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October 2023

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267 articles

October 31
- “I was inspired to get away from the standard chordal structure we’ve all heard a thousand times”: Producer, luthier, songwriter like no other – Jonathan Wilson will take you on a strange trip
- “We fit the definition of a one-hit wonder, but I look at it as being lucky enough to have written a song that’ll be remembered forever”: Brian Vander Ark on how The Freshmen changed lives, including his own
- “In my mind, we could be like the Yardbirds in those rare times when you had Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck together. That’s what we wanted Aerosmith to be”: Joe Perry reflects on 50 years of America’s greatest rock band
- DOD’s renaissance enters a new phase with the Chthonic Fuzz – the first new pedal from the rejuvenated brand
- You don’t have to choose between rhythm and lead – ‘lead rhythm guitar’ has it all, and funk master Cory Wong is a master of the craft
- “Go into your local shop and pick one up… just try not to kill anyone with it”: How Five Finger Death Punch’s Andy James made one of the most dangerous signature guitars of all time
- “My guitar playing was a one-of-a-kind thing I developed as a kid in Winnipeg. You can’t replace that”: Randy Bachman is suing the band performing under The Guess Who name for $20 million
- “A meticulous recreation of Kirk’s prized original”: Epiphone has launched a Kirk Hammett signature 1979 Flying V – and it’s a lot more affordable than the Gibson Custom Shop version
- I’ve been fitting locking tuners to all my electric guitars for 20 years – and I just found out I’ve been using them wrong the whole time
- “I’ve been wanting to do this solo thing for a very long time. I had to do stuff with Mötley… now it’s my time”: Mick Mars opens up about his surprisingly heavy solo debut and life after the Crüe
- Supro seeks to “redefine the pinnacle of Supro tube amp tone” with the Custom Amplifier series, hand-built in the USA
- “You don't run into amps with that kind of clean channel that also have this incredible gain sound”: Revv debuts the D40 Dynamis, a vintage-voiced tube head with onboard Two Notes Torpedo tech
October 30
- “The pedal your ’board has been waiting for”? Zoom unveils the next generation of its cult classic MultiStomp pedal, cramming 100 effects into a $129 compact stompbox
- “Can’t believe I get to jam with these legends”: H.E.R. trades her signature Fender Strat for a metal-ready Charvel to perform with Foo Fighters on SNL
- GayC/DC are on the hunt for their new “Malcolm Young” – formidable rhythm chops essential, ability to pun welcome
- “We’re in the same band with the two black Strats. It’s insane that would happen”: How Little Feat acquired not one, but two of Jimi Hendrix’s Fender Stratocasters
- Meet session legend Vernon Ice Black’s mythical ‘Sunnie’ Strat, the guitar that appears on some of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s biggest hits… and features a “whoop-de-do button”
- Turnstone TG review: the most expensive guitar we’ve ever reviewed – but is it worth it?
- Philip Sayce is a modern blues-rock master – from daredevil overbends to tremolo picking with fingers, his licks will take your pentatonic soloing to a new level
- “We wanted to make something that was atmospheric and not mimicking anything else. But, really, this record is about coming out of grief”: Emma Tricca is finding redemption in vintage Martins and fingerstyle folk
- “They have one of the best guitar players in the world”: Watch Nuno Bettencourt inject virtuosic two-hand tapping flair into AC/DC’s Highway to Hell during Extreme and Godsmack’s joint cover
- “I had a Fender Super Twin that was completely melted down – sparks were shooting out of the amp. I’m shocked we didn’t burn the place down”: Everclear’s Art Alexakis on the tenacity and dangerous amps that won him platinum-level success
- Balaguer refreshes and expands its $1,099 Standard Series and there’s something for everyone: retro offsets, baritones, T-styles and a super-shreddable S-style
- Boss DM-101 Delay Machine review – the ultimate analog delay pedal? It’s hard to argue
- “There’s big brands making stuff that’s no better than the $200 Chinese knockoffs you see online. I wanted to make something that could deliver the quality”: Steve Brown wants to shake up the budget guitar market with SBS Guitars’ $379 shred machines
October 29
- “When Michael McDonald first played it for me, I had him slow down and just show me his left hand”: Tiran Porter on The Doobie Brothers’ Minute By Minute
- “The quest to acquire this instrument resulted in the greatest guitar safari of my life”: Joe Bonamassa shows you why he loves his legendary Bolin ’Burst, and shares his favorite licks to play on the iconic Les Paul
October 28
- “It’s Roger’s bass riff. He came in with the verses and the lyrics for Money”: Listen to the isolated bassline on Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece
- “Robbie’s music seemed to come from the deepest place at the heart of this continent, its traditions and tragedies and joys”: Remembering Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023
October 27
- LAVA MUSIC’s all-new LAVA ME 4 Carbon and Spruce models “are immersive guitars that are like nothing else”
- Otherworldly headless shred, and fresh riffs from one of the most underrated guitarists of his generation: This week's essential guitar tracks
