Matt Parker
Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.
Latest articles by Matt Parker
![Jim Dunlop Cry Baby deal](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/b6PhJdEJPnRvq6bfKn5Y2X-320-80.jpg)
Selling a Cry Baby was my worst-ever pedal deal. Now Guitar Center is offering a 20% discount on the classic wah – is it finally time to let go of my very real pain?
By Matt Parker published
A friend and I made a deal. A deal that has haunted me to this day. Specifically, Cyber Monday 2024...
![Fender Player Limited Edition Black Stratocaster](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bkRk6iYzfzqBnByKAHThNc-320-80.jpg)
Get your own Gilmour-style Black Strat with a $150 saving on this limited edition Fender Player Stratocaster at Guitar Center
By Matt Parker published
The Mexican-made Strat has a maple fingerboard and a black scratchplate that is highly evocative of the Pink Floyd man’s most iconic Fender
![Cyber Monday deals on guitar gear that reviewed well](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aaUmFhas4prEtmQ2xB4hd8-320-80.jpg)
Here’s a list of Cyber Monday deals on guitars, amps, pedals and more that were all highly-rated by our reviews team
By Matt Parker last updated
Not every ‘bargain’ is a good purchase, so I've put together this round-up of deals on guitar gear that has scored at least four stars in our expert reviews
![Squier Debut Stratocaster](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qGjcJ2Jh649k8G6e87xzz9-320-80.jpg)
Fender’s Squier Debut Stratocaster took the fight to cheap Amazon guitars when it arrived earlier this year – now it’s dropped below $100 for the first time ever
By Matt Parker published
Fender’s ultra-affordable Amazon-only Strat has received a $20 reduction, right in time for Cyber Monday
![Donner Hush-X](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6ckqGAywMC7Zirk2o3q6MG-320-80.jpg)
This travel guitar had our expert reviewer questioning the concept of tone woods. Now it’s dropped to $279, its lowest-ever price on Amazon
By Matt Parker published
If you’ve been on the hunt for a travel guitar or silent practice option, the Donner Hush-X is a seriously impressive performer that still sounds good plugged-in to an amp
![A selection of music gear including guitars, pedals, and amps](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vAocxH2dAoirjMtT7kEdwA-320-80.jpg)
Guitar Center Black Friday deals 2024: you can still get the lowest prices of the year
By Chris Barnes last updated
Black Friday may be officially over, but Guitar Center still has loads of items on sale
![PRS SE NF3](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CAqk8RWnRqcYkfdSLTDyqS-320-80.jpg)
The PRS SE NF3 was deemed one mod away from perfection in our review. Now you can grab one for $679 on Black Friday – and save $120 for the tweaks
By Matt Parker published
Guitarist said the Indonesian-made SE NF3 could be modded to make it “dangerously close to the US builds” with this quick control tweak
![Electro-Harmonix Turnip Greens](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Sqjf6v8yjrbsQTYWcpPNnW-320-80.jpg)
This Black Friday hack at Musician’s Friend gets you an iconic EHX reverb circuit and a Klon-style drive – for a fraction of the usual price
By Matt Parker published
One of EHX’s most underrated pedals – which bundles the Holy Grail Max circuit with the Klon-aping Soul Food – is currently available for less than the reverb costs on its own
![Peavey Classic 20 amplifier](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZhdAahVceUzir6MQtrNLA9-320-80.jpg)
It’s one of the all-time sleeper amps – and now there’s $100 off the Peavey Classic 20 at Sweetwater
By Matt Parker published
The firm’s vintage-inspired tweed ‘n’ tubes line has long earned its own place in player’s hearts – and there’s a great deal on the super flexible Classic 20 combo right now
![A compilation of Jimi Hendrix and Richie Kotzen playing guitar onstage](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HGTkedNDf7vwNcF99ir8So-320-80.jpg)
When Richie Kotzen learned a Hendrix classic wrong, his mom called him out
By Matt Parker published
The guitar virtuoso says he had to face down criticism at the very outset of his playing career – albeit from his own mother
![Schecter Guitars Synyster Gates Custom-7 TR Headless left and right hand models](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WGieJr89peWQnqPBxgadQa-320-80.jpg)
Schecter and Synyster Gates’ much-anticipated seven-string headless signature guitar has finally landed
By Matt Parker published
The Avenged Sevenfold guitarist’s latest signature model has been trailed on social media but now we have the full spec
![Blackstar Debut 100R](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Zi4WZ3wubYFQU2QatYXG3d-320-80.jpg)
“This poses a risk of serious electric shock”: Blackstar has announced an immediate recall of Debut 100R amps with these date codes
