Blackstar Amplification has squared the circle and created an all-inclusive wireless guitar amp rig bundle, offering the Beam Mini amp with the all-new Beam Control footswitch, and the Airwire i58 system that allows you to ditch the guitar cable for good.

Or just for those occasions when you want to a clutter-free setup, and to run about the front room practising your stage moves without tripping over anything.

But the British amp brand is as good as its word; you have everything you need hear for a wireless guitar rig, and it all comes inside a faux-leather carry case.

We should talk about the Beam Control first, because this has been the missing element, and as per the Beam series, there is more than meets the eye. It has three modes: Patch, FX and Custom.

In Patch mode, you can switch between the five stored patches on your Beam Mini. FX mode allows you to select and turn various effects within the patch on and off.

Hook up the Beam Control to the app for the Custom mode and you can map the footswitches to your liking – e.g. setting up one switch to activate the Beam Mini’s onboard guitar tuner, another switch for tap tempo, or a particular effect type, and so on.

The footswitch operates via Bluetooth. Turn it on and it’ll connect to your Beam Mini without much further ado, and if you have remembered to fully charge the unit via USB-C you should get up to 12 hours of continuous playing time.

Blackstar says it is compact and ultra-lightweight, and unless it hired the BFG to model for the press shots, then we can conclude that the Beam Control is indeed compact and ultra-lightweight, just a little wider in profile than the amp itself.

The Beam Control is available to buy separately and is priced £44/$74. The full bundle is priced £369/$459.

This gets you the Beam Mini, which is a superlative little amplifier that is tiny and yet sounds improbably huge thanks to the Super Wide Stereo tech. Blackstar’s component-level amp modelling is top class. You get more than 35 effects.

Blackstar’s patented ISF feature is present and correct, but the Moises stem separation technology and NAM A2 neural amp capture support makes it a really serious tool for practice and writing.

Oh, you can use it as a guitar audio interface, too, and yes you’ve got to use the app for the deeper editing but that’s always going to be the case when you’ve got all this digital firepower under the hood.

You can read MusicRadar’s five-star Beam Mini review here.

You can get more details on the Beam Mini Wireless Rig over at Blackstar Amplification.

• Best guitar wireless systems 2026: Cut the cord and liberate your playing today

It’s Halloween, folks. Congratulations, we made it. The witch hat knobs are officially in season. Pumpkin spice lattes are back on the menu – please enjoy responsibly. Oversized spiders constructed of nylon and wire are descending from doorways, and the gear just keeps on coming.

If there is a common thread, a narrative through line that joins this month’s biggest gear releases together, then we haven’t found it. But maybe there was some seasonal spice to Fender’s decision to launch John 5’s signature Phantom Telecaster – and his Ghost Tele – this month.

And if Halloween really is the heavy metal Christmas, then Christmas came early on Wednesday when Epiphone announced its refreshed and upgraded Prophecy Series. It comprises its most high-performance metal guitars yet – and the range includes a baritone Les Paul that promises a whole lotta chug from that extra scale length and those custom-voiced Fishman humbuckers.

There has been a lot of cool stuff. Kim Gordon’s signature Jazzmaster is definitely cool. The new bedroom-friendly Katana-25 combo from Boss is definitely cool. And Mark Hoppus’ limited edition Stoned Fruit Jaguar Bass is definitely cool (especially if you like stickers).

This was the month that brought us the big news from Fender that the American Professional Series had landed with a raft of player-friendly updates. Ovation brought back the Viper for a limited anniversary run, and MXR teamed up with Sonic Research for its first-ever guitar tuner. Gibson’s Flying V celebrating 50 years of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers also arrived, and it will surely break some hearts.

But what was the shut-up-and-take-our money release? Jackson’s Legend Series, in which it recreated four of the most iconic metal signature models of all time for Randy Rhoads, Scott Ian, Marty Friedman and David Ellefson would be in the running.

The aforementioned Kim Gordon Jazzmaster, with its Seymour Duncan JB/Fender Alnico V single-coil pickup configuration, has to be in the conversation too. And then PRS Guitars made its play for the shred/metal market with the all-new Tekton series – six and seven-string guitars, with or without Floyd Rose vibratos, all with the Maryland brand's high-end attention to detail.

There was much to get excited bout. Here we are going look at some of the highlights from October’s gear releases, and having just written “definitely cool” three times in the one paragraph, we've summoned something Candyman-style into being that fits that very description…

Dr No Effects Blameshifter

We are suckers for a Queens Of The Stone Age pedal, official artist tie-in or not. Often these stompboxes come with the promise of unlocking the band’s arcane tone secrets, such as the Skeleton Key from Funny Little Boxes.

But the Blameshifter is different. This is a clever little high-end routing box and buffer to mark 10 years of collaboration between QOTSA guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and Dr No Effects, and is also available as part of a specially designed capsule collection that comes boxed, limited to 10 units worldwide (only eight of which are available to the public), and bundled with TVL’s Raven and Octavia stompboxes.

The idea for it came from QOTSA inside joke. What if there was a pedal that could shift a mistake to another player’s amp? Well, this doesn’t shift blame per se but it does offer the player with a complex live rig options. There’s one input, one buffer, four outputs, a finger that points to where you want the signal to go.

Each unit is handmade, and at $375, it is not the cheapest signal switcher on the market, but it gives the finger to passive units by promising to preserve your tone with that buffer.

Check it out at Dr No Effects.

• “The guy who delivered it ran over it on the way out of the driveway... it didn’t break or anything!”: Troy Van Leeuwen on his Squier Telecaster XII’s Custom Shop origins – and when he learned it was going to be (literally) roadworthy

Boss Katana Artist Gen 3 10th Anniversary Edition

The big Boss news from October was most definitely the Katana-25 launch, but the figured maple veneers and translucent blue finishes on these 10th anniversary Katana Gen 3 amps is all kinds of boutique, dispelling the notion that digital guitar amps have to look dull and functional, and as aesthetically utilitarian as the dashboard on a family sedan.

We could use more amp design like this.

Find out more at Boss.

Seymour Duncan Iron Maiden Signature Set and the 50th Anniversary Duncan Distortion

If Halloween really is the heavy metal Christmas then here’s a gift for all Fender Stratocaster owners who celebrate, with Dave Murray and – for the first time – Janick Gers’ signature pickups. Both are available as a standalone set or bundled with a pre-loaded pickguard.

We could go into the magnets, the wiring, all these design details, but isn’t that quite redundant when we all know what they sound like? And if not, crack open a cold one, stick on Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast and have yourself a good time.

This time the bass guitar players are not left out; there’s a Steve Harris set for dropping into your Precision Bass (wedge monitor for planting your foot on, sold separately).

Pretty cool, and as speaking as someone who owned No Prayer For The Dying on cassette, I dig the packaging.

Lastly, we are getting unconfirmed reports that the Janick Gers set contains some kind of technology that helps you balance a Strat on your index finger. Of course, if you’re more of a full-fat humbucker kind of player, there’s also the 50th Anniversary Duncan Distortion – a limited edition doozy from the Custom Shop.

See Seymour Duncan for more details.

Walrus Audio Storybook Series Lore MK II and Fable MK II

For the pedalboard that has everything, or at least has all the essentials covered, the latest from Walrus Audio’s Storybook Series offers something completely different – a pair of sequels that take your sound somewhere surreal.

The Lore is a reverse delay and reverb with pitch-shifting capabilities, while the Fable is a granular delay pedal with a number of tools for creating off-kilter textures, glitches, swells, weirdness and textures.

And while effects like this can seem a little niche, there is so much to explore, and so many sounds, that they’re not just the preserve of the bedroom soundscaper.

Check ‘em out at Walrus Audio.

Neural DSP Morgan Amps Suite X

Okay, this is a big one for those who prefer their boutique tube amps to be digital, in-the-box and ready for recording at any time of the day or night.

The X edition updates the user experience, adds a bunch of design features to make it more easy to use, and it’s a free update to existing users – check it out at Neural DSP.

Fender x Pokémon Telecaster and Strat

Fender has teamed up with Pokémon Center for this 30th anniversary MIJ Strat and Tele that was originally thought to be a Japanese exclusive – and one that you actually had to enter a lottery to be in with a chance to buy – but is now coming to the US and UK some time later, details TBC.

Now, yes, this is for Pokémon fans and collectors, but the most interesting thing from our perspective is this onboard 8-Bit effect that is activated via a push-push function on the volume knob that gives the guitar tone some retro arcade texture.

 Taylor Guitars Legacy Koa

Taylor adds a pair of Hawaiian koa models to its Legacy Series for the very first time, but they’re strictly limited to 52 instruments each – 52 because these mark the brand’s 52nd anniversary.

We’ve got a jumbo-sized Legacy K65e LTD 12-String that’s koa all over and is so highly figured it looks animated even in still photography. And there’s the spruce-topped Custom Legacy K10 LTD dreadnought, koa on the back and sides. They're pricy, exquisitely crafted, and typically Taylor.

“Koa has been part of the Taylor story for a long time, and bringing it into the Legacy Collection felt like a natural fit,” says Andy Powers, Taylor’s chief guitar designer, president and CEO. “One of these guitars looks back to the 12-strings that helped put Taylor on the map, and the other takes a fresh look at the Dreadnought. Both are a celebration of what this wood can do.”

Find out more at Taylor Guitars.

Positive Grid Spark Cab 2

A welcome expansion of the Spark digital tone universe, these upgraded FRFR Speakers are available in Pearl or Black and are packing 140-watts, and promise tighter low end and more detail and clarity thanks to its retuned acoustics.

It is obviously designed for Spark users but has stereo combo XLR/TRS inputs and a balanced XLR for connecting any amp modellers, amps or outboard gear you like.

There is also an XLR output for sending your signal to a PA system, plus USB power outputs for Spark MINI, Spark Pedal, and Go, and DC power for your Spark 40 and Spark 2.

The price is $399 and you can find out more at Positive Grid.

Emerald Guitars X20

What happens when your favourite guitar brand just gets up one morning and decides – what the fudge! – time to discontinue every single model we make?

Well, if it’s Emerald Guitars, you just hang on a tick, because the Irish brand has no intentions of going anywhere. It was just time to clear the decks, and the X20 is pretty radical and futuristic carbon-fibre build available with steel or nylon-strings, and as a 12-string guitar.

For more details head over to Emerald Guitars.

Ernie Ball Music Man Ball Family Reserve editions of the John Petrucci Majesty, and Albert Lee Collection 2026

It has been all systems go at Ernie Ball Music Man as it reminds us that John Petrucci’s Majesty is one of the most state-of-the-art high-end electric guitars ever made, and that Albert Lee’s signature model is one of the most slept-on.

Lee’s guitar is quintessential EBMM, a guitar with a angular, retro-futuristic body shape that looks straight out of the late ‘50s. The finish options are magnificent.

But setting aside the aesthetic, its googie vibe, the Albert Lee model is a quietly radical and super-versatile HSS electric that crosses the streams with a pair of Lee’s signature Seymour Duncan single-coils and a DiMarzio humbucker at the bridge.

As for the BFR Majestys, you’ve got a six- and a seven-string option, both finished in a Blonde Roast or the delightful Chocolate Grizzle (a celebration of the fact Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man is getting a Criterion release on Blu-ray?), and each numbered and signed by Petrucci himself.

Yes, we’re talking $5,999 for the six-string, $6,199 for the seven-string, but these are collector-grade instruments (only 75 and 30 units of each respectively), and have the DiMarzio Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker humbucker combo plus the Fishman Powerbridge piezo, the curliest of maple tops, everything totally on point.

Find out more at Ernie Ball Music Man.

DiMarzio unveils The Chopper and Cruiser Tele pickups, teams up with Phillip Knight for the Northern Lights humbucker

DiMarzio’s big release of the month is aimed at Telecaster players whose heart sinks whenever they switch to the neck pickup. Apparently, this is a large percentage of Tele players.

Well, The Chopper and The Cruiser might help rehabilitate your relationship with the Tele neck sound – and they’re both hum-cancelling.

Also, YouTuber Phillip Knight partnered with DiMarzio to make his Blackstock Northern Lights humbucker because everybody kept ordering them and he couldn’t keep up with demand. They’re also cheaper now thanks to this partnership – find out more at the Know Your Gear Podcast page, and head over to DiMarzio to see what it can do for your Tele.

Crazy Tube Circuits Rapture

At first I was disappointed to learn that this was not a Trey Azagthoth distortion pedal to nail the tone to one of Morbid Angel and death metal’s greatest songs. But it was no small thing to learn that what CTC had really done was taken the low to mid-gain drive section out of the Triptychon (a pedal that I was disappointed to learn wasn’t a Tom G Warrior signature drive), and made it a standalone overdrive.

CTC adds interactive More and Mod switches to “extend its headroom, gain structure and clipping response”.

Find out more at Crazy Tube Circuits.

EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Jr and Blumes Jr Ltd Edition Mosfet Mods

EQD shrinks down the Plumes and Blumes into a mini-pedal format and adds a third Mosfet clipping stage to make this versatile tube-style drive pedal even more useful.

What difference does the mod make? Well, EQD says the new Mosfet mode produces “a harmonically rich, focused overdrive with enhanced low end and a dynamic response similar to a modern high-gain tube amp”.

Find out more at EarthQuaker Devices.

Gibson Baggs HiFi DNA acoustics

Having partnered with acoustic guitar pickup specialist Baggs to develop the HiFI DNA system, Gibson is now rolling it out, and this quartet of fresh acoustics from the Original Collection showing us how this unobtrusive solution to the age-old problem of amplified acoustic tone can be applied to a traditionally built instrument.

The J-45 Original, J-45 60s Original Fixed Bridge, Southern Jumbo 40s Original and Country Western 60s Original look little different to their vintage counterparts, but plug them in and you’ll notice the difference.

Find out more at Gibson.

Fender Dark Horse Records George Harrison Stratocaster

This is one to file under “Japan gets all the cool stuff” but it’s worth having a look at this Strat that’s built in honour of Harrison’s Dark Horse Records label, and comes with a capsule collection that was launched on October 16 at Fender’s Tokyo store with George’s son, Dhani, and Fender CEO Edward ‘Bud’ Cole.

See Fender for more.

Wylde Audio Acoustics

Zakk Wylde told us these were coming. You can hear them on the latest Black Label Society album. He told me over many cups of espresso that these were coming. And yet somehow I couldn’t quite envisage what an acoustic guitar designed by Wylde would look like.

Now we know, and they’re, well, firstly, you couldn’t impale anyone like you – theoretically – could with his electrics. These Grand Auditoriums conform to the cutaway shape. But there is a bullseye version. There are runic fingerboard inlays. And they’re the most Viking acoustics you could get for under $1,000.

Find out more at Wylde Audio.

Harley Benton Guitar MAX Fusion LH

You can read all about the YouTuber and shred virtuoso Maxxxwell Carlisle’s signature guitars here. But this was the month that the German budget gear giant answered the call of left-handers everywhere to give us a southpaw model.

Find out more at Harley Benton.

Fulltone OCD’Lux

The OCD is one of the most cloned, copied, maybe even misunderstood, but definitely one of the great drive/distortions of the modern era, and so Fulltone decided to jam two circuits together, each with switchable voices, and it’s as much OCD as you could ever want.

As an owner of the OCD Germanium, I can confirm that it sounds incredible. Those sounds are here and more.

“There are a lot of OD’s comparing themselves to and stealing from the Fulltone OCD, and that’s to be expected when you’re the best selling handmade overdrive of all time,” said Mike Fuller. “There are many out-and-out clones of the OCD, and that’s some form of a compliment I suppose, but I’d like to personally thank you for buying and supporting the original...the one and only OCD.”

Find out more at Fulltone.

Behringer Zentara

Speaking of cloned overdrive pedals, who here remembers Behringer’s $69 Klon clone that flew too close to the sun design-wise, and then the legal stooshie that followed?

Well, Klon Centaur designer Bill Finnegan wound down his legal campaign because Behringer did a little bit more designing and made it a little different. Now it’s back as the Zentara and it’s still as cheap as chips (and it has the same circuit).

Found out more at Behringer.

JHS Pedals Pherb and Wanderer

Josh Scott has had a busy month. Not only did he announce that he is selling hundreds of pedals on Reverb, but he launched the Wanderer, a twofer that combines the legendary Morning Glory and NOTAKLÖN circuits in one dual-footswitch pedal, and he also added the Pherb to his $99 3 Series. Yes, Pherb.

The people kept on asking for Flerb, i.e. that setting from the EHX Holy Grail reverb pedal that some love, most hate, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “Flanger inside of a reverb just makes my skin itch,” he says. But what about phaser inside of a reverb? That works. That’s Pherb.

Find out more at JHS Pedals.

Zoom Neurig

In the amp modeller space, there is a new next-gen innovation arriving every other day. This month it’s Zoom’s Neurig.

Riffs, Beards & Gear’s Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce did a deep dive on it so you can hear it what this “next-gen” modeller sounds like in action above. Another YouTuber, Landon Bailey, asked the provocative question: “Is this the Quad Cortex Killer” but that just made us think of Crazy Horse and Neil Young.

Anyhoo, metaphorically dancing across the water with its galleons and guns and presets, the Neurig has AI tools, NAM A2 Lite integration, DNA Engine neural modelling... There are so many buzzwords in its spec that it’s probably unhealthy, definitely next-gen.

Check it out at Zoom.

Line 6 Helix Stadium Eras update

The Eras Stadium update is Taylor-made* for those who want to take a track and break it down into its constituent elements – drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and “other” – via stem separation tech, and then mute whichever you desire and play along. It’s a powerful learning tool.

Oh, and the update also includes three new Agoura amps, four distortions… Look, you’ve got a Helix Stadium? Hook that mother up and patch this in.

Find out more at Line 6.

[*sorry]

Neko Pocket Wireless Guitar Studio

This thing is only at the Kickstarter stage but it’s racking up the investors and offers the tantalising prospect of a full guitar studio and recording tool that fits inside your pocket.

It's just the thing when staying at some huge Airbnb in the English countryside and are suddenly taken by the urge to go Full Led Zeppelin IV and make an album.

See more at the Neko Kickstarter.

EHX Wailer Wah Pro

The constant bombardment of new features, options, switches all over the place, secret settings and easter eggs, it is reassuringly refreshing when one of the pedalboard stalwarts just comes out with something so uncomplicated.

The Wailer Wah Pro doesn’t let you adjust the sweep every way ’til Sunday. Just step on it. The “Pro” bit in its designation speaks to the build quality, with EHX promising road-readiness from its rugged aluminium enclosure. And it’s EHX, so the price is very competitive at 88 bucks.

See EHX for more.

Keeley Electronics Compressor Plus Germanium

This has been a big month for anniversaries. Here’s another one to celebrate 25 years of the industry standard compressor pedal, which is upgraded with a germanium transistor as a buffer and all-round sweetener of tone. Lovely stuff.

Find out more at Keeley Electronics.

Dunable Riley Pinkerton Minotaur Summoner

Let’s finish up with something metal, a single-pickup axe for battle from the Dunable Custom Shop that's spec’d up for Riley Pinkerton of Brookyln-based doom band Castle Rat.

This was originally part of a super-limited four-model run alongside her Castle Rat bandmate’s signature models: the Crimson Burst Cyclopse for Franco ‘The Count’ Vittore, and a Thunderclapper for Charley ‘The Plague Doctor’ Ruddell.

All sold out in no time, so Dunable brought back the Rat Queen’s Minotaur for a limited build-to-order run. Alas, is it gone for good? The Dunable site suggests as much. But you should have seen it. Oh, man… It was white, with a gold sparkle pickguard, and one humbucker doing the dark lord’s work....

Who knows, maybe Dunable will bring it back some day? Address your spells and hexes, and whatever black magic you’ve got at your disposal, to the Dunable Custom Shop. It can't hurt.

What is it?

Sitting somewhere between the Katana-50 and the Katana-Mini X, the Boss Katana-25 pitches itself as the ultimate home practice amp. Building on the ever-popular Katana platform, Boss has got an interesting amp on its hands, as this model isn’t quite small enough to be a desktop guitar amp, while anyone who wants to gig will be better off with at least the Katana-50 Gen 3.

The Katana-25 features an 8-inch speaker housed in an open-back cabinet, with a design that looks pretty much exactly the same as any other amp in the lineup aesthetically. There are quite a few differences overall, though, and the control panel on the top is noticeably slimmed down versus the full-size Katana-50.

Controls for gain, volume, bass, middle, and treble line the left-hand portion of the top panel, and a new tone-setting encoder with a push-button function. Either side of that is an effects switch and a tap tempo. After that, there’s a small switch for the two power options: 25W and 0.5W, plus a master volume.

In an interesting change from the bigger 50- and 100-watt models, Bluetooth connectivity is built into the amp and doesn’t require the purchase of a separate adapter. In a new development from Boss, you can use an app on your phone for tone creation, jamming to backing tracks, and audio streaming, bringing it in line with competitor products from Positive Grid, Blackstar, and others.

Connectivity is a simple affair, with a single 1/4-inch input for the guitar, a 1/4-inch footswitch or expression pedal connection, a 1/8-inch output for headphones or recording out, and a USB-C connector for plugging it into your laptop or PC.

