News archive
March 2025
Filter
155 articles
- March 31
-
- “A stand-out performance by a group that changed the course of rock history in the 1990s”: The world’s most expensive guitar, Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin acoustic, is set to go on display in the UK
- “Jeff was playing through his dodgy Marshall and didn’t like the sound. He said, ‘We’ll do it again, later on…’” Mick Rogers may be in possession of Jeff Beck’s last-ever studio recording
- “Eric’s legendary performance sparked a resurgence in acoustic music”: Martin celebrates 30th anniversary of Eric Clapton’s first signature acoustic with a faithful recreation of his MTV Unplugged guitar
- March 30
- March 29
- March 28
-
- “All of a sudden, my occasional-use pedal has gone to something that can live on the ’board”: That Pedal Show’s Mick Taylor sparks inspired change that sees the Argo Boost Deluxe serve octave fuzz and boost tones in one unit
- “Satin Stratocaster dreams”: Fender and Thomann have produced two new exclusive Stratocaster lines – and their prices rival existing US and Mexico-made models
- “A new take on the classic”: Gibson gives its Les Paul Special an ultra-rare pickup overhaul with new Mini Humbucker models
- Guitar World deals of the week: save $750 on a Fender, more $99 UAFX pedals, plus all the week's biggest savings on guitar gear
- “It’s a game-changer for me”: Laney and Nathan East team up for a versatile signature bass head that ends a 40-year wait for the session legend
- “It had to capture that vintage clarity – the clean, expressive tone that lives in Ry Cooder’s slide work”: Manson unveils a Matt Bellamy Verona signature after an exhaustive pickup design process
- “It’s a whole new generation in sound. There’s nothing lacking”: Alex Lifeson reveals the gear that has finally converted him to digital modeling
- “The Strat is the most versatile electric guitar that there is; but the Les Paul is a perfect instrument”: Sting guitarist Dominic Miller weighs in on the Strat vs. Les Paul debate – says the Strat loses despite being a more versatile instrument
- "The BTO sound is BACK!!" Bachman-Turner Overdrive release first new material in over 25 years – and it features a Neil Young guitar solo
- One of the UK’s biggest music retailers takes website offline and shuts store for “maintenance”, fueling closure speculation
- “It’s a boy!” Rebecca Lovell and Tyler Bryant announce new baby with Stratocaster-themed gender reveal party
- “Designed with the next generation of heavy metal guitarists in mind”: Jackson updates the American Series Soloist with fresh finishes and an all-time classic pickup combo
- March 27
-
- “Just add headphones”: Harley Benton’s latest Strat-style budget guitar comes with built-in effects – and costs just $140
- “No one does it better than him. That’s what inspired me to do what I’m doing today”: John 5 likes to push his playing to the limit – but says Ace Frehley does one thing better than any shredder on the planet
- “Guitar hurts so bad – I have so much respect for guitar players”: Lizzo sets the record straight on why she's starring in the upcoming Sister Rosetta Tharpe biopic – and her guitar journey so far
- “Revitalizes the best elements from the past and combines them with exciting new features”: Gretsch sends its Streamliner series “into the modern era” with a limited-edition launch
- “I did everything I could to keep it as authentic as possible, as an extension to my tribute to Pink Floyd, without stealing from them in any way”: Corey Feldman personally sought David Gilmour and Roger Waters' blessings for his Floyd-esque album
- “Young talent is just as capable of doing justice to Hendrix’s legacy”: The next generation of guitar stars join legends of the game to honor Jimi Hendrix at the 2025 Experience Hendrix tour
- “I turned up at one of his shows with Greeny and said, ‘Bro, check it out...’” Kirk Hammett on the time Jack White played the original Greeny onstage
- “Being a guitar player is a way of life. Everything comes down to commitment": Tommy Emmanuel explains the difference between being a guitarist and a guitar player
- “Could I even afford a real-life amp that sounds like that modeler? I don’t think so. Living in L.A. makes this tough”: Session guitarist to the stars Justus West explains why plugins are essential even in high-profile studios
- “If you get the timing wrong, it’s wrong for the whole thing”: Ed Sheeran gives Jimmy Fallon a looper pedal masterclass – and offers his top tips for solo jams
- “Redefining a winning formula”: TC Electronic upgrades its beloved looper with the Ditto 2 – but can it keep up in an increasingly competitive market?
