A finish made up of apple-red satin, Rustoleum red glitter, and Magic Marble paint echo the playful spirit of Leroy the cat, who appears on the headstock in his more dangerous guise.
Reader: Cary Cummings
Hometown: Seattle, WA Guitar: Catocaster
“The problem with cats is they get the exact same look whether they see a moth or an axe murderer.” —Edgar Allen Poe
Leroy had the courage to live on this earth for 19 1/2 years.
I had no idea what to expect when we arrived at the live animal will-call area at the airport. I knew I was picking up a 12-week-old Burmese kitten. When they brought out his little crate carrier, I was nervous and excited. But when I opened the door to peek inside and greet our new arrival, I saw a shockingly tiny, scared little creature that could fit in the palm of my hand, and I felt so bad that he was put through such an ordeal. He seemed pretty calm about the whole thing.
“Leroy liked flashy things, chaos, and movement.”
At his full-grown eight pounds, Leroy was the patriarch of our household and animal family. Over the course of his days, he lived and played with six different labrador retrievers, outliving three of them. He was everyone’s buddy and tormentor in equal measure. He slept on his bed when he wanted, curled up on a dog’s tummy, or on one of our heads. He loved to play fetch, knock over unattended glasses full of water, and relished a 90 mph sneak attack as we descended the stairs. He loved us, but often reminded us that we really lived in his world and he could take us out at any time. If he had been as big as one of the dogs it would have been terrifying. Sometimes it was terrifying anyway.
I built this guitar to remember and honor Leroy. He liked flashy things, chaos, and movement. He also loved “helping” change guitar strings and occasionally trying to swallow them. This build consists of a S-style poplar body from Ultratouch Guitars in Texas and a Warmoth quarter-sawn S-style neck with a Clapton carve and 6150 frets. I sprayed the body with a primer coat, followed by apple-red satin, and finished it off with Rustoleum red glitter to give it some sparkle. To add interest and movement, and a little chaos, I dipped it into a 32-gallon garbage can filled with water topped with a swirl of Magic Marble paint, finally sealing it in with 10 coats of wipe-on poly.
The finishing touch included an orange anodized pickguard, Wilkenson/Gotoh VSVG tremolo bridge, Wilkenson low gauss, blade style pickups, 250k CTS pots, 0.015 uF ceramic disk capacitors, Gotoh gold tuners, and a dangerous cat decal on the headstock.
I like to imagine Leroy somewhere over the rainbow bridge playing with his friends: Charlie, Dewey, and Olive. I hope to find them again one sunny day. I know Leroy would approve of this guitar and probably give me another sneaky needle-toothed surprise attack to celebrate.
From Tom Bukovac’s first-year ’58 to Larry Carlton’s iconic ’69 and Molly Miller’s well-worn ’78, this PG best-of Rig Rundown celebrates the artists who made the ES-335 their own. Hear Charlie Worsham’s Vince Gill gift story, Tim Pierce’s player-grade philosophy, and Sturgill Simpson’s stage-shaking tones—plus why so many pros trust this semi-hollow classic.
Gibson ES-335 Satin Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar Satin Cherry
Today, Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) unveils “Loser,” the second song of this new era. LISTEN HERE. The track continues Parker’s fearless exploration of rhythm, texture, and sonic experimentation, building on the meticulous studio approach that has defined his career. The single is accompanied by a music video directed by KRISTOFSKI, and starring actor/musician Joe Keery (Stranger Things, Fargo). Watch the clip HERE:
Prior to today’s release, Parker gave fans a taste of what’s to come with the release of his sprawling, drum-beat heavy “End of Summer.” It drew listeners back to the acid house summer of ’89, free parties of the mid-90s, and Australia’s bush doofs in outback paddocks. “Loser” continues Parker’s journey into new sonic territory, layering hypnotic rhythms and textures that push Tame Impala’s sound ever forward. Drawing from a rich history of dance music, his work transforms the imagined past into a sound that feels both present and eternal, reaffirming Tame Impala as one of modern music’s most visionary acts.
