After Pat Smear suffered a “bizarre gardening injury” in January 2026, the Foo Fighters needed a capable replacement for their three-guitar brand of sonic chaos. Luckily, Jason Falkner – St. Vincent and Beck guitarist, and long-time pal of Dave Grohl – was up for the challenge.

“I’m a fan of the band,” Falkner tells Guitar World. “I wasn’t familiar with their entire catalog, but what I’d heard I loved. I got the first two records when they first came out. I was definitely curious to size up another one-man band guy!”

His curiosity paid off as he learned 23 songs at lighting speed, leading to his Foo Fighters debut 10 days after Grohl asked him to fill in. “Needless to say, that was a bit hectic,” Falkner says.

But it didn’t take him long to find his feet – and then the shows became a blast. “Dave’s amazing,” he says. “The atmosphere he creates is super-fun, as you can imagine. It’s just the right amount of energetic looseness, but the arrangements are tight. A perfect juxtaposition!”

He played his final show with the Foos in Manchester, UK, in February, with Smear ready when the band returned to action for new album Your Favorite Toy. But if Falkner is needed again, he says, “they all know I’m down.”

How were you asked to fill in for Pat Smear?

I was getting ready to rage per usual on New Year’s Eve, when Dave called and told me about Pat's injury. He asked if I’d be interested in filling in and obviously, I said yes. Then he told me I had four days to learn 23 songs at home before we started five days of rehearsals on January 5, with the first show in Mexico on January 10.

Why do you think Dave called you?

Well, I’ve known him for quite a while. I’d like to think he and Pat knew I’d rock out in this situation. And Dave had called me in 2018 for a single show at Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam, where we played Dave’s opus Play. I think he knew I’d fit in quickly.

I was truly chuffed when he said that he and Pat had thought of me basically at the same time. I’m a Pat fan going back to the Germs, so it’s all just really cool.

What did you find interesting about Pat’s playing?

His guitar playing rules – it’s direct and heavy and I don’t want much more than that! He’s famously a Hagstrom guy, and I have quite a few ‘60s Hags, as well as a collection of oddballs, so we clearly share an interest in the obscure.

I spent four days at home learning the records, trying to get comfortable enough that I could leave space or not, depending on what Dave and Chris were doing live.

The one mistake I made was not listening to the live versions earlier – they can be quite different from the record's arrangement. I learned that the hard way at full band rehearsals!

Were you able to make the parts your own, or did you play them straight as Pat does?

Pat was incredibly sweet. We talked a lot, and he texted info and tech support when I had a question. I feel like I started from the angle of trying to do what Pat does; but once I got comfortable I stretched out a bit.

Was it tough to integrate with Chris and Dave, seeing as those fellas have long-term chemistry?

Not really – Dave or Chris would tell me when Pat lays out or when he steps out in front musically. It was a lot to learn in a short time, but the communication made it easy. I didn’t just have to know it all from minute one.

What was the key to finding your own chemistry with Dave and Chris?

Whenever I’m asked to be a part of something, I’m very aware that there’s a significant chemistry that has existed long before my involvement. Being sensitive to that is important. But in this case I felt pretty comfortable, since I knew the guys to varying degrees already.

Did you have to alter your rig from your usual gear and approach?

Luckily most of the set is pretty maxed out sonically, so I used the same ’board I use with everything. I’ve got several gnarly distortion pedals on that, so I used my judgment as far as what to engage song by song – it wasn’t always the same.

These were stadium gigs. Was that nerve-racking?

Well, my first show was 10 days after Dave called me, so that was pretty nerve-racking! The first show was in Mexico, and even though I was out-of-body pretty much the whole time, it went very well. I had done a lot of work at home, learning everything, so all that paid off.

What did playing with the Foo Fighters teach you?

It reminded me that I enjoy nipping on Jägermeister on stage! We parted with sweet sorrow – the last show in Manchester was a bit emo, knowing it was my last. I certainly hope I work with them again.

With their newly released 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy, Foo Fighters are returning to the raw sound of their early material, and Dave Grohl has once again relied on his “lucky guitar” to bring it to life.

Grohl’s riff-writing totem is the guitar that gave his namesake Gibson DG-335 signature model many of its cues: a 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez he bought in his Nirvana days.

“I have a lucky guitar, and it was the first Gibson Trini Lopez that I ever purchased,” he tells the Tape Notes podcast. “I bought it at a guitar shop in Bethesda, Maryland called Southworth Guitars. It was like a museum; you'd walk in, and you'd see all of these beautiful classic guitars.

“I was still in Nirvana, and I just wanted a hollowbody to put in my lap and sit on the couch and just mess around,” he continues.

“I'm looking at this row of old Gibson ES-335s, and they're all beautiful,” he says of that fateful guitar store visit. “And there's this one that had this funny headstock, and it looked the body shape and design was the same, except it had these diamond F-holes and a different headstock. I was like, ‘Oh, that's kind of cool,’ so I bought it and brought it home and just played it on the couch.”

History dictates, of course, that he did more than “mess around” with the guitar in the comfort of his living room. It became the cornerstone of the Foo Fighters’ sound and has been used on every Foos record to date. It’s a left-field workhorse he wouldn’t dare be without.

“We've never made a record without that guitar. It's almost like a superstition to me: we couldn't have made this record without that guitar, because I don't want to make a record without that guitar.”

Grohl hails its percussive, dynamic nature as key to his songwriting and playing style – which makes sense, given his role as drummer in Nirvana.

“It's very dynamic. The harder you play it, the harder it sounds, the more gentle you play it, the more gentle it sounds. It's it's reactive to touch, more so than a lot of other guitars that I have.

“It also has this exposed bridge thing that can act as almost like a snare. It becomes this additional percussive element to whatever riff you're playing, and it has a chime to it.”

Once described by Gibson as “probably the most exciting young star in the music business”, Trini Lopez was one of several hotshot jazz players to collaborate with the firm to produce signature archtops in the early to mid ’60s. Lopez’s model arrived in ‘64.

Its diamond-shaped sound holes were a key aesthetic distinguisher, as was its more Fender-esque headstock – two features that drew Grohl to the guitar in Southwork's museum. Only 300 Deluxe models and 2,000 Standard models are believed to have been made.

Grohl has recently reflected on the impact Kurt Cobain's passing had on him as a musician, and how his stepping away from the drum kit towards his Trini Lopez guitar marked a vital new chapter in his life and career.

With Foo Fighters fresh from the release of their 12th studio album, Your Favourite Toy, Dave Grohl is looking back on his decades-long career.

Specifically, he’s reflecting on his roots with Nirvana – and how the pain that came with Kurt Cobain’s death, plus the band’s end, led to a whole new guitar-driven chapter he didn’t necessarily expect.

“There was a time once, when Nirvana ended, where I'm like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do music anymore… that hurts,’ and I'm like, ‘No, what am I talking about?’ That's the thing that always saved my life,’” he says in a new interview with the Broken Record Podcast. “I have to do it.”

Grohl also touched on his transition to Foo Fighters and being the sole songwriter in his then-fledgling post-Nirvana project.

“Time went by where I was just like, ‘God, what do I do? If I sit behind the drums, it makes me sad. If I listen music, it makes me sad,’” he says. “Then I wrote songs – [like] when I was a kid with those stupid journals. I wrote my way through it.”

Adamant on not becoming just another drummer-for-hire, Grohl re-acquainted himself with the guitar – the instrument he had started out with and served as his companion since age 10.

“When Nirvana was on tour, I'd bring a guitar with me," he told Guitar World in a 1997 interview, “so in hotel rooms, late at night, I'd have something to do. I love playing the drums, but you can't really sit down at home with a snack and play the drums.

“So I've never been without a guitar. Eventually, I was living with a person who had an 8-track in the basement. And these songs just started coming out.”

In more recent news, Grohl revealed why he never expected Pat Smear – who, back then, was Nirvana’s touring guitarist – to accept his invitation to join the band he was going to call the Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl wanted to get back making music after the tragic end of Nirvana. He had ideas and had written some songs and put them onto tape. But he needed a guitarist. The big question was, who was he going to get in the band?

Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Grohl describes his headspace in the months following Kurt Cobain’s death.

The manner of Nirvana’s ending sent Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic into survival mode.

“I think that we all wound up in places that felt... I don’t want to say comfortable, but safe,” recalls Grohl. “And so when I went into the studio and recorded that stuff by myself, I felt safe there. And I can’t speak for Krist, but I think at that time it was like we were just trying to get our feet back on the ground. For me, that’s something that I thought, 'Okay, well, music is the thing that’s going to rescue me.'”

The Foo Fighters frontman believes Novoselic found his feet by taking a step back from music and regrouping. And Grohl didn’t push him. “We didn’t really ever have that deeper, longer conversation,” he says.

If getting a band back together was part of the process for putting his heart back together, Grohl would have to start recruiting. Everyone knew him as the drummer from Nirvana. The last full-length album he released was In Utero and that was Seattle trio at their most confrontational.

The songs Grohl was putting together, none of them sounded like Scentless Apprentice. These were, well, poppy. And he’d have asked Nirvana live guitarist Pat Smear if he wanted to play in this band he was going to call the Foo Fighters, but no way would he say yes.

“The funniest thing is like, I didn't think Pat would be our guitar player. I just sent him a tape. I sent him one of the early cassettes,” says Grohl, expecting… Well, Pat Smear is a punk at heart. Grohl expected a polite thanks but no thanks. Smear was duly shocked. But his reaction was altogether more positive than Grohl could have hoped for.

“He was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so poppy.’ And I’m like, ‘Is it? Okay, is that a good thing?’ And to Pat, that is a great thing,” says Grohl. “I was like, and I had already started jamming with Nate [Mendel, bass guitar] and William [Goldsmith, drums] and I was like, ‘Hey if you want to play guitar… I didn’t expect that he would, you know. And then he decided that he would jam with us. And it was great.”

The rest is history. The Foo Fighters returned with their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy, which is out now via RCA, their first to feature new drummer Ilan Rubin. Following the death of Taylor Hawkins in 2022, Grohl recorded all the drum parts for 2023’s But Here We Are.

In conversation with Lowe, Grohl reflects on what it’s like to have a back catalog that he felt was almost out of bounds, songs that he was scared to revisit – for any number of reasons but especially the obvious one, that playing something of, say, Nevermind was going to be too painful.

But he says there is nothing quite like those occasions when he, Novoselic and Smear have got together to perform Nirvana tracks.

“It’s such a weird thing to feel afraid to play songs. And for a long time it's like I was even afraid just to sit down at a drum set and play the opening riff to Smells Like Teen Spirit,” he says “It just seemed sort of forbidden. And so the few times that Krist and Pat and I have gotten together to do it, it’s a trip… the noise that the three of us make together, you don’t really get that noise anywhere else.

“The way that Krist strums his bass lines, the bass that he uses, the equipment he uses, his sense of feel and time, it’s like all of those things combined with Pat like with that crazy Germs/Pat Smear guitar thing. And then some loud-ass drums, when it happens, you're just like, oh fuck, I remember this. Shit, I haven’t heard this in 35 years. It’s a really beautiful sound and a beautiful feeling.”

You can watch/listen to the full Dave Grohl interview on The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music.

Jason Falkner might not be a household name, but he's played with some of the best. Alongside being Beck's touring guitarist for years, he's recorded with Paul McCartney, Cheap Trick, and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and has also toured with St Vincent.

Recently, he added another name to the list, having been drafted into the Foo Fighters as emergency cover for Pat Smear.

Smear was sidelined from the Foo's latest run of shows after a “bizarre gardening accident” left him with a broken leg earlier this year. Grohl and co turned to Falkner for help.

“I was getting ready to rage per usual on New Year’s Eve when Dave called me and told me about Pat's injury,” he tells Guitar World in a new interview. He was more than willing to step in.

“And then, he told me how soon everything was kicking off. I had four days to learn 23 songs at home before we started five days of rehearsals on the 5th of January, with the first show in Mexico on the 10th!”

That first show, at Velaria de la Feria, León, Mexico, went off without a hitch, as Grohl’s faith in Falkner paid off. But what made him the man to dep for Smear?

“Well, I’ve known Dave for quite a while,” Falkner says. “I’d like to think he and Pat knew I’d rock out in this situation. Dave called me back in 2018 for a single show at Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam, where we played Dave’s opus, Play.

“So, I think he knew I would fit in quickly, but I was truly chuffed when Dave told me he and Pat thought of me for this basically at the same time.

“I’m a Pat fan going back to the Germs,” he adds. “Pat's guitar playing is direct and heavy. I don’t want much more than that!”

Between agreeing to the gig and that first rehearsal, Falkner listened to a lot of Foo Fighters as he got the songs under his fingers. But there was one small issue.

“The one mistake I made was not listening to the live versions earlier because they can be quite different from the record's arrangement,” he details. “I learned that the hard way at full band rehearsals!”

Meanwhile, Rush has credited Foo Fighters for kickstarting their reunion, while GW scribe Daryl Robertson has gone to painstaking lengths to deliver the ultimate Dave Grohl gear guide.

Falkner’s full interview will be published online in the coming weeks.

The Canadian math-rock wizards Angine de Poitrine have gone viral over the past couple of weeks – thanks to their unique brand of angular and microtonal rock, wrapped up in a mysterious facade of papier-mâché masks and polka-dotted costumes – that captivated viewers who tuned in to their already-iconic KEXP session.

Among their many new fans is Dave Grohl, who, in a recent interview with Logan Kelly on Logan Sounds Off, raves, “I just have to try to say this correctly because it was sent to me yesterday by a friend, and it absolutely blew my fucking mind.

“It’s called Angine de Poitrine… And I don’t know how to explain it other than you just have to watch these people. And it’s all instrumental.”

Grohl goes on to gush over the duo's setup. “That person has a double neck that’s a bass guitar on the bottom and a guitar on the top,” he notes. “And you’ll see the bank of pedals that they’re stepping on. And they’re looping every one of these riffs. It’s so completely insane.”

Like so many others, the sheer novelty of the project – from its oddball outfits and expansive gear setup, to its unorthodox approach to microtonal music – has captivated Grohl.

Speaking to Noize recently, drummer Klek de Poitrine – a stage name, of course – gave more insight into the Frankensteinian creature that captivated millions.

“I built the first microtonal guitar we used myself,” he said. “I added more frets on a guitar with a saw. The moment we started playing it, we just laughed. But since I’m not a guitarist, I wasn’t using the instrument’s full potential.

“I brought it to Khn [the guitarist/bassist], and I told him, ‘You have to try this, it makes absolutely no sense.’ The moment we started playing with it, we just laughed because of the friction created and the proximity of the notes.”

Angine de Poitrine have just released their new album, Vol. II, and announced a series of upcoming North American live dates, including debut performances in a number of US cities.

This is a call to all Foos fans! With the Foo Fighters back in the headlines, fresh off the drop of their raucous new single Your Favorite Toy, teasing a soon-to-land album, and currently tearing up the UK with a string of secret, sweat-soaked club shows, we thought it was the perfect time to dive deep into the stompboxes that power Grohl’s massive sound.

Now, Dave Grohl is the king of making a simple setup sound stadium-sized. He might not be the world’s flashiest pedal-tweaker, but he does regularly rely on a few stomps to achieve his signature tone. From the fuzzed-out, face-melting distortion of the ProCo Rat to the subtle modulation of the famed Phase 90 and the spacey delay of the DM-2, Grohl’s arsenal is all about simple, affordable, and reliable pedals.

In this Guitar World collection, I’ve hand-picked the secret weapons on Grohl’s pedalboard, from classic dirt pedals to the wildcards that sneak in for special songs like the talkbox used on Generator. Armed with these stomps, you’ll be able to easily recreate those legendary anthemic tones from just about every era of the Foo Fighters' massive 30-year career. So, this one’s for all the cows, get ready to breakout and play everlong with your new favorite toy.

