It’s being billed as the only chance you’ll get to hear such a variety of historic electric guitars played live and loud by some of the best guitar players in the country and, fittingly, it’s being held at the epicentre of guitar music in London – Denmark Street, on the edge of Soho, at The Lower Third music venue.

From 1959 Les Paul Standards played by the likes of Mick Taylor of the Stones to Golden Era Fenders in ultra-rare Custom Colours, the Legendary Guitars event, which takes place on the evening of Wednesday, September 16, offers a one-off opportunity to hear the guitars by which all others are measured by played by some of the best guitarists in Britain, accompanied by expert commentary on the guitars’ history and heritage from leading guitar authors and historians.

Speaking in the run-up to the event, which takes place in less than two weeks, Chris Buck said:

“Opportunities to play and hear iconic, museum-grade instruments in all their glory are few and far between. As such, it's easy to forget that they are exactly that – instruments meant to be played and enjoyed.

“You can read about their history and specs all you want, but ultimately, the interesting bit comes when you plug it in and see why it inspired such great music.

“Couple that with Denmark Street being one of those iconic London landmarks where the weight of history and expectation is almost palpable, and you've got the perfect storm. ‘Don't f**k it up, Chris!’”

To whet your appetite for this mouthwatering bill of legendary guitars and stellar players, here are three guitars that will be on show on the night you’ll definitely want to pay close attention to.

The Grainger ’Burst

Famously owned and played by Gary Grainger, who played it in Rod Stewart’s band in the late 1970s, this 1959-spec ’Burst (AKA sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard) emerged from Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory in 1960, making it a transitional model.

It has substantial play-wear just beneath the neck pickup in particular that bears witness to its years on the road and is known to be one of the better-sounding original ’Bursts out there, explaining why it was a go-to for Gary Grainger. Playing it for a Guitarist magazine vintage Les Paul shootout video back in 2023, Chris Buck said:

“I’ve been lucky enough to have played quite a few ’Bursts now, and this is the one I always find myself gravitating towards whenever anyone asks me what the pinnacle of Les Pauls is. To be honest, this is consistently the best one that I’ve played.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with this guitar, and as much as the gravitas or kudos of playing a ’Burst is never totally lost on me, having spent so much time with Grainger in lots of different settings, it does give me a little more objectivity about it in terms of not being totally blown away by the fact that it’s a ’Burst.”

Guitarist Tone Lounge demo guitarist Richard Barrett, who traded licks with Buck in the video, added, “The Grainger ‘Burst is not super-high output, but it’s got that sound.”

So if you want to hear what a genuinely great original ’Burst sounds like – even when compared to other Les Paul Standards from the late 1950s – head down to Denmark Street on September 16 to hear Chris Buck put it through its paces once again.

It’s not the only ‘Burst that will be on show - there’ll be the ex-Mick Taylor ‘Exile’ ‘Burst too, plus a first-year-of-issue 1958 Les Paul Standard, so you can leave knowing you’ve heard, direct from source, what all the fuss is about.

T-Bone Walker’s 1949 Gibson ES-5N

His playing influenced everyone from Hendrix to SRV, and gave Chuck Berry the inspiration for his swaggering showmanship. Texas-born bluesman T-Bone Walker was the godfather of electric blues, with a silk-smooth and droll vocal style and a fistful of licks that went on to form the very lexicon of modern blues guitar.

After moving to America’s West Coast in the 1930s, his star rose. The earliest publicity shots of T-Bone show him playing a Gibson ES-250, and this was the guitar he used for what remains his most influential single recording, Call It Stormy Monday, recorded in 1947 for the independent Black And White label.

However, the guitar that would become most synonymous with T-Bone was the 1949 ES-5N (the ‘N’ standing for Natural finish), which he began playing as his main instrument from August 1951.

From this point, as blues writer and jazz guitarist Denny Ilett wrote in Guitarist magazine, “there was a marked change in Walker’s tone [with this] full-size archtop that sported a cutaway and a trio of P-90 pickups. You can hear the difference on the likes of I Get So Weary, which features an out-of-phase tone made possible by the new guitar.”

You can see this very guitar, currently in the stewardship of famous Denmark Street guitar store Regent Sounds, being played on the night – one of the highlights of the Legendary Guitars show and a must for any fan of blues guitar.

Revolutionary Rickenbackers

The Legendary Guitars event will kick off with a presentation of Rickenbacker electrics with expert insights from Martin Kelly, co-author of Rickenbacker: Pioneers Of The Electric Guitar.

Speaking in a 2021 issue of Guitarist magazine, Kelly reminded readers of the design genius behind the Rickenbackers we know today, German emigrant luthier Roger Rossmeisl, who is especially notable for designing the Capri series of guitars that included some of the most iconic Ricky models ever built, including the 325, which was adopted by the Beatles and the 330 played by Pete Townshend of The Who, catapulting Rickenbacker to the forefront of ’60s pop culture.

“The Beatles were the spark,” confirms Martin. “Suddenly, you’ve got all these British bands in the US like The Hollies, Herman’s Hermits, The Zombies and The Animals turning up on American TV shows playing Rickenbackers, and all these kids are going, ‘That’s a cool guitar!’ So many people I’ve interviewed told me, ‘I didn’t know it was an American guitar.’

“The British Invasion introduced this American brand to America, a bit like how The Stones did with the blues. It had to go to Britain to be made popular.

“Pete Townshend took it somewhere else. He really played the hell out of his Rose Morris six- and 12-string models. If you get a 12-string, you can play pick-y stuff like [Roger] McGuinn, but if you hit it hard, you can really get the sound of those early Who records.”

Martin will take the audience through the evolution of some iconic Rickenbackers, while explaining their historic connection to Denmark Street retailer Rose Morris. While Martin covers the history, the guitars will be demonstrated by the superb picking skills of Guitarist Tone Lounge demonstrator and ex-Tony Hadley guitarist Richard Barrett.

If all of the above sounds too good to miss (which it is), head down to the Legendary Guitars event at The Lower Third on Denmark Street in London on September 16.

Places are strictly limited, so book your tickets now.

Fender has teamed up with Music Venue Trust to kickstart a new initiative – and their first move is a call to arms for fans to name their favorite venues.

UK-based charity Music Venue Trust supports grassroots venues, which are the beating heart of the music scene. They are where musicians can get their first gigs and cut their teeth.

As grassroots venues continue to struggle in uncertain times, Fender is now throwing its weight into the cause. Fans have been asked to nominate their favorite venues.

Winners from England, Scotland, and Wales will be selected based on the volume of nominations, and will be duly kitted out with a feast of Fender-branded gear.

The winning haul includes a Hot Rod Deluxe IV amplifier, an EVH 5150 Iconic Series 40-watt 1x12 combo with EL34s, a Rumble 200 bass amp, and an Acoustic SFX amp for dreadnought and OM players alike.

Finally, a StudioLive SE Digital Console Mixer will also be served up, making for a tidy overhaul of a venue’s backline.

The other nominated venues not so lucky to claim one of the three top spots will be included in a prize draw to win a Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Sparkle Precision Bass. Nominations are open until October 1.

“Grassroots music venues are where it all begins, the stages where artist develop their careers, and the places music fans discover their new favorite acts,” says Liam Cunnah, Executive Vice President, EMEA, Fender.

“Fender has always believed in the power of that connection, and this partnership with Music Venue Trust is our way of putting that belief into action.

“We’re asking fans across the UK to tell us which venues matter most to them, because nobody knows these spaces better than the communities they serve.”

“This partnership with Fender gives music fans an opportunity to celebrate the venues that matter to them, while helping us highlight the extraordinary work these venues do every day to support live music,” adds Denzil Thomas, Partnerships Lead at Music Venue Trust.

In January, a Music Venue Trust study found that more than half of the UK’s grassroots venues failed to make a profit. By its count, 30 venues shuttered for good in 2025, underscoring the importance of its mission to keep them open.

Head to Fender for more information about the initiative, and to nominate a venue.

In this little world of ours, Guitar Center looms incredibly large.

It’s the biggest in-person guitar retail location by a country mile; the only guitar store with enough name recognition to be the punchline of a viral bit by one of America’s biggest comedians (it stung a little, we won’t lie).

But it hasn’t just been a punching bag for Bill Burr. I mean, I don’t have to get into it, do I? If you or a guitarist in your life has been to a Guitar Center in the past, odds are there was something for you or them to complain about. Lack of premium and mid-tier instruments, messy, disorganized stores, staff without the right knowledge...

Now, we didn’t pull those three points off of vibes and memory: they were the issues the company’s own CEO, Gabe Dalporto, identified as being the chain’s biggest problems when he was placed in the captain’s chair in 2023.

The man’s been admirably honest about what he thinks went wrong, recently telling Modern Retail, that in the past, “We made a lot of decisions that, maybe, in isolation made sense – cut a little cost here, cut a little cost there – [but] in aggregate, really pissed off our customers.”

Since he took the reins, Dalporto has been on a mission to, in his words, “re-establish trust with musicians.”

And he’s got some success to point to, to be fair. According to Modern Retail, foot traffic in the company’s stores is up for the first time in a decade, and time spent in them is up 16 percent year over year. A decade into America’s retail apocalypse, that’s no small feat, regardless of what you think of the store.

But, what do you think of modern-day Guitar Center? Have you been to one in the last year or two? If so, how was your experience compared to past visits? Has the company delivered on its CEO’s promises of improvement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Guitar Center’s illustrious Rockwalk in Hollywood honors guitarists who changed the game. But manufacturers, and the people who make those brands iconic, often get the nod, too. Paul Reed Smith is the latest figure to be honored.

Smith, who founded PRS just over 40 years ago and has won over the hearts of everyone from Carlos Santana and Alex Lifeson to Ed Sheeran and Jeff Beck (apparently), is now being recognized for his contributions to the instrument’s legacy.

It’s his old pal and PRS artist John Mayer, with whom he crafted the best-selling Silver Sky, who’ll be inducting him. He’s giving back to a man who’s given him so much.

“The first time I saw a RockWalk induction, Ted McCarty was getting inducted, and Eddie Van Halen was one of the people in attendance to witness it,” Smith says.

“I was very pleased for Ted. That I’ll be in the middle of another induction is an honor and leaves me without words.”

Mayer will deliver a speech at the ceremony on September 26. It’s set to take place at the Dell West Plaza Rockwalk Stage at the Moody Center during the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Austin, Texas. The completed handprint will then be transported to Sunset Boulevard. Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto will also attend.

“There are very few people in the history of the electric guitar who have pushed the design and perfection of the instrument forward more than Paul,” Dalporto says. “He has inspired generations of musicians and instrument makers and is a living legend in our industry.”

Smith will be in prestigious company alongside 2024 inductee Gary Clark Jr., and a host of heavy hitters, including Steve Vai, Robert Johnson and Les Paul.

It’s two inductions in quick succession after Billy Idol and his foil, Steve Stevens, dipped their hands into wet concrete in June.

Norman Harris, the most recognized name in the vintage guitars, has been at it a long time. Nearly 60 years, to be exact.

His client list is legendary – Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Robbie Robertson, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Johnson and Joe Bonamassa, just to name a few. His store, Tarzana, California’s Norman’s Rare Guitars, has been a Southern California landmark for decades.

So when the news hit in January that Harris sold his store to the North American Guitar Corporation (TNAG), it was a big surprise. But at age 77, Harris has had to consider his mortality, as well as his legacy, which he feels is in good hands with Carter Vintage Guitars, a company based in Nashville.

Harris is speaking to Guitar World about why he’s selling now after fielding offers for years, where the vintage market is today and where it, and his legacy, will be in the future.

In recent years, Harris had serious health issues, including a bout with cancer and several stents placed in his heart.

“When you’re faced with a major health scare, things become a lot more real,” he says. “I thought of my family, everybody who works at the store is like my family, and I wanted the store to have a smooth transition in case anything should happen to me.”

Norm’s health issues also prevented him from hitting the trade shows where he’d buy guitars. “We were selling more guitars than I was buying and I felt at some point I was gonna run out of good stock,” he says.

Harris had been in touch with TNAG, and they had been inquiring about buying the store for about five years. Harris liked the people at TNAG and felt they would be best to take over the reins. “They’re really professional,” he says. “And it was a very good move all around for everybody.”

It took some time for Norm to warm up to the idea of selling the company, and today he says, “It’s always bittersweet when you do something all your life, then you come toward the end. With my health issues, I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. I wanted my grandchildren to drive by and say, ‘That was grandpa’s store.’”

As Ben Montague, founder and CEO of TNAG, explains, “The goal was to make sure these amazing mom-and-pop shops stay around. We have to make sure we support the employees, the customers and the inventory and try to make sure that they’re here for generations to come.” (Montague, a native of London, points out here are great vintage stores overseas as well, and he considers vintage guitar buying “a global movement.”)

While Norman’s Rare Guitars already has a good social media presence, including their popular YouTube channel, one of the reasons Harris wanted to sell to TNAG was to strengthen his social media presence and bring it up to date. “I like to describe it as we used to be the Flintstones and now we’re the Jetsons,” Harris jokes.

Both Harris and Montague have the same goal with social media, to give people from all over the world a feel for the store and give them a good idea of how a vintage guitar sounds before they potentially buy it

When Harris first started selling guitars in the late ’60s, there wasn’t even a vintage market, just a used guitar market, and he’s seen it go through incredible changes. Back then, you could buy a vintage ’59 Les Paul for $800, which many considered an insane amount of money.

Of course, the value of the ’59, which is considered the holy grail of the realm, kept going up and up, and people finally started to realize rare guitars could be great investments.

Decades later, the vintage market is still going strong. “We’ve been killing it,” Harris says, and vintage guitar prices have reached insane new levels with public auctions. One recent example is David Gilmour’s classic Black Strat, which sold for $3.9 million in 2019, and it was resold this year for $14.5 million. (Gilmour’s Strat is the current record holder for most expensive guitar ever sold.)

“The vintage market is coming into a real boom at the moment,” Montague says. “There’s a whole other asset class now, and I think more people are moving into the vintage market because they realize the value of these instruments.”

In a day and age where people are afraid of AI taking over, Montague sees the current state of guitar, and the vintage market, as a very positive sign for the future.

“We’re living in a world now where AI and creativity is done with the click of a button,” he says. “People don’t want that. They want authenticity; they want to see musicians playing an instrument, crafting a song, performing. I think that’s what we saw with the vinyl market; people buying LPs has gone up because people want authenticity.”

While Harris took a tough hit from his health issues, he says, “I’m up and about and doing my work. I still come in and do my business as if I owned it. Most people when they walk through the door wouldn’t even realize that there’s been any real change.”

And indeed, when you come to Norman’s, it still has a welcoming family vibe, there are beautiful guitars – new and rare – everywhere, and it’s also nice to walk into a guitar store where customers can actually play guitar.

“It’s a huge responsibility to make sure this store stays here forever,” Montague says, and you can tell it’s a responsibility he takes seriously.

Thankfully, after spending an afternoon with Harris and Montague, you walk away with the impression that good guitar playing, the vintage market and mom-and-pop shops like Norm's will enjoy a healthy future.

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

On September 16, some of the world’s most historic guitars – including famous ’Bursts and T-Bone Walker’s 1949 ES-5N – will come to Denmark Street in London, where they will be played live and loud by some of Britain’s top guitarists.

Chris Buck of Cardinal Black will be joined on stage at The Lower Third venue by Chris Turpin of Mirador, the hard-hitting rock band he co-fronts with Jake Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet.

Together, they will play a bevy of Holy Grail vintage guitars – many of which made rock history in the hands of players such as the Stones’ Mick Taylor.

There will also be a special presentation of vintage Rickenbackers by guitar historian Martin Kelly, the author of Rickenbacker Guitars: Out of the Frying Pan Into The Fireglo, and Richard Barrett, formerly of Tony Hadley’s band and Guitarist’s resident virtuoso.

“I genuinely can't wait for it,” Chris Buck said after being announced as one of the headliners of the show.

“Having the chance to play such iconic, culturally significant guitars is undoubtedly a perk of the ‘job’. It's like going into the Ferrari museum at Maranello after hours, and someone left the keys in the ignition."

Chris Turpin of stellar rock band Mirador and roots-blues outfit Ida Mae echoed Buck’s sentiments.

“Denmark Street is hallowed ground in the story of the British guitar hero. To give voice to these legendary guitars – many of which have become cultural icons and changed the course of rock ’n’ roll – is a bloody privilege,” he said.

Stellar guitars already confirmed to be played on the night include the 1959-spec ‘Grainger’ 1960 Les Paul Standard formerly played by Gary Grainger of Rod Stewart’s touring band from the mid-’70s into the ’80s.

