The rowdy spirit of the Tube Screamer’s burlier distortion cousin lives on in a brilliantly executed reinterpretation.
Great string detail. Brilliant balance of muscle and melodic properties. Solid build quality. Loads of rowdy fun.
Expensive—but only just.
$299
TWA SH9
godlyke.com
It’s easy to end up the weird kid brother when you have a legendary relative like the TS9. Ibanez’s SD9 (the SD is for “sonic distortion”) suffered this indignity—at least to the extent inanimate objects can suffer such things—for many years. Players, many who probably never touched the thing, sometimes lazily classified the pedal as a more powerful TS. That assessment is pretty off, though. Had more potential customers known how nasty and huge it could sound, they might have taken more notice.
Scott Henderson did. As a fusion-jazz master with heavy rock and blues-tone leanings, it’s easy to understand why. The original SD9 is a perfect match for his articulate, precise, and heavy style, particularly because it lends clear but singing mass to individual notes across the whole of the fretboard. TWA’s SH9 Scott Henderson Signature Distortion is a high-quality, refined take on the SD9, built with input from Henderson and the guiding hand of Mr. Susumu Tamura, who designed both the Ibanez TS9 and the SD9. That’s a lot of experience to draw on. And the effect of the combined expertise is audible. The SH9 is a rich, detailed, and responsive distortion.
The Road Less Taken
The tale of the SH9 would take a while to tell. It’s one of intercompany intrigue, an artist reluctant to be involved in a “signature edition” effort, and a very resourceful team of circuit-design masters up for the challenge of chasing details that, perhaps, only dog ears (and a certain Mr. Henderson) can hear.
“The mid-scooped profile yields throaty, punchy distortion sounds, but can range to fuzzy extremes.“
The tale has a very happy ending, though. Scott Henderson gets a pedal that betters his original SD9 in most respects. The SH9 also ensures that the ideas behind an earlier collaboration, the Maxon SSD-9, live on. Mr. Tamura made sure that much of the SSD-9’s lineage remained in the SH9. There are ALPS pots, Marushin jacks, and WIMA metal film capacitors. The build quality feels every bit as good as the pedals TWA and Godlyke built with Maxon, which were beautiful pieces of hardware. The dials feel great. The true bypass 3PDT switch is quiet, and the circuit board, while inverted to conceal its components, is a picture of near-perfect order. The pedal is substantial, too. It almost feels carved from marble.
Muscle and More
There are many compelling, rowdy, and vocal sounds in the SH9. The mid-scooped profile yields throaty, punchy distortion sounds, but can range to fuzzy extremes. It can even sound a little like a low-gain Big Muff—particularly with neck pickups. It’s an awesome texture to have at your disposal when you want the suggestion of weight and aggression, but need more definition from note to note. The SH9’s mid-scooped profile also means that it has traces of overdriven Fender black-panel amp lurking at some settings—another bonus when you want to extract more detail from high strings, but also a testament to how natural the SH9 can sound and feel.
The SH9 makes room for high-string output and top-end harmonics to shine and breathe at most gain levels. I’d guess this quality had much to do with Henderson’s attraction to the SD9 in the first place. But the way the SH9 walks the line between hot and not-too compressed is very impressive. It makes fast flurries of lead notes sound extra articulate, but it can also make simple movements in folk chord shapes sound thrilling.
The Verdict
Three-hundred bones is a lot for a distortion pedal. But the SH9 excels at mating clear, present, melodic properties to straight-ahead muscle. It covers a lot of ground, too. It’s organic and detailed enough to stand in for hot Marshall tones. It will flirt with fuzzy textures. And, as you’d expect, it’ll rip in the heated lead zones Henderson inhabits. If I was in the studio and I needed a great distortion sound fast and with no fuss, I know what pedal I would reach for.
Buddy Miller in his home studio posing with a Wandre, one of the first aluminum-neck designs. Buddy has nearly single-handedly inspired a cult around these Italian exports.
From the nascent days of our instrument into the future, wood has never been the whole story. Here are some builders taking an alternate approach to tone—with uncommon and innovative ingredients.
Electric guitars have pushed the boundaries of design, sound, and style since their inception. The warm embrace of timeless tonewoods will always be a cornerstone of the guitar-playing experience. But although they’ve only been a minor presence historically, materials from aluminum to plastic and beyond have been a part of the electric guitar’s design since the early days.
