Let’s Break It Down…
Buying the right gear matters—whether it’s your first guitar, a new amp, or leveling up your setup. With over 30 years of hands-on experience testing, gigging, and obsessing over gear, we’ve learned what works (and what’s not worth your cash). These guides break it all down so you can build a rig that actually fits your needs—without making rookie mistakes or wasting money.
For those of you that want to chug and djent, an extended range guitar or (better yet) a baritone electric guitar is just what the doctor ordered. Here’s all the best options from the last 12 months
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Here’s a look at the gear used by the pros, from guitars to pedals to recording equipment and amps. The focus here is metal and rock, so if you’re looking to dial in that kind of sound, you’ll find loads of interesting stuff below…
Tim Henson’s guitar rig is purpose-built to jump from modern metal to classical fingerpicking and trap beats without skipping a beat.
Progressive
When we talk about the foundations of heavy metal, we don’t start with bands or albums, we start with Black Sabbath. And that starts with Tony Iommi. His gear choices, born out of necessity (he lost the tips of his fingers in an accident) and innovation, defined what metal guitar would sound like for generations.…
Metal
Jimi Hendrix redefined guitar, popularized fuzz, and in the space of 12 short years of playing guitar, reinvented music. Here’s all the gear he used to create his iconic, face-melting sound from his favorite guitar to his preferred amps and pedals…
Rock
Josh Homme started in the desert with KYUSS, then took over the world with Queens of The Stone Age. An iconic, trailblazing guitarist, his tone is the stuff of legend. Here’s the gear he uses to create it — from amps to guitars and pedals…
Stoner Rock
Here’s a breakdown of all the gear used by TOOL’s Adam Jones. From his choice of guitars to amps and pedals, this rug rundown details everything he uses to create his iconic guitar tone
Alt-Metal, Prog
Tosin Abasi has carved out a space where technical mastery meets genre-defying creativity. His playing with Animals as Leaders demands a rig that delivers clarity, dynamics, and total control, and that’s exactly what his gear is built to do. Whether it’s pristine cleans or surgical high-gain tones, every component in his setup is there to…
Prog-Metal, Ambient
Stephen Carpenter’s rig is the foundation of Deftones’ massive, low-end-heavy sound. His approach to tone blends crushing riffage with ambient layering, and the gear he uses reflects that balance.
Alt-Metal
Chino’s gear is less about brand loyalty and more about feeling. Whether it’s rigging a U87 with duct tape or using a rare chorus pedal, his choices serve the music’s emotion above all. His setups reflect a focus on texture, contrast, and vibe
Metal, Alt-Rock, Post-Rock