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September 2023
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255 articles
- September 30
- September 29
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- Watch Jimmy Franklin unbox and review the LAVA ME 4 Carbon and Spruce – two new models that take LAVA Music’s innovative design to all new heights
- B.C. Rich adds Five Finger Death Punch's Andy James to its artist roster – and his first signature guitar is one seriously dangerous metal machine
- “If this doesn't clear the house...” Watch U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cover Muddy Waters on his Fender Strat – at a state dinner
- A Young Guitarist of the Year returns and Toto’s Africa meets extreme metal: This week’s essential guitar tracks
- “It sounds like Lindsey Buckingham meets The Clash!” That time Duff McKagan played bass for the Manic Street Preachers
- “I’m going after the Klon”: Mark Tremonti is starting his own pedal company – and he’s already road-testing prototypes
- “Every guitarist should be in search of their toothpaste tone!” Larkin Poe explain how good guitar tone can make your playing better
- Two-hand tapping is one of the most versatile guitar techniques you can learn – here are 5 ways to make it work for you
- Are your drive pedals sounding the best they could? Here are 19 ways to get more from your overdrives, distortions and fuzzes – and make them work with your rig
- “Rick Rubin is one of the most inspirational guitar players of my childhood. It’s a curveball, isn’t it?!” Justin Hawkins names the 14 guitarists who shaped his sound
- Al Di Meola in stable condition after suffering heart attack on stage
- Line 6 at Guitar Showcase 2023: How to sound like Chris Buck
- September 28
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- An astonishingly rare Blue Silverburst Explorer, dot-neck 1959 ES-335 and short-lived ultra-luxe Casino alternative: Gibson’s latest Certified Vintage drop has our attention
- “Knowing Bernie's eagerness to get the album out there, we want to follow his wishes and release it as planned”: Posthumous Bernie Marsden album set for release in November
- Roger Waters says David Gilmour’s iconic guitar solo in Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb was not his first take
- After three years of waiting, Neural DSP reveals Quad Cortex plugin compatibility is finally on the cards
- Meet the Jamstik Classic MIDI Guitar – “one of the most exciting and advanced MIDI guitars” that’s loaded with “game-changing technology”
- “I think a bass solo can be as exciting as a guitar solo – if not more”: Listen to John Entwistle’s live bass solo on The Who’s 5:15
- Is Gibson about to bring back its Victory Superstrat-style guitar from the ’80s, or did Cesar Gueikian just tease an entirely new model?
- “Without a good ear at the helm, you could find yourself musically adrift at sea”: Steve Vai shares his course on ear training for guitar players – the ultimate guide to improving your musicality
- 10 times an iconic band swapped out their guitarist for a fresh face
- Types of guitar pickups explained: learn the difference between single coils, humbuckers, P-90s and active designs
- Bare Knuckle Triptych review: the most versatile Stratocaster pickup set on the market?
- 15 icons of electric guitar tone – and how they can inspire your playing
- Charvel has released some stunning guitars this year – but these two limited-edition Pro-Mod models might be its best-looking offerings yet
- “IR-X isn't simulating a Friedman tube preamp. It is one”: This new pedal amp puts boutique tube tone on your ’board – for under $500
- September 27
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- Focusrite at the Guitar Showcase 2023: Introducing Scarlett 4th Gen – the perfect interface for the guitarist
- Brian May Guitars unveils the Vision, a mash-up of the Red Special, a ’90s Guild and the Les Paul double-cut
- 8 ways to get more from your guitar amp
- “Selective picking, to me, is drumming on guitar. Tosin Abasi brought this technique to the world and it made me excited”: Prog-metal visionary Pomegranate Tiger was ahead of his time. Now he’s tackling cutting-edge technique and AI head-on
- Ashdown at the Guitar Showcase 2023: The LB 30 2.N bass amplifier – a fusion of classic valve tone and modern precision
- Ashdown at the Guitar Showcase 2023: The MF-484 2.N and MF-284H – 30 and 15 watts of all-valve tone with some very cool modern features
- “This situation is unacceptable”: Vernon Reid has launched a campaign to give under-appreciated guitar geniuses more recognition – and it’s working wonders
- Yamaha, Korg and Roland named among five instrument firms facing UK class action lawsuit for fixing prices
- The pentatonic scale is the most important scale for guitarists – and these 40 licks will take your rock and blues chops to the next level
- “Years in the making and the first of its kind”: Pigtronix reveals the Cosmosis, an ambient reverb with groundbreaking tones you won’t hear from any other pedal
