Tom Butwin puts StewMac's new GuitarTek cleaning line to the test with the worst possible candidate: a neglected guitar from Facebook Marketplace. After finding the perfect subject, he brings it back to the studio to see what GuitarTek can actually do. Less than eight minutes later and after a round of total care cleaner, high-gloss polish, and fretboard conditioner, the results are hard to argue with.
A friend of mine recently bought a really cool late-’50s FenderStratocaster. The guitar had been refinished, and my buddy wanted a 5-way switch installed along with a blender circuit. It was a super-easy mod job, and his guitar now sounds excellent with the new mods. I was rather taken aback by the playability of the guitar, though; it had virtually no frets. The state of the fretboard on that guitar made me really think: Someone struggled with this guitar, perhaps for years, trying to play it with frets that were lower than what you’d find on an original vintage Les Paul Custom—a k a, “the Fretless Wonder.” The frets were down to the wood in most places, and I scratched my head and wondered, “Why would someone want to do this to themselves?” Luckily, my friend was taking the guitar straight to a luthier to have the frets replaced.
Time for a bold statement: Refretting a vintage guitar does not, in any way, affect its value.
As far as golden-age Gibson, Martin, and Fender guitars go, we are, as the old Amos Milburn tune goes, “Down the Road Apiece.” Some classic Martins are not too far away from being a century old. Golden-age Gibson and Fender electrics, made anywhere from 1950 to early 1965, are anywhere from 50 to over 75 years old. Vintage frets were made of a metal alloy. Yes, they’re metal, but the metal contains mostly nickel, which is rather soft compared to other materials like stainless steel. (A quick PSA: Don’t put stainless-steel frets on your guitar. Just don’t do it. You could put stainless frets on your old guitar, but the tonal difference will surprise you, and for most, it’s not a nice surprise.)
I kept looking at that Strat I was working on and wondering, “What epic struggles took place just to play it?” In terms of guitar playing, there are few things more frustrating than trying to play one with completely worn out frets. An analogy I like to use in regards to refretting an old guitar: Let’s say you just miraculously bought a 1957 Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado in near-mint condition with under 5,000 miles on it. You bought it from someone who’s grandmother used it for her bi-weekly two-mile trip to the Piggly Wiggly, and it was always kept in the garage.
“I’ll say it again: Refretting a vintage guitar does not affect its value.”
You’ve got this killer, crazy-rare, cooler-than-an-igloo-at-the-North-Pole car, but you can’t drive it. The tires are 75 years old, and they’re totally dry-rotted. What do you do? Park the car, put it on cinderblocks, and look at it for the rest of your life? That’s not the best option. Instead, you buy some new tires for it, install them, and take your prize for a ride. Put some new shoes on the old whip and enjoy it!
The same logic applies to vintage guitars, at least nowadays. Back in the day, 40-plus years ago when I got into old guitars, the supply was a bit different than it is now. I remember not buying a guitar for the sole reason that the frets were pretty worn, and I didn’t want to be the guy that devalued it by having it refretted. That same logic still runs around in the minds of some collectors I know. It’s time to change that mindset. I’ll say it again: Refretting a vintage guitar does not affect its value.
Here at Carter Vintage Guitars, we don’t devalue or discount guitars for refrets. Nashville is home to some of the greatest guitar players in the world, and when they come through our doors, they don’t want to pick up and play compromised guitars. Our theory here at the store is that before the guitar heads out to the sales floor, it absolutely has to be 100 percent ready to go. If the guitar’s not totally ready to play, we’re not going to put it up for sale. Our customers—some of the biggest of the big names known the world over—don’t compromise, so we don’t, either. No gray areas.
Come to think of it, is there anything better than a killer vintage guitar that sounds like those old records and plays like a hot knife through butter? No, I’d venture nothing’s better than that—except, maybe, a ’57 Cadillac Eldorado with brand-new tires.
Universal Audio Inc. (UA), a worldwide leader in audio production tools, is proud to introduce UAD Topline Vocal Tune, a new native vocal pitch correction plug-in available for Mac and PC.
Built for modern vocal production, Topline Vocal Tune gives musicians and producers the ability to pitch correct and reshape vocals instantly. With ultra‑low‑latency monitoring, singers can hear their vocals perfectly in tune through headphones without distracting delay.
"When singers feel good in their headphones, that’s when great takes happen," says Julian Prindle, Senior Product Designer at Universal Audio. "Topline helps artists stay confident and in the moment while giving producers everything they need to shape vocals behind the scenes."
$99 USD | Intro Price $79 USD
Included in UAD Spark Subscription
Key Benefits
Ultra Low Latency. Hear pitched vocals without delay or performance disruption.
Tuning for Any Genre. Turn a dial to go from subtle correction to hard‑tuned effects.
Natural Voice Settings. Preserve the nuance and character of performances.
Shift Mode. Go beyond normal tuning with creative Pitch and Formant controls.
MIDI Repitching. Turn vocals into an instrument to create melodic hooks and harmonies.
Topline Key Finder. Automatically detect and lock to any key and scale.
UAD Native Format. Available standalone or via UAD Spark plug‑in subscription.
UAD Topline Vocal Tune is available through authorized UA retailers and at uaudio.com starting June 2, 2026.
