The Tuareg guitarist braves electric shocks, faulty gear, sandstorms, and bootleggers to make groove-propelled music that crosses cultural and international boundaries.
Niger, like many African nations, is defined by its colonial borders, which were imposed by France without much regard for the history of the region or the people already there. The country is a landlocked desert, aside from the Niger River, which flows through Niger’s western corner, and is desperately poor. It ranks 187 out of 188 nations on the United Nations’ Human Development Index. It is home to at least eight distinct peoples including the Tuareg, Fulani, Hausa, Zarma, and Kanuri, and those peoples speak different languages, have different—although interwoven—histories, and play different types of music.
With that much cultural and ethnic diversity, it is no surprise that Tal National—a band whose music is an intentional composite of the region’s rich musical traditions—are Niger’s most popular artists. Their name, taken from the Désert du Tal, a desert in western Niger—includes the word “National” as a nod to their multicultural sound. As Hamadal Issoufou Moumine, better known as Almeida, who is Tal National’s guitarist and leader puts it, “Our music comes from many origins, so, for example, if the song is Fulani, I will try to [fuse together] a Tuareg riff and Fulani riff, which is very important.”
Almeida started playing the guitar when he was 30. He’s now 52. He’s also a judge—a position he still somehow manages to hold despite his band’s hectic schedule. Almeida put Tal National together in the early 2000s. According to their website, the band spent their first 10 years gigging around Niger. They played five-hour sets, seven days a week, and sold their CDs on street corners and roundabouts. That insane work ethic made them the biggest band in Niger, but it wasn’t until 2013, with the release of Kaani, that they began to garner international attention.
The road to Kaani started in 2008 when Jamie Carter, a Chicago-based producer and engineer, flew out to Niamey, Niger’s capital, with a suitcase full of gear to record Tal National at CFPM (Centre de Formation et de Promotion Musicales), the city’s musical hub and low-tech recording space. The band put out two albums in Niger before signing with U.K.-based FatCat Records and releasing Kaani.
Tal National’s most recent album, Tantabara, is their fifth project with Carter and third release on FatCat. It came out in February and it’s classic Tal National: a turbocharged synthesis of pan-African styles, contagious rhythms, and positive energy. As usual, Almeida creates a whirlwind of clean guitars—no effects and straight into the amp.
The new album also features a guest appearance by the Israeli-born/New York-based guitarist Yonatan Gat, formerly of Tel Aviv garage rockers Monotonix, on the track “Entente.” His scalding fuzz-tone solo is reminiscent of the psychedelic-tinged sounds that echoed prominently from nearby Nigeria in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when U.S. and British guitar rock became a major influence on regional bands like the Mebusas and the Founders 15. The two-CD collection The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria is West African music’s equivalent of the U.S. garage-rock collection Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968,as well as a historic foundation that supports Tal National’s self-proclaimed identity as a rock band.
“I think they are 100 percent right,” offers Gat, who befriended Tal National after catching one of their Big Apple shows and was invited to lay down some sonic spank on “Entente.” “The way the guitar governs everything in that music really reminds me of rock ’n’ roll. Think about [Tuareg songwriter] Mdou Moctar and guys like that. When I listen to those bands from Niger, I don’t hear African music, necessarily, even though the music is very African. What I hear is just the best rock ’n’ roll bands in the world. If people would just listen to those bands more they would realize that rock ’n’ roll is not that boring nowadays. It is happening in many, many places. It is no longer something exclusive to the U.S. and U.K.”
While Tal National was recently touring the United States, we spoke with Almeida and Carter about Tal National’s music and journey, the challenges of recording and acquiring gear in one of the world’s poorest nations, the unusual workarounds they use to navigate a faulty and sometimes dangerous electrical grid, and the art of managing a large creative ensemble.
What kind of music did you listen to growing up?
Almeida: The first music I heard was when my mother went to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, she brought back the music of Sudan. Also, I have friends from southern Africa, like Congo and Cameroon, and that music interested me. In Niger, we have the influence of North African music and highlife from Ghana. So I’ve heard many musics.
What was on the radio?
