We round up the best guitar advice, reactions, and new guitars featured on the Gibson Gear Guide in 2025
In 2025, the Gibson Gear Guide was packed yet again with seriously useful advice, artist reactions to new guitar releases, and, of course, some incredible guitars from Gibson and Epiphone. This year-end roundup captures the biggest playing moments, best gear demos, and most powerful quotes from a standout year of artist appearances featuring Joe Bonamassa, Emily Wolfe, Richie Faulkner, J.D. Simo, and many more incredible players, all brought together by your host, Dinesh Lekhraj.
If you’re watching via the Gibson Gazette, here are the timestamps:
0:00 Joe Bonamassa’s Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton tricks
3:39 Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird™ V with Maestro™ Vibrola™ Reissue
5:57 J.D. Simo’s slide guitar trick
11:36 Richie Faulkner’s incredible advice
15:00 Les Paul™ vs. Les Paul
16:24 Joe Bonamassa’s amp settings
20:00 Emily Wolfe unboxes a Gibson Custom Select 1964 ES-345™ Reissue with Bigsby
21:29 Marcus King’s only advice for guitarists
22:42 Afrodiziac unboxes a Gibson Custom Select 1968 Les Paul Custom Reissue in Jade Green
24:11 J.D. Simo’s advice for Jeremy Allen White
25:33 Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1942 J-45™ Banner Reissue
25:54 Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1964 SG™ Standard Reissue with Maestro Vibrola
28:56 Gibson Modern Collection L-00 Special demo
30:06 J.D. Simo on the Gibson Custom Select 1964 ES-345 Reissue in Bronze Mist
The best Gibson artist advice and interviews of 2025
Once again this year, Joe Bonamassa came back to the Gibson Gear Guide set to drop more incredible advice in typical no-holds-barred fashion. Watch as he breaks down how Al Di Meola’s legendary timing influenced his phrasing, and get a quick lesson in how he sets his amp to avoid unwanted compression or “squish.” In another clip, Joe drops a great lesson on how to sound like Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton, teaching you some really cool lead guitar tricks that he’s used to shape his own lead guitar playing.
J.D. Simo yet again shows us why he’s Hollywood’s first-call session player as this incredible guitar teacher shows us the only slide trick you’ll ever need—a technique that could save players years of guesswork. We also revisit the moment that J.D. taught The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White how to play guitar while preparing for his role in the Springsteen film, Deliver Me from Nowhere.
Meanwhile, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner delivers one of the year’s most powerful monologues in just 173 seconds, cutting through the noise with practical, emotional advice about overcoming self-doubt as a guitarist. You’ll also hear from Marcus King, who gave us his non-negotiable lesson for players—a mindset shift that’s as relevant to touring professionals as it is beginners.
Marcus King and his signature Gibson Marcus King ES-345™
New Gibson and Epiphone signature models
2025 also marked the arrival of some standout artist signature guitars on the channel. The new Joe Bonamassa 1959 Epiphone Les Paul Custom generated a lot of attention this year, selling out almost instantly, while Marcus King unveiled his signature Gibson ES-345 model, built to match his family heirloom guitar, which jumped off guitar hangers equally fast.
Dinesh demos the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V with Maestro Vibrola Reissue
New Gibson and Epiphone guitar collections
Some of 2025’s most anticipated releases came from the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection. The all-new Firebird was clearly a favorite, while you loved the Les Paul versus Les Paul showdown video, which offered a direct comparison between the new Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom model and its Gibson Custom counterpart, ably tackled by host Dinesh.
Acoustic fans weren’t left behind, either. The 1942 J-45 Banner Reissue was a smash hit, as well as the Gibson L-00 Special from the Modern Collection, and the announcement of the new Gibson Modern Collection acoustic guitars.
Emily Wolfe unboxes a Gibson Custom Select 1964 ES-345 Reissue with Bigsby
Artist reactions to new Gibson guitars
As if all of the content above wasn’t enough, we handed off some of our coolest new guitars to trusted artists and let the cameras roll. The results were pretty cool. Emily Wolfe dives into the Gibson Custom Select 1964 ES-345 Reissue with Bigsby, J.D. Simo returns with his take on the same model in Bronze Mist, and the incredibly talented rising star Afrodiziac takes on the Gibson Custom Select 1968 Les Paul Custom Reissue in Light Aged Jade Green, matching its striking finish with equally interesting playing.
And that was just a small taste of what happened in 2025. Thanks for watching the Gibson Gear Guide in 2025. We really do appreciate you. We’ll see you next year for more solos, more powerchords, more priceless advice from A-list artists, and more incredible guitars.
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