
ESP has debuted a number of new additions at the 2025 NAMM Show.
At the 2025 NAMM Show, ESP Guitars (NAMM Booth 210D) debuted 10 new guitars in their popular LTD Deluxe series. Used on recordings and tours worldwide, LTD Deluxe guitars provide professional-level components and build quality.
āItās easy to see why LTD Deluxe represents ESPās most popular guitar series,ā says Blue Wilding, ESP Brand Manager. āThese are high grade instruments that allow serious working musicians to have the performance and aesthetics they want without wiping out their wallet.ā
Three new LTD Deluxe guitars are being offered in an exciting Silver Blast finish. The LTD Deluxe XJ-1 Baritone uses the offset XJ shape, offering bolt-on construction at 27ā baritone scale and pairing a sandblasted swamp ash body to a three-piece roasted maple neck. Design features of the XJ-1 Baritone include a tiltback reverse headstock, a Macassar ebony fingerboard with block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. It also includes LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, a brushed black pickguard, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and a single Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickup with voice selection via push/pull control.
The LTD Deluxe SN-1000HT is another new model in the Silver Blast finish on a sandblasted swamp ash body. Built with bolt-on construction at 25.5ā scale, it pairs a roasted maple neck and Macassar ebony fingerboard (scalloped from frets 17-22) with a compound radius, mother of pearl dot inlays, and 22 extra- jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the SN-1000HT include LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and a pair of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups (ceramic in the bridge, alnico in the neck), with voice selection via push/pull controls.
Rounding out the new Silver Blast models is the new LTD Deluxe TE-1000. Also featuring a sandblasted swamp ash body with roasted maple neck and tiltback headstock, this guitar offers bolt-on construction at 25.5ā scale, and a Macassar ebony fingerboard with offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the TE-1000 Silver Blast include LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and an outstanding set of Seymour Duncan pickups ā the ESP- exclusive Custom-14 in the bridge, and the renowned APH-1N in the neck.
The TE Series got another new addition with the LTD Deluxe TE-1007 Baritone. This 7-string guitar, being offered in the Black Blast finish, has a sandblasted swamp ash body and roasted maple neck with a tiltback headstock. It has bolt-on construction at 27ā baritone scale, and provides a Macassar ebony fingerboard with offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. The TE-1007 Baritone has components that include a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, and a single Fishman Fluence Modern 7 String 3-Voice Humbucker (ceramic) in the bridge, with a push-pull control to activate its voicings.
The LTD Deluxe EC-01FT has been significantly updated for 2025. Now available in Charcoal Burst Satin Teardrop finish over a quilted maple top, the streamlined guitar also features white single-ply binding on the body, neck, and headstock. Like the previous versions of the EC-01FT, it offers set-thru construction at 24.75ā scale with a single-cutaway mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck. It includes a Macassar ebony fingerboard with block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a recessed bridge with string-thru-body design, LTD locking tuners, a brushed black pickguard, and the ESP-exclusive Seymour Duncan Custom-14 High Output Triple Ceramic Humbucker, splittable with push-pull control.
Another new addition for 2025 is the LTD Deluxe M-1000 Maple. Offering the iconic look of a Black Gloss finish along with a maple fingerboard, this guitar offers an alder body and a three-piece maple neck built with bolt-on construction at 25.5ā scale. Black binding on the neck and headstock give it an even tougher look. It features 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, black offset dot inlays, and a compound fingerboard radius. Components on the new M-1000 Maple include a Floyd Rose 1000SE tremolo with stainless steel screws, Grover tuners, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups ā ceramic in the bridge, alnico in the neck position ā with push-pull controls to activate their voicings.
Also new for 2025 is the LTD Deluxe M-1007 Baritone EverTune in Granite Sparkle finish. Designed for seriously extended low pitch ranges, itās a 7-string guitar with neck-thru-body construction at 27ā baritone scale, pairing an alder body with an extra-thin three-piece maple neck. Its Macassar ebony fingerboard features a compound radius, offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on this guitar include the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern 7 String 3-Voice Humbucker pickups with push-pull controls to select voicings.
