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September 2024
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152 articles
- September 16
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- “If you’re a country music fan, who doesn’t put these guys on their Mount Rushmore to record with?”: Vince Gill, John Osborne and Brent Mason tapped for a new single – and it's an all-star tribute to the Telecaster
- “We’re not even going to try to dabble in digital modeling. Everyone else can do it better”: Orange explains why it's not joining the amp modeling race
- “I’m so grateful for the strong American audience I’ve gained online. It’s about time I rock out with them in person”: Sophie Lloyd announces her debut solo US show – and marks the occasion with a shred reimagining of Alice Cooper’s Poison
- How to Get Your Music on Spotify with Distrokid
- “The band have made the difficult decision to take some time away”: Jane’s Addiction cancel remaining tour dates as Dave Navarro says “goodnight” to the group following onstage altercation with Perry Farrell
- “You can rehearse until you're blue in the face, but once you hit the stage and the lights go out, all bets are off”: Steve Vai and Adrian Belew tackle King Crimson classics as their much-anticipated Beat tour kicks off
- Kick up your acoustic tone with FU-Tone’s high-performance titanium and brass bridge pins
- “I saw a kid holding that guitar out for me to sign it. But the train was already moving… I’m thinking, ‘Man, I gotta get the kid’s number to see if I could buy it back’”: Joe Perry on the one guitar he regrets selling
- “He continued to perform around the world throughout his career, carrying the torch for the Cash music legacy”: Tommy Cash, country artist and Johnny Cash's younger brother, dies at 84
- “The blues deserve a chance… My love really sits with that genre of music”: Jackson 5 guitarist and singer Tito Jackson has died aged 70
- Introducing Rhythmically Dependent Alternate Picking, the lead technique that makes fast guitar lines flow better than ever before
- “Fender mentioned that for the Tone Master Pro it takes about 3 months to model a channel. With TINA, we've got that down to hours”: How Neural DSP changed the digital guitar gear game with the help of a robot called TINA
- “It’s so difficult. The guitar has got a life of its own and it’s got to move on”: Why Rory Gallagher’s iconic Strat is up for auction now – and the political pressure to keep it in Ireland
- “You have more tone, more sustain and more stability. It’s like the best just got better”: How Eastman realized its vision for the future of the electric guitar with the D’Ambrosio range
- “Why are the single-pickup models of particular interest? Well, they really can sound better”: The Gibson ES-330T might have been the “runt of the litter”, but its unusually positioned P-90 pickup offers a unique experience among Gibson hollowbodies
- “Since the Sphere, we have begun using iso cabinets for the speaker cabinets and the Leslie, leading to all the amps and speakers being off-stage”: Trey Anastasio’s tech, Justin Stabler, reveals all about the Phish frontman’s new live guitar rig
- “Paul was a guitarist who switched to bass because the group needed one, as this song proves”: Did Paul McCartney fumble a note on this classic Beatles bassline?
- September 15
- September 14
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- “It was a bit of a number for me to have to dare to tell George Harrison not to play guitar. It was like an insult”: Paul McCartney turned down George Harrison's proposed guitar parts for Hey Jude
- “We grabbed a taxi home, but I left the bass in the trunk. I woke up in the middle of the night and started freaking out”: Viral bass hero Blu DeTiger just gave the Fender Jazz Bass a radical revamp – but she started on a Gretsch she left in a cab
- Jane’s Addiction end show early after Perry Farrell punches Dave Navarro mid-solo, forcing guitar tech to intervene
- September 13
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- Download and stream the audio from Total Guitar 389
- “Higher quality delay and reverb algorithms, and augmented looping engineered to withstand the rigors of touring”: Mooer has seriously upgraded Devin Townsend’s wild signature Ocean Machine pedal – with an expanded looper and superior ambient tones
- “Astonishingly, his continued non-acknowledgment as a near direct tonal descendant of Jimi Hendrix continues to this day”: Vernon Reid names the ’70s guitar hero who is still overlooked – despite playing with Hendrix
- Guitars make a comeback at this year's MTV VMAs – spearheaded by Lenny Kravitz, Halsey and Shawn Mendes
- “It must have taken two weeks of tweaking to wrestle that thing to the point where it would stay in tune”: Joe Satriani called on Eddie Van Halen’s techs to figure out how to make his Frankenstein playable
- “All of my favorite ones were huge. I wanted to have three-in-one in a smaller footprint”: Cory Wong’s new signature wah/expression/volume pedal might be the space-saving stompbox your pedalboard is crying out for
