Life’s Coda

One For Your Money

Following last year’s release of the award-winning Dept. 10 valve pedals, Blackstar’s multi-function, paperback-sized new tone machine has arrived to cover any need

Team Player

Chapman is the latest brand to take advantage of York-based UK Guitar Builders’ manufacturing facility to produce its new f lagship model. We plug in the first batch

Design For Life

This well-appointed single-cut from Vintage might just give the big boys a run for their money

Dish The Dirt

The famous DS-1 has been on sale since 1978, but now here’s a revamped version of Boss’s best-selling compact pedal

Gimme Five

Walrus Audio adds to its Five-State range of overdrive and distortion effects with this quintet of fuzzes in one box

the Wishlist

Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for...

Lustre For Glory

A trio of Gibson dreadnoughts with faded satin nitro finishes, vintage appointments and modern-day electronics. Serious players or mere novelty acts? Let the auditions begin…

Cool Cats

There’s no pussyfooting around for new company KittycasterFX as it hits the ground running with a pair of serious tone-shapers

SUPER ’NAUT

If you can’t make the world’s most influential acoustic guitar better, you can always make it bigger, explain Scott Sasser and Tim Teel of Martin

Gas Supply

Our pick of the month’s most delectable and wallet-bothering new gear

ALSO OUT NOW...

SOLDANO SLO £229 If you like your high-gain

Fretbuzz

Artist: Jake Xerxes Fussell

Albums

The month’s best guitar music – ahand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

Neville Marten recalls how playing thousands of good and bad instruments has gained him a degree from the ‘guitar university of life’

Under Pressure

This issue, Alex Bishop deals with the twin troubles of tension and playability that you may encounter when building a guitar

And Custom For All

Fender’s Mod Shop offers buyers the chance to custom-build a new guitar – and it’s cheaper than going the Custom Shop route. Our editors try it out

WIN!

ONE OF GUITARIST’S THREE MOD SHOP GUITARS 

Voice Leading

Richard Barrett shares some useful gradual transitions between chords around the fretboard

Feedback

Your letters to the Guitarist editor. Drop us a line at guitarist@futurenet.com

Longtermers

StewMac Ghost Drive Pedal Kit

DOMINIC MILLER

The Sting guitarist mourns a long-lost Gibson ES-335 and reveals a fondness for 60s Telecasters

THE FINISH LINE

With the StewMac offset kit-build complete, including quite a few custom touches, Dave Burrluck now has to apply a finish. But which one will he go for?

Filter’Tron Pickups

The versatile Filter’Tron has been char ming guitarists since the late 1950s

Sound Shapers

Zilla Cabs’ Paul Gough demystifies the humble baffle, and explores how different types can affect your combo’s sound

Fender Telecaster Custom (version 1)

Fender’s first foray into Telecaster variants was an upmarket alter native

1936 ‘Shaded Top’ Martin D-18

This highly sought-after pre-war Dreadnought features a rare sunburst finish

WALTER TROUT

Now in his 70s, having survived rock ’n’ roll excess and a debilitating pandemic-induced depression, Walter Trout takes us on the emotional road he travelled to release his 30th solo album, Ride, a record that revisits the trials of his New Jersey childhood and affirms his place in the annals of blues-rock

GEAR OF THE YEAR

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN – WE PR ESENT OUR PICK OF 2022’S MOST OUTSTANDING GEAR

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS

Class doesn’t always come with an inaccessible price tag as these four beauties prove

PRS SE SILVER SKY

PRS’s tie-up with John Mayer in producing the

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS

Forward-thinking design meets vintage style with a host of quality appointments

EPIPHONE JOE BONAMASSA 1962 ES -335

The latest model in the Joe Bonamassa-curated Epiphone

THERE’S A STORM A’COMING

Rising prices are everywhere, including on our cherished guitars. We discuss the background to the ongoing price hikes with the head of PRS Europe, Gavin Mortimer

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS

Irresistible builds from both sides of the pond

FENDER AMERICAN VINTAGE II 1951 TELECASTER

Another well anticipated launch this year was Fender’s

PRESTIGE ELECTRICS

The flawless electrics that reside at the peak of guitar design in 2022

SETH BACCUS SHORELINE JM-H90

As the stepson of legendary luthier Andy Manson,

ACOUSTIC GUITARS

This selection has both pleased our ears and warmed our hearts over the past 12 months

TAYLOR 724CE KOA

Taylor’s commitment to a more ecological approach regarding

THE ACOUSTIC PARADOX

Are there times when a top-of-the-range acoustic guitar is just too good to use for the job in hand?

AMPS

Portable power with vintage tone, modern features or both – you’re spoilt for choice

BLACKSTAR ST JAMES EL34 1X12 COMBO

In recent years we’ve seen many guitar amplification

FLOOR AMPS & MULTI-EFFECTS

Compact tone from world-class amps-in-boxes and feature-packed multi-effects processors

UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAFX RUBY ’63 TOP BOOST AMPLIFIER

Universal Audio has been on a stompbox roll

DRIVE EFFECTS

Dirt in its many forms reaches a practical pinnacle this year

MXR CUSTOM SHOP CSP039 DUKE OF TONE

Plenty of players would like to get their hands

DELAY & MODULATION EFFECTS

Blasts from pedalboards past get an update for today’s player with groundbreaking tech

BOSS SPACE ECHO RE-202

Back in the early 1980s, before digital had

EXTRA, SPECIAL

We devote so much thought to big gear purchases – but it’s the little things that make the difference from day to day, we argue

CHARLIE BURCHILL

He’s the Glasgow guitar maverick who broke into the 80s stadium league with Simple Minds. Now, as the band return with 18th album, Direction Of The Heart, Charlie Burchill tells us about pushing the envelope, falling for the White Falcon, commandeering The Edge’s rig, and why you won’t catch him playing powerchords

ALTER BRIDGE

Guitar duo Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti discuss their new album, custom guitars, the art of crafting long songs, and why you really, really don’t want tinnitus…

Blues Headlines

Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks