Steve Morse has looked back on the origins of his decades-spanning partnership with Ernie Ball Music Man, recalling how the collaboration first started thanks to a chance encounter – and a broken volume pedal.

Sometimes, collaborations just aren’t meant to be, and Morse’s failed link-up with Fender is a classic example. But as one door shut, another opened, and the former Deep Purple guitarist later forged a different partnership that’s still going strong today.

Morse was courted by Fender in the mid-1980s. It made sense, seeing as a Frankenstein'd Telecaster was his go-to guitar at the time. But the relationship disintegrated when Fender insisted he used own-brand parts.

As chance wold have it, Morse wouldn't be waiting long for a run-in with his dream collaborator. One broken pedal later, and Morse soon forgot all about Fender.

“More than 40 years ago, I was playing at a NAMM Show. My volume pedal to control the delay in my demo setup failed,” Morse told Guitar World during an interview at NAMM 2026 earlier this year.

“The gear stripped out, and there was no way to fix it. So I went looking for a volume pedal, and the Ernie Ball booth was nearby. I saw they had this really cool pedal that’s basically the same one they still sell.

“I said, ‘That looks rugged. It’s everything I need. Can I buy that?’” he continues. “They said, ‘No, that’s a show thing.’ ‘Can I borrow it to do my demo?’ ‘Well, let me ask Ern.’”

It turned out Morse was talking to David Ball, son of Ernie himself. After the random run-in, one thing lead to another, and before long Morse was gigging with Ball's other two sons, Sherwood and Sterling.

It was a serendipitous start to a powerful partnership, as Morse would later find out.

“I ended up playing gigs with Sherwood and Sterling, and then got to be friends with Ernie, because he made a really warm family vibe out of it,” Morse remembers. “And he was the grumpy older guy who had to tell people, ‘Come on, let’s get to work. What are we doing here?’

“It was literally a family thing. But I felt like part of it. So I became an endorser way back then.”

Ernie Ball was no shrinking violet even back then, but Morse helped propel the company’s status by becoming its first signature artist, pulling off a coup from under Fender’s nose.

“40 years ago, they bought the Music Man line, and they were going to release the StingRay bass,” Morse says of Ernie Ball's early plans. “And they said, ‘Well, you know what? We’d like to get the guitars where they should have been, and we want you to design a signature one.’”

His FrankenTele became the template for his signature guitar, which was designed to Morse's exacting standards and specifications. It's one of the firm's most recognizable and historically significant guitars – and succeeded serving Morse's signature guitar requirements where other bands had previously failed.

“Dudley Gimpel was the luthier at Music Man and he really put in the time, and was very analytical about it," Morse says. “We started with the head stock, which is shorter [on the signature]. And the guitar, when you put it on your leg to practice, you can let go, and it balances perfectly."

That same signature came with him as he replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, subsequently becoming the band's longest-serving guitarist.

Guitar World’s full interview with Steve Morse will be published online in the near future.

Ernie Ball Music Man is honoring the 50th anniversary of its gold-standard bass, the StingRay, with an equally golden model.

Consequently, it’s got Sterling Ball, son of Ernie, reflecting on the iconic instrument’s – and the company’s – origins.

Finished in either Molten Gold and Liquid Gold, the celebratory model is paired with an ebony fretboard, glow-in-the-dark side markers, and a gold-plated Vintage Music Man bridge with gold-plated steel saddles. Heck, even the truss rod wheel at the heel of the neck is gold.

It’s a celebratory bass fit for royalty, as Ernie Ball Music Man celebrates the big 5-0 of a game-changing active bass. But how did the company get to this position?

The StingRay, first introduced in 1976, took cues from the Fender Precision Bass, which Leo Fender had designed years prior. The StingRay was put together by Fender, as well Tom Walker and Forrest White, while Sterling Ball offered his own input on the design

It distinguished itself with a single oversized active humbucker and a three-band preamp.

The bass caught on like wildfire, and was played later played by everyone from Flea to Tool’s Justin Chancellor and Tony Levin. Queen’s John Deacon, meanwhile, recorded arguably the greatest bassline of all time with one. Half a century later, it remains embedded in low-end folklore.

“It’s so much more than an instrument,” believes Sterling Ball. “I was there when that baby was born. And when you see that 50 years later, it’s still as important, as vibrant, as valid – that’s insane.”

“I didn't design this bass, Leo did,” Ball adds. “But I was able to point out things that needed adjusting. The vision was to make a better bass, and the vision was to [be the first company to] use active electronics.”

Yet despite Leo Fender's crucial involvement, the bass never joined the Big F lineup. Fender had sold the company to CBS in 1965, and the StingRay instead was released by Music Man – the company founded by White and Walker, and which Fender himself joined as a silent partner.

Then, in 1984, Music Man – including its trademarks and the StingRay bass design – was bought out by Ernie Ball at Sterling's request.

“So from there it was, ‘Okay, I bought it. What do I do with it? Congratulations. You just bought Leo Fender's guitar company,’” Ball laughs. “‘Now you've got to learn how to make guitars.’

“I was so excited, so fired up to do this that I didn't stop and think, you know what, you're taking over from Leo. I think that if I had thought that, I would have been a pretty presumptuous guy with no track record, and I think I would have failed.

“You get lucky in this business sometimes,” he develops. “And Leo got really lucky because it [the bass] was super bright. There was a two-band EQ, so turn that bass up, and you had a lot of bottom. You turn the treble up, and all of a sudden, Louis Johnson and all those guys picked up on it.

“It was an accident that it came out at the same time as slapping and funk, and it became known for that initially. And then, as players like Tony Levin would use it on some of the greatest records ever, they showed how versatile it was.”

The Ernie Ball Music Man 50th Anniversary StingRay bass is available now for $3,399.

See Ernie Ball Music Man for more.

Jason Richardson’s warp-speed alternate-picking runs and mind-bending phrasing have cemented his name as one of the most technically gifted guitarists of his generation, and earned him multiple signature guitars with Ernie Ball Music Man.

The former All That Remains shredder worked his ass off for it. As he tells Guitar World in a new interview, his teenage years were spent woodshedding in lunch breaks, stretching his fingers to widen his finger span, and studying the heck out of music theory.

Yet Richardson has been on a rollercoaster journey with theory. And he appreciates both sides of the eternal debate: does theory stifle creativity, or does it help you get where you want to go?

“It’s theory. It’s not law. That’s what I always like to tell people,” he says. “At one Petrucci camp, Al Di Meola was there, and this is the most blunt and best way I’ve heard it put. He said, ’Learn as much theory as you possibly can, and then forget all of it.’”

In his younger years, Richardson was obsessed – heck, his high school music theory tutor got him to grade other students’ tests. But even he makes the case that theory is a guide; you shouldn’t let it box you into certain note choices or ways of playing.

In fact, years before he heard Di Meola’s words of wisdom, Richardson had had his own theory epiphany.

“I made that disconnect for myself when I was still in Born of Osiris, and we were working on [2011 album] The Discovery. I found out some of my favorite star players at the time – I’m not gonna name any names – but there were some people who sound like they have to know everything about theory, and then you find out they actually don’t really know much at all. They’re just playing what sounds good.

“That’s when I first had that moment. I was like, “Wait a sec. What? No! I’m just gonna play it if it sounds good.” Now I just worry about what shit’s called later when I have to transcribe it and sell it. [laughs]”

Theory is still an essential part of Richardson’s skill set, especially when transcribing film scores – such as his dizzying version of John Williams’ Hedwig’s Theme. But it plays a useful role in his day-to-day composing, too.

“It streamlines harmonies and counterparts. If I want to harmonize a shred run, if I’m playing Ionian, and I just play Phrygian over top of it, and then I have a 3rd the whole time. There’s no hunting for the right note – I just automatically have an idea of what’s going to work best with that.”

Last month, Richardson premiered an eight-string version of his Ernie Ball Music Man signature alongside an updated incarnation of the cut-price Sterling by Music Man model.

NAMM 2026: The NAMM Show, in case you’re new to the beautiful circus that is the musical instrument industry, is the National Association of Music Merchants trade show.

Ostensibly it's a three-day conference in Anaheim, California, for the people who make gear to show it off to the people who buy gear, i.e., music merchants. In reality, it's a vortex that draws in every corner of the music biz.

Just as soon as you're shaking your head at a Gene Simmons impersonator, you're bumping into Stevie Wonder.

Yet, beyond the personalities on display, it's the chance to see and play nearly every piece of bass gear imaginable that makes the NAMM show a worthy annual pilgrimage.

For three days, we scoured the halls and searched through the masses of full stacks, combos, Class D heads, 4-strings, 5-strings, 27-strings (probably), and the heaps of new pedals to hit the shelves.

The result was a bout of hearing damage, calloused feet, and a roundup of all the exciting and amazing products debuting in the bass world.

Between talking shop with the best luthiers, and catching up with our bass guitar heroes, the yearly conglomeration of all things music was a wild success that left us lusting for new basses, amps, and pedals of every kind.

Here’s our pick of the crop from this year’s show.

Ernie Ball Music Man 50th Anniversary StingRay

It’s hard to believe that Music Man’s best-selling bass has been with us for 50 years, as it’s such an inescapable feature of the bass guitar landscape. Music Man designed and released the StingRay in 1976, a worthy successor to the Precision and Jazz Basses that Leo Fender had designed two decades before.

Ernie Ball's 50th Anniversary model celebrates five decades of the StingRay. They’re highly exclusive too. Available in two versions: the Liquid Gold will come in just 50 instruments worldwide, while the Molten Gold will be limited to 300 instruments. Each is fitted with a single humbucker and a commemorative 50th Anniversary silkscreen on the back of the headstock.

A truly exclusive bit of Californian craftsmanship that should have extra appeal to the well-heeled Music Man aficionado.

Aguilar Octamizer DLX

An effect that plunges you deeper into subsonic territory can only be a good thing, right? We are, of course, talking Aguilar’s Octamizer pedal.

The original circuit has been updated with an added octave up setting that’s a sure-fire solution to adding thickness to higher-register lines. Three independent footswitches provide control over the clean signal, octave down, and octave up effects, allowing you to stack voices instantly without adjusting any of the controls. The clean signal can now also be fully muted for pure sub-octave tones.

“When we set out to design the Octamizer DLX, the goal wasn’t to fix the original Octamizer – it was already doing what bass players needed,” writes Aguilar. “We wanted to keep that familiar feel intact while giving players more creative space, better tracking, and new voices they could access instantly.”

Walrus Audio Mantle Analog Bass Preamp DI

The new Mantle DI by Walrus Audio is a must-try for bass players serious about tone. It features two proprietary custom-wound Sapphire Transformers, and an EQ that’s designed to offer “powerful control over sub-lows, mids, and top-end content while remaining intuitive for fast tone shaping.”

If none of that makes sense to you, just know that bass gear guru Ian Martin Allison beelined it to the Walrus Audio booth solely to rave about it.

“I am an absolute DI fanatic, owning probably 50+ DIs and preamps,” said Allison. “And while they’re all great in specific ways, they all either lack something critical or try to stuff in too many features, making for an underwhelming or even overwhelming user experience. This is exactly why I needed this product to exist. I’m thrilled to say that now it does. And it is absolutely killer.” 

Ashdown Engineering UK-Built Amp Range

A manufacturer whose bass amps are ever growing in popularity, judging by the number of bass players we spoke to who love them, Ashdown Engineering has announced Phase 2 of its return to UK manufacturing with five brand-new UK-built amplifier ranges.

Finished in distinctive Ice Blue, the range spans ultra-portable micro heads, clean and intuitive amplifiers, studio-inspired combos, and powerful Rootmaster systems – each designed to deliver “unmistakable Ashdown tone, reliability, and practicality for today's bassists.”

Spector Limited Custom Shop SB-1

The first bass designed by Stuart Spector in the mid-1970s wasn’t quite as slick as the current range, but with other luthiers queueing up to take a long, hard look at the body shape, it left a mark on the bass world that is still obvious today.

Recreated in celebration of its 50th anniversary, the new SB-1 stays faithful to the original specs, including the body shape, pickup placement, vintage-style headstock, and neck-through construction.

Spector has created only 50 of these unique throwback basses in four wood options: 15 of walnut, 15 of maple, 10 of curly cherry, and 15 of rainbow alder, making it a unique collectors item.

As Spector put it, “The SB-1 predates the iconic NS series and is the foundation of the Spector legacy. This limited Custom Shop run brings the historic SB-1 design back.”

Fodera Victor Wooten '83 Monarch Standard

If Victor Wooten has a hand in a product, people are bound to take notice of it, and his Fodera signature model is no exception. Honouring Wooten’s original 1983 Monarch (serial number 037), the Victor Wooten ’83 Monarch Standard is essentially a Monarch featuring details from Victor’s own bass.

It features a solid mahogany body with a beautiful maple top. The three-piece maple neck has an Indian Rosewood fingerboard with clay dot inlays. And powering it all is a Trickfish Custom 3-Band Preamp wired to EMG P/J pickups.

Hearing Wooten himself test out its rich tone and dynamic range was the icing on the cake. “I got my first Fodera in 1983,” said Wooten. “I got it right out of high school and it just fit me perfectly. I’ve stuck with them ever since.”

Laney DB-East-Pre

Session veteran Nathan East was also on hand to demo Laney’s latest bass preamp that he helped design, and we were knocked out by its sound. After unveiling the dual-input DB-East signature head last year, the British amp builder is now offering the inner workings as a pro-level preamp.

With dual inputs and two pre-dialed-in outputs, the DB-East Pre features a tube channel, a Range dial for adding bottom end to its overdrive, selectable mid pre-shapes, and a Tilt switch for a little more bottom or top end EQ.

There’s even a partner app to dial in East’s favorite impulse responses, including IRs from hit record rigs. Pretty much everything a bassist could need on the fly.

“It's a total game-changer,” said East. “There's a lot of information packed into this little box.”

Aguilar Tone Hammer 210 Combo

Rated at 300 watts, Aguilar's new Tone Hammer combo features a vertically-oriented cabinet loaded with two custom ceramic 10-inch speakers inspired by the company’s DB series.

The back is home to dual XLR outputs for front-of-house and in-ear monitor routing as well as built-in cabinet impulse responses. A headphone output and auxiliary input seal the deal.

“The Tone Hammer combo wasn't designed as a scaled-down solution,” a press release states. “Instead, Aguilar focused on the environments bassists actually work in – small venues, Broadway pit settings, and houses of worship where players often rely on in-ear monitoring rather than stage volume.”

Dingwall Jacob Umansky 'Sol' Signature

Bass players of all stripes queued up to check out the latest collaboration between Jacob Umansky and Canadian luthier Sheldon Dingwall.

Designed as a mass-appeal version of Umansky’s Dingwall Custom Shop Z3, his signature model retains a host of premium features including a bookmatched ash top, a matte white/black ceruse finish and Darkglass electronics.

It’s not just for shredders either, with a pickup configuration that makes it far more versatile than you might think. Sure, you'll need to get to grips with that multi-scale fingerboard, but where else are you going to get that tone?

“It’s more than just an instrument to me,” said Umansky, having tested the prototype on tour with Intervals last year. “It’s a reflection of how I play and who I am as a musician. Each time I pick it up it pushes me to explore new ideas.”

Blackstar MM Debut Bass 25

There were rigs of all sizes at the Blackstar booth this year, but what caught our attention was the compact MM Debut 25, a Marco Mendoza signature edition of its Debut Bass 25 practice amp. With Clean and Drive channels, and a responsive 3-band EQ, this is a bassists dream for backstage practice. Other features include Mendoza's distinctive Bird logo, bespoke tolex, and custom fret cloth.

“The MM Debut Bass 25 is everything a bass player needs to enjoy playing every day,” said Mendoza. “It’s simple, inspiring and sounds incredible.”

Fodera x Trickfish Preamp & Practice Amp

Of all the excited rumblings we heard on the show floor about new products, Fodera’s collaboration with Trickfish might have been brought up the most.

Pairing the tone shaping of Fodera’s boutique instruments with the clean preamp circuitry that Trickfish is known for, this new preamp and practice amp has got everything you need: headphone out, aux in for play-alongs, DI out for recording, and a 4-band EQ. Plus the added ability to switch between 2-, 3- and 4-band to make on the fly adjustments quickly.

Ibanez Mode Series

The latest new models to arrive from the Ibanez stable are built upon a foundation of ergonomic design. And with split-coil Delta pickups and a Sonictech S Preamp onboard, they sound just as good as they look – but most important, they feature a competitive price tag that could allow almost any bassist to cop a high-end electric.

Other features include a passive tone control with a push/pull active/passive switch, the MR5S monorail bridge, luminescent side dots for stage visibility, and Ibanez’s new Aero-light Tuners.

Aria Pro II SB-CLB Cliff Burton Signature

Elsewhere at the show, Aria announced a commemorative signature bass to mark 40 years since Cliff Burton's passing. A reissue of the Aria Pro II Cliff Burton – which launched in 2013 with the approval of his family and Metallica – the new model retains many characteristics of the original with a few additional features.

It’s built with an ash body, a 7-piece maple/walnut neck, and a 24-fret rosewood fingerboard. Aria fits it with an MB-1E pickup and their B.B. Circuit, which features an Attack Mode Selector offering six predefined EQ curves. Burton’s signature is also reproduced on the back of the headstock.

Tech 21 Geddy Lee Amalgamation Signature Chorus

Also new for 2026, Geddy Lee has teamed up once again with Tech 21 to create a chorus pedal tailored to his own personal specs, allowing you to get even closer to his signature sound.

“With the Detune control, you can adjust the pitch of the choral voicing,” write Tech 21. “Engaging Deviate mode alters the Detune function and adds an additional voicing for even more depth – as if 3 people are playing at once.”

Speed and Depth knobs round out the control set for adjusting the modulation.

What is it?

The old adage goes, “If you want great, vintage bass tone, change your bass strings approximately half as regularly as you change your bank account”. Or something like that.

Indeed, Motown legend, James Jamerson was famous for rarely changing his strings, claiming “the gunk keeps the funk”, and he wasn’t alone.

Countless bassists prefer the sound of well-played strings that have long lost the high-end sizzle and bright attack of a pack-fresh set. Americana session player, Bonnie Whitmore told Guitar World in 2021, “I'm one of those bassists who never changes their strings, and when I do, I rub bacon fat on them to deaden them!”

But, what if you don’t have years of time or would prefer not to be reminded of cured meats every time you play, there is another way: flatwound strings.

Another player who has been a longterm convert to flatwounds is Pino Palladino, who you’re probably familiar with from his work with, well…everyone. Most recently, Pino announced that he's teamed-up with Ernie Ball to release a signature set of flatwounds: Ernie Ball Pino Palladino Smoothies. made of an outer wrap of cobalt-alloy ribbon over an inner core of steel, these strings aim to give you Pino's preferred starting point and feel straight out of the pack.

“I guess we could go back to the mid-90s” Pino tells Ernie Ball. “I’d been playing my fretless bass almost exclusively on lots of sessions, and there came a point where I was just getting a little jaded with it.

"I got myself a Fender Precision Bass and put some flatwound strings on it. That became a new thing for me.”

What are flatwound strings?

As with roundwound bass strings, flatwound strings consist of an outer winding, wrapped around a central core. However, where roundwound strings feature a (you guessed it) round-profiled outer wrap, flatwounds use a flat, ribbon-profiled wrap. This not only changes the feel of the string, but it also pretty much eliminates the friction-creating gaps between each wind. For a more detailed description, check out our guide to the differences between flatwound vs roundwound bass strings.

In Use

I tried the Pino Palladino Smoothie Flats in Medium gauge (43, 61, 76, 104) –– one of two gauges spec’d by Pino with Super Light also available –– on a couple of different basses. First was a Fender Player II Modified Precision Bass (an active P-Bass with a PJ pickup configuration) as well as a Squier Jazz Bass.

They come in standard packaging with cloth-wrapped ends to help reduce and prevent string slippage, and I’m pleased to say that (unlike the occasional experience from various other brands) they came out of the pack free of any oxidization.

