The corporate buyouts of Fender and Gibson in the mid to late 1960s have long been perceived as a trigger for a significant dip in the quality of musical instrument manufacturing. But a session guitarist wants to dispel that belief. In fact, he points to the Beatles’ breakout success as the cause for the era’s production chaos.

The claim comes from Brad Allen Williams, who has worked with Alabama Shakes guitarist Brittany Howard, jazz drummer Nate Smith, and soul singer Bilal, amongst others. Of course, he acknowledges that the two biggest guitar firms of the period underwent tough changes at this time, which today are blemishes on their histories. Yet he feels the root of the problems can be traced back to February 9, 1964, when the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It was the dawning of a turbulent time for instrument makers, with corporate buyouts, an overwhelming surge in demand, and experiments with production techniques creating a perfect storm that flooded the market with subpar instruments.

Two electric guitar giants, Fender and Gibson, were both on the end of buyouts that dramatically changed their operations. CBS acquired Fender for $13 million in 1965, with Leo Fender facing a staggering production backlog and health issues. He was happy to sell up. Gibson, meanwhile, was acquired by Norlin in 1969, while Baldwin assumed control of Gretsch upon the founders’ retirement.

For years, many guitarists have pointed to CBS’s cost-cutting measures as the reason its reputation started to slide, as it bid to churn out the instruments the market was ravenous for by any means necessary. Some view its moves as quantity over quality, and similar stories have been spun about the Norlin and Baldwin-era operations, too.

Williams, though, wants musicians to take a step back and assess the bigger picture.

“I don’t want to rage bait, but I am about to argue against probably one of the most widely held and uncontroversial beliefs about vintage guitars,” he says in an Instagram post. “That’s this idea that the big corporate acquisitions and mergers of the 1960s were what caused the decline in quality of the major American guitar brands. I don’t think it was.

“I do think quality was declining around the time,” he notes, “I just think that in most cases that was already well underway by the time the actual mergers happened, and if I had to affix a turning point, it would be the same date for every American guitar and drum company: February 9, 1964. That’s when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.”

Culturally, the Beatles’ five-song performance was a landmark moment. It was, for the likes of Tom Petty, Gene Simmons, Joe Perry, and Nancy Wilson, among so many others, the singular moment that made them want to pick up an instrument and play. That, from a supply-and-demand perspective, was troublesome.

“This was such a seismic pop culture moment that it caused this massive overnight sudden spike in demand,” Williams says. “And all these companies were blindsided. When Ted McCarty started at Gibson in 1948, total production was around 2,000–3,000 guitars a year [other sources claim the figures are around 1,100 and 3,700].

“By the time he was burnt out and leaving in 1966, that was over 100,000 guitars a year,” he expands. “When Leopeningnder sold to CBS in January 1965, Fender was something like $9 million in inventory backordered. In a later interview, he said that with the Fender Mustang alone, they were 150,000 units backordered.

“I don’t care who owns the company; if you’re trying to ramp up your production rate that fast, something’s got to give,” he adds. “You’re going to have a lot of people making guitars, amps, and drums who have never made them before.” One of the first things CBS did once it assumed control of the Big F was to expand its production operations, with new facilities opened in hopes of chipping away at those daunting backorder numbers. But he believes by the time their new corporate owners tweaked production and processes, these companies were already on the slide.

“Vintage Gibson collectors know that, 1969 with the Norlin era is not a hard cut off of the quality,” Williams continues. “You start to notice things changing as early as 1965 or 1966.”

He uses Ludwig “flinging” drums out of its factory before their finishes had even dried as evidence of “the environment these guitars were made in.”

“So, I don’t really think that the corporate buyouts were the cause,” he concludes. “I think they were more the effect.”

It’s a fascinating perspective. Music lovers are quick to point to the incredible impact the Beatles’ success had on Western musicians, and the list of future stars seduced by rock’ n’ roll after watching the Beatles on that February evening in 1964 underscores the romanticism swirling around that night. But there was a darker side to the story that is spoken about far less.

Still, CBS produced some iconic guitars despite its mounting challenges, and Stratocaster enthusiast Walter Trout believes CBS-era builds don’t deserve the bad rep they get. The Beatles helped reshape the music industry in a myriad of ways, but did their success also come at a price?

If there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s that July 4th means big guitar deals, and this year, it’s the Les Paul that steals the show. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just curious to see what all the fuss is about with this famous singlecut, now is the time to grab one and add it to your collection.

This stunning guitar shaped the sound of rock ‘n’ roll and has been the axe of choice for some of music’s biggest icons, but unfortunately, they’re usually not cheap!

The good news is I’ve tracked down some sweet Les Paul deals at shops like Guitar Center, Sweetwater and Musician’s Friend, with savings up to $899 off. That’s not just for the fancy Gibsons, either. Yes, I’m a huge Gibson fan (13 out of my 25+ guitars are from them!), but I’ve got a soft spot for Epiphone, too. They’re making some seriously awesome guitars these days that combine classic looks and modern appointments, and they are way more wallet-friendly.

So, whether you’re looking to score your first Les Paul or add another beauty to your collection, check out my favorite Epiphone and Gibson deals from the July 4th sales below.

Alex Lifeson’s sonic evolution is etched into the gear he’s used on records and onstage. After launching Rush’s debut album with a 1968 Gibson ES-335, he steadily upgraded his arsenal. By the late 1970s, he had acquired a 1974 Les Paul and “Whitey” — his legendary, custom-built 1976 Alpine White Gibson ES-355 electric.

But by the time the 1990s rolled around, following a decade of experimenting with heavily modified Fender Stratocasters, Lifeson transitioned to PRS. In addition to creating a custom acoustic, he leaned heavily on modified CE24 models, frequently utilizing piezo pickups to handle the band’s complex acoustic-to-electric transitions live.

Years later, Lifeson reflected on what that era taught him about the two legendary guitar manufacturers. Speaking to Guitar Player, he admitted that PRS held a clear advantage when it came to out-of-the-box perfection:

“I don’t think you can beat a PRS for workmanship. You open the case, and the guitar is perfectly in tune and perfectly set up. I can’t say the same about Gibson. I’ve had to work on all my Gibsons — they require a fair bit of upkeep and maintenance.”

Yet, by the 2000s, Lifeson’s PRS era faded, and he returned almost exclusively to the Gibson family. Despite the structural reliability of a PRS, Lifeson realized that high maintenance was a small price to pay for a definitive sound.

“I love the way Gibsons sound,” he concluded. “I think the Gibsons sound better than the PRS guitars do.”

It didn’t hurt that Gibson had won his heart long before he ever encountered a tuning stability issue. When Lifeson first received his 1976 ES-355, the instrument instantly transcended being a mere tool of the trade.

“I remember opening the case for the first time, and the truss-rod cover had my name on it,” Lifeson recalled. “That blew me away. I almost started crying.”

That emotional bond translated into musical history. Whitey became Lifeson’s definitive voice, stamped across 12 consecutive Rush studio albums—spanning from A Farewell to Kings (1977) to Test for Echo (1996). It anchored the band’s live sets for nearly 40 years, starring in iconic music videos like “Tom Sawyer” and “Show Don’t Tell” before finally retiring after the R40 tour in 2015.

In 2022, Lifeson made the bittersweet decision to part with the original instrument, selling it at a charity auction for a staggering $384,000. For years, fans assumed the legendary Alpine White semi-hollow body would remain locked away in a private collection.

However, the timing for a revival couldn’t be better. As Rush return to the road, Epiphone has officially launched the Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Reissue as part of its premium Inspired by Gibson Custom line. Equipped with a classic gold Maestro Vibrola tailpiece, USA-made Gibson T-Type humbuckers, and the mandatory multi-position Varitone switch, the reissue mirrors the exact cosmetic and structural appointments of the multi-ply maple-and-poplar masterpiece.

Complete with Lifeson’s name engraved on the truss-rod cover—just like the original that brought him to tears in 1976 — the new reissue proves to everyday players that some classic sounds are well worth the upkeep.

Revered jazz guitarist Larry Carlton made his name as a hardworking studio musician across the 1970s and ‘80s, through sessions with Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt and Quincy Jones, among many others. Throughout his career, his sunburst 1969 Gibson ES-335 has been his choice of electric guitar, for most of those sessions.

He says finding the semi-hollow model was a stroke of luck that allowed feel and play “more like me” on the countless hits he made it.

“I was starting to get busy in the studio scene in 1970, and so back then the guys would carry a Tele, a jazz box, or a Strat if they had one,” he tells Vertex Effects. “So I had a Tele, and I had a Les Paul, but coming from more of a jazz influence, I wanted something that felt more like a jazz box.”

In his teens, ES-335s were common sights in the hands of the jazz maestros he grew up admiring, so the guitar's natural appeal was evident. Little did he know how perfect a match he and the guitar would be. He picked the guitar from a trio of ES-335s hanging on the wall of Southern California music store.

“They had three 335s hanging on the wall, so I tried each one of them,” he recalls. “I didn't plug them in, I tried them acoustically, and this is the one that caught me.”

The 1969 model was brand new when he bought it for $850. Signs of the original Bigsby bridge it came with are evident on the top. The guitar underwent other modifications as Carlton finessed the instrument to his desires.

A graphite nut and Schaller tuners have been installed. But vitally, the original twin humbuckers, now looking glamorously aged from countless hours spent working away in the studio, remain in place.

As Carlton explains, getting the right instrument in his hands for those sessions was crucial in his role as a gun for hire.

“It’s the crown jewel,” he once told GP of the guitar. “I bought it out of the blue, and it’s been real good to me.”

It was paired with a Fender Princeton combo amp for Joni Mitchell's 1974 hit “Help Me”, and it can also be heard on Steely Dan's “Kid Charlemagne” after it beat a Strat in a shootout.

However, though his reputation grew to warrant a Gibson signature guitar, his relationship with the brand soured over time.

“I liked being with Gibson,” Carlton admits, “but as they started doing their production for retail, the quality wasn't like my 335, which was the whole idea. They got the color right – that's the easy part – but the guitar wasn't like mine.

“But we did it,” he adds. “And they didn’t promote it very well. Guys, especially in Europe, would bring their guitars to my concerts and ask me to sign them. I'd say, ‘Sure,’ and I'd take them out of the case, and the neck was not anything like mine.”

Sire Guitars convinced Carlton to jump ship and make its own attempt at reproducing his majestic 335. His signature model, he says, “sings beautifully.”

Even with this guitar in his hands, not all of Carlton's sessions were a dream. The guitarist famously quit working with John Lennon after one day. Steve Lukather, meanwhile, has recalled the lesson he learned from a Larry Carlton string break.

Few guitarists have a more instantly recognizable sound than Slash. From his legendary solos in Guns N’ Roses to the iconic riffs of Velvet Revolver and, of course, the modern classic anthems with the Conspirators, his tone has become one of the most imitated in rock history. Now, the good news is that getting close to it is more achievable than you might think.

At the heart of his sound is a simple but powerful formula: a Les Paul, a cranked tube amp, and a set of hot humbuckers. Slash has always kept his rig relatively straightforward, letting the guitar and amp do the heavy lifting rather than relying on a pedalboard full of effects. That’s actually great news for anyone trying to chase his tone regardless of budget.

In this collection, and with the help of Guitar Center's Slash gear round-up, we’ve curated this shopping list of everything from his signature Gibson and Epiphone Les Pauls to his go-to Seymour Duncan pickups, Ernie Ball strings, and Dunlop picks. We’ve also covered his current amp setup, including his go-to pedals. So, whether you’re after that raw Appetite-era crunch or his smoother, bluesier modern tone, there’s something here for every budget.

Guitars

To nail Slash's tone, you'll need a Les Paul. Below, I've picked out a few of his signature Gibson models, from the AFD to Jessica, plus some budget-friendly Epiphone options that'll get you surprisingly close to his sound.

That said, Slash's relationship with the Les Paul isn't the whole story. Over the years, he's reached for a scarlet B.C. Rich, a Korina Flying V, and a J-45 acoustic, so I've included those at various price points too.

Amps & Effects

Slash’s approach to amps and effects is refreshingly simple: minimal pedals, a cranked tube stack, and let the guitar do the talking.

For most of his career, Slash was synonymous with Marshall, spending over 30 years with the brand and releasing multiple signature heads. That changed in 2023 when he partnered with Magnatone, a move that surprised the guitar world. The switch came after he grew disillusioned with the consistency of his Marshall tone and stumbled across a Magnatone M-80 50-watt combo, reportedly passed on to him by GNR bandmate Richard Fortus.

He ended up using it for his entire blues record, Orgy of the Damned, and later took the 50-watt combos on a full GNR world tour in place of his Marshalls. This, in turn, resulted in his own signature models with the company.

Accessories

It could be argued that tone starts before you ever plug in. That’s why I've included his Ernie Ball signature strings and his go-to Dunlop picks to get you closer to the Slash sound without breaking the bank.

On the string front, Slash has used Ernie Ball his entire career, and his signature set is a .011-.048 gauge Slinky. These are heavier than most players use on an LP scale length, which certainly contributes to that thick, meaty tone. The sets use Paradigm core wire wound with nickel-plated steel and reinforced ball ends for better tuning stability and durability on the road.

Rounding this section out are Seymour Duncan’s Slash signature pickups. Slash has relied on Seymour Duncan for decades, and there are now three generations to choose from. The original APH-2 uses an Alnico 2 magnet to nail that Appetite for Destruction crunch. The 2.0 is a hotter wind of the same formula, for more output and attack. The newest 3.0, developed for Slash’s SG at Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning show, steps up to Alnico 5 magnets for tighter lows and more immediate attack. They are raunchier, but still clear and punchy. All three are hand-built in Santa Barbara and are the exact same pickups Slash’s tech installs in his guitars.

Alice Cooper may have hit the road with a new guitarist this month as Nita Strauss sits out the latest tour, but one of his most trusted players remains a key part of the group.

Speaking to Kylie Olsson ahead of the tour, Tommy Henriksen revealed that his go-to electric guitar was saved from the trash at the Gibson Custom Shop.

Henriksen is more than just one prong in Cooper’s triple-guitar attack, which currently includes Ryan Roxie and young Brit Anna Cara, who was handpicked by Strauss to cover her maternity leave.

As a songwriter, producer, and mixer, Henriksen has worked with Lady Gaga, Kesha and Meat Loaf, among others. It was this line of work that led him to Alice Cooper’s 2011 record Welcome 2 My Nightmare, where he co-wrote the track “Caffeine” with Cooper, producer Bob Ezrin and Keith Nelson, then of Buckcherry.

He must have made an impression, because he was soon elevated to lead guitarist and given his first touring opportunities as an electric guitarist with the band. Before that, he had only ever played bass onstage.

“Nobody knows that,” Henriksen says after Olsson asks about his electric-guitar origins. “That’s why I’m sitting there going, ‘Why do you want me on Life in Six Strings?’

“I don’t ever consider myself a guitarist,” he continues. “I consider myself a musician because I can pretty much get my way around everything, but I’m really a bass player. When Coop asked me if I wanted to be in the band, I said, ‘What do you want me to do?’

“I thought he wanted me to play bass. He’s like, ‘No — can you play guitar?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I could do that.’ Never say no to anything — just figure it out.”

As he explains, there was some figuring out to do, so he turned to the internet.

“I went on YouTube and I was like, ‘You know what? Let me go watch Ace Frehley, Angus Young, Chuck Berry, Link Wray and all that stuff,’” he says. “And that’s how I really learned how to solo.”

These days, he’s a sucker for a Gibson SG, preferring its lighter weight to the often back- and shoulder-breaking heft of a Les Paul. His main squeeze — a single-humbucker white SG — was born in the Gibson Custom Shop, though it almost never existed at all.

“This was made for me by Robert Schultz at the Gibson Custom Shop,” he explains. “And it was made after I got my other favorite guitar — a red SG that was given to me by [businessman and collector] Ernie Boch. I loved it so much.

“So I called up Robert and said, ‘I need a guitar.’ We were walking through the Custom Shop, and this body was actually in the garbage. I was like, ‘What is that?’ He’s like, ‘Let me find out.’ So I sent him the bridge and the pickup, and he made this really beautiful guitar for me.”

Alice Cooper has come a long way since Jimi Hendrix helped his band land their first record deal, and a Bob Dylan-approved anthem soon launched his career to new heights.

And though the late Glen Buxton was greatly missed during the Alice Cooper Band’s reunion last year, the guitarist still left his mark on the record thanks to a rediscovered riff

Australian acoustic guitar extraordinaire Tommy Emmanuel has shared the heartwarming — and also heartbreaking — origin story of one of his most cherished guitars, and how it ended an exhaustive search for a very specific sound.

Emmanuel, who recently shared a play-by-play of his gig-day routine with Guitar Player, is the latest guest on Kylie Olsson’s YouTube channel, and during a tour of some of his favorite instruments, he spotlighted a 1930s Gibson acoustic.

The guitar, crafted in the firm’s original factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, features a subtle but very pretty dark sunburst finish and heavy wear beneath the strings. It also bears the signature of its former owner, who gifted it to Emmanuel under rather extraordinary circumstances.

“His name was Peter Kömhoff, and he was from the city of Venlo, right on the German-Dutch border,” Emmanuel explains. “He had cancer that was taking him out.

“He had tickets to four of my shows and couldn’t come to any of them. My agent rang me and said, ‘There’s this guy and his family, and they want to come to the show, but he’s in bed sick.’ And it turned out that he was dying at home.

“So I said to my agent, ‘Could I call in and see them?’” Emmanuel continues. “So my tour manager took me there, and I came in through the kitchen. His mother was sitting close to him, and Peter opened his eyes, saw me, and started to cry.”

There’s a real tenderness to the story, which can be heard in Emmanuel’s voice as he recounts the moment. What happened next shows the true nature of his generous spirit.

“I jumped on the bed, and we held each other for a long time,” he says. “He was such a player and a song guy, and he wanted me to have this guitar.

“The funny thing is that for years I’d wanted a guitar that sounded like a cross between Django’s sound and Chet Atkins’ Del Vecchio Dinâmico resonator guitar. This guitar, for some reason, does that.”

He then plays the guitar to showcase its quirky characteristics, as if there were a reverb chamber within the nearly century-old body.

“Peter grabbed his book The Beatles Complete and opened it,” Emmanuel recalls. “And even though he was so close to the end of his life, he started singing, and I started playing song after song — all these beautiful songs.

“[Later] I had to leave and drive to where I was playing, and he passed away that night.”

Emmanuel feels that a little part of Peter lives on in the guitar, signed as it is just above the sound hole. It has since become a workhorse for the guitarist.

“This guitar has brought so much joy to me,” he says. “I love recording with this guitar because it has a particular voice.”

In related news, Emmanuel has recalled the time he showed up the late great Les Paul in front of a sold-out audience and was quickly humbled in return. He has also showcased his custom Maton electro-acoustic and given two good reasons to bring three guitars to a gig.

Of all the guitars Robert Fripp has played, one stands out: the now-iconic 1959 Gibson Les Paul Custom he played across King Crimson’s classic works and his collaborations with artists that include David Bowie.

In 1967, a young Robert Fripp responded to a newspaper advertisement from Bournemouth-based brothers Michael and Peter Giles. They were looking for a singing keyboardist for a new project. Fripp could neither play keyboards nor sing, but he applied anyway and got the gig. The resulting band, Giles, Giles and Fripp, established an iconic songwriting partnership that laid the groundwork for prog-rock progenitors King Crimson.

A year after that advert went to print, the trio released their only album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. Its hazy blend of jangling psychedelic pop, jazz, and classical music failed to find an audience, but it made a fan of a businessman by the name of Angus Hunking, whose generosity would make it possible for Fripp to buy the ’59 Custom.

“I bought it when Giles, Giles and Fripp were just about to become King Crimson,” Fripp tells Guitar World of the Les Paul’s origin story. “King Crimson were lent £7,000 by a businessman called Angus Hunking. He took an interest in us, and I believe £2,000 came in cash in a briefcase.”

Soon after, Fripp and Michael Giles, with whom he would form King Crimson, were shopping for a guitar in London’s West End.

“We went to a music shop on Shaftesbury Avenue,” Fripp says. “In the window was this Les Paul for £400.

“I asked for a cash discount. The shop assistant, a young man I disliked because of his attitude, said, ‘I could phone up Eric Clapton, and he’d come and buy it.’ And I thought, Then why haven’t you phoned him already?”

Fripp called the clerk’s bluff from a mile away.

“This young man was lying to me, and I didn’t like him,” he quips, before haggling a deal for £380.

