Guitar World

Martin Barre (left) and Jimmy Page perform onstage — “Jimmy Page was in the control room window, waving madly. I was in the middle of the solo, and I thought, ‘Sorry, but I can’t stop.’ I just turned my back”: Martin Barre on the time Jimmy Page nearly cut him off mid-Aqualung solo “I think it was take two,” the Jethro Tull guitarist recalled, “and if I hadn’t got it in two then it would have been a flute solo”

Karl Sanders holds his signature Dean and wears a guitar strap that looks like medieval weaponry — “I saw this video of a 10-year-old Japanese girl shredding Paul Gilbert solos. I figured, ‘This can’t be about brute physicality. It’s about touching the guitar the right way’”: Karl Sanders on technical epiphanies – and why Nile needs three guitarists Sanders might be one of death metal's most ferocious and technical players but he tells us you're never too good to stop improving, and a lesson from one of his students transformed his technique, making it more vicious and controlled than ever

“I quit teaching art to go tour and be a musician. I didn’t sign up for the drama, or the stalkers, or the business side”: Yvette Young almost left music before taking a radical solo turn – but she’s not done with Covet Getting over her thoughts of quitting, she’s developed a glitchy sound “like a dying battery,” and moved away from technique-focused shredding to dream pop. However, don’t write off her math rock days just yet...

Left-Music producer Rick Rubin attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California; Right-The Beastie Boys sitting on stairs — “I played a Gibson SG Junior. It was the guitar I used in my punk band – when my apartment got broken into in New York, it got stolen”: Yes, Rick Rubin played the opening riff on Beastie Boys’ No Sleep Till Brooklyn – he looks back at recording a classic While Kerry King's searing solo is the star of the show, Rubin sets the tone with his rhythm guitar work on the iconic rap rock track

Latest news

Eric Clapton and John Mayall both performing on stage in the late 1960s

“Thank you for rescuing me when I decided that I was going to quit music”: Eric Clapton pays emotional tribute to his Bluesbreaker bandmate and blues mentor John Mayall

By Matt Owen

Jake E. Lee performs onstage at Webster Hall in New York City on December 2, 2014

Jake E. Lee “fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit” after being shot multiple times

By Jackson Maxwell published 15 October 24

According to Lee's representative, the guitar virtuoso was out walking his dog in Las Vegas when he was shot multiple times. He is expected to make a full recovery

(from left) Brian May, Steve Cropper, and Billy Gibbons perform onstage

Brian May on his unlikely guitar kinsmanship with Steve Cropper and Billy Gibbons

By Jackson Maxwell published 15 October 24

Recruited for the recent Cropper tune Too Much Stress, May says the three masters fit together better than you might think

Barrie Cadogan playing Rory Gallagher's 1963 Gibson Melody Maker

Former Primal Scream guitarist Barrie Cadogan reacts to playing Rory Gallagher's golden-era Gibsons

By Janelle Borg published 15 October 24

Cadogan notes how Gallagher managed to create such a distinct sound, even with relatively simple gear, as he tries out the legend's 1963 Gibson Melody Maker

Xvive’s U8 clip-on wireless system could be a serious problem solver for acoustic players

By Phil Weller published 15 October 24

Offering 90 feet of transmission and a five-hour battery life, the system aims to liberate acoustic players with cable-free mic'ing

Fender’s new American Ultra II guitars offer its most advanced take on classic shapes

By Matt Owen published 15 October 24

Upgraded pickups, a new neck profile, and a suite of high-end specs make up the all-new American Ultra II family, representing Fender's most cutting-edge guitar designs

Never-before-heard Jimi Hendrix demos are up for auction – and expected to sell for $260,000

By Janelle Borg published 15 October 24

The rare tape includes demos of key tracks from The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s sophomore album, Axis: Bold as Love – alongside other documents like dry-cleaning bills and tour itineraries

Nuno Bettencourt circa 1995 with his custom-made Washburn double-neck guitar

Nuno Bettencourt’s custom Washburn N-8 double-neck was stolen from an arena stage – but made a remarkable return

