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January 2025

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116 articles

January 14
- “A new tool to perfect your practicing techniques”: Walrus Audio just created an entirely new type of pedal that’s aimed at improving your playing, not your tone
- “When I joined, Ozzy told me I'd often hear people scream out Randy's name during a show”: Zakk Wylde discusses Ozzy Osbourne's hard-and-fast guitar rules, and the friendly shadows of Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee, in his first Guitar World interview
- “People might look and think I’m just this TikTok personality. They don’t know that I’ve been playing since 2010”: Kiki Wong recalls her early guitar career – and the “crazy” bootleg tours with three people sleeping in the back of a truck
- “A cleaner, meaner, better Rectifier. There’s no denying it”: Mesa/Boogie resurrects a ’90s icon with its reissued Dual Rectifier – and the holy grail amp head has been given some upgrades
- “Things are changing very quickly, but at this time, we have decided to go forward with the show”: Sophie Lloyd confirms her debut U.S. show at Los Angeles' iconic Whisky a Go Go will go ahead
- “It’s been an incredibly intense year – even my closest friends didn’t know what we were doing. I can’t believe we were able to keep it a secret”: Brad Delson on Linkin Park’s miraculous comeback, why he quit touring, and how he trained his replacement
- “The amp’s fast, punchy response immediately inspired me to butcher all the Dime riffs I know, and I had an absolute blast”: We’ve played the Dimebag Warhead amp – and it is 100% crushing
- “Presets based on some of the world’s most iconic guitar amps”: Vintage squares up to Positive Grid and Boss with its Retro desktop modeling amp range – which starts at less than $150
- “This cutaway format is a real winner. What’s even more remarkable is that the Studio version is every bit a champ”: Gibson Acoustic Hummingbird Studio EC and Hummingbird Standard Rosewood EC review
- “He showed me the Rickenbacker he used with the Beatles at Shea Stadium. It still had the song list taped to the side”: Released weeks before his murder, John Lennon’s final album paired him with some of the era’s finest session guitarists
January 13
- “The loss overall is awful and unspeakable”: Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith and Primus guitarist Larry ‘Ler’ LaLonde among thousands who have lost homes in L.A. wildfires
- “The guitar that killed folk”: Mike Bloomfield’s butchered Fender Telecaster – which was used during Bob Dylan’s infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance – is up for sale
- “Eruption was my phone alarm for a while – we have a love-hate relationship because it woke me up every morning”: Sophie Lloyd names 10 guitarists who shaped her sound
- “This fiddle is Really Dope”: Cesar Gueikian all-but-confirms the return of the cult Gibson RD – an unsung build beloved by Dave Grohl and Ghost
- “These are the changes Martin enthusiasts have been asking for”: Martin overhauls its Standard Series for the first time in 7 years in response to player demands
- TrueFire launches its free 10-week guitar Boot Camp today – and you don’t even need to provide credit card details to sign up
- “Los Angeles musicians and artists, we’re with you, and we’re here to help”: Guitar Center launches initiative to replace music gear destroyed by L.A. wildfires
- “The asking price represents a sizable outlay, but it’s justified by the sheer range of quality effects”: Fractal Audio VP4 review
- “Deserves status as one of rock ’n’ roll’s most iconic electric guitars solely from its association with three of the four Beatles”: From the Beatles to the Stones, Johnny Marr and Radiohead, why everyone loves the Epiphone Casino
- “Loads of guitarists could knock spots off Neil Young, but he’s aware of his limitations and hasn’t spent his energy perfecting his technique. I’ve carried that forward”: Meet Steve Logan, the singer-songwriter putting a distinctly Welsh spin on Americana
January 12