- March 26
-
- “If I told AI, ‘Write a load of Pete Townshend songs like he used to in 1973,’ a lot of Who fans would be really pleased”: Pete Townshend threatens to turn to AI if fans don’t stop asking him to play The Who’s hits
- “A rare bird with unique details”: Gibson Custom's 1964 ES-345 Select models offer ‘woulda, coulda’ mods and lavish Mist finishes on a vintage-style hollow-body build
- “You got it!” Rare footage of Andy Summers teaching John Mayer how to play Message in a Bottle surfaces online
- “I was very inspired by my Ibanez sister and the way she approaches her songwriting and her chords”: Nita Strauss reveals how Yvette Young inspired one of her favorite riffs she’s ever written
- “You can set up amplifiers and drums to your heart’s content”: Gene Simmons defends paid roadie scheme
- Brent Hinds plays first show since leaving Mastodon – and he has plenty more lined up
- “The ace up the sleeve of bass players around the globe since 1978”: Tobias instruments were trailblazers in the bass world. Now they’re back as part of the Gibson family
- “EVH would be so proud”: 16-year-old shredder nails Van Halen’s Live Without a Net solo at school talent show – and captures Eddie’s tone with a budget modeling amp
- “I woke up to a DM from Shirley Manson asking if I'd be interested in the gig. We had never met”: Former Smashing Pumpkins bassist Nicole Fiorentino on how she landed her role in Garbage – with no audition
- “Excuse me, Mr. Dylan”: How Reb Beach introduced Bob Dylan to the Floyd Rose – and taught him how to tune his guitar
- “Slightly unreal moment to sit with Lindsey Buckingham and see his genuine happiness for Mick to finally do his own album”: Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood reunite in the studio
- March 25
-
- “Classic aesthetics with cutting-edge technology”: Are Seymour Duncan's new Jazzmaster Silencers the ultimate Jazzmaster pickups?
- “From Paul Kossoff to Eric and then to John Lennon and George Harrison”: Albert Lee reveals the history of his ’58 Les Paul Custom
- “A story of groundbreaking innovation, defiant passion and secret love”: Pop star Lizzo is set to play rock guitar pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in an upcoming biopic – and has been filmed jamming on a Suhr at shows
- “We’ve only changed the strings one time”: Travis Barker reveals the bass he uses on everything he records
- Guitar deals are thin on the ground in Amazon’s Spring Sale but if you need accessories, I’ve found 6 deals that are well worth checking out
- “The covers are off and it's time to rock ’n’ roll”: Gibson's Double Trouble Les Pauls offer time machine takes on ’50s and ’60s models, with faded nitro finishes – and a cheeky nod to its dispute with DiMarzio
- “She walked in and said, ‘My wife is Melissa Etheridge. She has cancer. I want to get her something special’”: Melissa Etheridge on how she came to own a “museum quality” Fender from Norman's Rare Guitars – which she played at the 2005 Grammys
- “Is he gonna call Eddie Van Halen a boomer?” Kirk Hammett weighs in on Tim Henson and the boomer bends controversy
- “Simply put, it has become the most interesting and versatile pedal on my board”: Benson Amps and Deep Sea Diver guitarist Jessica Dobson launch the Fuzz-Echo pedal
- “Building on the pedal that put OBNE on the map”: Old Blood Noise Endeavors turns its flagship oil-can delay into a dark and mysterious “multi-tool”
- March 24
-
- “I didn’t even know what we would play. He would just be like, ‘Honey, we’re in G.’ And I’d be like, ‘Okay, here we go’”: When she was just a teenager, Lindsay Ell was playing blues with Buddy Guy – and being mentored by Randy Bachman
- “I’ve always missed being in Kiss”: Kiss announce unmasked Vegas show with former guitarist Bruce Kulick, as Gene Simmons postpones 17 solo dates
- “I looked out into the audience and saw Neil Young sitting in the middle – I froze”: How Mike Campbell sideman Jason Sinay ended up playing with his hero after spotting him in the crowd
- “It licked me!” Nita Strauss gets licked in the face by Alice Cooper's snake while playing – but doesn't drop a note
- “Why didn't nu-metal bands do any solos? They couldn't do solos. Thank God that genre went away”: Dave Mustaine says nu-metal guitarists aversion to solos was down to a lack of lead talent – not stylistic choice
- “It is clear that lawsuits like this in the guitar industry are just not worth the time and expense”: Dean owner issues response to court loss over Gibson trademark verdict
