October 8, 2018, Vancouver, BC – Radial Engineering is pleased to announce that Craig “Hutch” Hutchison has joined the company as a Senior Design Engineer. In this role, Hutch will be working with the engineering team and product management to develop the next generation of Radial Engineering products.
"Like many working professionals, Radial has been on my radar for over 20 years." says Hutch. "I’ve always respected the products and their quality. I took special interest in the company when I heard about the Key-Largo keyboard mixer and the new leadership of Mike Belitz. The company is propelling forward and I’m excited to be working with new products that leverage the latest technology while meeting the needs of professionals."
Hutch joins Radial Engineering with over twenty years of audio design experience. He began his career as a FOH mix engineer for the Guess Who and Burton Cummings. He later moved on to the Chief Engineer position at the world-famous Electric Lady Studios in New York. Eventually he found his way to Manley Labs, where he became the chief designer responsible for legendary products such as the Massive Passive EQ, Variable MU, SLAM!, VoxBox and more. After several years at Manley, Hutch was called upon by Rupert Neve to join the team at RND, where he spent 5 years working under Rupert on a variety of products. He has also consulted and designed for several other companies including Fredenstein, Adamson, SSL, A-Designs, Waves, and BAE.
The products that Hutch has designed in full or substantially contributed to have won over fifteen TEC awards with over twenty nominations. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading audio circuit designers.
Want more of our stories on Google?
Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
In the world of rock guitar, Glenn Tilbrook may be the ultimate IYKYK (“if you know, you know,” for us old-schoolers). Because anyone familiar with Squeeze, the band he co-founded in the 1970s, is aware that hiding in plain sight alongside his songwriting and lead vocals are some masterful guitar hooks, solos, and arrangements. In a Tilbrook appreciation titled “Humble Guitar God,” CultureSonar editor Al Cattabiani declared, “Simply put, he’s a quiet monster.”
Squeeze has been termed new wave, pub rock, power pop, post-punk, and more—always a sign that a good rock ’n’ roll band has multiple tools in its shed. In its 50-plus years, surviving breakups, hiatuses, and wholesale personnel changes, Tilbrook and Chris Difford have been its only constants. “Chris and I were writers, first and foremost, and we were an exciting rock band,” Tilbrook reflects. “We were probably better than most of our contemporaries, I would say. We were more rock ’n’ roll, and we could deliver as a band onstage.”
They still do. Though they had more success in the U.K. than in the States, folks everywhere seem able to hum “Tempted.” They were making videos as far back as their 1978 single, “Take Me I’m Yours,” three years before MTV came along, and were on American Bandstand in ’82. Top 10 hits in England like “Cool for Cats” and “Up the Junction” didn’t dent American charts, but crowds large and small sing along to them—as well as “Hourglass,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Black Coffee in Bed,” “Is That Love,” and “Pulling Mussels (from the Shell).”
In 1973, 18-year-old Chris Difford put a wanted ad in the window of a sweetshop in Blackheath, Southeast London. It sought a guitarist with influences like the Kinks, Lou Reed, and Glenn Miller. Tilbrook, three years younger, was the only person who responded.
“When I tour, and almost always in the studio, I mostly use my black ’66 Tele,” Tilbrook says.
They determined that Glenn was better equipped to put music to Chris’s lyrics. They were called “the new Lennon and McCartney,” an appellation nobody cares to be saddled with. In terms of a working model, they more closely resemble Bernie Taupin and Elton John. “Yes, exactly like that, in that order,” Tilbrook says. “Each one handwritten on the page, and I go off and do my thing, write the chord changes.”
Difford rarely offers any direction, leaving Tilbrook to his own devices. Glenn recounts, “When I was growing up, there were songbooks that just had the lyrics of the hit songs of the day, and that was a lot of how I learned. I could figure out how they went. If I didn’t know the song, I’d make up my own tune. I’ve written some stuff, but my lyrics aren’t very good. Chris was more developed as a songwriter.”