Specs

• Launch price: $ | £ | €
• Type: Digital modelling combo
• Origin: Thailand
• Output: 25W, switchable to 0.5W
• Speaker: Custom 8-inch speaker
• Channels: 6 (amp types)
• Controls: Gain, volume, bass, middle, treble, effects, tap, tone setting select/edit, power control, master volume
• Connectivity: 1/4 input, 1/8 headphones, USB-C, Bluetooth (audio streaming and app control)
• Footswitch: Optional. Compatible with FS-5L, FS-6, FS-7, FV-500H/L, EV-30, Roland EV-5, EV-1-WL, FS-1-WL
• Weight: 4.8kg / 10 lb 10 oz
• Dimensions: 360 x 180 x 310mm
• Contact: Boss

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★★

While it’s not quite desktop amp-sized, it is pretty small. It’s lightweight, too, making it an easy one-handed lift as I pull it out of the box. It looks very much part of the Katana lineup, with the four chrome screws in the front grille and the silver piping at the top and bottom.

The hard plastic handle isn’t what I’d call comfortable on the face of it, but the amp is so light that it doesn’t make all that much difference. It’s rounded in the right places to make it comfortable enough to carry around, secured to the top of the chassis with two very sturdy-feeling metal brackets. The vinyl covering of the open-back cabinet gives it a durable feel, and I don’t doubt it will deal handily with being knocked around a bit.

The speaker is mounted off-centre in the cabinet, screwed to a front-facing piece of wood with a circular hole cut into it to allow the sound through. On the top panel, all of the controls have a nice and sturdy feel to them, whether flicking switches, pressing buttons, or turning knobs. Overall, it’s a solid-feeling cabinet that will easily handle home use.

Usability and features

Usability and features rating: ★★★★☆

One of the hallmarks of the Katana series is its simple usability and physical controls, and that’s something that’s carried over to this model. It’s got a good selection of controls on the top panel, but as I start to get stuck into it, it becomes clear why this type of bedroom amp has been largely usurped by those that use companion apps. It’s annoying having to reach over to the amp to change a preset or make an adjustment if you’re not already standing up with your guitar on a strap.

With a Sire S7 S-type plugged in, when I put it on my desktop, it’s too high up to see the controls on the top panel. With it on the floor, I have to keep bending down to reach it and change presets. It’s also blasting at my feet rather than my ears, meaning more volume is needed. This could be solved with a footswitch, but alas, these are sold separately.

The screen is tiny. It’s only really good for displaying patch names and the onboard tuner. When I press the effects button to get rid of the tremolo on a preset, it’s displayed small and pretty difficult to decipher. There’s no way to just turn an effect block off that I can discern. Instead, I have to roll the encoder all the way back to zero to remove an effect from the chain.

There’s no adding effects via the unit either; you’re stuck with the five blocks of the chosen preset. It’s easy enough to adjust the amp EQ controls, but when adjusting presets there’s no marker to say what setting the control was on when I first started tweaking it. This makes it difficult to roll back the settings to where they were, or understand how much I’m changing the core tone.

The good news is that pairing and controlling the amp from its Tone Studio app is a doddle - I tested it on an iPhone, which discovered the amp immediately.

The Tone Studio app has been redesigned to offer a single app for multiple Katana amps, when you connect, any Katana in the immediate vicinity with its Bluetooth enabled shows up in the app, you tap its icon on the screen and you're connected.

Inside you can scroll through all the available effect and amp blocks, assign your chosen effects to them, switch them on and off by tapping, and you get expanded controls for each too. It's a nice, linear layout and makes building tones really quick and easy. When you're done, you can name and save them to one of the user slots.

But it only really starts there, because one of the big features is the Session function. This allows you to search and watch YouTube videos direct from the app.

You can build a library of videos (lessons, for example) and come back to them next time you want to practice. But Boss has also created a number of soundalike playalong tracks. These come with tab for you to learn, plus they'll automatically switch your sounds to reflect which part of the song you're playing. You can add your own markers, as well as looping sections of the track and adjusting the speed until you're comfortable playing along.

There's a bigger graphic representation of the tuner too, which while perhaps a 'given' is still nice to have, and makes tuning quicker and less fiddly.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★½

With it set to 0.5W mode, we’re very much in bedroom-friendly territory. With the master volume at the halfway point, I’ve got enough volume to be heard over the attack of the raw guitar strings without being offensive to others in my home. It still reacts like a non-modelling amp, backing off with the volume control and picking dynamics as you might expect at full volume.

I cycle through the settings, and the amp models sound just as good to my ear here as they do on the full-size Katana. As a bit of a metalhead, I find myself on the ‘brown’ amp tone a lot, enjoying its midrange punch and controlled low end. The clean amps are great as well, and the range of six cpre models plus their variations is plenty to cover pretty much any style of music you could imagine.

I end up really loving the ‘pushed’ setting as well. It’s like a hot-rodded clean amp that reacts beautifully to my picking dynamics, staying clean when I pick gently and breaking up when I dig in, no matter what the volume is set to. The crunch tone does what it says on the tin, and I particularly enjoy the ‘Texas’ preset with its huge low end.

Although you wouldn’t know it from the presets on the face of it, the effects are of that typical Boss quality. There’s just a handful of the presets that really show this off, so I have to dive into deeper editing to really put them through their paces. As anyone who knows Boss knows, the company's reverbs and delays are simply superb, and that’s true of the Katana-25. It’s the same with the modulation effects, which sound wonderful with a healthy dose of the mix value turned up.

Turning it to max power mode and cranking the volume three-quarters of the way, it’s certainly loud enough to earn you some noise complaints. It’s really bright as well, which is perhaps a voicing decision of the presets to make it sound good at lower volumes. I find myself instantly reaching for the tone knob of my S-type to cut it back some.

In the low end, of course there’s not as much heft as a bigger amp. That said, I find myself surprised by how good it sounds when I play my baritone guitar through it. The chuggy stuff sounds great, even if it’s lacking a little of that chest punch I get through my full-size guitar amp. For bedroom metal players, you won’t find it lacking here.

I can understand why Boss ended up with quite a treble-heavy amp. Putting it in a closed-back cabinet would’ve likely made it boxy-sounding, and with the current design there’s none of that present, which is a welcome change for a small guitar amp. I don’t doubt that the room spread plays a role here as well with the open back, allowing it to sound much louder than its size would with a closed back design.

Verdict

The Boss Katana-25 feels like a return to the classic practice amp format, albeit with a digital twist. It’s too big to sit on a desktop, but too quiet to hang with a drummer like its larger and more powerful Katana cousins. Like popular options from Positive Grid, Blackstar, and Fender, it delivers a huge wealth of tones that can cover any and every style, making it a great option for first-timers.

It’s incredibly lightweight and quite small, yet despite that, it delivers room-filling sound. It also manages to overcome the classic small amp boxiness with an open-back cabinet and surprisingly full-range sound. I was very impressed with the low-end response in particular, but I did find that the presets were voiced a little too treble-heavy for my taste.

The actual hands-on control isn’t as nice as what I’ve found from using the Katana-50 Gen 3. Without an Amp Type knob and that minuscule screen, its formula of presets delivers good core sounds, but gets let down by the tweaking aspect. The app fixes this issue, and is a joy to use with plenty of features to keep you coming back (aside from being fairly reliant on it). So, be prepared to fire-up your Bluetooth connection when you plug in.

MusicRadar verdict: If you’re looking for a practice amp that lets you put down your smartphone, the Boss Katana-25 isn’t the amp you’re looking for. If you want a huge range of great-quality sounds in a compact chassis that sounds way bigger than it looks, then this might just be the ideal practice partner. Ideal for beginner guitarists, Boss’ halfway house between a full amp and a desktop variant delivers a great playing platform for bedroom guitar players.

Also try

Hands-on videos

Boss

Guitar Guitar

• Best practice amps buyer's guide

Boss has expanded its third-generation Katana series with a compact 25-watt digital guitar amp combo that’s the ideal size and spec’d for home practice, and this little thing costs just $199.

It has a single 8” speaker, is housed in the familiar Katana styling. So familiar is this look that you’ll swear you’ve seen the Katana-25 before, until something is beside it for scale. And crucially had has Boss’s Tube Logic tech under the hood to make its modelled amp sounds all the more convincingly ‘real’.

As Boss explains, Tube Logic makes the Katana series behave a little like a tube amp, give you “authentic tube sound and feel that’s the benchmark among pro players everywhere... Katana-25’s speaker and 25-watt reactive analogue power section [working] in harmony to create a highly interactive playing experience with rich bass, sweet high-end detail, and punchy dynamic response”.

In other words, you have a practice amp that sounds good, sounds legit, and then has a great abundance of digital features that today’s players have come to take for granted, but really, we shouldn’t – and of course there is a huge range of Boss guitar effects onboard.

All these features can be a little intimidating but Boss lays this out much like a regular guitar amp. You still have the Gain and Volume controls, Bass, Middle and Treble, too. There is a Master Volume dial with a low-power toggle switch to put them amp down to a half-watt setting that allows you to really push the amp a low volumes.

Almost everything you need to control the amp is on the front panel, including the connections for USB-C, the mini-jack headphones/recording output, 1/4”external footswitch input, and the Tone Setting section that also includes the onboard guitar tuner.

Boss is aiming this at “new and returning” guitarists so we would hope this would be easy and intuitive to get started on. You get six core amp sounds, covering all the main electric guitar tone styles from glassy clean chime etc to saturated high-gain, and one of these is voiced for acoustic electric guitar, too.

There are more than 60 Boss effects available and you can use up to five of them in any one sound. The Katana-25 also has tap tempo for time-based effects such as delay and modulation. When you find a sound that you like, you can save it down to one of the 30 available user preset slots in the Tone Settings section.

The amp comes preloaded with 20 factory presets, and you can make tweaks to the preamp settings without having to reach for your smartphone and the accompanying app to make edits.

Now, the Boss Tone Studio app. This is where you can make deep edits and really organise your sounds, and access more from the Boss Tone Exchange community.

This being 2026, you can browse YouTube on the Tone Studio app and play the content through the amp to practise along to, and you can actually cue in effects changes – e.g. going from some super-clean chorus sounds for an intro into a high-gain rhythm tone – in any external audio so you can play along and the amp changes the preset for you.

This all seems a little bit like having your one guitar tech working your pedalboard from the side of the stage except you’re probably using this in your bedroom.

The Katana-25 is available now, priced $199. See Boss for more.

What is it?

Okay, so I’ve been pretty vocal about my love of the Vox AC30. As far as amps go, it’s my favourite of all time, and I’m not alone. Everyone from Tom Petty to Brian May, Dave Grohl to Tom DeLonge, has used this diamond-clad combo to rock stadiums, but when it comes to playing one at home, it can get a little tricky.

The AC30 is a loud beast, like, seriously loud. You can find smaller tube-based options like the AC30’s little brother, the AC15, or the pint-sized AC10 and AC4, but they can still be a little much for small spaces, especially if you live in a flat or apartment.

That’s where the new Vox AC Mini comes in. This miniaturised 10W AC looks to bring the iconic styling and tone of its tube-driven cousin into a smaller, desktop-friendly format.

The amp's core is an all-analogue, solid-state circuit Vox calls a “Dynamic Response Circuit”, designed by the same folks behind the celebrated Hand Wired Series. Of course, with a name like that, I expect this little amp to respond like a tube amp, giving me the touch response I’ve come to love about my own AC-30, but we’ll get to that later.

It has two onboard channels, Clean and Drive, plus an added Boost which adds more distortion when you need it. It also has an onboard digital reverb, but no tremolo like the real deal. The cabinet is made of MDF, with a mini jack for headphones for silent practice and an aux input for playing music or jamming along to backing tracks.

At only £79, it’s a competitively priced little unit, heck, it costs less than most overdrive pedals these days, but is it too basic for today’s player, and can it really capture the magic of one of the most iconic amps of all time? Well, let’s find out.

Specs

• Launch price: $99.99 | £79.00 | €99.00
• Type: Solid-state desktop combo (featuring all-analogue Vox Dynamic Response Circuit)
• Origin: Thailand
• Output: 10 Watts
• Speaker: 1 x 3" VOX original speaker (8 Ohm)
• Channels: 2 Channels (with Boost switch)
• Controls: Gain, Tone, Master Volume, Reverb, Boost Switch, Power Switch
• Connectivity: 1/4" Instrument Input, 1/8" Aux Input, 1/8" Headphone Output
• Footswitch: No
• Weight: 3.97 lbs / 1.8 kg
• Dimensions: 221 x 180 x 125 mm
• Contact: VOX Amps

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★☆

Man, this thing is too damn cute. I love the aesthetics of Vox amps, and it’s on full display here. We've got the classic diamond grill cloth and that gilded logo in a box that’s barely bigger than a Bluetooth speaker. It looks great.

I’ve had this amp on my coffee table for over a week, and it hasn’t gotten in the way once. It’s small enough to be convenient, but large enough to feel like a proper little amp. Build-wise, it feels pretty sturdy. The MDF construction means it doesn't feel like a plastic toy and honestly, it’s a hardy little thing.

The carry handle is a nice touch and is bolted to the unit with two massive screws; it really feels like it's not going anywhere.

If I had to criticise one thing about the AC Mini's build and design, it would be the aux input. It’s a wired mini jack, and frankly, it leaves the unit feeling a little old-fashioned. Come on, Vox, it’s 2026.

Most phones no longer come with headphone jacks, so consumers expect Bluetooth streaming these days. Sure, you can use an adaptor for your phone, but that’s just an extra bit of kit you need to fully use the amp. I’m aware that adding Bluetooth to the amp would make it more expensive, but I think it’s a trade-off that would be more than worth it.

Usability and features

Usability and features rating: ★★★★☆

The Vox AC Mini is delightfully straightforward. There’s no complex menu diving or a companion app to download. Instead, this mini combo opts for a clean, top-mounted control panel. You get four main rotary dials: Gain, Volume, Tone, and Reverb. A small toggle switch also engages the Boost function. This is as simple as an amp can get.

Of course, this simple layout means a lot less time tweaking parameters and much more time actually playing guitar. Which is a nice bonus.

A single global Tone dial handles all the tone shaping instead of a full three-band EQ setup. I can’t help but feel that dedicated Treble, Middle, and Bass dials would offer deeper control, but I will say that the single dial is tuned pretty effectively. Turning it counter-clockwise delivers a warmer, rounder sound while sweeping clockwise introduces plenty of bright top-end chime, à la the Top Boost channel.

Channel selection is handled cleanly via a dedicated button on the control panel. Switching between Clean and Drive modes feels instantaneous. There’s no footswitch option here. So if you want to switch channels mid-song, you'll need quick fingers.

There’s not a lot going on here, and that’s clearly by design. This amp is very neatly laid out and easy to use. I can see it being equally easy to operate if you are a total beginner, too.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★☆

It would be easy to write this little amp off, but honestly, for a compact desktop amplifier, the AC Mini delivers a rather impressive tone for its size. Personally, I think the Dynamic Response Circuit captures much of the lively, tactile feel associated with a traditional tube amp, and overall, it feels good under the fingers.

For testing, I’m plugging in my Gretsch Professional Collection Falcon – its retro charm just felt like a good fit for this amp.

Starting on the Clean channel with the Tone at noon and a smidge of verb, the sound is crisp and snappy. As expected, notes ring out with distinctive top-end chime and clear string separation, making it sound very, well, for lack of a better word, Vox-y. Dialling up the Gain adds a touch of hair to the notes, but engaging the Boost switch on the Clean channel pushes the signal further into a clean-ish overdrive. It sounds good.

Switching over to the Drive channel, things get punchier and thicker. Here, the AC Mini delivers that classic British crunch reminiscent of classic rock and electric blues. Activating Boost on the Drive channel unlocks an aggressive, high-gain crunch for lead work or those who like things on the heavier side. It won’t surprise you that it lacks extreme metal-level distortion, but it comfortably covers classic rock, blues and even punk.

The onboard digital reverb sounds pretty good too. It’s lively and splashy without washing out your core tone, and it does a good job of making the pint-sized amp feel bigger than it is.

Does it sound like a cooking top-boosted AC30? Well, not quite, but that’s okay. Simply put, it’s a great-sounding little amp. Overall, the AC Mini offers a remarkably versatile clutch of tones in a compact package, and you can’t say fairer than that.

Verdict

Okay, so it may not sound exactly like its much bigger brother, but the Vox AC Mini does manage to successfully shrink the visual charm of an iconic amplifier into a compact, desktop-friendly unit. I also can’t forget the price. At £79, it offers outstanding value for guitarists seeking an accessible home practice setup.

Personally, I think its main strength lies in its sound. Yes, it doesn’t sound like a real AC30, but it sounds good. The Dynamic Response Circuit provides authentic touch sensitivity and rich harmonic tone on both the Clean and Drive channels. The Boost switch adds welcome flexibility, while the built-in digital reverb adds plenty of depth.

In terms of drawbacks, I think the lack of Bluetooth connectivity will be a deal-breaker for some. In an era where most smartphones lack headphone jacks, most players expect Bluetooth on their amps, even at this price point.

That said, Vox has created an affordable, straightforward amplifier that prioritises plug-and-play simplicity and great tone above superfluous extras. If you want classic Vox styling and dynamic British overdrive in a compact format, the AC Mini is a fantastic choice.

MusicRadar verdict: The AC Mini is a pint-sized desktop amp that nails the old-school Vox look, squeezes out more tone than it has any right to, and won’t break the bank. It’s not perfect, I’d like Bluetooth for a start, but it’s a cracking little amp for home use. If you value simplicity, cool ‘60s aesthetics, and can live without bells and whistles, this is a no-brainer.

Also try

Hands-on videos

Vox Amps

Lucas Maximiliano

• Best desktop amps: Lightweight and portable practice solutions for guitarists of all abilities

Teenage Engineering CEO Jesper Kouthoofd recently declared that the company would stop making synthesizers, but it seems that the Swedish brand isn’t going to be leaving the music-making world altogether just yet.

A recently unearthed FCC filing shows that Teenage Engineering is preparing to release an amp, the EP-35 K.O.-AMP. The filing, which contains several pictures and a user manual, reveals that the EP-35 is a portable battery-powered amplifier with – as is to be expected from Teenage Engineering – a few unexpected quirks.

Housed in a blocky, grey plastic chassis that closely resembles its sampler counterpart, the EP-133 K.O. II, the EP-35 is topped with a handle for convenient transport, and this is where you’ll find the inputs and most of the controls.

On the front panel you have a 30-watt woofer and 25-watt tweeter with a frequency response of 50Hz-20Khz. Round the back, there’s a handy storage compartment behind the plastic grille, for cables, USB drives, or even a sneaky cold one. Opening up the compartment turns on a built-in “camp light” with an intriguingly-named “disco mode”, and the unit is splash-resistant, too, just in case your outdoor jam gets a little out of hand.

The EP-35 is well-equipped in terms of connectivity, and can be used to amplify guitars, synths, keyboards, or any electronic instruments you like. Active inputs are automatically selected, so it’s plug-and-play, and it looks like there are digital effects onboard for both the guitar and mic inputs, though we don’t yet know what these are.

On the top of the amp is a 3.5mm line input, an XLR microphone input with +48V phantom power, a ¼” guitar input and a 3.5mm line output, along with two USB-C ports. A device port is used to hook up to your computer or phone for firmware updates and to act as a sound card, and a host port for connecting to thumb drives, USB audio devices and as-yet-unannounced accessories.

EP-35 has both FM radio and Bluetooth, so it’ll act as a portable speaker. The amp can also transmit Bluetooth audio via Auracast, so you’re able to link up with other EP-35s wirelessly. Judging by the pictures, it looks as if multiple amps can be stacked on top of each other to create a multi-speaker rig that really pumps up the volume.

We’ve no word on pricing or availability yet. As the amp is part of the EP range, we wouldn't expect it to be exorbitantly priced, but you never know with Teenage Engineering – this is a company that charged $1,599 for an aluminum desk and called it a “modular workspace solution”, after all.

In other Teenage Engineering news, the company has just announced a firmware update for the OP-XY that introduces a new drum synthesizer called drumline, multichannel audio over USB–C, a new dynamic filter, expanded envelope controls and more.

Josh Scott of JHS Pedals is selling a quote/unquote truckload of gear on Reverb, including unicorn-rare one-of-one pedals – plus some that are so rare they have become the stuff of legend.

The ‘Josh Scott Collection’ Official Reverb Shop opens on Wednesday, October 21, and not a moment too soon by the sound of it. “I’m about to sell a crap ton of really cool stuff that I need to sell because it’s all just crashing down on me and ruining my life,” says Scott.

We’re not exaggerating when we say a truckload of gear.

“It’s a truckload of things, literally,” says Scott. “A freight truck arrived and took pallets of gear for this Reverb shop.”

So, what went on the truck? Firstly, it’s not all guitar effects pedals – though there are hundreds of them, including a number of custom-wrapped and hand-painted JHS Pedals, of which there are only one of each in the world. “They’re rare. They’re so rare, they’ve never existed,” says Scott.

One of the coolest items we’ve seen previewed is a vintage Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve, the 6L6-loaded piggyback 60-watter and its 2x12 cabinet. This ol’ tube amp inspired the JHS Twin Twelve.

There is also that 1990s Sovtek tube amp head that you might recognise from watching the JHS Show on YouTube (though it might not be the exact one). There’s a Satellite amp there, too, and, as per the picture of the Silvertone, some of these come in JHS-stencilled flight cases.

A lot of these items are steeped in JHS Pedals lore. There is all kinds of ephemera – including props from the show, JHS merch, jackets, T-shirts… There’s an original Barcus-Berry preamp that inspired the JHS Fumble.

If we are talking rare and hallowed pedals then you might be relieved to know that that there is an original Klon Centaur with a silver enclosure, and one of the original cheapo Behringer klones from before the Bill Finnegan lawsuit and the German company’s subsequent rebranding of the pedal.

