Built with bolt-on construction at a 25.5″ scale length, the LTD Deluxe XJ-2 HT pairs a resonant Swamp Ash body with an Macassar ebony fingerboard and three-piece Roasted Maple neck carved into a thin U profile that’s just plain fast. Add in 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, Block pearloid inlays, and a matching reverse headstock and you’ve got yourself one hell of a metal machine.

Where the XJ-2 HT really begins to flex is in its electronics configuration. The guitar comes loaded with a set of direct-mounted Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice humbuckers, featuring a ceramic bridge pickup and an alnico neck pickup, both wrapped in brushed stainless covers.

Push-pull controls unlock multiple voicings from each pickup, allowing the guitar to move between brutally tight rhythm tones, articulate lead sounds, and more organic, dynamic textures without losing focus.

The hardware package is equally excellent. A Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body construction keeps sustain strong and tuning stability rock solid, while LTD locking tuners reinforce the guitar’s readiness for touring and heavy studio use. Black hardware throughout gives the instrument a stealthy appearance that complements the brushed pickup covers.

Get the LTD Deluxe XJ-2 HT here for $1,699 and keep up with all our ESP coverage right here!

The post ESP Recruits Kazuki Tokaji for Heavy LTD Deluxe XJ-2 HT Demo appeared first on Gear Gods.

Anyway, several premium brands seeing rare triple-digit discounts through the sale happening right now. Sony, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Technics, and JBL all have standout markdowns across wireless ANC headphones, studio monitoring models, and true wireless earbuds. A few of the biggest savings include $200 off Beyerdynamic’s Aventho 300, $120 off Sony’s WH-1000XM5, and multiple $100-off offers on Sennheiser Momentum and Accentum models.

Studio and audiophile listeners are also getting strong options. Beyerdynamic’s DT-series staples are discounted across multiple impedance versions, Steven Slate Audio’s VSX systems are heavily reduced, and Meze Audio’s 105 Aer drops by $100. There are also several certified open-box luxury models from Audeze, Focal, HEDD, and Sennheiser for shoppers looking at higher-end listening setups.

On the more affordable side, JBL’s Tune lineup is seeing substantial price cuts, with several wireless headphones and earbuds now under $60. Combined with the premium-tier markdowns above, this sale covers nearly every category: casual listening, travel ANC, studio monitoring, gaming, audiophile listening, and wireless everyday use.

Shop the entire sale right here.

The post Deal Alert: Headphones From Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Shure and More on Sale! appeared first on Gear Gods.

The Electromatic Baritone Jet feels like the more expansive and luxurious of the pair. Built with a chambered Mahogany body topped with Carved Maple, the instrument combines depth and resonance with an airy responsiveness. The chambered construction adds a surprising liveliness to the guitar’s voice, allowing notes to bloom with sustain.

A major part of the Jet’s identity comes from its enormous 29.75″ scale length. That extra stretch creates the string tension necessary for articulate low tunings while also lending the instrument a piano-like clarity. There’s an undeniable physicality to playing a scale this long, but Gretsch balances that challenge with a bolt-on Maple neck shaped into a comfortable Performance “C” profile.

Visually, the Baritone Jet leans fully into modern Gretsch aesthetics. The bound Rosewood fingerboard with pearloid Neo Classic thumbnail inlays preserves the company’s unmistakable visual DNA, while sculpted forearm and body contours make it all pretty comfy. The rounded heel further improves upper-fret access, making the oversized instrument feel more agile than its dimensions suggest.

The real muscle comes from the PureVolt Twin Six humbuckers – pickups voiced specifically to maintain articulation and balance at lower frequencies. Because when you’re tuned to Drop Fuck (a very real tuning), mud isn’t an option.

Get the Gretsch Electromatic Jet Baritone here for $699.

Then there’s the Electromatic Baritone CVT, which takes a leaner, more direct approach.

Its solid Mahogany body features beveled contours that give the instrument a sleeker, more industrial appearance while the shorter 27″ scale length places the CVT closer to traditional baritone territory.

