John Bohlinger puts the 3Bender SteelMaster through its paces on bass, a high-string, and an offset. This palm-bending device installs in minutes with no routing, plays nice with your whammy bar, and covers everything from ambient textures to pedal-steel country licks.
3Bender
SteelMaster
The SteelMaster™️ is a new string bender design that can be mounted to a JM Offset style guitar vibrato without the need for drilling any new mounting holes. It can be used on any string to add a smooth and in tune glissando to the music. The bender levers can also be stacked to move chord voicings by bending notes a half tone or full tone.
If you are searching for a no rout/no drill string bending option for your Stoptail G style guitar, reach out at info@3Bender.com. We may have a solution for you and the website is not updated just yet.
Known for his shredding ways, Paul Gilbert shows PG host John Bohlinger his robust musical vocabulary that hinges on hummable melodies and creative chord progressions. Oh, and then there's the whole thing where he wrote his latest album, WROC,around George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation. Another impressive attribbute of Gilbert's is impeccable music intellect recall for songs and lyrics. He claims to have stolen most of what he knows and plays, but we think that's just humility. Enjoy the conversation, camaraderie, and jams with PG and JB!
Jared James Nichols has a few calling cards: his mane of total-rockstar hair, his giant steel-toed boots, and his sweet, stinging Gibson-plus-Marshall shredding. He just released his latest record, Louder than Fate, which landed him on the cover of Premier Guitar’s June issue.
PG’s Chris Kies met up with Nichols at Gym 5 in Nashville to get a look at his revamped, pared-down rig, based around a classic recipe: Gibson guitars, Marshall stacks, and a couple of stomps to push those elements to the edge.
These four electrics are Nichols’ mainstays. The 2025 Gibson Futura, second from the right, has been modded with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups and a custom black pickguard. To its left sits a 1952 Les Paul nicknamed “Dorothy,” Nichols’ favorite axe, which has survived a tornado and will be with him for life.
Also on the roster are Nichols’ signature Epiphone “Blues Power” Les Paul Custom (far left), with a Seymour Duncan Silencer JJN P-90B that gets rid of hum, and a Gibson Made to Measure Les Paul (far right), with a Custom Bucker and another Silencer JJN P-90B, intended to recreate Nichols’ ’54 Les Paul nicknamed “Old Red.”
Nichols uses DR Strings Veritas sets (.010–.049).
Stacks on Stacks
Nichols runs two Marshall 1959 modified heads through Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs, with Celestion GT-75 speakers. One is set for higher treble response, and the other favors bass presence.
Jared James Nichols’ Pedalboard
Nichols’ stomp setup is simple as can be: Along with a Klon Centaur and an Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, he carries a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster Mini, a TC Electronic PolyTune 3, and a Whirlwind Selector A/B Box to switch between amp heads.
The Fender Vintera III series delivers meticulously crafted vintage recreations that capture the authentic look, feel, and tone of iconic Fender guitars from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. The Vintera III Early ‘60s Bass VI features an alder body and a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard for classic Fender tone that’s full of punch and clarity. The early ‘60s “C”-shape, 30” scale maple neck with 7.25” radius rosewood fingerboard and vintage-tall frets provides supreme comfort and outstanding feel. At its heart, you’ll find three vintage-style early ‘60s single-coil pickups that deliver all the deep and growling, rich and articulate tone that made Fender famous. Other features include a vintage-style floating tremolo for expressive vibrato, individual on/off switches for each pickup, vintage-style Bass VI mute and vintage-style tuning machines for enhanced tuning stability. Embrace the authentic vintage spirit and legendary sound of Vintera III – where every detail tells the story.
Fender
Vintera III Early '60s Bass VI 6-string
6-string Electric Bass with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, 3 Single-coil Pickups, and Tremolo - Candy Apple Red
Tom Butwin puts StewMac's new GuitarTek cleaning line to the test with the worst possible candidate: a neglected guitar from Facebook Marketplace. After finding the perfect subject, he brings it back to the studio to see what GuitarTek can actually do. Less than eight minutes later and after a round of total care cleaner, high-gloss polish, and fretboard conditioner, the results are hard to argue with.
![Jared James Nichols [2026]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=66892615&width=1245&height=700&quality=70&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