- “When Oasis recorded Supersonic, all he had was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard”: Oasis reunion hype reaches fever pitch as Noel Gallagher’s Definitely Maybe LP smashes its auction estimate
- “When Rihanna's team reached out to me, I said, ‘Why would you want to use me? Like, I do what I do’”: Nuno Bettencourt explains why he accepted the role of Rihanna's go-to guitarist
- “A truly outrageous Superstrat”: Justin Hawkins channels the spirit of Eddie Van Halen’s legendary Frankenstein with his new ridiculously relic’d Atkin signature guitar
- "This is an excellent, compact pedal that helps you tune accurately and quickly": Peterson StroboStomp Mini review
- “They’ve basically solved all of the problems that existed here”: Line 6’s $179 POD Express just became a pedalboard must-have after “game-changing” new update
- “He taught me that it was OK to play the music you wanted to play. He was my mentor and a surrogate father, too”: Why John Mayall was the godfather of British blues guitar
- He's the Grammy-winning Ibanez signature artist who has been setting the standard for jazz-fusion guitar since the mid-'70s – his style is so iconic, he even has a lick named after him. Learn how Pat Metheny's soloing approach can elevate your jazz game
- “You could sing along to the songs – including the solos. You can really mess a song up by playing the wrong solo. You can put people off”: Phil Collen on Def Leppard x Tom Morello, his love of thick guitar necks – and why Pyromania still blows him away
- “They really should replicate that, because it just has some magic”: Alex Skolnick on Criss Oliva's favorite guitar, “the Gargoyle” – the ESP Superstrat he likens to Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates Les Paul Standard
- September 12
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- “You almost forget you’re playing a carbon fiber guitar… this is a lifestyle instrument that is ready for the stage, the studio and even the great outdoors”: KLOS Guitars’ Grand Cutaway Mini is made to go with you – wherever you want to play
- “When I was playing with Prince, I saw how he was using it and I just saw his swag with it, so I kind of adapted it”: MonoNeon reveals the one pedal Prince urged him to use, now a staple in his bass rig
- “I had a little too much Jack Daniels and went to sleep. Early the next morning, I woke up to Eric and George playing ukuleles at the foot of my bed”: Session pro George Terry recalls the first time he met a Beatle
- Stephen Carpenter reveals when he expects to return to live duties with Deftones
- Fender Player 1 vs Player 2: should you upgrade?
- “This guitar holds the magic of Malmsteen’s fast-paced, virtuosic playing”: One of Yngwie Malmsteen's main Fender Strats is up for grabs – and it comes with a free Ferrari
- “We got a bang on the door and it was Eric's security. That was embarrassing – he might have thought it was me making this racket”: That time Ritchie Blackmore disturbed Eric Clapton by cranking Marshalls in a hotel at 3am
- “When I came back into Lynyrd Skynyrd, I knew that Free Bird was going to be my lead. I was the drummer in Muscle Shoals when we cut the original. I watched Allen. I knew the licks”: Rickey Medlocke unpacks his history with Skynyrd – and that guitar solo
- “This way, there’s a straight-line connection between the solo and the song itself”: Trying to craft a memorable solo? Revisit hooks from a song’s melody
- “The playing is fiery, the lines are emotionally powerful and the melodic ideas and phrasing are perfect”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to his favorite guitar player of all time
- “Provides Marshall Plexi fanatics with the dynamic, bone-crushing tones of their dreams and then some”: Suhr SL68 MkII head review
- Open Csus2 chords: 5 shapes you need to know
- September 11
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- “They brought Orange stacks to a Tiny Desk”: Mdou Moctar delivers scorching solos at the NPR offices – and even ditches his Strat for an Acoustasonic
- “When I encounter Kurt Cobain’s Sky Stang I, I'm evaluating it like a tech. Then I'll have a beer and go, ‘Did that just happen?!’” From fixing Lennon’s Framus to giving Prince's Cloud III a CAT scan – it's all in the life of an A-list guitar appraiser
- Acoustic guitars FAQ: from understanding tonewoods to the different sizes available, get to know your acoustic with these common questions answered
- “I find it hard to believe we'll never play again. I refuse to consider it over”: Aerosmith may have retired from touring, but bassist Tom Hamilton says it might not be the end for the band
- “I think we changed him as much as he changed us – he was loving the guitar solo thing by the end”: David Gilmour on how he won over Luck and Strange’s solo-sceptic producer
- Download and stream the audio from Guitar Techniques 366