Tonally, the CVT retains much of the same low-frequency authority as its sibling, thanks again to the Twin Six humbuckers, but its solidbody construction gives the attack a tighter and more immediate response.

The electronics package on the CVT also introduces an extra layer of versatility. In addition to master volume and tone controls – complete with a treble bleed circuit to preserve high-end clarity when rolling back volume – each pickup includes push/pull coil-splitting functionality.

Like the Jet, the CVT uses a GraphTech NuBone nut for enhanced tuning stability and an Adjust-O-Matic bridge paired with a stoptail tailpiece for reliable intonation and sustain. The overall impression is one of practical refinement rather than flashy excess.

Get the Gretsch Electromatic Baritone CVT here for $599.99.

The post Gretsch (and Loathe) Goes Deep With Electromatic Baritone Jet and Baritone CVT Guitars appeared first on Gear Gods.

And pretty affordable as well! Before we even get into this, you can get all three JHS 3 Series pedals (and everything else in the series) right here for $99 each.

JHS 3 Series Glitch Delay

The JHS 3 Series Glitch Delay offers up delay as you’d expect alongside a system designed to destabilize expectations. With up to 980 milliseconds of delay time available, it can function as everything from a tight slapback echo to expansive ambient trails.

The real character comes from the Glitch control, which introduces up to 50% probability of rhythmic stuttering and fragmentation. Instead of clean, linear echoes, notes can fracture, skip, or smear into unpredictable textures. It gets weird, as you’ll see above.

A 2-position Mix switch allows you to quickly change wet/dry blending behavior, offering either more traditional delay integration or more pronounced ambient wash.

JHS 3 Series Bit Crusher

If the Glitch Delay bends time, the Bit Crusher bends resolution itself. A Type switch sets the tonal foundation of the effect. In one position, the filter emphasizes a sweeping band of midrange frequencies, evoking the grainy character of old handheld gaming speakers. In the other, a second-order lowpass filter removes resonance for a smoother but equally degraded synth-like tone.

From there, the sampling rate becomes the main weapon of transformation, ranging from a full 32,000Hz down to an almost unusable 2.5Hz. As the rate drops, the sound collapses into aliasing, artifacts, and rhythmic distortion that borders on ring modulation chaos. The Crush control further strips resolution, moving from full 24-bit clarity down to raw 1-bit degradation.

JHS 3 Series Ring Modulator

The Ring Modulator is where things leave conventional guitar tone entirely behind.

At the center is the Frequency control, which dictates the speed of the internal oscillator. At low settings, it produces slow, warbling motion that feels almost unstable and atmospheric. As you increase the frequency, the sound shifts into bell-like metallic tones and aggressive harmonic dissonance.

A Blend control lets you mix dry and processed signals, allowing everything from subtle metallic shimmer to full-on robotic mutation. The Mode switch dramatically changes the character of the effect: one position delivers a fixed-rate waveform for consistent modulation, while the other introduces a 60s-style octave-influenced ring modulation that feels more chaotic and expressive.

And then finally there’s the Tweak control, which adds another layer of unpredictability, altering the harmonic interaction depending on the selected mode.

The post JHS Streams In-Depth Looks at Their New 3 Series Pedals appeared first on Gear Gods.

Ellefson is always a joy to watch, especially when it comes to those Megadeth basslines. Go search pretty much any Megaeth song’s isolated bass tracks and I guarantee whatever you thought Ellefson was playing, it’s at least two times harder than that.

Dude deserves more credit, is what I’m getting at here. Grab Ellefson’s EMG DE Set right here for $209 in either a 4- or 5-string configuration, and check out Ellefson’s many signature Jackson basses right here.

Ellefson’s preferred pickup combination pairs an EMG dual-coil DC pickup in the bridge position with a ceramic-and-steel CS pickup in the neck. The bridge-position DC pickup provides the sharp, focused attack that drives Ellefson’s signature pickstyle tone, while the CS neck pickup adds thickness and a thumpier sound, balancing the setup with a fuller low-end foundation.