A distinctive entry in the āNew for 2025ā collection, the LTD Deluxe MH-1000NT Bold Binding delivers what its name says: a Black Satin finish with double-thick silver painted binding on the body and headstock. It offers set-thru construction at 25.5ā scale, using a mahogany body with maple cap, and a three-piece maple neck. Its Macassar ebony fingerboard has a compound radius, offset block inlays, and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the MH-1000NT Bold Binding include a TonePros locking bridge with string-thru-body, LTD locking tuners, and a pair of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups with voice selection on a push-pull controls.
Two popular LTD Deluxe models are returning with significant updates. The LTD Deluxe SN-1 HT is now being offered with a Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker (Ceramic) pickup, with voices selected via push-pull control. The LTD Deluxe Arrow-1000 in Candy Apple Red Satin now features a reverse headstock and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups, with voices selected via push-pull controls.
For more information, please visit espguitars.com.
Signature Series
The highly-anticipated Signature Series guitar for Mick Thomson of Slipknot, the LTD MT-I, makes its debut at NAMM 2025. Available in Obsidian Metallic finish, the MT-I is based on the MH-style body, with an arched top and an inline reverse headstock. This guitar features set-thru construction at 25.5ā scale, pairing a mahogany body with white ash top to a three-piece maple neck with a Macassar ebony fingerboard with compound radius and 24 medium-jumbo stainless steel frets. Special features on the MT-I include a Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut, Hipshot Grip-Lock locking open gear tuners, an all-brass Hipshot Hi-Mass hardtail bridge, blue Luminlay side markers, and a Fishman Fluence Mick Thomson Signature pickup with a 3-way low profile toggle switch to select between Voice 1, Voice 1 with bass boost shift, and Voice 2, and a push/pull volume control to select Voice 3.
The LTD RZK-III is the newest signature model for Richard ZK of Rammstein. Beginning with the smooth flowing curves of the Phoenix body shape, the RZK-III comes in a classy Olympic White finish. It offers neck-thru-body construction at 25.5ā scale, with alder body wings and a three-piece satin-finished maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Features and components on the LTD RZK-III include a TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece that are both recessed, a brushed black pickguard, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a reversible arcade-stye kill switch, and a set of Fishman Fluence Richard Z Kruspe signature pickups with a push-pull control to select voicings.
With the LTD JM-I, ESP is introducing its second Signature Series model for Josh Middleton, the acclaimed guitarist for Sylosis. Available with a Deep Blood Moon finish over a quilted maple top, the JM-I offers an alder body and a three-piece roasted maple neck with bolt-on construction at 25.5ā scale. This guitar features black binding on the body and headstock, a Macassar ebony fingerboard with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, Luminlay side markers, and a single Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker, with voice selection on a push-pull control.
The new LTD ALR-II is the long-awaited Signature Series guitar for Andy LaRocque, influential guitarist/music producer and co-founder of the iconic heavy metal band King Diamond. Based on the Horizon body, the ALR-II offers neck-thru-body construction at 24.75ā scale, and is distinctively finished in See Thru Purple over its figured quilted maple top with a classic teardrop headstock. It features a three-piece maple neck, a Macassar ebony fingerboard with a compound radius and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, Luminlay side markers, a Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo, and a set of Seymour Duncan TB-4 JB Trembucker (bridge) and STK-S6 Custom Stack Plus (neck) passive pickups.
