Melding sludge, punk, and riotous energy with an unmistakable gothic tinge, Witch Fever have jumped to the forefront of the UK's alternative rock and metal scene thanks to their unparalleled stagecraft and fearlessness in dealing with the most difficult of topics, both in their lyrics and beyond.

The four-piece – who recently embarked on a huge 41-date tour with Volbeat, released their critically acclaimed sophomore album FEVEREATEN, and are now embarking on their own European headline tour – have made headlines for shedding light on the harsh reality of touring in 2026.

In a clip that has since gone viral, the band revealed that they got to the end of an arena tour and “all our profit is all stuck in withholding taxes across Europe”.

Singer Amy Walpole opened up about their financial troubles on the 101 Part Time Jobs podcast .

“We’re broke as fuck – and we just did two months in arenas," said Walpole. “We also can't get a job because we're back on tour in March, so nowhere will hire us. I'm currently living off four grand of my late mother's pension that I got at the end of last year. This is just crazy that this is what the music industry is like at the moment.”

Despite the financial hardships and ongoing grind, as guitarist Alisha Yarwood puts it, playing alongside acts such as Poppy, IDLES, and My Chemical Romance in arenas and stadiums is a feeling that never gets old – and a privilege the band doesn't take for granted.

“For someone like me, who doesn't know theory or anything like that, it's been really cool to go on tour with a bigger band that doesn't have this huge ego and is willing and open to teaching you things,” she says.

“Going from what we were playing five years ago, only small venues, to stadiums and arenas... You cannot beat that feeling once you get over the nerves of, ‘Oh my god, I'm playing in front of thousands of people,’ then you realize you're actually doing it, and it's just the best feeling in the world.”

When did you first start playing guitar? And was it your first instrument?

My dad is a drummer, so I started out playing drums. You start playing an instrument, and you just feel like there's something more suited. I think I was about 12, and my dad knew loads of musicians [and] I wanted to start learning guitar. I just started to watch videos and try to learn how to play.

Were there any particular guitarists that you looked up to during this exploratory phase?

It started with my dad, but his kind of music is jazz funk. So that wasn't the kind of music that inspired me. Then I remember starting to develop a music taste in heavy music, like Deftones. I never really had specific guitarists who I was like, ‘Oh, I really want to be like them’ – [more like] music that I wanted to make.

I think the first heavy band that I was like, ‘Whoa, I want to sound like this,’ was Nirvana – that grunge sound and that guitar style. It was the first one that drew me in.

It's more the feeling on stage of just not giving a fuck, and just going a bit crazy and kind of letting something out. I don't think I really have any specific guitar heroes – just music that inspired me to play.

I've spotted you sporting a Jim Root Jazzmaster and a Gretsch Electromatic G5230T Jet FT with Bigsby. These are very specific models, especially in relation to your band's heavier sound. Why did you go for those two?

Before I had the Gretsch, I had a bad guitar... It wasn't good. And then I was really young, and I was like, ‘Dad, I'm in a band now.’ I was probably 17. And at that point in time, I wasn't well-versed in anything sound-wise. It was more like, ‘This is a cool guitar. I want it.’

So that's how I started playing the Gretsch, and it was a blessing because it's not really traditional for the kind of music that Witch Fever play. It's carrying the heaviness and picking up the fuzz of my pedals, and then when we play softer, more melodic things, it's so good at both.

With the Gretsch, it's taking a guitar that wouldn't traditionally be used in this kind of music, and then using it creates a different sound dynamic that you know isn't usual, and you're only really going to get something unique out of it. And I think that's what I look for in a guitar – ones that can push that heaviness and then apply that heaviness when you're playing softer, without any distortion or fuzz.

The Jim Root was a bit of an adjustment, because the Gretsch is so light and easy to play, and the Jim Root is so heavy – the strings, the gauge, and the pickups are so hard to control.

Are you a pedal geek or do you take the less-is-more approach?

It's something that, again, over the years, I've had to learn myself. When we started out, I had nothing. I had a guitar and an amp. So it was transitioning from that to doing something that I'd never done before, and learning how to use all these pedals.

But now, you can't do what we do on stage without having all the pedals. A big pedal I use in every single Witch Fever song for the past two albums is called Fur Coat Fuzz by Orange – that pedal and my reverb pedal [TC Electronic Hall of Fame] are on every single song.

You've opened for a lot of big artists, including Poppy, IDLES, Bush, My Chemical Romance, and Volbeat. What are some of the biggest things that you learned from these artists?

I've had recommendations of pedals and sounds that I should try, guitars I should use, [and] amps that I should use. The bands that we've gone on tour with, fortunately, have all just been lovely.

The only change in gear was using wireless. It was only on the Volbeat tour [that this started] – because we were using wires, but it just makes it so much harder when you're playing stages that big, using wires. My lead wouldn't reach the end of the stage.

Also, there was one incident where my wire – that had just been working perfectly every single day – just decided to stop. No reasons. It was perfectly fine while the set was on. It just stopped and broke. And then, panic.

When everyone's staring at you, you can't run off and cry, you just gotta deal with it. So we dealt with it, and then started using wireless, which was the sickest thing ever, [as] you could just go everywhere.

What would you say was Witch Fever's ultimate turning point?

I think it was when we got offered the IDLES tour. That was the first big tour we were gonna do. This was 2022, just after COVID, so we were all just a little bit deflated. And then we got offered that tour, and I just remember us all being like, we all love IDLES, and we've all been listening to them for however long. So then getting offered that just after lockdown, that was the point where we were all like, ‘Whoa. This could be something cool. This is a big opportunity.’

• Witch Fever's latest album, FEVEREATEN, is out now via Sony’s Music For Nations. You can catch the band on their ongoing European and UK tour.

Much like Gibson’s 1950s sunbursts, the look of vintage Candy Apple Red Fenders varies considerably. We’ll be discussing the reasons for that later as we examine six examples from a collection of around 50 that will be coming up for sale at Gardiner Houlgate over its next few guitar auctions.

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs tells us: “They’re not all great guitars because, probability-wise, that’s never going to happen – but the thing the owner really wanted was at least one example of every model in Candy Apple Red. Another issue with some of these guitars is that the owner was a serial buffer, so in some cases he flattened the finishes down and made the lacquer checking less pronounced than it should be.”

Candy Apple Red is one of those colours that divides opinions – most guitarists either love it or they quite like it. So, before examining each of these guitars in detail, let’s check out the origins of the finish and discuss how the application method differs from Fender’s other metallic custom colours.

From the early 1960s onwards, Fender offered a fairly wide choice of custom colours. Some are vanishingly rare and genuine vintage examples are seldom seen, while others are almost as common as sunbursts. Of the 21 factory custom colours Fender listed during the 1960s (not including the sparkle and metal flake finishes and one-off specials), 12 were metallic.

One of those metallic finishes was Candy Apple Red, but the process of applying it differed significantly and it created a toffee-apple lustre. Most Fender colours were inspired by automotive trends and are associated with specific US car manufacturers. Candy Apple Red stood out because it came from the hot-rod scene and the method of application was developed by a car customiser called Joe Bailon.

His ‘candy’ painting process, which Fender adopted, was developed over a 10-year period, and Bailon began applying it to custom builds in 1956. All of Fender’s other metallic finishes were mixed and applied in the same manner as Gibson’s gold finishes, with metal powder mixed into coloured lacquer.

Fender would usually, but not always, apply a white base coat and then spray Lucite acrylic metallic colour coats on top before building the thickness with clear nitrocellulose lacquer.

In 1963, Candy Apple Red replaced the then-unpopular Shell Pink in Fender’s custom colour chart. Fender typically began by applying a white base coat, which was then oversprayed in silver. At that time, Fender’s silver of choice was a Chevrolet colour called Inca Silver, and it seems probable that’s what they would have used for Candy Apple Red.

The red component was the same transparent red that was used for sunbursts and it was applied straight over the silver. This provided depth, with the metallic silver glowing through the red and the topcoats of clear nitrocellulose or poly, depending on whether the guitar was sprayed pre or post mid-1968.

A change was made to the formula when CBS took over in 1965 and Inca Silver was quietly dropped. Rather than continue to buy it especially for Candy Apple Red paint orders, the factory began spraying gold instead. Firemist Gold replaced Shoreline Gold in 1965, so it is most likely the gold that Fender applied until Candy Apple Red was withdrawn in 1973.

1966 Jaguar

This is one of the guitars that has maybe been over-polished, but, otherwise, Luke tells us, “it checks out as a really good honest guitar”. It combines play-worn gold hardware with an off-white three-ply pickguard, and the foam mute is still mounted on the bridge.

Besides what might be an added strap-button screw hole on the lower bout, the finish retains a strong colour and, given that this guitar was clearly played, it’s still in largely undamaged condition. The back of the neck also retains its finish and isn’t worn or discoloured.

The matching headstock is a standout feature, with its gold-plated string tree, fully intact decal and a set of F-stamped tuners. The original factory shim is still present in the neck pocket, and the paint stick shadow reveals that Fender applied a semi-opaque yellow stain prior to spraying the white base coat and colour coats.

By 1966, Fender’s offset necks were being fitted out with pearloid marker blocks and fretboard binding. Fender necks weren’t squared off at the body end, so there was no need for a mitre or butt joint; Fender simply wrapped the binding around, allowing the job to be done using a single strip of binding. Here, the fret nibs are in great shape, and Fender even cut nibs around the nut.

Lifting the pickguard reveals the original pickups and fully intact multi-coloured wiring, switches, components and potentiometers that are dated the 34th week of 1966.

The shield plate remains taped to the underside of the pickguard and the finish is only a hair darker, so this Jaguar has barely faded. It weighs 3.85kg (8.5lb) and comes with its original case containing the factory leather strap and hang tags.

1970 Competition Mustang 

First introduced in 1964, Fender’s Mustang was a ‘student’ model, which was available with two shorter-than-standard necks – 21 frets with a 571.5mm (22.5-inch) scale and 22 frets with a 610mm (24-inch) scale. Besides the finish, this 22-fret example’s standout feature is the ‘Competition’ stripes.

They were almost certainly inspired by the special paintwork applied to Carroll Shelby’s hot-rodded racing version of the Ford Mustang, and Fender’s ‘Competition’ colours also included dark blue, red and orange.

Competition Mustangs were produced from 1969 until 1973. This one has some minor surface scratches and dents, along with a drop-filled ding on the top and a superficial lacquer crack on the back running half the length of the body. The colour remains dark and vibrant, and the overall condition attests to the toughness of poly finishes as much as minimal use.

For a ‘student’ model, the Mustang is pretty well equipped, with two pickups and a vibrato. There’s a three-way switch assigned to each pickup that turns them off and engages them both in and out of ‘phase’.

Here, the 1970 date-stamped 250k volume and tone pots are still intact, along with the original 0.05μF ceramic tone capacitor. However, the switches are a bit on the intermittent side. The October 1970 neck still has its original frets and, besides a small dent and a slightly bent top E tuner shaft, it’s almost devoid of playwear.

In recent years, many players have come to appreciate the Mustang’s easy-playing charms, especially in the wake of Kurt Cobain, so they are no longer as affordable as they once were. This one weighs 3.35kg (7.4lb) and comes with an original Victoria hard case.

Swinger/Musiclander/Arrow

This fairly obscure Fender was also a ‘student’ model and is known by various names. It was concocted as a way of using up leftover Bass V bodies and Musicmaster hardware, and production estimates range between 250 and 600.

Apparently, they were all assembled in 1969, but neck and potentiometer dates are often earlier.

On this example, the potentiometers are from the 42nd week of 1966, and the short-scale neck has a 1966 date stamp and a very slim profile. The body was refinished by Clive Brown a long time ago and it’s not certain that the (now deceased) owner was made aware of that when he bought the guitar from a dealer.

The overall condition is fairly good, with original frets, fully functioning electronics and an original Victoria hard case.

1966 Jazzmaster 

Of all the Jazzmasters in the collection, this is Luke Hobbs’ personal favourite due to the finish fading.

During the 1950s and 1960s, most guitar manufacturers struggled with red pigments that lost intensity when exposed to UV light, but the fading that would have been grounds for warranty claims when the guitars were new is now highly prized by many vintage-guitar enthusiasts.

The extent of the fading on this late-1966 Jazzmaster is apparent even without looking under the pickguard, where the finish retains a more intense vibrancy.

With gold beneath, the exposed areas have softened to a lighter red with a hint of orange. The back is slightly less faded, and in all other regards the guitar is in extremely good condition.

There appears to be no hardware corrosion, and the bound neck retains its original nibbed frets and an unmarked Indian rosewood fretboard. The only obviously noticeable blemish is a cigarette burn on the headstock face, which shares the same faded Candy Apple Red as the body. Interestingly, the area under the logo looks even more orange thanks to the yellowed decal.

The wiring is completely intact, with the original masking-tape pieces securing the wires flat against the shield plate. Besides the serial number, there are various pieces of information that pinpoint the manufacturing date to late 1966.

The potentiometers are from the eighth week of 1966, but the neck date reads 13NOV66B and the handwritten dates on the grey-bottom pickups are 11/17/66 and 12/6/66 – in American-date style.

With its original case and a body weight of 3.61kg (8lb), we think this Jazzmaster is a real highlight of the collection.

1966 Telecaster

Luke considers this particular Telecaster to be “basically all good”. The finish has survived well, although it’s clear numerous drop-fills have been carried out in order to camouflage dents, and there is some armwear. Similarly, the neck finish shows that the guitar has been used with some light surface wear.

The transitional decal is in fairly good shape and the double-line Klusons tuners remain fitted, along with the original pickups. The potentiometers are both replacements, with the volume and tone dating to 1984 and 1986 respectively. The instrument also has a relatively recent paper-in-oil tone capacitor, but the switch appears to be original.

The jury is out on whether the neck has been refretted, but the frets retain plenty of life. The hardware is in good condition with only very light rusting and tarnishing that doesn’t affect functionality. Its Fender case is from the 1970s, but the guitar weighs a mere 3.65kg (8lb) and, according to Luke, it “sounds incredible”.

1966 Stratocaster 

If you like the look of heavily worn vintage Fenders with armwear on the lower bout, copious lateral lacquer-checking, beautiful fading and ‘tan lines’ around the pickguard, this 1966 Stratocaster is the stuff of dreams. The irony is that it may be the least original of the bunch.

A Strat from this era should have a paint-stick shadow in the neck cavity revealing yellow stain, as we can observe on the Telecaster, Jaguar and Jazzmaster. But besides a bit of red stain, this Strat’s neck pocket is bare wood.

The finish in the pickup and control cavities appears excessively thick, and the wood fibres lining the worm rout are caked in lacquer. The solder also looks a bit shiny and reworked around the ground wire connections on the volume potentiometer.

All things considered, Luke believes that the body was refinished a very long time ago. Clive Brown has identified all the guitars in the collection that he refinished, but he didn’t mention this one. It certainly looks the part, but Clive would have done the neck pocket correctly.

The potentiometers are dated mid-1966, the pickups all have hand-written dates from early November 1966, and the neck is date stamped September 1966. The fretboard shows some playwear, and the neck has been refretted with chunkier wire, but the ends are slightly protruding and need to be chased back.

Luke is unconvinced the gold bridge parts or pickup and pickguard screws are correct because the plating is so intact. It’s possible they have been replaced or replated, but if the looks and 3.49kg (7.8lb) weight appeal, it’s a tempting player-grade Strat that may be relatively affordable.

• With thanks to Luke Hobbs and Gardiner Houlgate for showing us this collection.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Most of us have modded guitars at some point, but only a select few have had their own signature guitar factory-built for them with mods included from the word go. Canadian guitarist Ariel Posen, who has garnered a worldwide following for his lyrical, expressive playing style, has now joined that exclusive club.

Recently honoured with his own Fender Custom Shop signature model – the Limited Edition Ariel Posen Stratocaster – the story of its creation is a model of how, when offered the chance to have anything you want, understanding what you need and keeping things simple can yield the best results.

Tell us about your new signature model – it’s a blend of quite a few things.

“Well, it’s a Stratocaster, but it’s based off of two Fenders of mine that I own. One is my ’68 Custom Shop [Strat], which I’ve had for 15 years. And I really wanted to make sure [this new guitar also possessed] that guitar’s neck profile.

“I’ve always loved that neck profile, which is a ’69 ‘U’ back shape. When I had my Jazzmaster built about six years ago, I specifically sent them the serial number of that Strat so they could match its neck shape.

“I ended up loving so many things about that Jazzmaster because, of course, it’s Fender-y, but it always felt more open-sounding than a Strat. And whenever I play a three-single-coil normal Strat, I just never felt like I fully sound like myself.

“If you put it on the fourth or second position [on the pickup selector] you immediately just want to play like a great blues player – but I’m not a blues guitarist. The Strat always has such a voice.”

“So I wanted to combine those two guitars. And I’ve always been truly a Strat guy; I never identified as an offset guy. So when this opportunity came up and they asked me, ‘What do you want?’, first of all, it took a good minute to think about it, but I really just wanted to combine those two guitars.

“I wanted to combine the feel and the shape and the majority of the elements of what you get from a Strat. But on the electronic side, I wanted to lean more into the Jazzmaster, and I wanted to lean into all these other Strats that I was experimenting with. Which is an important part of discussion – because I had a couple of Strats that I’d set up similar to how I have my Mule where I have a volume, tone and then the pickup switch where the second tone control would be.

“And I was using ‘cupcake’ knobs, like the Harmony ones, because they have such a good grip and I use the volume so much. Cosmetically, it looks cool, too. But it was primarily about function.”

The basic ‘chassis’ of the guitar is that of a Strat, but clearly the pickups are rather different from usual.

“I did most of the experimenting with the pickups [during this guitar’s design process]. I considered Gold Foils and stuff like that, but I didn’t want to do a ‘Coodercaster’ thing – I really wanted to do my own thing. In the discussions with Tim Shaw, he was like, ‘How do you want this to sound?’

“So I said, ‘Well, I know for a fact that I just love the sound of the Jazzmaster neck pickup. Can I give you the serial number of that and can we just rewire that as close as possible to the spec of that [pickup from my earlier Jazzmaster]?’ He’s like, ‘Great, no problem.’”

“But I didn’t want to do a Jazzmaster bridge pickup because it’s always a little too thin, in my opinion. And obviously a Strat bridge pickup is also very thin. But I didn’t want to do a humbucker or a mini-humbucker and I didn’t want to do a Gold Foil, either.

“So he was like, ‘How about a P-90?’ Traditionally, I haven’t loved P-90s, but I think it’s primarily because I’ve played them in guitars like Les Paul Specials and stuff that’s very dark and has a specific sound that was never quite my thing. So I said, ‘Let’s try it.’”

“The first set that he sent, with the prototype P-90 in the bridge and the Jazzmaster in the neck, he’d nailed it. It was perfect – it was the sound. It still sounded like a Fender, but it sounded more like me, and it sounded just… elevated. It was still low output [for this pickup configuration], but it was more output than I needed from a normal Jazzmaster or Strat, if that makes sense, totally and together.

“I mean, I’m biased, but I think they sound really great together. It’s a very simple setup and a very simple guitar, but it still has a lot of versatility to the sound, and you can get a lot out of it.”

“I’m a very ‘set it and forget it’ kind of guy. It’s a tool to me, you know? It’d be great if someone thinks it’s cool and wants to use it for themselves, but, primarily, the point of doing a signature instrument is that it’s for you.

“I wanted this to be a reliable tool and I love simple; I don’t want five switches, I don’t want a DIP switch here or a DIP switch there. It’s too ‘micro’ in the moment. I tend to not even use that kind of stuff. So bridge, middle, neck, no nonsense, no treble bleed, just one tone, one volume. That’s what works best for me. I just love that.”

• Find out more at the Fender Custom Shop
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Leo Fender was quite pleased with the success of Fender’s Telecaster and Stratocaster electric guitars during the Fifties. However, he wasn’t thrilled that his inventions were embraced more fervently by rock ’n’ roll and blues players than they were by his favored country and western musicians.

Furthermore, he was somewhat disgusted that he played an indirect role in the growing popularity of the newfangled radical and rambunctious sounds that were taking over radio airwaves.

In an attempt to appeal to a more “respectable” group of musicians, Leo and his designers developed a brand-new flagship model aimed at jazz guitarists. He even named it the “Jazzmaster” so everyone would know exactly who it was designed for.

Unfortunately, jazz players felt somewhat lukewarm about the Jazzmaster upon its introduction in 1958, with Joe Pass being one of the few jazz guitarists of note who actually adopted the model during its early run. Instead, the Jazzmaster became a hit with the instrumental surf rock phenomenon that started to emerge around the same time.

At its original retail price of $329.50, the Jazzmaster cost $55 more than a Stratocaster with a “synchronized tremolo” bridge. Gibson’s hollowbody archtop ES-175 with two pickups – a model highly favored by jazz players – was four dollars cheaper.

The ES-335 ($279.50), Les Paul Standard ($265), and the Gretsch Double Anniversary ($310) also cost less. Despite its off-putting expensive retail price, the Jazzmaster became successful enough to remain in production until 1980, when it was officially discontinued, although the last Jazzmaster actually shipped in 1982.

In Japan where surf music never died, the Jazzmaster came back to life in 1985, when Fujigen Gakki made reissues for Fender Japan. USA-based production of the Jazzmaster resumed in 1999, and the model has remained a fixture of the Fender lineup ever since.

The Jazzmaster delivers a very distinct, twangy tone that may have missed the mark for traditional jazz but found favor among guitarists seeking a brash sound that stands out from the norm.

Its soapbar-style pickups may look similar to Gibson P90s, but the construction is notably different. The P90 has a large bar magnet under the coil and adjustable pole pieces. The Jazzmaster pickup has magnetized non-adjustable pole pieces instead of a bar magnet.

Also, the Jazzmaster coil is wide and flat, while the P90 coil is narrow and tall. Both pickups typically have similar resistance around 7- to 8k ohms, but the Jazzmaster has notably lower output and a much brighter tone with nasal mids, jangly upper midrange, and spiky treble.

Another notable quirk of the Jazzmaster design is its springy-feeling floating tremolo with an ingenious mechanism that locks the strings for non-vibrato playing or maintaining tuning when a string breaks.

The “dual” electronic circuit is unorthodox as well, featuring separate “lead” and “rhythm” settings selected via a slide switch on the upper bout.

The lead circuit is somewhat standard, providing master volume and master tone controls and a three-way pickup selector toggle switch, although the pots are 1meg ohms rather than Fender’s typical 250k ohm pots, which contributes to the Jazzmaster’s bright, twangy character.

The rhythm circuit engages only the neck pickup and a pair of thumb-roller master volume and master tone controls with 500k ohm pots. This setting is somewhat darker, more subdued, and arguably “jazzier.”

With its super-cool space-age angular offset body design, the Jazzmaster has always appealed to players who prefer to go against the grain. The Ventures were prominent users amongst numerous Jazzmaster-wielding surf rock bands during the early Sixties.

During the Seventies, the Jazzmaster re-emerged on the punk and new wave scene in the hands of players like Elvis Costello, Tom Verlaine (Television), Robert Smith (the Cure), and Ric Ocasek (the Cars).

From the Eighties and beyond, the Jazzmaster has appealed to grunge, alternative, shoegaze, and other rebellious genres via iconoclastic players and bands like J Mascis, Kevin Shields, Nels Cline, Troy Van Leeuwen, Thom Yorke, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, and Arctic Monkeys.

Slipknot’s Jim Root has given the Jazzmaster metal credibility, although his are so heavily modified that they’re really Jazzmasters in body shape only. Good ol’ Leo would probably be pleased to know that country artist Chris Stapleton also plays a Jazzmaster, although he’d tell him to get a haircut and shave his beard.

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

Queens of the Stone Age's multi-instrumentalist Troy Van Leeuwen's penchant for Fenders is well-documented. His team-up with the company on the Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster is a testament to that, not to mention his offset-heavy rig. However, one guitar you won't see him in public with? A Strat.

“I'm a Tele, Jazzmaster guy when it comes to Fenders,” he tells Premier Guitar. “I have a Strat at home. It just never felt like it worked with the Queens. There's something about it – it's a little too ordinary.

“I guess the Tele is a little bit more funky to me," he explains. "And this is definitely like [a] wide range of tones. I just need more colors like that, that are a little bit more interesting than a Strat.”

Van Leeuwen goes on to say that he also had a Les Paul stint, however, much like the Strat, “They do a thing that really is that thing, and I can only use it for a couple songs.”

The alt-rock maverick had previously spoken about how he initially fell in love with Jazzmasters – a love affair that resulted from an unfortunate incident. Van Leeuwen had broken his collarbone on the left side in a motorcycle accident, just a few weeks before the band was due to play a festival.

“I didn’t want to cancel the tour, so I really had to scramble to find something that would work,” he said on the No Guitar Is Safe podcast.

“I figured I’d try some different things. I had a ’62 Jazzmaster, so I got a special strap for it – a saxophone strap, which I could put over my right shoulder – and that guitar, being a lot lighter than my Les Paul, got me through the tour unscathed.”

In other QOTSA news, the band recently become the first to play the Paris Catacombs for a new live film.

After announcing the return of the Surfcaster back at NAMM earlier this year, Jackson has now officially re-launched its cult offset design, which has been revived with the aim of “offering modern metalheads a sleek new take on a classic machine”.

The Surfcaster’s return was one of the biggest talking points at NAMM 2025, and the model itself has certainly been one of the most requested Jackson electric guitars of the past few years. In fact, calls for a reissue reached unprecedented heights thanks to Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer, whose own custom shop models have resulted in a surge in popularity for the Surfcaster.

The Surfcaster has a curious history: launched by Charvel/Jackson in the early ’90s, the lipstick pickup-adorned model was aimed at surf and country players, and counted Steve Cropper among its early endorsees.

Later, it would be kitted out with humbuckers to cater for Jackson’s more typical audience, but upon the brand’s acquisition by Fender in 2002, the model was dropped – presumably to avoid competing with the Big F’s Jazzmaster.

We weren’t expecting the first Surfcasters to be quite so affordable, however. The JS Series Surfcaster is $249, while the Indonesian-built X Series Surfcaster is $549, and the seven-string version (yes!) is $599.

All three guitars are very much metal-focused, teaming the offset, Jazzmaster-esque shape with a pair of humbuckers, a hardtail bridge and black hardware on none-more-black finishes (although the JS does offer a Snow White option alongside Gloss Black).

Playability should be on point courtesy of a 12”-16” compound radius bound fingerboard, available across the range (the X Series’ is laurel, the JS’ is amaranth).

24 jumbo frets are a universal feature, but only the X Series model features the oh-so-’80s sharkfin inlays and contoured heel, while the JS model has the more typical Fender-style four-bolt neckplate and dot inlays.