Almeida: Traditional music. The biggest music is traditional.
Are guitars available in Niger? Where did you get your first instrument?
Almeida: It was a gift from a Japanese man named Kaz. He was volunteering in Niamey. I learned the guitar with him for two years. He brought it from Japan and he said that this guitar is for me. I was 30 years old and he showed me some jazz, like “Georgia on My Mind.” It took me three months to learn that song on the guitar. He also gave me a book of jazz songs. I learned to read music and I taught myself with that.
Was it acoustic or electric?
Almeida: Electric. Everybody in Niger knows about that guitar. It was very famous because it was a strange guitar. It looked like a kangaroo.
Did you have an amplifier, too?
Almeida: Yes. It was a small amplifier and the power was 110 volts. He also gave me a transformer for that amp.
When did you put the band together?
Almeida: When Kaz went back to Japan, I asked him how to build a band. He said, “When you build a band, make sure you choose good musicians and people with good character. If they have good character, it will be a good band.” That’s why I chose some friends. We just came to practice together—not like a band, but just like friends—and slowly it grew. One friend, Essa, who is still in the band, asked me, “Why don’t we work like a band?” I said, “We should, but I am not sure it will work too well because I am also a government worker.” He said, “We will try.” Slowly, slowly, we built a band and we called it Tal National. We just started in the club with only the original members, and slowly the club asked us to perform five days a week.
Tal National sometimes functions as a collective. In Niger, you will book two shows at the same time and have half the band play at one place and the other half play at a different place. Why is that?
Almeida: As Tal National grew, we became more famous and more people wanted to hear our music. We have three guitarists, three drummers, two bassists, and four singers. But that’s just for the business—the Tal National business.
Almeida was 30 when a friend from Japan named Kaz gave him his first guitar and a book of jazz tunes. Kaz also showed Almeida how to play “Georgia on My Mind,” which took him three months to learn. Obviously, he’s come a long way on his own since then. Photo by William Ruben Helms
How do you write music for that type of ensemble?
Almeida: Most of the time, I write a song for the band. Sometimes, we just use traditional music—a traditional song—and slowly we practice on that song. Everyone in the band brings his own ideas about how he fits in the music, and as the artistic director, I approve or I disapprove. But everyone in the band can make a proposition about the song, about the feeling, and about the music he thinks should be in the song. That’s the main way we do our songs.
So the songs have a core and you can take it in different directions depending on different factors.
Almeida: Most of the time, when we perform live in Niger, it depends on the audience. If they’re dancing, we play that part for a long time. The audience shows us. When we record our songs, we first perform them in the club and see the feedback of the audience. We have a special consideration of the audience when they are listening to our music. When they are dancing, we can see if this song—or which part of the song, or which groove—is important for them or not.
When you record your songs, how does that process work?
Almeida: When we record the songs that we’ve played live, we must record it together with the singer. The singer is controlling the direction of the song, and we need the singer to tell us when to change parts. Sometimes the solo guitar can also control the direction, so there is a lot of improvisation in the recording process, depending on the musical conversation we are having.
Tell us about the different peoples in Niger and how their musics are manifest in yours.
Almeida: The band Tal National is like a small Niger, and we speak most of the languages they speak in Niger. When we are touring in Niger, everybody can see himself in our band. For example, I am Tuareg. When we play for Tuareg people, they see that and the Tuareg come to our performance. When I went to the Hausa people in the east, we have Hausa people in the band, and they see that—the Hausa women and Hausa children—they can see that when we perform for them. In Tal National, we perform every groove. Today in Niger, they just want to dance, and when we come to perform, they can dance happy.
—Almeida
What happens when you play in America?
Almeida: In America, they also dance. Before coming to America the first time, they told me that in America they don’t dance; they just sit down and listen to your music. I said, “We will see.” Most of the time, they’re dancing at our shows. The language of our music is for dance.
Can you explain the rhythm of the guitar and where your rhythmic ideas come from?
Almeida: It comes from many origins—my guitar can look like five different guitars. Most of the time, it’s Tuareg. Sometimes, if the song is Fulani, I try to combine both a Tuareg and Fulani riff, which is very important.