- “Please tell the bass players of the world to go easy on me. I did my best to represent you well!” Bob Rock made bass history on Metallica’s St. Anger – quite a feat, since he “never really played bass” before
January 11
- “One of the best compact wireless systems you can buy”: Xvive A58 Guitar Wireless System review
- “I was playing a lot of jazz when we did Longview. I’d sit in at jazz clubs and read off the Real Book”: If you think Mike Dirnt is another clueless punk, think again
- “It’s important to know where your guitar lives and find sonically where you want to be. There are some tricks on the guitar that will get you there in a hurry”: Joe Bonamassa shows you how to get more tones from your Gibson Les Paul
- “Jim Morrison was carried out. Jimi Hendrix was there. We were all getting drunk”: Ritchie Blackmore recalls the first time he saw two-hand tapping – at a wild show in 1968
January 10
- “Will shape guitar history”: Breedlove turns to an unsung tonewood for two new special edition acoustics that promise “unparalleled tonal qualities”
- “I was playing with the Scorpions, and I broke a string and had a solo coming up. My brother and I swapped guitars really quickly”: Michael Schenker talks Vs, his early flirtations with offsets, and how he joined one of hard rock's biggest juggernauts
- “I knew in my heart there was no way I would say no, but I had butterflies. It would be the first time I ever did something outside of Aerosmith”: That time Tom Hamilton ended up playing bass for Thin Lizzy
- “Ohio supports their own, Alaskans have expensive taste”: Reverb reveals the most popular effects pedals in each US state – and a quarter of the country favors one brand in particular
- “After having been involved with Chapman for some time I realized we had a shared vision”: Chapman Guitars brings major industry player onboard as part of company restructure – and teases first-ever amp
- "Grants you access to serious guitar tones, crystal-clear vocals, and bags of volume, all in a lightweight, portable package": Positive Grid Spark Edge review
- “Give it some time and you’ll find a guitar sound you have never heard before. We need pedals like this”: Walrus Audio Mako M1 MKII High-Fidelity Modulation Machine review
- “You might want to play on the cleaner side of the tracks, but try cranking it up a little – it damn-near takes off”: Why Gibson’s B.B. King ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ 1974 ES-355 is a technical knockout
- “Inspired by the popular Iron Label series”: Ibanez takes a leaf out of its heavy electric playbook to produce its most ‘metal’ acoustics yet
- “Hidden in a closet for decades”: Mike Bloomfield’s missing custom-painted ’66 Fender Telecaster – which was lost in 1974 – is going up for sale
- “We are closely monitoring the wildfires in Los Angeles”: NAMM CEO issues statement on 2025 event following L.A. wildfires
- “Unprecedented performance and affordability”: Ibanez launches the $550 AZ Standard – a wake-up call for big brands in the mid-priced guitar market
- “In that last year of his life, I said to him one night, ‘Les, I don't know, but I swear, you're playing better than you were last year’”: Tommy Emmanuel recalls his final moments with guitar legend Les Paul
- “My job was to add feel and groove to Brian’s written bass parts. I tried to keep it cooking for him”: Carol Kaye on how she made Pet Sounds with the Beach Boys – and why good basslines don't come from scales
- “Sonic wizardry at its finest”: Electro-Harmonix POG3 review
- “Stevie would fill out the sound by combining bluesy licks with chords and rhythmic playing”: How to blend rhythm and lead blues guitar like John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughan
January 9
- “I knew this day would come eventually but just not today”: Joe Bonamassa’s Nerdville West – one of the world’s largest collections of vintage guitar gear – is under threat from LA wildfires
- “Imagine performing a Green Day song to Billie Joe Armstrong”: Guitarist plays Green Day classic at Liverpool's Cavern Club – only to discover Billie Joe Armstrong was filming his set