Over the decades, and especially more recently, a wild wave of alternative-material possibilities has steadily emerged, captivating many of our imaginations with unique sonic palettes, response, aesthetics, and playability. From the pioneering experiments of the past to the cutting-edge innovations of today, this is the journey of those materials—a testament to the enduring spirit of creativity and the relentless pursuit of excellence across the guitar universe.
As early as the 1950s, Danelectro, known for its budget-friendly instruments, made waves with their Masonite bodies. These guitars’ quirky designs and lipstick pickups offer a distinctive, resonant tone and affordability that appeals to many musicians seeking something unique and familiar. Less popular, but still prevalent, National built instruments from “Res-O-Glas,” a fiberglass-like substance made by combining polyester resin and glass threads.
The 1970s witnessed a surge of experimentation. The Ampeg Dan Armstrong “see-through” guitar was crafted from transparent acrylic. Though it had its drawbacks, the guitar became a bonafide icon. “It’s a pretty dense material. It weighs a lot,” notes James Little, CEO of Aluminati Guitar Co. “But it’s what gives them that midrange—they just cut through.” Together with their futuristic look, that cutting tone captivated players as diverse as Keith Richards and Black Flag’s Greg Ginn.
Adrian Belew’s own signature model Parker Fly, as seen on a recent Rig Rundown shoot. He’s playing the guitar on the current BEAT Tour, celebrating the classic ’80s recordings of King Crimson.
Photo by Perry Bean
While Masonite and acrylic were making headway, Veleno Guitars’ all-aluminum designs were landing in the hands of rock royalty, including Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, and Marc Bolan. The late producer Steve Albini’s Veleno even supplied the clean tones for Nirvana’s In Utero in the ’90s. Veleno wasn’t alone when it came to using metal, of course. Aluminum was used in the construction of electric instruments going back to the Rickenbacker A-22 “Frying Pan” lap steels, and Italy’s Wandre guitars were some of the first to use aluminum as a guitar-neck material in their radical designs. Later, Travis Bean and Kramer guitars, favored by artists like the Melvins’ Buzz Osborne and Jerry Garcia, followed suit in the ’70s.
These early forays into alternative materials may not have achieved the mainstream success of a Stratocaster. Still, their combination of attention-grabbing appearances and sound paved the way for future innovations and continues to inspire luthiers. As Ned Steinberger, the visionary behind his namesake brand and NS Design, puts it, “It’s not about the materials as much as how you feel when you play the guitar. How it sounds, how it plays, and how it looks—they’re all very important in terms of your enjoyment of playing.”
Ned knows a thing or two about electric guitar innovation. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he emerged as a true disruptor in the guitar world with his headless, carbon-fiber creations. These instruments, devoid of traditional headstocks and tuning pegs, offered unparalleled tuning stability, ergonomic comfort, and a sleek aesthetic that challenged conventional notions of guitar design.
A worker inspects a fresh and shiny body at the Aluminati factory.
Steinberger’s instruments initially faced resistance from traditionalists, but carbon fiber’s undeniable benefits soon won over a legion of progressive players. Eddie Van Halen, in his relentless pursuit of technical perfection, was one of the many who embraced Steinberger guitars for their tuning stability and futuristic TransTrem bridge. And on bass, Sting and Rush’s Geddy Lee also became prominent Steinberger players. These endorsements, as well as the instruments’ undeniable performance and stability, cemented Steinberger’s legacy as a true pioneer in alternative-material guitars.
Sparked by Steinberger’s work, the 1990s witnessed a renaissance of guitar innovation. Companies like Parker, Modulus, and Zon pushed the boundaries by combining carbon fiber and various alternative materials into premium instruments. Parker Guitars, founded by Ken Parker, gained the most recognition for its Fly model, a striking instrument featuring a composite body and a carbon-fiber neck. It symbolized the future for guitarists coming up at the time. “I have a vivid memory of being 15 or 16 and going to a guitar store and seeing a Parker there,” recalls Jake Howsam Lowe of the bands Plini and the Helix Nebula. “I played it, and all I could think was, ‘This thing is insane. I love this so much!’”
The Fly’s unique combination of materials offered a balanced tone, exceptional sustain, and a lightweight feel that has yet to be matched. Everyone from eclectic, boundary-pushing wizards Adrian Belew and Vernon Reid to fingerstyle master Phil Keaggy became champions of Ken Parker’s revolutionary design.
Like Steinberger and Veleno before them, Parker Guitars may have been too ahead of their time. By the mid 2000s, the brand was on the back burner, and the guitar industry was amid a significant shift. With renewed concerns about deforestation and the dwindling supply of rosewood and mahogany, there was a new focus on the search for sustainable alternatives. Much of that energy went into the hunt for alternative woods. Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars was at the heart of a movement to embrace non-traditional tonewoods like ovangkol, sapele, and pau ferro.