Watch the Foo Fighters perform the new single Your Favorite Toy live below

John Mayer, Dave Grohl, and Ed Sheeran formed a perhaps unlikely triumvirate when they collaborated on the song Drive, featured in Brad Pitt's racing movie, F1.

Now, Mayer and Sheeran – together with all-star producer Blake Slatkin – are taking fans (and songwriting aficionados) behind the scenes on how the collaboration came about – and what exactly went down in the studio.

“I was called by my friends at Atlantic Records who were working on the soundtrack, and they had me come in and see the movie,” relates Slatkin in an interview with Variety.

“And I watched it, and got the feeling of watching the movie, which is just insane adrenaline, and like, ‘Holy shit. This is gonna be the biggest thing in the world, and people are gonna love this.’

“I literally walked out of the screening room and called Ed and John at the same time, and was like, ‘We have to make a song for this.’ Obviously, some of the greatest musicians in the entire world would be my first call. And luckily, they were down, and we all got into John's room at Henson [Studios] and started it.”

As Mayer details, as soon as they got together, there was no, “‘Well, let me just kick this around.” Instead, they all got straight down to business.

“Ed said, ‘What about this?’ And he kind of hummed the semblance of a guitar riff. He just starts writing. The distance between not having a song and having a song for Ed is a millimeter,” he quips.

“This is within 10 minutes of the session starting – Ed saying to John, ‘Give me a rock riff,’ kind of humming something,” exclaims Slatkin, to which Sheeran adds, “John’s got this toolkit of unwritten rock riffs, really. I wouldn't say that you’re, like, out and out, AC/DC rock – the music that you make – [but] you could easily do it.”

And for the keen-eared guitar geeks, there’s a spattering of blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em Easter eggs that Mayer reveals, including “this harmonic kind of whistling thing, and it's rhythmic – you can't tell what it is. It’s the speakers of Ed's first take of the vocals coming through that guitar part [through the pickups].”

There’s also “big dive bomb [in the bridge]. You know, the guitar's got the – whether people call it the whammy bar or the sort of Eddie Van Halen style whistle.”

As for the other star collaborator (or should I say collaborators?), the track also features Dave Grohl back on drums – as well as session maestro Pino Palladino on bass.

“When we thought who should drum on this song, the first name was Dave Grohl,” explains Slatkin matter-of-factly.

“I texted him,” Mayer pipes in. “These things are too intriguing to say no to if you’re in town. Same way it got passed to me initially. ‘Hey, do you want to write a song for F1 – the big summer movie coming with Brad Pitt?’ I think everyone kind of knew this movie was coming. I'm pretty discerning. I like staying at home. I like doing minimal stuff. And that's one of those things you go, ‘Yeah.’”

“Honestly, since the day I've met both of these guys, anytime I would get a call from them, I'm there,” Sheeran concludes.

“Anytime that I’ve worked with John, he can take an eight out of 10 and make it 10, instantly. But he is, honestly, one of the greatest musicians of all time... I’m sort of sat in the middle of this, just kind of grinning. It’s been great. It’s been a really fun process.”

And, speaking of notable collaborations, following last year’s breakout performance at Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning, Yungblud continued his winning streak by teaming up with both Aerosmith and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Foo Fighters have kicked off 2026 with a new guitarist, playing their first show with stand-in Jason Falkner, in León, Mexico.

Former Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear, who has been a key figure in Dave Grohl’s band since their formation in 1994, is currently out of action after a “bizarre gardening accident.”

That’s seen Falkner, a respected session musician and touring guitarist for Beck and St. Vincent, sworn in ahead of their appearance at the open-air show Velaria de la Feria.

The scale of the gig, though, looked like water off a duck's back for the guitarist, who rose to prominence with Jellyfish in the late ’80s and early ’90s. From barnstorming opener All My Life, to My Hero – which Grohl dedicated to his injured compatriot – he locked in with Grohl and Chris Shiflett with ease.

It looks like he opted for a Hamer The Special Jr. for the show, despite his association with Fender Jazzmasters. Dave Grohl was, unsurprisingly, sporting the new white version of his celebrated Epiphone ES-335 signature.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but our guitar player, Pat Smear, broke his fucking leg,” Grohl said (via Loudwire) before playing the latter. “Been there, done that.”

In June 2015, the band was forced to cancel shows after Grohl broke his leg. Soon after, he returned to the stage on a specially-designed throne, à la Axl Rose with AC/DC and Ozzy at Back to the Beginning. So he can empathize with the bed-bound Smear.

“Tonight, we couldn’t have Pat here, so we called our dear friend Jason Falkner to play for you,” Grohl then adds as Falkner blows kisses to the crowd. “I’ve known Jason for decades. [He’s an] amazing player. He’s played with everybody, so he really saved us and rescued us tonight.”

Falkner’s temporary stay in the band comes after drummer Josh Freese – and successor to the late Taylor Hawkins – confirmed his departure from the Foo Fighters last year.

Hello, and welcome to Guitar World’s gear round-up, your one-stop-shop for keeping up to date with what’s been happening in the big wide world of guitar gear over the past seven days.

From new electric guitars to amp modeler updates, the guitar industry is never short of fresh releases, and it can sometimes be hard to stay abreast of every new launch that may be of interest to you.

To make things a little easier, we’ve put together an essential must-read guide that will cover the major releases, the boutique drops, and everything in between.

It's been a quiet one this week (the frenzy of the past few weeks was always going to be unsustainable) but that doesn't mean there hasn't been plenty of big hitters. The Dave Grohl DG-335 is back. So is John Petrucci's JP15 baritone guitar. Mark Lettieri's PRS Fiore just got an upgrade. We won't spoil it all for you...

Gibson Dave Grohl DG-335 Alpine White

Fan of Dave Grohl’s DG-335? Of course you are. Who ain’t? After all, the DG-335 isn’t just one of Gibson’s most popular signature guitars – it’s one of the company’s most popular electric guitars full stop. In the past, it’s been given a few limited-edition reissues in finishes such as Ebony, Gold Metallica and – perhaps its most famous – Pelham Blue.

Never, though, has it been released in white – a colorway that Grohl himself has been largely favoring for his own DG-335 models on stage since 2021. Well, after quite literally years of player requests, Gibson has finally obliged with a Alpine White variant.

It’s a DG-335 so, naturally, it’s a super-limited drop. Only 50 will be made. We get that it’s an $12k Custom model, but we wouldn’t have minded a USA Standard Alpine White version. These will sell out fast. We don’t want to think what they’ll go for on the second hand market.

Whatever the case, these are really, really classy guitars. We’re just happy to see a white version out in the wild. And who’s to say a USA Standard version might not arrive at some point in the future…

For more: Gibson

PRS Fiore HH

Now, this one is a bit of me. Mark Lettieri’s PRS Fiore is one of my favorite modern-day guitars, period. The HSS configuration. The finishes. The tones. The switching. The styling. The feel. It’s all gorgeous, not to mention it’s the signature guitar of one of my all-time favorite players. Now, it’s been released with a dual-humbucker setup and a rosewood fingerboard. Take all my money right now.

HH guitars may not be often associated with Lettieri, but he’d be the first to admit such guitars play a huge part in his tone in the studio. And this isn’t just any HH guitar. You get series/parallel switches, too, meaning there are plenty of options to get lost in. Just watch the demo. Comfortably the highlight of the week for me.

For more: PRS

Gretsch Abbey Road RS201 Studiomatic

What happens when one of the world’s most prestigious recording studios crosses paths with one of America’s most influential legacy guitar makers? Well, you’d probably get something that looks like the Gretsch Abbey Road RS201 Studiomatic – a purpose-built hollowbody that puts Abbey Road’s innovative studio tech in a guitar’s signal path for the first time.

Specifically, it features its own ‘Rumble Filter’. The original was developed in the 1950s by Abbey Road engineers to remove low-frequency noise. Now, a similar circuit has been developed and put in the RS201 – which, it should be said, is the first musical instrument to ever be given a ‘Recording Studio’ number. Very classy indeed.

For more: Gretsch

Epiphone Mike Dirnt Grabber G-3

When Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe Armstrong’s old bass player left band practice to go to a dentist appointment, he probably had no idea the chain of events he’d set in motion. It reads like the ultimate butterfly effect: bassist leaves practice, Dirnt picks up his four-string, realizes it’s actually pretty fun, forms Green Day, becomes one the most influential punk bass players of his generation, gets a signature Epiphone Grabber G-3.

It’s fairytale stuff, but for Dirnt, it’s very much real. This week he was honored with an Epiphone signature bass inspired by his OG Grabber – a cult classic oddball model from the 1970s, which was actually reissued last year. And it all started when his mate went to the dentist. Crazy, eh?

For more: Epiphone

Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci JP 15 Baritone

John Petrucci’s Majesty is up there as one of the firm’s best-selling guitars. The baritone spin-off – not seen for around a decade – is also immensely popular and sought-after, but because of its scarcity, it’s rarely been seen.

That’s not to say there isn’t demand for it, though. Players have been ramping up their cries for a JP baritone reissue ever since Petrucci took one out on the road for Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary world tour. At last, it’s out in the wild.

“This unique model has been a long time coming” Petrucci said. “Been playing this beast live on stage on DT’s 40th Anniversary/Parasomnia world tour and it absolutely rages with pure aggression and delivers the goods with tremendous clarity and precision, despite the super low baritone tuning.”

Unfortunately, it’s limited to just 100 examples worldwide. Hopefully a standard run version arrives in the not-too-distant future…

For more: Ernie Ball Music Man

Line 6 Helix Stadium XL Floor

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but finally the Line 6 Helix Stadium Floor XL has been released. Months after the next-gen modeler was announced, weeks after it made its public debut at Guitar Summit, days after a string of hands-on demos were launched, and the $2k+ multi-effects amp modeler is officially here.

It’s been worth the wait, though. I took some time at Guitar Summit getting familiar with it, and was pretty impressed. Of course, I wouldn’t mind a closer deep diver, but the early signs were promising.

Now we just need the slightly smaller Helix Stadium to come out, too…

For more: Line 6

Gibson has relaunched its mega-popular DG-335 Dave Grohl signature guitar – but it’s been given an elusive cosmetic overhaul.

The DG-335 probably doesn’t need much introduction in the digital pages of Guitar World. By now, its popularity is borderline the stuff of legend. A Pelham Blue Beauty that takes cues from the Trini Lopez model, it is, quite simply, one of Gibson’s most in-demand electric guitars ever, let alone one its most in-demand signature guitars.

Only ever the recipient of limited-edition reissues, the Gibson DG-335 commands some eye-watering prices on the second-hand market. At the time of writing, one is listed on Reverb for $20,000.

Indeed, fans can’t seem to get enough of the DG-335, and to (temporarily) quench the insatiable demand for yet more models, Gibson Custom has given it a reissue.

However, instead of bringing it back in Pelham Blue, Gibson instead has treated it to an elusive Alpine White colorway that has been heavily favored by Grohl for his own DG-335s on stages since 2021.

In fact, it’s the first time this finish has been made available to fans. It may be the finish that many most closely associate with Grohl, given his penchant for using it on stage, but the DG-335 has only ever been launched in Pelham Blue, Ebony, and Metallic Gold.

There’s a catch, though. Only 50 have been made. Oh, and each one has been signed by Grohl. So, if you miss out on this ultra-exclusive run – available from Gibson.com or Gibson Garage locations only – expect to see them going for well over the asking price in the not-too-distant future.

Alpine White finish aside, it follows the source material. There’s a three-ply maple/poplar/maple body, diamond-shaped f-holes, a solid maple center block, and single-ply cream binding. It also has a mahogany neck, carved to the Trini Lopez profile, a bound Indian rosewood fingerboard with split diamond inlays, and 22 medium jumbo frets.

A Firebird/Trini Lopez headstock, Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, a TonePros ABR-1 bridge with nylon saddles, and unpotted Custombuckers complete the build. It is, as always, a delightful combination of the Lopez and ES-335 models.

“With past DG-335 editions selling out rapidly and commanding premium prices on the vintage market, this limited run of just 50 guitars – each signed by Dave Grohl – is expected to disappear just as quickly, offering fans and collectors a rare chance to own a piece of rock history before it’s gone,” Gibson notes.

Now, if Gibson could now just launch an Alpine White Epiphone DG-335, that’d be grand. If we were being bold, we wouldn’t rule it out.

After all, Epiphone answered players' prayers last March when it launched its own DG-335, which took inspiration from the original. It was a hugely high-profile release. When news of the Epi DG-335 first broke, it was reported that it was the brand’s most demanded signature in its 151-year history.

We won’t hold our breath, though. In the meantime, the Alpine White Gibson DG-335 is available for $11,999.

Head over to Gibson for more.

In related Gibson news, the company recently announced plans to open its third physical retail store in Miami.

• The Epiphone DG-335 is currently $300 at Sweetwater for Black Friday. Visit our guide to the best Black Friday guitar deals to browse more unmissable gear savings.

Before Nick Raskulinecz became the go-to producer and engineer for bands like Rush, Alice in Chains, Ghost, Deftones, Evanescence, Halestorm, and Mastodon, it was an encounter with Dave Grohl that opened up the opportunity for him to produce the Foo Fighters' 2002 album, One by One – followed by 2005’s hugely successful In Your Honor – which subsequently led to work with a huge roster of A-list bands.

“I had recorded the Foo Fighters at Sound City [Studios, the LA studio which has seen the likes of The Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac, and Bob Dylan record there],” he tells Rick Beato. “I was an assistant on a session they had done. I was an assistant a couple of times because Dave really loved Sound City, because he recorded there with Nirvana.

“We just kind of became friends. [We come from] very similar backgrounds. He grew up in Virginia, I grew up in Tennessee. We had a lot of the same common interests. So a little budding friendship started along with the recording thing.”

He continues, “I wouldn't see him again for a while, and then he'd come in and record, and we'd have a blast, and then, totally randomly, I ran into him one day, and he was looking to make a record at his house in Virginia, in the basement.

“He had built a basement studio, and coincidentally, I had just finished assistant engineering a record in a house. And I was just like, ‘I'm down.’ He was like, ‘I can't find anybody that wants to come to Virginia to make a record in my basement,’ because he was talking to all the big producer guys, and none of them wanted to do it.

“He was willing to take a chance. Making that record changed everything for me.”

As for Grohl's guitar playing, Raskulinecz agrees with Beato in his conviction that he's “such a tight guitar player.” The producer even asserts that, “I had no idea how good of a guitar player he was when we started recording. I was just blown away at how good of a guitar player he was.

“Most of the guitar is him on the records, and then Chris Shiflett comes in and kind of adds his bits and solos and stuff. But all the core foundation of that stuff is Dave.”

Dave Grohl’s very own Gibson DG-335 signature guitar prototype has surfaced – and it has been listed on Reverb for $300,000.

Listed by Skylight Guitars out of Bakersfield, California, as a consignment for its current owner (one of Grohl's old guitar techs) this is the first prototype that was made for the Foo Fighters' bandleader.

It was built in Gibson's Custom Shop in Nashville and featured heavily on stage and in the studio between 2005 and 2007.

“This Prototype was played on Echoes, Silence, Patience, Grace as well as toured from 2005 until the first production guitars were delivered in 2007,” says Grohl’s then guitar tech. The instrument subsequently retired, but notably also featured at Live Earth at Wembley Stadium in July 2007.

The semi-hollow electric guitar is in “near-perfect shape” and features a maple body with a Pelham Blue finish, a set mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, and twin humbuckers. Letting go of the axe hasn't been an easy decision for its owner.

“The selling of this guitar is an emotional endeavor, as it was given to me by the best boss and one of the most wonderful human beings I have ever known,” they say. “This is the most valuable thing I own in terms of emotional attachment.

“This is the original, hand-made at the Nashville Gibson Custom Shop, prototype DG 335. It is inspired by Dave's favorite guitar: the Trini Lopez '67’s signature ES-335.

