Guitarist Slash, a.k.a. Saul Hudson, was arrested at an L.A.-area recording studio on the weekend for allegedly assaulting his estranged girlfriend. The altercation was said to have taken place in a room at the Le Parc Hotel in West Hollywood on July 19, but the unnamed woman apparently didn't lodge a complaint until later in the week.

Police officials appeared at the Sunset Boulevard facility Saturday evening (July 24) and transported the guitarist to a West Hollywood police station. He was booked and released on a $50,000 bond. Slash, who left Guns N' Roses in 1996, was in the middle of a recording session for his new Slash's Snakepit album with producer Jack Douglas at the time.

According to a source close to Slash, the arrest was the latest in a week-long series of accusations and counter-accusations.

"There was a lot of 'don't get mad, get even' going on," says the source. "There's more to this story than meets the eye, and when it all comes out, Slash will be vindicated." The source added that contrary to published reports, the couple had not been living together.

Friends and fans of the laid back guitarist are finding the story hard to believe. "He never even gets mad, much less violent," says one associate.

The top-hatted rocker has previously had accounting problems related to his ex-wife, Renee, but no criminal troubles. Former Guns drummer Steven Adler, however, recently served almost three months after he was convicted of assaulting two different women in unrelated incidents.