Features archive
November 2023
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99 articles
- November 30
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- “He took the Ibanez Iceman off the wall and said, ‘I’ll buy it for you... If you promise me Celtic Frost is going to be a fantastic band.’ And I said, ‘OK. Deal.’” For Tom G. Warrior, the equation has always been Ibanez + attitude = murderous riffs
- “It’s hard to deliver a gig to a chest of drawers in your bedroom. You worry about technique, then the recording can sound clinical”: How British acoustic great Clive Carroll tackled John Renbourn classics – and the psychological hurdles of home recording
- November 29
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- “I introduced Sting to Miles Davis, and that blew Sting’s mind!” Darryl Jones on providing the punch for Sting, Madonna, and the Rolling Stones
- Not changing your amp settings when you leave your rehearsal space for the stage? You're doing EQ wrong
- “When I want to know what I’m doing, I play the keyboard. And if I don’t want to know what I’m doing, I play the guitar”: Christopher Libertino on film scoring, music journeys and taking the leap into the great instrumental unknown
- “My friend came to my taco stand, telling me Leslie West wanted to jam. I was like, ‘What kind of drugs are you on? I’ve never even played a club before’”: At 17, Peter Baron went from street food vendor to playing with a rock guitar icon overnight
- 10 essential live rock and metal albums from the ’90s
- November 28
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- “I showed the Strymon BigSky to Lana, and she was like, ‘Oh, we need that.’ I plugged into a 100-watt Marshall, and the riff came out in 10 seconds”: Lana Del Rey guitarist Blake Lee thrives on making his Strat sound like anything but a guitar
- “My playing was a response to whoever said, ‘Bass should be felt and not heard’. To me, bass should be like warfare!” Derek Forbes, founder member of Simple Minds, on his five best basslines
- November 27
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- “I really liked the concept, but it was a bit impractical. My bass playing tends to rely more on my hands than any kind of trick”: Listen to Paul Jackson’s double-stop funk on Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man
- How the Ampeg Dan Armstrong may well have become a footnote in guitar history had the 'See-Through' electric not ended up in the hands of Keith Richards
- “I wanted to be Paul Kossoff – a Les Paul with a wah into a Marshall and nothing else. I’d be telling myself off for dialing too much gain!” Black Stone Cherry share their gear epiphanies – and why we’re hearing Misha Mansoor’s Peavey on their new album
- “Tone is in the fingers. That’s not to say you can’t get close. Some YouTube players can get so close to Stevie Ray Vaughan, it’s frightening!” Danny Bryant is one of modern British blues’ finest players – ignore his tone wisdom at your peril
- “The higher up you wear your bass, the more it makes you think about what you’re playing. I don’t want to think that much”: Tim Lefebvre explains the belt-level placement of his low-slung P-Bass
- November 24
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- “The last thing Bernard Edwards wanted to be was a bass player who used a pick”: Nile Rodgers on the funk behind Chic’s Le Freak
- “As soon as I pick up the guitar and play that riff, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. You just jump on the riff and it plays you”: The Rolling Stones’ 10 best guitar riffs
- “It’s one thing to listen, but when you play these songs, you go, ‘It’s no wonder Eddie had so much fun playing this’”: Tackling Van Halen, reforming G3, recording with Steve Vai – Joe Satriani is gearing up for his biggest year yet
- November 23
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- “So many people don't understand how, as a lead player, I could idolize someone like Kurt Cobain, but for me, it's also about the songwriting and passion”: Nikki Stringfield has more up her sleeve than glorious shredding with the Iron Maidens
- “We didn’t have another band to point to and say, well, Sabbath is using it or the Scorpions are using it. James had the foresight to say, ‘Let’s try it. Maybe we’re the people to embrace it’”: James Hetfield’s tech shows you his 72 Seasons live rig
- Cosmic Psychos: "When you read the farming manual, there's a bit at the back that says you've gotta play in a punk band"
- November 22
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- The ‘90s was a watershed era for gear, and set the template for the future of the electric guitar – these are the retro designs, digital innovations and misfit toys that defined a decade and beyond
- “I just love the Stratocaster. The 2nd and 4th positions are part of what makes it the ultimate funk machine”: From bedroom lockdown playthroughs to Spotify stardom in just 3 years, Giacomo Turra is one of funk guitar's most exciting talents