By Janelle Borg published 15 October 24

While in the middle of an Extreme tour, Bettencourt found himself without his prized custom Washburn guitar, with suspicion falling on his crew

Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a 1967 Fender Twin Reverb

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Twin Reverb amp, used in sessions for Texas Flood and David Bowie is up for sale

By Matt Owen published 15 October 24

The 1967 Twin is fitted with distinctive Electro Voice SRO 'coffee can' speakers, and was used by SRV during his Las Colinas rehearsals with David Bowie

A man holds a hammer and the Taylor Swift acoustic guitar he won at auction for $4,000

This Taylor Swift-signed guitar was smashed at auction and went viral – now it has been sold at an even higher price

By Janelle Borg published 15 October 24

Texan Gary Estes insisted that the guitar smashing move was just a joke, whereas later reports suggested it was an obvious political statement

View all

Latest Features

Taylor 50th Anniversary 814ce Builder’s Edition

“Be intentional about where you’re picking. Moving from the bridge to the fingerboard is as dramatic as switching pickup positions on an electric”: 21 ways to get more from your acoustic guitar

By Jenna Scaramanga

Mark Knopfler wears an old denim short and poses with a Martin dreadnought acoustic guitar

How the Martin D-18 and D-28 changed the world – and became the definitive acoustic guitars

By Chris Gill published 15 October 24

Loved by the likes of Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Mark Knopfler and more, these Martin dreadnoughts are arguably the most successful guitar designs in history. Here's everything you need to know about this steel-string icon

A portrait of British alt-rock band Wunderhorse, with frontman Jacob Slater in the foreground, arms folded

Wunderhorse turned up to Nirvana's In Utero studio, borrowed guitars – and made one of 2024’s best alt rock records

By Mark McStea published 15 October 24

What started out as a solo project is now a proper band with ties that go back to childhood, and Midas is the sound of an indie collaboration in full bloom

Jontavious Williams wears a white longsleeve and plays a cutaway resonator with a glass of water on the table in front of him.

Jontavious Willis has become one of acoustic blues’ most exciting voices – just don’t says he’s the future of the art form

By Mark McStea published 14 October 24

Straight out of West Georgia with stories to tell and songs to sing, Willis tells us why he the time is now for acoustic blues and how the British Invasion brought good and bad for the art form

A Fender Mustang Micro and Mustang Micro Plus next to each other on a wooden floor

Fender Mustang Micro vs Mustang Micro Plus: is it worth upgrading?

By Matt McCracken published 14 October 24

We put Fender’s two headphone amps for guitar in a room together to duke it out

Ian Moore stands against some street art.

Ian Moore on Dumble's legacy, the “snake oil” around them, and his quest to design the perfect amp

By Tracy Anne Hart published 14 October 24

If the perfect tone doesn't exist then why are we still search for it? As Austin powerhouse Ian Moore sees it, "the journey is the destination"

(from left) Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker perform live at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 26, 1968

Cream were one of the loudest rock bands of their time – that excessive volume helped tear the band apart

By Jackson Maxwell published 13 October 24

During Cream's late '60s heyday, and again during their brief reunion in 2005, drummer Ginger Baker felt that both his – and even Eric Clapton's – contributions were often drowned out by bandmate Jack Bruce's

Berry Oakley onstage with the Allman Brothers Band.

Berry Oakley set the template for the Allman Brothers Band with a modified ’72 Jazz, known as ‘The Tractor’

By Nick Wells published 12 October 24

Oakley added a Hagstrom Bi-Sonic pickup to his 1972 Jazz Bass, giving him a total of three pickups and five control knobs

Chris Wolstenholme of Muse performs during the 2017 Lollapalooza Day One at Grant Park on August 3, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.

