
1955 NAMM Show Commemorative Edition Les Paul
Gibson returns to NAMM 2025 this week to showcase their 2025 lineup.
1955 NAMM Show Commemorative Edition Les Paul
Gibson Custom introduces the 1955 NAMM Show Commemorative Edition Les Paul, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the five custom color Gibson Les Pauls that were displayed at the 1955 NAMM Show. Gibson displayed these five distinctive Les Paul models at the 1955 NAMM Show--which was held in Chicago, IL--with each guitar finished in one of five custom metallic nitrocellulose lacquer car finishesāSamoa Beige, Copper Iridescent, Nugget Gold, Platinum, and Viceroy Brown. In addition to their custom metallic finishes, they were outfitted with no-wire ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridges and Stop Bar tailpieces. These bridges were first introduced on the Gibson Super 400 in 1953 and were used on the 1954 Les Paul Custom, but they made their first appearance on a standard Les Paul model with the five guitars that were displayed at the 1955 NAMM Show. These distinctive-looking and historically notable Les Pauls were made in extremely limited numbers, and the whereabouts of only a few are known today.
This special run is limited to only 70 guitars in each of the custom colors, with the custom metallic nitrocellulose lacquer car finishes expertly recreated by Gibson for the first time ever. Each of these guitars features historically accurate 1955 specifications, including a lightweight one-piece mahogany body and a hide glue-fitted two-piece plain maple cap. Even the color matched Speed knobs replicate the knobs on the guitars that were shown at the 1955 NAMM Show. The one-piece mahogany neck has a long neck tenon, a 1950s Chunky D-Shape neck profile, and an Indian rosewood fretboard that has 22 historic narrow/tall frets, a 12ā fretboard radius, and is adorned with aged cellulose nitrate trapezoid inlays. The headstock features a period-correct ālow logoā holly headstock veneer and is equipped with a nylon nut and single line, single ring KlusonĀ® tuners, and has a historical 1955 limited run serial number on the back. The pickups are a pair of cream-covered Custom Shop P-90 Soapbars that are hand-wired to 500k CTS potentiometers and paper-in-oil capacitors. Each guitar in this limited edition also features Light Aging by the skilled artisans of the Murphy Lab. The Murphy Lab Light Aged finish treatment, paired with lightly aged hardware, simulates decades of light play wear, giving these guitars the unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era. A brown/pink Lifton five-latch case is also included to complete the authentic vintage ownership. Highly collectible, only 70 of the 1955 NAMM Show Commemorative Edition Les Paul guitars from Gibson Custom will be made in each of the five colors, for a total of 350 guitars.
Warren Haynes Les Paul Standard
Warren Haynes is highly regarded for his work in rock, blues, and Americana music with the Allman Brothers Band, as a founding member of Govāt Mule, as a session guitarist and sideman for numerous famous friends and groups, as the leader of The Warren Haynes Band, and as a solo artist. A master of multiple styles and genres, Warren has also shared his expertise with other players via multiple instructional videos. A self-described āGibson man,ā Warren has used several Gibson models throughout the years, including his cherished ā61 ES-335, among others. The Warren Haynes Les Paul Standard is another standout, with features tailored specifically to Warrenās preferences, including a mahogany body with a plain maple cap topped with a 60s Cherry finish, just like his cherished ā61 ES-335, a mahogany neck with a chunky 50s vintage neck profile, like all of Warrenās favorite Les Pauls, and much more. Bearing the traditional looks and feel of a 50ās-era Les Paul coupled with modern features like hum-free P-90 DC pickups and an on board clean boost, the Gibson Warren Haynes Les Paul Standard bridges modern and traditional and is a great choice for players who, like Warren, want both a traditional appearance and modern functionality in one outstanding guitar.
1936 Advanced Jumbo
Gibson Custom is proud to introduce the Gibson 1936 Advance Jumbo āHeavy Agedā acoustic guitar. During a time when cultural optimism was low, Gibson dreamed up a new line of advanced instruments, and included in those models was the Advanced Jumbo. Due to low production numbers from 1936-1939, this model largely flew under the radar even though it was a supreme-sounding and performing instrument. Outfitted with a thermally aged red spruce top, rosewood back and sides, and premium Waverly tuners, the 1936 Advanced Jumbo brings back all the tone and prestige that made these such sought-after instruments by artists and collectors. It features Heavy Aging by the skilled artisans of the Murphy Lab. The Murphy Lab Heavy Aged finish treatment, paired with heavily aged hardware, simulates decades of heavy play wear, giving it the unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era. The Gibson 1936 Advance Jumbo arrives in a stunning Vintage Sunburst, expect a heavy weather-checked finish, heavy belt buckle wear, light arm wear, and light neck wear.
