Guitar Week #35/2026
Aug 24, 2026 — Aug 30, 2026
Dolly Parton's death at 80 led the week, and a lot of the remembrances circled back to the songwriting and the steady rhythm guitar that her superstardom often obscured. A few days later Soundgarden walked onto a stadium field for the first time since Chris Cornell died, with Mike McCready and Taylor Momsen sharing vocals. The new-music news leaned toward the technical end — Polyphia, Mastodon's first record with Nick Johnston, a new Billy Strings single — and Sleep Token finally got signature instruments, from Jackson and Charvel. In the archives, the Beatles surfaced a 'Day Tripper' work tape from before the riff existed.
The week by the numbers
- stories
- 27stories
- new products
- 15new products
- brands
- 20brands
- artists
- 20artists
18 gear · 2 players · 6 music · 1 industry
Most active topics: Electric Guitar (5), Rock (5), Pedals (4), Bass Guitar (3)
🚨 Top stories this week
Dolly Parton, songwriter and lifelong guitar player, dies at 80The country giant behind "Jolene" and "Coat of Many Colors" died Tuesday in Nashville after a short illness; her family confirmed the news on her Instagram.
Soundgarden return to the stage for a Seahawks halftime show with Mike McCready and Taylor MomsenKim Thayil and the band will play Lumen Field on September 9, with Pearl Jam's Mike McCready on guitar and Taylor Momsen singing.
Sleep Token's IV and III get their first signature instruments from Jackson and CharvelA 30-inch baritone Monarkh tuned a full octave down for the guitarist, and a fanned-fret five-string bass for the bassist.
Neural DSP's CorOS 4.1.0 brings its X-series plugins, John Mayer included, onto the Quad CortexThe company calls it the biggest firmware update in Quad Cortex history: five signature plugin packs, eight new effects, and per-device preset saving.
Polyphia Announce 'Be Not Afraid,' Push North American Tour Into 2027The instrumental band's new album lands October 23 on Rise Records, led by the single Power in the Blood and its Rio-shot video.
Mastodon release 'Marrow Deep', their first album with guitarist Nick JohnstonThe August 28 record is Mastodon's ninth, their first as a five-piece, and their first since founding guitarist Brent Hinds left the band and later died.
Billy Strings turns grief into flatpicking on 'So Much For Goodbyes'The bluegrass guitarist's fifth studio album, produced with T Bone Burnett and released August 28, was written after his mother's death and carries her artwork on the cover.
PRS gives The Warning's Dany Villarreal her first signature guitar, the AstryxA 200-piece Custom 24 in a sunset-style "Ocaso" finish, with a single sun inlay in place of PRS's usual birds.
Fender Custom Shop Recreates George Harrison's 1967 Fender Bass VIThe $9,500 limited run copies the six-string bass Harrison used during the Beatles' later Abbey Road sessions.
Guitar Center's 2026 Crossroads collection revives Clapton's Blind Faith Tele and a 70-piece Mayer Silver SkyThe charity run, timed to this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival, spans Clapton signature Martins, a Fender Custom Shop recreation of his 1969 Telecaster and a limited PRS Silver Sky finished for John Mayer.
Paul Reed Smith Joins the Guitar Center RockWalk, With John Mayer PresentingThe PRS founder's handprint ceremony is set for September 26 at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Austin.
🎸 Gear worth a look
Death By Audio and Rainger FX Put a Real Amp, Speaker and Mic Inside One PedalThe $395 Amp Crash makes distortion physically: a 3-watt amp drives a 2-inch speaker while a built-in mic captures the result.
Marshall adds a 20-watt JMH Studio half-stack to its Hendrix 60th Anniversary lineThe hand-built Studio Vintage variant lands at $2,499.99 alongside Major V headphones and an Emberton III speaker, marking 60 years since Hendrix first plugged into a Marshall.
Gibson Revives Its Baritone Line With the 28-Inch-Scale Victory BaritoneGibson returns to extended-scale territory for the first time since the early 2010s, pairing a B-to-B baritone with a new set of ELEV8 humbuckers.
Friedman Builds the JOSE 20 Around Jose Arredondo's Mod LegacyDave Friedman worked with Marisol Arredondo, daughter of the late amp modder, on a 20-watt EL84 head and 1x12 combo voiced for that hot-rodded Marshall bark.
