Features archive
March 2025
Filter
85 articles
- March 28
-
- “I’m extremely honored. It reminded me that it’s important to stick to my own playing style”: Her fans include Dave Grohl, Jack White and Eddie Vedder, and she’s the face of Fender’s Hello Kitty campaign. Why Yoyoyoshie is Japan’s next great guitar hero
- “The three of us plugged into my Marshall, passing the cord around. The one thing Eric said to me was, ‘Wow, there is so much gain!’” Joe Satriani on reuniting with Eric Johnson and Steve Vai and the devil in the detail of Eddie Van Halen's playing
- March 27
-
- “I like that their appearance intrigues non-guitar players and bothers old-fashioned people”: Despite early love from Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth, headless guitars became a punchline – yet in 2025, they’re more popular than ever. We found out why
- “Once Dave got his Roland Space Echo, it changed the vibe… that, and a lot of marijuana”: They inspired everyone from Oasis to the Smashing Pumpkins. Now English post-punk luminaries the Chameleons are back for more
- “When I worked with Eric Clapton, I thought I was getting fired every tour”: Andy Fairweather Low on his first gig, a beloved dumpster guitar find and the mistake he made with Roger Waters that he can never forget
- “I got a long text message praising the amp and talking about tone. I’m like, ‘Holy crap… I think this is Joe Perry!’” Why Silktone’s tube amp range is rapidly gathering big-name fans
- March 26
- March 25
-
- “It sounds church-organy if you’re just playing acoustic… then you add the dollar bill and the pen and it sounds like a steel drum”: Songwriter Sean Rowe on tonal experiments, modding acoustics – and why he keeps wearing out his Takamine dreadnoughts
- “There was a black Les Paul with three pickups and gold hardware on a pedestal. Elton said, ‘I'd better buy that guitar just to have in my house’”: One of Davey Johnstone's most prized guitars was once a piece of upscale decor for his superstar bandmate
- “Bill, Troy and I were rocking it – I took a step back, only to clip my heel on a monitor wedge. I went ass-over-teakettle”: How Ben Eller went from Mastodon super-fan to filling in for Brent Hinds – and taking it all in his stride
- “He only had that little spotlight in every Beatles song – George Martin telling him what he could or couldn’t play. That’s what helped create that later style”: Dhani Harrison on the making of Living in the Material World – and George’s slide style
- “People had warned me how Ritchie chewed up and spat out musicians. Rainbow had already auditioned 40 bass players!” From Ritchie Blackmore to Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Daisley has worked with rock’s heaviest heroes
- “My technique is terrible – I don’t even use my pinky. I’m worried that if I learn to play in a technically correct way, my creativity will disappear”: Manuel Gagneux on why you shouldn’t sweat the technique – and expanding Zeal & Ardor’s radical sound
- March 24
-
- “I said, ‘Mr. Fender, I’m Dick Dale. I’m a surfer and I have no money. Can you help me?’ He looked at me and said, ‘Here, try this guitar’”: How Dick Dale made the Stratocaster the ultimate surf-rock weapon
- “If fashion brands and computer brands can do it, why can’t we?” I journeyed to the only dedicated Fender store in the world – and found out how it could change the future of guitar retail as we know it
- “We took 36 hours to cut Good Vibrations. We knew it was a big deal”: Carol Kaye’s 10 greatest basslines
- “The Food Network couldn’t spend all day mic’ing a guitar amp. Every time I went into the studio, the engineers would say, ‘Don’t bring your amp’”: Meet Tim Rockmore, the TV and session veteran who’s recorded entire tracks with a Fender headphone amp
- “A lot of Slayer riffs aren’t really for bass players – there’s just too many notes”: Slayer’s Tom Araya charts his incredible 4-string journey
- “I would bring this guitar out once or twice because it looked like a curvy version of my main guitar”: Marty Friedman takes us back to Megadeth’s Countdown to Extinction era to tell the story behind one of the rarest Jackson guitars ever
- March 23
-
- “I used really weird things like the Tristan chord and the Prometheus chord to give some of the songs a mystical vibe”: With the return of Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater are fully reborn – and John Petrucci's still not done exploring new guitar frontiers
- “He fell in love with my SGs, so now I have to buy him one. I told him that one day it would show up at his door”: Looking to take his post-Cars career in a more guitar-heavy direction, Ric Ocasek formed an unlikely partnership with an alt-rock icon
- March 22
- March 21
-