- “My band and crew hadn’t worked in three years so we plowed on – eight epidurals later and 180 opium tablets, I made it through the tour”: Blackie Lawless on touring, talking solos with David Gilmour – and that time W.A.S.P. bought 52 Marshall heads
- “Ed Van Halen was a lot more than his tapping solo. Unfortunately, all the other players in LA thought it was all tapping and dive bombs, and they became cartoon versions of Eddie”: Pat Travers recalls how EVH gave rise to caricature impersonators
- “It was the pick my playing had been waiting for”: I’ve been on a quest to find the perfect pick – and it didn’t just improve my tone, it made me a better player
- “He wants to come on stage and play Joey's guitar part with you guys to honor his friend. We'll do that”: Fan plays guitar onstage with King Gizzard in memory of his friend who died in an avalanche
- “There’s spite and aggression in the performance”: Unreleased Prince documentary suggests his iconic While My Guitar Gently Weeps solo was an “act of revenge” against Rolling Stone
- “At a certain point we couldn’t get into 606 anymore. Some band called the Foo Fighters had it booked out for a month”: Scott Ian and Jonathan Donais check in from the studio to explain why the new Anthrax record will “punch people in the face”
- Cook up your own “musical gumbo” with this lesson in how to use bluegrass alternate picking in rock
- They may have lit the fuse for high-voltage rock, but The Kinks are much more than You Really Got Me – and Ray Davies’ inventive acoustic style influenced a generation of players, including Pete Townshend
- “It reminds me of a saturated Clapton mid-boost or tubular Santana tone. It’s a very handy thickener for single coils”: Black Ice Boost review
- September 10
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- “Pays homage to vintage legends while infusing innovative features”: Ashdown’s mid-priced SX range looks to put a modern spin on classic tube amp tones
- “I never liked the idea of getting lessons from a guitar player, and thought it would be more useful to learn from someone who didn’t play the guitar at all”: Lo-fi guitar hero Mk.gee on why he decided to learn guitar basics from an upright bassist
- “This bass is a reflection of everything I love about playing”: Fender honors viral bass sensation Blu DeTiger with a stunning Sky Burst Sparkle signature Jazz Bass – and it sounds as good as it looks
- “I’m sick of people saying Walk On the Wild Side is a classic. I got paid £12, and David Bowie didn’t even show up”: Session bass legend Herbie Flowers on the making of Lou Reed’s 1972 hit – and the hardest session he ever did
- “I remember trying a Telecaster and finding the sliding so complicated, like a mountain between one fret and the other. I hated it. That’s why I stuck with Jazzmasters”: Hinds talk learning guitar on the road, recruiting Beck – and rebuilding the band
- “Created in response to player requests for the return of this ’80s-era cult favorite”: Gibson channels Superstrat and PRS vibes as it revives its Victory model for the first time in 40 years
- “You're going to come and upstage me? OK, great”: David Gilmour surprises pub-goers with acoustic rendition of Pink Floyd classic accompanied by daughter Romany
- “If there is a Jane’s Addiction in 2025, there will be new music. But you never know if there’s going to be a band at all”: Eric Avery on overcoming JA’s “unthinkable” time without Dave Navarro and his brief stints with Metallica and Smashing Pumpkins
- "I’ve been a Steve Vai fan since I was 15, and never thought I’d ever get the chance to do something amazing with him": Slipknot's Corey Taylor collaborates with his hero Steve Vai on new Billy Morrison track
- “I learned the hard way many years ago that daisy chains are not reliable!” Serena Cherry shares her pedalboard secrets and admits she’d feel naked without “big, cavernous reverb”
- “Both wahs sound fantastic, and it’ll come down to whether you dig a wah with a more vintage quack or an articulate sweep”: Vox V846 Vintage and Real McCoy Wah review
- Open Gsus4 tuning chords: 5 chords you need to know
- September 9
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- “People who buy million-dollar guitars are the same as people who buy Rolls-Royces. If you’re not going to use it, it doesn’t make any sense”: Slash on the benefits of affordable guitars – and why overspending on gear is “absolutely not worth it”
- “‘What are you still doing at home? You’re supposed to be on a flight going to Detroit to audition.’ That was my introduction to P-Funk”: DeWayne Blackbyrd McKnight on how he came to join George Clinton's legendary music collective
- “Over the years I’ve realized I thrive most when I’m actively working with my bandmates behind the scenes”: Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson explains why he's decided to sit out the band’s comeback tour