DOD's DRAG Delay Bolts Pitch-Bending Chaos Onto a Bucket-Brigade CircuitThe new $219.99 analog delay keeps BBD warmth but adds hold-to-warp Friction modes, octave pitch bends and four modulation shapes.
EMG Releases Tom Morello 'TM Set' Based on His Arm the Homeless WiringThe set pairs an EMG 85 in the bridge with an EMG H in the neck, the combination in Morello's main guitar since the late 1980s, sold together for the first time.
Pantera's Rex Brown Gets a Spector Euro 4 Signature BassThe neck-through, Desert Gold-finished bass pairs EMG PJ-X pickups with Brown's own neck profile, available now for $3,599.99.
MXR builds Byron Chambers a signature talk box with double the M222's headroomThe Mr. TalkBox Signature runs on 18 volts with a 25-watt preamp, adds a neodymium driver and two rear switches, and ships in gold with a black tube.
JHS shrinks the Andy Timmons signature drive into a $129 mini pedalThe AT Mini keeps the original AT V1 circuit fixed in its 100-watt voicing, dropping the AT+'s wattage toggle and boost to fit a smaller enclosure.
Hotone Squeezes AI Tone Creation Into the Pocket-Sized Pulze Jr.The $299.99 battery-powered modeling amp can build a tone from a typed description and pull guitar parts out of a song to build practice tracks.
CFG's SonikSphere NEO Moves Its Wireless System to the 5.8GHz BandThe second-generation Cable Free Guitar system claims sub-2.5ms latency and 10-plus hours of battery, at an introductory $139.99.
Martin's LX2 Life is Good puts laser-etched slogans on a Little Martin travel guitarA follow-up to 2024's LX1 Life is Good, the collaboration with the apparel brand keeps the short-scale Little Martin body and swaps in a more restrained cosmetic treatment.
Harley Benton Pairs a P90 and a Humbucker on New SC-Special HybridThe 199-euro single-cut combines an Isola P90 in the neck with a coil-splittable humbucker in the bridge.
🎵 New music
Orianthi's Band of Gypsys-style trio The Power of 3 announces its debut albumThe self-titled record, produced by Eddie Kramer and cut to analog tape, lands December 11, led by two new singles.
Queens of the Stone Age set their ninth album, 'Perfecth,' for October 30Josh Homme's band paired the announcement with the single 'Insignificant Other' and confirmed a nine-track record produced by Homme and bassist Michael Shuman.
🤯 Moment of the week
Notable releases this week
PRS Dany Villarreal AstryxFender Custom Shop George Harrison 1967 Bass VIDeath By Audio x Rainger FX Amp CrashGibson Victory BaritoneEMG TM Set (Tom Morello Signature)Spector Euro 4 Rex Brown SignatureMXR Mr. TalkBox Signature Talk BoxJHS Pedals AT MiniCFG SonikSphere NEOMartin LX2 Life is GoodHarley Benton SC-Special Hybrid
Brands & artists this week:Dolly PartonCountryFingerstyleSoundgardenMike McCreadyTaylor MomsenPearl JamJacksonCharvelSleep TokenBaritone GuitarsElectric GuitarBass GuitarNeural DSPGuitar ModelingTim HensonJohn PetrucciJohn MayerPolyphiaScott LePageMastodonNick JohnstonMetalProgressive MetalBrent HindsBill KelliherJosh HommeGeezer ButlerBilly StringsBluegrassPRSDany VillarrealThe WarningRockDeep PurpleFenderGeorge HarrisonThe BeatlesGuitar CenterEric ClaptonAcoustic GuitarMartinPaul Reed SmithEddie Van HalenDeath By AudioRainger FXPedalsMarshallJimi HendrixAlly VenableGibsonFriedmanDODEMGTom MorelloRage Against the MachineSpectorRex BrownMXRByron ChambersJim DunlopJHS PedalsAndy TimmonsHotoneAI & GuitarAmp ModelingCFGTravel GuitarsHarley BentonThe Power of 3OrianthiCindy Blackman SantanaRhonda SmithCarlos SantanaJohn LennonPaul McCartney