- “I wanted a whole bunch of pickups, four or five. But Leo said they wouldn’t fit”: The creation and evolution of the Stratocaster, Leo Fender's greatest invention
- “Ozzy sang a bunch of songs and had a great time. It’s like, ‘I guess we’re gonna do another tour…’” Zakk Wylde is hoping for more Ozzy Osbourne shows – but he’s got his hands full with new Pantera music and upcoming Wylde Audio gear
- “Paul Jackson Jr. had me transcribe Chic and Michael Jackson guitar layers and listen to session players like Steve Lukather”: Former Chappell Roan guitarist Eliza Petrosyan on how to survive as a guitarist for hire
- March 20
-
- “If I’m really, really honest with myself, it’s probably my second-best-sounding guitar”: Greeny will always be Kirk Hammett’s pride and joy. But this uber-rare 1959 Gibson ES-335 is a close second – and it has a surprising history
- “People think we were manufactured by the music industry to make them loads of money. That would be one of the worst investments ever”: How Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer went from reluctant hometown hero to metal’s new seven-string phenomenon
- “My lead skills are decent enough – but whoever we get is going to be light years ahead of me”: Brent Hinds’ exit left Mastodon at a crossroads. But for Bill Kelliher, it’s an opportunity for a fresh start with a new guitar wingman
- March 19
-
- “It’s got this Pink Floyd-ish tone that’s really open. I used it with Michael McDonald at the Hollywood Bowl”: Created by the Ibanez Custom Shop in L.A., Thundercat’s double-neck bass guitar has a 6-string on top and an 8-string on the bottom
- “It's a dummy solo I laid down – I was supposed to put down a real one later. But I never got time”: Ozzy Osbourne's Diary of a Madman is a landmark guitar album, but some of its final parts made Randy Rhoads “cringe”
- “I played Brian Setzer’s personal guitars – the pickups give you more dynamic control. I thought, ‘I have to recreate this!’” How TV Jones revived That Great Gretsch Sound – despite being an underdog in the pickup world
- “I used to give myself a hard time about imperfections – the challenge now is finding out what makes it human”: Guitarists need to change their approach in the face of AI. Just ask Charlie Cunningham, the acoustic virtuoso fusing Meshuggah and fingerstyle
- “I was this short guy playing through a full stack, and the speakers were five feet from my head. It’s a miracle I can hear anything”: Buck Dharma on the Blue Öyster Cult story, his Gibson SG heroes, and what he really thinks of that SNL sketch
- March 18
-
- “Country players don’t get as much credit as the prog guys. Shining a light on how cool country guitar can be was important to me”: Bilmuri are fusing metalcore and country using Strats, ‘fighter jet’ solos and tone tips from Sleep Token
- “He would beat the crap out of the guitar. The result can best be described as Jackson Pollock trying to play like John Lee Hooker”: Aggressively bizarre, Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica remains one of the craziest guitar-driven albums ever made
- “In the end, I did it too much – I was a one-trick pony! EVH brought that fire to the guitar”: He was an early two-hand tapping pioneer and one of John Mayall’s favorite guitarists, but Randy Resnick doesn’t consider himself an influential figure
- “If we had tried to plan it, it would’ve never happened. The thing happened just by magic”: From Beatlemania to All Things Must Pass and beyond – the definitive guitar history of George Harrison's greatest recorded works
- March 17
-
- “He was very frightened, mostly from the volume. My new amplifiers now go to infinity, and I think that idea was very scary to him”: Nigel Tufnel had plenty of volume when he jammed with Joe Satriani, but “couldn't fathom” what the guitar hero was doing
- “I always wanted to do one more Allman Brothers studio record, but that just wasn’t meant to be”: How Warren Haynes is finishing what Gregg Allman started with Derek Trucks’ help – and why he’s fallen for J Mascis’ Squier Jazzmaster
- “I was like, ‘I’m just going to move my hand around the guitar until it makes sense and sounds similar to the melodies in my head”: Meet Spiral XP, the indie shoegazers sparked by a game-changing guitar breakthrough
- March 16
-
- “I got rid of a lot of my electric basses – at one point I had over 100!” After five decades at the low-end, Stanley Clarke decided to part ways with his astonishing bass collection
- “It’s difficult to hear bass playing in metal, but players like Geezer Butler stand out – they try to do something different with their parts. If they don’t, I usually find it a bit boring”: Opeth’s Martín Méndez names the 5 albums that shaped his sound
