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DARK SECRETS: 16 - The Real Truth

"The new IR Manager software promises to add extra functionality and sonic scape to this already formidable amp": Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb Blonde and IR Manager review

Already known to be a great direct-to-desk solution, we now have extra tweakability within the Tone Master series via an IR manager that could make this Blonde Tone Master Deluxe Reverb the perfect gigging machine

MusicRadar

“I get a lot more feeling when I play with my fingers. Wes Montgomery was my reference as a kid for not using a pick”: Championed by Fender and signed to Blue Note, Maya Delilah might just be the most melodic guitar soloist since John Mayer

After being named as a member of Fender’s Class of 2024 and lauded as a 2025 Spotify Artist to Watch, Maya Delilah makes good on those promises with her Blue Note debut, The Long Way Around

Guitar World

“They have always been a big thing for me because I think they’re the heart and soul of a Fender”: What gives a Fender guitar its spirit? For the Custom Shop's Senior Master Builder, there’s only one answer

Paul Waller has singled out what he believes to be the defining feature of a Fender guitar – and it might surprise you

Guitar World

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“From a selection of over 300 instruments I’ve measured over the past seven years, things are not quite what they seem”: Why string spacing can radically change the way an electric guitar plays

Irrespective of the nut width, it’s the string spacing that determines how much room your fingers have. If you've struggled to find a neck wide enough, read on... Help might be at hand

Guitar World

“I got tired of carrying different guitars with me. It’s delightful”: Skunk Baxter is a session legend – and his cutting-edge guitar rig probably isn’t what you expect

Baxter has settled on a Roland/Fender Stratocaster, which he uses alongside some other off-the-shelf Roland gear

Guitar World

“When we lost Jeff, his wife wrote to me and said, ‘I’m going to sell the guitars. They keep reminding me of him’”: John McLaughlin remembers gifting Jeff Beck the white Strat that featured on his seminal Wired record – and helped shape his guitar legacy

The iconic Strat was reportedly stolen at a later date

Guitar World

“I paid $2,800 for it at a vintage dealer. Now, I think the guitar would be worth six figures”: What was Elliot Easton’s greatest gear find? The Cars legend reveals all – and argues that today’s players have never had it better

The former Cars six-stringer talks early guitar exploits, the golden age of vintage-guitar buying, and why he’s not as jazzed about amps as he is about guitars themselves

Guitar World

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“We make those in the same quantities no matter what is in fashion”: Guitar trends come and go – but these are the Fender finishes that will never disappear

Changing fashions keep the Fender Custom Shop Master Builders busy, but a few staple models and colorways will always be on the menu

Guitar World

“One guitar that got used a lot was an ex-Keith Richards 1956 TV Yellow Junior… we were drowning in amazing gear”: Wrecking old tube amps, thrashing vintage Fenders, Chris Buck is taking no prisoners as Cardinal Black return

With their 2022 debut, Cardinal Black introduced the world to a budding guitar hero. Chris Buck explains how its followup has taken his playing and songwriting to the next level

Guitar World

"It was already broken, but now we’re seeing how broken and how evil it really is": Merpire on the rise of AI bands, and the recording of her new dream pop opus Milk Pool

On her second LP Milk Pool, Merpire transmutes alternative pop into something dreamier and blurrier, without sacrificing hooks and momentum.

Guitar World

“With Mammoth, I play an EVH prototype built by Chip Ellis at the Fender Custom Shop. Only 2 exist!” Bassist Ronnie Ficarro on taking Wolfgang Van Halen’s studio sound to the stage

Ronnie Ficarro explains the nuances of pick playing, why tone can make or break a band, and how he stumbled upon slap bass for Mammoth’s latest single

Guitar World

“Everything is set as loud as it can go without collapsing. All my heroes played loud – Clapton played loud, Jimi Hendrix played loud”: Joe Bonamassa breaks down his epic onstage guitar rig – and why your volume control is a tonal superpower

Amid the mayhem of his European tour, Joe gives us a guided tour around his 2025 live gear and tells us why his mighty multi-amp rig has to be run at breaking point. All in the name of tone

Guitar World

“A knockout instrument imbued with modern performance enhancements”: John Page Signature The DL review

He has made top-tier electrics for Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Pete Townshend, and now John Page will make one for you, too

Guitar World

“Countless Zoso wannabes have tried to decipher Jimmy Page’s tone secrets”: Hands-on with the ultimate Led Zeppelin amps – Sundragon’s painstakingly accurate replicas of the guitar hero’s elusive backline

It’s not guaranteed that they’ll make you sound like Jimmy Page, but Sundragon’s fastidiously accurate replicas of two of his favorite amps may well get you close

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I actually prefer people who play bass with their fingers. A pick has to be used just right to not blunt the guitar attack”:Billy Corgan takes us inside the zeitgeist of his low-end studio work with the Smashing Pumpkins

One of the most influential guitarists of his generation, Billy Corgan has also written and recorded the bass tracks on almost every album in the entirety of the Smashing Pumpkins’ history

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

MusicRadar

“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

The Independent UK

Why Tony Blair was unhappy with guitar gifted by Mexico’s president

The then-prime minister was given multiple guitars as gifts

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Guitar World

“I realized I had something very exciting on my hands. I wasn’t expecting it at all”: Guitarist unwittingly buys John Lennon’s old Fender Deluxe – after the suspected White Album combo turned up on Facebook Marketplace

James Taylor bought the historic amp for less than $4k and he needs help for further authentication

Guitar World

“One of metal’s most coveted and exclusive amps was finally brought to the masses… for a few hours, at least”: This is all the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – and how about that dreamy Stratocaster/Jazzmaster hybrid?

An Ariel Posen signature Strat, Jimmy Page’s latest Sundragon amp and a reissue of Metallica's hallowed IIC++ all dropped during a busy week for guitar gear

Guitar World

“They stole our name, which means Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were listening to our records. But the main reason people know us is Gary Moore, and that doesn’t bother me at all”: The tale of the original Irish Skid Row

Bassist Brush Shiels looks back on his lifelong friendship with Moore, why he won’t sue the American hair metal band, and how Peter Green was responsible for their first album sounding so bad

Guitar World

“Much more versatile than a vintage-style Tele”: Fender Player II Modified Telecaster SH review

For decades, players such as Keith Richards have been swapping out their Tele's neck single-coil for a humbucker – now Fender has unveiled its most high-spec take on the format yet

Guitar World

“Whenever we weren’t playing, Neil would call up and say, ‘Are you guys playing a gig next weekend? Can we borrow the amplifier?’” When Randy Bachman and Neil Young used to share guitar amps

Bachman’s combo amp caught Young’s eye, and he would take every chance he could to get his hands on it

Guitar World

“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

“He gave the guitar back to me after the set and said, ‘Oh man, it’s such a good one’”: Marcus King takes Rory Gallagher’s legendary Isle of Wight Fender Telecaster for a spin on stage

King previously played Jeff Beck’s iconic YardBurst Les Paul thanks to French vintage guitar dealer, Matt’s Guitar Shop

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