- “The perfect companion for any amp modeler”: Universal Audio packages its OX cab, mic, and room emulation into a pedal – and it promises the most authentic tones “ever emulated in a stompbox”
- Not sure what all those guitar tone buzz words mean? Get the lowdown with our jargon-buster
- September 26
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- Squier Classic Vibe ‘70s Telecaster Thinline review
- “It can do so much more than the originals could”: Strymon gives the iconic Uni-Vibe a 21st century twist with the compact and affordable UltraViolet Vintage Vibe
- “The doctor's in the house”: Watch Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton tip their caps to Peter Green with searing Black Magic Woman at the 2023 Crossroads Festival
- The next step in the evolution of Ampeg? The new Venture Series promises a welcome return for Super Grit Technology – and starts at $499
- “Know your history. But don’t be cliché and try to do what the guys in Chicago did in the ’60s. We don’t need more of that”: Josh Smith is on a mission to save the blues – he names 10 guitarists who are pushing the genre forward
- “It doesn’t say my name on it anywhere – that’s probably a good thing for some people…”: Joe Bonamassa’s latest Epiphone signature guitar recreates his ultra-rare 1963 Gibson SG Custom
- Flattley Guitar Pedals at the Guitar Showcase 2023: Meet the award-winning boutique effects pedal builder dedicated to tonal excellence
- How to set up your electric guitar – improve your guitar’s tone and playability with this step-by-step guide
- “Two decades after it first appeared, the Les Paul Supreme is back”: Gibson ushers in a new era for its ultra-luxe Les Paul with two new Supreme single-cuts
- Introducing polychords – the mind-bending guitar shapes that will take your playing into new harmonic and melodic worlds
- Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Custom Axcess review – this versatile LP is definitely a looker… but should you Rush out to buy one?
- “Every single spec is the same as a vintage guitar from the late-’50s would have”: Mark Agnesi says this Gibson guitar offers the best value of its whole lineup
- IK Multimedia at the Guitar Showcase 2023: iRig HD X – Ultimate guitar experience. Anywhere.
- “Typical scale practice is downright damaging for expressive playing… That’s not how singers sing”: Paul Gilbert shows you how to make your guitar solos more vocal and expressive
- December 2023 Guitar World lesson videos
- Jam with legends of Heart, Stone Temple Pilots and AC/DC: Nancy Wilson, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo confirmed for Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp 2024
- September 25
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- Bob Dylan turns in a rare electric guitar performance as he surprises Farm Aid 2023 with the Heartbreakers backing him
- I’m Going Down: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram calmly recovers from tonal calamity as he joins Eric Gales and Samantha Fish onstage at Crossroads 2023
- Kirk Hammett rarely plays guest solos, but he teamed up with folk-rockers Goodnight, Texas to deliver “an absolute vintage wah solo” on Greeny – hear it now
- “I'd never heard somebody play the bass like that”: How Don Blackman’s 1982 classic album inspired a young Marcus Miller
- Rotosound at the Guitar Showcase 2023: IDLES’ Adam “Dev” Devonshire gives the low-down on his musical journey inside the UK’s joyfully defiant post-punk band
- Brian May Guitars seeks inspiration from the Barbie color chart to give the Special LE a high-Kenergy Hot Pink makeover
- Gibson’s paint-room party continues as it refreshes the Les Paul in a Dark Purple Burst
- “I’m honored”: Tony Iommi walks onstage to play Paranoid at the Black Sabbath ballet – and the entire ensemble bows at his feet
- Thomann's epic Harley Benton sale is back - score 25% off 25 guitars, basses and amps for 25 days
- Corey Taylor unmasked and unplugged: The Slipknot frontman goes acoustic on Gibson’s ‘king of flat-tops’ in this Guitar World exclusive
- The whammy bar could be the key to unlocking your voice on the guitar – learn 5 ways to make it work for you
- John Mayer trades solos with H.E.R., covers Grateful Dead with his blues trio, and reunites with the Fender Monterey Stratocaster (again) during jam-packed Crossroads 2023 concert
- The boutique electric guitar of the year? By popular demand, Nik Huber unveils the Krautster III, a high-end single-cut dream machine
- “Some people equate shred with speed, but that's narrow-minded. The haters will hate because they can't do it themselves”: With Shrapnel Records, Mike Varney invented the technical guitar scene. He reflects on his legacy and the virtuosos of today
- “We’re going to pay tribute to the man himself right now”: Joe Bonamassa and John McLaughlin honor Jeff Beck with a hair-raising rendition of Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers at Crossroads 2023
- “We know amps and guitars are important, but your own DNA is bigger than that”: Nuno Bettencourt on why, when it comes to tone, your personality always comes first
- Laney Amplification at the Guitar Showcase 2023: The best boutique combo for under $800?
