
Matt Owen
Matt is the GuitarWorld.com News Editor. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
Latest articles by Matt Owen

Steve Stevens on following in Eddie Van Halen’s footsteps to record the ‘spiritual successor’ to Beat It
By Matt Owen published
When Jackson and Jones sought to revisit the sound they experimented with on Beat It, they turned to the Billy Idol guitarist for a hard rock edge

Billy Duffy spent his life savings on his first Gretsch – now he’s got a signature model to mark 40 years of The Cult
By Matt Owen published
The Falcon has played a key part in helping Duffy form his signature blend of psychedelic gothic hard rock over the past four decades

Why JHS Pedals is discontinuing Ross Pedals – just over a year after resurrecting the legacy brand
By Matt Owen published
In his announcement, Josh Scott revealed that starting on Friday, November 15, he'd be selling the remaining Ross units – which were revived against the backdrop of much fanfare last year – for $79 apiece

Origin Effects’ Deluxe 55 pedal repurposes the tones of the Fender amp beloved by Neil Young
By Matt Owen published
The Tweed Recreation stompbox was built following close inspection of a genuine Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe from 1955

Joe Bonamassa’s “museum-grade” 1941 Martin has been meticulously reissued as a five-figure signature model
By Matt Owen published
Bonamassa purchased the mint condition model in a transaction that saved its former owner’s home – now it’s been reborn as his first Martin signature guitar

Steve Cradock on that time he recorded Come Together with Paul McCartney – using Paul Weller's Epiphone Casino
By Matt Owen published
Cradock and McCartney formed a supergroup with Weller, Noel Gallagher, Steve White and Carleen Anderson during the recording of 1995's The Help Album

Gibson honors trailblazing guitar hero Mary Ford by reviving her one-of-a-kind 1958 Les Paul Standard Goldtop
By Matt Owen published
After helping to shape the ES-295, the legendary recording artist reportedly had a one-off Les Paul built in 1958 that combined aspects of both models

Fender’s viral Hello Kitty Stratocaster is officially back
By Matt Owen published
Fender has revived the internet-breaking Strat – along with a host of other appropriately branded accessories – to mark Hello Kitty's latest milestone

Marshall is returning to NAMM for the first time in 5 years – and has teased some blockbuster launches
By Matt Owen published
After previously hinting that digital amps, modeling software and other advancements were in the works, Marshall is now set to embark on an all-new chapter when NAMM 2025 kicks off

Misha Mansoor on the emergence of offsets in metal music – and why he should have seen it coming
By Matt Owen published
The Periphery guitarist recently worked with Jackson to produce one of 2024's most talked-about custom builds – but he's not the first player to have dragged the offset into heavy territory over the past few years

Myles Kennedy names the “secret sauce” stompbox he thinks every guitar player should own
By Matt Owen published
The Alter Bridge icon used the sub-$200 octave fuzz pedal on his recent solo record

How jazz guitar legend Mike Stern ended up joining Miles Davis’ band – and had a song named after him
By Matt Owen published
Stern was playing with Billy Cobham one night in the early 1980s when Evans decided to bring along the legendary jazz trumpeter, who was in the market for a new guitar player

Nuno Bettencourt’s N4 Padauk was stolen from a storage lock-up – but was discovered dismembered years later
By Matt Owen published
Bettencourt's OG Padauk N4 featured two distinct dark stripes embedded into the wood, which became crucial in its eventual discovery

Guitarists on Reddit are going nuts for this ingenious pick trick
By Matt Owen published
Struggling to deal with unwanted pickup switching when strumming? This clever hack might be able to help

Warren Haynes has two signature Gibsons in the works – including an unusually spec’d Firebird
By Matt Owen published
The upcoming builds will see the Allman Brothers Band icon swap his tried-and-trusted humbuckers for something a little more left-field

Steve Cradock once smoked the shavings of Hendrix’s Strat by rolling them in a page from the Bible
By Matt Owen published
A regular studio session took a turn in the spirit of Purple Haze, when the Ocean Colour Scene guitarist ended up getting high on Hendrix's guitar

Billy Corgan on how watching Iommi taught him the key to the playing style of Eddie Van Halen
By Matt Owen published
As Corgan explains, the distinctive aspect he observed of the ’Sabbath great, also shaped his understanding of players like Eddie Van Halen and Uli Jon Roth

Fender to open Shanghai Artist Showroom in its latest high-profile move in overseas guitar markets
By Matt Owen published
Two years after opening its flagship store in Tokyo, Fender has decided to further increase its presence in the Asian guitar scene with 'The Fender Backstage'

JHS Pedals launches Lari Basilio’s first-ever signature stompbox – and it offers “a new take on distortion and overdrive”
By Matt Owen published
Basilio has been using a prototype of The Violet on almost everything she's played since mid-2022 – and now the core of her celebrated guitar tone has been given a signature release

“Gretsch’s most exciting release of the year. A genuine joy to play”: Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Signature "Princess Antonoff" CVT review
By Matt Owen published
Gretsch's collaboration with the Bleachers mainman and Taylor Swift collaborator is a versatile surprise

Ibanez reimagines its beloved Tube Screamer into its most high-end format yet – with a $300 hand-wired TS808
By Matt Owen published
New components and a fresh lick of paint have helped Ibanez reboot the flagship TS808, but it comes at a hefty price

Martyn LeNoble was once in desperate need of bass gear – and The Who’s low-end legend came to his rescue
By Matt Owen published
When he first moved to the US, LeNoble was unable to ship has trusty Trace Elliott over with him. When a local bass store couldn't provide a replacement in time, Entwistle stepped in…

How Kirk Hammett ended up in possession of the legendary ‘Greeny’ Les Paul – and why he had no interest in it at first
By Matt Owen published
The Metallica guitarist never intended to buy Peter Green and Gary Moore's iconic single-cut – but changed his mind once he finally got his hands on it
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!