Alex Van Halen says a new Van Halen album is in the works – and he’s recruited Steve Lukather to help him complete it
Reports coming out of the Netherlands have seemingly confirmed a new Van Halen record will become a reality
Latest news
Alex Van Halen says a new Van Halen album is in the works – and he’s recruited Steve Lukather to help him complete it
Reports coming out of the Netherlands have seemingly confirmed a new Van Halen record will become a reality
Zakk Wylde says there have been talks about recording new Pantera material based on unreleased Dimebag Darrell demos
Wylde has teased the possibility of using old Dimebag riffs, which currently live on an old tape recorder, for future Pantera releases
Mike Campbell on what he brought to the Heartbreakers as Tom Petty’s guitar foil
The Heartbreakers guitarist will release his career-spanning memoir next week
Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews reveals legendary pedal firm’s struggles in the face of Trump’s tariffs
EHX is the latest gear company to speak out after the impacts of Trump's new tariffs begin to be felt across the guitar world
Gene Simmons is offering fans the chance to be his personal assistant and roadie for a day… for $12,495
Duties/benefits include hauling gear and having lunch with the Kiss bassist
Bill Kelliher opens up on Brent Hinds’ surprise Mastodon departure
News of Hinds’ shock exit was shared just days before the band’s set at the Tool in the Sand festival
Footage of Dweezil Zappa and Jack Black’s cover of Crazy Train, featuring Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Rasta’ guitar, was never released – but now it's been unearthed
Filmed on the set of On The Spot, it brings together two pieces of gear with interesting stories to tell
Artists
How Imperial Triumphant became one of the most garishly experimental metal bands of a generation
Zachary Ezrin says people dismiss his guitar talents because of how dissonant his music is, but the extreme metallers continue to turn heads with a roster of extremely rare Floyd Rose-equipped Gibsons
The wildest bass solo you’ve never heard? Robert Sledge cranked the fuzz for this Ben Folds Five classic
Sledge describes the Big Muff as an extension of his hands – and he put it to good use on this searing solo
Courtney Barnett on her Fender video session, guitar tone and songwriting
The Australian singer-songwriter’s new live session demonstrates her continuing curiosity about dynamics, ambience and composing, as she admits she might be too comfortable with her Kurt Cobain Jag
How Tommy Thayer’s junior high disappointment fired him up for success with Kiss
Kiss’ longest-serving Spaceman on sticking to the Les Paul when it wasn’t cool, the joy of discovering you’ve been playing something wrong for years, why he avoided ’80s-style playing, and what he’s doing next
Welcome to Nate Garrett’s Neon Nightmare, the Spirit Adrift guitarist’s ’80s horror-inspired tribute to Peter Steele
Drawing on classic Black Sabbath and Beatles albums, Garrett's one-man homage to Type O Negative will send chills down the spin of the morbidly romantic
How Zakk Wylde’s sparring partner Dario Lorina started a new chapter – with the help of a holy grail Les Paul
Dario Lorina – who has split Black Label Society’s guitar duties with Zakk Wylde since 2014 – delivers some serious fuel-injected moto-metal fury on Dark Chapel’s Spirit in the Glass
Paul Gilbert names his three favorite guitars – including one that was stolen very recently
The virtuoso behind Mr. Big and Racer X digs out three stalwarts from his arsenal of Ibanez guitars and explains what makes them cool – oh, and why he puts erasers under his pickups
Gear
“A near-perfect compact wireless system”: Fender Telepath Wireless System review
After taking over the guitar cable market, Fender has turned its hand to its debut wireless system – and it has a secret weapon onboard
“It can give you pristine cleans, crunchy classic rock, slapback slathered blues, and even modern metal”: Blackstar Fly 3 review
I got hands-on with this low-budget practice amp designed to deliver killer tones at below the $/£100 mark
Best desktop guitar amps 2025: my top desktop amps for portable practice
Improve your guitar playing with my pick of the most powerful yet portable practice solutions
“Sounds great, bridges the gap between guitar and bass very nicely, and does so with heaps of character”: Shergold Telstar Standard Bass review
The revived UK brand unleashes a guitarist-friendly short-scale four-stringer that’s easy to play, and easy on the wallet
“Delivers uber-satisfying edge of breakup tube saturation that won’t annoy your neighbors”: Marshall DSL1CR review
Is there still a place for 1-watt tube amps in the modern age of modeling? I got hands-on with the DSL1CR to find out
“Could be a contender for the loudest, smallest amp”: Orange O Tone 40 review
What’s loud, light and orange? The latest solid-state and affordable combo from Orange
“These $99 pedals are excellent not only for their price, but also their sounds”: Keeley x Sweetwater Soft Reverb, Super Bass Overdrive And Distortion and Suns Ultravoid Fuzz review
Three all-American boutique pedals, at under $100 a pop. Too good to be true?
