Latest articles by Matt Parker
“I felt Jimmy's excitement for music... He played with absolute conviction and passion and power at all times”: Rich Robinson reflects on the time Jimmy Page performed with The Black Crowes
The band has unreleased recordings of Page playing on Black Crowes songs in 1999 – and plan to release them next year
“If it’s too good to be true, it’s fake”: Rob Chapman says scam competitions featuring his image have reached a new level with AI deep fakes – and explains how to spot them
A clip featuring an AI emulation of the YouTuber’s voice has prompted him to address online fakes
“Is it just me, or is that Stone Gossard and/or Mike McCready doing The Gojira Pick Scrape™?” March 2024 Guitar World editors’ picks
From indie folk, full-throttle blues rock and flamenco-meets-fusion to the guitar crossover episode you never knew you needed – here are our standout guitar tracks from the past 30 days
“A series that is worthy of being called a ‘hybrid’”: Fender Japan’s latest Hybrid II models bring modernistic quilted tops and never-before-seen finishes to the Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass
If you’ve ever wanted one of electric guitar’s classic outlines with a fresh quilted maple look, well, Fender Japan has answered your prayers...
“Whether it be Saturday Night Live or the Grammys – this bass has held its own on every stage”: MD to the stars, Adam Blackstone, debuts a signature bass named after his grandmother – the Jackson Gladys Pro Series Concert
With Rihanna, Jay-Z and Alice Keys, he’s played the world’s biggest shows. Now the go-to bassist and MD has his own Jackson signature build – and it’s no metal monster…
“I think there were actually two paths. One was the wild pointy-shape things. The other was what I believe led to the 335”: The 1955 ‘missing link’ guitar designs that offer intriguing clues to Gibson’s Golden Era developments
The images inspired the recent production of the Theodore solidbody, but could also fill some crucial gaps when it comes to our knowledge of Gibson’s 1950s R&D process
Used Gibsons hold their value better than Fenders on the second-hand market – but there’s good news for Player Tele and Strat owners
A new study compares new asking prices to Reverb used sales figures for the top 40 best-selling guitars in the US
I’ve tried every home practice solution under the sun, but nothing stuck. Then I plugged in a headphone amp – and now I’m playing for hours
As a busy guitarist and parent, Boss’ new Katana:GO has been a revelation when it comes to my playing time – but it’s the way it feels that’s got me hooked
“That take was live from beginning to end, 7 minutes of pure guitar energy without a single miscue”: Stevie Ray Vaughan’s producer and bassist recall being in the room when SRV tackled his game-changing cover of Voodoo Child
SRV’s other massive Hendrix cover proved a pivot point in his playing career – helping the Texas bluesman to find his way through his fraught second album sessions
“I thought, ‘Oh, God, this could go really bad…’ I’m telling him that I can’t remember playing with him on a No. 1 record”: Earl Slick says he was too high to remember meeting John Lennon during David Bowie’s Fame recording session
The guitarist and session man met The Beatle while recording David Bowie’s Young Americans and was invited to play on Double Fantasy
“Who better to mod the mod than the engineer who designed the circuit in the first place”: Original Tube Screamer designer Susumu Tamura just overhauled one of the most popular Ibanez TS9 mods
The latest collaboration between Godlyke and the venerated designer attempts to offer a level mod that doesn’t compromise the classic TS tone
“Because vast ambient sounds shouldn’t just be for larger pedals with vast price points”: Walrus Audio democratizes atmospheric reverb tones with the affordable Fundamental Ambient
The boutique builder’s back-to-basics line offers a cheaper alternative to high-concept, high-priced atmospheric pedals
“Bruce Springsteen was in the next studio… He had a Gretsch Country Gentleman, and I asked him if I could borrow it”: How a loaner from The Boss powered the iconic spaghetti western line in Blondie’s Atomic
Former Blondie guitarist Frank Infante has revealed that he recorded the twanging lick using a Gretsch belonging to the blue collar rock icon
“Puts authentic sounds from the stage class Boss Katana amp series at the instrument’s output jack”: Has the Katana:GO just changed the headphone amp game forever?
Full-fat Katana tones in a jack – for $119? Boss has seriously upped the stakes when it comes to guitar and bass headphone amps
“Is there an expanded one? Is there a smaller footprint version? Is there a native version?” Fender’s Justin Norvell teases next steps for the Tone Master Pro range – and confirms tweed FRFR speakers are “definitely on the list”
The floor modeler has already established a firm ‘foothold’… but it seems Fender’s just getting started
“A celebration of unity and togetherness in these uncertain and divisive times”: Slash announces the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. traveling blues festival – set to feature Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Larkin Poe, Eric Gales and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram
The Guns N’ Roses icon has unveiled a fundraising festival run in support of his new blues album
“There were times, I admit, when I had to pinch myself”: Eric Carmen – the All By Myself and Hungry Eyes hitmaker, and the man who sold Joan Jett her Melody Maker – dies aged 74
Carmen’s music with The Raspberries influenced everyone from Springsteen to Axl Rose, but he also enjoyed huge success as a solo performer and even played with Ringo Starr
“He didn’t just work here – he lived and embodied the spirit of the brand”: Mike Lewis, the head of Fender’s Custom Shop – an industry legend who played with Chuck Berry and toured with the Rolling Stones – has passed away
From sideman to session player, retailer and 30-year Fender employee, Lewis worked on everything from the firm’s amps to revamping Gretsch and launching the first mass-produced humbucker Strat
“An important piece of the low end theory”: T.M. Stevens, bass legend and session pro who performed and recorded with the likes of Steve Vai, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, and the Pretenders, dies at 72
Stevens manned the low-end on Vai's Sex & Religion album, and played on James Brown's latter-day hit, Living in America
“It was so destroyed you could take the paint off with your hands”: How Rich Robinson brought his ’68 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop back from the brink after Hurricane Sandy
The Black Crowes guitarist says his restored LP is a rare example of an instrument that (eventually) came back stronger following the 2012 disaster
“A versatile, state-of-the-art instrument designed to push your playing to new heights”: Fender’s 70th Anniversary Ultra Strat HSS offers us a glimpse at the future of the world’s most popular electric guitar
The firm has unveiled the plush Ultra Strat alongside a new 1954 American Vintage II reissue – and a celebration of the once-maligned Antigua finish
“Forever ahead of its time”: Fender kicks off the Strat’s 70th anniversary party with star-studded Voodoo Child (Slight Return) mega-jam – featuring Tom Morello, Nile Rodgers, Mateus Asato, Ari O'Neal and Rei
The fiery, tag-teamed take on the Hendrix classic is designed to showcase the Strat’s enduring legacy – and tonal flexibility
“No-one was looking at the Strat when Yngwie picked one up in ’86 – everybody had left it behind after Hendrix. It just continues to reinvent itself and get rediscovered”: Justin Norvell has to guard Fender’s glittering past, while securing its future
Fender remains the world’s number one guitar firm, but as the firm’s EVP of Product tells us, it’s thinking about musicians first – not gear – that keeps it top of the pile
“The wait is over – now you can have it all”: Dave Grohl’s Epiphone DG-335, the most demanded signature model in its 151-year history, is finally here – and it costs less than you might expect
We got an exclusive look at the Foo Fighters’ man’s new signature back in January – and now it’s available to order
“We think Marshall represents the rock and roll attitude”: Amp sales accounted for just 5% of the Marshall Group’s revenues in 2023 – but it looks like new digital amps could be on the way
A recent Billboard report shows the Marshall Group’s home audio wing brings home the lion’s share of the newly merged firm’s revenues