- “This epic is Page’s crowning achievement in guitar orchestration”: Led Zeppelin's 50 greatest songs
- “We’re going to release an end-all-be-all amplifier with his name on it”: Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Metallica are among the rock royalty who used José Arredondo’s legendary amps. Now Dave Friedman is honoring his legacy with a definitive model
- “Paul Simon told me what key the song was in, turned off the vocal track and counted me in”: He’s been sampled by Kanye West, and played with Paul Simon, The Black Keys and Tame Impala – yet Delicate Steve is still the best-kept secret in indie guitar
- “Dad's gift to the world was music. I'm so happy to come together with some very special friends to honor the beauty of his life”: Dickey Betts' legacy to be celebrated in star-studded tribute concert
- “It’s a modern clean machine, but there are plenty of twists to create a clear and powerful rock machine. A unique and frankly inspiring instrument”: Cream T Astra Custom ‘Decades’ review
- “He only really ever played Free Bird on that guitar. I broke rank”: Charlie Starr on the spiritual moment he played Gary Rossington’s famed ‘Free Bird’ 1961 Gibson SG
- “Your picking hand is where you control your tone. It’s surprising to me that so few people really talk about it”: Sue Foley explains why your picking hand is the key to great guitar tone
- “There’s an unpredictability that I really appreciate with him. He doesn’t think like other guitar players”: Myles Kennedy reveals what he learned as a guitar player from working with Slash and Mark Tremonti
- “Using these wider voicings creates an interesting and warm-sounding rhythm pattern that’s also fun to solo over”: How inverted boogie riffing can shake up your blues
January 8
- "This could well be Harley Benton's most impressive electric guitar platform yet when it comes to value": Harley Benton ST-Modern HSS review
- “You've been an inspiration for so many, and will continue to be for centuries to come”: Peter Yarrow, guitarist, singer for Peter, Paul & Mary, and co-writer of Puff the Magic Dragon, dies at 86
- “An original icon built by the same artisans who built them 30 years ago”: Mesa/Boogie is reviving the Dual Rectifier – the hallowed amp head that defined the sound of 1990s high gain music
- “I need to play. Once a week I go to Ged’s – it’s in the calendar”: Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are recording their regular jam sessions – but remain tight-lipped about what they’re using them for
- “The sound of a thousand hits”: The Rockman amp shaped the sound of 1980s rock – now MXR is bringing it back in a new pedal form
- Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour and Slash all love Aeolian – the minor mode that rules over them all. Here’s what makes this scale work
- “I got to go backstage at the Whisky, and Joe Bonamassa knew who I was! I immediately took a picture and texted it to my dad”: Sophie Lloyd on the time she met Joe Bonamassa – her childhood guitar hero
- “I’ve seen firsthand how technology and innovation have reshaped the six-string landscape”: 5 reasons why new guitar players have never had it so good
- “The Uni-Vibe was an excellent alternative to a Leslie and became a mainstay for Jimi Hendrix”: Everything you need to know about modulation, from Leslie emulators and chorus pedals to bucket-brigade chips and phasers
- “I get a call, ‘Hello, Andy, it’s Roger Waters.’ Who? I hadn’t paid attention to their names”: Andy Fairweather Low was personally recruited by the Pink Floyd legend – but didn’t know who he was when he came calling
- “For me, it’s not how many are watching, it’s who is watching – Tosin engaging made me feel like I was doing something right”: Dante Swan is blurring the lines between djent and trap music – and he wants you to steal his riffs
- “I’m always envisioning the phrases I play as being like vocal parts”: Jared James Nichols shows you how to make your solos “sing”
January 7
- “A portable companion for authentic tone without compromise”: Has HeadRush changed the future of amp modeler rigs with a tiny $149 FRFR cab?