A rack of in-progress Aristides guitars, at the company’s factory in the Netherlands.
Sustainability continues to remain a concern across the industry. Even builders who specialize in non-wood construction still rely on plenty of wood in their builds. “We do [use wood],” says Little. “Mainly, we use local poplar and maple, but we also use some sapele, and we’re looking into paulownia. It grows on farms here in the South. So we try to keep it as local and green as possible."
Little’s Aluminati Guitars is at the forefront of today’s alternative-materials movement. Though not afraid to branch into the mentioned tonewoods, Lucite, and carbon fiber, the brand is known for its all-aluminum models. “Aluminum is just the perfect thing to make a stringed instrument from,” states Little, plainly. “It just rings out like a bell.”
Aluminati’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond their choice of materials. They also prioritize how they source their materials, ensuring their instruments are as environmentally conscious as they are sonically impressive. “For example,” says Little, “a company sent us some aluminum cans from a few of their venues in the United States. We recycled those cans into some fretboards and other parts.”
This Aluminati Nebula is all aluminum, but the model is available with customizable options, including fretboard and body material.
The contemporary guitar landscape is a tapestry of innovation and experimentation, where luthiers and musicians push the boundaries of what a guitar can be. Prisma Guitars builds instruments out of retired skateboards; German maker Verso’s minimalist designs are built using sheet metal; and luthier Rachel Rosenkrantz is challenging the conventions of what is accepted as instrument materials by using mycelium and paper within her sustainable avant-garde builds. Some builders, like YouTube-famous Burls Art, craft instruments from unexpected materials like colored pencils and Legos, transforming everyday objects into functional works of art.
Aristides Instruments is a leader in the charge for technological advancements. Engineering their own Arium composite material (a blend including thermoplastic resin and glass bubbles), Aristides crafts their instruments as a single uninterrupted piece. Each comes to life in specialized molds unique to their breathtaking designs. According to CEO Pascal Langelaar, the result is unparalleled consistency and playability. “People could see that as less romantic,” he admits, “but the benefit is that, when you play your neighbor’s guitar, you're getting the same quality [when you order your own].”
This consistency and quality control is a hallmark of the modern alternative-materials movement, offering reliability and predictability essential in today’s online-retail world. That peace of mind can be elusive with traditional wooden instruments.
Alternative materials aren’t without their unique challenges, though. Little acknowledges the hurdles, especially faced by early pioneers. “The main challenges were their weight, tuning stability, and action. They sound fantastic, but [a lot of them are] like 12 or 13 pounds. They’re always cold and have pretty raunchy tuning stability. So, we’ve had to address not only the traditional sound but also the pain points from aluminum instruments from the past.”
Caption: This Aristides 8-string is made from the company’s proprietary Arium composite material.
Aristides Instruments’ innovative approach to creating its own composite material helps solve these challenges. Even their finishing process is a highly technical exercise in innovation and precision. Erik Nieuwenhuisen, the company’s production manager, explains: “Once the guitars are out of the mold, they get painted on a really high level. We try to keep the paint layers extremely thin, but need to be sure that everything is really consistent.”
For decades, guitarists have remained fiercely loyal to traditional wood instruments, most viewing them as the only true path to sonic authenticity. But it seems as though players are embracing alternative materials more than ever before, a significant shift in the industry. So, what’s driving this change?
Little believes it’s a sign of the times. “I think it's the younger generation,” he says. “They want stuff that’s just kind of no-bullshit, something that works all the time when they want it to work without having to do a bunch of maintenance.”
Lowe, an Aristides devotee, echoes the sentiment. “I’m a very low-maintenance guitar player,” he explains. “And the less I have to do to my instrument, the happier I am. I think part of it also has to do with the fact that companies are just getting better.”
Luther Rachel Rosenkrantz’s Mycocaster is made of a unique combination of mycelium, recycled paper, Indian rosewood scraps, wax, and oil.
As part of Plini’s two-guitar live attack, Lowe is one of many guitarists flying the alternative-material flag while leading a new generation of fusion and metal players. According to him, online communities have also been crucial for expanding players’ horizons. Forums and social media platforms have provided a space for guitarists to connect, share their experiences, and discover new builders pushing the boundaries of design.
“Access through the internet is really important,” he says. “I remember cruising those forums and seeing guys like Misha [Mansoor of Periphery] and Nolly [Getgood of Periphery, producer] talking about nerdy guitar stuff. We all seem to start there and move out from there.”