1939 SJ-100
New for 2025, the Gibson Custom 1939 SJ-100 is a replica of the rare and distinctive mahogany-backed Super Jumbo 100 that was built for only a few years (circa 1939-1942). The 1939 SJ-100 Heavy Aged fully replicates the original and exceptionally rare 1939 SJ-100 guitars that are coveted by collectors and vintage Gibson experts around the world. It features a thermally aged red spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and a two piece maple neck with a rounded profile and an ebony fretboard. Other notable features include a vintage SJ-100 style firestripe pickguard, the rare, vintage āstair stepā headstock design, the Gibson script headstock logo inlaid in mother of pearl, and Waverly tuners with ivoroid knobs. Crafted by the expert luthiers and craftspeople at the Gibson Custom Shop in Bozeman, Montana, the Gibson Custom 1939 SJ-100 has been artfully aged by the artisans of the Murphy Lab to give it the look and feel of a long-cherished musical companion.
1942 Banner J-45
The allure and legend of the Gibson J-45 lives on in the new Murphy Lab 1942 Banner J-45. Inspired by the holy grail of vintage acoustic instruments, luthiers in Montana meticulously crafted a J-45 just like the most popular and celebrated version in structure and components. The new 1942 Banner J-45 includes a thermally aged red spruce top hand-sprayed with a historic-style burst, hot hide glue top bracing for better tonal response, and a bone nut and saddle. It features a Heavy Aging finish by the Murphy Lab paired with heavily aged hardware that simulates decades of heavy play wear, giving it the unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era. The 1942 Banner J-45 arrives in a striking Vintage Sunburst, expect a heavy weather-checked finish, heavy belt buckle wear, light arm wear, and light neck wear.
Margo Price J-45
The music of multiple award-winning artist Margo Price transcends the boundaries of traditional country, Americana, and classic rock, and her Gibson J-45 acoustic has always been by her side during her rise as a top country artist. Gibson Customās Margo Price J-45 embodies the spirit, vision, and talent that has driven Margo to stardom and continues the nature-themed model tradition of Gibson. The Margo Price J-45 was inspired by her mid-60s J-45, a guitar sheās called āmy main baby; my guitar I play all the time.ā The Margo Price J-45 features a slightly thinner mahogany body with a red spruce top with traditional hand-scalloped advance X-bracing, a mahogany neck with a Rounded profile and rosewood fretboard, and Grover strap tuners with white buttons. The nut and saddle are bone and the bridge pins are TUSQ. The Margo Price J-45 also comes equipped with L.R. Baggs electronics, so itās studio and stage ready right out of the included hardshell case. Margo was also inspired by red-tailed hawks, which feature prominently on the distinctive double 50s-style pickguards of her new signature guitar. As Margo says, āRed Tailed hawks have always been symbolic to me. I see them everywhere, and I always have, as theyāre common all over the U.S., but to me, theyāre otherworldly, and they always come to me in my time of need with messages of strength and perseverance. Red, as a color, relates to love, passion, and even anger, matters that we typically would associate with the heart, but if you look closely, the ends of their feathers are dipped in white, and the bird itself has a spiritual nature. When Iām on long trips, I look out the window and count them alongside the highway. They pass over me at the most kismet times, reminding me to find strength in my vulnerability, and to open up and connect with those around me. I hope this guitar will remind those who play it these lessons as well.ā
Les Paul Custom
The Epiphone Les Paul Custom has been updated and is now better than ever. Part of the Inspired by Gibson Collection, it honors the 1950s-era classic that was designed by Mr. Les Paul himself in 1954 as the ātuxedoā version of his groundbreaking solidbody masterpiece. It features an all-mahogany body, a mahogany neck with a refined Modern Medium C neck profile, an ebony fretboard and pearloid block inlays and medium jumbo frets, gold hardware, including a gold Epiphone LockTone Tune-o-Matic bridge and LockTone Stop Bar tailpiece, a pair of Epiphoneās new Probucker Custom humbucker pickups, which are based on Gibson Customās Custombucker humbucking pickups, and a larger Custom split-diamond inlay on the headstock, a Graph Tech nut, era-appropriate wiring, and CTS potentiometers. An Epiphone premium gig bag is now included to help keep your guitar safe when not in use and when traveling.