Today, Weezer are thrilled to announce their newest project, Weezer, out August 21, 2026 via Reprise/Warner Records. The project’s lead single, “We Might As Well Be Strangers” ft. Wednesday is out now, weaving vocals from Rivers Cuomo and Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman.
After sharing Blue, Green, Red, White, Teal, and Black albums, Weezer returns with a new color in their arsenal for Weezer – their 20th album over their monumental, decades-long run. Following an incredible, sold-out 30th anniversary tour that saw Weezer play their iconic debut album in full, the band reconvened in Orange County – a midway point between where they all live in California – and essentially went back to where they started: in a rehearsal space, playing together, writing together, figuring out what they wanted to do next, and what the shape of that next project looked like.
Weezer was born out of those sessions – just four guys in a room, creating together. The result is Weezer – a tightly-wound, ready-to-spring record with songs written by three of the band’s four members, marking the first time Weezer frontman/guitarist Rivers Cuomo and drummer Pat Wilson had written the basics of a song together since their first album.
When it was time to record, the band chose two amazing producers, disparate in their approach, but sonically aligned with Weezer’s vision: Klas Ahlund and Kenneth Blume (FKA Kenny Beats), with Kenny saying he wanted to make “the most violent Weezer album ever.” While Klas took a more mathematical, stringent approach to recording, Kenny pushed the production to the “rock band in a room” feeling: no grid, no click track, no pitch correction. Drums were recorded with all four playing live, listening to each other and still re-shaping the songs.
Weezer plays to Weezer’s eternal strengths and feels like one of those “imagined greatest hits” of entirely new material. It’s a direct, raw iteration of the band – an album as urgent and vital as anything else in their catalog three decades in. Weezer features tongue-in-cheek meta songs about aging as a band, weighing your legacy, still carrying on, with other songs celebrating where they are now: as one of the most influential artists in the world for anyone, any age, picking up a guitar, a bass, or a pair of drumsticks. Fans can presave Weezer now and an exclusive signed vinyl is available for preorder on the band’s webstore HERE.
Earlier this year, the band announced theirWeezer: The Gathering tour, a massive 32-date run across North America. They’re joined by The Shins and Silversun Pickups as support. In celebration of this announcement, the band hosted a week of events in Los Angeles, including Weezerpedia trivia, a pickleball tournament with fans, and more. For full tour routing and information on upcoming dates, visit Weezer’s website HERE.
WEEZER TRACKLIST
Say Yes
Shine Again
Don't Make It Weird
We Might As Well Be Strangers ft. Wednesday
C.E.O.
Hoops
Nowhere
The Show Must Go On
Up In The Clouds
The LA Sound
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
* = Festival
Sat Jun 27 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Halifax Music Fest*
Tue Sep 08 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Wed Sep 09 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Fri Sep 11 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Sat Sep 12 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Sun Sep 13 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Tue Sep 15 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center
Wed Sep 16 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sun Sep 20 – Saint Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
Tue Sep 22 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Wed Sep 23 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Fri Sep 25 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sat Sep 26 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Sun Sep 27 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Tue Sep 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Wed Sep 30 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Fri Oct 02 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Sat Oct 03 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
Sun Oct 04 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
Tue Oct 06 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Wed Oct 07 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Fri Oct 09 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Sat Oct 10 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sun Oct 11 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center
Tue Oct 13 – Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
Wed Oct 14 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
Fri Oct 16 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sat Oct 17 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sun Oct 18 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
Tue Oct 20 – Phoenix, AZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
Wed Oct 21 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Fri Oct 23 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
Sat Oct 24 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Weezer Press Photo, credit Brendan Walter — download HERE
Fender launches a brand new firmware update for its best-selling multi-effects guitar processor, the Tone Master Pro.
The new update introduces 8 new amplifier models, 8 additional cabinet models, and 15 new effect models. Key highlights include the EVH 5150 50w combo and the ’65 Twin Custom 15 amp, as well as a selection of new delay, reverb, filter, overdrive and compressor effects.
Alongside these new additions, the update also introduces a multitude of user-friendly enhancements, from a second page of footswitch button assignments that ups the total to 16 available footswitches per Preset, to a new search function and favorites filter in the Add/Replace menus, and a selection of new footswitch assignment types. The looper has been improved and you can now switch between needle mode tuning or strobe tuning.Tone Master Pro Firmware Update June 3
Amps
’57 Champ
’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb
’68 Custom Princeton Reverb
’65 Twin Custom 15
Rumble 800
EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6 Green
EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6 Blue
EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6 Red
Cabs
1x8 ’57 Champ
1x10 ’65 Princeton GB
1x10 ’68 Princeton
1x12 ’65 Deluxe GB
1x12 ’68 Deluxe
1x15 Twin Custom
1x12 EVH 5150 G12H
4x12 British G12H
Effects
Lightyear – inspired by the Greer Lightspeed
Pinions – inspired by the Earthquaker Devices Plumes
Runes – inspired by the Earthquaker Devices Blumes
Integrator Boost – inspired by the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp
Grunt – inspired by the Fortin Grind
Rockbox 100 – inspired by the Scholz R&D Rockman X100 headphone amp
![Rig Rundown: Russian Circles’ Mike Sullivan [2025]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/youtube.jpg?id=62303631&width=1245&height=700&quality=70&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