Meaning that you’re piecing together different regional rhythms.
Almeida: Yes, those are the specific rhythms in our music.
Carter: It’s also that there’s a conscious element, where in order to piece the puzzle together, if he can combine a Tuareg rhythm with a Fulani rhythm, that makes it something new. It is both of those rhythms, and that’s the Tal National sound—combining those rhythms.
And how does that work with the other musicians?
Carter: The main guitar, vocals, and snare drum make up the core rhythm of the song, and that rhythm is defined by where it comes from. Other elements are added around that to generate musical ambiance and create the band’s sound.
Almeida: Most of the time, you sing the rhythm of the song to the singer. In the past, when the singer finished singing, we had the guitar come in and sing again. It is the same with everyone. When the guitar is singing, it is going to groove—it is very grooving when the guitar is singing.
Although England’s FatCat label released the band’s new CD internationally, at home in Niger, Tal National has a mere two-day grace period after each new release before bootleggers start selling pirated copies.
What type of guitar do you use?
Almeida: In Niger? We have a lot of counterfeit Fender Stratocasters.
Carter: The guitars are branded as Fenders made in the U.S.A., but I’m not so sure.
When you come to America, do you bring your instruments or rent gear in the States?
Almeida: Jamie provides the backline for us. That black Telecaster you see in the videos, that is just for international performing.
Carter: There is no music store in Niger. When the band needs to get new amplifiers, new parts for the PA system, new drum parts, or a new drum kit, Almeida goes to Nigeria. He drives to Nigeria to buy the equipment there and then brings it back. But when he returns to Niger, he has to pay tariffs on it going through the border.
Are you allowed to bring your gear from the States when you go there to record?
Carter: When I go to record, they usually try to give me a hard time at the airport because they see my equipment and think I’m bringing it to leave with the people there. Almeida and I have to explain to them that I’m taking it back with me. For whatever reason, they are trying to keep it on lockdown, even though domestically they can’t supply the equipment themselves.
What kind of equipment is available in Nigeria?
Carter: The best brand over there is Peavey for guitar amps. Up until this last record, we used the instruments available in Niger. But for Tantabara, we had played the Roskilde Festival in July 2016, and since I was already going to meet them in Europe, we decided that I was going to come back from Denmark with them to Niger to record the new record. I had to bring that Telecaster and the Squier bass you see in the photos—the white one—with me to Roskilde because they charged us for the backline and it was really expensive. I ended up in Niamey with that Telecaster. That was nice, because it is quite a bit better than what was available. But even after two weeks of that Telecaster there, it was all out of whack. The heat and the conditions—it would have needed a pretty hefty setup to keep it in playable condition after two weeks.
Like their music, the group’s members are also a fusion of their nation’s various ethnicities. According to Almeida, they are a multilingual, multicultural collective, but he plays the role of leader—ultimately ruling on the creative direction of each song. Photo by Jason Creps
Almeida: Because of the heat, sometimes you can’t get a great performance. You cannot tune the guitar very well. The intonation gets bad because of the heat.
How did you get guitar tones for the album?
Carter: In Niger, tube amps have a lifespan that is as long as their tubes, since there is nowhere to buy replacement tubes. We were lucky when recording Tantabara that there was a functioning AC30 rip-off at the studio. We used that for all the rhythmic guitar tracks, which are the tracks that are doubled and panned hard left and right. I also took a DI for the solo guitar—panned center—as well as the amp. All the overdriven guitar tones, like on “Belles Reines” and “Akokas,” are a mixture of the amp mic—the amp was a Peavey—and a Waves GTR amp plug-in.
Where do you record in Niger?
Carter: We always record at the same space. It’s a government center for music to encourage people to play music, to practice music, and to work on music. It’s called CFPM. [Editor’s note: That’s the Centre de Formation et Promotion Musicale. See a video about it here.] It’s a bit of a hub in Niamey for musicians. You can go there any day and find members from other bands hanging out or maybe practicing. It was built in 1987. It had a studio built as part of it, but it’s never received any more equipment since the beginning, so essentially it is just a studio space with very little equipment. When I started working with the band, I brought the equipment and we used the space. Now there is a little bit of equipment. Somebody has bought Pro Tools and a couple of microphones.