- “Lonnie came into an Austin club where we were playing. I asked him if he would play, but Lonnie, the master of the Flying V, said he wouldn't touch anything but a Gibson”: When Stevie Ray Vaughan met his oft-overlooked, pioneering, V-wielding guitar hero
- March 15
- March 14
-
- “I’m sitting on the couch with a guitar, and Jeff is standing over me. He pulled out a notebook with lyrics and doodles, started singing, and that was Grace”: How Gary Lucas made guitar magic with Jeff Buckley, Captain Beefheart and Chris Cornell
- “It must have been a big shock when little Peavey in Mississippi got the biggest guitar hero out there. But Ed just appreciated the quality of craftsmanship”: The story of Peavey and its era-defining Van Halen collaborations – and why they came to an end
- “I don’t think I have the agility on the neck to do a traditional guitar solo – I’m more from the Kurt Cobain school”: Interpol frontman Paul Banks on making landmark records, his favorite John Frusciante solo and why he’s no fan of the Fender Twin
- March 13
-
- “People think I’m not a good guitar player because it sounds really sloppy. I play in an avant-garde death metal band – you shouldn’t be comfortable”: How Imperial Triumphant became one of the most garishly experimental metal bands of a generation
- “I used to visit my local GC frequently. That all stopped when they started locking everything up”: How can Guitar Center improve its stores and reclaim its former glory? Guitar World readers have their say
- “When I met Billy, I didn’t really have an amazing guitar. He said, ‘Oh, you gotta have a Les Paul, mate’”: Steve Stevens on why the ’80s were Hamer time for the Billy Idol guitarist – and it was all thanks to Paul Stanley
- “Jimmy was still playing the Telecasters that he played in the Yardbirds. I laid it on him and said, ‘Try this out.’ I gave him a good deal, about 1,200 bucks”: How one of rock's most storied Les Pauls changed hands from one guitar hero to another
- March 12
-
- “The guys were like, ‘Just go for something crazy, and then make it crazier.’ They just couldn’t stop me, man!” The wildest bass solo you’ve never heard? Robert Sledge cranked the fuzz for this Ben Folds Five classic
- “I’ve used Teles and Strats, but I always find myself going back to that Jag – something about the Cobain Jag just sounded extra-beefy”: Courtney Barnett is one of indie-rock’s most celebrated southpaws – and the Nirvana Fender connection runs deep
- “I can play barre chords and my dad couldn’t. He had a strum that was identifiably his, but I learned from the Carter women. Mine is more of a Carter scratch”: How Rosanne Cash found her sound – and captured Johnny’s design flair in her signature Gibson
- March 11
-
- “I remember thinking, ‘I’ll show them – they don’t realize they made a mistake.’ It’s not just the wins, it’s the determination you build from the losses”: Tommy Thayer’s junior high disappointment fired him up for success with Kiss
- “I want some people to be outraged – I feel like that would be a true way to honor Type O”: Welcome to Nate Garrett’s Neon Nightmare, the Spirit Adrift guitarist’s ’80s horror-inspired tribute to Peter Steele
- March 10
-
- "Upgrading from your entry-level acoustic opens the door to an entirely new world of tonewoods, body shapes, and brands": 6 signs it's time to upgrade from your first acoustic guitar
- “It began as a sharp abdominal pain. A decade later I received the shock diagnosis – I had ‘Telecaster Rib’”: I spent thousands trying to identify the source of my pain – it turned out to be my Fender Telecaster
- “It was under my dad’s bed when I was a kid. When it slid out from underneath the bed… it was like the heavens were opening up”: How Zakk Wylde’s sparring partner Dario Lorina started a new chapter – with the help of a holy grail Les Paul
- “I put large erasers under the pickups. I play pretty loud with Mr. Big, so I take extra precautions to keep feedback to a minimum”: Paul Gilbert names his three favorite guitars – including one that was stolen very recently
- March 9
- March 8
-
- “The guitar was in horrible shape. The paint job was all flaked off, it didn’t have the original tailpiece... at one point, the headstock snapped off”: He's a hitmaker who owned Eric Clapton's “The Fool” SG, produced Meat Loaf, and played with Ringo Starr
- “You really can’t completely replicate what she does, which is a beautiful thing. She took it to her grave”: Sue Foley has spent 25 years researching the unsung female pioneers of guitar – these are the most important players she discovered
- March 7
-
- "I'm past my prime": 5 common excuses for not learning the guitar – and 5 body and mind-boosting reasons you should
- “Not many people will let you go as hard as they let us go. With Cobra Kai, it’s like, ‘Turn the gain all the way up!’” How Cobra Kai’s soundtrack senseis brought black-belt guitarists Tim Henson, Tosin Abasi and Charlie Robbins to their musical dojo
