Latest articles by Matt Owen
Gibson’s new Acoustic Specials series brings hand-crafted examples of its most beloved acoustic designs to lower price points
Newly minted takes on the Hummingbird, L-00 and J-45 templates look to offer USA Gibson acoustics at more accessible prices
Nita Strauss on the Swedish melodic death metal group she considers her “Beatles”
The guitar hero selected one of the band’s tracks while running through the five riffs that changed her life
Fender has announced its latest surprise brand collab – a St. Patrick’s Day Telecaster created with Jameson Irish Whiskey
The extra-green Telecaster has been served with an ideal pairing in the form of a celebratory St. Patrick’s Day Tone Master Princeton Reverb
Tom Morello is honoring one of Ozzy’s greatest collaborators at the Sabbath legend’s final show
Osbourne’s last show will take place later this year, and Morello – the event’s musical director – will take the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the finest guitar players of all time
Before Andy Fairweather Low joined George Harrison’s band, the Beatle was eyeing up Gary Moore and Alvin Lee
The prolific session player joined Harrison for his 1991 tour of Japan, but it turns out he was rather low on the pecking order when the Beatles legend came to assembling his band
February 2025 Guitar World Editors’ Picks
A round-up of the best new guitar releases from the month of Feb, with new cuts from Sam Fender, Tash Sultana, Los Pirañas, and... Buddy Guy and Switchfoot?
“We’re guitar players. The reason we’re designing gear is we’re making things that we wish existed”: Tosin Abasi is pushing the boundaries of progressive music and guitar gear on multiple fronts – and he’s got no plans to slow down
The Animals As Leaders and Abasi Concepts mastermind on upcoming music, his favorite new players, switching from modelers to tube amps, and why he might not be ready to record a blues album just yet
Steve Vai, Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani share the secrets behind 3 instrumental epics in these exclusive Guitar World lessons
The three G3 virtuosos break down hits both classic and modern to celebrate the release of the G3 Reunion Live album
Tommy Thayer emerged in a scene of shredders and guitar heroes – but the style they pioneered never appealed to him
The Kiss guitar player was surrounded by shredders in an era of evolution for guitar music, but felt a stronger affinity for what came before
Lost chords that George Harrison wrote down before his passing have been turned into a new song
For the Love of George is taken from a new George Harrison tribute album, which was recorded using the late Beatle’s own guitars
Gibson’s latest Certified Vintage drop offers a fascinating insight into the firm’s forgotten Superstrat era
A host of experimental builds – constructed against the backdrop of the supercharged guitar evolution that defined the 1980s – headline the latest collection of archive finds
Joe Bonamassa, Gibson’s Tom Murphy and all-star gear specialists reveal how to spot a fake Les Paul
YouTuber Robert Baker put a fake Les Paul on the workbench, and let the guitar experts have their say
Strymon’s new EC-1 was modeled after an iconic tape echo unit
Strymon got its hands on an Echoplex EP-2 that had been modded by Stevie Ray Vaughan's old tech, and used it to mastermind its latest compact stompbox
Orangewood comes under fire for its Juniper rubber bridge guitars
The firm has been accused of “ripping off” the instruments pioneered by Reuben Cox of Old Style Guitar Shop
Fender outlines the future of Squier after the launch of its new Standard Series – which is built in the same factory
The Standard Series further closed the gap between Fender and Squier – but would Fender ever put its name on the entire production line, from entry level to Custom Shop?
Matteo Mancuso has played with Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai, but he’s already got his eye on his next dream collaborator – and a signature Revstar
Mancuso took the guitar world by storm when he first burst onto the scene in 2023, but now he's looking forward to a new album, even more high-profile collaborations, and maybe even his first-ever signature guitar…
When John Mayer was unhappy with his famed Black One Strat, he had a bizarre method for trying to fix it
Mayer worked closely with the Fender Custom Shop to design and build his “main guitar”, but it took a bit of tweaking before it reached its playing potential
Fender Japan unveils the Starmaster – a Jazzmaster/Starcaster hybrid that could be the most divisive Fender offset of them all
The Starmaster is even available in Antigua – one of the most loved/hated finishes in Fender history
Two Notes’ reimagined Reload II seeks to end the reactive load box debate – and quash the competition from Universal Audio and Boss in the process
The Reload II is set to take on the Universal Audio Ox Amp Top Box and Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander Core as it aims to become to go-to recording tool for tube amp players
Tosin Abasi once said he wanted to release a blues album – is that still on the cards?
We asked the progressive metal innovator for an update on his prospective blues record, which he teased back in 2022
John Mayer acoustics, Brad Paisley amps, a signature Slash model: A fake Wylde Audio website has been taken over by AI – and it’s utterly bizarre
An official-looking website claiming to belong to the Zakk Wylde-fronted brand has surfaced online – and you need to steer well clear
Gibson unveils the Clapton 1958 Les Paul Custom – a recreation of the Disraeli Gears LP that now belongs to Albert Lee
The Murphy Lab-aged LP faithfully recreates the original model, but Clapton has added a few personal modifications to the reissue
Mike Stringer is one of the hottest metal guitar talents right now – and he has an unlikely hero
The celebrated Spiritbox riffer has singled out one of his biggest non-metal inspirations, and he’s dished out some serious praise