- “Fingers or pick? I’ll play bass with a drumstick! Whatever works for the song!“ How Amos Williams found his sound on TesseracT’s War of Being
- “The riffs are crazy. If I had to describe the songs, they’re like Bonnie Raitt meets Sheryl Crow meets Joe Walsh meets the Stones – with hints of INXS”: Introducing Danni Stefanetti, the Silver Sky-toting graduate of the PRS Pulse program
- “I got my Telecaster in 2013 and it’s never been cleaned. It’s covered with blood. I like the idea of seeing the work I’ve done”: He’s guitarist for Iceland’s premier power trio The Vintage Caravan – and Óskar Logi Ágústsson’s rig lives up to the name
- “It’s the most money I’ve ever paid for a guitar in my life: over $400,000. But what’s a Flying V worth? It’s worth what someone’s willing to pay for it”: Joe Bonamassa opens the gates to Nerdville and shows off the most prized guitars in his collection
- November 21
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- “I don’t know what it is, but something happens to Joe when he picks up the 10-string B.C. Rich Bich...”: Joe Perry tech Darren Hurst on helping the Aerosmith rock icon re-discover his tone
- “If you want to be a well-rounded metal player, alternate picking is something you cannot skip out on”: Josh Middleton on the essential techniques and discipline of metal guitar
- “Malcolm Young would shred picks. It's like he would pick them up and they’d turn to dust!”: Richard Fortus breaks down his role as Guns N’ Roses’ rhythm machine – and explains the overlooked details that separate good players from great ones
- "The whole vibe of Ace Frehley was really special to me. I was so small, and Ace was this larger-than-life figure… I didn't even think he was a real person": John 5 names the guitarists who shaped his sound
- “Early on I discovered that the bass player decides the chord – not the guitar player”: R.E.M.’s Mike Mills on finding the perfect bass part and becoming a “one-bass guy”
- Positive Grid's Spark Mini is a practice amp titan – but here are 5 smart amp alternatives we love with Black Friday discounts
- November 20
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- “I had the same punk-rock attack that Duff had. I wouldn’t be afraid to say I stole some of his stuff”: How Tommy Stinson survived the making of Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy
- “I was so frustrated that I kicked my amp – the speaker busted, leaving me with this weird buzzing sound. I didn’t know it then, but I helped create the sound of punk-rock guitar”: How an Italian immigrant shaped the sound of US punk to come in the 1960s
- “A lot of solos in metal definitely have a formula... To me, a solo really hits home when you don’t hear the magic coming”: How Svalbard’s Serena Cherry is tearing up the metal guitar playbook
- “I’ve gotten comments like ‘a guitar’s not supposed to do that’, but where’s the rulebook? Just because something is wild doesn’t mean people shouldn’t enjoy it”: Syncatto’s Charlie Robbins is pushing the boundaries of technique beyond belief
- The 16 most expensive guitars of all time
- “This music was born out of pain and suffering. It wasn’t all about guitar solos or ‘my baby left me’! That’s where a lot of people go wrong”: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram on why the future of blues guitar requires an understanding of its past
- Fender Japan has developed a rabid cult following, but do its crazy-limited electric guitars live up to the hype? I finally gave in and bought one to find out
- November 17
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- “I find honing my tone to be the perpetual chasing of my tail – once I feel I’ve gotten close, I hear something new, and it’s back to the drawing board”: Even with massive TikTok and Instagram followings, Kiki Wong is still trying to find the perfect tone
- “It’s so rare, I never played it and kept it in the case. But when we discovered we were going out with Wu-Tang, I was like, ‘I’m bringing that guitar!’” Meet the metalhead who joined Wu-Tang Clan – and brought one of Fender’s most elusive Teles with him
- “Playing a guitar like this back in 1963 must have been truly mind-blowing”: Meet the 1963 Stratocaster with one of Fender’s rarest-ever finishes, Blue Metallic Flake
- November 16
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- “All these older blues players would come to Detroit to play local clubs. I was too young to get in, so I’d cut my hair short and glue a mustache on my face”: Tony Newton on playing with Gary Moore, Allan Holdsworth, and holding down the pocket at Motown
- “I had Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player, out on tour with me, and he showed up with a $120 Squier Strat. He played it on stage that night and killed it”: Kenny Wayne Shepherd on why tone is in the hands (but it helps to have a trio of Dumbles)
- When Stanley Clarke met Paul McCartney: “Paul asked me to show him how to slap!”
