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DARK SECRETS: 2 - The Real Truth

“One day it hit me, I want a Fender 7-string Stratocaster. I got a lot of ‘no’s”: How the Fender Custom Shop was convinced to make the firm’s first 7-string guitar

Suicide Silence guitarist Chris Garza worked with the Custom Shop on its first 7-string Strat – and there's hope that the one-of-a-kind Fender can be the start of something bigger

Guitar World

“It has one of the highest outputs of any passive humbucker, ever”: Seymour Duncan celebrates imminent release of Spinal Tap sequel with a custom pickup – and it has an “eye-watering” DCR reading of 111K

But what will this monster one-off pickup sound like – and will we ever see it in production?

MusicRadar

“There are no limits. It’s basically: how long will it take and how much is it going to cost?” Behind the scenes at the Fender Custom Shop – where anything goes, and heritage and innovation go hand in hand

Nearly 40 years on from the Custom Shop’s inception, its creations are more ambitious than ever. Master Builder Paul Waller and Director of Product Development Chase Paul give us a guided tour

Guitar World

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“It weaves together wild features into something that could’ve been a producer’s secret weapon in the early 1970s”: Acclaimed producer Adrian Younge’s new semi-fretless signature Fender is perhaps the craziest Jazz Bass the company's ever released

Based on Younge's personal Custom Shop build, the limited-edition Masterbuilt model nods to the past while departing radically from convention

Guitar World

“The big thing was the neck shape that Clapton wanted. We made about a dozen neck samples for him to play”: From Slowhand’s Strat to “tongue-in-cheek” relics, this is the hidden history of the Fender Custom Shop

Fender’s Custom Shop had a precarious start in the mid-1980s, but the story of its formative years is full of big ideas, some bizarre instruments, and a queue of famous guitarists

Guitar World

“To surprise me, they put my name on the headstock in gold lettering – but they spelled it wrong”: The Cars’ Elliot Easton on the Flying V that Tim Shaw built him – a “gorgeous” guitar (even if Gibson slipped up on his name)

Easton’s 1982 Gibson Custom Shop left-handed Flying V was a much-loved guitar, but when someone offered "stupid money" for it he couldn’t turn it down. Still, it looked cool on the cover of GW

Guitar World

“Great Scott!” Gibson teases Back to the Future ES-345 replica – and an Epiphone version may not be far behind

The hunt for the original goes on, but Gibson Custom Shop is making headway on what looks like plans for a fully fledged Back to the Future guitar line

Guitar World

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“I guess I’m buying a new Gibson”: Cesar Gueikian teases Custom Shop replica of Marty McFly’s “1955” ES-345 – but hunt goes on for original Back To The Future guitar

And could there be an Epiphone version too?

MusicRadar

“It’s the wide range of voices that impresses. Old or new, these are far from one-trick ponies”: PJD Carey Classic review

The York, UK-based guitar maker delivers the latest version of its Les Paul Junior/Tele mashup – with remarkable results

Guitar World

“Every other Strat I picked up at the time didn’t have the same feeling to me”: Warren Haynes on why the theft of a Custom Shop Strat convinced him to change to Gibson Les Pauls

The loss of the guitar broke his heart, so Haynes decided to venture into new realms

Guitar World

“I would love to get that guitar back. Every other Strat I picked up didn’t have the same feeling”: How Warren Haynes turned to Les Pauls after his favourite Strat was stolen

The theft of the Custom Shop Strat in the '90s forced Haynes to think differently

MusicRadar

“It’s like a Jazzmaster on steroids, but you still have that Strat essence”: Fender’s limited-edition Ariel Posen signature is a conceptual hybrid that blends two of the slide master’s favorite guitars together

The Jazzmaster/Stratocaster mash-up debuts custom pickups designed by Tim Shaw and a spec sheet that blurs the boundaries between the two classic Fender designs

Guitar World

“It embodies everything I love about Fender and condenses it into one instrument”: Ariel Posen’s new Custom Shop signature Strat is A) a thing of beauty, and B) inspired by a… Jazzmaster?

