Richard Bienstock
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
Latest articles by Richard Bienstock

Get the gear fires burning with the first installment of Guitar World’s Holiday Ultimate Gear Guide
By Richard Bienstock published
GW’s Paul Riario and Alan Chaput dive into PRS’s SE P20E Lotus Pink acoustic, Eventide’s TriceraChorus pedal and Guitareo.com’s online instructional courses

Yngwie Malmsteen: “I’ve never practiced in the true meaning of the word. From the first time I picked up a guitar when I was 7, in my head I was a performer”
By Richard Bienstock published
On this year's Parabellum, everyone’s favorite Ferrari-driving guitar legend tackles all the vocals and instruments (except drums). The result? An Yngwie-on-steroids shred extravaganza

Watch Molly Miller take the 'oh-so-sweet’ PRS Fiore out for a spin
By Richard Bienstock published
New signature model from Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri boasts brand-new body shape, custom pickups with expanded switching system and more

Tom Morello: “I’ve tried to create this alloy between two worlds – you don’t know where the guitar ends and the EDM begins. That feels like an exciting future for the electric guitar”
By Richard Bienstock published
The Rage Against the Machine icon explains how recording big, gnarly guitar riffs into his iPhone became his "life raft for sanity" on new album, The Atlas Underground Fire

Watch a YouTube guitarist bring his Fender Player Series Tele to the next level with some quick and affordable upgrades from Allparts
By Richard Bienstock published
Hunter Engel adds high-quality strap locks, locking tuners and new wiring, and then takes his kicked-up Tele for a spin

Watch Paul Riario try out the full IK Multimedia AmpliTube X-Gear range of guitar pedals, the “most versatile world-class tone machines for studio or stage”
By Richard Bienstock published
IK Multimedia’s first-ever line of hardware pedals offers up overdrive, reverb, delay and modulation stompboxes, each with 16 all-new algorithms and much more

St. Vincent, Ghost, Royal Blood and Rodrigo y Gabriela discuss covering metal classics for the Metallica Blacklist
By Richard Bienstock published
Exit light! Enter some of the biggest names in popular music, whose interpretations of their favorite Black Album tracks helped celebrate its 30th anniversary

Watch Steve Stine conjure incredible tones with the Maton EBG808TE acoustic and AP5 PRO pickup system
By Richard Bienstock published
The guitar and pickup, designed in conjunction with virtuoso picker Tommy Emmanuel, offers “stunning” tones and ease of playing

Dave “The Snake” Sabo: “I said to Kramer, ‘How about something like a snake coming out of a grave, with my birth date on there?’”
By Richard Bienstock published
The Skid Row six-stringer unpacks the design choices behind his serpentine signature Kramer Baretta

Tracii Guns: “When it came to doing a signature guitar, there was no point in doing something ordinary, you know what I mean?”
By Richard Bienstock published
The LA Guns guitarist walks through the design of his super-shreddable signature Kramer Gunstar Voyager

Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett look back on 30 years of The Black Album: "It really was the master key to everything"
By Richard Bienstock published
How shorter, simpler songs and a bold vision helped the thrash pioneers make the biggest metal album of all time

What’s the secret to incredible tone? Guitarist Ruben Wan has the answer
By Richard Bienstock published
Here’s a hint – it starts with his Elixir Strings

Watch Ruben Wan put the “amazing” Focusrite Clarett+ 2Pre audio interface to the test
By Richard Bienstock published
The company’s newest edition of their Clarett range combines two mic/line/instrument combi inputs with ADAT expandability, four line outputs and much more

Watch R.J. Ronquillo conjure lush, ‘80s-style chorus – and much, much more – with the Eventide TriceraChorus pedal
By Richard Bienstock published
New pedal boasts BBD-style chorusing alongside Eventide’s Micropitch detuning for insane swirls, shimmers, warbles and beyond

Charlie Parra: “I love tapping so much. The main reason I use a V is because there’s basically no wood between my tapping hand and the fretboard”
By Richard Bienstock published
The Peruvian shred whiz discusses the shreddable design of his signature Kramer Nite-V Plus

Capo in style with Kyser x Fender Quick-Change capos, available in a variety of vintage colorways
By Richard Bienstock published
Guitarist Molly Miller shows off her “period perfect” shell pink Kyser capo in this new demo video

John Mayer shares his advice on how to write the perfect guitar solo
By Richard Bienstock published
You've got to build a ramp. And a rollercoaster. Then you've got to stick the landing... Easier said than done

Join Paul Riario for a 360 tone tour of the Reverend Gil Parris Signature GPS
By Richard Bienstock published
A korina body, roasted maple neck and trio of Fishman Fluence pickups combine to create a modern classic

Watch Paul Riario demo the “top-of-the-line masterpiece” Taylor Builder’s Edition 816ce acoustic
By Richard Bienstock published
Impressively-spec’d guitar boasts Grand Symphony body, ES-2 electronics and innovative soundport cutaway

Watch Paul Riario put Elixir Strings’ Acoustic Phosphor Bronze with NANOWEB Coating strings to the two-week tone test
By Richard Bienstock published
Top-selling string brand features ultra-thin coating for long life and excellent tone

The hard-rocking return of Kramer Guitars
By Richard Bienstock published
The top dogs at the new (and improved?) Kramer Guitars are looking back to their hairspray heyday while simultaneously concocting ultra-modern axes for today’s shred royalty

Watch Paul Riario test drive eight fast-playing, killer-sounding FU PRO guitars from hardware upgrades brand FU-Tone
By Richard Bienstock published
Impressively spec’d guitars come pre-loaded with titanium tremolos, brass blocks, custom humbuckers and much, much more

Jinjer's Roman Ibramkhalilov: "I almost feel sorry for anyone who comes out to our shows, because we are going to smash them"
By Richard Bienstock published
How the prog-metalcore stalwarts dialed in the power for new album Wallflowers
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