There’s also a grey spare enclosure of the JHS Colour Box. Scott might be real glad to be rid of this.

“This is one of the ones from that NAMM Show where everyone first saw them and then for 10 years they told me they hated the white enclosure because I had already shown them the possibility of a grey enclosure,” he says Scott. “This is one of the craziest items in JHS history and somebody’s going to own it.”

There are 10 guitars, some keyboards, a Rhodes, a Yamaha organ, a Wurlitzer and, just in time for Halloween, there are some stompbox costumes from the set of Pedals: The Musical and Pedals on Ice.

Just imagine how much candy you will get when you go trick-or-treating dressed as a Tube Screamer.

A lot of this stuff will be affordable, too, with pedals priced from $60 to $600. More than half of the items will be listed under $500. Scott might be a pedal designer, an author, a YouTuber, too, but he’s also a retailer too. And he’s bullish this collection is going to eclipse all the bands who have listed their gear on Reverb.

“My one goal with this Reverb shop, beyond selling the gear, is to one-up every band that has ever sold on Reverb. Spoon, I’m looking at you. Modest Mouse, Seal, you, too. Green Day, I’m going to annihilate your shop,” says Scott.

He is joking. But he might not be wrong. There’s a truck’s worth of this stuff and you can check it out at Reverb.

Joe Bonamassa has been teasing this. Having nailed his colours to the mast as a high-profile convert to the tonal capabilities and practicality of the digital guitar amp, he has now officially put his name to one, with Fender and the blues guitar superstar unveil the Tone Master ‘59 Twin-Amp JB-Edition.

Finished in tweed, replete with vintage flourishes such as the chicken-head knobs on the control panel, this monster signature combo amp is created in the image of his original high-powered 5F8-A Twin from the late 1950s.

It, too, is loud enough to send plaster falling from the walls. It similarly has that super-quick attack and the headroom required to play clean at volume (we have heard this amplifier, and it is obscenely loud in the best possible way). And yet there are no tubes involved.

Just look at image at the top of the page. Joe Bonamassa is more Charley Patton than Charles Atlas; there is no way he is lifting a tube-equipped Twin like that without turning purple or popping a hernia.

This is one of the big selling points of Fender’s Tone Master series, a range of amps that offers classic Fender amp tone in a more lightweight package, and adding some of the convenient features we see in today’s digital designs.

This is one Twin you can carry up the stairs. Bonamassa’s Tone Master ’59 Twin-Amp also has a balanced XLR out, with switchable onboard cab sims (you can customise these IRs with the Tone Master IR Manager app) for going direct. It has power scaling, taking it from a full-throated 85-watts down to a more bedroom-friendly half-watt setting via a five-way rotary dial.

There is no question that this signature amp is a major coup for Fender. Given Bonamassa’s standing as one of the great curator’s of vintage amps, chief product officer of its Electronics and Digital divisions, Max Gutnik, describes the launch as a historic moment for the industry.

“Joe Bonamassa is one of the world’s foremost authorities on vintage amplifiers, and he knows these original Twins as well as anyone,” says Gutnik. “For someone with Joe’s ears, experience and deep commitment to vintage tube amps to choose a digital Fender, and say it sounds even better than the original, is a real inflection point for our industry.

“It demonstrates just how far this technology has come and, more importantly, the extraordinary accuracy with which Fender can now recreate the sound, feel and response of our most iconic amplifiers.”

The idea is that you can’t tell the difference between the 21st-century Tone Master replica and its mid-20th-century forebear.

“That’s what Tone Master is all about,” continues Gutnik, “preserving everything players love about these legendary amps while making them more useful for the way musicians play today.”

Bonamassa can testify to this. We spoke with him ahead of the launch.

He was just about to catch a flight to Texas to play Crossroads Guitar Festival alongside Eric Clapton and company, and there was almost a note of surprise in his voice when talking about the moment when he realised that a digital version of a tube amp he considers one of the greatest guitar amps of all time was actually outperforming the original.

“Fender sent me one of the first ones off the line, sent it to Europe, on this last tour we did over there,” says Bonamassa. “I believe it arrived in Holland, and we stuck it in the slot. I use seven amps live. Now, that’s loud.”

Bonamassa’s ‘Amp Shanty’ is one of the more formidable backlines in guitar history. As Bonamassa says, there are seven amps in there, all with plexiglass baffles in front of them. There are two Marshall Silver Jubilee heads, three different Dumble tube amps, typically two high-powered Twins.

“We stuck the digital Twin in the slot with the microphone that mikes the high-powered Twin, and my production manager, tech, sound man, myself, people around us, Josh Smith, all agreed that it sounded better,” says Bonamassa. “I was like, ‘Well, that’s interesting.’”

Interesting enough to give it a shot that night. And then the next. The digital Twin stayed in the backline. The selling point for many of these digital amps is all about how they sound just like the old amps, but night after night on this Euro run, it didn’t just sound like the original, it sounded better.

“I was finding some really cool things by using the digital Twin,” says Bonamassa. “The amp was was staying much more consistent throughout the night. It wasn’t getting hot. It wasn’t fatiguing. And, and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is really, really cool.’

“Finished the tour, cut to the summer. We did a couple of one-offs before the main summer tour here in the US, and I went back to using the two tube Twins because I didn’t have the digital one. Fender was still building me my black ones. I was like, ‘Man, I missed that digital Twin.’ I really got used to it.

“That was the light-bulb moment for me. I’m the king cork sniffer of vintage amps and tubes and all that, but at the end of the day, you cannot deny the fact that it sounded, at least to my ears, better and more consistent than the tube ones.”

We have heard Bonamassa’s Tone Master Twin, and it is incredibly loud. Those 85-watts drive a pair of 12” Celestion JB neodymium speakers – the neodymium, again, helps keep the weight down.

“I always thought one of Leo’s greatest inventions was the 80-watt tweed Twin,” says Bonamassa. “Those things are one of the great amps ever produced. The fact that Fender was able to do this digitally now is really impressive. And the amps are 29lbs.”

As impressive as the original high-powered Twin designs were, when reengineering it as a digital combo, Bonamassa and Fender also took the opportunity to add switchable voicings that toggled between the traditional tube amp response and a more contemporary take on it.

“The best thing that we did with these amps, and originally they weren’t slated to have it, was the Vintage and Tight switch,” says Bonamassa. “Having that Tight button really solved a lot of problems in my world. I like super-fast recovery. I like that as soon as you play the note the amp is ready to amplify another note – that’s why I like the Dumble stuff so much because it’s super articulate.”

Be warned, though. These amps are unforgiving. The punish sloppiness. But when you hit a note well, and play well, it’s going to really carry those notes out to the audience.

“There’s no forgiveness, and that’s why they’re polarising,” says Bonamassa. “‘I don’t like it. I don’t get it.’ No, if you’re very much a legato player, and pull-off a lot of notes, and need that kind of slower bloom, then that’s not really for you, but if you’re like me, everything’s picked, ‘cos I have no natural legato whatsoever, then it’s the perfect match.

“That’s why I always liked Fender-based amps. Dumbles are Fender-based amps. I liked Fender-based amplifiers because they were always quicker. They would recover fast. When we did the Twin, having that Tight switch it was like, ‘Yeah, I wish I had them on the tube ones.’ But they were able to recreate, sonically, what an old high-power would do.”

Sure, the Fender Tone Master platform, with its power scaling, makes it a viable proposition for smaller venues, with the direct output for recording or for bypassing the speaker on a silent stage. In a sense, the high-powered Twin’s tone has been captured, house-trained for modern use. But Bonamassa reassures us that, digital or not, it’s still a Twin. This amp has a wild side.

“You can also can recreate the violence of pushing those speakers to the point of ripping the cones out of the baskets,” he says. “And that’s always fun.”

Yes, yes it is. The Tone Master ‘59 Twin-Amp JB-Edition is available now, priced £1,789/$1,999. See Fender for more details.

Welcome to the MusicRadar monthly gear round-up, a highlights package covering all of September’s hottest drops – the signature guitars, the signature stompboxes, and the metal guitars for when you have finally been admitted into the guild of Norwegian black metal practitioners.

This month has brought us – finally – a Phil Collen signature Jackson that is priced for the jobbing musician, with the PS1-E an Ensenada-made version of his Californian über-guitar that has all the bells and whistles, including the Def Leppard guitarist’s signature DiMarzio pickups and the active Sustainer system, but a distressed nitro finish, too.

Harley Benton took the opportunity to upgrade the SC-550 Plus with Fishman Fluence humbuckers, Positive Grid put the Spark and all its tones inside a pedal, and Boss unveiled the EX-4 Effects Expander and promised more from your pedalboard.

It was the month that brought us the Squier Paranormal Troy Van Leeuwen Tele XII, a pair of Gretsch guitars in limited edition black limba, and Tone3000 made its library of NAM A2 captures available via guitar plugin.

Meanwhile, PRS and John Mayer teamed up with Jaguar Land Rover for a limited run of Silver Skies finished in classic Defender paint jobs, Fender promised an end to single-coil hum, and Seymour Duncan’s Joe Bonamassa collab continued apace with the Pawn Shop Special P-90s. Also, in pickups, Gibson and Baggs heralded an all-new pickup system for acoustic guitars.

Speaking of which, lets kick things off with some high-end acoustic guitars. Because Taylor just expanded its Next Generation series…

Taylor Guitars Next Generation 12-Fret Grand Concerts

Those with a little cash to spare, a penchant for a smaller-bodied cutaway acoustic guitars and a taste for the finer things in life – like, say, the scent of immaculately polished sinker redwood – will fall head over heels in love this expansion of Taylor’s Next Generation lineup.

There are five models in total, including the 512ce, PS12ce, K22ce, 712ce plus the 12-string 552ce, each assuming the compact player-friendly dimensions of the Grand Concert, each offering a different take on what has become a real player’s favourite over the years.

You get all the high-end appointments of the Next Generation Series: the Claria electronics, the Action Control Neck and the scalloped V-Class bracing.

The $11,999 PS12ce 12-Fret is Taylor at its most ornate, complete with that aforementioned sinker redwood, and the more restrained builds we know and love, including that very tidy western cedar 512ce that offers a 100 per cent pro-quality instrument for $2,999.

Find out more at Taylor Guitars

Yamaha Matteo Mancuso Signature Revstar RS20MM

Matteo Mancuso’s meteoric rise has reminded anyone who needed reminding that Yamaha’s Revstar remains one of the finest guitar designs of the modern era.

His signature Revstar is based off his Custom Shop model, and features a pair of DiMarzio PAF Pro 36th Anniversary humbuckers, and offers players something a little different.

Just be warned: it won’t make the Sicilian virtuoso’s fingerstyle fusion approach any easier, but with that chambered mahogany body, topped with figured maple, a carbon-reinforced neck that’s glued to the body, and five-way switching to get the most out of those PAF Pros, it’s a lot of guitar for $1,599.

See Yamaha for more.

Yamaha FG/FS7 Series

This has been a big month for Yamaha. Don’t sleep on its F7 Series acoustic guitars.

They are made in Japan, have an exceptional all-solid build, with Sitka spruce on top, Indian rosewood or mahogany on the back and sides, and an understated aesthetic. The natural finish and clean lines belies the fact that playing a flagship Yamaha acoustic can be a revelatory experience.

For £/$1,999, they are a must-try for serious players and jobbing pros, with the series comprising dreadnought and concert-sized models.

Find out more at Yamaha.

Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus colors

Rounding out the Yamaha launches, we have a round of fresh finishes for the for one of the all-time classic S-style workhorses. Now available in Sonic Blue, Ice Blue, Fired Red, and Tobacco Brown Sunburst.

Gibson DES Series

So this is what happens when the CEO learns how to make electric guitars? The former Gibson CEO now board member and artist ambassador Cesar Gueikian made it a priority in his time in charge of the Nashville-based guitar brand to learn the job from the shop floor up, stealing some time for himself on a Friday to head down to the Craftory in the company of master luthier and sensei Jim De Cola.

Much of being a CEO is about dealing with figures, making decisions that could affect people’s livelihoods. Making guitars was not that; it was a moment’s relief, and the guitars he made have been played by the likes of Billy Gibbons and Kirk Hammett.

Gueikian did tell us we might see his builds for sale one day, and the DES (his motto, “Do epic shit”) Collection is a super limited run that sports the Ghost Burst finish that he developed – and Tool’s Adam Jones named.

The range comprises a Flying V, SG, Les Paul, and Victory, and is all but sold out. But here’s hoping we see this finish again – and this DES aesthetic and spec – now that it is officially a thing. Gibson’s new Alnico VIII Elev8 humbuckers come as standard, compound radius ebony fingerboards. A portion of the proceeds goes to Gibson Gives.

Find out more at Gibson.

Strandberg Boden Essential Tremolo

Every now and again a guitar brand comes along that can claim the revolutionary tag, and Strandberg, this pioneer for neo-headless guitar designs – catnip to the prog-metal and math-rock set – is one of them.

Its latest is a $1,099 version of its flagship model now comes with the Arc TILT tremolo unit, and it is still super lightweight and has that ergonomic neck profile that’s approved by the likes of Plini et al. See Strandberg for more.

See Strandberg for more.

ESP/LTD Black Metal

ESP’s refresh of the LTD Black Metal series introduces a little red to the colour scheme with this new Black Red Burst finish – in satin, presumably because it’s borderline homophonic with Satan, and he/she/it is the core demographic for a shreddable über-metal build that houses a single Seymour Duncan MortalCoil at the bridge position. Just one pickup? Ah, don’t worry, it’s got multi-voices.

The M-7HT seven-string baritone with the reverse headstock is using one of those voices to speak to us. You’ll have to play us backwards to reveal what that message is, but it’s something along the lines of !em yuB !em yuB.

See ESP Guitars for more.

Reverend Billy Corgan Infinite Sadness

Everyone flipped their wig when they saw Billy Corgan play one of these live onstage at Lollapalooza and now Reverend has released the Infinite Sadness – in very small quantities – to mark the 30th anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkins’ most audaciously massive album.

Available in baritone or regular six-strings, these look exceptional in Black Sparkle, especially with that graphic finish. And although they are limited edition, they are affordable.

See Reverend Guitars for more – and good luck finding one.

Sterling By Music Man Cory Wong StingRay II

Finally, the affordable SBMM version of the funk-master’s humbucker-equipped signature model has arrived. We could tell you more about why the Vulfpeck guitarist went for humbuckers, but Cory Wong already told MusicRadar all about it – and what the StingRay II can give him that his Strat can’t.

Guild Starfire 2026 lineup

A semi-hollow Starfire is a wonderful thing indeed, and Guild has just dropped a whole bunch of them. There is a four-string bass version. There is a single-cut, a Deluxe, a Custom. Some have Guild’s Bigsby-esque vibrato. Others have their TOM-style bridge and tailpiece.

There are 17 of them and in some stunning finishes. This being a Newark St release, the price tag is pretty reasonable.

Check them out at Guild.

Fender Lee Sklar Precision Bass

It’s not uncommon for session aces to modify their number one instrument over the years, adding features, taking some away, knowing what works for the widest variety of musical scenarios, and that’s how Lee Sklar ended up with the Precision Bass on which this new signature model is based on.

It’s not your typical P Bass. There are mandolin frets, a pair of active EMGs, a Hipshot BT3 Bass Xtender and a Badass II bridge, and perhaps the most important feature is one you’ll only notice when you pick it up. It has the neck of a “shaved down” Jazz Bass. Wild.

See Fender for more.

Gibson Custom Artisan Hummingbird and SJ-200 Koa

The Artisan Series is not so much end-of-the-month, let’s blow the paycheck kind of proposition. It’s more a blow-the-retirement instrument, but what a way to spend it.

Here the Hummingbird and SJ-200 are giving a bougie koa makeover and we can well believe that those open chords will never have sounded sweet on them.

See Gibson for more.

Vox AC Mini

If the Vox AC30 and AC15 could get you evicted if you were to open them up and throttle them in a domestic setting, perhaps applying a Dallas Rangemaster to the front end to live out your Rory Gallagher/Brian May fantasies, then consider the AC Mini the solid-state compact powerhouse you can crank up at home, and still have a roof over your head the following morning.

See Vox Amplification for more.

Two Notes Engineering Torpedo Captor X Pro

Two Notes’ latest flagship reactive load box, passive attenuator, stereo DI and all-round backline power tool was co-developed with Ampete Engineering and antes up what was already a fully featured proposition.

Those features translate to usefulness. You can use the Torpedo Captor X Pro for “studio-grade” direct recording, taming a fire-breathing tube amp and adjusting its feel, resonance and attack, and with all the key parameters adjustable via the front panel – the centre of which is an easy-to-read colour display – and the accompanying Torpedo app, Two Notes gives you total control over the unit, and, ergo, your backline.

Find out more at Two Notes Engineering.

HeadRush FRFR Cab Series

HeadRush has been building out its digital tone ecosystem nicely, with the latest Core, Prime and Prime Flex guitar multi-effects pedals and amp modellers now offering native support for Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) captures and full integration with the Tone3000 platform. Well, you need something to play these units through, and so these new FRFR Cab Series Speakers might do the trick nicely – and they’re only 399 bucks or so.

See HeadRush for more.

Strymon La Brea

Strymon’s analogue project has already chalked up some stone-cold classics. The Canoga Fuzz is one of the best things we’ve had on the pedalboard this year. The Fairfax was, surely, impossible not to love.

And now this, the La Brea, or just La Brea, a pedal inspired by the development of the Deco tape saturation and double-tracker, which offers you compression and saturated drive, all the way up to fuzz sounds.

Check the sound samples in the demo above. We need to try this one quick.

See Strymon for more.

Fortin 3.33 Fredrik Thordendal signature dual channel boost pedal

Everyone loves ‘the ultimate whatever.’ It’s what we’re all searching for. The ultimate overdrive. The ultimate fuzz. The ultimate moderately powered tube combo with real spring reverb. And so on.

Well, the sequel to Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah’s signature Fortin boost pedal might just be one of the ultimate boost for high-gain metal players. It can even change the channels on your amp, and will help shape your sound so that riffs cause maximum damage.

See Fortin for more.

JAM Pedals Wahcko MK2

We lose our minds about vintage gear but what would players in the late ‘60s and ‘70s have done to have one of these on their ‘boards. Chances are, it might sound quite similar to the units they’ve been using, with Jam developing an inductor inspired by the OG TDK inductors in ‘60s Vox wah pedals.

But you’ve got some modern updates, with a six-way adjustable sweep and input gain control. And the enclosure design is very cool.

See Jam Pedals for more.

Flattley Reaper 10th anniversary Dual Mode Distortion

The Golden Age of Effects Pedals is a time of great abundance. Who can remember every drive and distortion pedal that came over the transom? But wait, didn’t Flattley already make a Reaper?

Well, yes, it did, and this 10th anniversary reimagining of the concept swaps out the old rotary control, retains the op-amp architecture, then adds soft and hard-clipping, and a boost mode.

As ever, you’ve got the cool Mexican-inspired enclosure art and what we’d expect to be a tip-top build.

Find out more at Flattley Guitar Pedals.

EarthQuaker Devices Stereo Easy Listening

The tiny pedal amp simulator gets a stereo upgrade. Sure, digital amp modellers are really exciting, what with all those options, but don’t forget you can do this the analogue way, too. Use it for silent practice, going direct into the PA, with “zero latency and no harsh digital artefacts”.

See more at EarthQuaker Devices.

Walrus Audio Fundamental Lo-Fi Delay

Walrus Audio updates its slider-equipped Fundamental range with a delay pedal that could scarcely be more on-trend.

Everyone and their indie-folk soundscaping cousin is turning looking for that gauzy, soft-focus magic in their tone, repeats that sound like a memory fading… Or something like that. Texture is the buzzword we’re looking for. And it is just $99.

See more at Walrus Audio.

Keeley Electronics Tube Drive

And for his next trick, breadboard magician Robert Keeley sticks a a Russian 12AX7 triode into an overdrive pedal, offers two drives (“high-voltage tube drive” and the Keeley Phat Mod) and the capability to stack them and change the stacking order with a flick of your big toe.

It has switchable bypass, is build in Oklahoma, and the tube is already burned in, ready to go, on your ‘board, on the road, and if you look under that K-shaped grille you can see it at work. Let it cook! Okay, $399 is not cheap but it’s a serious drive.

See Keeley Electronics for more.

Warm Audio Mod Series

SolidGold FX Fuzzbox

The Fuzzbox is SolidGold’s modern reinterpretation of a classic Tone Bender MkII, adding Bias and Sag switches, plus switchable Modern and Vintage modes.

Purists can get sniffy about switching up the classics, but when it comes to fuzz pedals, surely it makes sense, a practical and fun upgrade that makes it easier to find that Jimmy Page LedZep fire – and some tones of your own.

Find out more at SolidGold FX.

To usher in the new month with fresh gear discounts, Positive Grid has launched its autumn Sparktober sale, reducing prices across its line of smart amplifiers and accessories. Now, while the first wave of deals went live today, with a focused on admittedly a very small selection of gear, further price cuts are expected to roll out in the coming days – so be on the look out for those.

Delivering Positive Grid’s acclaimed sound processing in a compact, wired setup, the ultra-portable Spark Neo Core headphone amp takes center stage in this sale. Reduced by an impressive 38% to an entry-level price of $99, it offers a budget-conscious alternative to traditional practice amplifiers. The PG Spark Neo Core was already a great value option for guitar players, but with a massive $60 discount, it's astounding value for money right now. A great option for silent practice, Spark Neo Core delivers a wide range of amp and effects tones that suit any kind of guitar player.

