Kirk Hammett breaks out his favorite Gibsons
Plus, Warren Haynes' new album reunites him with Derek Trucks
In this week’s issue, we’re diving into way more gear than usual — I don't think we've talked this much about gear in a long time. Along with all the gear talk, I highly recommend checking out Beagle, the latest album by Dirty Loops, which has some incredible production and an amazing mix on all 5 tracks. Also, don’t miss Million Voices Whisper, Warren Haynes’ new release, where he reunites with Derek Trucks on a couple of tracks and features a song co-written by Gregg Allman, adding a soulful touch to the album. Let’s get into this week's links!
This week’s guitar links!
Most Underrated Guitar Player Is... | What Do Pro Players Think? - Want some great recs on guitarists you might not have heard about before? Check out this fun video from Thomann's Guitars and Basses. They asked a bunch of awesome guitarists like Phil X, Tommy Emmanuel, Chris Buck and others at the 2024 Guitar Summit who their favorite underrated players were. Some great recommendations in this vid!
Cory Wong (feat. Mark Lettieri) // TOUR REHEARSAL - Cory Wong has one of the best bands in the business. Heck, Mark Lettieri plays alongside him, who's a beast in his own right. I loved checking out the behind the scenes of their recent tour rehearsal. The band is constantly on tour, so they're like a well oiled machine at this point. Check 'em out if they're at a tour stop near you.
JHS Colour Box: A 1073 You Can Take Anywhere - JHS has a limited edition run of their Colour Box up for order right now. The new version celebrates 10 years of the pedal that simulates a 1073 pre. This version has a new color scheme, and also studio knobs like you'd see on the Neve pre it's replicating. I've used the real version of these pres in all forms over the years, and the Colour Box offers a very similar tone. I could see people running this in front of an amp or a modeler, or even after depending on the tone they're after. And, the pedal is super useful, because it has combination 1/4" and XLR jacks for its I/O, letting you use this pedal with any mic. It even has phantom power i ncase you need to use a condenser mic. If you have this pedal already, how do you like to use it?
The Collection: Kirk Hammett of Metallica - Kirk sat down with Mark Agnesi of Gibson to discuss his extensive collection of Gibson guitars. I know we've all probably seen a million videos of his legendary “Greeny" guitar (which he carved his own initials into recently!), but this video touches on some other of his collection as well. I also like that they gave a nod to ESP and how important they were to Hammett - they featured a cool Joker version of one of his KH sig models. After this video, I really want an old school Les Paul. I love seeing videos like this where they crack the cases of these classic guitars. I always can't wait to see what's inside.
Warren Haynes Talks About His New Album & Upcoming Signature Gibson Guitars | AMS Interview - Warren Haynes sat down with AMS to discuss his new album, which just came out this Friday. And speaking of Gibson, Haynes has his own signature Gibsons on the way! I was so excited to listen to this album, because it reunites Haynes with Derek Trucks on a couple of tracks. Haynes and Trucks were so amazing in the Allmans, and it turns out that Haynes put a song that Gregg Allman cowrote with him on this album ("Real, Real Love”). Go check it out if you're in the mood for some great blues rock.
Greg Koch - Can't Be Satisfied (feat. Larry McCray) - Talking about killer blues slide playing, you gotta check out this video with Greg Koch and LarryMcCray on “Can't Be Satisfied”. This is the first cut off Greg's new album, simply titled 'Blues’. It's due out at the end of November. This is the blues I love!
This SHRED WORKOUT is a TRIPLE THREAT! - Ben Eller's latest video features one of my favorite things - saving time by practicing many things at once. In his latest video he combines legato, alternate picking, and shredding all in the same exercise. I'm going to throw this into my practice schedule over the next couple of weeks.
Roundball Rock is BACK! Meet the Guitarist Who SHREDDED The NBA Theme Song! - If you watch sports in the U.S., there are certain songs that are classics. Songs that are probably ingrained into your head at this point. Every time you heard John Tesh's "Roundball Rock", you knew you were about to see some awesome basketball. I loved this video where Andrew Synowiec talks about how he played guitar on the recreated version of the track. Stick around for him playing the song, which starts at around 3:35.
“I’ve had many other Strats – I’ve never found one better than that”: John Frusciante’s first-ever Fender signature guitar is here – and it’s a $20k Custom Shop replica of his iconic 1962 Stratocaster - It must be signature guitar week, because there are 3 that are pretty wild and unique. First up is John Frusciante's first signature guitar from Fender. It's a beautiful recreation of his 1962 Strat, which has given him his legendary tone. Only thing is, it'll cost you $20K! I hope they make a more affordable version of this guitar in the future.
Gibson issues Jimmy Page signature SJ-200 models - Next up, you have a new signature acoustic from Gibson, with the Jimmy Page SJ-200. These guitars sound beautiful, and hopefully each one has a little magic, because Page played each one, and even put some into alternate tunings before they shipped out.
Johnny Marr's got another quirky signature guitar - this time a seven-string Martin acoustic - Johnny Marr also added another signature model to his arsenal. The fun thing about this one, is that it's a seven string Martin acoustic. Marr has always had some wild guitars, and for this acoustic, he'd been taking it out on a few gigs. Now, you can own one yourself. Or, if you like the guitar, but don't want that 7th string, it also comes in a 6 string version.
"It's a testament to Les Paul's influence and a chance to understand the origins of one of the most important guitars in history.” Les Paul's experimental solidbody guitar lives again in an exacting replica of his Klunker - This one isn't about a signature guitar per se, but it might as well be a signature. Les Paul's old guitar tech talks about how he built his incredible recreation of the “Klunker" guitar. If you're a gear nerd, you've seen this guitar before. Tom Doyle was Les' mad scientist when Les tore guitars apart, and now he's going to use this recreation of the guitar to talk about its iconic history in our space. Head to Tom's personal website for more.