BIZARRE: 3 | Mind Blowing Facts

“A sleek new take on a classic machine”: Jackson officially launches its affordable Surfcaster reissue – bringing the cult offset back for a new generation of heavy players

The surprisingly budget-friendly offset finally arrives after it was first unveiled back at NAMM this year

Guitar World · Jun 12, 2025

“A welcomed relief for our industry”: NAMM President reacts to the de-escalation of tariffs on Chinese goods – and discusses its impact on the musical instrument sector

Trump has recently announced a “total reset” of U.S.-China relations and updates on tariffs which will undeniably also impact the guitar and gear market

Guitar World · May 14, 2025

“The effects of these sudden and unpredictable tariff actions will have a long-term effect on musicians worldwide”: Guitar industry leaders to meet with Trump in a bid to avert “devastating” impact of tariffs

Many small-to-medium producers could go to the wall

MusicRadar · May 10, 2025

“His original designs set a benchmark for tone, craftsmanship, and reliability”: Bad Cat's legendary boutique amp designer Mark Sampson has died

One of the great pioneers of US high-end tube amps, Sampson co-founded Matchless and had recently returned to Bad Cat after a two-decade absence

MusicRadar · Mar 4, 2025

“His expertise and vision have always set the standard for what a great amplifier should be”: Matchless Amplifiers and Bad Cat Amps luminary Mark Sampson – one of the leading minds of the boutique amp movement – has passed away

Sampson had recently returned to Bad Cat, and was even involved in launching the Era 30 tube amp at this year's NAMM

Guitar World · Mar 3, 2025

“He’s one of my favorite players. It would be a dream come true to work with him”: Matteo Mancuso has played with Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai, but he’s already got his eye on his next dream collaborator – and a signature Revstar

Mancuso took the guitar world by storm when he first burst onto the scene in 2023, but now he's looking forward to a new album, even more high-profile collaborations, and maybe even his first-ever signature guitar…

Guitar World · Feb 24, 2025

Strum is a deconstructed, accessible guitar that anybody can play

Arcana Instruments have taken apart guitar playing and reimagined the basics with the latest tech

MusicRadar · Feb 5, 2025

These are the gear trends that will shape your guitar buying in 2025: we explored every inch of NAMM to discover what brands are plotting for the next 12 months – and how the guitar gear world at large is changing

NAMM 2025 was one for the history books, with an avalanche of surprise announcements as industry titans broke their own rules, the neck humbucker took a backseat and guitar stars started seeing other companies – here’s what we learned

Guitar World · Jan 31, 2025

Game-changers, trends, innovations, revivals and show-stoppers: the key guitars, amps and pedals of NAMM 2025

Our top picks from the likes of Fender, LR Baggs, MXR, DigiTech, Jackson and more

MusicRadar · Jan 30, 2025

Unexpected collabs, Behringer surprises and more: The biggest music tech stories of NAMM 2025

We round up NAMM 2025's best new synths, controllers, studio gear and more

MusicRadar · Jan 28, 2025