“My part in the manifestation of this guitar is partly in the design, neck shape, pickups, and choosing a more road-worthy tailpiece than the original Trini's trapeze, even at Dave's protestations,” they continue. “I started this project in 2001 after Dave expressed an interest in his own signature guitar.

“It wasn't until 2005 that we finally got this prototype for him to play and approve for the first limited production run of 300 guitars. [It was] a very slow process that nearly dissolved several times.”

For whoever is willing to part with $300K for this one-of-a-kind guitar, it comes with a fitted Anvil hard case. Its current owner says the case is “pretty much bulletproof” and, just to sweeten the deal, he “will also include the disgusting, dried sweat-soaked guitar strap that was used from 2005 to 2007.”

Head to Reverb for more.

​​Keen-eyed Ed Sheeran fans may have noticed the mega star sporting a brand new electric guitar in the music video he just premiered today for Drive, the song that forms part of the soundtrack of the highly-anticipated F1: The Movie.

Turns out, PRS has teamed up with Sheeran for a one-off model that captures the spirit of the song and, well, F1's high-powered sports cars.

“I wanted to create a bespoke guitar with PRS for the F1 movie. I wanted it to be striking, bright, and a baritone so I can use it on tour for the song. It’s a fantastic guitar, I’ve done a few shows with it now and it knocks,” comments Sheeran.

The racing-themed guitar is a fully bespoke SE Hollowbody Baritone with a custom classic red paint job. The fretboard is as unique as the rest of the guitar – with an inlay featuring a vintage racer shift gate at the 12th fret and additional yellow bird inlays completing the eye-catching design.

“This has been an exciting project to work on with Ed,” details PRS Guitars Director of Artist and Community Relations, Bev Fowler. “From his years of playing our electrics, he knew exactly what he wanted in terms of look, sound, and feel. This unique creation will be incredibly memorable once the video is released.”

PRS has been Sheeran's go-to brand for his electrics since 2018 – with his arsenal including a stock Custom 22, a Hollowbody II in a Prism Dragon’s Breath finish with Bing cherries on the fretboard, and a one-off purple Silver Sky gifted to him by John Mayer.

Meanwhile, the global star is inextricably linked to the Martin LX1E when it comes to acoustics – despite venturing into the acoustic guitar space with his own guitar brand, Sheeran by Lowden, in collaboration with esteemed luthier George Lowden, back in 2019.

Sheeran isn't the only star behind Drive, however. Last month, he revealed the song also features Mayer on guitars, with Dave Grohl on drums rounding out the triumvirate.

Josh Freese has taken to Instagram to confirm his departure from the Foo Fighters, just two years after he was selected as the permanent successor to the late Taylor Hawkins.

He joined Dave Grohl and co. with a hefty resume that boasted stints with Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, and Devo, and his appointment was announced with a little help from Chad Smith, Tommy Lee, and Danny Carey. Now, though, Freese's time with the rock heavyweights has come to a somewhat unexpected end.

“The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’e decided to go in a different direction with their drummer. No reason was given,” he says in his post, not wanting to skirt around the facts. “Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band.”

His dismissal may feel like unfamiliar territory, as Freese goes on to reveal: “In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I've never been let go from a band.”

“I'm not angry – just a bit shocked and disappointed,” he expands. “But as most of you know I've always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I'm fine. Stay tuned for my ‘Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters’ list.”

A look at Freese's career shows that he's never been short of an opportunity, and never shy to take them up.

He's worked with Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa, A Perfect Circle, and Weezer, and recorded for Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, and Kelly Clarkson as a session artist. Though being axed from Dave Grohl's global force will be a shock to his system, he will likely be back in action again very soon.

Freese had joined the band after the release of their first post-Hawkins album, 2023's But Here We Are, on which Dave Grohl played drums. That means he never had the chance to record with the band, but did enjoy a world tour that saw him jam Hot For Teacher with Wolfgang Van Halen.

It did, conversely, also include “the saddest thing that's ever happened” in Dave Grohl's life, after his guitar stopped working in front of 50,000 people.

Freese’s last show was reportedly a humble affair last September. The band had played a private event at House Of Blues Anaheim for Anaheim Duck owners, Henry & Susan Samueli.

As for the Foo Fighters, it will be interesting to see what the change of direction Freese has alluded to will mean. Aside from playing with the Foos, Grohl has played a handful of Nirvana reunion shows recently, including one with a revolving cast of superlative female talents.

John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Dave Grohl have formed an unlikely power trio for a song that will be featured in Brad Pitt's forthcoming racing film, F1.

A clip of the track, due for release in cinemas on June 27, has been shared on Sheeran’s Instagram and confirms the surprising lineup of musicians, with Grohl behind the kit, and Sheeran and Mayer (presumably) sharing six-string duties.

Going off the tease, it represents something of a departure from Sheeran’s typical acoustic guitar sonic direction, with a thick, fizzing guitar riff – the safe bet is it's from Mayer's hands – giving it a suitable 'driving song' quality.

“Sneak peek of the song I did for the F1 movie,” Sheeran’s post reads. “Mayer on guitar, Grohl on drums. A lot of fun making this, coming out next month with the movie x.”

Grohl holds a sturdy beat down, and there are flashes of Sheeran’s chart-smashing melodic sensibilities with the vocals, despite the edge that Mayer’s riffwork provides.

It feels like they’ve gone for the kind of ‘top down, foot to the floor’ style of song that racing games have been full of over the years, and with EA Sports involved in the film, it’s easy to see why.

It isn’t, however, the first time the two guitarists have linked up. In 2023, Mayer joined Sheeran on stage for a more virtuosic version of Thinking Out Loud.

Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem are among the cast for the movie. Filming took place during several prolific racing events and at some of the world's most famous tracks, including Monza in Italy, Silverstone in the UK, and the Las Vegas Strip circuit. Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is also listed as one of the film’s producers.

Hans Zimmer has been revealed as the film's composer. An accompanying LP, F1 the Album, will be released at the same time. Drive features on it, alongside songs from Doja Cat, Chris Stapleton, and Dutch DJ Tiësto.

It adds to an already eventful year for both guitarists. After having a street performance shut down by the police, Sheeran then gave a loop pedal masterclass to Jimmy Fallon.

Sheeran’s solo catalog is expected to be injected with a serious dose of heavy soon, too, with his surprise collaboration with Cradle of Filth expected this calendar year.

Mayer, meanwhile, has just wrapped his second Dead & Company residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, a run of dates that came after breaking several fingers forced him to reapproach his playing. He’s also been spotted playing a digital amp modeler at Coachella – in this case, a Neural DSP Quad Cortex – and has hinted that Dead & Company might record new music together.

Saturday Night Live! celebrated its 50th anniversary last Friday (February 14) with a Homecoming Concert that saw Nirvana reunite for the second time in two weeks – but this time they drafted in another guest musician to front the band.

For the show, Pat Smear, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl linked up with underrated electric guitar player Post Malone, who helped the band through an infectious rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Introduced by actor/comedian Adam Sandler, the quartet put on one of the celebratory concert’s standout performances, which has drawn plaudits from artists and Nirvana fans alike.

For the show, Post Malone brought grit and angst to the vocals, and proved once again he is one of the guitar world’s most under-appreciated talents as he absolutely tore through the main progression.

He was also given the chance to flex his familiarity with the fretboard of his Gibson Les Paul, blasting through the lead hook as a Gibson CS-6-toting Smear duly took on rhythm duties.

Post Malone is certainly no stranger to Nirvana’s catalog – he previously performed a 15-song set of Nirvana classics during lockdown – nor is he out of touch with the wider guitar world.

After all, while many may be quick to point to his rap, hip-hop, and R&B background, the singer-guitarist has continually proven himself to be a criminally underrated player, one that’s wholly dedicated to his six-string craft.

Last summer, for example, he surprised Bonnaroo with a pyro-fueled guest spot alongside Billy Strings. Previously, he's nodded to his rock roots with covers of Alice in Chains’ Them Bones and Eric Johnson’s Cliffs of Dover in a guitar battle with Andrew Watt. Oh, and he’s apparently written a “phat jam” with Tom Morello.

“A special rendition,” writes broadcaster Peacock of the performance on Instagram, and many spectators are in agreement.

“How crazy would an actual tour be with this lineup,” writes one fan. “This is my dream lineup for a Nirvana reunion tour,” gushes another. “Sick!” offers Machine Head’s Robb Flynn.

As mentioned, it was the second time in two weeks that Nirvana reunited with the help of guest musicians to fill the role of the late Kurt Cobain. On January 30, the band teamed up with St. Vincent, Kim Gordon, Joan Jett and Violet Grohl for an unannounced FireAid performance concert.

Last night (January 30), a remarkable assembly of all-star musicians came together in LA for FireAid, a massive benefit concert that aimed to raise money for those affected by the devastating fires that tore through Los Angeles earlier this month.

The bill was stacked enough as it is, but one of the biggest performances of the night came from a band that wasn't even on it: Nirvana.

The three surviving members of the group – guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl – played four Nirvana classics, each with a different singer in the captain's chair.

The band started off with a ferocious take on Breed, featuring St. Vincent accessing her inner punk growl.

Naturally, the alt-rock A-lister also, with a sleek, black-finished version of her Ernie Ball Music Man signature guitar, highlighted the performance with a noisy, free-spirited solo that would almost certainly have made Kurt Cobain proud.

Wielding one of her favored Jazzmasters, Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon then took the reins for School, a scrappy highlight from the band's debut album, Bleach, using the offset's whammy bar for all it's worth.

After that it was Joan Jett's turn, for a break-neck version of the band's ultimate thrasher, Territorial Pissings, for which Jett used her sticker-adorned Gibson Melody Maker.

The mini-set was then rounded out by a powerful All Apologies with Grohl's daughter, Violet, on vocals, and Gordon returning to the stage to fill in for Novoselic – who picked up the accordion – on bass.

But for Lorde, it was the same group of frontwomen the surviving Nirvana trio played with at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction performance in 2014.

“We thought, ‘Wait, it has to be all women,’” Grohl told Rolling Stone of the lineup of singers that same year.

“‘Don’t even ask anyone else. If we can fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance with these incredible women singing Nirvana songs, then we’ll have achieved our own revolution.’ It also added a whole other dimension to the show. It added substance and depth, so it didn’t turn into a eulogy. It was more about the future.”

“Joan Jett, who formed the Runaways, changed rock & roll for women,” Grohl continued. “Kim Gordon, from Sonic Youth, was this beacon of light in the predominantly macho, male underground punk rock scene. St. Vincent is a wicked musician that’s pushing boundaries now.”

For Chris Shiflett, being asked to join the Foo Fighters was “a dream come true”. Then, a mere 24 hours later, he found himself going on an electric guitar shopping spree with Dave Grohl – financed by Grohl’s Amex – which compounded that dream into something beyond his wildest fantasies.

In 1999, Shiflett was busy plying his trade in the punk group No Use for a Name when he heard that the Foo Fighters were holding auditions for an extra guitarist.

Though Shiflett aced the audition, Grohl quickly realized that his new bandmate would need more than his sole Gibson Les Paul for the new gig.

“Talk about a dream come true,” Shiflett reflects in a three-way chat with Grohl and Pat Smear on Premier Guitar. “Day two of being in the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl says, ‘You’re gonna need more guitars, let’s get you some.’”

The band had just tracked their third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, and with its supporting tour fast approaching, there was no time to waste.

“So we drive over to Voltage on Sunset and the shops I have been going to since I was a little kid,” Shiflett continues.

For the uninitiated, Vintage is, in its own words, “Hollywood’s oldest, largest, and most established vintage guitar store”. This wasn’t going to be a humble spending spree – and it proved to be a poignant full-circle moment for the guitarist.

“Now I’m walking in there and I’ve got Dave Grohl with me, he’s got his Amex, and we’re going shopping. He’s going, ‘Get whatever you want,’ and I was so freaked out. I couldn’t even think straight, but luckily I got two guitars that are fucking amazing.”

Sadly, Shiflett doesn’t reveal exactly what he bought, but early footage of his Foo Fighters days suggests one may have been a Gibson Explorer in Classic White.

Such reminiscing got Shiflett wondering what that experience would have been like today. Grohl quickly quipped: “You’d be taking your own credit card!”

In the same interview, fellow Foo Fighter Pat Smear recalls how his debut show with Nirvana almost didn’t happen because of his guitar of choice.

In related Shiflett news, the guitarist has just released his long-awaited signature Fender Telecaster after a long process of rugged road-testing.

John Paul Jones has no need for further feathers in his cap. The bassist, keyboardist, and general rock ’n' roll badass anchored Led Zeppelin – arguably the most influential hard rock outfit in history – and has gone on to collaborate in too many cool projects to mention.

When he took the stage at London's O2 Arena in 2007 with Zeppelin bandmates Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (along with Jason Bonham, son of late, great Zep drummer John Bonham), Jones sealed his reputation as a top-notch performer with deep soul, crisp tone, and killer chops.

Jones could have easily rested on his laurels, retiring to the countryside with his countless acoustic instruments and giving his ears a well-deserved rest. Instead, he formed one of the most riveting new groups in contemporary rock, Them Crooked Vultures.

A collaboration between Jones, ex-Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, and Queens of the Stone Age principal Josh Homme, Them Crooked Vultures took the '70s-era riff rock of Jones's youth and blended it with punk-rock energy courtesy of drummer Grohl. For his part, Homme tapped the sludgy depths of his stoner rock past.

“The first time we got together we just jammed in a normal muso sort of way,” Jones told Bass Player. “New Fang was one of those early workings.

“Another idea Josh came up with, Dave and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Are you serious? What are you thinking?!’ He played this riff that he’d recorded in a hotel room on an electric guitar that wasn't even plugged in, but Josh was telling us, ‘No, it's going to be good,’ so we tried it and that turned into the track Reptiles. If you heard the first demo of that song you wouldn't believe it.”

Bass Player spoke to John Paul Jones back in March 2010 about what it's like playing with Dave Grohl, why you have to use a pick to play multi-string basses, and why he has no plans to write an autobiography.

How did you record with Them Crooked Vultures?

“We basically went into Josh's studio, sat in a room, and wrote and recorded at the same time. It was a very organic process where we'd groove in the studio, working on each other's ideas. There was a lot of laughing involved as well – it's amazing we got that much work done!”

Prior to these sessions, had you ever played with Dave Grohl?

“No, I hadn't. He's wonderful, and we get on really great together. He appreciates good grooves and good riffs. We listen to each other and we reinforce each other and we stretch each other, which is the best combination.”

Has your concept of tone changed much through the course of this project?

“I'm playing with a pick a lot more. You have to use a pick to play multi-string basses, or you don't get the full advantage of the double crosses.”

Do you find playing with a pick compromises your low-end?

“No, not really. It's just a different feel – a different attack. It's a much faster attack, and it gives you more of a rhythmic drive, especially on faster songs.”

What is that wild-looking guitar you play on No One Loves Me & Neither do I?

“That's an instrument Hugh Manson made that is based on the Melobar. It basically allows me to play lap steel while moving around onstage. I wanted one I could hang around my neck so I asked Hugh to make me one.”

Live, Alain Johannes is playing some of the bass, guitar and keyboard parts. How much did you work with him to get him up-to-speed?

“Not much at all – he's a good enough musician to have picked it up on his own.”

What basses are you playing?

“I've got my good ol' Manson 4-string, plus a 10-string and some 12-strings he's made for me. The 10-string is in octave courses, tuned EADGC, and the 12-string is BEADGC. Those go through an SWR SM-900 with 4x10 and 1x15 cabinets.

“I use an identical rig for my bass pedals, which are made by Roland. They span an octave-and-a-half-from C to G, and they're run through a Korg M3 synth, which provides the actual sound. I also play the M3 for piano and organ parts.”

With multiple basses, keyboards, slide guitar, and mandolin, you do a lot of changing instruments. Do you find that makes it difficult to get into a groove?

“No, I'm rather used to it. I used to do that in the Zeppelin days, as well. I quite like changing instruments.”

How much of the gig is set in stone, and how much is kept open-ended?