- “He was a one-off… We will never see his like again”: Paul ‘Wags’ Wagstaff, guitarist for Happy Mondays, Black Grape and Paris Angels, has died aged 60
- March 23
- March 22
- March 21
-
- “The jury’s decision reinforces the validity and strength of Gibson’s intellectual property rights”: Gibson emerges victorious in copyright infringement retrial battle with Dean
- “For guitarists to push the boundaries of what’s possible”: Meet the SlideSaddle – a guitar slide that offers infinite sustain like an EBow
- “A lot of old-school guitar players can play amazing. But sometimes they’re not so innovative with the actual sound”: Steven Wilson on why guitarists need to switch up their tones to prevent their solos sounding stale
- Amps as furniture? This brand of high-end cabinets puts Celestion speakers into luxury furniture inspired by ’70s hi-fi consoles – and aims to blend guitar gear seamlessly into your life
- “Exceptional value while maintaining our high standards”: Heritage turns to the budget guitar market with its all-new Ascent range – which starts from just $195
- “He was interested but said, ‘I gave the guitar away. I feel stupid buying it’”: Norman Harris almost sold John Fogerty back his iconic ACME Rickenbacker – years before he was eventually reunited with it
- “We’ve added more versatility into the Strat footprint”: Lollar looks to breathe new life into Strat single coils with the Super-Casters – gold foil-covered pickups with a “larger than life” sound
- “I was too precious about what I was trying to do live. I have to remind myself onstage to just shut up and play”: Vicki Peterson on the invaluable lessons she learned with The Bangles – and how she stopped worrying about her guitar playing
- “This gives me the sound I am after in my head”: Spiro – the virtuoso tipped for greatness by Tim Henson and Tosin Abasi – shares the secrets behind his speed picking technique that will help you play faster
- “If you’re a young guitar player, that’s money well spent”: John Mayer names the pedal he thinks every young guitar player should consider buying
- “He's made of different stuff from the rest of us”: Snow Patrol guitarist performs live with two broken hands
- “When you put your name on something, you’ve got to make sure it’s right”: Mark Tremonti is road-testing his highly anticipated pedal line on tour with Creed – and he knows which stompboxes he’ll be launching first
- “My mate found the guitar in a skip down the bay in the early '70s. It had been in a fire”: Andy Fairweather Low’s favorite guitar was a dumpster find
- March 20
-
- “I didn’t think I played that well. I had a hunch he could pull something out with the slide. I handed him the guitar, and he just did it”: The time Mike Campbell asked George Harrison to take over his own guitar solo
- “Excellent choice, Fender”: Fender gives its Player II Series a high-spec metal makeover with limited-edition FSR Advanced drop – complete with hardtail Strats and Seymour Duncan pickups
- “It was a complete and utter shock to my system – when his tech came in, he was like, ‘Keith’s using your rig!’” The night Keith Richards rocked up unannounced to an LA jam night
- “That’s changed my playing a lot. I feel like the two of us now have almost like a telepathic relationship”: After a decade playing together in Dead & Company, John Mayer and Bob Weir reveal the invaluable lessons they’ve learned from each other
- “I’m getting better day by day. The progress I’m making is excellent”: Brian Setzer says he’s recovering well after an autoimmune disease left him unable to play guitar
- “A culmination of years of work”: Seymour Duncan pushes the boundaries of its PowerStage series with a dedicated bass unit – and it's so much more than just a companion for your modeler
- March 19
-
- “Unforgettable”: Nuno Bettencourt joins Van Halen tribute band for blazing Hot For Teacher cover
- “I don’t think I got the intro right until halfway into the tour. It felt so odd to my fingers”: Joe Satriani reveals the Eddie Van Halen guitar parts he found most difficult to play
- “Mick Jagger called Prince and asked him to come back, but he said no”: What really happened at Prince’s infamous show supporting the Stones in 1981? Guitarist Dez Dickerson sets the record straight
- “The perfect addition to any traveling electric guitarist’s rig”: The new compact multi-FX to beat? Mooer’s Prime M2 crams amps, cabs, effects and a looper into an ultra-light, pocket-sized pedal with a touchscreen and rechargeable battery