Kevin Parker has emerged as one of the most influential voices of the last decade. A singular artist renowned for carving out a distinct sound all of his own, Parker crafts transcendent genre-bending sonic landscapes playing every instrument and acting as writer, producer, mixer and engineer on his projects. He has been nominated for four GRAMMY awards with one win for his collaboration with Justice on 2024’s “Neverender.” In his home country of Australia, he’s racked up an impressive 13 ARIA Awards and 27 Nominations. He’s won the BRIT Award for Best International Band and scored nominations for two Billboard Music Awards and an American Music Award. Tame Impala has had numerous US Alternative Radio Top 10 songs including two #1’s for “Lost In Yesterday” and “Is It True.” Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know The Better” is part of the Billionaires Club with over 2 billion streams and the project has racked up numerous gold and platinum certifications globally.
Tame Impala has headlined festivals and arenas around the world and released four full length albums - InnerSpeaker, Lonerism, Currents and his most recent album The Slow Rush. The Slow Rush landed at #1 in multiple territories and was his highest charting album to date in both the US and UK, with 14 top 10 chart positions around the world. As a writer and producer Parker has collaborated with Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, SZA, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Mark Ronson, Gorillaz, Thundercat, Kali Uchis, 070 Shake, Rhianna, Miguel, A$AP Rocky and many more.
Experience a sprawling collection of fuzz, delay, and modulation pedals that fuel massive walls of Pscyh-Rock sound. From vintage fuzz faces to boutique builds and custom creations, look back at classic Rig Rundowns from The Flaming Lips, All Them Witches, Elder, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and more.
The newly launched company BzzzzKill has introduced its debut product: a specially designed coil that drastically reduces hum in Stratocaster-style guitars.
BzzzzKill solves a problem that has plagued Strat players for more than 70 years: single-coil pickup noise. The new BzzzzKill hum reduction device virtually eliminates Stratocaster 60 cycle hum without noticeable tone loss or permanent modifications to your guitar and its pickups.
Unlike other solutions that require pickup replacements, permanent alterations, or external power sources, BzzzzKill employs a meticulously engineered passive dummy coil that installs inside your guitar’s control cavity without drilling.
On most Strat-style guitars, the installation process is straightforward and easily reversible, with no need for batteries, routing, or new pickups. Simply remove your pickguard, place the BzzzzKill coil next to the pickup selector switch, solder its wires to a few existing solder connections, and you'll immediately hear a dramatic Improvement. Single-coil 60 Hz hum is virtually gone and your tone is retained.
BzzzzKill’s design finds the optimum balance between hum reduction and tone preservation. It’s currently available in two models. A Dual Layer model is specifically optimized for Stratocasters with reverse-wound/reverse-polarity (RWRP) middle coils. A Single Layer model is designed for vintage-style SSS (single-single-single) pickup configurations.
The innovative solution operates as a passive device requiring no batteries or maintenance, working in all pickup switch positions and remaining compatible with effects chains. The device maintains the guitar’s original dynamic range and low-end response while virtually eliminating hum at all gain levels except maximum gain settings, where only minimal hum remains.
BzzzzKill is the culmination of decades of research and development by inventor Richard Moreton of RSM Custom Guitar Works. “I created over 200 prototypes in perfecting the BzzzzKill, mostly to solve my own quest for great tone and the ideal combination of hum reduction, and tone preservation,” says Moreton. “What started as a personal mission to get rid of the buzz in my own Strats became an obsession to create something that didn’t exist — one-and-done noise reduction without the compromises other solutions demand.”
Current BzzzzKill models sell for $199 USD for both the Single Layer and Dual Layer configurations. The company plans to expand to Telecaster and other single-coil models in the future. For more information visit www.bzzzzkill.com.