“The setlist mostly stays the same, but things really change a lot from show to show. A lot of it depends on the vibe of the night, but we'll often hit a different kind of groove to keep it interesting.”

The album has quite a few distorted bass sounds. What effects are you using?

“On the record, most of the distortion comes from running bass guitar through Josh's guitar amps. Live, I'm using an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. I'd never really used distortion before – it's a new thing for me.

“The bass just sounded too clean when we were first trying things out. Now it fits a lot better with the guitars. Usually I'll split the signals from my basses and mix them together to get a blend of clean and distorted sounds.”

Is there anything you miss about your old Acoustic rig?

“No... except that it used to catch on fire! It actually caught fire quite spectacularly at the end of one show. I suppose the power amp got overheated. But no, I'm quite pleased with the SWR. It's got a nice clean, punchy sound.”

Have you given thought to writing a memoir or autobiography?

“No. Several people have asked, but I've just got too much to do. Life's too short to write about it.”

Bassist Joe Preston may be best known for playing with the Melvins and Earth. However, he is also one of the most prolific bassists to come out of the early-’90s grunge and the Washington underground scenes, before hitting his stride with Sunn O))), High On Fire, and Thrones. 

In a new interview with MusicRadar, he reveals how a message from Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl served as the catalyst that led him to join the Melvins. 

“There was no audition, and I already knew them. And I’d gone on tour with Nirvana [with Earth] and stuff. I’d also interviewed them for a magazine I was writing for, so I’d known them for several years by then,” says Preston. 

“But I had just moved to Olympia, and I heard some ruckus outside my house outside in the street, and then on my porch, and it was Kurt and Dave from Nirvana, who had a note for me with a message from Buzz, saying, ‘This is not a joke, call Buzz about playing with the Melvins.’”

The Nirvana connection doesn't stop there. Elsewhere in the same interview, Preston talks about touring with pre-fame Nirvana while he was a member of Earth. 

“It was exciting and weird, because when things started getting going for them, it all happened quickly, from being broke punk rock guys to being able to buy stupid stuff or whatever,” he recalls.

“In the spring or summer of '91, we went down there, and they were recording Nevermind. It was just really weird to see them get to that level. 

“I got to be with them when the A&R guys would take them out, and it was really weird, because they went from being a band they’d never heard of to wanting to talk to them. It was a weird time because it was the beginning of all this brown-nosing from labels.”

Back in 2023, Buzz Osborne also recalled the post-grunge A&R era that saw The Melvins themselves courted by major label executives. 

“We thought Atlantic would take one album from us, hate it and be done,” Osborne told Guitar World. “But they did three, which is still surprising to us. People told us they were surprised, but trust me, no-one was more surprised than us...”

To read the full interview with Joe Preston, head to MusicRadar.

Dave Grohl has seemingly suggested that Taylor Swift’s band doesn’t play their material live during shows.

Swift and Foo Fighters were both in London over the weekend. While the former was onstage at Wembley Stadium, Grohl and co were playing at the London Stadium – and it was during these concurrent shows on Saturday night that Grohl made his comments.

“I tell you, man, you don't want to suffer the wrath of Taylor Swift. So we like to call our tour the 'Errors Tour,’” Grohl said, in a nod to the ‘Eras Tour’ name Swift is currently performing under.

“We've had more than a few eras and more than a few fucking errors as well,” he continued. “Just a couple. That's because we actually play live. What? Just saying! You guys like raw, live rock 'n' roll music, right? You came to the right fucking place.”

The comments seemingly made it onto Swift’s radar and, as per the video below, the singer was seen apparently addressing Grohl’s dig during her third Wembley Show on the following night.

“Every one of my band members, every single one of our crew, my band, who’s gonna be playing live for you for three-and-a-half hours tonight, they deserve this so much,” Swift told the audience.

“And so does every one of my fellow performers. And you just gave that to us so generously, we will never forget it.”

Grohl’s comments have drawn considerable attention from not just Swift’s loyal fanbase, but from the wider music community.

The exchange has perplexed many spectators, especially given the fact Grohl and Swift have a rather positive history. Back in 2022, for example, Grohl recalled the time Swift saved him from embarrassment at a party hosted by Paul McCartney.

It’s not the first time a Foo Fighters show has made headlines over the past few weeks. On June 13, during the bands’ show at Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Grohl’s guitar rig stopped working nine seconds into Everlong – in front of 50,000 people.

On June 13, Foo Fighters were just about to wrap up the first show of their 2024 UK tour at Manchester's Old Trafford Cricket Ground, when Grohl's guitar stopped working.

“Oh, my guitar just died!” exclaimed Grohl, as he lived out every guitarist's worst nightmare. His guitar, a gold Gibson Dave Grohl Signature DG-335, gave way nine seconds into Everlong due to a stage power issue. 

He jokingly added, “That's the saddest thing that's ever happened in my life! What are the fucking odds.” The technical hitch didn't dampen Grohl's spirits though, as he handed over guitar duties to Chris Shiflett and proceeded to command the stage and audience “like Bono”.

In addition to the gold DG-335, Grohl was also spotted using his Pelham Blue Gibson DG-335 and Gibson Elvis Presley Dove acoustic guitar throughout the three-hour-long show.

The setlist was chock-full of Foo Fighters hits, including All My Life, Best of You, The Pretender, and My Hero. The band also honored their late drummer Taylor Hawkins, dedicating Aurora to him. 

Moreover, there was the live debut of an unreleased track, Unconditional, which according to the band, “came up in conversation during rehearsals for the UK tour, and all it took was one run-through: the decision was made instantly to share it with everyone in the same way – live.” Furthermore, it was the first new song with Josh Freese as the band's official drummer.

Foo Fighters are currently in the middle of their UK stadium tour. Upcoming dates include two nights at London Stadium on June 20 and June 22, a stop at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on June 25, and a final performance at Birmingham's Villa Park on June 27.

Not many musicians can claim to have transitioned from creating genre-defining drum fills behind the kit of grunge’s most famous band to commanding the center stage as a world-class frontman, guitar player, and songwriter. Yet, this is precisely the path that Dave Grohl has traversed, all the while maintaining a reputation for being the nicest man in rock. 

Over the past three decades, Grohl has been at the helm of the Foo Fighters, transforming them from an underground solo project to a seven-piece mega-band that sells out stadiums worldwide. Together, they have solidified their status as one of the most beloved and enduring bands of all time. Their music, a reflection of Grohl's enduring talent as a songwriter and the band's timeless appeal, has resonated with fans across generations, earning them a place in the annals of rock history. 

Accompanying Grohl along his musical journey has been a slew of – mainly – Gibson guitars, although there are a few notable exceptions. From signature semi-hollows to radical Explorers and a few off-kilter models, Dave’s road-ready axes must be able to withstand the harsh conditions of a relentless touring schedule and deliver a stadium-filling sound night after night – there’s no room for pretenders here. 

Today, we’re going to break down some of Dave Grohl’s most iconic guitars and even give you some affordable models to check out if you fancy recreating the Foo Fighters frontman’s signature sound on a budget. 

Of course, Grohl has used various models over his insanely long career, and there’s a lot to cover, so run and tell all of the angels, this could take all night… 

1. 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez / Gibson DG-335

The 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez holds a special place in Dave Grohl's heart, so much so that he has often referred to it as “the sound of the Foo Fighters.” This guitar, which has been a constant companion on every album, has been used to pen the majority of the band's biggest hits. 

Purchased in Bethesda, Maryland around ‘92, in his previous life as the drummer of Nirvana, this guitar has gone on to define the sound of the Foo Fighters and is arguably more associated with Grohl than with its namesake, Trini Lopez. 

Originally designed as one of two models he crafted with Gibson in the sixties, Lopez merged the body of an ES-335 with the headstock of a Non-Reverse Firebird to create his new signature guitar. He also added distinctive visual elements such as diamond sound holes, split diamond inlays, and a Lopez-branded wooden tailpiece, resulting in a guitar so visually striking that it has gone on to develop a life outside of the sixties singer/ guitarist.  

When it came time for Grohl to retire his beloved Trini from live use, he turned to the Gibson Custom Shop to produce a model spec’d to his exact needs. This guitar would become the basis of his signature model, the Gibson DG-335. 

Over the years, various iterations of this signature Pelham Blue guitar have been released, ranging from a $5,000 model in 2007 to a highly limited edition version in 2014. However, if you're not ready to splurge, don't fret. This year, Grohl has finally collaborated with Epiphone to bring you the highly anticipated Epiphone DG-335, which launched at a more affordable price point. 

2. Gibson Explorer

If you’ve been a fan of Foo Fighters since the early days, you'll likely feel a surge of nostalgia when you recall a young Dave Grohl and Co. tearing up the stage with a dangerously slow-slung ebony Gibson Explorer hanging from his shoulder, a sight that has become synonymous with the band's formative years. 

Likely a late ‘90s model, this beaten-up black Explorer was a staple of Dave’s live rig from around 1995 to the early 2000s and quickly became his calling card axe before he moved on to a Firebird and eventually his signature semi-hollow. 

Famed for its ostentatious design and larger-than-life sound, the Explorer is the ideal guitar for a stadium rock setting. Utilizing its mid-range bark and top-end snarl, Grohl used this guitar to its full potential to deliver his gut-punching riffs live.

3. Gibson Les Paul Standard / Gibson Les Paul Custom

Back in the band's early days, while Dave was still finding his feet as a frontman and guitarist, he would often be seen with a Gibson Les Paul around his neck. Again, he has used many models, but the most notable ones are his beloved Tobacco Burst Les Paul Standard and Alpine White Les Paul Custom. These guitars are known for their rich, warm tones and comfortable playability, making them ideal for both studio recordings and live performances.

Grohl used his sunburst Les Paul from the very beginning of the band from 1994 to 1997 and has said that it was used throughout the recording of the first record.  Around the same time, he would also rely on a yellowed-out Alpine White Les Paul Custom, which was a mainstay at early live shows. 

4. Gibson Elvis Presley Dove

When it comes to acoustic guitars, Dave has been known to use many models from the Taylor 814-CE and 410, to the favorite flat-top of his former band leader, Cobain, the Martin D-18. That said, there is one model that he is most associated with live and that’s the Gibson Elvis Presley Dove – I guess Dave loves playing other people’s signature models as much as his own. 

Fashioned after a customized 1969 Gibson Dove that was gifted to Elvis by his father, this unique blacked-out square-shouldered dreadnought is a sight to behold. It features a spruce top with maple back and sides, a mahogany neck, and a rosewood fingerboard, all contributing to its distinctive sound and aesthetic. 

Honorable mentions

So that's just a snippet of the guitars Dave Grohl has used both on stage and in the studio. That said, we can't finish up without mentioning a few of the other six-strings that have made an appearance at one time or another. 

It's no secret that Dave has a penchant for the unconventional side of electric guitars. In the late '90s and early 2000s, he often wielded a '70s RD Standard, as well as the head-turning Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexiglass, a guitar that played a pivotal role in the video for All My Life. 

Another prominent axe is the Gibson Firebird Studio, which made an appearance around 2005 during the In Your Honor tour. This model is notable as it doesn't fit the standard configuration of a Firebird. It forgoes the neck-through construction and ditches the mini-humbuckers for full-sized humbuckers. 

And lastly, we can't forget to pay homage to Dave's most flamboyant instrument, the iconic Gretsch White Falcon. This '90s Japanese-made Gretsch, once owned by Dave's partner in crime, Pat Smear, holds a special place in their shared musical journey. It was a staple on and off stage for both musicians, with its most memorable appearance in the video for the band's chart-topping hit, Monkey Wrench. Astonishingly, the guitar fetched a whopping $53,000 when it went to auction back in 2022. 

Looking for huge savings on guitars and more? Take a look at our Black Friday guitar deals page for all the latest and greatest offers.

Dave Grohl needs very little introduction. From having a hand (or both hands) in changing the course of rock as the drummer in Nirvana to steadily growing Foo Fighters from a collection of self-recorded songs into a stadium-filling band, he’s become the poster boy for all things rock in mainstream culture. 

Rewind to 1995, and it’s most likely you’ll see him bouncing between Gibson Les Paul Standards and Customs, Explorers and SGs. Throw in the odd Firebird and RD, and it’s clear that – spare a brief dalliance with an Ampeg Dan Armstrong, the clear-bodied Lucite guitar you can see in the All My Life video – Grohl has almost exclusively favoured Gibson models.

His leanings towards slightly leftfield variations go back to before the conception of Foo Fighters though, thanks to a chance purchase of a 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez model while he was still drumming in Nirvana. 

This cherry red guitar would go on to play a massive part in the band’s sound and history, with Grohl using it to track the bulk of his guitar parts on every one of the band’s studio releases.

But as well as that, Grohl used it to inform much of the design of the Pelham Blue Gibson DG-335 signature model that’s been his go-to since 2007. 

Originally released as a mega-expensive, Memphis-made guitar, the DG-335 has been issued and reissued a few times since it was first released, with used examples pushing towards £20,000 at times.

Well, now it’s been issued as a production model under Gibson’s Epiphone brand, giving real-world Foos fans the opportunity to bag the iconic color and shape without having to sacrifice basic necessities like food and heating.

Spec-wise, it would’ve been easy to start putting lines through the spreadsheet to save money, but Epiphone has kept it pretty faithful. There’s the double-bound, laminated body (maple and poplar rather than the Gibson’s pure maple), one-piece mahogany neck, and a laurel – rather than rosewood – fingerboard. 

The elusive Trini Lopez features adopted by Grohl are all present, too: diamond-shaped F-holes, split-diamond inlays and the Firebird-style six-in-line headstock all combine with the Pelham Blue paint job to complete the picture.

But one of the biggest features is bubbling at the surface: the DG is packing Gibson USA pickups. In the neck position, we get a Burstbucker 2, and the bridge humbucker is a Burstbucker 3 – the same pairing found in the USA version.

To the back of the headstock sits Grohl’s signature, and the guitar comes in a sturdy hardcase, which, while devoid of any candy, does include a larger version of the same John Hancock on the outside.

Straight out of the box, the DG-335 cuts a familiar figure – the hue of the finish is spot on, and delivered flawlessly to boot. Acoustically, it’s fairly vibrant and lively, which we think bodes well before plugging in.

The neck shape is also a little different to the norm, another ‘win’ in our book, rather than opting for an off-the-peg profile. Epiphone calls it an Elliptical C-shape, and it’s quite different to the common SlimTaper profile – it’s rounded, wider, chunkier and more of a palm-filler that strikes a great balance for chord and rhythm playing at the lower frets, while giving us a great anchor for string bends and lead playing.

The tone is where the heart is, though, and those USA pickups earn their spot. Many of Grohl’s tones come from a combination of Vox AC30 or Fender-style cleans, combined with Marshall and Mesa/Boogie for the dirt. 

Yes, we’re talking relatively meat and potatoes for a lot of Foo Fighters sounds, but as we all know, getting the simple things right can present as much of a challenge as more complex sounds. 

Not here though, because with our modeler dialled in, we were able to quickly replicate some typical Grohl sounds using very little processing beyond amps, overdrive and delay.

But, it goes beyond Foo Fighters. This is essentially a rock-friendly ES-335, and it’s got the firepower to cover everything from blues to indie to classic rock tones with ease. 

Specs

• PRICE: $1,299 / £1,249
• BODY: Laminated maple/poplar, with maple centre-block
• NECK: Mahogany
• SCALE: 24.75-inches
• FINGERBOARD: Indian laurel
• FRETS: 22
• PICKUPS: Gibson USA Burstbucker 2 (neck) and 3 (bridge)
• CONTROLS: Volume x2, tone x2, three-way selector switch
• HARDWARE: Epiphone lockTone T-o-M bridge and tailpiece, Grover Mini-Rotomatic tuners, nickel
• FINISH: Pelham Blue
• CONTACT: Epiphone

Dave Grohl’s pretty much done it all during his career: he’s sold out stadiums, drummed with some of the world’s biggest rock bands, and has one of the most sought-after signature guitars in history.

