"A 1992 red electric guitar with mahogany neck, maple top, and diamond shaped pearl inlay on the fingerboard. No serial number. Played by Slash this guitar while recording the track ""Loving the Alien."" on the Velvet Revolver recording the album ""Contraband."""
Lollar Pickups has introduced the new Monolith humbucker model, a higher-output pickup designed for guitarists who play both modern and extreme styles of music.
Many high-output humbuckers suffer from either a boxy voicing or a harsh and brittle top end. The Monolith is designed to deliver balanced tone in all positions and increased dynamic and frequency ranges, using AlNiCo 8 magnets.
The bridge position offers a midrange forward sound with increased harmonics and fundamental frequency response and the right amount of compression when palm muting for a satisfying attack and grunt. And, like Lollar’s other pickup designs, the neck position is designed to be open, clear, and balanced with the bridge, offering a prominent midrange that offers a more vocal sound for leads and clean passages.
Splitting the coils on these humbuckers provides a full-bodied single-coil sound. When under gain, the split coils provide the percussive and aggressive tone for lower tunings and extended scale length instruments that progressive and djent players seek.
The Monolith humbuckers are available individually, or as two-piece sets for both 6 and 7-string guitars. For 6-string sets, Lollar also offers an F-spaced bridge position pickup (53 mm) to match a wider string spacing required for guitars with tremolos.
Fifty years ago, a bold vision to “make a better bass” gave birth to what would become one of the most influential instruments in modern music history: the Music Man StingRay.
“It’s so much more than an instrument,” reflects Sterling Ball. “I was there when that baby was born. And when you see that 50 years later — it’s still as important, as vibrant, as valid — that’s insane.”
Originally developed under the guidance of legendary instrument pioneer Leo Fender at Music Man, the StingRay wasn’t just another bass guitar. It was the first mass production bass to feature active electronics — a revolutionary move at the time.
“The vision was to make a better bass. The vision was to use active electronics because there hadn’t been any production basses that had active electronics.”
What followed was both innovation and serendipity.
For five decades, the StingRay has set the benchmark for bold, forward-leaning bass tone. The Ernie Ball Music Man 50th Anniversary StingRay Special honors that legacy with two limited-edition finishes. Liquid Gold is hand-numbered and limited to 50 instruments worldwide, featuring a striking golden reflective pickguard for a truly exclusive presentation. Molten Gold, limited to 300 instruments, showcases a metallic gold finish on the body and headstock—each with its own unique character. Both versions are paired with an ebony fretboard with gold face dot inlays and glow-in-the-dark side markers for effortless navigation on any stage. A roasted flame maple neck and poplar body deliver a fast, comfortable, and perfectly balanced feel, while gold hardware throughout, including a 50th Anniversary-stamped bridge, completes the look. Finished with a commemorative 50th Anniversary silkscreen on the back of the headstock, each bass ships in a deluxe hardshell case with a certificate of authenticity.
50th Anniversary StingRay 4 Features:
Roasted figured maple neck
Gold face dot Inlays with glow-in-the-dark side dots
50th Anniversary stamped bridge
Certificate of authenticity
Deluxe hardshell case
The 50th Anniversary StingRay 4 Special in Molten Gold will be available at all Ernie Ball Music Man retailers, and the Liquid Gold colorway will be available exclusively in the Ernie Ball Music Man Vault this
The StingRay Special also gets an update with 7 new finishes available in 4 or 5-string in either H or HH pickup configurations. New finishes include Classic Natural, Anomalous Green, Mean Blue Burst, Soda Pink Sparkle, Trans Orange, Violet Sparkle Burst, and Yellow Brick Road.
Following months of relentless rumors and fever pitch speculation, it was announced today that Metallica will debut its Life Burns Faster residency at Sphere in Las Vegas. The highly-anticipated eight show run will take place on October 1 and 3, 15 and 17, 22 and 24, and 29 and 31, 2026 — and will continue the No Repeat Weekend tradition that began with the 2023 kick-off of the band’s M72 World Tour, with no songs repeated on each Thursday and Saturday throughout the course of the run.