- “The ultimate feat”: Pedal Pawn has reverse engineered one of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Tube Screamer pedals to produce the “juiciest mid-hump overdrive tone ever”
- “Yes, that’s a real spider”: Sophie Lloyd’s Enter Sandman (Shred Version) adds extra fretboard flair to Metallica’s thrash classic – alongside some snakes and a tarantula named Rosie
- “This guitar is, to me, the perfect guitar. The only thing I could do is create a song that shows all of its glory”: John 5 has written an instrumental masterpiece that’s literally dedicated to his new Fender signature model
- “When I'm not playing online, I love to blend with the band. I'm not the one who wants to stand out. But online, that's what it's all about”: April Kae is on a quest to inspire new bass players – and it starts with making bass sound good on phone speakers
- “He hit the strings on his guitar, laid it on the floor, had the amp cranked and left his studio – and left it on for days. That was his torture test”: Eddie Van Halen’s rig builder Dave Friedman discusses the guitar legend’s gear testing regime
- Blues playing giving you the blues? Welcome to the ultimate blues guitar workshop: an in-depth lesson that will make you a better blues guitarist
- 11 ways to get more from your pitch-shifter and octave pedals
- They have a guitarist named Joe Perry, bought a Fender Telecaster from a KFC and their MO is to “scream, thrash guitars and put the heaviest overdrive on” – meet Coach Party, the UK’s next great indie-rock hope
October 26
- “Show the kids out there how it's done”: Watch Keith Richards play Rolling Stones classics on a 5-string guitar with Jimmy Fallon
- “Punk rock should be accessible – I think it’s very cool to be somebody’s potential first bass”: Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz partners with Sterling by Music Man for its first full-scale passive bass
- “The worst condition I’ve ever seen”: A lost Gibson Les Paul Junior from the 1950s has been found in a near-unsalvageable state – and it could be a first-year model
- “We want to give fans one last chance to see a really kickass show before we wind it up”: George Lynch on why he's retiring his long-running band, his unlikely Gibson studio favorite, and that Peavey business...
- Origin Effects Halcyon Gold Overdrive review – finally, a Klon-inspired drive pedal that’s much more than just a clone
- A mini Phantom and a slimmed-down digital archtop: Vox’s shrinking violets tip their caps to the guitar’s past, present and future
- “I’m trying to show the world that a bass player can do many things”: Watch the first trailer for Geddy Lee’s new docuseries, featuring Les Claypool and Robert Trujillo
- “Bernie had completely forgotten he had this. He said, ‘Oh, I looked in one of my old storage spaces today and I found another four guitars’”: Up close and personal with some of late guitar hero Bernie Marsden’s rarest vintage instruments
- “A legend reborn”: TC Electronic has revived an iconic digital delay pedal championed by David Gilmour, The Edge and Dream Theater – and it’s been updated for the modern player
- “My Foo Fighters setup is the kind of beast you have when somebody carries your s**t around for you!” Chris Shiflett on his double-life as a jobbing solo artist and lead guitarist in the world’s biggest rock band
- “One of the most flexible boost pedals available”: Boss’ Waza Craft BP-1W pedal puts the ‘secret weapon’ preamp sounds of the classic CE-1 and RE-201 into one compact unit
- “Jerry fights for his leads. He fights his guitar, and by the end – by the time he gets the lead on – it’s like, ‘Wow man, that was a piece of work!’”: Duff McKagan says Jerry Cantrell’s solos do not come easily – and they involve a lot of swearing
October 25
- “The most versatile modern distortion pedal available today”: Fortin debuts its first dedicated distortion pedal, the Natas – and it’s based on a “blisteringly high gain” tube amp
- Meet the Stratocaster Custom, a Fender Japan signature model that combines the Strat and Tele into a unique new form – and it’s absolutely full of surprises
- Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar review – a flexible, if not entirely up-to-the-minute, tremolo pedal
- "When you practice the skills enough, one day, just like magic, the skills turn into music": Tommy Emmanuel's thumbpicking masterclass
- “Unlike Jimi Hendrix, we never deliberately tuned down”: Listen to Jack Bruce’s bassline on Cream’s Politician
- “It’s a holy grail guitar”: Jason Momoa just bought the first Martin D-28 acoustic ever made
- “Playing scales up and down is dumb… this isn’t a f**king recital!” We meet the outspoken cartoon shredder who teamed up with Gary Holt, Alex Skolnick and George Lynch for one of this year’s biggest shred guitar albums
- “It will sound and more importantly, feel, like the amp that defined rock and roll”: Universal Audio’s UAFX Lion ’68 puts a Plexi in a pedal, offering Marshall-style roar – and a direct ‘Brown sound’ setting
- “What people tend to do is learn licks and then try to stick them into the solos – and that’s not really the way to do it”: Iron Maiden’s Janick Gers shares his tips for better guitar solos
- “Sometimes bad gear can give you a good idea! I’ll go with whatever’s around. There are no rules”: Code Orange’s Reba Meyers on writing “pure evil” riffs and why she’d rather play a guitar that “sounds a little sh**tier” than a studio classic