However, he’s never really ripped a killer shred guitar solo in the vain of Eddie Van Halen. That is until now... sort of. 

During Foo Fighters' set at this year’s Welcome to Rockville on Saturday (May 11), Grohl told the crowd: “I never get a fucking solo! So, since this is the last night of the trip, I’m gonna do a fucking solo. You may think, ‘That guy can’t play a solo.’ You wanna see me do a guitar solo right now?” 

Turning his back to the crowd, Grohl begins to tear through the unmistakable sounds of Van Halen's epic instrumental Eruption, generating huge cheers from the crowd. There's even an iconic foot-on-the monitor moment, with one arm held aloft.

However, as the solo progresses, Grohl turns to face the audience and raises both hands in the air, drawing another roar from the crowd… except the shredding doesn’t stop. 

As the crowd slowly begins to realize that Grohl has been playing them, the on-stage camera pans to reveal Wolfgang Van Halen. The guitarist’s fingers are seen dancing across the fretboard of his EVH SA-126 signature guitar from his hidden spot side of the stage in a great comedic reveal. 

It was all smiles as the punchline dropped, with the band briefly tearing into Hot For Teacher. Sadly, though, Grohl chased Wolfgang off stage before the song could finish, with the Foo Fighter saying they’d not be able to stop if they played any more Van Halen songs. 

During that same set, Foo Fighters dedicated My Hero to legendary producer Steve Albini, who tragically passed away last week aged 61. The punk guitarist and producer was behind the desk for records including Nirvana's In Utero.   

Having supported Slash already this year, Wolfgang Van Halen will join Foo Fighters for three dates on their US tour in July. 

The wait for Grohl’s Van Halen-inspired shred moment, meanwhile, goes on.   

Wolfgang Van Halen has revealed he'd like to collaborate with rock royalty Dave Grohl and Myles Kennedy.

In an interview with Help Musician's I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast, Van Halen talked about how, despite being a multi-instrumentalist, he still has a bucket list of collaborators.

“I would really love to collaborate with my really good friend – he sings for Alter Bridge and for Slash – Myles Kennedy,” he revealed. “I think he is a wonderful human being, and an incredibly talented singer and guitar player. So I would I would jump at an opportunity to collaborate with him for sure.

“It'd also be fun to collaborate with one of my biggest inspirations, Dave Grohl. I'm basically ripping him off with Mammoth and the way that he started with Foo Fighters recording everything himself. I've kind of modeled the way Mammoth exists because of him. So if he didn't exist, I wouldn't.”

In the same interview, Van Halen also talked about the beauty of recording all instruments on the Mammoth WVH albums and the artist-producer trust that’s required, especially when recording to tape.

“My producer Michael Baskette and our engineer, Jef Moll, they're practically the other half of the band. I play all the instruments and write everything for Mammoth. 

“There's obvious frustration some days [when] you're not feeling it. But I think that's the wonderful thing about doing it yourself is that's like, if this isn't working, let's just do another thing and come back to it.”

He continued, “And so while I can fully focus on that, [they can focus on] the production aspect and the recording, the complications. We record to tape for drums and guitar because I use my father's studio 5150. 

“All the tape machines are there and ready to go. So it's like why don't we use it? But yeah, because of their high skill and my trust in them, there's really nothing to doubt or worry about when it comes to the production of Mammoth.”

Despite Van Halen very much steering the Mammoth WVH ship, the project's collaborative spirit extends to the live setup. “The fun duality of Mammoth is that I have a live band of really great friends and musicians to perform and reinterpret the music live, but also having my fun artistic expression in the studio.”

Mammoth WVH are touring extensively this year. The band recently supported Slash feat Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators in the UK and Europe. They kick off their US headline tour on May 4 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and are also touring with Metallica and Foo Fighters this summer.

Epiphone has officially unveiled the Dave Grohl DG-335 – an affordable take on the Foo Fighters’ frontman’s sought-after Gibson signature guitar.

As we reported in January, when we got an exclusive sneak preview of the DG-335 at Gibson’s LA artist showroom, the model is reportedly the most requested in Epiphone’s history. 

That’s not hard to believe, either, given the seemingly insatiable demand that surrounded the limited release of Grohl’s Gibson Custom Shop signature model.

“Dave Grohl is an alternative rock legend who needs no introduction,” notes Epiphone. “A longtime Gibson user, his previous Gibson signature guitars have remained extraordinarily popular and command premium prices on the used market – when you can find one.”

The arrival of the Chinese-made Epiphone model should go some way to address that pent-up demand, combining the distinctive features of his US model with the increasingly respected quality and reduced cost of the brand’s offshore builds.

As with its luxurious predecessor, the Epiphone recreates a unique blend of inspiration, drawing on elements of Gibson’s Trini Lopez and ES-335 semi-hollow guitar builds – and the distinctive Pelham Blue finish that has become synonymous with Grohl’s build.

Like the Epiphone Greeny, or more recent Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul Custom, the DG-335 is another addition to the firm’s Inspired by Gibson Custom line – a premium offshore spec that typically carries an entry-level Gibson price tag, but gets you a lot more for your money. 

As such, you get a hefty one-piece mahogany neck – a significant difference from the usual scarf-jointed, two-piece builds on Epiphone ES models – plus the Firebird-like headstock, a layered maple/poplar body and a laurel fretboard.

The gloss-finished body has the same Trini Lopez-inspired diamond sound holes found on Grohl’s go-to electric guitar – a theme that is also reflected in the split-diamond inlays (made of mother of pearl).

Another headline feature is the inclusion of a pair of Gibson’s USA Burstbucker humbuckers. These are bundled with a generous array of premium hardware and compentry, including Grover Mini-Rotomatic tuners, Locktone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar, Switchcraft toggle and jack, CTS pots and Mallory capacitors.

It all comes wrapped up in an Epiphone Dave Grohl hardshell case. 

When GW’s Editor-in-Chief, Mike Astley-Brown, got his hands on the DG-335 back in January, he was suitably impressed.

“That Pelham Blue finish looks gorgeous up close,” noted MAB. “And the build quality is on point, as we've experienced with so many of the Epiphones we've come into contact with lately. The China factory really is turning out remarkable work.

“Playability-wise, there's a seriously chunky neck onboard, making it a satisfying experience for Grohl's stock-in-trade rhythm work. The Burstbuckers deliver a decent amount of aggression, but they're rounded and full, with the woody, hollow quality you'd expect from this kind of build. 

“In short, it's everything you'd want from an Epiphone Dave Grohl model. We're intrigued to see if any more finishes surface down the line, too.”

What we didn’t have at that point was the price – and the price tags have sometimes been a point of contention when it comes to Epiphone’s top Inspired by Gibson Custom builds. 

However, given we expected something around the $1,499 mark –  even saw some predictions of $1,900 for this build – we’re pleasantly surprised to see it come in for $1,299. 

Yes, it’s still a significant chunk of change for a Chinese-made instrument, but this is the reality in 2024 – big-name guitars are more expensive.

Perhaps it’s just the mental conditioning of the 2023 price rises – or the fact it’s cleverly come right after Epiphone’s luxurious Inspired by Gibson Custom Firebird V (which, at $1,799 was it’s most expensive offshore model yet) – but given the spec and re-tooling involved in the build, $1,299 feels eminently reasonable.

As Epiphone notes on its site: “The wait is over – now you can have it all.” 

The prediction of many is that it will be the year’s best-selling signature guitar – and based on the above, we think that is very likely to be the case. 

For more information, head to Epiphone.

Gibson is not at NAMM 2024, but that’s not stopped it from hosting its own LA preview party at its exclusive artist showroom yesterday (January 25) – and it had a lot of goodies to show the world’s guitar press, in the process, not least the long-awaited Epiphone Dave Grohl DG-335 signature guitar.

As such, we can confirm the much rumored Foo Fighters signature model is now a reality – and we even got to take it for a quick spin. 

Hailing from Epiphone’s Chinese factory, the build features a layered maple body, one-piece mahogany neck (in elliptical C-shape), plus an Indian Laurel fingerboard with split-diamond inlays. 

In keeping with its inspiration, Grohl’s beloved Gibson Trini Lopez, it features the Lopez-like headstock with Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners.

A somewhat surprising addition, but one very much in keeping with Epiphone’s latest higher end builds, is the inclusion of Gibson USA Burstbucker humbuckers – the same units favored by Grohl in his Gibson builds. Other electronic components include CTS pots, Switchcraft toggle switch and Mallory capacitors. 

Then you’ve got a GraphTech nut, LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece and, finally, that beautiful Pelham Blue paint job that has become so associated with the Foo Fighters frontman. 

GuitarWorld.com’s Editor in Chief, Michael Astley-Brown, was in the room for the unveiling of the new Epiphone signature and reckons the Epiphone team has nailed it on this one.

“That Pelham Blue finish looks gorgeous up close,” says the boss. “And the build quality is on point, as we've experienced with so many of the Epiphones we've come into contact with lately. The China factory really is turning out remarkable work.

“Playability-wise, there's a seriously chunky neck onboard, making it a satisfying experience for Grohl's stock-in-trade rhythm work. The Burstbuckers deliver a decent amount of aggression, but they're rounded and full, with the woody, hollow quality you'd expect from this kind of build. 

“In short, it's everything you'd want from an Epiphone Dave Grohl model. We're intrigued to see if any more finishes surface down the line, too.”

We’re told it will come complete with a custom Dave Grohl Epiphone hardshell case and is set to arrive in March, but we haven’t yet been given a specific release date or price details, so will update, as these become available. 

Judging by the spec, however, we’re expecting it to land closer to the firm’s premium price tier than its entry-level lines. 

Either way, this will be a massive release for Epiphone in 2024, perhaps its biggest of the year. As the firm notes in its press release: 

“This is one of the most requested models in Epiphone's history, so we we are X-Static to offer this exceptional guitar to players worldwide.”

For more information, keep an eye on Epiphone.

If you’re familiar with the Foo Fighters’ big hits – Everlong, The Pretender, Times Like These, Waiting On A War and so on – you’ll know that they specialise in Rock with a capital R, designed for stadiums and beloved of crowds worldwide. It’s all a long way from bassist Nate Mendel’s youth as a punk kid from Washington. 

“I just wanted to be in a band,” he told BP. “I was listening to the Ghost In The Machine album by The Police, and I was hugely into Sting, so when my friend suggested I should play bass guitar I thought it sounded like an awesome idea.”

From his proto-emo explorations with Sunny Day Real Estate to his post-grunge grooves with Foo Fighters, Mendel has since learned a lot about the dominant traits of great rock 'n' roll bass playing. Is he a better bass player these days than he used to be? “In some ways I am, and in some ways I’m not. I came into this band wholly unprepared to play in it. You can hear that on the first few records. I've realized that what I need to do is alter the way I play so I can support Dave's songs as best as possible.”

The following interview from the Bass Player archives took place in August 2011.

How did you first go about learning to play bass?

“I knew a guy who played in a local band, and I took a couple lessons with him. But then I just started to experiment and figure things out on my own. All through high school I played in punk rock bands – mostly in a band called Diddly Squat. We did a couple of tours around the country in a van. It was do-it-yourself on a pretty small scale, but it was a lot of fun. After that I moved to Seattle and joined Christ On A Crutch, another punk rock group that did a lot of touring. I was becoming more enthusiastic about hardcore punk rock and wanting to play more intricate music. That's when I formed Sunny Day Real Estate.”

Which bands were making a mark on you?

“My musical education was pretty limited – it was all hardcore punk rock, like Minor Threat, Black Flag and Bad Brains. Instead of studying the bass playing of someone like John Entwistle, which would have given me a foundation of how to play, I just wanted to play a lot of notes really fast. That was the only goal.”

How did you understand your role as a bass player, and how did you go about playing that role in Sunny Day Real Estate?

“At the time, people were becoming more experimental within underground music, and not just thrashing out hardcore songs. We were influenced by bands like Rites Of Spring and Hayden, but we didn't sit down and strategize the kind of music we were going to play. We just got in a room and started making noise.”

Was songwriting a labor-intensive process?

“Some of the arrangements worked out, but it was really just trial and error. We wouldn't look at the song as a whole: we'd play one part of a song for an hour, and then somebody would take it off into another direction. It was jam-oriented, as opposed to being a situation where a songwriter would come up with a chord structure and then bring it to the band. We had two guitar players who liked to play intertwined guitar parts, so it wasn't always clear what the root chord was. I had a lot of freedom to come up with interesting basslines.”

How did you come to play with the Foo Fighters?

“Dave Grohl recorded what turned out to be the first Foo Fighters record in early 1994. Sunny Day broke up later that year. Dave's tape was circulating around town, and I knew there might be an opportunity to try out for the band. So I started listening to it and playing along. From my perspective at the time, the music seemed rudimentary: I wasn't mature enough as a musician to know that a well-structured pop song should be simple. Since then, I've realized that what I need to do is alter the way I play bass so it works in this band.”

How has that approach changed the way you play?

“I've always played with a pick, but up until the fifth Foo Fighters record, I never played downstrokes. I would alternate my picking. But with this kind of music, you need the consistency and percussive sound you get from playing with downstrokes. The other thing I've done is learn how to play tight and lock better with the drums. It comes down to subtlety and nuance; that was something I didn't grasp early on.”

When the Foo Fighters played the VH1 Rock Honors show in 2008, you took on two songs by the Who. How did you approach John Entwistle's parts?

“That was a tough one, because you can't replicate what he did unless you spend hours and hours figuring out his gear, his technique, etc. Basically, I just listened to the records, and I tried to get as close as possible to playing what he played. My basic goal was to keep up and not make a total ass out of myself. As the Foo Fighters have had opportunities to play shows like the VH1 Rock Honors, we've had a few of these kinds of challenges thrown our way. I always feel like I'm playing catch-up, but I've gotten pretty good at thinking on my feet.”

You're most often seen playing various Fender Precision Basses.

“Everybody’s got their magic bass in their mind, and mine is my '70s natural P-Bass with a maple neck, which cuts through perfectly. I also love Lakland basses, and I've used them on tour for drop-D tunings, but I'm a bit more comfortable playing Fender basses, so I play those for most of the set.”

Are you running through any effects?

“I'm not using many pedals these days. Now that we have three guitar players, there's a lot of distortion going on. So I try to keep it clean and stay in line with the kick drum. That way, I know that even if we're playing a big echoy venue, at least the bass will come across with some bite and precision.”

Talking to legendary punk bassist Mike Watt is a unique experience. With a combination of middle-aged wisdom and the excitability of a teenager, he punctuates his road stories and sage observations with belly laughs and mile-a-minute rants on nothing in particular. “Back in the '60s a lot of people thought of the bass as a kind of toy, almost like a kazoo,” Watt told BP. “We had to fight and earn the bass some respect. On the other hand, there's something cool about people not really knowing what we do: we're left free to define ourselves.”

Watt grew out of Southern California's late-'70s punk-rock scene to co-found the Minutemen. The seminal post-punk band pounded out an extraordinary number of terse, frantic tunes with heavy political themes laced with elements of jazz, and funk. “Back then, you never knew what the next band was going to sound like. Almost anything went, and it wasn’t about haircuts or guitar styles. I miss a lot of the chaos of the old days.”

Watt has always been at his best when pushing the bass guitar to the forefront – much like one of his early heroes Jack Bruce of Cream. “Bass physics are trippy. If you stand too close to your amp, you're never really sure what it sounds like, ‘cause you throw your frequencies way out there, but bass players seem to like that feeling of the sound pushing against their legs; there’s something about it that gives you confidence. On the other hand, you don't know if the audience is hearing nothing but foghorn. That’s why I always hire bass players as sound men – because I’m paranoid!”

In 1995 Watt put together his debut solo album. An ambitious 17-song project, with nearly 50 alternative-music guests, Ball-Hog or Tugboat? included Flea, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, and Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl.