You just bring mics and a laptop?
Carter: I bring everything needed to make the record except for the microphone stands. That’s cables, mics, interface, laptop, headphones, and headphone amp.
Does every musician get headphones?
Carter: The singer and drummer wear headphones and then everybody else just listens in the room. We have two microphones on the singer: one that I am recording and the second going to the PA. All the musicians can hear the vocals in the room.
Have you thought about recording while on tour in the States?
Carter: It’s hard because they have so many singers and so many members. Each member and each singer has their own flavor and character. If we were to record in the States, we would only get a very small version of Tal National. That’s why I have to go there—because we need the full experience of Tal National, and it would be very close to impossible to do that outside of West Africa.
Is dust a problem too, from the desert?
Carter: You would not believe how great of a problem it is. I’ve been in the studio when a sand storm blew through and we couldn’t get the windows shut in time. I couldn’t believe the amount of dust that was coming in onto the equipment.
Do they have air conditioning or do the windows have to be open?
Carter: There is air conditioning at the studio, but just in one of the rooms. When we record, we have to have windows open and we have to try to have the ceiling fans going in between takes—because they do affect the sound if they are running during the recording.
Is the electricity a problem?
Carter: When they’re performing at venues that don’t have a good grounding in the power, one trick that they’ll do is take a speaker cord out of the extension speaker jack and then the other end of the cord will just be a bare wire and they will put that into something like a coffee can full of dirt. That will be a better ground for the guitar amp than the power they’re plugging into.
Do the musicians get shocked onstage?
Carter: I’ve been shocked pretty seriously just by recording there. Would you say getting the shocks from the strings is very common?
Almeida: Yes. Once a week.
Is that only in Niger or in the other countries in the region as well?
Almeida: Also Nigeria. One of the things they have at the music store in Nigeria is a generator for testing the equipment. They don’t use the regular power from the government. They have a generator for trying the equipment.
Carter: That’s so that they can show in an ideal situation that the equipment is working.
How does the band sell its music in Niger?
Carter: The band has a very, very small window to sell their music. How long do you have to sell your music before it gets counterfeited?
Almeida: Two days.
Carter: They’ve got two days to sell their new album before people start counterfeiting it and selling it for cheaper. In that two-day window, the band members basically canvass the city and sell their CDs on street corners and roundabouts. The band members get assigned parts of the city and that will be their job for two days—sell the CD.
Then it’s counterfeited and there’s nothing you can do?
Carter: From there, people start selling it on memory cards and burnt CDs. Then you’re competing with everybody else who can manufacture it cheaper and already has that market.
But you also own a nightclub in Niamey.
Almeida: We have a nightclub and we perform there. We call it Tafadek, which means “oasis.” Water is very rare in the land of Niger.
The buoyant collective spirit of Tal National—as well as leader Almeida’s dexterous licks on the Fender Telecaster he plays on tour and used to cut the group’s new album, Tantabara—shines through this 2015 performance of “Zoy Zoy,” the title track from the album the band released that year.
See and hear Taylor’s Legacy Collection guitars played by his successor, Andy Powers.
Last year, Taylor Guitars capped its 50th Anniversary by introducing a new guitar collection celebrating the contributions of co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug to the guitar world. The Legacy Collection revives five of Bob Taylor’s classic acoustic models, curated by the legendary luthier and innovator himself. “To imagine that we’re doing guitars that harken to our past, our present and our future all at the same time,” Bob says, “I really like that.”
In developing the collection, Bob preserved the essence of his originals while integrating performance and playability upgrades introduced during his tenure as designer-in-chief. “It’s an up-to-date version of what those guitars would be,” Bob explains, “but with the same sound.”
Visually, these guitars feel classic—clean, understated and unmistakably Taylor. While Bob’s original aesthetic preferences are showcased in his Legacy models, the nod to the past runs deeper than trade dress.