As was the case when the Surfcasters were unveiled back at NAMM, info on the pickups are sparse, though they have been badged high-output and made in-house. The X Series’ look a lot sleeker, and we imagine there will be that little bit extra definition versus the JS.

There’s a three-way toggle pickup selector on the X, while you get a blade selector switch on the cheaper model. The seven-string does away with the neck pickup, tone knob and pickup selector of its six-string siblings, leaving just a bridge humbucker and volume control.

The wonky three-a-side headstock, complete with enormous Jackson logo, might not win over metal-leaning Fender obsessives, but we reckon it’s just the right side of ’90s kitsch.

All in all, it’s a commendable return for the Surfcaster, and an enticing first dip of the toe in offset waters for Jackson. We’re looking forward to seeing what else the firm does with the design throughout 2025.

On that note, you’ll forgive us if we’re a bit emotional about this one. We’ve been harassing Fender employees to build high-spec offsets for at least five years now, so to see our efforts finally come to fruition – and at this price point – is very cool indeed. Mansoor and Stringer models next, please…

The X Series and JS Series Surfcasters are available now.

For more information, hit up Jackson Guitars.

Seymour Duncan has announced the launch of its new Jazzmaster Silencer guitar pickups. These, says Duncan, offer “classic tone with absolutely no hum.”

While “designed to preserve the unmistakable Jazzmaster charm while eliminating unwanted noise” is a promise we've heard (and been disappointed by) before, it's hard to deny the quality tones in Seymour Duncan's demo. Berkeley, California-based producer Bobbing lays down some of the juiciest Jazzmaster noises we've heard in some time.

The Jazzmaster Silencers follow in the wake of Seymour Duncan's highly regarded Silencer P90 pickups, which use a similar technology.

The Jazzmaster Silencer is available in Vintage and Hot versions.

The Vintage Silencers “deliver the bright, punchy cleans and warm, mellow growls that define the Jazzmaster sound,” claims Duncan, “perfect for surf-inspired riffs, shimmering indie textures, and pedal-driven soundscapes.”

The Hot Silencers, meanwhile, “provide all the Jazzmaster character you love, but with higher output and enhanced power. Ideal for gritty rock, shoegaze, or experimental tones.”

Duncan argue that noiseless designs are especially important because of how frequently Jazzmaster users employ fuzz pedals and other high-gain sounds.

“When you're stacking overdrives and fuzzes, which do pair very well with the Jazzmaster sound, you get that noise amplified throughout your signal chain. When it comes out of your amp, it can be quite harsh or interfere with the sound.”

While many hum-cancelling single-coil pickups exist, all with their own strengths, most fall short of the goal of replicating vintage tone without noise. Seymour Duncan explains why typical stacked pickups fall short:

“With stacked humbuckers, you remove noise, but you also have issues of phase cancelation, which reduces low end and reduces the overall output of the pickup. To make up for that, stacked humbuckers are traditionally overwound, which then reduces the high end response of the pickup.”

Seymour Duncan says Silencer pickups eliminate the dreaded 60-cycle-hum “thanks to a patent-pending triple coil design.”

“The benefit of this triple coil design is that all three coils are actually in phase with each other. That means no phase cancelation and no reduction in high or low end. The outer coils eliminate hum, while the center coil delivers true Jazzmaster tone.”

Seymour Duncan launched the Silencer range with the Jared James Nichols signature P90.

Though we’re used to seeing Fender produce wild hybrid builds through its oddball Squier Paranormal range, Fender Japan has bucked the trend by unveiling a Big F-branded Frankenstein’d creation that mashes two of the firm’s offset shapes.

The newly minted Starmaster is (no prizes for getting this right) a mish-mash electric guitar model that takes inspiration from both the Jazzmaster and the Starcaster – the latter of which has experienced something of a resurgence over the past few years.

However, while on paper the Starmaster is a term that seems absolutely loaded with glorious potential – a Thinline Jazzmaster body with Starcaster trimmings, for example, would have been a winner – Fender Japan has opted instead to go down an alternative route.

It’s a choice that might deter some punters, though, because FJ has decided to slap its all-too-divisive oversized Starcaster headstock onto the body of a Jazzmaster.

The result is, it has to be said, a very odd-looking Jazzmaster that from the pictures looks eerily out of proportion to itself.

Nevertheless, it could be another one of Fender Japan’s classic ‘growers’, and while it’s not exactly what we’d have gone for with a Jazzmaster/Starcaster hybrid, there’s no denying there’s a certain ugly-duckling sort of charm to it that might win us over eventually.

But the color-matched headstock aside, we’re also intrigued by what Fender Japan has actually done to the Jazzmaster body itself. For the Starmaster, the offset has been given a strange, stepped upper bout bevel, which offers a contrasting finish to the rest of the guitar.

It’s certainly not something you’d find on a regular Jazzmaster. Heck, the sports car-style vibe we get from this reminds us of comments Fender made when describing the American Ultra II range – which, of course, dropped the Jazzmaster in favor of the Meteora.

However, this is not a discarded Ultra II Jazzmaster body. Instead, as Fender Japan explains, it is a continuation of the Starcaster’s headstock design, which also features the same two-step bevel motif.

Bevels aside, it’s a standard Jazzmaster body, available in Jupiter Blue, Candy Apple Red and Black (which has a sleek silver highlight). Oh, and to make it even more divisive, it's available in Antigua.

The guitar is built from an alder body, while the U-shape maple neck offers a rosewood fingerboard with a 9.5” radius and 22 medium jumbo frets. The electronics department accommodates Hybrid II Custom Voiced single-coils.

These are wired to a traditional Jazzmaster control layout for a guitar that, if you only pay attention to the fretboard and body, looks just like an oddball Jazzmaster proper.

As another cool addition, the divisive new offset also boasts a brand-new headstock decal that flaunts the new Starmaster model name. Could this be the start of a fully fledged Starmaster line? It’s only a limited launch, so probably not, but if this divisive offset takes flight, who knows…

The Fender Made in Japan Limited Starmaster is available for 192,500 Japanese Yen, approximately $1,290.

Head over to Fender Japan to find out more.

What is it?

The Meteora is the biggest outlier in Fender’s high-performance American Ultra II lineup: it’s based on a body shape that wasn’t designed six-plus decades ago.

Graduating from its debut appearance in the 2018 Parallel Universe lineup, the none-more-offset has lived on as part of the Player Plus series, but the Ultra II edition marks its most expensive incarnation yet.

It also replaces the Jazzmaster in the range, as Fender sought to position it as a “sports car version” of its venerable offset – heck, there’s even a bass version now.

On paper, it makes perfect sense: the Meteora is a contemporary electric guitar design, so to equip it with modern player-centric specs should be a sure thing. But with a price tag of $2,249, are players searching for a pro-spec guitar going to be willing to take the risk on an unfamiliar Fender shape over a Strat or Tele?

Specs

Launch price: $2,249/£2,189/€2,639
Made: USA
Type: Six-string electric guitar
Body: Alder
Neck: Quartersawn maple, modern D
Fingerboard: Ebony, 10-14" compound radius
Scale length: 25.5"
Nut/width: Graph Tech TUSQ, 24.8mm
Frets: 22 medium jumbo
Hardware: Short post locking tuners, 6-saddle hardtail bridge with stainless steel block saddles
Electrics: 2x Haymaker humbuckers w/ Alnico V Bar magnets, 3-way pickup selector, 1x volume (w/ S-1 coil-split switch), 1x tone, 1x bass cut knob.
Left-handed options: No
Finishes: Texas Tea, Ultraburst, Avalanche (reviewed)
Cases: Fender hardshell case
Contact: Fender.com

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★☆

The American Ultra II range is pitched as Fender’s most advanced instruments yet, and the Meteora is spec’d accordingly. Its quartersawn maple neck is claimed to be Fender’s fastest ever, courtesy of an Ultra Satin finish with Modern D profile and 10-14” compound-radius fingerboard. My Avalanche-finished review model features a satin-finished maple fretboard, but Texas Tea and Ultraburst colorways come with ebony.

Ultra rolled fingerboard edges further enhance the smoothness factor to the point where the medium-jumbo frets simply glide by, while the addition of glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots and a Graph Tech TUSQ nut add to the instrument’s finessed spec sheet.

The finishing touch to the ’go-faster’ feel are the radical contours around the rear of the body that offer increased access to the upper register of the fretboard, adding extra comfort to an already comfortable design – more on that later.

Hardtail bridges are very much in vogue, and the stainless steel saddles here look the part, while the deluxe locking tuners are a welcome addition for foolproof string changes.

Given the brand-name parts that feature elsewhere on the instrument, it may be a little disappointing to find a pair of in-house Fender humbuckers onboard, but its all-new Haymaker units are touted as “powerful, expressive and articulate”. So you can file those under ’modern’.

They’re adjusted via an unusual-for-Fender control suite of Master Volume, Treble Cut (essentially a Master Tone) and Bass Cut, while an S-1 Switch appears in the volume knob to activate a coil-split for both pickups.

Speaking of controls, Fender claims those aluminum knobs are ’knurled’, but a better description would be ’cheese grater’. The sharpness makes them grippier, but given the proximity of the volume knob to the bridge pickup, you’ll have to watch your hand during more aggressive performances – it wasn’t a problem for me 99% of the time (and I appreciated how the placement aids pinkie volume swells), but I can confirm that thing hurts when you hit it.

Unfortunately, given that control houses the S-1 switch, it’s not an easy swap, either. Forget the frets – Fender might want to give its controls a rolled edges treatment in future, or at least shift their position.

Otherwise, the build quality is impossible to fault. Finishing is perfect, the neck pocket is tight, and my review model was perfectly set up for speed. There’s some lovely attention to detail with the polished string tree and recessed output jack, not to mention that anodized aluminum pickguard. Minus the volume knob placement, it’s one of the most impressive Fender USA builds we’ve seen in recent years.

Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★★

There’s something about the Meteora’s shape that tricks your mind into thinking the body is enormous. But in reality, it’s slightly smaller than its closest stablemate, the Jazzmaster, with a slimmer waist and comparable weight. It’s a surprisingly comfortable shape to play sitting down, and well-balanced standing up.

Full disclosure, I’ve got a bias for high-performance offsets – it’s a neglected market, judging by the circles I play in, although that’s slowly being rectified – but the way the Meteora plays is, in short, perfection.

The D profile neck shape is somewhere between an Ibanez Wizard and your common-or-garden Strat appendage. It’s a goldilocks depth that disappears into your hand.

The satin finish and rolled fingerboard edges combine to create an effortless playing experience, which is consistent right up to the 22nd fret, thanks to the compound radius and some of the most radical body contouring we’ve seen on a Fender. Once you’ve played a sculpted heel, it’s hard to go back to a rock-blocking bolt-on, which in 2025 feels positively archaic. But anyway.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★☆

The Luminlay dots may be borrowed by Fender stablemates Jackson, but the pickups sound like they’re inspired by Charvel. These are hot and bright, yet with an incredibly meaty bass response.

That works wonders with the bridge pickup, which is rich and well-rounded, and will appeal to players of a heavier persuasion – the clarity with gain is something to behold, with fierce definition even with lower tunings. Djent it most definitely does.

But the neck suffers from a woollier response that’s especially apparent on the low E string. A lower-output pickup might have delivered a more usable full-humbucker tone.

Splitting the coils helps, of course – being high-output humbuckers to start with, you’re not going to get into Strat territory here, but there’s just enough spank to funk, and you can certainly get some sparkle, too, ideal for melding with effects. Think Billy Corgan on early Smashing Pumpkins and you’re in the right coil-split tonal ballpark.

The Bass Cut knob is a relatively unique addition in the current Fender catalog and seriously bolsters the guitar’s versatility. Roll it back and you’ll trim the low-end and overall output, making for glassier cleans and more cutting dirty tones.

Given the pickups’ proclivity for low-end, I tended to roll this back a third or so much of the time, but I found I wanted it wound back further for the neck pickup. A Bass Cut knob or coil-split switch per pickup would certainly aid live performance, albeit make the control set more complicated.

As it stands, however, this is a superb guitar for recording and session work: being able to dial in the right amount of low-end for your drive pedals, amp or the mix you’re working with is a blessing. The treble bleed on the volume control helps to broaden the range of usable output levels, too, with no loss of high-end.

Verdict

With this high-spec American Ultra II edition, Fender is pitching the Meteora as its modern offset, with the Jazzmaster a more vintage platform. And I’d argue this is the former’s most successful incarnation yet.

Some players may long for the Strat-style vibrato that graced the Player Plus version – and yes, the color options are a little bland compared to the more affordable Meteora’s Silverburst and Cosmic Jade – but everything about this guitar is dead-on trend, right down to the Reverend and Yamaha-inspired bass cut control.

The Meteora is a comfortable shape that’s effortlessly playable and loaded with inspiring, versatile tones for anyone who doesn’t want just another Strat or Tele, and lends itself to heavier styles as well as alternative players seeking more tweakability from their guitars.

Final verdict: This is one of the best legitimately new guitars Fender has produced in decades – despite one painfully positioned volume control. As it stands, however, this is convincing proof of the company’s contemporary offset ambitions and a standout guitar in its highest-spec range. Long live the Meteora!

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• “A guitar so playable that you might need to put the brakes on yourself and remember to play to the count”: Fender American Ultra II Telecaster review

“Introduced in 1961, the Fender VI is often referred to as the Bass VI. When I was growing up I wasn’t a catalogue geek and I was unaware that this model even existed when I saw a listing in the classifieds of a local newspaper for a Fender VI. I just assumed it was a six-string guitar. It was a sunburst and the guy wanted $200 so I bought it anyway.

“My friend recognised what it was and I soon discovered that the VI was used by Glen Campbell, The Hollies, Aerosmith, Jack Bruce, The Beatles and Brian Wilson. The VI also became a studio staple in Nashville. Although I wasn’t even old enough to drive, I had discovered that you could open up Fender guitars and find dates on the neck and body.

“I had also learned how to read date codes on potentiometers, and very few people knew these things in the 1970s. The neck date was 11/60 and the potentiometer dates showed January 1961, so it was one of the very first VIs made.

“I just fell in love with these instruments, but for whatever reason I sold it and I later realised that the later ones had different pickups. Most people think they’re Stratocaster pickups, but they’re really not because the coil is wider. If you look at the bobbin material and how it’s cut, they’re basically Telecaster bridge pickups complete with inductance plates.

“They have the cool-looking metal surrounds, too. The earlier pickups really do sound better and that’s why they’re the ones serious professionals want if they’re using them to record. They sound richer and thicker than the later Jaguar pickup and they’re just wonderful.”

“I went on a quest looking for the earlier ones with the Telecaster pickups. I saw a few sunburst examples but never any custom colours. They’re so rare to see on a VI and are actually far more common on Stratocasters and Jazzmasters.

“I eventually found a blonde one and I hung onto that for a while, then I found a Fiesta Red ’63 with the later pickups, and eventually I came across the Shoreline Gold one that we can see here.

“It’s a January ’62 with the bridge cover, all the tags and a slab fretboard. The headstock is non-matching, but by late 1962 matching headstocks were on practically every one, despite it supposedly being an optional extra.

“The ’63 Champagne Sparkle came from a guy in California who used to be a guitar finder for me. He thought it might have belonged to someone famous, but he wasn’t sure who. Of course, that set me off on another quest. I discovered that Kathy Marshall, the ‘Queen Of Surf Guitar’, had a Champagne Sparkle Jaguar.”

“Having mixed a quantity of paint, Fender would have sprayed more than one instrument in that colour, so I’m sure this VI was painted at the same time as hers. I tried to figure out who Kathy’s bass player was, but it seems she mostly sat in with other bands, and I never did find out who the original owner was.

“It’s a genuine Dennis Swiden sparkle finish of the period and there’s only a little bit of wear and tear. I used to talk with Dennis on the phone and he shared lots of little tells to identify original examples.

“The period from 1961 to ’64 was a crazy time and that’s when almost all of the Fender sparkle finishes were done. Fender carried on spraying sparkle finishes in-house up to ’68, but they look very different. The metal flake altered and a lot of them had urethane over the top, rather than nitrocellulose.”

“The later VIs had Jaguar-style circuitry where you could turn each pickup on and off individually and also that phasey bass-cut setting. That fourth switch wasn’t included on the earlier ones. It’s interesting that you can still get strings for them and my preference is for flat-wounds because they sound more authentic. But you can also fit round-wound strings and play with a dime to get that sharper Joe Perry sound.

“The mute is another great feature that players like Glen Campbell used, but the reissues don’t have them. The VI can sound like so many different instruments; I think people are rediscovering them and creating sounds that have been missing from music for a long time.

“Of the two guitars, the Shoreline Gold is my favourite. Technically, it’s for sale – I’ve priced it at a point where I hope nobody will ever buy it because I know I’ll never see another.”

With three guitarists, endless hooks and an immersive approach to tone, flipturn invite you to drift into their nostalgic dreampop world where single coils rule, guitars and synths feel like closely related species, and a blissful haze of analog chorus hangs thick in the ether.

The Floridian five-piece – singer/rhythm guitarist Dillon Basse, lead guitarist Tristan Duncan, guitarist/synth player Mitch Fountain, bassist Madeline Jarman and drummer Devon VonBalson – have been playing together for the best part of a decade, building a strong bond and a devout following along the way.

Duncan expresses their uncomplicated approach as a road-warrior outfit: “We bring a lot of energy and make sure people are having a good time.” Riding high off a recent performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and with a monster tour stretching out in support of sophomore album Burnout Days, 2025 looks set to be a huge year.

Across the LP’s 12 tracks you’ll find ethereal earworms (Sunlight), vivid futuristic sketches (Juno) and vibey choruses pulled straight out of the ’70s (Tides). At the core of every single one is the vibrant guitar interplay of Fender aficionados Duncan, Basse and Fountain.

“We take a lot of time to make sure we’re not stepping on the others’ toes,” says Fountain. “Dillon often takes the low rumble of the guitar, Tristan might be doing the lead and maybe I’m doing some really jangly stuff up at the top.”

The best way to conceptualize their approach, says Duncan, is to imagine three individuals all sitting at one piano. “You can’t all play the same part – you’ve got to spread out,” he explains. “Taking that kind of ideology into being guitar players means you can be really rich and lush with harmonization and melodies.”

A rigorous approach to demoing is also key, with fipturn often working through multiple iterations of a song before recording it for real. While the guitar parts and arrangements are set by then, there’s still plenty of room to get creative with tone.

“We might find 50 guitars to choose from,” says Mitch. “All of a sudden, something that was on an electric might now be on a rubber-bridge acoustic, so the tones become more experimental.”

His Surf Green Fender American Standard Telecaster is an interesting beast – a Limited Edition from 2016, it features a one-piece rosewood neck rather than the usual maple.

It has a hand-rubbed oil finish, allowing for a softer neck feel than you might get with urethane or polyester. It’s fitted with a Twisted Tele pickup in the neck position and a Broadcaster in the bridge position, offering twang or twinkle, depending on the mood.

During the album sessions – which took place at Sonic Ranch, outside of El Paso, Texas – Duncan fell in love with a ’67 Fender Jazzmaster he found in the studio’s collection, and used it to create a wealth of fuzzed-up leads and dreamy abstractions.

He also used an Acoustasonic Jazzmaster for standout moments, like the reverb-soaked harmonic riff at the heart of Swim Between Trees, which has a quality not unlike an airy arpeggiated synth loop.

“I’m in open E and I’m just playing harmonics off the 12th, 7th and 5th frets,” he says. “I found a pattern that sounded like a cool melody and I used the bridge pickup because it’s a little less acoustic-sounding and has more sheen. It just popped through the mix. Then we did some in-the-box effects to give it more space with reverb.”

At the center of Duncan and Fountain’s sonic universe is a pedal that neither could live without: the Walrus Audio Julia Analog Chorus/Vibrato. Offering big, smooth chorus sounds that hug the mix, or moments of oddball wooze, it’s all over Burnout Days. In fact, “Julia” is so integral to the sound, she could be considered the sixth member of flipturn.

“I love the modular nature of having pedals in front of you,” says Duncan, whose current board includes Chase Bliss’ Clean and Onward pedals and a classic Tube Screamer. Fountain uses Strymon’s Big Sky and TimeLine delays, a JHS Morning Glory Overdrive, a Keeley Compressor and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Switcher PX-8 to reduce the “tap dancing” during live shows, while he also handles keyboard duties.

The pair have learned a thing or two about recreating complex studio sounds live on stage. “The most terrifying thing is when a pedalboard stops working,” says Fountain. “There’s a meme about it where R2-D2 is fixing a ship during a battle. That’s what it feels like when you’re trying to diagnose your pedalboard during a show!”

The solution? “Bring extra patch cables,” he advises. Then remain calm and pray for the rig-wrangling force to be with you.

• Burnout Days is out now via Dualtone Music Group. Tour dates kick off on February 26.

NAMM 2025: Fender truly returned to NAMM with a bang this year.

In one of its biggest launches in years, the company unveiled the $599 Standard Series lineup, an Indonesian-built line that aims to bring the concept of an affordable Fender back to the table, and marks a real sea change for the company.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, though, were the two lines of electric guitars from the company's always-impressive Custom Shop that made their debut at the show.

One of these was the booze-inspired Cocktail Collection, and the other is the equally awe-inspiring 2025 Prestige Collection.

There are 11 Prestige Collection models in total – half-a-dozen Strats, a pair of Teles, a Meteora, a rare Performer model, and, most notably, a baritone Jazzmaster, the last of which has proven to be a very hot commodity in recent years.

Let's start with that Jazzmaster, then. Built by Custom Shop Masterbuilder Andy Hicks, the Prestige Sub-Sonic Jazzmaster boasts a Black Limba body with a quarter-sawn roasted maple large “C” Sub-Sonic neck with a 9.5” radius fingerboard and an extended 27" scale length.

A Thin Black Burst lacquer finish, period black inlays, and a black headstock with a chrome Fender decal give the guitar its look, while a trio of mini-humbuckers lead the sonic charge.

Another eyebrow-raiser in the collection is the Prestige Carved Top Meteora, built by Custom Shop Masterbuilder Kyle McMillin.

This quirky offset is built with a select mahogany body topped with a bound and carved 5A quilted maple top, and features a 3A flame maple neck with a slab ebony fingerboard. A pair of Sonic Pickups humbuckers and a recessed Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo also come aboard.

The attention of collectors will be piqued by the Prestige Performer, which brings the cult, short-lived, mid-80s Fender model of the same name back to life.

The 21st century version is a painstaking recreation of the original, but for a few modern-minded points – a contoured neck heel, 9.5” to 12” compound fingerboard radius, and Custom Classic Hardtail Strat bridge.

The collection's Telecasters are no less impressive.

The Prestige Custom Tele, built by Custom Shop Masterbuilder Austin MacNutt, features a gorgeous custom Feldthouse Family Woodworks top, and the combination of a Custom Shop Josefina Campos Hand-Wound ’55/’56 Tele bridge pickup with a Curtis Novak mini-humbucker in the neck.

Built by Senior Masterbuilder Dennis Galuska, the Paisley Telecaster XII boasts a custom paisley finish, a quartersawn maple neck with a “Gumby” 12-string headstock, and a Custom Shop Josefina Campos hand-wound ‘67 Tele bridge pickup paired with a Curtis Novak Electric XII neck pickup.

Highlights of the Prestige collection's six Strats include the Prestige '66 Stratocaster, which is powered by a trio of Custom Shop Josefina Campos Hand-Wound ’66 Strat pickups and boasts a stunning Aged Cherry Sunburst finish, and the Contura Stratocaster, which is built with 27 feet of gold wire and 25 diamonds along with various cuts of hand-selected maple.

For those unaware, these one-of-a-kind Fender Custom Shop builds are more for most of us to look at and admire than buy. The Prestige collection guitars range in price from $10,200, for the Prestige '66 Strat, to $50,000, for the aforementioned Contura Strat.

“The Prestige Collection showcases bespoke masterpieces, each one a testament to the individual creativity and technical brilliance of its builder,” a statement from Fender reads.

“With intricate finishes, exotic tonewoods, and immaculate details, these instruments exemplify Fender’s commitment to pushing the limits of guitar innovation.”

For more info, visit the Fender Custom Shop.

NAMM 2025: Jackson has announced the return of the Surfcaster, its cult offset design, as part of its most affordable electric guitar ranges, with the aim of “offering modern metalheads a sleek new take on a classic machine”.

The Surfcaster has a curious history: launched by Charvel/Jackson in the early ’90s, the lipstick pickup-adorned model was aimed at surf and country players, and counted Steve Cropper among its early endorsees.

Later, it would be kitted out with humbuckers to cater for Jackson’s more typical audience, but upon the brand’s acquisition by Fender in 2002, the model was dropped – presumably to avoid competing with the Big F’s Jazzmaster.

But interest in the model has surged in recent years as Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer have raved about their own Custom Shop creations – which may well have paved the way for the offset’s return.

We weren’t expecting the first Surfcasters to be quite so affordable, however. The JS Series Surfcaster is $249, while the Indonesian-built X Series Surfcaster is $549, and the seven-string version (yes!) is $599.

All three guitars are very much metal-focused, teaming the offset, Jazzmaster-esque shape with a pair of humbuckers, a hardtail bridge and black hardware on none-more-black finishes (although the JS does offer a Snow White option alongside Gloss Black).

Playability should be on point courtesy of a 12”-16” compound radius bound fingerboard, available across the range (the X Series’ is laurel, the JS’ is amaranth).

24 jumbo frets are a universal feature, but only the X Series model features the oh-so-’80s sharkfin inlays and contoured heel, while the JS model has the more typical Fender-style four-bolt neckplate and dot inlays.

We haven’t got a whole lot of info on the pickups as of yet, other than they’re high-output and made in-house. The X Series’ look a lot sleeker, and we imagine there will be that little bit extra definition versus the JS.

There’s a three-way toggle pickup selector on the X, while you get a blade selector switch on the cheaper model. The seven-string does away with the neck pickup, tone knob and pickup selector of its six-string siblings, leaving just a bridge humbucker and volume control.

The wonky three-a-side headstock, complete with enormous Jackson logo, might not win over metal-leaning Fender obsessives, but we reckon it’s just the right side of ’90s kitsch.

All in all, it’s a commendable return for the Surfcaster, and an enticing first dip of the toe in offset waters for Jackson. We’re looking forward to seeing what else the firm does with the design throughout 2025.

On that note, you’ll forgive us if we’re a bit emotional about this one. We’ve been harassing Fender employees to build high-spec offsets for at least five years now, so to see our efforts finally come to fruition – and at this price point – is very cool indeed. Mansoor and Stringer models next, please…

The X Series and JS Series Surfcasters land in spring 2025. For more information, hit up Jackson Guitars.