For guitarists who need more volume on stage or in rehearsal, Positive Grid has knocked 25% off both the Black and Pearl editions of the Spark Cab. Normally retailing for $349, either finish can currently be picked up for $261.

This 140-watt powered cabinet serves as a versatile, flat-response active speaker – ideal for existing Spark users as well as players running third-party digital modellers or multi-effects pedals. In addition to a 3.5mm input for the Spark, there are stereo combo TRS and XLR inputs and balanced XLR outputs, making this 140-watt class D FRFR cab ideal for multi-effects pedals with amp and cab modelling, as well as compact amp pedals.

The cab features a 10-inch woofer and two high-frequency dome tweeters, making it an option for electric and electro-acoustic guitars. It even has USB-C and DC-out for powering your Spark, tablet, or phone. That means Spark practice amp owners don't have to worry about running out of power onstage.

Now, with Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days slated to begin on October 6, additional sales across guitars and accessories are coming very soon. Be sure to monitor our Prime Day music deals hub for further updates as new discounts arrive across major retailers.

Positive Grid has expanded its digital guitar amp and multi-effects eco-system with the Spark Pedal, a compact unit powered by its HD Tone Engine and featuring an onboard looper and the many of the smart features that helped revolutionise the desktop amp market.

Again, this is electric guitar tone seeking perched out on the frontiers of digital innovation; the technologists among you will surely be excited by the AI-powered Text To Tone features offered via the accompanying Spark app, and the capability to browse more than 100,000 tones on Positive Grid’s ToneCloud, and putting together a custom signal chain from whichever amps, effects, and cab emulations that take your fancy.

Old Spark favourites such as Audio Chords, which listens to the track you are playing along to and gives you the chords in real-time, are present and correct.

“This gig-ready rig makes it easy to bring the tone and power of Spark amps to live performances, rehearsals, home practice and recording sessions,” says Positive Grid. Designed for electric, bass and acoustic players, it incorporates into any setup for fast, intuitive tone building with no learning curve.”

It is easy to forget that all of this is a brave new world, and yet the success of the Spark platform has always been about presenting these smart and novel features in a way that we old fuddy-duddy analogue types can get behind.

In other words: is it easy to use? Does it feel like an amp? The setup certainly seems intuitive enough.

The Spark Pedal is a three-footswitch unit that can be easily thrown into a backpack. One footswitch toggles between Amp and FX Modes.

In Amp Mode, the knobs control Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble “like a traditional amp head” while FX Mode appropriates those same controls for Drive, Modulation, Delay, and Reverb depth.

There are, of course, presets. Out of the box you get 33 amp models and 43 effects. Again, the ToneCloud is where there are thousands upon thousands of news sounds to explore.

Positive Grid have designed the Spark Pedal to be an all-in-one fly rig; everything you need to play a show is here. Simply send the signal direct to the PA system.

Similarly, you can use it as a guitar audio interface and tone hub, and use it as recording solution. There is a headphones output for silent practice, too, and you can stream audio to it via Bluetooth for playing along to an accompaniment.

Alternatively, just use it in the old-school way of any other preamp/multi-effects pedal and hook it up in front of your amp – or in its effects loop – and use it alongside the other pedals on your ‘board.

The onboard looper gives you 60 seconds of looping time, and all these features – record, overdub, etc – is operated via the footswitches.

The Spark Pedal is available now, priced £169/$199. Head over to Positive Grid for more.

We’re fast approaching Labor Day weekend, which means some big opportunities for guitarists to save money. One mega reduction I just spotted is a $60 price cut on the Positive Grid Spark Neo Core, one of the best silent practice solutions available for guitarists.

That works out as a huge 38% discount, which is a significant chunk of change on a product that was only released last year. It’s not wireless, so you need to plug a guitar cable into it, but I’ve found it’s one of the most immediate ways to practice your guitar chops.

I’ve been hands-on with the Spark Neo Core, and I found the build quality to be excellent, with a rugged rubber coating on the outside of it. The ear cushions are really comfortable for long playing sessions, and although they’re on the heavier side versus a pair of studio headphones, the generous cushioning in the headband makes up for it.

As there’s no wireless connectivity, they’re super easy to use. Just plug your guitar cable into the headphones themselves, then pop the other end into your guitar’s output jack, and you’re ready to rock. You can go fully wireless with the Positive Grid Spark Neo, but they’re considerably more expensive, and that’s before you take into account the latest discount.

Wearing them takes some getting used to because you have a cable physically plugged into them, and I did spend some time finding the perfect routing for the cable. Once that was done, I was flying, and I could concentrate on just playing my guitar.

You can use them without the smartphone app, as there are four hardware presets accessible via buttons on the side of the headphones themselves. To get the most out of these, it is definitely worth diving into the app and sculpting your perfect tones using the 33 amp and 43 effects models the Spark companion app gives you.

It means you can create pretty much any tone you think of, whether you play rock, blues, metal, or anything else, and the quality of the sounds is top-notch. It’s also a really immersive experience because of the closed-back design of the headphones, which reject all but the loudest external noises.

Welcome to the monthly MusicRadar guitar gear roundup, where we cast an eye to the month that was and all the best that August had to bring us – the electric guitars, the amps, and the newly minted stompboxes for our ever-expanding pedalboards.

This was the month that brought us the MXR Flanger/Doubler, with the the iconic Dimebag Darrell rack unit rehoused in a compact pedal format. We also so the release of one of this year’s coolest acoustic guitars, the Epiphone Marcus King El Dorado – good luck finding an acoustic with this much vibe (that pickguard!) and LR Baggs electronics for under a thousand bucks.

Well, Martin and Joe Bonamassa might be able to help on that score, at least with the mojo. His latest signature collaboration with the brand features not one but two Martin guitars. One is a high-end 00-18, but the other is the very affordable Mexican-made 00-10E – and both arriving fresh from the shopfloor with that pre-War shade-top look.

We also saw the release of Jam Pedals’ Stu Mackenzie signature stompbox, the Tiny Amp Destroyer. Sleep Token’s first-ever signature collab arrived via Jackson and Charvel, Gretsch dropped a super-luxury Penguin, and Harley Benton expanded its beginner-friendly electric guitar lineup with the SC-Special Hybrid, a smart-looking singlecut with a P-90/humbucker pickup combo.

And of course, the digital transformation of guitar tone gathers momentum, with Line 6 expanding Helix Stadium ecosystem with a plugin, HeadRush adding native Tone3000 integration, and Neural DSP rolling out its biggest-ever update for the Quad Cortex and Quad Cortex Mini.

But there was more. And in this roundup we’ll pick out the highlights. But where to begin? Well, what about Gibson’s first baritone guitar since the early 2010s?

Gibson Victory Baritone

No one quite knew how the Victory would do when Gibson launched the redesigned doublecut in 2024, reprising a design that didn’t really make it in the ‘8os when shred-fever was at its highest. But lo, it worked. It found an audience.

Its slightly offset body shape, the glued-in neck, the six-in-line headstock; it had something about it. And having refreshed the second coming of the Victory with a Floyd Rose vibrato, Gibson now takes the Victory for a Victory lap with a 28” scale baritone, developing an all-new Alnico VIII ELEV8 humbucker for the occasion.

Again, you’ve got the compound radius fingerboard of its siblings, but a lot more low-end to play around in – and there’s a little push-pull coil-splitting for that Vinnie Bell baritone twang to complement the low-end chug.

Head to Gibson for more.

Epiphone Lzzy Hale Explorer Custom 

Let’s stick with the Gibson brands for a moment, because Lzzy Hale’s Explorer Custom just got a refresh that may or may not be visible from space, thanks to that Black Diamond Holographic Sparkle finish. You might have seen this look before. It comes fresh off her Kramer Voyager. But the Explorer wears it well.

Again, this is an Epiphone guitar hovering just under the thousand-dollar mark but jacking the spec up high. Look closely and you’ll notice the multi-ply binding on the body’s top. We have some new Epiphone Ignite humbuckers, too. And that price includes a hard-shell guitar case.

Find out more at Epiphone.

Death By Audio x Rainger FX Amp Crash

Now to the craziest stompbox we have seen this year, and how could it not be given the minds behind it? In one corner of this padded R&D cell you have Oliver Ackermann, head honcho of Death By Audio pedals. In the other, there’s David Rainger.

“David from Rainger is who I always gravitate to at any event,” said Ackermann His effects are bonkers in the best way possible.”

What they emerged with is a pedal with a built-in 3-watt amplifier complete with an onboard 2” speaker and micropone, plus reverb, chorus and echo, and it sounds nuts. Make it your number one choice for fuzzy spaced-out echos, deconstructed twang, “Feedback Inferno” and more. At $395 it ain’t cheap but sonic extremists saw the value, with initial batches sold out. More are on the way.

“When he told me he was coming to NY to work on a collaboration, it was a dream come true,” said Ackermann. “Like cities in the world, Rainger FX is Death By Audio's sister company: weird, wild, and totally extreme. Working on this project with Rainger pushed us to create something so extreme, and then we took it further.”

Yeah, no kidding.

See Death By Audio for more.

PRS Dany Villareal Astryx 

We love a new limited edition PRS signature guitar and the Astryx, a new-look Custom 24 for the Warning’s Dany Villareal is no different.

It’s mostly a cosmetic refresh but it really is stunning, with that figured maple top displaying an Ocaso (Sunset) finish that plays around with the sunburst archetype, and the birds are swapped out for some sweet signature inlays.

Find out more at PRS Guitars.

Catalinbread EG-1 Lo-Fi Delay

There are three modes on this doozy of a digital delay pedal. One emulates the analogue feel of a cassette tape, one a vintage radio unit, and the other a digital TV set. Not devices you might necessarily associate with reference-quality guitar tone but it makes perfect sense here.

You can add modulation to these giving that feeling of mechanical movement and bit-crushing, and all these sort of degradation effects that are so on-trend today, perhaps because they speak to the sounds from a more innocent era.

As a fan of Catalinbread’s sumptuous Belle Epoch tape echo emulation, this looks like a compelling new delay option, all big textures and vibes.

Find out more at Catalinbread.

Fender George Harrison 1967 Bass VI

The Bass VI is one of the strangest and most brilliant of all Fender designs, even if it might forever feel like mainstream appeal will never quite arrive.

At this price (£8,599/$9,500), this version modelled after the model the Beatles used in the studio, the Bass VI will surely remain a niche instrument but it not only presents collectors with an exceptionally well-made offset six-string bass guitar that blurs the line between guitar and bass (it is a bass but still), but a Fender history lesson too. Note the 3-Color Sunburst sunbleached to two on the instrument’s top.

It comes fitted with three custom-wound Jaguar single-coils and has a bound AAA rosewood fingerboard with block inlays, and it is as good a time machine to the late ‘60s as you could find. That tone… Not just for Beatles fans.

Find out more at Fender.

Hotone Pulze Jr

Okay, 21st-century digital amp time, with the Hotone Pulze Jr the latest to roll off the factory floor fitted with some AI superpowers.

It goes without saying that this super-compact little amp (a definite contender for your practice amp needs) sounds bigger than it looks, but it also comes with AI tone creation (voice or text) and AI track separation, and if it does not give you the ick, there are “intelligent backing tracks” you can play to sharpen up those practice sessions.

Other features include 200 presets, and the seven moveable effect modules, all of which deliver your tone in full stereo.

See Hotone for more.

Cort Exotic Series

Those bored of the spruce/mahogany acoustic guitar paradigm might like the looks of these keenly priced Cort Exotic acoustics, which pare the solid spruce top with ash burl, myrtlewood and walnut.

Cort is offering these in its SFX and Grand Auditorium cutaway models, which come stage-ready with aCort’s CE304T acoustic guitar pickup and preamp, which means you have a piezo pickup, and a 3-band EQ and onboard digital guitar tuner. Expect to pay less than 300 bucks.

Find out more at Cort Guitars.

Charvel Pro-Mod Plus DK24

Already, shred heads, here’s something that might be worth loosening the purse strings for, and you know the drill. It’s a DK24, so that means a Jackson Dinky body with a 24-fret Charvel bolt-on neck and build, and a spec that’s pretty damn metal. At least the choice of pickups suggest as much.

The dual humbucker options feature a Seymour Duncan Nazgul at the bridge, a Sentient at the neck, while the HSS version pair a Seymour Duncan Full Shred humbucker with a pair of Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 single-coils.

This is a great drop for fans of green guitars. Just check out that Floyd-equipped Cloaked Emerald Green HH model – complete with black Speed Knobs – and the Zombie Fade HSS model with the recessed Wilkinson tremolo.

Find out more at Charvel.

Blackstar adds Moises support for Beam Solo and Beam Mini

Blackstar’s compact digital amp and headphone amp was already a tech-forward proposition. You have all the effects, the amp models, and you have the Tone3000 integration, and now – as promised at NAMM 2026 – there is Moises support too. The industry leading stem separation technology is available now if you use iOS, and is coming to Android on September 30.

Download it on your app and you can isolate guitars in your favourite songs, or remove them. It’s a superb practice tool, allowing you to isolate the part you are trying to learn then play along.

Find out more at Blackstar.

Walrus Audio Canvas Expression Pedal

The most useful expression pedal ever? Possibly. We’ve got two independent outputs, which can be configured as expression, switch and CV outputs It’s fully customisable (tapers, sweeps, you name it), and can be your MIDI controller too.

Okay, $299 is not cheap but for complicated rigs it could be over-qualified performance-friendly utility pedal you’ve been waiting on.

Head over to Walrus Audio for more.

Old Blood Noise Endeavors Beam Splitter v2

The sequel to the 13-knob distortion pedal promises the same madcap take on the distortion pedal. It, too, takes your signal, makes three copies of it, applies three different overdrives to it, then sends a pair of them through two individual delay lines, thus making your sound f____g humungous – the sound of one guitar turned into three.

But this is a lot more user friendly. Enter, presets, expression control over every parameter, MIDI control over everything, mono/stereo output (and trereo as OBNE call it), and switchable buffered trails or true bypass.

If you are the sole guitarist in a rock or metal band – or any band where gain is called for – the Beam Splitter could be transformative. At $379, it’s expensive. But what other pedals on the market do this?

Find out more at Old Blood Noise Endeavors.

DOD Drag Analog Delay

Is this the second coming of the Rubberneck? Well, there is a Rubberneck mode, which extends this bucket brigade delay pedal’s maximum repeat time from 750 ms to 1.5 seconds. And it’s got self-oscillation at its extremes.

With Delay Time, Repeats and Level controls, it might present itself as a straightforward analogue delay, but those mini-dials for Drift and Friction add modulation and a time-warp feature for pitch-shifting repeats and all kinds of strange temporal anomalies. And strange is good.

Find our more at DOD/Digitech.

JHS Pedals AT Mini

JHS Pedals shrinks down Andy Timmons’ signature overdrive pedal and does so with a minimum of compromise. Literally, the only thing that is different is that the wattage switch has gone, with this AT Mini set at Timmons’ 100-watt setting at all times, and we don’t have the footswitchable boost.

But otherwise it’s the same circuit, with Volume and Drive doing their thing alongside an Air control that behaves like presence on an amp, and an EQ dial for a high-pass filter that brightens or darkens your tone.

And there you go: red-hot amp-in-a-box drive tones in a mini pedal format, for just $129 and you can buy the full-fat version for $219 if you really want the boost and alt-wattage settings. Lovely.

See JHS Pedals for more.

Friedman Amplification has expanded its Jose Arredondo tribute series with a 20-watt head and combo that makes the legendary amp-modder’s hot-rodded Marshall tones more accessible than ever.

This is a big one. A BFD. A Marshall tube amp modded by the late great Arredondo is a rare and precious thing indeed. Those with an ear attuned to his super-hot twists on the classic recipe will speak of their magic, and of how they kick-started a revolution in high-gain tone.

Arredondo took that classic Plexi sound into a new era. Players such as Steve Vai, Metallica’s James Hetfield, John Sykes of Whitesnake, Peter Frampton, George Lynch, and Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe were all clients of his, or players who used his modded guitar amps.

Indeed, the latter’s work on Dr Feelgood is a good example of the Arredondo sound – though with all that layering it might be eaten up a bit. Hetfield made full use of his on Metallica’s 72 Seasons. In fact, Dave Friedman actually worked on that amp to get it in good shape for the sessions.

“There were all sorts of weird things with that amp, and some broken things,” said Friedman, speaking to Total Guitar in 2021. “One thing I had to do is there was a 200-watt output transformer in it, which isn’t stock to the amplifier and I’m not sure why it was ever there. I don’t know why it was ever put in there. So we changed it to a 100-watt output transformer, one of mine.

“And I went through the circuit and went through everything and I made it sound good. It’s still the mod, I didn’t sit there and alter the thing – I just made it the best it could sound. And it did sound really good.”

In terms of electric guitar tone tastes and their penchant for hot-rodded vintage Marshall sounds, Friedman and Arredondo were very much cut from the same cloth, and for this series he has collaborated with Marisol Arredondo, Jose’s daughter, on the amp’s design.

As per the Friedman design aesthetic, we have gold-on-black. As per the Friedman design ethic there are a host of player-friendly features.

The vibe here is a tighter low end, more sustain and harmonic volatility – it’s a more Friday night treatment of the archetypical classic rock tone. There is an additional gain stage accessible via the Plexi/Gain switch. There is a Fat switch that adds weight and thump to your low end.

The channels are internally bridged so you can blend bright and normal inputs via the Volume I and II dials. There is a three-way gain switch that adds diode clipping to give the gain a more contemporary feel.

These updates are all in tribute to those original Arredondo mods. These amps feature custom-built transformers. Unlike old Plexis, these do have a series effects loop – integrating your pedalboard is easy. There is also a System Master Volume. These updates speak to practicality as much as they do to the modernisation of the Plexi as a high-gain platform.

Under the hood there are a pair of EL84 power tubes and a quartet of 12AX7s in the preamp. Friedman makes these by hand in California. The combo houses a single 12” Celestion G12M-65 Creamback, and it’s priced £/$2,099, while the head is priced £/$1,799.

For more details, head over to Friedman Amplification.

Neural DSP has launched its biggest CorOS update ever, bringing more sounds and functionality to its Quad Cortex amp modeller and multi-effects platform, with expanded guitar plugin compatibility and features that could radically transform your workflow.

The CorOS 4.1.0 update is free for all Quad Cortex and Quad Cortex Mini users, and there’s a lot to dig into. The headline items of 8 new virtual devices is a good place to start.

We now have a Multivoicer harmonizer, the Glitch granular delay, Ring Modulator, Arpeggio Delay, Crystal Delay, Vintage Digital Reverb, the Douglas Shining compressor, which is based on Dark Glass Electronics’ Hyper Luminal compressor, and the Plugin Parametric-4 EQ.

More X plugins can be run natively on your device, with Neural DSP adding compatibility for Tim Henson, John Mayer, John Petrucci, Rabea Massaad and Misha Mansoor’s signature Archetype plugin bundles.

There is also Dual Footswitch Assignments that could make the Quad Cortex’s Stomp Mode more performance-friendly. And the Cortex Control 4.1.0 update is not to be sniffed at either – you can now control multiple devices from your computer all at the same time, assigning each unit a name and toggling between units without touching any cables.

But maybe the most exciting new feature is Device Presets, which could really change how you go about putting together your tones. This allows you to save the settings of any Virtual Device in your rig and then pull them into another preset.

So say you had a really good US-style boutique clean tube amp dialled in on one preset, you could pull it out and easily recall it in another. That also goes for virtual speaker cabinets, drive units, effects, utilities. Finding new electric guitar tones just got a little easier.

Also, the CorOS 4.1.0 launches with 2,000 Factory Device Presets.

Neural DSP’s CPO and co-founder, Francisco Cresp, says it is “major milestone” for the Quad Cortex ecosystem.

“We’re giving musicians even more freedom to create, experiment, and move between software and hardware without compromise,” says Cresp.

The Cortex Control 4.1.0 update also brings some workflow updates – crucially, it now supports Device Presets, I/O Settings Presets and Global EQ Presets.

"Every CorOS release is about making Quad Cortex a more powerful creative platform," says Douglas Castro, CEO and co-founder of Neural DSP. “This update is our biggest yet, not only because of the amount of new functionality we’ve added, but because it fundamentally changes how quickly musicians can build sounds, move between devices, and bring our entire plugin ecosystem into their hardware workflow.”

The update is free. Head over to Neural DSP for more.

It is 60 years since the late Jimi Hendrix first plugged into a Marshall, turned it up and sent guitar spinning on a different axis, and the British guitar amp company is continuing its anniversary celebrations with a custom half-stack, headphones and a Bluetooth speaker.

All come in purple-and-black cosmic swirl, with silver details and commemorative badging, and for players who thought the hand-wired 1969 JMH Super Lead tube amp head launched in May was maybe too much of a fire-breather in this day and age, the more moderately powered 20-watt Hendrix 60th Anniversary JMH Studio Edition is a more portable – and more house-trainable – proposition.

A word of caution, though: 20-watts of tube power (a pair of EL34s do the grunt work under the hood) is still l-o-u-d, but this amp is switchable down to 5-watts.

This amp is all made at Marshall’s Bletchley factory, in the UK, and comes bundled with a matching 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion V12s, with both featuring a third eye badge. Another cool detail is the purple LED.

Elsewhere, it’s very much the Studio Vintage Plexi vibe we know and love – a downsized 1959SLP with two bridgeable channels, controls for Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, High Treble and Normal.

Around the back you will find a series effects loop – hey, the originals did not have that – plus 16, 8 and 4-ohms speaker connections and a DI output, too.