According to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, £380 in 1968, the year King Crimson formed, is equivalent to around £5,900 (approx. $8,000) in today’s economy. It wasn't an insignificant amount of money, even if it only made a small dent in their briefcase. Realistically, though, it would sell for far more than that were he to pop it on eBay.

“I went online today, and I found a pristine model the same as mine, advertised at $139,000,” Fripp gasps. “And that was an instrument without provenance.”

As he explains to GW, the guitar proved to be a workhorse. It featured on the band’s first seven records, breaking sonic ground again and again between 1969’s In the Court of the Crimson King and Red five years later. It would also be used to record his “celestial” guitar parts on David Bowie’s “Heroes,” which has sold 2.3 million copies worldwide.

The album’s title track has gotten a new lease of life in recent months thanks to its inclusion in the smash TV series Stranger Things.

Beyond that, the guitar would also be used during his collaborations with synth wizard Brian Eno.

After decades of toil, his staple guitar caught a break when a second ‘59 LP, bought in New York in 1978, took its place. Had he not stood his ground against that snarky guitar shop clerk, Robert Fripp’s story might read rather differently.

In related news, Fripp has laughed off rumors that King Crimson were back in the studio, while his interesting comments on Jimi Hendrix’s guitar playing have piqued the interest of many.

A Ukrainian guitarist has completed the exhaustive process of restoring a Gibson Les Paul that was badly burned after a Russian drone strike hit the nation’s capital city last year. She calls it “the most challenging project I’ve ever worked on — both technically and emotionally.”

Luthier Tanya Shpachuk documented her efforts to return the blackened guitar — named Vlad after its owner — to a playable state. As a professional guitar tech working out of a Kyiv-based shop, Shpachuk was well-equipped to take on the challenge, but was also struck by the emotional weight that her restoration mission held.

“Being able to take part in this restoration feels like more than just fixing a guitar,” she writes in the description from her video series that documents the restoration. “It’s about bringing back a piece of our history, a piece of beauty and a piece of hope.

”I’ll do everything I can to make this guitar sing again, to honor its story, and to remind everyone that even after destruction, creativity and resilience will always find a way.”

Shpachuk calls the damage “heartbreaking.” The guitar’s body was charred and distorted, parts of its headstock were cracked, and several inlays had fallen out. Three of its four control knobs were destroyed, and the pickup mounting rings were warped by the heat of flames. It looked largely irreparable.

Shpachuk thought otherwise. She scraped away the fire-damaged finish, replaced a damaged pearl inlay on the fretboard and spent hours tirelessly working on the guitar, giving it a complete refinish and new hardware.

The newly restored guitar now sports a gorgeous Silver Burst finish and features a new mother-of-pearl inlay for its headstock. The original pickups still bear the scars of the drone strike, however, a reminder of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

That invasion, launched in 2022, saw the music community rally to the country's aid. Gibson recruited Slash, Paul McCartney and other artists for a fundraiser, while Pink Floyd released a song inspired by a historic Ukrainian anthem.

Shpachuk says Les Paul she restored stands as a testament to the Ukrainian spirit in what has been an extremely challenging time for the nation. She explains, however, that her decision to refinish the guitar went agains the wishes of some followers on YouTube and her Patreon page.

“I saw many comments suggesting leaving the damage visible as a reminder, because it looks 'badass,’” she says in the video description in part eight, the final video of the series. “But my focus from the very beginning was restoration.

“The message here is simple: we all want rebuilding — and we are capable of doing it.”

The video series ends, quite fittingly, with its owner playing the freshly revitalized guitar, via some lovely finger-picking. Parts one and eight are embedded here, but watch the entire series to get a true scale of the project and its poignancy.

What is it?

The Gibson: Learn to Play Guitar app is the brand’s move into the crowded world of digital guitar tuition, taking on heavy hitters like Fender Play, Yousician, and Simply Guitar. Launched in 2021, Gibson’s online guitar lesson app isn’t necessarily a newbie, and over the years, it has aimed to merge its heritage as a guitar icon with the accessibility of modern app-based learning.

Like Simply Guitar and Yousician, Gibson has gone for a ‘gamified’ learning experience, taking much inspiration from the video game Guitar Hero, offering an interactive fretboard that tracks your playing in real time.

It’s designed to take players from day one through to advanced techniques, with a clear, structured ‘pathway’ layout that builds confidence step by step. Lessons are split into intuitive modules covering rhythm, melody, and genre-based playing, supported by an ever-expanding song library featuring well-known tracks across rock, blues, and pop.

A ‘Guides’ section offers deeper dives into specific techniques and styles, while handy built-in tools like a tuner, metronome, and a surprisingly capable digital amplifier round out the package.

Available on both iOS and Android, the app feels right at home on a smartphone or tablet. For this review, I used an iPhone 16 Pro Max and relied on the internal microphone to test its lesson tracking, real-time feedback, and overall usability from a beginner’s perspective. Having taught guitar myself, I was particularly interested to see how Gibson handled the fundamentals without the ability to answer direct questions, all while keeping learners on track and motivated.

Can Gibson’s Learn to Play Guitar really stand up to the competition and carve out its space in an already packed field? Let’s take a look.

Who is it for?

Being a tool primarily designed for newbies, the Gibson app is aimed at beginners and early intermediates; however, there are features that will still appeal to more seasoned players.

If you’re just starting your guitar journey, its structured pathway system provides clear, easy-to-follow steps that will help deliver real progress. Those returning to guitar after a long break will also find it a handy refresher, as will self-taught players looking to refine their technique or fill in gaps in their guitar knowledge.

The song library leans heavily toward rock, pop and blues, with a few forays into folk and classic metal. Players with a jazz or modern metal preference may find it a little limited for now, but Gibson has stated that new material is added regularly. There are also lessons taught by artists themselves, including Judas Priest’s Richie Faulkner and Jared James Nichols, which adds an inspiring, behind-the-scenes feel.

Unexpectedly, there are also a few classical pieces in the library, tailored for nylon-string guitars. While they’re a nice inclusion, they do feel somewhat like an afterthought compared to the main focus on electric and acoustic material.

If you’re looking to build strong fundamentals, basic fretboard awareness in an engaging, video-game style-structured environment, this app is a perfect starting point. For more experienced players, the ‘Guides’ section is where the real value lies. These deep dives explore more nuanced topics, from practical scale application to stylistic breakdowns that offer tips on achieving tones and phrasing inspired by icons like Brian May and Jimi Hendrix.

Usability

The app feels premium from the moment you open it. Navigation is clean and intuitive, and Gibson’s design team clearly took cues from its heritage, as everything feels considered, uncluttered, and unmistakably ‘Gibson’. The slickness reflects Gibson’s recent website update, and the coherence across its digital landscape is pleasing.

Setting up is straightforward: you’re asked to calibrate your device’s microphone and choose your playing level before diving into lessons. Once you’ve made your selection, the onboarding lesson and introductory video are tailored to your level, and certain sections of the app are highlighted accordingly. For example, advanced players are shown the deeper ‘Guides’ section exploring different styles, scales, and exercises, while beginners are directed to tools like the built-in tuner.

From there, you’re let loose on the pathway curriculum. This isn’t necessarily a ‘tailored’ experience beyond onboarding, but you can only progress by completing each lesson step by step. Gibson is currently developing a more adaptive experience that evolves with the user, so it’s one to watch for future updates. However, for now, progression is largely self-directed.

During testing through lessons, the note tracking proved mostly reliable and accurate, with the app doing a commendable job of recognising single notes and simple chords. On more note-heavy playalongs, like the tremolo section in the introduction to Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, the tracking sometimes struggled when using an unplugged electric guitar.

In general, I think the Learn & Play app performs best with an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar connected via a smartphone interface such as an iRig, as the built-in microphone can sometimes miss softer notes or faster sections of heavy chord usage.

The animated fretboard system works well, offering a gamified learning experience without ever feeling childish. It certainly takes cues from Guitar Hero and it largely works in a similar fashion; a note will appear on the fretboard, and when you play the note in time, it will rate your playing.

Progressing through lessons earns you points that are automatically added to an online leaderboard, allowing you to compete against other players. It won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s a fun, motivating way to keep practice engaging.

The built-in tools – the tuner, metronome, and Amp & Jam feature – are genuinely useful, particularly the digital amp simulation. The amp can be activated while playing along with songs or lessons and does a fantastic job of adding realism to your tone. It only works with wired headphones, as Bluetooth introduces latency, but if you can access it, you’ll unlock a range of clean, crunch, heavy, and lead amp tones, plus a solid suite of effects, including phaser, flanger, and reverb.

Verdict

The Gibson Learn to Play Guitar app delivers a polished, thoughtfully designed experience that feels unmistakably Gibson. It’s one of the most visually cohesive and intuitive guitar learning platforms available right now, and its step-by-step pathway makes it especially accessible for beginners. Everything from the navigation to the built-in tools has been crafted with care, and it’s clear Gibson has taken its time to ensure the learning process feels guided rather than overwhelming.

The integration of real artists teaching their own material adds an extra layer of inspiration that few competitors can match. Hearing lessons directly from players like Richie Faulkner or Jared James Nichols bridges the gap between student and stage in a genuinely engaging way.

That said, intermediate and advanced players may find themselves running out of material fairly quickly. The core curriculum focuses on fundamentals, and while the ‘Guides’ section offers more advanced insights, it’s not enough to sustain long-term progression for experienced players. Also, while the song library covers classic rock and blues brilliantly, it lacks diversity across genres, and the microphone tracking can occasionally be inconsistent during faster passages.

Still, for its intended audience, fresh-faced guitarists, the Gibson Learn and Play App gets far more right than wrong. It makes learning feel structured, inspiring, and enjoyable, with enough polish to rival or even surpass the likes of Fender Play or Simply Guitar in presentation.

Guitar Player verdict: A slick, modern, and well-executed learning platform that feels every bit as premium as the Gibson brand upholds. It’s ideal for beginners looking for a guided start and intermediate players brushing up on fundamentals, but advanced players may want to look elsewhere for something more engaging and challenging.

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Hands-on videos

You know what? I genuinely get excited when Black Friday rolls around, especially when there's a slew of Gibson and Epiphone deals to sink my teeth into. This year, I was honestly blown away by the number of fantastic bargains out there. Stores like Guitar Center and Sweetwater have some amazing discounts on everything from Gibson classics to Epiphone signature models and so much more.

As someone who's a huge fan of Gibson, I have to say that my love for their instruments runs pretty deep. Sure, my collection isn’t all about Gibsons, but they definitely make up a huge chunk of it. Out of my 25+ guitars, 13 of them are Gibsons, so you can imagine my excitement when I see a bunch of them on sale.

And just to be clear, I’m not one of those guitar purists who turn their nose up at Epiphone. I genuinely think they offer incredible bang for your buck. The current line from Epiphone is fantastic, blending timeless designs with modern features. Whether you’re looking for spot-on replicas of classic Gibson models or some cool new designs, there’s a lot to appreciate. Below, I've highlighted a few of my personal favorites that I've come across while browsing online.

The Cherry Red Gibson ES-345, which featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future and inspired a generation of guitarists, hasn’t been seen in 40 years – but Michael J. Fox has a theory about what happened to it.

The guitar was loaned from Norman’s Rare Guitars, with the film's props team pivoting from the original plan of a Strat or a Gretsch with a Bigsby last minute. Doing so led to an on-screen faux pas that has irked guitar nerds ever since.

But that didn’t stop the likes of John Mayer and Coldplay’s Chris Martin from taking up guitar lessons because of Marty McFly’s “Johnny B. Goode” performance right at the end of the film. The guitar has since gone down as one of the most important instruments of the decade.

Back in June, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the blockbuster smash, Gibson launched a global search to track down the electric guitar. It has since employed the team behind the Lost Bass Project, who helped find Paul McCartney’s iconic Höfner 500/1 violin bass 50 years after it was stolen, as the search goes on.

Details of its unique block parallelogram inlay on the 12th fret – as opposed to the usual split parallelogram – could play a big role in identifying the right guitar, and dismissing false leads. However, Michael J. Fox, who played Marty McFly, has offered his own account of where the axe went when filming wrapped.

He's made his claim in his new book, Future Boy, which, in part, looks back on his career-defining role as McFly, which he spent his nights preparing for after long days on set filming Family Ties.

“I wish I could claim to possess it, but I didn’t have the foresight to know how valuable it would become,” he writes (via Parade).

“Unfortunately, somebody did anticipate that and snagged it for themselves,” he then states. “Whether it’s in their active collection or stashed in their attic or home studio, they’re not speaking up.”

Gibson’s global search has made headlines around the world, and the gear firm has since been inundated with leads and tip-offs. None, however, has brought the search to an end. Fox believes someone out there knows they have it and is keeping a low profile.

“Perhaps,” he adds, “they’re waiting for the statute of limitations on vintage guitar theft to expire.”

The scene was particularly important for Fox. It gave him a chance to honor some of his earliest heroes.

“Guitar has always been a big part of my life,” Fox said back in June. “When we talked about the 'Enchantment Under the Sea' scene, I sat down with the cinematographer and choreographer and said, 'I want to riff through all of my favorite guitarists, like doing Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend doing a windmill, and the Eddie Van Halen hammer thing.' It was so cool that they were open to that, and we laid it all out there.”

Gibson has also set to work on a documentary, called Lost to the Future, that charts the search for the guitar. However, he cynically feels that the film may never see the light of day.

“Apparently, the release of the documentary will come after the guitar is found,” he says, “if that ever happens.”

Meanwhile, GP reviewer Dave Hunter has looked back on the important role the ES-345 played in Gibson's history, bridging the gap between the more well-known 335 and 355 models of semi-hollow guitars. “It remains an underrated gem worth your time,” he writes.

Gibson and Guitar Center have teamed up to resurrect one of Gibson’s most beloved acoustic guitars with a fresh twist for modern players: the Country Western Studio EC Acoustic-Electric Guitar, available now exclusively at Guitar Center stores nationwide and online at GuitarCenter.com.

A reimagining of the original 1955 Country Western — the Southern Jumbo’s sibling — the Studio EC brings the timeless warmth and balance of Gibson’s square-shouldered dreadnoughts into the 21st century. It’s priced at $2,999 and blends vintage style with modern comfort, including a cutaway body for improved upper-fret access and a sleek satin finish that enhances both resonance and feel.

Under the hood, the guitar pairs a solid Sitka spruce top with mahogany back, sides, and neck, producing that classic Gibson blend of sparkle and warmth. A short 24.75-inch scale and rounded neck profile make for an easy, relaxed playing experience, while the rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl parallelogram inlays adds an unmistakable vintage vibe.

Cosmetically, the Country Western Studio EC channels mid-century cool with a yellow tortoiseshell pickguard, gold Gibson headstock logo, and nickel hardware with white-button tuners — a look that nods to Gibson’s past without feeling stuck in it.

To bring that tone to the stage, Gibson fits the model with the L.R. Baggs Element Bronze pickup system, which captures the guitar’s natural resonance and warmth with impressive realism. It’s a plug-and-play setup designed for both live and studio work, and each instrument ships with a hardshell case.

“The Gibson Country Western Studio EC brings everything musicians love about classic Gibson acoustics to a new generation of players,” says Gabe Dalporto, CEO of Guitar Center. “It combines timeless tone and craftsmanship with the modern playability artists expect today, and we’re proud to offer it exclusively at Guitar Center.”

The Gibson Country Western Studio EC Acoustic-Electric Guitar is available now for $2,999, exclusively through Guitar Center.

Tony Iommi had a dream guitar when he was growing up. Years would go by before he had a chance to get his hands on one, only to find he couldn't play it.

Today, Iommi is intimately linked with the Gibson SG, the symmetrical electric guitar also favored by AC/DC’s Angus Young. But he actually started his career with a Fender Stratocaster, the guitar he played during his short-lived spell in Jethro Tull.

Three years before then, he'd nearly given up the instrument entirely after suffering a horrific hand injury. While working in a sheet-metal factory in the heart of industrial Birmingham, Iommi lost the tips of two of his fretting hand fingers in a gruesome accident. Afterward, he was told he would never play guitar again.

The oft-repeated story goes that the factory's foreman visited Iommi at his home and put on a record by jazz guitar player Django Reinhardt, who was famously virtuosic despite having lost the use of the fourth and fifth fingers on his fretting hand in a fire. That encouraged Iommi to play on, but try as he might, his injury prevented him from playing the guitar he'd dream of owning: a Gibson Les Paul.

“I always wanted a Les Paul, but I couldn't play it because of my accident,” he confessed during a press event relaunching his signature Gibson humbuckers. “I couldn't get up my top frets.”

By then he had long made his peace playing the SG, a guitar he said “suited me perfectly.”

Iommi had intended to launch Black Sabbath's career with his Stratocaster and had even recorded "Wicked World," from their self-titled 1969 album, using the guitar. However, a happy accident changed the course of history. The Stratocaster's pickups broke down, and Iommi's backup guitar, an SG recently acquired in a dodgy car park swap, was put into action. Afterward, Iommi never looked back.

“The SG for me was comfortable,” he says. “I liked the shape, the weight, and eventually a ton of people started using it, because everybody would want a Les Paul in the early days, that was always the best.”

By 1970, he had a Custom Shop model, complete with a trio of humbuckers and a Maestro Vibrola bridge. The guitar made an appearance on Sabbath's Top of the Pops performance that year, but it was stolen soon afterward while Iommi was at a hotel.

Speaking at Gibson's press event, Iommi also attributed his pivot away from the Les Paul to a common complaint: “It was too heavy.” The SG, on the other hand, has been “perfect for me,” he said.

All those twists of fate — the accident, the changes they forced on his guitar playing, and his switch to the SG — played a role in Black Sabbath's sound and its impact on heavy metal.

But there was another key element: a modded Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster. The pedal — the same model used by Brian May and Rory Gallagher — had been tweaked by a friend of Sabbath drummer Bill Ward to make it produce even more sustain.

“Other guitarists would say, ‘You can’t put that in front of the amplifier, you’re gonna overload it.’ And I would say, ‘I know — that’s what I want it to do!’” he joked in 2017. “That’s the sound you hear on the early Sabbath albums that everyone loves.”

However, like his Custom Shop SG, the Rangemaster was also on borrowed time as part of Iommi's rig.

“I hired a guy to rebuild all my amps, and believe it or not, he found it in my trunk and threw it away,” he exclaims. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Since no one knew what modifications were made to it, which has ultimately given the box far more sustain, a key part of his guitar tone was lost forever.

Don Felder says he played up to 14 different guitar parts on the Eagles' 1977 single hit “Hotel California” using both six- and 12-string guitars. But determining how to re-create the song live left him scratching his head.

The obvious solution was to play a Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck, the same model Jimmy Page used to bring “Stairway to Heaven” to the stage.

But even then, he says, the instrument required modifications to meet his needs.

“I played so many guitar tracks on that song, I think 13 to 14 guitar parts total. So, when it came time to play it live, we were stuck with the question of how do I play the 12-string and the six-string throughout the song,” Felder tells Gibson Gazette.

“At first, we thought maybe I put a 12-string acoustic on a stand [in playing position] and have a six-string Les Paul behind my back. I could reach over and play the 12-string, and then when the six-string was needed, I could step away and pull it up from behind my back.

“But I just knew the first time I was a little off balance, the guitar on the stand would fall face down, and then what do you do? Stop the song?”

Since it was such a hit, "Hotel California" quickly became a highlight of the Eagles' sets. Felder needed a foolproof plan, so he sent his tech out to find a double-neck. He returned with the Olympic White Gibson EDS-1275 that has been in Felder's guitar arsenal ever since.

But it needed one extra mod in order to authentically replicate the density and diversity of the song’s studio version.

Felder had used his 1959 Les Paul Standard for several of the guitar layers when recording it at Miaimi's Criteria Studios, . The guitar was plugged into a 1950s Fender Tweed Deluxe combo amp and Echoplex electric tape delay. Crucially, the 12-string went through a rotating Leslie speaker. So he leaned on a country guitar hero for the answer.

“Since the 12-string needed to come out of a Leslie, and the six-string out of a regular amp, the idea of two outputs came from when I saw Chet Atkins play,” he details. “He had split a pickup, allowing him to play two songs at once. So I took that concept, and instead of splitting the pickup, I put in a second output jack, and split the output switch between the necks.

“So the Gibson doubleneck I play is not an off-the-shelf model,” Felder reveals. “I have to have them modified, where the switch is switching between the outputs of the two necks. Thankfully, the idea worked out pretty well!”