- Ibanez at the Guitar Showcase 2023: The alternative acoustic brand
- Unhappy with your electric guitar sound? Start with these 5 tone tips before you try anything else
- September 24
- September 22
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- “Some of what you practice should sound s**t, because then you know you’re working on something that needs to be worked on”: Guthrie Govan on the art of improvisation – and how to make practice as effective as possible
- “The ultimate 100-watt, all-tube high gain amp”: Engl’s best-kept secret, the tube-guzzling E670 Special Edition, is entering its standard lineup
- Download and stream the audio from Total Guitar 376
- “It was considered a no-no to chain two Fuzz-Tones together. But I saw Hendrix chain five of them!” Billy Gibbons remembers opening for Jimi Hendrix with his pre-ZZ Top band the Moving Sidewalks
- ’90s alt-rock giants unite and blink-182 make a surprisingly heavy return: this week’s essential guitar tracks
- Cioks DC7 Power Supply review – refines the idea of a slim pedalboard power supply into an art form
- PRS’ new NF 53 electric combines timeless looks, cutting-edge features and precision playability in a modern-classic masterpiece
- “We’re doing this because Black Sabbath did it. Neil Young did it. Van Halen did it. Are you going to tell Eddie Van Halen he wasn’t playing guitar properly?” Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil recalls his battles with drop-D trolls
- “The picking speed on that open A is insane”: YouTube’s go-to guitar teacher Marty Schwartz reveals the hardest track he’s had to teach
- “Monstrous power and incredible versatility in an ultra-compact form”: Laney expands its Ironheart Foundry family with two record-ready solid-state amp heads
- The diminutive do-it-all: Laney’s Ironheart Foundry amplifiers pack the LoudPedal’s punch into super-portable high-gain heads
- “How far can we push the prog, without sounding like it’s a cliché of a prog album?”: Nothing But Thieves are one of the UK’s breakout guitar bands – but their tonal tastes are anything but conventional
- Red Hot Chili Peppers survived 5 guitarist swaps, and each one shook up their sound. Here’s how the band’s guitar style evolved with each personnel shift – and what you can learn from them, too
- “Shredding over the top is what all prog-metal does – we have a Pink Floyd approach to lead rather than John Petrucci”: Nobody djents like TesseracT – and two decades in, the tech-metal heroes are making their most mind-bendingly intricate riffs yet
- “Angry, aggressive, loud and brutal”: Combined, these 36 fuzz pedals are a literal work of art – individually, they sound terrifying
- “You played on Midnight Train to Georgia? You don’t need no other credits!” How Bob Babbitt bolstered a ’70s soul classic with a touch of James Jamerson
- Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: The All-Star Masterclass
- September 21
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- “The most ambitious pedal release I’ve undertaken since first opening shop”: The mini pedal market will never be the same again as Electro-Harmonix drops its all-new Pico lineup in its entirety
- The only all-in-one reverb, modulation and delay pedal you’ll ever need for ‘80s guitar tones? Crazy Tube Circuits debuts upgraded Sidekick Jr.
- Bag yourself a free copy of BIAS FX 2 Standard courtesy of Positive Grid – for one day only
- Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HSS FR E review – still the king in a world of Superstrats
- “If Greeny was broccoli then Sunny is mango”: Kirk Hammett is selling a 1960 Gibson Les Paul that ranks among the finest ever made – he reveals how it compares to his most famous ’Burst
- “It’s like a hybrid of a Strat and a Les Paul – it gives me everything I need in one stop”: Steve Lukather and Ernie Ball Music Man launch overhauled L4 signature guitar range – including ultra-limited 30th Anniversary Steamroller model
- Boss stakes its claim for the biggest-sounding desktop amp yet as the wireless Katana-Air gets an overhaul
- “It’s all about what sounds cool… Not theoretically what you’re supposed to do”: How guitarists from Drug Church, Militarie Gun and Scowl are leading the melodic movement in hardcore punk
- Have your say and win a $350 Ticketmaster gift card by taking our quick survey
- “I started with Strats, but then I got hooked on Les Pauls. I like that I have to pick a fight with them when I'm playing”: How Leilani Kilgore went from aspiring punk player to college dropout playing searing blues-rock for a living
- “Red-blooded overdrive without shaking the foundations”: Is Ashdown's upgraded CTM-15 desktop bass amp the ultimate recording rig for tube fans?