A window into the early stages of that partnership is the new Trixies. “It’s a set of songs that we demo-ed in 1974,” Tilbrook details, “obviously when we were hoping to get signed, but that didn’t happen. I’m honestly amazed at what we did at that point. It was more sophisticated than stuff we did quite a few years after that. Our manager said, ‘You have to simplify; otherwise, people won’t know who you are.’ We were all over the place, but the band couldn’t play it then. Now we can play it, so it’s really gratifying to see the path and development.”
Re-recorded with the current lineup, the new release is a concept album about a nightclub named Trixies. “‘Good Riddance,’ I actually did eight solos, and then I stitched it together,” Tilbrook says. “It reminded me of listening to shortwave radio as a kid, with stations drifting in and out. It’s my Gibson ES-125. I write 80 percent on keyboard—a lot of this on an RMI.”
“Chris [Difford] and I were writers, first and foremost, and we were an exciting rock band.”
A child's first album and concert may not be pivotal, but they’re often revealing. “Last Train to Clarksville,” with the layered guitars of Louie Shelton, Gerry McGee, and Wayne Irwin, prompted Tilbrook to fork over six shillings and eight pence for the single. “What a great record,” he exclaims 60 years later. Despite the controversial revelation that the Monkees didn’t play on their records, he declares, “They were a massive thing for me. To me, it absolutely was real. I think they made great pop records. The first concert I went to was at a folk club when I was 13, to see an Irish duo, Tír na nÓg. I was absolutely enchanted by them. Sort of whimsical folk music. Then the first bigger concert I saw was T. Rex. ‘Bang a Gong’ had just come out, and Electric Warrior, and that just blew my mind. Marc Bolan was such a weird songwriter and player. He wasn’t very good, but he was great at the same time. And the effect he had on the audience was also part of the experience and atmosphere. It was electrifying. I was literally buzzing.”
Bolan’s influence can be heard on “It’s Over” from Trixies. “The house band, the Jaguars, are through the prism of T. Rex, which was quite English. Bolan’s solos are really odd. I don’t know how he gets to the places he does and gets away with it. But he does.”
Sometimes as important as a first guitar is a tape recorder. “I started playing when I was six or seven, and I put a lot of time into it,” Tilbrook says. “I was fascinated, and there was music in the house, like Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, George Shearing. My nylon-string guitar didn’t have a make. I very much regretted painting it with wall paint when I was 11 or 12. It was still playable, but something changed about the sound, regrettably.”
Caption: Squeeze 2026 (l-r): keyboardist Stephen Large, backing vocalist Danica Dora, drummer Simon Hanson, Tilbrook, percussionist Steve Smith, bassist Owen Biddle, Chris Difford, pedal steel guitarist Melvin Duffy
Photo by Dean Chalkley
He continues, “Recently I’ve gone back to playing a nylon-string. It has such a lovely, emotive sound. I can remember the exact date that my dad bought me a cassette recorder—December 19, 1967. It was everything I wanted. The fact that I could record myself was pure pleasure. I loved learning, and by the time I was 12, I could play pretty well. I’ve had a studio since ’93, and the first things I could afford to work with were ADATs. They were absolutely brilliant and very game-changing for me.”
Squeeze’s 1977 EP, Packet of Three, and self-titled debut album the following year were produced by Velvet Underground alumnus John Cale. “Our manager got him to produce us,” Glenn explains. “Chris was into Velvet Underground before I was, but I really liked them, too. John didn’t like the pop side of us, and he didn’t much like our songs, and threw them out. But when he was engaged and onto something, he was one of the most inspirational people I ever worked with.”
Two subsequent albums were produced by John Wood, while Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian took over for 1981’s East Side Story. “Elvis got us all working together, getting good takes,” Tilbrook offers. One of those takes was Costello’s decision to have keyboardist Paul Carrack, who’d replaced Jools Holland, take over lead vocals on “Tempted.” The song reflects Tilbrook’s affinity for the ’60s soul of Stax and Motown. “All that is in there,” he says. “Obviously, ’60s music is the bedrock of what I learned growing up. I don’t want to stay there as a writer, but it’s part of my DNA.”