The future of alternative material guitars rests with these newer artists, and the past two decades have seen a surge of innovation in guitar gear in large part driven by artists like Lowe, Mansoor, and Animals as Leaders, who fearlessly embrace everything from new materials to digital modeling and extended-range instruments. As Lowe says, point blank, “The rules have changed for electric guitar design.”
Langelaar also sees a bright future for alternative materials, saying, “I think there’s going to be more and more alternatives and different visions on guitar building. Aristides offers something different that speaks to people. And maybe right now it’s still a niche, but I think that niche is going to get bigger and bigger.”
Ever the innovator, Steinberger also envisions a future of refinement and evolution, but thinks it’s coming a little at a time. “I don’t think there’s a lot of revolution on the horizon,” he says. “There’s nothing quite like what happened when they put a pickup on a guitar. I mean, that was the revolution.”
There’s no denying the allure of alternative-material electric guitars. They represent a bold step into the future, a testament to the spirit of innovation, and carry a long list of benefits unmatched by traditional tonewoods. As guitar designs, these instruments stand as a reminder that the possibilities are limitless.
Whether alternative materials will eventually become the norm or remain a niche remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, the electric guitar, in all its forms, continues to evolve, driven by a relentless pursuit of new sounds, innovative designs, and the quest for musical expression.
Oasis Live '25 world tour announces North American dates with Cage The Elephant as special guest. Oasis commented, “America. Oasis is coming. You have one last chance to prove that you loved us all along.”
The North American leg, produced by Live Nation and SJM, will see Oasis play stadiums in Toronto, Chicago, East Rutherford, Los Angeles and Mexico City next summer with Cage The Elephant as the special guest across all dates.
The news comes 16 years since their last performance in North America. Oasis commented,
“America.
Oasis is coming.
You have one last chance to prove that you loved us all along.”
The previously announced dates on the Oasis Live ‘25 tour sold out immediately, with over 10 million fans from 158 countries queuing to buy tickets. Days after their return, the band claimed their 8th UK No. 1 album with the 30th anniversary of their electrifying debut album Definitely Maybe, while at the same time occupying two other spots in the top 5 UK albums chart.
Oasis remain a huge draw in the streaming era, with over 32 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone – an increase of almost 50% since the announcement of their return – and nearly 12.5 billion streams to date across platforms.
Registration for the presale is currently open at oasisinet.com until Tuesday, October 1st at 8 am EST. General ticket sale will begin Friday, October 4th at 12pm local time and will be available from Ticketmaster.
Plans are underway for Oasis Live ’25 to go to other continents outside of Europe and North America later next year.
JULY 2025
4th - Cardiff, UK - Principality Stadium (SOLD OUT)
5th - Cardiff, UK - Principality Stadium (SOLD OUT)
11th - Manchester, UK - Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
12th - Manchester, UK - Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
16th - Manchester, UK - Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
19th - Manchester, UK - Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
20th - Manchester, UK - Heaton Park (SOLD OUT)
25th - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
26th - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
30th - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
AUGUST 2025
2nd - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
3rd - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
8th - Edinburgh, UK - Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (SOLD OUT)
9th - Edinburgh, UK - Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (SOLD OUT)
12th - Edinburgh, UK - Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (SOLD OUT)
16th - Dublin, IE - Croke Park (SOLD OUT)
17th - Dublin, IE - Croke Park (SOLD OUT)
24th - Toronto, ON - Rogers Stadium (JUST ADDED)
28th - Chicago, IL - Soldier Field (JUST ADDED)
31st - East Rutherford, NJ - MetLife Stadium (JUST ADDED)
SEPTEMBER 2025
6th - Los Angeles, CA - Rose Bowl Stadium (JUST ADDED)
12th - Mexico City, MX - Estadio GNP Seguros (JUST ADDED)
27th - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
28th - London, UK - Wembley Stadium (SOLD OUT)
Hats off to Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK, our celebrity Question of the Month respondent.
Guest picker Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK joins reader Samuel Cosmo Schiff and PG staff in divulging their favorite ways to learn music.
Question: What is your favorite method of teaching or learning how to play the guitar?
Guest Picker - Carmen Vandenberg, Bones UK
The cover of Soft, Bones UK’s new album, due in mid-September.
A: My favorite method these days (and to be honest, from when I started playing) is to put on my favorite blues records, listen with my eyes closed, and, at the end, see what my brain compartmentalizes and keeps stored away. Then, I try and play back what I heard and what my fingers or brain decided they liked!
Bone UK’s labelmade, Des Rocks.
