Situated in the heart of downtown Atlanta, this three-day festival included acts like the Kills, My Morning Jacket, Eagles of Death Metal, Deftones, At the Drive-In, Explosions in the Sky, and more.
Taylor’s all-new acoustic Gold Label Collection, developed by CEO Andy Powers, is designed to be unlike anything Taylor has ever offered.
Taylor Gold Label 814e SB
GOLD LABEL: A bold new Taylor acoustic collection.
Available in two models, each with an optional sunburst — Gold Label 814e (natural top), Gold Label 814e SB, Gold Label 814e Koa (natural top), and Gold Label 814e Koa SB — the collection blends traditional and modern elements in an inspiring new way and expands Taylor’s musical palette to appeal to an even more diverse range of players.
The Gold Label Collection draws inspiration from classic 1930s and ’40s flat top acoustic guitars, delivering a warmer, fuller tone that blends a heritage voice with a new version of Taylor's award-winning V-Class bracing technology. The collection features several groundbreaking design elements, including the new Super Auditorium body style, a Fanned V-Class bracing pattern, and a long-tenon neck joint, all of which contribute to a richer, more resonant, more muscular sound. The collection also introduces two distinctive wood pairings: Honduran rosewood back and sides with a torrefied Sitka spruce top, producing exceptional harmonic richness, and figured Hawaiian koa coupled with torrefied Sitka spruce, delivering a more balanced, rounded tone.
Taylor Gold Label 814e
“The harder you play, the louder the guitar gets,” says Powers. “But it naturally starts to compress the sound into a more controlled, focused tone rather than becoming mushy. Yet these guitars also respond to delicate articulation with a broadly rich voice. When you play a simple note softly, the guitar naturally amplifies it with surprising warmth and volume.”
With its unique sound and aesthetic, the Gold Label Collection sits apart from Taylor’s other premium lines, offering a guitar that combines the warmth and tonal character of traditional instruments with the playability and reliability Taylor is known for. The collection's craftsmanship extends beyond its sonic capabilities, with a fresh visual aesthetic that combines classic influences with modern artistry. The result is a guitar that will appeal to a broad range of players, offering a distinctive voice and performance that bring together the best of both old and new.
Whether for recording, live performance, or personal enjoyment, the Gold Label Collection provides musicians with a guitar that is as visually striking as it is sonically impressive.
Axis, Cutlass, Sting Rays, oh my! There were all those and more new stylings at the Sterling by Music Man & Ernie Ball both this year as we got a tour of all their affordable options that are out or will be coming out in 2025. We saw new stylings on signature sweets for James Valentine, Steve Lukather, Ryan "Fluff" Bruce, Pete Wentz, Tosin Abasi, Jason Richardson and more!
Sterling By Music Man StingRay Plus Electric Guitar - Black
The StingRay Plus takes the classic StingRay guitar to new heights with a roasted maple neck, versatile P90 pickups, and a built-in volume boost. A matching headstock and sleek block inlays complete the polished, old-school look. Experience the next level of tone and performance with the StingRay Plus.
The PRS Standard is one of the two models that started PRS Guitars back in 1985. It has been out of the line up for more than ten years and coming back for the 40th Anniversary.
PRS Standard 24 Satin Electric Guitar - Satin Red Apple Metallic
The PRS Standard 24 features many classic PRS specifications, including a 25” scale length, Pattern Thin neck with a 24-fret, 10” radius rosewood fretboard, PRS Patented Tremolo, and PRS Phase III tuners with unplated brass shafts. Under the hood, the PRS Standard 24 is outfitted with the all-new PRS DMO treble and bass pickups with volume and tone controls and a 5-way blade switch. PRS DMO (Dynamic, Musical, Open) pickups have a “wide open” sound with vocal character, meaning they deliver clear, pleasant-sounding tones across a wide range of frequencies (bass to treble) in each pickup. DMO pickups were personally designed by Paul Reed Smith and the PRS New Products Engineering team. From our own hands-on research into coveted vintage pickup models to advancements in signal analyzation and “tuning” technology, these pickups incorporate every detail of pickup knowledge PRS has gained in recent years of R&D.
John McLaughlin: From Miles to Mahavishnu and Way Beyond
He’s never stopped developing, and we’re covering our favorite highlights of McLaughlin’s career: his acoustic (and later electric) take on Indian music with Shakti, his more traditional jazz projects, and much more.
Guitarist John McLaughlin’s career has been long and winding. From his early solo records and work with Miles Davis, he possessed a unique approach to the guitar that encompassed jazz and rock vocabulary, played with a biting tone and stellar, virtuosic technique. He’s never stopped developing, and we’re covering our favorite highlights of McLaughlin’s career: his acoustic (and later electric) take on Indian music with Shakti, his more traditional jazz projects, and much more.
There are lots of listening highlights in this episode and we’ve covered as much as we can: Mahavishnu Orchestra’s first two records are undisputable; Tony Williams Lifetime’s Emergency may be the birth of fusion guitar; McLaughlin’s mid-career studies in Indian music are inspiring; his take on Coltrane in an organ-jazz setting is monumental. But we could still cover a whole other episode’s worth.