NAMM 2025: Fresh from launching its new Indonesian-made Standard line, Fender has also unveiled Standard versions of its innovative Acoustasonic electric-acoustic guitars – bringing us the most affordable take on the model yet.

As such, it appears to be an instrument tailored towards less experienced players, but with a greatly reduced outlay – coming in at $599 compared to the circa $1,999 price of the premium builds – will help appeal to players intrigued by the guitar’s concept as well.

For the uninitiated, the Acoustasonic series takes hybrid electric and acoustic guitars to the next level, marrying electric-inspired body shapes, namely Stratocasters, Telecasters and Jazzmasters with an acoustic-inspired build driven by an acoustic engine and noiseless magnetic pickups.

Billie Eilish's maestro brother, FINNEAS, and Jack White have since been bestowed with signature takes on the recipe.

As mentioned, the latest takes on the formula hail from Fender’s Indonesian facility, which appears well-suited to the task, having excelled in handling affordable semi-hollow style builds in the past, not least the recent Fender Tom DeLonge signature Starcaster.

Initial launch information is a little on the sparse side, but it is confirmed that there are two Standard models to choose from, in the form of Tele and Jazzmaster shapes.

There's no Strat on the roster yet, which is a little surprising give this is Fender, after all, but tells us something of what it thinks will most appeal to players shopping at this price point.

Like the premium models, both guitars offer a braced solid Sitka spruce top, and a fully chambered body, while pickups are said to be “Fender and Fishman designed”, though we can’t confirm the exact models at the time of writing.

The on-board analog electronics include Volume and Blend controls as Fender promises “the familiar playing feel of Fender icons”. One thing that is clear from the pictures is that Fender has opted to drop the three-way selector switch found on its higher-priced builds.

Both models are offered in Black, Aged Natural, and Honey Burst finishes.

The Acoustasonic concept has seemed to outperform expectations since its launch, catching the ear of a new generation of players, in the process.

FINNEAS, whose totemic work with Billie Eilish, Demi Lovato saw him became the first recipient of a signature Acoustasonic last year, explained why the build struck a chord with him.

“I was first introduced to the Acoustasonic guitar in 2019 when I was on tour with Billie, and I played it at every show that year,” FINNEAS said, when his signature was announced.

“I’m a big DI guy. I don’t have any amps on stage, I don’t have any amps in the studio, so to me how it sounds plugged straight into an audio interface or a PA is what I’m looking for.”

“The dual personality of the Acoustasonic Standard equips players with a versatile spectrum of acoustic and electric tones in a single creative tool,” says Fender. “It sets the Acoustasonic experience.”

The Fender Acoustasonic Standard Series is set to launch in April and will be priced at $599.99 apiece.

Head to Fender for more information.

January is usually a tight month for most, with the hangover from the post-Christmas splurge still lingering. If you’ve got the January gear blues, then you’ll want to check out the latest sale over at the official Fender shop, where you can land yourself a huge 20% off a series of web-exclusive guitars and basses.

The sale is all Squier guitar models, which see Fender getting a little more experimental versus their usual, more vintage-inspired instruments. Think wild color schemes, alternative pickup configurations, and rarer resurrections of old Fender designs. These deals are only available until January 19th, so if you’re looking for a great deal on a new guitar you’ll need to act fast with this one.

We had a look through the sale to see what was available, and our eye was immediately caught by the Squier Paranormal Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe. With more than a hint of Les Paul about it, this tune-o-matic-equipped Telecaster is packing two humbuckers for a thick tonality. It can do coil splitting too, so you can get your hands on some of Fender’s signature single coil sounds as well. It’s currently sitting at just $359.99 thanks to a big reduction of $90.

Next up we absolutely love the Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT H, which gives you Tom DeLonge Strat vibes for just $159.99 thanks to a nice $40 discount in the sale. In our Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT H review, we gave it a massive four and a half stars out of five, praising it for its quality build and finish, as well as the excellent playability offered by its ‘C’ neck profile.

Finally, we had to give a shout-out to the weird yet wonderful Squier Paranormal Jazzmaster XII, which has a hefty $90 discount at the moment. It’s available in two limited edition finishes and delivers the perfect electric 12-string guitar tone for very little money. Everybody should have at least one 12-string in their collection, and if you’re looking for one of the best value-for-money examples out there, this Squier Paranormal version is a great shout. It’s beautifully put together and although there’s a little neck dive thanks to the large headstock, it’s a small price to pay for a truly stellar instrument.

Allen Abbassi might not be a household name to every guitarist, but the products he’s helped to develop during his 24 years at Fender most certainly are. As Director of Fender Electric Guitars, every launch bearing the big F on the headstock since 2007 has had to pass his personal test of feel and tone.

The Player Series, American Professional, American Vintage, Alternate Reality, Parallel Universe and, of course, just about every Fender signature guitar of the last 18 years – from the Mike McCready Strat to the Tom DeLonge Starcaster – have all fallen under Abbassi’s remit.

Now he’s presenting Fender’s top-of-the-line Ultra II – “the sports car versions, if you will” – of the firm’s most beloved models, including the Strat, Tele, P and J bass and, in a surprise addition, the recently developed Meteora offset.

“If Fender is a spectrum from vintage to modern, these are all the way to the right on the modern spectrum,” Abbassi says.

You’ll find compound radius necks, noiseless pickups, sleek contouring, locking tuners and even Luminlay side dots as standard. They are quite simply the most forward-thinking Fenders you’ll find.

The guitarist of today is increasingly hard to pigeonhole, in both aesthetic and playing style; so while you might presume the Ultra II is designed purely to appeal to tech-heads, Abbassi notes its remit has widened considerably.

“It's also for players who seek a guitar that gets out of their way and plays effortlessly,” he explains. “It's all noiseless pickups, so it’s great for players who favor giant pedalboards, or who play clubs with noisy electricity, or play in the studio and they want to be very quiet.

“I’ve even had R&B and jazz players, who you’d have thought would be interested in more vintage stuff, pick up an Ultra and fall in love with it.”

Sat in Fender’s London HQ and artist showroom – a former stained glass window factory, with a top room in the church-like eaves lined with glittering models – we want to know what it takes to develop the company’s fastest-playing neck; how Abassi pushes the envelope without chopping off a Strat horn; and why, in the Ultra II line, the Meteora is in but the faithful Jazzmaster is out.

The early leaps in Fender development – particularly between the Tele and the Strat – came from talking directly to players. With social media, YouTube, pro players, home players and so on, how do you find the voices to listen to?

“We definitely read a lot about what players are talking about on forums. We watch YouTube a lot. We talk to artists and dealers. And when people are in the office in Hollywood, we talk directly to them.

“Sometimes when we’re working on a project like Ultra, we’ll call on friends who are professionals – Brett Simons, Mason Stoops, Jamie Kime, Jorgen Carlsson – and say, ‘Hey, why don't you come visit? I’m working on something I’d like you to hear.’”

One of the big claims is that the Ultra II is Fender’s fastest-playing neck. How do you determine something like that?

“Well, it’s not necessarily scientifically tested! But most of us in the product department have been around Fender for a long time. I’ve pretty much touched every new Tele or Strat neck we’ve made since 2007, so just from experience, I can tell the difference in what ‘a fast-playing neck’ would be versus a non-fast playing.

“Some of it’s intuitive: things that, as a player, you’d just agree are true. For instance, changing from lacquer to a satin-finish urethane-based neck –especially with the treatment we apply – you can just feel that it’s really smooth and easy to move your hand up and down the neck.

“And some of it’s experience; these necks definitely feel faster to me. When we’ve put them in the hands of players, they agree. I don’t know if that's leading the witness! But most players agree that the rolled edges and the slim neck, and this ‘Goldilocks’ thickness, feel like a very fast-playing neck.”

How many iterations do you go through to get to that point?

“It could be anywhere from just two or three, or we could have our R&D department make 10 different versions. We have such a large pool to draw from of vintage-style neck shapes that it can be challenging to decide what’s just right.”

As you keep adjusting the parameters of modern designs, where’s the line – when is a Strat no longer a Strat, or a Tele no longer a Tele?

“Fender is known for a certain tonal quality. It’s described as ‘crystalline,’ ‘bell-like,’ ‘brilliant,’ ‘trebly.’ With a Strat you have quackiness; with a Tele you have twanginess. If you start to stray from those core tones, you start to get away from what a Strat or a Tele is.

“These instruments are very versatile, and tons of different types of players from all different genres use them, but you can always kind of hear if it's a Tele or a Strat – and a lot of that has to do with the quality of the tone from the pickups. Once we say, ‘That really doesn't have the twang and snap of a Tele pickup,’ we feel like we’ve gone too far.

“With the body shapes, obviously we can modify and tweak small parts like contours. But we’re not gonna chop off a horn, and we’re not gonna radically cut out another part. There’s legacy and history there that we’re careful about maintaining. So with the bodies it’s easier to know when you’ve crossed the line – you want a Strat to look like a Strat.”

Why did you decide to drop the Jazzmaster Ultra from the line in favor of the Meteora?

“One of the main reasons is we want to always be fresh and try something new. The Meteora is really neat because it’s a new shape for Fender. You don’t see us doing a lot of new shapes.

“We wanted to feature it in a high-end series. It had been just a limited edition, then we put it in the Player Plus line, and it did pretty well there. We want to have it available in as many different forms, to see what artists are interested in it.

“Ultra II is for a more advanced player who’s into high performance. That’s the type of player we feels a Meteora would suit. It’s kind of a futuristic-looking Jazzmaster – like a sports car version. We’ve loaded it with some incredible new Haymaker humbuckers that are tonally incredible, and they’re a little bit more aggressive.”

So it’s for the modern-minded Fender fan.

“More than a Jazzmaster, because that’s a very traditional instrument. Bringing that into the Ultra high-end performance line is fun, but maybe a dichotomy. It almost doesn’t fit.”

The GuitarWorld.com team has been campaigning for high-end offsets from Fender brands. In particular, we loved Mike Stringer’s custom Jackson Surfcaster, and Jackson’s Misha Mansoor build. Are there plans for high-end offsets in the main Fender range?

“Offsets, in general, have grown in popularity quite a bit. So you’ll see more high-end offsets coming from Fender in the future. I can’t reveal anything specifically. In our American Vintage line, that’s more high-end, we always have a Jazzmaster in there. That’s a trend you’re gonna see continue: offering more modern versions.”

It appears there is an increasing crossover between Fender brands shapes. Is it a totally siloed development for you? Fender does Fender, Jackson does Jackson, Charvel does Charvel, and so on?

“There’s a little bit of crossover, because we’re friends with those guys, and we talk about what we’re doing, and innovations can be shared across brands – pickup development, neck shapes, finishes and things like that.

“For example, Luminlay side dots are a big part of the new Ultra II line. It’s a very, very modern feature and they work remarkably well. Our Charvel/Jackson line has been using that for a while, but we’d never tried it in Fender. It’s an awesome feature that people like, so why wouldn’t a Fender player like it? In the past you might have said, ‘That’s only for a metal or super high-performance hard rock guy.’ Well, maybe not!”

Another area where you have room to experiment is in finishes. What are the most popular new finishes?

“For certain in the Ultra line, Texas Tea. It’s not traditional Fender in any way; it’s a more forward-thinking finish that caught on like wildfire with Ultra I. It was as popular as the ’Burst and that’s why we carried it over.

“It’s a very metallic finish, and in certain lights it looks black or brown, with a hint of gold. We didn’t know it was going to be so popular. We had four or five different versions of it, where we said, ‘No, not right... No, no, no.’ And all of a sudden we got that one and said, ‘That's it!’ And you still wonder if it’s going to work, but that became one of the most popular colors.

“’Burst, Black and White tended to be the most popular colors, but in recent years, we saw White overtook Black – and now Blue is now more popular than Black.

“Over in American Professional, Dark Night was one of the most popular colors; a brand-new color that did remarkably well. So we do a good job, I think, working with our paint department to come up with ideas that aren’t traditional Fender, but really work.”

Looking back over your time at Fender, what have been the big surprises?

“I think a lot is when we try to push the boundaries of what Fender is. I’ve been surprised by the success of things like Parallel Universe, Alternate Reality. We had some really interesting models that were not traditional Fender that really created a lot of buzz.

“Another was the Player series. We seemed to get it so right. The traditional life cycle of a series is you have a hump and it goes down and down after the first year. But for three or four years in a row the Player series grew in popularity. That was very surprising to me. We really felt like we hit a nerve.”

In 2023 Justin Norvell told us the secret to Fender's longevity was a sort of “healthy paranoia.” How would you characterize it?

“I think we’re fervently invested in the quality and the sound, the Fender legacy and the history of the instruments. We know why people like them – because of Leo’s designs – and we’re experts in making sure that whatever we do with Fender still has the quality Leo developed.

“We have to color within the lines, you know? It can be tough; we’re not going to chop off the horn of a Strat, but we still want to offer new Strats. I think one of the reasons it’s endured is because we love and cherish the instruments.

“But also it’s because artists love Fender, and they’re constantly making new music that inspired people around the world. The artists keep the love for Fender going. I’m not designing these for me – I’m designing them for artists to take and be inspired.”

• Explore the Fender American Ultra II range.

What is it?

Is it a bass? Is it a guitar? Ask around and you’ll get different answers, but one thing’s for sure, the Squier Limited Edition Classic Vibe Bass VI is one of the most unique instruments I’ve ever had my hands on.

The 30-inch scale is in short-scale bass guitar territory, but the string spacing and the fact there are six strings point toward the traditional electric guitar. It also has a non-locking tremolo like you’d find on a Jazzmaster or Jaguar, and I can’t ever recall seeing a tremolo unit on a bass as stock before.

The poplar offset body is hefty and finished in the ever-divisive Antigua colorway. Born of an accident when Fender burned the outer edges of some of its guitar bodies, it’s certainly eye-catching.

The recreation of the effect on the pickguard gives the guitar some interesting symmetry, and much like its indecision as to what kind of instrument it wants to be, the finish is neither garish nor subtle. The non-guitarists I showed it to found it unremarkable, whereas all my guitarist mates hated it.

The neck is gorgeous, though. I love black block inlays on a maple fretboard, and the vintage gloss finish is fantastic. The black binding and inlays contrast beautifully with the maple thanks to the glossy finish, which really makes the whole instrument pop.

It’s a ‘C’ profile, which feels like the right balance of heft and slink for an instrument with larger proportions. 21 narrow tall frets give you plenty of feel when you slide up and down the neck, and the nut width at just below 43mm will feel comfortable to the majority of guitar players.

Keeping in theme, the electronics are similarly unique, with three single coil pickups that are very spaced out on the body. Each pickup has a dedicated slide switch for on or off, while a fourth switch engages a ‘strangle’ circuit which takes out some of the bass frequencies. You can order the pickups any which way you like, with combinations or just single pickups engaged. A master volume and tone knob offer additional tone sculpting options.

In terms of hardware, the standout spec here is that non-locking floating vibrato. It’s a seemingly strange addition to what is essentially a bass guitar, but more on that later. You get a six-saddle bridge that you typically find on Fender’s offset guitars, and six vintage-style tuners adorn the headstock.

Specs

• Launch price: $499 / £479 / €549
• Made: Indonesia
• Type: Six-string electric bass guitar
• Body: Poplar
• Neck: Maple, ‘C’
• Fingerboard: Maple
• Scale length: 30”/762mm
• Nut/width: Bone, 42.86mm
• Frets: 21 frets, narrow tall
• Hardware: Vintage-style tuners, 6-saddle vintage-style bridge with non-locking floating vibrato
• String spacing at bridge: 52mm
• Electrics: 3x Fender-designed alnico single-coils, master volume, master tone, 3-on/off slide switches (one for each pickup), 2-position slide switch for bass-cut ‘strangle’ circuit
• Options: N/A
• Left-handed options: No
• Finishes: Antigua
• Cases: No case
• Contact: Fender

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★☆

Build quality feels like a given nowadays, and I rarely receive a guitar I think is below the expected standard, but there were some small flaws with the Classic Vibe Bass VI. On the plus side, there’s absolutely nothing out of place on the neck with the frets well dressed, the gloss finish applied with perfection, and ditto for the binding and the block inlays. The tuners respond well to your inputs, with each giving an even response.

The classic issue of the loose, squeaky tremolo arm from this style of bridge is here – which can be permanently remedied with the hammer trick – more a design flaw than a build quality issue though. I did find that the volume knob felt a little loose in its housing. This could have happened during the shipping process to be fair, and again is something easily remedied.

I also noticed that both the knobs weren’t applied in the same manner, which will have any detail-orientated guitarists out there boiling, as the knobs point in slightly different directions when they’re both at full blast.

It sounds like I've only got complaints regarding the build quality, but these are small issues that don’t detract from the sound or playability of the instrument. Overall, the finish is exceptionally well applied, even if you’re not a fan of Antigua, and the guitar feels well put together. Aesthetically it’s hard to find any fault with it at all.

Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★☆

Finally sitting down to play through a Neural DSP Quad Cortex and Positive Grid’s Spark Live acting as an FRFR speaker, I immediately noticed that the action was set a little low, leading to some string buzz on the lower notes of the low E that were audible through the speaker. Nothing that a quick raise of the bridge couldn’t solve though.

Playing the Bass VI is a really strange experience. On the lower strings, it feels like a bass thanks to the tuning being a full octave below a regular guitar. Playing riffs and single-note licks feels distinctly bass-like, and the string gauge is similar to what you would find on a bass or extended-range guitar.

Moving to simple barre chords around the eighth fret makes it feel more like a guitar with heavy strings on, a feel more similar to a baritone. Go to play lead on it and you get something between the higher strings on a bass and the lower notes on a guitar.

On the one hand, it’s too slinky to be a bass, with legato licks coming a lot easier, and yet you can’t bend quite as easily as you can on a guitar, it’s less limber qualities belying the fact this is a longer scale instrument.

It is very playable for guitar licks, though. It didn't take me long to get up to speed with some of my favorite scale runs and lead licks. The neck profile makes it comfortable for fast playing and once you've gotten accommodated to the spacing, you can absolutely rip on it like you would a guitar.

If you want to try and play it like a traditional bass you can, but it’s a little awkward as the pickups don’t have enough clearance to rest your thumb on comfortably.

I made the best of it resting my thumb on top of the pickguard, and once I’d gotten used to the string spacing and reined in the attack with my fingers, it felt more like plucking away at a short-scale bass guitar, albeit with the occasional wayward hit of an unintended string when trying to mute.

The vibrato works really well, and it holds its tuning brilliantly even when you lean on it. Adding vibrato to the low chords you can play is a decidedly different sound to what most guitarists are used to, and it’s great fun to mess around with. The arm does feel a little close to the strings though, so if I was going to keep this guitar I’d probably make some adjustments and get the arm resting further away from the strings for easier control.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★½

With individual on/off slider switches for each of the three single-coil pickups, you can use any combination of the pickups together with one another. Using the pickup nearest the neck delivers a decidedly bass guitar-like tone, and when combined with a Gallien-Kreuger bass amp model on the Quad Cortex, there’s little doubting the bass guitar qualities of the Bass VI. Round and warm, with oodles of low-end energy, in a blind test I don’t think anyone would think you’re playing something other than a P or Jazz Bass.

The middle position is pretty bass-heavy too, leaning slightly more to the midrange but to my ear, not too dissimilar to the neck pickup. In the bridge position however, you get a much more guitarist-friendly tone, with a lot of that low-end roundness gone and plenty more of that midrange and treble ‘clank’ in the tone. Here if you play higher up the neck it sounds much more like an electric guitar with single coils, with plenty of chime and cut.

Playing through a clean amp gets you a unique tone, particularly with open chords at the lower end of the neck. It’s hard to quantify, sounding somewhat like a bass yet having more clarity than you’d find if you pulled similar shapes on your bass guitar. It sounds beautiful with clean-picked arpeggios higher up the neck, delivering its own distinctive voice that’s quite unlike anything else in my guitar collection.

I’ve seen quite a few heavy bands using the Bass VI nowadays and I can report that if it’s your bag, then yes it does djent. Your picking and string muting technique better be really good though, because it can get noisy with the bridge construction at higher gain levels.

With the right technique and high-gain amp model engaged, it’ll absolutely sound like an 8-string guitar though, with the single-coils helping it deliver plenty of clarity, even when I tuned it down to drop D.

Curious to see how it would sound with other instruments, I booted up the project for my band's latest song and got to work seeing how it would fit into a full band mix. It’s a bit of a strange one to drop in where there’s already a bass or electric guitar though, and it seems to work better as texture or backing to something already there.

Adding some drive and chorus to the tone alongside a bass amp model and pairing it with the bass line helped bring that section further to the front of the mix. Similarly, when I doubled the heavy palm-muted guitar riff at the end through a guitar amp model, it gave it some extra heft that wouldn’t be immediately noticeable on first listen, but you’d definitely miss it if it wasn’t there.

On its own, the ability to play both bass and guitar parts is really useful if you’re doing a lot of production. You can get bassy chord stabs that are much more coherent than they would be via regular bass guitar, while djent-y guitar breakdowns or doubled leads can deliver some fantastic extra textures to your mixes.

Verdict

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that the Classic Vibe Bass VI is an inspiring instrument to play. Because it doesn’t feel quite like or bass or quite like a guitar, you find yourself approaching riffs differently, and I felt super-creative every time I picked it up. It forces you to adjust your technique to account for the different gauge strings, and that’s always a good thing when you want to pull yourself out of the rut of a regular six-string guitar.

It is a very niche instrument though, and I’ll caveat most of what I’ve said with the fact I regularly play a baritone, so it doesn’t feel that alien to me. Much like the baritone though, once you get over the initial feel of the longer scale, it’s the kind of instrument that can be a really powerful songwriting tool, or a versatile addition to the arsenal of a recording guitarist.

Would I want it as the lead instrument in a band or composition? I’d argue probably not. In the supporting actor role though it’s absolutely brilliant, and it will play a vital role in helping beef up the sound of a live band or add an extra layer of audio to recorded compositions.

Final verdict: Despite a slight identity crisis, the Bass VI is a truly unique instrument that has its own lane. On the one hand, it's separate from the bass or electric guitar, and yet it can imitate both. Truly unique instruments are few and far apart in this world of Strat and LP copies, so for the guitarist who wants to push the boundaries, the Squier Classic Vibe Bass VI is a potential game changer.

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As 2024 draws to a close, online gear retailer Reverb has maintained tradition by announcing its best-selling electric guitars of the year.

As always, three lists have been supplied – one for overall best-sellers, the best-selling used guitars, and best-selling new releases for 2024 – and, as is usually the case, the results make for rather interesting reading.

Perhaps the biggest headline is the fact that, for the overall list, the once-dominant PRS SE Silver Sky has slipped two places in the rankings to third position, having comfortably held down the top spot for Reverb’s best-selling lists in 2022 and 2023.

As Reverb notes, though, that may have been slightly skewed by the fact that the two guitars that came above it were the Fender Player Telecaster (ranked at no. 1) and the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster (no. 2) – two models that received generous discounts over the year, making them even more accessible to players.

The Player Tele, for example, is to be discontinued in favor of the updated Player II iteration, while the American Pro II Strat – usually $1,800 – has had its price reduced, perhaps pointing to a coming range update.

“The PRS SE Silver Sky, after leading our overall best-selling guitars list for two years, did not come in No. 1 in 2024,” explains Reverb.

“It was nudged out by the Fender Player Telecaster and Fender American Professional II Stratocaster, which were both widely available for discounts this year compared to their previous retail price tags.”

The rest of the list makes for largely familiar reading for those who have been following these roundups for the past few years, but there are some significant movers.

Gibson, for example, has two new entries on the list: the SG Standard and SG Standard ’61. Interestingly, neither of those two cropped up in last year's overall rundown.

What’s more, Squier seems to have a reduced representation this time out (potentially due to those Fender discounts) with only the ever-present Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster retaining its space. The Squier Classic Vibe ’50s Telecaster and Classic Vibe ’60s Jazzmaster both drop off, making way for the Fender JV Modified ’50s Strat HSS and American Ultra Strat, which was absent last year.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of bread-and-butter guitars, with the ESP LTD EC-1000 once again holding down its place alongside the likes of the Fender American Vintage II ’61 Strat, Gibson Les Paul Standard (both ’50s and ’60s variants) and a handful of PRS guitars, including the SE David Grissom signature, SE Custom 24 and Silver Sky proper.

This year, the more interesting list of Reverb’s three is by far the one that pits 2024’s newest releases against one another.

There have been some blockbuster guitar launches this year, so it might come as a surprise that neither the new Player II range nor the Dave Grohl’s Epiphone DG-335 – widely recognized as one of the most anticipated signatures of recent years – didn’t take top spot.

Instead, it is the PRS SE CE 24 Standard Satin that tops the list. However, when you consider that this is the most affordable CE guitar that the Maryland brand has ever produced – and the fact Guitarist gave it a faultless five-star review when it launched – the outcome is less surprising.

It’s followed by Fender’s made-in-Indonesia Tom DeLonge Starcaster, and then the DG-335, which sits in third.

Other notable entries include the Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster, which has already sold out after it was launched mere weeks ago, the updated Fender Player II Telecaster and Stratocaster, and the Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Custom ’59 ES-335.

The overall best-seller list can all be found below, and more information can be found over at Reverb.

Overall Best-Selling Electric Guitars of 2024

1. Fender Player Telecaster
2. Fender American Professional II Stratocaster
3. PRS SE Silver Sky
4. Fender Player Stratocaster
5. Fender American Professional II Telecaster
6. Gibson Les Paul Standard '60s
7. Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s
8. PRS Silver Sky John Mayer Signature
9. PRS SE David Grissom Tremolo Signature
10. PRS SE Custom 24
11. Fender American Ultra Telecaster
12. Gibson Les Paul Classic (2019-Present)
13. Gibson SG Standard (2019–Present)
14. Fender American Vintage II '61 Stratocaster
15. Gibson SG Standard '61 w/ Stop Bar Tailpiece (2019 - Present)
16. ESP LTD EC-1000
17. Fender American Ultra Stratocaster
18. Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster
19. Fender American Standard Stratocaster (2008–16)
20. Fender JV Modified '50s Stratocaster HSS

Luna Li – real name Hannah Bussiere Kim – made a name for herself during lockdown with her viral video compilations, in which the guitarist played an impressive range of instruments, from an ethereal harp to her go-to J Mascis Squier Jazzmaster. The resulting Jams EP has amassed over 50 million plays on Spotify.

As the 28-year-old musician reflects, those jams have taken her to places she never dreamed she’d go. Her sophomore release leans on equally ambitious contemporaries like Weyes Blood and Melody’s Echo Chamber. As a result, When A Thought Grows Wings features enchanting scores of tender strings and wistful woodwinds.