Obsession: Right now, I am into anyone trying to create sounds that haven’t been made before—bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, and our labelmate, Des Rocs! There’s a Colombian band called Diamanté Electrico who I’ve been really into recently. Really anyone who’s trying to create innovative and inspiring sounds.
Reader of the Month - Sam C. Schiff.
Sam spent endless hours trying to learn the solo Leslie West played on “Long Red,” off of The Road Goes Ever On.
A: The best way to learn guitar is to listen to some good guitar playing! Put on a record, hear something tasty, and play on repeat until it comes out of your fingers. For me, it was Leslie West playing “Long Red” on the Mountain album, The Road Goes Ever On. I stayed up all night listening to that track until I could match Leslie’s phrasing. I still can’t, no one can, but I learned a lot!
Smith’s own low-wattage amp build.
Obsession: My latest musical obsession is low-wattage tube amps like the 5-watt Fender Champ heard on the Laylaalbum. Crank it up all the way for great tube distortion and sustain, and it’s still not loud enough to wake up the neighbors!
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Charles Saufley takes to gear like a duck to water!
A: Learning by ear and feel is most fun for me. I write and free-form jam more than I learn other people’s licks. When I do want to learn something specific, I’ll poke around on YouTube for a demo or a lesson or watch films of a player I like, and then typically mangle that in my own “special” way that yields something else. But I rarely have patience for tabs or notation.
The Grateful Dead’s 1967 debut album.
Obsession: Distorted and overdriven sounds with very little sustain—Keith Richards’ Between the Buttons tones, for example. Jerry Garcia’s plonky tones on the first Grateful Dead LP are another cool, less-fuzzy version of that texture.
Publisher - Jon Levy
A: I’m a primitive beast: The only way I can learn new music is by ear, so it’s a good thing I find that method enjoyable. I’m entirely illiterate with staff notation. Put sheet music in front of me and I’ll stare at it with twitchy, fearful incomprehension like an ape gaping at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m almost as clueless with tab, but I can follow along with chord charts if I’m under duress.
The two-hit wonders behind the early ’70s soft-rock hits, “Fallin’ in Love” and “Don't Pull Your Love.”
Obsession: Revisiting and learning AM-radio pop hits circa 1966–1972. The Grass Roots, Edison Lighthouse, the Association, the Archies, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds—nothing is too cheesy for me to dissect and savor. Yes, I admit I have a serious problem.
Diamond Pedals introduces the Dark Cloud delay pedal, featuring innovative hybrid analog-digital design.
At the heart of the Dark Cloud is Diamond’s Digital Bucket Brigade Delay (dBBD) technology, which seamlessly blends the organic warmth of analog companding with the precise control of an embedded digital system. This unique architecture allows the Dark Cloud to deliver three distinct and creative delay modes—Tape, Harmonic, and Reverse—each meticulously crafted to provide a wide range of sonic possibilities.
Three Distinct Delay Modes:
- Tape Delay: Inspired by Diamond’s Counter Point, this mode offers warm, saturated delays with tape-like modulation and up to 1000ms of delay time.
- Harmonic Delay: Borrowed from the Quantum Leap, this mode introduces delayedoctaves or fifths, creating rich, harmonic textures that swirl through the mix.
- Reverse Delay: A brand-new feature, this mode plays delays backward, producing asmooth, LoFi effect with alternating forward and reverse playback—a truly innovativeaddition to the Diamond lineup.
In addition to these versatile modes, the Dark Cloud includes tap tempo functionality with three distinct divisions—quarter note, eighth note, and dotted eighth—ensuring perfect synchronization with any performance.
The Dark Cloud holds special significance as the final project conceived by the original Diamondteam before their closure. What began as a modest attempt to repurpose older designs evolved into a masterful blend of the company's most beloved delay algorithms, combined with an entirely new Reverse Delay setting.
The result is a “greatest hits” of Diamond's delay technology, refined into one powerful pedal that pushes the boundaries of what delay effects can achieve.
Pricing: $249
For more information, please visit diamondpedals.com.
Main Features:
- dBBD’s hybrid architecture Analog dry signal New reverse delay setting
- Three distinct, creative delay modes: Tape, Harmonic, Reverse
- Combines the sound and feel of analog Companding and Anti-Aliasing with an embedded system delay line
- Offering 3 distinct tap divisions with quarter note, eighth note and dotted eighth settings for each of the delay modes
- Pedalboard-friendly enclosure with top jacks
- Buffered bypass switching with trails
- Standardized negative-center 9VDC input with polarity protection