- “He scoured the globe to find these guitars. I had given many away or sold them through the years, but he tracked them down”: A 1,000-page book showcasing Steve Vai’s iconic guitars has been announced – and it will be joined by a super-limited Ibanez JEM
- “I told Lou Reed, ‘Can I get the double bass out of the car? Because this song is a bit jazzy’”: British bass legend Herbie Flowers, best known for his work with David Bowie and Paul McCartney, dies aged 86
- “We may be able to make good-sounding instruments out of any material”: Yamaha’s Upcycling initiative turns scrap instrument offcuts into one-of-a-kind guitars – and it could transform the guitar-building industry
- Boss discontinued the Katana:GO mere months after launching it – these are 4 headphone amps you should try instead
- “It’s amazing to see Adrian Belew and Steve Vai playing together. My temptation is to pick up the camera! I have to remind myself to stick to my job playing bass”: For the King Crimson-channeling Beat tour, Tony Levin is a virtuoso among virtuosos
- “I’ve done somewhere close to 30,000 fret jobs. Holding a crowning file for that many hours a day will tear you up if you’re not careful”: How fixing thousands of guitars changed the way Tulsa blues cat Seth Lee Jones plays the thing
- The “train beat” is a staple of country and blues music – and learning to play over it will hone your hybrid picking and timing
- “If you talk about rare unicorns, that's the amp. To have something that John Mayer himself couldn't distinguish from the real thing, that’s something we would love to do”: The Neural DSP team reveal the vintage amp they dream of one day modeling
- He’s played with Michael Jackson, Elton John and three of the Beatles, and was a world-class soloist while still in his teens – why Toto guitarist Steve Lukather is one of rock’s greatest players
- “A unicorn in the guitar world, and for its price, playability and tones, it is a magical beast to rein in”: Danelectro Doubleneck review
- “I couldn’t work with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I’d end up being beaten to death”: When we locked horns with Lemmy to talk Motörhead, Marshalls and why he wouldn’t fit in with one of his favorite bands
- September 8
- September 7
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- “Someone told me you can’t play slap bass on a fretless, but when Prince picked up my bass he slapped the heck out of it!” Esperanza Spalding on jamming with Prince, and her stunning Justin Bieber upset
- “We end up drinking until 5 in the morning. I wake up with the worst hangover of my life, and now I’ve got to play with Metallica”: How a late-night drinking session with Lars Ulrich almost ruined Robert Trujillo’s Metallica audition
- September 6
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- “We feel really empowered with this new lineup, their world-class talents, and the vibrant new music we’ve made together”: Linkin Park unveil new-look lineup, drop new single The Emptiness Machine
- “I thought it was a bunch of noise. I left. Later, it almost felt like Jimi Hendrix was saying, ‘I'll make sure you never forget my name’”: Frank Marino on the time he left a Hendrix gig early – and the truth behind the bizarre Hendrix haunting story
- “There are a lot of guitars reaching the end of their playable lives – we want to make them useful again”: Re-Tuned turns old acoustic guitars into Bluetooth speakers
- “Delivering a resonance that speaks directly to the soul of your music”: The Hagstrom Megin is a double-cutaway guitar built for maximum tonal resonance to “unlock its tonal magic”
- “A fan-favorite packaged down without compromising on quality and tones”: Amp-modeling multi-FX for $82? Harley Benton has somehow made its flagship floor modeler even cheaper
- Guitar World deals of the week: save $200 on a Jackson, grab some bargain price Behringer pedals, plus a free Universal Audio plugin
- “I heard some criticism that I didn’t play the parts enough like Criss, but I didn’t want to just go in there and try to be a clone of him”: When Alex Skolnick quit Testament – and was recruited to replace the late Criss Oliva in Tampa metallers Savatage
- Jeff Hanneman is a metal god whose evil phrasing and brutal downpicking gave thrash kings Slayer an unholy dimension
- “In terms of electric guitars, I’ve never used anything other than Fender in my life”: UK post-punk band English Teacher just won one of the most prestigious prizes in music – and it all started with Fender
- “We don’t want to use guitar solos as a crutch. You know – ‘after the bridge, solo!’ When I do play a solo, I want it to stand out”: Following mega-tours with Muse and Royal Blood, sister act The Warning are riff rock’s next big success story
- “Anyone looking for a budget acoustic with retro looks will be charmed by ol’ Mr Dandy. It’s a hard guitar to put down”: Gretsch Jim Dandy Concert review
- “If somebody said there was a valve amp in the room, you wouldn’t contradict that”: Discover BOSS’ Katana Gen 3 range – an upgraded amp family that offers something for every player