Also on show is the ex-Mick Taylor ‘Exile’ ’Burst, a rare original late 1950s ’Burst, and the aforementioned 1949 Gibson ES-5 that, in the hands of T-Bone Walker, gave birth to electric blues.

There will also be a delectable selection of Golden Era Strats in ultra-rare Custom Colours, plus benchmark vintage electrics from 60s ES-335s to ’54 Goldtops and rare Rickys, with many more landmark guitars to be announced in the coming days.

The show, called ‘Legendary Guitars on Denmark Street,’ is proudly presented by Guitarist magazine in partnership with the historic recording studio (now guitar store) Regent Sounds, where the Stones cut their debut album, just across the road from The Lower Third venue.

Joining Turpin and Buck on stage will be former Guitarist and Guitar Techniques editor Neville Marten and the magazine’s current editor Jamie Dickson, who will offer insights, perspectives and stories about the guitars being put through their paces on stage, drawing on decades of experience to bring the heritage of these unique guitars to life in company.

“I'm totally stoked to have been asked to join this rare and exciting event,” Neville said.

“It's really good to be doing something with Rickenbacker, too, since these guys built some of the most influential guitars in history and yet don't always receive the love they deserve.

“It never hurts to cast an eye over an original ’Burst or two, either, and I hear some sensational artist instruments will be getting an airing, too. I can't wait, and I look forward to seeing you there.”

Doors for the event open at 6pm, with a bar on hand for refreshments, and the show will run until after 9pm, giving plenty of time to savour the sounds and sights on offer.

Ticket holders will also get all-day exclusive access to Regent Sounds’ stunning vintage lounge where some of the guitars that will appear in the show that evening, including T-Bone Walker’s ES-5, will be on display.

There will also be other exclusive perks for guests to the event to be announced in the run-up to the big night.

Tickets for this unique and unmissable live celebration of Holy Grail guitars are priced at £49.50 and can be ordered online now at Future Events.

Gabe Dalporto had a huge task ahead of him when he became Guitar Center CEO in late 2023. There is still work to do, but he feels the stores’ recent success has come from player feedback helping steer its ship.

Dalporto joined in 2018, as part of its board of directors, before stepping up five years later. He landed the job after highlighting his expertise in digital transformation, customer acquisition, and overseeing customer service, but it hasn’t been plain sailing.

“We made a lot of decisions that, maybe, in isolation made sense – cut a little cost here, cut a little cost there – [but] in aggregate, really pissed off our customers,” he says of the brand’s early efforts to turn the ship around (via Modern Retail).

Customer feedback became a vital tool. Players sounded off about a lack of knowledgeable sales reps after cost-cutting left many stores understaffed. Store inventory was flipped from 70% entry-level to 70% “serious musician”. And guitars were unlocked and taken down from high hangers.

Events at Guitar Center stores, including one featuring Kiki Wong and Yvette Young, aim to re-establish a sense of community. Billy Idol and Steve Stevens were added to its Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“What we’re trying to do is to engage with all the incredible local musicians in all of our markets locally and provide a national stage for them,” Dalporto explains.

“The last thing we want to be is Best Buy – a completely and utterly standardized national box retailer. We want to feel like the local music store that has deep personal connections with local artists.”

Safeguarding physical stores was one of Dalporto’s key priorities. But more recently, he teased an in-house guitar brand that will be bringing anything but more clones to market.

The shape of its new brand also hinges on conversations with dedicated players. A subreddit called r/GuitarLab was even set up to kickstart conversations.

The idea was to “come build a guitar with us from the ground up,” with questions probed around hardware specs and what players like – and loathe – about guitar controls.

It’s all working towards Dalporto’s dream of making Guitar Center “a theme park for musicians.”

The changes appear to be working. According to Bloomberg, Guitar Center’s most recent quarterly sales are up 5.2%, and the time customers have spent in its 300 US stores has risen 16% year on year. An expected $16 million tariff refund is also set to be a shot in the arm.

Australian Guitar #169 is here and, as you've no doubt gathered from the cover above, we've gone around the Bowie bend this issue.

To commemorate ten years since the world-changing rockstar's death, we chat with an assembly of former Bowie collaborators to ask: what was it like playing with royalty? What was his philosophy towards the guitar? And critically: was he nice? Adrien Belew, Peter Frampton and Carlos Alomar all weigh in, among others.

We speak to a lot of other fellow string-slingers too: Local djent wizz Plini features, as does Little River Band's Graeham Goble. Masked buzz act Angine de Poitrine speaks up (via email: we've not seen 'em, unfortunately), as does Kim Thayil and Brian Setzer. We also look at the recording of INXS' timeless Never Tear Us Apart.

Technique wise, we cast our eyes over the full spectrum of 1980s guitar excess. We also look at the history of signature guitars, and review gear by the likes of Ibanez, Fender, Cort, JBL, KRK, PRS and more.

Australian Guitar #169 is available now at newsagents all around the country, and online via TechMags or iSubscribe.

Subscribe to the print edition of Australian Guitar, and you'll enjoy each new issue on the day it's published, delivered straight to your door.

With D’Addario shot down for (supposedly) using AI-generated music in a product demo, and female content creators replaced by horror-doll avatars, the knives are out again for the technology of our times. Giving you the news in quickfire conversational style, it’s… Fret Buzz.

Good to see AI in the headlines, for a change. Has it done something astonishing to elevate human existence, like curing cancer or restoring the dolphin population?

Don’t be silly. It’s just stepped up its dead-eyed mission to decimate the arts sector. And given musicians a few new reasons to march on the gated communities of Silicon Valley’s pallid, god-complex princelings.

But what does this have to do with D’Addario? Don’t they make good, honest guitar strings, not insidious lines of code that will lead us to fiery armageddon?

You’re right: D’Addario does indeed produce some of the very best strings in the world. However, its PR crisis management needs a little work.

I mean, how much scandal can a G-string generate? Actually, don’t answer that.

It’s all kicked off over a demo video for the new NYXL HD strings. With the blogosphere accusing D’Addario of creating the music using AI, the firm’s scattershot, flustered denial – issued over several days – seemed oddly unconvincing, like a frosty-faced Mötley Crüe insisting they honestly have no idea what happened to that attaché case full of cocaine.

Sounds pretty mortifying. What else has AI been up to lately?

Everybody’s favorite semi-sentient technology is keeping busy. Of course, there’s AI’s ‘day job’ – stealing musicians’ copyrighted material to train its models, spewing soulless dreck across streaming sites and making a career in music financially unviable. But its latest trick is lifting the videos of (mostly female) content creators and repurposing them in various dystopian ways.

This conversation is about to turn from flippant to quite dark, isn’t it?

Afraid so. In June, GW reported how some of the world’s best-known online players – from Sophie Lloyd to Larissa Liveir – have seen their videos replicated in minute detail with an AI-rendered avatar in their place. Seriously, check out the AI facsimile of Sophie Burrell’s Sultans Of Swing, with an eerily glossy Bratz doll pulling the exact same shapes.

I’ve just watched it. That thing should be killed with fire.

What really stings is that the AI version clocked 17k-plus ‘likes’ that by rights belong to Burrell. But it gets bleaker. Ukrainian guitarist Tanya Yakimova has reported her likeness being used to scam fans and generate deep-fake AI porn. Given all that, Bud Cole’s recent comments on AI were about as welcome as pubic lice on a tourbus.

The Fender CEO? Surely he’s keeping his head down after that Strat lawsuit debacle?

You would think. But he’s just compared cover bands to “a sort of analog AI” (although he’s since rowed back, a bit). Which is totally missing the point.

You’re going to tell me why, aren’t you?

Every human musician – even if they’re covering an old song – has their own individual, imperfect, messy thumbprint, and an emotional impetus behind what they’re playing. AI understands nothing of glorious human fallibility. It’d probably take Jimmy Page’s classic Heartbreaker solo and fix the bum notes.

Is there any good news here?

Only that maybe AI is so busy defrauding musicians that it won’t have time to take physical form and force mankind to toil in a choking warren of copper mines. You have to look on the bright side, right?

Las Vegas is set to play host to the fourth Gibson Garage location. It will be the fourth Garage in total, and the third on US soil.

The original Gibson Garage launched in Nashville in 2023. A London location – the first overseas – arrived in 2024. As recently as last month, Gibson announced the opening date for a Miami store.

Now, “a new Gibson Experience” will hit the Las Vegas Strip in 2027. And it will give players the chance to make a whole different kind of drunken decision on the strip. Who needs an intoxicated wedding when you can wake up next to a five-figure Murphy Lab Les Paul?

The fourth Garage will be located at Miracle Mile Shops on the Las Vegas Strip, and it continues the firm’s brick-and-mortar expansion plans. It will feature “rare and collectible instruments, immersive artist experiences, and the first-ever Les Paul ’59 Experience.” We're not quite sure what that means, but color us intrigued.

Spanning 9,000 square feet, Gibson Garage Las Vegas has been dubbed Gibson’s “boldest” yet. It will house brands from across the growing Gibson family, including Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer, as well as the amplifier brand Mesa/Boogie, Maestro, and KRK.

Visitors will be able to pick up and play gear from across the store and experience its Made to Measure and Custom Shop builds up close. Its centerpiece, however, will be a special Acoustic Murphy Lab Collection Room to showcase its uncanny aging process.

“Las Vegas is one of the most exciting entertainment destinations in the world, and the Gibson Garage Las Vegas will be designed to meet that energy at full volume,” says Anne Rohosy, Interim CEO of Gibson.

“This will be much more than a place to buy a guitar – it will be a place to play, discover, perform, connect and experience the Gibson legacy in a way that can only happen in Las Vegas.

“Building on what we’ve created in Nashville, London and Miami, Gibson Garage Las Vegas will take experiential retail, artist culture and music to an entirely new level.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Gibson Garage Las Vegas to Miracle Mile Shops,” adds Robert Buchanan, Vice President and General Manager of Miracle Mile Shops. “Gibson is one of those brands that needs no introduction, and what they’re bringing to Las Vegas is more than a store.”

The move will see it neighbor Planet Hollywood and several boutique clothing and jewelry stores.

If Billy Gibbons and his near-mythic Pearly Gates Les Paul aren’t the star attraction of its opening night, a trick has been well and truly missed.

The rapid expansion of Gibson’s Garage locations, coming so soon after the announcement of Miami’s launch, signals the firm’s commitment to embedding itself in local communities and ensuring its physical retail presence.

Iconic pedal steel guitar company Sho-Bud is expanding into recorded music with the debut of its record label and publishing arm, Sho-Bud Records. Originally founded as Sho-Bud Music in 2002, the imprint is now being reintroduced under its new name.

Music industry veteran Mike Gormley will be leading the effort. His decades of experience in the music business include managing The Bangles and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and writing for the Detroit Free Press, Variety Magazine, and Billboard Magazine. He also served as a music executive for A&M Records and Polygram Records.

“Sho-Bud is not simply a brand. It is part of the sound of American music,” he states. “When a name carries that much history, the responsibility is to honor it, protect it and help introduce it to new audiences.”

According to Sho-Bud co-CEO Will Jackson, the idea was partly inspired by the artists who use the brand’s instruments. “We saw a chance to do more than build great products — we wanted to help those artists reach a wider audience,” he says.

“By combining our technology expertise from other arenas with a strong network of industry partners, we've created a platform that supports artists through traditional and emerging channels, including vinyl, streaming, sync licensing, social media and live production.”

CFO and General Counsel Fred Waid also confirms that, by working “even more closely with the people who play our instruments,” the record label’s work will help shape the future of Sho-Bud instruments.

Founded in 1955 by Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons, Sho-Bud has established itself as a go-to for pedal steel guitars.

It helped shape the “Nashville sound” and became a staple of country and Americana music throughout the ’60s and ’70s, as leveraged by the likes of the Beach Boys, Yes, and the Eagles.

Earlier this year, Sho-Bud continued expanding its offerings by acquiring Mosrite Guitars – the underdog firm loved by Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Ramone.

PRS has appointed its first-ever Chief Executive Officer, Jack Higginbotham.

Higginbotham has been a key part of the Maryland brand since it was founded in 1985. He started his career in the woodshop, and worked his way up to become the company’s Chief Operating Officer.

Now, he leaves his role as COO to become the first person to hold the title of CEO in PRS history.

“Jack Higginbotham has been a leader with PRS since the beginning. He is deeply deserving of this role,” Paul Reed Smith, the firm’s namesake and Managing General Partner, says. “I look forward to continuing our close relationship building and selling guitars and amps for the world.”

“PRS is an exciting place to be, now more than ever, and I’m thankful to be surrounded by talented, focused teams in the US, UK, Europe and Japan,” notes Higginbotham.

“As Paul is heard to say, ‘This is our time.’ As I navigate my fourth decade as a PRS employee, I’m looking forward to using my experiences as well as our collective experiences to position us well for the next 40 years. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to what is to come!”

It’s no surprise that Higginbotham was seen as the outstanding candidate for the role. In his 41 years at the company, he’s been at the forefront of many PRS developments, helping bring to life key products such as the Silver Sky and SE Series.

He was also instrumental in working with John Mayer on the SE Silver Sky line.

However, despite the milestone surrounding the appointment, it’s unlikely it will result in any extensive operational overhaul. Instead, it looks to be a natural structural evolution that will maintain, rather than reinvent, the wheel.

Indeed, PRS says “Higginbotham will continue to oversee the worldwide day-to-day business operations of the company”, and will travel the globe to “strengthen manufacturing processes, dealer relationships, vendor connections, and every aspect of PRS Guitars”.

Many of his responsibilities as CEO will therefore be carried on from his COO days. Likewise, the structure around Higginbotham remains unchanged, meaning the current setup – with Paul Reed Smith at the heart of guitar development – will be unaffected.

At a granular guitar level, expect business as usual. If anything, Higginbotham’s ascension to the CEO position has executive advantages that come with having a clear, identifiable Chief Executive at the helm of the company.

Head over to PRS to find out more.

Gibson has confirmed its new Garage in Miami will open on September 10. It will become the firm’s third brick-and-mortar location and second in the US, after stores in Nashville and London.

Located in the heart of Miami’s Wynwood Art District, Gibson Garage Miami – which was first announced late last year – will bring “the full Gibson family of brands to one of the world’s most musically diverse, culturally rich, and creatively vibrant cities.”

That amounts to a whopping 8,000 square feet of showcase space. More than 500 electric and acoustic guitars and basses are set to be housed there, from Gibsons to Epiphones, Kramers, MESA/Boogie amps, Maestro, KRK, and Gibson Amplifiers.

The Garage also features a stage, which will become a major part of the store’s activities. Artist performances, intimate showcases, album release events, and community programming have all been mooted.

The store will also tap into the city’s Latin culture, with exclusive apparel collaborations with local designers, lifestyle gifts, celebrity and film memorabilia, and rare instruments.

Notably, it will feature Gibson's first stateside Gibson Gallery art installation, which will be “spotlighting photography, street art, and iconic moments in music history”.

“Retail is no longer just about what people buy – it’s about what they feel, discover, and become part of,” says Gibson’s Interim CEO, Anne Rohosy, who has temporarily replaced the outgoing Cesar Gueikian.

“Gibson Garage Miami represents the next evolution of that idea,” she continues. “It’s an immersive music destination that invites people in to play, explore, create, connect, and experience Gibson heritage in the real world.

Given that Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi were in attendance at the London Garage’s grand opening, and Brian May was unveiled as a surprise new artist, who knows what will be in store when the Miami branch opens its doors in September. The public will get their first chance to visit on the 10th.

Gibson says its Nashville location has become “a Mecca for guitar players,” since opening in 2021.

Meanwhile, Fender has expanded in a wholly different way, opening a guitar-themed coffee shop in downtown Tokyo, building on the success of its flagship Tokoyo store.

Ever wondered why there seems to be an unspoken rule not to play Led Zeppelin’s opus, Stairway to Heaven, at your local guitar store? All roads – or, ahem, stairways – lead to the 1992 movie Wayne’s World. Specifically, the scene that’s forever cemented in pop culture and guitar lore.

“I think this whole thing started with Wayne's World making fun of Stairway,” Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto tells Guitar World, referring to the iconic “No Stairway, Denied” scene.

Perhaps frustrated by the sheer number of players attempting to emulate Jimmy Page, Guitar Center employees did in fact, at some point, “Put signs up in the stores [saying], ‘No Stairway.’

“And then I think people got scared to play Stairway… and so almost nobody played Stairway anymore,” Dalporto admits.

Fast-forward to 2025, and Lithuanian multi-instrumentalist and content creator Døvydas decided to test the waters and bring badly played renditions of the Led Zeppelin classic back to stores nationwide.

Dalportpo continues, “He's like, ‘Hey, I want to come in and shoot in Guitar Center.’ So I went down and met with him, and we're like, ‘I think it's time, let's lift the ban.’ And so we did a version of Stairway. We're just kind of jamming and playing back and forth… and we officially lifted the ban.”

