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Rig Rundown: Guns N' Roses

The gear of Slash, Duff McKagan, and Richard Fortus finally revealed.

In 1987, Gibson enjoyed an enormous jump in sales when Guns N’ Roses released Appetite for Destruction. To show their appreciation, Gibson gave Slash this ’87 Les Paul Standard, the first of many endorsement guitars. This battered ’87 LP has been broken, burned, and abused since the first tour and remains one of Slash’s favorites.

Special thanks to Slash's tech Adam Day and Duff's tech Mike “Mcbob” Mayhue who have both been with the band since Appetite for Destruction.

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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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Great Eastern FX Co. has released the limited-edition OC201 Preamp, featuring vintage Mullard OC201 transistors for a unique fuzz sound. Part of the 'Obsolete Devices' series, this pedal combines classic circuits with modern components for optimal tone and reliability.

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“I do think that PTP circuits should stay that way, and circuits made for PCB sound great and don’t need to be handwired to sound good,” says R2R Electric's Cris Vincent, who is especially adept at creating vintage-flavored fuzz machines.

Do vintage parts make better pedals? Not always.

Treble boosters have been used by legends like Brian May, Tony Iommi, Rory Gallagher, Marc Bolan, Stevie Ray Vaughan—you name it. They have empirically proven their place in the evolution of rock ’n’ roll, and even paved the way for entirely new music genres. Naturally, as a pedal builder, I had to make my own. In fact, I was building treble boosters even before Sehat Effectors was born. Technically speaking, the circuit is simple—just a single transistor and a few components.

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PRS Guitars celebrates 40 years with the Limited Edition 40th Anniversary Custom 24-08 Semi-Hollow.

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