- “For me to be so appreciated, I think I can start to feel guilty and pressured. But I guess it’s a good problem to have”: From playing Steve Vai's guitars to playing with him onstage, Tosin Abasi's rapid ascent made him one of the biggest names in guitar
- “Ed Norton was telling me stories about how to keep props. I was like, ‘I’m not stealing this guitar!’” Monica Barbaro played Joan Baez alongside Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan – and her co-star encouraged her to take the 1929 Martin she used onscreen
- “I bumped into Eric in a club and I thought we were going to get into a fight! But he went, ‘Hello, man!’ and gave me a big hug”: Jeff Beck took the Yardbirds in a new direction, but the constant Eric Clapton comparisons took years to shake
- “I want to convey our heartfelt regret”: Angus and Malcolm Young’s childhood home has been demolished – despite being on the National Trust Register of Historic Houses
- “I’ve jammed with him at Kirk’s place. I’ve spent a night at his house and we’ve ended up with guitars in the kitchen”: Jerry Cantrell and James Hetfield have talked about making an album together
- “We knew listeners usually wanted a memorable song rather than an insane guitar solo or riff, but we wanted to be extreme”: Jason Becker and Marty Friedman on their wild ride making Cacophony’s Go Off! – one of the Eighties’ most in-your-face shred albums
- “Plentiful bass, well-rounded trebles, bags of toneful volume… there’s really not much more you could ask for”: Atkin Dust Bowl 0012S and 00014 review
- Confused about altered and extended guitar chords? Here’s the theory behind them – and how they can supercharge your songwriting
- “Like Gretsch’s Duo Jet, it was surely spurred by Gibson’s success with the Les Paul”: The mysterious history of the Guild M-75 Aristocrat, the blue-blooded hollowbody played by John Lee Hooker, John Mayer, St. Vincent and Dan Auerbach
January 6
- “I had a long vamp out and I played an extra few notes. David smiled and said, ‘Tony, in Pink Floyd you don’t do that extra couple notes until far later’”: Tony Levin on playing for Pink Floyd in the post-Roger Waters era
- “The digital recreation of a legend”: Hughes & Kettner finally brings back its Puretone amp by popular demand... as a plugin
- “No Strat? Not too clever”: A Rory Gallagher statue has finally been unveiled in Belfast – but some fans aren’t too happy with it
- “The missing piece of your pedalboard puzzle”: Keeley takes on the Walrus Fundamental and JHS 3 Series with new range of $99 Sweetwater exclusives
- “Before studying his playing, I was doing a lot of ‘Look how fast I can play!’ There wasn’t that much feel behind my music”: Sophie Lloyd names the guitarist who overhauled her perspective on what makes a good solo
- “Top money buys forensically aged details and incredible craft, but you won’t necessarily hear £5k’s worth of difference in the sonic performance”: How close are Gibson's ’59 Burst replicas and their boutique rivals?
- “One of Supro’s finest combo offerings thus far”: Supro Black Magick Reverb TB review
- “Chris Shiflett has this great AC30 from the ’60s – that’s the main amp on the album. That and a Princeton Reverb – until I blew it up”: How one-man blues-rock band Steve Hill cheated death – then found redemption at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606
- “I built him a guitar. It will always remain one of my most cherished life memories”: Jimmy Carter planted trees and personally harvested the wood that was later used to create his custom acoustic
- “This is a guy who worked for Frank Zappa. Frank said to him, ‘Whatever you do, don’t learn how to read music.’ He's all-creative – he's a miracle, really”: Steve Vai on BEAT, being a virtuoso in his 60s – and the Fripp riff he just couldn’t master
- “Greeny is getting a bit jealous!” Kirk Hammett sent Jack White his signature Gibson Les Paul – and received the White Stripes legend’s wild Fender Triplecaster in return
- “I just did Victoria’s Secret and I used the Crush. People were like, ‘Your tone was really great.’ ‘Yeah, it was the Crush!’” Orianthi used a $219 Orange practice amp to play in front of millions on live TV
- “You fix it so it won’t break again, then you pound on it some more. Every amp gets the living daylights hammered out of it”: Randall Smith on the origins of his ‘hammer test’ that makes Mesa/Boogies bulletproof
January 5
- An essential scale for classic blues and rock solos, the Mixolydian mode is loved by everyone from B.B. King to Guns N' Roses – here's how it works
January 4
- “The Grateful Dead wouldn’t let us use their amps. Ray was aghast – he kept saying, ‘Pigpen? Someone named Pigpen won’t let me use his instrument?’” With a volatile lead singer and no bass player, they left an indelible mark on rock
January 3
- “A genius in his ability to write music”: Wayne Osmond, guitarist and singer of The Osmonds, dies aged 73
- “Allow you to focus on your technique rather than trying to hold onto the pick”: Bog Street Picks review