And while Stairway to Heaven is finally back on the cards, there are a couple of songs that Guitar Center staff members would rather not hear again.

“We went and did a survey – the top 10 most overplayed songs and most hated songs in Guitar Center – [and] the number one song was [Metallica’s] Master of Puppets,” Dalporto reveals, referring to the company's recently published list of the 10 most-played guitar riffs in its stores.

In a seperate interview with Guitar World’, Dalporto addressed the skepticism surrounding Guitar Center's new in-house brand.

Fender has opened its first standalone cafe location in Tokyo, and its menu is extremely on-brand.

Situated in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, a neighborhood known for its indie music scene, it builds on the Big F’s burgeoning coffee-fueled cafe portfolio. Its flagship Tokyo store, which opened in 2023, includes an in-shop cafe.

Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa opened on July 3, marking the brand's first standalone cafe location. Yet, while you can’t get a side of Stratocaster with your flat white, there are plenty of nods to all-things-guitar across the location.

From plectrum-shaped stools that lean into urban coffee-house chic to a wall-mounted 1969 rosewood Telecaster hanging off the wall – a model George Harrison and Josh Homme have both played – and a menu that nods to Fender’s 80-year history, subtlety has been left at the door.

In fact, the inclusion of the left-field rosewood electric guitar nods to the very genesis of the store's design.

“The new store adopts a space design inspired by the 1969 Rosewood Telecaster that has left its name in music history,” says Fender Japan, via The Japan Times. “Fender combines the spirit of rock and roll with California coffee culture with Japanese sensibilities, craftsmanship, and subtle hospitality.”

The menu continues the trend. Customers can quench their thirst with a Stratocaster rose latte or Telecaster maple latte, for instance, and it has a signature coffee blend called First Set. Meanwhile, hungry bellies can be satiated with a Six Strings Burger or Chicken Overdrive Rice.

If it’s looking for more puns to expand its menu with in the future, Guitar World humbly suggests the Mustang Macchiato, Early Grey Tweed, and Deluxe Decaffe. 'Capo-cino' has a nice ring to it, too.

“Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa aims to blend in with nature’s daily routine in this city and create a community place where music-loving people can connect at ease,” Fender Japan expands. “Musicians, community people, live house attendees, and musicians.”

“Set in Shimokitazawa, where the culture of live music is particularly breathed in Tokyo, with the concept of ‘Good Coffee, Good Vibes’, we propose a new music lifestyle where music fits everyday life.”

From bonkers finishes to reviving unconventional classics, Fender Japan has proved time and again that it does things differently.

There’s an enviable creative freedom at play that left GW gobsmacked when it made the journey over to the Japanese capital last year.

For more, head over to the Fender Cafe Instagram page.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly making its way into every corner of the guitar world. Bad actors are replicating guitarists’ playing videos and replacing them with AI-generated models, and now another new phenomenon is emerging: AI guitar YouTubers.

Guitarist, gear reviewer, and popular YouTube personality Rhett Shull recently discovered that his videos are being used as training fodder for AI YouTube influencers.

“I was on Instagram, and I got tagged in a story by The Bad Guitarist Podcast. [It says,] ‘This week, we take a look at an AI guitar YouTube channel that popped up in the last month and has over 5000 subs, 600,000 views, and a ton of comments from unsuspecting viewers.’”

Out of curiosity, Shull clicked on it, only to discover that this specific AI YouTube channel, the so-called Guitar Gems with Chase, “is directly ripping me off in several different ways. I clicked on this [channel] last night and honestly was kind of freaked out.”

“If you've been watching my channel since before 2021, you should recognize this background,” Shull points out. “This is the old set – the old background that I used to film in from about late 2018 until we bought this house in 2021.

“This [AI-generated] creator, Chase, is wearing [a jacket that] is pretty clearly modeled after this jacket, which I used to wear in my videos all the time, so this is one of my older videos.”

Background and jacket aside, the bad actors behind the videos are going as far as to replicate the very gear Shull had in his previous clips.

“There's no question that this is someone, some content farm, or some person somewhere, who's feeding my videos to some sort of AI and having it spit out this content. I wish I was as handsome, though, as this guy is!” he quips.

The AI-generated creator’s videos took an even darker turn. Turns out, it’s being used to slander guitar products and reputable brands without being held accountable.

“What this video is claiming is that a company like Gibson or, later, Fender and PRS, and these other companies are ripping you off because they're using the same machines and building the same guitars, but in China,” Shull says. “It's completely wrong information; it's false.

“If I said that stuff in a video, if I came out and made these claims that are just like objectively false, I could be held liable for slander or defamation because I'm lying about a company. But so far as I understand it, because this is an AI creator, and AI is completely unregulated here in the United States, there are no rules around this stuff, at least as far as I can tell.”

Shull goes on to say that “YouTube obviously doesn't seem to have a problem with it,” as the AI-generated channel is “most likely monetized” and not held to the same standards as a human creator.

What’s more, the channel is also being leveraged to sell guitar courses, or, as advertised, “The complete, no-BS manual that takes you from ‘I don’t know what to buy’ to ‘I own the right gear, it plays perfectly, and I got it at a fair price.’”

The so-called “4-in-1” guide currently costs $27 (for a limited time only, of course), with topics including “The Honest Guitar Buyer’s Guide 2026” and “The Ultimate Beginner Gear Setup,” which we can assume are also generated by AI.

While concrete laws regarding AI are few and far between and are different across territories and jurisdictions, in March 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the Copyright Act “requires all eligible work to be authored in the first instance by a human being,” according to a paper published by Christopher T. Zirpoli.

Elsewhere, Executive Order 14365 pushes for a “single national framework” for AI but doesn’t clearly address copyright and privacy concerns. Ultimately, as per Legal Clarity, “No single federal law governs artificial intelligence in the United States. Instead, AI regulation is spread across executive orders, agency guidance, existing civil rights and consumer protection statutes, and a growing number of state laws.”

This naturally leads to a patchwork system that does little to address the concerns of creators like Shull.

As for YouTube, the platform requires creators to label AI-generated content. There were also recent updates to YouTube’s privacy standards that make it possible for individuals to request the removal of “AI-generated or other synthetic or altered content that simulates an identifiable individual, including their face or voice.” Crucially, however, videos are not automatically demonetized simply because they are AI-generated.

“It really sucks, man,” says Shull. “The fact that this is allowed to happen on YouTube, the fact that the platform doesn't immediately crack down on this AI-generated slop, really sucks. And as a creator, and as someone that does this for a living now here on YouTube, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me about the future of this platform.”

Gibson President and CEO Cesar Gueikian has announced that he intends to step down from those executive roles.

Gueikian's tenure as the guitar giant's President and CEO will wrap up on July 31, Gibson announced in a press release. From there, he will move to a new role on the company's Board of Directors. Gibson added that he will also continue his work with the company's artists as a “global artist ambassador”.

Gibson's Chief Commercial Officer, Anne Rohosy, will take the position of Interim President and CEO while the company's board searches for a permanent successor.

“For 13 years, Cesar has poured his passion, creativity, and relentless commitment into Gibson,” said Nat Zilkha, Executive Chairman of Gibson’s Board of Directors, in a statement. “On behalf of the Board, we thank Cesar for his transformative leadership and the important role he has played in rebuilding the foundation of the company.

“Cesar came to us ready to step back from the day-to-day operating role and focus his energy where he has always been most passionate – working directly with artists and being close to the music. We are grateful that he will remain part of the Gibson family through his continued service as a Board member, strategic advisor, and artist ambassador.”

In a statement of his own, Gueikian said, “Gibson is part of my DNA. It has been the honor of my life to help lead Gibson and to work alongside the people who bring this company to life every day.

“Gibson is something special – to musicians, to fans, to everyone who has ever picked up a guitar and felt that connection. I am incredibly proud of what we have built together: our team, our culture, our artists, and our global community of artists and fans. I hope to have left a legacy that will be remembered in Gibson's history as a progressive era.

“I have enormous confidence in Anne and in the future of this company, and I look forward to my next chapter as a shareholder, Board member, and artist ambassador. Gibson’s best years are still ahead, and I’m excited to be part of what this company will go on to achieve.”

Gueikian first joined Gibson in 2018, a time when the vaunted company was emerging from bankruptcy and the controversial tenure of former CEO Henry Juszkiewicz.

He began as the company's Chief Merchant Officer, but immediately made an outsize impact, notably plucking Mark Agnesi from his prominent role at the LA vintage guitar mecca Norman's Rare Guitars to serve as the firm's Director of Brand Experience.

In 2021, he was promoted to the position of Brand President, and two years later, upon the stepping aside of James “JC” Curleigh, he got the top job.

As CEO, Gueikian was notably hands-on, working closely with (and even building guitars for) marquee artists, teasing new models himself, and even collaborating on original music with some of the biggest names in the brand's stable.

Speaking about Gueikian's departure from the CEO role, one of those big names, Slash, said, “Cesar played a key role in revamping Gibson over a decade ago. He reintroduced quality, integrity, and passion into the business and strove to preserve the legacy and image of the brand. He reinvigorated the staff and the technicians, and it was really exciting to see.

“Cesar put the guitars first: how they're made, how they look, what makes them great, and kept that as the paramount focus of Gibson. It has been pretty amazing.”

After months of uncertainty, Höfner has been saved from bankruptcy after it was bought out by GEWA Music.

The German firm has Thomann as a major shareholder, and the two will now work together to give the legendary instrument maker a second life.

The sale was confirmed in a Facebook statement posted last week attributed to Nick Wass, a British music industry executive and Höfner guitar specialist. YouTuber KDH also received a statement from Thomann regarding the sale.

As per Wass' statement, the iconic 500/1 bass will remain in production, with 24 staff members also retained. But there will be some changes to its operations.

“They intend to keep on producing violins, but Höfner will no longer handle what is called the white wood,” Wass’ statement reads. “They will also keep producing the 500/1 bass. Thomann will handle all European distribution, while GEWA will deal with the rest of the world.

“I do not have further info at this time, such as where [instruments will be] built, [at] which premises, or what models. But I would say it is good news. Better than I expected.”

What the takeover means in practice for Höfner going forward remains to be seen. Regardless, the fact that Höfner has been saved – and a portion of production will remain in Germany, as per Thomann's statement – is cause for celebration.

Höfner instruments have found reverence in the hands of Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, and First Aid Kit, but in December the company's future was left hanging in the balance.

The firm had filed for bankruptcy after a “difficult period” exacerbated by the US tariffs, with McCartney quick to pay tribute to their “wonderful” instruments.

The Beatle is Höfner’s most famous champion. Macca has played Höfner basses for decades, and used his legendary 500/1 violin bass to record early Beatles hits like She Loves You.

It was stolen in October 1972 and deemed lost forever, but the Lost Bass Project, spearheaded by Wass and a GW contributor, was established in 2023 to track it down, leading to its discovery in an English attic.

McCartney was promptly reunited with his beloved bass half a century after it was stolen, and it returned to the stage alongside Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood as McCartney brought his expansive, globe-trotting Got Back tour to a close in late 2024.

Guitar World has approached Thomann for comment.

Australian Guitar #168 hits newsstands today and, well, look: If you've ever admired the way the Fab Four can rock out, we've got an expansive 8 page feature looking at some of the concepts behind the rockier side of the three guitar-playing Beatles. As always, audio accompaniment is available right here on Guitar World, with handy links in the mag itself.

It's a bit of a technique fest this issue: We also look at ten scales from throughout the world, all the better to add some new colour to your lead work or songwriting. Whether the Hirajoshi or Hungarian Gypsy scale, this feature has you sorted with some fascinating new ways to approach your instrument.

As technique heavy as the issue is, we have not neglected artist features. Inside we chat with Courtney Barnett, Sunn o)), Jethro Tull, Kurt Vile, Devo, and last but certainly not least, The Eagles' Don Henley.

We also have a big celebration of the Fender Telecaster inside, as the perennial workhorse celebrates its 75th anniversary. And keeping with the theme, two new Telecaster models go under review, as well as other gear by the likes of Taylor, Katoh, Jackson, Victory, Strymon and more.

Australian Guitar #168 is available now at newsagents all around the country, and online via TechMags or iSubscribe.

Subscribe to the print edition of Australian Guitar, and you'll enjoy each new issue on the day it's published, delivered straight to your door.

Guitar Center has appointed Reverb founder David Kalt to its Board of Directors as an independent member.

It’s a significant move from a firm that is currently undergoing some serious changes, with CEO Gabe Dalporto spearheading the business’s changing model and relaunching Musician’s Friend.

Kalt founded Reverb in 2013 and turned it into a major player in online gear sales, positioning the site as one of the largest digital marketplaces of its kind, with nearly $1 billion in annual transactions. It was acquired by Etsy in 2019 and became independent once more in 2025.

He also previously acquired and helped grow Chicago Music Exchange, which Guitar Center deems “one of the country’s most recognized destinations for vintage and collectible instruments.”

Kalt’s addition aligns with the firm’s expansion plans. It currently has over 300 brick-and-mortar stores across the US.

“We went from eight consecutive quarters of decline to nine consecutive quarters of growth,” says Dalporto. “We’ve got the company on a good trajectory, and now we’re playing offense. David built Reverb from scratch and fundamentally changed how musicians buy and sell gear. That kind of experience matters as we think about what comes next for this company.”

What could this mean for Guitar Center going forward? Well, Kalt has the expertise and is well-positioned to help the retail giant grow its used and vintage sales efforts – something that has been high up on Dalporto's agenda for quite some time.

“We're leaning in heavily to used and vintage,” Dalporto told Guitar World last year. “Used and vintage is a great, rapidly growing business for us.

"I think our biggest challenge is getting the word out that we buy used product. So we’re working really hard to get the word out there.”

Reverb’s rise transformed the online instrument sales marketplace, leading to its $275 acquisition just six years later. Kalt also co-founded optionsXpress, which was later acquired by Charles Schwab for $1 billion.

“Guitar Center has played an iconic role in the lives of musicians for generations,” Kalt states. “I’m excited to join the Board and support the company as it continues to innovate across stores, digital, services, and community.

“Music retail is at its best when it inspires creativity, builds trust, and helps people find the right gear for their sound. Guitar Center is uniquely positioned to do that at scale.”

In related news, Guitar Center recently announced its plans to develop a new in-house guitar brand – but it is doing so with a slight twist.

Jack Osbourne has shared new updates about the rumored, long-awaited biopic on Ozzy Osbourne.

During a YouTube livestream on May 12, Ozzy’s son confirmed that the movie is well on its way to becoming a reality.

“I can tell you this: we are moving ahead,” he teased [transcribed by Blabbermouth]. “I was on calls today about it. The script is right there. We are good. This movie will absolutely happen.”

Osbourne goes on to say that realistically, “it probably won't come out until ’28”, but left the door open for an earlier release date.

“We're full steam ahead,” he continues. “We're about to start going out and getting a director attached. So, fingers crossed. I'm really excited. It's very much been a labor of love, of course… I'm excited for everyone to see this film.”

Plans for an Ozzy Osbourne biopic have been in place since 2021, with Oscar nominee Lee Hall, who wrote the script for Elton John’s Rocketman, attached to write the script. Sony Pictures and Polygram Entertainment are also confirmed to be involved.

Earlier this year, the younger Osbourne continued spilling the tea on whether we can expect a Hollywood version of Black Sabbath and the sorely missed Randy Rhoads on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast .

“Initially, it was gonna go from my dad as a young man to kind of the mid-’90s, but we’re shrinking it down,” he revealed.

“We’re doing a rewrite right now. In my perfect vision of it, it would be kind of the tail end of Sabbath, him going solo. [Because] you gotta have the love story. And that’s kind of the main focus of the film, and all the craziness that happened in the early ’80s and Randy’s [Rhoads] tragic death. But, yeah, it’s an origin story.”

And while the supporting cast hasn’t been picked yet, Jack Osbourne did reveal that a “phenomenal actor” has been chosen to play his dad, though he declined to name the performer.

In more recent news, Joe Holmes – the Prince of Darkness' guitarist between 1995 and 2001 – spoke about how he landed the coveted Ozzy gig.

A delegation of NAMM members and music industry leaders, among them NAMM President John Mlynczak, visited Capitol Hill on May 13 to urge members of Congress to exempt musical instruments from existing and potential future tariffs, and provide relief from the current tariffs.

Julie Robbins, CEO of boutique pedal makers EarthQuaker Devices represented the state of Ohio and gave her own testimony on how the current tariffs, in place since last year, have negatively impacted the company.

“EarthQuaker Devices has spent more than $100,000 in tariffs since April 2025,” she revealed. “That's money that could have gone toward good jobs for Ohioans and provided our team with more resources to innovate.

