GUITAR NEWS
The latest guitar, gear, rock and music-industry news, reported by The Guitar Plugged.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mike McCready Plugged In, Faced the Flag, and Gave Seattle Its Hendrix Moment
One guitarist, one Strat, one stadium full of people who grew up on Seattle guitar. McCready's anthem at Lumen Field was a straight line back to Hendrix — and it landed.
Gibson Breaks a 70-Year Habit: The ELEV8 Is Its First Alnico 8 Humbucker
For seventy years Gibson humbuckers have run on Alnico 2, 3, 4 and 5. The new ELEV8 series finally reaches for Alnico 8 — and it is aimed squarely at high-gain players.
Eric Clapton Revived a Song He Hadn’t Played in 51 Years — And Now It Looks Like It’s Staying
The 1974 deep cut “Give Me Strength” disappeared from Clapton’s concerts after 1975. Now he’s played it on consecutive nights — 51 years later.
KISS Have Recorded a New Paul Stanley Song—and Ace Frehley’s Guitar Legacy Still Looms Large
Tommy Thayer confirms fresh studio activity as KISS move beyond their farewell tour. It’s also a moment to revisit the guitarist who helped make the band essential listening.
The New TONEX Board Puts a Complete Rig at Your Feet for $999.99
IK Multimedia brings touchscreen control, AmpliTube effects, and dual-amp routing to its newest floorboard. For guitarists, the real question is how much simpler it makes getting through a gig.
Tony Iommi Opens Up About His Final Conversation With Ozzy Osbourne: “I Still Can't Get It in My Head”
The Black Sabbath guitarist says Ozzy was exhausted after the band's emotional farewell — but determined to give fans one final show.
Ibanez Just Dropped New Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Nita Strauss Models—Plus Its Most Extreme Iceman Yet
Ibanez has refreshed its flagship signature line with the hand-painted Steve Vai PIA77BON2, the Sustainiac-loaded Joe Satriani JS2470-CS and Nita Strauss' Torch Red JIVA10R—then weaponized the Iceman with a 7-string multiscale build.
Gibson Just Recreated Billy Gibbons’ Legendary “Pearly Gates” Les Paul—But Only 30 People Can Buy One
Gibson Custom has recreated Billy Gibbons’ fabled 1959 Les Paul, Pearly Gates, in a 30-guitar Collector’s Edition—but owning one also means showing up for an unforgettable night with the ZZ Top legend himself.
Steve Vai and Joe Satriani Finally Announce Their First Studio Album Together
The Sea of Emotion arrives November 6, ending a 53-year musical buildup between two of guitar’s most important modern voices.
Tony Iommi Says Brian May Is the Only Guest Guitarist on His New Solo Album—And the Reason Says Everything About Their Friendship
The Black Sabbath architect is returning with his first solo album in 21 years. Queen's Brian May gets the lone guest slot, but he reportedly turned down the chance to take over more of the record.
Marshall Brings Hendrix's Plexi Era Down to Earth With New 20-Watt JMH Studio Edition
Marshall's latest Hendrix anniversary release turns a 1969-inspired Super Lead into a UK-built, hand-wired 20-watt half-stack — complete with the cosmic purple visual treatment.
Slash Says Young Guitar Players Are ‘Blowing My Mind’ — Maybe Guitar Isn’t Dying After All
For years we’ve been told the guitar is losing its place in popular music. Slash appears to be seeing something very different.
Fender's Strat Crackdown Is Already Changing Guitar Design — Is This What the Next S-Style Will Look Like?
LsL Instruments has shown its first new electric guitar since confirming it received a cease-and-desist tied to Fender's Stratocaster enforcement campaign — and the redesigned Saticoy 24 raises a much bigger question: if boutique builders can no longer lean on the Strat silhouette, does electric guitar design finally move again?
Ritchie Blackmore Plans to Rejoin Deep Purple Onstage Tonight — 33 Years After Walking Away
Thirty-three years after his final departure, Ritchie Blackmore says he plans to step onto a Deep Purple stage again — for one song, one night, and perhaps one final glimpse of a guitar chemistry that helped invent hard rock.