From his earliest builds, Bob favored slim-profile necks because he found them easier to play. That preference set a design precedent that established Taylor’s reputation for smooth-playing, comfortable necks. Legacy models feature slim mahogany necks built with Taylor's patented New Technology (NT) design. “My first neck was a bolted-on neck but not an NT neck,” Bob says. “These are NT necks because it’s a better neck.” Introduced in 1999, the NT neck allowed for unprecedented micro-adjustability while offering a consistent, hand-friendly Taylor playing experience.
What makes this collection unique within the Taylor line is Bob’s use of his X-bracing architecture, favoring his time-tested internal voicing framework over more recent Taylor bracing innovations to evoke a distinctive tone profile. Since Andy Powers—Taylor’s current Chief Guitar Designer, President and CEO—debuted his patented V-Class bracing in 2018, V-Class has become a staple in Taylor’s premium-performance guitars. Still, Bob’s X-bracing pattern produces a richly textured sound with pleasing volume, balance and clarity that long defined the Taylor voice. All Legacy models feature LR Baggs VTC Element electronics, which Bob says “harkens back to those days.”
The team at Taylor thought the best way to demonstrate the sound of the Legacy guitars was to ask Andy Powers, Bob’s successor, to play them. A world-class luthier and musician, Andy has spent the past 14 years leading Taylor’s guitar innovation. In addition to V-Class bracing, his contributions include the Grand Pacific body style, the ultra-refined Builder’s Edition Collection, and most recently, the stunning Gold Label Collection.
Below you’ll find a series of videos that feature Powers playing each Legacy model along with information about the guitars.
Legacy 800 Series Models
First launched in 1975, the 800 Series was Taylor’s first official guitar series. Today, it remains home to some of the brand’s most acclaimed instruments, including the flagship 814ce, Builder’s Edition 814ce and new Gold Label 814e.
The Legacy 800 Series features the 810e Dreadnought and two Jumbos: the 6-string 815e and 12-string 855e. Each model serves up a refined version of the Dreadnought and Jumbo body shapes Bob inherited from Sam Radding—the original owner of the American Dream music shop where Bob and Kurt first met. “I was making my guitars in the molds that Sam had made at American Dream,” Bob recalls. “There was a Jumbo and a Dreadnought. That’s all we had.”
All three Legacy 800 Series guitars feature one of Bob’s favorite tonewood combos. Solid Indian rosewood back and sides are paired with a Sitka spruce top, yielding warm lows, clear trebles and a scooped midrange.
Aesthetic appointments include a three-ring abalone rosette, mother-of-pearl Large Diamond inlays, white binding around the body and fretboard, and Bob’s “straight-ear” peghead design. Both Jumbo models also showcase a mustache-style ebony bridge—a nod to Bob’s early Jumbo builds.
Legacy 810e
The 810 Dreadnought holds a special place in Bob Taylor’s heart. “My first 810, the one I made for myself, was a thrilling guitar for me to make,” he says. “It’s the one and only guitar I played. It didn’t matter how many guitars we made at Taylor, that’s the one I took out and played.” The Legacy 810e brings back that bold, room-filling Dreadnought voice along with the easy playability expected from a Taylor.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 810e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 855e
Taylor’s first 12-strings found an audience in 1970s Los Angeles. “I was making guitars that would find their way to McCabe’s in Santa Monica and Westwood Music,” Bob says, “and these guitars were easy to play. Twelve-strings were a popular sound in that music. It was a modern country/folk/rock music genre that was accepting our guitars because they were easy to play. They also liked the sound of them because our guitars were easier to record.” The Legacy 855e, with its resonant Jumbo body, slim neck and gorgeous octave sparkle, carries that tradition forward.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 855e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 815e
The Legacy 815e revives Taylor’s original Jumbo 6-string, delivering a big, lush sound with beautifully blooming overtones.