A peek at the image below gives the game away. There are two inputs clearly visible on the body of he guitar, with two cables running from them to their respective amps.

Felder, who has recovered after being rushed off stage back in February, is back with The Vault — Fifty Years of Music, his new solo album that draws inspiration from rediscovered demos from the Eagles' glory days.

Some of the ideas date back as far as 1974, the year he joined the band. But The Vault isn’t solely a nostalgia trip.

“I didn’t want it to sound like a bunch of old songs,” he tells Guitar Player. “It’s not old songs. The only one that sounds particularly dated, and I did that deliberately, is ‘All the Girls Love to Dance.’ It was written and developed in the mid ’80s, so I wanted to represent that time period. But the rest I think feel pretty current.”

He’s also revealed the unlikely influence behind his standout “One of These Nights” guitar solo, and reflected on his early days, including the time a young, budding artist called Tom Petty asked him for guitar lessons.

The electric guitar has had some iconic silver screen moments. Steve Vai's virtuoso performance as a guitar-touting devil in Crossroads and Steve Cropper's Blues Brothers spot immediately spring to mind.

But few have proven as influential as the climactic scene in 1985's highest-grossing film, Back to the Future.

Michael J. Fox’s protagonist, Marty McFly, flummoxed audiences with a rousing take of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” at the Enchantment Under the Sea school dance. Comically, the song he played wouldn’t actually be released for another three years, leading to the iconic line, “I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet... but your kids are gonna love it.”

21st-century guitar hero John Mayer says he took up the guitar because of the film. It prompted Coldplay’s Chris Martin to form his chart-smashing group, and there are likely thousands of similar tales beyond theirs, including a few people currently within Gibson's ranks.

However, the cherry red Gibson ES-345 used for the shoot hasn’t been seen in the 40 years since. The people behind the sequel had failed to track it down for use in the follow-up film, and decades later, the guitar world is none the wiser as to where it went.

Gibson is now imploring fans who have any clues to its whereabouts to step forward.

The guitar was rented from Norman Harris, of Norman’s Rare Guitars fame. Against Norm's advice, the film's prop master chose a different guitar than what was agreed upon after a last-minute change of heart.

“The propmaster originally came in and said, ‘We want something red with a whammy bar. It’s 1955.’ So I said, ‘Well, maybe a Stratocaster, or certain Gretsch guitars that have Bigsbys.,’ Harris says (via Guitar.com).

“They came in and the art director chose another guitar – an ES-5. Then the day that they were gonna shoot, whoever was in charge said, ‘Wait a sec! I want a red guitar with a vibrato on…’ So they ran back to us, brought back the ES-5, and took this ES-345.

“I said, ‘Look, they didn’t come out with these guitars until 1958. I just wanna warn you…’ They said, ‘We’re taking artistic liberty!’ Back then, they figured, ‘It’s a guitar, who’s gonna know?’”

So the guitar used in Back to the Future was actually from the future. It's quite poetic.

But where it went afterward remains a mystery. Logically, it was likely sold, but Gibson is determined to track it down and retrace the steps it has since made.

“I started searching for this guitar back in 2009 on my first day on the job at Norman’s Rare Guitars,” says Mark Agnesi, who is now the director of brand experience at Gibson.

“After 16 years of searching, I’m so excited to get the entire guitar community together to help find the guitar that made me and so many other guitarists of my generation want to learn to play.”

“This is one of the most exciting moments at Gibson for me,” adds Gibson president and CEO Cesar Gueikian. “Back to he Future is one of the most significant movies of my life, and the Enchantment Under the Sea school dance scene marked me musically in a profound way. To everyone out there who is as passionate as I am about this iconic film, please help us find it!”

Bob Gale, whose film script changed the lives of many, says he was “astonished to learn this beloved cinematic artifact had apparently disappeared into the space-time continuum.

“Since we don’t have a functioning time machine,” he continues, “this effort is probably our best chance to solve a decades-long mystery.”

Michael J. Fox, a guitar player in his own right, took great care to ensure the scene was as authentic as possible. He even took the time to study some of his guitar-slinging heroes.

“Guitar has always been a big part of my life,” he says. “When we talked about the Enchantment Under the Sea scene, I sat down with the cinematographer and choreographer and said, 'I want to riff through all of my favorite guitarists, like doing Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend doing a windmill, and the Eddie Van Halen hammer thing.' It was so cool that they were open to that, and we laid it all out there.

“I’m really happy with the scene because it was an expression of my love for guitar and all the great players,” he continues. “I didn’t realize the influence the scene had on people.”

The search for the guitar is set to be documented in a new film, Lost to the Future, which will see those involved with the making of the sci-fi smash hit, including Fox, Gale and Christopher Lloyd search every corner of the earth for the cherished guitar.

The film Gibson Films production will be directed by Doc Crotzer (Glee, Sons of Anarchy) and will “guide viewers in the global hunt for this legendary instrument from long-forgotten film prop warehouses, fascinating vintage guitar shops, auction houses, and shadowy back alleys.”

Fans with information regarding the guitar's websites can contact Gibson, via LostToTheFuture.com, or call 1-855-345-1955.

Memorial Day is almost here, and Guitar Center has launched an epic Memorial Day Sale, which offers up to 35% off a massive range of gear until May 28th. So, if you’re on the lookout for a new electric guitar, acoustic guitar, guitar amp, or effects pedal, then head on over for a browse while stocks last.

Just like last year, Guitar Center is currently having a massive sale on a wide variety of popular brands such as Fender, Epiphone, Gibson, Martin, Line 6, and more. It's a fantastic opportunity to snag some awesome deals. If you need some help navigating through the 800+ products on sale, we've highlighted a few top picks for you below. 

First up, we've found a whopping $200 off the Martin Special D, which is now down to only $849. This is a very special deal on an equally special guitar from Martin, the company that brought you the quintessential all-American flat-top. Martin invented the Dreadnought, and this all-solid Special D model features an x-braced Sitka spruce top and sapele (also known as sapele mahogany) back and sides.

Next up, and keeping things American, we have the stunning Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s, which has a generous $419 slashed off the price. This retro throwback delivers stellar vintage tones with a seriously chunky neck and outstanding finishing. 

Not a Les Paul fan? Well, you'll want to check out the gorgeous limited edition HSS Fender Player Strat. Now with a sizable $180 discount, this humbucker-equipped Strat is fiercely versatile and a total steal at this price. 

Warren Haynes has a brand, spanking-new signature Gibson Les Paul Standard out, and his message is clear: “This guitar, and with these pickups,” he tells Guitar Player, “instantly gives you a recognizable sound — but also a variety of sounds.”

The instantly recognizable, variety-inducing pickups in question are P90s, an interesting development, seeing as Haynes has long been a humbucker devotee. Then again, veteran players using P90s in the modern era have become a trend.

Joe Bonamassa’s signature Epiphone 1955 Les Paul Standard has them, and Phil X’s impending signature Gibson SG, which is still in the advanced prototype stage, has got them, too.

As for Haynes, he’s simply looking for a six-string voice from his electric guitar that matches his own.

“When I listen to B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, and people like that, their voice and guitar sound like the same thing,” Haynes says. “It was always important to me for that aspect to be the case.”

There are other enhancements beyond the P90s to help Haynes in his tonal quest. His last humbucker-equipped signature Les Paul Standard featured what Haynes calls a “buffer preamp,” which allowed him to reclaim the guitar’s top end when the volume was rolled down.

However, this new Les Paul Standard is different: It features a 15dB boost, which Haynes refers to as a “clean boost,” which mainly impacts Les Paul’s midrange. “I just like having these choices,” Haynes says.

“I haven’t really explored all the options yet,” he adds, “but the sky is the limit. I just want to keep using it more and more and more and utilize that feature as much as possible.”

His signature Les Paul is just one big new development for Haynes, who previous told us his valuable tips for blues and rock guitarists.

On Monday, March 17, at the Capitol Theater, Haynes is paying tribute to the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, who died on October 24 2024, via Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh. “Myself, Jimmy Herring, Rob Barraco, and John Molo are bringing back the Phil Lesh quintet,” he says.

“That was the version of Phil Lesh and Friends that stayed together the longest,” he explains. “The chemistry in that band was fantastic from the very beginning. We all love that band immensely and are excited to get back together and pay tribute to Phil.”

As for how Lesh impacted Haynes specifically, he says: “We all consider ourselves to be brave souls who are willing to make changes, but when you start playing with Phil, you realize that his whole reason for being, musically speaking, is to explore the moment.”

After that, Haynes won’t have much time to reflect, as he’s hitting the stage with the Brothers, featuring Allman Brothers alumni Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, and more, on April 15 and 16 at Madison Square Garden. “It’s fantastic,” Haynes says. “Our last Garden show was five years ago. Everybody is excited to do it again.”

Beyond the excitement, celebrating the Allman Brothers isn’t just about championing the band’s legacy but bringing it back to where Haynes started.

“I joined in 1989, and it was an opportunity I could never have envisioned,” says Haynes, who has previously shared with us the important role ABB guitarist Dickey Betts played in his life. “It just changed everything. It opened doors… it opened every door imaginable for me.”

“So, Derek and I have been playing together in the last six months or so,” he says. “It’s kind of just been an organic, natural progression leading up to this. We’re all really stoked.”

You’ve got a beautiful new signature Gibson Les Paul Standard out. Why did you choose the Standard?

We’ve [Haynes and Gibson] been talking for a few years now about a different signature model Les Paul, and I’ve been kind of digging P90s the last few years and thought it might be nice to switch it up, you know? It really is a beautiful instrument, and I’m very happy with it.

The Les Paul Standard typically comes with humbuckers. What led you down the P90 path?

They’re something different for me. I’ve been a humbucker guy most of my life, but everything I play a guitar with P90s, I’m like, “Wow, this sounds really good.” So a few years ago we started talking about making a Les Paul Standard with P90s. It’s just a nice combination.

How do P90s suit your tonal needs compared to humbuckers?

They’re a little brighter .They’re not quite as full range as the humbuckers. So it kind of started me wanting to find some tones that were different from my normal go-to sounds. And then, when I started experimenting more with the P90s, I was like, “Oh, this adds to my tonal range!”

How so?

With different sounds that inspire me to play differently. Because as much as we’re all happy with the sound that we work on through the years and get dialed in, I think most guitar players are also looking for other sounds to be equally inspirational.

When you say your “normal go-to sounds,” what does that mean exactly?

I always strive to get a really big, fat warm sound, you know — full range. It has more tonal bottom and low-to-midrange tone than some people are opting for. But to me, it’s always been important for my guitar sound to be similar to the sound of my voice.

P90s are interesting because if you crank them, you’ve got rock and roll; if you roll them back toward the middle, you get country; and if you roll them all the way back, you almost get clean, glassy Tele sounds. Do you feel like you’re getting a fuller spectrum of sounds and more versatility with the P90s?

Yeah, possibly. I mean, you definitely get options that aren’t there with humbuckers. Most of the sounds I enjoy come from the guitar anyway. I’m not depending on pedals for the majority of the sounds that I use. I like to change the volume knob on the guitar to get a lot of different sounds that way, and P90s are definitely great for that.

To that end, have the P90s led to any alterations to your rig as far as amps or with the minimal pedal setup you deploy?

So far I haven’t made any alterations. I’ve been doing a lot of dates with my band, promoting Million Voices Whisper, my new solo record, and I’m using different amps for that tour anyway. I’m using a Paul Reed Smith amp, a Homestead amp, and 2x12 cabinets instead of 4x12 cabinets. The translation is instant when I switch to the P90s, so I haven’t had to make any adjustments. But who knows what the future might bring?

Specifically, what does that “instant translation” sound like when you use the P90s with your current rig?

They’re not quite as hot, but the sound translates right off the bat. I’ll continue to experiment with them as time goes on. But when I switch back and forth from my first signature model guitar, which has humbuckers, and I then plug in the new guitar with the P90s, it instantly is the tonal change I’m looking for without turning knobs.

There’s a 15dB boost switch on this guitar. How did that come to be, and how do you utilize it?

That was Gibson’s idea. It was kind of in response to my last signature Les Paul that had that. I guess they called it a “buffer preamp,” a similar switch that engaged this circuitry that allowed all the top end to back when you turn the volume way down. So we wanted to do something similar but different with this modification.

How do you like it compared to your last signature guitar's “buffer preamp” option?

I really like it. I’m not exactly technically sure how it achieves what it does, but it’s a really nice tonal option. For me, just having that extra kind of tonal option is really important. With the other switch on my original Les Paul, I used it sometimes, but only in certain situations.

On a Gibson Les Paul, when you turn the volume way down, the top end kind of goes away. So the original switch on my first signature model brought all that top end back. This is different; mostly, the midrange is affected — but they’re calling it a “clean boost.”

Would you say a guitar like yours, with P90s, is best for a blues-rock-leaning player, or is it versatile enough for any genre?

It’s hard to say… they’re kind of more old-school-sounding. It’s hard to define what somebody might be looking for in the sound of their pickups, you know? To me, it’s always been kind of a “yes” or “no” kind of thing. You plug it in, and you like it, or you don’t. If you don’t, you look for something else.

There seems to be a trend happening. You, Joe Bonamassa and Phil X are working individually on Gibson/Epiphone guitars with P90s. Are we seeing a P90s renaissance?

Maybe in the way that we’re all looking for new inspiration, you know? Some of us have been playing humbuckers for a long, long time, but these P90 pickups work really well. The advent of the humbucker was based on how noisy single-coil pickups were in the old days. The task has always been to get that sound without the hum. These newer pickups really accomplish that in a surprising way.

What is old will eventually be new again…

Yeah… you know, I’m always in search of new inspiration. Sometimes, that’s an old idea, like, “Oh, I haven’t done this in a while.” You try it, and you go, “Yeah!” and it inspires you to play differently or write something, which is always welcome, too.

You’ve got two shows with the Brothers at Madison Square Garden on April 15th and 16th. Will you adjust your rig?

I’m not sure what I’m going to use yet. I may go back to an old Marshall, but Derek [Trucks] and I used a lot of Paul Reed Smith amps in the latter days of the Allman Brothers. I’m going to do some experimenting and probably won’t decide until the week of the show.

What’s your favorite Allman Brothers track to jam on?

Songs like “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Whipping Post,” and the ones where we really stretch out and take into a new direction every night, are the most fun from an improvisational standpoint.

So, you know, “Mountain Jam,” and any of the ones where we take a different approach—but you never know because inspiration is coming from everywhere within that band. We’re all just kind of bouncing off each other.

What have the Allman Brothers meant for you as a guitarist?

I was always a huge fan and always utilized a lot of Allman Brothers influence, but once I became a member of the band, that aspect of my playing took on a whole ‘nother meaning. It was appropriate for me to utilize even more of that influence than I would have in any other situation, you know? Learning from those guys night after night, year after year, was just truly inspirational.

On March 17, you’re celebrating the life and career of Phil Lesh at the Capitol Theater.

Phil impacted all of us deeply. He was such an influence and inspiration not just as a musician and songwriter but from a philosophical standpoint. Musically speaking, his view of what music can be — and should be and could be — is kind of unparalleled.

Can you quantify Phil’s impact on you?

He was never afraid of where the moment might lead. It could go into dangerous territory, where the band is on the verge of falling apart, but I’ve often said that he had just as much fun in those moments as he did in the ones that were obviously coming together. That’s a beautiful thing. It’s something that we all learned from him, and he made a ton of amazing music in the process.

During the 1960s, Gibson made several different versions of its Firebird electric guitar design as it vied to master the offset’s recipe, and a transitional build from the heart of that period is making a return as the Firebird Platypus.

In recent years, Gibson has frequently dipped into its archive to bring new and forgotten designs to the fore. The Theodore, a sketch made by former President Ted McCarty in 1957 and finally realized in 2022, proves that, while its Superstrat experiments and the Victory, from the same era, have been recently revived.

The Firebird Platypus continues that trend curiously. After the Gibson Les Paul had dominated the '50s, Fender clawed back momentum as the next decade began, leaving its fierce rival to look for a new design to challenge the Stratocaster and Telecaster. Its Explorer and Flying V designs were initial attempts at that, before McCarty hired car designer Ray Dietrich to ensure that three times was the charm, and he set to work adding curves to the Explorer's template.

It was Gibson's first neck-through design, with reverse headstocks and banjo-style tuners, key features of the early designs. The Platypus was the first radical step away from that aesthetic, marrying a reverse body with a non-reverse headstock for the first time, and the headstock was much flatter than its holly veneer siblings and featured six-in-line tuners for the first time. Thus, it proved a vital stepping stone to the Firebird design that, six decades on, remains hugely popular.

It takes its name from the bill-like visage of its headstock and was launched in 1965. Yet, while most Firebird designs can ultimately fall under "reverse" and "non-reverse" categories — its body shape was contorted into both varieties during this period — the Platypus draws from both equally.

The reverse-style body features the raised center section on top, a staple of Firebirds for many, but it also has the classic Gibson set-neck construction like the non-reverse iterations.

The newly reissued build features a mahogany, glued-in set neck and the appearance of a traditional neck-through Reverse Firebird body, but with some select, modern-minded tweaks.

The Platypus-style headstock, for one, has been “slightly modified to provide a straight string pull for less friction and improved tuning stability,” while a SlimTaper neck with a 12-inch radius has been employed for a more effortless playability.

Elsewhere, there’s a rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets and Acrylic Trapezoid inlays, an aluminum Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge, Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, and a white three-ply pickguard with the Firebird's iconic crest hot-stamped onto it.

There's no hint of modernity from its pickups, though, as Gibson goes for historical accuracy with its Firebird Mini humbuckers. Equipped with Alnico 5 magnets, the Platypus delivers a “bell-like chime when played clean, and great rock and blues tones when pushed,” and plenty of articulation to boot. Each pickup gets a dedicated volume and tone dial, and there's also a three-way pickup switch.

For Gibson’s master luthier Jim DeCola, the humbuckers are central to the guitar’s resurrection.

“The pickups utilize black mounting rings topped off with the traditional chrome trim rings for classic sound, looks, and improved performance,” he explains. “Mounting rings under the trim rings keep the pickups parallel to the strings to provide improved output and balance. We feel the new Firebird Platypus has the ‘best of’ Firebird features, aesthetics, sound, and playability.”

“We had discontinued the Firebird at Gibson USA for a few years,” adds Mat Koehler, vice president of product. “When we brought it back, we wanted to do it in a way that we’ve never done before – at least not since 1965. To me, that’s my favorite incarnation of the Firebird because you’ve got the tuners on the top side.”

Tobacco Sunburst, Ebony and Vintage Cherry colorways are all on offer and are priced at $2,499 apiece.

Head to Gibson to learn more.

Because of his deep-rooted love for his self-made Red Special guitar, it’s taken Brian May half a century of noise-making to get his first official signature guitar. His Gibson SJ-200 12-string is the result, and it a heartfelt tribute to the late great Freddie Mercury that’s easy to overlook.

May turned heads when he joined Gibson’s family of artists last year, ushering in rumors of a Gibson-made Red Special, which the guitarist added further fuel to with his comments several months later.

However, a different signature guitar has come first, and it satisfies more immediate and pressing needs for the guitarist, thanks to the 12-string’s quirky setup.

Discussing the guitar’s origins in a celestial-themed promo video, May says: “The 12-string I was accustomed to wasn’t performing. Gibson kindly said, ‘We’ll make you something special,’” and it’s met his key request.

“One of the things I asked for,” he explains, “was for the octaves to be placed around the other way from the way it's usually done because I like to pick upwards and hear the top notes when I'm doing it.”

For the uninitiated, 12-string guitars feature the regular six strings, but strings E through to G are joined by a double of the string tuned an octave higher, while the high E and B strings are given a partner string in the same octave. This creates a bigger, more ringing sound than regular acoustic guitars.

However, where typical 12-strings place the higher octave strings above the standard string, May’s unique model flips them around to make the higher octave strings more prominent and to match his picking style.

Beyond that, the spirit of Queen’s legendary frontman, Freddie Mercury, lives on in a guitar that both serves as a tribute to May’s two biggest loves in life — music and space — and stands as a symbol of Mercury’s legacy because of how the guitar is set to be used live.

May has taken to performing “Love of my Life” from 1975’s A Night at the Opera solo — but backed by audio and video of Mercury — during the band’s live shows in recent years. During those performances, his 12-string playing — previously delivered on a Godin or Ovation model — shines.

“Love of my Life was written by Freddie on a piano,” he explains. “I played harp on it, and in the intro a Japanese koto.”