This, you've got to see and hear. Featuring new custom-wound AP90 pickups, hardtail bridge, and cupcake control knobs, Posen's new Strat is a limited edition cracker

MusicRadar

“The warm wash of top-class tone we experienced from both these guitars was impossible to resist”: Fenech VT Camphor Laurel Auditorium and VT Professional Blackwood Dread D78 review

An Australian brand with a burgeoning reputation down under steps into the limelight with a pair of hand-built acoustics that incorporate premium tonewoods and a sharp eye for design

Guitar World

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Guitar World

"This is the kind of guitar that encourages you to play your best, allowing you to perform faster, smoother, and more expressively than you thought possible": Gibson Marcus King ES-345 review

Marcus King delivers a royal reimagining of an ES classic – and it may take the crown as the finest signature guitar of the year

Guitar World

“I want to share with everyone else what he shared with me”: Marcus King’s vintage Gibson ES-345 has passed through 3 generations of his family. Now, his new signature model brings it to the masses

Based on his 1962 “Big Red” guitar, King’s latest signature is a sleeker version of the exclusive Custom Shop model that arrived back in 2021

MusicRadar

“This modern version captures the look and vibe of his original, with only the features that Marcus finds essential”: Marcus King’s new signature Gibson ES-345 is the evolution of a family heirloom and offers a stripped down take on the original

Inspired by "Big Red," the 1962 ES-345 that has been in the family for generations, King's new signature model has the same feel but comes with a fixed Vibrola and the Varitone switch removed

Guitar World

“It was the closest I’ll ever get to Indiana Jones. You find this artifact and you’re scraping away until it’s the dinosaur bone showing”: The story of Brad Paisley’s Lost Telecaster – the ‘hippie vomit’ reject that became one of Fender’s rarest finds

A partly-failed flower-power experiment in the ‘60s comes back to life via its namesake, who’ll make 19 on his own while Fender’s Custom Shop make another 67

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MusicRadar

“Use as a little gain as you can to get the idea across, which may still be all the gain in the world”: Periphery’s Misha Mansoor on exploring “absurd” tunings, his friends' genius, and why he is looking for someone to teach him guitar

We catch up with the Periphery riff-master to discuss his refreshed Jackson Juggernaut, custom offsets, collabs with Mike Dawes, and why – vintage or modern – good gear is good gear

Guitar World

“Some of the most ambitious custom shop guitars I’ve ever seen”: These are the gear releases that have caught my eye this week – and the essential launches you might have missed

New drops from JHS Pedals, Fender, Victory, and more that need to be on your radar this week

MusicRadar

“This isn’t just an Artist Signature model – it’s a glimpse into what could have been, had this concept made it to production”: Fender and Brad Paisley introduce the 1967 ‘Lost Paisley’ Telecaster

This limited edition Tele resurrects a unicorn finish and applies it to a top-tier vintage build featuring Seymour Duncan pickups and Glaser G Bender

Guitar World

“Dime is in there. I have a big Eddie Van Halen influence. The same goes for Eric Clapton. It all channels back to the blues”: Mark Morton explains why he’s jamming with Grace Bowers and Jason Isbell on his solo album – and those Gibson signature rumors

His second solo album, Without The Pain, features Troy Sanders, Jason Isbell, Jared James Nichols, Grace Bowers and a stack of guitars from his frighteningly valuable collection

MusicRadar

“It is ingrained with my artwork, an art piece that I had done years ago called Sunburst”: Serj Tankian and the Gibson Custom Shop team up for limited edition signature Foundations Les Paul Modern

They're only making 25 of these, each of them signed, and they come with a signed LP, signed art print, a copy of Tankian's memoir, plus VIP tickets to an upcoming System Of A Down show

Guitar World

“While the odd corner has clearly been cut, these are true Gibsons with all the individuality that this brand exhibits”: Gibson J-45 Special and Hummingbird Special review

USA-made Gibson acoustics for under two grand, with solid timbers, nitro finish and an LR Baggs pickup. Too good to be true?

MusicRadar

“Once the custom shops came out, everyone was talking about them:” Jackson and Revocation’s David Davidson just dropped the hottest metal guitar of 2025 – the Warrior WR7

We've got G.A.S. for those Ferrari-inspired paint jobs on this radical, weaponised seven-string electric

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