Latest articles by Matt Owen
Harley Benton is now shipping direct in the US for the first time via a new Reverb store
The champion of cheap gear is extending its influence overseas, and will be shipping directly to US players through a new virtual storefront
Mick Thomson explains why his solos were erased from Slipknot’s debut album – and how he reacted
25 years ago, Slipknot dropped a debut album that changed the face of heavy metal – but one of the guitarists who helped write it had his solos completely removed
Joe Bonamassa’s 12th Epiphone signature guitar is his first with P-90s – and features one of the rarest Les Paul finishes ever made
Only three Copper Iridescent 1955 Les Paul Standards are currently accounted for – and Bonamassa owns two of them. Now, the quirky single-cut has been revived
“It passed almost every test with flying colors”: Squier Classic Vibe 60s Telecaster SH review
A stealth contender for the nicest-looking (and best-performing) Squier of the year, this budget stunner has serious Andy Summers vibes – and versatility written all over it
“I have convinced myself that they are the best actual rock band in the world at the moment”: September 2024 Guitar World editors' picks
Your monthly round up of the freshest new cuts from the world of guitar courtesy of Tetrarch, The Cure, Larkin Poe, Amyl and The Sniffers, Dayglow, and many more
Why Steve Vai kept his guitar playing a secret when he first started
Vai didn't tell anyone when he began learning the guitar, but eventually announced his new-found fretboard abilities in quite spectacular style
“You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything”: Kris Kristofferson dies aged 88
The actor, songwriter and country giant was lauded by Bob Dylan, had his material covered by Johnny Cash and Janis Joplin, and joined a supergroup with some of country music's biggest names
Ibanez finally honors prog guitar hero Manuel Gardner Fernandes with his first signature model
The percussive fingerstyle heavyweight has swapped AZ Superstrats for the ergonomics of the Quest range, resulting in Ibanez's finest headless guitar yet
Kemper responds to the Neural DSP Nano Cortex with not one, but two new upgrades for its Profiler Player – but you'll have to pay
The compact rig replacement has been elevated to a whole new level with two impressive upgrades, which offer an effects explosion and popular Kemper functions – but they don't come cheap
Gibson unearths the forgotten history of Joe Staunton’s mystery “Orphanage Burst” – a ‘59 Les Paul like no other
The blues legend – also known as 'The Left-Handed Wizard' – first purchased the LP in 1969, and used it throughout the course of his career as he helped shape the Irish music scene
Fender partners with video game franchise Monster Hunter for a wild Telecaster that glows red in the dark – and has a literal scratchplate
Fender's latest foray into the world of video games has resulted in one its most striking special-edition Teles yet
Epiphone has brought back its quirky cult classic 1970s Grabber bass beloved by Gene Simmons, Krist Novoselic and Mike Dirnt
The double-cut four-string was a hit back in the 1970s, and finally makes a triumphant return in the form of a more affordable Inspired by Gibson Epiphone reissue
Keith Urban on what it’s like to play through the Dumble that John Mayer used during his blues trio days
Urban is in possession of the Overdrive Reverb that helped Mayer launch his blues trio project back in the early ’00s
New Eddie Van Halen documentary traces the guitar journey that led him to create the Frankenstein – and it's narrated by the man himself
From Van Halen's first $40 Teisco Del Ray to the Univox 12-string that featured Eddie's first successful mod, The Journey to Frankenstein tells the story of the instruments that came before one of the most legendary guitars of all time
Keeley spent three years crafting the Octa PSI – a crazy 3-in-1 octave/pitch shifting/fuzz pedal
With versatile switching, a wealth of voices and some smart functionality, the Octa Psi could be the only pitch/octave/fuzz pedal your ’board could ever need
Gibson honors one of B.B. King’s greatest live performances with knockout ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ ES-355
Before Gibson officially launched its Lucille model in 1980, King favored a 1974 Walnut ES-355, which was by his side during his iconic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ set
Jimi Hendrix’s iconic ‘Izabella’ Woodstock Strat is going on the Experience Hendrix tour
Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Eric Johnson have both already played the iconic Strat, which was one of the last guitars Hendrix played before his death in 1970
Universal Audio’s Enigmatic ’82 is now the Dumble pedal amp to beat
The latest UAFX pedal was made after the firm closely inspected a host of Overdrive Special amps, and offers in-app tweakability for a Dumble replica like no other
Megadeth fire back at Peter Frampton – who claimed the band damaged a stage during their soundcheck
After Megadeth and Frampton were both forced to cancel live dates at the same venue, Dave Mustaine has issued a strongly worded response to Frampton's claim it was the heavy metal group's fault
John Mayer shouts out top-tier lead effort from young Berklee grad as one of this year’s best guitar solos
Mayer used his SiriusXM radio show to highlight the guitar talents of a British Berklee graduate, who's currently working as a session player in Nashville
How Ibanez is flipping the script on everything you think you know about acoustic guitar design
In association with Ibanez
A commitment to innovation and a forward-thinking philosophy have helped Ibanez lead the way in a new era of high-performance mainstream acoustics
Vernon Reid’s eagerly awaited Reverend signature series is finally here – and a new Greg Koch S-style
Reid has been teasing the existence of his wild new signature for months, and now three distinct versions of the Living Colour legend's latest Reverend have been unveiled
Body Count and David Gilmour release radical reimagining of Comfortably Numb in 2024’s most surprising crossover
The Pink Floyd legend revisits one of his greatest guitar tracks in a completely new light with the help of the heavy metal institution