By Matt Parker published
The firm has highlighted significant safety issues with its Debut 100R 112 and 212 combos and is asking affected owners to get in touch
![Trump Guitars](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MDrAr4JqPdFyPJtHNR99SX-320-80.jpg)
Breaking: Trump Guitars hit with cease and desist from Gibson over use of Les Paul body shape
By Phil Weller published
Breaking: The patriotic line was launched as “the only guitar officially endorsed by President Donald J. Trump”, but Gibson says it infringes on its trademarks
![Stuart Sidney playing Noel Gallagher's Les Paul through John Lennon's amp](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VS6pR5raX3ixVpn2rGeiQS-320-80.jpg)
Hear the AC15 Twin said to be John Lennon’s first Vox paired with Noel Gallagher's Les Paul
By Janelle Borg published
The storied 1962 Vox AC15 is expected to fetch between $127,132 and $254,265 at tomorrow's auction
![Fender American Ultra II Meteora and the American Ultra Jazzmaster](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6Rdh8PQNpUwmJ4BWmfBwF8-320-80.jpg)
Why Fender chose the Meteora over the Jazzmaster for its American Ultra II series
By Matt Parker published
The Jazzmaster was notable in its absence from the new Ultra line-up, now, Fender’s Allen Abbassi explains why it chose to include the Meteora in its place
![John Lennon’s Vox AC15 Twin](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6eihDKYTLS28njr3Le3GmL-320-80.jpg)
John Lennon’s first Vox amp – used at the Cavern and to record Please Please Me – is headed to auction
By Matt Parker published
The Vox AC15 Twin, believed to be the unit purchased by Lennon at Liverpool’s Hessy’s Music, is going under the hammer with an auction estimate of $130,000-$260,000
![JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aZoKj6qa9thX9J3U6meeYQ-320-80.jpg)
How JHS founder Josh Scott built one of the world’s leading pedal firms by recommending his rivals
By Matt Parker published
The JHS founder has become the internet’s go-to pedal guru. He tells GW about his pre-pedal days as a pawn-shop gear flipper, the Bad Monkey bubble – and the key to finding genuinely new guitar sounds
![Lloyd Baggs holding an AEG-1 acoustic-electric guitar](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BqoRWwnLpHQR7snEsgsQnW-320-80.jpg)
Did L.R. Baggs just unveil this year’s most forward-thinking acoustic guitar design?
By Matt Parker published
Lloyd Baggs started out as a guitar builder before entering the pickup world. Now he’s come full circle – and in some style, too...
![A man holds a hammer and the Taylor Swift acoustic guitar he won at auction for $4,000](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VDF37ueT2BkMHi5znsnQih-320-80.jpg)
Texas man reportedly pays $4,000 for guitar autographed by Taylor Swift – and immediately smashes it with a hammer
By Matt Parker published
Reports suggest the purchase and destruction of the instrument was politically motivated, following Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris
![Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers performs at All Points East Festival 2023 at Victoria Park on August 25, 2023 in London, England.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nMRhLsgteiwv88tPYL356J-320-80.jpg)
“I have convinced myself that they are the best actual rock band in the world at the moment”: September 2024 Guitar World editors' picks
By Michael Astley-Brown published
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
![Eddie Van Halen and Dweezil Zappa playing guitar onstage](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XSwgqb2Jd2FCGxrfPEf4V7-320-80.jpg)
Dweezil Zappa says he recorded Eddie Van Halen playing a “greatest hits guitar solo” at 5150 – and had to give EVH pointers
By Matt Parker published
The session was the result of an unreleased ‘audio movie’ concept of Zappa’s in which he envisioned solo contributions from Brian May and Angus Young
![The Warm Audio WA-C1 pedal sits next to a guitar](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/G3Fi6UMJXmsshdQpQCKXsG-320-80.jpg)
Warm Audio debuts its take on the revered vintage chorus beloved by John Frusciante
By Matt Parker published
The vintage revivalist has offered an updated version of Boss’s legendary CE-1 unit, alongside a new pedal format 1176-style compressor
![Mike Adams holding Kurt Cobain's Smells Like Teen Spirit Fender Mustang](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kBSpoN9HGQNFyYpgBHMjx-320-80.jpg)
From fixing Lennon’s Framus to giving Cloud III a CAT scan – it's all in the life of an A-list guitar appraiser
By Matt Parker published
In his work for the prestigious LA auction house, Julien’s, Mike Adams has gone from guitar tech to guitar detective
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