Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Gallery: Riot Fest 2019

Chicago’s three-day, punk-rock carnival was host to Slayer, Jawbreaker, Raconteurs, Patti Smith, Rise Against, Bob Mould, Rancid, Bikini Kill, Lucero, the Struts, and more. Here are our favorite guitar-related moments from the 15th annual gathering.

The Flaming Lips’ Michael Ivins

The experimental psych-rock weirdos’ cofounder and bassist Michael Ivins split duties between his faithful Fender J and keyboards while spotlighting Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

- YouTube

PG's demo dude expands his flirtation with active pickups by dropping a set of EMG Fat 55 Retro Active Humbuckers into his warhorse 2003 Gibson Les Paul. Luthier friend Dave Johnson handles the surgery and shares a few key tips to make the project go smoother for you.

Previously, John Bohlinger was curious about what active pickups could do for his anemic 1994 Stratocaster and EMG offered their drop-and-go Steve Lukather SL20 Pickguard set. JB was floored with the guitar's fresh voice and responsive dynamics he wanted to expand the active experiment to his beloved 2003 Gibson Les Paul. So we got a set of EMG Fat 55 Retro Active Humbuckers that required a full install and our luthier friend Dave Johnson walks us through the whole process before John got to test out his old friend's tonal makeover.

Learn more about EMG Fat 55 Retro Active Humbuckers here.

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?

Read MoreShow less
- YouTube

Pick one of these stomps, ranging from silicon-driven to germanium-juiced and beyond, to supercharge your signal.

Read MoreShow less
GTRS Announces the W902, The Latest Update to its Wing-series of Intelligent Guitars
GTRS Announces the W902, The Latest Update to its Wing-series of Intelligent Guitars
GTRS has introduced the W902, the newest release in GTRS’ Wing-series Intelligent Guitar lineup, expanding on the series’ cutting-edge features while maintaining an accessible price point.
Read MoreShow less