- “I’ve decided to leave the band to explore a slightly different path”: Jeff Schroeder departs The Smashing Pumpkins after 15 years
- “I never have to think about strumming patterns – it’s all taken care of because the motor is always going”: Cory Wong is the modern king of funk guitar – he shares his tips for tightening up your rhythm playing
- “The guitars have a vagueness and messiness – there’s a certain cloudiness that creates our perfect environment. That's our sound”: Blonde Redhead might not be the best of friends, but their otherworldly guitar textures are a match made in heaven
- Holiday 2023 Guitar World lesson videos
October 24
- "A singularly brilliant and eccentric talent": Massive Attack guitarist Angelo Bruschini has died
- "We were still gluing the fur on the tuning keys when the FedEx driver showed up to pick up the guitars": The iconic fur-covered spinning bass from ZZ Top's Legs video is going up for auction
- “Helix-quality effects in an ultra-compact pedal”: Line 6 makes its Helix effects more affordable than ever with the downsized HX One
- “People forget that great rhythm guitar will help make your solo sound better”: YouTube guitar guru Marty Schwartz on the biggest mistakes aspiring guitarists make – and how to fix them
- “I didn’t invent this technique. Like Eddie Van Halen said he never invented tapping, I see it in a similar way”: Matteo Mancuso walks you through the secrets of his breathtaking style, which saw Steve Vai hail him as “the evolution of guitar”
- “That long-haired hippie’s got the word ‘f**k’ on his guitar!” Tommy Bolin’s 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard has one of the most checkered histories of any ’Burst – watch the late guitar hero play it live on TV with his pre-Deep Purple band, Zephyr
- Steve Vai’s Hamer JEM prototype is going back up for auction – with a starting bid of just $2,500
- “I want to pass on the blues vocabulary that stood the test of many tough audiences”: Modern blues master Josh Smith teaches you the secrets to better solos
- “I like the rawness and the vulnerability you get from a cleaner sound... I like having to work for it a little bit”: Gina Gleason explains why Baroness made the switch from humbuckers to single coils – and sounded all the heavier for it
- Bassists, ditch your pedalboards: the Sterling by Music Man DarkRay features two Darkglass distortion circuits in one bass
- “To me, he really is an alternative guitar player”: Watch Billy Corgan pay tribute to his hero Eddie Van Halen by joining Sammy Hagar for a knockout cover of Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
- Bored with pentatonics? This lesson in superimpositions will make you think again
- The James Bond of travel guitars: meet the briefcase guitar – an all-in-one amp and foldable Strat that packs into a tweed carry case
- “I wanted to put a great band together like Rainbow, Deep Purple or Humble Pie. Nikki Sixx simply was not capable. So I told Tommy, ‘If this is the guy you want, I’m leaving’”: Before Mick Mars, Greg Leon was Mötley Crüe’s original guitarist
- “The fantastic, the mythological, and the spiritual”: Epiphone’s latest Adam Jones Les Paul Custom Art very much gives a Fuchs
October 23
- “It’s the best front-end amp pedal I’ve ever heard”: Justin and Dan Hawkins have launched their own pedal brand – and its first stompbox is based on their tones from The Darkness’s debut album
- “He wanted to trade for a specific guitar... or gold”: YouTuber finds rare Stars and Stripes Gibson Explorer – thought to be one of just five or six in existence
- “We’re trying to do the AC/DC version of a two-pronged attack, especially when we play live”: The Darkness’ Justin and Dan Hawkins on the high-volume twin-guitar secrets behind Permission To Land
- “Beautiful”: Post Malone nods to his rock roots once again with a killer guitar cover of Alice In Chains' Them Bones – accompanied by a full choir
- D’Angelico Deluxe Eric Krasno Brighton review: it hits a magical “goldilocks” spot between a vintage Les Paul Special and Stratocaster – with even more sparkle and brilliance
- “I think Leo Fender reinvented the universe when he made the Telecaster because it’s just so simple and perfect”: Jesse Dayton on his greatest gear hits and misses
- “A lot of folk are ignorant. People watch a couple of Stevie Ray Vaughan videos and think all they need is distortion and fast licks”: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram on where guitarists “go wrong” when playing the blues
- “It's the most money I've ever paid for a guitar in my life”: Joe Bonamassa reveals the most expensive guitar in his collection
- “I dig playing that bassline, and I love the beats”: Tina Weymouth on the Tom Tom Club’s The Good The Bad And The Funky
October 20
- 11 ways to get more from your delay and reverb pedals
- Legend of Zelda-inspired fret-burner gallops and drunken bends: This week's essential guitar tracks
- Mike Stringer shows off two Jackson Custom Shop seven-strings that reimagine the lost Surfcaster offset as a metal guitar – and it’s got big name players in a hot mess
- “If you can make a record that feels like you have invented rock ’n’ roll, that’s a great feeling”: The Hives on how a need for speed – and the mystery of the elusive Randy Fitzsimmons – helped inspire them to make a comeback record for the ages
- “The culmination of 4 years of development”: Victory heralds a new age for its Kraken amp family with long-awaited VX MKII heads