Legacy Grand Auditoriums
In the early 1990s, Bob Taylor heard a consistent refrain from dealers: “Not everybody wants a dreadnought guitar anymore.” Players were asking for something with comparable volume but different proportions—something more comfortable, yet still powerful. This feedback inspired Bob to design a new body style with more elegant curves, more accommodating proportions and a balanced tonal response. The result was the Grand Auditorium, which Taylor introduced in 1994 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Thanks to its musical versatility and easy playability, Bob’s Grand Auditorium attracted a wide variety of players. “We came into our own with our Grand Auditorium,” he says. “People were describing it as ‘all around.’ It’s a good strummer and good for fingerstyle, but it’s not totally geared toward strumming or totally geared toward fingerstyle.” Also referred to as the “Swiss-Army Knife” of guitars or the “Goldilocks” guitar, the GA quickly became a favorite among guitarists across playing styles, musical genres and different playing applications including recording and live performance. “That guitar made studio work successful,” Bob says. It gained a wider fanbase with the debut of the “ce” version, which introduced a Venetian cutaway and onboard electronics. “That became one of our hallmarks,” says Bob. “If you want to plug in your guitar, buy a Taylor.”
Today, the Grand Auditorium is Taylor’s best-selling body shape.
The Legacy Collection features two cedar-top Grand Auditoriums inspired by past favorites: the mahogany/cedar 514ce and rosewood/cedar 714ce. Both models incorporate Bob’s original X-bracing pattern for a tonal character reminiscent of their 1990s and 2000s counterparts. Shared aesthetic details include a green abalone three-ring rosette, ebony bridge pins with green abalone dots, a faux-tortoiseshell pickguard and Taylor gold tuning machines.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 815e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 514ce
The Legacy 514ce features solid mahogany back and sides paired with a Western Red cedar top, yielding a punchy midrange and dry, woody sonic personality that pairs beautifully with cedar’s soft-touch sensitivity and warmth. It’s a standout choice for fingerstyle players and light strummers who crave nuance and depth. Distinct visual details include faux-tortoise body and fretboard binding, black-and-white top trim, and mother-of-pearl small diamond fretboard inlays.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 514ce | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 714ce
The Legacy 714ce also features a cedar top, this time matched with solid Indian rosewood back and sides. The result is a richly textured sound with deep lows, clear trebles and a warm, mellow response. Inspiring as it is, this specific wood pairing isn’t currently offered in any other standard Taylor model. Additional aesthetic details include green abalone dot fretboard inlays, black body and fretboard binding, and black-and-white “pinstripe” body purfling.
While the Legacy Collection spotlights Taylor’s past, newer models from the Gold Label, Builder’s Edition and Somos Collections show the company’s legacy is always evolving. Explore the Legacy Collection at taylorguitars.com or visit your local authorized Taylor dealer.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 714ce | Playthrough Demo
Taylor Guitars, one of the world’s leading acoustic guitar brands, has teamed up with Sony Pictures Consumer Products and HBO®to unveil a replica of the acoustic guitar featured in the award-winning HBO Original series The Last of Us, which is now streaming its second season on Max. This collaboration brings fans and musicians alike an exact replica of the guitar Joel gives Ellie in the critically acclaimed show.
Taylor’s The Last of Us Replica 314c guitar is based on its best-selling 300 Series and features Taylor’s most popular body style, the Grand Auditorium. Crafted with Taylor’s hallmark playability, pro-level sound and refined workmanship, the guitar showcases a visual aesthetic that matches the guitar featured in the series.
For fans of the show, the guitar’s most recognizable design element is a custom moth inlay at the third fret. The guitar also features a Tobacco Sunburst top finish and grained ivoroid accents, along with a satin-finish body and neck, creating a vintage, well-worn aesthetic that fits seamlessly into the gritty post-pandemic world Joel and Ellie inhabit.
This acoustic-only model features a solid Sitka spruce top and solid sapele back and sides, delivering a clear, warm, balanced voice with appealing midrange presence — an ideal sonic tool for storytelling through song. Additional appointments include grained ivoroid body binding, grained ivoroid fretboard inlays that include the moth and large dot position markers, and a custom double-ring rosette also in grained ivoroid. The Grand Auditorium body features a Venetian cutaway for easy access to upper-register notes. Each guitar comes with a Taylor-built deluxe hardshell case to ensure safe transport, whether across the country or across the quarantine zone.