To record Ball-Hog, Watt used an old Eden VT- 40 head; since early Edens tend to overheat when pushed, he installed two fans on his, designed to keep running after the main power is shut off. He also used a dbx 4-band parametric EQ. “I need a little midrange for definition, but I like to scoop out the low mids. You've got to get rid of that stuff – it’ll bogart the whole band.”

When he hit the road, Watt brought along a Stewart PA-1000 power amp and used the VT-40 as a preamp. On a mid-tour visit to the Eden factory in Minnesota, he picked up a WT-800 head to replace the VT- 40, together with 4x10 and 2x10 XLT speaker cabinets.

“I used to use 15-inch speakers, but I destroyed eight of them on tour - the solder connecting the cone wires to the terminals would melt. I think the 15s couldn't handle the attack; with the Edens, the box acts like a 15, but you get the attack of the 10s. Plus, old man punk is small shit with wheels – I load my own stuff, and I just can't handle those big boxes anymore.”

For years, Watt was rarely seen onstage without his trademark '68 Telecaster Bass, before it came out of service in the mid-90s. In the Tele's place, he began throttling a '67 non-reverse Gibson Thunderbird, “I bought it because the case said Dee Dee Ramone on it, but man – it has that Live at Leeds sound.” 

Watt added a Bartolini TBX pickup, tweaking the electronics by changing capacitors. “To me, the whole character of a bass is it’s voice. It's a delicate thing to get that low, nasal sound without being a bogart.”

Another characteristic of the Gibson is the word ‘thunderbroom’ carved into the back of the mahogany body. “I was playing a gig in Phoenix, and some kid showed up with a Dremel Moto-Tool. He carved it righteous, a half-inch deep!”

Watt underwent surgery in 2000 and, following his recovery, switched to short-scale basses, including a Gibson EB-3. He has also experimented with a Guild Ashbory, an instrument with a 22-inch scale and silicone-rubber strings that was designed to mimic the sound of an upright. These days, he plays his Reverend signature Wattplower bass, which he co-designed with Ken Haas and Joe Naylor.

Watt has never been very keen on effects. “I think ‘effects’ come from the way you play. By the bridge, by the neck, close to the body, far from the body…I always thought there was enough variation there. I did try this green envelope filter – a DOD, I think – on the tune Tell 'Em, Boy! It's great because it interprets how hard or soft you play, instead of hiding your dynamics. I had a couple of Mu-Trons, but I used this green one because it's more extreme-sounding. I wanted to go over the top with it.”

On the surface, you wouldn't think Nirvana – with their anarchic live performances, and the crunchy distortion and blistering volume of their studio recordings – had much in common with the Beatles.

The Fab Four, however, were a major influence on Nirvana's frontman and electric guitar player, Kurt Cobain, from his childhood through his development of Nirvana's world-altering catalog.

“I remember years ago asking [Cobain's hometown friend] Eric Shillinger, ‘How successful do you think a band could be if they mixed really heavy Black Sabbath with the Beatles?,” Cobain once recalled to journalist Michael Azerrad. “What could you do with that?”

If only Cobain could've seen – decades later, and almost 20 years after his tragic death in 1994 – all three of his Nirvana bandmates create, and perform, an original song with Paul McCartney.

2012 was an especially unlikely time for McCartney to join forces with the grunge legends, fresh as he was off the back of that year's Kisses on the Bottom, a stately album that saw the Mount-Rushmore-of-pop songwriter tackle standards of the '30s, '40s, and '50s – a far cry from Territorial Pissings, for sure. 

And yet, 2012 was also the year that saw McCartney, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Krist Novoselic create Cut Me Some Slack, a blues-grunge howler that featured McCartney riffing – and even, for the first time, showing his slide guitar skills – on one of the strangest guitars he's ever slung over his shoulder.

McCartney first played Cut Me Some Slack – a studio version of which would be released on the 2013 Grohl-led Sound City: Real to Reel album – live at the 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy relief benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. 

His mini-set was loaded with Beatles, Wings, and solo classics, for which McCartney – among other instruments – used a couple Gibson Les Pauls, and, of course, his trademark Hofner bass guitar.

For Cut Me Some Slack, though, McCartney was armed with a “Resofiddle,“ a “paint can lid resonator“ cigar box guitar built by Matty Baratto, a luthier whose incredible clientele list includes – aside from McCartney – Prince, Josh Homme, Joe Perry, Jack White, Slash, Keith Richards, Zakk Wylde, and Johnny Depp, among many others.

According to Baratto, it was Depp who got the Resofiddle (and a Baratto wine box guitar amp, featuring a 6” Jensen speaker, to go with it) into the Beatle's hands. As soon as McCartney picked it up, it led his playing in entirely new, and fascinating, directions.

In an interview with Guitar World, Baratto recounted meeting McCartney, and the latter's wonder at the Resofiddle, and where it took him, artistically. 

“You know, I've never played slide before, but it just started doing things on its own,” the Beatle told Baratto. “I didn’t even have to try, the sound... it just did things.“

“As a guitar maker,” Baratto tells Guitar World, “you don’t really need much more of an endorsement.”

“I never, in a million years, would have thought that I’d [one day] be talking about Resofiddles one-on-one with one of the most influential musicians ever,” Baratto says. “But there I was, listening and feeling like I was watching from above in a dream state – just hoping to remember everything.”

Baratto – who, before starting his own company, cut his teeth at Ibanez's LA Custom Shop from 1994 through 1999 – outfitted his four-string (tuned D, A, D, F#) Resofiddle with a lipstick pickup and brass nut. 

Just days after the 12-12-12 concert, the Resofiddle (examples of which would eventually go on display at the Grammy Museum, after Cut Me Some Slack picked up the 2014 Grammy for Best Rock Song) made another prominent appearance during McCartney and Nirvana's performance of Cut Me Some Slack on Saturday Night Live. 

The considerably more intimate SNL stage allows for some killer, up-close looks at the cigar box four-string, particularly its beautifully retro body.

Baratto says that he told McCartney, “I always wanted to be on SNL.” To that, the Beatle smiled, playfully hit the luthier on the shoulder, and said, “You were all over it, man!” 

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has been pictured holding what appears to be a new Epiphone DG-335 signature model in the band’s latest promo shots. 

Speculation over the imminent arrival of the model has run rife in recent weeks after Gibson’s interim CEO Cesar Gueikian responded to an Instagram Q&A regarding Grohl’s Epiphone signature. When asked “Can we get a DG-335 core model or Epiphone models?” He replied simply, “OK”.

Now Grohl has appeared in the latest Foo Fighters image holding an Epiphone-branded electric guitar that looks exactly like the DG-335, complete with Trini Lopez-style diamond-shaped f-holes, split inlays and Firebird-style headstock. 

The original was fitted with Gibson BurstBuckers but at this point we can only speculate on the two humbuckers. If we were to guess, we’d say they’ll be Epiphone-made, as frankly, we can’t imagine The Nicest Guy In Rock arguing for Gibson-branded inclusions that would result in a prohibitive price point.

There is no acknowledgement or further explanation of the model in the press shot, but this is right out of Gibson’s current marketing playbook. 

Since its 2018 takeover, Gibson strategy has repeatedly been to fan the flames of online speculation around product launches, in particular signature guitars, by allowing artists to use them unacknowledged in videos, promos and on social media prior to their official announcements. For instance, Dave Mustaine’s Epiphone and Kramer signature models or Jerry Cantrell’s Atone Songwriter acoustic.

In the decades before its takeover, Gibson and its subsidiaries did not always capitalise on their artistic associations – or act in the most coordinated manner. The past five years has, in many ways, been a process of addressing this – ticking off obvious big hitters and ensuring products are available across brands at a variety of price points.

Dave Grohl’s first DG-335 signature model – based on his much-loved 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez – seems to be a fine case in point. The original was essentially a Gibson Custom Shop build, produced between 2007 and 2014 in extremely limited numbers.

The scarcity of those models, their high-end heritage and Foo Fighters’ enduring popularity has seen their values increase hugely, and the original Pelham Blue finishes have asking prices of around $20,000 on the used market.  

As such, the arrival of core Gibson USA and Epiphone options shows the firm realizing the obvious potential of having a signature model associated with one of the world’s largest guitar bands. 

We’ve had the initial tease from Gueikian. We’ve also seen Grohl performing with what appears to be a new Gibson signature DG-335 and we’ve got concrete evidence that the Epiphone is indeed in production, thanks to Grohl’s new press pic. Now we just have to hold tight for the full announcements… 

Usually things are rolled out in order of descending expense, with Custom Shop announcement, then USA Standard and finally Epiphone equivalent – as in the case of the Kirk Hammett Greeny Les Pauls. 

Perhaps, in this instance, though, Epiphone may get to steal the march with the DG-335, given Grohl’s more universal appeal. Time – and sneaky promo pic easter eggs – will tell...

Earlier this week, Foo Fighters announced that Josh Freese would be joining the band full-time as their new drummer.

Freese, who replaces the late Taylor Hawkins, was welcomed to the Dave Grohl-fronted outfit with a tongue-in-cheek sketch that featured cameos from Chad Smith, Danny Carey and Tommy Lee.

But despite the fun and games, it was straight down to business for the former Guns N’ Roses drummer, who – after giving fans a brief glimpse of what’s to come with a short set at Studio 606 – made his full live debut with the band last night (May 24).

To say it’s been a whirlwind week for the prolific sticksman would be an understatement, but Freese seamlessly slotted into place, helping Grohl and the rest of his new bandmates through a packed 21-song setlist.

“Everybody, would you please welcome the man behind the drums, Josh Freese – he’s helped save the day,” Grohl said while addressing the audience. “We would not be here tonight if it weren’t for Josh, so everybody give Josh a big fucking round of applause, please.”

Fan-filmed footage from Freese’s first foray into Foo Fighters tour action captures the drummer powering through old classics and new material alike, with Rescued – the band’s first new single since Hawkins’ passing – making its live debut.

Rescued wasn’t the only track from the band’s upcoming album But Here We Are – due June 2 – to feature on the agenda, with the title track receiving a run-out alongside Under You and the yet-to-be-released Nothing at All.

According to Setlist.fm, setlist stalwarts such as Learn to Fly, The Pretender, My Hero, Monkey Wrench, Best of You and Everlong all featured across the evening, with Freese adding his own rhythmic flair in tracks such as All My Life – which boasted a bruising double-kick drum breakdown.

What would have perhaps been more intriguing to guitar fans, though, was the fact Dave Grohl was spotted playing a white-finished version of his Gibson DG-335 signature guitar.

Given that model was first released in Pelham Blue, Metallic Gold and Ebony, this White version looks to be an entirely new creation altogether.

That, coupled with the fact Cesar Gueikian seemed to confirm a reissue of Grohl’s cult classic signature model is indeed on the way – along with an Epiphone iteration – leads us to believe we could be looking at what might end up being a fresh, soon-to-be-released DG-335.

Foo Fighters are next scheduled to play tomorrow (May 26) in Boston.

Head over to Foo Fighters’ website for a full list of tour dates.

Foo Fighters have officially named the drummer who will be joining the band in the wake of Taylor Hawkins’ death.

As many had speculated, in-demand session heavyweight Josh Freese – whose resume boasts stints on the stool with Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Devo and many others – will be linking up with Dave Grohl and co full-time, and will be joining the group for their forthcoming tour.

Freese’s appointment was announced during Foo Fighters’ 'Preparing Music for Concerts' livestream over the weekend, as part of a comical confirmation sketch that saw the likes of Chad Smith, Tommy Lee and Danny Carey all approach the band for the gig prior to Freese’s reveal.

Despite the slew of cameos, the camera then eventually cut to Freese – seated behind the drum kit – who then helped the band through a short set of old classics and yet-to-be-released originals. That set is currently available to watch on Veep.

Fans had began to anticipate official word on Freese’s recruitment after the drummer – who has also held down the backline for A Perfect Circle, Sublime with Rome and The Vandals – canceled his involvement in upcoming Offspring and Danny Elfman shows.

Freese was also among the pool of drummers who featured at last year’s Taylor Hawkins tribute shows, notably starring alongside Wolfgang Van Halen for a cover of Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher and On Fire.

During those shows, Freese – who was playing Hawkins' own kit – also showcased his Foo Fighters credentials by helping them perform some original songs, including Times Like These and All My Life. 

Back in January, Foo Fighters confirmed their intentions to continue following the sudden passing of Hawkins, writing in a statement, ”Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were – and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward.”

The band recently started “the first chapter of the band’s new life” by announcing studio album number 11, But Here We Are. Two singles – Rescued and Under You – have so far previewed the LP, which is due June 2.

Freese will first be in action with Foo Fighters later this week, on May 24, when the group kickstarts their global tour in New Hampshire, Gilford. 

For a full list of dates, head over to Foo Fighters’ website.

One of Gibson’s most recognizable signature guitars is the DG-335 – an elusive, now-discontinued Pelham Blue ES-335 model built for Dave Grohl, which was in production from 2007 to 2014.

Because of the limited supply of such six-strings, these guitars are usually some of the most expensive second-hand signatures that can be found on the used market, with the cheapest example on Reverb currently listing for over $19,000.

Well, fans of the light blue DG-335 who have been priced out of their dream guitar are about to be very happy indeed, because Gibson’s stand-in CEO Cesar Gueikian has just hinted that Grohl’s Gibson model is about to be revived.

And, what’s more, he’s seemingly confirmed that a far more affordable Epiphone version of the Foo Fighter’s prized axe is also in the pipeline.

The tease came during an Instagram Q&A session, with Gueikian simply replying “Ok” to one individual who optimistically asked, “Can we get a DG-335 core model or Epiphone models?”

Now, it’s a pretty short tease, but enough to get us excited. Why? Well, we can’t imagine Gueikian would have responded to the question in such a positive way had the thought of reviving the DG-335 had not already crossed Gibson’s mind.

Not only that, Gueikian answered the following question – “What are your plans for Gibson in the future?” – by saying, “Do Epic Shit.” A DG-335 reboot would most certainly be epic. 

Gueikian also seemed to take the rest of that Q&A pretty seriously – he confirmed that an Epiphone version of the recently released Greeny Les Paul reboot would be arriving sometime in the future, and revealed that Dave Mustaine’s own Epiphone signature guitars will drop this month.

As such, we’re inclined to believe that the DG-335 will be making a triumphant return.

Noted for its Trini Lopez-inspired f-holes and reverse Firebird headstock, the original DG-335 was released in Pelham Blue and Ebony, with a Metallic Gold colorway arriving later. Though not quite as expensive as their Pelham Blue sibling, the latter two models still have eye-watering price tags – as much as $14,000 in some cases.

The initial run of DG-335s was highly limited, with only 300 examples – 200 Pelham Blue, 100 Ebony – shipped to customers.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a tweaked Custom Shop version of Grohl’s much-loved Lopez model, featuring a semi-hollow ES-335 design, diamond f-holes, split diamond inlays and a rosewood fretboard, as well as a pair of Gibson Burstbucker pickups.

Judging from Gueikian’s Q&A, it seems as though the new DG-335s will be core models, as opposed to Custom Shop creations, meaning some of those original specs might be altered. Naturally, even more deviation from the blueprint will be found on the Epi model.

Head over to Gueikian's Instagram account to browse the full Q&A.

As a founding member of Nirvana, bassist Krist Novoselic helped create some of the most beloved and endearing guitar music of all time. While Kurt Cobain was the band’s primary songwriter and drummer Dave Grohl added huge drive and dynamics to the sound, Novoselic made the most of the melodic opportunities presented to him by virtue of being in a power trio, always a bassist’s dream.

However, he never hogged the limelight or indeed the full frequency range; his basslines were definitely an important part of each song’s melodic content and often an actual hook, but the songwriting remained the trio’s main focus rather than each members playing skills. Or as Krist once told BP, “I’ve approached bass playing as a bridge between the rhythm section and the guitar/vocal melody.”

