Mastodon
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“I tried SGs and Flying Vs, and they might look cool, but it's like playing a piece of Styrofoam”: Bill Kelliher explains why he prefers his guitars to be as heavy as possible
By Matt Owen published
Since around 2020, the Mastodon maestro has been wielding an extraordinarily thick ESP Custom Shop model, which was recently reissued as the LTD Royal Shiva – and both closely follow Kelliher’s ethos of “the thicker, the better”

NAMM 2024: “It's heavy, thick, and unique. It feels great”: ESP brings Bill Kelliher’s long-awaited double-cut custom model to the masses with LTD Royal Shiva signature guitar
By Matt Owen published
The Mastodon riff lord's latest signature model is based on his beastly Silver Sunburst six-string that was built in 2020, and receives an official release after much anticipation

“My dad didn’t believe in distortion”: Bill Kelliher took us through his unlikely guitar tone journey – while he cooked us lunch
By Matt Owen published
We asked the Mastodon maestro to tell us about his lifelong search for perfect guitar tone, so he did – and gave us a killer culinary class while doing so

NAMM 2023: ESP meets fan demand with James Hetfield Olympic White Vulture and debuts 12 LTD signature guitars, including Gary Holt’s “very pointy” GH-SV
By Matt Parker published
Bill Kelliher, Stephen Carpenter, Nergal, Lars Frederiksen and Javier Reyes all have at least one new guitar on the way from the LTD stable

Fender teams up with Mastodon's Troy Sanders for well-spec'd Silverburst signature P-Bass
By Jackson Maxwell published
The Mastodon low-end ranger's new four-string is outfitted with a custom Jazz Bass single-coil bridge pickup, a Split-Coil P-Bass unit in the middle, and eye-catching custom graphics throughout

Watch Mastodon’s Brent Hinds turn Super Sheriff and arrest guitarists for tone violations
By Matt Parker published
Hinds has endorsed Victory Amps’ Sheriff – and taken to the streets of Atlanta to extend the long arm of the law

Victory Amps overhauls its Sheriff range – and seemingly signs Mastodon’s Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher to its ranks
By Michael Astley-Brown published
The British rock-voiced series has been revamped with new Mastodon-endorsed heads and combos

Are Bill Kelliher’s new Mojotone Hellbender pickups the most versatile metal humbuckers ever made?
By Matt Parker published
The Mastodon rhythm king’s new signature set uses Alnico II and V ceramic magnets to deliver tones spanning brutal to beautiful

7 guitar-led covers of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill
By Jonathan Horsley published
Kate Bush’s irresistible 1985 hit is driven by synth but as these covers from Placebo, First Aid Kit, Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher and more prove, the song can be just as dramatic on guitar

Troy Sanders: “The Teardrinker bass solo turned from a silly joke to an interesting moment that I’d never done in Mastodon before”
By Joel McIver published
The Mastodon bassist and vocalist on why the Atlanta metal institution doubled up for their latest album, Hushed And Grim, and taking the opportunity for a bass solo
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