“In the ’80s, guitar was such an uncool instrument in the U.K. But I had moments.”
Calling Tilbrook underrated as a guitarist barely covers it—as evidenced by everything from the muscular solo in “Pulling Mussels” to the restraint of “Black Coffee,” the staccato double-stops of “Is That Love,” and the say-it-all-in-13-seconds brilliance of “In Quintessence.” “I’ve not pushed myself forward as a guitar player,” he admits. “I think I do that more now. I wasn’t embarrassed, but in the ’80s, guitar was such an uncool instrument in the U.K. But I had moments.”
Some guitar influences he cites are surprising, and not the typical Clapton, Beck, Page. “I liked Kelly Joe Phelps a lot,” Tilbrook says. “Hendrix is my first big love, and my parents loved Wes Montgomery; I do too. Amos Garrett is another, and I’m a big Willie Nelson fan as a guitarist. In 1981, I went to see him with Elvis, and it was one of those defining moments for me. His voice, his songwriting, his artistry. I understood, with the help of Elvis, that all those barriers—‘We do that, we don’t do that’—are all nonsense. It’s delivering from the heart, and anyone can do that if you’re receptive to it.”
Tilbrook’s solos are smart without being pretentious, clever without being cute. And like his role in the band, they’re composed. Worked-out solos often get a bad rap, as if one must jump off a high dive and improvise or it’s cheating. But countless composed solos (Harrison, Fogerty, even Page) rank among rock’s most iconic. Tilbrook points out, “From Cool for Cats [1979] onward, I started working on constructing solos. I was influenced by Tony Peluso, who played the great solo on the Carpenters’ ‘Goodbye to Love.’ I love the melodic element of it. I began really working on a solo and then cutting it together. And then I’d learn it. That would be the solo—not improvised.”
Photo by Sean Scheidt
For “Another Nail in My Heart,” he continues, “it’s such an unusual place for a solo, coming after the first verse and chorus. After I got the first bit right, I’d figure out where it’s going to go. That was an afternoon’s work to get it down. But it sounded interesting, and it sounded like it was part of the song then. It occupied another part of musical narrative. That really nailed the benefit of doing that.”
Although he doesn’t consider himself a gearhead, Tilbrook has an impressive collection of guitars. “I’ve never gotten rid of anything unless it’s been stolen. My first Strat, a ’58, which is still the best Strat I ever had, I bought from a guy in Steeleye Span. I used it on the early Squeeze albums, and then it got stolen in Liverpool. It still upsets me.”
Tilbrook continues, “When I tour, and almost always in the studio, I mostly use my black ’66 Tele. I use the B-bender sparingly, but it’s an integrated part of my playing now. The first record I used it on properly was ‘Hourglass.’ I used to use Strats, but since I went to the Tele, it really defines my sound. My ’54 Telecaster is the one that Elvis gave me in 1981 or ’82. Extremely generous of him. It’s a beautiful guitar. I’ve also got a lovely ’66 ES-345. It has such an amazing tone. I started using it in the studio, and it sends my playing to a different place, which I love.”
“Sixties music is the bedrock of what I learned growing up. I don’t want to stay there as a writer, but it’s part of my DNA.”
Tilbrook grew up playing nylon-string but switched to steel-string early on. “Now I have a Martin gut-string that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with,” he says. “And I’ve got one of those Jerry Jones electric sitar guitars. I used it on ‘Nirvana,’ from [2015’s] Cradle to the Grave. You can’t use those too often, though. I have a 12-string Taylor that says ‘Red Thunder’ on the neck. It was made for Robby Romero, front man of the band Red Thunder, but he didn’t want it.”
Apart from Squeeze’s ups and downs, including a 1984 splinter group and album, Difford & Tilbrook, Glenn has released a dozen solo records, including a series of demos, the side hustle Glenn Tilbrook & the Fluffers, and a collaboration with blues/pub-rockers Nine Below Zero. His most recent offering was 2014’s Happy Ending. “I wrote most of it, but there were a few I did with Chris Braide,” he says. “I wanted to do an album without drums, and it’s sort of referencing some of the early Tyrannosaurus Rex things, like Moroccan hand drums.”
