Yamaha Unveils Matteo Mancuso's Signature Revstar — and It's Built for More Than Fusion
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GUITAR NEWS / MUSIC RELEASES

Yamaha Unveils Matteo Mancuso's Signature Revstar — and It's Built for More Than Fusion

Patrick LawlorSeptember 26, 2026 5 min
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Yamaha Unveils Matteo Mancuso's Signature Revstar — and It's Built for More Than Fusion
GUITAR NEWS / MUSIC RELEASES

Yamaha Unveils Matteo Mancuso's Signature Revstar — and It's Built for More Than Fusion

The $1,599.99 RS20MM brings Mancuso's custom Revstar design to a production guitar, with DiMarzio PAF pickups, five-way switching and a chambered body.

Patrick Lawlor·September 26, 2026 5 min
PRS and Land Rover Team Up for Eight New John Mayer Silver Sky Colors
GUITAR NEWS / MUSIC RELEASES

PRS and Land Rover Team Up for Eight New John Mayer Silver Sky Colors

Eight new Silver Sky finishes drawn from Land Rover Defender paint jobs, hand-picked by John Mayer — including one color that has been sitting in his own driveway for nearly two decades.

Patrick Lawlor·September 25, 2026 6 min
Donner's HLX-500 Wants to Make Headless Guitars Affordable
SIGNATURE GEAR

Donner's HLX-500 Wants to Make Headless Guitars Affordable

A 24-fret, HSS headless guitar for around $330–$350. Donner's HLX-500 is a budget build with premium ambitions.

Patrick Lawlor·September 23, 2026 11 min
Gary Clark Jr. Brings Crossroads Home: Why This Weekend in Austin Belongs to Him
GUITAR TALK

Gary Clark Jr. Brings Crossroads Home: Why This Weekend in Austin Belongs to Him

Antone's co-owner, Gibson signature artist and Austin's bridge between old blues and new — Gary Clark Jr. plays Crossroads in his own city this weekend. Here's why it matters.

Patrick Lawlor·September 23, 2026 15 min
Inside Steve Vai's Hydra: The Triple-Neck Monster Built to Play an Entire Song by Itself
SIGNATURE GEAR

Inside Steve Vai's Hydra: The Triple-Neck Monster Built to Play an Entire Song by Itself

Seven-string, 12-string, 3/4 bass, 13 harp strings, sustainer, piezo, MIDI and half-fretless necks — the Hydra isn't a gimmick. It's an arrangement tool. Here's how Vai plays it.

Patrick Lawlor·September 22, 2026 11 min
Chad Gilbert, New Found Glory's Guitarist and Pop-Punk's Quiet Engine, Dies at 45
GUITAR TALK

Chad Gilbert, New Found Glory's Guitarist and Pop-Punk's Quiet Engine, Dies at 45

New Found Glory's founding guitarist died on September 20 after a years-long cancer battle. He was 45 — and he spent nearly three decades writing the riffs that taught a generation what pop-punk guitar sounds like.

Patrick Lawlor·September 21, 2026 7 min
Brian May Never Wanted a Fender or Gibson — So He Built the Guitar That Changed Rock
GUITAR TALK

Brian May Never Wanted a Fender or Gibson — So He Built the Guitar That Changed Rock

Brian May's latest comments about Fender, Gibson and the guitar he actually wanted reveal something deeper about the Red Special: Queen's unmistakable guitar sound may exist precisely because the instrument May needed simply didn't exist.

Patrick Lawlor·September 19, 2026 14 min
Gibson's DES Series Is the Most Aggressive Modern Gibson in Years
SIGNATURE GEAR

Gibson's DES Series Is the Most Aggressive Modern Gibson in Years

Six body shapes, Ghost Burst nitro, Super Split Block inlays, compound-radius ebony boards and Alnico 8 humbuckers. Gibson has built a limited run aimed squarely at the modern technical player — and priced it accordingly.

