Fender and Paul Smith unveil a Japan-built striped Telecaster
Fender’s new collaboration puts Paul Smith’s Signature Stripes on a Japan-built Telecaster with modified pickups and locking tuners.
News & Culture
Rock news, culture and chaos. The latest releases, band reunions, signature gear drops, tours and all the loud stuff happening right now in the world of rock and guitars.
Wednesday 21 October
Fender Studio Pro 8.2 Adds Guitar Stem Isolation
Fender Studio Pro 8.2 adds native guitar and piano stem separation, alongside mixing tools. Here is what changes for guitar recording workflows.
Tuesday 20 October
Joanne Shaw Taylor Announces May 2027 UK Tour
Joanne Shaw Taylor has announced May 2027 UK dates ahead of The Trouble With Love. Here are the listed shows and verified ticket-sale details.
Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam 2026 brings Kingfish, Lukas Nelson and Daniel Donato to Asheville
Warren Haynes’ December 12 benefit brings a guitar-heavy lineup to Asheville, with ticket sales beginning in stages on October 20.
Monday 19 October
Fender’s Dark Horse Stratocasters: Three Finishes, Japan-Only Availability
Three Dark Horse Stratocaster finishes share gold hardware and a common specification, but Japan-only purchasing routes and delivery dates differ.
Sunday 18 October
Lonnie Mack’s Flying V and Magnatone Sell for $550,000
Heritage reports a $550,000 combined sale for Lonnie Mack’s original Number 7 Flying V and Magnatone amplifier, with his stage strap included.
Taylor Adds Two Limited Koa Models to Its Legacy Collection
Taylor’s new Legacy koa pair combines an all-koa 12-string Jumbo with a spruce-and-koa six-string Dreadnought, limited to 52 examples of each.
Neural DSP gives Tone King Imperial MKII the X treatment
Neural DSP updates its Tone King Imperial MKII plugin with transpose, a stereo Doubler and new preset tools. Existing owners receive the X update free.
John Mayer Plays Acoustic Lead on Bobby Weir’s Newly Released Archive Track
John Mayer plays acoustic lead on Bobby Weir’s The Ground Don’t Want Me, newly released from the Blue Mountain sessions. Credits and edition dates explained.
Saturday 17 October
Roger Waters vs. James Hetfield: Does a Concert Ticket Buy an Escape From Politics?
The Waters–Hetfield dispute raises a bigger question about artists, audiences and freedom of expression.