J-180
The Gibson J-180 has been the choice of rock, country, and pop royalty, including legendary artists like the Everly Brothers, Cat Stevens, Dwight Yoakam, and Billie Joe Armstrong, up to some of todayās most famous artists. In partnership with Gibson Acoustic in Bozeman, Montana, Epiphone is proud to release a new version of this player-favorite guitar. The Epiphone J-180 LS is packed with premium features, including a thermally aged solid spruce top with scalloped X bracing, solid mahogany back and sides, a one-piece mahogany neck with a 25.5ā scale length, C-profile, laurel fretboard, and the iconic āstarā mother of pearl inlays that the model is so well known for. The compensated saddle, bridge pins, and nut are bone, and the headstock features the world-famous Gibson-style āopen bookā headstock shape, with the Epiphone logo and headstock star proudly displayed in mother of pearl. An Inspired by Gibson Custom Double Diamond emblem is etched on the rear of the headstock. Available in a variety of eye-catching colors and equipped with an L.R. Baggs⢠VTC under-saddle pickup and preamp system, this exceptional guitar is stage and studio-ready from the moment you take it out of the included hardshell case. The Epiphone J-180 LS is available worldwide in Ebony, Pink, and Frost Blue. Exclusive colors, available only on www.epiphone.com, include Kerry Green and Lavender.
Teamwork makes the dream work for the Charleston, South Carolina, twosome, who trade off multi-instrumental duties throughout their sets.
Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have been making music as Shovels & Rope since 2008. The husband-and-wife duo from South Carolina specialize in rootsy, bluesy rock, Americana, and alt-country, but they donāt confine themselves to traditional two-piece arrangements. They switch off on vocal, guitar, percussion, and synth duty throughout their shows, orchestrating a full-band ruckus with all available limbs.
Their seventh full-length, Something Is Working Up Above My Head, released in September last year, and while touring in support of it, they stopped at Nashvilleās Brooklyn Bowl in late February. PGās John Bohlinger caught up with Trent before the gig to see what tools he and Hearst use to maintain their musical juggling act.
Brought to you by DāAddario.Black Bird
Trentās not a guitar snob: Generally speaking, he plays whatever he can get his hands on. While playing Eddie Vedderās Ohana Fest, someone loaned him this Gretsch Black Falcon, and he fell in love with it. He likes its size compared to the broader White Falcon. Itās also the bandās only electric, so if it goes down, itās back to acoustic. Hearst takes turns on it, too.
Trent loads the heaviest strings he can onto it, which is a set of .013s. It lives in standard tuning.
Ol' Faithful
As Trent explains, he and Hearst have done some DIY decorating on this beautiful Gibson J-45āitās adorned with sweat droplets, stains, and fingernail dust. It runs direct to the venueās front-of-house system with an LR Baggs pickup. This one is strung with Martin heavy or medium gauge strings; lighter ones are too prone to snapping under Trentās heavy picking hand (which holds a Dunlop Max-Grip .88 mm pick). And it rolls around in an Enki tour case.
On Call
These second-stringersāa Loar archtop and an LR Baggs-equipped Recording Kingāare on hand in case of broken strings or other malfunctions.
Need for Tweed
Trent doesnāt trust amps with too many knobs, so this tweed Fender Blues Junior does the trick. It can get fairly loud, so thereās a Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box on hand to tame it for some stages.
Shovels & Rope's Pedalboard
Because Trent and Hearst trade off bass, guitar, keys, and percussion duties, all four of their limbs are active through the set. Whoever is on guitars works this board, with an MXR Blue Box, Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff, EarthQuaker Devices Hummingbird, and Boss OC-5, plus a pair of Walrus Canvas Tuners for the electric and acoustic. Utility boxes on the board include a Walrus Canvas Passive Re-Amp, Radial J48, Livewire ABY1, and a Mesa Stowaway input buffer.
A Roland PK-5 MIDI controller, operated by foot, sits on the lower edge of the board. It controls the board for āThing 2,ā one of two MicroKORG synths onstage.
Thing 1 and Thing 2
Thereās no one backstage helping Hearst and Trent cook up all their racket; they handle every sound themselves, manually. During the first few sets of a tour, youāre liable to see some headaches, like forgetting to switch synth patches during a song, but eventually they hit a rhythm.
Affectionately given Seuss-ian nicknames, this pair of microKORGs handles bass notes through the set, among other things, via the foot-controlled PK5. āThing 1ā is set up at the drum station, and runs through a board with an EHX Nano Big Muff, EHX Bass9, EHX Nano Holy Grail, and a Radial Pro DI. A Walrus Aetos keeps them all powered up.
The board for āThing 2,ā beside the guitar amps, includes an EHX Mel9 and Bass9 powered by a Truetone 1 SPOT Pro, plus a Radial ProD2.
Featuring a newly-voiced circuit with more compression and versatility, these pedals are hand-crafted in Los Angeles for durability.
Messiah Guitars custom shop has launched a pair of new pedals: The Eddie Boostdrive Session Edition and Lilā Ed Session Drive.
The two pedals are full-size and mini-sized versions of a newly-voiced circuit based on Messiahās successful Eddie Boostdrive. The two new āSessionā pedals feature more compression and versatility in the overall tone, and showcase Messiahās ongoing collaboration with Nashville session guitarist Eddie Haddad.
