied away from the spotlight, but gradually he returned to making music. On his most recent album, 2019’s Baby, Please Come Home, he dusted off rare blues gems.

13. Brad Davis

If you’re going to nickname yourself “The Shredder,” you had better possess some mad skills. Brad Davis has crazy-mad skills – and then some. With his lightning-fast flatpicking chops, the Commerce, Texas, native proves that country guitarists can blaze just as hard as metalheads. 

Davis first came to prominence during his nine-year stint in Marty Stuart’s band. In addition, he’s worked with Warren Zevon, John Jorgenson, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yokum, David Lee Roth and Billy Bob Thornton, among others. 

Inspired by Eddie Van Halen’s two-handed tapping, Davis came up with his own method of playing similar rolling patterns with a flatpick called the “double-down up” technique. Over the years, it’s bewitched and bedeviled players worldwide.

14. T-Bone Walker

He’s been called the “Father of the Electric Blues Guitar,” and when you consider the guitarists T-Bone Walker influenced – Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the three Kings (B.B., Freddie and Albert), and many others – the title is deserved. 

Born Albert Thibeaux Walker in Linden, Texas, Walker played a variety of instruments, including guitar, and by 15 he was performing professionally under the tutelage of family friend Blind Lemon Jefferson. Billed as “Oak Cliff T-Bone” (the moniker was soon shortened), he made his recording debut with “Wichita Falls Blues” in 1929. 

Unlike other bluesmen, Walker incorporated swing and jazz elements into his playing – his smooth tone and artful phrasing made 1942’s I Got a Break Baby one of his first hits. His signature song, 1947’s Call It Stormy Monday is a masterpiece of chordal composition and innovative double-time soloing. Walker continued recording right until his death in 1974 at age 64.

15. Doyle Bramhall II

Some guitarists just have it in their DNA. Such is the case with Dallas’ own Doyle Bramhall II, son of Doyle Bramhall Sr., who played drums for Lightnin’ Hopkins, Freddie King and the Vaughan brothers. 

On his own, Bramhall toured with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and formed the Arc Angels with Charlie Sexton. He’s cut four solo albums that show off his emotive singing and crisp, piquant blues-rock guitar playing. But as a sideman, collaborator and producer, Bramhall has led what he calls a “charmed life,” working with everybody from Sheryl Crow to Elton John.

Among his most high-profile gigs was playing guitar for Roger Waters’ In the Flesh tour and his extensive affiliation (as touring guitarist and producer) with Eric Clapton. In 2000, Bramhall played with both Clapton and B.B. King on their album Riding with the King.

16. Polyphia: Two in one!

Polyphia guitar virtuosos Tim Henson and Scott LePage don’t sound like they’re from Texas, but the truth is, they don’t sound like they’re from anywhere on this planet. 

Inspired by players such as Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, they’re also equally enamored with pop, deathcore, hip-hop and EDM, all of which they pack into their gloriously adventurous brand of progressive music. 

On releases like Renaissance (2016) and New Levels New Devils, they mixed sophisticated guitar wizardry with funk and electronic grooves, and their newest release, Remember That You Will Die, sees them going even deeper, mixing nylon-string flamenco-flavored cuts into their thrilling yet uncategorizable musical stew. 

17. Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown

Revered by blues artists, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown always bristled at being pigeonholed. He called his sound – a potent mix of jazz, country, rock ’n’ roll, folk, Cajun music and, yes, blues – “American music/Texas life.” 

Born in Vinton, Louisiana, and raised in Orange, Texas, Brown, who earned his nickname when someone said he had a “voice like a gate,” was a natural multi-instrumentalist, but it was on the guitar where he truly excelled. Inspired by T-Bone Walker, he first came to prominence with the wildcat, swing-inspired track “Boogie Uproar” and the sparky, horn-laden gem “Gatemouth Boogie.” 

Known for his aggressive, punchy single-note style of picking (thumb and fingers), he could also lay it down soft and smooth, as he did on his signature cut, 1954’s Okie Dokie Stomp, during which he stops his rhythm section cold for a series of buttery slides and sinuous bends. Brown continued his genre-bending ways right up to 2004’s Timeless, released a year before his death.