Caleb Shomo, the founder, songwriter, and producer of rock band Beartooth, has his first Signature Series guitar with the debut of the LTD CS-II. Based on the Phoenix shape, the CS-II is available with a figured quilted maple top in Vintage Natural finish. This neck-thru-body guitar is offered at 25.5ā scale, and comes with mahogany body wings, a three-piece thin u-shaped mahogany neck, Macassar ebony fingerboard, and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the CS-II include gold hardware, black binding on body, neck, head, brushed black pickguard, a black bone nut, a locking bridge and tailpiece, and a pickup set that includes ESPās exclusive Seymour Duncan Custom 14 humbucker in the bridge (splittable with push-pull control) and a Seymour Duncan STR-3 Quarter Pound pickup in the neck.
A new Signature Series guitar has been announced for Alex Wade of deathcore band Whitechapel. The LTD AW-XJ7 Baritone EverTune provides the LTD XJ shape in a 7-string, 27ā scale baritone guitar that also features the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge. Available in a Black Open Grain Satin finish, the AW-XJ7 Baritone EverTune offers bolt-on construction, a resonant swamp ash body, and a five-piece maple/walnut/padauk neck with a Macassar ebony fingerboard. This guitarās features include 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a brushed black pickguard, LTD locking tuners, and a single DiMarzio D-Activator 7 passive pickup that can be split with a push/pull volume control.
A number of Signature Series guitar models for current ESP Signature artists have received fresh updates. Renowned guitarist Alex Skolnick of Testament has a new Lime Burst finish and new pickups for his LTD AS-1FR signature model. Based on the single-cutaway EC shape, this guitar features set-thru construction at 24.75ā scale, a mahogany body with flamed maple top, three-piece maple neck, Macassar ebony fingerboard, a Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo, Dunlop Straploks, and a set of Seymour Duncan Alex Skolnick Signature Humbucker pickups, splittable with push-pull control.
50th Anniversary Series
From its humble beginnings in 1975 as a small Tokyo-based guitar repair shop to its current status as one of the worldās largest and most respected electric guitar and bass manufacturers, ESP Guitars (NAMM Booth 210D) has never been a brand to rest on its laurels. While celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary in 2025, the company is still far more focused on the future than looking back on its past.
To commemorate the major milestone, ESP has announced a special limited edition batch of guitars from the ESP Custom Shop in Japan. Just 15 pieces each of the ESP 50th Anniversary Horizon-CTM Flamed Maple and ESP 50th Anniversary Horizon-CTM Buckeye Burl are being handcrafted by the companyās expert luthiers using custom components and extraordinary tonewoods, and no two are identical.
A more widely available commemorative guitar is the LTD EC-2025 50th Anniversary. Based on the single-cutaway EC shape, itās being offered in Metallic Gold finish with black hardware and black single-ply binding on the body, neck, ad headstock, appropriate for the companyās golden anniversary celebration. It features a special ā50ā graphic fingerboard inlay at frets 11-13, as well as a full 50th Anniversary logo on the guitarās headstock. Built with set-thru construction at 24.75ā scale, the guitar employs a mahogany body with maple cap, a three-piece mahogany neck, and a Macassar ebony fingerboard with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets.
Features on the EC-2025 include LTD locking tuners, a TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece, and a set of Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups that includes the ESP-exclusive Custom 14 in the bridge, and the iconic APH-1N in the neck. Coil splitting is accessible with a push-pull control.
200 Series
The LTD EC-256 is now being offered in a Silver Sunburst Teardrop finish. This single-cutaway guitar includes unexpected details like white binding on the body, neck, and headstock. Built with set-neck construction at 24.75ā scale using a mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck, it also features a set of great-sounding, high-output ESP LH-150 bridge and neck pickups, splittable via push-pull control. The popular LTD EC-201 has also been updated to offer a Black Gloss finish.
The LTD M-201 Baritone HT offers an affordable solution for musicians getting into baritone guitar. Offered in Black Gloss finish, itās built with bolt-on construction at 27ā baritone scale, pairing a mahogany body and three-piece maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. This guitar features an LTD fixed hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and a single ESP LH-150B bridge pickup with an antique nickel cover, with coil splitting via push-pull control.