“Today, I asked Ohio's Congressional Representatives to stand up for their constituents, and I will continue to advocate for relief as long as I have to in order to get them to join the fight in earnest.”

Founded in 2004, EarthQuaker Devices was founded by musician Jamie Stillman, Robbins’ husband, who was previously involved in the cult record label, Donut Friends, which he operated from his home in Ohio.

After successfully repairing an overdrive pedal, Stillman kickstarted his boutique pedal business and, in 2007, released his first full-production pedal, the Hoof fuzz.

The Hoof quickly sparked the imagination of gearheads worldwide, enabling Stillman to quit his day job and focus on designing and developing pedals full-time.

A couple of years later, Robbins joined him as the fast-growing company’s CEO and relocated EarthQuaker to an abandoned glass factory, and later, to a vacant automotive paint warehouse, while also building a fully fledged team.

Since then, the Ohioan brand has been at the forefront of the left-field and boutique effects boom, and Robbins has also played a key role in advocating for smaller manufacturers.

Last May, Robbins shared that the business is at risk of going bankrupt and, in front of federal lawmakers, stated that the tariffs have increased costs and slowed sales for the company.

“This year our exports are down as much as 50% to 100% in some countries,” read her written testimony.

“Our customers say this is due to anti-American consumer sentiment and the global financial fallout from the chaotic rollout of U.S. tariffs. It is devastating to see America’s reputation fall so swiftly.”

Meanwhile, Mlynczak has continued to emphasize how the “unpredictability and suddenness” of the tariffs did not give firms “the time to plan, adapt or evolve,” leaving long-lasting, negative consequences for the industry as a whole.

NAMM President John Mlynczak has delivered testimony in Washington, DC, regarding the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on the music industry.

Speaking before the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Section 301 Committee in the Capitol on May 8 on behalf of the NAMM and the 10,000 companies it represents, Mlynczak echoed sentiments he expressed last year.

He had said that the “unpredictability and suddenness” of the tariffs did not give firms “the time to plan, adapt or evolve,” leaving a lasting, negative impact on a multi-billion-dollar industry.

“Tariffs are tilting the playing field against American businesses and the millions of students who rely on affordable access to musical instruments,” Mlynczak said in his statement. “Our industry depends on a global supply chain built over generations.

“Policies that increase costs without expanding domestic capacity ultimately reduce participation in music education and weaken long-term U.S. competitiveness.”

Guitar, amplifier, and pedal manufacturers often buy at least some of their parts from overseas, meaning that even US-made products are being affected by the tariffs. That's seen Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews question whether it could continue to turn a profit, and EarthQuaker Devices speak of fears of bankruptcy.

And as firms were left to debate whether to absorb the increased costs or pass them on to consumers, Morgan Amps said the tariffs would add an extra $1,000 to the cost of its amp heads.

As such, Mlynczak has emphasized that the US music products industry accounts for $9 billion of the $19.5 billion global market. Global supply chains for musical instruments, he adds, rely on specialized materials and craftsmanship that cannot be replicated domestically, which ultimately gives foreign competitors pricing advantages.

Entry-level instruments are said to be “disproportionately affected” with imports of wind instruments down 27% and pianos down 20% in 2025, with Mlynczak also underscoring that reduced access to beginner instruments “threatens the pipeline that sustains US-made professional instruments and the broader music ecosystem.”

“With 44% of all global musical products sold in the US, there is not enough domestic capacity to meet the demand,” he details. “Many companies that manufacture professional instruments in the US also rely on overseas production to meet the demand of entry- and mid-level students and musicians, creating American brand and retailer loyalty from the first touch.

“Tariffs will not shift purchases to US-made beginner instruments. Instead, they will price beginners out of the market, which will hurt the American students, retailers, and manufacturers that depend on today’s students becoming tomorrow's customers.”

NAMM is one of 151 associations and companies making the trip to Washington to deliver in-person testimony, with the United Auto Workers Association among them.

As announced on March 17, the Administration has indicated this investigation could lead to the restoration of tariff levels previously imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Spare a thought for Guitar Center staff. The poor folk who have to hear the same riffs over and over again, 9 til 5, ad infinitum. It’s enough to drive any guitarist mad. But what are those riffs sending GC employees up the wall?

Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto has named the 10 most-played guitar riffs in Guitar Center stores in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

To assemble the list, the head honcho reached out to stores’ leadership teams across the US and asked them to name their most overplayed songs. It’s by no means a scientific test, but the lists were surprisingly consistent from state to state – and largely tallied with GW’s own rundown of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.

Number one is Metallica’s Master of Puppets, presumably in the wake of its Stranger Things resurgence. Guns N’ Roses’ perennial finger-twister Sweet Child O’ Mine follows at number two, while White Stripes’ football stadium singalong Seven Nation Army takes the number three spot.

Nirvana have two entries on the list with Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are, while Metallica have a second in Enter Sandman.

Despite being arguably better known as a bass riff, Tool’s tricksy hammer-on lick in Schism ranks highly, while John Mayer has the most contemporary offering in the list with 2006’s sensitive blues ballad Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. Crazy Train and Smoke on the Water round off the list.

What’s most telling, however, is the names that aren’t there. Stairway to Heaven – the eternal punchline of ‘Stairway denied’ guitar store lore – is nowhere to be seen. In fact, Led Zeppelin as a whole seem to have fallen out of favor. There’s no Hendrix. No Sabbath. Heck, no AC/DC. From the ’70s classic rock era, the time when guitar giants walked the Earth, Smoke on the Water is the only riff that’s still in top-10 rotation.

Whether it’s down to evolving tastes, TikTok virality or cultural events, these riffs echo throughout stores every day. Dalporto says he has a lot of empathy for the staff.

“These songs are played a lot. They’re often not played well. So you hear the songs over and over, but when someone nails it, you can tell. And the store staff really appreciates it when someone is awesome.”

The full list is below:

1. Metallica – Master of Puppets
2. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
3. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
4. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
5. John Mayer – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
6. Metallica – Enter Sandman
7. Tool – Schism
8. Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
9. Nirvana – Come As You Are
10. Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled its yearly list of inductees, and the class of 2026 comprises Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan, all in the Performer category.

Other inductees include Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Gram Parsons, who will be honored with the Early Influence Award.

Producers Jimmy Miller, Rick Rubin, and Arif Mardin, alongside songwriter Linda Creed, will be presented with the Music Excellence Award. Rounding off the list is American television host and impresario Ed Sullivan, who will be posthumously bestowed with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

“Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is music’s highest honor,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “We look forward to celebrating these remarkable artists at this year’s ceremony – it’s going to be an unforgettable night.”

Nominees who were snubbed this year include Melissa Etheridge, Jeff Buckley, Pink, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, and Shakira.

While Phil Collins was inducted as a member of Genesis in 2010, he has now received the nod as a solo artist. As for Billy Idol, he was overjoyed when he heard the news, telling Rolling Stone, “We’ve been building towards this, and it’s a perfect payoff. You couldn’t have dreamed it better, really.

“It’s absolutely perfect…To be recognized by your peers is incredible. You don’t really know what people think about you, but this gives you an indication.”

After three nominations, Iron Maiden have finally made it to the Hall of Fame. “We’d like to thank the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for including us (and former members who were all part of our story) in the 2026 roll call of inductees,” commented Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood.

“Iron Maiden have always been about our relationship with our fans above anything else, including awards and industry accolades. However, having said that, it’s always nice to be recognised and honoured for any achievements within the music industry too!”

Oasis have previously expressed skepticism about the Hall of Fame, with Liam Gallagher issuing controversial statements to The Sunday Times in a 2024 interview, “As much as I love Mariah Carey and all that, I want to say: Do me a favor and fuck off.

“It’s like putting me in the rap hall of fame, and I don’t want to be part of anything that mentally disturbed. Besides, I’ve done more for rock & roll than half of them clowns on that board, so it’s all a load of bollocks.”

However, Gallagher changed his tune upon the announcement, as he tweeted, “Reverse psychology vibes in the area Oasis RnR hall of farmers I mean famers.”

“I wanna thank all the people who voted for us it’s a real honour ever since I was a little kid and singing in the shower I’d dream about 1 day being in the RnR hall of fame it’s true what they say anything is possible if you have a dream.”

Meanwhile, Joy Division co-founder and bassist Peter Hook took a more heartfelt approach and dedicated the induction to the sorely missed Ian Curtis. He also confirmed he’ll be attending the ceremony.

“Hi. I’d just like to say how wonderfully pleased I am to be finally accepted into the Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame,” he said in a video posted to social media, while notably wearing an Oasis T-shirt.

“I’ve been looking forward to it for years, so I definitely am gonna make the most of it. I’d like to say that this is for Ian Curtis, and for all our fans of both bands. Without you, we would be nothing. So thank you so much.”

While it remains to be seen who else will attend the ceremony, it will take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on November 14 and air on ABC and Disney+ the following month.

Last year, Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers was forced to drop out of the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, after previously confirming reunion plans.

Lyndon Laney, the founder of Laney Amplification and “one of the true pioneers of British musical equipment manufacturing,” has died at the age of 77. The news was announced on social media via the official Laney Amplification channels.

“It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Lyndon Laney, founder of Laney Amplification,” the statement reads.

“Lyndon established Laney Amplification in 1967 and, through vision, dedication, and an uncompromising commitment to quality, built the company from modest beginnings into an internationally respected and successful brand. His work helped shape the sound of generations of musicians, most notably that of his long-term friend Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath.”

Laney built his first amplifier in his dad’s garden shed, with little thought of turning it into a bona fide business – that is, until his friends began asking for his amps, and Laney Amplification was born.

In 1970, he built the custom Laney LA 100 BL for local musician, Tony Iommi, who used it on the first two Black Sabbath albums. It set the template for the much-loved Supergroup amp – and, more importantly, the sound of metal guitar as we know it.

Since that point, the UK-based company has steadily grown and now has distribution channels around the world, building a reputation for innovative solid-state and tube amplifiers, with an eye firmly set on the next thing.

Other Laney innovations include the KLIPP, the first amplifier to feature a boost channel in 1972, the DP Range, the first bass amplifier with a graphic EQ in 1988, and the “studio” amp range equipped with T-USB technology.

While best known for his eponymous amp brand, Laney also developed numerous other industry ventures, under the umbrella of the Headstock Group, as the statement explains:

“First expanding into the Pro Audio sector with the acquisition of HH Audio, then with the development of Headstock Distribution to represent the Hoshino Gakki brands Ibanez and Tama, and then attracting further leading brands such as Zildjian, Vic Firth, and DiMarzio.

“Lyndon’s influence extended far beyond business success; he was admired for his warmth, integrity, humour, and quiet determination.”

Moreover, Lyndon “was not only a founder,” but a “creator, innovator, and trusted figure whose passion for industry was at the heart of his working life.”

Speaking about his journey from playing bass to building an amplifier empire, Laney told My Guitar Lessons in 2015:

“I had a deep interest in electronics and a fascination for tubes in particular, which was stimulated by the amplification requirements to gig at night,” he explained.

“At that time, I was playing in a local band, The Band of Joy, with John Bonham on drums (you never did get over John) and Robert Plant on vocals. Robert always held his own up front despite the racket behind him. Great times... and Robert and John went on to bigger and greater things.

“My interest turned more and more to amplifier construction and working at that time in my father’s garage... Two days before I was due to go [to college], I decided to carry on for a couple of years making amplifiers.”

Laney’s intention was to head back into education soon afterwards, though as he noted, in 2015, “40 years later... I still haven’t made it to university.”

Lyndon’s legacy, as well as the business, continues through his son, James Laney, who “proudly carries that vision forward”, currently working with signature artists including Billy Corgan and Lari Basilio.

ESP Guitars has announced Todd Binder as the new CEO of its US operations, with outgoing head Matt Masciandaro set to retire after 39 years.

The end of Masciandaro's near-four-decade spell as the company’s president and CEO of EPS’s US division marks a big change in the firm, which was founded in 1975 in Japan, and includes Josh Middleton, Joe Duplantier, and Bill Kelliher among its artist ranks.

ESP opened its first US offices in 1985, with Masciandaro handpicked to help get it off the ground, although he wasn’t officially in post until 1987. That means this is the first CEO change in its history.

“On behalf of ESP Japan, I wish to express our sincere gratitude to Matt for his many years of dedicated service and his steadfast commitment to advancing Hisatake Shibuya's vision,” says Mr. Fujimori, Chairman, ESP Group.

“His contributions to the ESP brand have been invaluable, and the foundation he has built will endure for years to come. We congratulate him and wish him the very best.”

“I am both proud and humbled by the trust that Mr. Shibuya placed in me back in 1987 when I was chosen to lead ESP’s USA operations,” says Masciandaro. “A lot of this job was ‘learn as you go,’ but most of the time, we went above and beyond both our own expectations and those of ESP in Japan.

“I have nothing but the highest degree of confidence that with Todd at the helm, ESP will continue long into the future in its position as an innovative, high-quality provider of musical instruments.”

Binder is also a loyal servant of ESP and is now in his third decade with the firm. He moves up from his previous role as Vice President of Product Development.

“Matt has been a dedicated leader and a true champion for this brand, and I'm grateful for every year I've had the privilege of working alongside him,” Binder states.

“This company's success has always been a collective effort – I'm honored to carry that legacy forward, and I couldn't be more excited about what's ahead for ESP.”

Masciandaro signs off after ESP dropped its 2026 collection of electric guitars, which it humbly described as being “among our best in history,” with new signature models for Mick Thomson, Stephen Carpenter, and George Lynch, and 30th anniversary LTD models.

ESP also heralded a huge win when it prized Gojira's Joe Duplantier from his longstanding partnership with Charvel in time for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where he wielded a chrome offset for a castle-mounted, Grammy-winning performance.

His signature model, the LTD JD-1, arrived 18 months later.

Donn Landee, a key figure behind the shaping of Van Halen’s sound, has died from natural causes aged 79, Van Halen News Desk reports.

The recording engineer was a longtime collaborator with Ted Templeman, Van Halen’s original go-to producer, and was a pivotal figure in the building of the band’s 5150 Studios in the early ‘80s.

Landee was involved in recording the band's 1978 self-titled debut album as they carved out a reputation as one of rock’s brightest new stars, and remained part of the band's inner circle for their next seven studio albums.

When Templeman jumped ship to produce David Lee Roth's debut solo album, Eat 'Em and Smile, Landee assumed his place at the helm, co-producing 1986's 5150 and OU812 two years later.

The first Van Halen record he was not part of was 1991's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, after he abruptly left the music industry. He would, however, go on to remaster a slew of VH records later down the line.

Landee was also the one who came up with the name 5150, which he’d overheard on police radio. It referenced the California Welfare and Institutions Code for involuntary confinement of a mentally unstable person deemed to be a danger to themselves and/or others, which was ideal, given that Eddie had dubbed the studio an “asylum.”

“It was all Donn’s magic,” Eddie Van Halen told Guitar World of the mammoth task of building 5150 Studios. “When we needed to find a console, Donn said that United Western Studios had a Bill Putnam–designed Universal Audio console that we could buy that he was familiar with.

“We went to take a look at it, and it was this old, dilapidated piece of shit that looked like it was ready to go into the trash. Donn said, ‘Let’s buy it,’ and I was going, ‘What the hell are you thinking?’ Donn used to work for the phone company, so he was an expert at wiring things.”

Vitally, this desk was almost identical to the desk that Templeman had used to record their first five albums, and Landee’s know-how helped turn Eddie’s home-studio dreams – originally intended for demo recording – into a stunning reality.

“Donn was involved with the design. I certainly didn’t know how to build a studio. It was all Donn’s magic,” Eddie told GW.

“We had grown really close and had a common vision. Everybody was afraid that Donn and I were taking control. Well…yes! That’s exactly what we did, and the results proved that we weren’t idiots. His approach to everything was genius.”

Donn Landee might not be a household name, but he had his finger on every single guitar riff that turned the band into megastars, and the band recognized his talents ten times over.

Recently, Alter Bridge became a rare group outside of the Van Halen family to record at 5150 Studios, with Tremonti left to reflect on the “emotional” honor of tracking at the fabled home of EVH, which took a white lie to build.

Fender has secured what it’s calling a significant legal victory against a Chinese guitar manufacturer, announcing a ruling that it says will establish “broad legal protection for Fender’s iconic Stratocaster”.

In a press release, Fender announced it had won a court case in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf, which has created “enforceable rights against any guitars using the Stratocaster body shape that are manufactured, sold or distributed into Germany or other countries of the European Union – regardless of where those guitars are produced.”

In essence, Fender says, this creates legal precedence and “reinforces its ability to protect its designs in global commerce”.

The ruling comes after a court battle with Chinese-based instrument manufacturer, Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments Co., which was found to be unlawfully reproducing the Stratocaster body design.