The new Session Boostdrive schematic includes a fine-tuned EQ section (eliminating the need for the Tight switch on the earlier Boostdrive) and two independently operated circuits: a single-knob booster, and a dual-mode drive featuring a 3-band EQ. The booster consists of a single-stage MOSFET transistor providing boost ranging from -3dB to 28dB. At low settings, the boost adds sparkle to the tone, while a fully cranked setting will send your amp to a fuzzy territory. Thebooster engagement is indicated by a purple illuminated foot switch.
The overdrive contains a soft-clipped op-amp stage, inspired by a screamer-style circuit. The pedal includes a classic Silicon clipping mode (when activated, the pedalās indicator light is blue)and an LED mode for a more open, amp-like break up (indicator light is red).
The active 3-band EQ is highly interactive and capable of emulating many popular drive sounds. Although both effects can be used separately, engaging them simultaneously produces juicy tones that will easily cut through the mix. Both new pedals accept a standard 9V pedal power supply with negative center pin.
āI love my original Boostdrive,ā says Haddad, ābut I wanted to explore the circuit and see if we could give it more focused features. This would make it more straightforward for guitarists who prefer simplicity in their drive pedals. The boost is super clean and loud in all the right waysā¦it can instantly sweeten up an amp and add more heft and sparkle to the drive section.ā
Like their custom guitars and amplifiers, Messiahās pedals are hand-crafted in Los Angeles for durability and guaranteed quality.
The Lilā Ed Session Drive pedal includes:
- 5-knob controls, a 2-way mode side switch
- Durable, space-saving cast aluminum alloy 1590A enclosure with fun artwork
- True bypass foot switch
- Standard 9V/100mA pedal power input
The Eddie Session Edition pedal features:
- 6-knob controls, a 2-way mode switch; space-saving top-side jacks
- Durable, cast aluminum alloy 125B enclosure with fun artwork
- Easy to see, illuminated optical true bypass foot switches
- Standard 9V/100mA pedal power input
The Eddie Boostdrive Session Edition retails for $249.00, and the Lilā Ed Session Drive for$179.
For more information, please visit messiahguitars.com.
Eddie BoostDrive and Lil' Ed pedal review with Eddie & Jax - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Joe Glaser has been a pillar of Nashville's guitar community for decades. He's a man that dreams in mechanical terms often coming up ideas while deep in a REM cycle. Through his various companies he's designed, developed, and released a handful of "blue water" solutions to age-old instrument problems making the tolerable terrific. In this comprehensive visit to Glaser's home base, we get up close and personal with several of the products that enhance intonation and playability without disrupting the guitar's integrity.
In addition, Music City Bridge CEO Joshua Rawlings introduces us to a couple software ventures. Shop Flow helps increase productivity and efficiency for guitar builders and repair shops, while Gear Check aims to help guitarist's keep track of their collection and its history. Join John Bohlinger as he goes inside this inconspicuous six-string sanctuary.
With 700 watts of power, built-in overdrive, versatile EQ options, and multiple output choices, this bass head is designed to deliver unparalleled clarity and performance in a lightweight, rugged package.
PowerStage 700 Bass is compact and durable for easy transport yet powerful enough to fill any venue. This world-class bass head can also serve as the ideal clean power platform to amplify your preamp or modeler. Streamline your rig without compromising your sound and focus on what truly mattersāyour music.
Designed by Seymour Duncanās legendary engineer Kevin Beller, a lifelong bass player, this 700-watt bass head delivers unparalleled clarity and performance in a lightweight, rugged package. Whether plugging in on stage or in the studio, PowerStage 700Bass provides tight low-end and rich harmonics, with a footswitchable built-in overdrive for an extra layer of sonic versatility.
A robust, bass-optimized EQ (treble, low mid, high mid, bass and presence) tailors your sound to any room. Need to switch between active and passive basses? Youāre covered - PowerStage700 Bass includes a convenient -10db pad control. Multiple output options (¼ā, Speakon, XLRDI, and headphone) work for any setup, whether powering cabinets, going direct to a PA, or recording straight into your audio interface.
- 700 Watts of Power at 4 ohms⢠Preamp voiced for a wide range of vintage & amp; modern bass sounds
- Built-in Overdrive that can go from a light vintage saturation to full-throttle bone-grinding distortion (with optional foot-switchable control)
- Effects loop allows for post-preamp processing and easy integration with modelers and preamp pedals
- 4 band EQ, Sweepable mid controls, and presence button offer dynamic tone shaping possibilities
- Aux input
- Super lightweight and durable chassis for easy transport with our optional gig bag or rack ears.
For more information, please visit seymourduncan.com.