Patrick Lawlor·September 18, 2026 8 min
Slash Has Used a Talk Box Since He Was 16. Now MXR Has Built One Specifically for Him
SIGNATURE GEAR

Slash Has Used a Talk Box Since He Was 16. Now MXR Has Built One Specifically for Him

The new MXR Slash Signature Talk Box takes one of rock guitar's strangest and most expressive effects, traces it back through Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck and Aerosmith, and rebuilds it around the unmistakable voice of Slash.

Patrick Lawlor·September 16, 2026 11 min
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GARY CLARK JR. BRINGS CROSSROADS HOME: WHY THIS WEEKEND IN AUSTIN BELONGS TO HIM●INSIDE STEVE VAI'S HYDRA: THE TRIPLE-NECK MONSTER BUILT TO PLAY AN ENTIRE SONG BY ITSELF●CHAD GILBERT, NEW FOUND GLORY'S GUITARIST AND POP-PUNK'S QUIET ENGINE, DIES AT 45●BRIAN MAY NEVER WANTED A FENDER OR GIBSON — SO HE BUILT THE GUITAR THAT CHANGED ROCK●
GARY CLARK JR. BRINGS CROSSROADS HOME: WHY THIS WEEKEND IN AUSTIN BELONGS TO HIM●INSIDE STEVE VAI'S HYDRA: THE TRIPLE-NECK MONSTER BUILT TO PLAY AN ENTIRE SONG BY ITSELF●CHAD GILBERT, NEW FOUND GLORY'S GUITARIST AND POP-PUNK'S QUIET ENGINE, DIES AT 45●BRIAN MAY NEVER WANTED A FENDER OR GIBSON — SO HE BUILT THE GUITAR THAT CHANGED ROCK●

HOT DEBATE

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TONE DECODED

Dimebag Darrell Didn't Just Make Metal Heavier—He Made It Swing
TONE DECODED

Dimebag Darrell Didn't Just Make Metal Heavier—He Made It Swing

Inside the fearless Texas guitar language, brutal-but-musical tone, and melodic instinct that made Dimebag Darrell impossible to imitate — and impossible to replace.

DECODE THE TONE
Tone Decoded: Billy Gibbons’ “La Grange” — The Texas Tone That Sounds Dirtier Than It Really Is
TONE DECODED

Tone Decoded: Billy Gibbons’ “La Grange” — The Texas Tone That Sounds Dirtier Than It Really Is

No fuzz pedal. No stack of distortion boxes. Just a 1955 Strat, a 1969 Marshall Super Lead, and Billy Gibbons’ hands. Here is how the dirtiest-sounding riff in Texas blues-rock actually works.

DECODE THE TONE
Billy Gibbons: The Secrets Behind the Coolest Guitar Sound in Texas
TONE DECODED

Billy Gibbons: The Secrets Behind the Coolest Guitar Sound in Texas

How a 1959 Les Paul, impossibly light strings, vicious right-hand technique and an almost supernatural understanding of space turned three chords into one of the most recognizable sounds in rock.

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The Infamous Stevie Ray Vaughan Soundcheck
TONE DECODED

The Infamous Stevie Ray Vaughan Soundcheck

No crowd. No spectacle. Just Stevie Ray Vaughan checking levels at the Syria Mosque in 1986 — and sounding absolutely monstrous. What the footage reveals about tone, touch and the myth of the rig.

DECODE THE TONE
The Last 10%: Why You Can Copy a Famous Guitarist’s Entire Rig and Still Miss the Tone
TONE DECODED

The Last 10%: Why You Can Copy a Famous Guitarist’s Entire Rig and Still Miss the Tone

You bought the guitar, the amp, and the pedals — so why doesn’t it sound right? The last 10 percent of guitar tone is the most important part, and it’s almost never about the gear list.

DECODE THE TONE
Tone Decoded: Carlos Santana — The Secret Behind the Most Recognizable Sustain in Guitar History
TONE DECODED

Tone Decoded: Carlos Santana — The Secret Behind the Most Recognizable Sustain in Guitar History

One note is all it takes to recognize Carlos Santana. We decode the PRS guitars, Mesa/Boogie and Dumble amps, humbucker choices, controlled feedback, and singing vibrato behind the most vocal lead tone in electric guitar.

DECODE THE TONE
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