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June 2024

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148 articles

June 28
- “Create some crazy content of me performing at a historical location near you, or in a hilarious situation”: Ever wanted a private Steve Vai concert? This new app literally beams the virtuoso into your home
- “Big riff energy is in this kid’s blood – and he might even solo better than his dad…” June 2024 Guitar World editor’s picks
- “These amps just breathe like a well-rounded tube amp, no matter what you throw at them”: Can solid-state amps compete with tubes? Laney thinks its Lionheart Foundry combos are up to the challenge
- “It’s used for fence posts in Guatemala, and somehow that has given it a low-class reputation on the internet”: Paul Reed Smith says the materials used to make a guitar absolutely do make a difference – but not for the reason you might think
- Guitar Center just dropped their Fourth of July sale more than a week early - get massive savings of up to 30% off gear
- “We used to boil all our strings so all the crap would come off them. We couldn’t afford to buy new strings”: Geezer Butler explains how Black Sabbath managed to make ends meet as emerging heavy metal pioneers
- “Now you can experience my amplifier treasury for yourself”: Joe Satriani has modeled his epic amp collection – including some you might not expect
- “A guitar from that dark period when the single-cut Les Paul was discontinued”: Is this oddball ’60s electric the weirdest custom model Gibson has ever created? Gibson’s archive curator sure thinks so
- “Everything you need. Nothing you don't”: Introducing the Laney LIONHEART FOUNDRY combo range
June 27
- “It’s like guitar heaven”: Brian May turned down the chance to play with Steve Cropper and Billy Gibbons – but when his rejection email was used to write a new song, he had no choice but to take part
- “When I play guitar, it sounds like a guitar. Ultraman needed a superhero”: Polyphia’s Tim Henson revealed as the mystery shredder behind Netflix’s epic new blockbuster
- “Look what the cat dragged in!” Tom Morello shreds Dave Navarro’s PRS – with his teeth – as he joins Jane’s Addiction to tear through Mountain Song
- “You turned into this rock goddess”: The 10-year-old viral sensation who wowed Adam Jones just stunned America’s Got Talent with a ripping Last Resort cover
- “The first pedal of its kind”: Even Eric Clapton is into lo-fi guitar tones now – and Source Audio’s Artifakt promises all the broken-sounding weirdness you could ever want
June 26
- “The Seeker Series has reached new heights": Donner heats up 2024’s best-value guitar race with two high-spec S-style models – and prices start from $430
- “The M Concert body shape has stood the test of time for nearly 70 years”: Guild’s M-260E Deluxe brings one of acoustic guitar’s most iconic designs – and USA features – to a new $599 model
- “Yesterday was one of the craziest days in the life of our business”: Benson Amps narrowly avoids fire that threatened one of its warehouses
- “I stuck with Gibson basses because they’re so dense”: Krist Novoselic dons a Thunderbird as he debuts his new band in Kurt Cobain's hometown – and pays tribute with a rendition of Nirvana's debut single
- “Our most powerful yet”: Harley Benton already has the best-value electric guitar of 2024. Now it might have done the same with amp modelers
- “A wolf in sheep’s clothing”: Mesa/Boogie and John Petrucci celebrate 40 years of partnership with “the most aggressive” and modern Mark IIC+ ever made
- Fender Japan continues its adventures in flamed-top guitars with new never-before-seen Hybrid Series II finishes
- “He went straight for that Les Paul. He closes the lid and goes, ‘That’s my guitar now’”: Scott Gorham nearly lost his 'Holy Grail' 1957 Gibson Les Paul to a customs officer just after he bought it – and he had to go to court to get it back
June 25
- “The other bands had a top-notch Yngwie-level player, and that’s what I was trying to be. If some awful gig already has two of those dudes, it doesn’t need a third”: Tom Morello on the throwaway club show that changed his guitar playing forever
- “We were just looking for the right time to come back”: Nobody expected Fender to return to NAMM – but the guitar giant is finally coming home to the world’s biggest gear trade show
- “Enjoy thick and edgy P-90 tones without major surgery”: Seymour Duncan might have just changed P-90 pickups forever with its noiseless Phat Cat Silencers
