LAS VEGAS — We didn’t have a hard-rock guitarist opening for Pitbull on our bingo card.

But Ashba doesn’t play bingo. He plays his own game.

The musician we were floored by in Guns N’ Roses’ two residencies at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel is Mr. Worldwide’s special guest at Fontainebleau’s BleauLive Theater from Friday through March 15, returning May 9-10.

Ashba performed in Axl Rose’s reconfigured, eight-piece Guns N’ Roses roster in 2012 and again in 2014. Rose could pick any guitarist to fill Slash’s absence. In those shows at The Joint, we learned quickly why he recruited Ashba, a dominant performer whose solos were a show within the show.

Since the second of those residencies closed in June 2014, Ashba has developed an EDM-hard rock format from a DJ booth. He runs all elements of the production, from the lights and video (we joked he could even set up a merch stand on stage). All while performing reconfigured rock numbers in an electronic format.

It’s a wildly inventive showcase, with the guitarist blending rock classics like GNR’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with a dance mix. He’s taking 30 minutes to lead into Pitbull’s tireless groove experience.

“Everything I’m playing, people are going to know,” Ashba says. “But I have my own take on it. I’m twisting songs into more of a dance version, and it’s gonna a be a super high-energy party.”

That is the corresponding quality Ashba shares with Pitbull, who has titled his show “Vegas After Dark” to indicate his tireless performing style. The guitarist caught Mr. 305 (who has yet to wear out his many nicknames) during his days at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater.

“I just think the guy is incredible. He’s an inspiration,” says Ashba, also known for his time with Nikki Sixx’s rock outfit Sixx:A.M. “He’s so full of energy. What I love about him most is his positivity. When I met him, I saw that he is every bit the person he is on stage. He really is that person.”

Pitbull’s team was not looking for a musician when contacting Ashba, founder of Ashba Studios, a Las Vegas fabrication company. Mr. Worldwide wanted Ashba’s company to build a stage, before realizing the owner could perform on it.

“I saw that he was playing in town at the residency and hit him up about playing. It was a long shot, but I was like, ‘Hey, I just wanted to throw my name in the hat if you guys need an opener,’” Ashba says. “Two days later, I got a call and I was on the bill.”

The Pitbull-Ashba partnership is likely to grow from the BleauLive Theater performances, which will get used to fans of both artists accustomed to their symbiotic styles. Ashba has already won over a potentially skeptical demographic – his hard-rock brethren.

“I thought I was going to catch a lot of (heat) from the rock industry, but weirdly, I’ve got nothing but support,” Ashba says. “Even from dudes that don’t even like EDM, like Sebastian Bach and all these people, they show up to my shows all the time.”

It’s clear that classic rock will always have an audience. And EDM isn’t going anywhere. Ashba’s methods are to create a garden of music and grow the styles.

“It’s a way to evolve the music, so it won’t stay the same,” the rock-artist says. “You can’t be afraid to try new things.”

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