However, the band chose to revise the song for the stage after May “picked up a 12-string and found that I could make it sing with Freddie quite easily”.

“But probably even more importantly than that,” he adds, “it became a staple feature of our set. We would always quit the bombast, come down very small, and just Freddie and I would play together. It was always a lovely feeling.

“When we lost Freddie, I wanted to play 'Love of my Life' just the way we used to, so it became an audience thing where they all sing it and I hardly need to sing it at all. It just seemed right to involve Freddie.”

And so, when designing the guitar, he made sure there was a little Freddie flair in its chic stylings.

“I believe that the best science is done artistically, and the best art is done with a knowledge of the universe. Look at the science of this guitar,” he muses. “Look how much technology and craftsmanship has gone into this.”

He then points to the guitar’s beautiful pickguard design, which features a constellation of stars and planets.

“They were able to put the universe here in some figurative way,” he says. “And look what's right here in the middle: The planet Mercury. That's a little nod to a friend of mine.

“Freddie's always with me because he was like a brother. The relationships in Queen lasted longer than any of our marriages. It was a big, big thing.

“We still carry Queen around with us, even though we don't have Freddie,” he concludes. “But I have a Mercury on the guitar now, which makes me very happy.”

Meanwhile, Brian May has revealed that guitars were illegal at his school, and in the same interview, he admitted that he had doubts about his Red Special guitar at first. However, after hearing the band’s debut album, 1973’s “Queen I” for the first time, we changed his mind and set his eyes on taking over the world with it.

Gibson has turned to one of the lesser-read pages of its history books for its latest collection of Certified Vintage guitars as it shines a light on its 1980s Superstrat era.

The Certified Vintage series showcases Gibson's forgotten guitars from times when the company deviated from its tried-and-true template. It was launched in 2023 and has since provided fans with the opportunity to get their hands on peculiar prototypes and archival pieces with pretty exclusive price tags to match.

Early drops included a 1961 Casino, an instrument long associated with the Beatles, and a semihollow 1967 Epiphone Rivoli bass, priced at $25,000 and $7,500, respectively. A second drop soon followed, offering a crash course in forgotten builds from the ‘50s right through to the ‘80s.

The latest collection continues that trend, with the one-of-one prototypes simultaneously serving as a reminder of when, in the face of the ‘80s shred-heavy guitar revolution, Gibson pivoted toward a lucrative — and, for them, uncharacteristic — market.

As the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Jamie West-Oram changed the face of guitar playing across multiple genres, the Superstrat's stock reached dizzying heights, and Gibson's electric guitars weren't reflective of the times.

Players overlooked the chunky aesthetics of Gibson’s flagship Les Paul model in favor of sleek guitars with thin necks, versatile electronics and — thanks to Van Halen's guitar acrobatics — floating tremolo systems.

in response, Gibson bit the bullet and crafted its own Superstrat designs to muscle into the market.

The two models here that best reflect its attempts at sleek shredability are the 1986 Gibson US-1 and the Floyd Rose-loaded 1987 U-2.

The US-1 set its sets on seducing rock and fusion players, those swept up by the talents of EVH and Allan Holdsworth, among others, with a light-weight balsa-bolstered body at its heart and a headstock that would more likely be found on a Jackson.

The prototype offered features a poplar body with a maple top, 25.5-inch scale —unusual considering Gibson’s loyalty to 24.75-inch builds — and a HSS pickup configuration flanked with some atypical options. Each pickup has a dedicated on/off switch, with a push control on the master volume dial for extracting split-coil tones from the 'bucker in the bridge.

Its younger sibling, though, strays even further from Gibson's well-trodden path. With the U-2, Gibson sought to modernize its hardware offering via Grover tuners and that all-important Floyd Rose. The same electronics set up of dedicated pickup switches and split-coil tap transferred over. However, this time, the luthier opted for a basswood body.

A raised Flying V–style logo was chosen for its sharper scimitar headstock, while its all-black finish and hardware make it arguably one of the most archetypal metal guitars that Gibson has ever produced.

“So much of guitar playing in the 1980s was all about speed, precision, and high performance, all in a bold, eye-catching package,” Gibson’s Certified Vintage Manager, Mitch Conrad tells Guitar World of the new collection. “These Gibson models really embody that spirit and were designed to meet the needs of that musical moment.

“I think the wider scene of music in general, is so often a factor in our innovation,” he continues. “We’re always looking to create the best tools for musicians during their moment in time.”

A trio of its Q Series models from 1983 and 1984 also feature sleek double-cut body shapes. The ‘83 model stands out with a Dirty Fingers bucker amongst its HSS setup— and notably a return to Gibson’s preferred 24.75-inch scale— and a prototype Gibson roller bridge and tremolo system. The Q200 and Q300, meanwhile, experiment with P-90 pickups.

“Innovation is all about exploration,” Conrad adds, “testing ideas, refining designs, and landing on one path to move forward on. I think a natural part of that process is choosing the option that achieves the original goal.

“Whether these exact models will return, I can’t say — but Gibson’s legacy of design and innovation is always finding new ways to inspire the guitars we create today.”

History, of course, dictates that Gibson’s foray into shreddable Superstrats didn’t survive the decade. That said, Slash had almost single-handedly made the LP cool again by that point, sparing its blushes and letting the historic luthier focus on what it has always done best.

Head to Gibson to learn more about its latest Certified Vintage collection.

Last year saw “the largest seizure of fake musical instruments in history,” as U.S. Border Protection officers seized $18 million worth of fake Gibson guitars. The seizure highlights the costly issues that fraudulent electric guitars present to both manufacturers and consumers.

The interception of over 3,000 wannabe Gibsons came after U.S. Customs collaborated with Gibson, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The number of agencies involved demonstrates how intricate the operation was.

Recognizing that the everyday player may need a little help spotting a fake, YouTuber Robert Baker has enlisted all-star help for a useful video. With the assistance of Gibson’s Tom Murphy and Joe Bonamassa at the fore, the team of guitar aficionados have examined a fake Les Paul to pinpoint the giveaway signs that players should be on the lookout for.

It seems Baker has personal experience on the line here. The fake guitar in question is from his own collection.

“A lot of us have friends who have, unfortunately, purchased some of these thinking they were real,” Baker says. “It’s just heartbreaking to see someone spend so much money on something fake.”

However, he says there are “subtle things that are wrong with these,” that, if identified, can spare other guitarists similar levels of heartache.

Bonamassa and Murphy are joined by a number of other specialists who identify faults over the length of the 44-minute video.

The guitar's headstock quickly comes under scrutiny, with Bonamassa calling it “Way off.” Gibson has been notoriously possessive of its headstock shape and sued Ibanez over the headstock shape on its budget Les Paul builds in 1977.

The headstock in question here relates to its shape, the fact that the logo on the headstock is a decal rather than a silkscreen. The body, meanwhile, sports a striking white binding that stands out. In this case, for the wrong reasons.

“I don’t know of any Gibson guitars that possess that,” says Murphy of that latter feature.

Other facets of the guitar to come under fire include its finish, the quality of its veneer, its truss-rod cover, cavity, tuner machine spacing, uncharacteristically small side dots, and beyond that, the shape of the pickguard, height and angle of the nut, and the position and shape of its control knobs. All these, the eagle-eyed team agrees, betray its imposter status. Clearly, they needed a harder challenge.

Great lengths are undertaken later in the video, including slicing a chunk of the body off with a razor blade. In previous cases, the depth of the veneer has served as an indicator of a guitar's status as a real or imposter.

It’s an extreme measure, granted, and one no sane person would take if there was even the faintest belief that the guitar could be genuine, but the task force weren’t in the mood for half measures, it would seem.

Of course, the power of hindsight is a mighty thing, but even a glance at the below image published by US Customs and Border Control showcasing a portion of its haul, show that razor blades aren't always necessary. The guitar on the far left with the cream finish and bright edging in particular, feels like an instant give away based solely on the strangeness of its colorway.

Sure, Gibson has been guilty of finishing some of its LPs with rather questionable paint jobs, but this one seems a bridge too far. The Zakk Wylde Bullseye imposter, meanwhile, is let down by its lack of gold hardware — legitimate models feature a gold bridge and tailpiece.

However, not everyone is as well versed these details, and amateurs — including parents shopping for birthday presents — are sitting ducks without proper guidance. To that end, Gibson has promised to “caution customers about fraudulent products sold on e-commerce platforms and other sources” in the wake of last year's multi-million-dollar seizure.

Guitarists have all sorts of reasons why they took up the instrument. Usually it's inspiration from their musical heroes, or a love of the instrument's look and sound.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy had a wholly unique reason for learning guitar, as he told Reverb in their video series My Career Through Gear.

The Illinois-born guitarist reveals that his first guitar was a generic acoustic guitar that he found impossible to play.

"It really discouraged me when I was really young," he says, "so it sat in the closet for a long time, from when I was six years old till about 12 years old. It sat in the closet, taunting me."

But while the guitar sat idle, Tweedy had been telling his friends he knew how to play. His chance to make good on that lie came in the summer between seventh and eighth grade.

"I had a really bad bike accident in the last day of school, and I was in bed most of the summer," he explains. "And I realized that I told everybody that I know that I knew how to play the guitar. And that was my opportunity to actually learn how to play the guitar a little bit, so if I got called out on it, I at least knew how to play some chords.”

Apparently the guitar bug hit him in earnest. Tweedy devoted himself to the instrument, but getting his hands on a decent guitar would take some time. His parents' next attempt to buy him an electric guitar wasn't a success.

“It was a Peavey T-60 electric guitar," he says. "It was like child abuse to put it on your body, especially when recovering from a bike accident. A lot of them would be better as boat anchors at this point! I never even understood why they made a guitar that heavy.”

Despite its back-crushing weight, the guitar's thin neck did have its benefits for a young player starting out on his guitar journey.

“All of a sudden I could make barre chords," he says. "So then the Ramones and all the stuff I was listening to opened up to me. So I kept playing, but I was disappointed when it showed up, to be honest. I wanted a Telecaster.”

Tweedy would eventually get his wish after his brother, who worked on the railroad, had an accident that left him with life-changing injuries. A settlement was reached and “he took some of that money and he bought me a black-and-white Telecaster that ended up nearly as heavy as the Peavey,” he says with a laugh.

Tweedy explains that he's since found a seven-pound T-60. “It must be an accident,” he says, smiling. “I found one that was crazy light.”

Tweedy's family would continue playing a key role in his quest for more gear. His mother had particularly great luck finding guitars for him at farmer’s auctions.

“Whenever she saw guitars at these auctions she liked to go to, she’d bid on them and buy them,” he says. “She got me a black '50s Gretsch Duo Jet and a Gibson ES-350 with three P90 pickups that was a prototype for the ES-5 — a really rare guitar — for like $125. Both were at the same auction.

“They belong to Billy Gibbons now,” Tweedy adds, having traded the guitar at a store in St. Louis. The ZZ Top man was quick to snap up the unusual six-string.

However, for all his hoarding of oddball electrics, Tweedy goes unplugged when it comes to songwriting.

“I write almost all my songs on acoustic guitar,” he told Guitar Player in our December 2019 issue. “I have a lot of different instruments and a lot of acoustic guitars, and the ones I end up writing on are generally the ones that have almost no sustain and have really dead strings.

“There are some old beater guitars that I leave lying around the house that I always end up writing on. It just leaves so much more room for my voice. I don’t have a real sustaining voice so I tend to like guitars that aren’t showing me up.”

Since becoming Gibson's CEO in 2023, Cesar Guekian has teased new releases on his Instagram ahead of big reveals. It appears he’s done it again with a post that hints at the return of an oddball late-‘70s build and a new Mesa/Boogie amp.

Guekian's social media posts previously tipped off followers to the re-launch of the Gibson Victory, a forgotten relic from the ‘80s. Just one year earlier, his search through Gibson's archives led to the release of the Theodore, a 1950s design that never materialized.

If the RD is making a return, it will be interesting to see what comes of it. First released in 1977, the model boasted a Firebird-like silhouette with a pointier lower-horn cutaway. Dave Grohl played one during the Foo Fighters’ early days and reportedly tracked the song "Everlong" with it. His ex-Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic previously played the bass version of the RD, and Swedish horror rockers Ghost played RDs in their early days.

Despite boasting some forward-thinking design innovations, the RD's initial launch was underwhelming. Its expansive electronics — the top-of-the-line RD featured active electronics, a switchable bright mode, treble and bass boost, compression and expansion — may have doomed it. Then again, some players might have been put off by its its Fender-like 25 1/2–inch scale length.

Time will tell what, if any, changes Gibson has made to that original recipe, but the fact that the CEO is playing Tool’s "The Pot" in his post suggests it may be a guitar primed for heavy metal rather than shuffling blues numbers.

“This fiddle is really dope,” he exclaims. “I’ve already played it 14 times this month of January 2025 through a two-channel, top-secret Mesa amp solo; without pedals!”

And while it's safe to say Guekian likes reviving models from the past, this could be nothing more than another red herring. Just late last year, fans thought Gibson was about to release a James Hetfield Explorer signature model, only to find it was a one-off for riff-loving actor Jason Momoa.

As for that new amp, it's almost certain the mystery Mesa/Boogie amp is a high-gain creation, given the firm’s history and reputation. Gibson acquired Mesa/ Boogie in 2021 while keeping founder Randall Smith onboard. His expertise was paramount in the return of Gibson’s tube amp offerings, such as the Falcon combo released last year. However, it’s been hinted that founder Smith may have built his last amp as a new Mesa/Boogie era beckons.

We'll know more when NAMM 2025 gets underway on January 23. The annual musical instrument show has been given the go-ahead despite the Los Angeles fires., so it won’t be a long wait to find out the full details.

Ask Derek Trucks if he'll ever stop playing Gibson SGs and he'll tell you he's tried substituting other electric guitars without success. "Anytime I would move to another guitar, I would just be annoyed by it," he says in a new interview for Chris Shiflett's Shred with Shifty. "You have to think too hard about it. So I just got stuck with it."

"I played this one for maybe 15, 20, years," Trucks said of his guitar. It is certainly a special instrument — Artist Proof number four of the 2012 Gibson Custom Shop Dickey Betts SG, which was itself a copy of the 1961 SG that Betts gifted to Duane Allman. "Duane's daughter, Galadrielle, gave me this, and it's just a super-light SG. They're all light, but this one's especially light."

But Trucks said it's not just its weight that makes the guitar his favorite. It's also because he's played SGs since he was young. "When I was, I think, 11 or 12, I got my first SG. A Les Paul was too heavy," he explained with a laugh. "I was about 90 pounds."

More importantly, the SG's double cutaways give him easy access to the highest frets. "For playing slide, I think just the access up top is really nice," Trucks says. "And then I think you get comfortable with something, and it becomes a bit second nature."

As Trucks told Guitar Player in 2021, his Artist Proof Dickey Betts SG "has been my main guitar since I got it. I did those last three or four years in the Allman Brothers with it – all those final shows – so it’s kinda been the only guitar I’ve played since I got it.

"I’ve got a Gibson signature model that I’ve played on and off, and for a long time that was the backup guitar I’d use. I also use this guitar in the studio. There is something about it – I can’t put it down. It feels better that this is a gift. I’m into that. And the guitar has a little history to it.”

Trucks recently teamed up with his former Allman Brothers guitar partner, Warren Haynes, for an appearance on Haynes' latest album, Million Voices Whisper. The two men cut the new song "Real Real Love," a tune Haynes wrote from lyrics composed by the late Gregg Allman. Haynes received the lyrics from former Allman Brothers Band manager Bert Holman, who had received them from Paco Zimmer, who had been Allman’s tour manager in the early 1980s. Haynes and Allman had co-written many songs together, which made him the natural choice to turn the lyrics into a new composition. Once Haynes finished writing the song, he immediately knew he wanted Trucks on the track. “It just made sense,” he said.

Good southern rock band that it is, Blackberry Smoke has played many a Lynyrd Skynyrd song during its 24 years, but not "Free Bird" — until this past November 7 in St. Augustine, Florida.

The reason was in frontman Charlie Starr's hands: Gary Rossington's 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG. That’s the electric guitar the late musician used to play "Free Bird" right up until Skynyrd's tragic plane crash in 1977, and then during his subsequent tenure with the Rossington Collins Band.

"We've played tons of Skynyrd songs but left 'Free Bird’ alone...'cause it feels kinda sacred," Starr explains. "That's Skynyrd's song, y'know? It doesn't feel right to tread upon it. You don't mess around with it. That's just my opinion, and it was our opinion as a band.

"But with that guitar, I thought, Well, we have to. One of my friends actually said, 'You can't get up there and play another song on that guitar and leave 'Free Bird' out of it.' And I said, 'You're right.'" Blackberry Smoke actually performed it as a medley, with the opening, slide-guitar dominated part of "Free Bird" leading into "Tuesday's Gone."

"Metaphorically it felt appropriate to me," Starr notes. "It felt kind of special to do."

And Rossington's family is planning to have more artists have that special kind of experience with his gear.

The distribution effort is being curated by the Chicago Music Exchange, which has partnered with Rossington's widow, Dale, and their daughters Mary and Annie to care for his instruments, amplifiers and other items — about 150 total according to CME CEO Andrew Yonke. Save for Berniece, Rossington's 1959 Gibson Les Paul he named for his mother — which is currently in the possession of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — CME is housing the Rossington collection in the Vault, a special display area for historic gear that’s attached to its retail showroom.

Yonke says CME is "still actively working through his amp collection and bringing a lot of very old pre-plane crash stuff into working form." The company is also privately offering other artists the opportunity to use some of the gear as a continuing tribute to Rossington.

"From day one, the decision was always to further Gary's legacy and have more and more people get to see and play these," explains Yonke, who worked and became friends with Rossington over the years. "We're not selling anything. Everything we're doing is to provide access. Our goal is that hopefully people get to end up making records using the [Peavey] Mace amplifiers that were in the Hell House [Skynyrd’s rehearsal spot in Green Cove Springs, Florida] and get to play shows with the SGs and Les Pauls and things that Gary used."

The Rossingtons and CME were connected not long after after Rossington's March 2023 death, at the age of 71, by current Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke, a longtime friend of Rossington's who also played with the band during the early ’70s. When Medlocke and the family met up at the CMT Music Awards in April 2023 for a tribute to Rossington, he recalls, "Dale and Mary told me they didn't know what they were going to do with all of Gary's stuff — didn't know what it was worth, didn't know when he bought it, didn't know what year it was... everything from A to Z, unknown.

"I said, 'Let me help you with this. I got the guy.' I put them in touch, and Andrew did just the most incredible job of putting the whole thing together, 'cause the collection was just massive."

"Thank God I had time to spend with Gary over the years and knew the type of person he was," Yonke adds. "My first meeting with Mary and Dale, it was like we'd known each other forever, which I was so happy about, because...it was the utmost importance that the family was comfortable and excited about everything we're doing. It's been a very slow and intentional process to get us to the point of more and more people knowing what we're doing."

Yonke was also pleased, albeit not surprised, to find Rossington's collection well intact. "He wasn't a flipper. He wasn't a trader. He wasn't a collector. He acquired things over the years from different promotions or gifts from friends, and obviously his relationship with Peavey, his relationship with Gibson.

"And he didn't lose things. So we have the Marshall from the original gigs, the custom Hi-Watt 100 from back in the day, the Mace stacks he toured with, the Mace combos that he wrote and recorded those songs with. It's all here."

Besides the '61 SG that Starr played, CME also has a late-‘60s SG with a small-nut bridge that Rossington was playing during the ’70s, as well as a 1950s goldtop Les Paul that was traded between Rossington and the late Steve Gaines and had come back into the former's possession not long before the plane crash.

"The thing about Gary is these were the tools of the trade," Yonke says. "He was a songwriter and a player. When he went out on tour it was, 'Where's my SG?' and 'Where's my Les Paul?'"

Starr was "so blown and way and honored" by the playing opportunity. He was offered the '61 and the late-'60s SG, which were flown to St. Augustine in their own plane seat and accompanied by CME staffers. "I plugged the '61 in and it was just a magical feeling," Starr recalls. "It played and felt and sounded exactly like you want a guitar like that to feel. It felt so special."

Starr was also intrigued to find a small piece of large-gauge electrical wire with the guitar, which Rossington would place against the nut to raise the guitar's action for slide work. "That was his thing," Starr says. "He probably recorded 'Free Bird’ that way, and he would reach up and snatch it out of there to play the rhythm on the rest of the song. What a neat little trick. I thought, God, how long has that been in here? He hadn't had that guitar on the road in ages, probably since the ’90s. It was so cool to find it."