Another new model in this series is the LTD Phoenix-201, the first Phoenix model in this range. It offers set-neck construction at 25.5ā scale with a mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard. It also includes a single ESP LH-150B bridge pickup with an antique nickel cover, and coil splitting via push-pull control.
Itās a similar story with the LTD SN-201HT, a new model in this affordable range. Available in Black Gloss, it offers bolt-on construction at 25.5ā scale, with a mahogany body and three-piece maple neck with tiltback headstock. It also includes a single ESP LH-150B bridge pickup with an antique nickel cover, and coil splitting via push-pull control. The LTD TE-201 is also now offered in Black Gloss finish.
For more information, please visit espguitars.com.
Acoustic players, this oneās for you! Win the LR Baggs Venue DI in the I Love Pedals giveaway and take full control of your live sound. Enter today and return daily for more chances!
LR Baggs Venue DI Acoustic Guitar Preamp / DI / EQ / Tuner Pedal
We created the Venue DI so you can travel light, set up fast, and sound incredible anywhere you plug in. The Venue DI gives you complete control by combining a full-isolation DI output, 5-band EQ with adjustable low & hi-mid bands, variable clean boost, and chromatic tuner all in one acoustic pedal. With its all-discrete signal path, hi-graded semiconductors, and exclusive use of audiophile grade film capacitors, the Venue DI is on par with the worldās elite preamps and provides a studio quality sound for the stage.
The National New Yorker lived at the forefront of the emerging electric guitar industry, and in Memphis Minnieās hands, it came alive.
This National electric is just the tip of the iceberg of electric guitar history.
On a summer day in 1897, a girl named Lizzie Douglas was born on a farm in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi, the first of 13 siblings. When she was seven, her family moved closer to Memphis, Tennessee, and little Lizzie took up the banjo. Banjo led to guitar, guitar led to gigs, and gigs led to dreams. She was a prodigious talent, and āKidā Douglas ran away from home to play for tips on Beale Street when she was just a teenager. She began touring around the South, adopted the moniker Memphis Minnie, and eventually joined the circus for a few years.
(Are you not totally intrigued by the story of this incredible woman? Why did she run away from home? Why did she fall in love with the guitar? We havenāt even touched on how remarkable her songwriting is. This is a singular pioneer of guitar history, and we beseech you to read Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnieās Blues by Beth and Paul Garon.)
Following the end of World War I, Hawaiian music enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity. On their travels around the U.S., musicians like Sol Hoāopiāi became fans of Louis Armstrong and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, leading to a great cross-pollination of Hawaiian music with jazz and blues. This potent combination proved popular and drew ever-larger audiences, which created a significant problem: How on earth would an audience of thousands hear the sound from a wimpy little acoustic guitar?
This art deco pickguard offers just a bit of pizzazz to an otherwise demure instrument.
In the late 1920s, George Beauchamp, John and Rudy Dopyera, Adolph Rickenbacker, and John Dopyeraās nephew Paul Barth endeavored to answer that question with a mechanically amplified guitar. Working together under Beauchamp and John Dopyeraās National String Instrument Corporation, they designed the first resonator guitar, which, like a Victrola, used a cone-shaped resonator built into the guitar to amplify the sound. It was definitely louder, but not quite loud enoughāespecially for the Hawaiian slide musicians. With the guitars laid on their laps, much of the sound projected straight up at the ceiling instead of toward the audience.
Barth and Beauchamp tackled this problem in the 1930s by designing a magnetic pickup, and Rickenbacker installed it in the first commercially successful electric instrument: a lap-steel guitar known affectionately as the āFrying Panā due to its distinctive shape. Suddenly, any stringed instrument could be as loud as your amplifier allowed, setting off a flurry of innovation. Electric guitars were born!
āAt the time it was positively futuristic, with its lack of f-holes and way-cool art deco design on the pickup.ā
By this time, Memphis Minnie was a bona fide star. She recorded for Columbia, Vocalion, and Decca Records. Her song āBumble Bee,ā featuring her driving guitar technique, became hugely popular and earned her a new nickname: the Queen of Country Blues. She was officially royalty, and her subjects needed to hear her game-changing playing. This is where she crossed paths with our old pals over at National.