Built for the Journey Ahead
“The Last of Us is a story of resilience, connection and finding beauty amid harsh realities — themes that resonate with the emotional expression a Taylor guitar offers players,” says Tim O’Brien, Vice President of Marketing at Taylor Guitars. “We’re honored to collaborate with HBO and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to bring this iconic instrument to fans and players alike.”
Availability and Ordering
The Taylor x The Last of Us Replica guitar is available for purchase now via TaylorGuitars.comand select authorized Taylor dealers. Orders are built on demand in Taylor’s Southern California factory, with an expected delivery time of 6–10 weeks. Due to the nature of this release, quantities are limited.
Whether you’re a musician, collector or a devoted fan of the series, this guitar offers a one-of-a kind connection to the legacy of Joel, Ellie and the enduring spirit of survival.
Guest picker Ally Venable
Blues rocker Ally Venable joins PG’s editors to imagine what their dream late-night band would sound like.
Question: What’s your dream late-night show band?
Ally Venable - Guest Picker
By FifthLegend from Eagan, Minnesota, United States of America - Thundercat, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70617212
A: For my late-night show's house band, I’ve assembled a dream team. This ensemble inspires me with their unparalleled musical talents and diverse backgrounds. Chris Layton’s drumming is unmatched and he will provide a solid foundation. I’ll have Jon Batiste on keys. His creativity and energy is boundless. Eric Gales would be on guitar. I love how emotive his music is, and I strive for that type of connection within my playing as well. Finally, I’d have Thundercat on bass. His playing is infused with jazz and funk sensibilities that would tie the whole sound together in an interesting way.
Obsession: My current obsession is shifting my approach to playing—focusing on connection over applause. Instead of chasing technical perfection or crowd reactions, I’m leaning into the emotional and spiritual side of music. It’s about creating moments that resonate deeply, whether it’s with myself, my bandmates, or the audience.
David Saenger - Reader of the Month
A: I love the idea of supergroups and how each of the players would interact. On guitars I would have Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) and Isaiah Sharkey. My drum and bass combo would be Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Mohini Dey. On keys and sax, I would have Herbie Hancock and Joshua Redman. My male and female vocalists would be Corey Glover (Living Colour) and Liv Warfield (Prince). All of these players are fantastic improvisers and really know how to put on an entertaining show in any genre.
Bassist Victor Wooten
Obsession: My current obsession has been bass. My 12-year-old daughter started playing electric and upright bass about two years ago, and it’s been a blast working with her. I’ve been really focusing on having a solid pocket, and it’s forced me to get better at reading bass clef. I’m taking her to see Victor Wooten next week. Can’t wait!
Jason Shadrick - Managing Editor
Jason Shadrick on the SNL stage.
A: The natural move would be to go for a high-energy party band decked out with multiple keyboards, horns, and vocalists. I’d go a different route. I’d go for a more rootsy vibe with Blake Mills leading a band consisting of Jay Bellerose on drums, esperanza spalding on bass, Bob Reynolds on saxophones, and a rotating guest each week. They could cover lo-fi Americana, funky open-tuned blues, and so much more.
Obsession: This month is slightly less obsession and more reflection as this will be my last issue as Managing Editor for PG. Over the last 15 years I’ve worked on 182 issues, which is kinda mind-boggling. I’ve been lucky enough to do some incredible things during my time at PG, including walking through the host door at SNL and spending a few minutes with Brian May. Never could have imagined it. I am very grateful.
Nick Millevoi - Senior Editor
A: I’ve long said that joining one of the late night bands would probably be my absolute top dream gig. So, if I were choosing my own late-night band, from any era, I would go no further than getting a chance to sit with Paul Schaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band or G.E. Smith-era Saturday Night Live Band.
Obsession: The late guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, who spent time in Schaffer’s band, had a heavy resume that included stars of all genres from Billy Joel to the Roots to McCoy Tyner. I got to see him play some low-key gigs around Philly, and each rearranged my molecules. It’s only now, years after his 2013 death, that I’ve become obsessed with his discography. Though much of his work was as a high-level sideman, his albums show the broad range of this masterful guitarist, whose tone, feel, and phrasing conveyed the instrument’s deepest emotional capabilities.