18. Gary Clark Jr.

Being called “the next big thing” can often backfire, but Gary Clark Jr. lived up to the hype and then some. The Austin guitarist got his schooling at Antone’s (Jimmie Vaughan was a big booster) before scoring with The Bright Lights EP. 

On subsequent albums like Blak and Blu and This Land, his hot-blooded mix of blues, rock, pop, soul, hip-hop and funk (with even a splash of stoner rock) established him as the real deal – oh, and we can throw in some Grammys, too. 

Although Clark is steeped in tradition (Curtis Mayfield, Elmore James, the Three Kings), he bristles at purists and revels in throwing left curves into his guitar playing, often going outside pentatonic shapes by adding 9ths and ringing open strings in his solos. He’s used various guitars on stage and on record, but he’s partial to Epiphone Casinos and Gibson SGs – in recent years he’s designed signature models of both.

19. Blind Lemon Jefferson

The Father of Texas Blues, Lemon Henry Jefferson was called Blind Lemon Jefferson as he was born blind – or partially blind – in 1893 (though it could be in 1894) in Coutchman, Texas. 

Originally a street musician, he was one of the first fingerstyle blues guitarists – he even taught T-Bone Walker blues rudiments. Along with his distinctive playing style that mimicked a ragtime piano and a crying, high-pitched singing voice, he began recording sides for Paramount Records in the early 1920s. Among his most popular recordings for the label were Long Lonesome Blues and Booster Blues. 

Moving to Okeh Records, he scored hits with Black Snake Moan and See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. Arguably his most famous song is 1927’s Matchbox Blues, which was covered as a rockabilly number by Carl Perkins and later by the Beatles. Jefferson died of a heart attack at age 36 way back in 1929.

20. Steve Miller

With hits such as The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, Take the Money and Run, Swingtown and Jungle Love, Steve Miller dominated AM and FM radio during the ’70s. As a child in Wisconsin, he received his first guitar pointers from none other than family friend – and his godfather – Les Paul. 

After moving to Dallas, he immersed himself in the blues. One of his first hits, the 1968 car-driving anthem Living in the U.S.A, is steeped in blues tradition. Soon, his songs took on more of a pop-rock sensibility, and in each one he wove economical guitar licks that were as crucial as the chorus. 

Rock’n Me features a standout barre chord and hammer-on riff that’s pure gold. And Jet Airliner takes flight with a turbo-charged, blues-boogie intro that mixes simplicity with rock-star flash.

21. Johnny “Guitar” Watson

Houston son John Watson Jr. got his first guitar from his grandfather provided he didn’t play “that devil’s music,” which was precisely what the young Watson went on to play. By his early teens, he was jamming alongside Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland, and after his mother took her with him to Los Angeles, he turned heads in clubs with his flamboyant stage presence and unbridled approach to the guitar. 

Billing himself Johnny “Guitar” Watson, in 1954 he released his first single, Space Guitar, an out-there instrumental that proved revolutionary in terms of reverb. His jarring, scattershot playing on 1956’s Three Hours Past Midnight inspired Frank Zappa to play the guitar, and through the years he influenced others such as Jimi Hendrix and the Vaughan brothers. 

He scored hits in the ’70s with Real Mother for Ya and Gangster of Love (a re-recording of his 1957 song). In 1996, he collapsed and died on stage while performing in Japan.

22. Paul Leary

Thanks to his scorching, throbbing, growling and strangely beautiful guitar tone, Texas native Paul Leary, co-founder of the Butthole Surfers, has become one of the most distinctive and emulated guitarists in punk and alternative rock history. 

With singer Gibby Hayes, he formed the band in 1981, and on albums like Hairway to Steven (1988) and 1996’s Electriclarryland (which included the hit single “Pepper”), Leary mixed the energy of garage rock with the smarts of art rock while spinning lines of psychedelic madness into his solos. 