National and other companies began adding pickups to so-called Spanish guitars, which they naturally called āElectric Spanish.ā (This term was famously abbreviated ES by the Gibson Guitar Corporation and used as a prefix on a wide variety of models.) In 1935, National made its first Electric Spanish guitar, renamed the New Yorker three years later. By todayās standards, itās modestly appointed. At the time it was positively futuristic, with its lack of f-holes and way-cool art deco design on the pickup.
Thereās buckle rash and the finish on the back of the neck is rubbed clean off in spots, but that just goes to show how well-loved this guitar has been.
Memphis Minnie had finally found an axe fit for a Queen. She was among the first blues guitarists to go electric, and the New Yorker fueled her already-upward trajectory. She recorded over 200 songs in her 25-year career, cementing her and the National New Yorkerās place in musical history.
Our National New Yorker was made in 1939 and shows perfect play wear as far as weāre concerned. Sure, thereās buckle rash and the finish on the back of the neck is rubbed clean off in spots, but structurally, this guitar is in great shape. Itās easy to imagine this guitar was lovingly wiped down each time it was put back in the case.
Thereās magic in this guitar, yāall. Every time we pick it up, we can feel Memphis Minnieās spirit enter the room. This guitar sounds fearless. Itās a survivor. This is a guitar that could inspire you to run away and join the circus, transcend genre and gender, and leave your own mark on music history. As a guitar store, watching guitars pass from musician to musician gives us a beautiful physical reminder of how history moves through generations. We canāt wait to see who joins this guitarās remarkable legacy.
SOURCES: blackpast.org, nps.gov, worldmusic.net, historylink.org, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, āMemphis Minnieās āScientific Soundā: Afro-Sonic Modernity and the Jukebox Era of the Bluesā from American Quarterly, āThe History of the Development of Electric Stringed Musical Instrumentsā by Stephen Errede, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL.
With authentic stage-class Katana amp sounds, wireless music streaming, and advanced spatial technology, the KATANA:GO is designed to offer a premium sound experience without the need for amps or pedals.
BOSS announces the return of KATANA:GO, an ultra-compact headphone amplifier for daily jams with a guitar or bass. KATANA:GO puts authentic sounds from the stage-class BOSS Katana amp series at the instrumentās output jack, paired with wireless music streaming, sound editing, and learning tools on the userās smartphone. Advanced spatial technology provides a rich 3D audio experience, while BOSS Tone Exchange offers an infinite sound library to explore any musical style.
Offering all the features of the previous generation in a refreshed external design, KATANA:GO delivers premium sound for everyday playing without the hassle of amps, pedals, and computer interfaces. Users can simply plug it into their instrument, connect earbuds or headphones, call up a memory, and go. Onboard controls provide access to volume, memory selection, and other essential functions, while the built-in screen displays the tuner and current memory. The rechargeable battery offers up to five hours of continuous playing time, and the integrated 1/4-inch plug folds down to create a pocket-size package thatās ready to travel anywhere.
KATANA:GO drives sessions with genuine sounds from the best-selling Katana stage amp series. Guitar mode features 10 unique amp characters, including clean, crunch, the high-gain BOSS Brown type, two acoustic/electric guitar characters, and more. Thereās also a dedicated bass mode with Vintage, Modern, and Flat types directly ported from the Katana Bass amplifiers. Each mode includes a massive library of BOSS effects to explore, with deep sound customization available in the companion BOSS Tone Studio app for iOS and Android.
The innovative Stage Feel feature in KATANA:GO provides an immersive audio experience with advanced BOSS spatial technology. Presets allow the user to position the amp sound and backing music in different places in the sound field, giving the impression of playing with a backline on stage or jamming in a room with friends.