- September 20
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- “How can you possibly be satisfied being a singer when you play like that?”: Dave Mustaine recalls the first time he heard James Hetfield play guitar
- LAVA Music launches overhauled LAVA ME 4 lineup – but can its Spruce model convert traditional acoustic fans to the tech revolution?
- Death metal SG tones, the drummer from Slayer and “unabridged hatred in musical form”: get a load of this year’s filthiest riffers Empire State Bastard
- From the Bat Strat to Arm the Homeless and the Dean from Hell: 10 all-star guitars that defined the ’90s
- The ultimate all-in-one guitar and vocal rig? HeadRush continues its assault on the modeling market with amp-cloning, Auto-Tune-loaded Core FX processor
- “Are You Experienced? wouldn’t come out for two weeks. Nobody knew what to anticipate...”: Hear a pre-fame Jimi Hendrix perform to an unsuspecting audience of Mamas and Papas fans
- “I wanted to play like Johnny Marr, but I lacked the ability – or was too lazy. So we ended up with these big, beautiful drones”: Slowdive are one of shoegaze's most important bands – here's how they shaped a genre (and the pedal market)
- “Gene Simmons is breaking ground again”: Gibson unveils second signature bass guitar for the Kiss icon – and it’s the brand’s first 30.5” scale custom shop model
- Driftwood Purple Nightmare Tube Preamp Pedal review – all the guts and glory of the full-blown PN head's Burn channel without the $3,000 investment
- 5 ways to use Mixolydian scale – the Goldilocks mode loved by the Cult, AC/DC and Eric Johnson
- September 19
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- "Not for Josh": JHS's Josh Scott is banned from owning this new fuzz/overdrive pedal
- “Hybrid sounds no-one has ever played through before”: Keeley's Noble Screamer combines two iconic drive circuits – and throws in some “brand-new amp-like distortion tones” for good measure
- “A visual stunner and the crème of the crop for Guild’s Starfire platform”: Guild brings its exclusive Special Trim finish to the Starfire range
- Have you injured yourself playing guitar? New study reveals that musculoskeletal injuries are not related to bad technique – but sadly might be unavoidable
- Yamaha FG9M review – a classic square-shoulder dreadnought combining old-world craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology
- “Steve Vai is phenomenal – I’m not sure he gets the credit that he should”: Aerosmith’s Joe Perry names 8 guitarists who shaped his sound
- “A harmonious chord between tradition and evolution”: Fender debuts the Vintera II Series – bringing back the Bass VI, a Nirvana-inspired Mustang and a wealth of vintage-spec’d models
- “The bass world has lost a giant”: Dave Roe, the all-rounder who played with Johnny Cash, has died aged 71
- “Kim invited me to join and asked, ‘What do you want to play?’ I said lead guitar – frankly, I was surprised she said yes”: Kelley Deal couldn’t play guitar when she joined the Breeders. A year later, she recorded a ’90s alt-rock masterpiece
- “The guitar business has lost one of the greats”: The man who named the Tube Screamer, Sammy Ash, passes away aged 65
- September 18
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- “Everyone I know that has bought a ’Burst in the last five years is playing that guitar every single day”: Gibson’s Mark Agnesi debunks the myth that its most valuable builds are kept under glass
- Fishman’s game-changing Fluence Modern pickups just got even more versatile – with sounds “you’ve never heard in a humbucker before”
- “If you’re wondering why I’m wearing just socks, it’s just much easier to tap-dance pedals like that!”: Code Orange guitarist Reba Meyers takes pedal demos to new heights in this tripped-out mega jam
- Meet the NUX Trident, a next-level guitar processor that’s “portable, powerful and chock full of modern and classic tones”
- The world’s longest guitar? YouTuber builds a beastly three-neck acoustic – and somehow makes it playable
- “My original ’60 Stratocaster will always sound the best. This one is right next to the best”: Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready on why he’s playing his more affordable signature guitar live, covering Eruption and embracing digital amps
- “Tone is so important to me. Whenever I go to a show and there are good guitar sounds, I soak it in”: For Emily Wolfe, the tone is as important as the hooks – and her Epiphone signature model is key to her explosive sound
- Learn the vibrant guitar styles of bossa nova, tango and rumba with this lesson in South American rhythms
- Walrus Audio Canvas Passive Re-Amp review – re-amping made easy
- “I get off stage, and Paul and Gene want to talk to me: ‘We think you’d be perfect for Kiss. Would you consider playing a Les Paul?’” White Lion’s Vito Bratta on the time he nearly joined Kiss – and his failed Ozzy Osbourne audition
- September 17
- September 16
- September 15
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- “The best way to get the bass sound I wanted was to play like Larry Graham. But it wasn’t fast enough for me”: Victor Wooten sums up his game-changing slap technique
- “David united us in a truly special way. I am sure he would have loved this album”: David Bowie’s key collaborators have formed a new band – hear KillerStar's debut single
- Fender Japan has unveiled another knockout limited-edition Jazzmaster – in the face of Fender’s offset boom, will it be made available overseas?