- “Imagine trying to convince your parents to buy you this thing in 1958!”: Joe Bonamassa shares his favorite Gibson Flying V licks
- Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: The 50 Greatest Rolling Stones Riffs
- “If you sound really good when you’re practicing, that means you’re practicing things you can already do, which isn’t really benefiting you fully”: Guthrie Govan shares his top tips for soloing
- “I bought it from this bloke our drummer knew. I think it was the first fretless electric bass ever”: Bill Wyman on the origins of his famous “homemade” fretless bass
- “An evolutionary and revolutionary extension”: At long last, Neural DSP has finally launched its first-ever Quad Cortex-compatible plugin – and it’s a free Archetype: Plini update
- “Don’t pick up your bass and act like you’re in Guitar Center”: Legendary studio bassist Randy Jackson shares his session secrets
- “A humbucker is a lot more controlled, and a single coil is twangy and misses frequencies. The P-90s have the best of the two worlds”: Meet Graveyard, the Swedish classic rockers with tone and vibrato worthy of the ‘60s psychedelic blues explosion
- Sterling by Music Man Valentine Chambered Bigsby review: it may borrow from the Tele and the ES-339, but this affordable offset is very much its own guitar – and it’s an absolute must-play
October 19
- “I never wanted to be a violinist. I wanted to play electric guitar with smoke bombs and flash pots and Marshall stacks”: Yngwie Malmsteen says he is definitely not a frustrated classical player
- “Why record your guitar thrice when Beam Splitter exists?” Old Blood Noise Endeavors’ new Triple Tracker Distortion is a stacked stompbox that has only one goal: “create a massive sound”
- Using Dumble-modded Fender Twins and the "Stay With Me" Zemaitis, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood grace The Rolling Stones' comeback album with some of their finest fretwork in decades
- Crosspicking is an advanced picking technique that will lend your licks an authentic country flavor – test your picking skills with this lesson
- Fender Vintera II ‘60s Stratocaster and ‘50s Nocaster review: keenly priced Strat and Tele models that evoke the golden age of guitar building
- “Wendy Melvoin is a highly influential guitarist for me. Her feel is unmatched”: Madison Cunningham is the new face of the Fender Jazzmaster – and she has some seriously A-list collaborations in the pipeline
- “No ordinary overdrive pedal”: The Electric Love and Brian Wampler Aquatone is a Boss Blues Driver clone with a twist – and 100% of profits will go towards breast cancer research
- An arena on your ’board: this guitar pedal recreates the gigantic ’80s reverb beloved by Bruce Springsteen and Phil Collins
- “People come up to me and say, ‘Man, you’re keeping the blues alive!’ I’m like, ‘You don’t even know that’s the worst thing you could say to me’”: Mixing Blind Willie Johnson covers with Slayer-inspired shred, Buffalo Nichols is no blues traditionalist
- “Stunning in style and sound”: Gretsch brings bling to its fancy flagship range with limited-edition Paisley Penguin and Bourbon Stain Sidewinder models
- “Martin Barre had a Strat and it was on the stage one day – I picked it up and plugged it into my amp. Immediately, I thought, ‘I like the voicing of that…’”: Robin Trower looks back on making some of guitar’s most influential recordings
October 18
- Bose’s new S1 Pro+ portable speaker system is “a must-have for on-the-go musicians who just want to plug and play”
- “The sound is pure ’Burst”: A 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard known as ‘Miss Swiss’ has come up for sale – with an asking price of $450,000
- “Not just a one-trick pony”: Epiphone expands its entry-level Power Players lineup with… a multi-effects pedal?
- “I’d like to remind all the perfectionist guitar nerds to listen to Jimmy Page’s solo on In the Evening. It sounds like the guitar is falling down the stairs… It’s brilliant”: Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil dissects his “dangerous” approach to guitar playing
- “When I played Here I Go Again to Jon Lord he had a certain look in his eye. He said, ‘You’re a clever little sod, aren’t you?’”: Remembering Bernie Marsden, 1951-2023
- “I had like a bass drug deal”: Keanu Reeves recalls buying his first-ever bass guitar… from a stranger in the parking lot of a Guitar Center
- “It’s got nothing to do with the rest of the song!” Listen to the octave-heavy outro on Gettin’ Betta by Pat Travers Band
- “A nice way to include my dad”: Wolfgang Van Halen walked down the aisle to a track written for him by his father
- Electro-Harmonix Nano Q-Tron review – John Mayer’s fave filter, now pedalboard-friendly
- She's a Grammy winner who's been writing songs since she was 8, but Kacey Musgraves also has a fingerstyle approach that will give your acoustic playing a real identity
- $100 savings on Player Plus guitars and $50 off the Player series is like Black Friday come early - but only while stocks last
- “A new interpretation on a responsive classic”: Electro-Harmonix launches its own boutique Bluesbreaker clone – and it’s half the price of Marshall’s recent BB reissue
- The Rolling Stone 250 greatest guitarists list gets a lot of things right – but some of its exclusions are just plain wrong
- “Revolutionize your live performances”: The multi-effects market has never been more competitive – does Hotone’s next-generation Ampero II Stage do enough to make a mark?