Reviewing strings from ‘tonal memory’ is fraught with potential suggestion and subliminal observations, so, to aid with the sonic side of this review, I recorded a few simple basslines with the original roundwound strings and again with the flatwounds. However, the first thing that’s immediately obvious with flatwounds as much as the tonal difference, is the change in feel.

The first stop was an appointment with an allen key. Flatwound strings can add a little more tension relative to roundwounds, and while slight, I tweaked the truss rod in order to remove a little of the additional relief.

These strings are extremely forgiving, which makes playing them for extended periods a joy, without fatigue on your fingertips. The cobalt wrap has been highly-polished to produce a glassy feel, and it’s really noticeable when traversing the fretboard.

Of course, this isn’t unique to Pino’s signature Ernie Balls, and a good amount of the shift in comfort qualities come from the flatwound ribbon’s profile - helped along here by the finishing process. But if you haven’t ever tried flats instead of roundwounds and are looking for something a little less callous, you’re in for a treat.

Now, let’s talk about cobalt. As you might already be aware, Ernie Ball uses cobalt in place of steel for the outer wrap on a number of its strings, and the main characteristics of cobalt are a strong output, combined with heavier bass and a clarity-boosting lift in the treble end.

This might seem contrary to the ethos of flatwounds, and in a sense, it is. So, while there’s an audible difference in the tonality between the Smoothies and roundwounds, it’s more subtle.

The finger-noise is most definitely reduced by a long way, and the higher end is tamed too. Overall there’s less of the new-string zing too, which is something that you’ll either love or not, depending on where you stand on glossy-sounding new strings.

But the presence is still there, maintaining note definition. Tonally, the straight-through, unprocessed difference in sound place the Smoothies in the ‘vintage-inspired’ category rather than out-and-out old school tones. You get all the feel of flatwound strings, with a retro vibe that still has a modern twist to it, much like the man who they’re made for.

Final Thoughts

If you’re after the building blocks of ’60s-style rock and roll, R&B and funk/soul, these will certainly get you a long way towards them, without being wholly throwback straight out of the pack.

The tonality will dull over time, for sure, but in the weeks I’ve had them fitted to my bass they’ve held their tuning and intonation, with the tonal characteristics still intact.

The biggest change comes from the super-comfortable feel, aided by the high-sheen finishing. It’s been an interesting and inspiring start, but needless to say, my jazz Bass is going to remain strung with flats for the foreseeable future.

It’s no secret that the music industry – and especially the space we inhabit, i.e., the guitar world – runs on AA and 9V batteries, whether it’s pedals, active pickups, wireless systems, battery-powered amps... or anything in between.

In an effort to reduce disposable battery waste and make the industry more sustainable, Ernie Ball is rolling out a new line of USB-C rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, designed specifically for musical equipment.

Available in AA and 9V formats, Ernie Ball USB-C Rechargeable Batteries were developed in collaboration with Paleblue, an expert in the field, and guarantee “consistent, full-voltage performance across instruments, wireless packs, pedals, tuners, and more.”

Each battery features USB-C direct charging, along with LED charge indicators, a rugged reusable storage case, and a lithium-ion design that Ernie Ball states is rated for over 1,000 recharge cycles.

Moreover, with recharge times as quick as 75 minutes to 80%, these high-capacity batteries promise “continuous, reliable power,” while aiming to reduce waste and long-term costs.

“I think rechargeable batteries are the only way forward in this industry,” comments Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jerry Cantrell guitar tech, Henry Trejo.

“There’s too much waste when it comes to conventional batteries. You also have the added benefit of carrying less bulk, which also reduces weight, especially when touring on a budget.”

To test drive these new rechargeable batteries, Ernie Ball has already placed them in the hands of guitar techs for artists such as the Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Turnstile, and Nine Inch Nails for real-world performance feedback.

The Ernie Ball USB-C Rechargeable Battery line is available now through select retailers throughout North America.

For more information, visit Ernie Ball.

Rhythm guitar maestro Cory Wong may have been a self-professed “Strat guy through and through”, but the need for more versatility in the form of a humbucker-equipped guitar – coupled with an off-kilter idea inspired by an iconic bass design – led him to knock on Ernie Ball's door. The rest, as they say, is history – or in this case, the StingRay II, which was officially unveiled this past NAMM.

“I just needed a guitar with humbuckers. If I go out on tour, I just want two guitars: I want a guitar that can do everything that the Strat doesn’t do,” Wong says of the collaboration in the newest issue of Guitarist.

As Wong puts it, he was in the market for a guitar that can deliver a range of sounds: something that delivers the “George Benson, Larry Carlton thing”, “screaming lead and driving punk thing in a bridge pickup”, and “something that’s just got the Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, funky thing that’s different from the Strat”.

After realizing that it’s near-impossible to get all of those tones out of one guitar, he embarked on his quest for a companion to his Strat. However, despite testing different pickups and guitars, none of them stuck. Then, out of the blue, Wong found a spark of inspiration.

“Then one day, I was just scrolling the internet and I saw [Vulfpeck/Fearless Flyers bassist] Joe Dart texting me, he’s like, ‘Yo, so the Joe Dart Jr bass is coming out, check it out!’ And he sent me a picture,” he recalls. “This thing looks amazing. It’s basically just like a miniature StingRay, and it had one pickup and whatever.”

What followed was a real-life lightbulb moment. “I emailed Brian Ball [CEO of Ernie Ball Inc]. I was like, ‘Hey, can you just slap six strings on there and a humbucker and send me one?’ He’s like, ‘No, I can’t. That’s not how it works…’

“So it’s like, ‘Okay, well, have you guys ever made a StingRay guitar? Because that shape is really cool. You guys should make one. You should do it. It’d be so awesome.’”

A render and a couple of exchanges later, Wong was officially hooked. “I’m like, ‘It’s awesome!’ They’re like, ‘Okay, hold on. I feel like we’re kind of collaborating on this. How involved do you want to be in this?’ I said, ‘However involved you want me to be. Because what you’re doing right now is making the guitar that I want to be a companion to my Strat.’ So they said, ‘All right, let’s do this as a collaborative guitar.’”

As for whether Wong managed to achieve the tone (or should should that be tones?) of his dreams, the answer is a resounding yes.

“I’m so stoked about this guitar. What it’s done is it’s really made it so that when I go on tour, I can bring my Strat and I can bring [the Music Man] for everything else, you know?” he gushes.

“It’s kind of interesting; everybody knows me as a Strat player, like that is my voice. But any professional guitar player who says, ‘Oh yeah, I just play one guitar,’ they’re lying. We all know that. [This guitar is] the perfect companion to the Strat, in every way.”

And, in other news, in his inaugural Guitar World column, Wong lays out the principles – and the mentality – of good rhythm playing, and how you can make it fun.

For more from Cory Wong, plus new interviews with Mike Campbell and Lita Ford, pick up issue 524 of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.

Annie Clark – better known as St. Vincent – may now be inextricably linked to the effortless cool of her signature Ernie Ball Music Man series. However, the model owes its existence to a more obscure and perhaps unsung hero – the Harmony Bobkat, which Clark played a pivotal role in re-popularizing.

“I got into the Harmony Bobkat because I was playing with Sufjan Stevens and his guitar player at the time was like, ‘You gotta check these Harmony Bobkats out. They're lightweight.’ And this was when they were still cheap,” she tells Reverb.

Originally dubbed the Silhouette when it first hit the shelves in 1963, Harmony Guitars' entry-level offset was rebranded as the Bobkat after 1968. Bobkat-based models, including the popular 1477, were also sold under the Silvertone brand and stocked at Sears department stores around the States.

Featuring high-output DeArmond-designed gold foil pickups, the Bobkat tone has lots of character – with clear, crisp highs, and powerful, well-rounded lows, making even the pickups highly sought-after.

“I think the first one I found was at Emerald [City] Guitars in Seattle, and I played it. I was like, ‘I love these gold foil pickups.' It's so lightweight. I love the whammy bar.”

Clark admits that she soon took her penchant for Bobkats to the next level, stating, “Anytime I would see one, no matter what the condition was, I would just buy them.” Soon, she started actively scouring guitar shows in hopes of finding another one… or two.

“I went to the Dallas Guitar Show back in the day and bought every Harmony Bobkat I could find. I was the only person not wearing a Tommy Bahama shirt. I really love them.”

And when it came to creating her own signature model, it comes as no surprise that it's very Bobkat-coded – bar a few well-needed upgrades.

“I took a lot of the lessons from the Harmony Bobkat,” she discloses. “My guitar is similar in spirit, except when you dive bomb on the whammy bar, it stays in tune. That would be the one thing with the Harmony. Obviously, because these are guitars you buy in the ’50s and ’60s at Sears [and were] student player guitars, they're not meant to be assaulted.”

She continues, “So when I made my signature series, I was like, ‘I want a really intense whammy bar that you can dive bomb, but it still stays in tune.’ Because I used to do that to the Harmony Bobkat, [but] you have one dive bomb, and then you can't play the guitar anymore because you've moved the wooden bridge and it no longer will stay in tune.”

Just this month, St. Vincent picked up three Grammys for All Born Screaming – her self-produced seventh studio album, which also saw her team up with two Foo Fighters.

With crossover progressive instrumentalists Polyphia, Tim Henson has redefined many things. The way an electric guitar can be played. The genres that can be combined in the name of shred. Heck, even the role of the guitar in contemporary music.

It’s why big-name composers like Hans Zimmer have his number on speed dial, while his contemporaries – from acoustic trailblazer Marcin and djent-soul wunderkind Manuel Gardner Fernandes to bona fide legends like Steve Vai – are lining up to work with him.

Henson’s efforts have shaken up the gear world, too. Look at the unprecedented success of his nylon-string signature guitar, the Ibanez TOD10N. Or his Neural DSP plugin, which proudly features a multivoicer effect that humanizes your guitar sound.

So when the virtuoso turned his hand to signature strings, you knew he was going to ask for something out of the ordinary from the unsuspecting engineers at Ernie Ball.

“I was just like, ‘Well, I don’t like it when I’m playing a harmonic, and then I hit the low string super-hard, and then it overpowers the harmonic while the notes are ringing together,” he explains of his “unreasonable” request.

A nylon set has also launched alongside the 9.5-gauge electric strings, although the two are more similar than you might expect…

“It just feels more like an electric guitar,” he says of the nylon strings. “It’s blasphemous to say that for all the acoustic players out there! But I started on electric guitar, and I was like, ‘Well, I want the timbre of an acoustic instrument, but I want to play the same riffs.”

But we’re not just here to talk about strings. When we sit down with Henson at NAMM 2025, he’s gearing up for an intense schedule of signings across a sea of brand booths, all the while checking out new gear (he has a DigiTech Hammer-On in his hand as he enters Ernie Ball’s private video suite – we can only imagine what he’ll cook up with that).

Beyond his show commitments, Henson is busier than perhaps he’s ever been. As word has spread of his talents, he’s found the scoring work piling up. Meanwhile, Polyphia are shaping up their fifth new album and the guest collabs (and new guitars) that entails; there’s a solo record on the way; and the small matter of a run of stadium shows supporting System of a Down.

Henson is down to talk about all of it – including the state of guitar in 2025, the players he has his eye on and his recent spiritual awakening. What follows are the highlights from our interview (you can watch the full thing below).

Your playing has featured in a bunch of film and TV projects recently, including Ultraman: Rising and Cobra Kai. What are the greatest challenges with that kind of work?

“With Polyphia, me and Scott [LePage] are the ones that make the final calls about anything, and when you’re working on someone else’s project, it is someone else’s project. [laughs]

“That’s always like a fun challenge to work within the parameters of somebody else’s vision. With Ultraman, for example, the movie on Netflix, Scott [Stafford], the composer, just set me up to thrive, really. Every time I would send him something, he’d be like, ‘This is great. Do more.’ And I was like, ‘You want more? Because I’ve been holding back – like, I can give you more,’ you know. They normally never tell me that!

“There’s so much shred throughout that movie, and then also, lots of fun stuff that I got to do with the guitar – onomatopoeia playing in the sense of, like, there’s a scene where Ultraman gets knocked back. He’s fucking scraping his nails in the concrete. And so I got to pick scrape on those and all sorts of stuff like that is super-fun and interesting.

“Oh, and here’s another really cool thing: when you’re scoring to picture, you’ve got this musical theme that takes a certain amount of time, but you also have to make it work by the time that this punch lands. Sometimes that’s just not within the BPM, right?

“As I was learning this, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s, like, seven bars of 4/4, and then on the eighth bar, it’s 3/4, because that’s when that punch landed.’ And so you have to learn to make a phrase that sounds complete, ending one beat before it should. You either play before or after the barline to just make it work. It was really interesting to do that.”

You posted a picture with Hans Zimmer on Instagram recently, so I’m assuming this is leading up to something with the maestro…

“Man, it was super-cool to go over there. I walk in and Hans has me sit down, and his studio is gorgeous. And he goes, ‘Let’s just get down to business. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.’ And I was like, ‘That is so flattering.’ And he pulls up… well, I’m not gonna go into too many details about all the stuff, but, you know, fingers crossed that all these things come into fruition. And then the next time you interview me, I can tell you all about the process.

“But it’s such a flattering thing to know that Hans has been thinking about my playing and in the sense of the things that he’s working on. So yeah, shout out Hans Zimmer. Dude’s incredible and just such, such a nice guy, and the most amazing studio I’ve ever been to.”

And how’s the new Polyphia shaping up?

“OK, so we’ve been working on album five. We’re still working on it. I’m also working on my solo record during the process. But, yeah, it’s heavy. [laughs] It’s heavy. So that’s exciting for us, and I think last year was really eye-opening for us in terms of how we should start composing for the live performance.

“Because last year we did our first festival circuit in general. We’d just been passing on the festivals until we felt like it was the right time. In France, we were playing Hellfest, and we were like, third from headlining, and there was, like, 80,000 people there. It was incredible. But it was really like, ’Oh, we’re playing Playing God to 80,000 people. And I have no idea what this sounds like to the 55,000th person way in the back there!’

“It made us realize, like, ’Hey, we should start composing for it to work in these situations of 80,000-plus people.’ And so we’re trying to, obviously, bring more energy by making it heavier. And then – I don’t want to say tone it down in the technicality department, but sonically, making sure that it can work and just be executed really well.

“Because, you know, playing a nylon-string to 80,000 people is a little like, you know, when you think of a nylon-string, you think of a dude in a coffee shop, right? So, it’s a little disconnect there. So, yeah, we’re excited to hone that in to really make the music bigger and just for that kind of audience now.”

How’s that going to affect you in terms of playing and gear? Is that more distortion? Is that seven- and eight-strings?

“Yeah, lots of eight-string. We’re playing baritones and stuff, too. We’re just making new guitars that don’t exist for the sole purpose of writing something really, really cool with it, so that if you want to learn it, you’re gonna have no choice but to buy that guitar! [laughs] You know, it’s the Playing God treatment, right?

“And, yeah, you know, more distortion… lots of sound design. We’ve really been locking in with that. Last year, I got the pleasure to go jam with Mike Dean. He’s the dude that’s behind all the synth sounds of the Kanye West records and all, the big, big hip-hop records. So getting to be around that, and then working that into our music… It’s coming out really cool. So I’m very excited to say the least.”

A new Polyphia record means new guests. Is there anyone you’ve been working with lately?

“We have one with Serj [Tankian] from System of a Down, and we just finished a second Babymetal collab – that’s for their record, though, and we were working on one to send them for our record. So hopefully we’ll make that one come to fruition.

“We’re about to book a whole bunch of sessions throughout the year as checkpoints. So then we’ll be able to tell where we are in the record more. Because right now it’s just writing and throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. So there’ll be organization sessions in which we can then kind of decide, ’Oh, hey, this would be really cool if we got this person or whoever,’ you know.

“Remember That You Will Die was very much a showcase of range for us, where we’ve got songs like ABC, which is a J-pop song, and then songs like Bloodbath, where it’s with Chino [Moreno] and super-heavy, and songs like Playing God with nylon-strings. And songs like The Audacity, which is crazy jazz.

“So for this record, rather than kind of like being all over the place in terms of a range showcase, we’re more pinpointing the sound and really going deeper into it, rather than wider, if that makes sense.”

You mentioned a solo album as well. What is that going to be like?

“You know, it’s interesting, because when I do these sessions with my friends and I tell them, ‘Hey, there’s two records we can work on: mine, and we can work on the Polyphia record.’ And I’ll play them the Polyphia record, and then I’ll play them mine. And they always ask the same question: ‘What’s your record? Is this just Polyphia minus three dudes or…’

“And I never had an answer, but I recently played it for my friend Johan. And he was like, ‘Oh, no. This is different. This is great. This is a whole other thing.’ One of my friends was like, ‘This almost is like Tim the producer, as opposed to Tim the guitar player.’

“And, granted, guitar is, of course, the main thing on the record, but I just figured, if I’m going to make a solo record, I want to do it in the way that I would imagine like that, like Kanye makes his records, where what he wants to hear, he puts on his record.

“So he’ll go out and find the craziest samples and the craziest producers and whatever to really craft the sound that he has in his head. It’s a huge almost like executive producer role to find all the pieces and make it work.

“So, yeah, that probably tells you nothing about the music! But in the process, last year, I got to randomly have a spiritual awakening, simply because I had cold-turkey quit my antidepressants on tour, and kind of spiraled, because that’s what happens when you do that. I learned not to do that. [laughs]

“But as I spiraled down, and it just kept going lower and lower, I hit a point where I broke through the other side. And I really started going super-hard on meditation… and, you know, I was doing a lot of mushrooms. [laughs] So the music is very reflective of that on my solo record. That’s kind of the vibe.”

So meditative, mellow?

“I mean, yeah, there’s definitely mellow bits, for sure; there’s a lot more breathing room than on a traditional Polyphia record, you know? So, yeah, lots more, like, ebbs and flows, et cetera.”

You said Serj Tankian will be guesting on the new Polyphia, but before that sees the light of day, you’re opening for System of a Down at some huge shows. How are you feeling about that?

“I’m very, very excited. These are going to be, I think, the largest shows we’ve ever played. It’s six stadium shows, two nights back to back in each city. So I think that’ll be cool to just fly there for the weekend and play the shows and go home. [laughs]

“In the levels of being in a band, you’re in a van, and you go on tour for, like, nine months out of the year, and it’s really rough. And then eventually you just get to the point where you’re just like, ‘I guess we’ll just play the weekend,’ and then you play the weekend, and then you go live your life on the weekday, and then you go play the weekend again. So I’m very excited about that.

“And of course, you know, all my love to System of a Down and Serj for having this incredible opportunity to be able to play to that many people and to get to play with Deftones and Korn and Avenged Sevenfold. All of those are huge acts. It’s just a really awesome thing.”

To be playing those festivals and those shows with instrumental guitar music, some of it on nylon-string, is absolutely nuts. For someone in my position, it’s inspiring to see someone taking it to that next level. The last time we spoke was a long time ago. It was pre-pandemic, and you were talking about your mission to make guitar music cool again. Where do you think guitar music is now?

“I’d say guitar music got cool! You know, maybe we had a little bit to do with that, maybe we didn’t. Around that time, Eminem did the thing with MGK [Machine Gun Kelly], and kind of made him switch genres [the rap icon and Machine Gun Kelly had beef so fierce that MGK left the hip-hop world and turned his hand to guitar-forward pop-punk in 2020 – Ed]. And then MGK got a number one record with a guitar on the cover, which is really cool. So shout out MGK for making guitar cool again!

“Since then too, like, think about all the insane players that have come out, like Marcin, like RJ [Pasin]… there’s so many new insane guitar players. So I’d say that it’s really cool. [laughs]”

Are there any other guitarists in particular who are really impressing you at the moment?

“Dude, there’s that guy, Spiro [Dussias] – you know what I’m talking about. I don’t know how to say his last name. I just recognize the Instagram handle, but that guy is fucking crazy. And there’s definitely a few others that are escaping me.