The company was on the global online retail platform AliExpress, and shipped its products into Germany.

The Dusseldorf court deemed that the Stratocaster design qualified as a copyrighted work of applied art under German and European law, thus prohibiting Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments Co. from manufacturing, offering or distributing guitars featuring the Stratocaster body shape in Germany and the EU.

Any future violations may result in fines of up to €250,000 per infringement, or up to six months’ imprisonment if fines cannot be enforced, subject to statutory limits.

Fender says this case does not hope to "restrict innovation or healthy competition within the guitar industry" but rather "represents targeted enforcement against clear cases of infringement”.

“The Stratocaster guitar is one of the most recognizable instrument designs in the history of music,” comments Edward “Bud” Cole, CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. “Protecting the integrity of Fender’s iconic designs is essential to preserving the legacy of the artists and builders who shaped them.

“This decision reinforces the value of originality and ensures that the authenticity players associate with Fender continues for generations to come.”

The ruling comes 17 years after Fender was famously unsuccessful in its attempts to make its Stratocaster, Telecaster and Precision guitar body shapes a trademark in the US, decades after the designs were first produced.

That litigation process lasted five years, and demonstrated that countless companies had used the body shapes that Fender had sought to trademark. In the end, the courts ruled that the Stratocaster shape was “so common that it is depicted as a generic electric guitar in a dictionary”.

That, of course, was the result of decades’ worth of Stratocaster copies flooding the market going largely unchallenged.

This latest ruling, though, is concerned with copyright infringement, establishing the Stratocaster as a “copyrighted work of art… rather than purely functional design”. In other words, not just a generic functional tool, but a design based on “original creative expression”.

Any model available in Germany or Europe (the ruling doesn't extend to the US) that’s deemed to be infringing on this could potentially fall foul of the ruling.

Just how extensively that ruling will be enforced or applied in the EU retail space remains to be seen, particular when it comes to larger, more established builders that sell in Germany and the EU.

That said, the ruling does stress that “offering infringing products for sale into Germany or other countries of the EU is sufficient to establish liability, regardless of where a manufacturer or seller is based”.

Guitar World has approached Fender for comment.

Marshall has announced Amplify – a new initiative designed to help safeguard the long-term future of grassroots venues by donating funds from gear sales.

The British amp specialist has been working hard to help support grassroots venues over the past few months, with its efforts coming amidst a dire outlook for local live music scenes.

Indeed, venues across the globe – which serve a key function as not just music spots, but also community and cultural centers – are facing unprecedented challenges. A changing music scene, falling profitability, the rise in touring costs, and the loss of jobs have all skyrocketed over the past few years, resulting in many venue closures.

In the past, Marshall co-founder Terry Marshall and his wife Leslie Marshall donated £100,000 ($130,361) to Music Venue Trust’s ‘Own Our Venues’ campaign and provided backline equipment to 20 venues.

And, in November last year, it partnered with the MVT for ‘Marshall Nights’ – a series of UK-wide shows designed to support independent venues and breakthrough artists.

Now, Marshall has announced Amplify. It is a membership scheme that commits an amount equal to 1% of member purchases on marshall.com to local music communities and independent venues worldwide.

Amplify is free to join and offers member benefits such as early access, free shipping, and priority support. Plus, any purchase made by an Amplify member through the Marshall website will go towards supporting the scheme.

“Independent venues are where artists play their first shows, where scenes take shape, and where future music careers begin,” a press statement reads. “Yet many of these spaces are under increasing pressure. This initiative reinforces Marshall’s commitment to help strengthen the foundations of live music culture for the long term.”

“For over 60 years, Marshall has amplified live music, from local independent venues to the world’s biggest stages,” adds Jeremy de Maillard, CEO of Marshall. “Small venues are where the next generation of musicians turn first time listeners into lifelong fans. Through Amplify, Marshall is building a long-term model to support the future of live music.”

Meanwhile, Marshall’s CMO, Nick Street, expands, “Independent venues aren’t just part of music history – they’re where the future is written. Amplify is how we connect our community more closely to that future. As Marshall grows, grassroots music will grow with us.”

Amplify will initially be geared towards independent venues from across the globe, selected for their role in championing up-and-coming artists and local communities. Support from generated funds can range from backline equipment to funded live events and more.

Amplify launches today. Visit Marshall to find out more.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for its Class of 2026.

Heavy metal legends Iron Maiden spearhead the ballot for this year’s potential nominees, and have been joined by a diverse cast of music legends that span Britpop icons and post-punk pioneers to rap and hip-hop heroes.

Other big names on the ballot include Oasis, whose reunion tour last year was billed as the “biggest of all time”, as well as The Black Crowes, Billy Idol, and Joy Division/New Order.

Melissa Etheridge has also been given the nod, along with the late, underrated guitar great Jeff Buckley, Genesis drummer Phil Collins, Wu-Tang Clan, Shakira and New Edition. Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Sade, P!NK, and Luther Vandross complete the list of nominees.

As per the Rock Hall’s rules, artists and bands become eligible for inclusion into the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. Iron Maiden’s selection for the 2026 ballot, then, arrives 22 years after they first became eligible for nomination.

In other words, it’s been a long time coming, and for fans who have long-pointed out the Rock Hall’s aversion to giving heavier bands their flowers in these inductions, Iron Maiden’s inclusion will be welcome.

“Iron Maiden created the blueprint for how heavy metal bands should look, sound, and tour,” the Rock Hall writes in its promo. “Throughout the 1980s, the British group released seven high-octane albums that solidified them as one of rock & roll’s biggest bands.”

Oasis has also been re-nominated after failing to enter the Hall of Fame following the band’s inclusion in the 2025 ballot. The snub likely wouldn’t have bothered the Gallagher brothers, though. Liam once said he wasn’t interested in receiving recognition from “some geriatric in a cowboy hat” (via BBC).

Fans will also be pleased to see Jeff Buckley’s name involved in the running. The iconic singer-songwriter is widely regarded as an unsung guitar hero whose genius defies categorization; the mastermind behind 1994’s Grace, with a highly individual style that blended a number of nuanced inspirations.

A ballot for the fan vote has been opened. Inductees will be announced later this year, and a full induction ceremony will take place in autumn.

Head over to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for more info on each nominee.

Kenny’s Music – the popular Scottish guitar store chain that was forced into closing late last year – is set to return under new ownership.

The chain, which had stores in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and Dunfermline, has been acquired by Vista Musical Instruments, which is now the owner of the intellectual property, brand assets and goodwill of Kenny’s Music.

Kenny’s Music was set up in 2008 by Kenny Graham and quickly established itself as one of Scotland's premier guitar gear retailers, with deep-rooted connections to local artists and a solid social media presence that put them on many players’ radars.

Despite strong sales stats, the chain closed its doors for good in October 2025 against the backdrop of a bleak period for physical guitar stores. At the time, Kenny’s managing director said it was “impossible” to operate as a brick-and-mortar gear retailer in the UK, offering a grim outlook for the sector.

Kenny’s was but one of many guitar stores that were forced to close globally last year, with fellow UK favorites GAK and PMT both closing, while Bax Music, one of Europe’s largest instrument retailers, filed for bankruptcy.

The trend hasn’t been confined to the UK or Europe, though. In the US, Sam Ash suffered a similar fate.

This acquisition, though, sparks new hope for Kenny’s, with Vista Musical Instruments laying out a three-pronged strategy to lead Kenny’s Music into a bold new era.

That strategy includes a trio of pillars – The New Digital Gateway, Concierge Gear Services and Immediate Access to Global Brands – which will look to revive Kenny’s online presence, deliver personalized and expert gear support, and offer rejuvenated inventory for players.

“This acquisition marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the storied brand,” a press release states. “To ensure the Kenny’s Music community remains supported and connected, Vista Musical Instruments (VMI) has debuted a revitalised digital home for the retailer.

“The Kenny’s Music community can now shop an expansive collection of world-class brands including Fender, Martin, Heritage Guitars, Harmony, MONO, and more.”

The emphasis on finding a new ‘digital home’ for Kenny’s, and no mention of the potential re-opening of stores, seemingly rules out the return of physical shops, with the storied music brand poised to become a digital-first retailer.

It looks to follow the precedent set by Sam Ash, which was revived by Gonher Music and now operates solely as an online retailer.

Vista Musical Instruments is part of the Caldecott Music Group, which owns gear brands such as MONO, Harmony, Teisco and Heritage, as well as media outlets BandLab Technologies and NME Networks.

“We’re excited to welcome Kenny’s Music into our VMI ecosystem. While the brand’s recent pause was unfortunate, it followed a period of its strongest sales on record,” said Meng Ru Kuok, CEO of Vista Musical Instruments.

“There is a great foundation here to build upon, and we appreciate Hilco Global’s professionalism in helping us ensure this legacy is reimagined for the next generation of musicians.”

In 2024, Vista Musical Instruments also purchased the trademark associated with iconic New York music store Manny's.

Head over to Kenny’s Music for more.

The founder of Analog Man pedals has revealed that he might be forced to hang up his soldering iron in the not-too-distant future.

Famous, above all, for its legendary King of Tone overdrive pedal, the Analog Man brand faces an uncertain future in the face of rising tariffs and other economic uncertainties.

The impact of President Trump’s tariffs has rippled through the supply chains of guitar, pedal, and amp manufacturers across the US. With many parts made overseas, operating costs have gone up exponentially. Fender has seen its annual costs increase by $20 million, Electro-Harmonix has spoken out on the huge implications of the tariffs, and NAMM CEO John Mlynczak has criticized their sudden implementation.

Piera, who founded Analog Man in 1993 and whose King of Tone OD has found its way onto the pedalboards of John Mayer, Noel Gallagher, and John Petrucci, among others, has now had his say on the situation. For a small firm, the financial implications have been huge.

“I really don't know how long I can keep going with this,” he says in a candid interview with Products of Music. “Especially with what's going on in this world and making less profits every year. It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.

“Every part we get is going to cost 50% more due to the tariffs. We pay the tariffs, and then the consumer pays the tariffs. China's not paying the tariffs. They never have.”

“It's always been a problem with parts,” Piera continues. “In 2025, the tariffs were changing every month. There were certain times where we had to say, 'Don't ship our switches,' or, 'Don't ship us any Prince of Tone [overdrives] because the tariffs are too high right now,' or then we'll say, ‘Okay, ship them now,’ and then they get here we have to pay twice as much for the parts as we did before because some genius decided to double the tariffs that month. So that's pretty scary.

“It's even getting harder to find parts,” he develops. “A lot of companies are saying that they don't want to deal with this – they’re saying, ‘We're not going to ship you parts because we don't know what's going on.’ There's no second source.”

Piera hasn’t kept the King of Tone recipe a secret, but while he says the pedal could have a future without him, he says other Analog Man stompboxes could fade out were he to step back from the game.

“Some of the other pedals, like the Sun Face [fuzz], need me because every time we get new transistors, I have to determine whether they can be used or not, or how to tweak the circuit to get the tones you want,” Piera details. “A lot of the knowledge is finding the parts, and knowing what to look for in the old transistors, because there are so many fakes.”

It showcases the mounting issues that gear manufacturers are facing. Indeed, Harley Benton has blamed the tariffs for its decision to close its US Reverb store, having only opened in October 2024, and Morgan Amps has said the tariffs will add $1,000 to the prices of its builds.

Others, though, are weathering the storms in innovative ways, including D’Addario and one astute Irish firm.

The last show I played looked great on Instagram. Stage lights, big tones, wall of cabs, arms in the air. What you couldn’t see in the photos was that I could barely stand upright.

During that gig my spine felt like someone had threaded barbed wire through it. My ears rang for three days afterwards. I went home to a house I could barely afford on disability support. And still spent the next morning re-stringing guitars for the next run.

That’s a part of live music most people never see.

I’ve spent roughly 20 years in the Australian extreme metal scene – clubs, festivals, support slots with bands like Napalm Death, Psycroptic and Gorguts – and I can tell you this: the industry isn’t just tough. It’s quietly chewing up the people who keep it alive.

We all know touring is hard and, for the vast majority of musicians, not lucrative. What we talk about far less is that it’s become normal to sacrifice your finances, physical health and sanity simply to keep stepping onstage.

Research from Help Musicians in the UK in 2016 found that 71 percent of musicians have experienced anxiety or panic attacks, with two-thirds reporting depression. In Australia, Support Act’s data shows that up to 66 percent of music workers experience high or very high psychological distress – that’s roughly four times the rate of the general population.

Those aren’t just numbers – they’re the people next to you at load-in.

The reality behind living the dream

From the outside, it looks like this: you get on a bill, you play big shows, you stand near famous logos on a poster. People assume you're being taken care of. From the inside, it's a different ledger.

For a period I was flying interstate every second weekend to gig with one band, while juggling another project at home. Back then, I was in two bands at once – rehearsals Monday for one, Tuesday for the other, both at the same place.

Both bands were playing interstate. There was always another set to nail, another tour to prep, another recording coming up – all while managing the aftermath of back surgery and navigating the disability support system.

I was covering my own costs: rehearsal room fees, flights, accommodation. Then one band told me I wouldn't be on their next album – they were using archival recordings from the ’90s instead. Covering everything myself was breaking me financially. I told both bands where to go.

Later I rejoined one of them, but only after setting conditions: they'd cover costs, I’d only pay for strings and fuel, and I wanted to be an actual member this time, not just a hired gun. The financial part worked. The membership part never did.

The singer had moved, turning rehearsals into a two-hour-plus trip each way. A car with no air-con and a driver’s window that only rolled down two inches, $14,000 ($20,000 AUD) worth of gear in the back, and a spine that already hated long drives. It was exhausting and it hurt; but it was still some of the best fun I've ever had.

My refusal to miss a show goes back to where I started. Since I picked up a guitar I’ve barely cancelled anything – maybe two or three rehearsals, and never a gig. As a kid I had to be out of the house by 5:30am on school days. I’d ride my pushbike across town to my best mate's place, and have a coffee and a chat with his mum until he got up for school.

Later his bedroom became our first venue: Iron Maiden and Skid Row every afternoon, treating those after-school jams like stadium shows. That's where the work ethic gets wired in: you turn up every time. no matter how you feel, no matter what it costs.

Bodies and minds as expendable gear

Musicians love to talk about tone and technique. We don't love to talk about what it costs our bodies to keep delivering shows.

Ask around any scene and you’ll hear the same stories: drummers with wrists held together by tape, vocalists bleeding through torn cords, guitarists who can’t feel their fretting hand properly. Tinnitus is so common it's almost a punchline. Back damage is “just part of the job.”

MusiCares in the US reports that 35 percent of musicians deal with chronic illness that affects their ability to work, while 78 percent can't pay their bills through music income alone. The unspoken rule is simple: if you stop, you disappear.

I've played sets where every note felt like someone jamming a hot knife into my lower spine. I’ve watched friends go onstage with fevers that would put most people in bed for a week, because there was no backup, no sick pay and a venue full of people who drove hours to be there.

Most bands I played with understood. They’d carry my amps, handle load-in and load-out, and make sure I wasn't lifting anything that would send me back to surgery. That solidarity is real, which is exactly why it cuts so deep when it vanishes.

We talk about “the grind” like it’s a badge of honour. It’s really slow self-harm with a laminate pass.

On hearing damage: I can’t use standard ear plugs because they cut the frequencies I need to hear my amp. However, mid to high ranges destroy the hair cells in your inner ear. Once they’re gone, that hearing’s gone permanently.

Being replaceable in the bands you bled for

The physical side is brutal, but the hardest hits I’ve taken have been to my sense of worth. I spent years building a tone I'm proud of, covering costs and giving everything to bands I believed in. Then you find out your work won't be on the next record. Or you set boundaries about what you can afford and suddenly you're not hearing from anyone anymore.

Every guitarist I know has that story. Parts re-recorded. Credits missing. Band photos updated without them. Most of us are treated like plug-in components: useful until we’re injured or inconvenient, then quietly written out.

What needs to change – and why I'd still do it all again

Underneath a lot of this is the same boring, brutal reality: the money doesn’t add up unless you’re in that tiny top tier. For years, every spare dollar I had went into keeping my part in the bands going – rehearsal rooms, flights, accommodation – and there was basically no life outside it.

We’re not going to fix the economics of live music overnight, but we can at least be honest that it’s a financial pressure cooker, acknowledge the support that exists, and push for better conditions on the ground.

I’m not talking about cartoon villains in suits. Most people I’ve worked with are just as broke and exhausted as I am. Promoters, venues, managers – everyone is scrambling. But there’s a difference between “this is tough” and “we accept players destroying themselves as the default.”

I don’t have a magic contract template. But there are things we can start doing that would make a real difference.