Yonke says CME and the Rossington estate are already offering the guitars to other players, including "some very big acts," although they're keeping mum about where they may land next. "It's not as simple as, 'Hey, bud, I got a guitar; would you like to play it?' There's a lot of moving parts involved," Yonke notes. "And there's such a rabid fan base for each and every one of these. I've had so many calls just on these Mace amplifiers. It's crazy how many artists want to know, 'Do you have the Maces?!'

"I'm a retailer. We're in the business of selling instruments, but we've built a reputation for making sure that we get things that are there to make music to other people who are making music. So knowing these instruments that created these sounds, that created an emotion; and being able to bring them out again and remind people about Gary, the type of person he was, the type of songwriter he was and what he participated in bringing out... It's impossible, really, to put that into words."

During a week when Gibson issued a cease and desist order to Trump Guitars for infringing upon its Les Paul body shape, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized more than 3,000 fake Gibson electric guitars.

The haul is described as the “largest seizure of fake musical instruments” in history. If the guitars were legitimate Gibsons, the value of the knock-off guitars is believed to be in the region of $18 million.

The news was announced during a public message released on Friday, November 22. The mass seizure was made possible after US Customs collaborated with Gibson, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Their combined know-how proved successful due to “proactive efforts” to “identify, intercept and seize” counterfeit products.

Going one step further, Gibson has promised to “caution customers about fraudulent products sold on e-commerce platforms and other sources,” in a bid to tackle the counterfeit market.

Historically, Gibson has defended its intellectual property fiercely. After opening up a lawsuit against metal guitar builder Dean, a court found it to be civil contempt for failing to comply with Gibson's trademark ruling regarding its usage of V and Z-shaped guitars.

However, Dean has since won the right to a retrial in a move it called “a complete vindication.”

The legendary luthier had also launched, and subsequently dropped, a trademark dispute with Heritage Guitars after the luthier accused it of attempting to “re-write Gibson’s history.”

The history-making seizure is timely. Gibson is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year, with a special release of signature acoustic guitars for Jimmy Page among its celebratory creations.

The Led Zeppelin man has “played each one for three or four minutes” to ensure they all feature a little bit of himself.

Other notable releases have included a reimagining of the Les Paul Studio, the revival of the Victory, a forgotten '80s relic, and Artisan versions of its from-the-archive Theodore design.

It has also given some of its classic models stunning Purple Burst finishes and released its first-ever father-daughter signature guitar line for Johnny and Rosanne Cash.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will issue further information about the operation in due course.

It was fall 1970, and having finished much of the work on Led Zeppelin’s now-iconic Led Zeppelin IV, Jimmy Page turned his attention to a slew of upcoming tour dates beginning March 5, 1971. Though the album would not be released until November ’71, the band planned to debut future classics like “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” “Going to California,” and the evocative piece that was to become their signature song: “Stairway to Heaven.” There was just one catch.

“I was so involved in creating the guitar parts for ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ on the acoustic guitar and two [tracks of] electric 12-string” Page recalls in Jimmy Page: The Anthology, “that I hadn’t been thinking about how I was going to perform it all live. That’s where the Double-Neck came in.”

Gibson had been making a model designated as the EDS-1275 SG Double-Neck since 1963 (Elvis Presley even totes one in his 1966 film Spinout), and while the guitar fell off Gibson’s price list in 1968 (only to be re-continued in 1974), Page was able to custom-order one, which he received in early 1971, just in time for the tour.

It’s this very same 1969 EDS-1275 that provided the model for last year’s limited-edition run of the Gibson Jimmy Page 1969 EDS-1275 Double-Neck Collector’s Edition. Custom-aged to the original’s exact wear detail by Gibson’s in-house Murphy Lab, only 50 Collector’s Editions were made, each hand-signed and actually played by Page himself, all for a tidy $49,999.

While those have sold out, Gibson is soon to announce its plan to begin producing the Gibson Custom Jimmy Page EDS-1275 VOS, with some differences in specs, starting this December, at the more manageable price-point of $9,999.

It’s worth noting that the Collector’s Edition, as well as the forthcoming Jimmy Page VOS model, are not mere approximations of Page’s instrument. Instead, using advanced 3D scanning technology, in tandem with CAD diagrams and CNC machining equipment, each and every component of the guitar, including the mahogany body, the ABR-1 bridges, and even the headstock logos, are scanned and then tooled to duplicate the parts on Page’s EDS to the minutest detail. And that’s not even to mention the minutiae behind replicating Page’s original T-Top pickups, where readings for ohm resistance, gauss (the magnetic charge in a pickup), number of winds, and more were all duly registered.

“All of the parts will match exactly what was used in 1968/’69,” explains Mat Koehler, Gibson’s vice president of product, “down to the precise material of the chrome-plated bridges, the exact saddle contour and shape, the butyrate [speed] knobs and even how the reflectors are mounted within those knobs. We now have what’s known as a five-axis CNC machining tool, which allows us to do incredibly intricate carvings, and this means a lot more attention to detail.”

Calling Page’s original EDS “the lightest solid-body double-neck I’ve ever played,” Koehler says his other first observation of the guitar when he met with Page at his home near London last year to conduct the scans was its overall condition. “Especially for a guitar that saw as much touring as Jimmy’s did, his EDS is in excellent shape,” Koehler says. “It was obvious that he’s very proud of it, and that he’s been a really great caretaker.”

SPECIFICATIONS

1969 Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Double-Neck Collector’s Edition

Body Material One Piece Mahogany

Body Finish Murphy Lab Aged Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Scale Length 628.65 mm / 24.75 in

Fingerboard Material Indian Rosewood

Fingerboard Radius 304.8 mm / 12 in

Neck Material Mahogany

Nut Width 42.8625 mm / 1.687 in

Tuning Machines Kluson Double Line, Double Ring with Keystone Button

Neck Pickup Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Custombuckers, Double Black Bobbins, Alnico 5

Bridge Pickup Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Custombuckers, Double Black Bobbins, Alnico 5

Controls 2 Volume, 2 Tone; Hand-wired with CTS Potentiometers and Period-correct Ceramic Disc Capacitors

Pickup Selector 3-way Switchcraft plus 3-way Switchcraft Neck Select Switch

Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher said his own son called him out for his inability to shred. His response to the slight explains how guitar playing has changed in the decades since Oasis first came storming onto the Brit-rock scene.

Speaking to Gibson TV, Gallagher said young players today have more tools and information available to them than when he first wrestled with an electric guitar.

“I've seen young kids playing instruments, and they're great,” he says. “There's a lot more information out there now when you're starting, for equipment, what it does and what you should be doing. Tips for this, videos for that. They'd have a sleepless night thinking about what we used to be. I don't know how we got by.”

But their advanced prowess on the instrument doesn't necessarily translate into a career.

“My lad will say ‘You can’t play guitar like that,’ and I’m like ‘Thank the fucking Lord!’ because if I could play guitar like that, you know what I’d be doing right now? Playing guitar like that!

“I wouldn’t be going, 'Maybe...' [sings the first word of "Live Forever"]. You can go anywhere with that.”

As Gallagher tells Gibson TV, Oasis were five years into their career when they played an immense sold-out show at Knebworth House, in the U.K. Yet he was still a novice when it came to understanding the intricacies of his rig.

""Ever seen the shot from the stage at Knebworth?" he asks. "I've got a pedalboard that's on a piece of plywood. It's got a delay pedal on it and a tuner.

"125 000 people. And I didn't even have a proper pedalboard!

“Somebody said to me, ‘Why is the bass, middle and treble all on 10?’ ‘Because it all goes to 10?’ And he’s like, ‘Try turning the bass down.’ I was like, ‘Don't fucking touch it! It sounds great.’

“I was 20 years into it before I went, ‘Middle… Oh, so the louder you turn it up….’ Why didn’t somebody tell me that 20 years ago?”

That iconic Knebworth performance helped Oasis ascend to rock's highest peaks. But following 1997's Be Here Now, Gallagher set about overhauling his rig, plywood pedalboard included.

Speaking to Guitar Player in 2000 to promote the release of the group's 2000 album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, he explained how his go-to Marshall amps weren't doing it for him anymore.

“No disrespect to Marshalls, but they have one sound, and that's just about it. They're either really loud, or really quiet. But I found that each Fender amp has its own character.”

Gallagher's trusty Epiphone Casino wasn't out of the firing line either. The guitarist was toting "a really cool, wine-red '80s Les Paul Deluxe, a Fender Strat, and a '60s Telecaster that Johnny Depp bought me for my 30th birthday."

Shredding, though, was left to other bands. Oasis's appeal has always been rooted in simplicity, chord progressions that anyone can get behind, and a rock and roll swagger for the masses.

But there is perhaps a semblance of jealousy aimed at the current crop of all-knowing guitarists. In a recent post to X, he revealed “I’ve got no control over the music I make. I’m not adept enough as a musician. All I can do is sit with a guitar and wait in hope for something to happen.

“I call it going fishing… I sit by the river, with the guitar and if I get a catch, great! And that’s what I do, it comes from within.”

Much is made of Gibson’s Norlin era, the period from 1969 to 1986 when the Norlin Corporation took ownership of the brand. Gibson electric guitars from this stretch are roundly characterized as having poor design (shallower necks, bigger headstocks, heavier bodies), poor material selection (chrome hardware instead of nickel, randomly joined multipiece tops) and quality control issues (badly applied binding, excess glue).

And yet there are many guitarists who love their Norlin-era Gibsons.

You can count Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstone among them. Her main guitar is a 1972 Gibson SG.

On Sleater-Kinney's latest record, Little Rope, she and co-guitarist Corin Tucker used two guitars that represent opposing times in Gibson’s history: Brownstein’s SG and Tucker’s P90-equipped '50s reissue Les Paul Gold Top. The guitars make an enticing sonic blend on the album, which was written and recorded in the wake of a car accident that claimed the life of Brownstein's mother and stepfather. Little Rope was reissued in early November in a Deluxe edition that includes the previously released stripped-back Frayed Rope Sessions EP, live versions captured at the Forum in Melbourne and three unreleased new songs recorded during the original album sessions.

Given Brownstein's appreciation for Norlin-era Gibsons, it’s interesting to learn she selected Tucker’s 1950s-style Les Paul.

“Carrie bought me that guitar for my birthday while we were making the album,” Tucker explains. “It’s an homage to [producer] John Goodmanson's Les Paul that I played on [1997’s] Dig Me Out. That was a super-heavy Les Paul, and it really worked for that album with Carrie's SG. That was just such a signature sound for us.

“So this was the guitar I ended up playing for the entire album. The P90s are rich-sounding and distinct. They don't overwhelm anything that's going on, and they stand out for what I'm trying to do. They really sing, but they never shriek or overwhelm anything Carrie's doing.”

Brownstein said she was particularly drawn to the fact that the guitar is new. “I love vintage guitars, but for touring I appreciate newer, more updated equipment. When we detune to C#, we really wrestle with older guitars. I wanted something that sounded classic but was really playable and road-tested for Corin.

"I also thought she should have a guitar that was aesthetically beautiful. And there's nothing more classically beautiful than that version of the Les Paul Gold Top.”

As for Brownstein’s 1972 SG, it remains her go-to, a preference that runs in defiance of what many guitarists consider gospel when it comes to Gibson’s Norlin years.

“It's certainly a controversial era. You could easily discount it,” she says of her '72 SG

To the contrary, she says her example is well-suited to her and Sleater-Kinney’s music.

“I like the tone of that guitar,” she says. “The neck is a little bit thinner, and it makes it very playable. To me, it just comes down to tone. You can get a guitar from that era that feels like it doesn't live up to what Gibson, and specifically an SG, is capable of representing or evoking sonically. But for me, that guitar works perfectly.”

Certainly, tone is central to the argument against the Norlin guitars, with many players saying the instruments sound inferior to those from the preceding period. But Brownstein says those considerations aren’t relevant to her.

“People who tend to disparage the Norlin era are thinking of music and sonic quality in a very purist way,” she says. “Sleater-Kinney is a band that comes from a punk-rock foundation. Much of punk was about deconstructing or dismantling this idea of music purity and being unafraid to explore sounds that were grotesque, ugly and drifted from the norm.

“I wasn't necessarily thinking, ‘What is the best-sounding Gibson SG I can come up with?’ We weren't trying to just sound like the best version of a good Gibson-based guitar band. That wasn't part of the sonic lexicon that we were going for. But it turned out that that guitar has a really wonderful, classic, dynamic tone.

"It comes down to how you play it and what kind of tone you're looking for. We tend to approach the guitar in an unconventional way, you know, the way we play together."

With that said, Brownstein acknowledges that there is an argument to be made for both the purists’ point of view and her own.

“It's fun to nerd-out on minutia in terms of guitars, years, eras, makes and models,” she acknowledges. “But there's also a part of me that does care — that cares more — about what you're able to do with an instrument, as opposed to what the instrument signifies on its own.

“On its own, it's a relic; it's a museum piece, right? There's a sterility to a guitar sitting on a guitar stand or on a wall. But the second you put it into someone's hand, and they play it, and they're infusing it with their feelings and passion, then it's a whole different beast.

“So from a more emotional, expressive perspective, I don't really care about the arguments. From a more intellectual perspective, it's interesting and important to have historical context and to understand the reason this era sounds different from the era that preceded it or followed it.

“So I see both sides, for sure. Ultimately, I think I fall on the side of expressionism, as opposed to anything that's too didactic. But I can always appreciate guitar lovers nerding-out on the specifics. So put me right down the middle, I guess.”

The Deluxe edition of Little Rope offers more opportunities to hear Brownstein’s and Tucker’s sonic collaboration, including its three new tracks: ”Here Today,” "This Time" and "Nothing to Lose.”

“We tried to overwrite for this record and had excess songs that weren't quite complete,” Brownstein explains. “We fought for, wrote to completion and wanted to continue to wrestle with these. We came from a time when an album was still a statement, told a story, and had a sequence that spoke to a narrative. So we wanted to have an album with a tautness and that was terse and forceful.

"I like how the Deluxe album fills in the emotional periphery of this album and creates a broader picture. I'm excited for people to hear the album in its totality, in terms of the original intention, and then to see what we subtracted to make Little Rope as it was originally released.

With Little Rope's deluxe release, Brownstein and Tucker are preparing for 2025, which they refer to as a "hybrid year" that will include touring and "slowly starting to write and regroup for whatever comes next.”

Through iconic gigs with Aerosmith, as a solo artist and with the Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry has been known for playing his red 10-string B.C. Rich Bich, his oft-favored and ever-changing Frankensteined Burned Strat and his Gibson "Billie" semi-hollowbody guitars, to name a few.

However, one electric guitar from Perry's 600-plus-strong collection stands out: a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Burst. While the guitar has meaning, if you've seen Perry perform live, you'll know he's not one to stagnate on one guitar for more than a song or two. "I always buy stuff that I know I'm going to use or that looks interesting," he says.

That checks out, as dozens of oddballs reside within his collection. "Some of those guitars might not be the hippest guitars in the world, or whatever, but it's always inspiring to pick up something that's got a different sound to it," he says. "You tend to play differently. That's where the ideas come from."

Returning to the 'Burst in question, Perry first came upon the guitar in the early ’70s after trading a '60s Guild Starfire, for it. The guitar stuck with him throughout the decade, during which time he wrote He was thick as thieves with the ’Burst until the early ‘80s, when he sold the beloved axe to a music shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

That's not surprising, as Perry admits to clearing proverbial decks when he left Aerosmith in '79 and after divorced his first wife in the early ’80s. The ’59 'Burst was just another casualty. What's more, Perry was searching for new sounds and wanted to avoid being chained to a guitar so closely related to his image onstage and in the studio with Aerosmith.

But it didn't take long for regret to set in. "There's a fair amount of guitars I don't have anymore that I wish I did," Perry says.

When looking back at the story of Joe Perry's '59 Les Paul, one has to understand that when Perry sold it, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Ace Frehley admits to doing the same thing around the same time, although the former Kiss six-stringer was funding a gambling trip, not rebuilding his life.

So there are stark differences. And who could blame Perry for wanting a change and some extra cash in his pocket as he embarked on a solo career?

Another point to consider is that while 'Bursts were going for decent dollars in the early ’80s, they sure weren't going for the six-figure numbers that late-1950s Les Paul Standards command these days, let alone one played by the guitarist of a legendary band.

As a result, Joe’s guitar was long gone by the time regret set in. When Aerosmith regrouped and rolled into the '90s on a wave of success via Permanent Vacation, Pump and Get a Grip, he had no idea where his favored 'Burst was.

Little could did he imagine that his guitar had made an appearance on MTV in a music video for Guns N' Roses' "November Rain.”

By then, Perry was deep into his search for the guitar. "We were starting to make some money after the band got rolling again," Perry says. "I thought It would be great to track down a couple of guitars that I'm missing. I started making phone calls around Boston and looking around.”

Remarkably, it was his bandmate Brad Whitford who hipped Perry to the news that his ’Burst had landed with another famous owner.

"I remember being in the studio, telling my guitar tech, 'I'm trying to track down my Les Paul,’ when Brad walked over,” Perry explains. “Brad said, ’Your Les Paul? I know where it is.’ He pulled out a guitar magazine with Slash's collection.

“And there it was. That's when I found out Slash had it."

Ironically, Aerosmith had shared the stage with Guns N' Roses in '92. In fact, Perry and Slash were pals. As a result, the guitarist felt emboldened to ask his friend for his guitar back. "I called him," Perry says. "I told him, 'Hey, I'll pay whatever you paid for it.'"

Slash wasn't having it. "He begged me not to ask. He said, 'Please don't ask me that.' But I'd call him every once in a while, just to see how he was, and I'd ask him, just as a joke.” Perry says, "I understood. If I had one of Jeff [Beck]'s guitars, I wouldn't wanna give it up. I definitely understood how he felt about it."

While most of Perry's pleas were joking in nature, the pressure of owning the iconic ’Burst was too much for Slash and had caused an unspoken rift between the two guitarists. "He wasn't around," Perry says. "I tried getting in touch with him, and I realized he didn't want to be asked anymore. It was getting in the way of our friendship."

So Perry mended things with Slash. "I said, 'I'm not going to ask you anymore — not even in kidding,’” he explains.

The 'Burst remained with Slash into 2000. By then, the guitarist was four years out of Guns N’ Roses and deep into his solo career, with his ’59 ’Burst in hand.

But while Perry had stopped asking Slash about the guitar, little did he know his wife, Billie, had taken up the cause. Slash and Perry shared the same lawyer, and she’d been communicating through him to Slash, trying to get the ’59 ’Burst back in Joe’s hands.

By then, after years of owning the guitar and building a collection, Slash was ready to part with the guitar. Joe’s 50th birthday bash was coming up and it seemed the perfect time to reunite him with his instrument.

And Slash had a plan.

Perry had hired Cheap Trick to perform at the bash. “They asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said, 'I want to play a set with you guys. I want to play your songs,’” Joe recalls. “I love those guys.

“So I got up to play a short set with Cheap Trick. And that's when they handed me the guitar."

Just like that, for the first time in nearly two decades, Perry was reunited with his long-lost '59 Les Paul ‘Burst. "I played the set with that guitar," he says. "It was an amazing night, I'll tell you. But I mean… I got my guitar back. I couldn't thank Slash enough. And I got to play with Cheap Trick!"

In the years since, Perry hasn't let the infamous ‘Burst go. The odds are that the guitar will be with him until the end, which is fair. Even though it's not his main guitar, the ‘Burst’s legend will be forever tied to Perry's towering legacy, and vice versa.

At 74, Perry remains a guitar junkie. His collection continues to grow, ebb and flow, and it is always functional. But no matter the space between plug and plays, the iconic ’59 Aerosmith 'Burst remains. Over the years, its legend has grown, with Gibson's Custom Shop even producing faithful recreations of Perry's prized Les Paul.

Though nothing compares to the original, which reminds Perry that there are other guitars he let get away. "I wish I had a few of the pieces I lost at the end of the '70s," he admits. "But I still have some stuff, like custom Aerosmith amps and a lot of old foot pedals.

"There's a fair amount of guitars that were sold or stolen. I don't have the guitar, the [early-70s Fender] Strat, that I played 'Walk This Way' on; I wish I did. But I've got my Les Paul back, thanks to my wife, Billie, and thanks to Slash."

