Latest articles by Matt Owen
Fender’s new American Ultra II guitars offer its most advanced take on classic shapes
Upgraded pickups, a new neck profile, and a suite of high-end specs make up the all-new American Ultra II family, representing Fender's most cutting-edge guitar designs
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Twin Reverb amp, used in sessions for Texas Flood and David Bowie is up for sale
The 1967 Twin is fitted with distinctive Electro Voice SRO 'coffee can' speakers, and was used by SRV during his Las Colinas rehearsals with David Bowie
Joe Perry on why the age of the guitar hero might be over
Perry is confident there's more to explore on the fretboard and players will continue to push the boundaries of guitar music – but the individual feats of guitarists might not be viewed in quite the same way
Universal Audio takes its Edge-approved amp sim pedals to the digital realm with $299 plugin packages
The UAFX Dream ’65 and Ruby ’63 pedals – which The Edge used during U2's Sphere residency – have been digitized alongside the Marshall-inspired Lion ’68
Fender Japan gives the Cabronita Telecaster a radical mini-humbucker revamp with new high-end pickups
The Big F has given the quirky Tele a tonal overhaul by swapping the hi-fo Fidelitrons for DiMarzio pickups
John Mayer ends years-long search for his ultimate string set with the Ernie Ball Silver Slinky
Over the past few years, Mayer has been using and refining his custom Silver Slinky set, which offers a unique in-between gauge and a custom core-to-wrap ratio
Alex Van Halen reveals the unease Eddie felt with being labeled the best guitar player on the planet in new excerpt from tell-all memoir
Brothers, which will “set the record straight on Edward’s life and death”, has been previewed by an audio clip that finds Alex paying tribute to EVH's guitar talents
Gretsch and Jack Antonoff combine the Jazzmaster with an oddball vintage Gretsch to create his “dream” signature guitar
He's produced for the likes of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, and fronts the influential indie rock outfit Bleachers. Now, Antonoff has been honored with his first signature guitar
Yamaha takes on LAVA with a new TransAcoustic that delivers smart guitar specs in a traditional high-end build
Yamaha has given its TransAcoustic family an overhaul amid increased smart guitar hype – and the TAG3 C seeks to marry an orthodox all-solid wood design with futuristic flair
Fender’s Player II range has been expanded with new tonewoods and forgotten finishes unearthed from the archives
Fender relaunched its Player II range earlier this year with the return of rosewood fretboards and new colorways – and now there are some fresh tonewoods on tap
PRS gives its SE range a huge overhaul, introduces the long-awaited lefty John Mayer Silver Sky
PRS has rolled out some wholesale changes to its family of Indonesian-made electric and acoustic guitars, and finally brings Mayer's best-selling SE Silver Sky to southpaw players
“He said very politely, ‘Can I get up on stage with you and use your guitar?’ It was very overwhelming to play with a Beatle”: That time Ritchie Blackmore and George Harrison jammed Little Richard at a Deep Purple concert
Harrison had decided to check out Deep Purple while in Australia in 1984, and ended up sharing the stage with Blackmore for an eight-minute jam of Lucille
How Rick Rubin shaped the sound of Slayer’s first album by ignoring heavy metal norms
The 1986 record was the first metal album Rubin produced – and he singled out one of the genre's biggest names when highlighting what he thought shouldn't be done in the studio
Positive Grid’s new AI-equipped Edge might be the ultimate PA for busking guitarists
Positive Grid has turned its attention to musicians on the move with an app-compatible, amp modeling PA that can create AI guitar tones from user prompts
Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction will feature performances from Wolfgang Van Halen and more
Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith and Steve Stevens will also take part in the ceremony, which will feature an induction speech from Jack Black
Akiro Sakurai has dedicated his life to becoming Jimmy Page – and he received some key advice when he first met the Led Zeppelin legend
Mr. Jimmy has devoted his career to learning the songs and solos of Page's back catalog, and had a fateful encounter with his hero 10 years ago
Grace Bowers takes a rare acoustic turn to cover Led Zeppelin on her new single
The fast-rising 18-year-old blues-rock sensation has paid homage to Page with an atmospheric take on Going to California for her new single
Joe Satriani gifted Steve Vai his custom-painted Ibanez signature – now it’s one of Vai’s most treasured guitars
The birthday gift – which is unlike any Satch signature you've ever seen before – ranks alongside the ‘Swiss Cheese’ guitar and Vai's first-ever Fender Strat as one of the virtuoso’s most prized instruments
Ernie Ball Music Man’s new Sabre HT features pickups inspired by its guitar string innovations
Ernie Ball Music Man says its potentially groundbreaking Heat Treated humbuckers were made using the insights that helped innovate the Cobalt and M-Steel Slinky strings
IK Multimedia takes aim at Nano Cortex with free TONEX upgrade – making the modeler more versatile than ever
An updated suite of effects, AmpliTube 5 X integration and a new-look version of the TONEX headline IK Multimedia's anniversary celebrations for its game-changing amp modeler
George Harrison’s Futurama – which starred in the Fab Four’s historic Hamburg tour – is heading to auction
The oddball electric – which originally went up for auction back in 2019 – was also used on the Fab Four's first official Polydor recordings, having featured heavily during their early Cavern Club gigs
Tetrarch’s Diamond Rowe becomes Jackson’s first female signature artist with the launch of her new ground-breaking signature guitar
The metal trailblazer was announced as a Jackson artist earlier this year, and now she's been honored with a history-making signature model
Martin has introduced an all-new body shape that delivers dreadnought tones from a smaller build
In honor of the Hawaiian music craze of the 1920s and 1930s that influenced the “Golden Era” acoustic boom, Martin has unveiled the O'ahu HG-28
Gibson has brought back the ES-330 – reviving one its most iconic hollowbody models for the first time in years
A distant cousin of the Epiphone Casino and a sibling to the more popular ES-335, the ES-330 has been out of the limelight for quite some time – but now it's officially back