When touring as a solo artist, Glenn manages to represent familiar Squeeze numbers with just one guitar—acoustic or electric. In November 2001, he set out on an American tour behind the wheel of a Cruise Master RV motor home, a route he still employs. Thankfully, his first excursion was filmed for the delightful documentary Glenn Tilbrook: One for the Road, released in 2004. “The thing about touring and seeing this country and being there was a great influence on me—as opposed to being in whatever tour bus, which is sort of isolating,” he says.
Another benefit? “Seeing what kind of musician people thought I was from Squeeze,” he continues. “First of all, to experience that decline in your career. We were never a massive band here, but we sold tickets. And then not, really. And back to playing clubs. I always knew that I loved it, but it was then that I knew I really loved it. Like, I’m good with that. I didn’t feel bitter about it. I’m very lucky to play music.”
Trixies brings the band back full circle. “When we split up last time,” Tilbrook says, “seeing Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds tour and the amazing work that his band did, I thought, ‘If ever Squeeze get back together again, we should be like that.’” For the new tour, he continues, “We’ve been rehearsing the songs in the order they are on the record. It’s the first record where we thought, ‘You know what? We might just do all of it.’”
RhPf Electronics has introduced the Mo(s)Ghoul, a reactive high-gain MOSFET distortion designed for guitarists who want saturation that feels alive. Built around stacked MOSFET stages for organic clipping, the Mo(s)Ghoul delivers dense, layered distortion that retains clarity, articulation, and dynamic control.
The circuit builds distortion progressively through four cascading MOSFET stages. Saturation develops naturally, adding warmth and harmonic bloom before expanding into powerful, fully saturated sustain for a thick, immersive drive that feels responsive under the fingers. The gain stages progressively build stacked distortion that cleans up smoothly with your guitar’s volume knob.
Key features:
Layered, 90s-scale high-gain voice: Thick, harmonically rich saturation with focused upper mids, controlled low end, long musical sustain, and the depth of stacked guitar textures.
Three-band EQ: Moves the voice from scooped, cutting attack to dense, mid-forward authority, and from smooth warmth to sharp, defined edge.
Top-mounted input/output jacks, true bypass switching, and standard 9V center-negative operation.
What defines the Mo(s)Ghoul is its reactive behavior. Light picking produces articulate, open tones. Digging in increases compression and sustain in real time.
The three-band EQ interacts directly with the gain structure, shaping the distortion’s density and focus as it evolves. The Mid control acts as the center of gravity for the distortion, allowing players to move from scooped, aggressive rhythm tones to focused, mid-forward lead voices with a single adjustment. The EQ remains controlled and musical even at higher gain settings.
Whether used for tight rhythm crunch, sustained leads, or stacked drive textures, the Mo(s)Ghoul delivers long, musical sustain with controlled low end and smooth highs. It is designed for players who want high gain that breathes and responds.
The Mo(s)Ghoul carries a street price of $179 USD. For more information visit rhpfelectronics.com.
The guitarist for the classic rock revivalists proves old amps, paired with even older guitars, is still a recipe for tonal success.
Tyler Armstrong, lead guitarist for St. Louis, Missouri, rockers the Band Feel, recently invited PG’s John Bohlinger out to Smoakstack Studios in Berry Hill, just south of Nashville, for this Rundown of the axes, amps, and effects he’s using to conjure the classic rock ’n’ roll sounds of the ’70s. Aside from his pedals, Armstrong sticks to the tried-and-true recipe: American guitars through British amps. Scroll for some highlights of the Rundown, and watch the video to get the nose-to-tail treatment.
This all-original 1959 Gibson Flying V is on loan from Gibson’s Certified Vintage program. Armstrong secured it for some recent studio work, and attests that out of five he test-drove that were built in the same period, this one is the best of the bunch. He’s gotta give it back, right? “We’ll see what happens,” Armstrong grins.
