The Week In Guitar: MGK and Schecter get edgy, Gibson teases new amps and T-Pain takes on War Pigs
It’s been a busy week in guitar culture, but here are the most notable news stories, trends and weird stuff we’ve seen over the last seven days.
Image: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty
Welcome back to the Week in Guitar! Your seven-day rundown of the six-string universe and beyond. This week one particularly sharp instrument dominated the conversation, so why don’t we start with the news that sliced through the guitar internet like a – well, you’ll see.
Machine Gun Kelly’s new signature makes guitar journalists to run out of razor puns in record time
Let’s put questions about taste aside, at least for now, and just try and assess the guitar from a neutral standpoint, shall we? It’s… well… hmm. Um. It’s got… strings on it? A neck? And that certainly looks like a pickup, too. And… oh, bloody hell, there’s no saving it, is there?
Look, we’re trying not to just dunk on an easy target like everyone in the Instagram comments is, and we do try to keep our opinions about actual guitars relegated to reviews, but there’s just no getting around the fact that you’d be genuinely forgiven for thinking this was a Chibson post. Not long after, of course, there was a Chibson parody of it, but, can you really parody something that already looks like a parody?
Aside from just “why have you done this at all” and “who is Machine Gun Kelly”, people’s main questions about the guitar were: surely that’s horrible to play sitting down, and, surely that’s got terrible upper-fret access. But, if you’re a) stood up and b) just hammering out pop-punk power-chord progressions you’ll be all good. Aside from the constant booing from the audience, obviously. Yes, Schecter couldn’t have made a more divisive guitar if it tried – a guitar made out of frozen marmite would at least have some nutritional value…
Are gibson amps coming back?
Gibson appears to be teasing a re-launch of its cult classic line of amps. A new landing page on its website featuring the strapline ‘Ready For Flight’ offers a series of boxes for fans to sign up “for launch” with their email addresses to be the first to find out about the company’s developments. It also features an image of a cream-coloured, Tolex-covered Gibson amplifier.
It’s been a little while since production ended on Gibson amps – 57 years, to be exact – but 2024 would be a good time for them to come back: it’s now owned Mesa/Boogie for a few years – it’s totally possible that in that time it was combining its old designs with that company’s amp-making expertise…
Quick Riffs
- Gibson’s not the only brand teasing an amp launch – Walrus could be, too
- Chibson celebrates Mickey Mouse’s freedom from copyright with a new take on the RAT – sorry – Mouse.
Quote Of The Week
“There’s loads of fucking guitars in it and it’s fucking perfect”
Liam Gallagher is, in this suitably sweary quote, stoking excitement for his upcoming collab LP with The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire, in a way that seems directly aimed at us, Guitar.com. Unfortunately the petition to make this quote our official slogan was rejected immediately.
The Encore
Ozzy was right. T-Pain’s take on War Pigs is bloody awesome. It begins at 48:53 above, but the whole thing is worth a watch – T-Pain’s on great form, and his whole band are having the absolute time of their lives.