The production polymath opens up about collaborating with 19-year-old wunderkind Monsune, crafting transitional performance arcs, and what she believes music is for.

You’re fresh from completing a two-month US tour. Talk us through the gear that you take on the road, including that new Vintera II ‘70s Jaguar.

“We had much more gear than we normally would have. I had the harp and a new stand that allows me to play it standing up. I got a new violin with five strings, so an extra low Viola C.

“It’s nice to have access to that low range. I started learning flute in January of this year. I was excited about trying it out after we had an amazing flute and woodwinds player play on my record.

“We have a few guitars on stage now. I have an acoustic – which I’d never played in a live band setting. It’s by Art and Lutherie, a Canadian company. I was in the Folk Music Center in Claremont, outside of LA, and picked it up. It's a nice, small parlour guitar.

“I chose an acoustic on the smaller side because I wanted something laying around the house that would be easy to pick up and play. It also had a Fishman pickup so I knew it’d be ready to play live. I’m lucky to have a great front-of-house, Niki, who helped dial in the tone, and the only challenge was remembering to change the battery often enough!

“I received the Vintera Jag from my partnership with Fender. I’ve always loved offset guitars and I thought the Jaguar would be a nice complement to my J Mascis Jazzmaster. I love the Vintera’s black with the tortoise shell pickguard.”

A few years back you spoke about the difficulties in keeping your sound consistent onstage as an opening act. For headline dates, how do you achieve the right tones to perform the new songs live?

“I was lucky on this tour to work with a musical director for the first time. Sarah Hinez played keys in my band before but is an MD as her main gig. I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of putting everything we recorded into a live setting and achieving that with four players.

“She did a great job of figuring out the arrangements with me. We would spend afternoons at her studio, figuring out how we wanted everything to be achieved live, including a great arc with transitions.

“We also had a week of rehearsals before we went, which we've never done on that level before. Having Sarah there to rehearse with us and workshop everything was helpful.”

You collaborated with composer and engineer Andrew Lappin on When A Thought Grows Wings, who explained that you came up with some clear-cut goals for this album – specifically, exploring more idiosyncratic chord progressions and expansive sounds. How did that present itself in the studio?

“I wanted to challenge myself to build something that could feel full but not too dense arrangement-wise. In the past I’ve been guilty of layering and adding more and more, even when we already have so much in the mid-range. With Andrew, we were able to dial into the tone, so that even with three elements, it would feel full.

“The Jams EP was very loop-based. I wanted to let the progressions go as far as they could, instead of keeping a two-chord loop. I was like, ‘Okay, how can we modulate this? How can we create an interesting key change going into the bridge, or skating through a few different keys throughout the song?’”

You also worked with Canadian synthpop musician Monsune (SZA & Drake) What did that collaboration look like?

“We first connected through the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, who set up virtual artist sessions while we were all in lockdown. We clicked in terms of our references having both been a part of the Toronto music scene.

“I’ve been a fan of Scott’s music for a while. With every idea he had I was blown away. Scott was like the Toronto sessions, and Andrew was the LA sessions – it was nice to have a little bit of both cities as a part of this record.”

When you release the Jams EP you accompanied it with a 22-page booklet containing handwritten tabs, sheet music and illustrations. What was the motivation?

“I wanted to make some sort of DIY zine, and I had all these guitar solos from the EP that people were asking about. I used to be a music teacher so I’ve done a lot of figuring out songs to teach to my students.

“I got my bassist and best friend Sabrina to illustrate it. She’s an amazing visual artist. We wanted it to have a handwritten, personal feel. It took a while, but I did it when I had Covid and I was stuck in my house.”

In one of the Fender PlayerSeries videos you say: “Everyone and anyone should try playing an instrument – it’s never too late.” Given your breadth of skills across multiple instruments, where would you recommend someone start?

“What gets me through the struggles of starting something new is having a sense of community or having a friend help me. If you’re learning a new instrument, if it’s accessible to you, taking some lessons keeps you accountable every week. They can check in with you and give you one-on-one advice.

“If that’s not accessible, even finding a friend who plays music, to jam and learn songs together, is special. There’s something so beautiful about sharing music and playing music with a friend. More people should be doing music for fun. It’s something that should be for everybody.”

• When A Thought Grows Wings is out now.

As you are undoubtedly aware by now, Black Friday is right around the corner, and thankfully, Fender has fired up its deals machine prematurely, dropping their Early Black Friday sale over 2 weeks out from the big day.

The Fender site is currently brimming with tasty discounts on all of your favourites, with everything from legendary combo amps, game-changing acoustic electric hybrids and the best beginner electric guitars on the market, all seeing their prices slashed.

With around 188 different products across multiple sales categories, it can get a little exhausting trying to find the best bargain, so with that in mind, here are a few of the deals we are the most excited about.

It’s no secret that we are massive fans of offset guitars here at Guitar World, and therefore, it makes sense that we are immediately drawn to the Vintera II '70s Jaguar. This well-spec'd Jag gives you all the vintage charm of the original, just at a fraction of the price – and frankly, we love it! Save a whopping $150 right now at Fender.com.

Sometimes, the track you are working on is crying out for the unmistakable sound of a 12-string, and with the Squier Paranormal Jazzmaster XII, you can nail the tone without breaking the bank! Save $100.

Fender’s Acoustasonic range took the world by storm when they initially hit the scene, and they have proven that there really is a place for an electric/acoustic hybrid. If you fancy seeing what all the fuss is about, then now is the time to grab one, as the Acoustasonic Jazzmaster is now $1,799.99.

Of course, there are many more models up for grabs in Fender’s massive Early Black Friday sale, with huge savings on some of their most popular models, as well as offering various finish options. So, if you are on the hunt for a brand new Fender – regardless of the price point – there has never been a better time to buy.

Not quite ready to shop just yet? Be sure to bookmark our Black Friday Fender deals page, where we’ll be posting the very best offers from this year’s sale.

Need more shopping advice? Check out our expert guides below

• Get some xmas inspiration with the best gifts for guitar players
• Black Friday guitar deals: The place for the latest news and early deals
• Should I buy a guitar on Black Friday? We give you the answers

Of all the electric guitar trends to have emerged over the past few years – from the proliferation of digital amp modelers to the rise of the rubber bridge guitar – one of the most notable is the soaring popularity of offset guitars in the progressive and heavy metal realms.

After Jim Root recalibrated the Fender Jazzmaster for a game-changing signature guitar a few years ago, many of his peers have since followed suit. Mike Stringer, for example, recently worked with Jackson to transform the Charvel Surfcaster into an extended range metal machine.

Misha Mansoor is another big-name player who has put his own distinct, heavy-minded spin on Charvel’s long-lost offset template, having worked with the Jackson Custom Shop to produce a pair of heavy relic’d models earlier this year.

These are but a few examples of metal players hopping on the high-performance offset trend in recent years, and in an upcoming interview with Guitar World, Mansoor offered his own two cents on why such guitars are experiencing a rapid renaissance.

On the one hand, the Periphery virtuoso believes it could be a naturally occurring phenomenon that is a result of general movements in the vintage guitar market.

“I think these things move in cycles. Maybe it's a reflection of the vintage market,” he tells Guitar World. “Like, over the pandemic, prices of vintage Strats and Teles just went nuts.

“My business partner at Horizon Devices, Brian Gilmanov, used to trade a lot of vintages. He knows vintage guitars inside out. I was like, ‘Alright, what's the guitar I could get, let's call it an inflation hedge?’ And he was like, ‘You should get a Jazzmaster.’

“He was showing me some stuff for six or seven or eight grand. I was like, ‘That's a lot of money. I don’t really want to spend that much on a Jazzmaster.’ It just didn't seem right. And then now, some of these are going for 15 to 20 grand. I should have listened to him.

“But it just seems like that was the next thing, because the Strats had already gone. And then he [said], ‘It'll probably be the Jaguars [next].’ So I think maybe it’s a reflection and an extension of that.”

Another, more straightforward theory that Mansoor offers concerns the fact that, at the end of the day, offsets just look cool. And who doesn’t love a cool-looking guitar?

“It's kind of trendy and it goes in cycles,” he goes on. “But as much as it may be a trend, I wouldn't get a guitar I don't like. I like the look of an offset.

“Maybe it's just something the whole community was feeling. It's like, alright, but you know, I've done my Strat, maybe I should have done a Tele – and maybe I will do a Tele – but you know what, I don't have is an offset.

“Maybe a lot of people are feeling the same way. They're like, ‘Yeah, [I’m] covered with Superstrats and Strats and whatnot, but I don't have an offset. And hey, now I'm seeing it in this light…’ [It’s a] very attractive offset, you know?

“People may do the same thing with the Les Paul, where they're just like, ‘Oh, yeah, I don't have a Les Paul. Maybe I should get a Les Paul,’ you know?

“So maybe it's a little bit of that. People hadn't been thinking about them, they see some pretty ones, and obviously start thinking about them. I'm sure that fad will fade a little bit, but I'll still love this guitar after that.”

Keep your eyes peeled on GuitarWorld.com for the full interview with Misha Mansoor, in which the Periphery guitarist takes a deep dive into his new Jackson Surfcasters – and teases a potential signature run.

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT : What is it?

Gretsch has been on a formidable recruitment drive this year, signing up some of the biggest names in contemporary music. As well as launching artist guitars for Orville Peck, Portugal. The Man, and boygenius, the signature savvy firm – which sits under the Fender umbrella of brands – has now announced arguably its biggest new signing to date: Jack Antonoff.

The Grammy-winning super-producer and Bleachers frontman has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, The 1975, and Sabrina Carpenter, and now he’s been given quite literally his dream electric guitar in recognition of his musical service.

The “Princess Antonoff” Electromatic CVT is, simply, a hybrid design of two of Antonoff’s favorite guitars: a vintage Gretsch Princess and a Fender Jazzmaster. The result is a unique, undeniably stunning, in-between mash-up of models quite unlike anything Gretsch has put out before. But does it perform as good as it looks? Let’s find out…

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT: Specs

Launch price: £699 / $699 / €799
Made: China
Type: Six-string solidbody signature electric guitar
Body: Alder
Neck: C-shaped maple, satin finish, contoured neck joint, bolt-on
Fingerboard: Rosewood, bound, 7.25” radius, Neo-Classical pearloid thumbnail inlays
Scale length: 25.5” (647.7)
Nut/width: Bone/41.4mm
Frets: 22, medium jumbo
Hardware: Six-saddle floating bridge, vintage-style floating Jazzmaster tremolo w/ tremolo lock button and push-in tremolo arm, vintage-style tuners, G-Arrow control knobs
String spacing at bridge: 52mm
Electrics: Custom FideliSonic P-90 pickups / Master Volume, Master Tone / Three-position Toggle / Rhythm/Lead Switch / Rhythm Volume, Rhythm Tone / Kill Switch
Weight: 7.85lbs/3.56kg
Left-handed options: No
Finish: Vintage White
Case: Not included, Optional G2164 gig bag
Contact: Gretsch

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT: Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★☆

Crafted in China – which has seen the QC of its instruments dramatically improve over the last few years, following renewed reliance on affordable outsourced guitar manufacturing in the wake of turbulent economic conditions – the Princess Antonoff is, at first glance, as solid as you’d expect from an offshore Gretsch.

Nothing seems untoward upon initial inspection, and dare we say it actually looks nicer in person. The Princess double-cut has some excellent comfort contours, including a nice but-not-too deep belly cut, and the neck joint is admirably executed.

The frets on my example weren’t perfect, but there certainly are no sharp fret edges present, making maneuverability absolutely fine. The hardware is immaculately buffed and presented, and the switches all feel sturdy and robust (even if the three-way switch is annoyingly slightly askew). The neck, nut and tuners are all secure – nothing feels like it’s falling off – so, to play, this thing couldn’t be set up much better.

Under the microscope, our model had a few unsightly pickguard scratches that – although invisible under certain light – did somewhat spoil the otherwise near-perfect visage of the guitar. Still, such blemishes didn’t get in the way of actually playing the guitar, and wouldn't be a problem when taking this on the road. Speaking of which…

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT : Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★☆

There are a lot of moving parts here, but thanks to its impressive build quality and generous spec sheet, Antonoff’s signature guitar is a genuine joy to play. I had a keen eye on taking this for a test drive ever since the PR dropped in my inbox, and I’m happy to report it’s as fun as I imagined it to be.

The decision to revive a long-gone Gretsch body is an absolute stroke of genius, and the idea to spiritually pair it with a Jazzmaster deserves some sort of award.

There’s nothing too spectacular about the neck – the standard C-profile is nicely familiar – but the body itself feels very fresh and inspiring, owing to its ergonomics and shape. There is a slight catch, though.

The Princess Antonoff gave me the most joy when it was locked into a pickup position, dialed in, and didn’t have to worry about making off-the-cuff tweaks. You see, the decision to put the Jazzmaster switches below the strings – rather than above, as is the case on usual Jazzmasters – can give way to some awkward switching scenarios.

There’s not a lot of room down there, and making adjustments without brushing the strings can get some getting used to. The kill switch also feels a tad OTT, but we shouldn’t complain too much, given this was an Antonoff-requested spec. That said, it is nice to have the extended switching options of the Rhythm and Lead circuit, which turns this guitar from a regular Princess revival into a completely different beast in its own right.

That said, some other Jazzmaster occupational hazards are present, too. These floating tremolos aren’t the most reliable when whammy-ing, and the not-very-secure pop-in design of the tremolo arm won’t be to everyone’s taste. Again, you know what you’re signing up for with this model, and these finicky qualms are vastly outweighed by the fact this guitar plays very well, and is indescribably fun to play. It also sounds great.

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT : Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★ ½

Gretsch guitars have a certain spice about them that you’d be hard-pressed to find on any other instrument. Chuck in some classic Fender switching and you’ve got all the ingredients for some truly excellent – and inspiring – tones.

The two Custom FideliSonics sound superb, both in isolation and together. Not quite single-coils, not quite ’buckers, they’ve been officially badged as P-90s, which is probably accurate. There’s some nice snarl and bite to them when fed some gain, but you can also get some incredibly glassy and pristine cleans should you wish.

For those unaccustomed to a Rhythm/Lead circuit, this can get some getting used to, and at times it does seem that a simpler control layout would’ve been more than enough, such is the power of the pickups. For those who do like the expansive circuit, there are some nice options to experiment with here.

There is, naturally, the Rhythm/Lead rocker switch, which defaults to the neck pickup when the Rhythm mode is engaged. Here, two additional rollerblade switches for volume and tone can be used.

This is sonically different from just slapping the three-way toggle into the neck position – the Rhythm model is beefier, chunkier and darker, better for (you guessed) punchier rhythms, as it bypasses the main control layout for another circuit. Elsewhere, the Lead mode then lets the three-way toggle switch do its thing, and that’s where the regular Volume and Tone knobs come into play.

That’s a long-winded way of saying, the Princess Antonoff can do quite a lot with its two pups, and you’ll never be short of highly usable tones. It’s the same sorts of tones that Antonoff is taking to the stage now, so if it’s good enough for him… you get the gist.

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT : Verdict

The Jack Antonoff Princess is hands-down one of my favorite releases of the year, and all I can really say is, fairplay to Gretsch for giving its newest signature artist the remit to design a genuinely new and inspiring creation. Not only does it revive one of Gretsch’s finest vintage designs, it does so with an ingenious twist.

In a world where Artist Series models are often factory guitars with a signature slapped to the headstock, this represents a genuinely refreshing approach. Granted, not everything sticks the landing, but I’d rather play a guitar that takes a few risks (and delivers a great playing experience in the process) than play a slightly tweaked version of a guitar I’ve played a thousand times before.

This brings something new to the table, and with the market seemingly flooded with the same ol’ models nowadays, what more could you really ask for?

Final verdict: Gretsch’s best release of the year, Jack Antonoff’s signature revives the long-forgotten Princess and combines it with some Jazzmaster style and flair. The result is a truly unique guitar, and a refreshing entry to the ever-growing signature market. A genuine joy to play, and quite unlike anything you’ll be able to find elsewhere.

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT : Also try

Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT : Hands-on videos

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• Gretsch G2604T Streamliner Rally II Center Block review

Fender built its brand new American Ultra II line of electric guitars for speed, decking out its latest high-end models with some Jackson and Charvel-inspired specs and the “fastest necks” the firm has ever fashioned.

So, with that in mind, who better to put the American Ultra II Telecaster through its paces than John 5?

The self-confessed Tele obsessive – he owns more than 100 of them, and played his Goldie model so much doctors literally feared for his health – was clearly the ideal candidate for a test, and after putting the refined six-string through its paces in a full throttle demo, he’s called it “one of the greatest Teles I've held”.

Described by Fender as “sports car versions” of its classic designs, the American Ultra II models come loaded with fast-playing necks, noiseless pickups, and newly devised body contours, with the Big F throwing the contemporary kitchen sink at its timeless templates.

Stratocasters, Teles, Precision and Jazz Bass guitars, and an off-set in the form of a Meteora – which was favored over the Jazzmaster this time out – all feature in the range, and have raised the bar for what modern Fender instruments can do.

John 5, whose lengthy resume includes stints with Rob Zombie and now Mötley Crüe – he’s also shredded with Van Halen – knows a thing or two about Teles, having played them all his life. As such, he was brought onboard to give the American Ultra II reissue a hands-on test.

Speaking to Fender in a launch video, he says he first came across the Telecaster via, fittingly, the television.

“My dad would always watch Hee Haw and everybody always had a Telecaster,” he explains. “And I always thought, 'Oh, that's what an electric guitar looked like.' It burned into my mind.”

John 5's Tele obsession is exhaustive: he owns a model hailing from nearly every year one has been made, starting at the introduction of the instrument (the 1950 Broadcaster) and stretching to 1983.

He then took a revolutionary approach to Tele designs with his signature guitar, the Ghost, last year. It includes a kill switch and styling inspired by the fashion brand Supreme.

Intimately familiar with the nuances of old and new Teles, then, he's full of praise for its latest edition.

“Now you have this beautiful high-performance Telecaster that can do everything,” he enthuses. “You can go on stage with the highest gain or the cleanest tone, it will do anything you want. It feels perfect and it's so easy to play; it's one of the greatest Teles I've held.”

In his demo, John 5 leaves no tonal stone unturned. From spanky low gain runs and distorted tapping licks, to chorus-laced cleans, he showcases just how far the guitar can be stretched in each sonic direction.

“When I first picked up this guitar, I was blown away by how easy it was to play,” the guitarist reflects. “The first thing I felt was the [back] contour. It felt so comfortable, and you have such great access way up on the neck.”

He also praises its 10-14" compound radius for being able to bend the guitar “as far as your hand will let you go” without fretting out and the hum-free nature of its “incredible” pickups.

“I would definitely pick this over a '60s or '70s model because of all the upgrades,” he concludes. “It is the perfect Telecaster in my eyes.”

Visit Fender to learn more about the American Ultra II range.

A guitar design that was championed by a mere handful of players – Johnny Winter and Mike Campbell to name but two – the Gibson Firebird is a bona fide classic that far fewer of us own compared with the good ol’ Les Paul. Why?

Because it’s huge! Great for big stages, but for most of today’s musicians, well, good luck. It’s exactly the experience of Darren Horton, the solo Brit-builder behind Daniels Guitars: “I made a Firebird I[-inspired model] for someone last year. I loved the sound of it: it blew me away. But then it’s about 10ft long and I just thought, no.”

Darren dropped off his latest guitar with us in a rather old-looking tweed case, and you can’t help but do a double take when you open it. Is this an old Gibson that we’ve never seen before?

Of course not, but while the offset shape – which loosely emulates a downsized Jazzmaster but with a more defined upper horn – is very different from either the original ‘reverse’ or the later mid-’60s ‘non-reverse’ Firebird outlines. And along with its Daniels logo’d back-angled and three-a-side headstock, the actual construction, pickups and controls are an obvious homage to that first-series Firebird of old.

“It’s a slightly bigger offset than my Pugilist as I wanted to be able to load it with different vibratos and bigger pickups. I approached the design as purely a bit of fun.”

Construction mirrors the Firebird’s nine-piece mahogany/walnut neck-through laminate, introduced by Gibson in 1963.

It forms the centre of the body, around 105mm wide, to which the pickups bridge and tailpiece are mounted and is a couple of millimetres thicker than the 36mm body ‘wings’, plus there’s a subtle ribcage contour on the back of the bass side and equally subtle forearm chamfer on the front. The ‘old Gibson’ illusion is certainly enhanced by the nitrocellulose darkburst finish that somehow manages to look a little used and older than it actually is.

The neck, of course, is made from that same laminate, and the heel area is beautifully sculptured, while the cocobolo fingerboard – peppered with old-looking mother-of-pearl dots – is a vivid deep, dark red/brown that ties in perfectly with the finish itself.

As ever, the Faber hardware is superb. The tune-o-matic is very low to the body, while the tuners are Hipshot’s Grip-Lock style; once we’d tuned to pitch we barely touched them. It’s a very stable guitar.

Feel & Sounds

While Darren is becoming known for his lightweight builds, typically using obeche and Spanish cedar, the mahogany here – probably 100 years old, reckons Darren, from a reclaimed Liverpool bar-top – contributes to a weight of 3.58kg (7.88lb) that’s far from heavy.

The guitar sits perfectly on your lap and feels exceptional on a strap: a Firebird this isn’t! The neck shape is equally good, boasting Darren’s preferred ‘soft V’ with nicely relaxed shoulders and a depth of just over 22mm at the 1st fret that fills out to a shade under 25mm by the 12th, which sounds bigger than it feels.

There’s some light edge rolling to the fingerboard, the fretwire has plenty of height but is relatively narrow, and there’s a good airiness to the setup and string height – you encounter a bit of fight when you want to dig in.

Mojo’s Firebird pickups are an obvious choice here and maker Marc Ransley states that “the Firebirds have vertical bar magnets within the coil that act as the polepieces. In a sense, this is more like a Fender pickup and it adds brightness and clarity.”

That’s pretty much what we hear – a rather evocative hybrid that seems to sit between our reference Telecaster and Les Paul Classic with its Burstbucker 1 and 2 combo.

There’s a little more fullness compared with the former, and a little more ‘single coil’ compared with the latter. A humbucker pickup that sounds like a good single coil? Well, that’s what we hear. There’s definitely single-coil-like clarity and bite at the bridge, with a neck pickup that cleans up the mud of a humbucker but retains some Fender-y edge.

You have to hear these sounds, not least the mix that has a very musical depth to the bouncy, wider Tele-like voicing.

Then, of course, you have the classic individual pickup volume and tone controls – wired vintage style – that allow plenty of shading, not least in that middle position.

Through any decent amp, you can move from almost acoustic-like clarity with the volume and tone pulled back to Townshend-like ’60s punch at the bridge and that clear but full Fender-y neck voice with simple control adjustment.

We’re generalising because the guitar is so full of subtlety when you start using those controls, especially at the bridge. It’s quite brightly voiced with less of that Gibson-like mahogany/P-90 grind, but the chime, jangle and depth are truly wonderful.

Verdict

Not for the first time we got completely lost in a guitar we’re supposed to be writing about. Somehow this sensible, compact take on the ol’ ’Bird not only removes the physical bulk but seems to enhance the voice, too, and while strapped on or seated nothing gets in the way. It doesn’t feel new, although there’s no relicing here; it just feels like a vintage classic that never was.

It’s true that plenty of makers large and small have used the Firebird style, but this one is totally a one-off and you can choose exactly the specification you want, including a more regular glued-in neck. Just like every other Daniels guitar we’ve played, whatever you go for, it’ll be a world-class, vintage-informed instrument like this Gravitas. When you’re ready, give Darren a call.

Specs

• PRICE: £3,999 (inc case)
• ORIGIN: UK
• TYPE: Offset-shaped solidbody electric
• BODY: Mahogany wings
• NECK: 9-ply mahogany/walnut through-neck
• SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”) (rule of 18)
• NUT/WIDTH: Unbleached bone/43.23mm
• FINGERBOARD: Cocobolo, m-o-p dot inlays, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium jumbo (Jescar 47095)
• HARDWARE: Faber ABR-’59 tune-o-matic-style bridge with TP-’59 lightweight stud tailpiece, Hipshot Grip-Lock rear-lock tuners – nickel‑plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm
• ELECTRICS: 2x Mojo Firebird humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, individual volume and tone controls
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.58/7.88
• OPTIONS: Just ask!
• RANGE OPTIONS: Daniels offers 2 other styles: offset Pugilist (from £2,999) and more classic single-cut Royale (from £4,999). Like the Gravitas, these styles can be used as the basis for your custom dream
• LEFT-HANDERS: Yes
• FINISHES: Vintage Tobacco Burst (as reviewed) – gloss nitro
• CONTACT: Daniels Guitars

This week saw the unveiling of the Fender American Ultra II series – one of the firm’s biggest launches of 2024 and a line that contains the most innovative electric guitar designs available from its US stable.

The top-of-line models blend contemporary specs like noiseless pickups, Luminlay side dots, speedy satin-urethane necks, and subtle comfort carves with the Fender DNA of shapes like the Stratocaster and Telecaster.

However, “sports car” specs aside, one of the chief questions around the line’s introduction was why the Jazzmaster – as featured in the original Ultra line-up – appears to have been dropped in favor of the considerably more obscure Meteora offset.

Now, in a new interview with Fender’s Director of Electrics, Allen Abbassi, around the launch of the Ultra IIs, Guitar World took the chance to ask just that.

“One of the main reasons is we want to always be fresh and try something new,” said Abbassi. “The Meteora is a new shape for Fender. You don't see us doing a lot of new shapes, and we want to support that shape and foster it and help it grow in popularity.”

Abbassi says the thinking is that the Meteora is more in keeping with the spirit of the Ultra II line, and appeals to a modern-minded Fender player.

“More than a Jazzmaster,” Abbassi told GW. “Bringing a Jazzmaster, which is very traditional, into the Ultra high-end performance line is fun and interesting, but maybe it's a little dichotomy – it almost doesn't fit, you know?

“Whereas the Meteora feels like it should fit perfectly into that category because of its newness and its shaping and [the fact] that it’s very modern-looking. So it's all those reasons that made us decide, ‘Well, let's take the Jazzmaster out and put the Ultra Meteora in there to see if it's gonna work.’”

The Meteora is very new by Fender body shape standards – having only been introduced in 2018 – and it seems it sees it less as a Jazzmaster rival, and more the next generation in offsets. Clearly, the firm’s hope is that it attracts an equivalently next-gen market.

“[The Meteora] is kind of a futuristic looking Jazzmaster,” says the Fender exec. “It looks like a sports car version. We've loaded it with some incredible new Haymaker humbuckers – and they're a little bit more aggressive. We feel like the Meteora appeals to that kind of player, who's looking to push the bounds and maybe be a little harder edged.”

