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EXPLAINED: 19 | Vintage Vibes

“At the end of the service, they would just shred, and I would sit there and watch with my jaw to the floor, not moving”: Steve Lacy reflects on his guitar origins – and how it all goes back to church and Guitar Hero

As the multi-hyphenate artist gears up for the follow-up to 2022’s acclaimed record Gemini Rights, he looks back on his roots and his love affair with the guitar

Guitar World

“I hope this pisses off some more Tele purists! We have enough ‘regular’ boring guitars out there”: Jack White unveils Thinline version of his wild Triplecaster – which was specifically requested by Kirk Hammett

The new addition to White’s roster of ever-evolving Triplecasters was demoed by Detroit-style guitar slinger Olivia Jean

Guitar World

“One of my favorite signature guitars of all time just got a standard run release, and Gretsch has not disappointed”: All the new guitar gear that caught my eye this week – including a pedal that will solve all your Mk.gee tone troubles

Mk.gee's tone in a box? Noel Gallagher's mystery Oasis reunion Les Paul? Fender's answer to its boutique rivals? All that and more dropped this week...

Guitar World

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“Recreating this piece of metal history wasn’t just a challenge, it was a privilege”: Jason Momoa orders super-gnarly replica of James Hetfield’s iconic Elektra OGV – and this Polish luthier recreated every last detail

Momoa's downstroke game better be on point because Krupi Guitars went to town on recreating the guitar that made Metallica

Guitar World

“A 1952 Les Paul was not a cool guitar to own – I remember these guitars hanging around and fading in shop windows for months on end”: The story of Gibson’s “cursed” 1952 Les Paul and why it was long overlooked on the vintage market

Vintage guitar expert Dave Davidson gives us a guided tour of a very special ’52 Goldtop with a neck profile that gives it VIP status. The ’52 is one of the first Les Pauls ever made. Why doesn't it get more love?

Guitar World

"For a player who sits in the crossover between vintage tone and modern playability, it’s hard to imagine a guitar more perfectly suited": Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '60s Stratocaster review

Fender introduces the American Ultra Luxe Vintage, aiming to bring the playability of the Ultra II line to a player who prefers the aesthetic and tone of a more traditional character

MusicRadar

“Some purists will find the mix of vintage and Ultra spec sacrilegious, but working players will have waited for a Tele exactly like this”: Fender Ultra Luxe Vintage ’60s Telecaster Custom review

Fender's new high-end range is lightly aged and heavily priced

Guitar World

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“We’ve redefined the balance between heritage and innovation”: Fender combines old-school mojo with 21st-century playability on the American Ultra Luxe Vintage series

Love vintage and modern guitars? Have it both ways with compound radius fingerboards, stainless steel frets, Pure Vintage pickups and Heirloom lacquer finishes in classic Fender colours

MusicRadar

“We’ve redefined the balance between heritage and innovation”: Fender debuts the American Ultra Luxe Vintage range – taking on its boutique rivals and rolling out its new Heirloom relic’ing process

The latest entry to the American Ultra ecosystem offers subtle Heirloom finishes and Pure Vintage pickups, and looks to make a mark in the boutique modern-meets-vintage guitar market

Guitar World

“It’s essentially based off of a knockoff Fender!” Khruangbin’s Laura Lee Ochoa just got a signature Fender based on the first bass she ever bought – but it was a Jazz Bass copy

Ochoa always perceived Fender instruments as aspirational – now, her success with Khruangbin has just landed her with her own signature model

Guitar World

“I was a Marshall guy back then. Now I literally cannot listen to Marshalls”: How Jeff Beck inspired former Joan Jett and the Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd to switch from Marshall stacks to Fender combos

Byrd was a total Marshall stan, but witnessing Jeff Beck at the Iridium in New York changed his mind

Guitar World

"It’s something that looked and felt like a Fender but was something I could afford at that point": Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee Ochoa says that her Fender signature model is actually based on a Fender copy

“I feel like it is something that a bass player who’s just starting out can really find themselves on,” she says of her Jazz bass

MusicRadar

“With no smartphone app, no IR loader, and just a single knob for control, it does away with all the distractions”: Earthquaker Devices Easy Listening review

EQD's new guitar headphone amplifier aims to make things easy breezy for players with pedalboards

MusicRadar

“It’s in there to make your tone nicer, the sustain really nice, and the buzz even less”: Khruangbin’s Laura Lee Ochoa reveals the little trick she’s picked up along the way to ensure a buzz-free bass tone

Ochoa has just released a Fender signature that’s modeled after her actual bass, down to the finest details

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

“These are time-tested hues that have been popular through decades”: John Mayer’s PRS SE Silver Sky Rosewood gets a refresh with four all-new solid-colour finishes “inspired by traditional American fashion”

Could Dandy Lion could be this year's Roxy Pink? The SE Silver Sky Maple also gets a makeover, with Moon White, Stone Blue, Summit Purple and Nylon Blue expanding your finish options

Guitar World

“The ego is quite useless in a writing situation. I just ask myself, ‘What does this song want?’” Deacon Blue’s polymath guitar genius Gregor Philps dissects his six-string approach, and reveals his favorite Strat (clue: it isn’t a Fender)

The venerable Scottish pop-rock institution returns with another immaculately crafted album, taking us down The Great Western Road

Guitar World

“Four new colors inspired by traditional American fashion”: PRS and John Mayer unveil fresh finishes for the best-selling SE Silver Sky – and add new Maple models

The classic looks expand the Strat-inspired guitar’s empire, while previously rosewood-exclusive finishes make their way onto maple ’board models

Guitar World

“A Katana killer? The jury’s still out, but one thing’s for sure – this is a great addition to the ID range”: Blackstar ID:X 50 review

Blackstar is gunning for the Katana crown and has launched a new modeling amp that it thinks will be worthy of the title

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MusicRadar

"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

Guitar World

“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

“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

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