You can check out how all this sounds in the demo video featuring Texan rock and blues guitar phenom Ally Venable above.

Janie Hendrix says it is incumbent on today’s generation of players to take the torch from her brother and reinvent the electric guitar their own way.

“Jimi was always searching for a sound that did not yet exist, pushing beyond what anyone thought an electric guitar could do,” she says. “Marshall gave him the power and freedom to turn those bold ideas into a sound the world had never heard before. Sixty years later, that connection between Jimi and Marshall still speaks to new generations of musicians who are pushing creative boundaries and searching for their own sound”

Also included in this release is a special edition Emberton III Bluetooth speaker and a set of foldable Royal V headphones.

These are available now direct from Marshall, priced £149 and £129 respectively, and from other retailers from September 9. The JMH Studio Bundle ships from September 9 and is priced £1,749. US prices TBC.

For more details head over to Marshall.

IK Multimedia has given its Tonex Player a top-to-bottom refresh, offering a completely user experience “photorealistic” gear choices, improved workflow – and there are some fresh sounds too with this public beta release debuting 220 all-new Premium Tone Models.

Think of the Tonex 2.0 Player as the “creative hub” of IK Multimedia’s electric guitar and bass tone ecosystem; it’s the one place for managing your Tone Models, edits, presets, captures, and where you search for new sounds.

Once you’ve created your sounds you can make them available across your Tonex hardware devices.

When IK Multimedia says its Tonex ecosystem is growing, it really means it. I swear the diagram [see below] showing how the Tonex 2.0 Player sits at the heart of all the various hardware devices is getting more byzantine by the day.

The Tonex 2.0 Player is available as a guitar plugin or as a standalone app for your DAW. Boot it up and the first thing you will notice is that the homepage has changed, with your gear, signal chain and library all accessible.

“It’s faster to find the sound you want, easier to shape it, and more rewarding to explore everything Tonex has to offer,” says IK Multimedia.

The “photorealistic gear experience” is only a cosmetic update but these things matter, especially when browsing through the many, many different amp models. Speaking of browsing, the Tonex 2.0 Player offers improved integration with the ToneNET user community, with the new Smart Search feature making it easier to find user-created Tone Models and full signal-chain presets. There are dedicated (and resizeable) floating browsers to make navigating your various amps, effects and Tonex Collections a little bit easier.

That is crucial to the Tonex model. It is designed to be fully interoperable across all Tonex products, software and hardware alike, and IK Multimedia's Amplitube 5 platform. The big selling point for this refresh is that it creates “a single connected workflow from capture to studio, rehearsal, and stage”.

The Tonex 2.0 Player is available now as a public beta, and will soon be available as a free update for all Tonex users.

For more details, head over to IK Multimedia.

HeadRush has just launched a firmware update for its Core, Prime and Prime Flex guitar multi-effects pedals and amp modellers, and it is officially a big deal, offering native support for Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) captures and full integration with the Tone3000 platform.

This is a free update, and yet it is transformative, giving players access to “hundreds of thousands” of community-created NAM captures via Tone3000's platform.

“The update transforms how musicians discover, download, and perform with premium tone,” says HeadRush. “[It connects] players directly to a global ecosystem of players, producers, audio engineers, artists, and creators with no computer, conversion, or third-party software required.”

For those of us who grew up with the earliest digital multi-effects processors, it all seems too good to be true, and yet it’s not. And it invites analogies with how technology has transformed how we quote/unquote consume music.

You could say that this is another iPod moment for electric guitar tone, or a step towards a world in which guitar tones are as abundantly available online as any other digital media.

Other companies have made full use of their digital ecosystems to expand our tone options.

Positive Grid has made sharing presets and sounds easy across its vast user network. The launch of Line 6’s Helix Stadium brought with it the Proxy Cloning Engine that allowed you to create a digital clone of an amp, amp and cab, preamp or overdrive, distortion or fuzz pedal. Again, you could share it.

Neural DSP’s Neural Capture tech lets you capture your amp or distortion etc over the cloud and share them with the Neural user community.

But the sounds you create using those technologies are locked to those platforms. You can’t play the Neural Capture on the Line 6 unit.

What HeadRush is doing is providing the unit, providing you with some sounds too, but also you don’t have to fill your amp library with sounds from the company alone – now you have your HeadRush tone ecosystem and the open-source possibilities from Tone3000 integration.

Blackstar did something similar with the Beam Mini and Beam Solo, offering the digital practice and headphone amps with Tone3000 integration and NAM capture support.

The success of the Tone3000 platform, not only in its growth but in its technological prowess, must have more brands thinking of following suit – or at least how they can react to what is a truly disruptive moment for the guitar tone market.

As HeadRush says, “the era of closed tone is over.” That means you can fire up your Flex Prime, browse the Tone3000 library of NAM captures and choose anything you like – a capture of a Dumble, or a Klon, or a combination of amp and pedal. You’ll find amp-and-pedal captures, such as a ’65 Deluxe Reverb boosted with a Klon. And so on.

There is no “degradation” from the unit converting the file. There’s no manual transfer. You can access these sounds via the touchscreen.

And as with any technology, ease of use will accelerate its adoption. Will other brands follow suit is the big question.

Head over to HeadRush and Tone3000 for more.

Where do we start with a month in gear when the new releases just keep on whizzing by, with July 2026 opening to the Gold Crackle lightning of Brandon Ellis’ 27-fret Jackson Kelly, and the month’s release cycle keeping its foot to the floor with signature guitar refreshes for Jim Root’s Telecaster and one really cool Epiphone Hummingbird in Cobra Burst for Eric Church?

And it kept coming. This was the month in which Guild relaunched the S-300 in style, presenting us with a $799 offset guitar with incalculable vibe, meanwhile Gibson gave the 1971 Flying Medallion a VOS Custom Shop reissue, Gretsch brought the CVT to the Streamliner Series, and Harley Benton threw a T-style party – and it finally launched its Aged Series, offering hand-relic’d electric guitars and basses for under 250 bucks.

What a time to be alive. Live, love, laugh, and so say all of us...

Then there were the pedals. Wowee! There was the MXR Textures, a “Granular Synth Engine” for adventurist players, or the Walrus Audio Lüm, a “Texture Engine” – two pedals we have to A/B at some point…

But then Electro-Harmonix gave its Big Muff Pi 2 the Deluxe treatment, and (we’re burying the lede here), Strymon unveiled the TimeLine MX, quite possibly the most advanced digital delay pedal we have seen.

Incredible scenes.

Oh, and it was the month Marshall launched the Super Lead with Billie Joe Armstrong’s infamous “Dookie” mod. The ultimate punk rock amp? Quite possibly the ultimate modded Marshall, period, full-stop, and good luck playing that at volume at home, with neighbours and pets within earshot of its matching 4x12 in baby blue Tolex.

That’s a lot to be getting on with. But there was more – and here we are going to take a closer look at some of the other highlights from another bumper month for new gear.

And we're going to kick things off with a look at a pair of guitar amps that showcase the best in amp design from both sides of the Atlantic.

Orange Baby Terror

Say hello to the Baby Terror. You can throw it into a backpack. Unboxed, it only weighs 1.5kg. But don’t write off Orange’s latest micro-sized lunchbox amp – it’s a serious option for the home, rehearsal room or the stage.

We’ve got 20-watts of solid-state power, an onboard effects loop and a balanced XLR output for playing without a speaker cabinet or going direct when recording. And there is so much tone-shaping capability here, not least with a 3-band EQ plus global Presence control, plus a Tubby switch for giving your clean tones extra low-end.

There is also a second footswitchable volume for solo boosts, and it comes with a gig bag. £199/$249 makes it pretty easy on your pocketbook, too.

See Orange Amps for more details

Bad Cat Mod Shop Cub 15 tube combo

Another stunning tube amp from one of the most-hallowed US boutique amp brands, the Cub 15 is another Vox-inspired doozie based upon the late Mark Sampson’s original 1999 design, only this is smaller, more lightweight, with its EL84 power stage revoiced to help cut through a mix.

Despite its single-channel platform, footswitchable gain stages, dual master volumes and superlative EQ’ing make this one versatile combo, complete with onboard reverb and a buffered effects loop.

It ain’t cheap at £/$2,199 but it’s pretty special. Find out more at Bad Cat.

Gibson Les Paul Custom Long Scale and 100th Anniversary Limited Edition Acoustics

At first blush, this latest addition to the Les Paul lineup looks like any other Custom. It is finished in Ebony, has the usual aesthetic appointments that dress the famous single-cut in its tux and have it ready for the awards season. Lovely.

But pick it up and you’ll feel something a little off. Not off, as in wrong, but the string tension is a little different, your hand position adjusted slightly, because Gibson has extended the range of this Custom to a Fender-esque 25.5” scale. T

his is not unheard of on a Gibson instrument; the Victory has a 25.5” scale, as does the SJ-200. But on a Les Paul it’s pretty cool, especially if you like a drop tuning or prefer the response from the longer scale.

It’s priced £5,049/$5,999.

This year marks 100 years of Gibson’s flat-top production and we have seen the launch of the Century Collection rolling the clock back to golden era specs.

But this month the Custom Shop got in on the act with a limited edition run of the J-45, SJ-200, Hummingbird, Dove and Advanced Jumbo, all finished in Cremona Burst, abalone rosettes and LR Baggs electronics come as standard, and each model is limited to just 100 units worldwide. Prices start from £3,949/$4,499

See Gibson for more.

Shergold Telstar 12-string

The Shergold Telstar is one of the most perennially underrated guitars on the market. We, too, are sometimes guilty of forgetting about it, that is until you see one of these slightly off-kilter T-styles, pick it up and play it.

Designed by Patrick James Eggle, featuring a pair of toaster-style FilterSonic humbuckers, a fully adjustable 12-saddle bridge, this 12-string version offers change from 500 bucks and is a compelling option for anyone looking for some electric jangle on the side.

Could be up there with the Guild S-300 as one of the sleeper hits of the year.

See Shergold for more.

Greer Amps Mori or the Vemuram Las Lunas Distortion – why not both?

Okay, here’s a question. Well, here’s two. The first: What do you get if you cross a Klon with a Tube Screamer but then serve it up in a simple three-knob drive box, painted green with the Japanese word for forest written on the front in white Kanji? You get the Mori, of course.

These are small-batch boutique overdrive pedals and the excitement you just felt there at the prospect of some TS-K-style hybrid with ample volume and a handsome enclosure means that, yes, these are sold out – but Greer Amps is making more of these. So head over to Greer Amps for more. It’s priced $249.

The second question is whether your Mount Rushmore of tone is more late ‘70s, early ‘80s hard rock, the molten tube heat of the LA sound. In which case, the Vemuram Las Lunas is worth further investigation. At £399/$415, it’ll cost you.

The Tokyo-based guitar effects pedal specialist’s builds do not come cheap. But with an amp-in-a-box control surface offering a two-channel setup, 3-band EQ, Las Lunas sounds ridiculously good. See Vemuram for more details.

Two quite different dirt pedals, doing quite different jobs, but both could add some gourmet heat to your sound.

Mooer Audio Meta FX

We’ve got another effects pedal here, but this is from the other side of the technological divide, an avowedly digital stompbox described by Mooer Audio as a “multi-firmware stereo effects platform”. Which is to say that it can be configured to handle multitudes: reverb, delay, modulation and more, with features such as infinite sustain and a Kill Dry mode that turns your signal 100 per cent wet.

The Reverb, Delay and Modulation firmware modules are all interchangeable. Just download whichever one you want to use, et voila, you have an all-singing, all-dancing reverb, delay or modulation station, with USB, MIDI connectivity, presets, all kinds of magic, and all for £149/$169.

See Mooer Audio for more.

IK Multimedia Tonex Brown Panel signature collection

It’s summer, 2026, and the Tonex ecosystem just keeps on growing, with the latest amp modelling software package focusing on those hard-to-find transitional Fender amps that came between the Tweed and Black Panel eras.

Again, these have been modelled using IK Multimedia’s proprietary AI modelling tech, and features original speaker options (JBL, Oxford and Jensen) and 80 Tone Models all in.

This bundle is available now at the introductory price of €79, regular price €99. See IK Multimedia for more.

PRS Custom 24 Birds Of A Feather Limited Edition

This has been a big month for PRS Guitars. It appointed its first ever CEO, with Jack Higginbotham graduating from COO. He’s come a long way in his 41 years with the company, starting out in the woodshop and working in every department across the company. It has unveiled the limited run Custom 24 Birds of a Feather model that exemplifies how its Private Stock models inform its US-made Core series lineup.

It is named for the fretboard inlays which were designed by the brand’s director of manufacturing and head of Private Stock, Paul Miles.

“I wanted to design an inlay that was simple and easy to read from across the room or on a stage but was also uniquely PRS," says Miles. "I have always been fascinated with inlay work and PRS has afforded me the opportunity to see the evolution from hand cut shell to intricate CNC work. For me, this was a new way of looking at inlay design, using the woods to create movement and space.”

These are priced £6,849/$6,850. Find out more at PRS Guitars.

Epiphone Billie Joe Armstrong

There is something quintessentially authentic about Epiphone’s signature take on the Gibson Les Paul Junior.

This has always been a guitar of simple pleasures, one slab of mahogany, a mahogany neck, one P-90 pickup and no binding anywhere because it had to be affordable – and here we are, with the Green Day frontman’s own version, his John Hancock on the back of the headstock, retailing for under 500 bucks.

You will know the one in white. This one is in Radical Red, launched in time to go with that red hot but Baby Blue Marshall of his. It has the Epiphone P-90 PRO, the same spec as its sibling, and it also comes with a signature hard-shell guitar case that's lined with faux leopard print fur. At this price it is a steal. See Epiphone for more details.

Harley Benton CLO-65SE Slate Blue

I’ll be honest, I had to do a double take when the email came in with this one. As soon as the picture rendered of this non-cutaway orchestra-sized acoustic electric guitar, it was uncanny – this looked the spit of the John Mayer 20th Anniversary signature models that Martin launched in 2023.

There was this Slate Blue ‘burst acoustic, with the exuberant reflections of its abalone rosette, the natural stain on the back, sides and neck (not to mention the open-gear tuners), a dead ringer for the Gray Sunburst of Mayer’s model.

Upon closer inspection, okay, there’s no getting them mixed up – the CLO-65SE has layered sapele on the back and sides, we’ve got Guatemalan and Indian rosewood on the Martin – but but for an acoustic retailing for 150 bucks, i.e. priced for beginners, this is a truly compelling alternative. And, best of all, it has a solid spruce top. Incredible.

Check it out at Harley Benton. Buy it at Thomann.

What is it?

Home practice sessions are something that benefit every guitar player and there’s plenty of gear options out there to facilitate that when it’s not possible to use a full rig, whether that be a headphone amp, affordable amp modeller, guitar plugins or a small practice amp that can be run at a reasonable volume. The latter being dominated most recently by the likes of the Positive Grid Spark and Boss Katana series and most comparable here, the Positive Grid Spark Go.

Blackstar has had the Beam Solo guitar headphone amp available for a while, and now that has been joined by the Beam Mini, a tiny desktop amp with speakers and a comprehensive set of practical features.

The Beam Mini looks and feels classy with a textured rubberised finish and sits solidly on any table with its controls easily accessible on the top. It takes its power from any five-volt (500A) USB-C charger like you would use to charge your phone – a cable is provided with the unit.

A full charging session will give you 18 hours of playing time. You plug your guitar into a socket on its right cheek, and there are headphone and USB sockets on the rear.

The headphone socket will also handle headsets with mics should you wish to input vocals, while the USB socket facilitates recording via the built-in audio interface with multiple audio inputs and outputs.

The unit is not only a source of guitar tones but also uses a Bluetooth connection to function as a speaker for music streaming, which you have a choice of playing along with.

Blackstar has really paid attention to acoustic design here and the combination of the sealed, acoustically-tuned cabinet with two full-range drivers and auxiliary bass radiator units puts out an extremely powerful sound for such a small device, with expansive imaging courtesy of Blackstar’s Super Wide Stereo technology.

Specs

• PRICE: $229 | £169 | €189
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Portable practice amp
• FEATURES: 5x presets, Bluetooth audio streaming, removable carry strap, USB audio interface, app with tuner, metronome and more 
• CONTROLS: Power button, Bluetooth pairing button, Patch, Gain, EQ, FX, Volume, SpeedDial
• CONNECTIONS: Standard instrument input, 1/8” stereo headphone output, USB
• POWER: Internal Lithium-ion battery charged via USB (18 hours’ use on a full charge)
• DIMENSIONS: 152 (w) x 89 (d) x 79mm (h) 
• CONTACT: Blackstar Amplification

Usability and sounds

The full functionality of the Beam Mini is accessed wirelessly via the Beam app, which is available for iOS and Android, but the physical unit itself is usable straight out of the box and perfectly capable of standalone use without a phone in sight.

There are five user-defined patches stored onboard and accessed from the top panel, which has a small array of buttons to access various aspects of the sound to be adjusted by a rotary SpeedDial. Basically, you can choose your patch and adjust the Gain, EQ, FX and Volume – the white light Beam intuitively illuminates in line with any changes you make.

The patches are constructed in the same way as those in the ID:X Floor pedals. You get a Pre-FX in front of your chosen amp, then the amp followed by a fixed chain of three effects (modulation, delay and reverb), all passing through Blackstar’s proprietary IR-based CabRig DSP. All of this is easily set up in the app, which has very clear visual representations of everything – just pair up your phone and the Beam Mini over Bluetooth and you’re good to go.

The 12 modelled guitar amps include several Blackstar models such as the St James, plus the brand’s Ampton range of modelled classic amps, which includes Fender Twin, Vox AC30, Marshall Plexi and JCM800, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and Peavey 5150. All have fully adjustable conventional controls and you get Blackstar’s ISF to adjust the tone stack characteristics from UK (Marshall) to USA (Fender) sounds.

You also get some bass amps and an acoustic preamp. The CabRig facility gives you a choice of six cabinets with either a mic’d sound via a choice of virtual mics, or the ‘In the Room’ option, which works really well in a practice situation, offering more of the experience of standing next to an amp while you play.

With 35 effects available to populate the pre- and post- effects slots, there’s a wide range of flavouring to complement the amps and create quality, playable tones for a wide variety of musical styles – something that is reflected by the factory-programmed patches provided by Blackstar in the app.

What really sets the Beam Mini apart, though, is that besides all of the modelled sounds provided by Blackstar you also get access to a humongous range of amp captures. Blackstar has teamed up with Neural Amp Modelling pioneers Tone3000 for access to the open-source NAM platform, including the recent A2 capture technology.

Scroll down to the bottom of the Blackstar amp menu and you can engage NAM and scroll through its range of snapshot captures of physical amps and rigs for selection for placement in your signal chain (at the moment you can’t have a Pre-FX with it, but you can add the post-FX).

Checking out the captures, I found some excellent tones among them ranging from staple amps to weird-and-wonderful curios. Yet, as anyone can upload their own captures, there are also plenty that are a bit lacklustre. However, sort out the wheat from the chaff and you’ve got access to a cracking range of sounds, playable straight from the hardware for free.

The Beam app also comes with a metronome and a range of backing tracks in various styles that you can stream into the unit and play along with, but you can also stream any music you want into it, which is where an update expected in late summer will offer even more potential for practice.

In August 2026, Beam Mini will be able to integrate Moises AI stem separation, letting you isolate or remove instruments from any song, thus you should be able to take any song and remove the guitar part, allowing you to play your own part along with the band instead.

The other side of that coin is that if you’re struggling to learn a particular guitar part, you may be able to isolate it from the backing and the vocals to hear it with clarity.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★★

The Beam Mini packs all the elements you need into a fully portable practice amp and does it in style for a very reasonable asking price.

MusicRadar verdict: It’s a somewhat different take on a dirt pedal, and probably not designed for chasing what we generally think of as traditional guitar/amp tone. But it offers an alternative set of flavours and textures and is especially useful for anyone who records DI guitar. More colours in that paintbox is no bad thing.

Hands-on videos

Blackstar

The Studio Rats

Peach Guitars

• "The amp and effects modelling unit for those who’d rather play than get bogged down in too many details" Blackstar ID:X Floor Two review
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Blackstar Amplification have taken Doug Aldrich’s super-juicy, super-hot 100-watt signature Ruby head and turned it into a compact five-watt tube amp combo that’s loud enough for the studio and small stages, quiet enough that you can crank at home without bothering the dog.

If you need any more proof that pets – neighbours, spouses, sensitive houseplants, too – will not be bothered by the new DA5 Ruby, just look at the picture at the top of the page; Aldrich’s magnificent dog endorses this new amp, too.

Aldrich insists the new amp might be smaller but it has all the same electric guitar tone as its larger sibling.

“I’ve always believed that great tone shouldn’t be reserved for the big stage,” he says. “The DA5 Ruby changed everything for me – all the character, all the punch, all the attitude of my live rig, but something I can plug in at home and just play.”

Blackstar has retained the same push-pull tube architecture of the larger head, using a using a 12BH7 power valve to give you the same dynamics, feel and compression as the larger amp. And there is onboard power scaling for those late-night sessions (and anyone who is woodshedding in an apartment block).

“Combined with Blackstar’s Power Reduction, players can enjoy authentic valve performance all the way down to 0.5 Watts without sacrificing tone,” says Blackstar, who describes the “core signal paths” of the DA5 as being directly based on Aldrich’s touring amp, the DA100.