- Steve Vai called him “the evolution of the guitar” while Al Di Meola said his playing was “light years ahead”. We meet Matteo Mancuso, the young guitarist redefining virtuosity
- “A moment for modern guitar playing” that reaches new technical heights and Spinal Tap’s antidote to the Barbie hype: this week’s essential guitar tracks
- “Once I had the Strat, I only used the Strat and I left the Gibson at home”: Robin Trower has spent his entire career almost exclusively playing Fender Stratocasters – here’s why
- “In the beginning, I would just rip Tom Morello… Then I realized I could maneuver notes, harmonics and chords. I can do some weird stuff with the Whammy”: How Nick DePirro became one of instrumental metal’s most technically adventurous players
- “I understand the Phil Spector wall-of-sound thing, but there comes a point where less is more”: How Tina Weymouth came up with her unforgettable bass riff on Talking Heads’ Once In A Lifetime
- “José died and no-one knows where it went”: Legendary amp builder José Arredondo built Eddie Van Halen a mystery amp that might be lost forever
- “They’re some of the best amps I’ve ever played”: Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready on why he made the switch to Fender’s digital Tone Master amps
- “It’s like John Scofield took acid”: Steve Vai’s tech shares the story behind the virtuoso’s psychedelic semi-hollow
- September 14
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- “The perfect blend of tradition and innovation”: Fender releases all-new Suona Collection of Thinline Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazz Bass models
- Warm Audio ODD Box V1 and Mutation Phasor II review – near-faithful recreations that sound convincingly close to the real things
- “If I wanted to play like Geddy Lee I’d play a black-and-white Rickenbacker”: Les Claypool on his bass collection, and the Rickenbacker he bought from John Entwistle
- D’Angelico has given its Premier semi-hollows a makeover for 2023 – and they look absolutely stunning
- “It shows that you’re really smart when you do stuff that’s not 4/4”: Join George Lynch in the studio as he records Guitars at the End of the World
- Is this the world’s most expensive guitar string? An Epiphone string Paul McCartney used to record the Beatles’ Rubber Soul is expected to fetch over $5,000 at auction
- “It was obvious: John was the guy... we didn’t choose this, but since we had to be put in this position, we’re very happy with where we’re at”: Nikki Sixx opens up on the crisis talks to replace Mick Mars and how John 5 has re-energized Mötley Crüe
- “If you have a semi-hollow with a tube amp and overdrive pedal, and you set it all up correctly, you can get your guitar to ring out forever”: Melanie Faye is bringing a new voice to virtuosic neo-soul guitar – and her own signature chord
- “A civilian variant of Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Frankenstrat”: EVH launches the Frankenstein Relic Series, deconstructing Eddie’s famed striped colorway
- Fender Adam Clayton ACB 50 review – Fender’s first-ever signature bass amp is a greatest hits of all-tube tones
- “We can do things with a Fractal that we can’t do with a real amp”: Kirk Hammett’s guitar tech reveals why Metallica converted to Axe-Fx
- Boss releases its first noise suppressor pedal since 1987 – and it’s not just for high-gain metal and djent
- September 13
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- “It was pretty daunting at the outset”: Misha Mansoor’s Virtuoso Mega Shred is the five-solo, guest-laden metal guitar instrumental of the year – and it was written for a guitar promo
- “I looked up Tosin Abasi and Tim Henson, and I was so inspired. I had to stop watching their videos because I wanted to pick up a guitar and try playing their stuff”: Jason Becker opens up on his heroes old and new, career regrets and unreleased music
- Download and stream the audio from Guitar Techniques 353
- Tone King unveils the Royalist MkIII, promising a greatest hits of vintage non-master-volume Marshall tube amps
- “Derek Trucks said my dad was one of those players that’s not afraid to stare directly into the sun – it was a no-brainer to have him on a song”: How Duane Betts combined A-list guest spots, Radiohead and Allman Brothers on his solo debut
- Gretsch G5420T-140 Electromatic review – personality, attitude and tones to match those dazzling looks
- “I play the guitar every day. It’s where I go for solace”: Paul Simon shares the challenges of his unexpected hearing loss
- “They’d sell like hot cakes”: Is Ed Sheeran about to bring out his own line of signature looper pedals?