- “This guy was just up on stage playing guitar behind his neck and now he’s barely even talking to me”: Junior Marvin saw Jimi Hendrix blow away the Beatles at a London club show – but says the guitar hero was too shy to speak to him
- “The opportunity to design a pedal for him was a privilege I couldn't pass up”: Dawner Prince’s Boonar Tube Deluxe was built especially for David Gilmour – and it’s a high-end replica of a legendary echo unit
- “I'm auctioning these for some wonderful charities”: Two of Steve Vai’s Ibanez JEMs found their way back to him after auction – so he’s selling them again to raise even more money for charity
- “Our contribution to a 90-year-old tradition of breaking the sound of the guitar”: JHS unveils its first-ever original distortion pedal, the Hard Drive
- “The crown jewel of my amplifier collection”: Joe Bonamassa has bought Lowell George’s Dumble Overdrive Special Reverb after a 15-year quest
June 24
- “A high-quality yet affordable introduction to the ESP playing experience”: ESP makes a serious play for the budget guitar market with new $399 LTD 200DX models
- “Paul’s Perfect Pour”: PRS has brewed up guitars for John Mayer, Mark Tremonti and Carlos Santana – but now it’s making beer
- “The amp that’s one in a hundred”: Marshall is celebrating 100 years of iconic British speaker firm Celestion with this stunning, limited-edition hand-built head and cab
- Scott LePage played an Ibanez Xiphos alongside Steve Vai – now he’s teased a potential signature version of the radical X-type
- “With Courtney, it enhanced my commitment as a woman to keep on rocking”: Courtney Love and bassist Melissa Auf der Maur have reunited in the studio – what this means for a possible Hole reunion
- “Mr. Bungle tried to play this song in the '90s and we scrapped it because we sucked at it”: Wolfgang Van Halen helps Mr. Bungle rip through a cover of Van Halen’s “most metal song”
- “Full of history and stories from a pivotal era in British music”: Gibson honors Jeff Beck with a recreation of his historic 1959 ‘YardBurst’ Les Paul – before he gave it a radical makeover
- “She’s a badass guitar player who always played a Pink Paisley Telecaster – they should have made a signature model 20 years ago”: Susan Tedeschi names the guitarist who deserved a signature model but never got one
- “Picks always felt like a weird, artificial extension of my hand”: Yvette Young just played with a pick live for the first time ever
- “We’ve had more than a few errors. That’s because we actually play live”: Dave Grohl seemingly claims Taylor Swift’s band doesn’t play live
- “I feel like I owe you this, because I don’t think I’d be in this position without you”: Double Whammy pedal master Sean Long gifts Tom Morello his Charvel signature guitar to thank him for decades of inspiration
June 21
- “The most brutal bass ever crafted”: Solar’s new Type-E models look to bring “extreme modern shapes” to the bass guitar world
- “It helped tidy up a lot of my playing and helped me grow as a player”: Joanne Shaw Taylor briefly switched to Les Pauls – and it dramatically improved her guitar playing
- “We've reimagined the tuning experience”: Ibanez launches “revolutionary” new multi-scale bass guitars – and they’re fitted with a game-changing tuning technology
- “They were waiting for him to state his place in the band. When the reaction didn't come, that was the way the album turned out”: Metallica producer offers a theory for Jason Newsted’s inaudible bass on …And Justice For All
- “My finger started swelling and going numb”: Sophie Lloyd almost lost a finger during a recent video shoot
- “One of his guitar geek dreams was to play this guitar”: Billie Joe Armstrong just played Steve Jones’ iconic Sex Pistols Les Paul – which recently sold for $390,000 – with Green Day in Paris
- “We were like, ‘What’s the difference between the POD Farm and the Axe-Fx?’ You realize it’s all about whoever is behind it, not the product itself”: Polyphia share their top tips for entering the daunting digital modeler world
- “He told me he was a fan the first time I met him in '97. And then I got the call from him a couple of years later”: Helmet’s Page Hamilton is one of heavy music’s most influential riffers – but he was once handpicked by David Bowie to be his guitarist
- “I got home, called Stevie and said, ‘I’m so sorry, but I’ve just been offered a job with Bob Marley’”: Junior Marvin recalls landing gigs with Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley on the same day – and how he was forced to make a life-changing decision
June 20
