The Players
The latest news, views and happenings from the world of your favourite guitarists
1. Strum As You Are Fender Jag-Stang returns as a Mexican-made model
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Nevermind, Fender has reissued the Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang model, which the Nirvana singer helped design before his death in 1994. The guitar’s body combines features from Cobain’s favoured Jaguar and Mustang with a 24-inch short-scale body and slider switches for phase options on the single-coil and humbucker pickups. It retails at £1,249 and will be available in October.
2. Roxy Music All aboard for new PRS John Mayer Silver Sky finish
The Roxy Pink guitar as played by John Mayer in his video for Last Train Home, from new album Sob Rock, is now available to buy as a production finish with a rosewood fretboard. Mayer gifted early models to musician Tomo Fujita, as well as K-Pop star Rosé. The latter had covered Mayer’s song Slow Dancing In A Burning Room on the Korean variety show Sea Of Hope.
3. Wood Cutting Ronnie Wood recording with The Faces and Stones
According to guitarist Ronnie Wood, The Faces are recording their first new music in more than 40 years. The musician has also been working with Rolling Stones bandmate Mick Jagger.
“I saw Mick [Jagger] here last week and Rod [Stewart] and Kenney [Jones] were here yesterday,” Wood told The Times. “Me and Mick have done nine new tracks for the [40th anniversary] re-release of Tattoo You. And me, Rod and Kenney have been recording some new Faces music. I’ve had a front-row seat on some amazing rock ’n’ roll projects these past couple of weeks.”
4. Slide Rules Derek Trucks tackles the slide genesis of Clapton and Allman
The Tedeschi Trucks Band recently released Layla Revisited (Live at LOCKN’) – their performance of Derek And The Dominos’ classic 1970 album in its entirety. And it’s given guitarist Derek Trucks a unique insight into the different slide approaches of Eric Clapton and the late, great Duane Allman. “I love hearing the Strat with the slide,” he told MusicRadar in reference to Clapton on the original record. “I just love hearing that approach. It’s a little more tucked in, whereas Duane’s just sounded like it could totally flame out or go off the rails at any time. It was so wide open with the way he played, whereas Eric was very precise, which is cool to hear. But I love the sound of his slide playing.”
5. Power Trio Iommi, Cantrell and Rateliff Gibson signatures arrive
Three new Gibson signature models will arrive this month: a Custom Shop recreation of Jerry Cantrell’s ‘Wino’ Les Paul, the Gibson USA Tony Iommi SG Special, and a Nathaniel Rateliff LG-2 Western Acoustic in Vintage Sunburst. Cantrell’s ‘Wino’ is a recreation of his early 90s Les Paul Custom made for him by Gibson.