The speaker, however, might well be the star of the show. This 50-watt 12” driver was co-designed with Aldrich, with the former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist involved with voicing it. It allows the DA5 Ruby to punch well beyond its weight.

“The speaker is the secret weapon,” says Aldrich. “It just has this size and weight to the sound that you don’t expect. That’s the magic.”

The DA5 has two channels with four switchable voices. You have Blackstar’s patented ISF feature, its onboard CabRig DSP simulator with three user presets for direct recording. You can record direct via USB-C or balanced XLR.

There is also a stereo headphones output for silent practice. And Ruby by name, ruby by nature; it shares the same red vinyl aesthetic as its sibling. Each amp ships with a footswitch and a COA hand-signed by Aldrich.

“It’s killer,” says Aldrich. “It’s got all the tones from the original DA100 Ruby but in a five-watt combo and I love it so much.”

The DA5 Ruby is priced £669/$849 and is available now. See Blackstar Amplification for more details.

Marshall has unveiled its first signature guitar amp in 14 years with the launch of the Billie Joe Armstrong 1959BJA.

This is one tube amp we did see coming; everyone saw it coming after the Green Day frontman used it onstage during the Super Bowl LX show. Who couldn’t fail to notice that alongside those oversized Marshall stacks there was a Super Lead finished in baby blue vinyl, with a badge on the front that looked very much like a signature plate. Even Marshall shared the image.

Well, the amp is here, and while it is a Super Lead, built from the same cloth as the 1959HW, it arrives with the so-called “Dookie Mod” – which gives you a master volume on what would have traditionally been a non-master volume head, and an under-the-hood tweak that gives you Armstrong’s signature tone, namely more gain, and a bit more meat on the tone.

This is for overdriven power chords that have been down the gym, and it is the sound that Armstrong and long-time Green Day producer Rob Cavallo were chasing when recording Dookie.

“Billie Joe’s guitar sound is instantly recognisable,” says Steph Carter, culture marketing director at Marshall. “From the moment you hear those opening chords on Dookie, you know exactly who it is. Working with Billie to create an amp that captures that punch, aggression and clarity was an incredible project for our team.”

It’s a tone that a lot of people want to nail. Though they will need the space to play this thing; at 100-watts, with a quartet of EL34 power tubes, this amp will be loud.

Definitely, it is worth considering if you have been booked for, y’know, a sports stadium or similar.

The 1959BJA has a trio of ECC83 preamp tubes, the control surface – is your classic Plexi with the aforementioned twist, with controls for Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master and Gain, the latter two marked in red.

Other aesthetic updates include the Dookie signature plating on the front, the BJA designation on the control panel, and that baby-blue finish matches Armstrong’s Blue, the Fernandes Stratocaster copy he has played since he was a kid. Right now Armstrong is feeling a little like a kid with this new amp hitting stores worldwide on 21 July.

“I’m so overjoyed to have my own signature Marshall amp,” he says. “These amps have been a part of my musical life, from my heroes down to little old me. Turn it the f**k up! …This amp is my ride or die. Play fast! Die trying.”

The Billie Joe Armstrong 1959BJA is priced £3,099/$3,999. See Marshall for more details.

Marshall says this is its first signature amp in 14 years, but it has released a few artist tie-ins recently, including the Sex Pistols 50th Anniversary JCM800, all pink and yellow like the Never Mind The Bollocks cover art, and the Jimi Hendrix 60th Anniversary Collection, which comprised a hand-wired head and amp in black and purple, and a matching Dunlop Fuzz Face.

What is it?

There aren’t many who don’t know at least a little about who Ed Sheeran is. With his own album sales totalling over 200 million, and having written/collaborated with the likes of Taylor Swift, One Direction and Justin Bieber, he is one of the most recognisable musicians on the planet.

He is also a pretty handy acoustic guitar player and has delved into the world of gear with products such as the Sheeran by Lowden guitars and the Sheeran Looper. Now it’s acoustic amplification that is getting his attention, this time in the form of a collaboration with Orange with the Orange Outlowd range of acoustic amplifiers.

The range features 3W, 60W and 100W amps named the ES3, ES60 and ES100 respectively. It's the diminutive ES3 that I have in front of me for review - an amp with very few bells and whistles, built to facilitate home practice with your acoustic guitar.

You may be thinking, as I am, what is the point here? Acoustic guitars are, for the most part, more than loud enough to use at home without an amp, and generally speaking sound great on their own too. So, why would anyone need an acoustic amp designed only for home practice?

Well, let's keep an open mind and find out.

Specs

• Launch price: $199 | £149 | €179
• Type: Acoustic amplifier combo
• Origin: China
• Output: 3 Watts RMS
• Speaker: 4” full range
• Channels: 1
• Controls: Volume, Reverb, Shape
• Connectivity: ¼” input, Bluetooth connectivity
• Power: Rechargeable battery, charged via USB-C
• Weight: 3.18Lbs/1.44kg
• Dimensions: 165x145x125mm/6.5”x5.71”x4.92”
• Contact: Orange

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★½

For something that measures only 165x145x125mm, the amp is surprisingly weighty. At 1.44kg, it's not problematic, but instead gives me confidence that the ES3 is built to last. The three controls and single button (for Bluetooth) follow suit and feel robust in use, as does the leather strap that the amp comes with. So far, so good.

The amp sports the classic bright orange finish associated with the brand, and it’s an aesthetic that pleasingly oozes the iconic nature of Orange Amplifiers.

The thick sides are finished in a rather bougie feeling tolex, and the tough metal grille on the front makes the unit feel like a real amp. I point this out because a lot of products of this size can come across a little toy-like, but not the ES3. It feels like a high-end, miniature version of a quality amp, rather than a budget version of something nicer.

Lastly, looking at the bottom of the unit, there are thick rubber feet to stop the amp from sliding about a desk. Alongside those feet is a join in the Tolex that could perhaps be a little neater; however, this is definitely within nitpick territory. What we have is a little amp that is very well put together, and perhaps importantly, won't look out of place in your front room.

Usability and features

Usability and features rating: ★★★★½

In use, this amp is almost as easy as it gets. Three controls: Volume, Reverb, and Shape. Volume is self-explanatory, and Reverb adjusts the overall reverb level without cluttering ther mind with more in-depth parameters. This works as long as those parameters have been calibrated well, which, in this case, they have.

Shape is a little interesting, as Orange says that turning clockwise reduces mid-range frequencies and brightens the sound, whilst turning anti-clockwise adds mid-range and reduces brightness. Honestly though, most are just going to approach this like a tone control.

I say ‘almost as easy as it gets’, because indicating what each control does, are Orange’s trademark icons rather than text. These are a long-established part of the Orange brand, but, to be blunt, I'm not a fan.

There is a whole suite of these icons across the gear in the Orange catalogue. Some are easy to figure out; others use things such as sine waves that beginners won't understand or abstract symbols that are annoying in the, admittedly small, amount of thought they take to translate.

I know that it saves space and gives the amps something that is aesthetically interesting, but other brands have no problem using words or abbreviations to get the function across in similarly tight spaces. Let’s just do that.

On the ES3, the speaker icon above the Volume control is pretty clearly indicative of the control's function, but I’d argue that the use of a spring icon to indicate the reverb may not be obvious to some beginners, and the shape used to indicate the Shape control even less so.

Having said that, it won't take long for anyone to figure it out, and if you do find yourself stuck, a quick gander at the manual will see it concisely explained to you.

Beyond its function as an amp, it also operates as a Bluetooth speaker and is dead easy to connect to a device. Press the Bluetooth button, find it in your chosen device's list of Bluetooth connections, connect, and go. Handy for playing along with tracks, or as a standalone way to listen to music.

The ES3’s battery-powered nature makes the amp super portable, which, combined with the carry handle, gives it a massive tick in the convenience column. I didn't need to recharge the battery at all during the multiple hours of testing, so there is plenty of juice here too.

And that is it. Very few 'extra features', but as a result it’s a pretty straightforward piece of gear.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★½

Testing with my Taylor 214CE and my Faith Venus, the general tone is surprisingly full for a 4-inch speaker. As expected with an amp of this size, there is not a ton of low end, but there is enough to keep the guitar sounding big when strumming those open chords.

With the Shape control set in the middle, it is a relatively full sound, with a nice midrange body that I find is often lacking in acoustic guitar amplifiers. The high end does not sound too ‘plinky’ at this setting, which is impressive for such a small thing.

Turning that shape control clockwise does exactly as earlier described, but I find that it quickly gets into the aforementioned plucky, thin high-end thing often associated with acoustic pickups.

Similarly, turning anti-clockwise quickly gets too dark, resulting in a loss of definition. So, for best results, keep that shape control in the middle and make only small adjustments to suit your guitar. In my case, I left the control untouched for my Taylor's impressive ES1 system, but turned slightly anti-clockwise to roll off some highs for the Faith's Shadow pickup.

The reverb is the highlight for me, as it is a lovely, bright-sounding hall-like 'verb that wraps the guitar in a very rewarding sense of space. Even at the higher settings, which is more than most will ever need, the reverb manages to stay out of the way of the dry signal. Impressive, and a lot of fun.

Furthermore, it’s the reverb that answers my earlier question - what is the point here? The amp starts to distort the signal on both guitars with the Volume control around 75%, meaning that while it’s enough to get over the acoustic sound of the guitar, it's not enough for anything more than home practice.

As acoustic guitars project plenty of volume on their own, arguably we don’t need an acoustic amp at home unless it’s adding something inspiring or extra to the tone. And that’s where the reverb comes in.

I can see many finding the space that it adds to be an inspiring sound to play with, leading some to get more out of their home acoustic sessions. For those people, this amp will be worth it.

As a Bluetooth speaker, it again does an impressive job for its size. With my Google Pixel 9 Pro on full volume and streaming from Spotify, the speaker begins to distort with around 75% of the volume dialled in. Enough to fill a small room for casual listening, or a solo jam session.

Just like with the guitars, there is not an excess of low end here, but there is more than you would expect given that it’s a small 4-inch speaker. I also felt that, in this context, the midrange sounds a little scooped - hyping the hi-fi listening experience a bit too far. But, again, impressive for its size and a pleasant listening experience.

Verdict

From my own experience and a previous life as a guitar teacher, it didn’t take long before I concluded that the biggest hurdle for a lot of players is in the gap between the thought of playing and the action of doing so.

Whether you are getting some practice in or just playing for fun (I’d argue the latter is more important than the former), that gap usually involves some form of setup, for example, digging out the leads and amplifier for an electric guitar. One of the joys of an acoustic guitar is that it amplifies itself; you can just pick it up and go, therefore minimising that gap.

Plugging an acoustic guitar into an amp at home removes this benefit.

But the other side of the coin is that a good sound is always more motivating and inspiring to use. The Orange Outlowd ES3 undeniably improves the experience through its excellent reverb, and although it’s only loud enough for home use, it’s still loud enough to increase the volume of the acoustic you are using. As the simple creatures most of us are, more volume usually equals more fun.

So, whether this amp is worth it for you will depend on how much of a kick you get out of that fantastic reverb and the little extra volume. Some will find it pointless; others will find it to be a brilliant addition to their home setup.

MusicRadar verdict: The Orange Outlowd ES3 feels like a quality bit of gear that is built to last. It’s surprisingly full-sounding for a small amplifier, and does a good job moonlighting as a Bluetooth Speaker. The highlight is the lovely reverb, pleasingly adding some space to your home sessions. Yes, we don’t need to amplify our acoustic guitars for home use, but this amp makes it fun to do so.

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Hands-on videos

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Orange

The world of guitar gear is always turning but June 2026 was an especially febrile time for hot new gear. It all began with Positive Grid unveiling an AI-enabled combo that let players design “any tone imaginable” by text or even image prompt, and did not let up.

Orange Amps teamed up with Ed Sheeran for a trio of signature guitar amps designed for acoustic players to play live, and to play live anywhere. On the street, in a coffee shop, onstage, at the beach, whatever. It was a range that included “the ultimate busking amp” and was designed especially for younger players and those getting started, and maybe those players were playing Epiphone’s super-affordable version of the Gibson Hummingbird.

This was the month in which the Fender Tone Master Pro was upgraded, Eventide brought us the next-gen H9 Harmonizer, Harley Benton expanded its cheap electric guitar lineup with an $185 shred machine with a roasted maple neck, and PRS Guitars made a signature model for an anime character. There was a Gibson Victory with a Floyd, Alex Lifeson’s Epiphone ES-355, and Charvel unveiled an all-new US-made range.

JHS Pedals found a use for the circuit it released by mistake with its original Dumble-inspired NOTADÜMBLE DIY pedal kit, launching the Fumble as an $89 clean boost. The Kansas-based brand is primed to release the NOTADÜMBLE v2 DIY pedal kits. This features the officially corrected circuit, and those wanting to get their hands on the first batch (6,000 units all in) will have to wait now until July 16. Mark the date in your calendars and take yourself to the JHS Pedals website for the launch.

And the gear kept coming... There were gold Kramers, ES-330s from the Gibson Custom Shop, and Meris being Meris and throwing the kitchen sink at lo-fi signal processing with the Ottobit X.

Here, in time for pay day, we are going to try to make sense of it all, gathering all the big releases, the sleeper hits and the essential gear that was unveiled this June in one place.

We will finish with Fender's big half-year drop. There is a lot to get into there. The question is where to begin?

Perhaps that has to be with the freshest drop, and the news that Darkglass Electronics has teamed up with Sweetwater and Andertons for an Anagram amp modeller and multi-effects that is made especially for guitarists.

Amp modellers and effects

Darkglass Electronics Anagram Guitar Essentials 

Bass guitar tone got a whole lot more interesting in April 2025 after Darkglass Electronics unveiled its all-powerful Anagram Bass workstation with a hexacore DSP engine, Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) integration, heaps of preamps and effects and full control of your signal chain. In other words, all mod cons.

Well, the nature of these things is such that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and teaming up with retail giants Sweetwater and Andertons, Darkglass is now offering an Anagram designed for guitarists.

It’s still the same hardware, refinished in black, and it ships pre-loaded the Guitar Essentials plugin. And it’s still very powerful, capable of running up to 24 simultaneous effects blocks.

It’s priced £999/$1,299 and available now via Sweetwater and Andertons.

Electro-Harmonix Percolator Harmonic Saturator 

The iconic NYC stompbox brand has had a busy summer. Earlier this month it added the Pico Shimmer to its DSP lineup, and then there was the Percolator, a fuzz-drive inspired by the Interfax Harmonic Percolator favoured by the late Steve Albini.

This shares all the gnarly character of the original, has a pleasingly punk aesthetic too, but it comes with a few helpful tweaks, including a bias control and a secondary clipping mode. Given that June also saw the release of EarthQuaker Devices’ HalfLife, the latest octave fuzz in its collab with drone metal pioneers Sunn O))), this has been a good month for stompboxes for underground pursuits.

Percolator Harmonic Saturator is priced $99. Find out more at Electro-Harmonix.

Cornerstone Centurio Dual Overdrive

While our eyes are trained at our pedalboards, let’s run take a look at one of the more boutique additions to your local guitar store’s pedal cabinet. It’s from Cornerstone, it’s called the Centurio, and yes, it is another Klon-inspired overdrive pedal.

But wait. This isn’t just a straight-up Klone. Cornerstone presents it as a two-channel drive box, one a faithful clone circuit, the other a Hot mode with this second – and fully independent – gain and volume stage.

There’s also a Clip dial to give you the “full range of Klon clipping behaviour”, from the high-headroom open response of the early Klons to the tighter and more compressed of more modern units, and all points in between.

The Centurio is priced €299. Find out more over at Cornerstone.

MXR Wylde Audio Zakk Sabbath Overdrive

All the same sounds of Zakk Wylde’s signature MXR overdrive, with the same Volume, Tone and Gain control surface, now in a limited edition Black Sabbath-inspired black and purple paint job, a la the Black Label Society frontman’s Zakk Sabbath tribute band.

Find out more at Jim Dunlop.

Solar Chug Capo

Solar’s first digital guitar effects pedal is a pitch-shifting capo pedal that can move your guitar’s pitch up or down an octave, one semitone at a time, effectively acting as an actual guitar capo does as you move your tuning up, and as super low-latency pitch shifter as you tune down. Some might ask why you don’t just tune down, but this is easier, and this is a thousand times easier if you are playing a guitar with a Floyd Rose.

Find out more at Solar Guitars.

Signature guitars, pickups and plugins

Jackson Pro Series Rob Cavestany Signature

Jackson has a long history of co-creating with its artist roster. It’s a story that takes it back to the beginning, when Randy Rhoads had some ideas for an asymmetrical V shape and that led to the creation of iconic metal guitars of all time got created.

But it wasn’t just Rhoads. Rob Cavestany of seminal Bay Area thrashers Death Angel did something similar, jotting a sketch of this X-shaped electric on a napkin and Jackson just being nuts enough to put this thing into production.

This year sees the neck-thru beast refreshed in Snow White with black hardware, and it has never looked more classic. This will look great under stage lights. Key details include the EMG 81 at the bridge, EMG HA at the neck, the Floyd Rose 1000 Series vibrato, and the 12” to 16” compound radius fingerboard that typifies contemporary Jackson playability.

Find out more at Jackson.

PRS Guitars Jon Jourdan Limited

The touring guitarist for Mammoth wanted an electric guitar with no passengers. No features that he didn’t need. No Floyd Rose, no onboard Kaoss Pad, not even a second pickup. And that’s what makes his limited run (just 200 units!) signature model with PRS such an refreshing proposition.

This has a PRS Metal humbucker at the bridge, a wraparound bridge/tailpiece, and just a single volume control. Note the position of the volume. It’s where the tone pot would ordinarily be, so that Jourdan doesn’t knock it out of place in the heat of battle. It’s available in Platinum and Gunmetal metallic finishes. Each instrument comes with a signed backplate. Head over to PRS Guitars for more.

Godin 25th Anniversary Steve Stevens Signature Model ACS Multiac Guitar

The nylon-string acoustic electric hybrid guitar has been having a moment in recent years, with Polyphia’s Tim Henson and Scott LePage introducing it to a new generation of players with Playing God.

But Godin and Steve Stevens have been up to this sort of mischief now for 25 years, and have marked the occasion with this Mutliac model with a purple quilted maple top. It’s not just a cosmetic glow-up. We’ve got upgraded electronics, too.

The Billy Idol guitarist says Godin’s Multiac platform changed the way he thought about guitar.

“I wanted to merge flamenco, rock, and electronic music into something cinematic and modern,” he says. “And Godin was the first company that truly understood that vision.”

Find out more at Godin.

Seymour Duncan The Philip Sayce “Big Daddy” Stratocaster Pickup Set

We like the idea of Sayce’s signature electric guitar pickup doing premium Stratocaster tone but making it super juicy, oversized, with a tonal footprint that conjures images of a burly fella in a blue leotard throwing grown men about the ring. But the changes are that, growing up in Canada, Sayce will not have spent his childhood watching ‘80s wrestling on UK TV.

Big Daddy, as it happens, is in reference to Sayce's ’63 Sunburst Strat, a guitar that almost makes Rory Gallagher’s number one look pristine, and Seymour Duncan have duly reverse engineered its pickups so you can give your Strat a tonal makeover.

It wasn’t easy. The original bridge pickup had been worn over the years, its wire making direct contact with the Alnico V magnet. How could Seymour Duncan recreate this?

Well, the solution was a micro-capacitor soldered to the back of the pickup. “This gently shifts the resonant peak, producing the sweet treble response needed to round out this balanced set,” says the brand.

The first 630 sets come aged by the Custom Shop. Find out more at Seymour Duncan.

MixWave Yvette Young signature plugin

Yvette Young and MixWave team up for to offer the signature tones from her live rig in a guitar plugin – what’s not to like?

There are few players today with a better ear for how delay, modulation, reverb and compression can come together to create this ambient, super-textured world for the electric guitar to inhabit.

Sometimes Young’s tone can sound of the earth, organic and elemental, other times not of this world. Available now at an introductory price of $99.

See MixWave for more.

Epiphone, Orangewood, Blackstar and Two Notes

Epiphone expands Inspired By Gibson Custom Series

There is not great mystery to the Inspired By Gibson Custom range. It is what it says it is, high-end Epiphone guitars designed in partnership with Gibson’s Custom Shop, featuring Gibson USA pickups, premium appointments such as CTS pots and long neck tenons… All serious stuff, and unsurprisingly it has been a big hit for Epiphone.

New models include an IGC Les Paul Custom in Sedona Burst and Amethyst Burst, a 1963 Firebird I Reissue in Cherry, and a 1959 Les Paul Standard in Poppy Burst, while the 1960 Les Paul Special Double Cut Reissue is now available in TV Yellow, Cherry Red, and TV White.

See Epiphone for more details.

Orangewood Melrose Retro

Okay, so Orangewood is offering one slope-shouldered dreadnought, a grand concert and a parlour acoustic guitar, all with solid tops, all with LR Baggs acoustic guitar pickups, with prices starting from $545 for the Nash Retro Live parlor, $695 for the Dylan and Brooklyn. Those prices also include a gig bag. This does not sound like a bad deal.

We especially like the look of that LR Baggs M1 soundhole pickup on the Dylan and Brooklyn models. Orangewood says these are not time machine instruments per se. The goal was to create an accessible acoustic that today’s player wants to play.

“We weren’t interested in nostalgia for its own sake, or in adding modern features that overcomplicate the instrument,” says Eddie Park, co-founder of Orangewood. “The goal was something more grounded – taking familiar forms, refining what already works, and pairing them with the features today’s players actually need.”

Find out more at Orangewood.