Over the years, Leary has produced records for Sublime and the Meat Puppets, among others, and with the Buttholes on hiatus, he released his second solo album, Born Stupid, in 2021.

23. Omar Rodríguez-López

“I’ve never considered myself a guitarist, and I’ve never liked the guitar,” Omar Rodríguez-López once told us. Nonetheless, the Puerto Rican-born musician (who grew up in El Paso, Texas) made peace with the instrument by abusing its sound with effects, first in the critically acclaimed post-hardcore act At the Drive-In and then with the commercial successful experimental band the Mars Volta. 

On the latter band’s gonzo cut Cicatriz ESP (from the album Deloused in the Comatorium) he and guest John Frusciante go bonkers on a hallucinogenic guitar jam. Over the years, the avant-garde axeman has released over 20 solo albums and has ventured into film composing, collaborating with Hans Zimmer for the movie The Burning Plain.

24. Stephen Stills

When Dallas-born aspiring folkie Stephen Stills settled into the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of L.A. in the mid ’60s, he was on the cusp of a musical revolution that rivaled Liverpool. His is a career that can be measured in milestones: As a member of seminal folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield, he wrote and sang the enduring anti-war anthem For What It’s Worth. 

With the enormously popular supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young), he contributed classics like Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. Along the way, he recorded the historic Super Session with Mike Bloomfield and Al Cooper, worked with Hendrix and Clapton, formed another supergroup (Manassas), and continued a thriving solo career that would keep most musicians busy. 

As a guitarist, his astonishing versatility spans elegant yet sophisticated folk patterns, scorching shred improvs, deep Delta blues and anything else his muse dictates.

25. David Grissom

In the pantheon of journeymen guitarists, few have had a career as rich and varied as David Grissom. After moving to Austin (from his native Louisville, Kentucky) in 1983, Grissom joined Joe Ely’s band for a six-year stint, after which he became a member of John Mellencamp’s group from 1991 through 1994. 

From there, he went on to tour or record with the Allman Brothers, the Dixie Chicks, Robben Ford, Chris Isaak, Buddy Guy, Bob Dylan and John McMurtry, among others. 

Along the way, he recorded four solo albums and was part of the band Storyville, which included Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton from Double Trouble. Schooled in blues, jazz, rock and country, Grissom is one of music’s true chameleons, able to tailor his own distinctive sound to suit the song and artist.

26. Charlie Sexton

Young Charlie Sexton could have folded when his much-hyped major-label debut, 1985’s Pictures for Pleasure, failed to make him the next Billy Idol. But the Texas-born guitarist was built for better things, and blues ran through his blood. By his mid-teens, he was already a prodigy who could hold his own with the Vaughan brothers and other Austin greats at that city’s famed nightclub, Antone’s.

In 1992, he rebounded mightily with his band, the Arc Angles, which included Doyle Bramhall II and the Double Trouble rhythm section, before beginning a long tenure as Bob Dylan’s lead guitarist. Able to switch from fiery Hendrixian leads to swampy delta blues to even Celtic-tinged folk rock, he’s become an in-demand sideman and producer. Recently, he reunited the Arc Angels for a string of shows in Texas.
St. Vincent

27. St. Vincent

Just when the world needed a new postmodern guitar hero, along came Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent), who turned things upside-down with an inventive approach that mixes metal-tinged two-handed tapping with dynamic, effects-drenched soundscapes on deeply personal songs that veer from jazz-pop to electronica to sophisticated indie rock. 

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she grew up in Dallas, Texas, and started playing guitar at age 12. After studying at Berklee College of Music, she released her daring debut, Marry Me, and never looked back. 

She’s issued five more provocative albums (her latest is 2021’s Daddy’s Home), and in 2014 she fronted Nirvana for the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Since 2016, she’s collaborated with Ernie Ball Music Man on her own signature guitars.

28. Buddy Holly

A towering figure in rock ’n’ roll, Buddy Holly had an immeasurable impact on young musicians in the late ’50s and early ’60s, most notably John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were inspired by Holly to write their own material. Among his many innovations, Holly created the template for the now-standard rock lineup of two guitars, bass and drums.