- “Andrew Watt pushed us as hard as we could be pushed”: Pearl Jam’s energetic new album is “just about finished” – but Mike McCready is also working on a rock opera about the Seattle music scene
- Best fretless basses: get more vibrato and texture from your bass guitar
- September 12
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- “Reuniting the original G3 lineup is a dream come true”: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson are hitting the road for a G3 reunion tour next year
- The fate of Dean Guitars hangs in the balance as Armadillo faces demands to surrender all equipment and inventory – inside the Succession-esque drama determining the future of the US guitar brand
- “A completely new and exciting instrument… ”: How the double-necked Gibson EDS-1275 changed the course of rock guitar history
- Epiphone 150th Anniversary Zephyr Deluxe Regent, Sheraton, Crestwood Custom and Wilshire review – original guitar designs that hold their own against Gibson
- “It’s a dialogue between the right hand and the left hand, with the right hand doing most of the talking!” Michael Manring explains the origins of his slap technique
- “I tell Bob Marley, this is the bass player I’m bringing up – let him play”: How Robbie Shakespeare wound up playing bass on The Wailers’ Concrete Jungle
- “I’m honored to deliver a more approachable guitar to the next generation of players”: Fender makes Mike McCready’s iconic 1960 Stratocaster accessible to the masses with new signature model
- Blackstar HT Club 40 MKIII combo review
- “I kept trying to make it sound like a Gibson. That didn’t work. You have to give in to the Telecaster – it’s not for the faint of heart”: Dwight Yoakam’s former right-hand man Pete Anderson shares his tone and session guitar wisdom
- “It was one of these totally experimental guitars, a complete one of one”: In 1967, Fender toyed with redesigning its most famous electric guitar – this is the secret history of the semi-hollow Stratocaster prototype
- “We had just started playing guitar when we wrote Diary. The alchemy came from us learning to play together”: How Sunny Day Real Estate broke rhythm and lead guitar rules to make their influential emo opus – and what’s next for their reunion
- “It’s tough for me to listen to many of the newer technical players out there today”: Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney helped guitar gods soar in the 1980s, but he doesn’t “enjoy” new wave shred stars – here’s why
- Blackstar just launched some of the most versatile mid-priced tube amps on the market
- September 11
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- “To embody Jimmy Page, I need the tone, the guitar performance and the emotions to come together”: Akio Sakurai aka Mr. Jimmy has spent 30 years honing the perfect Led Zeppelin guitar sound. As he explains, “tone is the most important thing”
- “I still remember writing the intro to Sweet Jane sitting on a couch in my living room”: How a session guitar legend resurrected Lou Reed’s career with hard-rock lead heroics – and help from Blood, Sweat & Tears’ Steve Katz
- Best tube amps under $1,000: get amazing guitar tones under a grand
- Joe Bonamassa brings out his legendary Bolin ‘Burst to tear through Deep Purple classics with Glenn Hughes and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith
- “We needed that ultimate technique – and that’s Marcin”: Percussive fingerstyle reaches the masses as acoustic virtuoso Marcin is revealed to be the blockbuster guitarist on Netflix’s One Piece soundtrack
- “At the heart of every significant musical movement for 150 years”: Epiphone celebrates its 150th anniversary with new exhibit, featuring Noel Gallagher’s Oasis guitars
- “The highly coveted Bourgeois tone is now within reach of more players than ever before”: The Country Boy is US boutique builder Bourgeois’ latest groundbreaking collab with Eastman Guitars in China
- “What has kept me in sessions has not been my playing ability, ever. You have to connect with people before you can have a creative flow”: Black Eyed Peas, Sting, Santana – George Pajon Jr. has built an enviable session resume, but it took more than chops
- Eluveitie’s Jonas Wolf has a “lean and mean” signature Solar Type V – it’s called the Wolfmaster, has a kill switch, and a headstock to take your eye out
- “You could be one spin away from something cool. I like that chase”: Strat-toting blues-rocker Jax Hollow sees songwriting as a throw of the dice – and she lives for the thrill
- Universal Audio Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb, Del-Verb Ambience Companion and Max Preamp/Dual Compressor review – downsized pedals, era-defining sounds
- A Flying V pioneer who inspired Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, Albert King was king of the blues – find out why with this lesson in his vocal playing style