October 17
- Shergold’s Provocateur Standard single-cut turns out to be quite provocative, but not that standard
- Keith Richards' use of open G tuning is the stuff of guitar legend – take a leaf out of his book with these 5 must-learn shapes
- How Gibson leaned into the ‘50s modernist zeitgeist and created the Explorer – and changed the shape of electric guitars to come
- “It wouldn’t have worked with the Stones at all. We’re all about teamwork”: Jeff Beck was once rumored to join The Rolling Stones – Keith Richards explains why that never happened
- “I got into ES-style guitars because of that scene in Back to the Future!”: How Chris Stapleton, the humble capo and Marty McFly shaped Ashley Sherlock’s breakthrough debut album
- J. Rockett HRM V2 review: a beautifully voiced Dumble-style drive pedal of the sort that encourages you to keep playing
- Meet the Ciari Ascender Standard, the world’s first folding electric guitar “that you can take anywhere”
- “I love the sound of the Rickenbacker, but I didn’t sound like Chris Squire on it!” Geddy Lee on his Rick-O-Sound tone and ‘crossing the floor’ to Fender
- “It was complete carnage... Keith and Ronnie were on their feet. The roof left the building”: Andrew Watt gifted Paul McCartney a ‘64 Höfner with a built-in Univox Super Fuzz circuit – and the Beatle used it on the new Rolling Stones album
- “The emotion of Clapton, the feel of Joe Perry, and the dexterity of Eddie Van Halen”: Criss Oliva was one of heavy music’s most electrifying guitar players – and then a drunk driver took his life
October 16
- “It was right before doors, so we moved fast”: Mike Stringer lays down a ferocious 7-string playthrough of Spiritbox’s heaviest track yet in an empty arena – just minutes before fans storm the venue
- “My Gibson is still the coolest looking bass guitar ever!” Frankie Poullain remains a committed Thunderbird player – just don’t ask him about beer-throwing fans
- “The substance issues and drama negatively impacted Velvet Revolver. But there was the ‘dangerous band’ element. That came across in a song like Slither”: Dave Kushner looks back on his guitar partnership with Slash – and writing the Sons of Anarchy theme
- “They asked us to make a guitar out of the Knicks basketball court”: John Mayer has added another custom Charvel to his collection – and this one is literally built from Madison Square Garden’s floor
- “Two of rock’s elite guitar soloists go lick for lick”: Watch Slash and Mike McCready trade leads on Paradise City as the Pearl Jam guitarist joins Guns N’ Roses onstage
- “I sort of flippantly say: ‘All guitars sound the same and go for whatever looks good.’ But that’s not really true”: Kavus Torabi on his greatest gear hits and misses
- He’s considered one of the top blues guitarists in the world, but nobody plays pentatonics like Eric Gales – learn his tastiest licks
- EMG JMaster Pickup Set review: vintage-voiced Jazzmaster tones with zero noise
October 14
- Download and stream the audio from Total Guitar 377
October 13
- "Stick to the pick!" Kirk Fletcher's blues masterclass
- “I don’t think I will ever come close to the magic of the original, but I tried my best!”: Marvel at Matteo Mancuso’s unique technique as he absolutely nails Steve Vai’s legendary Crossroads showcase Eugene’s Trick Bag
- This week's essential guitar tracks: Fresh eyebrow-singing solos from Judas Priest, and a former coma patient delivers jaw-dropping Dimebag-meets-EVH shred
- The widow of Paul Stanley’s former guitar tech is suing Kiss for wrongful death
- Download and stream the audio from Guitar Techniques 354
- “I made a deal, paid him in cash, and he died two months later. His last text to his daughter was, ‘I buried the money in the desert’”: Joe Bonamassa tells the story of the strangest guitar deal he ever did
- “I hadn’t played bass to any great degree before I tried out for Oasis. When I was invited to come out and got on the plane, I didn’t have a bass”: Andy Bell looks back on crafting Ride’s mind-expanding shoegaze sound and playing in Britpop’s biggest band
- Billie Joe Armstrong set to sell rare prototype Gibson guitars and tour-used gear in new Green Day Reverb Shop – and one of them will cost you nothing
- “The bestseller goes digital”: IK Multimedia unveils the iRig USB – a Type-C guitar interface that costs less than $70
- Used by everyone from Kurt Cobain to Ace Frehley, the DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup changed the sound of rock – and the future of electric guitar tone
- Walrus Audio’s unique 385 overdrive pedal was based on a vintage film projector – and now it’s been overhauled as the 385 MkII
- “The SD-1 was my first important Boss pedal. I’ve always called it the $50 Marshall upgrade”: Tracii Guns reveals what’s on his pedalboard
- 8 ways to get more from your modulation and filter pedals
October 12
- “It's always rubbed me the wrong way when people put Brad down and refer to me as the lead guitarist... Some of the best solos in our catalog are ones Brad did”: Joe Perry says it’s time to stop calling Brad Whitford a rhythm guitarist
- “I wish I knew more about what the hell I was doing when I’m playing”: Dave Mason has recorded with Jimi Hendrix and Wings, and inspired George Harrison to play slide guitar – and he’s done it all without “a lot of technique”
- How torrefied wood affects acoustic guitars: demystifying the process that is said to give new instruments vintage tones from the get-go
- Beetronics Octahive V2 review: a sonically striking octave fuzz with some notable upgrades
- “Let ‘er rip”: Eventide’s new Riptide pedal puts iconic Uni-Vibe tones and “legendary overdrives” into one convenient stompbox
- “Doug really knew his way around that bass. Billy built the band around him”: How Paul Simon's advice and Doug Stegmeyer’s swinging bassline transformed Billy Joel’s Only The Good Die Young
- “I am Jethro Tull's guitar player. I was, I am now, and I always will be”: Martin Barre says he remains the prog legends’ guitarist, despite Ian Anderson’s insistence on touring under the ’Tull name
- “I’ve never heard it sound this good, ever”: Meet the ultra-precise, digital-meets-analog Delay pedal that has Josh Scott raving
- First look: Positive Grid Spark CAB review
- “Sunshine of Your Love should be in the dictionary under the best-known bassline of all time”: Chris Squire on the five bass players that shaped his sound
- “Practicing a solo puts you in a position of being unable to reach it later. I don't subscribe to that theory. My solos have to come straight out of me in the moment”: Robert Cray on his return to the road and why the blues must evolve to survive
October 11
- Laney Ironheart Foundry IRF-Dualtop review: An ideal portable partner for modern players at all levels
- Ernie Ball Music Man and Tosin Abasi have treated their radical Kaizen model to five of its finest finishes yet – including a limited-edition Honey Suckle burst
- “A fresh face”: The latest PRS drop brings back one of the most distinctive guitars in its history – and it’s only available as an SE
- “The most flexible studio reverb ever created in a pedal format”: Meris changed the delay game with the LVX – can its all-new MercuryX do the same for reverbs?