- September 5
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- “They asked Billy Gibbons, John Mayer and me. I wish this would make me sound like Jeff Beck, but it won’t”: Steve Lukather confirms Jeff Beck guitar tribute project as he wields his iconic White Strat to cover Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing
- “I didn’t know Corgan, but I knew he wasn’t the easiest person to work with. I thought, ‘This isn’t going to last but it’ll be interesting’”: Jane’s Addiction’s Eric Avery on his brief stint with the Smashing Pumpkins and what he learned from Billy Corgan
- “We were trying to put blues riffs on dance beats. We wanted to see what happens if you fuse those two worlds”: Meet Daniel ‘Dafreez’ Johnston, the “blues rave-up” pioneer combining folk fingerstyle and EDM
- “Very much the upgrade that was needed for one of the most popular headphone amps for guitar”: Fender Mustang Micro Plus review
- “A significant leap forward in both technology and user experience”: Fender’s Mustang Micro Plus looks to fill the void left by the Boss Katana:GO by making the firm’s market-leading headphone amp better than ever before
- “I drank my liver into submission and snorted a mountain of cocaine, and I didn’t die. Now I’m trying to stay away from that stuff so I can still be around. I keep myself really busy with music”: The redemption of High on Fire and Sleep icon Matt Pike
- “It was suggested we try making a Dumble-style clean. They’re so mystical – I’d never played one. You can look at the circuit and still be none the wiser”: The unstoppable rise of Victory Amps – and what comes next
- “We're witnessing history in the same way that the Beatles changed the music industry in the early 1960s”: Gibson reveals Taylor Swift’s go-to guitars during the Eras tour and hopes for a signature model
- “I’d be playing the synth, thinking, ‘Peter, do you see this? Sting is playing that part – and you don’t mind when Sting does it!’” Tony Levin explains the origins of his Funk Fingers appendages – and the friendly rivalry they sparked with Peter Gabriel
- “We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime”: Hear Eddie Van Halen solo again in an unreleased preview of the last song he worked on with his brother
- “Reveals why the original 2290 has remained a permanent fixture in pro guitarists’ rigs for four decades”: TC Electronic TC 2290P Dynamic Digital Delay review
- Exhausted all the conventional open tunings? Try the adventurous Aadd9 tuning: here are 5 chord shapes you need to know
- “A staple for pro players revered for its rich hybrid sound": Boss brings back a legendary delay loved by Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Steve Lukather in its most compact and affordable form yet
- September 4
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- “When David Bowie and John Lennon came in, the whole place stopped. I stopped recording – and then it was just us”: Carlos Alomar recalls playing guitar on Fame with two rock icons – and why he turned down dinner with a Beatle
- “Imagine the dirtiest Les Paul on the planet, but even worse”: Jared James Nichols is reviving a storm-destroyed Gibson – a 1975 Custom that was being played when its original owner died
- “Someone dosed Eric Clapton with LSD, and I had to take over”: George Terry says he had to step up during Clapton's bad nights on the road in the ’70s – but it wasn’t always the guitar hero’s fault
- “You can dial in a potent boost, but also set the pedal to use purely for tonal tweaking”: Electro-Harmonix LPB-3 review
- “People are responding because of the realness and vulnerability, instead of that persona of a drunk rockstar”: Koe Wetzel abandoned his party animal image to show who he really is on 9 Lives, and found a new reason to play his beat-up Gibson J-200
- “A celebration of Dimebag’s timeless influence”: Dimebag Darrell’s Warhead amp has been revived as a compact lunchbox head – and it was tested during Pantera rehearsals
- Familiar with the blues? Then you shouldn’t have any problems transitioning to country. In this country guitar masterclass, we teach you everything you need to know to make it in Nashville
- “When I heard Nirvana’s Live at Reading it became less about learning solos than putting the guitar in front of an amp and making it scream”: Fontaines D.C.’s Carlos O’Connell on playing Rory Gallagher’s Strat and why a spring reverb is the best overdrive
- “All of a sudden out of the blue I didn’t have any control of this arm”: Brian May recovering after suffering “minor stroke”
- “Offset guitars can be really clumsy, but that makes me approach them differently. I kept hitting the kill switch mid-solo, thinking, ‘Why is this here?!’” Samantha Fish on how Kurt Cobain turned her onto the Fender Jaguar
- “We got together in someone's apartment in the Village and were jamming, trying to see what we could come up with”: Andy Summers on his longstanding relationship with Robert Fripp – and their surprise new collab album