Firstly, and it’s been said before, but stop pretending exposure is payment – if a show is selling tickets and booze, the people making the noise deserve a guaranteed minimum.

Build health into the plan from the start – buffer days, decent ear protection, not punishing someone for needing a break. Put agreements in writing, even between friends, so you're not left off an album with nothing to point to. And normalise talking about burnout before someone disappears.

Organizations like Help Musicians (UK), Support Act (Australia) and MusiCares (US) are already doing critical work, offering counselling, financial support and health resources to music workers.

I didn’t know these organizations existed until I started writing this piece. If you run a venue or book acts, put posters up in your green rooms so musicians know help is available. A phone number on a wall might be the difference between someone reaching out and someone disappearing.

I still love this stupid, beautiful calling more than almost anything else in my life. Those long drives to rehearsal resulted in some of the best times I’ve ever had. I still chase that one note where the amp, the room and whatever’s left of my nervous system line up, and everything makes sense for a second.

That’s why the industry has to change. Not because we’ll leave – but because we won’t – and we deserve better than being ground down until we physically can’t continue.

If you’re a player, I hope this makes you feel less alone. If you're a fan, I hope it makes you look twice at the guitarist loading out alone at 1am, and take a moment to remember there’s a whole life behind that tone. And if you run a venue or book the acts, I hope it makes you think about what “exposure” costs the people on stage.

We’ll keep giving you our best. We just need a world where giving that much doesn’t quietly kill us.

• If you're struggling with any of the issues raised in this piece, reach out – MusiCares (US): 1-800-687-4227.; Help Musicians (UK): 0800 030 6200; Support Act (Australia): 1800 959 500.

If you want a lasting career as a guitar tech, you’ll have to know all the ins and outs of the rigs you’ll be working on. If you want to work for the biggest bands in the world, like The Rolling Stones, well, you pretty much have to be the best in the business.

Ryan Bullington started out as a guitar player and eventually got a job working for a sound and lighting company, through which he secured his first-ever role as a guitar tech in 1997. He worked his way up the ladder and eventually found himself taking care of Ronnie Wood’s guitars and amps.

“The band that we were providing sound and lighting for heard me play and asked if I wanted to be their tech,” he tells Guitar World, on a break from his duties looking after Brian Ray’s rig on the road with Paul McCartney.

“I said, ‘What’s that?’ and they told me I’d have to tune guitars for them. I said, ‘You want to pay me to tune your guitars?’ I didn’t know that was a thing.”

It was a life-changing moment that led to months on tour buses and hundreds of shows a year. He went from “making terrible money to good money” by building a solid reputation and moving from artist to artist. It’s a small industry, he explains, where everybody seems to know everybody.

Asked how he got The Rolling Stones gig, he says it came down to a network of likeminded friends.

“Four people put in a good word for me, including an amp repair guy in New York and a buddy who works for AC/DC. I got a call at home in Nashville at 4pm; they asked if I could be in LA the next morning. By 10am I was walking into rehearsal. It happened so fast. Now I do all the stringed instruments for Mick and Ronnie.”

What’s it like working for one of the most important rock bands of all time?

The most unique thing about the Stones gig is that all the guitars on the road are the same ones used on the albums.

We bring out a ton of guitars they used on those legendary songs. It’s great – I pick one up, strum a G chord and it sounds like Wild Horses, and that’s because it’s the actual guitar they used for Wild Horses.

What kind of pedals would we find on Ronnie’s ’board?

It’s the least I’ve ever seen on stage! There’s a Klon Centaur that’s always on, with the exception of two songs where we use an OCD for more gain. There’s a TC Electronic delay that’s used for a couple of new songs. Honestly though, it’s just a dry Fender Vibro King with that Klon Centaur. That’s it.

Well, they’ve always had a direct approach to tone without much extra color or modulation.

What I’ve learned is that, because it’s all stadiums, you get all the verb and delay you could ever ask for from the room. You don’t need a pedal. It’s wet enough. They’re playing old bluesy rock, but with quality guitars. All of them like low action and a straight neck. They want the guitar to have minimal fight.

What are the most useful tools in your trade?

The Orange Valve Tester is really useful. We’ve been using that a lot recently for all the spare amps which don’t quite get the love they deserve. With Brian Ray in the McCartney band, we have three spare Vox AC30s. It’s been great for getting everything to the same level of gain.

“We’re trying to make these amps sound the best they can, and the Valve Tester helps. I’m looking to get the same ratings across all the output tubes. I did the same with Ronnie’s Vibro Kings, getting them dialed in better. We wanted to soften up the front end and bring the gain down a bit.

How often should someone who plays two hours a day think about changing their tubes?

In my world the amps are on for six hours a day. I usually go about three months before I change them, unless we’re talking about EL84s, which run a lot hotter and need to be changed more often. But if you’re playing your amp for a couple of hours a day, it’s probably good to change your output tubes once a year.

With preamp tubes, you never change them unless there’s a problem: it might be a microphonic tube or you just might not be happy with the tone. There’s a lot you can do by swapping tubes instead of turning knobs.

What else makes your job a lot easier?

I used to joke that somebody needs to invent a string stretcher because my hands would hurt so bad. Eventually somebody made one and it became one of my favorite things – my hands no longer hurt!

My measuring tools are also important. Some people do it by eye, but I’ve worked for musicians who like things exact. Peter Frampton, for example, is very meticulous. You need to give him numbers, you can’t say ‘It’s close or about this.’ He speaks in a very clear language. Working for people like that has upped my game. Measuring takes all the guesswork and opinions out of it. You’re working with facts.

What are the most challenging onstage scenarios you’ve found yourself in?

There have been several times where the rig has gone down in the middle of a song in front of 60,000 people. You can’t panic, even if everyone else is – people might be looking at you or screaming at you. You’ve got to get in the zone while blocking everyone else out. It’s about thinking clearly.

This job can be nerve-racking, especially if you know there’s a dodgy piece of gear limping along. You’ll want to know all your weak points in the signal path – they’re the first places to start looking. Sometimes I lie in bed thinking about the signal path – if something failed, how would I fix it?

My goal is to know about the problem before the player tells me there’s one. To do that, I listen to everything on a note-by-note basis, comparing it to the last show. Context is how you know something’s off.

Have you ever had any strange setup requests?

Keith Urban once told me his amp sounded too blue. I remember thinking, “There’s no blue knob here, bro!” But usually it’s straightforward. Guitar players and guitar techs all love hearing great tones. I guess the difference is that pro players earn enough money to use gear we all wish we could own!

One of the best parts of your job must be playing rare guitars steeped in history. Which have been your favorites?

There’s a black Zemaitis that Ronnie used with The Faces – it’s the Stay With Me guitar. We have it on the road with the Stones for tracks like Monkey Man. Us backline techs will jam for an hour to let the sound crew get their stuff together, and that’s the guitar I choose. It’s in open E tuning – it always has been – so I play slide while walking the runways, checking all the monitors.

I also love Ronnie’s 1956 Les Paul Special in TV Yellow. It was given to him by Jesse Ed Davis when he was playing bass for that short while. I don’t know what Jesse used it on, but when we made the last record we had over 100 amazing guitars – all of Keith’s, Ronnie’s and Mick’s – and it’s the one I fell in love with.

To experience this stuff for yourself is something else. We often hear the phrase, “There are songs in that guitar,” and that’s true of the Les Paul Special. Songs just come out of it.

And if there’s one amp to rule them all, which would it be?

I think the greatest circuit of all-time is the tweed Twin/Bassman, which is basically the Marshall circuit. My favourite amp is Keith Urban’s Dumble Overdrive Reverb. I think it’s serial number 59, built in 1978. That amp is special.

It used to be John Mayer’s; I think it’s the one he used on Gravity, and Keith got it after. It was originally made for Jackson Browne. I was blown away when I first heard it. It makes you play more fluid and liquidy.

I’ve heard Keith play through every amp known to man and he sounded different on that one. I love the Dumble circuit. Not everybody is a fan, but I am because I know what it’s capable of.

You’ve seen a lot of pedals over the years. Any favorites?

It’s hard to say – there are so many out there. You can get the job done with just about any pedal. I did a Peter Frampton tour in 2013 called the Guitar Circus because every city had a big-name player come sit in with us. I think there were 26 guests in total, and over half of them had a Klon Centaur on the pedalboard. So, shoutout to the Klon, I guess!

I met a guy while we were doing the Stones record and he had this pedal out called the Love Bomb. It’s even bigger than a Big Muff, but it sounds awesome. It has a little tube inside. I have one with me right now. It’s a fantastic pedal, man!

The 2026 Grammys took place last night (February 1) and proved to be something of a guitar music love-in. From Justin Bieber wielding a 1988 Yamaha RGX 612S, to Turnstile winning both Best Rock Album and, perhaps more controversially, Best Metal Performance, pop stars and quintessential rock bands alike were out in full force this year, flying the flag for the instrument.

The Ozzy Osbourne tribute (or should that be tributes?) took center stage across the weekend. Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll both honored the Prince of Darkness at record executive Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammys gala on Saturday night – with MGK opting for 2007's I Don’t Wanna Stop and the country star giving a heartfelt rendition of 1991's Mama, I’m Coming Home.

The award show’s own tribute took place on the actual Grammy stage, with an all-star lineup that included a Les Paul-laden Slash and Ozzy producer Andrew Watt brandishing an SG, Duff McKagan on bass, and Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith on drums.

Post Malone – who collaborated with Ozzy on Take What You Want and It’s a Raid from Osbourne’s first new album in a decade, 2019’s Ordinary Man – took up vocal duties on an abbreviated rendition of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, a version that visibly left the Osbourne family fighting back tears.

Aside from the Prince of Darkness, this year's In Memoriam segment kicked off with a voiceover from Bruce Springsteen, paying tribute to Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson: “The last of the Wilson brothers may be gone, but he leaves behind so many great songs, and good vibrations.”

John Mayer also paid his respects to Dead & Company bandmate and Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir, also in a voiceover: “He understood songwriting to its core, having written and performed some of the most enduring music in American history.

“Bob was a messenger, not only for the music he made with the Grateful Dead, but for the tapestry of influences that birthed it … Bob has left us, but the songs he sang will remain a road map for a better, more meaningful life. See you down the road, Ace.”

Neo-soul pioneer D'Angelo was honored by a host of artists and contemporaries: Lauryn Hill – marking her first Grammys performance since 1999 – Raphael Saadiq, Anthony Hamilton, Leon Thomas, and Jon Batiste.

And while guitar stars, including the likes of Ace Frehley were included in the segment, Mastodon fans pointed out that Brent Hinds was noticeably omitted, with Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Zappa Plays Zappa bassist, Pete Griffin, taking to social media to call out the institution: “Shame on @grammys for not including my brother (and fellow Grammy winner) Brent Hinds in their ‘in memoriam’ segment.”

The omission seemed particularly odd, given Hinds had been nominated for no less than six Grammys, and won one in 2018 – Best Metal Performance for Sultan's Curse – during his tenure with Mastodon.

Yungblud, Ozzy’s mentee and part of the new vanguard leading rock into the future, won his first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for his career-making rendition of Changes at Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert.

“To grow up loving an idol who helped you develop your identity, not only as a musician, but as a man, is something that I’m truly grateful for,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“But then to get to know them and to form a relationship with them, and to honor them at their final show, and receive this because of it, is something that I and I think we are finding a bit strange to comprehend.

“We fucking love you, Ozzy,” he continued. “We would all like to thank Sharon, Jack, Kelly and Aimee [Osbourne] for this opportunity, and everyone at the Back To The Beginning show. Six generations of rock musicians came together in the name of our genre, in the name of Sabbath and in the name of Ozzy Osbourne.

“I deeply love this genre, it’s all I’ve ever known. I want to dedicate it to everyone in the guitar shop that I grew up in, and everyone in a guitar shop or in a bedroom with a dream. Rock music’s fucking coming back – watch out pop music, we’re gonna fucking get ya.”

And speaking of rock music's comeback, Turnstile bagged Best Rock Album for last year's triumphant album, Never Enough.

Accepting the award, frontman Brendan Yates commented, “The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark and land somewhere beautiful. So to our family, our friends, our partners, our peers, and to Baltimore, thank you. We love you.”

Perhaps more surprisingly, the genre-blending band also managed to win Best Metal Performance for Birds, beating the more metal through-and-through acts Dream Theater, Ghost, Sleep Token, and Spiritbox.

More standout guitar moments came by way of Bruno Mars, who, together with K-Pop star Rosé, delivered an overdriven rendition of their global hit APT.

Armed with a black Les Paul – as opposed to his signature Fender – Mars added some extra grit, as well as a squealing guitar solo, to the pop-punk-inflected track as the duo, who were nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, opened the show.

And it very much seemed like Justin Bieber went full-on Mk.gee with a stripped-down, guitar and looper performance of Yukon – from last year's album Swag (which, fun fact, included the contributions of both Mk.gee as well as his frequent collaborator Dijon).

Bieber’s guitar of choice was a left-handed purple 1988 Yamaha RGX 612S that definitely stood out on stage – an off-kilter choice that continues the trend of pop and indie stars à la Kesha and Phoebe Bridgers opting for ’80s and ’90s guitars more typically associated with metal or hardcore, whether for aesthetics or tone (or both).

Here's the full list of winners and nominees in the big four categories – and the guitar-adjacent ones:

Song of the year

Billie Eilish - Wildflower

Lady Gaga – Abracadabra

Doechii – Anxiety

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

Bad Bunny – DtMF

Hunter/x – Golden

Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther

Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Record of the year

Kendrick Lamar feat SZA - Luther

Bad Bunny – DtMF

Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Doechii – Anxiety

Billie Eilish – Wildflower

Lady Gaga – Abracadabra

Chappell Roan – The Subway

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

Album of the year

Winner: Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos

Justin Bieber – Swag

Sabrina Carpenter – Man's Best Friend

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Kendrick Lamar – GNX

Leon Thomas – Mutt

Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia

Best new artist

Olivia Dean

Katseye

The Marías

Addison Rae

Sombr

Leon Thomas

Alex Warren

Lola Young

Best pop solo performance

Lola Young – Messy

Justin Bieber – Daisies

Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild

Lady Gaga – Disease

Chappell Roan – The Subway

Best pop vocal album

Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Justin Bieber – Swag

Sabrina Carpenter – Man's Best Friend

Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful

Teddy Swims – I've Tried Everything But Therapy Pt 2

Best pop duo/group performance

Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity

Huntr/x – Golden

Katseye – Gabriela

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

SZA With Kendrick Lamar – 30 For 30

Best traditional pop vocal album

Laufey – A Matter Of Time

Laila Biali – Wintersongs

Jennifer Hudson – The Gift Of Love

Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?

Lady Gaga – Harlequin

Barbra Streisand – The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2

Best rock performance

Yungblud ft Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II – Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning

Amyl and The Sniffers – U Should Not Be Doing That

Linkin Park – The Emptiness Machine

Turnstile – Never Enough

Hayley Williams – Mirtazapine

Best rock song

Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be

Sleep Token – Caramel

Hayley Williams – Glum

Turnstile – Never Enough

Yungblud – Zombie

Best rock album

Turnstile – Never Enough

Deftones – Private Music

Haim – I Quit

Linkin Park – From Zero

Yungblud – Idols

Best alternative music album

The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World

Bon Iver – Sable, Fable

Tyler, The Creator – Don't Tap the Glass

Wet Leg – Moisturizer

Hayley Williams – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party

Best alternative music performance

The Cure – Alone

Bon Iver – Everything Is Peaceful Love

Turnstile – Seein' Stars

Wet Leg – Mangetout

Hayley Williams – Parachute

Best metal performance

Turnstile – Birds

Dream Theater – Night Terror

Ghost – Lachryma

Sleep Token – Emergence

Spiritbox – Soft Spine

Best country solo performance

Chris Stapleton – Bad As I Used To Be

Tyler Childers – Nose On The Grindstone

Shaboozey – Good News

Zach Top – I Never Lie

Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo

Best country duo/group performance

Shaboozey & Jelly Roll – Amen

Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing

Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson – Trailblazer

Margo Price & Tyler Childers – Love Me Like You Used To Do

George Strait & Chris Stapleton – Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame

Best country song

Tyler Childers – Bitin' List

Shaboozey – Good News

Zach Top – I Never Lie

Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo

Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing

Best contemporary country album

Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken

Kelsea Ballerini – Patterns

Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter

Eric Church – Evangeline vs The Machine

Miranda Lambert – Postcards From Texas

Best R&B performance

Kehlani – Folded

Justin Bieber – Yukon

Chris Brown feat Bryson Tiller – It Depends

Leon Thomas – Mutt (Live From NPR's Tiny Desk)

Summer Walker – Heart Of A Woman

Best African music performance

Tyla – Push 2 Start

Burna Boy – Love

Davido feat Omah Lay – With You

Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin – Hope & Love

Ayra Starr feat Wizkid – Gimme Dat

Best Latin pop album

Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera

Rauw Alejandro – Cosa Nuestra

Andrés Cepeda – Bogotá (Deluxe)

Karol G – Tropicoqueta

Alejandro Sanz – ¿Y ahora qué?