- “More tone shaping at your fingertips”: The Xotic AC Booster has long been a secret weapon stompbox for session players and pros – and now it’s been upgraded for the first time
- “An instrument on its way to becoming rock’s greatest electric guitar”: Fender adds new period-accurate Stratocaster and Telecaster to its American Vintage II roster – plus stunning new finishes for existing models
- “I knew we could build some really special guitars. These are going to turn some heads”: PRS gives four of its most beloved SE electrics an exotic wood makeover with latest limited-edition drop
- “I saw other bands but no Anthrax… I said, ‘How about getting Anthrax on this? I’m not the only Sabbath fan in the band’”: Scott Ian on going from a lifelong Black Sabbath fan to playing their final show thanks to Tom Morello
- March 18
-
- “Having my own signature Gibson guitar is one of the most surreal things”: Gibson teams up with country star Margo Price for a J-45 with a twist
- “Hendrix said, ‘Mike, I gotta quit. I want to form my own band.’” I said, ‘Then you’ve got to sing’”: Why Jimi Hendrix might never have started his solo career if it weren’t for Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews
- “Radiating timeless Fender charm”: Fender gives its Player II series some serious pizzazz by launching the ultra-desirable Limited Edition Sparkle range
- “A lot of the misconceptions were created by Paul and Gene. They still say in interviews that they fired me, but I was never fired from Kiss”: Ace Frehley sets the record straight on his multiple departures from Kiss
- “I practice guitar ferociously”: Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty deploys Eddie Van Halen-style two-hand tapping on an Ibanez RG in unlikely guitar practice video
- “If he wasn’t doing what he’s doing, he’d be a natural fit”: Norman Harris hints Joe Bonamassa could take over Norman's Rare Guitars when he retires
- “This is going to merge into a very hot topic among guitar players”: Why John Mayer decided against ditching his tube amps for modelers for Dead & Company’s Sphere residency – despite the venue’s shortcomings
- “I went into this looking at it as one of the coolest things I could ever be part of, but knowing the backlash could be brutal”: Ben Eller was wary of the reaction he’d get for stepping in for Brent Hinds in Mastodon – but that didn’t stop him saying yes
- March 17
-
- “It could have been Jimi Hendrix, could have been all these other things, but weirdly enough, no”: Willow Smith reveals the unassuming album – and actor – that inspired her to pick up the guitar
- “I had to teach Jeff Beck a tune. Which was sort of like, ‘Give me your guitar… Oops, now I have to play!’” Hans Zimmer on the time he unwittingly gave Jeff Beck a guitar lesson
- “I’m a huge, huge fan of both of them”: Peter Frampton called Grace Bowers his favorite new guitarist. Now they’ve collaborated on a Beatles classic with Trey Anastasio
- “If you’re coming up against an ambush, you want her in your battalion”: Jack White has gifted his signature Fender Triplecaster to his new favorite guitar player
- “I will not ever play a note on a Van Halen song!” Steve Lukather sets the record straight on his reported involvement on a new Van Halen album
- March 15
- March 14
-
- “Scrapes and dings that let you know this axe has been around the block a few times”: Charvel gives its hot-rodded So Cal Superstrat the heavy relic treatment – and it won’t just appeal to shredders
- “Vintage charm and modern performance”: Gretsch and Guitar Center go green with an exclusive Streamliner that features some rather unusual f-holes
- “I think people are cottoning on to the fact that it’s just a good idea”: Why are so many players turning to headless guitars? We asked Plini, one of the biggest names in the game, to find out
- “Remove the barrier between you and your music”: Revv collaborates with modern blues hero on new signature amp
- “This time, we’re going beyond 11”: Spinal Tap sequel’s teaser trailer reveals Nigel Tufnel’s surprise new electric guitar of choice
- “Captures the essence of cherry blossoms”: Fender Japan stakes a claim for 2025’s most breathtaking electric guitar with the Sakura Telecaster
- “An effortless way to customize your TONEX pedals for the stage”: IK Multimedia answers players’ prayers and gives its best-selling TONEX units their biggest upgrade to date – a dedicated editor