Friend from ’53
Armstrong acquired this “super messed-up” 1953 FenderTelecaster with the help of a friend in Illinois. The warped neck was heat-treated to make it playable, and the body has been contoured on the back and front to give it a Jeff Beck feeling. It’s kept in open-G tuning for some live performances.
Dynamic Duo
<p>In studio, Armstrong uses a 1965 Vox AC15 2x12 combo and a Marshall JMP Super Bass. When playing live, he runs the JMP alongside a 1963 Fender Bassman.<br/></p>
Tyler Armstrong’s Pedals
<p>Among Armstrong’s select studio weapons are a Sonic Research ST-200 tuner, Mythos Oracle, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone EH4800, Mythos Luxury Drive, EarthQuaker Devices Swiss Things, R2R Electric Pre-Amp with an extra knob for EQ, <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Phase90--mxr-m101-phase-90-phaser-pedal?irclickid=Sy72HhyqAxycWp1UwTUUjyKJUkp2l10ArRo1X80&irgwc=1&utm_source=Impact&utm_medium=Premier%20Guitar&utm_campaign=Online%20Tracking%20Link" target="_blank">MXR Phase 90</a>, vintage Maestro PS-1A, and an <a href="https://www.premierguitar.com/tag/lr-baggs">L.R. Baggs</a> Voiceprint D.I.</p>
Epiphone today announces a refreshed and expanded lineup within the Inspired by Gibson Collection, delivering elevated playability, upgraded hardware and electronics, and refined body contours across a suite of classic, Gibson-inspired instruments. Designed to bring authentic design DNA to players at every level, the 2026 collection blends timeless style with modern reliability, premium feel, and refined performance, making these guitars perfect for every player and every stage. The Epiphone Inspired by Gibson acoustic lineup is now available worldwide at Gibson Garage locations, via authorized Epiphone dealers, and on Epiphone.com.
The refreshed Epiphone lineup spans some of the most iconic silhouettes in the history of acoustic guitar, including the Hummingbird™ Standard EC, Hummingbird Standard, J-45™ Standard EC, J-45 Standard, and L-00 Standard. Each model has been thoughtfully updated with rosewood fretboards, high‑quality hardware and electronics, and improved body contours and specifications—delivering the unmistakable feel of a classic with the performance demands of today’s stage and studio.
“With the 2026 Inspired by Gibson Acoustic Collection, our goal was simple: capture the heart and soul of these iconic instruments and bring them to every kind of player,” says Aljon Go, Epiphone Product Manager, Nashville, Tennessee. “This lineup delivers the heritage, feel, and character people expect, paired with the performance, stability, and consistency today’s musicians rely on. We built these guitars for players. Whether you’re writing your first song, stepping onto your first stage, or cutting your next record, these acoustics are ready. Honestly, the best way to understand what we’ve done is to pick one up. Feel it. Strum it. Hear the difference for yourself. The Inspired by Gibson Acoustic Collection brings authentic Gibson DNA to players everywhere—no compromises, just great guitars.”
Hummingbird Standard EC
Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird Standard EC in Natural
The Gibson Hummingbird was Gibson’s first square-shouldered acoustic model and has been one of the world’s best-loved and most instantly identifiable acoustic guitars since it was first introduced in 1960. Renowned for its versatility, it’s equally at home playing first-position chords or punchy acoustic lead lines, and has been used in a wide range of musical genres by countless artists.
Now, Epiphone is very proud to introduce the Hummingbird Standard EC, an Inspired by Gibson version of the world-famous Hummingbird with some notable updates that make this iconic guitar better than ever. The Hummingbird Standard EC features all solid wood construction, including a solid mahogany back and sides that are paired with a solid spruce top, which is the classic Hummingbird tonewood recipe that delivers all the sweet tones the Hummingbird is famous for. The body features a cutaway that makes this ‘bird even more expressive and allows for easier access to the upper regions of the fretboard. The mahogany neck is equipped with a rosewood fretboard that is outfitted with 20 standard frets and adorned with beautiful mother-of-pearl split parallelogram inlays. The belly-up bridge is also rosewood, and the saddle and nut are bone. The newly redesigned pickguard is the epoxy style and features the iconic hummingbird, butterfly, and flowers graphics that are a visual hallmark of the Hummingbird. Quality Grover® Rotomatic® tuners ensure solid tuning stability, so you can spend more time playing and less time tuning up. When you do need a tune-up, the onboard Fishman® electronics include a built-in tuner, as well as side-mounted controls for volume and EQ, making this Hummingbird ready for use on-stage and in the studio. A premium gig bag is also included to help keep the Hummingbird Standard EC safe and for easy grab-and-go transport to your next session, rehearsal, or gig.