The Fender exec also says that the Ultra II represents the first truly high-end Meteora build that it has produced, pointing out that until 2022’s Player Plus Meteora, it was a limited edition shape and limited to non-US lines.

“We want to have it available in as many different forms to see what artists are interested in it,” says Abbassi. “And this is a different type of player. Ultra II is [for] a more advanced player, a player that's into high performance. That's the type of player that feels like a Meteora would suit.”

Keep an eye on Guitar World for Allen Abassi’s full interview.

Gretsch has continued its signature guitar hot streak by teaming up with Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore for the Anniversary Centre Block electric guitar.

As co-founder of the iconic UK outfit, Gore has shaped the very essence of electronic rock, and from the 1980s onwards has helped compose hits such as Enjoy the Silence, People Are People, Everything Counts and many others.

Across his career, Gore has developed a strong connection with Gretsch guitars – he’s even played a few one-off custom models along the way – and to celebrate the partnership, he’s now been honored with his very own signature model.

Unlike some of the company’s more out-there releases we’ve seen this year, Gore’s model takes things back to Gretsch’s rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll roots, electing instead to spruce up its classic Double Anniversary semi-hollow single-cut design.

More notably, this particular guitar is inspired by Gore’s own one-off custom shop model that he had built some time ago, which in turn took cues from one of his own vintage examples. After that model was complete, the decision was made to develop a signature model.

“I was quite enamored by Gretsch guitars,” Gore says in a launch video. “Over the years, I started to collect them. I probably own most of them. I really love the Reds Cats Eye that I have.

“Eventually, me and my guitar tech went down to the Fender and Gretsch custom shop. We met with the team, who talked us through the process. I was very impressed with what they were planning to do.

“After they made a special custom shop version for me, that was where the version that will be available in shops was inspired from.”

The result is a classic Gretsch design, which offers TV Jones TV-HT pickups, a neat Two-Tone Smoke Green finish, and a standard U profile neck. The center block, meanwhile, promises to help add “resonance and sustain”.

Other appointments include a 24.6" scale length, 12" radius fingerboard, and a 16" wide maple body that houses the chambered maple center block.

“I am very honored to be a Gretsch Signature guitarist because I have been a massive fan for so long, and they are by far my favorite guitars, so it is a great honor,” Gore adds. “It is going to be an amazing feeling to walk in and see them in the shops.”

The Martin Gore Signature Anniversary Center Block is available now for $2,999.

Visit Gretsch to find out more.

As mentioned above, it’s one of the more conventional signature launches we’ve seen from Gretsch this year, following the likes of Jack Antonoff’s wild Jazzmaster/Princess hybrid, boygenius’ joint Broadkaster Jr.

Fender has lifted the curtain on its all-new American Ultra II family of electric guitars and bass guitars, which the firm has badged “the most advanced guitar series in the brand’s history”.

The heritage of the American Ultra family has always been deeply rooted in advanced guitar engineering, and for quite some time the existing American Ultra and American Ultra Luxe collections have represented the absolute pinnacle of Fender’s guitar-building practices.

Now, though, the American Ultra II promises to go above and beyond any previous iteration of the lineup we’ve ever seen before, debuting newly configured “hyper-modern” electrics that bridge the gap between Fender and its stable of speciality brands, such as Charvel, EVH and Jackson.

It's shaping up to be easily one of Fender's most significant drops of the year – as evidenced by the fact they've recruited the likes of Isaiah Sharkey, John 5 and Joe Lally to help with the launch.

Specifically, there are new American Ultra II editions of the Stratocaster, Stratocaster HSS, Telecaster and Meteora guitars, as well as P Bass, J Bass and Meteora Bass models.

As expected, there are a few headlines with this drop – not least the fact the Jazzmaster has been excluded in favor of the relatively new Meteora shape – but perhaps the most note-worthy of them all concerns the new neck profile that has been introduced across the board.

In Fender’s own words, the American Ultra II models feature “Fender’s fastest-playing necks”, which have been profiled to offer effortless glide and an unprecedented Fender playing experience.

The modern “D’ profile is coupled with either an ebony or quartersawn maple 10”-14” compound radius fingerboard with Ultra rolled edges, medium jumbo frets, and, for the first time, glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots – a popular spec for progressive modern guitars.

Moving to the headstock, you’ll find GraphTech TUSQ nuts and deluxe locking tuners. The necks alone, then, are quite unlike anything Fender has ever equipped to one its guitars in the past.

“I personally have been working there for 24 years,” Fender’s Allen Abbassi told Guitar World during a recent preview of the lineup. “I've pretty much touched every new Strat or Tele that we've made since 2007.

“I've developed almost every product since 2007 and these necks definitely feel faster to me. And when we put them in hands of players, they agree... the rolled edges and the slim neck, a Goldilocks thickness. This feels like a very fast playing neck.”

Moving down to the body, each new model offers all the precise modern shaping you’d expect from an American Ultra II guitar.

The neck heel has a shallow carve and slightly rounded edge to promote upper fret access, while the bodies themselves offer “next-level” comfort and playability through some generous contouring.

As for tones, a raft of upgraded Ultra II Noiseless Pickups have been developed, promising to be even better at delivering authentic single-coil tones without any of the pesky hum that can come with them.

These – along with the Haymaker humbucker of the HSS Strat – are wired to some expansive, American Ultra II-appropriate electronics, including the S-1 volume pot push switch, which works alongside the current model-specific pickup selector switches to offer more tonal options.

Underneath all the new pickups, ultra-speedy neck profiles, comfort contouring, and high-end flourishes, are a host of time-tested Fender components, including alder bodies, maple necks, and American Ultra Synchronized tremolos.

Part of the design brief with this new lineup has been carefully balancing a traditional Fender’s feel and tone, with the demands of modern players. With the American Ultra II, Fender has clearly sought to find out just how far they can push its classic designs

“Ultra II is definitely the top of the line for Fender,” Abbasi told Guitar World. “It's designed for discerning players – players that are into specs and technical playing. They're the most advanced instruments we make.

“We consider them like the sports car versions, if you will, of all our [classic] models. So, if Fender is a spectrum from vintage to modern, these are all the way to the right on the modern spectrum.”

In keeping with the advanced sports car theme, Fender has also rolled out some suitably contemporary colorways, from Texas Tea and Sinister Red to Avalanche, Ultraburst and Noble Blue.

Prices for the American Ultra II range can be found below.

• American Ultra II Stratocaster– $2,199-$2,249
• American Ultra II Stratocaster HSS – $2,249
• American Ultra II Telecaster – $2,199
• American Ultra II Meteora – $2,249
• American Ultra II Precision Bass – $2,199
• American Ultra II Jazz Bass – $2,299
• American Ultra II Jazz Bass V – $2,399
• American Ultra II Meteora Bass – $2,299

To find out more, head over to Fender.

It’s the second time Fender has overhauled one of its core lineups this year, after it unveiled the revamped, rosewood-featuring and rebranded Player II lineup back in July.

Gretsch has partnered with Jack Antonoff for the Princess Antonoff Electromatic CVT – a new signature guitar that revives an oddball Gretsch and combines it with the Fender Jazzmaster.

Over the past 12 months, Gretsch has been steadily recruiting some of the brightest talents in indie and pop music, tapping the likes of Orville Peck, Portugal. The Man, and boygenius for a run of signature electric guitars.

Now, the firm has announced its latest collaborator: Jack Antonoff, the hugely influential Grammy-winning, multi-instrumentalist who fronts indie rock outfit Bleachers, and has produced records for some of the biggest names in contemporary music.

Indeed, Antonoff’s production resume includes credits with Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, The 1975, Lorde, Lana Del Ray, Florence and the Machine, St. Vincent and more.

For his first-ever signature, Antonoff has elected to combine two distinct designs: the body and ergonomics of his go-to Gretsch Princess, and the hardware, color scheme and switchability of his favorite Fender Jazzmaster.

Antonoff has long favored a Gretsch Princess for Bleachers gigs. A variation of the Corvette, the model was first unveiled in the early 1960s, and arrived in a slightly tweaked package that (as the Gretsch catalog stated at the time) hoped to appeal specifically to non-male players.

While its contemporary appeal didn’t hold much sway, the Princess has since become something of a cult classic, and has been spotted in the arms of players such as beabadoobee and Antonoff.

But instead of just straight-out reissuing the Princess, Antonoff has taken the opportunity to combine it with his other favorite guitar, the Jazzmaster.

“This custom model pays tribute to Jack’s versatility as a renowned songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist,” Gretsch writes. “Inspired by his beloved Gretsch Princess and Fender Jazzmaster, this guitar beautifully combines classic charm with modern versatility.”

Core specs include a solid alder body, bolt-on C-shape maple neck – with a contoured neck joint – and a vintage-style 7.25” radius rosewood fingerboard, which features 22 frets and Neo-Classical Thumbnail inlays.

The Princess’ tonal capacity has been bolstered by two custom-wound FideliSonic single-coils, which are wired to a Jazzmaster-style switchboard that comprises a rhythm/lead switch and thumbwheel controls, as well as a momentary kill switch and three-position pickup selector.

More Jazzmaster flair is present in the floating bridge, floating tremolo tailpiece, and the gold-on-white colorway, which is an absolutely dead-ringer for the insanely popular Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster model – and a throwback to Antonoff's own 1967 model.

“The two guitars that have made me feel the most creative, the most inspired, went to the factory to create this guitar,” Anotnoff says in a launch video.

“With the Jazzmaster, it’s such a high-concept machine. There’s so many delicate things to play with. The joy of it is also the complication of it,” he continues. “What I love about the Princess is how tactile it is. It’s one of those guitars where you can feel every piece of it as you play. It’s an amazing guitar, but it still has that rough and readiness.

“There was this thing I was trying to create that didn't exist. There was one guitar I had in my head, and it was a literal blend of two guitars. As soon as we made the prototype I thought, ‘Other people need to play this guitar.’”

The Gretsch “Princess Antonoff” is available now for $699.

Visit Gretsch to find out more.

The Larkin Poe and Elvis Costello lore runs deep. After Rebecca and Megan Lovell met the famed UK singer-songwriter in 2007 at a festival in North Carolina and serendipitously wound up singing harmonies for him, an immediate friendship was struck, and Costello took the sisters under his wing. Countless tours, shows, and onstage collaborations ensued, as Costello and Larkin Poe traversed the world.

One highlight for Rebecca Lovell was the moment Costello let her use his famed Jazzmaster – the model he’s been heavily associated with throughout his career. Though she prefers Strats these days, playing her icon’s guitar felt nothing short of surreal.

“I haven't played a Jazzmaster on stage for years, but that was actually the first electric guitar that I ever bought, because I'm a huge fan of Elvis Costello, and just the silhouette that he cuts with his Jazzmaster, and like the red [pickguard], the engraving in the fretboard and everything, is just so sick,” she tells Reverb.

“He let me borrow it when we were on tour with him a few years back. He'd be like, ‘Yeah, when you're sitting in, you can just use mine.’ I was like, ‘I can?!’ I got to play his Jazzmaster. And that has always registered as a sacred experience.”

Costello's influence on Larkin Poe has shaped the way the Lovell sisters approach the music industry, inspiring them to not let genre pigeonholing affect them.

“When we were touring with Elvis Costello, we were eating lunch and he was expounding on the importance of not putting yourself in a box. He is the perfect example of an artist who has had an incredibly diverse career,” she recalled in a 2022 Total Guitar interview.

“He does whatever he wants to do and the thread that connects it all is that it’s Elvis Costello. He was telling us, ‘People will try to attach specific genre tags to you. Keep them guessing. Just go where your heart tells you to go. Let your fans trust that you’re going to curate something that they will love regardless of genre.’”

Fender has partnered with Jack White to release a fully fledged range of signature guitar products – including an accessible version of his wild custom TripleCaster Telecaster.

The sleek TripleCaster – which positions itself as the wildest Tele that Fender currently has on its books – is joined by White’s signature Pano Verb guitar amp, and the TripleSonic Acoustasonic Telecaster.

It’s a significant move from both Fender and the White Stripes hero, with the former taking the unusual decision to unveil its entire family of new White signature products in one go, rather than rolling the range out piece by piece across an extended period.

There are three items to get stuck into, but the TripleCaster obviously takes the headline. It is seemingly inspired by White’s very own Low Rider Telecaster – one of the wildest Teles ever created, which Guitar World’s Michael Astley-Brown took for a spin during NAMM.

It’s been a stalwart of White’s setup over the years, and features a bizarre spec sheet comprising a B-Bender, D-Tuna, custom trio of pickups, half-scalloped fretboard, and a whole host of electronic gizmos.

Of course, any signature replica would have to be significantly streamlined purely because of the finances and expertise involved in making such a wild instrument, but the TripleCaster does a valiant job of offering the highlights.

That means the Piano Black-finished model offers a Jack White humbucker, JW-90 single-coil and White-voiced CuNiFe Wide-Range humbucker, as well as a Bigsby vibrato, a Hipshot Xtender DropTuner and a kill switch.

So, you’re not exactly getting the Low Rider, but the TripleCaster looks to be a nice middle ground between White’s wild custom model and a stripped-back signature.

It also sets a rather tantalizing precedent. Could we see similar recreations of White's other custom Fenders – such as his pitch-shifting Jazzmaster – down the line?

The TripleCaster is joined by the TripleSonic – a Satin Black/Arctic White Acoustasonic that offers specs such as a Soft V neck shape (as opposed to the standard model’s Deep C Profile), a uniquely shaped pickguard and pickup voicings curated by White.

This model also looks to be based on another guitar that has become a key player in White’s arsenal, namely the black burst Acoustasonic that he’s been spotted playing on various occasions – including a 2022 set in Paris.

Fender’s final offering from its Jack White signature collection is the Pano Verb. A combination of White’s Vintage Vibrasonic and Vibroverb amps, the Pano Verb offers “enhanced stereo reverb and tremolo effects”, and a unique 15” / 10” speaker combo.

The amp itself is the result of four years of development between Fender and White, with the latter describing the Pano Verb as his vision of “the ultimate amplifier”. It is, apparently, unlike anything Fender has ever done before.

These are all high-end products, so they’re priced accordingly. The Pano Verb and TripleCaster are available for $2,999, while the TripleSonic will have a price tag of $2,499.

“We found the best of the old with the best of the new, and mixed innovation with the history of Fender, and did something we think maybe Leo Fender would be very proud of,” says White of his new collection.

“Jack is regarded as a true visionary in the music world, and it has been an incredible journey working with him on developing these products,” adds Fender’s Justin Norvell. “This collection embodies the essence of what makes Jack White an icon, and we're proud to bring his vision to life for fans and musicians alike.”

Visit Fender for more information.

This is White's first official drop with Fender, but it's by no means the first time he's worked with an outside company to produce some signature gear. Over the years, he and his Third Man Hardware brand have partnered with Donner for the Triple Threat, and more recently worked with Anasounds to produced his ideal spring reverb pedal.

Spanish indie rockers Hinds have an ethos best encapsulated by a phrase from their home country: “No dejes para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy,” or “better now than later.”

The lilting exuberance of their first singles, Bamboo and Trippy Gum, which intoxicated the indie world and sustained their career over three albums, still comes across the screen as co-founders Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote dial in from Madrid, clutching coffees and finishing each other's sentences.

However, it's now coupled with a passion, creative determination, and an “against all odds” conviction that contrasts the nonchalant, off-the-cuff delivery – and isn't that exactly what we want from our guitar heroes?

Their new (and fourth) album, Viva Hinds is a hard-earned statement of grit, heartbreak, and healing that caps a fraught few years for the group. In 2023, just as Hinds were getting on their feet after the pandemic, drummer Amber Grimbergen and bassist Ade Martín announced they were leaving the band.

“It was one thing after the other,” admits Perrote. “As soon as it happened, I remember just having a meeting, which is what we do every day, which is just meeting for coffee.

“And just being like, ‘Okay, this is happening. We need to protect our energy and the will because we have finally found the excitement to make a new album. We don’t want to wait for a record deal or manager and all of those things that were a bit shaky.”

“We were finally there, regardless of everything, so it was like, ‘Okay, the thing we need to protect the most is that feeling that we have, so we just need to carry on,’” she adds, as Cosials nods in agreement.

You previously mentioned that you both started playing guitar while on holiday together. Is that true?

Cosials: “I'll never let the truth ruin a good story! No, that's true. It wasn't the first time that I picked up a guitar, but I think I only knew three chords. We learned how to properly play guitar while creating the band. So we completely developed our guitar skills on stage.”

So did you decide to start a band while on that trip?

Perrote: “We fell in love with it [the guitar] instantly. Like CC was saying, we obviously loved music. And it was one of the things that bonded us. We met through ex-boyfriends. Actually, my ex-boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend had a band together, and we would go to their rehearsals and cheer them on.

“So it wasn't until I broke up with him that we decided to do this trip. We decided, ‘Should we just bring the guitar?’ Yeah, whatever. It was one of those very casual trips. We were staying in a hostel that had many beds but we were lucky enough that it was only the two of us.

“I remember CC was showering, and I was finding these chords for a Bob Dylan song. And we started sort of teaching each other and rehearsing it, and we're like, ‘Oh, what if we sing it, but you sing this part and I sing this part?’ and just instantly, we were addicted to the feeling of playing together. And during those days, we didn't do anything else.”

Cosials: “Even the sunburn that we got from the beach. It was in the shape of the guitar!”

Perrote: “That's when we realized that we loved it so much. We were like, ‘Should we turn it into a band? Should we try to play one show before the end of the year?’”

What did the guitar give you that other instruments didn't?

Cosials: “I just love it. When we first got into a rehearsal space, there were some drums, and we weren't sure if we were going to keep the band acoustic or what the hell we were going to do. But I told Ana, ‘I'm so sorry, I’m no good at drums. I still prefer the guitar.’”

Perrote: “Even when we decided to go electric, one should have gone to bass. But we both were like, ‘I just don't want to do it.’”

Cosials: “Probably there's a little bit of personality attached to all instruments. If you're a guitar player, even if you try to fight against it, it's very difficult to change your core.”

When you released your first singles, there was a lot of talk about the fact that your success was “instant”. Did this pressure force you to develop your sound quickly? Or did you have an idea of what you wanted to sound like from the start?

Cosials: “In the beginning, when everything started to move really fast for the natural growth of a band, we were like, ‘We should protect what we are right now. We shouldn't change as fast as the outside world is moving.’ When you get attention with only two songs out, it's very dangerous to start listening to what people want. You need to make a lot more music and create to your own taste.”

When you got into the studio for Viva Hinds, did you just record everything between the two of you?

Perrote: “It was actually really cool because, if you're in a band, [you’ve got] four people, a lot of opinions, a lot of egos. It's sometimes tough for everyone to be happy [with an album]. So it was refreshing to have that space to decide everything for the song, rather than the instrumental part. It was challenging, but it wasn't too hard.

“Our producer, Pete Robertson [The Vaccines], is an amazing drummer, so we did it between the three of us. That's the bit that changed the most: we had to work more. I remember we were saying, ‘Fuck me, I can't even have a break.’ Because if we weren't recording, he's playing the drums, and we're obviously directing him. It was a lot more work than usual!”

I've always noticed that your guitar parts complement each other. Was this always something you took into consideration while songwriting?

Cosials: “Yeah, one hundred percent. It's like that because we want to have a good conversation [between the guitars]. In this album, we introduced the same [element] with the keys.”

So Ana, you're known for using Jazzmasters while Carlotta, you've mostly used Danelectros and Gibson SGs. What drew you to these guitars, as opposed to say, Strats or Les Pauls?

Perrote: “One of the main reasons is how comfortable it is. I remember the first time we were in a studio. We won a contest and had a day in a studio in Berlin. And I remember trying a Telecaster, especially for solos and stuff.

“I was doing the solos for Castigadas En El Granero, and finding the sliding so complicated, like a fucking mountain between one fret and the other and I absolutely hated it. That's kind of the reason why I stuck with Jazzmasters.

“But for this album, we used other guitars, and now, for live, I'm going with a new one. It's a Fender Meteora. So that's exciting!”

Cosials: “I chose Danelectro because I wanted to copy my heroes. And my heroes at that time were all these California wave [guitarists]. You start by copying what you see with your eyes, so that was the main reason. I didn't test it out, or anything like that. Then I changed to a very common guitar, the [Gibson] SG, and it's a fucking monster. It just rages. I think it fits me very well.”

Are these the guitars you also used on this album?

Perrote: “We used the [Fender] Acoustasonic Jazzmaster lot. And also Pete's one, a Fano Alt De Facto SP6 [a kind of Les Paul/Telecaster hybrid]. CC's guitar [the Gibson SG] was more for solos, and then for this [the Fano guitar], we used it to create a lot of layers doing what we call “cowboy guitars”, which is like, what would have been a bass, but it's really like a guitar [layer] on top of the bass. For bass, we had a Mustang that we own and a black [Fender] Aerodyne Jazz bass.”

This year, you released En Forma, your first single that's fully in Spanish. Are there any Spanish-inspired elements in your guitar playing at all?

Cosials: “I don't know what my roots are, to be honest. The language is definitely something very, very big, but I wouldn't say that I have a [Spanish] sound or guitar style that I could actually go back to.”

Perrote: “In some of them, there's a nylon Spanish guitar in the background. But that's about it.”

You collaborated with Beck on the single Boom Boom Back. Did he play guitar as well?

Perrote: “No! So for us, he just appeared and we felt like we were his session musicians, his band. He appears, sings, and then he leaves. You know, the song was already done.”

So it was already called Boom Boom Back before you knew whether he was actually going to sing on it?

Perrote: “Can you believe it?! Sí. Also, our goal with this album was not to wait or rely on anyone else. Even though he had said, ‘Yeah, I want to sing,’ we were ready for him to not sing. So we went ahead and recorded everything prior.”

Hinds are known for opposing perfection and the pressure to sound or be “perfect”. Do you think that's still a value that defines you, and the band?

Perrote: “It's important to let, especially women, be natural. Life, and being natural, is [all about] fucking up. And especially a band like us. We're very punk. We're very hands-on. We don't have all of those things that you see that make a show perfect.

“So we should be allowed to be free and decide that if we want to be yelling, it's because we want to be yelling. It's not a mistake. It's just a decision. There aren’t many examples of natural women in the music industry, I think, in any sense.”

Cosials: “When you think about a female artist, it's easier to go to a mainstream artist, and joder, that's a league that we cannot compete with. We spend our time in the rehearsal place, loading in and loading out. You end up wearing a T-shirt and something comfortable because of the job, because of the instrument that I play and the kind of show that I want to give.”

What have been the highlights of your career so far?

Cosials: “We've been to Japan three or four times, and that was super-cool.”

Perrote: “I'm also really proud of the fact that we are the first-ever Spanish band to have an international career. Like, you know, when we go to London, we have British people, and when we go to New York, it's American people. No one has done it before, which is crazy.”

Cosials: “We used to be huge fans of this band that doesn't exist anymore. They were called The Virgins. But we met the guitar player and drummer on our very first tour in America. And we had this night that, for the very first time, we felt admired. They kept asking us to play more songs.

“It's not like you need confirmation, but having it from people whose music you admired when you were a teenager hits differently. It gave us the strength for maybe a couple of years.”

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a band, but feels like they’re not good enough, or maybe haven’t even started playing an instrument?

Perrote: “If we had waited, we would probably be a completely different band with a less fun career. We are proof that waiting is for people who are scared.

“If you can, find a good friend and stick with them. And you know, when you are scared, let that person be the strong person and just lean on each other. Because having someone next to you is what makes this the most enjoyable thing.”

• Viva Hinds is out now.

Post-punk band English Teacher are the latest to win the UK's prestigious Mercury Prize, which counts PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys and Primal Scream among its list of previous winners.

Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Lily Fontaine, along with lead guitarist Lewis Whiting, recently discussed developing their sound through Fender guitars and how this experimentation culminated in their critically acclaimed debut album, This Could Be Texas.

“There are loads of '90s rock bands I'm really inspired by. They got me excited about playing guitar. Lots of Jazzmaster and Jaguar players. Johnny Marr is a big one,” Whiting tells Fender.

“In terms of electric guitars, I've never used anything other than Fender in my life. I've developed my sound through Fender. We've got two sides to our music. We've got the more soft, more ballad-type songs, and then you've got quite abrasive ones,” continues Fontaine.

“The Jaguar works really well, in terms of having one thing that can do all of that and sound good,” adds Whiting.

In an interview with Guitar.com, the band talked about being pigeonholed and overcoming the pressure and expectations that come with a debut album. “We never really set out to be a particular thing. We initially had a very love-hate relationship with guitars,” admitted Whiting.

However, their love for '90s-style guitars à la The Smiths and Blur, the contrast between “really noisy guitar and more delicate riffs” and interweaving melodies between bass and guitar led them to create the album they envisioned.

“We didn’t necessarily try to hit any specific genre,” said Fontaine. “There were external pressures to write certain types of songs to appeal to certain types of people, but we had to balance that with still figuring out who we wanted to be ourselves at the same time.”

English Teacher released This Could Be Texas in April and were pegged as ones to watch by Fender through their Fender Next Class of 2024 program. The band is also set to support IDLES on select dates of their upcoming North American tour.

Surf guitar is iconic. The moment you hear a tremolo-picking slide you can instantly imagine surfers riding waves and hanging 10. A few simple playing techniques and gear choices are great tools for getting that classic surf rock guitar vibe, so let’s dive in!

First, let’s talk tone. To get an authentic sound, you’ll want an electric guitar with single-coil pickups and an amp with clean/light overdrive channels. You’ll also want a spring reverb effect. If you go deeper, it’s arguably a Fender slam-dunk: we’d recommend Stratocasters, Jags and Jazzmasters through Twin Reverb or similar Fender amps.

The most iconic surf guitar technique is the tremolo-picking slide, as heard famously between sections on Dick Dale’s Miserlou and Surf Beat. It’s a simple technique, and our first tab example shows you all you need to know.

Another great tip for surf-rock is to play melodies in open position. Combined with the above gear and effects, playing chords, riffs and licks in open position lets those single-coil pickups twang!

Finally, surf-rock is a style where you can go wild with your guitar’s whammy bar! We’re looking at three techniques: whammy bar vibrato, down/up dips, and the pre-dip/scoop where you dip the bar before striking the strings.

We’ve mentioned Dick Dale, but also check out The Surfaris and The Ventures, or for a contemporary take, The Surfragettes.

Example 1. Tremolo-picking slide 

By quickly picking up and down on one string and you’ll create a ‘tremolo’ effect. Simply start on the 19th fret of the low E string (try other fret positions, too) and slide your finger down the fretboard toward the nut, while tremolo picking for the full effect.