Today, we’re looking back at the five basslines that made Krist Novoselic so essential to Nirvana. 

1. About A Girl (Bleach, 1989)

Novoselic delivers a warm, almost metallic bassline on this early classic, when Kurt Cobain was still referring to himself as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ and which was released at a time when people thought that Extreme and Warrant were like, totally cool dude. For 1989's Bleach, Novoselic deployed a variety of basses, including a Fender Jazz, an Ibanez Black Eagle and even a borrowed Hohner.

2. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nevermind, 1991)

An anthem for a generation of slackers it may be, but Smells Like Teen Spirit is usually underestimated as a performed piece of music. It devolves during its verses to Novoselic’s simple four-note bassline. It’s the simplest pattern of eighths possible, and Novoselic performs it with total skill, playing microscopically behind the beat to lend it extra weight. The solidity of this classic bass guitar part is still gobsmacking to this day.

3. Lithium (Nevermind, 1991)

“I’m so happy,” lied Kurt Cobain over Novoselic’s snappy, almost cheeky bass part – one of those little licks that you tend to hum to yourself without ever really realising that it actually exists. His choice of notes is generally economical; you won't hear any extended runs despite Kurt dropping out before the song’s final verse, at which point Novoselic carries the entire arrangement.

4. On a Plain (Nevermind, 1991)

Perhaps more than any other song recorded by Nirvana, On a Plain sounds like big-hair arena rock, from it’s full-fat opening chords to the fists-aloft chorus. Novoselic's tone here is crunchy and warm, with sufficient top to give it definition, but a world away from the traditional, scooped metal bass sound that stood for everything that Nirvana were against. Keep an ear out for that nifty three-second bass solo after each chorus.

5. Serve The Servants (In Utero, 1993)

After the happy-clappy stadium sounds of Nevermind, Nirvana sought a darker place from which to operate, and found one with In Utero, one of the most lyrically miserable albums ever recorded. Sonically, it was a heavier, subtler experience than its predecessor, with Novoselic laying down a bass part that coupled perfectly with Cobain’s riffage on this opening cut.

Nirvana - The Bass Guitar Collection is available on amazon.

Foo Fighters have announced But Here We Are – their upcoming studio album, which marks their first release since the sudden passing of the band’s former drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

The album has been dubbed “the first chapter of the band’s new life”, and has been previewed with its lead single, Rescued – but there’s been no official confirmation as to who performed drums on the track.

It’s safe to assume that Foo frontman Dave Grohl himself took up the sticks in the studio, with Grohl also contributing to the dense wall of jangly, glass-like electric guitars that’s assembled by Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear.

The track comes at an especially poignant time for the band, with its emotional core and lyricism reflective of a wider direction across But Here We Are that will see the band “run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance”.

In a touching summary, But Here We Are is said to carry the naivete of the band’s 1995 debut album, and described as “the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together”.

The 10-track album will arrive on June 2 via Roswell Records/Columbia Records, and will be Foo Fighters’ first since 2021’s Medicine at Midnight. 

News of a new album comes with the anticipation of an upcoming tour – along with a handful of already confirmed live shows – for which the band will be recruiting a new drummer, after they confirmed they’d continue as a band following Hawkins’ death.

Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron was reportedly said to have been a frontrunner for the gigs, though such rumors were shot down by the drummer himself on his Instagram page. Angels & Airwaves’ Atom Willard has also been linked with the role.

Official confirmation of But Here We Are comes after a UK radio DJ claimed the band would be releasing a new album in March.

The tracklist for But Here We Are can be found below.

1. Rescued 
2. Under You
3. Hearing Voices
4. But Here We Are 
5. The Glass
6. Nothing At All 
7. Show Me How 
8. Beyond Me
9. The Teacher
10. Rest

• But Here We Are is available to preorder now.

It’s impossible to deny the sea-change brought about by Nirvana’s Nevermind. Even if grunge lasted no longer than vocalist Kurt Cobain himself, who drew a line under his career in the most permanent way possible in April 1994. The album's enormous presence also drew attention to the melodic pick playing of bassist Krist Novoselic, which cried out to be mixed high in any given Nirvana song. "I was really fortunate that I got to work with Kurt: he was such a talented songwriter and he had a real ear for a hook, so as far as I was concerned playing bass with him was super-easy."

Cobain once described his songwriting as a combination of his favorite influences – the Beatles and Black Sabbath – and purportedly asked engineers to make him sound like John Lennon. All of which made Paul McCartney a pretty solid choice to front a Nirvana reunion at a charity concert at Madison Square Garden in December 2012.

Speaking from the stage before introducing Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic, McCartney said: “So recently, some guys asked me to go and jam with them. So I showed up ready to jam, and these guys kept saying they hadn't played together for years. The penny finally dropped and I finally understood that I was in the middle of a Nirvana reunion.”

The Nirvana bandmates performed Cut Me Some Slack – the original song they had recorded for Grohl’s Sound City documentary. So what was it like collaborating with a living legend? “Incredible,” said Novoselic. “Dave had sent me an email asking if I wanted to record with Paul McCartney in L.A., and I said, 'Dude, I’ll walk there from Washington if I have to.' So I flew down and we were standing around figuring out what to do, and I kept thinking, please don’t make me play bass guitar, please don’t make me play bass. That’s like being asked to do karate with Bruce Lee – you’re going to get your ass kicked. 'Yep, I’m going boxing. Who’s your sparring partner? Muhammad Ali. Good luck with that!'” 

“So of course he asked me to play bass. Paul had this slide guitar that he was playing, and Dave was playing drums, but it wasn’t working for us. Then I realized we were playing in D, so I did the old grunge trick and I drop-tuned my bass to D. I played some riffs, and boom! Paul got into it, Pat Smear was feeling it, and Dave laid down some serious grooves. Then Paul shot me a riff and I shot him a riff and everything started clicking perfectly. We had the old band back together, and we had this cool left-handed guitarist, who was actually Paul McCartney, and he was doing vocals. I had to pinch myself. We ended up winning a Grammy for that song, too.”

Cut Me Some Slack was an immediate hit with critics and won a Grammy award for Best Rock Song in 2014. “There was speculation that Nirvana was reuniting, with Paul taking over for Kurt, but it was just fun,” says Krist. “He said he liked my basslines. Paul McCartney said that! You can put that in a pull quote.”

Pop superstar Billie Eilish welcomed two guitar heroes – Phoebe Bridgers and Dave Grohl – to the stage during her gig at LA’s Kia Forum last night (December 15).

After playing a selection of her hits during the show’s first act – including bury a friend and you should see me in a crown, Eilish – who is set to conclude a trio of shows at the Kia Forum tonight (December 16) – pulled up two stools and invited the Foo Fighters leader onstage for a touching acoustic duet of My Hero, from the band’s 1997 album, The Colour and the Shape.

And later on in the set, the megastar called up Bridgers for an killer acoustic rendition of Motion Sickness, from her 2017 debut, Stranger in the Alps.

Eilish has made no secret of her love of Foo Fighters in the past. Back in April, she performed her 2021 single Happier Than Ever at the Grammy Awards wearing a T-shirt showing drummer Taylor Hawkins, who sadly died earlier this year.

And while walking the red carpet at this year’s Oscars ceremony, she said [per Rolling Stone], “Just in the short time of meeting [Hawkins] a few times, it felt like we lost a friend.”

Back in September, Foo Fighters hosted two tribute shows to Hawkins – one at London's Wembley Stadium and another at LA's Kia Forum – inviting a plethora of special guests to perform.

They included Wolfgang Van Halen – who dazzled with his freakishly accurate renditions of classic Van Halen tracks – and Nancy Wilson, Pink and Jon Theodore, who teamed up with Foo Fighters for a rendition of Heart's Barracuda.

Despite taking home two awards for New Artist and Alternative Video for Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana’s night at the 1992 MTV Awards was largely one to forget for bassist Krist Novoselic.

Having already found himself in the middle of a fracas with Guns ‘N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, the Nirvana bassist went on to accidentally knock himself out with his bass. Lauded as the worst bass guitar throw in rock history, the resulting head wound eventually led to a shared glass of champagne with Queen’s Brian May.

“Oh, that was mega!” says Krist Novoselic. “We started playing this song and my amp just didn’t work. So I thought, ‘I’m gonna do this bass toss and walk off’. Well, the bass got caught in the TV lights, and then boom! It fell on my head. So I storm off stage, and these paramedics come and take a look at me and put a bandage on and I had to sign all these release forms so I’m not gonna sue anybody. It was in front of 200 million people, right?" 

Having been signed off by the onsite paramedics, Novoselic was surprised to receive some additional treatment from Queen guitarist Brian May.

"So I’m all annoyed, right, and I’m like ‘What the hell!’ and behind them there is this amazing fellow, with a glass of champagne. It’s Brian May! Just standing there politely. He says ‘Here you are, my good man’ and he hands me this glass of champagne.

"I was like ‘You’re Brian May! How are you?’ and he said, ‘More importantly, how are you?’ Moments later Dave Grohl burst in. He'd been looking all over for me, only to find me enjoying a calm glass of bubbly with Mr. May."

Anyone familiar with Nirvana’s albums, or even solely with Nevermind – their biggest seller – will know that Novoselic made a point of laying down simple, effective bass parts with a tone to die for.

“I’ve learned that countless people have learned to play bass from listening to those records," he says. "They’re simple, melodic basslines, which is what you need when you’re starting out.”

30 years later, it’s impossible to deny the sea-change brought about by Nirvana. Even if grunge lasted no longer than Cobain himself, who drew a line under his career in the most permanent way possible in April 1994. These songs are his lasting legacy.

“I was really fortunate that I got to work with Kurt: he was such a talented songwriter and he had a real ear for a hook, so as far as I was concerned playing bass with him was super-easy.”

As a founder member of one of the most enduring rock bands in history, John Paul Jones needs little in the way of introduction as a bona fide bass guitar hero. His superstardom with Led Zep in the 70s inspired a generation, and his 2009 return to rock’s top table with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl in Them Crooked Vultures only underlined his standing as one of the all-time greats.

Although his bass collection has continued to grow over the years, JPJ has remained faithful to the creations of luthier Hugh Manson, his long-serving tech, who is in the enviable position of knowing exactly what John expects from his bass. 

“In the case of ‘Eric’, John’s first Manson 4-string, we have a single EMG placed in the sweet spot,” explains Hugh. “With ‘Son of Eric’ there are two EMGs upgraded to the new dual-coil designs.”

Faithful to the custom creations of Hugh Manson, Manson Guitar Works released the John Paul Jones E-Bass last year, a production model based on John’s ‘Son of Eric’ Manson 4-string. The specifications are identical, including all the upgrades that have been carried out on John’s bass to date, including the EMG pickups, the quilted maple top, the Badass bridge and the Schaller tuners. 

“When the prototypes came back we just couldn’t believe it,” says Hugh. “It feels and sounds just like John’s bass.”

The neck has a very thin, straight profile, with a low action and a two-octave ebony fretboard. “I’ve made various instruments for John with flame maple necks,” says Hugh. “Like the two basses he used for the O2 show with Led Zep. Those were an inch or two longer as well, because they were tuned lower. So we could have used flame maple here, but on John’s mainstay bass it’s just really just straightforward hard maple, nothing flash."

The headstock, which has a quilted maple veneer to match the body, is noticeably small in size, with the machine heads tightly packed in on the rear side. In fact, there’s barely enough room for the Manson logo and John Paul Jones signature. 

“The headstock is the most difficult part of any guitar to design,” continues Hugh. “The body is a piece of cake – you can think of new designs all the time – but headstocks are really hard."

By using a smaller headstock, Hugh claims to have altered the position of the bass’s dead spot, moving it further up the neck. “Dead spots on instruments, of which there is one on every instrument, can be moved or altered by making headstocks bigger or smaller. If you put a small G-clamp on the headstock it will move miles. So I’ve tried to get the headstock as small as I can, which has moved the dead spot higher up the neck.”

BP last spoke to Jones not long after the Led Zeppelin reunion show at London’s O2 Arena. “It had to sound like the last night of a two-year tour," he told us. "That was the objective. We put a great deal of work into it and it paid off."

We asked John about any parallels with Them Crooked Vultures. "The first time that band got together we just jammed in a normal muso sort of way!” he said of the so-called supergroup. "At times you could be very active in the writing process and at other sessions you’d just want to sit back and let it happen. If someone comes up with a good idea, what do you do? Well, just don’t fuck it up!"

To find out more about the Manson John Paul Jones E-Bass visit mansonguitarworks.com

Dave Grohl was a special guest at Joe Walsh’s VetsAid fundraiser last night (Sunday November 13) and took the opportunity to drop in and perform with two iconic groups: the Breeders and The James Gang.

The Foo Fighters’ frontman pitched up on guitar and vocals with the Breeders for raucous interpretation of frontwoman Kim Deal’s iconic Pixies’ track, Gigantic. The performance saw Deal (who usually plays a rhythm guitar role in Breeders) swap back to bass temporarily, leaving guitar duties to bassist Josephine Wiggs and her regular foil, lead player Kelley Deal. 

Grohl, meanwhile, showed up wielding his distinctive signature Gibson DG-335 (itself based on Trini Lopez’s 1967 signature guitar) and, amusingly, stole the song’s iconic opening wails from under Deal’s nose.

Grohl also got the chance to appear during the James Gang’s set during standout hit Funk #49 – a favor returned, given Joe Walsh reformed the group for appearances at both the LA and London stints of the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins tribute shows. This time the Foo Fighters’ man was seated on the drum throne of a second kit on a riser behind the group’s own sticksman, Jimmy Fox. 

Fan shot footage of both performances has since surfaced and seems to show Walsh in particularly fine form leading the percussive, funk-laden breakdown. 

The night was the latest of Walsh’s VetsAid shows. The fundraiser was established in 2017 and has since raised over $2,000,000 for a variety of veteran’s charities. 

The 2022 event was pitched as an ‘all-Ohio’ line-up, featuring solely groups who have a connection to the state, including Nine Inch Nails, the James Gang (which Walsh put together during a formative period in Cleveland), The Breeders and The Black Keys. Grohl, meanwhile, originally hails from Warren, Ohio. 

Check out the footage of both performances above and head to the VetsAid site to learn more about the event.

On Saturday (November 5), the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place, playing host to an evening of long-awaited reunions, surprising team-ups and all-round stellar six-string action.

One performance that comfortably fitted into that second category came courtesy of Motown legend and new inductee Lionel Richie, who tapped Dave Grohl for a rendition of the Commodores' timeless 1977 single, Easy.

Following the structure of the original track – which was written by Commodores member Richie – the performance remained mostly guitar-less for the opening exchanges, before the vocalist called upon Grohl “to play the ukulele” in the lead-up to the solo.

Once again proving himself to be one of the music world’s most flexible, prolific and energetic multi-instrumentalists, Grohl nails a like-for-like cover of the Easy solo, using his Gibson Trini Lopez electric guitar to channel those pinpoint post-phrase fretboard slides and razor-like bends.

The crowd, of course, went nuts, and continued their enthusiastic cheering by the time the grand finale came around, which saw Richie egg on a slightly bemused Grohl with some finger-pointing and air guitar.

Once he understood the assignment, Grohl duly delivered, trading off with Richie for some vocal riffs and a flurry of low-end bends.

On Instagram after the show, Richie wrote, “My brother Dave Grohl you brought the heat.”

It’s not the first time the two legends of their respective genres have teamed up. Earlier this year, Richie featured in Foo Fighters’ comedy horror film, Studio 666.

Of the cameo, Grohl told ET, “"He was written into the script. [The] screenwriters didn't know that I actually know him, so when I read the script I was like, 'Oh my god, let’s just text him!' So I texted him and I'm like, 'Dude we're making a horror film. You want to be in it?' And he was like, 'Absolutely.' And that was it.”

The 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony played host to a handful of standout six-string-fueled performances. Judas Priest were responsible for arguably the most notable, with the band reuniting with former guitarist K.K. Downing to perform a three-song medley.