- “The musicologist looked me square in the eye and said it couldn’t be done”: Meet Lowen, the heavy trailblazers defying metal rules by playing prog-doom in Middle Eastern and North African styles – scoring them a support tour with Zakk Wylde
- “The most symbolic electric guitar of the ’70s”: Played by Rick Derringer and Aerosmith, effortlessly cool, the B.C. Rich Mockingbird was the ultimate ’70s guitar
- March 6
-
- “I had a huge cue sheet up on my amps. Except for the Comfortably Numb solo, there were no moments where I could say, ‘Forget everything. Just play’”: For David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s wildly ambitious the Wall tour was a blast – and a challenge
- “We were out to satisfy our animal instincts onstage. I think we spent $40,000 on gear that we smashed on Lollapalooza”: Nine Inch Nails made their name with infamously destructive live shows – this is the true story behind their epic guitar smash-a-thons
- “Phil Lynott said, ‘Gary Moore is out the band. Could you come over tomorrow?’ My initial reaction was, ’I’m not the guy you should be asking’”: When Midge Ure joined Thin Lizzy on a make-or-break US tour, he had just one day’s notice and no rehearsals
- “For Pink Floyd songs, David is happiest when I play an old Fender with a pick”: Session legend Guy Pratt on the Jazz Bass he bought from John Entwistle and how he conjured a “massive octave-pedal freakout” with Madonna
- March 5
-
- "If you’re starting out and practicing at home, you might be self-conscious about playing through even a small practice amp until you’ve got your chops up to speed": 7 low-volume ways to play and practice guitar without an amp
- Industry expert and YouTuber Adam Saunders launches new books to break down the barriers of music theory to make songwriting simple
- “I collaged it together on my phone, then said to my guitar tech, ‘Hey, you’re a luthier – could you make a prototype of this?’” How Coheed and Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez started his own guitar company, Evil Instruments
- “I don’t have my original Epiphone Casino anymore. It was stolen out of a dressing room. I was really heartbroken”: Daniel Kessler on making Interpol classics, the lessons he took from Fugazi and the art of six-string minimalism
- March 4
-
- “George asked, ‘Is it OK if I do a little slide?’ I had a ’63 Strat, and that’s what he used. He was one of the best slide players ever”: They flew high with the help of the Beatles, and a few hits, then collapsed in a mess of mismanagement and tragedy
- “My rig broke on live TV. I started hitting it as hard as I could, but the bass would not break… so I threw it in the ocean”: L7’s Jennifer Finch on touring with Nirvana, gigging with Courtney Love and donating her Ghost bass to the Punk Rock Museum
- “I had doubts about the Red Special – I knew it sounded different from what everybody else was using, from a Strat and a Gibson. But hearing it back was thrilling”: Brian May on reworking Queen’s regal debut, bad reviews, and Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Magic”
- March 3
-
- “They said, ‘We need a good singer.’ We said, ‘What’s the matter with James Hetfield?’” NWOBHM survivors Raven on giving insecure Metallica their first national tour, and pioneering the 8-string bass and bass trem
- “I hope people hear these albums and go, ‘Oh, this is where that legendary American rock guitar archetype is from’”: This unsung guitar hero's band was called the American Led Zeppelin, and his virtuosic playing paved the way for Van Halen and Satriani
- “I can perform a screaming guitar solo while comfortably holding a conversation with an engineer, even though the beast seems to be screaming out”: Prog legend Steve Hackett explains how he conjures power without volume
- March 2
-
- “It was very much a management thing – ‘Find somebody to replace Clapton.’ Rory wouldn't have any of it”: When Rory Gallagher was asked to fill Eric Clapton's shoes in rock's pioneering power trio
- “The role of the bass guitar is groove and support: it’s about getting the most impact from the fewest notes”: As a member of the Saturday Night Live house band, James Genus is the best-kept secret on bass
- March 1
-
- “The Boys Are Back in Town is at least as memorable for its guitar breaks as for its chorus”: Thin Lizzy inspired Metallica, Iron Maiden, and the Cure, practically invented twin lead guitar, and have had 15 guitarists. Here’s your guide to all of them
- “I’ve got Fenders of various ages and they all sound different. That’s not a Spinal Tap thing – they just do!” Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris on staying loyal to Fender, and the Gibson that sounded “horrible”