- September 3
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- “It’s interesting how something so subtle can be so dramatic on the player’s end”: Seymour Duncan supercharges two classic Billy Gibbons guitar tones with new signature Tele and Les Paul pickups
- “The culmination of 45-plus years developing a sound that’s perfect in every possible way… Prepare to be amazed”: MXR’s new Yngwie Malmsteen signature overdrive pedal could be its most dynamic overdrive to date
- “Mick Jagger was moving around like a marionette, responding to every squeak coming out of my guitar”: Eric Bazillian on playing with a Rolling Stone, writing Joan Osborne’s One of Us – and helping Cyndi Lauper find a career-defining hit
- “Allan recorded a bunch of takes. He apologized, saying they all sucked… Of course, every note he played was miraculous”: Grammy-nominated virtuoso Alex Masi on why he turned down Stevie Ray Vaughan, his Allan Holdsworth collab and time with Shawn Lane
- “Why wouldn’t you stay in the Sphere and make a lot of money? Because it’s not as much fun. It doesn’t last forever. Look at how many musicians have passed away. What are you going to do with what you have?” Trey Anastasio explains Phish’s joyful rebirth
- “A player who took the instrument to places no-one else had ever gone before”: Epiphone’s Jimi Hendrix ‘Love Drops’ Flying V recreates the guitar great’s most psychedelic model
- How to play surf music on guitar: 3 techniques that will make your playing sound authentic
- Open G tuning chords: 5 shapes you need to know
- “The greatest fellowship one could imagine”: The Old Blood Noise Endeavors Western-themed Pardner is a fuzz that can ‘lasso’ to another pedal to shape its tones
- “Her number one piece of feedback is to be quieter. Sometimes, we bicker and maybe I win”: FINNEAS reveals his guitar technique debates with Billie Eilish
- September 2
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- Did Tim Henson just tease the arrival of his first Japanese-made Ibanez signature guitars – and a new 8-string?
- “Finely tuned to replicate the rich and warm tones of a tube amp”: Ashdown is so convinced its new budget amp range offers killer tone, it’s literally called it Killer Tone
- “The idea is to be versatile, and nothing beats Engl for doing that exceptionally well – it's all tube all the time”: Steve Morse’s new signature amp stakes its claim as one of the most feature-packed 20W tube heads on the market
- “The strap came loose, the amp was up, the guitar was up, and the neck broke off. Bob turned around like, ‘What are you doing back there?’” Mike Campbell recalls breaking his guitar in front of a live audience – in the middle of a Bob Dylan show
- “A titan in the industry who helped shape the LA studio sound of the 1980s”: Renowned luthier and Superstrat pioneer James Tyler passes away, aged 72
- “If we’re able to reach millions of people with this stupid solo, then obviously we’re doing something right”: Corey Feldman discusses his limits as a guitar player, copping David Gilmour’s tone and why his viral guitar solo really is a joke
- “We were at an EMI dinner, and David Gilmour was there. I said, ‘By far, you’re my favorite guitar player. How do you come up with those melodies?’” W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless on the invaluable advice he received from the Pink Floyd icon
- Eric Stewart worked with Paul McCartney and ABBA’s Agnetha Faltskog, but as guitarist for 10cc, he created one of the most thrilling pop sounds in British music history
- “I always wanted to play with my fingers, but now I was forced to”: When his keys player quit, McKinley James had to rethink his playing style to play in a duo – and he did it without turning to pedals, because “none of my heroes did”
- “The main secret behind those classic grunge sounds is that they were loud. You need a high-volume amp…” Enumclaw are on a quest for alt-rock tone nirvana – using other people’s guitars and The Smashing Pumpkins’ fuzz pedal
- “I’m like the power forward on a basketball team – I bring out the best in my teammates”: A pillar of the L.A. session scene, Bob Glaub might be the most famous bass player you’ve never heard of
- “He plays five notes, and those five notes said more than any of these metal shredders could ever wish they could say”: Grace Bowers on how B.B. King completely changed her perspective on what makes a good guitar solo
- September 1
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- “Prince picked up my bass – but it was tuned to Eb, so he just found one note that worked and he stayed on it the entire song”: Raphael Saadiq on playing with Prince, D'Angelo and the “dead” 1962 Fender that put the vintage in Instant Vintage
- “I gave him 35 bucks for the guitar, bought a six-pack of Bud, went down to the studios and they played me the song. Recorded it in one take”: Skunk Baxter on how he recorded his classic Hot Stuff solo on a cheap guitar he bought right before the session