No style of amp is so definitively a part of a musical genre and culture as high-gain amplifiers. In the modern amp market, there’s a wide range of amps that can achieve a heavy tone, from hulking stacks to lunchbox heads, but their objective unites them. High-gain amps are a cornerstone of electric guitar, and their aggression is heard in every style of music under the sun. The debate about where high-gain started rages on, but there’s a strong consensus that Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath had more than a little to do with it. “The first record that really had an impact on me, with regards t ..read more

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs are set to release their third album, Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, featuring collaborations with artists like Graham Nash and Lucinda Williams. Featuring appearances from artists including Graham Nash, Lucinda Williams, Chris Stapleton, and fellow Heartbreaker Benmont Tench, the album is due June 14 via BMG. In celebration of the forthcoming record, the band is debuting the album’s first single “Dare To Dream” featuring Graham Nash accompanying Campbell on vocals. The track is complemented by a Chris Phelps-directed music video shot in Tulsa, Oklahom ..read more

Ace guitarist Nikos Arvanitis shows off the dynamics and many shades of blasting, buzzing thrills that shine in this simple silicon Fuzz Face-inspired circuit ..read more

On the heels of the successful launch of limited-edition Slash Signature SL-100 Head and SL-4×12 Speaker Cabinet, Magnatone announces the new Slash Signature Collection Blackout edition. Wrapped in a sleek black 100% cotton croc textile (that ages beautifully), this Slash-designed amp has the same, hand-built specs, components and features of the limited edition green anaconda SL-100 Head and SL- 4×12 Speaker Cabinet, but comes out roaring with its own Blackout attitude. “I’ve become a big fan of the Magnatone sound, and it’s been an honor to help design a 100- watt amp with them. I thin ..read more

Legendary engineer and musician Steve Albini has passed away due to a heart attack, according to staff at his Chicago recording studio, Electrical Audio. Albini was a giant of alternative, independent, and underground rock music for more than three decades. He was celebrated for his abrasive guitar work for the noisy, boundary-pushing Chicago bands Big Black and Shellac, but he was best known for his engineering work on ’80s and ’90s alternative guitar music. He engineered records from Pixies and Nirvana that changed the soundscape of alt-rock, including Surfer Rosa and In Utero, as well as ..read more

Ungodly, sinister, and maliciously menacing guitar tones erupt from the Kentucky hardcore band’s 7-string Ibanez guitars, providing the soundtrack to the summer’s biggest mosh pits and nastiest break downs. If hell had a guitar tone, it’d be what Knocked Loose’s Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon conjure up from their Ibanez 7-string beasts. The band’s mission since day one has been to pummel listeners with the most extreme form of hardcore music. Over the past decade they’ve throttled through all limits, making each breakdown, each riff, each scream, and each performance outdone by the next. A m ..read more

Penned by Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa, "Enlighten" explores themes of self-awareness and spiritual awakening and aims to capture the essence of the band's dynamic sound. Black Country Communion, the renowned rock supergroup featuring Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian, has released "Enlighten," the latest single from their much-anticipated fifth studio album, V set for release on June 14th. Now available on all major streaming platforms, "Enlighten" is a triumph of lyrical depth and musical innovation, penned by Hughes and Bonamassa. Black Country Communion ..read more

Watch Tom Butwin demonstrate Keeley’s super versatile 4-in-1 overdrive pedal series: the Blues Disorder, Angry Orange, Super Rodent and Noble Screamer. The newest pedals from Keeley Electronics each offer two independent effects featuring classic overdrive/distortion circuits. The effects are carefully paired together and allow you to mix-and-match their respective clipping sections (one hard clipping and one soft clipping) and tone sections. The Noble Screamer combines a Nobels ODR-1 (hard clip) and Ibanez Tube Screamer (soft clip). Angry Orange unites a mighty Big Muff (soft clip) and Boss ..read more

You could win one of FOUR pedals in this giveaway from Keeley Electronics! One winner will be drawn each week. Giveaway ends June 4, 2024. Keeley 4-in-1 Pedal Series Demo | PG Plays See all 4 pedals here! Keeley Electronics 4-in-1 Pedal Giveaway Keeley Noble Screamer Overdrive/Boost Pedal Imagine being able to combine your favorite parts of different overdrive & boost pedals in order to create hybrid sounds no one has ever played through before. That is exactly what we’ve engineered with the Noble Screamer. It’s a 4-in-1 pedal that gives you two very familiar drive circuits and two br ..read more

Rhett and Zach end almost every episode of Dipped In Tone with a rig dip—where they discuss and rate a guitar, amp, and pedal setup submitted by a listener—but this time, they’re assembling and critiquing dream rigs of their own, on a budget. Rhett and Zach end almost every episode of Dipped In Tone with a rig dip—where they discuss and rate a guitar, amp, and pedal setup submitted by a listener—but this time, they’re assembling and critiquing dream rigs of their own, on a budget. They each get to brainstorm a $1000 rig followed by a $10,000 rig, using toys and prices found on Reverb. When ..read more