Blackstar Fly 3 High Gain

You all know the Fly 3. It’s the tiny, take-anywhere Blackstar combo, and there have been all kinds of different versions – the Jared James Nichols and Bones signature models, the Bluetooth model, the Shell Pink model and so on.

Now for something a little meaner. Enter, the Fly 3 High Gain, the tiny, take-anywhere Blackstar combo with a newly designed Nitro channel for heavy metal freaks on the move. At £85/$99, it’s an affordable little practice option, and just the thing if you want to want to impress your office colleagues with a performance of Morbid Angel's Chapel Of Ghouls arranged for solo guitar. And which office wouldn't welcome that?

In other Blackstar news, this month it expanded its partnership with Tone3000 to bring Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) tech capture support to its Beam Solo headphone amp, allowing players to access the massive online open-source library of tones and upload NAM A2 Lite captures to their device.

See Blackstar for more.

Two Notes Genome 2

Two Notes Gemone 2.0 is an upgrade but the word upgrade feels a little insufficient. This expansion of its entire digital rig building ecosystem presents players with some truly cutting-edge tools for the studio, such as the onboard AmpNet tech.

Not only can you create static NAM captures of your hardware amplifiers, you can create multi-parametric captures, giving you a full digital presentation of how your amp sounds across irs range.

The fully integrated amp, effects and virtual cab engine is now also now available on iPad. For more details head over to Two Notes.

Fender goes big: Highlights from the Big F's big summer gear drop

No player left behind was the message from the Big F as it announced its mega-drop for the summer, an announcement that welcomed the return of Squier’s much-loved Paranormal Series, the debut of its limited run high-performance Fusion Series and a lot more.

There was fresh colour options for the American Vintage II and Player II lineups, new California Deluxe acoustics, a ’62 Deluxe tube amp combo that is bound to thrill purists, 75th Anniversary models for the Telecaster and Precision Bass respectively, and the intriguing prospect of American Professional Classic series Teles and Strats featuring Fender’s all-new Silent System – an all-passive system (no batteries included, nor are they needed) that removes the hum from single-coil pickups.

Now, take a breath, because there was more… There was a refresh for the Santa Ana Overdrive, Bends Compressor, The Pelt fuzz and Pugilist Distortion, with v2 delivering a heap of new features.

We particularly like the sound of the Octave/Chaos footswitch on The Pelt, which allows you to apply a traditional octave-up effect or this Chaos mode, which is described as an "assymetrical octave for sputtering artefacts".

Where do you start with all that?

MusicRadar was lucky enough to get hands-on with some of these guitars already, and it’s hard to look past the Paranormal Series’ return as the big headline from the drop, because these guitars are, well, kinda nuts.

That’s part of the appeal. It’s the world’s biggest guitar manufacturer creating strange hybrids, the electric guitar as a cryptid.

Take the Paranormal Strat Deluxe. This is a Strat like no other, it swaps out the boring old three single-coil configuration for a humbucker at the bridge and, wait, a Tele neck pickup at the neck, and you can split the humbucker via a push/pull on the pots. It’s a strange fish but with familiar elements; we have the the 2-point tremolo, the larger ‘70s style headstock, the amp-style knobs, and that might all feel a little familiar, but then look at that pickguard.

The Paranormal Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe Bigsby is even more off-menu. The B50 Bigsby speaks to the aftermarket souped-up vibe, but this is a Tele with dual humbuckers, both of which are splittable, with an Adjust-o-matic bridge and the block inlays, there’s almost a Fender Custom Shop vibe with regards to how out there the specs are.

Then you have the Coronado headstock, the short Gibson-esque 24.75” scale length and the split-coils of the Electric VI offset, an the Paranormal Baritone Jazzmaster, a dual-humbucker bruiser with a 27” scale length that ships in Oxblood and Sea Foam Green. All of this is too cool, and prices start from just £449/$479.

In a sense, Fender’s Player Fusion lineup is just as radical, perhaps borrowing from Charvel for a limited edition hotrodded series that have 12” radius ebony fingerboards and black hardware as standard. The Strat comes with an HSS configuration and a 2-point vibrato.

It’s a little reminiscent of the Iron Maiden signature models for Dave Murray and Janick Gers. But for the Tele if you want a full-on shred machine; it has the Floyd Rose 1000 Series vibrato and a pair of high-output humbuckers as as standard, and it comes in Black and Aura Metallic.

Bassists are not forgotten about either. The dual-humbucker Fusion Precision Bass looks like a solid candidate for rock and metal players, while rounding out the series is the Player Fusion Jaguar Baritone Special.

At first blush, this feels like a specialist instrument exclusively for low-end riffing (it ships tuned B to B and has a 27” scale), but the ‘spin-a-split’ wiring means that those humbuckers are gradually turn into single-coils as you turn them, putting twang on the table, jangle too, and with an onboard TBX Tone circuit it could be a deceptively versatile instrument.

Okay, those looking for more traditional fare can find it in an expanded American Vintage II lineup, which brings you more colour options, as does the Player II Series, whose Strat looks neat in Rallye Orange (with a Rosewood ‘board) and Cactus Gray (with maple).

The Telecaster and Precision Bass both turn 75 this year, so we have more anniversary models to mark the occasion.

The pick of the litter for us had to be the American Vintage II 1951 Nocaster which is a tribute to the brief moment in guitar history when the decals were snipped off the headstock as Fender had to find a different name for the Broadcaster. Famously, Gretsch had the ‘Broadkaster’ name already registered. Telecaster? Well, it had a ring to it. It did not bad. Seventy-five years later, still going strong.

The 75th Anniversary Player II Baritone Telecaster continues what has been a strong year for extended range Fender, while the regular Player II anniversary Tele and Precision Bass bring us some classic finishes (Aztec Gold FTW).

These – and especially that '51 Nocaster – are sure to sound good through the '62 Deluxe, which even without onboard reverb still sounds quintessentially Fender, with a brilliant tremolo circuit.

Before we finish up, we should save a word for the revised California Series acoustics. Prices start from £259/$319, solid Sitka spruce tops are complemented by laminated mahogany back and sides, X-pattern bracing, with Fender kitting these out with Fishman's CD-1 acoustic pickup system. And they come in all shapes and sizes, with or without cutaways, and there's the California Deluxe Kingman Bass CE as well too.

See Fender for more details.

Ed Sheeran has joined forces with legendary British guitar amp brand Orange on a signature line of acoustic guitar amps, and they have launched global grassroots music campaign to support venues and encourage young and emerging musical talent to get out and play.

The Outlowd ES series comprises a trio of amps: the super-compact and portable ES3 acoustic amp, the flagship 100-watt ES100 acoustic guitar amp, and the ES60, an amp Orange describes as “the ultimate busking amp”.

Sheeran helped launched the Outlowd: Play It Home campaign – and the amps – on the streets of Ipswich, when he performed with music teacher Lianne Kaye on June 5. Sheeran gave his amp to a nine-year-old boy after the performance, with a year’s worth of music lessons.

Kaye cut her holiday in Malaga short for the opportunity, but didn’t realise she would be playing Ipswich Waterfront with Sheeran until the night before.

“I was sat in the airport and my flight was delayed,” she told the BBC. “My best friend sent a screenshot to our group chat and it was Ed [Sheeran] he put on his stories he was going to be in Ipswich and she was like ‘I don't think you're going to be on your own’. That’s when the penny dropped.”

The streets were where it started for Sheeran. He might pack out stadiums nowadays but he has not lost his love for busking, and urges other young and up-and-coming musicians to put themselves out there and take their sound to the street, to coffee shops, live music venues – to anywhere they can play in front of an audience.

“I think tiny venues are super important to learn how to perform and busking teaches you not to sweat the big stuff,” says Sheeran. “I wanted this project with Orange to feel honest to that – celebrating local musicians, local communities, and the idea that anyone can start somewhere.”

The key word, says Sheeran, is fun. Sometimes that gets forgotten.

“Playing music is a really fun thing to do and it should always be fun. It should feel like an escape,” he says. ‘Now I’m in my 30s, I just want to do things that I enjoy and get excited by. With this collaboration, it was like, would I use this? Is this something that I need in my life as a musician? And the answer was yes.”

The Play It Home campaign will travel to Guildford in England, Toronto, Paris, Sydney, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Bamberg in Germany, where local artists will perform in places of interest, with support from retailers. Cliff Cooper, founder and CEO of Orange Amps, says Sheeran wants to get more people playing.

“It’s a real pleasure to work with Ed,” says Cooper. “He is such a talented and caring person who does so much to introduce people into music”.

And he was also closely involved in the design of this Outlowd series. Each comes in the traditional citrus-coloured vinyl covering with a signature Ed Sheeran badge. And there’s something for all players here.

At £149/$199, the ES3 is the an eminently affordable option, a simple low-powered three-watter – just three dials for volume, tone and reverb – with Bluetooth and USB-C playback, and the option to run it off of a lithium-ion battery. Its slanted cabinet design should help it sound bigger than it looks.

The largest in the series is the 100-watt ES100. Priced £1,099/$1,499, it has two channels, a comprehensive suite of EQ controls, has an XLR input for your vocal microphone, and those 100-watts drives a lightweight Celestion neodymium 12” speaker.

There’s an effects loop too, and handily everything you need to access is on the control panel, with the on/off switch on the back. Again, the cabinet is slanted.

Finally, we have what Orange is calling “the ultimate busking amp”, the ES60. As the name suggests, we’ve got 60-watts under the hood, and this is the amp Sheeran used to launch the series in Ipswich. Again, you’ve got two channels, reverb.

There is a headphones output and an aux-in, and a balanced input with phantom power for your vocal microphone – in short, everything you need to play in the street, in the park, anywhere, and all for £499/$699.

And who knows where all that busking might take you. Ed Sheeran did all right for himself.

For more details, head over to Orange Amps. If you are in the US, note the Outlowd Ed Series is available exclusively via Guitar Center.

Here is some good news for all users of the Tone Master Pro – and for anyone with one in their shopping basket right now – Fender has just expanded its flagship amp modeller’s capabilities with a serious firmware update.

The update is free, available now, and comprises eight new amp models, eight cabinet emulations, and 15 guitar effects – plus there is a whole bunch of utilities, such as a second page of footswitch assignments (that means you have a total of 16 footswitches per preset),

This is Fender-heavy update, with some cult classics from its tube amp archive, digitalised for all your electric guitar tone needs. And with the Rumble 800 included in this version, maybe your bass guitar tone needs, too.

There are five Fender guitar amps in the update: the ’57 Champ, which could be the compact studio pinch-hitter you’ve been missing all your life; some silver panel combo royalty in the shape of the ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb, ’68 Custom Princeton Reverb; and there is the ’65 Twin Custom 15, which is a Twin but with a 15” speaker.

Your expanded cabinet options now include the compact 8” driver of the ’57 Champ, the 1x10 formats of ’65 and ’68 Princetons, plus the 1x12s from a ’65 and ’68 Deluxe. The aforementioned 1x15” of the Twin is also available plus there’s the Celestion G12H from an EVH 5150 1x12 and a 4x12 “British” cabinet loaded with G12Hs.

Speaking of EVH Gear, Fender has added all three channels of the 50-watt 5150 III 6L6 head here, which will mean fun times for any rock or metal guitar player.

There are lots of effects here, some of which will be familiar. There are guitar and bass overdrive pedals inspired by EarthQuaker Devices Plumes and Blumes respectively, a “Seventy Sixer Compressor” which, no prizes for guessing, is inspired by the UA 1176 compressor.

There’s also a Rockbox 100 inspired by the Scholz R&D Rockman X100 headphone amp, so all your Def Leppard tone dreams might indeed come true.

Some will be less familiar, with eight Fender-designed effects including Step Tremolo, Prismatic Delay, Step Filter Delay, Spectral Reverb, Cirrostratus Reverb and Cirrostratus Synthverb.

As for the rest of the new features, search has been improved, there is a new favourites filter, and there has been a redesign of the looper pedal function and the guitar tuner now allows you to toggle between needle and strobe modes.

For more information, head over to Fender.

What is it?

To say AI is everywhere right now is one hell of an understatement. It’s writing our e-mails, editing our photos, generating unsettlingly convincing videos, and now it has wormed its way into our guitar amps, too.

Okay, before we get into that, let’s rewind to 2019. It’s fair to say that Positive Grid didn’t just enter the practice amp arena; it crash-landed in spectacular fashion with the Spark. Here was an amp so clever, so downright fun, it turned the entire practice space on its head. Since then, Positive Grid has been tinkering away, spinning out multiple Spark variations, from the pint-size Spark Mini to the pocket-sized Go and the gig-ready Spark Edge.

​Fast forward to 2026, and the folks at Positive Grid have dropped the Spark moniker for its latest release, in a move that we can only assume is to diversify its lineup a little. The new Reactor is somewhat familiar to those who have used any of Positive Grid’s amps already, but it is different in some pretty significant ways.

This is Positive Grid flexing its creative muscles and taking a wild swing at the next big thing in digital amplification with a helping hand from AI – because it wouldn’t be a 2026 product release without the mention of Artificial Intelligence, would it? Except in Positive Grid's world, that means Amp Intelligence.

Available in 50W and 100W options, both Reactor models come loaded with custom 1x12 speakers. It’s worth noting that this is not an FRFR, like other Spark models; instead, Reactor features a standard guitar speaker. Both amps can also be switched from full power, 25W, or 1W.

Now, what really sets Reactor apart is its Amp Intelligence (perhaps a phrase the company is pivoting to in order to avoid some of the negative connotations around Artificial Intelligence in the guitar community lately). The company is focusing on something it calls Tone Memory here. The idea is more you play, the more this amp gets to know your style, helping you zero in on your signature sound faster every time.

Like Spark, this new amp runs on an app, but it is its own dedicated application. Where the Spark leans more into practice, Reactor is all about crafting, saving, and sharing tones. Within the Creator Hub, you have multiple ways to generate a tone by describing what you want, uploading a photo, sharing a song, and even asking the app to “fix" elements of your tone you're unhappy with.

Out of the app, the amp itself features a Boss Katana-esque top panel with a slew of tactile knobs for when you want to get hands-on with your tweaks. The rear panel is packed with everything the modern player wants: USB-C for recording, MIDI, an FX loop, Bluetooth, line-out, and headphones.

On top of that, two unique switches, Push/Smooth and Heat, let you sculpt your tone and gain structure further. Now, if you want to switch patches mid-performance, you’ll want to grab the optional Reactor Control footswitch. This is being sold separately for $149.

Specs

• Launch price: $349 | £349 | €349
• Type: Digital combo amp
• Origin: China
• Output: 50-watts
• Speaker: Custom 12"
• Channels: Clean, Warm, Grit, Crunch, Hi-Gain, Extreme
• Controls: Amp selector, Push/Smooth, Heat, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master, Effects, Volume
• Connectivity: Guitar Input, Foot Control, MIDI In, Power Amp In, Line Out, Headphones, FX Loop, USB-C, Bluetooth audio, Bluetooth control
• Footswitch: Reactor Control six-button switch available separately for $149
• Weight: 22.9lbs / 10.4kg
• Dimensions: 460x420x200 mm
• Contact: Positive Grid

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★☆

If you’ve handled any Positive Grid amp before, you’ll know the company doesn't really mess around when it comes to construction, and the Reactor keeps that tradition alive. It’s lightweight enough to schlep to rehearsal without breaking a sweat, but still feels solid and robust. The large rotary selector switch for selecting the various channels is stiff and turns with a satisfying click, and the Heat and Push/Smooth switches are equally tactile to use.

The optional footswitch – connected via cable or Bluetooth – balances a rugged dependability with a premium feel. That's just as well for $149. The switches have a smooth, confident action, and the layout’s intuitive enough that you won’t be tap-dancing in a panic mid-gig. Everything here feels like it’s built for the long haul, not just a few bedroom sessions.

That said, the looks are, well, perhaps controversial. Gone are the sharp red and gold accents of the Spark series; instead, you get a silver “R” badge and a metallic grille that perhaps leans a little too hard into a ‘90s solid-state aesthetic for me. It’s got a sort of Gallien-Krueger vibe. Honestly, it feels a little bland.

What’s more curious is that you have to search for a tiny Positive Grid logo tucked away in the corner. Sure, they want to distance Reactor from the Spark family, but visually, it’s not winning any beauty contests, and I think the majority of players wouldn’t know this was a Positive Grid product just by looking at it.

If you're going to use it live, though, rest assured. If you can get past the looks, I think the Reactor’s build will take a beating from the rigours of venues.

Usability and features

Usability and features rating: ★★★☆☆

The first thing that comes to mind when using this amp for the first time is the ever-popular Boss Katana. The big channel selector knob is clearly labelled, and for the most part, this is an easy amp to navigate, but the effects section can be a little clunky at first. You’ll probably find yourself double-checking which knob does what, at least until muscle memory kicks in.

Each effect has two variants to select from, but instead of a colour change to indicate which one you have selected, here you have a solid colour and a blinking colour. I’ll be honest, that system isn't particularly intuitive for me, and I found myself referring to the manual to try and work it out.

The app is where things get both wild and a little weird. The interface feels like it was dreamt up by an AI art generator from last year. Some of the images look a bit off, and very, well, AI-generated. We have see-through Marshall-style stacks covered in roses, skulls coming out of combos, and cyber punk neon lights; it all feels a little tacky, and in a practical sense, it makes it difficult to understand exactly what style of amp you’ve selected.

As I mentioned before, there are a number of ways to generate a tone, but the one that I was the most excited to try was showing it a photo of my guitar and seeing what it would come up with. Sometimes it nails the model, as it did with my Gibson Les Paul Special, generating a ‘Bogner Blue P-90 Bite’ tone as well as a punk-inspired searing high-gain JCM-800 patch that actually rips.

Other times, the AI hallucinates and just makes up stuff that doesn’t exist. Showing it a photo of the new Epiphone RD, it came up with a fantasy Jackson signature model for Bill Kelliher of Mastodon, and spit out a “Stoner Crush Tone” that sounded more like a wet Marshall with chorus than anything truly heavy.

Using a song for generating a tone yields better, more consistent results. Loading up a couple of Tom Petty classics, the AI correctly gets that I want a clean-ish Fender-style combo with lush reverb and a touch of chorus to give me that faux-12-string jangle. This is where the Reactor could be a great starting point for players, and especially beginners, who want help getting the right tone to play their favourite songs.

When you tap on the “describe it” tab, you are greeted with a few prompts to help get you started. “A tone that sounds like a relaxing waterfall” is the first suggestion. Of course, I click it. I have absolutely no idea what that could possibly mean.

What is returned is three ambient, crystal clear, clean amps swamped with copious amounts of reverb and delay. I suppose that matches the prompt pretty well.

Having your entire amp built around AI is a bold approach, especially since the technology is still in its infancy, and as such, the AI’s results are a mixed bag. When it’s on, it’s magic. When it misses, you’ll probably just want to dial in your own sound the old-fashioned way.

There’s a learning curve for sure, and the ambition sometimes outpaces the execution. Like any AI, it takes time to learn which prompts work and which don't, but I feel like the learning curve would be eased by a cleaner, easier-to-navigate app. Having clear images of the pedals and amps would make a big difference to the user experience, like, why does the Dyna Comp compression need to be a transparent box with a glowing red heart? Show me a two-knob red compressor, so I know instantly what sound to expect when loading the patch. In my opinion, the app feels a little too chaotic and out there, which distracts you rather than helps you.

As for the Reactor footswitch, it’s a fairly simple and satisfying thing to operate. You can hook it up the traditional way with a cable, or if you want to feel like you’re living in the future, it also works with Bluetooth MIDI for wireless use. You can have it in one of two modes. Preset Mode allows you to switch between your favourite tones saved in your banks, or Effects Toggle Mode enables you to run it like a pedalboard, where you can turn on and off effects at will. It’s just a pity that it’s sold separately.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★☆

Once you wrangle your way through the app menus and AI hijinks, the Reactor actually sounds fantastic. Like the Spark, there’s a ton of great tones in this box, everything from sparkling cleans to gnarly high-gain dirt, all with that familiar Positive Grid polish. The high-gain models in particular are absolute standouts, keeping up with the best of the digital crowd.

The amp selector knob at the start of the control panel cycles through various amp modes, starting clean and working its way to the Line 6-esque Extreme setting. I must say, I like this approach a lot, and the Grit setting with the Smooth switch pressed and Heat setting three engaged is delightful. It's well, reactive, dynamic and just plain fun to play through and even better with a touch of reverb.

Moving away from the hardware and over to the app is a different story. Yes, there's a lot of sounds to choose from, but a lot of those killer tones are buried behind an ambitious AI system that sometimes feels more like a hurdle than a helper. Navigating through layers of preset folders and tone suggestions can get needlessly complicated, especially if you’re just trying to grab a quick, classic rock crunch or bluesy edge.

Still, it’s hard to stay mad when the amp actually delivers. BIAS fans will feel right at home with the tones at least, and the overall tonal quality is every bit as good as what you’d expect from Positive Grid’s top-tier Spark series. Annoyingly, you’ll find yourself wishing the interface just let you get to the goods a little quicker, but if you’re willing to put in a few extra minutes, there’s a goldmine of usable, gig-worthy tones here.

The effects are top-class too. Again, like the Spark, you have an abundance of stomps you can switch in and out, from utility essentials like gates and compressors to drive pedals, delays, modulation, and even a programmable wah pedal – and they all sound ace. Genuinely, the effects here give most of their competition a run for their money.