“But as we start to book these sessions this year, to bring in all the incredible talent that is out there, to vibe them out on the new music, I’m definitely going to be hitting up Spiro just to see what kind of insanity he can bring. There’s lots of incredible stuff coming up talent-wise in the guitar world right now.”

Steve Lukather has recalled the time he performed secret jam shows with Eddie Van Halen, Steve Morse and Albert Lee, surprising audiences by booking the gigs under false names.

In his latest conversation with YouTube music sage Rick Beato, Lukather brought up the band after a prompt about his lesser-known talent for chicken-picking – a skill Lukather humbly dismisses as something he can “bullshit” his way through.

“I used to do these fun little tours with Sterling Ball, who was Ernie Ball’s son,” explains Lukather in the clip below [approx. 7.45].

“We’d have this thing called Biff Babies All-Stars. We would just show up places and the guitar players, it was me, Steve Morse, Albert Lee and Eddie Van Halen. And occasionally somebody else might come sit in too.”

The group initially came about thanks to all of the player’s association with Ernie Ball Music Man and featured Sterling Ball on bass, Sherwood Ball (“a great singer”) on vocals, Jim Cox on keyboards and session pro John Ferraro on drums.

“We play at the Palomino under some weird name, we’d just show up, so nobody would know. By halfway through the set, the place was jam-packed, and we’d just mess around – call out goofy tunes, like we would in junior high school.”

While the gigs were just for fun, Lukather says he was still stretched on occasion – as you might be in that kind of company. Not least when it came to Albert Lee’s signature tune, the masterful hybrid-picking monster that is Country Boy.

“Occasionally, because of Albert and Steve, they'd end with Country Boy,” explains Luke. “I would practice for a little bit to get in that, because it's all major chords. You can't just play the blues!

“So you try to play through that, you have to define the thirds and try to find a way around here and there. But I'll leave that [chicken-picking stuff] to the big boys. Under pressure back then, with a couple of beers in me, I would go for it – and I'd do alright!”

The guitarist recently told Guitar World about another star-studded appearance, which also involved his late friend Eddie Van Halen, as Lukather recalled the first-time he jammed with George Harrison – and loaned him his ’59 Burst for the gig – a move he says has since added a million dollars to the guitar’s value.

Polyphia’s fourth album, Remember That You Will Die, took the Texas instrumentalists to viral heights that seemed impossible for virtuoso guitar music in 2022. Flanked by guests spanning Steve Vai to Deftones’ Chino Moreno and rappers Snot and Lil West, it was an eclectic collection, to say the least.

But as guitarist Tim Henson revealed exclusively to Guitar World, the band’s next effort will be more singular in focus – and it’s inspired by their desire to bring their hybrid brand of hyper-shred to bigger and bigger audiences.

“It’s heavy,” Henson told us at NAMM 2025 while promoting his new string collaboration with Ernie Ball. “That’s exciting for us, and I think last year was really eye-opening for us in terms of how we should start composing for the live performance.”

Last year saw Henson, Scott LePage, and co brave their first proper festival circuit, hitting up European institutions like Pinkpop, Rock Am Ring, and Hellfest.

By upping the heaviness, the group are hoping to bring more energy to their live sets to satiate riff-hungry festival crowds – and while Henson says he doesn’t want to “tone it down in the technicality department,” he does want to “make sure that it can work and just be executed really well.” And that may mean a little less of the Playing God-spotlighted nylon-string in future.

“Playing a nylon-string to 80,000 people is a little like… when you think of a nylon-string, you think of a dude in a coffee shop, right?” he says. “So, it’s a little disconnect there. We’re excited to really hone that in and really make the music bigger for that kind of audience now.”

As for the guitar approach, Henson has teased more distortion, more extended-range models – and the possibility of entirely new Ibanez signature guitars to accompany the release.

“[There’s] lots of eight-string. We’re playing baritones and stuff, too. We’re just making new guitars that don’t exist for the sole purpose of writing something really, really cool with it, so that if you want to learn it, you’re gonna have no choice but to buy that guitar! [laughs] It’s the Playing God treatment, right?”

But while Polyphia are going in more brutal directions, don’t expect them to back off on their genre-splicing production – Henson also emphasizes the record’s focus on sound design, inspired by recent jams with Kanye West collaborator and hip-hop synth production mogul Mike Dean.

If there’s one other thing you can bet on a Polyphia album having, it’s some big-name – and often surprising – collaborators, and you need only look to their forthcoming tour dates for a hint at who’s to come.

“We have one with Serj [Tankian] from System of a Down and we just finished a second Babymetal collab – that’s for their record, though, and we’re working on one to send them for our record. So hopefully we’ll make that one come to fruition.”

Polyphia are set to support System of a Down, alongside Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, and Deftones, with six enormous stadium shows in August/September this year. But in between they’ll be booking studio sessions to keep track of the record’s process and figure out just who else would make sense to hit up for a guest spot.

The band had previously name-dropped everyone from Zakk Wylde to Fall Out Boy, Meshuggah, and Thundercat as dream collabs. Whatever happens, we can expect a more focused effort.

“Remember That You Will Die was very much a showcase of range for us where we’ve got songs like ABC, which is a J-pop song, and then songs like Bloodbath with Chino, where it’s super-heavy, and songs like Playing God where it’s nylon-strings, and The Audacity, which is crazy jazz. For this record, rather than being all over the place, [we’re] pinpointing the sound and really going deeper into it, rather than wider.”

Sounds good to us. In the meantime, we can’t help but wonder if that renewed spotlight on brutality could finally see Henson’s oft-sighted signature eight-string become a reality. Make it happen, Ibanez…

NAMM 2025: Last October, John Mayer joined forces with Ernie Ball to launch the Silver Slinky set, a set of electric guitar strings boasting a unique in-between gauge and a custom core-to-wrap ratio.

Our own Senior Staff Writer, Matt Owen, happened to get his hands on a set, and said that the Silver Slinky package ended his years-long quest to find the perfect set of Stratocaster strings.

Now, the Silver Sky-slinging guitar hero and pop star has joined forces with Ernie Ball once again for something a little different – the Earthwood Bell Bronze set of acoustic guitar strings. From the way its co-creator speaks about the strings, it seems they may get similarly revelatory reviews.

“Earthwood Bell Bronze strings are a giant leap forward in tone, playability, and durability,” Mayer says of the set. “They’re great in any musical setting but really shine when played solo. There’s an orchestral quality to them.”

Not that we don't believe him, obviously, but what would make someone channel Neil Armstrong when speaking about a string set?

Well, Ernie Ball says it all starts with how they were inspired by alloys traditionally used for bells and cymbals. Ernie Ball says that this, in turn, leads to a bigger sound, with better sustain, projection, and resonance.

The alloy Ernie Ball ended up creating with that percussive inspiration is patent-pending, and the company says it helps produce “a richer, fuller sound than any other string in our catalog.”

Ernie Ball's new Earthwood Bell Bronze string sets will be available in four gauge combinations: Extra Light (10-50), Light (11-52), Medium Light (12-54), and Medium (13-56), starting this spring. Their price hasn't been announced as of yet.

Mayer's not the only 21st century guitar hero to unveil new Ernie Ball guitar strings at NAMM this year. He's joined by Polyphia's Tim Henson, who unveiled a signature string and accessory set of his own at the show's opening yesterday (January 23).

For more info on both string sets, visit Ernie Ball.

NAMM 2025: Ernie Ball has teamed up with Polyphia’s generational talent, Tim Henson, for two new signature string sets that epitomize the two sides of his playing.

Releasing as part of an official Tim Henson Signature String and Accessory Collection that also includes a fret wrap and a guitar cable, there are six-string sets for classical and electric guitars.

Currently, there is no extended range set to accompany it, which is a little odd considering a seven-string Ibanez sits amongst his score of signature releases.

Whether that’s a trick missed, or the demand for the set simply isn’t there remains to be seen. Luckily, his other signatures – the best-selling electric nylon TOD10NL and his Fishman Fluence-loaded Ibanez TOD10 are covered.

As to be expected from a collaborative release, the sets have been “designed to meet Tim’s unique specifications and versatile performance style”. The classical set pairs fluorocarbon trebles with silver-plated copper basses, resulting in a “dynamic, brighter response with a percussive quality.”

That is especially useful considering the twang Henson likes to get out of his nylon on tracks like their nuevo flamenco smash hit, Playing God. The set’s gauges are .24, .27, .33, .30, .36, .42 and it’s well-suited for finger-picking and attacking the strings with a pick.

Over to the electric side, Henson has gravitated towards a hybrid blend of Ernie Ball’s Cobalt and Paradigm tech. Here the strings, which are nano-treated for life-prolonging corrosion resistance, rock a Cobalt exterior with Paradigm’s core wire added for strength and muscle, and Cobalt exterior.

This, Ernie Ball says, offers “maximum output and clarity,” to accentuate every nook and cranny of his highly nuanced playing. The string gauges are: .09.5, .12, .16, .26, .36 and .46.

The fret wrap has been designed by Gruv Gear and features Henson’s cherub-style logo, but info on what makes the cable different is hard to come by. But it has Henson’s logo on it. So that’s cool.

“When I first started talking to Ernie Ball, I gave them a list of unreasonable demands,” Henson explains. “One of which being hitting the low string and harmonics [hard] and the low string not overpowering the harmonics.

“When we started the process of this, I was playing 10s so the riffs wouldn't go out of tune live, [the question was]: ‘Can you make a string that’s lighter than a 10 but still maintain that stability, that I can bend easier and keep an air of percussiveness without being shrill with too much top end?’ I think we found that balance.”

That’ll be why the electric set features a high .09.5 e string, and the nylon only goes as thick as .42, with a real nit-picking approach taken.

As Henson points out in the promo video, when he was approached for the collaboration, only Metallica’s James Hetfield and Slash had signature string sets with the firm.

John Mayer’s ultra-precise string set and Avenged Sevenfold's Synyster Gates strings have arrived since, with Henson's double-whammy adding fuel to the fire. That shows a clear intention from Ernie Ball to widen – and modernize – its signature string set range, so it will be interesting to see where else the firm is stretching to.

The Ernie Ball Tim Henson Signature String and Accessory Collection is due to arrive in the Spring with no price list currently revealed.

Head to Ernie Ball for more info.

Meanwhile, Polyphia’s recent Ernie Ball session revealed that Ibanez has built Henson a brand-new eight-string signature, with the band hard at work on their next album with a superstar guitarist and producer. They’ve also revealed their hopes for an all-star list of guest collaborators. No release date has been mooted.

NAMM 2025: Ernie Ball Music Man has teamed up with funk virtuoso Cory Wong to introduce the brand-new StingRay II guitar, directly inspired by the design of the iconic StingRay bass – a first for the brand.

While it’s not the first StingRay guitar model, it’s the first time EBMM has attempted to accurately reproduce previously bass-only features, like the distinctive rounded scratchplate, on a guitar build.

Promising “unmatched clarity, versatility, and precision,” the model comes in two versions – the StingRay II and StingRay II Deluxe – and offers a different flavor compared to Wong’s signature Fender Strat, released in 2021.

Speaking about this new collaboration – and why he temporarily set aside focusing on his beloved Fender Strats – Cory Wong says,

“Huge shout out to Fender for being open to me exploring a second guitar in my rotation. I've been a Strat guy my whole life. It's the instrument that's defined my voice on the guitar, but this instrument is one that's going to give me options to expand my color palette.

“Different guitars are going to draw out things in your playing, unique to what sounds they have to offer. I think the way the neck feels, the way the pickups sound, and even the way that it looks, is going to give your body and brain information that unlocks certain areas of creativity.”

Wong goes on to explain that a signature bass served as the catalyst that sparked the idea to reimagine the bass’ iconic design – with a six-string twist.

“When they released the Joe Dart Jr. StingRay bass, I asked what I thought was a simple question, ‘Can you put six strings and humbuckers on it?’ I guess it wasn't quite that easy, but Music Man was up for the challenge, so they actually asked me to help with the design and development process to create this guitar.

“The StingRay bass is an iconic instrument, but there's certain design things about it that would need to change in order to make it work as an electric guitar.”

So, what does this new guitar, designed in collaboration with the Vulfpeck star, bring to the table?

First off, both models boast a select alder body and an ergonomic design that takes a page from the StingRay bass's book, delivering “smooth playability and effortless fret access,” along with a roasted figured maple neck.

Additionally, they come fully equipped with 22 stainless steel frets, gold hardware with a Cory Wong neck plate, and ultra-clean Cory Wong HT humbuckers for the bridge and neck pickups.

The Deluxe model takes things a little further – with a roasted maple fretboard, parchment binding, and a matching headstock for a more “refined” look. When it comes to colorways, the standard model is available in Charcoal Blue and Cashmere, while the Deluxe is offered in Pine Green and Polaris White.

Starting today, both StingRay II finishes, along with the StingRay II Deluxe in Pine Green, are available from authorized Ernie Ball Music Man dealers.

As for the exclusive StingRay II Deluxe in Polaris White, it’s limited to just 30 pieces – and can only be purchased through The Vault on the official Ernie Ball Music Man website.

Let's face it – whether you're just dipping your toes into the bass and guitar world (pun intended), or you're a veteran with decades upon decades of experience, one category that doesn't discriminate is guitar accessories. Essentially, they're the cornerstone of every guitarist and bassist's toolkit.

From complete essentials like cables, straps, picks, and strings to guitar stands, capos, and patch cables, these tools are arguably the unsung heroes of every guitarist and bassist's setup.

And it doesn't stop there – how about earplugs for those loud rehearsals and your band's hell-raising shows? Or perhaps strap locks to prevent your strap from unfastening while you're busy rocking out on stage?

Every piece of quality gear means you can rest assured that – whether you're holed up in your studio writing and recording some sick tunes, on tour, or even just jamming with your bandmates in the rehearsal room – you can do your job without worrying about what's going to break in the next few minutes.

With the abundance of choices out there, it's sometimes hard to know which accessories to go for – and, most importantly, which ones are reliable and will last.

So, to save you the hassle of scouring for deals yourself, we've rounded up some of the best guitar accessories deals for Cyber Week – keeping quality top of mind.

Bonus!

It’s that time of the year when the Black Friday guitar deals are filling your feed, each offer tempting you to part ways with your cash for the latest trend-setting bit of gear. Over at Sweetwater, there are 14,000 of these tempting deals ready to empty your wallet and whilst there are many great deals, sometimes it’s the cheaper ones that are the best value for money.

With 5 packs of Ernie Ball guitar strings for just $19.95, it may not be the most headline-grabbing deal out there this weekend, but in my opinion, it’s definitely the most useful. Considering they normally cost $34.95 for a 5-pack, you’re getting two packs of electric guitar strings completely free, and an extra dollar on top for your troubles.

Strings are something all of us guitarists will need more of, no matter what your play style or genre. Whether you play exclusively in the bedroom or gig regularly, the only difference between string changes will be the amount of time in between, but it’s inevitable that you’ll need to do so. I stocked up on my favorite Skinny Top Heavy Bottom sets last year, buying three three-packs and I still have some leftover despite requiring regular string changes due to gigging. It was a sound investment, and one I’ll definitely be making again as it costs less in the long run.

Ernie Ball strings have been my go-to for the majority of my playing career and despite some brief stints with other string manufacturers, I’ve always ended up coming back to Slinkys. Something about the feel has always appealed to me, and for my playing style, they’ve always proved to be incredibly durable, especially as I have a rather heavy right hand.

There are also acoustic string sets available if you prefer your tones more natural, and a mix of phosphor bronze and 80/20 bronze sets lets you dial in your perfect tone even further. At this price, you might want to shoot out some different string sets too, as you never know you might find you actually end up preferring a different set of strings in the long run.

John Petrucci and Ernie Ball Music Man have released a 10th Anniversary edition of the Dream Theater icon’s Majesty signature guitar as “a tribute to the enduring partnership” they share.

Trooch has developed a raft of Majesty iterations over the past decade, from sleek six-strings to grunting eight-strings. As such, Ernie Ball Music Man Vice President Scott Ball wanted to chase “something special” to mark the instrument’s latest milestone.

“We were trying to think about ways that we could present the guitar differently,” adds Petrucci.

They eventually settled on a Silver Chalice finish, which is joined by all-new custom-covered DiMarzio Rainmaker and Dream Catcher humbuckers that have been unveiled as part of the celebratory release.

The guitar also flaunts several other additional aesthetic appointments. Those include a custom JP inlay on the first fret (a signature touch on all Majesty guitars) and a “bold three-fret logo inlay” located on the 12th fret.

DiMarzio has called its humbucking duo “mind-blowing quintessential tone monsters”. They feature nickel pole pieces and find the Dream Theater logo etched dramatically onto its chrome covering. The concept was inspired by DiMarzio’s work on the Nomac Majesty, built to celebrate the releases of Dream Theater’s 2016 album, The Astonishing.

“From the moment I plugged in the guitar and played the first note, I knew that we achieved Holy Grail-level results,” Petrucci proudly says of the pickups. “It literally feels like the guitar is alive and ready to jump out of my hands!”

The versatile pickups are integrated with a Custom Music Man active preamp, boasting a push/push Volume for gain boost. There's also a push/push mono/stereo button in the back cavity.

The guitar's expansive electronic configuration continues via Fishman Powerbridge piezo electronics on its chrome-plated floating tremolo to ensure crystalline cleans alongside brutal high-gain.

Beneath its luxurious new colorway, the guitar’s “exceptional tone and sustain” comes, in part, via its high-end tonewood combination. Alder wings and a maple top are united by a neck-through Honduras mahogany design, and capped with an ebony fingerboard and 24 medium jumbo frets.

“That combination of tonewoods makes for such a rich, three-dimensional guitar sound,” says Petrucci. “That was the immediate go-to. There was nothing I wanted to change about the sound of this guitar.”

“This guitar is both visually striking and sonically powerful,” says Ernie Ball. “It is the perfect tribute to ten years of collaboration and American craftsmanship.”

The 10th Anniversary Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty is a limited-edition release. Each guitar is hand-numbered on the back of the headstock, with Petrucci's signature on its backplate. They cost $3,999 apiece and come with a certificate of authenticity.

Head to Ernie Ball to learn more.

The new-look DiMarzio Rainmaker and Dreamcatcher pickup set is also available to buy separately and costs $358.

Discussing the Majesty with Guitar World earlier this year, John Petrucci said: “Some people were like, ‘That's the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen!’ It turns out it was the most successful instrument we ever could have imagined.”

Traditionally, most manufacturers reserve signature models for the upper reaches of their product ranges, and they don't come cheap. Recently, however, more and more companies are offering cost-effective versions, as well as their same-spec-as-the-pro instruments.

The Ernie Ball Joe Dart range rises to the uncompromising heights of the USA-built limited-edition, which carries a substantial $2,599 price tag. The Sterling Joe Dart Artist Series, which retails for a cheerful $399, bears many of the same hallmarks as the Ernie Ball range, and we’re told that Dart has been personally involved in ensuring that these more affordable instruments still meet his approval. But at a fraction of the price, how do they compare?

Features

The build quality inspires a lot of confidence with its solid, no-nonsense vibe. As far as the construction is concerned, you can't get much more basic than a hard maple neck and fingerboard, bolted to a soft maple body. Other appointments include a single H-I ceramic humbucker that’s wired to a lone volume control, a fixed bridge, and a set of Ernie Ball Stainless Steel Flatwound strings.

The fingerboard has been nicely outfitted with 22 medium frets that are about as level and smooth as you're going to get. The team who have set this sample up have taken advantage of this fact and given the bass a low, buzz-free action. Consequently those low-end riffs and solo runs flow effortlessly, but you'll be just as comfortable pummelling out chunky grooves for hours at a time too.

Sounds

The Sterling Joe Dart Artist Series is capable of producing some really good all-round bass tones. While it has to be said that it’s lacking any real sharpness in the top end or any serious low-end muscle, the reduction in these outer frequencies does seem to give the midrange a stronger fundamental tone.