Born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas, Holly (who later dropped the “e” from his surname) played guitar to country and western, blues and gospel in his early years, and by the age of 16 he went pro. Backed by his band the Crickets, he issued a string of magical singles – among them Peggy Sue, That’ll Be the Day, Not Fade Away, Maybe Baby and It’s So Easy. 

As a guitarist, he popularized the Fender Stratocaster, and his energetic, twangy playing style – emphasizing downstrokes on the top three strings – seamlessly mixed rhythm and lead. Tragically, he died in 1959 at age 22 in a plane crash that also took the lives of Richie Valens and the Big Bopper.

29. Larry Coryell

Galveston-born jazz guitarist Larry Coryell was called the “godfather of fusion,” and with good reason – his mid-to-late ’60s recordings with the pioneering jazz-rock band the Free Spirits, followed by his work with the Gary Burton Quartet – ushered in a revolution in which players mixed straight jazz with rock, as well as Latin and eastern music. 

Among his many solo albums, his 1971 record Barefoot Boy is cited as a game changer that proved how jazz could be as edgy and exciting as rock. During his career, Coryell formed the fusion ensemble the Eleventh House, and with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia, he was one-third of the Guitar Trio.

Following two performances at New York City’s Iridium Jazz Club, he passed away from heart failure in February 2017.

30. Herb Ellis

Born in 1921 and raised near Dallas, jazz guitarist Herb Ellis rose to fame in 1940s and ’50s, first with the Jimmy Dorsey band and then, more prominently, as part of the Oscar Peterson Trio. Performing with his staple guitar, a 1953 Gibson ES-175, Ellis was revered for his fluid, beautifully phrased single-note lines in which he combined elements of bebop and blues. 

During his career, he recorded with Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, among others, and with Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd and Tal Farlow, he created a supergroup called the Great Guitars. 

On his own, he released dozens of albums, including the classics Ellis in Wonderland (1956) and Two for the Road (with Joe Pass, 1974). Ellis passed away in 2010.  

31. Junior Brown

Although he was born in Arizona and raised in Indiana, Jamieson “Junior” Brown is considered a true Texan to his legion of fans in the Lone Star State, particularly among the citizens of Austin, where the guitarist relocated in the early ‘90s. 

A musician since childhood, Brown became a hot commodity among the country circuit during the ‘60s and ‘70s, thanks to his virtuoso skills on guitar and lap steel. After performing with groups such as the Last Mile Ramblers, Asleep at the Wheel, and Rank and File, Brown started performing with his own outfit. 

At the same time, he created (with help from luthier Michael Brown) the “guit-steel”, a double neck instrument that combined an electric guitar and a lap steel, allowing him to switch effortlessly between the two during the same song. As a solo artist, Brown has released over a dozen albums, including his classic 1996 Western swing set, Semi-Crazy. 

His most recent album was 2021’s His & Hers, recorded with his longtime musical partner and wife, “the lovely Tanya Rae”.

32. Ty Tabor

King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor is another honorary Texan. Born in Pearl, Mississippi, he moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he met bassist-singer Doug Pinnick and drummer Jerry Gaskill. 

After a series of name changes, the trio settled on King’s X and relocated to Houston to be closer to their manager (and eventual producer), Sam Taylor. 

Tabor’s diverse influences – everyone from the Beatles to Allan Holdsworth, with heaping helpings of bluegrass as well – contributed to his unique approach to songwriting, but it’s in the area of tone where he’s a true trailblazer. 

One of the first guitarists to use the drop D tuning on record, he’s been referred to by fellow players as one of the pioneers of grunge – despite the fact that King’s X music has traditionally been labeled progressive rock. 

Tabor has recorded 13 albums with King’s X (including 1989’s groundbreaking classic Gretchen Goes to Nebraska), and he’s been a member of popular rock-fusion supergroups such as Platypus and the Jelly Jam. In addition, he’s released 15 solo albums – his latest, Shades, was issued this year.