Hummingbird Standard
Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird Standard in Cherry Sunburst
The Hummingbird Standard is one of the most instantly recognizable and remarkable acoustic guitars ever built. First released by Gibson in 1960, it was their first square shoulder acoustic dreadnought model. The stylish and versatile Hummingbird was quickly and enthusiastically embraced by numerous musicians across a wide range of genres. Now, Epiphone is proud to introduce a newly updated Hummingbird Standard as part of the Inspired by Gibson Collection, which delivers high-quality versions of the classic Gibson models at accessible prices.
The Hummingbird Standard is crafted using all solid tonewoods, so the tone will continue to improve as the guitar ages. The back and sides of the body are made of solid mahogany, while the top is crafted from solid spruce, for the classic tonewood recipe that has made the sound of Hummingbird iconic. The neck is also made from one piece of solid mahogany and is now equipped with a genuine rosewood fretboard with 20 standard frets and classy-looking mother-of-pearl split parallelogram inlays, one of the visual hallmarks of the classic Hummingbird design. The neck has a comfortable Rounded C profile and is glued to the body and attached with a tapered dovetail joint. The 60s Kalamazoo headstock is adorned with the Epiphone logo and Gibson crown inlaid in mother-of-pearl and equipped with a bone nut and high-quality Epiphone Deluxe tuners with a gold finish and Keystone buttons, ensuring solid, stable tuning. Other classic Hummingbird features include an epoxy-style tortoise Hummingbird pickguard with iconic graphics, a reverse belly rosewood bridge with a bone saddle and ivory plastic bridge pins, and a beautiful Cherry sunburst finish.
The Hummingbird Standard comes with Fishman™ electronics, including an S-Core under-saddle pickup and Fishman Presys VT preamp with soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls that are fast and easy to access for the player while remaining nearly invisible to the audience. It comes packaged in an Epiphone premium gig bag to help keep it safe and for easy grab-and-go transport to wherever your music takes you.
J-45 Standard EC
Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J-45 Standard EC in Vintage Sunburst
The Gibson J-45 has been the cornerstone of Gibson’s round shoulder acoustic lineup since it was first introduced in 1942. It is the most popular acoustic guitar model ever made by the company. Renowned for its no-nonsense practicality and wide acceptance and use across genres, it quickly earned the nickname, “The Workhorse.” Now, Epiphone is proud to introduce the J-45 Standard EC, which is part of the Inspired by Gibson Collection and features all of the tone utility of the J-45 Standard, as well as the advantages of a cutaway body for even more expressiveness and upper-fret accessibility.
The J-45 Standard EC features a round shoulder cutaway body with a back and sides made from solid mahogany. The mahogany body is paired with a solid spruce top for the classic tonewood recipe that is still at the heart of the J-45 design. Since it is made from solid tonewoods, the sound of this guitar will only improve as it ages. The one-piece mahogany neck is glued to the body and attaches with a tapered dovetail joint. The neck has a comfortable Rounded C profile and is topped with a rosewood fretboard with 20 standard frets and mother-of-pearl dot inlays. The headstock features the popular 60s Kalamazoo shape and is equipped with precise and smooth-turning Grover® Rotomatic® tuners and a bone nut, and is adorned with the Epiphone logo inlaid in mother-of-pearl. The Epiphone J-45 Standard EC also comes with a Fishman® S-Core under-saddle piezo pickup and PreSys II preamp preinstalled, so it’s ready for live performance as well as studio recording. The preamp features side-mounted controls for volume, bass, treble, and a phase switch, while a combination battery box and endpin output jack make battery replacement easy. It even has an electronic tuner built in so you can quickly and easily check your tuning, even in the middle of a gig. A premium gig bag is also included to help keep the J-45 Standard EC safe when not in use and allows for easy grab-and-go transport to your next jam session, rehearsal, or gig.
