Hello, and welcome to Guitar World’s sparkly new 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 abreast of every new launch that may be of interest to you.
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.
We have a big one this week. After months of tireless speculation, countless YouTube commentaries, what feels like a million forum threads, and years of anticipation, Line 6 came through.
And to be honest, it has gone above and beyond probably what most of us thought the Helix 2 line – officially anointed the Helix Stadium collection – would look like. It takes the term ‘all-in-one rig’ to unprecedented heights, and quite frankly, ushers in a bold new era of amp modelers by setting a new benchmark.
Understandably, it outshone just about every other release this week, but let’s not forget there have also been plenty of drops from Fender, Squier, Jackson and others worthy of inclusion, too…
Line 6 Helix Stadium
One of the most anticipated gear drops of the modern era? Quite possibly. After all, it’s been 10 years since Line 6 launched the Helix family, and while new hardware and firmware has done its best to keep the collection in the amp modelers arms race, unprecedented competition from Fender, Neural DSP and Kemper – along with the proliferation of budget modelers – ultimately meant an overhaul of Helix range was in order.
As such, the past few month – nay, years – has often been diluted with discourse about the mythical ‘Helix 2’, and despite the sheer volume of conversation surrounding the expected launch, Line 6 still somehow managed to trump all of our expectations, when it launched the Helix Stadium and Helix Stadium XL this week.
Brand-new modeling tech designed from the ground up dubbed Agoura, a high-definition 8″ touchscreen that literally displays amps and effects, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, bolstered I/Os, gear capturing abilities… the Helix Stadiums seem to have it all.
In terms of tone, there’s a lot to unpack. Agoura promises even greater accuracy and authenticity when it comes to replicating tube amp tones, but it also allows for more ‘idealized’ guitar sounds thanks to the ‘Hype’ feature, which taps into more produced, pristine tones if required.
In other words, it has all bases covered. And, thanks to its new cloning feature – which goes toe-to-toe with Neural DSP’s Capturing powers – the Helix Stadium can expand exponentially with user-generated tones. Factor in the overhauled AI,
But not only has it redesigned itself in keeping with the requirements of the modern modeler, it has gone above and beyond all expectations in a bid to make it the mastermind of your entire live show. That means it supports audio streaming and even light control.
The term ‘all-in-one rig’ is bandied about a lot, but it seems especially applicable here. And, like the OG Helix line, it will be interesting to see just how far Line 6 can take this new iteration in the future…
For more: Line 6
Fender Khruangbin Collection
Fender made history this week by releasing, for the first time, a signature guitar and bass guitar for two members of the same band – and it picked a worthy group to take to the history books with it.
Mark Speer and Laura Lee of Khruangbin, two influential instrumentalists revered for their genre-melding sound that traverses cultures, genres and eras have both been honored with signature replicas of their go-to guitars.
It’s yet another big-name collaboration for Fender, which is assembling arguably the most exciting and diverse artist roster out there at the moment.
For more: Fender
Squier Classic Vibe 2025
Though there was never any doubt of the safety of Squier in the face of the Fender Standard line (which blurred the price boundaries between the two brands like never before) it is nice to see Squier double down on its relative-top-of-the-line Classic Vibe range.
It’s also nice to see Fender commit to the Classic Vibe collection, which has been overhauled for 2025.
Bigsby-clad Telecasters, hardtail Strats, a new Duo-Sonic, a pink Jazzmaster… there’s a lot to like with this drop. We’re just gutted we’ll have to wait until August for them to be officially released. Until then, we imagine we’ll be spending a lot of time on the Squier website…
For more: Squier
Fender Tone Master FR-12 Tweed
You asked, Fender listened. Indeed, as soon as the dust had settled on the Big F’s flagship FRFR speaker range, there was one question on everyone’s lips: can we get a tweed version?
The answer was, as Norvell told Guitar Worlda resounding yes, and although it’s taken a while to get there, we finally have the Tone Master FR-12 Tweed. A traditional-looking bit of kit to go along with an amp modeler of your choice, this full-range, flat-response speaker looks like it will be just as exceptional as the original (which is our favorite all-round FRFR speaker out there), and with the added tweed aesthetic, it become even more popular.
For more: Fender.
Jackson Surfcaster
Sure, the Jackson Surfcaster broke cover back at NAMM earlier this year, but, six months later, the cult offset reissue has finally been released. Riding the growing wave of popularity for metal offsets – and appeasing calls for a Surfcaster that Mike Stringer and Misha Mansoor fueled – the X and JS Series models look to revive the offset guitar for a new generation of heavy players.
We’ve been waiting for this for some time, so we’re already well versed in their spec sheets, but it’s nice to see the surprisingly very-affordable finally on shelves. Not only that, it also paves the way for some future Surfcaster action, now this first release wave is over. Some pastel colors and relic’d finishes next, please…
For more: Jackson
Gretsch Broadkaster LX and Jr.
It’s been a busy week for the Fender family of brands, with Gretsch getting in on the release action by launching two high-end MIJ semi-hollows, the Broadkaster LX and Broadkaster JR.
Again, these two Center Block models were teased at the start of the year as part of a wholesale product previe, but – like the Jackson Surfcasters – these two are getting their own time in the spotlight.
And for good reason, too. These are very tasty guitars indeed, and we’re already obsessed with the redesigned bodies, which have been fine-tuned for greater playability.
For more: Gretsch.
Supro Airwave
Supro is one of the biggest players in the tube amp game, but with the proliferation of 21st century tech in the general amp world, the boutique firm has decided to embrace such developments – and, in turn, cater to a greater pool of players – by unveiling the Airwave.
It is, simply put, a notable release from Supro. The Airwave features “the tube circuitry that defines the Supro sound”, but comes fitted with on-board cab sims courtesy of a collaboration with audio specialists, Two Notes, reuslting in “a massive array of historic and modern Supro tones”.
Two Notes’ presence in the amp world is becoming more apparent – it has already worked with Victory and Ashdown in the past – so don’t be surprised if more big-name collaborations are in the pipeline…
For more: Top.