- I review guitar gear for a living – these are the 6 bargains I'm considering in Amazon's October Prime event
- “There was a lot of dissent from the workforce – there was a mindset of Epiphone not being as important or as easy to work on as Gibson”: The history of Epiphone and Gibson’s rollercoaster relationship – and what’s next for the brands
- The blues jam session is a rite of passage for every guitarist – here are 5 ways to improve your blues guitar solos
- “We were fed up with 90% of rock playlists being stuff where you don’t even know if you can hear a guitar”: James and the Cold Gun are bringing the “early noughties guitar rock revival” back – with a little help from Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard
- “I was very influenced by Prince’s bass playing – he had a high-end to his sound, and I incorporated that into Appetite for Destruction”: Duff McKagan names 7 bassists who shaped his sound
October 10
- "That song was going in the trash until I played on it": Andy Summers is locked in a "contentious" battle with Sting over Every Breath You Take songwriting credits
- Beat the early Black Friday sales with up to 20% off Positive Grid smart amps and accessories over at Amazon
- Musician's Friend proves the best deals aren't on Amazon with up to 40% off big-name brands in their 40th Anniversary Sale
- “When I'm like, 'I can't quite do that any more,' the guitar will show me there's another way”: Keith Richards discusses how arthritis has changed his playing
- Forget Amazon, Fender’s official shop is the place to shop today – get up to $350 off electric guitars and basses
- “The tactile charm and unplugged resonance of acoustics twice their size”: With the “revolutionary” Highway Series, Fender is slimming down the big-body footprint
- “My go-to guitar in the studio”: This Fender Telecaster lived in Metallica’s HQ and became Kirk Hammett’s writing workhorse – now it’s going under the hammer
- I lived with the Fender Tone Master Pro for two weeks, and forget the tones – the way it feels is the real game-changer
- Forget Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event, these 6 sales are where it’s at for guitar players today
- We thought Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale was a dud until they slashed the price of these Boss and Roland favorites – and yes it includes the Katana!
- Squier Paranormal Custom Nashville Stratocaster review: Fender combines the Strat and Tele for an intriguing hybrid
- “As soon as we heard Chris’ name, I knew we were good. Nobody works harder or learns songs quicker. It was like I had my teacher with me every day”: How ex-Megadeth shredder Chris Broderick lit the fuse under In Flames’ fierce return
- “For me, Gibson and Epiphone are one and the same. But there is a richness within the Epiphone – you can get it and not be afraid to take it on the road”: Meet Abraham Alexander, Gibson’s first-ever Marquee Artist
- “The opportunities that AI presents for guitar education are immense”: Why one of the world’s top guitar tutors is embracing AI – even if he’s out of a job
October 9
- “One of the most influential sounds in rock history”: Eric Clapton’s iconic ‘Fool’ Gibson SG, which was key to his trademark ‘woman tone’, has emerged – and it’s going up for auction
- “The workhorse”: The Fender ‘Sky Stang’ played by Kurt Cobain during Nirvana’s last show – and 53 In Utero tour dates – is going up for auction
- “Whenever I think I have my tone dialed in, I find something that makes me want to improve. I doubt I’ll ever quit chasing the dragon”: Kill Devil Hill are back – Mark Zavon explains why Rex Brown’s departure lit a fire under the hard-rock supergroup
- “Everybody was going crazy about Yngwie Malmsteen... Joe Satriani told me, ‘That’s fine, but don’t get too into him’”: Alex Skolnick explains why he was warned off sounding like the neoclassical maestro
- Blues legend Junior Wells, who has been dead since 1998, has a brand-new single out using AI
- Dimebag Darrell was a shredder like no other – learn the solo licks that made him a metal legend
- This historic Fender Precision Bass lay hidden underneath a bed for over 50 years – now it’s going up for auction
- “At first you fight, and you’re a little bit angry and then you get sad... but that solo is blistering”: Brad Whitford recalls the time Aeromith’s producer called in session pro Steve Hunter to replace his and Joe Perry’s lead lines
- “There’s a similarity between metal and bluegrass. The intensity is a common thread”: Bluegrass guitar playing has stepped up a gear – here are 6 blazing guitarists you need to hear (besides Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle)
- “I had an operation and the doctor told me, ‘No more heavy guitars.’ He rattled off a ton I couldn't play – I said, ‘Doc, what can I play?!’” Mark Farner on what led him to the Parker Fly – and what’s preventing a Grand Funk Railroad reunion
- “So much metal is gridded and sterile. We call it ‘CGI metal’. It isn’t real, and it just doesn’t sound heavy”: Simon Neil and Mike Vennart are making metal heavy again with Empire State Bastard
October 8