Two-night No Repeat Weekend tickets and single-night tickets will go on sale March 6th at 10am PT. To register for tickets or for further information regarding pre-sales, enhanced experiences, travel packages and more, visit metallica.lnk.to/MetallicaSphere
Metallica’s standing at the vanguard of new and unique live experiences has seen the band play to millions of fans across all seven continents in every shape and size of venue imaginable. Their current M72 World Tour has played to more than 4 million fans from Europe and North America to the Pacific Rim and Middle East since its spring 2023 kick-off, its performances and production universally hailed as among the best of Metallica’s 40+ years of traversing the globe.
The band’s Sphere residency will see live staples and surprises spanning the Metallica catalog enhanced by the venue’s immersive technologies that will allow fans to experience the sound and fury of the band’s live performance in new experiential dimensions. Whether you’ve seen Metallica from the upper reaches of a stadium or arena, at an intimate club or theater gig or from the famed Snake Pit surrounded by the 360-degree M72 stage, Sphere’s technology, including the world’s highest resolution LED display that wraps up, over and around the audience; Sphere Immersive Sound, which delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest; and multi-sensory 4D technology, will present a wholly unique and entirely new Metallica experience for all who attend — including James, Lars, Kirk and Robert.
Metallica co-founder/drummer Lars Ulrich commented, “About 12 seconds into the opening night of Sphere with U2 back in ‘23, I thought ‘We have to do this, it’s completely uncharted territory!’ This residency gives us another chance to reinvent how we interact with our fans in a live setting. We are beyond excited to share this with the world in six months time, and way fuckin’ psyched to go next level!”
Metallica Life Burns Faster at Sphere is produced by Live Nation and presented by inKind. inKind rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at thousands of top-rated restaurants nationwide. inKind also provides innovative financing to participating restaurants in a way that enables new levels of sustainability and success. Metallica fans can learn more at inKind.com.
Mirador formed out of the shared passion for good ol’ classic rock ’n’ roll held by Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka and Ida Mae’s Chris Turpin. The trans-Atlantic band took their blazing, bluesy rock out on the road, and before their show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, Kiszka, Turpin, and tech Johnny Meyer led PG’s John Bohlinger through the vintage axes and amps they’re using to keep rock alive.
The paint’s been completely stripped from this workhouse 1970 GibsonLes Paul Custom that Turpin scooped from an auction house in Wales, but those sweet, sweet pickups are original. Turpin had to replace both volume pots, and opted to add a Bigsby vibrato. He uses Elixir Strings 19052 Optiweb Strings (.010-.046) on all his electrics and his attacks those strings with Jim Dunlop Ultex Thumb picks. All his instruments are snug over his left shoulder thanks to Pinegrove Leather Guitar Straps. (His custom Mirador Martin 00-28 takes Elixir Strings 16027 Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze strings: .011-.052.)
National With a Novak
Turpin used some electrical tape to secure a Curtis Novak K-Pancake pickup to this 1930s National Triolian. To avoid any unnecessary drilling, the output jack runs via one of the air holes in the top.
6L6 Slammer
Turpin packs a pair of Marshall JTM45 heads, with one serving as a backup. The main one in use on this run has 6L6 power tubes, and runs into a 4x12 cabinet with Celestion Greenbacks.
Chris Turpin’s Pedalboard
<p>Turpin’s pedalboard includes a Dunlop Custom Audio Electronics Cry Baby wah pedal, JAM Pedals Double Dreamer, Analog Man Beano Boost, Analog Man Sun Face, a <a href="https://www.premierguitar.com/tag/boss?utm_source=website&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=Smartlinks">Boss</a> GE-7, Maxon CS-550, Boss RE-202, and <a href="https://www.uaudio.com/" target="_blank">Universal Audio</a> Golden Reverberator, while his acoustic board carries a Fishman Aura, MXR Carbon Copy, and a Line 6 HX Stomp.</p>
Dearly Beloved
This 1961 Gibson SG is Kizska’s forever-and-always—he calls it “the beloved.” It’s been cracked, taped, and repaired over the years, but it’s still number one. Jake uses custom-made Dunlop coated strings on his electrics.