Slash Says Guns N' Roses Are Moving Toward a New Album — But the Bigger Story Is That the Reunion Survived
Slash says the next Guns N' Roses record will be "all new original stuff." No title, no date, no track list — but after a decade of a reunion most fans assumed would collapse inside a year, that sentence carries real weight.
Does Any Guitarist Really Need 27 Frets? Solar's New ACS Makes the Case
Solar Guitars has put 27 frets on its new carved-body ACS models — a six-string at 25.5" and a seven-string at 26.5", both with stainless super-jumbo frets, Gotoh 1996 tremolos and set-thru necks. Here are the verified specs, plus the design question nobody in the launch coverage is asking: what do frets 25, 26 and 27 actually give a player, and what do they cost you further down the neck?
D'Addario's AI Guitar Controversy Is Bigger Than One String Demo — It's About Trust
D'Addario says no generative AI wrote or played the music in its NYXL HD string demo — but it has admitted the track was over-produced and that AI-assisted mastering tools were used. The row exposes a deeper problem: when a product's selling point is sound, how much production is too much before the demo stops being useful to players?
Tony Iommi Announces From the Dark — His First Solo Album in 21 Years
Tony Iommi has confirmed From the Dark, his first solo album in 21 years, arriving October 23 via BMG with Jørn Lande on vocals, Brian May guesting, and lead single 'World Alone' out now. Why a new Iommi record still matters to guitar players.
Rush Returns to Madison Square Garden as Geddy Lee Turns 73 — And Alex Lifeson Still Sounds Massive
Rush is back at Madison Square Garden, Geddy Lee has just turned 73, and Alex Lifeson is still making a three-piece band sound like an orchestra. A guitarist's look at why Lifeson remains one of rock's most quietly radical players.
Bruce Springsteen Joins Bon Jovi On Stage at Madison Square Garden — A New Jersey Rock Moment for the Ages
Bruce Springsteen's surprise appearance during Bon Jovi's Madison Square Garden show was more than a guest spot — it was a full-circle New Jersey rock moment featuring Jon Bon Jovi, Phil X, and the enduring shadow of Richie Sambora.
Sammy Hagar Extends an Olive Branch to David Lee Roth — Could Van Halen Fans Finally See the Unthinkable?
For decades, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth kept one of rock's most famous feuds alive. Now, after Roth canceled most of his remaining 2026 tour dates, Hagar has done something almost no one expected: publicly wished him well and invited him onstage at the Best of All Worlds Las Vegas residency.
Fender Refreshes the Player II Series with Bold New Color Options
Fender has refreshed the popular Player II lineup with bold new finishes that give its best-selling guitars and basses an exciting new look while keeping the same modern playability players love.
After 40 Years, King Diamond's Guitar Partnership Is Over — And Gus G. Is Stepping Into the Fire
Andy LaRocque has left King Diamond after nearly 40 years. Gus G. — the Firewind founder and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist — is stepping in to compose, record and tour, opening a genuinely new chapter for one of metal's most important bands.
Billie Joe Armstrong's New Epiphone Les Paul Junior Proves Simplicity Still Rules Punk Rock
One pickup, one volume, one tone — and one of the most recognizable rhythm guitars in modern rock. Epiphone's new $649 Billie Joe Armstrong signature Les Paul Junior is a reminder that punk was never about gear.
Keith Richards Isn't Ready to Close the Door on the Rolling Stones Live—But Touring May Never Look the Same
Keith Richards has raised the possibility of Rolling Stones residency-style shows as traditional touring becomes more demanding. With Foreign Tongues topping the UK chart, the Stones may not be finished with the stage yet.
Rik Emmett Never Thought Triumph Would Tour Again—Then the Guitar Heroes Came Back
After decades away from a full-scale tour, Triumph returned to the stage in 2026. For Rik Emmett, it meant confronting the passing of time, adapting to a different kind of band—and discovering that the music still had some unfinished business.