Best música urbana album

Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

J Balvin – Mixteip

Feid – Ferxxo Vol X: Sagrado

Nicki Nicole – Naiki

Trueno – Eub Deluxe

Yandel – Sinfónico (En Vivo)

As the CEO and president of Taylor Guitars, Andy Powers has seen his fair share of changes within the guitar manufacturing industry. As a guitar designer and life-long guitar aficionado, well, you could say Powers' life revolves around the instrument we all know and love – and that involves steering the Taylor ship into the future.

“I come from a guitar-making and playing background, not really so much of a business background,” Powers says in the new issue of Guitar World. “But I started building and playing guitars from a young age, so all I’d ever really done was build. A lot of my focus was on actually building the instrument itself.

“I still think about an instrument that might be interesting to a player – maybe an adaptation of a guitar we’re making now, maybe something totally new or something that might be an improvement to an existing guitar. I’ll go build those instruments by hand.”

Times have been challenging over the past year or so. The guitar and gear-making industry is not only grappling with global economic shifts, but also strained natural resources, the threats of full-blown trade wars, and an ever-changing tariff landscape.

As John Mlynczak, President and CEO of the National Association of Music Merchants [NAMM], told Guitar World last year, “these tariffs can be really devastating for our industry: it's not just the sudden costs that will have to be figured out by companies individually, but it's also the disruption of supply chains. It's the unpredictability, uncertainty, and the suddenness of the tariffs.”

So how have Powers and, in turn, Taylor Guitars, been navigating all this? “It is a challenge,” he admits. “But I would say that at no point was it ever not a challenge, right?

“Let’s say I went back a couple of hundred years and worked in Stradivari’s day; it’d be a real challenge to get great material,” he adds diplomatically. “Not so much because the materials aren’t there to be had, but just the logistics and transportation mean you’re gonna be working really close to home to get that piece of ebony for a fretboard. Man, that is really gonna be hard.

“So there’s a challenge there as you come into a more modern era where you face depleting resources. One of the challenges in procurement is actually sourcing the material and how it is harvested. So we’re working a lot closer, a lot deeper into the forest, and oftentimes looking at alternate structures for the future.”

As far as finding alternative, and perhaps, more eco-friendly structures, Powers asserts, “Whether that’s plantation-grown wood, whether that’s deliberately planting trees for future generations of instrument use, or whether it’s different forestry models altogether, like using reclaimed urban-harvested wood. There are all kinds of different ways we approach it, and they have their own unique challenges.”

For more from Powers and Taylor Guitars, pick up issue 601 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

NAMM 2026: Revered Japanese instrument brand Tokai Guitars is renewing its presence in the US market after brokering a distribution deal with Audio Collective Group (ACG), which includes Warm Audio amongst its ranks.

Headquartered in the country's Shizuoka Prefecture and founded in 1947, Tokai forged a name for itself in the 1970s and 1980s for its meticulous craftsmanship and affordable takes on classic American guitar designs.

Later, it was even entrusted by Martin to build its budget-friendly Sigma line of acoustic guitars. And they certainly had their fans in the US, Kirk Hammett, Robert Fripp, and Billy Gibbons among big name owners. Now, after a prolonged absence in the US that has seen high-end builds become sought-after on the used market, Tokai is “bringing that legacy back into today’s guitar shops.”

The new distribution partnership sees the establishment of a Texas-based customer support service, a new dedicated U.S./English-language website, and a joint focus on brand growth, improved availability, and a stronger connection between Tokai and American players.

For US consumers, the reputation of Japanese-built guitars has been ever-shifting. There was a time when the Fender and Gibson copies coming out of the country were derided en-mass as cheap knock-offs, with Scott Gorham’s Les Paul copy famously disintegrating right before his eyes during his Thin Lizzy audition, typifying that.

But it didn't stay that way forever. Today, many ‘lawsuit guitars’ – a term broadly covering Japanese copies from this era – have been reevaluated including Tokai's (boldly titled) ‘Les Paul Reborn’ and Springy Sound/Breezy Sound Fender-style models, are fetching prices closer to the real deal on the second-hand market.

As such, it’s hardly a better time for Tokai to re-enter the group chat, and it does so with two electric guitar models and one bass underpinning a long-term ambition of increased visibility and a more expanded portfolio.

The Goldstar and Breezysound are its S- and T-type models, respectively, with the former available in vintage-inspired SSS configurations and hot-rodded HSS variants, for those after a little more horsepower.

The latter, meanwhile, features vintage-voiced Gotoh single coil pickups. Both come with alder and ash bodies, and light and dark wood fingerboard variants, with a range of vintage finishes available across both body shapes.

Covering the low end, the Hard Puncher is a Precision Bass-styled build, built on “strong fundamentals, articulate low-end response, and dependable performance.” It features a split coil Gotoh pickup, 34” scale length, streamlined Volume and Tone controls, and a “mix-ready tone” that puts warmth and clarity at the fore.

“We’re genuinely excited to get Tokai Guitars back in the hands of U.S. players,” says Bryce Young, President of Warm Audio & Audio Collective Group. “These are beautifully built, made-in-Japan guitars with Golden-era construction, offering a high-quality alternative to more American guitar players.

“The big thing for us is making Tokai easy to find again through trusted retailers and backing that up with real U.S. customer support and service. Tokai has a long history, and it’s awesome to help bring that legacy back into today’s guitar shops.”

The new website is yet to launch, so we’ll have to wait and see how far its availability spreads, and, more importantly, what the asking prices of its builds are, but Tokai returning to our shores – during a period when Japanese guitars are are now regarded among the world’s best – is undoubtedly good news for players.

Harley Benton – the budget-friendly brand owned by leading German musical instrument retailer Thomann – has announced it will be closing its dedicated U.S. Reverb store due to “changes in economic conditions.” Harley Benton opened its official Reverb store in October 2024.

“We're closing our dedicated US Reverb Store on January 31, 2026,” reads the official statement.

“This wasn't an easy decision, and we're truly grateful for the enthusiasm and support you've shown to our brand. Changes in economic conditions over the past year have made it increasingly difficult for us to continue operating in the U.S.”

The statement goes on to say that, as of February 1, “there will be no more products available in our U.S. Reverb Store.” However, Harley Benton has assured customers that its team will still be available for warranty, repairs, and customer support.

“Until then, this is your last chance to grab Harley Benton gear directly from our US warehouse – discounted and without tariffs.”

Over the past year, tariff uncertainty – including the latest round of potential punitive tariffs – has led many gear companies to reassess their position in the U.S. market.

Last year, financial information and analytics expert S&P Global reported that Fender implemented a 5% price increase across its entire portfolio to combat these tariffs and broader economic uncertainties.

Furthermore, companies such as D'Addario, Irish guitar firm Emerald Guitars, Morgan Amps, and EarthQuaker Devices have all been vocal about their strategies in the face of ongoing tariff disputes.

Höfner, the German instrument brand best known for the Violin Bass synonymous with Paul McCartney, has clarified its position after reports emerged that the company had submitted preliminary insolvency proceedings, as per court documents.

“Dear musicians, Höfner fans & friends, some of you may have already heard: our company has been going through a difficult period – especially since the introduction of the US tariffs – and filed for insolvency on Thursday, 11 December 2025,” reads the social media statement.

“We would like to clarify a few things: We are not discontinuing production, distribution or our media channels. In Germany, there is a three-month period before the actual insolvency procedure is opened. This period offers the opportunity to consolidate the company and restructure it for a better future.”

The statement continues, “Within this period, we will continue to build and sell our instruments and the Höfner team is doing its best to provide you with the support, service and warranties you expect.

“We would like to express our appreciation to all of you who continue to support us even in these difficult.”

Höfner was founded in 1887 by Karl Höfner. Over the years, the brand’s factory and reputation expanded, and eventually gained worldwide recognition after McCartney adopted the Höfner 500/1 semi-hollow electric bass.

This isn’t the first time the company has experienced a restructure. In 1994, Höfner became part of the Boosey & Hawkes Group. In 2003, Boosey & Hawkes then sold its musical instrument division to the Music Group.

Höfner was part of this conglomerate until December 2004, after which it was sold to Klaus Schöller, who had been the general manager for years, and Ulrike Schrimpff, the company’s finance director.

On December 16, No Treble reported that, as per documents retrieved from the Fürth District Court in Bavaria, “preliminary insolvency proceedings will be ordered on December 10, 2025, at 5:05pm” to safeguard the debtor’s assets from “adverse changes."

Following the news, McCartney himself took to social media to pay tribute to the company he's championed over the decades.

Electro-Harmonix thinks it has found the solution to the artificial intelligence energy crisis – and the answer lies above the Earth's surface.

AI is becoming commonplace in modern society, from asking ChatGPT for zucchini recipes to having your amp sim craft specific tones on demand. But the technology also needs an extraordinary amount of energy to operate.

As per Forbes, ChatGPT's daily usage is equivalent to the consumption of 180,000 U.S. households, if each used 29 kilo watts. A single prompt can suck up around a bottle's worth of water.

This is where EHX's stargazing solution comes in. The Big Muff maker says there’s a near-limitless supply of energy in the planet’s magnetosphere, just asking to be tapped into.

Earth's magnetosphere is active with unusual magnetic material caused, essentially, by a combination of the sun and the planet’s rotation, which, as Nature reports, could theoretically be harnessed as an energy source. But there is a big debate within scientific circles about whether or not it's actually possible.

But fear not. Where scientists continue to debate, EHX founder Mike Matthews has shared a newsletter in which he says “we have a plan to tap it”.

“I am currently assisting Bob [Myer, former Bell Labs scientist] with building a system on Earth to stimulate and retrieve energy to Earth by means of an oscillation,” he elaborates on an EHX page dedicated to the magnetosphere.

Matthews says he and Myers intend to “team up with the right partner(s) who will provide parallel satellites orbiting earth at about 500 miles.” They would be saddled with “electronics to build up an increasing oscillation” that EHX and Myer would co-design. And the application for this energy is, theoretically, endless.

“This,” he adds, “would conceivably be an easy first step to getting the energy 500 miles up.

“For example, spaceships launched from Earth use most of their energy to get into orbit. With this energy, those spacecraft can be refueled. Additionally, there are numerous defense applications and cryptocurrency mining uses.”

And, of course, it would conceivably generate a glut of energy to ease the AI energy crisis, offsetting the need for vast energy infrastructure expansion on the ground.

The plan is ambitious, but Matthews has never been one to shy away from a challenge; from creating the Memory Man, the world's first analog delay pedal, and being the first firm to drive down consumer costs for flangers and digital delays, EHX has often spearheaded electronic innovation.

There is, of course, a difference between revolutionizing pedalboards and the global energy crisis.

A page dedicated to the topic has also been set up on the Electro-Harmonix website for those after more context.

As I wrote in this space last year, we typically get an early start on our annual end-of-year issue. Therefore – out of necessity – a lot of this issue was put together in late October, including our annual “biggest guitar news of the year” feature.

But, to prove how alive, dynamic and inherently interesting “guitar land” is, I had to update our news feature – literally on the page – almost every day as our printer deadline approached. Whether it was the sale of Eddie Van Halen’s “Kramer Ad” guitar, the Stray Cats’ tour cancellation, Gibson/Epiphone’s Back to the Future ES-345s, Nigel Tufnel’s new Marshall amp or who knows what else, there was always something happening.

Of course, the biggest – and most tragic – piece of “late news” was the death of Kiss co-founder Ace Frehley, a down-to-earth and charismatic guy (not to mention a local boy) who graced our cover several times.

We happened to have an unpublished early-2025 Frehley interview in the can, so it made sense to include that as part of this issue’s 11-page Ace tribute. This "lost interview" conveys everything that made Ace fun to talk to and know – his honesty, his sense of humor and his wealth of detailed memories about the good-ish ol’ days.

This dashing, rectangular and bulbous issue includes...

* Our editors choose the guitarists of the year – 20-ish players who left their indelible mark on 2025, including Nuno Bettencourt, Jake E. Lee, the guys from Mirador, Marcus King, Nigel Tufnel, Noel Gallagher, Stephen Carpenter, Tim Henson and a ton more.

* A recap of the biggest guitar news of the year – including the deaths of Ace Frehley, Ozzy Osbourne and Brent Hinds, plus that massive Back to the Beginning event way back in July, the end of Megadeth, those Modified Marshalls and more.

* The GW gang chooses our favorite new gear of the year, including the EVH SA-126 Standard, the Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble, Taylor's new Gold Label acoustics and many, many more things that we'd love to own.

* A plethora of guitar stars – including Don Felder, Brad Gillis, Kiki Wong, Max Cavalera, Herman Li, Vernon Reid, Joe Perry, Keith Urban, Eric Gales, Richard Fortus, Melanie Faye, Steve Stevens and more – choose the year’s best albums, solos, riffs, songs, guitar moments, guitarists of the year and more.

* A tribute to Ace Frehley, including an interview conducted in early 2025 but not published till this issue.

Not so fast! We've got this stuff too

The Gear Hunter checks in with Paul Reed Smith over at PRS Guitars, a company that's celebrating its 40th anniversary.

We also chat with Nuno Bettencourt (one of our guitarists of the year) and transcribe – for the first time in our 45 years on the planet –Young Man Blues from Live at Leeds by the Who. Our other transcriptions are Shinedown's 2025 track Three Six Five and Buddy Holly's Blue Days, Black Nights, featuring the late, great Sonny Curtis on guitar.

Gear-wise, we explore the history and allure of the Gibson SG Standard, and we review all this lovely stuff:

• Ibanez Q54W
• Boss PX-1 Plugout FX
• Sterling by Music Man Kaizen 7
• Fender American Professional Classic Stratocaster
• Warm Audio Throne of Tone
• JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage

Finally, we have new columns by Joe Bonamassa, Jared James Nichols and Cory Wong, and we introduce a new columnist, Blackberry Smoke guitarist Charlie Starr.

You can buy new issues of Guitar World at Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Hudson News, Books a Million and other stores. But why not save on every issue by subscribing?

Sweetwater has been placed among the top countries in the US for its customer service, earning its highest ranking in its 46-year history.

The rankings have been decided by Newsweek magazine, with Sweetwater breaking into the top 10 in eighth position. That placing means it's beat the Four Seasons, Disney Parks & Resorts, and American Express on Newsweek's customer service metrics.

Newsweek, in partnership with global data research firm Statista, analyzed over 700 brands across 163 categories. A total of 200,000 customer evaluations, and an independent survey of over 28,000 U.S. customers, were considered in the results, with Sweetwater scoring an impressive 94.09 out of 100.

The news doesn't come as a surprise, really. Sweetwater's customer service is, after all, regularly the recipient of much online attention. Especially its after-sales support.

Heck, the Hard Times wrote a satire piece on how a Sweetwater sales rep turned up to the funeral of a man who bought an overdrive pedal from them in 2008. That's one of many jovial examples, but they're all in good spirits.

“Sweetwater was founded on the idea of helping our friends make music,” says Justin Dunbar, Sweetwater’s Director of Customer Support, of the recognition. “That spirit drives everything we do. Providing the best customer service we can is simply an extension of that notion. We’re not just serving customers; we’re serving fellow musicians and our friends.”

Sweetwater is currently readying itself for next week's Black Friday sales, and has already got ahead of the game by slashing up to 80% off some of its stock.

Visit our guide to the best Sweetwater Black Friday deals 2025 to find them all.

At a time when grassroots venues across the globe are facing unprecedented challenges, Marshall is championing these key community and music centers through ‘Marshall Nights’, launched in collaboration with the UK-based Music Venue Trust.

‘Marshall Nights’ is set to be a UK-wide series of over 20 gigs – each shining a spotlight on emerging talent and the local communities that support them.

“Marshall was born from the live stage, and that’s where we belong,” comments Kevin Penney, Marketing Director at Marshall EMEA. “Grassroots venues are where every great band starts, and we’re proud to help keep those stages alive for the next generation of artists and fans.

“This isn’t just about sound – it’s about community, creativity, and giving back to the music that made us.”

‘Marshall Nights’ will feature more than 60 breakthrough artists performing across some of the country's most well-known venues, including the Green Door Store in Brighton, Fuel in Cardiff, The Rum Shack in Glasgow, and Yellow Arch in Sheffield.

Beyond the live shows, Marshall and Music Venue Trust will also collaborate on live sessions, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content that will continue to amplify the artists and the independent venues that make it all happen.

