Sam Roche
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
Latest articles by Sam Roche
Nita Strauss taps Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz and unleashes the shred on towering metal anthem, The Wolf You Feed
By Sam Roche published
“Nita and I finally got to collaborate – something we have both wanted to do for years!” White-Gluz says of the track, which features weighty riffs and blazing leads aplenty
Thief caught on camera stealing Nita Strauss's Boss multi-effects pedal during guitar clinic
By Sam Roche published
The guitarist was hosting a meet and greet when the GT-1000CORE was stolen
Fender CEO Andy Mooney: “There are still heaps of virtuoso players, but there are fewer guitar gods now”
By Sam Roche published
More people are playing guitar than ever, says the Big F's main man, but they're doing so “for more reasons than just wanting to be a rock star”
Are you ready? Robert Fripp and Toyah have covered Korn's Blind
By Sam Roche published
The pair attempt to match the upheaval caused by the track at Woodstock '99, from the comfort of their kitchen
Paul Reed Smith explains what possessed him to call one of PRS’s first guitar pedals Horsemeat
By Sam Roche published
“I can’t name a guitar Horsemeat, but in the pedal business, you can get away with murder!”
Watch Instagram and TikTok shredder Vixen tear up Jackson's new American Series Soloist SL3 in killer shred video
By Sam Roche published
The session guitarist extraordinaire puts the model's “built-for-speed” tagline to the test with a blazing performance loaded with two-handed tapping, melodic vibrato-heavy leads and brutal riffing
Save $50 on the iconic Squier Classic Vibe '60s Esquire over at Sweetwater in this killer Black Friday deal
By Sam Roche last updated
This single-pickup six-string is a faithful recreation of one of the most important designs in the evolution of the guitar, and now you can get it for $429.99
Gibson alleges Dean is in contempt of court for continuing to advertise its V and Z Series guitars
By Sam Roche published
The new filing pertains to Dean's 2021 product catalog – which is still available online – that displays a number of its V and Z models
Are ThorpyFX pedals actually bombproof? Watch an explosives team put it to the test
By Sam Roche published
A selection of stompboxes meet a sizzling demise in this radical R&D experiment
Austin Evans serves up a volley of six-string carnage – with an upside-down guitar – in this brutal playthrough of Orthodox's Head on a Spike
By Sam Roche last updated
The unrelenting metal cut is taken from the Nashville outfit's latest album, Learning to Dissolve
This busker just delivered one of the best shred guitar performances of the year
By Sam Roche published
In a video titled ‘Arpeggios at the speed of light’ – a pretty accurate title if you ask us – Damian Salazar deploys his Kiesel Jason Becker Numbers guitar to face-melting effect
Research by Fender suggests women buy guitars online because they “aren't treated well” in shops
By Sam Roche published
CEO Andy Mooney reflects on how data collected when he joined the company in 2015 has shaped the company's business strategy ever since
Matt Skiba is “truly happy” that Blink-182 have reunited with Tom DeLonge
By Sam Roche published
“I’m sure there’s a joke in here about releases and happy endings I’m missing but I am truly grateful for my time with Blink,” the guitarist says in a new statement
Mooer wants to “supercharge your one-man band” with its new Looper X2 and Drummer X2 pedals
By Sam Roche published
The Looper X2 features an impressive 300 minutes of recording time, while the Drummer X2 is Mooer's first standalone drum machine pedal
Zakk Wylde says he still needs to learn Dimebag Darrell's guitar parts for Pantera's upcoming reunion tour
By Sam Roche published
The highly anticipated trek is due to kick off in early December
Robert Fripp and Toyah celebrate Chesney Hawkes' swansong Sunday Lunch appearance with a hilarious cover of Stacy's Mom
By Sam Roche published
The unlikely trio cap off their time together in style with an ever-bizarre take on Fountains of Wayne's pop-punk smash hit
Solar Guitars partners with Darkthrone's Nocturno Culto for a metal-ready signature model, the GC1.6NC
By Sam Roche published
Specs include high-output Seymour Duncan SH6 Distortion humbuckers and glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side fret markers
From Blink-182's powerchord-fueled return to eerie psychedelic soul: here are this week's essential guitar tracks
By Sam Roche, Michael Astley-Brown, Matt Owen, Jackson Maxwell published
We're spoiled for choice this week, with spicy new songs from Rival Sons, Architects, The Arcs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gojira, Wunderhorse, Wild Pink & Yasmin Williams, Dry Cleaning, and more
Blink-182 release Edging, their first new song with Tom DeLonge in 10 years
By Sam Roche published
The bouncy, mid-tempo track is the first taste of the band's forthcoming album, which arrives next year
G&L's new CLF Research S-500 is a fan-inspired “retro-futurist dream” that blends original designs with contemporary appointments
By Sam Roche published
Highlights of the guitar's spec sheet include Leo Fender's Magnetic Pickup Design technology and a comprehensive suite of switching options
10 times fans played guitar onstage with their heroes – and absolutely killed it
By Sam Roche published
These fans were plucked from the crowd by their guitar idols, and answered the call in roof-raising style
PRS expands its SE acoustic line with A20E Angelus Cutaway and parlor-sized P50E
By Sam Roche published
PRS-designed bracing patterns promise increased vibration and projection, while PRS-voiced Fishman Sonitone electronics are also onboard
Obvurt, the band featuring a guitarist who relearned to play left-handed after a car accident, announce debut album, Triumph Beyond Adversity
By Sam Roche published
Philippe Drouin's life was turned upside down in 2016 after a hand injury so he did the same to his guitar – and his first full-length record as a leftie is arriving later this year
“Ow, it's burning!”: watch Justin Hawkins try to play like Polyphia
By Sam Roche published
The Darkness frontman reacts to Ego Death, the prog-rockers' head-spinning new single with Steve Vai
Joe Satriani on proposed Van Halen tribute concert: “If it's ever gonna happen, Wolfgang Van Halen should play guitar”
By Sam Roche published
The virtuoso says Wolfgang's playing at Foo Fighters' recent Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts was “the most natural, beautiful thing” he'd seen in a long time
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