The hottest gear your need to know about

From a new player in the extended range guitar game, to something most guitarists are going to want to own, these are the gear releases you need to know about

There have been some notable gear drops lately — from the launch of a new shred-friendly metal guitar brand to the release of a product that, frankly, should have arrived years ago.

But where one company starts, another ends, and a topic that’s sparked major debate in recent weeks has now been met with a striking counter-argument.

So, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know in one quick-fire blog. Let's dive in, shall we?

Ernie Ball rechargeable batteries

For active pickup users, there’s nothing quite like being mid-shred when your 9V battery dies a slow, glitch death. For those who don’t hook their pedals up to a power bank, too, the pain is shared. That’s why Ernie Ball has swooped in to save the day.

Its all-new USB-C Rechargeable Batteries, designed by sustainability-focused tech firm Pale Blue Earth do exactly as they say on the tin. There are also LED indicators on the batteries themselves so you know when you’re riff-ready, and they come with a charging cable and storage case.

They’re available in 9V and AA form, accommodating guitars, pedals, and wireless systems, and can reach 80% charge in 75 minutes. The $29.99 price tag for a two-pack of 9Vs may seem a little steep, but there are huge cost-saving benefits to be enjoyed over the long term, and it's also a huge plus for the environment.

See Ernie Ball for more.

Dean Lamb's new guitar brand is here

Archspire fretboard igniter and YouTube personality Dean Lamb has finished building the first guitar from his new brand, Ethos. On the surface, the BFG, which comes in seven- and eight-string flavours, isn't all that revolutionary. It features an Ibanez-inspired super Strat body shape, with a pointy, slightly asymmetrical headstock. However, it appears to be sleekly built, and it's certainly well-specced. Plus, that open pore finish is, in my mind, NSFW.

Spec-wise, there's an ash body with a five-piece walnut neck with maple stripes, a Hipshot hardtail bridge, Seymour Duncan Nazgûl/Sentient high-output passive pickups – a staple of modern metal hardware – locking tuners, and Luminlay inlays, which are cool as.

But dig a little deeper and you'll find its flat, asymmetrical neck has been custom-designed, with a flat D profile that has a little more thickness on the treble side. Lamb has found that thin necks don't actually allow him to play as fast as their advertising usually states. That' truly, is where Lamb and Ethos are stretching out into their own sphere.  

It’s the result of a year's worth of hard work, having been forced to pivot away from the first builder they signed with when information about them, which he hasn't disclosed, scared him away. The production model will be Lamb's main guitar on Archspire's forthcoming shows, and a waiting list for the production model has now been launched.

Head to Ethos Guitars for more.

G&L is no longer

Founded by Leo Fender in 1979, having left Fender when CBS took control of the famous gear brand in ''65 in light of a serious health issue, G&L is perhaps most famous for Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell being thoroughly addicted to its Rampage Strat-alike. In September, however, news of staff furloughs and a potential sale spread through the guitar community. There was no official statement to quell wagging tongues, either, and now it's been confirmed that Fender has bought the rights to the Leo Fender name.

G&L is no longer and we still have a lot of unanswered questions,” Steve Araujo, who heads up The Bass Hang YouTube channel, and previously spent a decade at the firm, has said in a new video (as reported by Guitar World).

Financial issues have forced its dissolution, but it's Fender's claiming of the Leo Fender name that is the big headline here. There are claims that the company hasn't been bought outright; it's just the intellectual property it went after; it's seemingly chasing legacy, rather than its products per se.

It's a sad end to a fairly unsung firm, but one Leo Fender but his heart and soul into. Images circulating on social media of his blueprint filing cabinet discarded in an alley behind the G&L Lab are a stark metaphor of the demise of the final company established by one of the most important luthiers in music history.

As Araujo says, there are a lot of unanswered questions that, hopefully, the passing of time will help answer.

Rabea Massaad’s Music Man signature gets a budget edition

We recently wrote about the budget, SE version of Herman Li’s signature PRS and whether it did enough to lower the price to an affordable scale. For those that believe SE guitars shouldn’t really break the £1K mark – let alone practically double it – the new Sterling by Music Man take on Rabae Massaad’s signature Sabre is the counter argument.  

The headline? What was once a £4,199 guitar has been slimmed down to just £1,049. Sure, some of the appointments have been stripped back — that was always going to happen — but there’s also a better acceptance of that here, all without tainting the soul of the original build.

It features a nyatoh body with a flame maple veneer top, and a roasted maple neck with an ebony fretboard. The only major change here is the swap from the premium model’s alder body.

Hardware-wise, we see the cost-cutting in full effect, but what's been drafted in isn't to be sniffed at. Sure, Bare Knuckle Silo humbuckers are cool, but they aren't cheap - so custom-voiced, own-brand Alnico replacements have been carefully designed to stand in their place. Like wise, the Music Man John Petrucci-style tremolo with whammy gets a Sterling equivalent and the Schaller M6-IND locking are gone, but Sterling locking tuners still offer pretty solid tuning stability.

This is what you expect from a downscaled build. Take note ,PRS.

See Sterling by Music Man for more. 

Level up your playing with Modern Metal Academy

We believe guitar masterclasses should be accessible for everyone. That’s why we have flexible pricing plans – and not flexible in an evil, Ticketmaster-type way.

Ignite members cost £9.99 per month. This includes access to select lessons, daily guitar hacks, our supportive members' community, and livestreams with the man, the myth, the riffsmith John Browne. We're on a mission to level up your guitar game.

For £29.99 a month, Masters members also benefit from our advanced tab player, multi-stem backing tracks, discounts on get from big brands, and tap into the knowledge of a rich array of instructors, and much more.

Both Ignite and Master's members also have access to our Battle of the Riff competition, where you’re challenged to use your new skills in a creative setting, with top prizes, from guitars to plugins, on offer for the best entries.

Head here for more.