Mary Ford is remembered for her smooth vocals on a slew of hits she recorded with Les Paul. “How High the Moon,” “Vaya Con Dios” and “Mockin’ Bird Hill” are but a few of their classic hits from the 1950s on which Mary’s voice took center stage whenever Les wasn’t stealing the spotlight with his virtuoso licks.

But Mary was a fine guitarist in her own right, as she demonstrated alongside Les in a classic bit of musical comedy from a 1950s TV show appearance, where they perform "There's No Place Like Home.”

Now Ford is getting her due with the new Gibson Mary Ford Les Paul Standard. What's more, it's the first public release of an ultra-rare signature model from the company's Golden Era

The basis for the model is a 1958 goldtop Les Paul that Gibson believes was made for Ford. As Gibson explains, Ford often played a custom ES-295 with a floral pickguard, which she ordered in 1951. Subsequently, in 1958, a Les Paul Goldtop with an ES-295–style floral pickguard and matching armrest was created, most likely at Ford’s request.

The Mary Ford Les Paul is based on that one-of-a-kind original guitar. It features a mahogany body with a maple cap, and a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and SlimTaper profile. The guitar is powered by a pair of Burstbucker pickups, with a Burstbucker 2 in the neck position and a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge position.

Beyond its cream-and-gold floral pickguard and armrest, the guitar’s most unique feature is a Goldtop finish accented by a Vintage Cherry back, a rarity for a Goldtop model.

Ford would be 100 in 2024, making the release of this signature model a centennial tribute to her talents and memory.

“I am thrilled that Mom is receiving this recognition for her talents,” says Mary Colleen Wess, the daughter of Mary Ford and Les Paul. “I wish she was still with us to enjoy this wonderful honor, which she so richly deserves.”

Born Iris Colleen Summers in 1924, Mary Ford belonged to a musical family and began to make a name for herself as a vocalist with the Sunshine Girls trio, who backed up country singer Jimmy Wakely. By the mid 1940s, she was a popular western vocalist on radio station KXLA in Los Angeles, where she performed on the show Dinner Bell Round-Up Time. She was well on her way to stardom by the time she met up with Les Paul in 1945.

“For a woman in the 1940s to say ‘I have talent, I’m gonna chase it’ — that’s incredible,” says Austin rock guitarist Emily Wolfe in Gibson’s video about the new model, shown below. “That was the start of her incredible legacy.”

As Les Paul & Mary Ford, the duo cut numerous sides that defined popular music in the 1950s. Of their 16 top 10 hits, five were achieved within nine months: “Tennessee Waltz,” “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “How High the Moon,” “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise” and “Whispering.” Many of their songs were cut at home in Paul’s groundbreaking multitrack recording studio. Ford and Paul’s collaboration ended with their divorce in December 1964. She continued to record sporadically prior to her death on September 30, 1977

The Mary Ford Les Paul Standard in Goldtop finish is now available worldwide at authorized Gibson dealers and on Gibson.com. As part of the new Mary Ford Collection, Gibson is offering an Oxford Pennant, a bandanna, and a T-shirt from Nashville-based design brand imogene + willie as part of the Mary Ford Collection.

Ritchie Blackmore may be considered one of the definitive rock and roll Stratocaster players, but it wasn’t until 1970’s earth-rattling masterpiece In Rock that the Fender model found its way onto Deep Purple records.

Before then, Blackmore’s weapon of choice — from his pre-Purple instrumental group, the Outlaws, through to the band’s early shows and recordings — was a 1961 Gibson ES-335.

But it appears the choice wasn’t entirely his own.

As Blackmore explains in the latest episode of his Tales from the Tavern YouTube series, he was interested in buying a Gretsch Jet Firebird when a very persuasive salesman disabused him of that idea.

That man was none other than famed amp maker Jim Marshall, who at the time ran a music store in London's Hanwell borough.

“I went there with the intention of buying a Gretsch Jet Firebird,” Blackmore reminisces. “After half an hour of a sales pitch, he said, 'Forget the Gretsch. That's a toy compared to the 335.' I went, 'But I want the Gretsch. I love the Jet Firebird.' He said, 'You'll appreciate the 335 Gibson much more later in life.' So I walked out with a Gibson!”

Marshall's powers of persuasion went beyond his electric guitar pitch. He also convinced Blackmore to buy an amp. As a result, the guitarist says, “I was left with next to nothing to live on for the week!”

Marshall’s store was situated near the infamous Ealing Club where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones met, leading to the formation of the Rolling Stones. It would be a little while longer before Marshall redefined the amplifier world with his namesake brand.

“Jim was a very affable kind of guy,” Blackmore says. “He knew nothing about amplifiers, yet it's funny to see today, every band has got a Marshall amplifier, and that was built in the beginning by someone who knew nothing about amplifiers.

“He was a drum teacher,” the guitarist continues. “I always find that slightly amusing!”

The ES-335 would go on to feature in the video for Deep Purple's "Child In Time."

It wouldn't be the last time someone influenced Blackmore's guitar-buying habits. By the late 1960s, the ES-335's neck was becoming bowed and he began looking for a replacement. He found what he wanted in 1969 when one of Eric Clapton's roadies, with a black Strat in hand, stopped by the house Blackmore shared with the rest of Deep Purple. He bought the Strat, which had belonged to Clapton, and went on to own many more (and even obliterate a fair few).

Blackmore wouldn't meet Slowhand for another four years when, in 1973, he accidentally gave his fellow Strat-lover a rude awakening at 3 a.m. The guitarist had cranked a Marshall stack (Jim Marshall strikes again!) to protest construction work that had been going on in the hotel. He had no idea Clapton was fast asleep in the room next door.

Another episode of Tales From the Tavern saw Blackmore remembering the time George Harrison sheepishly asked if he could join Deep Purple on stage, and play one of Blackmore's Strats in the process. Even though Blackmore butchered the Little Richard cover they played, he says the Beatle was having so much fun, he didn't notice.

Kirk Hammett isn’t just the lead guitarist for the world’s biggest metal band. The long-running Metallica member is also the owner of some extremely rare and coveted Gibson guitars, including a 1957 Korina Flying V prototype and the 1959 Les Paul Standard known as Greeny, once owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore.

In a newly released video from Gibson TV, Hammett talks about 17 of his favorite vintage electric guitars. In addition to the two models mentioned above, he presents a 1952 Les Paul goldtop, 1960 Les Paul TV Special, 1956 Les Paul Custom, 1958 Les Paul Standard, 1958 Les Paul Custom, his “Sunny” 1960 Les Paul Standard, a 1963 Korina Explorer, vintage ES models and more.

To top it off, Hammett discusses his lifetime love of guitars in the roughly 90-minute documentary, from his first discovery of the instrument to his thrill of collecting them.

As he reveals in the film, he first became aware of the guitar’s power through the Beatles’ “Drive My Car,” when he was about five.

“I remember, I was playing with my cousin,” he explains. “At one point he jumped on top of a table and started playing air guitar to ‘Drive My Car.’ And I remember looking at him and laughing, thinking, Wow, you look so cool! And I I jumped up on the table and joined him!”

Kirk also explains his attitude about collecting vintage and rare models and stresses the importance of not getting too precious about a guitar’s condition.

“I’ve come to realize you could be screwing yourself if you pass on something just because the condition's not right,” he says. “If it's rare, it's rare.”

He is especially fond of player guitars and understands they are usually the most beat-up among vintage collectibles. He refers to Greeny as an example.

“Greenie is the ultimate player guitar,” he enthuses. “Two headstock repairs, two knobs are switched out… the pickup selector top is always coming off. There's so many nicks, so many dents. The finish is almost completely worn off. I can sweat, bleed, snot all over that guitar, and the value's never going to diminish.”

Once an ESP player, Hammett joined the Gibson family in 2021. The Gibson Custom Shop honored him in 2023 with the Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V, a re-creation of the guitarist’s first-ever Gibson axe. Hammett also made news in March 2023 when he purchased an ultra-rare black 1959 Les Paul Standard, which had been custom-ordered by a jazz guitarist to match his tuxedo.

The video is a prelude to the forthcoming book The Collection: Kirk Hammett, a deluxe coffee table book in hardcover featuring the stories behind Kirk’s rare and highly collectible instruments used in the studio and onstage. The Collection: Kirk Hammett will be out November 29. It is the second book release from Gibson Publishing. The first was last year’s The Collection: Slash. Visit Gibson.com for more information and updates.

You can explore the Kirk Hammett Collection at Gibson and Epiphone.

In late spring of 1970, Jimmy Page did a rare thing. He performed on solo acoustic guitar, without the other members of Led Zeppelin, on the BBC’s Julie Felix Show.

Felix, an American folksinger from California, was nevertheless so popular in Britain at the time that she was dubbed “Britain’s First Lady of Folk.” Page, whose affection for folk music ran deep — in particular for fingerstyle guitar greats like Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, and Doc Watson — performed a semi-improvisational medley combining his “White Summer” and “Black Mountain Side.” Both tunes, like the later Zeppelin epic "Kashmir," are played in the evocative DADGAD modal tuning, popularized by Graham.

Page’s guitar of choice for the Felix performance was a 1964 Gibson J-200, with the classic “Flowers & Vines” splayed pickguard, a Sitka Spruce top, and flamed maple back and sides, belonging to noted British pop producer Mickie Most. Page had first borrowed the guitar from Most in September 1968 for the Olympic Studios recordings of “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You,” “Your Time Is Gonna Come,” and “Black Mountain Side.”

Now that guitar has provided the inspiration for two new models created by Gibson in partnership with Page: the Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 and 1964 SJ-200 Collector’s Edition from Gibson Custom. Only 50 of the 1964 SJ-200 Collector’s Edition and 100 of the Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 will be available worldwide in this extraordinary limited run via authorized Gibson dealers and online at Gibson.com.

“Mickie’s J-200 was a dream to play,” Page recalls fondly in Jimmy Page: The Anthology, “and it was a beautiful guitar. I remembered it had such a wonderful recording sound.” Put on Zep I’s “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You,” and listen carefully to Jimmy’s subtle dynamic shifts within that descending A minor–based rhythm pattern, and the gorgeous flamenco-inspired lead figures from 4:52–5:25, and you’ll hear it: a sound that is at once feathery and bold, jangly and structured, resonant and chimey.

Unfortunately, the guitar was stolen and its whereabouts remain a mystery, according to Led Zeppelin News. As a result, Gibson says it developed the Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 models in close collaboration with, and with significant input from, Page to ensure it met "his exacting standards and recollection."

Robi Johns, the Gibson Senior Product Development Manager in Bozeman, Montana heading the team behind the new models, provided Guitar Player with details on the Page signature models. Johns explains that while all J-200s feature a distinctive “Moustache-style” bridge plate, the Page/Most J-200 boasted a Les Paul-style Tune-o-matic bridge with nylon bridge saddles — not atypical for a 1960s ABR — which add a pleasing, almost papery, sitar-like timbre to the notes.

“Those nylon saddles give the guitar a very balanced sound, but it’s also jangly in a nice musical way.” (Gibson also includes an additional brass Tune-o-matic bridge with every Page SJ-200, as Page evidently enjoyed experimenting with those during the development process.)

The new models feature a subtly curved or “domed” top, a Cherry Tea nitrocellulose lacquer finish, highly flamed AAA maple back and sides and an AAA Sitka spruce top, as well as a highly-flamed three-piece maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. Gibson describes the neck shape as "round profile" and has sculpted it based on Page's memory of the original and a similar model from 1965 that resides in the guitarist's collection.

In addition, the models feature increased depth around the neck joint and mother-of-pearl graduated crown fretboard inlays. Appointments include TUSQ bridge pins, gold hardware finish, Kluson Waffleback with Keystone button tuners, the Murphy Lab’s Custom Light Aged treatment and mother-of-pearl Graduated Crown inlays.

Each Collector’s Edition guitar is signed by Page on the back of the headstock, and was personally played by Page himself in early September at Nashville’s storied RCA Studio B, the legendary recording home of the great Chet Atkins — one of Page’s formative influences — currently under the able helm of producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile and Rival Sons). (Other than the signed headstock and being Page-played, the non-“Collectors” models are identical instruments, and each features an individually signed sound-hole label.)

Page was clearly pleased with the results, starting with the prototype he received. “When I took it out, I thought, ‘Wow, they've got it straightaway,'" he says. "I could see all the flame coming out on the side of it, I went, 'Oh my goodness gracious, it’s just so beautiful.' It was so authentic, and yet it was so new at the same time.”

When it came time to view the finished models, Page had to play every one.

“We weren’t quite sure if maybe he’d just a play a few chords on each one,” Johns says, “but not only did he play each of them for three or four minutes, he even suggested that some of them be put in alternate tunings, so he’d be surprised with each SJ-200 that he played. That’s pretty cool.”

The two models are priced at $12,999 for the 1964 SJ-200 and $19,999 for the 1964 SJ-200 Collector’s Edition. For more information, visit Gibson.

Jimmy Page has played a number of electric guitars over the course of his career, including the Danelectro 3021, the Fender Telecaster, the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and the double-neck Gibson EDS-1275, most famously used during live shows to perform Stairway to Heaven, among other classic Led Zeppelin songs.

But the guitar with which Page is most closely linked is his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard with a sunburst finish, a guitar he played for many years of his career with Led Zeppelin. Page had owned and played a three-pickup Les Paul Custom in the early Sixties and played a Fender Telecaster while with the Yardbirds. He was still playing the Telecaster when Led Zeppelin played their first gigs in 1968.

But early the next year, Page bought the Les Paul Standard — his first — from Joe Walsh (who, Page says, “insisted that I buy it, and he was right”), paying $500 for it. He used it to record Zeppelin II that May. The guitar became and remained his favorite guitar throughout his years with Zeppelin, and as he acquired others, he started referring to it as Number 1.

Over the years, Page gave due credit to Eric Clapton for pairing up the Les Paul with a Marshall amp. “Eric was the first one to evolve the sound with the [Les Paul] and Marshall amps,” Page told Trouser Press in a 1977 interview. “He should have total credit for that.”

But Page continued that evolution in the Seventies with Led Zeppelin, demonstrating to guitarists what the Les Paul was capable of in the right hands.

In this vintage video, Page talks about his Number 1 and some of its unique aspects, such as the sealed Grover tuners and the push-pull knob that splits the bridge humbucker and lets him achieve a tone similar to that of Peter Green’s fabled Les Paul.

The clip was shot in 2003 when Gibson visited Page, presumably to create a reproduction of the model. In 2004, Gibson copied Page’s Number 1 for the company’s second run of Page signature models, with aging by luthier Tom Murphy. This run was limited to 25 copies signed by Page and a total of 150 copies with the Murphy-aged finish.

Earlier this year, Gibson rekindled its relationship with the Led Zeppelin legend, teaming up with him to create a new line of signature guitars, the first being an ultra-exclusive recreation of Page's 1969 EDS-1275 double-neck. Only available via the Gibson Garage, the meticulously built model is limited to a run of 50 Page-signed and -played instruments, at a cost of $50,000 each.

Gibson has released a commemorative ES-355 reissue in honor of B.B. King’s appearance at the Zaire '74 music festival. The performance was part of the “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing event featuring Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Gibson Custom and Murphy Lab creation is a handcrafted limited-edition recreation of the guitar the blues maestro played that night, complete with its striking walnut finish.

The guitar it has worked tirelessly to recreate in great detail here was King's number one lady before he developed Lucille with Gibson six years later. Only 100 pieces will be made, each coming with a B.B. King “Zaire” hardshell case teeming with case candy commemorating the event.

Gibson has called Zaire '74 “a powerful moment in music history” that brought “the soul of the blues to unite a global audience” ahead of the groundbreaking bout between two towering heavyweight boxers.

Vassal Benford, CEO and Chairman of the B.B. King Music Company, extends that belief, saying that “B.B. King’s performance at the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ was not just a concert – it was a defining cultural moment,” and says the new build “captures the artistry and spirit of B.B. King’s legendary performance.”

Priced at $9,999, it comes brimming with premium appointments fit for a king, including Murphy Lab aging for its delectable finish, T-Type Custombucker Alnico 5 humbuckers, and a Maestro Vibrola tailpiece.

The construction of the guitar unites a laminated maple back, top, and centerblock with red spruce multi-ply binding, and single-ply binding for its fretboard and f-holes.

It boasts a three-piece mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard iced with reissue frets and Mother-of-Pearl block inlays. It's built to a 24.75" scale length with a 12" fretboard radius.

All hardware, including Kluson Waffleback tuners, True Historic pickup covers, a Tune-O-Matic bridge, and the aforementioned Maestro Vibrola, has been given an aged gold finish.

Benford extends his praise of the reissue, underscoring it as “a continuation of King’s enduring legacy, ensuring that future generations of musicians can connect with the heart and soul of the blues.”

The blues legend's daughter, Claudette, will front a new 10-piece band – which includes King's longtime drummer, Grady Champion – for a tour to celebrate his legacy later this year. An extra “flavor of funk” promises to breathe a unique new life into King's music.

The B.B. King “Rumble in the Jungle” 1974 ES-355 is available now and costs $9,999.

Head to Gibson to learn more

Gibson has produced a dizzying amount of Les Pauls since its introduction in 1952, but the company believes its new updated Les Paul Studio will be “the one” guitar that players reach out for time and time again.

Studios have typically been meat and potatoes guitars to stand as the most affordable Gibson Les Pauls on the market. While its revised model comes with a fairly modest price tag of $1,599, it’s been bestowed with features usually reserved for higher-end LPs, as well as receiving some choice upgrades, too.

Designed to be “the guitar you won’t be able to put down,” it's been created with an ultra-modern weight-relieved mahogany body for increased comfort, and topped with a carved plain maple cap. That tonewood combination promises “brightness, definition, warmth, and midrange punch” in equal measure.

Its SlimTaper profile mahogany neck, which plays host to a 22-fret medium jumbo fingerboard, has been glued in for “increased resonance and sustain.” Sculpted with a 12” radius and given binding – a first for LP Studios – Gibson assures players that they will “love how this instrument feels in your hands.”

Its hardware specs bring together Vintage Deluxe tuners, a Graph Tech nut, a fully adjustable aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge, and a lightweight aluminum Stop Bar tailpiece that no Les Paul would be complete without.

But it’s with the electronics that some of the key changes have been made. A pair of Gibson Burstbucker Pro pickups have dedicated volume and tone controls, and a push/pull for coil tapping. Rounded out with a standard three-way switch, those appointments bring it closer in line with a Les Paul Standard, as such trimmings are usually reserved for higher-end Les Pauls.

Studios, as their name implies, were built to perform in the studio, so aesthetic appointments were typically omitted to keep the price down. Here, though, Gibson has made sure it looks the part via a choice of Ebony, Blueberry Burst, Wine Red, and Cherry Sunburst gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finishes.

Unfortunately, Gibson is not rolling out its luxurious Dark Purple Burst again, after unveiling it earlier this year.

The guitar has been tried and tested by gigging musicians, with Beauty School Dropout guitarist Bardo calling it “an all-around workhorse, without sacrificing the classic styling and quality I expect from Gibson.”

Country player Kenzi Lewis has praised its smoothness, light weight, and “amazing tone,” while Argentina's Ivan Singh said it “feels like home.”

The new build augments a score of new Gibson releases, including the return of its Victory electric guitar, an Epiphone Jimi Hendrix 'Love Drops' Flying V, and signature acoustic guitars for Johhny and Roseanne Cash.

“The Les Paul Studio is the essential Les Paul, reimagined and updated for today’s players who want more than just another guitar – they want their guitar,” says Gibson.

The all-new Les Paul Studio is available now for $1,599, and each model comes with a soft-shell guitar case.

Head to Gibson to learn more.

Years ago, Harmony and Silvertone guitars were mostly seen as low-level pawnshop prizes, funky junk or, at best, short-money noisemakers that might cut a dashing figure in garage bands or punk-blues outfits. But the people who designed and manufactured those guitars took pride in creating the more elevated models that ended up in the hands of stars like Roy Smeck, Buck Owens, Elvis Presley, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, and Keith Richards.

Today, many guitarists now value those upmarket models as viable instruments that have a sound, vibe, and look all their own. Moreover, they can help the player say something original onstage or in the studio, and do so with a sly sense of cool.

Budget jazz box

The Silvertone Model H63 Espanada featured here is just such a guitar. Design-wise, this instrument isn’t far off the template of Gibson’s ES-175 model from a few years earlier, before the new PAF pickup arrived on the jazz box in the late ’50s.