The inclusion of the EMG BQS onboard EQ system certainly helps when it comes to tone sculpting as well. The BQS gives players active control over bass, treble, and midrange shaping directly from the instrument, allowing for rapid tonal adjustments without sacrificing output or articulation. For players navigating dense modern mixes, that level of onboard flexibility becomes especially valuable.

The post David Ellefson Shows Off His EMG Bass Pickups With Classic Megadeth Track Playthrough appeared first on Gear Gods.

The statement is pretty vague so who knows what the long term plan here is, but here’s hoping those Kirk Hammett and Scott Ian signature models make a return?

“To the Randall family – thank you for your continued support, loyalty, and patience over the past few years as we reignite our product development and production efforts,” wrote Randall Amplifiers on their social media.

“In the coming weeks, you’ll you’ll begin begin to to see see many of our recent models become available again, followed by the return of some of the most iconic Randall products from the past – all delivering the signature high-gain Randall tone you know and love. As we shape the next generation of Randall gear, your feedback and support continues to motivate and inspire us. Stay tuned – this is only the beginning.”

It’s worth noting that Randall Amplifiers owner U.S. Music Corp. (which sounds like a fake name but it’s not) still lists Randall as their subsidiary, so I’m guessing they weren’t bought.

In the meantime, you can at least grab some older used Randall stuff here from Guitar Center.

The post Randall Amplifiers Promises Big Return With Classic Reissues and New Stuff appeared first on Gear Gods.

Get the ALPHA 8-string A528 here for $1,999.99 and keep up with all our Ibanez coverage right here.

Aside from looking generally futuristic (and pretty comfortable to wear for a little bit), the ALPHA offers up a Parallel Wizard AS-8-styled, 5-piece Maple/Walnut neck, an American Basswood body, and an Ebony fretboard with Mother of Pearl Step off-set dot inlay and 24 Jumbo Stainless Steel frets.

A pair of Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers – Alnico in the neck and Ceramic in the bridge – provide the aggressive, high-output response demanded by contemporary metal players while maintaining remarkable clarity under extreme gain.

Hardware choices further emphasize precision and stability. The Mono-rail G2 bridge isolates each string individually, improving note separation and minimizing unwanted resonance transfer between strings. Tuning stability is handled by Gotoh MG-T locking tuners, while the innovative three-screw neck joint improves upper fret access without sacrificing structural strength.

The post Ibanez Streams Proggy Demo of the Alpha 8-String Feat. Julian Barrett appeared first on Gear Gods.

At the center of the package is the 1959JHM Super Lead amplifier head, a 100-watt tube-powered monster designed to recreate the legendary “Plexi” formula Hendrix used throughout the late 1960, including his immortal performance at Woodstock. Powered by four EL34 tubes and three ECC83 preamp tubes, this thing is loud as hell. Which is the point. To achieve that famous Marshall breakup, you’re gonne have to do it the old-fashioned way — by turning it up until the circuitry fights back.

The 1959JHM also leans fully into vintage authenticity through traditional handwired construction. Every wire, resistor, capacitor, and connection is assembled by hand at Marshall’s English facility, echoing the exact construction methods used during the Hendrix era. Paired with the head is the equally imposing 1960AHW angled 4×12 cabinet, loaded with Celestion G12H-30 speakers chosen specifically for their vintage-correct response and massive projection.

Completing the package is a custom-finished version of the classic Dunlop JHF1 Fuzz Face pedal, another essential piece of Hendrix’s tonal vocabulary. Housed inside the original round “smiley face” enclosure style, the silicon-based fuzz delivers the saturated, vocal-like sustain associated with Hendrix’s late-’60s lead tones, particularly during the Band of Gypsys era and Woodstock performances.

Visually, the entire collection embraces Hendrix’s psychedelic legacy. The amplifier head, cabinet, and fuzz pedal all feature a striking purple splatter finish alongside custom Jimi Hendrix x Jim Marshall badging that pushes the bundle into collector territory.