Example 2. Open-position playing 

Allow your open strings to ring out and ‘twang’ as you play through this melody in E minor (though note the brief non-diatonic F natural note on the fourth string!).

Mike Olekshy shows how you can use this lick to make up your own simple ideas, too: try some E minor pentatonic scale riffing, which utilises a lot of open strings. This, along with the correct guitar tone (single-coil pickups are great) will give you that classic surf sound.

Example 3. Whammy bar moves

Let’s start as simply as possible, going in sequence (fingers 1, 2, 3 and 4) using downstrokes. Once you get to 4 on the first string, move across to the second string and start back at 1.

Repeat this all the way to the sixth string, then back again, continuing playing the 1-2-3-4 sequence. All the subsequent examples are played down and up across all six strings, but we’ve only tabbed the first bar of each to save space.

• Guitar Tricks’ step-by-step lessons will be your guide to learning how to play guitar. With our Core Learning System, video feedback, practice reminders and Custom Lesson Plans you will save tons of time on your guitar learning journey. Guitar Tricks has a 14-day free trial plus a 60-day money-back guarantee so you can purchase with confidence.

He was the last man in. When guitarist Jim Root joined Slipknot in the first months of 1999, the band were in the final stages of recording the debut album that would define them as the dominant new force in metal.

Root’s arrival came so late in the day that he played on just one track, Purity. The rest of the Slipknot album had been recorded with guitarists Mick Thomson and Josh Brainard prior the latter’s departure from the band.

But with Root in the fold, adopting his predecessor’s number 4, the puzzle was complete. This version of the nine-man band turned out to be the definitive Slipknot line-up, featuring on three more albums – 2001’s Iowa, 2004’s Vol.3: (The Subliminal Verses) and 2008’s All Hope Is Gone – that established the ’Knot as a global superpower.

And while there have been various personnel changes since then, the two-guitar axis of Thomson and Root has remained at the core of the band’s skull-throbbing sound.

Throughout all these years, Jim has kept on mixing it up guitar-wise – brandishing anything from Jackson Dinkys, Charvels and, of course, his signature Fender Teles, Strats and Jazzmasters en route to creating a crushing tone. But now, as he prepares for a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of that legendary debut album, he’s been digging out some of the discount shred guitars he hasn’t played since way back in the day.

As he tells Total Guitar: “I’ve been playing around with some oddball guitars that I don’t normally play, like DKs and Charvels. I brought some old guitars out that are like 16 or 17 years old, and I’ve loaded them with my pickups, and set them up for how I like them. There’s two PRS guitars I want to bring out for this tour, and two old Jacksons from the early 2000s…”

As he discusses all the ins and outs of his gear journey with Slipknot, Jim also considers where he’s headed in the future. But he begins by taking us all the way back to those heady days of 1999, when the tools at his disposal were basic to say the least…

What did your rig look like when you joined Slipknot?

“When I first joined Slipknot, I think all I had was a Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber [Plus 2-Channel], which I still have. I had that with a road-ready cabinet, and then I had a ’93 Strat with a Lace Sensor Gold pickup in it because I was really trying to go back to a humbucker, metal kind of guitar. And I think I got an Ibanez 5-something series, and the neck kept moving on it… I hated all the gear I had then!”

Did you know what you were looking for as you began to sculpt your tone?

“In the early days, I was just trying to figure things out. I had never used EMGs before. I’d always used whatever pickups the guitar came with because I couldn’t really afford to swap them out, and I didn’t work at a guitar shop or anything. But when I joined Slipknot, it was like, ‘Hold on… I’m in this band that’s a little bit heavier on the guitar side. I need something a little bit hotter.’”

Did Mick give you any advice to guide your hand?

“I needed something that would cut through because there were way more members in the band, and they tuned lower, a few steps down from what I was used to, and then they were dropping that tuning on top of that. So I was getting tips from Mick. I was like, ‘What gauges of strings do you use?’ I was copying his string gauges. We’d be getting them from the shop at the same time.”

When did the EMGs officially come into play for you?

“I got a set of EMGs put in a Jackson Dinky DK that I had with a green flametop, satin hardware, and a reverse headstock. I put an 81 and an 85 in that guitar, and that was really what I was using. And once we started touring more and gaining more notoriety, I was able to play with the gauges and come up with what I preferred for that low tuning. And depending on what guitar I was using, it evolved from there.”

Specifically, what did that evolution look like in terms of guitars?

“On the guitar side, I was trying to find consistent guitars that were built well enough that I wouldn’t be adjusting them every time I took them out of the case in a different city. I needed guitars built well enough that the frets wouldn’t start popping out since we were throwing them in the case and putting them in a big trailer pulled by a bus!”

And how about your amps?

“After I recorded what I did for the first record and then the Iowa record, I borrowed a Laney Pro Tube Lead Series, which was modded. I really liked the sound of that. It blended and mixed really well, so I chased that tone down for a little bit, trying to find amps that basically had the same characteristics. But I was so used to my .50 Caliber Boogie, and Mesa/Boogie were cool enough to send a couple of DC-10s that they were discontinuing.”

But you didn’t settle on those for long.

“I used those DC-10s for a while and tried using them in the studio, but they just weren’t cutting it. That’s when I really dived into trying out as many different amp companies as I could. I was like, ‘I’m just going to revolve these and find the one that not only works best in the studio but holds up live and is roadworthy.’ There’s a balance of what you like personally, the tone that works best for the band, and what doesn’t need to be taken apart and re-tubed every week.”

You eventually settled on Orange amps. What moved the needle there?

“I went to a NAMM show, and they had the Rockerverb series. I went to the Orange booth and just picked up the guitar they had there – which had single-coils. I plugged it into this amp, and it had gain for days. It sounded really snarly and had this midrange grunt.

“It had all the characteristics that I thought were awesome and would cut through, and I really dug the way the speaker sounded with the wicker in the front. Orange is really known for a stoner rock, doom, Black Sabbath vibe, but I said, ‘I’m gonna make this work because there’s a real midrange Marshall vibe that I like.’”

As you alluded to earlier, a big part of your tone came down to string gauges, which you copied from Mick. You also mentioned you began to play around with that more as you went on.

“That’s a tough one because each guitar has a different feel. With low tunings it can’t be slinky, but I feel like my [Dunlop] Drop B set is really slinky in comparison to what some people use when they tune that low. My lowest string is only a .56, but there are dudes out there that are using .60s. I wanted to keep it as tight as I could with the tension of the strings, but also be slinky enough to be doing bends and running scales and shit.”

Through all that, what did the evolution of your ’board look like?

“In the beginning, I was basically only using a wah just to give certain parts a bit of colour. There are certain parts of songs where it’s nice to put a little something on there. I’d even use a phaser just to give some wetness or something a little different. And I was using a Univibe for a while for some weird, almost crazy, filtered, wobbly noises.

“But honestly, there’s two pedals on my ’board that I’ve had forever: the Jimi Hendrix Octavio [JH-OC1], which is friggin’ awesome for octave fuzz kinds of things. And then I always have a [MXR] Carbon Copy Delay, too. It has a nice warmth to it, and you can also play with the speed where you hit a note, then you can adjust the warble around and make it repeat itself like a synthesizer.”

You were mainly using Jackson guitars and even some PRS guitars early on, so what led you astray?

“That was kind of unusual because Fender was giving me a Flat Head [Telecaster], so I was kind of endorsed by the Custom Shop, and I had two or three Flat Head Teles, and I love those guitars, they were very roadworthy. And then Fender acquired Charvel, and they made me a couple of prototypes because I was talking about going to Charvel for a bit and doing a signature model with them.”

Is that what led to your signature Telecaster?

“The Charvels weren’t quite what I wanted, even though I loved the way they play. Since then, the quality has come a long way. Now, they’re really well-done guitars. But anyway, my guy at Fender was like, ‘Yeah, you can come back. Though we’re going to do a Tele.’ And I was like, ‘I’m into it. I’m down for that.’ So, that’s when we started working on the specs for the original Jim Root Tele all those years ago.”

And then came your signature Jazzmaster, a guitar that most people don’t associate with heavy music.

“You know, I’m always looking for things to piss off metalheads! And apparently, also piss off Jazzmaster and Tele players! But, I mean, it’s a slab of wood with pickups and strings, you know? Who gives a shit about the shape of the guitar? Fender sent me a Jazzmaster years before we talked about doing a signature model, and I really didn’t play it that often. I thought it was kind of awkward-looking.”

What changed your mind?

“I played it sitting down a few times, and it played really well. And it sounded really good, but I didn’t think about it much. And then we were doing pre-production on something and I put one of my straps on it so I could stand up and play, and I was like, ‘Holy shit! This guitar is just so well-balanced.’

“It felt so comfortable and easy to play because it was right in the pocket. So I hit Fender back up and was like, ‘I know you sent me this Jazzmaster a while ago, and I haven’t given you any input or talked about it, but I’m using it at rehearsal, and I’m loving it. It’s kind of awesome’. Hey said, ‘Cool. Do you want to do a signature model?’ And I was like, ‘Yes!’”

Since you started using proper shred guitars, have Teles and Jazzmasters changed how you play?

“No. Well, maybe a little bit. When you first pick up a Tele or a Jazzmaster, you’re not sitting there thinking about doing neoclassical scales or shredding per se. But the more you play them, the more you start doing that kind of stuff. And then if you play the songs that are in your set that do have solos, it’s like, ‘Wow! They kind of rip!’

“Even a Gretsch Country Gentleman, the neck profiles on those things are nice and thin, and it’s the same with Jazzmasters. I’ve seen videos of [country music star] Roy Clark from back in the ’60s with a Jazzmaster, and he’s tearing it up!”

But now, with Slipknot celebrating the 25th anniversary of that mighty debut album, you’re pulling your old Jackson and PRS guitars out of mothballs.

“I tell my tech, ‘Just surprise me with what you’re gonna give me tonight – I don’t care what guitar it is, let’s mix it up a little bit and just play around’.”

Has it been fun to have those guitars on stage again?

“He’ll hand me a guitar, and sometimes, I’m like, ‘Whoa, I forgot about this guitar! Cool!’ So it’s kind of fun to do. I have these guitars that I used back around the time we were playing on and touring the first album. I still have a few lying around that I haven’t gotten rid of. It’s fun to do since we’re kind of doing this throwback thing, so I said, ‘I might bring some of these guitars with me.’”

And the word is you’ve finally given amp modellers a go.

“Yeah, I kind of took the plunge against my own better judgment and have been using the [Neural DSP] Quad Cortex for some shows, which, you know, is somewhat sacrilegious. I know I’ve told people I would never do that, but here I am, doing that! It’s been working really well, but I feel like something’s missing, so no matter how advanced the technology gets with digital, it’s still fatiguing to the ears because we’re analogue beings.”

Given that you’re a tube amp purist, was it just curiosity that pushed you in this direction?

“I’ve been using the Quad Cortex just for its effects along with my heads for a few tours, but we’re talking about doing smaller, secret shows, and the thing with doing that is we’ve got to downsize. So, part of it came out of the necessity of trying to figure that out without losing the effects we use in the studio and making things translate live, which is hugely important.”

Is a signature Jim Root Quad Cortex or modeling unit in the cards?

“I don’t think so. I don’t think I’d go that far. I’d like to work on it a little bit more and see what we can come up with for a rack system with a rack-mounted preamp. And I love my Oranges. I still have all my touring racks and my Orange heads. So, I’m still a tube purist. I still believe that’s the best way. It’s just a matter of making it work when we consider the smaller venues, even if it means taking a half-stack. They take up a lot of stage, you know? It’s a battle.”

You were singing the praises of a recently purchased hardtail Strat on Instagram. Is that a precursor to your next signature guitar with Fender?

“I would love to. If Fender were down for a version two of my Strat, I would be all about that. But I think I’m maybe a little oversaturated with the signature models now. I have a custom Jackson built that’s kind of based on the Virtuoso series, too. But I would love to do another version of my Strat. If I did, I would probably do it with a Floyd [Rose], like the guitars I’ve been playing lately.”

You’ve come a long way on your gear journey, so what’s your best piece of advice for those who are starting out?

“That’s a tough one because you can go down rabbit holes with this stuff, and you can end up spending thousands of dollars. Reverb is my enemy! It’s hard when you’re sitting around bored at night. That’s how I ended up with this DK Jackson.

“I’d say to maybe get some sort of modeling app to see what type of effects you’d use the most. And then, if you want to become a purist, base your amps and pedalboard off what you are using on one of those modeling things.

“Maybe you’ll end up spending less in the long run, but I don’t know… It’s always cool getting new shit, especially new shit that blows your mind, or when you’re using things in a way that’s maybe not how they’re intended to be used can be fun sometimes, or it can just be really fucking noisy!”

• See Slipknot for upcoming dates and ticket details.

Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor has taken to social media to show off his latest electric guitar – and it's a beauty.

A custom shop build that merges a Charvel Surfcaster body and a Fender headstock with the kind of appointments found on his brutal Jackson signature guitars, this particular axe looks strikingly similar to Mike Stringer’s very own recent Jackson Custom Shop acquisitions.

Both Stringer and Mansoor's builds marry ultra-desirable retro aesthetics and relic’d finishes with modern-minded metal-ready hardware, continuing a trend that sees metal guitars increasingly embraced by the mainstream and metal guitarists turning to vintage guitars.

With both high-profile players now using variations of these classic-silhouetted metal machines – and having their fanbases drool over them – could a full production run be next?

As the djent guitarist details, his new guitar sports an extended 30” scale to cater for its hellishly low tuning, with a roasted ash body paired with a roasted maple bolt-on neck and a flame maple fretboard.

Its fretboard has been curated with a 20” radius, delivering 22 Jumbo stainless steel frets, while its electronics are headlined by a pair of Misha’s signature Bare Knuckle Ragnarock humbuckers.

Other appointments include Gotoh locking tuners and his go-to Hipshot fixed bridge. There are also Dunlop Dual Design strap locks and Luminlay side dots, while it’s strung with a Horizon Devices eight-string set of strings, tuned to drop E.

“Jesus Christ, this is so sick,” Mansoor says as he opens up its hardshell case in a video posted to Instagram. “I've been waiting a year and a half for this. I've never ordered anything like this before.

“This is my version of a Jazzmaster using a Charvel Surfcaster body with a modified pickguard shape so that Fender would be happy me having the Jackson logo on the headstock,” he continues.

“I don't know exactly what kind of music I'm gonna make with this but I'm excited. It's gonna be heavy.”

He later returned to Instagram to showcase how the guitar sounds, and you won't be surprised to hear just how gnarly this build gets, its low-end tight and aggressive but gleaming with clarity.

Mike Stringer was equally as impressed with his builds, which also paired a Surfcaster body with a Fender headstock and a raft of modern fittings, such as an Evertune bridge.

“I’ve always been obsessed with classic vintage looking guitars, (offsets specifically) and wanted to do a modern take based on [Jackson's] classic Surfcaster model,” he said at the time.

“The team at Jackson were super down with the idea, and I got the opportunity to spec out two offset customs. The end result is mind blowing!”

Although it must be reiterated that both guitarists custom-ordered their axes, the commonality between their specs points to a wider growing desire for heavy offsets that we hope Jackson capitalizes on.

With Jackson and Charvel both standing as part of the Fender family brand, there’s a freedom to meld headstocks and body shapes together without falling foul of lawsuits. And when the results are this good, a production run would surely be an open goal.

In their current states, like-for-like reproductions of Mansoor and Stringer’s guitars won’t come cheap, but there is clearly an appetite for these instruments. Watch this space.

Guitar Auctions at Gardiner Houlgate has announced its latest raft of high-profile electric guitar and acoustic guitar auctions, which will be headlined by a 1965 Fender Duo-Sonic that once belonged to Peter Green.

Though the late Fleetwood Mac guitar star is most often associated with iconic Greeny Les Paul – as well as a handful of Stratocasters and Telecasters – it turns out the Duo-Sonic was yet another Fender model that Green was partial to.

In fact, according to the auctioneer, Green began playing this particular ’65 in the late 1970s, and used it to compile his 1979 solo album, In The Skies – a record that marked Green’s long-awaited return to music.

The Duo-Sonic then apparently saw action for the follow-up, Little Dreamer, which featured Green on lead and Ronnie Johnson on rhythm. Green’s late ’70s comeback followed nearly 10 years out of the limelight, during which time the guitar great dealt with mental health issues and drug abuse.

Now, although the Duo-Sonic shares some strong similarities with the Mustang, this particular offset is its own thing. In the case of Green’s model – a Duo-Sonic II – a hardtail three-saddle bridge can be found, as well as two slider switches that control the pickup tones.

Notably, those sliders replaced the original Duo-Sonic’s three-way toggle switch, with the flagship mode’s all-plastic pickguard giving way to a far more Mustang-esque metal control panel.

Other specs include a humble 22.5” scale length, a rosewood fingerboard, an Olympic White finish, and all the wear and tear that came from Green’s playing. Of course, you get plenty of chime-y bite and rumbly crunch that comes from the two single coils – an assortment of tones that can be heard in Gardiner Houlgate’s demo video above.

The Duo-Sonic is one of Fender’s most under-appreciated offsets, often overshadowed by the likes of the Mustang, Jazzmaster and Jaguar.

However, the plucky model originally designed for students found favor with an array of A-list guitar stars, and was championed by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon.

Green’s Duo-Sonic will go under the hammer on September 3, with a rather modest upper estimate of $4,000. It’s easy to see this going for slightly more, even if it isn’t one of Green’s most famous instruments.

Visit Guitar Auctions at Gardiner Houlgate for more info in the meantime.

This is the latest guitar from the blues legend to hit the auction blocks, following the sale of over 150 of his guitars in June 2023.

Fender has expanded its arsenal of bass pickups by launching a trio of Tim Shaw-voiced Cobalt Chrome pups compatible with its Precision Bass and Jazz Bass models.

As was the case with the Big F’s Cobalt Chrome electric guitar pickups from last year – which were designed for Telecasters and Jazzmasters – this collection sets its sights on solving all your 60-cycle hum woes, comprising a magnetic combination that may “help eliminate” those pesky unwanted noises.

Using a proprietary blend of a FeCrCo magnet, the pickups not only help reduce hum, but also promise to “bring a new voice and attitude to your instrument”. Namely, they hope to provide “added punch, hi-fi clarity and dynamic range” while retaining the models’ traditional tones.

That means the Cobalt Chrome P Bass set looks to harness the “sweet low-end thump” produced by original Precision instruments, while the Cobalt Chrome Jazz Bass set is tasked with maintaining the platform’s classic “transparency and midrange growl”.

The two standalone Precision and Jazz sets are joined by a third offering, which combines both the split-coil of the P Bass with the single-coil of the J Bass.

Shaw – Fender's resident tone guru – took a deep dive into the new collection in the launch video above, during which he recalls the meticulous efforts he went to in order to perfect the Chrome Cobalt bass pickups.

“I’ve been a P Bass player most of my life, so when I started doing a new bass pickup it was a little daunting,” he says. “This is a sound I am literally hardwired to hear and feel. It’s a sound that sits very well in the mix everywhere.

“The challenge was not to lose that, but also to bring something else to the party. I ended up with a voicing which still has that very solid attack, and it’s got a little extra something up top. It responds very well to your touch, it’s every even all the way up and across the neck.”

That ethos of honoring the source material but building upon its legacy spans across all sets that Shaw voiced. However, as Fender’s chief engineer recalls, piecing together these three sets wasn't easy.

“I am very happy with the way the set came out,” he adds. “It did not come easily, I will tell you that.

“I take this really seriously. Things have to be musical, they have to make musical sense, and they have to be something where guys like Leo [Fender] would have listened to them and said, 'Yeah, that's good.' I never forget that. I can't forget that.”

Despite the differing sizes, the construction of each pickup remains fairly consistent across the board. In each case, a Chrome Ring with Black Insert design – as well as Formvar-coated wire – is utilized.

The Cobalt Chrome bass pickups could have a pretty sizable impact for bassists. After all, the guitar equivalents were met with a warm reception from anyone pitted against 60-cycle hum troubles. That, and these new units sound really, really good.

Price-wise, the Jazz Bass and P Bass sets will be available for $299 and $249, respectively. The P/J Bass, meanwhile, will list for $349.

To find out more, head over to Fender.

If something a little different is what you’re after then this Vintage REVO range will be more than welcome. These aren’t artfully crafted boutique instruments – although a lot of the recipes here are what you might find in that costly, rarified world. But neither are they past ‘pawn shop’ relics that look cool but fall far short of the sort of playability you’d expect from a modern instrument.

While our Trio is clearly based around the original solidbody production electric, with its three Jazzmaster-style pickups and vibrato, it’s far from a direct clone. Meanwhile, the Custom Supreme is inspired by an actual UK-made guitar from yesteryear.

Vintage tells us: “We designed this one based upon a Grimshaw guitar that Pete Townshend played in the ’60s with a modern twist.” That probably late-’50s ‘SS’ model was modded by Pete with a Rickenbacker truss rod cover on the headstock and three Rickenbacker pickups.

Pete is quoted as saying, “I bought the guitar at Ivor Mairants; I’d always wanted one (was it because Joe Brown played one?). At the time, I was used to Rick pickups so when I ran out of Rickenbackers one day I rigged the Grimshaw with the pickups and added the headstock blazer as deception. However, when people asked me what model of Rick it was, I told them it was a Grimshaw. It played beautifully.”

Custom Supreme

Here’s a guitar that will get you noticed on a stage – you’ll feel its presence, too: at 4.44kg (9.77lb), it’s no lightweight. That’s perhaps no surprise as the all-maple laminate body is 405mm (16 inches) wide, 46mm at the rim and around 74mm deep overall, with a substantial-looking maple centre block.

Its outline, though considerably bigger, is rather Les Paul like, with that quite classy upper horn that reminds this writer of one of Josh Homme’s Echopark builds. And while we don’t get the Rickenbacker ‘blazer’ from the modded model it’s inspired by, the trio of ‘toaster’ humbuckers certainly reference Rickenbacker, with those two tear-drop soundholes adding a sprinkling of Gretsch.

But then there’s the Gibson Maestro-style vibrato adding some show, and, with respect, the control plate looks more like something Vintage has knocked up in its ProShop. The headstock actually looks a bit like Vintage’s standard three-a-side outline, though the block REVO logo, which is repeated on the truss rod cover, lacks the flair of the overall design.

Those ‘toaster’ humbucking pickups are tidily recessed into the body, and the chunkier roller-saddle bridge (a well-used design that has lock-down adjustable saddle blocks) sits quite low on the body.

That large control plate houses three on/off slide switches, a master volume and two tones (labelled ‘tone’ and ‘midrange’ on the control instructions pdf) with knobs borrowed from Gibson. Hmm.

Trio

You’d think a T-shape with two Jazzmaster pickups and vibrato would be a decent mash-up, but as you can see we have three pickups here, hence the name. The new REVO range is definitely generous with its pickup complements.

Along with our three-some review models (and the Custom Supreme baritone), the Vision, the Superthin and the more S-style Deluxe also have a trio of pickups. Even more generous is the four-pickup Surfmaster Quad!

But designer Alan Entwistle is also known for some pretty tricky passive circuity, as we see not only on the Custom Supreme but also this Trio. First off, we have two three-way lever switches. Switch A (closest to the bridge) voices bridge, bridge and neck, and neck in its three positions.

Switch B selects middle (overriding switch A) in its lowest position, in centre position it adds the middle pickup to any of the switch A selections, while in its third upper position it’s out of circuit, leaving just the selections of switch A.

Like the Custom Supreme, we also get three rotary controls – master volume and two tones. The control closest to the output jack is advertised as ‘tone’, while the tone closest to the vibrato is named ‘mid-tone’. That might need a bit more explanation.

We’ll get to those controls a little later, but the rest of the Trio is pretty tidy. As you’d expect, we have a Fender scale length, and the standard bolt-on maple neck (with skunk stripe) has a nice vintage tint under its glossed back.

The reddy-brown jatoba fingerboard (the same that’s used on the Custom) is cleanly bound, but here we have dot inlays instead of the Custom Supreme’s blocks. Fretwork on both guitars is good, the fret ends sitting over the edge binding, and the Trio uses a similar wide ’n’ low gauge to the Custom Supreme.

The Honeyburst finish of the Trio’s body is well named and we’re told the wood is okoume. However, it does appear that the top and back have a veneer facing as the grain doesn’t match the body core, which is at least two-piece, probably three. Like the Custom Supreme, it’s cleanly double edge-bound with a cream binding and it’s all rather nicely done. Above all, this guitar has a good weight of 3.32kg (7.3lb).

Both the J-style vibrato and its roller bridge tune-o-matic are rather generic but function very well, and the EZ-Lok Wilkinson tuners have dual string-post heights, the lower three for the G, B and E strings, which means you don’t get any string trees.

Feel & Sounds

Okay, we might have two three-pickup-with-vibrato guitars here, but other than that they barely share any similarity. We’ve mentioned the weight differences: the Custom Supreme is a big ol’ bird compared with the much more manageable Trio.

The all-gloss finishes mean there’s less difference between neck shapes than you might expect, though the Custom’s is very slightly wider and deeper with a nut width of 43.9mm (and 35mm string spacing), 21.7mm deep at the 1st fret and 24mm by the 12th.

The Trio’s nut measures 43.6mm (with a string spacing of 35.5mm), 21.4mm deep at the 1st fret and 21.4mm by the 12th. Speaking of string spacing, the Custom’s bridge spread is 50.5mm, the Trio’s is 51.5mm. Both share a similar neck profile, a little more D than C, we’d wager, with a slightly flat back.

The Custom’s acoustic response is quite big, ringing and bold, and the Trio, as you’d expect, is a little lighter in tone and volume with a little ‘offset’ to the response due to the undamped string length behind both the nut and saddles. We’d be tempted to fit a string tree to at least the top two strings here as the response is a little light in sound, but adding a few more wraps around the string posts might improve that anyway.

If you’re after a fire-breathing metal monster you’ve come to the wrong place. Set up a clean amp tone with or without some reverb and/or short delay, and you’re right back in the ’60s. If you want dirt, you’ll need some help from a pedal. The Custom’s voice is very single-coil like; there are good sounds with a balanced midrange and pretty crisp highs. The Trio’s single coil pickups are more mid-scooped with plenty of high-end detail, too.

Not everyone gets on with a three-pickup guitar – the middle pickup can get in the way – and while that’s a personal decision it’s worth pointing out that the Custom’s humbuckers don’t sound like they’re fully potted – there’s a bit of ‘clonk’ when your pick hits the cover.

The three on/off switches on the Custom provide a simple drive, but you need to remember that down is ‘on’ and up is ‘off’, otherwise you’ll get in a mess and quite probably mute yourself. Once you get your head around the dual switches of the Trio, it’s pretty logical and at least you can’t mute the guitar.

