Junior genius

Once considered the runt of vintage LPs, first-year Goldtops could be the pick of the litter

PJD CAREY CLASSIC £1,899

Amid the mayhem of his European tour, Joe takes time out to give us a guided tour around his 2025 live gear, delivers the lowdown on some of his more storied guitars, and tells us why his mighty multi-amp rig has to run at breaking point in order to make the earth move and those riffs resonate…

EARLIER IN THE year, Epiphone took the wraps off eight new Inspired by Gibson Custom models. These guitars are now called Reissues to differentiate them from the previous models; they also involve var

EPIPHONE INSPIRED BY GIBSON CUSTOM 1962 ES-335 REISSUE £1,099

The former Cars six-stringer talks early guitar exploits, the golden age of vintage-guitar buying, and why he’s not as jazzed about amps as he is about guitars themselves