- “Billy Sheehan showed us that the bass can be taken to the same space that the guitar occupies, and he does that better than anybody”: Megadeth’s James LoMenzo names 15 bassists who shaped his sound
October 7
- “Sometimes the simplest bassline is the most difficult to play!” How Richard Bona developed his percussive right-hand technique
- What does the Varitone control on a Gibson guitar do? Let Joe Bonamassa show you in this lesson from the blues maestro
October 6
- “Let me know if you like it or you think I ruined it!” Dire Straits’ Sultans of Swing becomes Sultans of Shred as Sophie Lloyd gives the guitar anthem a high-gain makeover
- “This man changed the game in so many ways”: One of Les Paul’s own Les Pauls – which has a rare maple fretboard – has been listed on Reverb
- Head to the outer limits of the tone galaxy with Interstellar Audio Machines’ new trio of vintage-modern effect pedals
- Wolfgang Van Halen’s favorite guitarist tears it up while death metal has never sounded more alive: this week’s essential guitar tracks
- “On Longview I used a Gibson bass. Then I broke the neck in half”: Mike Dirnt on the making of Green Day’s breakthrough single
- “Daft Punk was dancing in the booth while we cut it!” Listen to James Genus stretch out on Giorgio by Moroder from Random Access Memories
- “The direction I was given was, ‘We want to encompass the history of the guitar’”: The guitarist behind Back to the Future’s Johnny B. Goode scene says he used a Strat copy with a Floyd Rose
- “We love the sound of DI guitars. We don’t make our lives easier with technology – it’s a tool to be abused”: Industrial riffers Saint Agnes break all the gear rules and embrace wrong notes in the name of intensity and aggression
- 9 ways to get more from your amp modeler and multi-effects pedals
- “I bought my first solidbody electric from Ed King. It was a Gibson SG he’d used as his main guitar in Strawberry Alarm Clock”: Steve Bartek was Danny Elfman’s right-hand man for Oingo Boingo and countless movie scores – now he’s playing Coachella
- “The thing the incident reveals to me is a much larger problem – the idea that profits are more important than people”: George Lynch breaks silence following resurfaced allegations that Peavey used prison labor
- Electro-Harmonix Andy Summers Walking on the Moon Flanger review
- “A song like Eruption is about the guitar itself, but Machine Gun is about the nation at a specific point in time. Jimi Hendrix plugged into that at an unprecedented level”: Vernon Reid names 10 guitarists who shaped his sound
October 5
- Joe Bonamassa called his ‘51 Fender Nocaster “the most dynamic instrument I have ever played in my life” – now Seymour Duncan has released a signature pickup set based on that guitar
- Tom Morello says his 12-year-old son “can shred circles” around him – watch Roman Morello tackle Ozzy Osbourne’s Mr. Crowley… with Jack Black on vocals
- Fender discontinued its sought-after Blacktop Baritone Telecaster in 2015 – now Schecter has plugged the gap and hot-rodded the format for 2023
- “There was a time when I didn’t want to make punk music because my dad makes that type of stuff”: Meet Jakob Armstrong, the Jazzmaster-toting son of Green Day’s Billie Joe who’s blazing his own trail with Ultra Q
- Positive Grid just made its Spark amps gig-ready – meet the Spark CAB, the brand’s flagship FRFR speaker
- “I didn’t want to become a cover band playing Purple Haze or Hey Joe – I took the deeper cuts and put my own spin on it”: He organized Jimi Hendrix’s 80th birthday party, now Marcus Machado is taking rock, funk and soul guitar into new territory
- “Dad showed me three chords and then he was like, ‘There’s a million songs in those three chords, so knock yourself out.’ He wanted me to find my own connection”: Tommy Prine shares how music helped him cope with the loss of his father
- Squier Affinity Stratocaster FMT HSS review: a budget Strat that has plenty of tones to match its sizzling aesthetic
- “There are people out there with extraordinary technical ability, but you listen to their tone and you’re like, ‘Have you got ears or not?’”: Steven Wilson explains why he’s “constantly disappointed” by modern guitarists’ tones
October 4
- One of the greatest guitar performances of all time: new colorized footage of Jimi Hendrix’s extended 1970 performance of Machine Gun at the Fillmore East emerges
- “Ultimate control” over your bass overdrive tones, and your entire backline in a pedal? Ashdown has lofty aims for its latest bass stompboxes
- “A tribute to his talent and a celebration of his unique style”: Neural DSP taps neo-soul virtuoso Mateus Asato for its latest signature Archetype plugin
- “If I had joined Guns N’ Roses, that would have basically been me filling the role of someone having to back up Slash”: Marc Ford on the highs, lows and musical triumphs of The Black Crowes
- Joe Perry and Brad Whitford dissect Aerosmith's wild 50-year ride – only in the new Guitar World
- “I played with Satriani, Bonamassa, Iommi and Blackmore… but Gary Moore was the best”: Glenn Hughes has performed with some of the greatest guitarists of all time, but he reckons the late, great blues-rocker surpasses them all