In fact, this Silvertone carries a pair of Gibson-made single-coil pickups that aren’t a mile away from the P90 formula, as well as a single-cutaway body with a pressed archtop made from laminated maple, a glued-in neck of maple (rather than mahogany), a floating rosewood bridge, and other features that put it in the ballpark. The elevated looks are there, too, in the multi-ply body binding, single-ply fingerboard binding, and pearloid block inlays.

Look more closely, though, and you’ll find signs that the quality isn’t fully up to that of Gibson, Epiphone, Gretsch, or other guitar makers of the era. The tuners and trapeze tailpiece are clearly of a lower standard, and the fingerboard is “ebonized hardwood” (often stained maple) rather than the rosewood it appears to be from a distance. The frets are made of a cheaper material and are less skillfully dressed, while the internal construction uses simple block “sound posts” rather than more complex bracing to support the arched top.

Even so, the Harmony/Silvertone H63 had everything a hardworking guitarist or hobby player needed to get the job done, and for much less than the competition.

When introduced in the late 1950s, the Silvertone sold for $135, while the same guitar from Harmony cost, oddly, $199. Compare either of those figures to the $310 you would have paid for the ES-175D, and the H63’s appeal becomes obvious. While you’re at it, note that Gibson’s solid-topped archtop electrics could cost more than double that.

That vintage vibe

Bear in mind, Harmony was no newcomer to the business. By the time the model H63 arrived, the company had been making guitars for Sears Roebuck’s Silvertone brand for nearly 60 years.

Harmony was founded in Chicago in 1892 by Wilhelm Schultz, who had emigrated from Hamburg, Germany, a few years earlier. Sears purchased Harmony in 1916 and used its factory to manufacture whatever stringed instruments happened to be in vogue, from ukuleles to mandolins to banjos.

Harmony went independent again after being purchased by former company president Jay Kraus in 1940, and its prime focus returned to guitars with the rock and roll boom. In fact, from the mid ’50s to the mid ’60s, Harmony was the largest guitar maker in the world, churning out around 350,000 instruments a year at its peak.

Collectability has erased the price differences between the Harmony and Silvertone versions of the H63. Depending on condition and seller, either version can go for anywhere in the $2,000-to-$3,500 ballpark.

Most records indicate that the Silvertone version was called the Model H63, while the Harmony-branded model is often tagged with both H63 and Espanada, and the Espanada name sometimes resides on the front of the headstock, where the Harmony name would normally be found. Regardless, they are essentially the same guitars, and the name is colloquially applied to all of them today.

Amid the otherwise so-so build quality and playability, the H63 Espanada’s pickup complement stands out as one of the guitar’s more elevated features. The wide P13 single-coil units were made by Gibson and used on several of the Kalamazoo maker’s earlier ES models prior to the development of the P90 in 1946. Created in 1940 by Gibson engineer Walter Fuller, the P13 uses a pair of Alnico II magnets on either side of a steel block, through which six adjustable threaded steel saddles pass.

These are seen rising above the ridge at the center of the pickup’s top cover in most examples, although some earlier P13s sport an undrilled ridge with hidden pole pieces beneath (which might be either fixed steel slugs or adjustable screw poles). The unit went through a few variations in design before settling in as the pickup commonly found on the Espanada of the late ’50s and early ’60s.

Broadly in the same sonic family as the better-known P90, the P13 usually reveals itself as a slightly warmer, darker pickup with relatively substantial output for a single-coil, and it has become a popular “hidden gem” with many jump-blues players.

Such is the renewed interest that respected pickup makers Curtis Novak and Dave Stephens have both offered re-creations of this final iteration of the Gibson component made for Harmony/Silvertone guitars. Catalog-grade reissue maker Eastwood has also created its own rendition of the complete instrument as the Airline Espanada, which offers much of the overall vibe of the original, without precisely replicating its construction and components.

Essential ingredients

• Single-cutaway hollowbody archtop made from maple ply

• Multi-ply body binding, single-ply fretboard binding

• Glued-in maple neck, 25” scale length

• “Ebonized hardwood” (i.e. stained maple) fretboard with pearloid block inlays

• Two Gibson single-coil P13 pickups

• Individual volume and tone controls for each pickup

Gibson has revived its unique offset double-cut Victory guitar design for the first time in 40 years.

The guitar was originally produced in the late ‘80s as the firm’s answer to the Superstrat, which had come to dominate the electric guitar scene over the decade.

Hot-rodded guitar playing had taken the guitar world by storm, with the likes of Mick Mars and Warren DeMartini at the forefront of the scene, but Gibson’s attempt to muscle in on the movement failed to gain a foothold. The Victory was quietly discontinued.

Its revival was first teased by Gibson last summer, with CEO Cesar Gueikian then ramping up excitement in September.

Gueikian has been known to tease forthcoming releases, and it seems that was exactly the case with the Victory. Three new variants now augment Gibson's Modern guitar range.

Gibson has restored its original DNA while offering a few “enhanced features.” It also says it’s answering “player requests for the return of this ‘80s-era cult favorite” with the guitar’s return.

The company furthers that by saying the new design is “crafted for limitless self-expression,” thanks to its “refined body contours, improved weight, and balance.”

A mahogany body – with an AA figured maple top on two of the three builds – meets a 25.5” scale, SlimTaper set mahogany neck, and a compound radius fingerboard with 24 frets and acrylic dot inlays.

‘80s Tribute pickups tie these new guitars to their forefathers as each model sports a decidedly ‘80s black and white pickup finish, while its electronics are a little more forward-thinking.

Inner and outer coil selection options are extended to the humbuckers alongside a three-way pickup switch. Here, Gibson aims to “deliver a wide range” of humbucker and single coil tones via a minimalist approach to its controls that are rounded out by master volume and tone pots.

A Tune-O-Matic bridge, chrome aluminum stop bar, and Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners make up its hardware, with a black five-ply pickguard and black top hat controls sitting on either side of the pickup switch.

Its headstock, meanwhile, is the same ‘80s chic-honoring style seen on Explorers and Dave Mustaine’s signature Flying V. This is a step away from the sharper, more Jackson-esque design of the original.

The figured top versions are available in Iguana, Wine Red, and Smokehouse Bursts. There is also a Translucent Ebony Burst model exclusive to Gibson.com.

Alternatively, the sans maple models are given a satin finish, with three colorways, Dark Green, Dark Walnut, and Gold Mist, to choose from.

Comparisons can be drawn to another recently revived guitar in PRS’ Vela, with Gibson no doubt hoping its second coming proves to be far more fruitful.

Its arrival comes a little over two years after it pulled another design, the Theodore, from its history books, and just a month after those guitars were reimagined by master luthier Leo Scala.

The new and improved Gibson Victory starts at $1,999. They each come with a Gibson hardshell case.

Visit Gibson for more information.

Epiphone, Gibson's Custom Shop, and the Jimi Hendrix family estate have come together for a brand new “Love Drops” Flying V in honor of “a player who took the instrument to places no one else had ever gone before.”

The six-string is an Inspired by Gibson recreation of the instrument that Hendrix frequently wielded between 1967-69, and arrives on the market with a $1,499 price tag.

Hendrix had customized what was originally a Sunburst model that had been re-finished Ebony, adorning it with hand-painted psychedelic graphics. Those Hendrix originals have been carefully recreated.

They decorate a mahogany body and one-piece mahogany neck, sculpted into a C-profile and topped with a laurel fretboard. It comes stocked with 22 medium jumbo frets.

Hardware choices include Epiphone Deluxe tuners and a short Maestro Vibrola bridge, while an Inspired by Gibson custom logo and Hendrix’s signature can be found on the back of its headstock.

Epiphone has talked up its “first-rate” electronics, with a pair of Gibson Custombucker humbuckers – rather than cheaper Epiphone-branded pickups found in standard issue Epiphone Vs – making for a fairly premium appointment.

They are wired to CTS potentiometers, a Mallory tone capacitor, and a three-way pickup switch, and the guitar also comes with a hardshell case that sports Inspired by Gibson Custom and Authentic Hendrix logos.

There have been a number of legendary guitar replicas produced under the Gibson brand umbrella in recent years, from Jeff Beck’s 1959 ‘YardBurst’ Les Paul Standard to Jason Isbell's "Red Eye" Les Paul, formerly owned by Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ed King. Those guitars, released as Gibson Custom Shop models, fetched $10,000 and $22,000 apiece so it's nice to see this Hendrix replica coming in at a more accessible price, via the Epiphone family.

It also comes in at a fraction of the $10,000 a Gibson Custom Hendrix V cost players when it was released in 2020.

Of course, Hendrix was famed for his employment of a right-handed Fender Stratocaster that he played left-handed, but he was known to pick up other instruments. His early '60s-Era Japanese Sunburst guitar, which returned to auction in 2022, and his love for a Gibson Flying V are two fine examples.

The new Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Jimi Hendrix Love Drops Flying V costs $1,499 and is available today as right- and left-handed versions.

Head to Epiphone for more details.

Earlier this year a rare recording of Jimi Hendrix playing with Little Richard, akin to “discovering a musical holy grail,” was sold at auction in May. Hendrix was part of the blues great's band long before becoming a household name.

Gibson’s first-ever father-daughter project sees it working with Rosanne Cash to honor her family’s endearing musical legacy with two limited-edition guitars.

The Johnny Cash SJ-200 is a handmade reproduction of Johnny’s distinctive signature acoustic guitar – an SJ-200 from the late ‘50s.

Rosanne Cash’s signature – the Rosanne Cash J-185 – was made in close collaboration with Gibson’s expert luthiers based out of its Bozeman, Montana acoustic factory, making for the firm’s first multi-generational signature guitar drop.

Both guitars feature signature pickguards among their premium specs, and are limited to just 100 units each.

The SJ-200 naturally grabs the headlines. It's built to look like a museum relic, but play like a freshly-crafted, high-end acoustic.

It's a delicate recreation of the two SJ-200 models that were made for Cash Sr. in the late ‘50s, which stood out with its Cherry Sunburst finish, Johnny Cash inlay, and its unique, superhero mask-like black pickguard.

This new recreation, then, mirrors the original duo; a Super Jumbo body style is crafted with AAA flamed maple back and sides and iced with an AAA Sitka Spruce top and traditional hand-scalloped X-bracing.

It has a two-piece flamed maple neck with walnut reinforcement and 20 standard small crown frets. Indian rosewood is the wood of choice for its fretboard, which is built to a 12" compound radius with a 1.725" nut width, 25.5" scale length and bone nut.

Its hardware includes gold Gotoh tuners, a rosewood four-bar SJ-200 Moustache bridge, and a bone saddle. It ships with a custom Johnny Cash hardshell case and a certificate of authenticity. This is particularly handy when considering its weighty $14,999 price tag.

Rosanne says “one of the strongest visual imprints” of her father in her mind is him stood on stage with a guitar slung over his back. “That image spoke to me not of Johnny Cash,” she says, “but of my dad.”

And so, she says her dad's signature is a “very confident looking” instrument, echoing that bold mental image she has of him. Hers, meanwhile, “is a more subtle, gentle-looking guitar”.

With four Grammy wins and 12 nominations, Rosanne has continued the Cash family legacy in style, and her J-185 is a celebration of her achievements.

Its flame maple body offers a thinner take on the Jumbo body style for improved comfort, while a thermally aged Sitka spruce top and SlimTaper 24.75”-scale neck, crowned here with a rosewood fretboard, are other key features.

It too offers 20 frets, this time of a standard size, while mother-of-pearl parallelogram inlays bring something very different to the table.

The Gibson logo and Crown are also mother-of-pearl, as is the Cash logo on Rosanne’s signature pickguard.

In terms of hardware, the guitar draws further away from her father’s shadow; an L.R. Baggs VTC under saddle pickup and preamp readies it for the stage and studio, while its Vintage Cherry Sunburst finish brings it back home.

It too comes with a personalized Rosanne Cash hardshell guitar case and is priced at $5,299.

“Guitars were always around in the house and my Dad would always have a guitar in his lap, even if he wasn’t playing it,” Rosanne Cash relays. “It speaks to personal, professional legacy. It is so essential to my family. I have known that guitar, my Dad’s Gibson, for so many years. That guitar is part of Dad.

“The instrument is not just a vehicle, instruments have different songs in them. I think great art lasts forever and I do hope these get passed down to children, grandchildren, and on and on and on.”

Both guitars are available to order today.

Head to Gibson to explore the collection.

Viewed with 21st century hindsight, the two radical gold-finished guitars released by Gibson in 1952 appear about as rock and roll as they come. In fact, that term was barely in use when the Les Paul and ES-295 arrived that year, and neither was conceived with rock in mind, even though both would help define its look and sound.

The March 1951 single Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (a front for Ike Turner and His Kings of Rhythm) is often cited as the first rock and roll song, but the genre didn’t fully hit its stride until Elvis Presley’s That’s All Right hit the airwaves in July ’54.

And when it hit the stage, Scotty Moore was right alongside him, churning out those signature riffs on his gold Gibson ES-295. It might not have been the birth of rock as such, but for many, that sound, that look and those riffs are seen as the birth of rockabilly, at least.

The ES-295 was essentially a hot-rodded ES-175, souped up with some input from Les Paul himself. When it debuted in 1949, the ES-175 was Gibson’s first archtop guitar constructed with top, back and sides made from laminated maple in a bid to cut down on feedback in a guitar that was primarily intended to be amplified, rather than used acoustically.

It had a single P-90 pickup in the neck position and a sunburst finish (natural was available later), and it retailed at $175, hence the model name.

The ES-295 hit the streets in May 1952 retailing at – you guessed it – $295, with
two P-90s, an all-gold paint job and a fancy new wrapover-trapeze tailpiece suggested by Les Paul himself.

The gold finish, actually achieved with metallic bronze flakes suspended in the lacquer, is best known for its appearance on the Les Paul goldtop that arrived in March ’52, which retained this look until a sunburst finish arrived on the model in ’58.

On the ES-295, however, the gold finish covered the entire guitar (other than the fingerboard, headstock and binding, of course), something done on relatively fewer Les Pauls. It was a color the guitar star had suggested himself to present a sense of luxury in his signature model, although Les Paul has also told of having asked Gibson to make an ES-175 with a gold finish in late ’51 as a gift for an injured war veteran.

All that glitters

The unusual combination wrapover bridge with trapeze “tail” was also a Les Paul invention, and infamous for having been used incorrectly on the Les Paul Model for its first year or so of production.

From its release until mid- or late ’53, Gibson manufactured the Les Paul with a neck angle that was too shallow to accommodate the strings being wrapped over the bar of this bridge, so they were wrapped under it instead. The result made standard right-hand playing techniques tricky and unfamiliar, and palm muting was particularly difficult. 

The ES-295, on the other hand, marks the first instance in which this piece of hardware was used correctly, as the traditionally steeper archtop neck angle was maintained.

As a result, the wrapover-trapeze combo came into its own, providing a means of mounting a sharper-sounding and longer-sustaining bridge on a hollow-body archtop guitar. This component would also be used on the thinline ES-225 model of 1955, but it disappeared from Gibson’s parts drawer after the ES-295 went out of production in 1959.

With more ring and bite from its metal bridge bar, and a tighter, brighter tone available from the second P-90 in the bridge position, the ES-295 was primed for the grind and sizzle that came to define the sound of rock and roll guitar. Even so, relatively few notable originators of the genre in the ’50s used one, with so many other options hitting the market, and solidbodies, in particular, making inroads in the new style of music. 

Scotty Moore had already swapped his ES-295’s Les Paul–designed hardware for an adjustable Gretsch Melita Synchro-Sonic and Gibson-style trapeze tailpiece by the time he was gigging it heavily with Elvis. He then traded the entire instrument for an upmarket Gibson L5-CESN in the summer of ’55.

This was arguably a move backward on the horses-for-courses spectrum as it relates to guitars suitable for rock and roll, but Moore made several classic recordings on the new archtop, nevertheless. 

Rock before rock

Notable guitarists who gravitated to the ES-295 in later years likely did so partly because it just looked so damn cool, with its all-gold paint, complementary cream plastics, split-parallelogram inlays and gold floral pickguard motif.

What’s more, original examples were actually pretty affordable on the vintage guitar market, unfashionable as they were for players other than rockabillies. And, of course, some just dug their alternative retro look.

Danny Gatton, who could make anything with strings sound phenomenal, often played an ES-295 with added Bigsby vibrato when he wasn’t playing a Telecaster. 

Geordie Walker of Killing Joke played an ES-295, very much against type, although its jazz-box build certainly didn’t tamp down the band’s power. Johnny Marr played one in the original promo video for the Smiths’ The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, although he was rarely seen with one otherwise.

Regardless, one look at the example shown here is enough to induce gear lust in electric guitarists who like their rock and roll with a touch of class.

Essential ingredients

• Fully hollow archtop body
• Laminated maple top, back and sides
• Mahogany neck with bound rosewood fretboard, 24.75-inch scale
• Split-parallelogram inlays
• Combined wrapover bridge and trapeze tailpiece
• Dual P-90 pickups

To date, Knaggs has released several Steve Stevens models, including the SS1 SS2, SSC, SS Severn XF, and SS Potomac acoustic guitar. Now comes the SSC-J, a stripped-down LP Junior–inspired affair that has the distinction of being Stevens’ first signature model without a maple top.

It features a 24 ¾–inch scale mahogany set neck and a non-contoured mahogany body of choice with sumptuous graining that on my test model was highlighted by a BlackBurst nitrocellulose lacquer finish (see the specs chart for all the available colors).

Weighing in at under seven pounds, the guitar feels light and nimble. It’s an inspiring player, with its low action and well-groomed medium-jumbo frets on an East Indian rosewood ’board adorned with pearloid SSC block inlays that are like rectangular versions of Gretsch “thumbprint” markers.

Asked about the inspiration for this guitar, Stevens says, “As the regular SSC model is quite elaborate, we were looking for something more stripped down and at a lower price point. At the same time, I’ve always loved Les Paul Specials and Juniors – I would borrow Billy Idol’s ’59 Junior for some of our recordings – so the SSC-J neck was inspired by a ’59 reissue that I have.

“I’m a firm believer that part of the tone of the guitar is due to the front-to-back thickness of the neck. I think I naturally have two mindsets when playing a G-style or S-style guitar, but once there’s a Floyd Rose on a guitar, my brain almost switches gears.”

So does the slab mahogany body on the SSC-J greatly affect the tone compared to the SSC with its maple top? Stevens explained, “I was surprised at how different the tone is for a guitar without a maple cap on it. Besides having a more pronounced midrange, there’s an overall smoothness and a vibration you can really feel through the body of the guitar, as nothing is glued to the top. It has quickly become my favorite recording guitar.”

The glossy mahogany neck is set into the body and carries a rosewood ’board fitted with 22 gleaming, medium-jumbo frets with broad, even crowns and smoothly finished tips. A polished bone nut blends seamlessly into the end of the fingerboard, and the headstock is faced in ebony and has Stevens’ trademark “ray-gun” inlay along with his signature on the truss-rod cover.

Tuning chores are handled by nickel-plated Klusons with vintage-style tulip buttons, and the strings traverse across a TonePros Tune-o-matic bridge and anchor into a stop tailpiece. The factory setup yielded sweet intonation in all positions, and I only needed to do a small truss-rod tweak to mitigate some buzzing caused by climate changes during the guitar’s trip from Maryland to California.

Tested through a Fender Deluxe Reverb, a ’72 Marshall JMP 50-watt head (into a pair of Celestion V30s), and a Matchless Chieftain 2x12 combo, the SSC-J delivered superb clean and distorted tones that were totally controllable from the guitar via its classic setup of dual volume and tone controls and a three-way switch. The Bare Knuckles SSC pickups might be likened to a slightly hotter PAF, while they retain all of that liveliness, clarity, and harmonic richness.

“I helped develop the perfect pickup with Tim Mills at Bare Knuckles awhile ago,” Stevens says. “I didn’t want much wax potting, so obviously we were going the vintage route, but at the same time I wanted something that could push your amp a little harder. So it’s loosely based on their Mule model, which was the first pickup of theirs I ever purchased.”

Fitted with nickel covers, these pickups give the SSC-J a great rock sound, with gobs of stringy presence and midrange heft. The volume circuit keeps the highs intact when you turn down, while the tone knobs allow for rolling off treble without masking note detail, which is great if you’re after a buttery, yet well-defined lead tone, or a burnished neck-pickup sound for a jazzier flavor.

The neck pickup is great for blues and roots in clean and overdriven modes, while the bridge ’bucker is killer for lead and dirty rhythm, delivering a walloping response that sounded great through the Marshall and a UAFX Lion ’68 Super Lead Amp pedal.

