Welcome to Guitar World’s weekly gear round-up, your one-stop-shop for keeping up to date with what’s been happening in the big wide world of guitar gear over the past seven days.
From new electric guitars to amp modeler updates, the guitar industry is never short of fresh releases, and it can sometimes be hard to stay in the loop with every new launch.
To make things a little easier, we’ve put together an essential must-read guide that will cover the major releases, the boutique drops, and everything in between.
Below you'll find my personal highlights from the week, along with plenty of honorable mentions for the new gear you might have missed. Agree with my picks? Have a highlight of your own? Let us know in the comments.
PRS Tekton
PRS has always had a stake in the heavy music game, but never like this. The PRS Tekton family – a new range of super-engineered metal guitars – reframes the brand in a completely new light.
It could be the firm’s most significant launch since the Silver Sky arrived back in 2018. The four new Tektons are designed exclusively for the most accomplished modern technicians, and geared for prog and shred players through a spec sheet that drags PRS into a completely new market.
Seemingly building on the precedent set by Herman Li’s Chleo model, the Tektons feature ultra-thin bodies and necks, radical body sculpting and contours, stainless steel frets, uber-flat fretboards, and
But it was the new Stylus humbuckers that intrigued me most about the Tekton drop. They offer flatter output with a more moderate tonal character in order to get the most out of digital gear. Think ‘quasi-FRFR pickups’ that will give your digital rig room to breathe. It’s a novel concept, and not one we’ve ever seen from a mainstream brand before.
Safe to say it’s a big drop. So much so that we at Guitar World HQ put our heads together to discuss what it could mean for the guitar world at large…
Fender x Mark Hoppus Stoned Fruit Jaguar Bass
Mark Hoppus has been a staunch Fender fan since he made the switch from Ernie Ball back in blink-182’s early days. As such, he’s got a fair few bass guitars in his collection worthy of a signature recreation.
This week, he launched his second Fender Jaguar Bass model, this time based on his “Stoned Fruit” model. The custom four-string, which features artwork from Ohio-based artist ‘Burrito Breath’ – as well as an exclusive Guava Green – has been Hoppus’ go-to stage bass for a while now.
It’s been given a limited edition recreation that will only be available for 182 hours. It comes with a sticker set for those wanting to cover up that Guava Green colorway a la Hoppus’ original, as well as the hybrid spec sheet that was found on his first Jag Bass from 2023. That means reverse-mounted split-coil P Bass pickups, a Jazz Bass neck, and a Jag Bass body.
We caught up with Hoppus this week to chat about his latest bass – as well as blink-182’s next album.
Fender x Paul Smith Telecaster
Fender sees the PRS John Mayer Defender Silver Sky and raises it the, er, Paul Smith Telecaster? Honestly, we’d like to think these are all just coincidences but we just don’t know anymore.
Anyway, the Paul Smith Telecaster has been designed in collaboration with the British fashion house – not Paul Reed Smith, the guitar maker – to celebrate the pair’s joint 80th birthdays. We’d be interested to know how long this one has been in the works, but as you can imagine commenters online are having a field day with this.
Not only do you now have a Silver Sky that has ‘Fender’ on it, you also have a Telecaster inscribed with ‘Paul Smith’. Cool me a naive fool, but I simply can’t convince myself that these are all planned trolls. Whatever the case, this is a pretty cool Telecaster...
Also Launched This Week
Ovation Viper
The cult Ovation Viper that was once played by Jeff Buckley is back after nearly 50 years. A very lovely single-cut that deserves more love. Unfortunately it’s only limited-edition…
For more: Ovation
Gibson x Tom Petty Flying V
Gibson has celebrated 50 years of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with a collection of five Flying Vs, each with its own distinct colorway.
For more: Gibson
Emerald Guitars X20
A new generation of Emerald guitars is here after the Irish carbon fiber guitar giant discontinued its entire range to make way for its latest X20 evolution.
For more: Emerald Guitars
Ernie Ball Music Man Family Reserve John Petrucci Majesty
John Petrucci’s signature Majesty guitar has been given three new colorways – Chocolate Grizzle, Blonde Roast, and Lost in Space – as it unveils the ultra-exclusive Ball Family Reserve 2026 collection.
For more: Ernie Ball Music Man
DiMarzio The Chopper / The Cruiser
New noise-cancelling Telecaster pickups from DiMarzio. They combine neodymium magnets and twin-blade hum-cancelling coils to offer higher output, faster transients, and a lower noise floor than traditional T-style pickups.
For more: DiMarzio
Crazy Tube Circuits Rapture
Crazy Tube Circuits has lifted the drive section of its fan favorite Triptychon for a standalone stompbox at the request of players, promising amp-like gain with natural compression and harmonic richness.
For more: Crazy Tube Circuits
