Rabea Massaad

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“If detuned modern rock and metal is your thing, it’s definitely one to check out”: Victory VX The Kraken MKII Lunch Box Head review

By Nick Guppy published 18 March 24

Victory’s compact high-gain monster is back, revamped and improved, and with a new Clean mode

“The best Tele tones I've ever had”: Rabea Massaad seeks to make the Telecaster more versatile than ever with new Bare Knuckle Nomad pickups

By Phil Weller published 13 March 24

Rabea Massaad's third signature set with Bare Knuckle aims to do for the Fender Telecaster what his radical Triptych single coils did for the Stratocaster

Rabea Massaad with his new Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre

NAMM 2024: “The aim was to be as tonally versatile as possible”: Rabea Massaad on the origins of his long-awaited Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre design – and the crucial refinement that took the most tweaking

By Matt Owen published 31 January 24

An newly-contoured Sabre body and a set of Bare Knuckle Silos headline the eagerly anticipated instrument, which made its official debut at NAMM 2024

Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre Rabea Massaad signature

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

Rabea Massaad signature Music Man Sabre protypes

“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

Bare Knuckle Triptych review: the most versatile Stratocaster pickup set on the market?

By Dave Burrluck published 28 September 23

One of the most talked-about pickups of 2023, Rabea Massaad’s new signature set could be just what you need to cover all bases without losing those quintessential Strat sounds

Bare Knuckle Rabea Massaad Triptych single coil Strat set

“It’s really taken off – Rabea Massaad has introduced players to a new way of delivering tone from a Strat”: How Bare Knuckle redefined the sound of the Stratocaster with its radical new Triptych single coils

By Henry Yates published 4 September 23

How the tones of Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer and Philip Sayce informed a signature set of single-coil pickups for one of guitar's most progressive players

NAMM 2023: Bare Knuckle unveils the Triptych single coil set, achieving Rabea Massaad’s vision of “the perfect Strat tone”

By Michael Astley-Brown published 15 April 23

The new signature pickups aim to satisfy fans of John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughan as well as players of heavier styles

Rabea Massaad with Ernie Ball Music Man guitars

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

Kanami Tōno performs with Band-Maid at the MCM London Comic Con at The London ExCel on May 28, 2016 in London

From cosmic collaborations to blistering, chug-powered breakdowns: here are this week's essential guitar tracks

By Matt Owen, Michael Astley-Brown, Jackson Maxwell, Sam Roche published 1 December 22

Kick off December with a bang with invigorating new songs from Metallica, Donovan & David Gilmour, Band-Maid, Leap, Jack Gardiner, Bury Tomorrow, Subsonic Eye, Miniature Tigers, and more

Rabea Massaad on his synth-equipped Neural DSP Archetype plugin: “You can make it super-wide and go all ‘80s… It absolutely does Stranger Things noises”

By Jonathan Horsley published 23 August 22

Massaad’s signature Neural DSP Archetype plugin suite goes beyond amps and effects, with a fully functioning monosyth you trigger with your guitar, and he promises us it is awesome

Neural DSP launches Archetype plugin suite for Rabea Massaad – and it has an actual synth onboard

By Jonathan Horsley published 3 August 22

The Archetype: Rabea is packed with amps and effects, and has a fully functioning dual-oscillator monosynth that is triggered by your guitar

Rob Chapman confirms Dorje have disbanded

By Matt Owen published 16 December 21

Chapman, Rabea Massaad, Dave Hollingworth and Ben Minal will now put all their energy into their own individual projects

Rabea Massaad: "All the opportunities I've had and the things I've achieved have come off the back of going into the world of YouTube"

By Matt Owen published 22 October 21

The online gear guru and progressive guitar player discusses his eclectic career so far, from the onset of his demoing days to headlining the prestigious Reading and Leeds Festival with Stormzy

Rabea Massaad performing live at Reading Festival

Watch Rabea Massaad’s scorching solo spot opening for Stormzy at Reading Festival

By Matt Owen published 31 August 21

The prog-rock phenom ensured Stormzy's headline set was sufficiently supercharged by way of some shred-ready runs and thunderous high-gain passages

Bare Knuckle and Rabea Massaad team up for Silo humbucker

By Richard Bienstock published 1 November 19

New signature pickup designed for extended chord voicings and drop tunings

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