Lessons
Marcin's percussive fingerstyle is dropping jaws. The warm-ups that fuel his virtuosity are guaranteed to boost your own playing
Acoustic phenom Marcin Patrzałek shows you his favorite warm-up exercises
Rasgueado is a game-changing flamenco strumming technique – and it will give your picking hand a huge turbo boost
Learn the strumming style that will give your playing bravado, fire and passion
6 signs it's time to upgrade from your first acoustic guitar
Is your first acoustic guitar holding you back? Here are six signs that it is time to upgrade your starter instrument to something better
5 common excuses for not learning the guitar – and 5 body and mind-boosting reasons you should
Always wanted to learn the guitar, but keep making excuses? These are the most common ones I've heard – and why they don’t hold up
By thumb-picking bass notes while playing a melody, you can be your own rhythm section – Jared James Nichols shows you how
The pickless blues-rock powerhouse demonstrates some picking hand independence strategies that gets it working up a rhythm that works a treat for the solo musician
Jimmy Reed was one of the most influential blues guitarists to ever live – and his fingerpicking style makes an incredible launching pad for improvisation
Jim Oblon cracks open the box to present us with a blues lesson to refresh your rhythm game
The gallop is the most important metal rhythm of them all – learn the breakneck guitar technique behind Metallica, Slayer and Iron Maiden classics
This rhythm found fame in heavy metal, but it's been used in all genres for decades – making it a must-learn for every guitarist
Best online guitar lessons 2025: remote learning for guitar players – every platform tested by experts
Online lessons are great for developing your guitar skills from the comfort of your home or on the go – myself and our in-house experts have thoroughly tested options for all playing levels and budgets, including a free option
Reviews
“A near-perfect compact wireless system”: Fender Telepath Wireless System review
After taking over the guitar cable market, Fender has turned its hand to its debut wireless system – and it has a secret weapon onboard
“It can give you pristine cleans, crunchy classic rock, slapback slathered blues, and even modern metal”: Blackstar Fly 3 review
I got hands-on with this low-budget practice amp designed to deliver killer tones at below the $/£100 mark
“Sounds great, bridges the gap between guitar and bass very nicely, and does so with heaps of character”: Shergold Telstar Standard Bass review
The revived UK brand unleashes a guitarist-friendly short-scale four-stringer that’s easy to play, and easy on the wallet
“Delivers uber-satisfying edge of breakup tube saturation that won’t annoy your neighbors”: Marshall DSL1CR review
Is there still a place for 1-watt tube amps in the modern age of modeling? I got hands-on with the DSL1CR to find out
“Could be a contender for the loudest, smallest amp”: Orange O Tone 40 review
What’s loud, light and orange? The latest solid-state and affordable combo from Orange
“These $99 pedals are excellent not only for their price, but also their sounds”: Keeley x Sweetwater Soft Reverb, Super Bass Overdrive And Distortion and Suns Ultravoid Fuzz review
Three all-American boutique pedals, at under $100 a pop. Too good to be true?
“This is no clichéd P.A.F.-repro pickup”: Bare Knuckle PolyPaf humbuckers review
Adam “Nolly” Getgood's signature humbucker redefines the O.G. classic for the 21st century
Buying Guides
Best desktop guitar amps 2025: my top desktop amps for portable practice
Improve your guitar playing with my pick of the most powerful yet portable practice solutions
Best online guitar lessons 2025: remote learning for guitar players – every platform tested by experts
Online lessons are great for developing your guitar skills from the comfort of your home or on the go – myself and our in-house experts have thoroughly tested options for all playing levels and budgets, including a free option
Best acoustic guitars 2025: 10 top options for guitarists of all ages and abilities
Guitar World’s pick of the best acoustic guitars from Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Epiphone and more
Best acoustic guitars for beginners 2025: top picks for new players, reviewed and demoed by experts
We've played epic affordable six-strings from Epiphone, Taylor, Fender, Yamaha and more – read on for our best beginner acoustic guitar recommendations and watch our video demos
Best punk guitars 2025: straight-shooting, no-nonsense guitars for punk
From Gibson to Eastwood, Fender to Music Man, here’s our expert pick of guitars to help you cause some anarchy at your next DIY show
Best guitar picks 2025: awesome guitar picks to upgrade your playing
My expert guide to the best picks for electric, acoustic, and bass guitar
Best guitar plugins 2025: my top plugins to level up your recorded guitar tones
Get better guitar tones for recording and practice with my pick of the best guitar amp plugins