- “Beck, Clapton and Page are okay. But they’re no better than Jim McCarty from Cactus and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels”: Ted Nugent weighs in on top guitarist lists and the unsung heroes who deserve more recognition
- “He turned his amps around so they’re off-stage. The ones facing backwards were unbelievably loud to get sustain”: Dave Natale has worked with Prince, Van Halen and The Rolling Stones – but Jeff Beck was the loudest player he ever mic’d up
- “This little thing is probably the best guitar accessory you can buy”: Why TikTok is going nuts for a $12 tennis accessory
- “The entire audience in the room could hear the tonal difference”: Guthrie Govan has held tonewood tone tests in guitar clinics – and the results were unanimous
- “I’d always said to the Scorpions, ‘If any band from England asks me to join, no matter who it is, I’m doing it’”: Michael Schenker celebrates his tenure with UFO with a new reimagined greatest hits record – and it features Slash
- “File under ‘whatever it takes’. If you happen to be walking through, you’ve got no choice but to hear it!” John Mayer is still using his tube amps at The Sphere – but you’ll never guess where he’s hiding them
June 19
- “I hope Wolfgang goes through some of it. There’s probably miles of the stuff. I’m sure there’s stuff that Eddie did on his own”: Michael Anthony offers an update on the never-before-heard archive of unreleased Van Halen songs
- “An unforgettable experience”: George Benson is leading a four-day concert and workshop event featuring some of the world’s brightest guitar talents – and Rick Beato is hosting
- “If I don't like the bassline, then I'm probably not gonna enjoy playing the song”: Mike Mills on his “selfish” R.E.M. basslines – and their long-awaited reunion
- “Bowie drove me down to the audition to meet Tommy… I saw this guy with green and purple hair”: Glenn Hughes recalls meeting Tommy Bolin at his tense Deep Purple audition
- “I get a call at 2am from my neighbor saying, ‘The fire department’s here.’ It could’ve swept right up the side and took the whole thing out”: Joe Bonamassa’s mythical Nerdville gear haul was almost completely destroyed in a fire
- “That's the saddest thing that's ever happened in my life!” Dave Grohl's guitar stops working nine seconds into Everlong – in front of 50,000 people
June 18
- “The NF3 is not our answer to the Stratocaster. It is its own thing”: PRS launches the SE NF3 – a triple-humbucker evolution of John Mayer's Silver Sky
- “Meticulously engineered to deliver the ultimate expression of acoustic artisanry”: Yamaha’s top-tier FS9 acoustics combine the detailed craft of Japanese Kumiki woodworking and high-end appointments in a fingerpicker’s dream guitar
- “If I didn’t show the video, he wouldn’t contribute his solo”: Slash channels a whale-like guitar tone in new song highlighting environmental destruction
- “They put on an incredible show. It was a crazy night”: Jason Momoa has been ripping through Metallica, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix hits with his raucous new band
- “It’s a dream. I just wanted to be able to play the guitar, nevermind have a signature model”: Fender launches the Susan Tedeschi Telecaster – finally bringing a much-requested signature guitar to life
- “A guitar of one of his heroes”: John Mayer has been playing Jeff Beck’s Fender Stratocaster – and Joe Bonamassa has confirmed it’s the real deal
June 17
- “I believe I'm making the heaviest guitar in the world”: This magnificent 50lbs copper creation gives ‘heavy metal guitar’ a new meaning
- “I could have never imagined my guitars would be played by some of the best-loved guitarists”: Lowden launches exclusive 50th Anniversary collection – but only 150 of these beauties will be made
- “We're gonna ask him, give him a three-minute long session and let him rip”: Tim Henson reveals the surprising collabs Polyphia are eyeing up for their next album
- “There's no pressure. It's been fun putting it together, and that's what it's all about”: Tony Iommi says his long-awaited solo album is coming along nicely – but he’s in no rush to finish it
- “Thanks to the best guitar player on planet Earth”: Post Malone surprises Bonnaroo by calling up bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings for a pyro-fueled guest spot
- “Sneaky hidden Sustainiac!” Joe Satriani is playing an EVH Striped Series Eruption guitar on the Best of All Worlds tour – but it’s had some surprise mods
