mark knopfler

Keith Urban’s first instrument was a ukulele at age 4. When he started learning guitar two years later, he complained that it made his fingers hurt. Eventually, he came around. As did the world.

Throughout his over-30-year career, Keith Urban has been known more as a songwriter than a guitarist. Here, he shares about his new release, High, and sheds light on all that went into the path that led him to becoming one of today’s most celebrated country artists.

There are superstars of country and rock, chart-toppers, and guitar heroes. Then there’s Keith Urban. His two dozen No. 1 singles and boatloads of awards may not eclipse George Strait or Garth Brooks, but he’s steadily transcending the notion of what it means to be a country star.

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The spirit of a high-gain legend lives in a rangeful and elegant stompbox.

Captures much of the essence of the SLO-100. Great gain range. Nice dynamics. Excellent value.

Could use more range in the lower gain settings.

$229

Soldano SLO Pedal
soldano.com

5
4.5
4.5
5

In 1987, Mike Soldano created the SLO-100, a fire-breathing amp that, to this day, remains influential to those who build modern high-gain amps. Though the amp arrived at the peak of the hair-metal age, the SLO-100 appealed to players in many styles. Dokken’s George Lynch and Eddie Van Halen used it, but so did Mark Knopfler. That versatility is a big part of what made it iconic.

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John Monteleone wanted to build archtops that would intrigue flattop acoustic players. He succeeded by softening the metallic treble of his guitars and introducing a high-end that was fatter and thicker tonally.

Photo by Rod Franklin

In an exclusive interview with Premier Guitar, the Stradivari of archtop lutherie reflects on a lifelong synthesis of art and guitars, while discussing the new film that documents his journey.

Woody Mann loved John Monteleone’s guitars so much, he thought there should be a movie about them.

After years of playing Monteleone’s legendary archtop guitars, Mann, the great fingerstyle player who died in January 2022, pitched his filmmaker friend Trevor Laurence on a documentary following Monteleone’s work. Laurence agreed, and when Mann shared the idea with Monteleone, the luthier had just one condition.

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