Juiced-Up Junior
This late-’50s double-cutaway Les Paul Junior was rerouted for a pair of PAF pickups, and is primarily used by Kiszka for slide-playing. The added sideways tremolo unit, from the ’60s, is there for looks only.
Dual Destroyers
Jake runs a dual-amp setup for a monster sound. A Park P50M and a Supro 1932R Royale get the job done, pumped out through a Marshall 4x12 cabinet.
Jake Kiszka’s Pedalboard
<p>Kizska’s acoustic and electric boards carry a pair of Boss TU-3Ws, MXR Micro Amp, TC Electronic Flashback, Fishman Aura, Dunlop Cry Baby, Boss GE-7, <a href="https://www.strymon.net/" target="_blank">Strymon</a> El Capistan, Universal Audio Del-Verb, Universal Audio Golden Reverberator, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, a pair of MXR Deep Phases, Boss BP-1W, and Boss TU-3.</p><p>A trio of MXR units—DC Brick, Iso-Brick, and Mini Iso-Brick—power the pedals.</p>
Death By Audio’s new Destroyer Series pedals, which include the Dream Station reverb, Moonbeam phaser, and Thee Treble Overload treble booster, are smaller than most DBA wares. But that very practical decision doesn’t herald a retreat to convention. There is abundant weirdness in the two pedals reviewed here. And what is satisfying about them is how easy it is to tap into both the strange and the familiar. They are very fluid-feeling creative tools.
Station to Station
Death By Audio Dream Station and Moonbeam Review
Of the two pedals, the Dream Station digital delay and reverb is the most expansive, and in that sense, the most traditionally DBA-like. The range of available tones is enormous, straddling subdued echo and reverb and deep ambience. As a delay/reverb combo, it’s a practical way to save space and reduce pedal count, much like EarthQuaker’s more streamlined Dispatch Master. But the Dream Station’s three voice modes and stereo capability make it much more than a simple mashup of essential time-based effects.
At their essence, the Dream Station’s most basic sounds are versatile and lovely. The reverb is simple, offering only a reverb time control. But its voice is adaptable, living somewhere between spring and plate reverb tonalities depending on where you set the pedal’s 3-way voice switch. The bright voice tends to summon spring-like clang, while the full tone setting is softer around the edges, if still a bit metallic, and gives a sense of greater mass and body. The dark-voiced reverb is hazy and, at times, just a bit trashy and gritty at the corners.
“Paired with longer delay times and the reverb, the Dream Station's full voice sounds big enough to be measured in astrophysical terms.”
The delay lives within very analog-like delay time constraints, spanning 2 and 500 ms. But it’s surprisingly resistant to analog- and tape-style runaway oscillation, which enables useful near-infinite repeat beds. These working parameters might seem conservative on the surface. But in true DBA spirit they conceal a deeper capacity for mayhem.
Deeper Down the Vortex
A nerd’s confession: I’ve been hoovering ’70s Doctor Who episodes lately, marveling at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s resourceful, inspired, and fantastic sound design for the show. When you talk about guitar effects and Doctor Who, you’re usually talking about ring modulation (the effect behind the voices of the evil Daleks, among other things). Dream Station isn’t a modulator in a formal sense, but its capacity for tight, comb filtered delays at super-short echo settings generates sounds much like ring modulation bouncing around a tunnel—a texture few echo or delay units bother with. Dream Station excels at another vintage sci-fi effect: spiraling flying saucer take offs and landings. That’s thanks to knobs that are spaced and arranged to facilitate simultaneous manual sweeps of the echo time and mix, evoking the sounds and functionality of the Roland Space Echo and EHX Deluxe Memory Man. If you’re a guitarist who dabbles in tabletop synthesis or uses guitar pedals for mixing, this capability extends the Dream Station’s utility and fun quotient in a big way.
