My pick of the best new guitar gear launched this week – and the new drops you might have missed
New releases from Marshall, Harley Benton, Gibson and more…
Latest News
My pick of the best new guitar gear launched this week – and the new drops you might have missed
New releases from Marshall, Harley Benton, Gibson and more…
IK Multimedia makes 9 elusive lost era Fender amps available as a TONEX plugin
A total of 80 Tone Models based on Fender's ultra-rare brown-panel amps have been captured
Eric Clapton tried to invite Derek Trucks onto his album with JJ Cale – but he thought it was a prank call
Trucks was in the middle of a game of poker when Clapton came calling – but he didn't answer the phone
How Troy Sanders landed one of metal’s greatest bassists for a guest spot on Mastodon’s new album
Marrow Deep features an unexpected low-end hero – and according to Troy Sanders, it's the album’s defining bass performance
Adrian Belew on how he went from playing with Frank Zappa to joining David Bowie's band
Belew would serve as Bowie’s lead guitarist between 1978 and 1979, before returning as his musical director in 1990
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The Edge’s mirror ball Les Paul was one of his most experimental guitars – now it’s up for auction
It featured in the Discothèque music video as the band added electronic elements into their sound
Kiss to celebrate Ace Frehley's legacy with all-star tribute
The current members of the legendary band – Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer – are also set to perform
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Artists
The guitar solo Joe Satriani wished he never wrote
Tuning issues and a desperate need to blow off musical steam from limiting session work made it a lesson learned for the esteemed shredder
Inside the chaotic sessions that produced Jimi Hendrix's classic rendition of All Along the Watchtower
Recorded in London and New York, Hendrix's version of the Bob Dylan track would become the Experience's best-selling single – but it took many takes to get there
The Sweet's last man standing Andy Scott on wild times and triumphs in glam's most influential band
The guitar history of the Sweet, one of the best-loved bands of the glam era, who splashed color, fun and rock-solid riffs across the ’70s pop world – and influenced a generation in the process
How an off-the-cuff studio experiment unlocked one of Mastodon’s biggest bass sounds
Troy Sanders discovered an unexpected source of low-end fury thanks to a Marshall guitar head and 4x12 cabinet
Gus G on whirlwind days with Ozzy Osbourne, his rock-star Guitar World cover shoot, and his difficult choice of guitars
With new solo album Steel Burner out now, Gus G checks in to talk about his August 2010 GW cover shoot and all the madness surrounding it
Stephen Bishop on friendship, luck, and his impossible-to-miss Ferrington guitar
He hit big with his 1976 debut, Careless, went on to be attacked by John Belushi in Animal House, and appeared in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. As he suspends retirement for a farewell tour, he reveals the last musical item on his bucket list
He's worked with Grace Bowers and Cory Wong – now Devon Gilfillian wants to introduce “Nashville Soul” to the world
The Philly native’s new record, Time Will Tell, is “a soul album with little spices from the country spice cabinet” – and it’s loaded with guitar-work that's heavy, funky, weird, and, of course, soulful
Meet Ulrika Spacek, the nu-metalheads who transformed into hypnotic ’90s alt-rockers
Boasting three guitarists and an army of offsets, the UK alt-rock outfit are one of this year's most hotly tipped bands
The story of Van Halen’s 1984, and the end of the David Lee Roth era
Creative differences led to Roth’s departure the following year, but 1984 found the band firing on all cylinders, as Eddie Van Halen embraced his pop sensibilities while retaining the musical adventurism that made him the greatest of all time
Gear
The inside story of Gibson's Century Collection acoustics – and the role the Rolling Stones and Beatles played
Period-correct in (almost) every detail, the Gibson Century Collection’s 12-fret format is addictively playable. Gibson's Robi Johns tells us it’s all down to the Brits
"Once I'm playing, the Hush X Live feels much more like a 'real' guitar than the novelty I was first expecting." Donner Hush X Live Pro review
An ambitious, affordable, and fully-loaded guitar that looks to be a one-stop shop for all your traveling needs
10 misunderstood guitar pedals that became modern classics
These trailblazing stompboxes baffled players at first, but guitarists eventually caught on…
“Would work a treat with flat-wound strings”: Fender Vintera III Late ‘60s Precision Bass review
Fender's Vintera range receives another round of tweaks – and a new ‘60s-styled P-Bass
Best beginner electric guitars 2026: top electric models for new players, reviewed and demoed by experts
So you're a budding guitarist? Get started with our pick of the best beginner electric guitars from Squier, Yamaha, and Epiphone
Sort out your ’board! 7 pedalboard accessories to tidy up your stompbox setup
Make your pedalboard easier to play, maintain and evolve with my go-to trimmings, from ultra-affordable to essential
"A very persuasive showcase for Fender's dark horse guitar model": Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Mustang review
The ultimate distillation of Fender's continuously underrated offset?