- March 13
-
- “There is no-one who can do this process with me as well as he can”: Alex Van Halen says a new Van Halen album is in the works – and he’s recruited Steve Lukather to help him complete it
- “Dime recorded tons of unfinished riffs, and there were things he had lying around... hidden gems”: Zakk Wylde says there have been talks about recording new Pantera material based on unreleased Dimebag Darrell demos
- March 12
-
- “I brought a musicality that Tom wasn’t capable of. I had techniques that I could express to him in his songs that he couldn't have done on his own”: Mike Campbell on what he brought to the Heartbreakers as Tom Petty’s guitar foil
- “I’ll have to scratch my chin to think about it. Can I still make a profit?” Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews reveals legendary pedal firm’s struggles in the face of Trump’s tariffs
- “You can get up there and be a rockstar”: Gene Simmons is offering fans the chance to be his personal assistant and roadie for a day… for $12,495
- “It’s amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us”: Bill Kelliher opens up on Brent Hinds’ surprise Mastodon departure
- “I’m glad I found these performances. I hadn’t seen them in decades”: Footage of Dweezil Zappa and Jack Black’s cover of Crazy Train, featuring Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Rasta’ guitar, was never released – but now it’s been unearthed
- “A cult classic is reborn”: One of Gibson’s most obscure designs makes a comeback with the revival of the RD – and it's unlike any other Gibson Custom model around
- March 11
-
- “Being mostly a humbucker guy, it’s a really cool tonal change”: Warren Haynes’ transition from humbucker loyalist to P-90 fan is complete – with the launch of his signature Gibson Les Paul
- “I did a shred solo on his cover of Billie Jean. That’s controversial among the fans… but he loved it”: When Chris Cornell left Audioslave, he turned to Jeff Buckley’s guitar foil to make his mark
- “I didn’t know the solo was that iconic beforehand! It was only when I started seeing all the comments that I realized”: Shane Fontayne isn't “a Jimmy Page kind of player” – but he had to play the Stairway to Heaven solo… in front of Jimmy Page
- “If tariffs persist, they could be highly disruptive and costly for the company”: Fender’s credit rating downgraded by Moody’s – with operating costs speculated to rise by $20 million
- “All the idiosyncrasies of the original but without the threat of total collapse”: LCD Soundsystem used a ‘one-of-a-kind’ vintage pedal to define their fuzz tones – and now it’s been recreated by EarthQuaker Devices
- March 10
-
- “You already have your own distinct sound, which normally people take decades to find”: 11-year-old shredder stuns with Eddie Van Halen and Brian May solos during relentless Britain’s Got Talent audition
- “Didn’t know this would trigger so many folks”: Cory Wong says you’re not an advanced guitarist unless you can ace this one test
- “The tone of the note has so many moving parts to it. There are so many parameters”: Steve Vai on how players can instantly change their guitar tone – without buying new gear
- “He was my Michael Jordan growing up. I’m in it because of him”: D’Wayne Wiggins, influential Tony! Toni! Toné! guitarist who helped pioneer neo soul, dies aged 64
- “Can you learn 17 Mastodon songs immediately?” Mastodon recruit YouTuber for first show following Brent Hinds’ shock departure
- March 9
- March 7
-
- “We’re deeply proud of and beyond grateful for the music and history we’ve shared, and we wish him nothing but success and happiness in his future endeavors”: Mastodon part ways with Brent Hinds
- “We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear”: The Les Paul Recording Studio opens in Hollywood – bringing the innovator’s revolutionary gear to a whole new generation of musicians
- “The Culprit, designed by Dimebag Darrell”: We finally have our first official look at the first Dime Guitarz model – and it revives a rare design masterminded by the Pantera great
- “I remember sitting with Gene and him saying, ‘You need to start growing your hair again.’ That was the discussion!” The moment Tommy Thayer knew he would be officially joining Kiss
- “He flips a bass upside down, and we do Otis Redding. Then I got a phone call, ‘Jimi’s in the studio. Would you come down?’” How a 3am jam with Hendrix led Andy Fairweather Low to guest on a Jimi classic