- “I don’t want the old blues to die – if they do, I’ll be dead, too”: John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Ronnie Wood all followed in the footsteps of Big Bill Broonzy, the blues pioneer with a guitar style that’s impossible to copy
- “Guitar Hero was such an important tool for exposing kids from the late-’90s to the electric guitar. We’ve got some guitar heroes now – 10 years ago, we didn’t”: Michael Rubin went from playing video games to rocking vintage guitars with King Falcon
- November 15
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- 10 underrated ’90s guitar albums that should have been bigger
- “He’s real tough, and when he’s liquored up, he can really play!” Pat Hare influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan, beat Cream and Led Zeppelin to the blues-rock punch, and recorded an eerily prescient guitar knockout called I’m Gonna Murder My Baby
- “Because I started on the piano, my dexterity was already developed. I loved playing scales, so it was fun to whip my fingers all over the neck of the guitar”: Meet Annie Shred, the former pianist who’s revolutionizing guitar
- November 14
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- “I knew Eric was going to put his guitar on later, so the bass fills were like telegraphed messages”: Listen to Nathan East’s fill-laden bassline on Eric Clapton’s Change the World
- “Chris Cornell said I created ‘a symphony of chaos’ – it was his favorite thing about the track. It meant even more because he was gone less than a year later”: Meet Ryan Wariner, go-to session guitarist for everyone from Dave Mustaine to Ann Wilson
- “The Kings and Kings solo by Brad Whitford is one of the finest in rock history”: Brian May, Marty Friedman, Nita Strauss and 37 other legendary guitarists share their favorite Aerosmith guitar moments
- “I have a Danelectro ’84 Strat copy worth $400 – it’s one of my main guitars, right up there with the $10k Custom Shop SG”: He’s one of the guitar world’s biggest YouTubers. Now Tyler Larson is turning his gear habit into electrifying instrumental rock
- November 13
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- “I’m at the height of my skillset, and the minute I can’t play or sing as well is the minute I plan the exit – I don’t want to be the old grey mare”: Joe Bonamassa’s career keeps hitting new peaks – but he’s already decided when he’ll give it all up
- “His designs are some of the most identifiable in history, the tones some of the most iconic”: Leo Fender called G&L Guitars the best instruments he ever made – this is the story of the company that became his swan song
- “Flea said, ‘Dude, you have to sit down with my guitar player, John – he’s the best.’ I wasn’t a fan yet, but I said, ‘Cool. Let’s do it’”: How Zach Irons established a vital new voice in guitar playing – with a little help from John Frusciante
- “The Double-Neck Montreal makes me think of the smell of your own burning flesh”: James Hetfield opens up about the agony of his 1992 pyro accident, and how his scorched ESP left a lasting legacy on Metallica
- “Forget grunge music. Get a pint of Guinness down your neck and pick that guitar up”: The rise and fall of Britpop, the Nineties’ other massive guitar movement
- November 12
- November 11
- November 10
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- Why the Vox AC30 is the “desert island” amp of choice for guitar legends including Brian May, the Edge and Rory Gallagher
- “His solos and fills always captured the mood, emotions and significance of the songs. They were never just good licks”: Robbie Robertson’s 10 greatest guitar tracks
- “Rich Robinson was doing a Facebook Q&A and I commented with a video of me playing one of his songs… long story short, it led to me playing with the Black Crowes”: How Argentina native Nico Bereciartua became the US rock institution's new guitar wingman
- “When he signed his note, ‘Your friend,’ I truly felt like he meant it. I am really friends with John Mayer!” Meet Ryan Woodard – the 17-year-old artist who was gifted his dream guitar by John Mayer following a viral cover of Gravity
- November 9
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- “There was no intention to be clever. We didn’t know what we were doing!” Herbie Flowers’ bassline on David Bowie’s Space Oddity
- “People have said, ‘Oh, man, you gotta play the Gibson, that’s the real deal.’ But there’s something about the Ibanez… I prefer the evenness of it”: John Scofield on working with Miles Davis, covering Bob Dylan and the agony of writing music
- “I was expecting to toss it into the pile of unsuccessful builds from the 1960s guitar boom. Boy howdy, was I wrong!” Meet the Martin GT‑75 Moth – the iconic acoustic company’s 1967 semi-hollow electric experiment
- November 8
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- Download and stream the audio from Guitar Techniques 355
- “The funny thing is I don’t even really like pedals... I’ve used them, but constantly stomping on different pedals to get what I need is still bonkers”: Jennifer Batten reveals what’s on her pedalboard
- “I’ve always struggled with confidence in my playing, but I wanted to stress that guitar has to change, grow and develop in order to survive”: Maebe’s Michael Astley-Brown on how guitar must evolve – and why instrumental music is key to its progression
- “The guitar is on the edge of chaos due to the constant feedback. It’s thrilling, trying to control something that is out of control by its very nature”: With a Les Paul and a table full of pedals, Oren Ambarchi builds extraordinary sonic worlds
- “Even though we went through some really rough and confusing years, I feel like the band is in a better place than when I joined”: Jeff Schroeder opens up about his departure from the Smashing Pumpkins