The range of sounds on offer is also slightly limited (this is a single-pickup bass after all), and you may have to rely more on your playing technique to vary the sound, which will be healthy practice in the long run.

The broad top edge of the pickup makes things comfortable when varying the position of your resting thumb, and resting it on the edge of the fretboard produces a fatter bass tone that will suit more traditional styles. Of course, it's fingerstyle funk where this bass guitar is happiest.

Conclusion

Put the Sterling Joe Dart Artist Series Bass alongside the Ernie Ball Music Man version and the former’s limitations would be fairly obvious. However, keep in mind that this bass is just below the $400 mark, and for that very appealing price you get a batch of credible bass tones, stage-friendly volume, and a durable, smart-looking bass guitar that you can actually gig with.

Maybe it’s not world-class in terms of tones, but this bass has Joe Dart’s signature on it, and if it’s good enough for him it’s good enough for us. Our review bass came stamped with “Crop 2024” to mark the release.

Specs

• PRICE: $399
• TYPE: 4-string solidbody bass guitar
• BODY: Soft Maple
• NECK: Hard Maple
• FINGERBOARD: Hard Maple
• SCALE LENGTH: 34" (86.36cm)
• FRETS: 22
• PICKUP: H - 1 Ceramic Humbucker
• CONTROLS: Master Volume
• HARDWARE: Fixed bridge, open-back tuners
• CONTACT: Sterlingbymusicman.com

Earlier this month, John Mayer and Ernie Ball launched the Silver Slinky signature guitar strings, which brought the guitar hero’s previously unreleased custom gauge to the masses after years of development.

With an irregular gauge set of 10.5, 13.5, 17.5, 27, 37 and 47, and some special core-to-wrap ratios, developed on a string-by-string basis, the Silver Slinkys were said to be “perfectly tailored” to Mayer’s style, and allowed him to achieve “an even higher level of expression”.

For what it’s worth, I’ve never been sold by the concept of signature guitar strings, and I was skeptical at first. But I’ve been playing the Silver Slinkys for around three months now, and I think they might have actually ended my years-long search to find the ideal Stratocaster electric guitar strings. Let me explain.

When I first got my Strat I was going through a serious SRV phase, which meant I inevitably ended up falling for that old adage, “Thicker strings means thicker tone”. Fooled by this false promise, I strung up some D’Addario EXL115 11s and away I went.

As a 10s player, the jump to 11s took some getting used to. The extra heft on the top strings made bends laborious, to the point where I’d avoid bends altogether as best I could – an approach that continues to influence my style.

However, I was fond of the beefier feel of thicker bottom strings, and so for a period of two years I simply put up with them.

Eventually, I had to give in: 11s were simply too arduous for me, and (surprise surprise) they did not make my tone ‘thicker’. The switch back was underwhelming, though, and while I didn’t miss the finger-shredding top strings, I missed the girth and robustness of something a little more tangible when chording.

I ran into a conundrum. Do I stick with the 10s, which now felt alien on my Strat, or get on with 11s? I could think of only one solution: I bought a Telecaster and forgot all about it.

Then Ernie Ball gave us a heads-up on the Silver Slinky set. Naturally, my interests were piqued. Like countless others, Mayer is my biggest guitar inspiration. He is also an individual who clearly knows a thing or two about well-playing Strats, having loyally stuck to Strat-style guitars for most of his career, and tailored the design to his own image through his PRS Silver Sky signature guitar.

He’s also spent years developing a custom-gauge string set, which could comfortably accommodate the playing style that inspired me so much: irresistibly silky bends brimming with character, luxurious fretboard glides and a beefy punch that formed the foundation of his feel.

I was fortunate enough to be given a Silver Slinky set three months prior to last week’s launch date, and – buoyed by the hope that these could be the strings my Stratocaster has been longing for – I pulled my Strat out from hibernation, ripped off the 10s and got to work (yes, I did play Slow Dancing in a Burning Room first).

Eerily, the claims from Ernie Ball and Mayer seemed to speak directly to my own Strat problems.

“The gauges are perfectly situated between .010 and .011 sets, and feature special core-to-wrap ratios,” Mayer wrote on Instagram. “The tension is exactly where I’ve always wanted it – big enough to get great tone, but nimble enough to finesse those vocal bends we as guitar players are always going for”

Perfectly situated between 10s and 11s? Big enough for great tone? Nimble enough for vocal bends?! My prayers, it seemed, had been answered.

The top strings were only .0005 thicker, which sounds imperceptibly small, but under the fingers there’s a noticeable difference. Bends felt better and more fluid then 11s, more substantial than 10s, and now I’m no longer scared of failing to hit a note when I feel adventurous with my lead playing.

They also feel much more pleasant when I'm up there, as if they aren't trying to drag my fingers back down with barbed wire – something the gauge and carefully considered string tension both account for.

Likewise, the bottom strings are only .001 thicker than regular 10s, which retains the nice chunky feel that I especially enjoyed with my D’Addarios. They aren’t quite as heavy as conventional 11s, either – 27, 37, 47, instead of 28, 38, 49 – which means they certainly feel a bit more agile.

There wasn’t a disconnect between the bass and treble strings, which can sometimes be the case with bottom heavy sets. The transition between registers felt natural, and although the knee-jerk reaction was to play Mayer riffs and licks, this seemed to be a great all-rounder string set.

Then there’s the physical, tangible feel of the string. The gauges were nice, and the tension felt good, but what I didn’t expect was the slight friction that the strings offered, probably a result of the core-to-wrap ratios and Reinforced Plain String treatment.

Under the pick, it allowed for some nice ‘digging in’ dynamics, while under the fingers they felt robust and sturdy.

It feels very strange saying this as a signature string skeptic – and I know some will probably roll their eyes – but I felt connected to my Strat in a way I hadn’t in a long, long time.

So much so that I even began taking my Strat out for gigs again for the first time in about 18 months: I used it for a headline festival slot in the summer, and took it as my backup guitar during a sold-out Academy show in Scotland. Now, I take it on the road whenever I can.

I’m well aware that I won’t be the only player who has had to juggle between 10s and 11s on their Strat. Heck, there are bound to be loads of players out there who buy single strings to assemble their own custom set. Indeed, without the Silver Slinkys, I may have eventually gone down that route myself.

Luckily, I don’t have to, and despite being initially skeptical about the promises surrounding Mayer’s new strings, I’m pleased to report that they are absolutely a solid option for Strats, and could save a lot of Stratocaster players considerable time and money in their hunt for the ideal string set. That was certainly the case for me.

Now, I just need to decide whether to try them out on my Telecaster…

• The John Mayer Silver Slinky set is available now for $9.99. Visit Ernie Ball to find out more.

John Mayer and Ernie Ball have announced the Silver Slinky electric guitar string set – a new signature set that brings a previously unavailable string gauge that Mayer himself has been playing for the past few years to the masses.

Aptly named to serve as the ideal companion to his best-selling PRS Silver Sky signature guitar, Mayer’s new Silver Slinky string set is the result of a years-long, “extraordinary partnership” between himself and Ernie Ball.

Said partnership has resulted in a new six-string set that opts for a rather unconventional gauge that serves as a neat bridge between regular .010s and slightly heavier .011s.

As per Ernie Ball, the set has been “meticulously” assembled on a string-by-string basis, leading to a collection that has been “perfectly tailored” to Mayer’s touch sensitive, dynamic playing style.

The Silver Slinkys offer “10.5, 13.5, 17.5, 27, 37 and 47” gauges. To put that into perspective, it is a slightly bottom-heavy set (only .001” up from the first three strings of the Regular Slinky set) that also beefs up the lighter strings by .0005”.

It’s only a marginal difference, but one that supposedly has a huge impact on playing. Indeed, Mayer has been exclusively playing this set for the past few years, and in his own words, this new string gauge – as well as the other unique string specs – allows him to achieve “an even higher level of expression”.

“I’ve always said that I don’t play the guitar, I play the strings,” Mayer says. “Having a feeling of fluidity is so important in my playing, and Ernie Ball strings have always given me that ability.”

Quirky gauges aside, the Silver Slinky strings have also been treated to a handful of other Mayer-requested tweaks that set them apart from any other string set that Ernie Ball currently has on its books.

This includes string-specific core-to-wrap ratios, and a Reinforced Plain String (RPS) design that promises enhanced tuning stability and durability.

“All my career I’ve been experimenting with custom sets of guitar strings, and for the past few years I’ve been working closely with @ernieball to develop what I consider to be the ultimate set for my playing style,” Mayer added on social media.

“The gauges are perfectly situated between .010 and .011 sets, and feature special core-to-wrap ratios. The tension is exactly where I’ve always wanted it – big enough to get great tone, but nimble enough to finesse those vocal bends we as guitar players are always going for.”

“Very few guitarists in the history of popular music have influenced a generation of players like John Mayer,” adds Ernie Ball CEO, Brian Ball. “For over 25 years, John has not only been a remarkable artist but also a dear friend to the Ernie Ball family.

“This partnership represents our shared passion for music and innovation, and we can't wait to see how John’s signature Silver Slinky strings continue to inspire guitarists around the world.”

The Silver Slinky set is available now from $9.99 per set. There are also three and six packs available for $29.99 and $54.99, respectively.

Visit Ernie Ball to find out more.

In other Mayer news, the virtuoso recently joined Neil Young and Stephen Stills for a ferocious rendition of Rockin’ in the Free World.

Ernie Ball Music Man has continued to make its potentially game-changing Heat Treated humbuckers a mainstay of its standard lineup with the launch of the upgraded Sabre HT.

Distinguishing itself from Sabres of yesteryears thanks to its HT configuration, the new-for-2024 Sabre HT now arrives in four absurdly good-looking finishes – Slymer, Grape Slushie, Blackout and Honey Bear – and follows its ancestor’s core spec sheet while introducing some new features to the table.

Chief among those are, of course, HT pickups. Each Sabre HT variant offers an HH configuration, which reserves the bridge spot for a Heat Treated unit. The neck, meanwhile, has been badged as a “Music Man Custom Wound” alternative.

EBMM first debuted HT pickups in 2022, and at the time heralded them for their potentially game-changing approach to tone. They were “inspired by over a decade of electric guitar string research”, and notably incorporated the insights that helped innovate the Cobalt and M-Steel Slinky strings.

In practice, they promise to “outperform normal spec pickups” by providing extra output, improved touch sensitivity and a more powerful bass response.

They’ve been slowly drip-fed into the regular Cutlass, StingRay and Cutlass families, and were used in Jason Richardson and Steve Lukather’s most recent signature guitars. They were also made available for older Sabre models back in August 2022, but now the Sabre HT family has been given a complete cosmetic overhaul.

Other notable electronic appointments include a push-push volume knob that operates as a preamp boost. Via a trim pot, the boost can be adjusted up to 20dB.

Otherwise, these are standard Sabres, with a figured maple-topped okoume body, roasted figured maple neck, and roasted figured maple or rosewood fretboard depending on the chosen finish.

These are joined by 22 stainless steel frets, Schaller locking tuners, and a Music Man Modern tremolo with crescent cover and bent steel saddles. It all looks to result in what is perhaps the finest iteration of the Sabre yet.

The Sabre HT has been joined by an overhaul of the standard Sabre family – now called the Sabre RS – which also brings new finishes to the table: Afterburn, Purple Lotus, Backdraft and the superbly named Blurple.

These follow the base Sabre schematics, but dispense of the HT humbucker in favor of two Music Man custom-wound pickups.

Prices start from $3,599. Visit Ernie Ball Music Man for more.

Polyphia guitarist Tim Henson has teased what appears to be a new Ice White finish option for his signature Ibanez TOD10 electric guitar – not to mention a new eight-string variant of his trademark build. However, it’s led fans to speculate whether it hails the arrival of something much bigger.

Both instruments appear in Polyphia’s Ernie Ball Big Sound video – the first in a new series of luxuriously-shot and produced artist sessions by the renowned string firm.

The clip looks and sounds great, but it’s Henson’s now ice-white TOD model, complete with striking black hardware for a direct inversion of its ebony fretboard and Tree of Death inlay, that catches the eye.

The TOD10 guitar first launched in 2022 alongside co-guitarist Scott LePage’s KRYS10, and it was given a long-craved-for seven-string release earlier this year.

In the new video, both guitars are put through their paces, with a wall of Marshall stacks behind them as they weave their way through the licks and grooves of Genesis, Neurotica, and Chimera.

Most intriguingly of all, the latter track sees Henson playing an eight-string version of the new-look white TOD build – which, to be clear, looks notably different to the stalled Tim Henson eight-string signature we previously reported.

As such it has left fans asking questions about the possibility of production runs for the featured instruments and debating whether this is a simple expansion of the Indonesian-made TOD10’s finish options, or perhaps evidence of the much-rumored Japanese Henson signature build, the Prestige TOD100.

Henson reportedly told a fan that the eventual TOD100 production model would be offered in white and others have speculated over a late 2024 arrival for the Japanese run. However, we should stress that while an exciting prospect, this is currently little more than Reddit gossip and is in no way confirmed by either Henson or Ibanez.

We’ll have to wait to know for certain then, but in the meantime the clip has plenty else to keep us entertained, with plenty of wah-lathered moments and whammy bar (and pedal) tricks across the video.

Of course, this isn't the first time a Polyphia guitarist has been seen rocking a crisp white axe. LePage has recently teased a frosty and sharp-looking Ibanez Xiphos, having touted an all-black model alongside Steve Vai in the music video for Ego Death.

Meanwhile, work on the next Polyphia album is well underway with Henson’s favorite guitarist heavily involved, and an interesting array of guests being teased and confirmed by the band.

The two guitarists have also given players their top tips for getting to grips with modeling amps as they talk through the biggest problems they faced when going digital for the first time.

Ernie Ball Music Man has launched The Custom Design Experience, giving players their first taste of made-to-order Music Man custom shop builds. 

Described by the firm as an “online custom instrument configurator”, it allows users to personalize their build from a host of spec and aesthetic options, with a 3D model of the build updating with every click.   

On launch, four- and five-string versions of the StingRay Special bass guitar are the only instruments available to spec out, with the builds happening at Ernie Ball's San Luis Obispo, CA, facility.

Other key spec choices include single or double humbucker pickup setups, and regular or SLO Special neck profiles, made from plain roasted or roasted flame maple. 

The fretboards can be made from maple, rosewood, or ebony, with standard dots, black inlays or inlay-free options on the fretted model. For the fretless variants, there are lined and unlined pau ferro fretboards to choose from.  

There is also a whopping 30 finishes on tap, split into Translucent, Bursts, Pearl, Pearlbursts, Satin, and Sparkle options. There's also Black Gloss if option paralysis is too much to bear. 

Finish options extend beyond just the body, with everything from its pickguard to the pickup, pole piece, and hardware colors all customizable to nuance the bass to your heart's – or eye's – desire.

For the headstock, color matching is only available with opaque finishes.

There are four tuning setups (standard, half step down, drop D, and whole step down) and three string gauge options to ensure your bass arrives primed for your needs. After all that, users can then choose for it to come with a Mono or hardshell case. 

Naturally, the price of the final build will vary, but basses start at $2,899. After experimenting, we found that some specs lowered the price to $2,699, while the most expensive build we managed to create was $3,899. 

That included twin humbuckers, a natural gloss finish, roasted flame maple neck, and block inlays. Builds take approximately four to six months and ship worldwide. 

There's no word on whether other bass and guitar models will become available in the future, but we're hoping this is just the first step of many into the custom shop domain for EBMM.

Head to Ernie Ball to get customizing.

EB's Custom Design Experience follows the launch of Fender's Mod Shop, which offers customizable P-Bass and Jazz Bass designs, as well as guitar models.

Music Man released its first Steve Lukather signature guitar – the Luke – back in 1994, and over the years the Luke model has evolved with various Luke II and Luke III models. 

To celebrate the Luke’s 30th anniversary, Music Man has introduced the Luke 4 30th anniversary model with an HSS pickup configuration similar to the original, plus new Luke 4 HH and SSS models.

The 30th anniversary version is a hot-rodded Superstrat, but the SSS model we reviewed is more of a “Superbstrat”, based on the traditional triple-single-coil ’50s standard solidbody that guitarists all know and love, but packed with a ton of high-performance upgrades, refinements and modifications.

The Luke 4 SSS has a figured roasted maple neck that has become a regular feature of Music Man guitars for a while now, made to specifications that include a 25.5-inch scale length, 12-inch radius and 1 5/8-inch nut width. The rosewood fingerboard sports 22 low profile, wide nickel frets. 

A new twist is that the alder body is roasted as well to provide the lighter weight and resonance of a vintage guitar that has naturally dried over several decades. The body is finished with high-gloss polyester in a selection of Scoville Red, Diesel Blue or Bareback (natural) color options, while the neck is protected by a gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend finish.

The newly designed Music Man HT single-coil pickups were developed using technology derived from the technology behind the creation of Ernie Ball’s Cobalt and M-Steel strings, and they are voiced to provide outstanding clarity at high output while maintaining body at lower volume levels. 

Controls consist of a five-way blade pickup selector and master tone and volume controls, the latter featuring a push/push function that activates a built-in preamp boost circuit. Boost is set at the factory to +12dB, but a trim pot inside the control cavity allows users to adjust output between 0 and +20dB.

Internal trim pots also enable adjustment of silent circuit’s hum reduction and the balance between the blade position 1/3/5 bridge, middle and neck single-coil settings and the 2/4 parallel bridge/middle and neck/middle settings.

The vintage-style tremolo has bent steel saddles and is set up in a floating configuration. The spring tension from the factory is somewhat light, resulting in buzzy trem warble when the strings are aggressively snapped, but extra springs are provided for players who prefer less buzz. The trem arm is a little slim and light for my preference, but it seems suitably sturdy and solid. 

Most Strat connoisseurs should find that the pickups deliver the tonal qualities of their dreams. The midrange dip is right in the sweet spot to accentuate percussive treble snap and bouncy bass while still providing full body and depth. All of the classic Stratocaster tones are here, including Clapton, Hendrix, Knopfler and SRV and even Beck, with the tone knob rolled down about ¾, and you can punch it up to searing Luke leads with the preamp boost engaged. 

At $3,199, the Luke 4 SSS is not cheap, but most players would need two or three Strats to cover all of the tonal nuances and character the Luke 4 provides. The materials and immaculate craftsmanship, refined playability, balance and comfort and tech upgrades like the preamp boost and adjustable silent circuit also significantly up the ante in the model’s overall value.

For players whose axe of choice is of the triple single-coil variety, the Luke 4 SSS is worth the investment as it delivers classic Strat tones with modern refinement along with playability that will satisfy discriminating players for a lifetime.

Specs

• PRICE: $3,199 / £3,689
• BODY: Roasted ash
• NECK: Roasted figured maple
• FINGERBOARD: Rosewood
• NECK PROFILE: Soft V
• RADIUS: 12-inch
• SCALE LENGTH: 25.5-inch
• FRETS: 22 low-profile wide nickel
• NUT WIDTH: 1 5/8-inch
• PICKUPS: Three Music Man HT single-coil
• CONTROLS: Master volume with push/push preamp boost, master tone, 5-way blade pickup selector
• BRIDGE: Music Man floating vintage tremolo with bent steel saddles
• TUNERS: Schaller M6-IND locking
• OTHER: Preamp boost circuit with adjusted gain up to +20dB, adjustable silent circuit
• CONTACT: Ernie Ball Music Man

NAMM 2024: The humble guitar strap is often taken for granted, but every budding electric guitar or acoustic guitar player worth their salt understands the importance of equipping your instrument with a decent strap.

To that end, straps have been put under a bit of a spotlight in recent times, and now Ernie Ball has sought to take the essential accessory to new heights of comfort and function with its Comfort Cloud range.

Available in only two variants – 2” or 3” thick – and arriving in a sleek black finish, the modest-looking strap may look relatively unassuming, but the accessory specialist has utilized what it’s called “unique air cell core technology” for a more comfortable feel on the shoulder.