J-45 Standard
Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J-45 Standard in Vintage Sunburst
The J-45 is the best-selling acoustic in the history of Gibson. Nicknamed “The Workhorse” and first introduced in 1942, this iconic acoustic guitar has become the cornerstone of its round shoulder dreadnought line. The J-45 is world-renowned for its full, balanced expression, warm bass, and excellent projection. The Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J-45 Standard has been refined to carry this legacy to new heights. The J-45 Standard delivers a sound with incredible dynamic range, warm mids, and a tight, punchy bass.
The Epiphone J-45 Standard is made with all-solid tonewoods, including solid mahogany for the back and sides, paired with a solid spruce top, delivering the classic tonal recipe that made the J-45 a player favorite. The one-piece mahogany neck has a comfortable Rounded C profile and is equipped with a rosewood fretboard with 20 standard frets and adorned with understated mother-of-pearl dot inlays. The headstock features the popular 60s Kalamazoo shape and is fitted with a bone nut and smooth-functioning Grover® Rotomatic® tuners so you can spend more time playing and less time tuning up. The belly-up bridge is also rosewood and is equipped with a bone saddle and ivory plastic bridge pins. The newly redesigned pickguard is the epoxy style and features the traditional teardrop shape, and is tortoise shell-colored.
The Epiphone J-45 Standard is equipped with a Fishman® Presys VT under-saddle pickup and preamp with volume and tone controls discretely hidden in the soundhole, where they are easy for the player to access while remaining all but invisible to the audience, so it is stage and studio-ready from the moment you take it out of the included premium gig bag. Countless players have embraced the legendary J-45 for decades, across a wide range of genres. Isn’t it time you put The Workhorse to work for you and your music?
L-00 Standard
Epiphone Inspired by Gibson L-00 Standard-Vintage Sunburst
Gibson pioneered the development of small body guitars at the beginning of the 1900s with its L-Series small body acoustic guitars. The Gibson L-00 was developed in the early 1930s and has been an industry standard small-bodied guitar for decades. These smaller Gibsons deliver a tonality that is best described in Gibson’s 1934 catalog as a sound of “perfect balance.” The smaller-bodied L-Series guitars, often referred to as parlor guitars since they were frequently played in living/sitting rooms or “parlors” of homes, have remained popular ever since.
Finally! An authentic, exceptional-playing and sounding parlor acoustic at an accessible price. Developed from the ground up by the Epiphone team in partnership with Gibson Acoustic, the L-00 Standard beautifully captures the heritage of those exemplary early Gibson models. The Epiphone L-00 Standard is crafted from all-solid tonewoods, so the sound of this guitar will continue to improve as it ages. The back and sides of the body are made from solid mahogany, which is paired with a solid spruce top, delivering a beautifully balanced tone that is great for strumming and fingerstyle playing, and will be especially appealing for country, folk, blues, Americana, and other genres. The neck is one-piece mahogany and has a comfortable, Rounded C profile. It attaches to the body with a glued-in, tapered dovetail joint. The rosewood fretboard is equipped with 19 standard frets and features understated mother-of-pearl dot inlays. The L-00 Standard has the popular 60s Kalamazoo-shaped headstock, which is fitted with a bone nut and high-quality Grover® Mini Rotomatic® tuners for solid, stable tuning. The rectangular rosewood bridge is outfitted with a bone saddle and ivory plastic bridge pins.
The L-00 Standard comes with Fishman electronics, including an S-Core under-saddle pickup and Fishman Presys VT preamp with soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls that are quick and easy for the player to access while remaining all but invisible to the audience. The L-00 Standard comes with an Epiphone premium gig bag for protection and easy grab-and-go transport.