Some of the Dream Station’s most unique effects—the comb filter/ring mod effect among them—are attributable to the 3-position filter mode switch, which activates a high-pass filter, low-pass filter, or a full-frequency setting. Use of the high-pass filter, which makes echoes extra prominent, lends a sort of metallic dew-drop quality to repeats at high feedback and a sharp, tile-like attack in slapback settings. The dark voice is predictably analog-like. But its slurred, cloudy repeats take on very different personalities depending on where you situate them using the wet/dry mix knob. At high mixes, they have a spooky, hollowed-out, almost gamelan-like essence that sounds extra haunted with heaps of reverb and long repeats. At more modest mixes, these repeats are a delicious match for drive generated by picking dynamics, contributing satisfying, blurry distortion when you hit the strings hard, and more bell-like sounds when you kick back and chill. The full-spectrum voice is the Dream Station at its most open and sprawling. Paired with longer delay times and the reverb, the full voice sounds big enough to be measured in astrophysical terms. And if you’re a fan of grand-scale ambience without the sugary addition of octave voices, it’s hard to imagine the Dream Station coming up short in terms of space or size.
Death By Audio Dream Station and Moonbeam Review
The Moonbeam: Phase Beyond the Dark Side
I don’t know about you, but I seem to reflexively subject any analog phaser to a “Breathe” test. I don’t consciously compare every phaser to the sound of David Gilmour’s swooshy Uni-Vibe. But the lazy, time-stretching phase that colors those sleepy opening chords is like catnip to me. The Moonbeam’s name may or may not be a cheeky nod to Pink Floyd’s mega-selling classic (DBA’s Interstellar Overdriver pedal suggests they are more squarely in the Syd Barrett camp) but it excels in that context. And just as the real dark side of the moon conceals secrets from us here on Earth, the Moonbeam’s three knobs belie great depth, complexity and, yes, lunacy.
The Moonbeam’s earthy-to-insane sonic range is, at the fundamental level, made possible by two phase engines, which can be used in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6-stage modes. But the richness and weirdness are compounded as much by the range in the frequency and depth controls, both of which go beyond the conventions of more pedestrian phasers.
At the risk of oversimplifying, phase stages are all-pass filters. These filters don’t affect the amplitude of a given frequency, but they can be used to delay a signal relative to another, creating the phasing effect. Odd-numbered phase stages are not intrinsically, well, odd. But compared to even-numbered phase stages they produce fewer of the symmetrical notches in phase-shifted waveforms that make a phaser sound chewy, rich, and all those other yummy phase descriptors. In practical terms that means the Moonbeam’s 1-, 3-, and 5-stage phaser modes all sound thinner and more “snorkely” than their even-numbered counterparts in a way that’s analogous to a wah parked in a fixed position. DBA makes effective, if perverse, use of these odd-numbered phase stages. In 3-stage mode I uncovered cool unique auto wah sounds and weird variations on volume swell effects. In the 1-stage setting, the more binary, less vowel-inflected phase pulses could sound like vintage practice-amp tremolo. And in all three odd-numbered phase stages, weird harmonic peaks lent a quirky attitude to Nile Rodgers funk.
“In all three of the Moonbeam's odd-numbered phase stages, weird harmonic peaks lent a quirky attitude to Nile Rodgers funk.”
The Moonbeam sounds great in the even-numbered stages, too. The 4-stage mode sounded nearly equivalent to a favorite script-style MXR Phase 90. Except, of course, the Moonbeam’s 4-stage mode was capable of that and much more. Minimum depth settings, for instance, make the Moonbeam ideal for players who rarely switch their phasers off—generating subtle animation that enlivens arpeggios, leads, and the simplest strumming. Higher depth control settings also helped the Moonbeam approximate a Small Stone’s color switch mode, as well as a fast-pulsing Leslie speaker.
The Verdict
Death By Audio pedals always feel like a bit of an investment, as they should—these stompboxes are handmade in New York City by creative people that give a damn. They look fantastic and come with a lifetime warranty. If you were ever concerned that the esoteric nature of some DBA pedals could mean less return on your investment, you needn’t worry here. The Dream Station and Moonbeam can work in service of utility or in pursuit of the demented. They sound beautiful in stereo (which requires appropriate TRS cabling), and have a low noise floor that makes them suitable for mixing or artists working in quieter settings. In terms of pure value, I have to give the nod to the Dream Station for its range. But both pedals are full of potential for any player keen to use these effects beyond their most basic applications.
Death By Audio Dream Station and Moonbeam Review
Death By Audio Dream Station and Moonbeam Review