“Somebody said, ‘Why don't you try slap bass?’” Chris Wolstenholme switched up his tone and technique on Muse’s The Resistance

By Nick Wells published 12 October 24

Monstrous tones (and a massive signal chain) are just part of Chris Wolstenholme’s bass evolution with Muse

John Lennon 1970 Plastic Ono on "Top Of The Pops" & The Plastic U.F.Ono Band: Jim Keltner, Gordon Edwards, Rick Marotta, Yoko Ono, David Spinozza, Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Kenny Asher.San Diego, CA, 17 Sep 1973

Session bassist Gordon Edwards laid it down on this classic John Lennon ballad

By Nick Wells published 12 October 24

A close connection with John Lennon's musical arranger put Gordon Edwards in the studio for 1973’s Mind Games

Latest Lessons

A portrait of a long-haired Pete Townshend playing a Martin dreadnought capoed at the 5th fret, with striped curtains in the background.

Pete Townshend was the god of rhythm guitar in the ’60s and ’70s – here’s how he took his untapped technique to the acoustic

By Stuart Ryan published 15 October 24

Tracks such as Pinball Wizard and Substitute were driven by Townshend's untapped, brawny-yet-brainy acoustic guitar playing. We've gathered all the techniques you need to nail his style in one video lesson

Jeff Beck leans into a solo on his Olympic White Fender Stratocaster, without pick as per his preferred style

A touch that has never been rivalled – how Jeff Beck forever reshaped the way guitarists think about ‘feel’

By Andy G Jones published 14 October 24

From faux slide lines and whammy bar manipulation to fingerstyle phraseology and harmonics, learn the key tricks of Jeff Beck’s incredible lead playing

Billy Duffy of the Cult wears a black western shirt and plays his signature Gretsch White Falcon onstage in london, with orange stage lights in the background.

With Bob Rock and Rick Rubin at the helm, he recorded some of rock’s most iconic riffs, and launched side-projects with Jerry Cantrell, John Corabi and The Alarm’s Mike Peters – how Billy Duffy’s guitar playing built a Cult following

By Martin Cooper published 11 October 24

Duffy’s unique playing style has made the Cult one of rock’s most enigmatic artists, and this video lesson goes deep inside the Sonic Temple to spill the secrets to his rhythm and lead approaches

Jim Hall wears a brightly patterned shirt as he plays a jazz box onstage

Pat Metheny called him “the father of modern jazz guitar” – here's how Jim Hall revolutionized modern jazz

By John Wheatcroft published 10 October 24

Hall's genius with a guitar had profound implications for the jazz band format, as six-strings replaced piano in the rhythm section

Bathed in red-orange stage lights, Ty Tabor plays a blue Strat onstage with King's X

King’s X are one of rock’s most singular bands, and Ty Tabor is a master guitarist who fuses the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix in his supernova style

By Jamie Humphries published 9 October 24

Ty Tabor combines drop-tuned riffs with Beatles-esque harmonies and groove, and this video masterclass unpacks the King’s X guitarist’s influential rhythm and lead style

5 dissonant guitar chords that hold unexpected delights

By Richard Barrett published 8 October 24

We're always talking about harmonious chord pairings, but these discordant shapes will bring tension and surprise to your playing

Concert Of Carlos Santana In Bercy, Paris in Paris, France on May 29, 2000.

Loved by Yngwie, Santana and Slash, the harmonic minor scale is an essential part of every guitar player's vocabulary

By Simon Barnard published 7 October 24

Whether you're checking into the Hotel California or sheltering from the cold November Rain, the harmonic minor scale is right there with you. This lesson demystifies it with examples you can use now

Kenny Wayne Shepherd gives off SRV vibes wearing a leather jacket, hat, and playing a battered Fender Stratocaster

How Kenny Wayne Shepherd became a modern-day master of the Stratocaster

By David Gerrish published 4 October 24

That Overdrive Special you bought on Reverb is going to pay for itself once you take this lesson in the former child prodigy turned maestro's style

Donnie Laudicina teaches a James Brown-inspired funk rhythm figure

Learn the ‘chanking’ funk approach popularized by game-changing James Brown guitarist Jimmy Nolen

By Donnie Laudicina published 3 October 24

You can chank us later for this lesson in an approach that could revolutionise how you execute your rhythm guitar manoeuvres

Latest news

Get The Pick Newsletter