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GALLERY: Reader's Hot Rods

From pickups to paint jobs, we collect the coolest mods for our latest PG reader gallery.

Michael Adams, guitar tech at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar in Seattle, sent us two really rad mods, but we could only show one here. “I recently completed a modified Fender Mustang project,” he says, “the second custom guitar we’ve done for our buddy Skye Skjelset from Fleet Foxes and Japanese Guy. The vintage Mustang body and neck are both from around ’65. They’d been refinished, so we didn’t feel too bad about routing out the body to accommodate a set of Lollar Blackface pickups and some special wiring: a Mustang on/off/on switch and a Jazzmaster-inspired roller volume just for the middle pickup. The latter lets Skye mix in the middle pickup, either in or out of phase.”

The 3-way toggle selects between neck and bridge pickups, and the guitar has a 1 Meg volume and a 250k tone pot. Bonus: The old MXR knobs with the glow-in-the-dark indicator!

Adams adds “I'd be remiss if I didn’t mention the Mastery Bridge or the aged pickguard. The pickguard was provided by eBay seller fenderparts, and I modified it for the third pickup and control layout.”

Throughout the year we collect stories and photos of guitar-mod projects created by you, our beloved readers. Some of these guitars are so inspiring we’re compelled to share them with everyone in this annual Hot Rod issue. As always, you don’t disappoint. And by using fetching racecar flame designs, several readers even revealed their devotion to the original “hot rod” culture!

We couldn’t fit all of your mod submissions here, but look for more stories in our “Hot-Rod Gallery – Reader’s Edition” online next month.

In recent years, Samantha Fish’s most often-used guitar was this alpine white Gibson SG, but it ran into some issues last summer—“I ended up having to reglue the neck”—and it is now on hiatus.

Photo by Douglas Mason

The rising blues-rock star has made a dozen records, topped roots-music charts, played 150 dates a year, and opened for the Rolling Stones. Now her new album, Paper Doll, finds her at a hard-playing creative pinnacle.

Samantha Fish is moving in new circles these days—circles occupied by the kind of people you see a lot on classic-rock radio playlists. First there was the invitation from Eric Clapton to play at his 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival in L.A. Then there was the summer ’24 slot on Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. tour, followed by the Experience Hendrix tour, on which she dug into Jimi classics in the company of Eric Johnson, Dweezil Zappa, and other luminaries. And, oh yeah, she opened for the Stones in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the final date of their Hackney Diamonds jaunt. That’s right, the Rolling Stones.

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Featuring studio-grade Class A circuit and versatile resonance switch, this pedal is designed to deliver the perfect boost and multiple tonal options.

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After eight years, New Orleans artist Benjamin Booker returns with a new album and a redefined relationship to the guitar.

Photo by Trenity Thomas

It’s been eight years since the New Orleans-based artist released his last album. He’s back with a record that redefines his relationship to the guitar.

It is January 24, and Benjamin Booker’s third full-length album, LOWER, has just been released to the world. It’s been nearly eight years since his last record, 2017’s Witness, but Booker is unmoved by the new milestone. “I don’t really feel anything, I guess,” he says. “Maybe I’m in shock.”

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Blackstar Amplification unveils its new AIRWIRE i58 wireless instrument system for guitar and bass.

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