As per Ernie Ball, the Comfort Cloud straps are fashioned from stretchy neoprene, which in turn incorporates that aforementioned air cell core tech to provide optimal cushioning. The strap itself is said to be “snug” without being “too stiff or bouncy”.

While this will no doubt benefit the average player, the brand has been keen to stress the Comfort Cloud straps – what with their optimal cushioning – would be especially good “for musicians who experience shoulder discomfort due to prolonged playing”.

In terms of the science, the strap evenly disperses the weight of your instrument across your shoulder and back, thus making it “stronger and more comfortable” to wear.

Not only is it meant to be more comfy than your average strap, the Comfort Cloud design is also said to be sweat-wicking, effectively mitigating perspiration for the most, er, ‘enthusiastic’ strummers.

Rest assured the stability and strength of the Cloud Comfort strap hasn’t been compromised in the pursuit of greater cushioning and support, with long-lasting leather ends ensuring a nice sturdy operation,

No price has been mentioned yet, but it’s been confirmed the new Cloud range additions will ship in the Spring.

As mentioned above, straps have been receiving their fair share of attention at NAMM. For example, Dunlop has once again partnered with Authentic Hendrix to release a reproduction of Hendrix's Monterey Pop strap.

Head over to Ernie Ball to find out more about the Comfort Cloud line, and visit our NAMM 2024 news guide to keep up to date with all the latest gear releases.

NAMM 2024: After months of waiting patiently for its arrival, Ernie Ball Music Man has finally unveiled details of Rabea Massaad’s new signature guitar, which arrives in two distinct variants.

As expected, the new signature models make some significant changes to the standard Music Man Sabre and come in two choices of finish.

Massaad had given us a pre-emptive first look at the guitars back in December when he revealed on his YouTube channel that he “wasn’t supposed to talk about these”. Now all the details of the finished products have dropped.

So, what has Massaad done with the Sabre’s canvas? Unlike the standard model, there’s a custom tapered neck carve and recessed lower horn to improve access to the upper frets. Now a staple for gigging guitarists, there are also glow-in-the-dark side dots across the neck.

One important change – and one we all saw coming – is the inclusion of Massaad's signature Bare Knuckle Silo humbuckers. Featuring Alnico V magnets and twin screw coils, the pickups set out to offer depth, clarity and a versatile output range, making the set suitable for alt-rock and tech-metal alike.

"I need a pickup with the ability to create glassy, ambient leads and warm, clear chord tones,” says Massaad of the humbuckers. “Equally I need it to sound crushingly heavy and aggressive. The Silo humbuckers give me everything I need and more.”

The pickups can be split with push/push electronics – as opposed to the often-fiddly push/pull set-ups found on other guitars. They also have a five-way pickup blade allowing for fine-tuned tonality options. For its bridge, there’s a fixed Music Man-branded tremolo that comes with a whammy bar.  

Its two finishes allow players to choose the dark or the light side, with a bright Frenzied Flame Burst available exclusively through the Ernie Ball Music Man Vault. On the dark side, a Vileblood Burst will be more widely available via Ernie Ball direct and Music Man's usual retail partners.

The British prog guitarist was unveiled as an Ernie Ball artist in April 2023. The newly-forged partnership sees the musician working with Music Man’s luthiers in aiding the development of its future builds. This two-pronged release is the first fruit of the partnership’s labor.  

As revealed in that video, both guitars have baked maple bodies, with the Vileblood model comprising an ebony fretboard, whilst the frenzied flame burst keeps things light with a flame maple alternative. These tweaks take the signature Sabres further away from the standard model, which offered an okoume body and maple top.

Prices for the models are yet to be confirmed. As Music Man guitars are made in small quantities, that has naturally impacted their price. In his YouTube reveal, however, Massaad did mention that budget-friendly Sterling models will be made available in the future.

Music Man is part of the Ernie Ball family and is no stranger to signature models, with the likes of St. Vincent, John Petrucci and Steve Lukather all putting their name on Music Man builds. One of its recent creations, the Kaizen – which was designed and built in collaboration with Tosin Abasi – recently received five dazzling new finishes. The brand has been crafting American-made guitars since 1974.

For more information, head to Ernie Ball Music Man.

To keep up to date with all the latest gear releases ahead of NAMM 2024, head over to our guide to the latest NAMM 2024 news.

NAMM 2024: Can it really be five years ago that Ernie Ball Music Man first launched the Joe Dart Signature bass guitar? Well, it is, and while updated iterations arrived in the shape of the Joe Dart II, Dart’s take for 2024 is a 30-inch model that’s designed to capture the tone of Dart's short-scale P-Bass.

Dart observed, “We always sought to build a trilogy of basses that represent the Vulfpeck recorded catalog. The Joe Dart I and Joe Dart II were in the StingRay and Jazz Bass styles of the vintage disco records I love, but whenever Jack Stratton would ask me for a raw, unmuted P-Bass sound, we would always reach for a Fender P-Bass Junior.

“We knew that instrument needed to be perfected, which became the perfect way to round out the Joe Dart stable of instruments.”

Building on from the original Joe Dart bass, the Joe Dart III features a lightweight ash body, and a flame maple neck topped by a figured maple fingerboard with 22 stainless steel frets.

Other features include a passive split-coil pickup with Alnico 5 magnets, a single volume control, and custom-gauge flatwound strings.

“We’re really proud to offer a limited run of the Joe Dart III,” said Dart. “Each bass is a testament to our philosophy of simplicity, and leaving the tone in the hands of the player.”

Of course, we can’t forget the input from the man himself, a bass player we know is fastidious about how his basses look, play and sound. “I’ve been playing this thing everyday since they shipped me model zero. Now I’m looking forward to seeing this thing out in the world.”

While recent Vulfpeck shows have found Dart in the company of his factory-fresh signature model, his association with Ernie Ball began with a Music Man copy that became a mainstay in Vulfpeck’s recording line-up.

“I played Jack Stratton’s Music Man clone on a track called It Gets Funkier,” he says. That was probably the best tone we ever got on a Vulfpeck track, and so after that we thought we should probably get the real thing.

“We borrowed a StingRay, we borrowed a Sterling Classic, and played those on a few Vulf tracks to great effect, but even then still didn’t own one until Ernie Ball reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come demo some of these new basses we have?’

“I flew out to San Luis Obispo, where I demoed some of the axes. I loved them, and they said, ‘If you want one, I think we can hook you up.’ That’s how I got my first Ernie Ball axe.”

The Joe Dart III is limited to 50 units worldwide and will ship with custom-numbered neck plates and a classy Mono Vertigo Bag. It’s available for purchase exclusively from the Ernie Ball Music Man Vault for $2,599.

Though – as of writing – all of these limited-edition models have already been snapped up. Let's hope there will be more…

For more information, head to Ernie Ball.

To stay in the loop with all gear releases ahead of NAMM 2024, head over to our guide to the latest NAMM 2024 news.

British prog guitarist Rabea Massaad has offered an exclusive first look at his two new Music Man signature guitars via a new YouTube video titled “I’m not supposed to talk about these”.

Massaad was unveiled as an Ernie Ball artist back in April, with the guitarist aiding the American luthiers with improving future builds. While it was revealed then that a signature based on the Sabre model was in the pipeline, it now turns out there are two signatures in the works.

For the two models, Massaad revealed that he wanted to go for a light and dark approach in terms of both aesthetics and tonewoods. Both guitars feature baked maple bodies, with the lighter version boasting a flame maple neck and fretboard in contrast to the ebony 'board on the darker model. While the dark prototype has a flame maple neck, Massaad expects that to change to birdseye maple on the final build.

These tweaks are in contrast to the standard Sabre’s okoume body and maple tops. These signatures have also received an additional carve to the cutaway for a bolder look, and a far deeper carve on the rear to offer improved access to the higher frets. The fretboards are specked with donut inlays and Luminlays on the side– a key upgrade to the standard models. 

Other standout changes include gig-friendly push-push tone pots to flit between humbucker and single-coil modes and come loaded with Massaad’s favored Bare Knuckle Silo pickups (Standard Sabre models come with own-brand Music Man humbuckers).

Rabea was also influential in moving the position of the Sabre’s five-way pickup switch, pushing it further away from the strings. Now, it nestles beside the volume knob.  

While there isn’t a mention of what price the models are expected to fetch, the guitarist accepts that they “will be expensive”, with Music Man guitars made in the US in small numbers. Currently, standard Music Man Sabres are around $5,000, but he adds that there will be Sterling versions, which will offer a similar approach at a lower price point. Sterling Sabres are typically less than half the price of their Music Man compadres, going for roughly $2,000 each.

"The most important thing is to have a guitar I'm inspired to play, that feels fantastic and plays, looks and sounds good," says Rabea Massaad. “In my case, it’s about having the guitars and feeling proud of them

“We're very nearly there with these guitars,” he continues. “They're pretty representative of the final stages of development. It's really exciting!”

Upon signing to Ernie Ball in April, the Music Man brand had said its work with Rabea would “incorporate unique designs that are specifically engineered for Rabea’s playing style”. Now, with Rabea’s sneak peek video, we’re given a first taste of what those changes constitute, with the extra carves, alternative woods and Silo pickups conspiring to give the Sabre a shot in the arm.

Rabea’s new relationship with Ernie Ball follows its collaboration with Animals As Leaders guitar wizard and Abasi Concepts founder Tosin Abasi. Together, the pair created the eye-catching Kaizen model. 

We can expect to see the new signature Sabre in all its glory at NAMM in January.

Fernando Rosa has all the makings of an original groove master from the 1970s, so it doesn’t hurt that he finds a lot to like in this new vintage-inspired four-string bass from Ernie Ball Music Man.

The Retro ‘70s StingRay is intended to encapsulate the very best of the Californian company’s original flagship four-string, combined with contemporary playability and dependability.

While faithfully reproducing the Stingray's original specifications, this throwback edition is available in four finishes.

Among these is a Heritage Natural finish, on which Rosa chose to demo this throwback edition in his inimitable style, thumping and plucking his way through Louis Johnson’s iconic bassline on Michael Jackson's 1979 classic, Get On The Floor.

One of the things that marked the StingRay out from the crowd back in the late ‘70s was its single, oversized humbucker with large exposed pole pieces. Naturally, the celebrated Music Man humbucker is found on these models too, but with longer alnico 5 magnets wound with original single poly-nylon wire.

The electronics have also been revamped with a hand-soldered two-EQ preamp circuit board complete with vintage-correct ceramic disc capacitors.

Other features include an ash body with gloss polyester finish, a 21-fret, three-bolt maple neck with micro-tilt adjustment, period-correct gold Music Man decal, string-through body bridge with stainless steel saddles and rubber mute pads, and the original Pre-Ernie Ball StingRay bullet truss rod adjustment.

Black, white, and vintage sunburst finishes are available through Ernie Ball Music Man retailers, while the Heritage Natural finish is offered exclusively through the Ernie Ball Music Man Vault.

The Retro ‘70s StingRay is available now for $3,199. See Music Man for more details.

Pete Wentz – bassist with American rockers Fall Out Boy – has teamed up with Sterling by Music Man to create the Pete Wentz Artist Series StingRay.

Available in Black or Fiesta Red, and tailored to Wentz's exact specifications, his new signature StingRay offers fans the opportunity to wield the same bass guitar that Wentz has been playing on the Fall Out Boy ‘23/24 worldwide So Much For (Tour) Dust headline tour.

“For me, the StingRay has the best tone that we’ve had from a live show to date,” said Wentz. “On this tour, these basses come backstage, they go out – I play at front of house or I go out and play near the lawn, and they’ve held up for all that. I treat them well, but I also am who I am on stage and they’ve held up under those circumstances.” 

Watch Matt Rubano take the bass for a spin in the demo video below.

As Sterling by Music Man’s first full-scale passive bass, the electronics are about as simple as it gets – sounds come by way of an Alnico V humbucker linked to straightforward master tone and volume controls.

Though it shares the StingRay’s contoured body, roasted maple neck and 3+1 headstock, the Pete Wentz Artist model differs from Ernie Ball’s fabled 4-string in numerous cosmetic details.

The hardware is black, for example, with an anodized gold pickguard. Another distinguishing feature is a custom Loon inlay on the 12th fret, described by Wentz as “beautiful, but really spooky” and inspired by summers spent in Vermont throughout his youth.

“A lot of my design references were watches or skateboards, and things that I am just attracted to design-wise. I’m a very visual person. I feel like starting with simplicity and the best ingredients is the way to go.”

As part of the launch, Sterling by Music Man has teamed up with Reverb to offer 50 exclusive limited-edition Pete Wentz autographed basses.

“At the end of the day, I think that punk rock and punk rock music should be accessible,” concluded Wentz. “I think it’s very cool to be somebody’s potential first bass.”

The Pete Wentz signature bass is set to retail at $649.99. 

See Sterling Music Man for more details.

Fans of bass distortion will likely be aware of pedal experts Darkglass Electronics. They may also know that back in 2021 the Finnish company teamed up with Ernie Ball to create a bass guitar that combined the venerable StingRay Special with the Darkglass Alpha Omega preamp.

Well, now the aforementioned DarkRay is also available in the Sterling range, which combines Music Man-specific features, upmarket hardware and traditional construction yet sits at close to half the price of the original DarkRay.

Music Man informs us that you’ll “unlock total tonal control via volume, treble, and bass adjustments, along with onboard gain and blend knobs for customized distortion.”

The DarkRay design boasts two blendable distortion circuits: Alpha and Omega. Darkglass describes the Alpha circuit as “punchy, tight and with lots of definition” and the Omega as “brutal and raw.” You can switch between either circuit using an eye-catching LED ring and 3-way selector switch. 

The iconic Music Man alnico humbucker is found on these models too. The classic Music Man bridge is also a reassuring sight, while a set of chunky, open-geared machineheads complete the hardware inventory with the G string tuner on the underside of the headstock in the trademark StingRay configuration. A six-bolt plate secures a roasted maple neck to the nyatoh body.

Whereas the original DarkRay is available in both 4- and 5-string variations, and in a range of finishes from Graphite Stone to grey sparkle Starry Night, the Sterling DarkRay is currently only offered as a 4-string with a black body color and matching pickguard. The guide price is $1399.99.

See Sterling Music Man for more details.

Ernie Ball has teamed up with Synsyter Gates for two sets of signature electric guitar strings – one for standard six-string electric guitars, and another for seven-strings.

What has really caught our attention, though, (thanks to MusicRadar) is the video that Ernie Ball has dropped to promote the strings, which finds the Avenged Sevenfold guitarist sitting next to a very mysterious guitar amp.

But first, the strings: both of Gates’ sets feature stainless steel-wound low strings for a brighter, more aggressive sound, while a reinforced plain string construction aims for better tuning stability.

It’s also worth noting the ultra-high strength tin plating attached to the steel plain strings, as well as the fact the sets boast a “never-before-offered combination of alloys”.

Gauge-wise, the six-string set ($13) comprises 10, 13, 17, 30, 42 and 52, while the seven-string set ($15) is made up of 10, 13, 17, 28, 38, 48 and 60.

The strings can be heard in action in the film below, which, coincidentally, is where that mysterious amp crops up, and it’s safe to say the unique design has left us scratching our heads a little.

After all, Gates is a strong champion of modeling gear, having waxed lyrical about the powers of digital technology – in particular, the Axe-Fx III – on multiple occasions. In fact, when speaking to Guitar Interactive back in 2018, Gates said the number one reason he switched to the Axe-Fx was because “it sounded better than my amp”.

“I can do more with it,” said Gates when explaining why he switched from his Schecter Hellwin signature amp (via Ultimate Guitar). “And I just think at a certain point, for $2,500 or whatever it is, you have access to an infinite amount of amps. 

“Its tweakability is much better. I can get much better playability out of the Axe-Fx and still have it sound exactly like Hellwin if I wanted to.”

Despite that, is this another yet-to-be-announced signature amp? A closer look at the amp can be found in the promotional images of Gates’ signature string sets, with the white-finished unit also flashing the guitarist’s own logo. 

Such an appointment would indeed support the above theory, but the lack of a distinct brand name makes it a difficult thread to follow.

There are some telling questions that arise, though. How would it assimilate with Gates’ penchant for the Axe-Fx? Is it designed with modelers in mind? Is Gates U-turning back to the ranks of amps?

On the flipside, it would be unreasonable to think that Gates isn’t in possession of at least one amp to play through while jamming, so it’s also entirely possible this might just be a one-off custom build.

While we wait to find out the truth, head over to Synyster Gates' official online store to find out more about his new signature guitar strings.

Rage Against the Machine are that rare thing: a protest band that aren’t faintly embarrassing. Although mainstream acceptance and chart success have taken the intimidating edge off their political rants – which target a vague combination of corporations and governments – there’s no denying the immense power of their music, and their often jaw-dropping musicianship.

The opening riff to Rage’s best-known song, Killing In The Name, is a sinister D plus octave of D#, with bassist Tim Commerford exploiting the wide frequency range of his Music Man StingRay, before his subsequent associations with Fender and then Lakland. It’s a prime example of how the bass guitar in a heavy-sounding, aggressive band can be supportive yet interesting, holding down the groove with robotic accuracy.

Listen below to the monstrous bass tone for which Commerford is known. It’s an iconic performance that deserves re-listening.

“Every band that I’ve ever been in, whether it’s Rage, Audioslave, Future User, whatever, everything is organic and starts in the room," said Commerford in the December 2021 issue of BP. "Some idea, whether it’s a drum beat or a bassline, happens, and we’re like, ‘How about this? Oh, that’s cool’ and then it just snowballs. Whenever we’d drop that bass riff, places would become unhinged.”

As for sounds, there’s no getting away from it – this is a StingRay. “I was 18 years old when I first saw a Music Man Stingray,” said Commerford. “It was a blonde one with a black pickguard, and it was at a pawnshop and it was $300. I wanted it so bad, and I scraped up the money, and I got it. That bass was the one that I used to record the first Rage record, and it was a big part of my life.”

Ernie Ball’s latest collaboration with Commerford follows the same blueprint except with four variants of the StingRay: a passive full-scale, an active full-scale, a passive short-scale, and an active short-scale. “Back in 2015 I was approached by Brian Ball, who’s the grandson of Ernie Ball, and he wanted to make me a bass. He gave me this Music Man StingRay – I think they call it the HH model. I was blown away by the construction, by the way that it sounds, the way it plays acoustically in my living room. I plug it in and I have to drastically change my settings on my amps: it sounded really, really good with my set-up.”

The basses all had standard pickups and controls and were streamlined in production numbers: each version was limited to just 50 units worldwide. “Over the years people have come to me and told me they wanted to make a bass for me, and I’ve always shied away from it, but with Music Man I’m really happy to say that this is a bass I’m part of, and that it was not made using exploitation of humans. It was made in a really awesome factory in San Luis Obispo where people are looked after and are happy. That happiness shows in how beautifully this instrument is made. This is the dopest bass that you can get!”

Rage Against the Machine is available to buy and stream.

NAMM 2023: Ernie Ball has unveiled its annual Slinky shakeup, debuting three gauges of flatwound electric guitar strings and two new sets of flatwound bass strings for short-scale players.

Traditionally, flatwound strings offer a darker tone with a smoother feel, and were commonplace back in the early ’60s – they were once the preferred choice of the Beatles, don’tcha know – but Ernie Ball has sought to update the format with its new designs.

Specifically, EB’s Slinky Flatwound guitar strings utilize the company’s patented cobalt alloy ribbon winding for a “round sound with a flat feel”, and come with a plain G string to ease bending strings.

Three gauges will be available when the strings launch this summer: Super Slinky (9-42), Regular Slinky (10-46), and Power Slinky (11-48).

EB is touting their blend of old-school tone and modern playability, with the smooth feel particularly suited to slide playing.

On the bass front, the flatwound range has expanded to include two sets of short-scale options: Regular Slinky Short Scale (45-105) and Power Slinky Short Scale (50-110) gauges.

Again, EB’s patented cobalt alloy ribbon appears for that round sound and flat feel, and given the rapid rise of the short-scale, we can see these being particularly popular with the low-end community.

