Latest articles by David Mead
Lowden F-34 review
A koa and spruce combination for a light and airy tone and a response that will suit a gentle fingerstylist
Guthrie Govan: "Make sure you explore the whole range of your guitar – not only will you become a better player, but also a more informed buyer"
Bought & Sold: The Aristocrats guitarist on his greatest gear hits and misses, including the most original reason we’ve heard for buying a 335 and an affection for ring modulators
Pierre Bensusan: “The way you tune the strings should not be used to hide a possible lack of imagination, but it should enhance it“
The French-Algerian DADGAD maestro on letting inspiration find him for new record Azwan – an album inspired by bees
Cort Core-OC Series review
They may look almost identical, but it’s the body woods that make all the difference for this trio – and they’re outstandingly affordable, too
Brian May and Arielle detail the evolution of the Brian May Guitars Arielle
The Queen guitarist welcomes a new addition to his BMG range, designed by rising guitar force Arielle
Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr on his greatest gear buys, regrets and why he's an enabler of impulse purchases
Bought & Sold: the classic rock-loving frontman details why Esquires have more fire than Telecasters, and how he was once gifted a ’58 Gibson Les Paul Custom
John Smith: ”The only way to cope with life is to write songs, for me. As soon as I picked up the pen, the songs started falling out”
Recorded at Real World studios last September, The Fray finds the acoustic ace exorcising personal turmoil in song – and leaning heavily into electric guitars
Lowden WL-25 & S-23 12-Frets review
It’s the age of the smaller-bodied acoustic – but being petite doesn’t mean you won’t stand out in a crowd, as these two new 12-fretters from the Lowden workshops set out to prove
Joanna Connor reveals her aversion to baseball-bat guitar necks and regret at trading in a ’64 Fender Twin
Bought & Sold: the blues guitar maven walks through her hits, misses and rules when buying gear
Taylor's acoustic guitar bracing options explained
Get to know your C-Class from your V-Class, and what this means for your acoustic guitar tone
Taylor GT 811e review
Taylor continues the rollout of its brand-new smaller-body Grand Theater acoustics with the latest C-Class bracing system onboard
How Taylor devised its new Grand Theater acoustic body shape
Taylor’s new acoustic outline is a bold step. We talk to designer-in-chief Andy Powers to get the full story behind it
Corey Congilio on growing out of his hair-metal B.C. Rich Warlock phase and his greatest gear finds
The Nashville blues dynamo and sessioneer mulls over gear loved and lost, and his mission to support small-’shop builders
Jakko Jakszyk on his greatest gear finds – including a Gibson ES-150D that piqued Robert Fripp's interest
The King Crimson guitarist walks through the guitars and amps he's loved and lost
Breedlove Premier Concertina CE review
A hand-built parlor-on-steroids from Breedlove’s Bend, Oregon, facility – and it’s full of surprises…
On the trail of the real Robert Johnson
Mythologized more than any other figure in modern music, A new book hopes to set the record straight about Johnson's life
The history of Gibson’s L-1 and L-00 acoustics, contemporaries of the legendary Robert Johnson
Acoustic guitars don't get much cooler than mid-1920s Gibson flat-tops
JD Simo on the best (and worst) guitars he's bought over the years
The psychedelic blues sensation shares his hard-won advice on how to buy a great guitar and avoid duds
Eddie Van Halen goes deep on his approach to tone, technique and guitar design in this classic 1993 Guitarist interview
EVH details the advent of Van Hagar, that time he took a belt sander to a 335, and why Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl is one of his favorite solos of all time
Sheeran By Lowden S03 & W02 review
Ed Sheeran and George Lowden combine forces to produce an affordable acoustic range that's small but perfectly formed
Steve Hackett: ”The wounds never healed from my dad’s guitar. He said, ‘You’ll get calluses’… but I just had fingers that were bleeding!”
The former Genesis guitarist on the story of his career, from the mouth organ to prog-rock trailblazer
Joe Bonamassa shares his greatest finds from a lifetime of buying and selling guitars
Here’s a guy who knows a thing or two about buying guitars – and it turns out he’s sold a few, too…
![Gibson's Generation series comprises the G45 Standard [right] and slightly more affordable G45 Studio [left]](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6cUgWjUJXFGCB57kvptbPo-840-80.jpg.webp)
Gibson G-45 Standard and G-45 Studio review
The Gibson renaissance gathers pace with two brand-new mid-priced acoustics from its Bozeman, Montana factory…