- September 8
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- “All of the Eric Johnson signature sounds are inside this preamp and power amp”: Vertex Effects played Eric Johnson’s $400,000 Dumble rig – here’s what it sounds like
- The total '90s immersion experience you didn't know you needed – only in the new Guitar World
- Remarkable returns from the Rolling Stones and Måneskin, plus a Tool bassist’s sonic experiments: this week’s essential guitar tracks
- “I’ll still be playing guitar – I’ll do that until I can’t – but I’m at the age where my heroes passed away. I’ve gotta keep that in mind”: Buddy Guy opens up on his retirement from the road and 70-year career as a true blues original
- Every guitarist wishes they were better at fingerstyle – and this lesson may make you want to ditch the pick for good
- Gibson SG Standard ’61 Ebony review – an all-time classic, back in black
- Richard Davis, legendary jazz bassist who worked with everyone from Van Morrison to Charles Mingus, dies at 93
- “That final show was one of our best gigs. I can still hear that first note Stevie played… that one note will remain with me forever”: Tommy Shannon on his wild ride with Stevie Ray Vaughan – and the “total chaos” that followed his tragic death
- “I play a lot of blues festivals – but I want to make people mosh, grind and flail”: Erin Coburn released her first blues album aged 14. But her love of Sleep Token, Polyphia and 7-strings set her on a heavier path
- September 7
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- “I’m just going to keep going till I can’t”: Saxon co-founder and former guitarist Graham Oliver diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
- Active vs passive pickups: What’s the difference?
- “I would have gotten bored, and that would have been dangerous”: Marc Ford explains why he turned down Guns N’ Roses in favor of the Black Crowes
- “Just like the Beatles or the Stones were for a lot of people, these songs have been in my head for as long as I can remember”: John 5 shares his Mötley Crüe story so far – and why he still can’t believe he’s landed his dream gig
- Supro just made a 1x12 version of its bedroom, studio and vintage tone-friendly Amulet tube amp
- “A fully customizable amp-in-a-box experience”: Has Catalinbread’s Dirty Little Secret Deluxe just redefined amp-like overdrive pedals?
- "We wanted something smaller, easy to use, no Bluetooth app, no hidden menus – just turn knobs, make noise, play guitar…" Watch Yvette Young blow our minds with the new pedals from Universal Audio
- “115 effects and tools to ignite your imagination and shape your sound”: Native Instruments updates its flagship amp and effects plugin with Guitar Rig Pro 7
- Delivering the goods: Teemu Mäntysaari plays his first show with Megadeth – and has it dialled from the second he steps onstage
- “What’s a Spark?!” Paul Gilbert was so blown away by his students’ guitar tone, he became a Positive Grid convert – despite his “limited brain power”
- “People were saying, ‘Oh, Led Zeppelin’s gone acoustic.’ Well, what happened to your ears on the first and second album?” How Jimmy Page redefined the role of acoustic guitar in rock
- “Quincy Jones said, ‘Man, this song sounds just like Stevie!’” The Richard Bona song Stevie Wonder turned down
- Fender Limited Edition Tom DeLonge Stratocaster review – nails all the small things
- September 6
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- The Yamaha hand-crafted FG9 M acoustic combines old-world craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology
- Remember Nepco’s Danelectro-inspired V-style guitars? Well, Gibson has issued it a cease and desist, so you won’t see any more of them
- The Keith Richards riff machine is still in fine working order as the Rolling Stones return with new single Angry
- A 150-year-old Martin acoustic is up for sale on Reverb – and it’s surprisingly attainable and 100 percent playable
- “Designed to suit the modern player’s need to blur genre lines and push sonic boundaries”: Jackson’s American Series Virtuoso is taking metal guitars to the mainstream
- “It’s just meant to be a rock machine”: YouTube star Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce hooks up with Ernie Ball Music Man for a StingRay signature model that’s more versatile than you might expect
- Bonnie Raitt may be best known for slide, but she's an expert fingerpicker, too – and her Americana-indebted style will improve your acoustic playing
- Marshall Studio JTM ST20H review – one of the most important amps in rock and blues gets a modern-day reboot
- They’re loved by St. Vincent, Dan Auerbach and Ry Cooder – but what’s behind the Gold Foil pickup resurgence?