“We built the amps, Hendrix made them scream,” wrote Marshall of the collaboration. “From the moment Hendrix plugged into a Marshall guitar amplifier in ’66, they became an unstoppable creative force. Now, both paths are aligning once again, this time to celebrate the 60 year anniversary and lasting impact of Marshall and Hendrix, a legacy that continues to influence sound, style and creative expression worldwide.

Hendrix didn’t just play through Marshall amps, he redefined what they could do. From electrifying crowds in London and at Monterey in ’67 to changing the course of music forever at Woodstock ’69, Hendrix tamed the raw power of the Marshall stack to shake the world. This collection celebrates the moment Marshall and Hendrix changed the sound of rock forever.”

Get the whole Marshall x Hendrix Half-stack Bundle here for $4,999.98 and keep up with all our Marshall coverage right here!

The post Marshall Pays Tribute to Jimi Hendrix With Psychedelic Amp and Pedal Bundle appeared first on Gear Gods.

Limited to just 500 sets worldwide, this commemorative release revisits one of the company’s most influential pickup designs: the Duncan Custom bridge humbucker. Unlike ultra-hot modern humbuckers, the Duncan Custom occupies a balanced tonal territory. Its medium-output architecture pairs a small ceramic magnet with custom-wound coils to produce tight low-end response, aggressive upper-mid articulation, and a top end capable of cutting through saturated mixes without becoming brittle.

The bridge pickup is paired with the equally iconic ‘59 Model neck pickup, creating a combination that has become one of the most trusted pairings in rock and metal guitar history. The contrast between the Duncan Custom’s focused aggression and the ‘59’s warmer, more open vintage voicing creates a tonal range broad enough to move comfortably between classic hard rock, modern metal, blues, fusion, and high-gain lead work.

For the anniversary edition, Seymour Duncan goes beyond cosmetic nostalgia. The company has intentionally returned the pickups to earlier production specifications, reviving details that longtime enthusiasts and collectors obsess over. Butyrate bobbins, long-leg baseplates, and maple spacers all return here, reflecting the construction techniques associated with the earliest Duncan Customs while preserving the core tonal identity that made the pickup famous in the first place.

Every set is hand-built inside the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop by the elite team led by Maricela Juarez, better known throughout the guitar world as “MJ.” For pickup enthusiasts, that detail alone carries enormous weight, as MJ’s work has become legendary among collectors and professional players alike.

The presentation also leans heavily into the nostalgia of the overall release. Each set features lightly aged vintage styling, replica “Seymourized” stickers, commemorative packaging, and signatures from both Seymour W. Duncan and MJ on the bottom plates. Available in either black or zebra finishes, the pickups feel positioned equally for serious players and collectors who understand the historical significance behind the design.

Get the Duncan Custom 50th Anniversary Custom Shop Set here for $375 and keep up with all our Seymour Duncan coverage right here!

The post Seymour Duncan Celebrates 50 Years With a Limited Custom Shop Throwback appeared first on Gear Gods.

Even if you’re not a drummer, it’s a pretty entertaining watch – mostly in that Archey doesn’t even come close to breaking a sweat. Dude looks like he’s about to start a conversation with someone any second.

If you’re wondering, here’s the full list of Archey’s Meinl Cymbals, all of which you can grab right here. You can also check out individual demos of each below (it’s a playlist – not just one video), and grab Lorna Shore’s I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me right here:

• 18″ Pure Alloy Extra Hammered China
• 19″ Byzance Polyphonic Crash
• 14″ Byzance Serpents Hihats
• 18″ Byzance Brilliant Medium Thin Crash
• 10″ Byzance Brilliant Splash
• 8″ Byzance Brilliant Splash
• 10″ Byzance Polyphonic Splash
• 19″ Byzance Brilliant Medium Thin Crash
• 22″ Byzance Brilliant Heavy Hammered Ride
• 20″ Byzance Polyphonic Crash
• 18″ Classics Custom Dual China
• Meinl Drum Honey on drums

The post Lorna Shore’s Austin Archey Streams Drum Playthrough of “War Machine” appeared first on Gear Gods.