The Custom’s two tone controls? Well, irrespective of what Vintage says, the first tone (the centre of the three knobs) thins the sound as it’s rolled back, like a pretty wide mid/bass cut. Fully off with neck pickup engaged, it sounds more like the bridge pickup. The lower tone control is a more standard treble roll-off.

As to the Trio’s controls, both tones work in all switch positions and sound like two standard tone controls with, we’d guess, slightly different value capacitors. The tone nearest the vibrato seems to only pull back the upper high-end, and even the second tone barely sounds muddy pulled back.

These are subtle, but they do help to tame the potential brightness, particularly with some raunchier pedals in play. The overall T-style feels a bit more like home than the much larger Custom Supreme, too.

Aside from a few ‘new guitar’ niggles (the Custom’s nut needed a little work so the strings came back in tune, and the pickup heights needed a little evening out), the performance out of the box of both guitars is pretty impressive.

There’s perfectly good waggle from the Custom’s Maestro-style vibrato, and not for the first time the Trio’s J-style vibrato (albeit without a stop function) is wonderfully smooth with quite a large range – always good for those Spaghetti Western or spy movie themes, or frankly some pretty out‑there mangling with plenty of fuzz and gain beloved of the offset brigade.

Verdict

It feels like we’ve been in an episode of The Twilight Zone and, to be honest, we wouldn’t mind being in a few more. The Custom Supreme is a no-frills jangle machine that’s very nicely voiced.

The mid/bass cut tone control means you can really push the percussive attack, or lighten the body of sound: perhaps not essential, but it adds to the slightly off-kilter retro ’60s style. Our sample is heavy and yet it feels very businesslike on a strap.

There’s little doubt that the Trio feels more familiar and the design is quite inspired. As a Jazzmaster in Tele dress, it’s light in weight, has very evocative sounds and a super-smooth vibrato, and although the dual tone control setup is pretty subtle, those two pickup selection switches work very well: you can drive this as a twin or trio very easily.

But we’ve only dipped a toe in the REVO waters – there are another 13 models to consider! If you’re bored by the usual suspects, you’ll have some serious fun here. What’s your poison?

Specs

Vintage REVO Series Custom Supreme

• PRICE: £749
• ORIGIN: China/Vietnam
• TYPE: Double-cutaway semi‑acoustic electric
• BODY: Laminated maple
• NECK: Maple, glued-in
• SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech
  Nubone XL/43.9mm
• FINGERBOARD: Bound jatoba, pearloid block inlays, measured 254mm (10”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
• HARDWARE: Maestro-style vibrato, roller saddle tune-o-matic-style bridge, unlogo’d enclosed tuners – nickel/chrome
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 50.5mm
• ELECTRICS: 3x Alan Entwistle RT64 toaster-style humbuckers, individual slide switch pickup
  on/off, master volume, tone 1 (mid/bass roll-off), tone 2 (standard treble roll-off)
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 4.44/9.77
• OPTIONS: No
• RANGE OPTIONS: Custom Supreme Baritone VI (£599) with 3x toaster-style pickups and offset vibrato. See REVO gallery over the page
• LEFT-HANDERS: Not this model
• FINISHES: Arctic White gloss (as reviewed)

Vintage REVO Series Trio

• PRICE: £449
• ORIGIN: China/Vietnam
• TYPE: Single-cutaway electric
• BODY: Okume
• NECK: Maple, bolt-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/43.6mm
• FINGERBOARD: Bound jatoba, pearloid dot inlays, measured 241mm (9.5”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
• HARDWARE: Vintage offset vibrato, roller saddle tune-o-matic-style bridge, Wilkinson E-Z Lok tuners - nickel/chrome
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm
• ELECTRICS: 3x Alan Entwistle J90A single coils, dual 3-way lever pickup selection switches: switch A (neck, neck and bridge, bridge), switch B (no function, adds middle pickup, middle pickup only), master volume, 2x tones with different capacitors
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.32/7.3
• OPTIONS: No
• RANGE OPTIONS: Mid-Line (£499) is a Cabronita T-style semi-hollow. See REVO gallery over the page
• LEFT-HANDERS: Not this model
• FINISHES: HoneyBurst (as reviewed), Arctic White, Green/Yellow Burst
• CONTACT: John Hornby Skewes

With the Fender Stratocaster blowing out the candles on its 70th birthday cake, Guitar World has been celebrating Leo Fender’s storied double-cut by checking in with some of its biggest fans – the pros who choose the instrument as their number one electric guitar.

Now it’s the turn of Larkin Poe’s Rebecca Lovell to pay tribute to the Strat, and explain why she chose it.

What first attracted you to the Strat?

“My introduction to Fender guitars was a Jazzmaster. One of my heroes is Elvis Costello, and he always has that signature profile with the beautiful Jazz, so I started playing it on stage.

“I’m 5’ 6”; I’m not huge and I’m not tiny, but I was struggling to run around with a guitar of that great stature. So being able to pick up something that was a little bit lighter weight, smaller and aerodynamic made sense.”

How has the Strat shaped the way you play?

“I’m certainly a different player. The Stratocaster is so idealized, you know, when you think about the history of the level of musicianship that it has attracted, from Jimi to Stevie [Ray Vaughan], like, those are two out-of-the-box ultimate guitar heroes. But even from my perspective, players like Bonnie [Raitt] or Susan Tedeschi with a Strat are the individuals who paved the way for what’s possible for players who look more like me.

“So I’ve continued my journey with the Strat, understanding that it’s like a symbol of rock. Being able to roll that energy into your level of musicianship with those who’ve come before and allowing that to carry along with the momentum of whatever stories and licks I’m trying to bring to the guitar, it begins to pile on, if you will.”

What’s your go-to Strat?

“My husband [Tyler Bryant] is also a Strat player, so the first Strat I started taking out on the road just to toy with was one of his, which is a ’60s-style Shell Pink with a white overlay. I was so taken by the HSS [pickup configuration] situation. So the first Strat I bought for myself as my main guitar is Vintage White with the humbucker in the bridge.

“I ultimately put a tortoiseshell pickguard on it, and that’s my main baby. It’s starting to get a lot of cool wear; I love that you can see a player’s personality through the wear their guitars slowly amass over time.”

Have you modified your Strat at all?

“I’ve kept my main guitar pretty stock. I’m nerd-ish, you know? I have some nerd qualities, like digging into the details, but I’m kind of plug-and-play. Once I find something that works, it takes a lot for me to dig in and tweak things. I have the energy with my guitars of, ‘If it’s working, or it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

Is there really much difference between a vintage Strat and a new one?

“Guitars, like any man-made inanimate object, attract energy over time. When you pick up some guitars, you just sense the weight of time that they possess. But I think it really is in the setup. I’ve played super-cheap Strats that have a good setup, and, for me, that’s half the battle.

“I’m not a fairly pragmatic player; I love the romance of a guitar with a story. The beauty of human experience is that we can imbue meaning into stuff. But also, it’s like, dude, if you can find a luthier in town, or a good setup guy, you can take a piece of junk, get it set up, and it’ll play as good as anything you’ve ever touched.”

One of a Strat’s best features is its five-way switch. Which position do you favor most?

“To be honest with you – and this is something I’m trying to get more competence on – I’m always on the bridge. [Laughs] There is no part of my stage show right now where I’m anywhere else but the bridge, which is a little bit lacking in imagination.

“Because the guitar, like, clearly the Strat is so versatile. In the studio, I’m all touchy-feely with the neck, my blend and all that stuff. But onstage, I like it balls to the wall, so that’s something I do want to engage with more.”

What does the Strat mean to you?

“Humans are storytellers. We’re memory keepers. We can exist in this world, take a barrage of random circumstances and sheer randomness and make meaning from them. And that beautifully represented skill set we possess is represented in an abstract concept like a Stratocaster.

“Being able to build something and give it a story that goes out into the world and is independent of us makes you feel so many things. So, from where I sit, the Strat really is one of the greatest symbols of rock ’n’ roll. The profile, aerodynamics and art quality of the instrument breathe rock ’n’ roll. So that’s what it means to me.

“I feel like I’m continuing that story whenever I pick up a Strat and carry it on stage. And that’s sick, you know? It just feels awesome to play a Strat and be a part of the ongoing chain of generations that is making the Stratocaster what it is.”

• Blood Harmony is out now via Tricki-Woo.

Jim Root’s Fender Jazzmaster signature guitar is one of the most popular offsets of recent years, having served to radical reconfigured the popular indie stalwart design for heavy metal purposes.

Indeed, the Slipknot riffsmith’s brutally minimalist Jazzmaster has fans from all corners of the guitar world, and has been a key component in Root's guitar rig ever since it arrived well over 10 years ago.

However, despite masterminding the no-nonsense heavy metal Jazzmaster – and staying faithful to it after all these years – it turns out Root wasn’t originally a fan of Fender’s offset design because he thought it was rather “awkward” to look at.

In fact, it was only when he decided to play a Jazzmaster while standing up that he came to realize the full comfort and playability of the model.

“Fender sent me a Jazzmaster years before we talked about doing a signature model, and I really didn’t play it that often,” he says in the new issue of Total Guitar. “I thought it was kind of awkward-looking.

“It sounded really good, but I didn’t think about it much,” Root goes on. “And then we were doing pre-production on something and I put one of my straps on it so I could stand up and play, and I was like, ‘Holy shit! This guitar is just so well-balanced.’

“It felt so comfortable and easy to play because it was right in the pocket. So I hit Fender back up and was like, ‘I know you sent me this Jazzmaster a while ago, and I haven’t given you any input or talked about it, but I’m using it at rehearsal, and I’m loving it. It’s kind of awesome’. He said, ‘Cool. Do you want to do a signature model?’ And I was like, ‘Yes!’”

And just like that, Root began work on what was destined to become one of the most notable offsets Fender has ever produced, which followed Root’s equally radical Telecaster.

To many, Root’s choice of playing a Telecaster and Jazzmaster for his Slipknot duties came as something of a surprise, especially given the fact both designs aren’t widely associated with heavy music.

Root himself, though, doesn’t care what people think. To him, the shape of a guitar is completely irrelevant when searching for a model that can deliver all your tonal needs.

“You know, I’m always looking for things to piss off metalheads! And apparently, also piss off Jazzmaster and Tele players!” he says. “But, I mean, it’s a slab of wood with pickups and strings, you know? Who gives a shit about the shape of the guitar?”

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Total Guitar, which features the full interview with Jim Root.

We’ve previously hailed Polish virtuoso Jakub Żytecki as the future of guitar playing for his shred-meets-ambient sound. Now, the guitarist has brought his progressive mindset to his first-ever signature guitar from Polish guitar company Mayones.

Hailed by the firm as “truly a signature guitar created from the ground up”, the Jassper Nidra may be inspired by classic Jazzmaster and Jaguar outlines, but it brings plenty of Żytecki’s own ideas to the table.

For one, there’s that PRS-esque cutaway on the body’s lower horn and some generous rear contouring to allow maximum upper-fret access, while the woods themselves utilize Mayones’ Tonally Enhanced Wood roasting process to promote resonance and stability: swamp ash for the body, hard-rock maple for the D-shaped neck and birdseye maple on the fretboard.

That fretboard is kitted out with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets on a 12”-radius, with a Graph Tech TUSQ nut and the now-obligatory Luminlay side dots. Curiously, the scale length is 25.4”/645mm, 3mm shorter than your standard Fender.

In a Mayones first, the guitar boasts the company’s first-ever signature pickups: the Velvetrone Ironside + Exile, in an HS configuration – a major perk for anyone who’s struggled to balance woolier neck and brighter bridge humbuckers.

This is where things get interesting. A tiny slider switch activates Mayones’ Silk-R Intensity preamp. If you’re familiar with Żytecki’s cleaner-than-clean, almost koto-esque tapping techniques, this is the sound. You can hear it in his demo of the Aquila 6 below – it’s a bit like the sparkly nylon-string sim on Tim Henson’s signature Fishman Fluence humbuckers.

Other electronics include a Volume (with push/pull coil-split for the bridge humbucker), passive Tone, Silk-R intensity and a three-way pickup selector.

In a neat touch, the onboard preamp is chargeable via a small USB port on the base of the guitar.

Hardware is up to boutique industry standards, with a Gotoh 510 tremolo and locking tuners, Schaller security straps and Switchcraft jacks, and the whole thing comes in a Mayones hybrid case.

There are currently no finish options available other than Monolith Retro White. But when that looks this good – paired with a tortoiseshell pickguard and block inlays – we’re not complaining.

“The Jassper Nidra model is an instrument that strives for a dialogue between old and new,” says Żytecki. “The shape, the sound and the aesthetics evoke the approach of the past that perfectly merge with the ergonomics of a modern instrument. I can’t wait for you all to try it out.”

“I am thrilled to introduce our new model, co-created with our friend and longtime artist Jakub Żytecki,” Dawid Dziewulski, Mayones Co-owner/CEO adds. “This creation blends timeless, classic design with modern innovations found in our Aquila and Duvell models. I truly hope you enjoy what we have crafted together.”

We’ve been nagging, ahem, certain guitar companies for years to build classic-looking offset guitars with contemporary playability and tones, and we’re starting to see a real groundswell of electrics that fit this very bill.

Besides the likes of Balaguer and PJD Guitars – not to mention the odd Fender Japan offering – you’ve even got Mike Stringer and Lee Malia playing offset Jackson custom models.

But Mayones has struck upon a unique combination here: a classic look, with some stealthy modern features for players looking to harness unique cleans as well as heavier sounds. That said, we do hope Zytecki’s mooted eight-string version sees a release down the line…

Prices for the six-string Jassper Nidra vary, but we’re starting to see these surface at Chicago Music Exchange for $3,382 in the US, and £3,199 at Peach Guitars in the UK.

For more info, head to Mayones.com.

Fender has lifted the curtain on its long-awaited Player II range – an upgraded collection of electric guitars and bass guitars that takes the firm’s wildly popular Player family to new heights.

The flagship Player lineup arrived in 2018, and has become one of the most beloved guitar lineups of the 21st century. Indeed, over the past six years, it has developed into Fender’s best-selling range of all time.

That’s all been for good reason. These represent the most affordable Fender guitars, and are positioned as a bridge between entry-level Squiers and pricier Vintera II/American Performer families.

In Fender’s own words, the Mexican-made range is “designed for musicians ready to take the next step in their creative journey”, though appeals to aspiring and seasoned players alike for its ability to deliver genuine Fender-made guitars for a reasonable price.

Now the Player family has been rebooted in the form of the all-new Player II, which introduces never-before-seen body options, previously unreleased finishes, and some sought-after spec upgrades at the request of players.

Where to start? Well, first up, it’s worth noting what models are included. Stratocaster, HSS Stratocaster, Telecaster, Telecaster HH, Jazzmaster, Jaguar and Mustang electrics – with left-handed versions of the first three – have been unveiled. As for basses, there is a Precision Bass, Jazz Bass, and Mustang Bass.

The main update here undoubtedly concerns the fretboard. Across the collection, rosewood has finally been restored to the lineup, and replaces the pau ferro ‘boards that were drafted in on older Player guitars.

Now, this alone will no doubt be enough to appease many players, given there was considerable disappointment when Fender first made the switch to pau ferro for its Player models a few years back.

The ‘boards have been further bolstered by rolled fretboard edges – which help provide a smoother canvas to navigate – that have been used to offer “a broken-in feel”.

Further functional updates include what Fender has called “upgraded hardware”. Across the range, some of these include improved Mustang saddles and ClassicGear tuners.

Elsewhere, Fender has also introduced chambered body options for its Stratocaster and Telecaster models for the first time. Available in ash or mahogany, these new designs promise to be lighter in weight, and, on paper, provide a more resonant tonal warmth.

The standard Strat and Tele, though, still look as though they'll be arguably the cornerstone of the refurbished range.

GuitarWorld's Matt McCracken has already taken both for a spin during a deep-dive Fender Player II Stratocaster and Telecaster review, and described them as “two stone-cold classics that provide effortless playability and iconic guitar tones at a pretty reasonable price”.

Last up on the list of ‘what’s new’ is an updated collection of never-released vintage colorways inspired by ‘50s and ‘60s car colors, which have been pulled from the archives. These include Coral Red, Aquatone Blue, Hialeah Yellow and Birch Green.

So, a pretty comprehensive list of updates, but the Player II range is clearly keen on continuing the Player precedent that proved so wildly popular in the first place, as the rest of the spec sheets show.

There are a bunch of models to explore in the Player II range, but the headlines are as follows: alder is used for the bodies (except for those chambered guitars), maple is used for the modern-C profile necks, and 22-fret, 9.5”-radius fingerboards are available in either maple or rosewood.

Player Series pickups in a variety of configurations are in charge of tones, with each particular model arriving with its own tried-and-trusted control circuit.

“The Player II Series is not just an upgrade, it's a detailed re-imagining of our core silhouettes, highlighting our dedication to quality and the continuous refinement of our instruments,” comments Fender’s Justin Norvell.

“We listened to the feedback from musicians around the world and incorporated their insights to refine and innovate our instruments.”

It makes for arguably Fender’s most significant range refresh of recent years, and the accompanying launch video – which features Julien Baker, DIIV, Wallows and April Kae covering the Kinks' All Day and All of the Night – seems to suggest the firm feels the same way.

Now, how exactly have all those updates affected the cost?

The new Player II Strat starts from $799, whereas its predecessor is listed for $679. It’s the exact same story for the Tele and Mustang, while the Jazzmaster and Jaguar have found their prices rise from $709 to $829.

And, as expected, the chambered Player II models – which will arrive in September – are slightly more expensive, with prices rising to $899.

To find out more about the Player II range, head over to Fender.

Fender is continuing its mass rollout of new electric guitars with the launch of two limited edition Squier Paranormal models.

The series first launched in 2020 with the aim of reviving long-forgotten Fender builds for the modern era. A second wave followed a year later, but Squier saved its most bizarre batch for 2023.

This time, players have been treated to an affordable revision of Fender's Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe, and a newly tweaked Offset Telecaster SJ – two guitars that are absolutely oozing with personality.

'Troublemaker' is an apt name for the first model given its, erm, undeniable Les Paul-inspired design, which is headed up by dual humbuckers and a control layout that resembles a Gibson.

Now, this isn't the first Troublemaker Tele we've seen – Fender issued versions of the model in 2018 and 2020 – but it is by far the most affordable one, undercutting that latter's $2,399 price tag quite considerably and weighing in with a starting price of $449.99.

This variant, Fender says, is “ready to make some noise, Squier style”, and does so with the help of Fender-designed alnico humbuckers. These are bolstered with coil-splitting push/pull controls, which look to also tap into a traditional single-coil Tele twang.

Visually, it features a bound body and a block pearloid-inlaid fretboard, as well as a color-matched headstock. And, like many of the recent Fender releases (just take a look at those new Squier Affinity models, for instance) “player-friendly” refinements have been emphasized.

Its fixed bridge is fully adjustable for “superior setups”, apparently, and a slim C-profile neck with a gloss finish has been chosen for slick neck navigation. Vintage-style tuners, a Fender favorite, finish off the build, which is available in two finishes: Aztec Gold and Black.

The Offset Telecaster SJ ($449.99) is… well, it’s an offset Telecaster, which comes with a “quintessential mashup of Fender features”, presenting itself as the lovechild of a Tele and a Jazzmaster.

That concept isn’t taken lightly, either. The fixed three-saddle, string-through bridge, and single-coil alnico bridge pickup give off unmistakable Tele vibes, but widen your gaze to the neck and body, and you’ll find it also carries a lot of Jazzmaster DNA.

There are push/pull controls for series/parallel and phase shifting in the second position. Its control plate, which plays host to Volume and Tone controls and a three-way pickup switch, sprinkles a little more Tele into its aesthetic, as does its neck binding and matching headstock.

It’s available in a choice of Ice Blue Metallic and Olympic White.

The release continues what has been a fairly hectic week for Fender. The firm has already entered the wireless guitar system game with the Micro-sized Telepath, given its Squier Affinity series a major expansion, and added a tweed model to its Tone Master Pro amp range for the first time.

And that’s not all: Fender has also gotten experimental with tonewoods for its American Performer Timber series, and the six-string Jazz Bass VI has made its Squier Affinity debut.

Head to Fender for more information about the two new Paranormal models.

UK-based Lime Garden mash up a unique mix of alternative, rock and electronic influences to create their own special sauce of indie-flavored pop with attitude. 

Guitarist Leila Deeley’s lush sonic textures are the bedrock upon which the band’s sound is built – never showboating, always keenly aware that the song is king. They’ve just released their debut album, One More Thing, an effervescent concoction of instant pop classics.

What got you into playing?

“My parents are huge music fans, although they don’t play instruments themselves. I’d hear their music, which ranged from Black Sabbath – I loved Tony Iommi – and the Doors to indie music, and I absorbed it all.

“I started to play when I was seven on a scaled-down Strat copy. I had lessons when I was young, and I picked it up really quickly. My first serious guitar was a Gibson Les Paul, though I rarely play it now. 

“I’ve been playing a Strat for about six years; the whammy bar became a huge part of our sound. Recently, I got a really beautiful Jaguar, which I put quite heavy strings on – .11 or .12 on the E – to thicken up my sound a little.

“We’ve been getting a lot of support from Fender; they helped me out by changing the bridge on the Jag for a Jazzmaster bridge, as it felt more secure for bending.”

Lime Garden tracks like Pop Star and Mother are a million miles away from Black Sabbath. Do you ever feel the urge to break out the shred?

“Absolutely. All the time. [Laughs] I have long periods where I’ll spend a lot of time playing at home, working on technique, and that really fires me up as a player, but I suppose I do see myself as a songwriter. I really like playing slide guitar, though I still don’t feel quite ready to bring that to our live shows.”

You released 11 singles before the first album came out. Was that a deliberate game plan?

“We were nervous about the idea of making an album for a long time, as we’d never been in a studio for more than a couple of days. We spent two weeks recording the album, and it was really exciting; it was always our dream to make an album. We’d had most of the songs already written for a long time, so we knew them inside out.”

What do you use for amps and effects?

“I have a Roland Space Echo, which is on all the time for a slap-back effect, as is a TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb. I recently bought a Rat distortion pedal for super crunch when I need it. I also use an MXR overdrive and a Behringer Super Fuzz, which is my all-time favorite fuzz. It was really cheap, too – about $30. I run everything through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.”

Everyone in the band seems to have widely disparate influences. How does that work with songwriting?

“What we’ve been able to do is home in on where our various Venn diagrams intersect and use that as the core of what we do. We’ve played together for a few years and we’re all comfortable bringing in ideas. One of us might think something is rubbish, but someone else will often see the potential in it – from a different perspective.”

• One More Thing is out now via So Young Records.

It’s likely most guitarists have come across a Fender gig bag of some kind over the years – usually one of the options included with a guitar purchase, whose quality can vary wildly.

But Fender has been quietly upgrading its accessory lineup over the past few years, which now includes just about everything from cables to straps, stands, strings and, of course, gig bags.

Fender’s current range of electric guitar gig bags starts with the lightweight FE405 ($39), working all the way up to the top-of-the-range FE1225, which clocks in at $139 (a bass version, the FB1225, is available for the same price).

The FE1225 is Fender’s answer to the semi-rigid gig bags popularized by the likes of Mono and Reunion Blues, so it’s pitched halfway between a bag and a hardshell case. That means its front and back offer minimum flex, providing more protection for your guitar, especially if it’s rattling around during transport. It makes for a bulkier gig bag than cheaper offerings, but the level of protection is among the best you’ll find on a bag in this price range.

We’re talking 25mm padding and a 1,200 denier polyester exterior – that’s pretty high, and indicates the bag’s thickness and durability, and ability to resist rips and tears. This marks the key point of difference between the FE1225 and more affordable FE620 ($79). Both cases look near-identical in online photos, but buying the cheaper option gets you a 600 denier polyester with 20mm padding. It’s a slightly more compact, more flexible option, but doesn’t net you the same protection as the top-of-the-line model.

What both bags have in common is Fender’s neat asymmetrical instrument shape, which means they can fit nearly all of its classic electric guitar models, including most Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster and Starcaster designs. Certainly, I had no problem fitting a Jazzmaster inside, something some gig bags can struggle to accommodate due to its offset waist.

Fender has put a lot of thought into the key pressure points gig bags will encounter, fitting rugged exterior bumpers not just to the bottom of the case, but the headstock end, too. On my review model, there’s also a plastic insert at the bottom of the bag that serves to protect your guitar’s end pin, which is another sound consideration. However, Fender advises against storing nitrocellulose-finished vintage guitars inside the case for extended periods of time, in case the end pin protector damages the finish. (Since writing this review, the FE1225 has been updated to add an additional lining on top of the plastic insert to prevent these problems, but be aware that earlier versions of the case do not include this.)

Inside, the premium feel continues with a soft microfiber lining and two adjustable neck rests, which are attached via Velcro, so you can move them to fit your guitar’s neck and scale length.

Despite the extra bulk, the gig bag is incredibly comfortable to carry. The ergonomic handle is easy on the palm, while the shock-absorbing EVA padded backpack straps are quick to adjust and make longer transport-to-venue treks less of a chore. There’s even a zippered backpack strap pocket in case you don’t feel the need to use them on a day-to-day basis.

The front of the case features two pockets for storage. The main compartment features some neat elasticated pouches to store picks, strings, pens and a key fob, which I used to attach a spare pair of ear plugs. An additional pocket can be used for smaller items such as compact wireless systems, string wipes or batteries.

While their contoured design looks cool, these pockets are tighter than some other gig bags I’ve owned, and I struggled to get much more than an extension lead and foldable compact guitar stand in there. I also would have preferred having a smaller pocket on the neck part of the case, as filling the main compartment eats into the available space in the front pocket.

I used the FE1225 to transport my Jazzmaster to and from a number of gigs, some local, some several hours’ drive away. It was stacked up with bandmate’s guitars, thrown around backstage rooms, and even faced a particularly torrential bout of rain, all while keeping my instrument safe and cocooned. I can most definitely attest to this case being waterproof.

Given the hybrid hard/soft case design, getting a guitar in and out requires lying the case flat on the ground, but the neat Fender-branded zip pulls make this a cinch. I’ve had some gig bags where the zips simply lock up over time, but that hasn’t been the case here so far.

My one real criticism of the design is that the straps are positioned fairly low on the rear of the bag, which means the rest of the guitar protrudes higher than it would with other cases when strapped onto your back. I suddenly found my guitar’s headstock hitting an awful lot of doorways – forcing me to crouch slightly every time I entered a venue – so it’s lucky the headstock bumper is onboard. If Fender updates this case any further, the strap height would be the first thing to change.

