Best guitar straps 2024: play in comfort and secure your guitar in style By Chris Corfield last updated 30 April 24 Our expert pick of straps for electric, acoustic and bass, covering all budgets and materials
“Start building your dream bass”: Ernie Ball Music Man launches The Custom Design Experience – allowing players to customize every single spec of its StingRay Special bass By Phil Weller published 5 April 24 4 and 5-strings, changeable pickup configurations, neck profiles and 30 finish options. Could customizable electrics be next?
Best electric guitar strings 2024: the finest electric guitar strings for every budget and playing style By Chris Corfield last updated 11 March 24 Keep your axe feeling and sounding fresh with the best electric guitar strings on offer right now
“Strat connoisseurs should find that the pickups deliver the tonal qualities of their dreams”: Ernie Ball Music Man Luke 4 SSS review By Chris Gill published 4 March 24 The EBMM x Steve Lukather collab celebrates a landmark anniversary with a triple-single coil model that is ridiculously effective and well put together
NAMM 2024: “Unique air cell core technology” in... a strap? Through modern engineering, Ernie Ball’s new Comfort Cloud line looks to provide “optimal cushioning” for prolonged playing By Matt Owen published 28 January 24 The new design looks to make the strap “stronger and more comfortable” through a nifty neoprene and air cell core tech construction
Best acoustic guitar strings 2024: outfit your acoustic with the strings it deserves By Chris Corfield last updated 26 January 24 Our pick of the best acoustic guitar string sets, and everything you need to know about them
NAMM 2024: Ernie Ball Music Man has finally dropped Rabea Massaad’s long-awaited Artist Series models, refining the classic Sabre design into a surprising new form By Phil Weller published 25 January 24 With dark and light editions, Massaad's first release with Music Man has been a long time coming – and it looks as though it's been worth the wait
NAMM 2024: Ernie Ball Music Man just introduced the final instalment in the Joe Dart Artist Series… and it sold out in seconds By Nick Wells published 18 January 24 Ernie Ball’s collaboration with Vulfpeck’s Joe Dart continues with this fresh take on Dart’s go-to short-scale P-Bass
“I’m not supposed to talk about these”: Rabea Massaad lifts the curtain on his two new Music Man signature guitars – and they’re looking mighty fine indeed By Phil Weller published 15 December 23 The guitarist has been working with Ernie Ball since April, helping improve its future builds, with the new Sabre-inspired prototypes showing the fruits of their labor
Ernie Ball Music Man just dropped the Retro ‘70s StingRay bass range – and Brazilian thump master Fernando Rosa has demoed them in impeccable style By Nick Wells published 1 November 23 Ernie Ball's new throwback StingRay combines ‘70s-inspired features with modern playability
“Punk rock should be accessible – I think it’s very cool to be somebody’s potential first bass”: Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz partners with Sterling by Music Man for its first full-scale passive bass By Nick Wells published 26 October 23 Spotlighting his punk roots, the Pete Wentz Artist Series StingRay is visually inspired by watches and skateboards
Bassists, ditch your pedalboards: the Sterling by Music Man DarkRay features two Darkglass distortion circuits in one bass By Nick Wells published 24 October 23 The Music Man DarkRay is now available as a more budget-friendly Sterling offering
Ernie Ball has unveiled Synyster Gates signature string sets – but what is that mystery guitar amp? By Matt Owen published 28 July 23 Two sets have been awarded to the Avenged Sevenfold guitarist, who was filmed sitting next to what could possibly be a new signature guitar amp
“Whenever we’d drop that bass riff, places would become unhinged”: Listen to Tim Commerford’s isolated bassline on Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine By Nick Wells published 20 July 23 The beginning of RATM best-known song is a sinister D plus octave of D#
NAMM 2023: Ernie Ball announces Slinky Flatwound electric guitar strings and Flatwound Short-Scale bass strings By Michael Astley-Brown published 13 April 23 The new launches are the world’s “first and only” cobalt flatwound strings
Rabea Massaad signs as Ernie Ball artist, and will help develop future electric guitar models By Matt Owen published 12 April 23 An as-yet-unannounced model based on the Sabre is already in the pipeline, and will mark the first step in the pair's new professional relationship after Massaad left Chapman last year
NAMM 2023: Sterling by Music Man adds St. Vincent’s Goldie signature model to its lineup, alongside new Mariposa, Cutlass, Valentine and Albert Lee models By Matt Owen published 12 April 23 The 11-strong drop introduces new finishes, upgrades and an all-new Cutlass boldly dubbed “the perfect all-in-one workhorse for any modern player”
Behold Ernie Ball Music Man’s ultra-limited, ultra-luxurious Spring 2023 Ball Family Reserve range By Matt Parker published 30 March 23 Nitrocellulose finishes are the cherry on top for this quartet of guitars and basses designed to showcase the brand’s finest builds
5 things we learned about Tim Henson from his eye-opening Ernie Ball String Theory episode By Matt Owen published 6 January 23 The Polyphia virtuoso reveals some surprising unknowns, from his early experiences playing in a worship band to fostering a mindset to be “the best guitarist in the world” at the age of 10
Get up to 55% off strings, picks, capos, cables and other guitar accessories with Ernie Ball's mega Cyber Monday sale By Matt Owen last updated 27 November 22 Bag huge discounts on just about every essential accessory you could need – or scoop some suitable stocking fillers for a guitar-playing loved one