Adam Sturgeon (fourth from left) and his bandmates in Status/Non-Status. Their new album, Big Changes, drops March 6 on You’ve Changed Records.
Adam Sturgeon, Status/Non-Status
Being left-handed has major downsides when it comes to guitars. There are very few choices available, setups are often terrible, and the better options come with reversed wiring. I've spent a lot of time building my own guitars, with various issues and inevitable failures along the way. So, it was very exciting to connect with Belvedere in building my own, fully custom leftie. Belvedere is a newer guitar company operating out of the Mile End Guitar Coop in Montreal. From highly curated woods to handwound pickups, pre- and post-build consults, I’m feeling incredibly fortunate and inspired to work with them!
Obsession: Lately, I’ve also been totally obsessed with tattoos. Again. There are several shops and quite the community of artists in my neighborhood, and I’ve been making new friends and getting renditions of some of my favorite personal items tattooed all over my legs—a coffee mug, old guitar pedal, even a hockey skate.
I have gone to NAMM and other vintage shows for a number of years now. I’ve played the best of the big-name manufacturers, as well as boutique guitars from across the country … and other continents. As a lifelong musician and a wanna-be luthier myself, I honestly can say that my favorite builder is none other than Anthony Sims and the guys at Lucky Dog Guitars. They produce the best-quality, best-sounding, best-looking, and best-playing guitars that I’ve found. Even though I’m no longer on the road, and the guitars that come in for setups or other jobs are ones I work on for my own enjoyment, I had to buy a Lucky Dog for myself. For playability, it’s the standard that I strive for when I send one out. I won’t even mention what great guys Anthony, John, and Eric are.
Obsession: A few years ago, I attended the Amigo Guitar Show that comes to Franklin, TN, each year. This show had thousands of vintage instruments, treasures really. One vendor had a $60,000 price tag on a Martin dated around 1918, if I remember correctly, and he looked at me and said, “Pick it up and play it.” I’ve been obsessed ever since.
Ted Drozdowski, Contributing Editor
Ian Webber
For sound, imagination, and vibe, Chris Mills from Zuzu Guitars in Pennsylvania is my guy. Chris built my main instrument, which I call the Green Monster, and no two of his guitars are alike. The Monster’s finish is a Behr color called fish pond, the mahogany body and perfect-for-me neck are hand cut, and Chris makes his own exceptional pickups, which, with coil splitting, give me the core tones of a Les Paul and a Strat, with a Strat’s weight and balance. If you check zuzuguitars.wordpress.com, you can see all of his work, which is trad and rad at the same time.
Obsession: Tremolo. I’m in a Pops Staples phase … again. But, I love adding EHX’s Pico Atomic Cluster to it, for a William Burroughs approach to melody.
Brett Petrusek, Director of Advertising
Brett with a Rock N Roll Relics Revenge model.
Rock N Roll Relics for their unmistakable visual signature, cool energy, and rock ’n’ roll attitude. Their shop in North Hollywood has an old-school record store vibe. It reminds me of the early San Dimas Charvel era. Every guitar I’ve picked up from Billy Rowe and Co. has always just felt great, like an old friend. You don’t need to spend a lot of time getting to know the guitar; it just works with you right away. With custom finishes, custom colors, and premium parts, like ratio tuners by Graph Tech, Jescar Frets, TonePros bridges, paper in oil capacitors, and multiple pickup configurations, you can make it your own. It’s also cool to know that no two guitars are the same—when it’s yours it’s uniquely yours.
A totally different style, but I must also give a shout out to Tonfuchs guitars from Germany. I was happy to discover and see a few of these guitars in the wild at the 2026 NAMM show; the builds were impeccable. Uwe Schölch is an artisan/craftsman of the highest order. Check his guitars at tonfuchs-guitars.com, and on IG at: @tonfuchs_guitar.
A Tonfuchs T-style.
Obsession: Currently in the studio working on my band’s second album and I kinda want a Flying V. So yeah, recording and Flying Vs.