For more information on all the new strings, head over to Ernie Ball.

Ernie Ball has announced Rabea Massaad will join its growing family of Ernie Ball and Ernie Ball Music Man artists, with the producer, guitarist and YouTube gear guru set to help the brand develop electric guitar models in the future.

Specifically, Massaad is currently at work with Ernie Ball Music Man to craft an all-new guitar template that is said to be based on the brand’s existing Sabre model. According to the company, the as-yet-unnamed guitar will “incorporate unique designs that are specifically engineered for Rabea’s playing style”.

No further information regarding the upcoming guitar has been announced, but it’s not the first time Ernie Ball has tapped a high-profile guitar star to help curate a new guitar after it joined forces with Tosin Abasi last year for the radical Kaizen model.

Massaad’s new professional relationship with Ernie Ball, though, looks to be far more thorough. Indeed, the Andertons alumni announced in December last year that he would be leaving Chapman Guitars after 10 years in order to “go out into the unknown and see what happens”.

As such, we imagine this upcoming Sabre-style guitar will be the first step in what will prove to be a powerful guitar partnership between Massaad and Ernie Ball Music Man.

Unsurprisingly, Massaad thinks the same: “To be a part of the Ernie Ball Music Man family is something I never thought I’d be able to say,” he said. “Being on the back of the pack alongside so many musicians I’ve looked up to since I started out and having a Music Man guitar with my name on it is truly a pinch myself feeling I don’t think will ever pass. 

“Thank you for welcoming me with open arms,” Massaad concluded. “I promise to make you guys proud.”

Echoing Massaad’s sentiments, Brian Ball said, “We are honored and thrilled to welcome Rabea Massaad to the Ernie Ball Music Man family of artists. As a world-renowned musician, his passion for music and innovative approach to guitar playing is a perfect match for our company's commitment to providing the best tools for artists to express themselves. 

“We are excited to collaborate with Rabea in developing new products and are looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

NAMM 2023: Sterling by Music Man has lifted the curtain on its 2023 collection of electric guitars, which is headlined by a more affordable version of St. Vincent’s highly popular Goldie signature guitar.

Joining Sterling’s existing version of St. Vincent’s flagship signature six-string, the Goldie is a long-awaited addition to the Sterling lineup, and is accompanied by a range of updates across the brand’s Cutlass, Albert Lee, Valentine and Mariposa ranges.

These updates arrive predominantly in the form of aesthetic overhauls, though some functional and tonal upgrades can also be found scattered across the 11-strong drop.

For a full breakdown of each model, read on below.

Sterling by Music Man St. Vincent Goldie

At long last, almost two years after Ernie Ball Music Man unveiled the reimagined, $2,999-priced Goldie St. Vincent signature model, Sterling by Music Man has finally introduced a more affordable version, which weighs in at $829.

Despite being over two grand cheaper, the model boasts the same eye-catching aesthetic flair as its full-priced sibling, arriving with the original gold foil St. Vincent signature pickups, quirky offset body shape and unique fretboard inlays.

Furthermore, two of the original colorways are also on offer – Velveteen and Cashmere – with Sterling’s Goldie only slightly veering away from the blueprint in areas of build and hardware. A nyatoh body is used rather than an okoume one – though a roasted maple neck retains its spot – with a vintage-style tremolo bridge replacing the chrome plated original piece.

Other specs include a faithful rosewood fingerboard and color-matched reverse headstock, as well as an identical control layout comprising a five-way switch and master volume and tone knobs.

Sterling by Music Man Mariposa

Another highly prized angular signature guitar in the Sterling by Music Man ranks, Omar Rodríguez-López’s Mariposa has been given a fresh lick of paint for 2023, now arriving in the none-more-pastel Daphne Blue. Besides the cosmetic shake up, it’s the standard Mariposa model, featuring a roasted maple neck, a pair of humbuckers and a vintage-style tremolo bridge.

Daphne Blue is the fourth color to be inducted into the Mariposa lineup – following Imperial White, Dorado Green and Pueblo Pink Satin – and, dare we say, quite possibly the nicest.

Like its forebears, the new-look Mariposa is available for $599.

Sterling by Music Man Albert Lee AL40P

Another new arrival to Sterling’s signature lineup for 2023 is a revamped Albert Lee model. A popular template for Ernie Ball’s regular Family Reserve drops, the standard-run Sterling six-string has been treated to Sherwood Green and Vintage Cream, and has been altered to feature a pair of P-90 pickups that swap out the original’s humbuckers.

Other notable differences include a lightweight poplar body and roasted maple neck, both of which replace the mahogany and hard maple alternatives of the flagship Lee guitar.

Elsewhere, the Albert Lee AL40P flashes either block or dot inlays depending on the chosen finish and a two-point tremolo, and carries a price tag that reads $599.

Sterling by Music Man Valentine Chambered

Rounding off Sterling’s 2023 signature lineup is the Valentine Chambered – a release that takes the brand’s classy Valentine design to luxurious new heights with the arrival of a chambered, f-hole-equipped design.

James Valentine’s latest model still has its key ingredients – white ash body, roasted maple neck and locking tuners are among them – but now arrives in either Butterscotch or Natural colorways that complement the sem-hollow vibe.

Furthermore, the Butterscotch iteration has also been fitted with a tune-o-matic-style bridge and Bigsby tailpiece – an appointment that is totally new across all Sterling and Ernie Ball Music Man models. While the other comes equipped with a hardtail bridge, both feature a pair of humbuckers and a standard Valentine control circuit.

Unfortunately, Sterling hasn’t yet confirmed an official US price for its newest Valentine models.

Sterling by Music Man Cutlass CT30HSS

Moving on into Sterling’s standard range, the brand has introduced two new Cutlass guitars. The first, the CT30HSS, is “inspired by vintage guitars but made with modern adornments”, with Sterling doubling down on the vintage vibe by introducing two new finishes: Vintage Sunburst and Mint Green.

Despite the flashy new looks, the CT30HSS stays true to its flagship design, boasting a HSS pickup configuration, versatile five-way switch and a vintage-style tremolo. Plus, at $349, it’s the brand's cheapest model of 2023.

Sterling by Music Man Cutlass CT50 Plus

If the above didn’t exactly rewrite the script, the all-new CT50 Plus certainly hopes to do so, bringing to the table a fresh take on the CT50 template. According to Sterling, the changes have taken the Cutlass “to the next level”, with the CT50 Plus featuring a roasted maple neck, locking tuners and vintage-style tremolo.

Available in Chalk and Aqua Grey, the guitar’s main attraction is arguably those new Modern HSS pickups, with the black pickguards certainly adding a suave aesthetic undertone to proceedings. It’s also worth mentioning those ornate block inlays and the push/pull mid boost control that's present for extra sonic versatility.

Described by Sterling as “the perfect all-in-one workhorse for any modern player”, the CT50 Plus is available for $649.

To find out more, head over to Sterling by Music Man.

Ernie Ball has lifted the lid on the Spring 2023 additions to its limited-run Family Reserve series. The four new instruments all feature nitrocellulose finishes, meaning the wide-ranging designs have all been grouped together under one ‘Nitro Collection’ tag.

The new drop consists of three electric guitars and one bass, including the Dustin Kensrue Black Honey, the Cutlass Classic '58, the Axis Translucent Purple, and the StingRay Retro '76.

First on the list is the Dustin Kensrue Black Honey, which offers a dark take on the Thrice man’s signature guitar – and represents the rarest instrument of the Spring 2023 collection, being limited to just 50 pieces. Usually available in Blonde or Tobacco Burst finishes, this one has a black nitro finish with gold hardware. 

Elsewhere, it maintains the Schaller locking tuners, custom-wound Music Man HS pickup configuration and stacked volume/tone controls of the main Artist Series model. Expect to pay $3,599 for the privilege of snapping one up.

Another six-string, the Strat-like Cutlass Classic ’58 is clearly rooted in what Ernie Ball Music Man terms “the 20th century's ‘Golden Era’ of instrument manufacturing”. That renaissance period is celebrated here in more overt fashion than on the usual Cutlass models. 

Eagle-eyed readers will note it emulates the Strat’s three control knobs (as opposed to the usual two-knob setup found on the Cutlass) and there’s the traditional combination of alder body and vintage-style maple neck, all wrapped up in that fetching nitro sunburst finish. 

The Cutlass Classic ’58 has a price of $3,499.

On the bass front, the Sting Ray Retro ’76 offers a similar trick in its emulation of ‘Golden Era’ design, but uses Music Man’s own history as its inspiration. 

As such, the Retro ’76 is all about a return to the Sting Ray’s disco and funk roots, emulating the original specs of the bass. Alongside the nitro finish, that means an Alnico V humbucker, vintage 1976-style ‘radio’ control knobs, a string-thru-body bridge and a pre-Ernie Ball-style ‘bullet’ trussrod poking out the headstock. 

All that retro goodness equates to a price of $3,499.

The third and final guitar on offer is a little less traditional, but still casts its gaze backwards, specifically to the firm’s first signature model with Eddie Van Halen. 

The Nitro Axis Translucent Purple has a hand-stained figured maple top adorning a lightweight basswood body with cream binding. It’s loaded with two DiMarzio Zebra humbuckers, a Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo and – we’re pretty certain – some form of hypnotic power.

As with all of the other instruments here (with the exception of Kensrue’s signature) it comes with a certificate of authenticity, a hardcase and is limited to 100 pieces.

The Nitro Axis Translucent Purple carries a price tag of $3,799. 

For more information on all of the Ball Family Reserve Spring 2023 collection, head to the Ernie Ball Music Man site.

Ernie Ball recently tapped Tim Henson for the latest episode of its String Theory series, during which the Polyphia maestro took a deep dive into his influences, songwriting philosophies and overall approach to the electric guitar.

Across its 11-minute duration, the String Theory installment reveals some surprising elements of Henson’s guitar-playing DNA, including his biggest Hollywood-based inspirations, how he sees the guitar simply as a “means to an end”, and how he was already practicing to be the best guitarist on earth at the age of 10.

Here’s everything we learned about Tim Henson in Ernie Ball’s latest String Theory episode.

1. He purposefully practiced to be the best guitarist in the world from the age of 10

With his Neurotica Ibanez art guitar in hand, Henson revealed how a particularly strong-willed mindset from the outset of his guitar-playing journey helped him turn his dreams into an inevitability, and enabled him to pioneer the innovative style he’s known for today.

“[When I turned 10] my dad just brought out a guitar, I had no idea that he even played,” Henson recalled. “My dad would go and play with his band, and occasionally he would take me and let me play with them, and I would want to solo over whatever they were doing.

“In sixth grade my friend group’s parents were asking us what we each wanted to be when we grew up, and I said I wanted to be a rockstar,” he went on. “Of course, everyone rolled their eyes or something stupid. I was just dead-ass serious, though.

“I had this idea that I wanted to be the best guitar player on earth. From like age 10 to 13, I just practiced with the intention of becoming the best guitar player in the world.”

2. Jack Black movies were some of his biggest inspirations 

By an extension of the above point, Henson also revealed some of the biggest driving forces behind his desire to become the best guitarist on the planet: Jack Black movies.

Specifically, Henson cited School of Rock, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, and even Steve Vai’s cult classic Crossroads as key early influences that got him well on the way to becoming the guitar star he is today.

“I had watched School of Rock and Pick of Destiny and, you know, the Jack Black movies were really influential,” he mused. “Then I watched Crossroads, with Steve of course, and just the idea of selling your soul to the devil and then you were the best… I thought that was so cool.”

3. He joined a worship band so he could get regular playing experience

Before his days as a progressive virtuoso – and before Polyphia’s early death metal era – Henson was involved in a significantly different guitar scene: worship music. Though at the time he didn’t “give a shit about any of that”, the band gave him the opportunity to play regularly.

After forming bands to play Green Day and emo covers, Henson then joined a worship band for a youth group. “That was one of the first times I ever played with a group of my peers. Then I joined a worship group, and I don’t give a shit about any of that, but I just wanted to play. It was an opportunity for me to play every weekend.”

4. The guitar is just a means to an end for him 

Though he set himself an early goal of becoming the best guitarist on earth, it’s interesting that Henson sees the instrument itself predominantly as a vehicle for creation. In fact, had he picked up any other instrument in his youth, the Tim Henson we know today may not have developed.

“Guitar playing for me is more of a means to an end, the end being the creation of music,” he said. “The guitar is a tool to execute my ideas and bring them to life. If I were good at any other instrument, I would be playing that instrument – but I’m only good at guitar, so that’s the one I use.”

5. His biggest piece of advice for aspiring artists? Find your voice

Given he’s well on track to achieve the goal he set his 10-year-old self, Henson is probably one of the best people to give advice when it comes to all things guitar. Speaking to Ernie Ball, he imparted a particularly important piece of wisdom to viewers: find your voice.

“I think the most important thing as a young player is to find your voice, to find your style,” he offered. “The way you do that is you learn your favorite things, you learn your favorite styles and it helps to be into a lot of things, so you can pinpoint contrasting stuff.

“Eventually, you get good at all these different things you like – stylistically, they’re going to make their way into your original playing. Then you might have an original voice.”

While guitar strings are from from the sexiest category in our voluminous collection of Black Friday guitar deals, they may be the most practical.

Holiday season or not, not everyone's ready to drop big bucks on a new electric guitar or acoustic guitar, or even a nice guitar amp. But, chances are good that most guitarists have a few bucks to spare on a new set of electric or acoustic guitar strings to keep their beloved axe(s) playing fast and smooth.

Even if you recently swapped out your strings, having a spare set (or a few) is always good for piece of mind. After all, those high E strings don't care one bit if you're practicing in your bedroom or in the middle of your big solo spot onstage...

Looking to snap up a new set of strings at a wallet-friendly discount? You've come to the right place. Scroll on down to see the best Cyber Weekend guitar string deals right now.

Today's best Cyber Weekend electric guitar string deals

Today's best Cyber Weekend acoustic guitar string deals

Ernie Ball has debuted the latest addition to its lineup of electric guitar and acoustic guitar accessories – its three-strong range of Comfort Slides, which aim to provide players with the ultimate slide playing experience.

Joining the brand’s steel bar, glass and chrome-plated brass alternatives, the Comfort Slides vow to deliver “unsurpassed comfort and control” thanks to a newly appointed soft inner sleeve.

Said inner sleeve arrives in three different colors depending on the slide size – yellow for small, green for medium, purple for large – and promotes a secure fit that hopes to maximize comfort and control.

And, as an added bonus, the bright sleeve colors are also said to provide greater visibility when playing in dark environments.

The sleeve also covers the diameter of the slide’s bottom section, which provides a barrier between the player’s finger and the rolled metal edge. Again, it’s a nifty extra detail that helps Ernie Ball provide what looks to be one of the most comfortable slides on the market.

On the exterior, the slide makes use of a black chrome-plated brass, which allows the notes to ring out with a “bright, chimey tone and maximum sustain”.

In terms of size, small is recommended for players with ring sizes of 5-7, while medium is for those with a ring size of 8-10. Large, meanwhile, caters to 11-13 ring sizes.

Each Comfort Slide is available now for $18.

For more information, head over to Ernie Ball.

Ernie Ball has been busy revamping its accessories range in recent months, having partnered with Gruv Gear for a new FretWraps line.

Since emerging on the New York studio scene in the 1970s, Tony Levin has forged a reputation as a modern master of the bass guitar. “I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have played with so many great musicians,” he tells us. “To have played some great music, and just to have been able to keep playing the bass – the thing I love to do – for all of my adult years.”

Aside from a remarkable career as a sideman, playing on landmark recordings for the likes of John Lennon, Paul Simon, Kate Bush, Lou Reed and David Bowie, Levin’s preference for prog rock led to his taking up the Chapman Stick, joining the envelope-pushing King Crimson, and becoming a permanent touring member of Peter Gabriel’s band. He’s worked closely with Peter Gabriel since 1977, and will be a core member of the group’s 2023 i/o tour.

"With Peter, it’s great music," says Tony. "There’s a lot of fun within the band, so everything still feels good to us. Peter’s a great performer, as ever, and the material is a pleasure to play, even after all these years.”

One of the most innovative bassists working today, Tony invented a system of striking the strings with two small drumsticks attached to his fingers. “I call it ‘funk fingers’, he says. “When I was working on Peter’s song ‘Big Time’, I asked Jerry Marotta to drum on the bass strings while I fingered the notes with my left hand. It took hours for us to do and the track wasn’t really used in the final mix, except in one place after the first chorus, but I had grown very attached to it. I just liked the percussive sound."

Using them live was a whole other level of real-time learning experience too, as he explains: “I tried to reproduce the performance live, with a drumstick in one hand, but it wasn’t working. One day at soundcheck, Peter said, “Why don’t you attach two sticks to your fingers?” I turned around to my tech and asked him, “Can we do that?” He pared down two drumsticks and found a piece of surgical tubing to attach them to my fingers." 

"We gradually refined the system and now I use two percussion sticks, which are thinner than drum sticks, and they have scoops cut out of them to fit my fingers. I’ve also wrapped the ends of the sticks in various materials to soften their attack; the bright sound can be too much for most record producers. I try it a lot in the studio, and often I’m told to “put those things away.”

As well as the i/o tour with Peter Gabriel next year, Tony has announced new dates with his Stick Men trio, which features Markus Reuter on guitar and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto. "The Chapmen Stick is a great instrument. Its unusual tuning helps me to come up with unusual lines, which is something I'm always trying to do, and I'll take whatever help I can get."

For more information visit tonylevin.com

Guitar giant Ernie Ball has collaborated with instrument accessories brand Gruv Gear to produce a new line of co-branded string dampeners. 

Gruv Gear’s original FretWraps will be familiar to most two-handed tapping types already, but for the uninitiated they essentially pop around the nut or fretboard (affixed by an adjustable velcro-style strap) in order to reduce overtones and resonance. It’s a handy aide for recordings or performances where you don’t want open strings ringing all over the place.

The new line includes small, medium and large sizes. Small is best suited to traditional six-string electric guitars and four-string basses, medium is handy for the classical guitars and five-string basses, and large is for your biggest ‘boards, as found on six-string basses and seven- or eight-string guitars.

“What an honor to team up with our friends at Ernie Ball!” says GruvGear founder Jay Baldemor. 

“When we first invented FretWraps well over 10 years ago, I didn’t realize it would become such an indispensable tool for guitarists and bassists worldwide. Having the stellar Ernie Ball badge on this wildly popular product marks another great milestone for both companies. We’re all very excited!”

In celebration, Ernie Ball has commissioned the titan of tech metal shred that is Jason Richardson to put them all through their paces in a melee of six- and seven-string guitar; and six-string bass. You can check out the surprisingly exciting results in the video above.

All three sizes of Ernie Ball FretWraps by Gruv Gear will retail for $16.99. Head to Ernie Ball’s site for more information.

Regardless of whether you play at home sitting down or you're ready to go out and get gigging, if you want comfort and to protect your pride and joy – whether that's an electric, acoustic or bass guitar – then you'll need one of the best guitar straps in my guide. Sure, buying a new strap isn't the most exciting purchase you'll ever make, but it is an essential one.

A guitar strap lets you hang your guitar from your shoulder, and even if you only play at home, it can make playing a much more comfortable experience. A good strap will be adjustable to suit you and your playing style, whether you like it slung low like Slash or prefer a more technical position with your guitar up high like Tom Morello. Straps available in a huge array of styles and materials too, so you’re bound to find one that matches your style.

Helping players pick out the right guitar strap for them is part of my day job. Working in a guitar store, straps are my bread and butter. I’ve merchandised them, gotten lost in endless product codes, and most importantly, helped guitarists find the most comfortable and best-looking strap for their style for the last 10 years.

If you’re after the best all-round strap that balances quality with comfort, my top choice right now is the Fender Broken-In Leather Strap. With a 2.5-inch width and a slick oiled finish, it won’t dig into your shoulder and is fully height-adjustable. Or, if you’d rather make a visual statement, the Coffin Case ‘The Count’ Velvet Strap is perfect for the shadow-dwelling goths out there.