- “He's an amazing, incredible player”: Meet Teemu Mäntysaari, the fast-fretting fill-in set to take on Kiko Loureiro’s Megadeth tour duties
- “My favorite bands – Pixies, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Bikini Kill – all had bass players who were women. I thought they were the coolest members”: Emily Retsas on her journey from Australia to A-list gigs with Phoebe Bridgers and Kim Gordon
- The rubber bridge is the hottest trend in indie guitar and a cheap mod to try – here’s how to install one on your electric guitar
- “You know, I've never played slide before, but it just started doing things on its own – I didn’t even have to try”: That time Paul McCartney channeled his inner bluesman – with the help of Nirvana, and a wild 4-string cigar box guitar
- September 5
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- “When I started collecting, the cut-off for desirability was 1965 – anything after that, forget it. That’s all changed completely”: The Fender Stratocaster is the most famous electric guitar of all time – but what was the greatest Strat ever built?
- “The unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era”: Gibson Custom Shop unveils its first Murphy Lab aged acoustic guitars
- “A fine guitar is described as having a piano-like tone. The top is actually able to vibrate in all the different ways that strings are able to vibrate”: Dana Bourgeois explains how innovation breeds great acoustic tone
- “I was able to do something weird when I played, something unusual I couldn’t do with anything else”: Kevin Shields’ signature Fender Shields Blender sold out instantly, but now it’s back – and $200 cheaper
- “This guitar does things most guitars aren’t gonna do”: It took three failed attempts and three decades of waiting, but Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil finally has a signature Guild S-100
- One of the most famous names on a bass guitar pickup, electronics expert, Bill Bartolini, has died aged 84
- Lee Anderton says he will be “declaring any personal financial interest” in products featured in Andertons videos, after complaints to the UK Advertising Standards Authority
- “To put it simply: no Beatles, no George, no me. I still feel very privileged to have called him a friend”: Bernie Marsden on the genius of George Harrison
- “From the second I got the call to join Foo Fighters, I hit the ground running. This was Dave's band, and I was the new guy – it was about not stepping on toes”: Franz Stahl on his time in the alt-rock institution – and Scream's first album in a decade
- “Someone somewhere knows what happened to this bass and where it is now”: The Lost Bass Project aims to reunite Paul McCartney with his missing Höfner 500/1 violin bass
- September 4
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- BOSS’s upgraded ME-90 multi-effects pedal utilizes flagship AIRD modeling tech, IRs and a suite of effects for pro-quality performance for $349
- “I gave them one last chance”: KK Downing says he won’t be making another appearance with Judas Priest
- Metallica just launched the world’s first-ever guitar-shaped ice cream bar
- “A genuine guitar enthusiast who loved to play, jam, and talk guitars and amps all day”: Dire Straits’ ‘other guitarist’ Jack Sonni passes away, aged 68
- Want to try your hand at pedal building? Mojotone’s easy-to-assemble pedal kits are based on classic designs – and keep soldering to a minimum
- “It’s really taken off – Rabea Massaad has introduced players to a new way of delivering tone from a Strat”: How Bare Knuckle redefined the sound of the Stratocaster with its radical new Triptych single coils
- Michael Romeo is one of the world's elite shredders – test your soloing skills with this lesson on his devastating abilities
- “Every time I play that guitar now, it’ll remind me of what a great man Jimmy was”: Paul McCartney, James Taylor and Zac Brown pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett
- “All the pedals should be put in a big pile and we should light ’em on fire”: Mac DeMarco is synonymous with woozy vibrato guitar – but he hates pedals
- “Right then we knew: this guitar is going to be epic”: Ana Popovic’s Fender ‘Foggy’ Stratocaster is causing quite a stir – and its back story is as remarkable as its one-of-a-kind finish
- “I've never heard a single person play Hendrix correctly. People always try to rip him off, which is one of the saddest things ever”: Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis names 10 guitarists who shaped his sound
- September 1
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- “I credit half of that bassline to James Jamerson. I’ve always been proud of knowing him”: Listen to Chuck Rainey’s isolated bass on Kid Charlemagne
- “Johnny Cash inspired me to make music. I watched Walk the Line and it changed my life. I started playing guitar that night”: mehro is a self-professed scholar of the human condition – and he channels his thoughts via intricate fingerstyle meditations
- “This guitar is a real ‘blues machine’, and I really love it!” Joe Bonamassa explains why every blues player needs to try a Gibson ES-345 as he shares his favorite licks
- “Dimebag is one of my biggest inspirations for lead guitar. He always knew how to think outside the box”: Sophie Lloyd names 10 records that changed her life
- A staple of Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Steve Lukather’s ‘80s live rigs, the Roland SDE-3000 was a game-changer for digital delay