The guitar and bass modes in KATANA:GO each feature 30 memories loaded with ready-to-play sounds. BOSS Tone Studio allows the player to tweak preset memories, create sounds from scratch, or import Tone Setting memories created with stage-class Katana guitar and bass amplifiers. The app also provides integrated access to BOSS Tone Exchange, where users can download professionally curated Livesets and share sounds with the global BOSS community.
Pairing KATANA:GO with a smartphone offers a complete mobile solution to supercharge daily practice. Players can jam along with songs from their music library and tap into BOSS Tone Studioās Session feature to hone skills with YouTube learning content. Itās possible to build song lists, loop sections for focused study, and set timestamps to have KATANA:GO switch memories automatically while playing with YouTube backing tracks.
The versatile KATANA:GO functions as a USB audio interface for music production and online content creation on a computer or mobile device. External control of wah, volume, memory selection, and more are also supported via the optional EV-1-WL Wireless MIDI Expression Pedal and FS-1-WL Wireless Footswitch.
For more information, please visit boss.info.
We know Horsegirl as a band of musicians, but their friendships will always come before the music. From left to right: Nora Cheng, drummer Gigi Reece, and Penelope Lowenstein.
The Chicago-via-New York trio of best friends reinterpret the best bits of college-rock and ā90s indie on their new record, Phonetics On and On.
Horsegirl guitarists Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein are back in their hometown of Chicago during winter break from New York University, where they share an apartment with drummer Gigi Reece. Theyāre both in the middle of writing papers. Cheng is working on one about Buckminster Fuller for a city planning class, and Lowenstein is untangling Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmannās short story, āThree Paths to the Lake.ā
āIt was kind of life-changing, honestly. It changed how I thought about womanhood,ā Lowenstein says over the call, laughing a bit at the gravitas of the statement.
But the moment of levity illuminates the fact that big things are happening in their lives. When they released their debut album, 2022ās Versions of Modern Performance, the three members of Horsegirl were still teenagers in high school. Their new, sophomore record, Phonetics On and On, arrives right in the middle of numerous first experiencesātheir first time living away from home, first loves, first years of their 20s, in university. Horsegirl is going through changes. Lowenstein notes how, through moving to a new city, their friendship has grown, too, into something more familial. They rely on each other more.
āIf the friendship was ever taking a toll because of the band, the friendship would come before the band, without any doubt.āāPenelope Lowenstein
āEveryone's cooking together, you take each other to the doctor,ā Lowenstein says. āYou rely on each other for weird things. I think transitioning from being teenage friends to suddenly working together, touring together, writing together in this really intimate creative relationship, going through sort of an unusual experience together at a young age, and then also starting school togetherāI just feel like it brings this insane intimacy that we work really hard to maintain. And if the friendship was ever taking a toll because of the band, the friendship would come before the band without any doubt.ā
Horsegirl recorded their sophomore LP, Phonetics On and On, at Wilcoās The Loft studio in their hometown, Chicago.
These changes also include subtle and not-so-subtle shifts in their sophisticated and artful guitar-pop. Versions of Modern Performance created a notion of the band as ā90s college-rock torchbearers, with reverb-and-distortion-drenched numbers that recalled Yo La Tengo and the Breeders. Phonetics On and On doesnāt extinguish the flame, but itās markedly more contemporary, sacrificing none of the catchiness but opting for more space, hypnotic guitar lines, and meditative, repeated phrases. Cheng and Lowenstein credit Welsh art-pop wiz Cate Le Bonās presence as producer in the studio as essential to the sonic direction.