- “I remember Bruce calling me and asking me for my permission to switch to Telecaster”: Stevie Van Zandt on why the Strat became his go-to guitar for decades – after passing the Tele baton to Bruce Springsteen
- “He’s not used to not being the focus of the show. I’d say, ‘When Steve’s soloing, don’t throw your guitar up in the air right next to him’”: Joe Satriani on the unique challenges of having Yngwie Malmsteen on the G3 tour
- “I don’t care if all guitar internet hates me. I cannot wait for this pendulum to swing back. Mark my words, it will”: Why Rhett Shull thinks amp modelers will fall out of favor in the future
- "I'm not a big amp plugin user beyond recording – but my time with these three changed my playing habits": Universal Audio UAD Dream '65 Reverb, Ruby '63 Top Boost and Lion '68 Super Lead Amplifier plugins review
- “When people said I probably wouldn't be able to play again, I wasn't going to listen to that”: Scottish guitarist relearns how to play guitar with one arm after severe stroke
- “There are two big myths about Harley Benton, and one in particular that I'm really sick of”: YouTuber sets the record straight on Harley Benton guitars – and debunks the main misconceptions about the budget-friendly brand
- “Roxy insisted I have a white Strat – I bought that guitar off Brian Eno, who bought it off his milkman for 30 quid!” Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera on how he found his bargain Firebird and why he has no regrets about rendering a ’51 Tele “valueless”
- “The days of flagship guitars sporting ostentatious tech are long gone”: Why today’s guitars are performing better than ever – not that you’d notice from looking at them
- “The four-chord pattern riff is unoriginal but the dynamic contrasts add to the potency of one of the best guitar riffs of the ’90s”: Nirvana track named the best guitar riff of all time by surprising new study – which leaves out some huge hits
- “I discovered open tunings on the electric because of The Rolling Stones and Keith Richards. It opened up a whole new palette”: Meet Julian Taylor, the Canadian musical encyclopedia who plays a custom Tele called the ‘Barncaster’
January 2
- “I said, ‘Hey, Carlos, would you plug into this?’ ‘That’s a Fender. I don’t want to plug into that.’ I said, ‘But I boosted it’”: How did Mesa get its iconic Boogie name? Founder Randall Smith explains
- “If you look at the leads he was doing and when he was doing ’em, he innovated a lot of that stuff”: Slayer's Kerry King reveals who he thinks is the most “overlooked” guitarist in metal
- “Lefties, thank a rightie today”: John Mayer on why right-handed guitar players were responsible for the eventual creation of the left-handed SE Silver Sky
- “Could you play it? Sure. Is this guitar worth the $1,500 I paid for it? No way”: YouTuber buys Trump guitar – and is surprised by what he finds
- “Pop culture is inspiring Britons of all ages to rediscover the joy of music”: New study names the electric guitar as the UK’s most popular instrument of 2024 – and it’s because of a Netflix show from 2 years ago
- It's one of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai's favorite scales, and holds the most mysterious-sounding note combinations – here's how the Lydian mode works
- “I think my father would have loved this song”: Gary Moore's son pays homage Thin Lizzy's dual guitar sound on his debut solo single
- “The top-selling artist acoustics were Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and my guitar, which is insane”: How Orianthi shook up the industry with her signature gear, what she learned from Santana and Joe Bonamassa, and why she’s returning to Alice Cooper’s band
- “Vintage Gretsches can be hit and miss. A former Gretsch employee told me they would go out and have five-Martini lunches and then try to put guitars together in the afternoon”: When Gretsch took on Gibson with the 6130 Round-Up and 6121
- “Samsung wanted to buy my Les Paul. I didn’t want to sell it, so I threw out a stupid price and they said yes. I wish I hadn’t”: Billy Morrison tells the tale of two Les Pauls – one the bargain of the century, the other the one that got away
- “The tonal character and responsiveness of all four pedals is indeed quite tubular”: Vox Valvenergy Fuel Injector, Tone Sculptor, Power Burst and Smooth Impact review
January 1
- "People said I was just jerking off on guitar. There was a point when I thought, ‘Oh, God, they’re right’”: Chris Impellitteri is one of the fastest guitarists of all time – but he realized there was more to life than shredding
- “Bach was one of the only guys who really understood the range of the bass. All his cello pieces are right in the 5-string bass range”: John Myung plays for one of rock’s most ambitious bands, and he’s tackling the challenge with extraordinary discipline
- “He redirected the future of blues guitar from his very first release, and his influence continues to inspire new generations of aspiring players”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan
- “That top nut is probably the most common problem with any lower-end mass-produced guitar”: Having problems with your shiny new guitar? Try these fixes first