- “You don’t just play the root notes – there’s always harmony there to make a bassline more interesting”: How Bruce Thomas transformed Elvis Costello’s (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
- November 7
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- “Marvin Gaye was used to hearing James Jamerson, so he had me overdub a second bass part to fill out the original track”: An untold story from Motown’s Studio A. How Bob Babbitt's '65 P-Bass drove Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues
- “There’s no replacement for picking up a guitar, feeling those strings under your fingers and building your calluses”: British shred hero Sophie Lloyd teaches you how to become a better player
- “My work was being compared to Jeff Beck, and they’re crediting Joe Perry. I was so upset. But people who actually listen can tell the difference”: Brad Whitford on the highs and lows of Aerosmith’s 50-year history, and his unique chemistry with Joe Perry
- “All this new stuff they call rock ’n’ roll, why, I’ve been playing that for years now”: How Sister Rosetta Tharpe kickstarted the British blues-rock explosion – in 1957
- “I’ve never considered myself a guitarist, and I’ve never liked the guitar”: Omar Rodríguez-López is one of electric guitar’s most reluctant heroes – here are his 10 greatest Mars Volta guitar moments
- November 6
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- “It’s hard to think who the greatest bass players are. You could say Flea, but he doesn’t need the plug!” Jack Bruce on the bass players that shaped his sound
- “I realized I was never going to be a great player like Tommy Shaw, so I guess I’m just a power-chord and single-string lead player now. But I’m pretty good at it!” Styx’s James “J.Y.” Young on his guitar journey
- “I got the call saying there was a band looking for a player. I said yes before even asking which band it was. Then I got told it was Ghost”: Former Nameless Ghoul Chris Catalyst breaks cover about his time in Tobias Forge’s epic metal project
- “I've never been a fan of tapping, tricks or whammy bars. There have been a few greats, like Edward Van Halen and Randy Rhoads, but what they did came from somewhere”: Kiss's Paul Stanley names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound
- November 3
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- “Steve Vai tried to school me on string bending, but you just don't do that on bass!” Pete Griffin reflects on his time with Steve Vai, and his latest solo EP
- “Prince liked the band. He would come see us. He would mysteriously appear and disappear, which always made me mad – ‘Damn it!’” How Vernon Reid’s expressionist shredding juiced Living Colour and won fans in Prince and the Rolling Stones
- “It didn’t tick his boxes. It didn’t give him what he wanted”: Before Fender, Jeff Beck worked with Ibanez to create a wild Telecaster/Les Paul hybrid – this is the never-before-told story of the signature model that almost was
- “Springsteen taught me how to write songs, but Pearl Jam, Dinosaur Jr., Fugazi and Sonic Youth taught me how to play those songs I’d learned to write”: Brian Fallon is breaking out the guitar solos for The Gaslight Anthem’s second coming
- “As a tapping player, you don’t want to be thought of as Yngwie Malmsteen. You wanna show the broken, punk-rock ‘Oops-my-finger-slipped-there-whatever’ sloppiness”: Marnie Stern is back to make math rock scrappy again
- Beloved by Pete Townshend and Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham, the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe was the top-selling LP model of the early ’70s – but its success didn’t last
- “We pulled a few guitars out – I loved the ’61 Strat immediately. John said, ‘I want you to take that guitar with you – it’s yours”: John Frusciante gave away a prized vintage Fender Stratocaster to a fan who became one of his favorite modern guitarists
- November 2
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- “This is one more shot at glory for me. I know the things I’ve been denied. I shouldn’t have to build it up all over again”: K.K. Downing on reclaiming his legacy with KK’s Priest – and what his one-off reunion with Judas Priest was really like
- I played the new Squier Sonic guitars and they blew me away – but my favorite took me by surprise
- “I did a round on the solo, and Ric Ocasek goes, ‘That’s really nice.’ He begins humming, and in my mind, I’m going, ‘But I didn't play that!’ He’d edited what I just played in his head”: Session great Larry Mitchell reflects on his all-star resume
- “My message to young players is: be who you are. People who get it don't care about rulebooks and stupid internet polls”: Joe Bonamassa names 6 up-and-coming blues guitarists you need to hear
- November 1
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- The electric guitar shredded itself to death in the ‘80s. It had to start over, but the ‘90s grunge revolution didn‘t just change the face of guitar playing – it changed the world
- “The whole track is driven by the bassline!” How “Ready” Freddie Washington conceived the dance-funk classic that later became a massive hit as Will Smith's Men In Black
- “I listened to a lot of T-Bone Walker when I was a kid, and to suddenly have one of those guitars in your arms was really special”: In his final interview, Bernie Marsden opens up on selling his guitar collection – with one notable exception
- Last year, this Ukrainian guitarist’s apartment was hit by a Russian airstrike. Now he’s launched his own guitar company to prove that “even in the most hopeless situations, one can fulfill one’s dream”