While some parts of the FE1225 may be a little overengineered, there’s no questioning the rock-solid protection it affords your guitar, or the efforts Fender has gone to to create a nicely priced case that offers a premium feel for a reasonable price.

In fact, my bandmate was so impressed with the bag after seeing it in person that he immediately went out and bought one for his newly purchased Strat – which is about the best recommendation I can give this well thought-out case.

Specs

• Materials: 1200 Denier polyester, 25mm padding with microfiber lining
• Zipper: Reverse water-resistant zipper
• Other features: Two adjustable protective neck rests; protective exterior bumper, padded ergonomic handle, ID tag holder, shock-absorbing EVA padded backpack straps, front storage pocket with business card window, 2 pockets for extra strings, removable padded tool pouch, 3 elastic pick pockets, 2 elastic pen loops and key fob hook
• Contact: Fender

Fender Japan has further expanded its eye-catching Hybrid II Series of electric guitars, throwing bold gradient and fiery sunset burst colorways into the melting pot.

The darker of the two never-before-seen colorways is called Twilight, and it sees a burst of orange brighten the bottom of the guitar's otherwise blue-finished body. To our eyes, there is a decidedly 'Instagram logo chic' color palette about this one. For better or worse.

Sunset Orange Metallic, meanwhile is a more traditional burst-type finish with a warming twist.

Fender Japan has garnered something of a cult following in recent years for its willingness to go beyond Fender’s traditionalism and bring fresh ideas to the table.

Designed to retain the vintage look of its various builds but pepper them with modern specs that help widen their stylistic suitability, the Hybrid II Series sits at the heart of that ethos.

Six new models were announced at the start of 2024, each delivering quilted maple tops and Orange Drop capacitors, with pickup configurations that mixed things up a bit.

Stratocaster, Telecaster Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass models – as well as a unique HSS build that looks strikingly similar to Yamaha’s top-end, Japanese-built Pacifica Professiona – are all available within the series.

Choice specs aside, the Hybrid II Series sets itself apart for offering Fender-quality guitars that dare to offer fresh aesthetics. The ghostly Larimar Telecaster, for example – which is inspired by a gemstone found exclusively in the Dominican Republic – makes for an ethereal spectacle.

As such, there will no doubt be many players who’ll be delighted to see more colorways added to the risk-taking collection. Prices start from 150,700 Japanese Yen (approx. $945).

Head to Fender Japan for more information.

Few modern guitar players have left bruises as heavy as Loathe’s Erik Bickerstaffe. Since bursting onto the scene in 2016, he has almost single-handedly caused the price of Squier Vintage Modified Baritone Jazzmasters to triple in price on the second-hand market by conjuring earth-shattering sounds from his.

Today he continues to champion cheap budget gear despite the band’s success. “When I was younger, I wanted the most expensive stuff, because of the idea that you get what you pay for,” he says.

“But there’s more character in the player than there is in the equipment. Nothing is outright bad; everything has its own home that it just needs to find. For me, any sense of, ‘Oh, it’s not Fender!’ dissolved very quickly. What matters is the music.

Bickerstaffe continues: “Sometimes cooler music is made on whatever. There are so many musicians in bedrooms making amazing sounding records – you don’t need a huge amp stack or a $1,000 guitar.

“I still have a Behringer multi-effects pedal on my board, which I use for delays and crazy sounds. My aunt got it for £30 years and years ago. It was my first-ever pedal and I’m still using it to this day. It is dying a bit, though!”

Equal parts heavy djent extroverts and shoegazing introverts, many have called Loathe’s blending of styles inspired. Bickerstaffe is speaking to Guitar World from Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, UK, as he completes tracking on the band’s next barrage of riffs for the follow-up to 2021 album I Let It in and It Took Everything.

Having originally played a seven-string ESP LTD SCT-607B, the jump to baritone was more about avoiding preconceptions rather than tone. “I guess the first thing was aesthetic,” he says. “I prefer the look of a six-string guitar – extended-range guitars really send the idea of the music you’re about to hear in a certain direction.

“I felt like the only thing I’d get out of a seven-string was more notes; but at the same time, I felt those notes could be better implemented in different areas to fill out space and give a bit more depth to the music.”

Loathe drummer Sean Radcliffe – also a guitarist – suggested Bickerstaffe should try out a baritone “because The Beatles played one”. He soon moved from a Squier Bass VI to his value-hiking and P-90-loaded Jazzmaster. He’s described it as the best guitar he owns, even if it’s not currently his primary weapon.

“A Gretsch rep came to one of our shows,” he remembers. “At the time I didn’t realize Fender owns Gretsch. I really wanted to keep playing the Jazzmaster and develop a relationship with Fender. So when Gretsch came along I was like, ‘Oh man, it’s not Fender.’”

When the penny dropped, a G5260 Electromatic Jet baritone landed in his hands; and recently it became the first guitar he’s ever modded. “I've always got a new guitar and been like, ‘Cool, this is what I use now,’” he says.

“Only recently have I tried exchanging pickups for another set. Thankfully our guitar tech, Ryan, makes his own pickups so he offered to make me some.

“I wanted the Gretsch feel more like a really thick, Les Paul rock guitar. I said the mini-humbuckers were a little bit fluffy and I wanted something a bit more square-sounding. Then he went and made them, and they sound fantastic. It’s interesting to play the same guitar and get a new sound, so it might be something I get into exploring more.”

Another inspiration for Bickerstaffe’s new tonal exploration has come via his latest baritone, a custom-built gift from Liverpool’s Lothario Guitars. “It’s a 29-inch scale and it’s really good,” he says.

“It’s got a walnut body and top with a purple heart fretboard and neck. It’s the first baritone I’ve had with actual humbuckers, so I’ve never had a guitar-sounding baritone.”

The newfound love for that humbucker sound comes after Bickerstaffe became a victim of his own success. “I feel a little bit burned out over the sound of P-90s now,” he admits. “They’re very spanky, but they have a very particular sound. A lot of people have realised you can chug them and get a result, so I think they’ve become a bit overused.”  

There’s still plenty of experimentation going on when it comes to string gauges, with onstage practicality playing a big part. His two main tunings are A E A E D F# and A D A D G B, which are disgustingly low – producer George Lever has said it “sounds like what happens if you add distortion to the cable that holds up a bridge”.

“I’ve always preferred thicker strings because I’m also a drummer,” Bickerstaffe explains. “I depend on the impact and attack when I hit the string; I don’t want it to be biting back at me. When you hit a drum it doesn’t move.”

He adds: “Obviously thicker strings are a lot duller, but I’m using a .105 on my bottom E because I also need it to go down to B (an octave below a seven-string) during the set.

“I can only afford to take one guitar on tour, so it needs to be able to withstand all the tuning that we do. The .105 is a necessity for stability. We all know that thinner strings sound better for attack – but it’s a give-and-take.”

As a songwriter, he aims to give every song he writes “a unique character.” He’s an advocate of replicating those characteristics live. But that’s changing: “I’ve fallen in love with the concept of, ‘This is what the band sounds like live.’”

It’s an affair that’s come about in part by circumstance. While he’d love to have multiple amps on stage, Loathe have to be practical, which means his Hiwatt DR504 and Marshall JCM800 are left at home in favor of a streamlined rig with an Axe-Fx II at its core.

“There’s a lot of capability,” he says. “But I’ll always prefer the feel of a real amp, and they look so much better on stage. So it feels like we’ve kind of taken a step back, even though it’s such an advance in musical technology.”

Along with from a Boss TU-3 tuner and the oddball delays of his Behringer, there are five more weapons on the pedalboard that completes his live rig. He prefers the tone of a DigiTech Whammy to the Axe-Fx’s in-built pitch-shifting “because it’s going through electronics and doing its own thing.”

He uses EarthQuaker Devices’ Rainbow Machine for weird, nightmarish sounds. And in keeping with his budget gear love-in, he has a Boss HM-2 distortion pedal which he steps on for “crazy feedback” on demand.

His latest purchase is a DigiTech Space Station, which he got on the second hand market. He is, however, “dubious about bringing it on tour because it's old and expensive” – although he’s sure that’ll change in due course.

Having convinced countless players to buy baritones and tune them hellishly low, Bickerstaffe isn’t taking Loathe’s influence lightly. “It's an extreme privilege to be regarded as an inspiration,” he says.

“It also comes with a lot of stress – ‘Fucking hell, we’ve gotta live up to this thing’ – but it keeps us on our toes. We’re all just grateful to be a part of anyone’s musical journey. That’s what Periphery did for me; and if we’re doing that for others, then that’s a beautiful thing.”

• Loathe are on tour in the US. See loatheasone.co.uk for full dates.

KLŌS Guitars has made a name for itself specializing in carbon fiber instruments – everything from electric and acoustic guitars to basses and ukuleles. But now, thanks to KLŌS, you can have the benefits of carbon fiber on your longtime go-to Fender guitar, with the company’s F-Series Carbon Fiber Neck Replacement upgrade for Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazzmaster. 

The question, of course, is why upgrade to a carbon fiber neck at all? As Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario explains in the accompanying demo video, “To put it simply, a carbon fiber neck will pretty much last forever.” But that’s not the only reason. Other benefits include the fact that carbon fiber has 60 times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel, “so what you get is supreme durability from the neck to the fretboard, plus the neck isn’t subject to wear and tear from travel and abuse,” Paul says. 

Another benefit? Stability. “Extreme or gradual temperature and humidity fluctuations won’t impact the neck,” Paul says. “ Once you set-up the neck’s steel truss rod and the action where you want it, it won’t move and won’t need to maintain it.” Improved stability also means you can set up your action lower than you ever could with other guitars, allowing you to play faster and hit notes easier.    .”

Feature-wise, each F Series neck is constructed of 100% carbon fiber, with a composite fretboard that is machine PLEK’d. It has a 25 ½ inch scale length, modern “C” neck profile, 22 jumbo stainless-steel frets, a TUSQ nut, white side dots and inlays, a steel truss rod, KLŌS machine heads, and the necks fit seamlessly into all Strat, Tele and Jazzmaster bodies. 

Additional options on the F Series include a wide variety of carbon fiber pickguards, wide or narrow string spacing, KLŌS locking tuners and, for the southpaws, lefty necks.

But how do the F Series necks sound? Paul next gives us the full rundown, playing an unplugged Strat with a KLŌS replacement neck first. “What’s great about carbon fiber is it has this very quick response,” he says. “It’s just very loud and sounds so good. So even acoustically, these carbon fiber necks have really pronounced and defined lows. And once you get to the highs they just seem to poke through and slice.”

Paul then plugs in the upgraded Strat, putting the carbon fiber neck through its paces both clean and with gain. He then goes through the same process with a Telecaster fitted with a KLŌS F Series neck. 

The results speak for themselves. ““Everything about it just feels right,” Paul says of the neck. “And because it’s PLEK’d, everything is so precise and in tune all across the fretboard. Plus, you get 22 frets instead of 21 – a ‘bonus fret,’ if you will.”

Paul’s verdict? First off, he stresses, “KLŌS isn’t disparaging wood necks.” Rather, he points out, “With their F-series, they’re offering an alternative and stable neck that combines traditional feel paired with modern materials and technology, along with unparalleled and accurate playability. So what you’re getting is no more dead spots, fret buzz or need for a re-fret. And no bowing or warping for your neck. Definitely check it out.”

For more information, head to KLŌS. 

Here is a little something for the electric guitar enthusiast whose impulse to empty the kids’ college fund is triggered by the sight of a vintage offset guitar – and for those of us who look at Fender Japan and wish we got all the same cool models in other territories, too.

Yes, we’re talking offsets, with nine super-rare models to take a closer look at. Three were shown to Guitarist by Japanese offset specialists Gas Station Guitars, who spoke to us for our feature on how the Japanese Fender offset conquered the world.

The other six are bona-fide unicorns, vintage rarities, and proof that the offset has always been cool – it just needed some time to find its audience, as we attested in our history of Fender offset guitars.

Good luck picking a favorite.

 1. 1958 Fender Jazzmaster sparkle Surfburst

The worlds of cars and guitars were closely intertwined in 1950s America. The custom car culture of California in the era ensured that eye-catching paint jobs were much in demand among hot-rod drivers who wanted to stand out from the pack visually as well as through sheer horsepower. 

This movement coincided with dazzling new paints by companies such as Alcoa, and thus sparkle finishes became the most striking of a new breed of paint treatments for customising cars. 

Fender wasn’t slow to offer customers similar finishes on its guitars as special orders, either as a refinish for a Fender they already owned or as a custom order. As Fender’s factory didn’t have the facility for spraying the coarse particulates in sparkle paints, orders were subbed out to local auto-finish specialists (such as Dennis Swiden). 

This stunning 1958 Jazzmaster is one such guitar and its unique livery has been dubbed ‘Sparkle Surfburst’. It was formerly in the collection of vintage guitar expert Norm Harris and it may have been played by Nick O’Malley of the Del-Tones.

 2. 1958 Fender Jazzmaster Tobacco Sunburst

Paul Kelly, who co-authored Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970 with his brother Martin Kelly, recalls an all-too-familiar motivation for buying his first 50s Jazzmaster. In the late 70s, Paul and Martin had set their hearts on buying an original pre-CBS Fender. 

“There was a shop called Holiday Music in Leytonstone and they started importing everything,” Paul recalls. “We couldn’t afford Strats or Teles, but you could get a 50s Fender Jazzmaster for really cheap. I eventually got one there for £180. And that was a lot of money, but it was affordable, you know? They had a sunburst and a gold one, and the gold one was £250, whereas mine was £180. 

“Anyway, I managed to buy a sunburst one that was [refinished] white – it was a ’59, but the paint had been scraped off it. As I was walking out of the shop, the guy said, ‘Oh, don’t you want the case?’ And so he went and got out this brown Tolex case. So that was the first one I actually bought.” 

This particular all-original ’58 example with its gold, anodised scratchplate is from the Seven Decades collection.

 3. 1960 Fender Jazzmaster (Custom Order) Gold

This stunning 1960 Jazzmaster is typical of early custom colour Jazzmasters in that the gold paint used does not belong to one of the later, more familiar classifications from the Fender Custom Color charts, such as Shoreline Gold. Instead, it is likely an unspecified metallic gold by a commercial paint firm, possibly sourced from automobile part suppliers in Fullerton. 

This model goes all in on the gold theme with anodised gold scratchplate and hardware to boot. Unlike some later Fender offsets, however, it does not sport a matching headstock. 

“The matching headstock thing was applied to offsets, but it was not applied to the other [Fender electrics],” Martin Kelly adds, which explains the later prevalence of matching headstocks on reissue Fender Japan offsets. Custom colour Fenders are traditionally among the most expensive to collect, but Phil Hylander of Seven Decades says the relative affordability of vintage offsets, for many years, made custom colour examples more accessible to buyers.

 4. 1963 Fender Jazzmaster Lake Placid Blue

This beautiful Jazzmaster from 1963 belongs to Paul Kelly, who explains how he acquired it: “I was living in London in 1984 and I used to go to Denmark Street every day. One day, this blue Jazzmaster suddenly appeared in Andy’s guitar shop and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ because I don’t think I’d seen a Lake Placid Blue Fender by that point. 

“So I’d go every day and just stare at this guitar, but one day it was suddenly gone and I was like, ‘Ah shit!’ But I couldn’t afford it, it was like £400. Just a week or two after, Martin and I were at The Forum watching Orange Juice with Edwyn Collins – with that guitar! 

“Fast forward a few years to 1994, I was playing with Saint Etienne and we were recording at Edwyn’s studio, so I asked him, ‘You haven’t still go that blue Jazzmaster have you?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ and he let me use it on the session. Afterwards, I said, ‘You don’t want to sell it do you?’ But he said, ‘Nah.’ He let me borrow it and I took it on tour round Europe and when I got back he said, ‘Look if you want to buy it, I’ll sell it to you.’”

 5. 1964 Fender Jaguar Custom ‘Daisy’ Pink

“The story of how this guitar’s provenance was exposed is almost as interesting as the provenance itself,” says Martin Kelly.

On a recent visit to America, Martin was fortunate to meet a gentleman called Glenn Storlie, fresh off a flight from Amarillo where he runs Covenant Recording Studio. Glenn had spent years searching for a rare custom-ordered Fender since its original owner, his aunt Reverend Daisy E Guthrie, sold it in the late 80s – a pink Jaguar with matching headstock and gold hardware. 

Martin continues: “My ears pricked up immediately as there’s only one known pre-CBS Jag finished that way and it’s owned by one of my best pals Phil Hylander. Glenn looked shell-shocked that I knew of its whereabouts and confirmed that the guitar isn’t finished in Fender’s ridiculously rare Shell Pink by explaining that the Ford Motor Company had created a colour called ‘Daisy Pink’ especially for his aunt. 

“She was famous in her own right and had the paint sent to Fender. It was a special moment having the story behind that unique instrument, a true Fender custom order, confirmed.”

 6. 1966 Fender Electric XII Ice Blue Metallic

Fender wasn’t always first to market with innovations and it was, in fact, Rickenbacker who popularised the electric 12-string guitar, making an inspired choice to present a 1963 prototype to Beatles guitarist George Harrison, who used it on tour in 1964. The advent of The Byrds’ jangling Rickenbacker sound on No 1 single Mr Tambourine Man set the seal on the 12-string electric’s popularity and Fender duly launched its take in June ’65 with the Electric XII model. 

The new model’s body was clearly based on the Jazzmaster outline, though split pickups and a rotary selector (with which you could select pickups individually, together or together but out of phase) gave it its own distinctive sonic and visual identity, along with the impossible-to-miss ‘Hockey Stick’ headstock. 

On launch, the standard finish was sunburst with a pearloid guard, which was soon swapped out for faux tortoisehell. Interestingly, Martin Kelly says that an unusually high proportion of Electric XIIs were made in custom colours as a CBS marketing ploy to popularise the model.

7. 2023 Fender Jaguar FSR Inca Silver

“At the moment, Fender Japan are making a lot of their Jazzmasters and Jaguars with basswood bodies,” explains Keith Anderson, owner of Gas Station Guitars. “But every main production run they do a very limited and exclusive run alongside it with special features, almost to promote that run. These very high-spec ones tend to sell very quickly and then the rest of the run continues. And that was the case with this. 

“It was made alongside the latest Jaguar Traditional run, which was just fairly standard Jags with basswood bodies. But this one was a bit special – it had an alder body, a rosewood fingerboard and obviously the matching Inca Silver headstock.

“They also put Fender USA Pure Vintage ’65 Jaguar pickups in it, which is not common for Fender Japan; they normally stick with their own domestic-made pickups, which have a bit of like an iffy reputation sometimes, although they are getting better. 

“Another cool feature is that it came as standard with a ‘barrel’ saddle bridge from a Mustang on it, which is a mod that people often do to replace the standard Jaguar bridge saddles.”

8. 2007 Fender Mustang Competition ‘Beck’ Edition, Capri Orange

Some specialist versions of Fender offsets made solely for the domestic market in Japan can provide some ‘lost in translation moments’ for collectors based elsewhere in the world – including this ‘Beck’ edition Mustang, which, at first glance might seem to be a tribute to US indie-pop innovator Beck Hansen, or even some sort of obscure Jeff Beck signature guitar. 

In fact, says Keith, the name derives from a popular Japanese animated series somewhat whimsically entitled Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. “Yeah,” Keith Anderson grins. 

“That model was inspired by the name of the Japanese animé cartoon series and there’s a picture of the dog [itself named Beck, which belongs to a main character in] the cartoon on the back of the headstock. They also did a Beck Telecaster as well, which was based on a ’68 reissue Tele. But these guitars were really made only for Japan – because they didn’t think they were likely to sell outside of the domestic market. The stripes are Dakota Red.”

9. 2013 Fender JGS J-Craft Jaguar HH Special

“These are really cool,” Keith says. “I think they may be the only double-humbucker Jags that they made in Fender Japan. They were part of what’s called the J-Craft series – and they’re not building them any more. They were built in the 2000s and a little bit beyond. 

“They made a Gunmetal Blue one, like the one you’ve photographed, but they also made them in Gunmetal Red, which was really nice – it was like a burgundy sunburst kind of thing. 

“They put what they called ‘Dragster’ humbuckers in them, which sound good, and they had a rosewood fingerboard, plus a matching headstock in the same finish as the body. They made them for a relatively limited amount of time and they don’t turn up very often – really nice guitars, though.”

Down in rural Somerset, UK you’ll find a little slice of Matsumoto, Japan at the premises of Gas Station Guitars. The store, which primarily does business online, imports a wide variety of rare and sought-after Japanese guitars.

But, as owner Keith Anderson admits, it’s the colourful and quirky offset guitars made by Fender Japan – notably at its famous Fujigen factory – that are his ruling passion.

Less wedded to tradition than US Fenders, the guitars made by Fender Japan have always been a riot of colour and modded features, with guitars often made in vanishingly small runs for individual stores.

In this hothouse environment, which set a premium on exclusive finishes and unique features, traditional offsets such as the Jazzmaster evolved into truly capable and versatile contemporary electrics (just check out the Elemental Jazzmaster). 

We join Keith to explore how Japanese Fenders provided the missing link between vintage classics and modern do-it-all offset guitars.

How did you get into selling offsets made by Fender Japan?

“I think a lot of guitarists of my generation got into offsets because it was all we could afford at the time. And I think the same was true for a lot of my favourite bands, like Sonic Youth and Swervedriver when they started out.

“So if people wonder why indie music is so connected with offsets, it’s because we were all poor in the early ’90s! But now they’ve become kind of legendary and, really, Gas Station Guitars has always been about offsets for all of those reasons.”

How did the Japanese market for offsets get started?

“Before Fender Japan started making guitars at the Fujigen Gakki plant, a brand called Greco was building Fender clones at Fujigen. They’re rare as hen’s teeth, but I’ve got two here – an old Greco Jazzmaster and a Greco Jag as well – and those are basically the prototypes of the Fender Japan offsets that went on to be made by Fujigen. There’s a couple of little differences, but they’re basically [extremely similar to] the later Fujigen-built Jazzmaster and Jags.

“So I think Fujigen were building [clone] guitars so well back in the late ’70s that’s what got Fender interested in having them make their guitars. But they didn’t really start rolling out offsets until I think the late ’80s. 

“I’ve got a few from the late ’80s and then from around 1990 through ’93/’94 onwards, then they started really churning out Jags, Jazzmasters and Mustangs when nobody else was doing them. So I think they almost kickstarted offsets because they were the only ones really building them in any numbers at that time.”

Japanese Fenders are often very colourful and uniquely spec’d, and they enjoy a reputation for pristine build quality. Has that always been the case?

“There are certain periods with Fender Japan that I love where they got really creative. For example, the CIJ ‘Q’ Series were built in a period from around 2000 to 2004 during which time, for some reason, there was an explosion of different colours and finishes. There were some great guitars made just in that little serial number period. 

“Then they got a bit more conservative again, but people have always gravitated to guitars by Fender Japan because you get so much more choice with them. The electronics, to be perfectly honest, is the bit that sometimes lets them down – but I think the build quality is the best Fender makes outside the Custom Shop.”

There’s a real crisp, box-fresh look to Japanese Fenders, partly due to their immaculate poly finishes. Was nitro never a selling point in the Japanese market?

“Yeah, a lot of people don’t like the fact that they always use poly finishes as opposed to nitro. A lot of people will ask, ‘What Fender Japan models are finished in nitro?’ and the answer is very few, really – although I’ve actually got a couple of examples in right now. But they tend to stick with poly and, generally speaking, the Japanese market loves pristine new guitars. 

“Over here when a guitar gets old or you get a bit bored of it, you might mod it, and British players don’t tend to mind a few dings and bumps. But that’s not really the case in the Japanese market. Over there when your nice, shiny new poly guitar picks up a couple of dings, off it goes.

“They’ll even get left on the street sometimes – there’s a kind of a junk collection service in Japan and they sweep the streets every morning and pick up all these perfectly decent hi-fi systems and guitars that people have put out just because there’s a newer model out.

“So I think the Japanese market prefers poly because it always looks new. And, actually, I don’t think Fujigen ever had a permanent nitro spraying facility. That said, they have used nitro on a couple of guitars and I have one here – it’s a Heritage Jazzmaster and they pulled out all the stops on it with an anodised gold scratchplate. They also made a Japanese Strat exactly like this with a reverse headstock, which was really cool.” 

One of the beautiful things about Jazzmasters and Jaguars from Japan is the sheer range of custom colours that are available as well as special-finish options.

“Yes, and one thing I particularly love about Fender Japan is all the guitars with matching headstocks. These days, people are into big colours on an offset and I think that’s actually because of Fender Japan – they were the ones in the mid-’90s who were doing all these amazing finishes – because the [Japanese market] expected their guitars to be, like, Daphne Blue or Sonic Blue with matching headstocks.

“That continues to this day – for example, I’ve got an Inca Silver Jaguar here that’s just come out that they’ve also put neck binding on, which is quite nice. As far as I’m aware, that particular model has only been released for one single store in Japan; no-one else is getting them. So that’s going to be as rare as hen’s teeth.”

How about underneath the finishes – are the tonewoods used what you’d expect of traditional Fenders?

“All the offsets from the ’90s, apart from the Mustangs, were alder-bodied. More recently, for some reason, they’ve moved to basswood. I’m not sure why that is – it’s not massively popular over here. I don’t mind it personally and it is lighter than [alder]. 

“But I always thought that Fujigen didn’t actually like making basswood guitars because they needed different tooling [settings and tolerances] because it’s such a soft wood. So all their machines will have had to have been set up again for basswood because previously they were typically always alder – especially through the ’90s – and those alder guitars tend to be the most sought-after.”

You get the impression Fender Japan has always been a bit of a law unto itself…

“The relationship between the [main US Fender brand and Fender Japan] is really bizarre. I get people messaging me saying, ‘I just bought this Fender Japan guitar and it doesn’t work in the serial number search box.’ And I have to say, ‘No, that’s right – it won’t.’

“Because there’s no Fender search tool that’s going to give you the exact date of a Japanese Fender. So all you’ve got to go on is the serial number and that’s [only accurate to] within a period of two or three years. 

“I love that the Japanese Fenders are a law unto themselves. At Fujigen especially, it often seems like there was little rhyme nor reason to anything they ever did. Sometimes, I’m working on a guitar and I take the neck off and you look at the neck pocket and it’s got all these Japanese inscriptions and [when you investigate it] it basically means nothing! 

“I think that’s what keeps me interested, to be honest – you just never know what’s gonna turn up. My guys in Japan [sourcing guitars] are great. They know the kind of stuff I like, which is offsets. So they find me all the weird and wonderful stuff!” 

• See Gas Station Guitars for more Fender Japan rarities.