- “The most unique finish Fender makes”: Fender’s new Waste Bucket Sparkle guitars turn trash into treasure
- Laney Ironheart Foundry IRF-Leadtop review: It’s tiny and costs just $299, but this solid-state fire-breather can handle anything you can throw at it
- “I played a Japanese Les Paul copy on Teenage Kicks but, ironically, I still think it’s the best sound I ever got on record”: The Undertones’ Damian O’Neill looks back on the making of the band’s defining anthem – and the lost classic that followed
- Gibson releases two new 1970s Flying V and Explorer models – paying homage to the players who made them “an enduring symbol of the era’s rock ‘n’ roll rebellion”
- Tom Verlaine influenced generations of alt-rock guitar greats – find out why they worshipped his playing with this lesson in his idiosyncratic style
- “All of Ace Frehley’s leads are memorable. Even though he’s not a shredder, he’s catchy, filled with melody, and exactly what a lead guitarist should be”: Type O Negative’s Kenny Hickey on how Kiss inspired his gothic metal masterpieces
- How rubber bridge guitars became the hottest trend for the next generation of players: 10 songs that tell the story of its unstoppable rise
October 3
- The guitar cab your amp modeler has been waiting for? Fender’s first FRFR Tone Master cabinets are here – and they look stunning
- Audio Technica ATH-M50xBT2 review: the only headphones you need for guitar, studio and everyday use?
- Neural DSP has reduced the price of the Quad Cortex – it’s now the same as Fender’s new Tone Master Pro (but that’s probably just a coincidence)
- “We mic’d one of Steve Howe’s old Gibson guitars and mixed it with the bass. That’s what gave it such a bright sound”: Listen to Chris Squire’s isolated bassline on Roundabout
- Forget Black Friday - Guitar Center just slashed $700 off a Gibson Les Paul in its huge Guitar-A-Thon sale!
- “Eddie turned guitar on its ear... I remember saying, ‘We’re not ready for the ’80s’”: Joe Perry says after hearing Van Halen’s first record he knew it was time to take a break from Aerosmith
- “The ultimate guitar processor in terms of tone, dynamics, power, and user-friendliness”: Fender goes toe-to-toe with Neural DSP, Line 6 and Boss with its first-ever amp modeling multi-effects, the Tone Master Pro
- “Dave Cobb’s ’40s Martin is one of my favorite guitars I have ever touched in my life – I really wanted to steal that guitar!” Grace Potter went on the mother of all road trips… then embarked on the mother of all recording sessions
- Fret-King Eclat Custom Paul Rose Signature review: A single-cut with a difference – and we’re not just talking about that dramatic forearm scoop
- Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb review
- “I can’t build a guitar, I can’t wire an amp. Woodworking? That’s not my role here. My role is to push guitar culture forward”: Gibson’s Mark Agnesi is on a mission to create more guitar players
- “I always get compliments on my tone. It’s become a running joke: ‘Aren’t they gonna say I’m awesome? Is it all about my tone?!’”: Dirty Honey’s John Notto is back in the studio – and he’s still in search of “that great, elusive riff”
- “I’m basically a blues-rock guitar player that got wise to some other stuff”: Greg Koch is one of guitar's great showmen – and his licks are phenomenal
- “I get a text from Nuno: ‘They made $9m on this video and they couldn’t even give us a guitar!’”: Fender’s viral Game of Thrones clip has 41m views – but its stars didn’t get to keep the instruments
October 2
- 10 recording mistakes every guitarist makes
- Gibson SG vs Gibson Les Paul: what's the difference between these Gibson heavyweights?
- Was David Gilmour’s Comfortably Numb solo really a first take? Total Guitar sets the record straight
- “All the ingredients I needed to make the soup”: MXR celebrates 20 years of partnership with Zakk Wylde with 5 pedals that promise his Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society and Pantera tones
- “Hopefully the neck isn’t… warped”: Kauer has made a Star Trek guitar that we actually want to play
- PJD York Standard review: a new take on the Telecaster that feels alive in your hands and feather-light on your shoulder
- “Santana, right? I love your choice of notes”: Carlos Santana recalls the time he met Jimi Hendrix
- “Epiphone will always be Gibson’s older brother, and its history is perhaps the most interesting of any guitar brand”: Celebrating 150 years of Epiphone – from luxury archtop maker to budget builder and rock icon
- “Buckethead made me want to explore the idea of using a kill switch. I love how creative you can get”: How John 5 revolutionized one of Fender’s oldest guitar designs with the Ghost Telecaster
- “When people say ‘jazz’, they get locked into ‘It's not this; it's this.’ I never looked at music that way”: Grammy-nominated virtuoso David Becker is nurturing the future of jazz guitar – and he’s encouraging them to break the rules
October 1
- The guitarists who recorded with Pink Floyd (whose names aren't David Gilmour, Syd Barrett or Roger Waters)