I dug the richness and complexity of the dual-pickup setting with the Matchless set to deliver its classic shimmering grind when the guitar was fully cranked (which is where the enhanced output of the BK SSC pickups comes in handy), or with distortion added from a selection of new OD boxes from Keeley. Through the Deluxe Reverb, the SSC-J was a natural for clean rhythm playing, as you can balance the bridge and neck volumes to get just the right balance of crispness and warmth to suit whatever style you point it at.

The SSC-J may be based on what was originally a student model in the Gibson lineup of the mid ’50s, but Knaggs’ rendition is a world-class axe that lives up to its status as a signature model. Great-sounding, inspiring to play, and beautifully crafted using premium woods and hardware, it’s pricey for sure, but you get your money’s worth in a guitar that’s the ne plus ultra of LP Junior–style axes.

Specifications

CONTACT Knaggs Guitars

PRICE $4,550 street

NUT Bone, 1.685” wide

NECK Mahogany, glued in. Ray-gun headstock inlay, Steve Stevens signature
on truss-rod cover, Ebony headstock veneer

FRETBOARD East Indian rosewood with SSC block inlays, 24.75” scale, 12” radius

FRETS 22 medium jumbo, (.104”/.047”)

TUNERS Vintage-style Kluson with tulip buttons, nickel plated

BODY Mahogany with BlackBurst finish

BRIDGE TonePros Tune-o-matic and stop tailpiece, nickel plated

PICKUPS Bare Knuckles SSC

CONTROLS Dual volume and tone controls, three-way switch

EXTRAS Nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Also available in Black, Vintage Cherry, Shell Pink, and TV Yellow. Dunlop StrapLok strap buttons. Hardshell case

FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario .010–.046

WEIGHT 6.8 lbs (as tested)

BUILT USA

For the past two years, master guitar builder Leo Scala has been creating a series of ultra high-end ‘playable art pieces’ with his Master Artisan collection of guitars, and the recently revived Theodore design has become the latest to get a Scala reimagining.

The original Theodore design dates back to March 18, 1957, when then-Gibson president Theodore ‘Ted’ McCarty was doodling body shapes during a meeting – something he would often do.

McCarty is famous for his part in introducing the Les Paul, SG, ES-335, Flying V, and Explorer body shapes to the guitar world during his tenure at Gibson.

McCarty wasn't just content with carrying out administrative tasks. He’d earned an engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati and regularly used that skillset to bring new design ideas to the table.

This particular design was an attempt to modernize Gibson’s electric guitar aesthetics, but it was hastily archived and forgotten about back in 1957. It wasn't until his sketches were unearthed in 2022 that the design, named Theodore in his honor, entered production.

And so, the guitar’s legacy continues in a more limited-edition manner here, with Scala crafting 10 unique designs. Here, he’s imagined what the guitars would have been like if they were created in ‘57.

The Scala-revamped Theodore guitars feature an alder body with a walnut center strip and a mahogany C-profile neck that has been shaped and rounded to Scala's preferences, resulting in a “well-played-in-feel.”

Indian rosewood has been chosen for its fingerboard, which offers 22 Historic Gibson narrow/tall frets. The guitar’s headstock, meanwhile, is adorned with Kluson six-in-line tuners with white oval buttons and a raised metal Gibson logo.

Other hardware choices include a Bigsby B7 Vibrato, modified by Scala, and an ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic Bridge with a custom dog bone base. It is said to remain sturdy even when the Bigsby is being generously used.

All hardware has gone through a master artisan aging process to further reinforce the concept that these Theodores are long-lost relics built some 67 years ago.

The differences between models, save for their wildly different colorways, comes down to the electronics. There’s an Electric Purple model with Leo Scala custom hand-wound Retrophonic Vault 58 (Alnico 4) and P-90 (Alnico 4 and 5) pickups, alongside a variety of other P-90/humbucker pairings.

For those chasing the classic Gibson PAS-style pickup, there are nods to that, too.

Other finishes, meanwhile, include a highly relic'd TV Yellow, Adagio Gold, Bleeding Red, and British Racing Green.

Hand-crafted by such an esteemed luthier, and bestowed with premium trimmings, the guitars come at a fair price. Owning one of these guitars will mean parting with $15,999, but Gibson assures that they are designed to be more than just museum-grade artifacts.

“While truly a work of art, this isn’t just a show guitar that is designed to sit in a display case; it’s meant to be used to make music, and considerable care has been given to optimize its sound, feel, and playability,” it says.

“As a unique work of playable art, it holds a lifetime of music and inspiration that’s just waiting to be explored and enjoyed.”

Gibson's relationship with Scala marks the first time it has worked with an independent luthier, with the two parties connecting through Guns N' Roses man Richard Fortus.

“He’s not only a passionate musician and guitar maker, but he’s also very passionate about Gibson and Gibson history. He’s highly respectful of the history and what Gibson has inspired him to do,” Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian told Guitar Player in 2022.

“Leo is somebody that has broken the mold and has been innovating on his own while being inspired by the things [Gibson] has done in the past. [The Master Artisan series is] about celebrating people’s skills, experience, and depth of knowledge.”

Of the new Master Artisan series additions, Gibson says: “Leo took the Theodore and added his own creative touches to the design and created gorgeous works of art that are designed to play and sound as good as they look.”

All guitars ship with a custom G&G hardshell case, with an embroidered Gibson logo featured inside. A Leo Scala-compiled Certificate of Authenticity Box is also included.

The Leo Scala Master Artisan Theodore Retroliners each cost $15,999, and can only be purchased directly through the Gibson Garage.

Head to Gibson to learn more.

MESA/Boogie founder Randall Smith has parted ways with Gibson.

Three and a half years ago, the groundbreaking amp builder sold the firm he created in 1969 to Gibson, with the latter company agreeing to keep him on board. An official statement now states that Smith has “completed his time with Gibson as Master Designer and Pioneer of MESA/Boogie.”

Speaking at the time of the acquisition, Randall Smith said: “As we witnessed JC [James Curleigh] and Cesar transform Gibson, we saw kindred spirits sharing common values and a fierce dedication to quality. Today, Gibson’s guitars are the best ever and when they asked if we’d like to become Gibson’s Custom Shop for amplifiers, we envisioned a perfect collaboration that would expand our outreach while preserving our legacy beyond my time.”

Shortly after the news of the change in ownership landed, Gibson revealed it was working on a new line of amplifiers with Smith, but curbed excitement by admitting that they would “take a while” to see the light of day.

During his time with Gibson, Smith played a key role in reviving its long-forgotten Falcon combo amps, which released earlier this year to rave reviews. A Guitar Player review called the amps “Lush, evocative, and a ton of fun to play with” adding that they “set a new bar for low-power tone.”

Yet all that excitement has dampened at the news of Smith’s departure – and raises question marks over why this separation has happened – as well as what will happen next. Will Smith, now 78 years old, simply retire, or are there new tonal adventures on his horizon? Although Smith's statement back in 2021 does hint that his time with Gibson wouldn't last forever.

The Mesa brand is famed for being the original boutique amplifier company, with Smith starting out repairing and modifying vintage amplifiers. Throughout his 55-year career, Smith made huge innovations that have permanently reshaped the industry.

Those innovations included modifications that gave small amps more input gain – and therefore, more volume – as well as crafting an all-new high gain distorted guitar tone with the Dual Rectifier, that has since featured on countless classic records.

Al DiMeola, John Petrucci, Andy Timmons, Bootsy Collins, and Andy Summers are just some of the firm's high-profile advocates.

Tutelage was a key part of Smith’s role as the head of MESA/Boogie. Its artisans are tenured with an average of 15 years in post, with many sticking around for much longer, learning directly from Smith. Gibson has recognized this and says it is well-placed to move forward, even in the absence of the master amp builder.

“Randy has positioned his legacy to be carried forward through the MESA/Boogie team's continued commitment to quality and tone,” the official statement continues. “For the last two decades [he] has been training the next generation of MESA/Boogie designers.”

Gibson CEO, Cesar Gueikian, thanked Smith for his “pioneering insights, design, and trust in Gibson.

“Randy’s DNA will always be present, and over the last few decades he has trained the new generation of designers that have been leading the way for Gibson and MESA/Boogie amps,” he continues.

“As we evolve our Gibson Amps collection, including our Gibson and MESA/Boogie brands, Randy, and his original design ideas, will continue to inspire us to make the best and highest quality amplifiers we’ve ever made.”

“We’ve all talked about this day and have prepared for it in many ways over the years, but Randall Smith is a ‘force of nature,’ and you can’t imagine it coming to fruition,” adds Doug West, Director of R&D at MESA/Boogie.

“Randy leaves us in good stead to carry on his legacy and tradition of excellence. With our respect for him and our shared love for what Gibson and MESA/Boogie represent to music, Randy can bask in the contentment of knowing he has spread tone and joy the world over with his creations and that his contributions to music have made an indelible mark on generations, and the sound of electric guitar and bass over the last 55 years.”

Smith had hinted that the MESA/Boogie Mark VII combo amp, which dropped last year, could be the last amp he ever designs, adding greater weight to the theory that Smith never intended to stay within the Gibson-led Mesa/Boogie era for long.

At the time, GP’s Art Thompson mused on the idea of it being the last Smith-sculpted amplifier, saying: “While it’s anyone’s guess if that actually turns out to be the case, the Mark VII is a stunning achievement.”

Perhaps then, Smith's intention was always to bow out gracefully, having helped oversee Gibson's takeover, leaving the future of MESA/Boogie in the hands of those who have spent decades working by his side. Whether anyone within the merged companies felt he'd depart so soon after the takeover remains to be seen.

The real reason for the split may never surface, but it will be interesting to see how matters develop from here. It isn’t exactly hyperbole on Gibson’s part to say that it has the know-how to continue in Smith’s wake considering his reputation for training his colleagues, but his absence is sure to be felt nevertheless.

Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the Mid-Atlantic US in October 2012, claimed much in its damage toll. Amongst the wreckage was a vintage Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar belonging to Blitzen Trapper's Eric Earley.

Yet, despite coming out the other end “warped and screwed up,” the acoustic showed its strength and was brought back to life by his luthier. Today, it’s still going strong as his main live guitar.

Speaking in the latest issue of Guitar Player, the guitarist detailed some of his most beloved six-strings, with the seemingly invincible Hummingbird right at the top of the list.

“Somewhere around 2008 I walked into a good guitar shop in Eugene, Oregon and picked up a Hummingbird, and I’ve been playing that guitar ever since,” he says of the love story's beginnings.

“It’s mostly my live guitar. I will track with it now and again, but I don’t mess with it too much when I’m not on the road.” It's wise, considering the guitar is lucky to even still be playable. “That guitar has been through so much,” he adds.

“One time when we were on tour with Brandi Carlile in 2012, the Hummingbird got flooded along with the whole bus during what I’m thinking might have been Hurricane Sandy. We had the bus parked in New Jersey while we were in New York City, and it flooded all night. When we arrived at the venue the next day I pulled the guitar out and it was soaked and warped and just screwed up.”

For one, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour – who says his forthcoming solo LP is the best thing he’s written since The Dark Side Of The Moon – said recently that he believes vintage guitars will always sound better. Especially so with acoustics, he specified, saying that their different pieces of wood “gradually become in harmony with each other over years of playing.”

Earley, then, can throw a resistance to storms among the list of plus points when it comes to vintage craftsmanship. After the tour, a visit to his luthier, Hummingbird in hand, underlined the guitar's staying power.

“My luthier back home said, ‘Well, let’s clamp it up, dry it out and see what happens.’” Earley details. “Insurance paid me out for the claim, and then two months later the guitar was right back in shape. It was like a freebie.

“I was like, ‘Holy crap, I’m going to tour with this guitar some more!‘ Those old Gibsons are so tough, it’s crazy.”

A mahogany build, Earley has attributed the wood’s ruggedness for the Hummingbird's resurrection.

“I’ve toured with an all-mahogany SG for years, and that thing is also indestructible,” he says. “I think that one went through the flood too, but nothing happened. It just dried out.”

Similarly, Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson lost “scores of vintage guitars” at the hands of Hurricane Sandy, but another steely Gibson, a ‘68 Goldtop, was able to pull off a similarly miraculous feat.

“I lost around 70 guitars,” he told Total Guitar. “My 1964 ES-335 got destroyed. I sent it to get fixed because it was delaminating and they tried but it was never the same. It sounded horrible to me and didn’t play well.

“But,” he continues, “there was a 1968 Goldtop that got damaged and actually came back better after getting fixed.”

Before the turnaround, the guitar’s condition looked bleak. Robinson’s expectations were low.

“It was so destroyed you could take the paint off with your hands,” he recalls, with the guitar’s legacy now expanding onto his pedalboard.

“They mixed [the old paint] back together to refinish the guitar,” Robinson says. “Then used the leftovers for a pedal which had a mahogany back, just like the Goldtop!”

When it comes to storm-battered Gibson guitars, then, it turns out there’s life in the old dogs yet.

To read the full interview with Earley, pick up a copy of the new issue of Guitar Player at Magazines Direct.

The owner of Dean Guitars has won the right to a retrial in its ongoing dispute with Gibson Brands.

Armadillo Enterprises is looking to overturn a 2022 ruling that went in Gibson’s favor, with the dispute centered around the usage of V and Z shape guitars.

Gibson believes Dean's manufacturing infringes on its trademark rights, while Dean believes that the shapes are perceived as generic, rather than Gibson-specific shapes.

Armadillo lodged an appeal earlier this year, saying that the Texas District Court’s decision to exclude certain evidence pre-dating 1992 was an abuse of the court’s discretion.

Dean’s owners were trying to establish an argument that the much-copied Flying V and Explorer-style designs have become generic silhouettes in the eyes of the consumer since their introduction in the 1950s.

On July 8, the Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Armadillo’s favor, believing that decades of worth of evidence was wrongfully not permitted during the 2022 case. That decision permits Armadillo to a retrial.

The firm’s CEO, Pam Rubinson, said Dean Guitars was “incredibly pleased with the court’s decision.”

She adds that the ruling “affirms our commitment to Dean's legacy V and Z models that have been in continuous production since 1977 and reinforces our belief in fair competition within the guitar industry.

“We have always strived to respect the history of guitar craftsmanship while bringing our own unique flair to the market.

“This is a complete vindication, we have fought this battle and won on behalf of Dean Guitars and every other guitar manufacturer in the industry.”

Armadillo’s attorney, Ron Bienstock, of Scarinci Hollenbeck LLC, also provided comment, saying: “Amongst other issues, the court recognized the history of the Dean brand in their longstanding use of these guitar models, as well as countless other guitar companies that have produced and marketed these same guitars.”

Bienstock is well-versed in guitar industry disputes. A gigging guitarist in his own right, he previously won a case against Fender and its attempt to trademark Stratocaster, Telecaster, and P-Bass body shapes. During the case, which lasted six years and concluded in 2009, he represented 17 manufacturers that rallied against Fender’s trademarking, with the courts ruling that the shapes were generic, and therefore open to use by all manufacturers.

However, as that case proved, this dispute, which began in 2019 when Gibson sued Dean and Luna Guitars for trademark infringements, is far from over.

The ruling comes as welcome news to Armadillo Enterprises and Dean Guitars, but it does not overturn a 2022 injunction preventing Dean from using the disputed shapes in due course.

Armadillo’s legal team, spearheaded by Bienstock, can now make what it feels is a far stronger case, with more evidence to present.

Following the ruling, Gibson provided Guitar Player with the following statement:

“Yesterday, a 3-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the Gibson v Armadillo case for retrial. The Court of Appeals found that the District court allegedly abused its discretion in excluding certain evidence. Gibson will be requesting all the appellate judges reconsider the panel decision. Gibson is confident that the Texas Judge and jury got it right the first time.

“Gibson’s guitar body shapes are iconic, and it will continue to protect them to preserve its legacy which is critical to protect partners, dealers, artists, and fans around the world.

“Gibson, like other iconic American brands, has invested in meaningful research, development, and innovation over 130 years, and is confident that in a retrial the jury will again find in favor of affirming Gibson’s well recognized intellectual property rights, rights that have been Gibson’s for decades.”

The documents relating to the appeal can be found using the Court of Appeals docket number 22-40587.

Gibson has added the ES-335 to its Supreme series of electric guitars, gifting the already-versatile model with a host of new tone-shaping features.

The Supreme range, which already counts a Les Paul and SG in its ranks, has been designed to help Gibson lovers “build a stable of instruments with an interesting backstory, stunning beauty, and increased sonic versatility.”

For the ES-335, a guitar long loved for its sonic versatility – everyone from BB King to Johnny Marr and Joe Bonamassa and countless jazz players have been admirers – further refinements make for an alluring concept.

It builds on a foundation of a three-ply AAA figured maple/poplar/maple body, top, and sides, and spruce bracing. That allows the beauty of the tonewoods to shine through its semi-transparent finish.

A rounded C-profile mahogany neck promises comfortable playability, with its ebony fingerboard delivering 22 Medium Jumbo frets, built to a 24.75" scale length.

But it’s when it comes to the hardware that the ES Supreme sets to distinguish itself.

There are push/pull volume pots for transforming the output of its Burstbucker Rhythm Pro and Burstbucker Lead Pro humbucking pickups into snappy single coils. The Gibson.com Ebony exclusive, meanwhile, adds in a third middle humbucker – a Burstbucker Mid Pro – for even more tonal delight.

Controlling its electronics is made easy with a three-way toggle switch and four knobs, split equally between Volume and Tone pots.

Gibson has been determined to take the instrument to “new heights of beauty,” and has utilized plenty of tricks to achieve that.

Super Split Block mother-of-pearl inlays and gold hardware, including Grover Locking Keystone tuners, and an aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop bar, help. But it really stands apart thanks to the headstock’s Art Deco inlay design.

Originally crafted in the 1940s and recently discovered deep within the Gibson archives, the headstocks ice the builds with a retro-but-fresh individuality.

As shown in the picture below, of the two designs that were discovered, the one on the left made its way onto a lap steel guitar, but the second never made it so far. Some 80 years later, it's found its home on the ES Supreme, and shimmers with mother-of-pearl.

Its three finishes – Seafoam Green, Bourbon Burst, and Blueberry Burst – are augmented by two Gibson.com exclusive colorways in Royal Tan and Ebony.

The guitars ship in hardshell cases, with accessory kits stored within.

The Gibson ES Supreme costs $4,299 and is available today.

Head to Gibson to learn more.

Gibson has released a new 1959 Les Paul replica to commemorate the late Jeff Beck’s time in The Yardbirds, but only 130 will be made. 

Today, Jeff Beck is remembered as a formidable and highly influential electric guitar player, predominantly as a solo artist, but it was his time in The Yardbirds that helped launch his career. 

The band had a matchless production line of next-best-thing musicians, with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page also cutting their teeth in the band.   

As such, the company's latest history-honoring release focuses on those early days of Beck’s career, with the ‘59 ‘Yardburst’ a faithful recreation of the guitar he plied his trade with in the Yardbirds. 

Mirroring the specs of its progenitor, it offers a one-piece lightweight mahogany body with its Murphy Lab-aged tops and Dark Cherry Sunburst finish aiming to replicate the appearance of the original as closely as possible.  

There’s also a '50s rounded C-profile mahogany neck, 22-fret Indian Rosewood fingerboard, Custombucker pickups complete with white bobbins – a key feature of Beck's guitar – and a black three-ply pickguard. 

Each of the 130 models in this limited run are handcrafted by the artisans at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, offering a unique way for fans to celebrate Beck’s potent legacy.  

Though its release comes 18 months after Beck’s passing at 78, his wife Sandra Beck has explained that he was involved with the project’s early steps. 

“Jeff was enormously proud to have owned the original of this guitar,” she says. “He was aware and fully supportive of the amazing job and love that Gibson Custom provided to create this instrument and would have hoped that this guitar would give hours of pleasure to those who play it.”

Each instrument ships in a specially aged Lifton hardshell case, with memorabilia celebrating Beck’s Yardbirds legacy and illustrious solo career.  

Beck would continue to play his beloved ‘59 Les Paul after parting ways with The Yardbirds in 1966. It played a key role in the early Jeff Beck Group albums before he transitioned to an Olympic White Fender Stratocaster. 

His 2014 Custom Shop Strat has recently been seen in the hands of John Mayer, playing it during Dead & Company’s ongoing Las Vegas residency at The Sphere. 

The Gibson Custom Jeff Beck ‘YardBurst’ 1959 Les Paul Standard is available now for $9,999.

Head to Gibson for more information.