āOn the record, I think we were really interested in Young Marble Giantsāsuper minimal, the percussiveness of the guitar, and how you can do so much with so little.āāNora Cheng
āWe had never really let a fourth person into our writing process,ā Cheng says. āI feel like Cate really changed the way we think about how you can compose a song, and built off ideas we were already thinking about, and just created this very comfortable space for experimentation and pushed us. There are so many weird instruments and things that aren't even instruments at [Wilcoās Chicago studio] The Loft. I feel like, definitely on our first record, we were super hesitant to go into territory that wasn't just distorted guitar, bass, and drums.ā
Nora Cheng's Gear
Nora Cheng says that letting a fourth personāWelsh artist Cate Le Bonāinto the trioās songwriting changed how they thought about composition.
Photo by Braden Long
Effects
- EarthQuaker Devices Plumes
- Ibanez Tube Screamer
- TC Electronic Polytune
Picks
- Dunlop Tortex .73 mm
Phonetics On and On introduces warm synths (āJulieā), raw-sounding violin (āIn Twosā), and gamelan tilesācommon in traditional Indonesian musicāto Horsegirlās repertoire, and expands on their already deep quiver of guitar sounds as Cheng and Lowenstein branch into frenetic squonks, warped jangles, and jagged, bare-bones riffs. The result is a collection of songs simultaneously densely textured and spacious.
āI listen to these songs and I feel like it captures the raw, creative energy of being in the studio and being like, āFuck! We just exploded the song. What is about to happen?āā Lowenstein says. āThat feeling is something we didnāt have on the first record because we knew exactly what we wanted to capture and it was the songs we had written in my parentsā basement.ā
Cheng was first introduced to classical guitar as a kid by her dad, who tried to teach her, and then she was subsequently drawn back to rock by bands like Cage The Elephant and Arcade Fire. Lowenstein started playing at age 6, which covers most of her life memories and comprises a large part of her identity. āIt made me feel really powerful as a young girl to know that I was a very proficient guitarist,ā she says. The shreddy playing of Television, Pink Floydās spacey guitar solos, and Yo La Tengoās Ira Kaplan were all integral to her as Horsegirl began.
Penelope Lowenstein's Gear
Penelope Lowenstein likes looking back at the versions of herself that made older records.
Photo by Braden Long
Effects
- EarthQuaker Westwood
- EarthQuaker Bellows
- TC Electronic PolyTune
Picks
- Dunlop Tortex 1.0 mm
Recently, the two of them have found themselves influenced by guitarists both related and unrelated to the type of tunes theyāre trading in on their new album. Lowenstein got into Brazilian guitar during the pandemic and has recently been āin a Jim OāRourke, John Fahey zone.ā
āThereās something about listening to that music where you realize, about the guitar, that you can just compose an entire orchestra on one instrument,ā Lowenstein says. āAnd hearing what the bass in those guitar parts is doingāas in, the E stringāis kind of mind blowing.ā
āOn the record, I think we were really interested in Young Marble Giantsāsuper minimal, the percussiveness of the guitar, and how you can do so much with so little,ā Cheng adds. āAnd also Lizzy Mercier [Descloux], mostly on the Rosa Yemen records. That guitar playing I feel was very inspiring for the anti-solo,[a technique] which appears on [Phonetics On and On].āThis flurry of focused discovery gives the impression that Cheng and Lowensteinās sensibilities are shifting day-to-day, buoyed by the incredible expansion of creative possibilities that setting oneās life to revolve around music can afford. And, of course, the energy and exponential growth of youth. Horsegirl has already clocked major stylistic shifts in their brief lifespan, and itās exciting to have such a clear glimpse of evolution in artists who are, likely and hopefully, just beginning a long journey together.
āThereās something about listening to that music where you realize, about the guitar, that you can just compose an entire orchestra on one instrument.āāPenelope Lowenstein
āIn your 20s, life moves so fast,ā Lowenstein says. āSo much changes from the time of recording something to releasing something that even that process is so strange. You recognize yourself, and you also kind of sympathize with yourself. It's a really rewarding way of life, I think, for musicians, and it's cool that we have our teenage years captured like that, tooāon and on until we're old women.ā
YouTube It
Last summer, Horsegirl gathered at a Chicago studio space to record a sun-soaked set of new and old tunes.