Gear For those about to rock: we salute the Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive which has wowed lead guitarists for over 40 years with its jagged, granular tone Boss brought out the SD-1 Super OverDrive in 1981, refining the circuit for more gain and aggression and adding a tone knob — and it’s sold by the millions “I dreamt up the Super Distortion because I wanted to improve my guitar without chiseling a hole in the body!” On its 50th anniversary, guitarist and inventor Larry DiMarzio remembers how his company changed electric guitars forever A massive hit with everyone from Kiss to The Grateful Dead, Larry DiMarzio’s pickup was the start of something big The mission: create a better kind of S-style guitar. Joe Knaggs on the inspiration behind his stunning hardtail-bridge-toting Severn Trem SSS "I had a ’61 Stratocaster and wanted the same style of guitar with a fretboard radius of eight and a half inches, so it wouldn’t fret out when I’d bend strings…" Meet the drool-some "Telecaster-version" yellow Severn Trem SSS Grid List Latest gear “I dreamt up the Super Distortion because I wanted to improve my guitar without chiseling a hole in the body!” On its 50th anniversary, guitarist and inventor Larry DiMarzio remembers how his company changed electric guitars forever By Art Thompson published 24 November 23 A massive hit with everyone from Kiss to The Grateful Dead, Larry DiMarzio’s pickup was the start of something big The mission: create a better kind of S-style guitar. Joe Knaggs on the inspiration behind his stunning hardtail-bridge-toting Severn Trem SSS By Art Thompson published 20 November 23 "I had a ’61 Stratocaster and wanted the same style of guitar with a fretboard radius of eight and a half inches, so it wouldn’t fret out when I’d bend strings…" Meet the drool-some "Telecaster-version" yellow Severn Trem SSS One of the rarest and most sought-after Japanese-made Teiscos, the 1968 May Queen is a guitar designed for players, not just beginners By Terry Carleton published 25 October 23 Made for just one year, Teisco's May Queen was three times the price of its regular guitars. There's a reason for that… What Did Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead, and the Jackson 5 Have in Common? They All Embraced the Kustom Look and Sound By Dave Hunter published 29 September 23 These bold, punchy solid-state amps rocked the backlines of many noteworthy stars All You Need to Know About Gibson PAF Humbuckers By Dave Hunter published 29 September 23 These hum-cancelling pickups are legendary for their tone, but is the “magic” just hype? Best Headphone Amps For Guitar 2023: Get The Sound Of A Fully Cooking Rig Without Making A Sound By Richard Blenkinsop published 29 September 23 Our pick of the best headphone amps for guitar from Vox, Boss, Fender and more A Firm Favorite of Ry Cooder and Dan Auerbach, Here's Why the Humble Gold-Foil Pickup Can Deliver About as Much Aural Magic as Any of the A-List Coils By Dave Hunter published 26 September 23 The cult of the gold-foil has acquired a mystique and made its place among us Best Acoustic Guitar Amps 2023: Top Acoustic Amplifiers And Preamp Pedals By Rob Laing published 26 September 23 Step onstage with our top picks of the best acoustic guitar amps and preamp pedals from Boss, AER, LR Baggs, Fishman, and more With a Surprising History Dating Back to the 1940s, Carvin Later Achieved Kudos With Endorsements by Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth and Joe Walsh By Dave Hunter published 20 September 23 Launched as a post-WWII startup, the firm grew into a guitar gear giant, one catalog sale at a time Best Fender Amps 2023: Fender’s 9 Finest Amplifiers Currently On The Market By Ross Holder published 13 September 23 From small modeling practice amps to monstrous 4x10 tube-powered options, take a look at our favorite Fender amplifiers you can buy right now 123456789Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors MOST READ1GP Presents Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew’s Remain in Light, with X, December 30 in San Francisco – Win Tickets2"An amp worth auditioning if you’re in the market for a gig-worthy, low-watt combo that punches above its weight class": Does Fender's Tone Master Princeton Reverb amp live up to the lofty precedent set by its tube-powered sibling? 3"I was playing the wrong key and everything, but it didn't seem to matter": Watch George Harrison play a Little Richard classic with Deep Purple in 19844“It was a way to kind of memorialize the folks that I lost”: Grieving the death of his grandparents and close friend Joey DeFrancesco, jazz guitar ace Dan Wilson found solace in creating his beautiful new album, Things Eternal5 ”If you don’t get your act together, then you can’t expect your band to be.” Session player and bandleader Ben Misterka shares his wisdom on playing savvy in the post-pandemic world
“I dreamt up the Super Distortion because I wanted to improve my guitar without chiseling a hole in the body!” On its 50th anniversary, guitarist and inventor Larry DiMarzio remembers how his company changed electric guitars forever By Art Thompson published 24 November 23 A massive hit with everyone from Kiss to The Grateful Dead, Larry DiMarzio’s pickup was the start of something big
The mission: create a better kind of S-style guitar. Joe Knaggs on the inspiration behind his stunning hardtail-bridge-toting Severn Trem SSS By Art Thompson published 20 November 23 "I had a ’61 Stratocaster and wanted the same style of guitar with a fretboard radius of eight and a half inches, so it wouldn’t fret out when I’d bend strings…" Meet the drool-some "Telecaster-version" yellow Severn Trem SSS
One of the rarest and most sought-after Japanese-made Teiscos, the 1968 May Queen is a guitar designed for players, not just beginners By Terry Carleton published 25 October 23 Made for just one year, Teisco's May Queen was three times the price of its regular guitars. There's a reason for that…
What Did Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead, and the Jackson 5 Have in Common? They All Embraced the Kustom Look and Sound By Dave Hunter published 29 September 23 These bold, punchy solid-state amps rocked the backlines of many noteworthy stars
All You Need to Know About Gibson PAF Humbuckers By Dave Hunter published 29 September 23 These hum-cancelling pickups are legendary for their tone, but is the “magic” just hype?
Best Headphone Amps For Guitar 2023: Get The Sound Of A Fully Cooking Rig Without Making A Sound By Richard Blenkinsop published 29 September 23 Our pick of the best headphone amps for guitar from Vox, Boss, Fender and more
A Firm Favorite of Ry Cooder and Dan Auerbach, Here's Why the Humble Gold-Foil Pickup Can Deliver About as Much Aural Magic as Any of the A-List Coils By Dave Hunter published 26 September 23 The cult of the gold-foil has acquired a mystique and made its place among us
Best Acoustic Guitar Amps 2023: Top Acoustic Amplifiers And Preamp Pedals By Rob Laing published 26 September 23 Step onstage with our top picks of the best acoustic guitar amps and preamp pedals from Boss, AER, LR Baggs, Fishman, and more
With a Surprising History Dating Back to the 1940s, Carvin Later Achieved Kudos With Endorsements by Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth and Joe Walsh By Dave Hunter published 20 September 23 Launched as a post-WWII startup, the firm grew into a guitar gear giant, one catalog sale at a time
Best Fender Amps 2023: Fender’s 9 Finest Amplifiers Currently On The Market By Ross Holder published 13 September 23 From small modeling practice amps to monstrous 4x10 tube-powered options, take a look at our favorite Fender amplifiers you can buy right now