At its core is GTRS’ upgraded G151 intelligent system, offering 128 onboard effects, MNRS amp and cab sims, and even 17 guitar emulations—exclusive to this model. Everything is controlled via the eye-catching Super Knob, which changes color to match your preset, as well as through the Bluetooth-connectible GTRS app.
GTRS’ W902 features select tonewoods and construction: an alder body, poplar burl top, and a sleek bolt-on 5-piece neck made from roasted flame maple and rosewood, with satin natural finish and a rosewood fingerboard. The fanned fret design features 24 white copper frets and a stainless zero fret. A pair of GTRS Alnico V pickups and an HL-II bridge deliver a resonant tone, made particularly versatile thanks to the 5-way tone switch and tone knob.
The W902 offers a truly innovative choice for tech-savvy guitarists. Its features include a wireless transmitter, OTG recording, an 80-second looper, metronomes, and a drum machine, the app-supported guitar boasts up to 12 hours of playtime on a single charge (9 hours with the wireless transmitter in use).
The W902 is an upgraded version of the original W900 Intelligent Guitar, and the W902 most notably features an upgraded GTRS Intelligent Processor System, the G151, which even offers upgrades over the GTRS SL810's recently announced G150 system. The G151 system comes with a staggering 128 effects pre-installed, along with 10 of both MOOER's in-house MNRS amp and cabinet simulation profiles. Exclusive to the W902, the G151 system even includes 17 guitar simulation effects, allowing guitarists to emulate the tonal resonance of some of their favorite guitars.
To activate and browse through presets within the G151 system, which can be connected via Bluetooth 5.0, guitarists can use the guitar's Super Knob, which lights up in different LED colors depending on which preset is activated. Of course, users are able to get stuck into and edit the effects chains of presets through the GTRS app, enabling them to craft their own favorites through their mobile device. The guitar still functions without the G151 system; the Super Knob just needs to be turned off, and the W902 is usable as a regular electric guitar.
Within the GTRS app, there is even an 80-second looper, 10 metronomes, and 40 drum machine grooves built in, providing users with an all-in-one suite for guitar practice and composition. This is especially the case when combined with the W902's OTG-recording support, enabling on-the-go recording without the need for a hardware recording setup.
The W902 comes bundled with a GTRS Deluxe gig bag, three guitar wrenches, a USB 3.0 cable for charging, and a user manual. The guitar even contains a wireless transmitter and an integrated 4000mAh Li-ion battery, providing up to 12 hours of continuous use (9 hours with the transmitter in use), allowing users to enjoy the G151 system through headphones or an amplifier.
Guitarists who want to experiment further with the W902’s technology can connect the intelligent system to the GTRS GWF4 wireless footswitch, which is ideal for switching between presets in live scenarios when control through a mobile device isn't practical.
GTRS W902 Guitar construction features:
- Alder Body, 5-Piece Selected Roasted Flame Maple and Rosewood Neck with Satin Natural Finish (C-Shape)
- Bolt-on neck, 25-1/2" scale length, with dual action steel truss rod
- Rosewood fingerboard, 12” radius, 24 white copper (0 fret stainless) fanned frets
- Built-in wireless transmitter
- Super Knob, Volume Control Knob, and Tone Knob, 3-way tone-selection switch
- GLB-P1 Li-ion Battery (4000mAh, up to 12 hours of continuous use, 9 hours with the wireless transmitter in use)
- USB port for charging and OTG recording
- GTRS Deluxe gig bag, 3 guitar wrenches
GTRS G151 Intelligent Guitar System features:
- GTRS G151 Intelligent Processing System (and GTRS App)
- 128 effects, 10 MNRS amp (GNR) and cabinet (GIR) simulation models
- 17 guitar simulations
- 80-second looper, 40 drum machine grooves, 10 metronomes
- Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity
- GTRS GWF4 wireless footswitch support (sold separately)
The GTRS W902 is now available worldwide. For more information visit www.gtrs.tech.