Julien's Auctions is having one heck of a sale next weekend (November 11 - November 13).

We've already reported on the dozens of guitars Steve Vai is selling as part of it, plus Don McLean's Vincent Martin 00-21 acoustic guitar, and Kurt Cobain's played, smashed, and signed 1973 Fender Mustang, both of which are also being put under the hammer by Julien's that weekend.

Now, Julien's has added another five guitars to the sale, each of which were signed by performers at the two recent Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts.

First among the offerings is a Gibson Trini Lopez signature guitar – the longtime six-string of choice for Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl – that's been signed by Grohl, one-time Nirvana bass guitar player Krist Novoselic, and a number of other performers at the concert. 

A 2012 model, the guitar was signed at the second of the two Hawkins tribute concerts, at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California. The signed instrument also comes with a 360 degree digital representation of the guitar, packaged as an NFT.

As of press time, bidding for the guitar – which is valued between $6,000 and $8,000 – currently sits at $6,000.

Also on offer is a 2000s-era EVH Frankenstien replica signed at the LA Hawkins tribute show by performers including Grohl, Novoselic, Stewart Copeland, Kesha and Joan Jett.

Valued at between $3,000 and $5,000, the guitar also comes with a 360 degree digital representation packaged as an NFT. The current high bid for the guitar, as of this writing, is $3,500.

Also part of the lot is a 2021 Manson John Paul Jones signature bass that was signed – at the first of the Hawkins tribute shows, at Wembley Stadium – by Novoselic, Elliot Easton, Jones himself, and a number of others who played at the event.

The bass is also packaged with a 360 degree digital representation NFT, and is valued at between $3,000 and $5,000. Bidding for the four-string currently sits at $2,250.

Slightly different from the rest of the group is a Fender Nile Rodgers signature Hitmaker Stratocaster.

This particular Stratocaster doesn't feature any autographs at the moment, but Rodgers will – if the buyer so desires – sign the guitar personally to its new owner upon its purchase, and record a brief video message for them as well.

Valued at between $6,000 and $8,000, bidding for the Hitmaker sits at $700 as of this writing.

Last but not least is a 2022 Brian May Red Special guitar, signed at the Wembley show by performers including Grohl, Copeland, Kesha and Brian Johnson.

The Red Special has an estimated value of between $4,000 and $6,000, and also comes with a 360 degree digital representation NFT. Bidding for the instrument currently sits at $2,250.

The Icons & Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll auction, to give it its full name, will run from November 11 through November 13 in person at New York City's Hard Rock Cafe and online.

For more info on the auction, visit Julien's.

On September 3 and 27, Wolfgang Van Halen performed at Foo Fighters’ tribute shows to their late drummer Taylor Hawkins at London’s Wembley Stadium and LA’s Kia Forum, respectively.

Wolfgang’s time at each concert was limited, mostly due to the sheer number of artists on each bill, and he used his brief time slots to play a pair of Van Halen songs, paying tribute not only to Hawkins, who loved Van Halen’s music, but also his late father, guitar icon Eddie Van Halen.

It was an apparent U-turn for the Mammoth WVH multi-instrumentalist, who previously stated that he’d never recreate his father’s music onstage – “I refuse to tread the same ground as my dad,” he said last February.

But joined by Dave Grohl on bass guitar, Josh Freese on drums and Justin Hawkins on vocals, Wolfgang delighted the crowds with covers of Van Halen songs: Hot For Teacher and On Fire at Wembley and Hot For Teacher and Panama in LA.

Many who have since viewed footage of the performance have noted the eerie accuracy with which Wolfgang played his father’s electric guitar parts, and how tight the musicians sounded onstage.

Yet Wolfgang understandably experienced a sense of apprehension at playing his father’s guitar parts onstage prior to the show.

“I didn’t even know if I could do it,” he told Guitar World’s Chris Gill. “I had a lot of conversations with Dave. What a kind sweetheart of a man he is. We talked a lot about [it]. Initially he was like, ‘What do you think? Would you be comfortable doing this?’ Initially, I didn’t wanna disappoint Dave Grohl. And I was like, ‘Sure.’”

Wolfgang explains that due to the gravity of the invitation, Grohl asked him to mull it over to ensure he felt he was making the right choice.

“I thought a lot about it and I was like, ‘You know what, if there was ever a time, this is it.’ I talked to him about it and I was just honest. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I could do this, but if I do I need your support. I need you up there with me.’ I was like, ‘Whatever the incarnation of what it becomes, I need you there with me,’ and he was like, ‘Absolutely.’

“Knowing that Josh was gonna be there I was like, ‘Josh Freese is one of the best drummers on the planet.’ Seeing the response of people saying ‘Who was on drums?’ It was like, ‘Dude, you’ve gotta learn yourself something and realize that Josh Freese has literally played on fucking every single thing you’ve ever heard, ever.

“I was pretty sure Justin could do it but then once we got there and he hit it, it was like, ‘Fuck, this is gonna be amazing.’ It was really exciting. It was really special, man. I’m super-happy and proud with how everything came to be.”

Wolfgang also explains that the group only rehearsed a handful of times before the Wembley Stadium show.

“We rehearsed it a couple times in LA with just Josh, Dave and I [in] one day,” Wolfgang says in a new interview that will feature in the January 2023 issue of Guitar World. “And then we got there and rehearsed one day with Justin. So all in all we played each song maybe five or six times. It was really special.”

To those who suggest Wolfgang has it easier as a musician being the son of Eddie Van Halen, he responds: “I didn’t just put a CD in and upload it into my head! [Laughs] I practice a lot. It’s a really weird backhanded compliment, where it’s like, ‘Oh, you did nothing to be able to do this.’ And it’s like, ‘No, I work very hard to be able to do what I can do.’ I understand where it’s coming from, though.”

As for whether we’re likely to see Wolfgang play with a reunited Van Halen lineup in the near-future, his comments in a new Classic Rock interview suggest it’s unlikely.

“I think I already did it with the Taylor Hawkin tributes. I feel a lot of closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father,” he says, adding: “If the Taylor concerts are all that happens then I’m happy with that.”

• The paperback edition of Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill's Eruption: Conversations With Eddie Van Halen is out now.

After performing dead-on versions of two classic Van Halen tracks at the first Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins tribute show earlier this month, Wolfgang Van Halen appeared at the second last night at LA’s Kia Forum to once again honor Hawkins as well as his own late father, Eddie Van Halen.

Like his performance at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3, Wolfgang again appeared alongside Dave Grohl on bass guitar, Josh Freese on drums and The Darkness’s Justin Hawkins on vocals to deliver renditions of two classic Van Halen cuts.

The motley crew of musicians again played Hot For Teacher, from Van Halen’s 1984 album, 1984, but this time swapped out On Fire for one of the band’s biggest-ever tracks, Panama.

Wolfgang was once again on unshakeable form. Channeling his late father with eerie accuracy, the guitarist recreated the tapping intro of Hot For Teacher and natural harmonic-laden riffs of Panama with enviable precision, in a performance akin to the studio recordings of both 1984 tracks. Check out fan-shot footage below.

The multi-instrumentalist called upon a pair of EVH electric guitars for his brief set: his prototype relic’d EVH semi-hollow, unveiled earlier this year on the road with Mammoth WVH, for Hot For Teacher; and a natural-finished model for Panama.

The Panama performance was an apparent U-turn for Wolfgang, after he not only said he’d never recreate his father’s music onstage – “I refuse to tread the same ground as my dad,” he said last February – but also told Total Guitar last year: “I’m not doing covers of Panama and going, ‘If you want Van Halen, come to me!’”

Reposting a comment he made on social media after the passing of his father – in which he said: “I’m not fuckin’ playing Panama for you guys” – Wolfgang light-heartedly addresses his apparent hypocrisy, adding a small addendum: “twice*”.

Of course, it’s probable that Wolfgang’s stance on playing Van Halen material live, at least with his band Mammoth WVH, remains unchanged, and he simply made exceptions for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts, as the late drummer was a fan of Van Halen.

In October last year, Wolfgang noted that it was “fucking exhausting” to keep reiterating that Mammoth WVH would never play Van Halen songs.

The second Taylor Hawkins tribute concert played host to a massive selection of guest artists, including Joan Jett, Travis Barker, James Gang, Def Leppard, Josh Homme, P!nk, Stewart Copeland, Rush, Lars Ulrich and oh so many more.

Notable highlights from the hours-long event included a performance of Heart’s Barracuda by Nancy Wilson, Pink, Foo Fighters members and Jon Theodore, and a pair of Soundgarden covers by Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, Taylor Momsen, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear and Dave Grohl.

The 1990 Gretsch White Falcon electric guitar that Dave Grohl used in the Foo Fighters' Monkey Wrench music video has sold at auction for over $53,000.

Once owned by Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear, and used extensively with the band both onstage and in the studio, the Japanese-built model – serial number 906593-39 – was the subject of a number of modifications, and eventually sold by Smear on Ebay in 2003. 

You can see the guitar – which was sold by Gardiner Houlgate – in action in the Monkey Wrench video below.

Earnie Bailey, Smear's guitar tech during his time with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, made a number of after-market mods to the instrument. 

First, he swapped out the guitar's original tailpiece with an original 1950s Gretsch Cadillac example that was found by Smear in a junk shop, then, he put a pillow inside its body in an effort to rein in feedback, while covering the guitar's F holes with black velvet. 

"I had to have a White Falcon after seeing the great Matthew Ashman use one with Bow Wow Wow in 1981," reads an accompanying note – written in 2002, and sold with the guitar – from Smear. "The guitar looked amazing but the early ones were super rare and expensive and the '70s models had all that extra crap like dampeners and stereo switches. 

"When the '90s reissues came out," he continued, "I could finally get one without worrying about banging around some overpriced museum piece on the road... or so I thought. It instantly became one of my favorites, getting special treatment and was usually the one to pull out to play in hotel rooms and show off to visiting friends.

"Earnie made modifications while on tour, eventually creating my ultimate Falcon. I played this guitar on several Foo Fighters tours and on The Colour and The Shape album. It was also used by Harlow on their Harlowland album. Enjoy!"

The Gretsch was sold with a Polaroid picture of Smear holding the guitar, and three photos of Rancid's Tim Armstrong, actress Drew Barrymore and film director David Markey, respectively, playing the guitar, each dated February 19, 1996.

Incidentally, this very White Falcon also made an appearance in Guitar World's 1997 feature with Grohl and Smear, after the latter used it during a rehearsal attended by Guitar World writer Alan di Perna.

For more on the guitar, visit Gardiner Houlgate.

During Saturday’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concert, Foo Fighter frontman Dave Grohl unexpectedly reunited with his Them Crooked Vultures bandmates Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, as the supergroup performed together for the first time in 12 years.

Homme, who had joined Nile Rodgers earlier that evening to cover David Bowie, returned to the stage with the support of Grohl and Led Zeppelin legend Jones, with the three making their first public live appearance as Them Crooked Vultures since 2010’s Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.

It was only a short set – three songs in total – but it was enough to satisfy those in the crowd who were familiar with the three-piece, who first formed back in 2009 and released only one studio album.

Up first was a surprising cover of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, for which Homme left his strapped-on Motor Ave BelAire electric guitar untouched as he focused his attentions on the microphone.

The BelAire was plenty busy during the next track, though, which was an energetic rendition of Them Crooked Vultures original, Gunman. With the help of additional guitarist Alain Johannes, the trio showed no signs of their 12-year hiatus, seamlessly launching into a polished performance filled with punchy riffs and gnarly noodles.

It proved to be the only Them Crooked Vultures song on the setlist, with Homme, Grohl and Jones then bringing things to a close with a cover of Queens of the Stone Age’s Long Slow Goodbye.

It remains to be seen whether this cameo will be the catalyst for more Them Crooked Vultures activity in the near future. In February last year, Grohl voiced his desire to record a follow-up to the supergroup’s self-titled debut record.

“It was incredibly inspiring – it was a really incredible time,” he said of the whirlwind experience. “I hope that someday we do it again.”

Them Crooked Vultures’ set came just before the halfway mark in the tribute gig’s 50-strong setlist, and had followed performances from Liam Gallagher, Nile Rodgers, Chevy Metal, Justin Hawkins, Violet Grohl, Chris Chaney and Wolfgang Van Halen, who nailed two classic Van Halen tracks.

Their set was followed by appearances from James Gang, Brian Johnson, Lars Ulrich, Brian May, Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde and Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, who reunited to perform three Rush songs.

To find out more about the second Taylor Hawkins tribute show – which will take place September 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles – head over to Foo Fighters’ website.

Foo Fighters gave their beloved late drummer Taylor Hawkins a massive, heart-warming send-off on Saturday (September 3) when they hosted an all-star tribute concert at London’s Wembley Stadium.

In addition to the surviving Foo Fighters lineup of Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee, guests included Liam Gallagher, Nile Rodgers, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, Lars Ulrich and Stewart Copeland, while Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee joined forces with Dave Grohl to perform a trio of Rush classics.

The night centered around Hawkins – who passed away suddenly in March this year – and the music he loved most. But the event was also a celebration of several other recently departed musicians, including electric guitar icon Eddie Van Halen. And leading the tribute was Eddie’s son and former bandmate, Wolfgang Van Halen.

Wolfgang’s inclusion on the bill was confirmed back in June, and many expected him to cover a Foo Fighters track or two; his band Mammoth WVH tackled FF classic My Hero at a gig shortly after Hawkins’ death.

But in an apparent U-turn after saying he’d never recreate his father’s music onstage – “I refuse to tread the same ground as my dad,” he said last February – Wolfgang, accompanied by Dave Grohl on bass, The Darkness’s Justin Hawkins on vocals and session maestro Josh Freese on drums, delivered renditions of two Van Halen classics: On Fire and Hot For Teacher.

“It should come as no surprise that Taylor was a huge Van Halen fan,” Grohl said while introducing Wolfgang. “Didn’t you see those tights he would wear every night? We are lucky enough tonight to have with us a real Van Halen.”

While a photo of Wolfgang and Eddie Van Halen with Taylor Hawkins was displayed on two screens either side of the stage, the patchwork band of rockstars launched into On Fire, from Van Halen’s 1978 debut, before playing Hot For Teacher, one of the band’s biggest hits from 1984’s 1984.

As can be seen in the video footage above, Wolfgang channels his late father with eerie accuracy, effortlessly blitzing through On Fire’s guitar solo and replicating Hot For Teacher’s tapping intro and fingerstyle clean riff so closely they don’t sound far removed from the studio recording.

For the performance, Wolfgang calls upon his prototype relic’d EVH semi-hollow, which he unveiled earlier this year on the road with Mammoth WVH. In a notable fashion statement, Josh Freese dons a pair of Van Halen-inspired shorts, which mimic the look of Eddie’s iconic red, black and white Frankenstrat.

"Thank you for everything, Taylor," Wolfgang tweeted after the show. "That was for you, and for Pop."

In a 2021 interview with Guitar World following the release of his debut Mammoth WVH album, Wolfgang spoke of his desire to carve his own musical path, rather than piggyback on the legacy created by his late father.

“I think Dad would rather have people not try and sound like him but sound like themselves,” he said, adding: “I’m not milking off the legacy. I’m sure that’s up for debate for some people that hate me, but I’m being myself.”

The magnitude of the event – which was supporting charities chosen by the Hawkins family – and Wolfgang's love for Taylor Hawkins may have influenced his decision this time around, but it’s still probable that he’ll never play Van Halen material onstage with Mammoth WVH.

In October last year, he noted that it was “fucking exhausting” to keep reiterating that Mammoth WVH would never play Van Halen songs.

A second Taylor Hawkins tribute concert is due to take place on September 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Stewart Copeland, Chris Chaney, Omar Hakim, and Hawkins’ side band Chevy Metal will appear once again, as well as Gene Simmons, Nancy Wilson, Chad Smith, Nikki Sixx and many more.