I do need to mention that while it looks like there is only one reverb available on the app - in stark contrast to the nine pedals available with the Spark app - there are actually multiple to choose from under the mode dial. You can choose from Room Studio A, Room Studio B, Chamber, Hall Natural, Hall Medium, Hall Ambient, and a collection of Plates. What is noticeably missing is a decent Spring, but we can live with that.

Double-tapping the effects icon in the app gives you access to different options. For example, with the drive section, you can choose from an OB Drive to a Rat Distortion and my personal favourite, the Big Muff. It is worth noting that the photos of the pedals are again AI-generated and look pretty horrendous. The Rat clone has a literal nose and teeth, while the Muff Fuzz looks like the inside of a Hoover bag. This is perhaps something Positive Grid can address over time.

Verdict

A gig-ready combo with a Katana-like layout and a handpicked set of Positive Grid’s greatest hits should’ve been a slam dunk. On paper, the Reactor ticks nearly every box. It’s portable, roadworthy, stacked with tones, and ready to slot straight into rehearsal or the stage. But what could have been a breakthrough is instead tripped up somewhat by its own ambition right now, saddled with an AI-powered app that pulls focus away from what it does best.

Of course, the hardware itself is hard to fault. The tactile knobs and rugged footswitch are built for more demanding gigging scenarios, not just bedroom noodling. Sure, the visual style might be divisive, and the branding’s a head-scratcher, but once you plug in, those gripes fade away.

The core issue is the app right now, which tries to be your sonic sherpa but too often leaves you scrambling through menus and oddball AI art in search of the tones you want. When the app’s AI gets it right, it’s genuinely impressive, but when it misses, you’re left scratching your head as it conjures up fantasy gear or nonsensical patches. There could be real magic here, but it’s buried beneath layers of novelty and a learning curve that some players simply won’t tolerate.

What’s more annoying is that sound-wise, the Reactor absolutely delivers. The amp models and effects are as good as anything in Positive Grid’s arsenal. The high-gain options are standouts, and there’s a goldmine of usable patches if you’re willing to dig. The effects roster covers everything from basics to boutique, and the tactile controls mean you can still go old-school and dial in with your ears, not your thumbs.

The Reactor is an amp with real potential, offering killer sounds and a robust chassis in a compact package. But with an app that’s more of an obstacle than an asset, Positive Grid’s bold leap into AI perhaps proves that the technology hasn’t quite caught up yet. Fix the interface, and this could be a modern classic, but as it stands, it’s a glimpse of the future that’s not quite ready yet.

MusicRadar verdict: A killer-sounding, road-tough amp that’s currently hampered by a clunky AI app, which is brilliant in flashes but not quite the revolution it wants to be. Fix the interface, and the Reactor could be a winner, but for now, it’s a rare work-in-progress for Positive Grid.

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Positive Grid

• Best practice amps: the best amps for guitar practice

Having redefined the practice amp with the Spark, Positive Grid is now applying its digital R&D magic to louder, high-output guitar amps for the stage, studio and home with the all-new Reactor series – 1x12 combo that lets players design tones via AI prompts.

This Reactor comes in 50 and 100-watt versions, each offering switchable single and 25-watt operation, and is one amplifier that you might want to take you phone out of your pocket to make full use of.

Out of the box, players have 24 amp types to play with, and then you would be forgiven for thinking that these Reactor combos were more of the same, digitally enabled modelling amps with a cornucopia of amp sounds to work with, presets to save your favourite sounds, yadda yadda yadda. But the accompanying app changes the calculus somewhat.

Under the hood, the Reactor amps tone-shaping powers are provided by Positive Grid’s Amp Intelligence technology, which has digitally taken apart and “decoded” more than 200 amplifiers at circuit level and can then use this secret knowledge to create tones out of the ether. It has analysed millions of tones.

These amps look familiar enough from the front. They have that clean modern design, the Reactor badge on the front of the grille cloth, the control panel on top. There is a lot going on, with Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble and Master knobs all holdovers from the analogue era, and a 6-way rotary dial with LEDs for amp type (Clean, Warm, Grit, Crunch, Hi-Gain, Extreme).

There is another 6-way dial for effects and a couple of mod switches, Heat, changes its feel and harmonic response without boosting the volume, and a Push/Smooth dial for lead and rhythm playing. "More heat means your tone is tighter," says Positive Grid. "Faster attack, richer harmonics."

But the Reactor combos are anything but familiar. They present us with an all-new way of dialling in an electric guitar tone.

Pick up the app, type in the kind of sound you want, and the amp will create it. You can be vague with this and type in an idea or you can get quite exacting, say, with the name of a track or a favourite artist. If words fail you – and with all the Reactor does, right now they are failing us – then you could upload an image. “Snap or upload a photo of gear, an object, a selfie or anything that inspires sound,” says Positive Grid, and the amp will do the rest.

There’s more. You can upload some audio or a screen recording and, like some digital myna bird in the Reactor’s brain, the Amp Intelligence technology will mimic the tone.

And we are not just talking about modelling existing tones, creating sounds from gear you can buy down the local guitar store. The Reactor amps can also create sounds out of nothing, effectively designing an amp that has never existed before.

It’s pretty wild and be sure to check out MusicRadar’s review of the amps for an idea of how this shakes out in practice.

Positive Grid has designed these with all the connections you’d expect. There is USB-C for direct recording, a line out with cab sim, an effects loop for bringing your pedalboard along for the ride and full MIDI connectivity.

We also have a power amp input, a headphones output, and your phone connects to the amp via Bluetooth.

The Reactor combos are also keenly priced, with the 50-watt version available for $349, the 100-watter for $449. The footswitch is sold separately for $149.

For more details, head over to Positive Grid.

What is it?

Fractal’s flagship Axe-Fx III amp and multi-effects processor may be a bit overkill for most of us, not just in its £2.5k asking price (and that’s without a foot controller) but also in the facilities it provides.

However, Fractal is, of course, aware of this and does provide more affordable stripped-down iterations of its modelling technology with the likes of the FM3, FM9 and the (effects only) VP4 Virtual Pedalboard.

The current FM3 MKII Turbo (retailing at £1,149) has been the entry point into the full Fractal amp and effects world up until now, but that’s all changed with the release of the new AM4, which makes the sounds more accessible to a larger audience.

It still has the same four-footswitch form factor and the same price point as the VP4, but where the VP4 has no amp modelling, the AM4 has a full quota of Fractal’s finest amp models alongside a choice range of effects.

Specs

• Price: $699 | £789 | €925
• Origin: USA
• Type: Amp and effects modelling floor pedal
• Features: Buffered bypass, 104 presets, tuner, tap tempo, noise gate and EQ on each preset
• Controls: Level, Select, Soft knobs (A, B, C, D), 6x buttons, Footswitches (1, 2, 3, 4)
• Connections: Standard instrument input, standard outputs L (mono) & R, Standard Send, Standard Return, Pedal 1 & 2, 1/8” headphone output, SPDIF In & Out, MIDI In & Out, USB
• Power: Supplied 9V DC adaptor, 1500 mA 
• Dimensions: 252 (w) x 162 (d) x 62mm (h) 
• CONTACT: Fractal Audio

Usability and sounds

The AM4 falls neatly into the ‘compact modeller’ category with a size and shape that’s both eminently portable and suitable for slotting into a pedalboard alongside your other pedals. While its main use in a live scenario is direct connection to a PA system or an FRFR speaker, there’s no reason you couldn’t use it as an effects processor with a conventional guitar amp.

What you’re getting is a unit with 104 presets onboard in 26 banks of four, each preset comprising a signal chain of four blocks – one amp and three effects is the norm, but you can have four effects blocks.

Now, while four blocks may seem paltry to anyone who is used to longer signal chains, it really can be enough to cover many contingencies because those blocks have an inherent flexibility. Every block has four channels, each with a different model or parameters.

This means you can have four different amps in your amp block and four types of delay, for example, or simply one delay with four different delay times in your delay block. The amp block is of particular note as it has facilities that might otherwise have used up several blocks – it doesn’t just have the amp but also contains the full associated cabinet modelling with built-in stereo room ambience, plus a footswitchable boost.

For each preset you also get four Scenes, each Scene basically a snapshot of which blocks are active and which channel is selected for the block – this means you can call up a wide variety of sounds by switching Scenes.

Everything in a preset can be quickly set up or tweaked from the unit itself – there’s no touchscreen, but using the buttons and soft knobs is intuitive. Alternatively, you can use the excellent AM4-Edit software on a connected computer.

Changing between the three primary modes of operation (Preset, Scene, Effects) is implemented by pressing footswitches 1 and 2 together and then making your selection via one of the other footswitches, each corresponding to a different mode shown above in the display. In Preset mode you can gaplessly select the four presets in a bank with the footswitches, and bank changes are implemented by a press-and-hold of footswitches 1 or 4.

Scene mode lets each footswitch call up the different scenes within a preset, while Effect mode is for turning effects blocks on and off and, in the case of the amp block, turning its boost on and off.

There’s also an Amp mode of operation that assigns each of the four channels from the amp block its own footswitch, so you have access to four independent amp-and-cab setups.

While the signal chain may not be as complex as that of the Axe-Fx III, the AM4 still has its component-level physical amp modelling and DynaCab cabinet emulation, which makes for a classy range of sounds with excellent playing response.

You get more than 240 different amp models – albeit some being different channels of the same amp – with all of the big hitters covered, as well as a wide selection of more obscure and boutique examples. As for the cabs, there are more than 45 DynaCab models, all with real-time visual mic positioning, and there’s also the option of using your own IRs.

Effects are well represented by a selection of 80-plus drive models, loads of reverbs and delays, many modulation types, and compressors and wah pedals. While there’s no dedicated pitch shifting, there is some for shimmer in the reverb block.

The AM4 comes well stocked (22 banks) with usable pre-programmed presets for use straight out of the box or as advanced starting points for your own tweaks. A lot of these are in the format Drive>Amp>Delay>Reverb, which may be all you need. You can also choose from 16 different effects blocks (a maximum of two of any type) to easily set up your own chain, and if you need to free up blocks it’s useful to know that you can have reverb and delay in a single block by choosing one of the Echo models for your reverb block.

If you want to use other effects pedals with the unit, there’s nothing to stop you placing them before or after the unit, but there is also a send and return loop with a fixed position just before the output.

This would allow you to use external pedals in the chain while taking advantage of the AM4’s balanced outputs or the headphone output for a bit of silent practice. That headphone output also comes in handy for recording, taking advantage of the AM4’s ability to function as a 4-in/4-out audio interface.

Comprehensive MIDI capability is available for those who wish to take advantage of it, and there’s also provision to connect up to two expression pedals for real-time control of effects – essential if you want to use the onboard wah options.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

MusicRadar verdict: If you want to get into the Fractal amp-modelling universe, the AM4 is your entry point – but we’re in no way describing it as ‘entry level’. Make no mistake, it could grace any professional stage with its superb range of sounds, rugged build and great flexibility in how you use it.

Hands-on videos

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Fractal Audio Systems

Ola Englund

• “The effects from the Axe-FX III are so good that simply putting them in a standalone box is already a knockout product”: Fractal Audio Systems VP4 Virtual Pedalboard review
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

What is it?

The Hot Rod Deluxe was forged in the musically chaotic post-grunge era of the mid-90s when electronica and alternative rock were vying for pole position and bands such as Radiohead – to name just one example – featured edgier, brasher guitar sounds from valve amps.

With 40 watts of valve power, dual channels and two footswitchable levels of boost, the Deluxe seemed a great fit for the times. And indeed, the enduring success of this guitar amp speaks to the wisdom of Fender’s design.

Through the years we’ve seen a number of models and variations of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, with a range of different speakers deployed including the Eminence Legend (1996 to 2010), Celestion G12P-80 (HRDx III, 2010) and Celestion A-Type (HRDx IV, 2018); however, this 30th Anniversary edition sticks with the Celestion G12M-65 Creamback choice with its ample 65-watt power rating.

The overdrive circuit, with its two stages of boost, has been massaged over the years to refine its saturated character. Another important improvement over the early models is that the clean channel volume control now has a more gradual operation, rather than the rapid ascent to full volume that could be reached with the knob turned up to 2! Final tweaks were made to achieve a smoother reverb sound from the onboard spring reverb tank.

The styling is in line with the 30th Anniversary Blues Junior amp cosmetics, including the ‘western’-styled tooled leather-look commemorative covering, a brown-and-gold Bassman-style grille cloth and the smart chrome top panel complete with those distinctive black ‘chickenhead’ knobs.

Unboxing the amp from its carton, its fancy looks are worth appreciating for a moment. If you’re not familiar with this model, it’s perhaps somewhat large for a 1x12 combo amp due to chassis-sharing with the 2x12 Hot Rod DeVille. The weight is kept down by virtue of its pine cabinet, another improvement from the particle board of previous incarnations.

The chromed control plate has a premium look, printed with helpful player-facing control lettering in white. Channel 1, the clean channel, employs a single volume control alongside a Bright switch before moving on to Channel 2 with its overdrive functions. Two preset levels of drive can be selected in addition to Drive and Master knobs.

The three-band shared EQ – ordered Treble, Bass, and then Middle – precedes the Master, Reverb and Presence controls.

Unusually, the top panel also houses the effects loop in and out jacks and the footswitch jack, which might normally be placed on the back of the amp. But this quirky positioning has obviously not hindered its popularity in any way.

Specs

• Price: $1,299 | £1,269 | €1,489
• Origin: Mexico
• Type: All-valve combo
• Valves: 3x ECC83, 2x 6L6
• Output: 40W
• Dimension: 61.6 (w) x 27.3 (d) x 53.3mm (h)
• Weight (kg/lb): 25.28/55.75
• Cabinet: Pine
• Loudspeaker: 12” Celestion G12M-65 Creamback
• Channels: 2
• Controls: Volume, Bright Switch, Volume, More Drive, Drive, Treble, Bass, Middle, Master, Reverb, Presence
• Footswitch: 2-button switch included
• Additional Features: Effects loop
• Options: None
• Range Options: Hot Rod Deluxe (non-anniversary) is £1,049. 60W 212 Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 is £1,369
• Contact: Fender

Usability and sounds

Going in with the Telecaster on Channel 1, with the EQ controls at half mast, I can assess the range on the clean volume. I would say it comes to life a little more progressively now than on previous iterations, and the amp is pretty much at full clean headroom around 3 to 4.

The cleans sparkle with the help of the Bright switch for the classic smile-EQ sound where the full body and the sparkle take precedence over midrange grunt.

It’s the essence of the Fender clean sound and feel beneath the strings, and while at this price point we may not achieve highly sweetened boutique-style tone, this amp is aimed at players in bands, rather than YouTube cork-sniffing aficionados.

Continuing upwards volume-wise from there, it starts to deliver a thicker response with some bloom from the 6L6s. Indeed, switching over to a Les Paul you can get thick slabs of classic rock overdrive with the volume towards the higher numbers alongside a little push from the Bright switch.

It is actually possible to create a makeshift master volume for this channel by placing a pedal with a volume control in the loop if you wish to get a little more bloom at lower volumes. If this floats your boat, you will find devices on the market made for this specific purpose, comprising two jacks and a volume control in a simple moulded plastic unit.

Over to the second channel with its dual levels of diode-induced saturation. The first level of drive brings that US-style overdrive reminiscent of Money For Nothing-era Dire Straits. It’s overdrive, for sure, but with a gritty tough edge when digging into the strings. This sound really does evoke those recognisable 90s angular overdrive sounds on guitar hits from the era.

Pushing on the More Drive switch ups the gain stakes just a smidge, nothing particularly earth-shattering but it would certainly provide a little confidence boost for solos. A decent ZZ Top-style raspy drive comes naturally with a little reduction in bass level and a push in the mids.

Working further with the EQ, its powerful range helps achieve some interesting tones such as a fluid fusion sound reminiscent of the late great Allan Holdsworth, by using the More Drive function and a lower treble setting.

The reverb does indeed now have a smoother sound than the early Hot Rod models due to some specific circuit tweaks.

However, it’s fair to say it doesn’t have the magic, splashy presentation that one might expect from a valve-recovered circuit of the type that made Fender’s name. Conversely, it does sit in the background well giving us a deep and rich halo.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

This updated classic is the very essence of the Fender aesthetic: that of a solid and reliable workman-like tool, commonplace everywhere from showrooms to rehearsal rooms and stages of all sizes.

It reigns supreme for its no-nonsense approach to a dual-channel, giggable package.

MusicRadar verdict: The improvements leave little to nit-pick about, with the smoother reverb and overdrive sounds and the improved clean volume taper. And it certainly looks a treat, too, in its black western vinyl. The slightly quirky choices of the external jack-socket furniture mounted on the top control panel can easily be overlooked for the overall benefits that this amp packs.

Hands-on videos

Fender

• Best Fender amps: From all-tube classics to cutting edge modelling options
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Harley Benton has expanded its DNAfx practice amp lineup with a super-compact 10-watter with an entry-level $92 price tag.

The DNAfx AmP10 is very much like the MusicRadar-approved DNAfx AmP20, only smaller, and more affordable. Those 10-watts drive a 6” full-range speaker. It is but one Class D guitar amp but with its digital brain it contains multitudes.

Players can avail themselves of four onboard amp models (Clean, Blues, Rock, Lead) covering all the main food groups of electric guitar tone. You know the drill – “sparkling cleans and warm blues tones to aggressive rock crunch and saturated lead sounds,” read the official Harley Benton tasting notes.

And you get some effects to sauce your sound. There is flanger, phaser, tremolo and chorus all nested under the Modulation dial, with spring and hall reverbs, delay, and delay-and-reverb all nested under the Delay/Reverb knob. These multi-modal effects knobs have LEDs to let you know what setting you are in and there is tap tempo for the delay.

There are controls for Bass, Middle and Treble, plus Drive and Master Volume, and once you have dialled in a sound you like you can save it down to one of four user presets.

The idea here is that you’ve got everything you need from a practice amp. So of course we have a stereo headphones output for silent practice. We also have a line in and Bluetooth for playing external audio sources through the amp.

There is also a built-in chromatic guitar tuner. We had a few reservations with the DNAfx AmP20’s tuner – it doesn’t give you a reading of the not, only if it is flat or sharp, but it is better than having nothing.

Other features we like are the weight, or lack of it. The DNAfx AmP20 was no heavyweight at a hair under 6kg but at 4.5kg this really is a grab-and-go option (and the kind of amp you might find yourself taking into the office or the kitchen to snatch some practice time.

We often bemoan LED menus (an invitation to tinker and mess around that we often don’t need) but they can make dialling in sounds a little easier, ditto with online apps.

You don’t have that here but if its bigger sibling is anything to go by, dialling in a sound is pretty easy, even if you don’t quite have such exacting control over the effects. And, again, those presets will come in handy.

The DNAfx AmP10 is available now, priced £69/$92 (approx). Heck, we’ve spent more on that on a tuner. In today’s money that’s loose change. You can pick one up direct from Thomann and see more over at Harley Benton.

PRS Guitars and Ed Sheeran have teamed up once more to add his hollowbodied baritone signature guitar to the regular SE lineup.

You might remember the PRS SE Ed Sheeran Hollowbody I Piezo Baritone from January. This was a limited edition version of the electric guitar he had custom made for the F1 soundtrack, featuring on the video for Drive and used on Sheeran’s live performance of the track on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

It was finished in a graphic finish designed by Sheeran himself, with custom inlays on the fingerboard.

These new SE models have a similar build. You’ve still got the an electric guitar pickup pairing of PRS 85/15 “S” humbuckers, the long 27.7” scale length, the piezo pickup for acoustic guitar voicings, and once more you have the full hollowbody design with centre block to kill the feedback – only this time they are offered in PRS exclusive finishes Kaleidoscope and Pink Ombre, and in Orange Tiger Smokeburst.

Also, PRS enthusiasts will be glad to know, we have birds returning to roost on the fingerboard inlays.

This is a guitar that might confuse some. Who is it designed for? Sheeran urges us to think of it as a blank canvas. He used it for the F1 soundtrack. He plays pop music.

But the invitation is there to use it as a jazz guitar, a blues guitar, or even as a metal guitar.

“Metal guitarists will absolutely shred on this, jazz guitarists will love this, and it will be able to fit into so many great scenarios,” says Sheeran. “For all the guitar people out there who look at me as not an electric player, don’t let the person behind the guitar fool you. This is an incredible instrument and will fit in many, many guitar players’ collections.”

If the longer scale puts you off, PRS has also announced a regular 25” scale SE Hollowbody I Piezo, which similarly has the PRS x LR Baggs designed piezo system, the same pickups, and will be a similarly versatile platform.

It is a little different to the superlative SE Hollowbody II Piezo, with these new models featuring a carved top and a “slimmer, contoured ‘flatback’ design” on the player’s side.

“This guitar is a fantastic example of what happens when you have real partnerships with 100 per cent of the group like-minded and on a quest to do something special,” says Jack Higginbotham, COO, PRS Guitars. “Everyone involved at every level has the goal to deliver to musicians an experience that we would want as a player.

“We are trying to give somebody a thing that we would want to get. It’s all about what’s best for the instrument and the player. That’s a big reason why our partnership with LR Baggs is working,”

The release of these two electrics is joined by a refresh of the SE guitar amps, with PRS offering the Sonzera 20 combo and HDRX 20 amps, and the matching HDRX 1x12 cabinet, in limited edition new coverings, Indigo, with wheat grill cloth, and Black Paisley.

The PRS SE Ed Sheeran Hollowbody I Piezo Baritone is priced £1,499/$1,499. The SE Hollowbody I Piezo is priced £1,449/$1,449. For more details, head over to PRS Guitars.