If you’re new to guitar straps, I’ve put together a how to choose section to help you narrow down your options. There’s also a handy FAQ section that covers the most commonly-asked questions. Now, if you just want to check out the best guitar straps available right now, keep on scrolling...

Best overall

While for some a guitar strap is another way to express themselves, for others a strap is merely a tool to allow you to concentrate on playing. That's not to say there can't be a quiet elegance to a strap though. That's exactly where the Fender Broken-In leather guitar strap comes in.

Coming in four tasteful finishes – green, brown, black and tan – this classy strap feels built to last and gives you the confidence that it will last the distance.

When using it, I found that the oiled finish gave the cowhide leather a softness, while the generously adjustable length makes it ideal for guitarists of any height.

Hands-down the best guitar strap available right now.

Best budget

If you're a guitar player, the chances are high that you've either seen or owned one of these Fender straps over the years.

The Fender Monogrammed guitar strap has been ubiquitous in guitar stores across the planet for decades now. Because style never goes out of fashion, of course and it's also available to buy in a huge variety of color and pattern variations.

Jokes aside, if you're looking at the lower end of the price scale, you really can't go far wrong here. Fender doesn't generally put its name on bad gear so, even though this is a shade over ten dollars, I feel it still comes with a certain level of quality, durability and ‘90s charm.

It's also a great pick-up for those just starting their guitar journey, or it would make an ideal (not to mention useful) gift for a new player.

Best comfort

The KLIQ AirCell guitar strap boasts unique technology which packs a host of air-filled cells (you can see where they got the name from) onto its underside, making it one of the best guitar straps for comfort, in my opinion.

These cells distribute weight more evenly, aided by the fairly chunky 3” strap width, while also providing a cushion to ensure heavier guitars don't take their toll on the player's neck and shoulders.

As well as comfort, the cells also provide the dual benefit of taking moisture away from the skin or clothing, allowing your shoulder to breathe over long playing sessions.

If you're looking for the ultimate in comfortable guitar straps, this comes highly recommended.

Best strap lock system

A sad fact of life, for many of us, is that the body starts to give up long before the mind does. So, while in our heads we could play for hours and hours every night of the week, often our neck and shoulders have other ideas. Thankfully, the good folk at Ernie Ball have a solution.

The Ernie Ball Neoprene Polylock guitar strap is designed, first and foremost, with comfort in mind. Coming in both 2” and 3” widths, this strap is the equivalent of playing with a pillow tucked under the strap. Seriously, it's that good.

Not only that, Ernie Ball’s patented Polylock system securely attaches to your strap buttons for a safe connection to avoid any guitar-meets-floor scenarios. What's more, all of this is possible without the need for any modifications to your guitar.

Best design

As far as statement guitar straps go, Coffin Case’s velvet guitar straps are difficult to beat. Clearly modeled on the inside of a rather luxurious casket, what this strap lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in dark, macabre vibes.

While I wouldn't want to typecast, it's easy to see how this strap would appeal to a certain type of player. It could be the colorway, it could be the name, or it could be the fact it's adjustable to a whopping 70”, making it ideal for players whose riffs are low, slow and loaded with foreboding.

If you're looking to make a statement in your latest goth project, this could be the guitar strap you've been searching for.

Best durability

While it's true a guitar strap is merely a tool, an enabler, there's no harm in adding a bit of cool to the proceedings. Enter the Levy's guitar strap range.

Where the other straps in this guide focus heavily on function, comfort and durability, the Levy's MS17ASF range has all those things but then isn't shy of incorporating a dash of style too – the fringing is such a cool touch!

While it's not a cheap strap, it is built with the highest quality suede and features a range of glorious leather and embroidered designs. These add a touch of class, meaning you'll look as good as you sound.

Best leather

As one of the acoustic world's best-respected names, you can rest assured that the accompanying straps offered by Taylor are of a superior level.

The Taylor Element guitar strap does not disappoint, offering multi-layer distressed leather in a tasteful dark brown finish.

The Element straps come in either 2.5” or 3” widths and take inspiration from their flagship 800 range of guitars with the unique Element branding, as seen on their fret markers. This one would look rather dashing around the neck of any folk or country player, if we do say so ourselves.

Best acoustic

Gibson is known for its iconic single-cut guitars, era-defining bird-inspired acoustics and now, guitar straps. In fact, Gibson has been making accessories for decades, and the Troubadour strap is one of the best choices for acoustic players.

Made from top-grain leather, this 2-inch-wide guitar strap feels premium and looks it, too. The antique brass buckles add a vintage charm that looks great on any Hummingbird, while you also get the choice of either black or brown leather. It’s the inclusion of the headstock string that makes this particularly great for acoustics, especially older or vintage models that don’t have a second strap button.

Although the Troubadour is perfect for any lonesome acoustic singer-songwriter out on the prairie, you can easily take the string off and use it on your electrics too, making this a versatile choice for any Gibson aficionado.

How to choose the best guitar strap for you

If you've never purchased a guitar strap before, or perhaps you're on a run of straps that have let you down, this section is for you. Assisting people in choosing a guitar strap is something I do daily while working in a guitar store, and after 10 years, I've learned that these three considerations are the most important.

1. Material
First up, think about what material will work best for you. The two most common are leather or woven plastic, usually made from neoprene or polyester. A good-quality leather strap will feel soft, look classy, and offer great stability. However, leather tends to cost more, can dry out and crack if stored incorrectly, and isn’t exactly ethical.

Plastic woven straps, on the other hand, tend to be more affordable, are unlikely to ever deteriorate, and often feature much more elaborate patterns and designs. These straps can look a little less classy, though, and if they're on the skinnier side, they can become a bit uncomfortable on your shoulder.

2. Length & width
Although this sounds obvious, determining the right length of strap to go for is an important decision. If you're a beginner or have never played with a strap before, choosing an option that offers plenty of adjustment is a wise choice. Being able to experiment with different lengths is an important part of learning. The good thing is most straps are adjustable, but some have more range than others. So, if this is your first strap, pick one that has plenty of room for adjustment. Width is also important. A wider strap will help spread the guitar’s load, while a thinner strap will dig into your shoulder more.

3. Strap ends
Lastly, you should pay attention to the strap ends. Although the simple loophole is the most commonly found, there are other designs that might either benefit or hinder you and your guitar. Strap-locking designs are becoming increasingly popular, and they're a great option for keeping things secure. However, some hard plastic locking strap ends may sit awkwardly on a guitar body or neck heel, as the material isn’t malleable. Also, if you are playing an acoustic with only one strap button, you’ll have to either use a headstock string or a similar device to wrap around the headstock.

FAQs

Glossary

Headstock string
A piece of string used to tie the strap to the headstock, typically for acoustic guitars that have only one strap button at the base of the guitar.

Length adjustment
Each strap includes a length adjustment feature, allowing players to set the strap to their preferred playing height and comfort level.

Locking mechanism
A type of strap end that locks the strap to the guitar for maximum security and stability.

Neoprene strap
A strap made from synthetic rubber that offers excellent durability, stretch, and comfort.

Padding
Guitar straps can either have padding built in or added externally for extra comfort and to help your shoulder bear the weight.

Polyester strap
Polyester is a synthetic fabric used for guitar straps because it’s durable, lightweight, and affordable. It’s also common on straps with printed designs or patterns.

Quick-release system
A piece of hardware that allows you to detach the guitar strap from the guitar quickly with the push of a button.

Shoulder fatigue
When playing guitar while standing with a strap for long periods, your shoulder can tire, causing shoulder fatigue, especially if you’re using an inadequate strap.

Strap button
Also known as a strap pin, this is the metal screw attached to your guitar that allows you to secure a strap. They’re usually found at the base, neck heel, or horn of the guitar.

Strap lock
An accessory that locks your strap securely onto the strap button so your guitar doesn’t detach while you’re playing.

Weight distribution
Refers to how a guitar strap spreads the weight of the guitar across your shoulder and body. Better weight distribution reduces the chance of shoulder fatigue.

How I tested the best guitar straps

Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

When choosing what we believe to be the best guitar straps available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are guitarists, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best guitar straps on the market right now.

Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we test each product.

Why trust Guitar World?

Guitar World boasts over 44 years of expertise and stands as the ultimate authority on all things related to guitars. The magazine and website feature expertly written gear round-ups and top-quality, authoritative reviews penned by a team of highly experienced industry professionals.

Guitar World's inaugural print issue hit the shelves in July 1980, and ever since, it has been captivating players and enthusiasts with engaging lessons, insightful interviews with the biggest guitar heroes, and priceless buying advice for newbie players.

Furthermore, GuitarWorld.com continues this legacy online and serves as the hub of the world's foremost authorities on guitar playing. The site not only hosts content from Guitar World but also showcases articles from respected publications such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Guitar Techniques, and Bass Player. With a reach extending to 3.8 million players each month, GuitarWorld.com is a go-to destination for guitar fanatics globally.

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Read more:

• Tune up with the best guitar tuners around
• The best guitar capos you can buy today
• Up your plectrum game with the best guitar picks
• The best guitar stands and guitar hangers
• Try the best guitar cables for every budget

What product is heard on more recordings than anything else over the last 60 years? Many guitarists, musicians or even casual music fans would probably answer something like the Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul, Martin dreadnought or even the Fender Precision Bass. 

Those aren’t bad guesses, but the answer is actually something that all of those choices have in common more often than not: Ernie Ball strings.

The success of Ernie Ball strings in and of itself is a remarkable, noteworthy achievement, but it’s only one facet of the company’s extraordinary history over the last 60 years, starting in 1962 when Ernie Ball first packaged his own branded custom light-gauge Rock N Roll string sets and sold them from his music retail stores in the greater Los Angeles area. 

Today, Ernie Ball strings and accessories, as well as the company’s Music Man guitars and basses, are sold in 135 countries; the brands are internationally recognized icons; and their products are embraced by everyone from the world’s best-selling artists to beginners just starting their musical journeys.

“I’m super proud of the company’s 60-year history,” says Ernie Ball/Music Man president Sterling Ball. “We’ve worked with a lot of great people, and a lot of great things happened. It all started with my father. My dad changed an industry. But I’m reluctant to lean on history, because it’s too easy to use the past as a crutch. We’re focused on the present, and we’re thinking about the future. 

“With my son Brian now running the company, we’re making new history and continuing to change the industry. One of the main reasons for our success is that we figured out how to serve guitar players. We’ve consistently been determined to deliver what they want and need, and that is always changing and evolving. Everything is about the player.”

Ernie Ball’s dedication to guitarists was inspired by his own experiences as a player at first and later as a music retailer. After returning from service in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, he played pedal steel in various bands around Los Angeles before becoming a member of the house band on KTLA television’s “Western Varieties” program and doing session work. 

Around this time he met Leo Fender, and the two became good friends, with Ball becoming an early Fender endorsee and product beta tester in 1953. Seeking a more reliable means of making a living, Ball opened a guitar teaching studio in 1954 and his first music retail store in 1957 in Tarzana, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Ball’s store was considered controversial by the traditional-minded music industry during that time because it quite possibly was the very first shop in the U.S. that sold only guitars exclusively, whereas typical music stores of the time also sold brass, woodwind, drums and orchestral instruments as well as pianos and organs. The store struggled at times, but eventually it became successful, and Ball opened additional locations in Canoga Park and Thousand Oaks. 

“Guitarists knew my dad’s store was the place to go,” Sterling says. “My dad would set up all of the guitars that he sold. Players would come in from all over Southern California to buy Teles and Strats from us because of that. That’s something we still insist on doing today. We spend at least 45 minutes meticulously setting up every Music Man guitar and bass so it performs at its best before we ship them out, which is a lot more effort than most other companies make.”

Back then, electric guitars were typically shipped from the factory with .012-.052 or .013-.055 strings with a wound G, and replacement string sets were the same gauges or heavier. Ball noticed that many of his young students and customers struggled to bend strings, and he also knew that many pro guitarists were using lighter gauge strings on the recordings that these kids were trying to imitate.

After Fender and Gibson rejected his suggestion of offering light gauge string sets, Ball started setting up the instruments he sold with lighter strings and putting together his own packages of custom light gauge string sets by discarding the low E string, changing the fifth through first strings into the sixth through second strings and using a banjo’s light-gauge high D string for the high E string.

Ball introduced his first Ernie Ball-brand string sets in 1962. The packages featured eye-catching dayglo colors and bold logos and graphics designed by Rolly Crump. 

“My dad and Rolly were really good friends since high school,” Sterling says. “Rolly worked for Disney, where he became one of Walt’s top three art directors and designed the It’s a Small World ride. I remember when I was 7, my dad called all of the neighborhood kids down to the store, which was about a block from our home. 

“My dad had a stack of string wallet designs that said ‘Rock N Roll’ on them and were in different colors and black and white. He asked the kids to choose the ones they liked. The kids all loved the dayglo colors, so that’s what he went with. That was how he did his market research.”

Ernie Ball Rock N Roll string sets were offered in a variety of custom gauges, including skinny top/heavy bottom, rhythm guitar and “slinky”. Word about these strings – particularly the light Slinky sets – spread quickly as touring guitarists showed them to other players, and order requests came in from musicians and retailers across the country. 

Eventually the string production business eclipsed the retail stores’ income, and in 1967 Ernie Ball closed his stores and moved to Newport Beach to focus exclusively on making strings and accessories like personalized imprinted guitar picks, cables, straps and more. 

Another innovation that revolutionized the string industry was the company’s retailer packs of individual strings that were sold separately, enabling guitarists to put together their own custom sets.

The almost instant impact that Ernie Ball strings had on the sound of music recordings featuring the electric guitar cannot be overstated. 

In California during the early ’60s the company’s Slinky strings played a major role in the surf guitar phenomenon (the Ventures were among the store’s customers) and pop/rock records by bands like the Beach Boys and the Byrds, as well as the Bakersfield country sound of players like James Burton, Roy Nichols (Merle Haggard) and Don Rich (Buck Owens). 

Later in the mid-’60s when British artists like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and Cream toured in the U.S., they often returned home with Ernie Ball Slinky strings purchased by the case from music stores.

By the beginning of the ’70s, Ernie Ball strings had become the brand of choice for most rock guitarists. But although the company had carved out its own unique niche for most of the ’60s, eventually numerous competitors – including Fender and Gibson, who had initially rejected Mr. Ball’s ideas – started to offer sets in the same .009-.038 and .010-.046 configurations popularized by Ernie Ball Slinky strings. 

The company responded to its growing competition by focusing on diversification and innovation, expanding its selection of custom gauge electric guitar string sets and making strings for a wider range of instruments, including bass and acoustic guitar.

Ernie Ball introduced its acoustic Earthwood brand in a literally big way in 1972. In addition to rolling out the new line of Earthwood acoustic guitar strings, the company also produced its very first instrument: the Earthwood acoustic-electric bass guitar. 

Based on the Mexican guitarrón but equipped with a fretted neck, the Earthwood bass’s revolutionary design included a 34-inch scale length and massive body measuring 24 inches long and between 8 inches (first 1972 production run) and 6 5/8 inches (1973-1985) deep. 

Its natural acoustic tone was booming and powerful, but even more impressively, it was equipped with a Barcus Berry Hot Dot pickup that allowed it to be amplified. 

Ernie Ball built fewer than 600 Earthwood basses, but many of them landed in the hands of players like Freebo (Bonnie Raitt), John Entwistle and Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes). The company also made a limited number of Earthwood acoustic guitars. 

During this period the company enjoyed an impressive spike in sales, thanks to the efforts of Ernie Ball’s son Sterling, who was still a teenager. “I had worked for my dad on and off since I was 9, when I first ran the store’s cash register,” Sterling says. “I started working for the company as a road rep in 1973. My dad had this car in the factory parking lot that no one was using. 

“One day I told the sales manager that I wanted to be a sales rep in Southern California, but he said he didn’t need it. I offered to do it for 10 percent of the increase in sales. I took off in that car and visited every dealer I could find. By the end of the year I had set a new sales record for the business.”

Somehow, Sterling found free time to play bass in various bands, and he also moonlighted for Leo Fender’s first post-Fender venture, Music Man. “I did beta testing for Leo, although we called it ‘bandstanding’ back then,” he says. “Leo and Tommy Walker, who was a good friend of my dad and my godfather, had developed a prototype of the StingRay bass, and I’d play it at live gigs and show it to bass players to find out what they thought of it. Leo wasn’t a musician, so I brought the player’s perspective to the StingRay’s design.”

This collaboration would eventually lead to a major game-changing development for Ernie Ball during the next decade. Ernie Ball handed over the full-time responsibility of running the company to Sterling in 1975, and its sales and success continued to grow at a rapid pace. 

Soon the company outgrew the production capabilities of its facilities in Newport Beach. In 1979, Ernie Ball relocated to San Luis Obispo about 200 miles up the coast in central California, where its main headquarters are still located today.

In 1984, an event took place that was as important in Ernie Ball’s history as the introduction of Slinky strings in the early ’60s – the company purchased Music Man. 

“Music Man was going under,” Sterling says. “Leo had left a few years before to start G&L, and the partners were fighting with each other. I realized the company was probably going to end up in the hands of their Japanese distributor, so I went to my dad and suggested we buy the company. 

“It wasn’t a very significant purchase – just some inventory, a warehouse and the small amount we paid for the trademarks. It was really more of an emotional decision than a business deal. When the deal closed, I realized we just bought a guitar company but we didn’t have a factory. I needed to figure things out fast.

“I never once thought I was picking up where Leo left off,” he continues. “It was all about a reverence for the guitar and trying to move it forward. The StingRay bass was our first instrument, because that was the only Music Man product that musicians still accepted at that time.”

Every great guitar company needs a great guitar designer, and Sterling found exactly that when he hired Dudley Gimpel. The two first met in 1981 while Gimpel was working in the service department at Knut Koupee Music in Minneapolis and Sterling ordered custom Telecasters for himself and his dad. 

Gimpel soon moved to California to work for Valley Arts Guitar, and when he heard that Ernie Ball had bought Music Man, he asked Sterling to hire him. Sterling refused to steal an employee from an Ernie Ball dealer, so Gimpel quit before asking Sterling again. Gimpel, along with Sterling and Dan Norton, immediately went to work building and equipping the Music Man factory.

The first Ernie Ball/Music Man StingRay bass hit the market in 1985, followed shortly afterwards by the Sabre bass. 

Two years later in 1987, Music Man officially introduced its first guitar model, the Silhouette, featuring numerous innovations and enhanced features like a truss rod wheel that adjusts without needing a special tool, a compact headstock with a 4x2 tuner configuration and Molex connectors that allowed guitarists to quickly and easily change pickup configurations by swapping out pickguard assemblies.

“People laughed at the Silhouette at first,” Sterling says. “Then Keith Richards started playing it and they called me a genius.” Richards not only played the Silhouette; he famously said in a Guitar Player magazine interview that it “has the opportunity to become like the Stratocaster or Telecaster or Les Paul, one of the classic electric guitars.”

Around the same time, Music Man also introduced its first artist signature guitar, the Steve Morse model. An eye-catching solidbody featuring a modernistic compact angular design called the Axis was often seen in the hands of Albert Lee during this time as well, although that guitar wasn’t officially released until 1993 as the Albert Lee model.

With players like Lee, Morse and Richards enthusiastically supporting the brand, interest in Music Man guitars began to grow. However, the next artist to join the Music Man guitar roster – Eddie Van Halen – instantly transformed the response to the company from interested raised eyebrows to dropped-jaw, eyes-wide-open amazement. 

Although Van Halen famously endorsed Kramer guitars during the ’80s, Kramer never made a Van Halen signature model. The Music Man Edward Van Halen model introduced in 1991 was Van Halen’s very first official signature model, which the guitarist designed in a close collaboration with Gimpel and Sterling Ball.

Demand for the Edward Van Halen signature model was so overwhelming that the company could have easily sold tens of thousands of units every year if the factory were able to produce that many. 