This initiative continues to build on Marshall's previous commitments to grassroots music, including Marshall co-founder Terry Marshall and his wife Leslie Marshall's £100,000 ($130,361) donation to Music Venue Trust’s ‘Own Our Venues’ campaign, and supplying backline equipment to 20 grassroots music venues and counting.

And, speaking of Marshall, it's been more than 40 years since Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel cranked his Marshall amp to 11, so it was only fitting that, for their silver screen reunion, Tufnel (aka actor Christopher Guest) re-enlisted the help of Marshall to craft an amp that goes to Infinity.

A former G&L Guitars employee has shared their story in the wake of speculation surrounding the fate of the firm, whose closure and dissolution has now been quietly confirmed.

G&L – the company established by Leo Fender in 1979 after he left his namesake brand in the mid-1960s – was the subject of intense online speculation last month when word of staff furloughs and an impending sale began to spread.

The lack of an official statement from both G&L and Fender – the party that was heavily rumored to have bought G&L – gave way to mounting rumors that the company was in the middle of a quiet shutdown.

These rumors were further fuelled when reports emerged online that G&L was quickly clearing its inventory, and that Fender had bought G&L's intellectual property – including the trademark for the ‘Leo Fender’ name.

Now, Steve Araujo – the frontman of The Bass Hang YouTube channel who worked for G&L for almost a decade – has shed light on the situation, as new court filings confirm that Fender has indeed successfully filed for the ‘Leo Fender’ trademark.

In a new video on his YouTube channel, Araujo revealed he resigned from G&L on August 1 after nearly 10 years with the company, and that rumors of staff furloughs were indeed true. This comes after court documents confirming the dissolution and termination of BBE Sound, the parent company of G&L, were published.

“The majority of people watching this will know that G&L is no longer and we still have a lot of unanswered questions,” Araujo begins, “so I'm going to try to give my side of the story and just maybe dispel some myths.

“G&L is dissolved, or gone, as of right now,” he explains. “I don’t think it’s a big mystery that financial issues were the problem, [and] have been the problem.

“I resigned on August 1. Fast-forward to Monday September 15, the employees were furloughed. To their understanding – and everyone’s understanding – they were going to be furloughed for two weeks, and they were going to come back to work on Monday September 29.

“A week and a half into the furlough, the employees that were owed money actually got paid. There were a lot of employees that were not paid and hadn’t been paid for a few weeks. But at the time of the furlough there were some employees that pressed to receive their payment, and they actually did get paid.”

Araujo continues to allege that on Friday September 26, G&L employees who were furloughed were told they needed to attend meetings on the following Monday, where they were informed that they were being let go.

“They were told that they were killing the company, killing G&L. They received severance and they had to sign some paperwork," Araujo alleges. “So Monday September 29, everybody’s let go. No more factory workers, no more G&L.”

The situation surrounding G&L between September 15 and September 29 was, as Araujo puts it, “up in the air”. People – dealers and G&L fans included – were reaching out to him to see if he had answers, but he didn’t.

As for reports that the G&L factory was being wound down over the past few weeks – which were brought to light by the Guitarcheology Instagram account – Araujo confirms the facility is “pretty much gutted”, and that “machinery, everything is out of most of the units”. That means G&L as we know it has come to an end.

“No more G&Ls will ever be produced out of that Fender Avenue factory,” Araujo adds, referencing the historic site on which the firm has operated since its inception. “And we still don’t know what’s going on as of today.”

One thing that has been confirmed, albeit under the radar, is that Fender now owns the trademark for the ‘Leo Fender’ name and likeness, having first filed for the trademark at the start of October. This was confirmed in court filings that can be found on the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and were brought to light by YouTuber Phillip McKnight.

For Fender, that is perhaps the most valuable G&L asset it could own. It is now free to use the brand founder’s name in any of its operations going forward – and internet sleuths have spotted that Fender.com has already had a Leo-heavy makeover.

What all this means for the rest of the G&L inventory, and some of the company’s more cherished models – such as the Jerry Cantrell-approved Rampage – remains to be seen.

Fender has been approached for comment.

AC/DC will finally bring their Power Up tour to Australia later this month, and to celebrate, we've printed a new run of the Classic Rock AC/DC Special Edition bookazine. Dubbed the Aussie Power Up Tour Edition, it features 132 pages of high quality, in-depth material spanning the group's 1973 formation in Australia, through to the present. It comes wrapped in a premium high-gloss cover.

How did AC/DC's first ever concert go? What's the story behind Bon Scott's music career pre-Acca Dacca? How the hell did the group bounce back so powerfully after Bon Scott's death, and what is the magic behind the success of Back In Black? All this is covered (and much more) as well as interviews with Malcolm Young, Angus Young and Brian Johnson. Check out the full table of contents at the bottom of this page.

Classic Rock AC/DC Special Edition: Aussie Power Up Tour Edition is out now for AU$22.95 at all good newsagents. Go and grab yours before the Power Up Tour hits proper: it'll get you in the mood and then some.

Contents

The Ballad Of Bon Scott
Bon’s brief tenure in folksters Mount Lofty Rangers prior to joining AC/DC and a near-fatal premature ending…

The First Gig!
The original line-up recall seeing in the new year of ’74 with a bang.

TNT
The Australia-only release of their second album.

First Steps
Growing up down under: aggro in the arvo.

Let There Be Rock!
The band’s first proper album release confirms their status as a definitive force in rock’n’roll.

Riff Raff
Laying waste to the UK: on tour in ’77 with Bon leading the charge.

Bad Boy Boogie
The last few years of the 70s, AC/DC consolidated their name as the ultimate good time rock’n’roll band – both on record and on stage.

Shot Down
Working towards the peak career of the band’s Bon Scott era, AC/DC recruited new album producer Mutt Lange.

Highway To Hell
The full story behind the making of the band’s most well-known and enduring album.

A Touch Too Much
The tragic passing of the AC/DC frontman and how his death passed into legend – and conspiracy.

The 80s
The exit of Bon and the entrance of Brian ‘Beano’ Johnson: how AC/DC rose again to reach even greater success.

Back In Black
Beano’s debut: the iconic album that saw AC/DC break new ground whilst remaining true to their roots.

Hell’s Bells
Exactly how did Back In Black become such a classic album? Geoff Barton of Classic Rock explores its longevity.

For Whom The Bell Tolls
How the band fared with new guy Beano out front.

Every Home Should Have One
Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd on why Back In Black was such an important album for him – and his career.

For Those About To Rock, We Salute You
The stress and strain of following up Back In Black as new era of rock approached.

Bring Out The Big Guns
The pitfalls of playing on stage with firing cannons.

Rock’N’Roll Damnation
Dealing with inter-band conflict, surviving the vagaries of music fashion, censorship in the USA… and a serial killer.

In The Badlands
How Flick Of The Switch and Fly On The Wall saw AC/DC falter in the decade that saw pop overcome rock.

Going Into Overdrive
Drawing inspiration from an unlikely source, AC/DC revitalise their career with Who Made Who and Blow Up Your Video.

High Voltage
The resurgence and the cleaning-up of their act.

Malcolm Young
The older brother interviewed in 1992, following the release of The Razor’s Edge and Ballbreaker albums.

Rock Your Heart Out
Back to basics: the making of Razor’s Edge, Ballbreaker and into the new millennium with Stiff Upper Lip.

Can’t Stop Rock’N’Roll
The renaissance of AC/DC: how the band thrived in the new millennium by outliving their peers from the 70s.

Black Ice
For almost a decade with no new music, the band exploded back onto the scene with a “comeback” …then went supernova.

Train Kept A-Rollin’
Revisiting Black Ice and Rock Or Bust – the band’s latest (or final?) – two albums that brought the band’s career full circle.

It’s A Long Way To The Top…
He’s not bitter: Brian Johnson’s career in full and how he successfully filled the big shoes of Bon Scott, when no one though that was possible.

Let There Be Rock. Again
Angus Young and Brian Johnson on ressurecting the one of the greatest hard rock bands ever and unleashing Power Up.

The 30 Greatest Songs
The all-time classic cuts. From Lemmy to Aerosmith, from Clutch to Kiss, the great and the good choose their favourites.

It has been another grim week for the music retail sector as Scottish guitar store chain Kenny’s Music has closed its doors for good, with its managing director offering a bleak outlook for the sector, arguing that is now “impossible” to operate as a brick-and-mortar gear retailer in the UK.

Kenny’s Music operated stores in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dunfermline, and sold gear online. Its store in Dunfermline had only reopened in 2022. It was no analog holdout either; its ground game on social media was strong. Check out the Kenny’s Music Instagram page; they knew how to market gear.

The closure of Kenny’s Music is part of a dismal trend that is observable on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2024, one of the great icons of musical instrument retail in the US, Sam Ash, closed its doors for good, initially shuttering 18 of its 44 locations, before closing them all entirely. Sam Ash had been welcoming customers for a century. How many players bought their first electric guitar there? It was later bought by Mexican retail firm Gonher Music for $15.2 million and operates entirely online.

This year, in the UK, PMT (Play Music Today), was placed into administration in June, with 11 stores, its website, and warehouse all shuttered, GAK, a Brighton institution since opening its doors in 1992, went bust in April. Its assets and stock were picked up by Gear4Music for estimated £2.4 million ($3.26 million).

Now Kenny’s Music. And the irony is that its 2025 sales figures have been their best ever, with MD Alex Martin telling The Courier that its transition to selling secondhand stock also proving a success. The problem is not the sales; it’s the costs retailers face. Their margins have disappeared.

“Costs – particularly wages and online marketing costs – have risen so sharply that even record sales can’t offset them,” says Martin.

Martin says the stats speak for themselves. A quarter of music retail space has been lost this year alone. He tells The Courier that worse is to come.

“The reality is that it’s become impossible to operate sustainably as a predominantly brick and mortar musical instrument retailer in the UK in 2025,” says Martin.

It’s the same story we heard when PMT went bust. Rick Harrison, the managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said the economic conditions were affecting retailers across the board.

“It’s been a tough few years for specialist music equipment retailers who have battled headwinds including rising costs, dwindling margins, and the rising cost of living affecting consumer behavior,” he said.

The malaise is not confined to the UK. In April, Dutch gear retailer Bax Music filed for bankruptcy. Gear sales may well move fully online but at what cost?

The guitar store experience – much improved over the years, more welcoming – is a rite of passage, part of guitar culture. And it is still in demand. The sales data bears that out. But if the costs are prohibitively high, the margins squeezed further, Martin could be right. The brick-and-mortar store could be lost.

A Fender Artist Showroom has officially landed in China, specifically to the bustling Xuhui District in Shanghai – marking the fourth Artist Showroom worldwide for Fender, following locations in Tokyo, London, and Nashville.

The multifaceted space is set to provide “elevated services” to Fender China's extensive roster of artists and serve as a working space for Shanghai-based Fender artist marketing and product teams.

“From London to Nashville, and Tokyo, each Fender Artist Showroom is more than just a physical location, it's an emotional bridge connecting artists with the brand,” asserts Edward Cole, President of Fender Asia-Pacific.

“It's a place where musicians find inspiration and support, and where Fender gains direct insight from artists to co-create the future of music. This move is not only a key extension of our global strategy but also a solid commitment reflecting our firm belief in the future of the Chinese market and our long-term investment here.”

The opening ceremony featured a surprise performance by the acclaimed band INNOUT, with guitarist Jun Xiao and drummer An Yu providing a taste of what's to come at the Fender Artist Showroom Shanghai.

“For us musicians, Fender is the most reliable partner in our creation and performance,” says INNOUT guitarist Jun Xiao. “As a Chinese musician, I'm thrilled to witness the opening of the Fender Artist Showroom Shanghai and look forward to closer connections and collaboration with the Chinese team in the future.”

The two-floor building features a new product display area, a guitar tech station, and an amp room equipped with the latest Fender guitars for artists to test. There is also a workspace for the Fender China team, ensuring that “they remain closely connected to the local music community.”

As for its other showroom in Asia, the Fender Artist Showroom in Tokyo recently played host to the rollout of Fender Japan’s new Godzilla Strats, one of which is a $36,000 Custom Shop model with a Godzilla roar button.

Have you ever found yourself in the audience at a concert, mindlessly strumming along, pretending that you're the band's lead guitarist? Heck, ever do that while listening to music at home?

Well, if you fancy yourself as something of an air guitar pro, you'd be pleased to know that there's an actual, bona fide Air Guitar World Championships .

As the current air guitar world champion, Aapo Rautio, recounts in The Guardian, his crown has been a long time coming, as he's been practicing his craft since he was a kid.

“I was always ‘playing’ air guitar, miming along to the biggest rock tunes with my imaginary instrument,” he relates. “My parents were music fans – my dad loved Bruce Springsteen and U2. AC/DC was the first band I discovered on my own. Angus Young, the lead guitarist, was my hero.”

As Rautio relays, stepping on stage for the first time gave him a taste of what it feels like to be a rock star – and he was officially hooked.

He continues, “When I stepped on stage, I did my routine to AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie. The crowd started chanting ‘Angus,’ just like on the live recording, and it hit me: this is what it feels like to be a rock star. I made it to the finals, playing to hundreds of people in Oulu’s market square, and I was hooked. I got the nickname ‘Little Angus’ that day.”

And if you're wondering what the competition actually involves, Rautio describes it as “intense but joyful” experience.

“Contestants have 60 seconds to give everything – explosive energy, perfect mime, rock star charisma – on an invisible guitar,” he explains. “Judges score you on a scale from 4.0 to 6.0. In the case of a tie, there’s an ‘air-off’ between the final two contestants: a song plays and you improvise.”

Preparation is everything. For this year's championship, Rautio chose an Avenged Sevenfold song. He listened to it on loop for weeks and, akin to a world-class athlete or performer, made sure his body was well up to the task: “By the time competition day came, I could feel the song in my bones,” he recalls.

Fast forward to the actual show day, and when the scores came in, Rautio had tied with Japanese champion Yuta “Sudo-chan” Sudo. And, like every other battle of the bands (or, in this case, air guitar battle), it was time for a tie breaker – appropriately labelled, in air guitar circles, as an “air-off”.

“We went head-to-head to Sweet Child o’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses. When I heard the song, I felt relieved because it was one that I knew, and more than anything I was so excited to perform one more time. When they announced I’d won, the square erupted.

“The moment is hazy. I think I blacked out from shock,” he recollects. “Then everyone started singing Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World and lifted me on to their shoulders. Justin Howard – AKA Nordic Thunder – a former champion and one of my closest friends, was hugging me. I cried.

“I was Finland’s first air guitar world champion in 25 years. The previous Finnish champion, Markus ‘Black Raven’ Vainionpää, was there, too. He gave me the biggest hug and said it was ‘about damn time.’”

Despite being a guitarist and a drummer in an actual band, Rautio asserts that the air guitar community is truly one-of-a-kind, a family with the ethos of “make air, not war” summing up the spirit that permeates the championships.

“Before you go on stage, every competitor comes and hugs you. Then, for 60 seconds, you’re allowed to be free, silly, the biggest rock star in the world,” the air guitar champion concludes.

And, like every other niche, air guitar enjoys a contested history – with Woodstock ’69 largely cited as one of the documented events where air guitar originated.

Gibson has announced that, following its Gibson Garages in Nashville and London, the brand is opening its third retail and experiential store in Miami. The Gibson Garage Miami is arriving in Spring 2026, and will be located in the heart of the Wynwood Art District at 2660 NW 3rd Avenue, Miami, Florida.

“Based on the incredible response from our artists and fans, we are expanding our Gibson Garage footprint to Miami,” comments Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson.

“Miami’s music scene is electric, diverse, and deeply rooted in culture. The Gibson Garage Miami will be a space that not only showcases our instruments but also celebrates the artists and communities that make Miami a global music hub.”

Spanning over 8,000 square feet, the brand-new Gibson Garage promises a “dynamic environment” that reflects the “Gibson legacy of craftsmanship and innovation,” featuring more than 500 guitars from the Gibson family of brands, which visitors can play and purchase.

A moving conveyor belt of guitars will also be present at the space, which Gibson says symbolizes “the journey from creation to connection” and that “every instrument is built to be played, not just admired.”

Aside from being a retail destination for guitar aficionados, Gibson's choice of Miami promises to turn the space into a hub for Latin culture and artists – with a live stage, exclusive apparel collaborations with local designers, celebrity and film memorabilia, and the first stateside Gibson Gallery installation.

On top of that, there will also be a Gibson Custom Made to Measure program that gives guitarists the opportunity to design their own tailor-made guitar.

In more recent news, the Gibson Garage in London recently hosted ‘The Burst Experience’ in collaboration with Guitarist magazine – which, as the name suggests, celebrated all things ’Bursts, including a few belonging to some very notable names.