Latest Updates

Jackson and Bring Me the Horizon’s Lee Malia champion the rise of the metal offset with new signature Surfcaster
By Phil Weller published
Featuring old looks, modern features, and pickups voiced to Malia’s aggressive-but-open specifications, the LM-87 is one of 2025’s finest new signature guitars

Fender and Mike Campbell recreate the Red Dog – The Heartbreaker’s heavily modded 1972 Telecaster
By Matt Owen published
Campbell bought the Red Dog from one of his students, and used it across his career on some of his most notable works

Richie Kotzen came close to joining Nine Inch Nails – but one detail stopped him getting the gig
By Phil Weller published
The former Poison guitarist aced his surprise audition but never got a call back

Martin Barre once distanced himself from rhythm playing – but some Steve Lukather wisdom changed his mind
By Phil Weller published
The former Jethro Tull lead guitarist reassessed his playing priorities after hearing some wise words from the Toto legend

From copies to innovations – the origin and rise of Japanese electric guitars (and the truth about ‘lawsuit’ guitars)
By Tony Bacon published
We dig into the Japanese guitar industry of the 1960s and ’70s and find notable brands, mischievous copies, diligent makers and original designs that led to the instrument’s renaissance in the 1980s and beyond

Popular social media guitarist Giacomo Turra accused of stealing other musicians’ songs for content
By Matt Owen published
The funk and R&B guitarist has responded to the accusations

Amadou Bagayoko, singer and Malian guitar great, dies at 70
By Jackson Maxwell published
Half of the enormously successful duo Amadou & Mariam, Bagayoko developed a powerful guitar style that blended classic rock influences with more traditional West African sounds, jammed with David Gilmour, and collaborated with Damon Albarn

Machine Gun Kelly on the time he stole a cheap Martin from a hotel – and was billed $5,000
By Phil Weller published
The damaged instrument is inscribed with a message that echoes MGK’s guitar-playing mantra – and it’s one of his most cherished instruments

That time Chrissie Hynde enraged one of her Pretenders bandmates because she stopped playing mid-gig
By Phil Weller published
The guitar icon once decided to spontaneously shake things up on stage, and ended up feeling the wrath of Jimmy Scott

Dave Allen, former Gang of Four bassist and post-punk heavyweight, dies aged 69
By Matt Owen published
Allen’s work on Gang of Four’s first two albums would inspire generations and influence the likes of Nirvana, REM, and Flea, who has paid tribute to the late bass icon

SSD guitarist and hardcore pioneer Al Barile dies aged 63
By Phil Weller published
Barile was a key player in the Boston hardcore scene in the 1980s

James Dean Bradfield on unearthing his rare “birthright” guitar, gear epiphanies and why Robert Smith is underrated
By Jamie Dickson published
Manic Street Preachers' new album, Critical Thinking, had Bradfield reconnecting with guitars new and old, Nicky Wire unleashing on the title track, and it is a typically unique work from the Welsh rock institution

Kayla Kent nails Eddie Van Halen’s Ice Cream Man solo in the style of Dimebag Darrell
By Phil Weller published
The Dime-loving shred star is at it again, blurring the lines between the tone and playing styles of two greats in one blinding performance

He started playing at the age of three, at 13, he came across something that would help define his unique sound
By Jackson Maxwell published
One of the most distinctive (and underrated) blues guitar players of his era, Jeff Healey adopted his radically unconventional approach to the instrument at a very young age

Billy Corgan on the difference between rock and “indie” guitar players
By Phil Weller published
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman recently sat down with Richie Sambora to discuss their early musical experiences

Gary Clark Jr. dons a Strat to cover Stevie Ray Vaughan classics at Austin City Limits' 50th Anniversary televised special
By Janelle Borg published
As a nod to SRV, Clark Jr. and fellow blues guitarist Eve Monsees wielded Strats for the stirring performance

Eric Bell reveals the real reason why Gary Moore left Thin Lizzy
By Janelle Borg published
Moore's stints with Thin Lizzy continue to inform the band's legacy

Dweezil Zappa has some absolutely wild guitars in his vault – but his insane one-of-one fretless Gibson SG is one of his favorites
By Phil Weller published
Zappa has an eye for weird and wonderful instruments, and this heavily modded example – which began life as a Roxy SG – might be one of his finest