Lessons
“Resolving with a more conventional blues phrase sounds really cool and satisfying”: Corey Congilio on how to add harmonic depth to your solo improvisations
Congilio’s Blues Extensions column continues with a lesson in playing a five-minor-7 arpeggio over a dominant 7 chord
Manuel Gardner Fernandes breaks down the 5 techniques that define his sound
Manuel presents his percussive strumming, tapped harmonics, selective picking, and Hetfield-inspired downpicking approaches
Mike Stringer on how 8-string guitars take him outside his comfort zone in search of creative dissonance
Using the low-end monster riffs of Spiritbox's Fata Morgana, Stringer offers up a rhythm masterclass in modern metal
Charlie Starr on the joys of fingerpicking in Csus2 – the open tuning that doesn’t have a bad chord anywhere
The Blackberry Smoke frontman unpacks the tuning he learned from Levi Lowery
Joe Bonamassa on the Eric Clapton classic that’s essential learning for any blues soloist
Written by Memphis Slim, covered by Slowhand with John Mayall, Steppin’ Out is one of the tracks that all blues players should know. Bonamassa teaches you how to play it
Mike Stringer gives us an “unapologetically heavy” lesson in how to combine power chords with hammer-ons and pull-offs
The Spiritbox riff-master shows you how to chug along to Angel Eyes
Pinch Harmonics made easy: how to get the perfect squeal
Our definitive guide on how Billy Gibbons, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde make their guitars scream
Reviews
"Once I'm playing, the Hush X Live feels much more like a 'real' guitar than the novelty I was first expecting." Donner Hush X Live Pro review
An ambitious, affordable, and fully-loaded guitar that looks to be a one-stop shop for all your traveling needs
“Would work a treat with flat-wound strings”: Fender Vintera III Late ‘60s Precision Bass review
Fender's Vintera range receives another round of tweaks – and a new ‘60s-styled P-Bass
"A very persuasive showcase for Fender's dark horse guitar model": Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Mustang review
The ultimate distillation of Fender's continuously underrated offset?
“A hard-to-put-down Les Paul with bags of character”: Gibson Les Paul Studio Double Trouble review
Gibson brings the Double Trouble treatment to a lower price-point with a weight-relieved Studio version. For skint rockers everywhere, it’s time to rejoice!
“A must-have producer’s plugin for how much ground it covers”: MixWave Yvette Young Plugin review
Yvette Young’s first signature plugin brings every aspect of her technicolor tones to a versatile toybox of a plugin
"It’s deceptively versatile”: Jackson Pro Series Signature Wes Borland King V review
The Limp Bizkit guitarist's new signature is a single-pickup riff machine designed for live playing, and it's capable of more than you might think
Orange Outlowd by Ed Sheeran ES60 review
Busking-ready acoustic amp with an organic, woody voice and star appeal
Buying Guides
Best beginner electric guitars 2026: top electric models for new players, reviewed and demoed by experts
So you're a budding guitarist? Get started with our pick of the best beginner electric guitars from Squier, Yamaha, and Epiphone
Best acoustic guitars 2026: 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 multi-effects pedals 2026: replace your entire rig with our top-rated multi-FX units
From the high-end Neural DSP Quad Cortex to the budget NUX MG-300, we’ve tested 17 multi-effects pedals to help you replace your rig with a single unit
What's the best guitar cable in 2026? These are the tried & tested options I'd recommend to any player
There's a lot of snake oil when it comes to the top guitar cables – I'm a professional guitar gear reviewer and I've tested 11 of the best to help you find your perfect match
Best phaser pedals 2026: add swirling guitar tones to your rig with our expert guide
Looking to create that swirling sound effect? These are the best phaser pedals to try from MXR, Electro-Harmonix, Walrus Audio and more
Best bass compressor pedals 2026: expert picks for the ultimate in low-end control
From studio-style levelers to stompboxes that squash, we put the market-leading compressor pedals for bass to the test
Best amps for metal 2026: my top picks for high-gain heroes
These powerhouse metal amps from PRS, Orange, Friedman, EVH, and more will have you primed to seek and destroy