- “The real cost of Trump’s tariff tax”: Morgan Amps says new tariffs will add up to $1,000 to the price of its amp heads
- March 6
-
- “One of the true pioneers of music – guitarist, songwriter, and true gentleman”: Brian James, punk rock guitar legend who played with The Damned and The Lords of the New Church, dies at 70
- “Are you kidding me?!” Amanda Seyfried shows off her dulcimer chops as she covers a Joni Mitchell classic on Jimmy Fallon
- “That is a victory, as far as I’m concerned. That’s very exciting”: Jacob Collier’s five-string Strandberg is proving the doubters wrong – it’s outselling the six-string version
- “That’s where we can win against Amazon. We’re not going to compete with the factory direct-from-China stuff. It’s not a winnable space”: How Guitar Center plans to beat its online competitors and safeguard the future of its physical stores
- March 5
-
- “A brand-new fuzz experience”: Why Wampler thinks its Swiss army Cryptid fuzz pedal is a “classic in the making”
- “The world’s most convenient all-tube amp head”: Steve Vai-backed firm Synergy has unveiled a tiny amp head that lets you swap in tones from some of the world’s biggest amp builders
- “The guitar that should never have been made”: Spinal Tap’s monstrous six-neck behemoth, The Beast, is headed to auction again – and it probably won’t go for as much as you think
- “They were like, ‘Is that going to be OK?’ I said, ‘Yeah, we’re both adults’”: Phil X on playing Livin’ on a Prayer with Richie Sambora – and how his predecessor plays the Bon Jovi classic differently
- Never-before-seen footage of Van Halen hanging with Black Sabbath and shredding at early shows surfaces after decades
- “One of the most distinctive looking guitar designs ever”: Gibson’s 1965 Firebird Platypus was the oddball model that marked a moment of transition for the guitar giant – now it’s been revived
- “USA-made craftsmanship at an exceptional value”: Gibson’s new Acoustic Specials series brings hand-crafted examples of its most beloved acoustic designs to lower price points
- “This is the band that I always list as my favorite band”: Nita Strauss on the Swedish melodic death metal group she considers her “Beatles”
- March 4
-
- “The Custom 24 has been our flagship design. Updating the 24-08 version for our 40th anniversary allows it to ‘sing’ in a beautiful voice of its own”: PRS's new semi-hollow stunner brings enticing updates to one of the company's very first models
- “More than an instrument”: Fender has announced its latest surprise brand collab – a St. Patrick’s Day Telecaster created with Jameson Irish Whiskey
- “I take the job of curating this very seriously. Not just to honor the living members of Black Sabbath but also Randy Rhoads”: Tom Morello is honoring one of Ozzy Osbourne’s greatest collaborators at the Sabbath legend’s final show
- “George gets up and says, ‘Andy was not the first choice. There were seven guitarists and he was the seventh choice’”: Before Andy Fairweather Low joined George Harrison’s band, the Beatle was eyeing up Gary Moore and Alvin Lee
- March 3
-
- “If someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI”: Jimmy Page blasts new Artificial Intelligence proposals from UK Government
- “I carry my finger pick around all the time now, because it reminds me that I want to keep playing guitar”: After playing Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, Monica Barbaro claims she is a guitar player for life
- “His expertise and vision have always set the standard for what a great amplifier should be”: Matchless Amplifiers and Bad Cat Amps luminary Mark Sampson – one of the leading minds of the boutique amp movement – has passed away
- “That’s a little nod to a friend of mine. Freddie’s always with me”: Brian May’s new Gibson 12-string signature guitar has a subtle tribute to Freddie Mercury that you might have missed
- “Add a dash of smokin’ style to your tuning game”: Keef and Clapton fans, rejoice – Tunerette honors the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll with a clip-on tuner that looks like a cigarette
- “Wanna sing with me?” Phil X and Richie Sambora team up as two eras of Bon Jovi combine to perform Livin’ on a Prayer at LA benefit concert
- “On Footloose, and Love Will Follow, I also use it. I do my impersonation of a guitarist”: How session veteran Nathan East managed to make his bass sound like a guitar on these Kenny Loggins hits
- March 2