However, the company’s emphasis on maintaining its highest standards throughout the production process – from the selection of quality materials through the finest details of fit and finish – kept output somewhat limited, and as a result Van Halen eventually jumped ship in 1995 to Peavey, who was more willing to deliver the higher sales numbers the superstar guitarist started to demand. 

Although Music Man’s relationship with Van Halen was relatively short-lived, its “sterling” reputation, particularly with artists, continues to this day. 

Shortly after the Van Halen model made its debut, Steve Lukather collaborated with Music Man on his first of many Luke signature models, introduced in 1993, the same year the Albert Lee model finally made its debut (with the Axis name later resurrected for the continuation of the Edward Van Halen model after Van Halen left), and both are still designing Music Man models today. 

John Petrucci, who first joined Music Man’s roster in 2001, has been an especially prolific collaborator, contributing to the design of numerous JP and Majesty models (the latter co-designed by Music Man chief engineer Drew Montell) that include six-, seven- and eight-string versions.

“We don’t have contracts with our artists,” Sterling says. “I never wanted a piece of paper to determine whether someone played our guitars or not. I wanted to make sure we always earned that privilege. Most of our artists have been with us a very long time. It’s all about family.”

Ernie Ball/Music Man has remained focused on meeting artists’ needs both by working closely with well-known touring and recording musicians and supporting up-and-coming talent. In 1997 the company started sponsoring its battle of the bands on the Warped tour and has held this event on every Warped tour since then. 

“When we started doing the battle of the bands, a lot of people in the industry were saying that the guitar was dead,” Sterling says. “We got 32,000 tapes that proved they were wrong about that. The contest became even bigger when my son Brian got involved with it. 

“We met a lot of musicians and gave them a chance to play on the Warped tour. That’s where we first met James Valentine, whose band played there before he joined Maroon 5. Post Malone and Katy Perry are just a few of the better-known examples who played on our stages when they were starting out.” 

Thanks to the efforts and dedication of Sterling’s son Brian Ball, who started working for the company in 2000 and subsequently worked his way up the ranks through sales, marketing and artist relations to become CEO in 2019, Ernie Ball/Music Man has attracted new generations of players, developed remarkable new innovations and increased its sales exponentially. 

Brian was particularly instrumental in the development and design of the Mariposa (Omar Rodriguez-López of Mars Volta and At the Drive-In) guitar and Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine) and Joe Dart (Vulfpeck) bass artist signature models. 

Most recently he oversaw the creation of the Kaizen, a seven-string multi-scale guitar with vibrato tailpiece co-designed with Tosin Abasi as well as the DarkRay bass featuring built-in distortion, EQ and preamp circuits designed by Darkglass Electronics.

In addition to those instruments, Music Man currently offers signature models for a diverse and impressive group of players. Guitars include the Stephen Egerton, Dustin Kensrue, Jason Richardson, St. Vincent (Annie Clark) and Valentine (James Valentine of Maroon 5) models. 

Music Man also makes signature bass models for Mike Herrera (MxPx), John Myung (Dream Theater) and Cliff Williams (AC/DC). Production models like the Axis, Cutlass, Sabre, Silhouette and StingRay guitars and Bongo, Sterling and StingRay 4- and 5-string basses remain successful perennials. 

Although Sterling has handed over the reins to Brian over the years, he’s remained involved with the co-design of numerous models, such as the St. Vincent (including the most recent Goldie model), Valentine, Majesty and Short-Scale StingRay.

Under Brian Ball’s direction, Ernie Ball continues to be a leader in developing innovations in string technology. His contributions have included the high-output Cobalt and M-Steel electric strings, ultra-high-strength Paradigm acoustic and electric strings, revolutionary Aluminum Bronze acoustic strings and half-gauge sets featuring E strings measuring .0085, .0095 and .0105 that further expand players’ options.

Ernie Ball/Music Man remains one of the few long-lived, successful, true family businesses not only in the music industry but in the entire U.S. In addition to Brian, Sterling’s son Scott is the company’s vice president and oversees factory operations. 

“When most family businesses pass from one generation to the next, its chances of success and growth usually decline with each new generation,” Sterling says. “With us it’s been the opposite. The growth of this company under Brian has been phenomenal and has exceeded everyone’s expectations. He has more than doubled our business since he took the wheel, and he’s been the straw that stirs the drink.

“We’re very proud of our heritage, and rightfully so, but it’s not a pillow we sleep on,” Sterling concludes. “We get up every day to support the products we make and to support our artists. We’re also focused on feeding the families of our workers. Our primary goal is creating new tools for artists. 

“Growth is a secondary goal. We’ve never been about growth for the sake of growth. We’ve grown because we’ve come up with better ideas and make products that musicians actually need or want as well as things that other companies may be overlooking. We still pay as much attention to making the best strings, picks, straps, cables and everything else as we do to making the best guitars and basses.”

Ernie Ball Music Man has augmented its lineup of Artist Series electric guitars and bass guitars with new-look Albert Lee and John Myung models, which are available from the company’s Vault.

In the electric guitar department, Ernie Ball Music Man has dressed its Albert Lee model in a Polar Night finish, and treated it to muted-yet-striking all-black hardware. Build-wise, it boasts a southern swamp ash body and a figured roasted maple neck, which is topped with a 22-fret ebony fretboard.

The space-y axe is available in both HH and SSS configurations, with the former featuring a pair of custom-wound DiMarzio humbuckers controlled via a coil-splitting five-way pickup selector and master knobs for volume and tone.

Its SSS counterpart, meanwhile, sports a set of custom-wound Seymour Duncan single-coils, which are paired with Music Man’s Silent Circuit – an appointment that vows to eliminate hum while maintaining the true single-coil sound.

Other universal specs include Schaller locking tuners, a black Music Man vintage tremolo with bent steel saddles, a five-bolt neck attachment with sculpted joint and an adjustable truss rod.

A 10” radius and 25.2” scale length cap off the Albert Lee spec sheets.

Both the SSS and HH iterations are available now for $2,999.

The pair are joined by a fresh, equally exquisite John Myung Bongo six-string bass, which makes use of a Platinum Silver colorway, basswood body and roasted maple neck.

Perhaps even more striking than the finish, though, is the 24-fret fingerboard – a divided, two-part feature that flashes both rosewood and roasted maple, which is Myung’s go-to choice of ‘board.

Elsewhere, the Bongo-6 comes equipped with a set of humbucking pickups with Neodymium magnets, which are controlled via a control knob and five-way pickup blend pot that aims to dial in an array of low-end tones.

It’s got an 11” radius, 34” scale length and white half moon inlays, and is finished with custom Music Man tuning machines with tapered string posts and a Music Man chrome-plated steel bridge plate with stainless steel saddles.

The John Myung Bongo-6 bass is available now for $2,999.

For more information, head over to Ernie Ball Music Man.

Ernie Ball is on quite the hot streak at the moment, having recently unveiled the limited-edition Spring 2022 installment of its Ball Family Reserve collection.

Ernie Ball has introduced its 2022 lineup of Slinky and Earthwood electric guitar, bass guitar and acoustic guitar string packs, headlined by a new Zippy Slinky set that boasts the brand's lightest-ever gauge.

Clearly hoping to provide a license to thrill, the six-string Zippy Slinky pack flashes an ultra-light .007 top string, which is partnered with .009, 0.013, .020w, .026 and .036-gauge strings.

Ernie Ball has been knocking on .007’s door for quite a while now, having previously issued the .008 Extra Slinky and .0085 Mighty Slinky string sets.

Elsewhere in the drop, Ernie Ball has unveiled a number of other never-before-seen string gauge combinations in the form of the Hyper Slinky – .008, .011, .014, .024w, .032, .042 – and the wound-G-string-loaded, detune-friendly Magnum Slinky, which features .012, .016, .022w, .032, .044 and .056 gauges.

A seven-string pack, the Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky, has also debuted, containing .010, .013, .017, .030, .044 and .056 strings, which joins the new-for-2022 Hyper Slinky Bass 40-100 pack.

In terms of composition, all sets feature the usual Slinky specs, meaning they come equipped with a nickel-plated steel wrap wire and tin-plated hex core.

In the acoustic guitar string department, Ernie Ball has introduced a trio of new sets – available in both 80/20 bronze and phosphor bronze options – which aim to provide players with more options for selecting their desired balance of tension, projection and playability.

Two six-string sets – Custom Light (11.5-54) and Custom Medium (12.5-56) – are joined by a 12-string set, which comprises 10-10, 14-14, 22w-9, 30-12, 10-18p and 48-28 string pairings.

Single pack prices for all of Ernie Ball’s new string sets can be found below: 

• Ernie Ball Zippy Slinky – $6.99
• Ernie Ball Hyper Slinky – $6.99
• Ernie Ball Magnum Slinky – $7.49
• Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky – $8.99
• Ernie Ball Hyper Slinky Bass – $19.99
• Ernie Ball Custom Light Earthwood – $6.99
• Ernie Ball Custom Medium Earthwood – $6.99
• Ernie Ball 12-string Custom Light Earthwood – $10.99

For more information, visit Ernie Ball. 

Ernie Ball has unveiled the latest limited-edition electric guitars and bass guitars to join its ever-expanding Ball Family Reserve cohort.

As was the case with the Ball Family Reserve expansion packs released last March, July and September, a quartet of models has been released, which introduces updated aesthetics and improved electronics.

Comprising three electrics and one bass, the lineup boasts a new-look Steve Lukather Luke II model – dubbed “a work of art” – and a HHH-configured Albert Lee guitar that sports a trio of P-90-style pickups.

There’s also an elegant Short Scale StringRay bass, loaded with tortoiseshell block inlays and body binding, and an overhauled Valentine “Carmelo” that flashes a newly appointed electronics package.

Read on to find out all you need to know about the March 2022 installment of the Ball Family Reserve collection.

Ernie Ball Music Man Valentine "Carmelo"

Perhaps the most overhauled – and undoubtedly the most exclusive – guitar of the drop is the Valentine “Carmelo”. Limited to only 55 pieces worldwide, the Butterscotch-colored six-string features a new-for-range electronics setup, as well as a Bigsby B5 vibrato tailpiece.

The circuitry comprises a pair of custom Ernie Ball Music Man “Ranger” pickups – which are favored over the usual humbucker/single-coil combo – and a flexible new five-way lever switch, utilized over the flagship Valentine's three-way selector. Other appointments include Schaller locking tuners, a solid ash body, a roasted maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.

Ernie Ball Music Man Luke III "Woody"

Up next is a new-look version of Steve Lukather’s Luke III axe, appropriately dubbed the “Woody”. Getting its name from the figured walnut burst maple burl top, the “Woody” is described by Ernie Ball as a “work of art”, and has been treated to a wealth of unique Ball Family Reserve-worthy features.

The okoume body, complete with an ebony veneer, is paired with a rosewood neck and ebony fretboard – an unusual neck wood combination – which sports 22 nickel frets and white dot inlays.

Elsewhere, proprietary gold-accented Luke III humbuckers, wired to Lukather’s specifications, also make the cut, as does stealthy all-black hardware. The Luke III “Woody” will be limited to 80 pieces worldwide.

Ernie Ball Music Man Albert Lee "Ghost in a Shell"

The last electric guitar of the drop is the “Ghost in a Shell” Albert Lee model – yet another Ball Family Reserve Albert Lee variant to boast a trio of P-90-style pickups. Linking up with the Ernie Ball Music Man MM-90 pickups is a Honduran mahogany body, finished in Translucent White, as well as a vintage-inspired tortoise shell pickguard and 22-fret rosewood neck.

Rosewood is also used for the headstock, which is complemented by all-chrome hardware and white pearlescent block fingerboard inlays. Only 80 Albert Lee “Ghost in a Shell” models will be produced.

Ernie Ball Music Man Short Scale StingRay "Bombshell"

Last but not least is the “Bombshell” Short Scale StringRay, which features a hi-gloss black finish and a color-matched headstock. The black colorway is contrasted with the gloss-finished white maple neck and fingerboard, which in turn is boasting rare tortoiseshell block inlays and tortoiseshell binding.

Other specs on the ornate four-string include a neodymium humbucking pickup, controlled via a three-way rotary switch that accesses parallel, single-coil and series tones, as well as chrome hardware and cloverleaf tuners.

105 examples of the “Bombshell” bass will be made worldwide.

Head over to Ernie Ball to find out more about the Ball Family Reserve collection.

With his wrecking ball eight-string guitar refrains, Stephen Carpenter established himself as one of the leading riff merchants in metal – a tenure he’s held for more than a quarter of a century. And in a new episode of Ernie Ball’s String Theory video series, the guitarist explains why he’s long preferred handling the lower frequencies as opposed to the upper reaches of the fretboard.

“I’ve always gravitated [towards] and been focused on rhythms, specifically the power chord, because that was my immediate connection – that’s what actually impacted me the most,” he explains.

“Of course, lead guitar playing is exciting to me and I love to listen to it, I love to watch players do what they do. That has an impact on me, but physically, I’ve always just enjoyed that sound of a power chord, either in motion, or just a sustained chord.”

ESP custom eight-strings in hand, Carpenter goes on to detail the roots of his guitar style, whose avoidance of solos helped to define the nu-metal movement that emerged in Deftones’ wake from the mid-’90s onwards.

“All the bands that I’ve ever liked, since the ’80s when I really started thinking about playing music, have always been rhythm-orientated,” the guitarist explains. “Of the big four [of thrash metal], Anthrax was my favorite. I really did love Metallica, of course, too, but Anthrax was my favorite, and I really specifically loved Scott Ian as a rhythm player. I had zero desire to play a solo; I was just like, ‘I just wanna crunch it up!’”

What becomes abundantly clear throughout the 18-minute video is that Stephen Carpenter really, really likes power chords. To the point where he considers his role in the band as practically defined by the two-note shape.

“I’m still bound by my foundation,” he admits. “That core of me as a guitar player, that core of me just loving that power chord.

“That’s always been the ingredient that I’ve put in the band: regardless of what everyone else is doing, I try to fit into the scope of it with the power chord.”

That compositional stance can occasionally put Carpenter at odds with the rest of the group, he concedes – but it’s that irrepressible yin and yang that gives Deftones their genre-splicing sound.

“The rest of my friends in the band, they have more classic influence,” he says. “They always like some old rock stuff, like straight ’70s rock – which I love, [but] don’t wanna be. [It’s] not my interest. But for them, that’s their interest. So, somewhere between their interest and my interest is where we are. I think I’m the odd man out in the group when it comes to music.

“Having the incredible palette of things to choose from has always been a blessing for us. We can draw from so many types of influences, and we do our best to not be the influences that we like, but I’m not afraid to make something sound like the way I like, either.”

Carpenter has certainly been keeping his chops up over the past year or so, posting playthroughs of classic Deftones tracks and deep cuts with astonishing regularity to the band’s YouTube account.

The current count stands at 44 playthroughs, with the most recent video – of 2012 Koi No Yokan bruiser Graphic Nature – posted on February 25.

“Man, I can’t wait for people to see this bass,” says Tim Commerford when we speak to him prior to the launch of his signature StingRay bass guitar. “It’s so beautiful. It does everything I need, and way more. I’ve played some beautiful basses in my time, but this one has to be one of the very best ones that I’ve ever played. Ernie Ball really did a spectacular job on it. We went back and forth on it until we got it perfectly right.”

For the past three years, Ernie Ball Music Man has been steadily introducing signature instruments for heroes of the low end, including Vulfpeck’s Joe Dart, Dream Theater’s John Myung, MxPx’s Mike Herrera, and AC/DC’s Cliff Williams. Each one uses the basic template of an existing model with slight tweaks to personalize it to the player. So far, that has mostly meant streamlining electronics and controls.

Their latest collaboration with Tim Commerford follows the same blueprint except for the less-is-more concept. Instead, the Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage bassist has worked with the company to come up with four variants of the StingRay: a passive full-scale, an active full-scale, a passive short-scale, and an active short-scale. 

The basses all have standard pickups and controls and have been streamlined in production numbers: each version is limited to just 50 units worldwide.

Aside from what we think of as a classic StingRay, there are two main features that are unique to Commerford’s new axe.

First is the height-adjustable finger ramp, which sits snugly against the bass’s single neodymium humbucker. It offers an extra couple of inches of thumb real estate to find your sweet spot for plucking. Its height is set simply with four screws to line it up with your pickup. Conversely, you can lower it all the way to be flush with the pickguard.

“I was 18 years old when I first saw a Music Man StingRay,” explains Commerford. “It was a blonde one with a black pickguard, it was at a pawnshop, and it was $300. I wanted it so bad, and I scraped up the money, and I got it. That bass was the one that I used to record the first Rage record, and it was a big part of my life.

“At that time I was pretty much glued to playing right over the pickup, but I’ve learned to play in different ways so my hand is more comfortable, so I added a piece of plastic to the pickguard. This wasn’t anything like we’re seeing on the new bass, which is the most high-tech version of a ramp and the most comfortable place I’ve ever put my hand on a bass guitar. I’m blown away by it!” 

The second new feature is the adjustable mute pads built into the bass’s bridge. First found on early StingRay models, the system gives each string its own foam pad that can be raised or lowered, using a thumbscrew. The screws sit directly under the string, so you have to reach in between the strings to adjust.

“This bridge is the most incredible thing to me,” explains Commerford, “because it has these mutes on it – and the mutes, as someone who enjoys playing with distorted bass, in layman’s terms these mutes eliminate all the noise that you don’t want to hear. There’s certain noises that I like, and certain ones that I don’t, and this is the only bridge that does that.”

As it turns out, the bass had been six years in the making after Commerford reconnected with the brand prior to the advent of Prophets of Rage.

“Back in 2015, I was approached by Brian Ball, who’s the grandson of Ernie Ball, and he wanted to make me a bass,” he recalls. “He gave me this Music Man StingRay – I think they call it the HH model. I was blown away by the construction, by the way that it sounds, the way it plays acoustically in my living room. I plug it in and I have to drastically change my settings on my amps: It sounded really, really good with my setup.

“For Prophets of Rage, Music Man made me these StingRays, which are the HS models. They are the closest thing I have ever felt to a Steinberger bass. There isn’t a single dead spot on the neck, because they have this integrated nut so everything on the bass is just smoothed out. When it comes to hitting really hard, you don’t have to worry about your fingers hitting a sharp magnet or anything like it. Everything is just so solid and they just feel really good.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time Commerford has been approached to make a signature bass – far from it – but it was the company's values that finally sealed the deal.

“Over the years, people have come to me and told me they wanted to make a bass for me, and I’ve always shied away from it, but with Music Man I’m really happy to say that this is a bass I’m part of, and that it was not made using exploitation of humans,” he enthuses.

“It was made in a really awesome factory in San Luis Obispo where people are looked after and are happy. That happiness shows in how beautifully this instrument is made. This is the dopest bass that you can get!” 

• Head to Ernie Ball Music Man for more info on the Tim Commerford Artist Series StingRay.

Upon its original unveiling in 2019, Ernie Ball's terrific VPJR Tuner pedal came in four finishes – gold, black, red and white. Now, the two-in-one volume/tuner pedal has been made available in a limited-edition, none-more-yellow "Super Bee" look.

Though this particular version of the pedal stands out with its unique bee-playing-a-St.-Vincent-signature-model graphic, it's the same VPJR at heart. There's the same high-def touchscreen display that allows users to cycle between three modes – volume and tuner, volume only, and tuner only.

The display – which automatically switches between tuner and volume modes depending on the signal level – is designed to handle both direct-sunlight and stage-light scenarios, while the pedal's case is made from aircraft-grade aluminum.

The tuner can be calibrated to a number of reference pitches via the touch screen, while the pedal's tension/sweep is regulated via a tough, PVC-coated braided Kevlar cord.

A discrete buffer circuit, and ¼-inch input/output and FX send/return jacks also come standard on the pedal.

The Ernie Ball VPJR “Super Bee” Tuner pedal is available now – in a limited run of 500 units – for $249.

For more info on the pedal, stop by Ernie Ball.