Guitar Week #45/2026
Nov 2, 2026 — Nov 8, 2026
Richard Lloyd’s twin-guitar legacy, Behringer’s plan for hundreds of low-cost pedals and Rush’s full-album Sphere residency put three different kinds of change in focus: influence, access and scale. Ozzfest’s planned return, Lucas Ferraz’s new album and Artur Menezes’s guest-filled record keep artists and live plans in view.
Start with Richard Lloyd’s story: his interlocking work with Tom Verlaine reshaped what two guitars could do inside punk, making his influence the clearest thread through the week.
The week by the numbers
- stories
- 24stories
- new products
- 11new products
- brands
- 16brands
- artists
- 18artists
13 gear · 6 players · 2 music · 1 industry · 2 learn
Most active topics: Rock (7), Electric Guitar (5), Metal (4), Amp Modeling (3)
🚨 Top stories this week
Television co-founder Richard Lloyd, architect of Marquee Moon’s twin-guitar language, dies at 75Lloyd’s interlocking work with Tom Verlaine helped replace punk’s blunt-force stereotype with a more melodic, harmonically adventurous model for two guitars.
Behringer says it is planning hundreds of $10–15 pedalsThe company has outlined a vast low-cost pedal program spanning analog, digital, bass and open-source designs, but has not set a launch date.
Rush books five-night 2027 Sphere residency with full-album plansGeddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will bring Rush to Las Vegas for five shows built around the full 2112 and Moving Pictures albums.
Ozzfest will return in 2027 for three shows across the UK, US and MexicoThe revived festival will visit Milton Keynes, San Bernardino and Mexico City, with Sharon Osbourne curating lineups to be announced.
Friedman’s VX-30 adds in-phase channel blending to a boutique take on early-’60s British chimeThe 30-watt EL84 head and combo preserve vintage Top Boost character while adding blendable channels, a master volume and modern output flexibility.
Artur Menezes recruits Kingfish, Eric Gales and Ariel Posen for Microwaved DreamsThe Brazilian guitarist’s independent nine-track album arrives November 20 with three high-profile guests and a wider palette than straight blues.
🎸 Gear worth a look
Peterson gives Eddie Van Halen’s tunings the strobe treatmentThe StroboStomp EVH loads 13 Van Halen-specific Sweeteners into Peterson’s pedal tuner, alongside more than 150 alternate setups.
Overloud puts Neural Amp Modeler inside THU Premium 2.2The free update adds native NAM playback and editing tools alongside Overloud’s own Rig Player, AIR and Fluid Processing systems.
Martin marks Gram Parsons’ 80th birthday with an 80-piece 00-21 tributeThe 12-fret acoustic recreates the look and feel of Parsons’ road-worn 1963 Martin with old-growth spruce, VTS bracing and a signature neck profile.
Blackstar bundles Beam Mini, Airwire i58 and Beam Control into a wireless practice rigThe $459.99 package turns Blackstar’s compact stereo amp into a cable-free home rig with foot control, app mapping and model-sharing support.
Gibson recreates four year-specific P.A.F. pickup sets from 1957 to 1960The Pickup Shop’s new humbuckers vary magnets, winds and voicing to trace four distinct stages of the original P.A.F. design.
Trinity Labs sets November 6 launch for the modular Artemis guitar rigThe UK-built hybrid combines reorderable analogue loops, zero-latency switching, amp models, NAM captures and MIDI control in one floor unit.
Sterling’s new Music Man Session line starts with premium four- and five-string StingRaysThe Indonesia-built series revives ’90s and 2000s StingRay cues with roasted-maple necks, Schaller tuners, compensated nuts and an Alnico 5 active platform.
James Hetfield gives EMG’s 50th anniversary a 200-set JH pickup releaseThe brushed-black-chrome Het Set uses Hetfield’s own anniversary mark and retains the distinct ceramic-neck and steel-pole bridge designs of his active signature pair.
Jeff Loomis and Von Frankenstein launch Raven VI and Raven VII signature string setsThe new $7.99 and $9.99 nickel-plated sets use treated hex cores and Loomis-selected gauges for six- and seven-string guitars tuned down a half step.
CFG launches the DeadOn rechargeable clip-on tuner with ±0.5-cent accuracyThe compact USB-C tuner combines a color TFT display, five tuning modes and adjustable reference pitch in an 18-gram housing.
Seymour Duncan gives Janick Gers a signature Strat pickup setTwo JB Jr. pickups and a middle-position Hot Rails package Iron Maiden’s triple-humbucker Strat formula as a $319 set or $419 loaded pickguard.
👤 Players
Eric Clapton’s Journeyman-era Strat-and-Soldano rig heads to auctionThe package joins the first black prototype Clapton Signature Strat with the silver-snakeskin SLO-100 full stack heard across his early-1990s touring peak.
Billy Howerdel opens an auction of A Perfect Circle stage and studio gearThe seven-day ANALOGr sale includes his Thirteenth Step Yamaha AES 1500, heavily used amps, modelers, pedals and tour artifacts.
Thai guitarist Tanapol ‘Not’ Srikanjana graduates to PRS Official Artist statusThe Retrospect guitarist moves from the Pulse programme into PRS’s main artist roster as the company announces a 135-player global class for 2027.
🎵 New music
▶️ Watch this
🤯 Moment of the week
🧠 Learn something
Notable releases this week
Friedman Amplification VX-30 HeadPeterson StroboStomp EVHMartin 00-21 Gram ParsonsBlackstar Beam Mini Wireless RigGibson 1957 P.A.F. Reissue SetTrinity Labs ArtemisSterling by Music Man Music Man Session StingRayEMG JH “Het” Set 50th Anniversary Special EditionCFG DeadOnSeymour Duncan Janick Gers Signature SetFender Fender x Loog 75th Precision Bass
Brands & artists this week:Richard LloydTelevisionBehringerPedalsAlex LifesonGeddy LeeRushProgressive MetalRockOzzy OsbourneMetalFriedman AmplificationCelestionArtur MenezesBluesEric GalesChristone "Kingfish" IngramAriel PosenFunkPetersonVan HalenEddie Van HalenOverloudGuitar ModelingAmp ModelingProfilingMartinGram ParsonsAcoustic GuitarCountryBlackstarMulti-FXGibsonElectric GuitarTrinity LabsSterling by Music ManBass GuitarErnie Ball Music ManEMGJames HetfieldMetallicaVon Frankenstein Monster GearJeff Loomis7+ String GuitarsCFGSeymour DuncanJanick GersIron MaidenEric ClaptonFenderSoldanoBilly HowerdelA Perfect CircleYamahaPRS GuitarsTanapol SrikanjanaRetrospectLucas FerrazMartin MendonçaDre DiMuraLoogRob HarrisJamiroquai