- “They’re probably some of the first guitar solos I ever learned”: Trey Anastasio tackles Steely Dan classics in searing Songwriters Hall of Fame performance
- “The absence of the Rampage left a void in the guitar world”: G&L launches the long-awaited Rampage 24 – which gives Jerry Cantrell’s workhorse grunge machine a 21st century overhaul
June 14
- “A special guitar that features art by world-renowned artists”: Fender Japan’s latest Art Canvas creations bring an iconic Japanese art landscape print series from the 1800s to the Esquire
- “The pinnacle of dad rock”: This survey claims to have identified the ultimate dad rock band – but there was some surprising competition
- “Co-written with my guitar wizard son”: Tom Morello announces his first-ever full-length solo rock album with single co-written with Roman Morello – who can “shred circles” around him
- “That doesn’t make any sense. It was not worth that”: Guitar collector and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay doesn’t think Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged acoustic was worth $6 million
- “Far more than just an impeccable tube tone emulator. It's an entire rig solution packed into one portable pedal”: Laney’s new IR-loaded Loudpedals might just be the all-in-one pedal amps you’ve been waiting for
- “That record is such a wonderful thing for a beginner guitar player. The riffs are cool as hell and they're easy to figure out”: Tim Henson names the album that all aspiring guitarists should learn
- “These may represent the ideal all-in-one amp solutions for the modern guitarist”: New From Laney – LOUDPEDAL amp bliss in a pedalboard format
June 13
- Thieves steal $5k Gibson Les Paul in brazenly low-effort guitar heist
- What was the greatest guitar album of the 1970s?
- “The loudest, best-performing strings he’s ever used”: Gibson ventures into the signature string market with first-ever Dave Mustaine set
- “There’s a great simulator that really does a very good job of simulating my sound”: Brian May reveals which affordable amp-in-a-box gets closest to nailing his iconic Queen tone – but it’s one you might not expect
- “The reaction to Ian Bairnson’s collection has so far surpassed interest to some of these mammoth names in the guitar world”: The Les Paul used on Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights smashes estimates at auction
- “We’ve also talked about doing replicas, beaten up so they look like mine”: Mark Tremonti says a relic’d recreation of his Dimebag-stickered PRS is on the cards – could artificially aged PRS guitars become a reality?
- “Combines the skills of the finest craftsmen and the traditions cultivated by Fender”: Fender celebrates the first anniversary of its flagship Tokyo store with an unprecedented Strat – and it’s made using an ancient Japanese coating
- “Detroit in her blood”: Young guitarist endorsed by Jack White after dueting on Seven Nation Army – from her bedroom window several streets away
June 12
- “It was more than a guitar, it was a statement. The Rampage became an icon of Seattle’s grunge rock sound”: The G&L Rampage – the guitar beloved by Jerry Cantrell – is officially making a return
- “He refused to play the bass with his thumb. He thought it was an insult to the instrument”: Marcus Miller reveals why Anthony Jackson started putting him forward for sessions
- “He took the lighter fluid, squirted it on the guitar and set it on fire. That might be the first relic’d guitar – and you can thank Seymour Duncan for that”: That time Adrian Belew DIY aged his Strat with a screwdriver, spray paint and motor oil
- “I used to play Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne songs in backyard parties when I was 16. And then all of a sudden, I’m playing in his band”: Robert Trujillo on going from teenage Sabbath fan to Ozzy's bassist
- The Strat turns 70 and the return of the cooler-than-ever Creed – only in the new Guitar World
June 11
- “Leo wanted me to be partners with him, for it to be the Fender guitar – the Les Paul Fender”: Les Paul was once approached by Leo Fender to work together on a solidbody electric guitar
- “A rare pedal refined with magic ingredients”: Crazy Tube Circuit’s faultless five-star Klon/Dumble dual overdrive has just been given a serious upgrade – but stock is limited
- “He would put the band on the spot and say, ‘We’re going to write a song.’ I would just start riffing… in front of a live group of people”: Mark Tremonti reveals one of Creed’s biggest hits was spontaneously written in front of 4,000 people
- “It’s beaten and it’s a Frankenstein. It’s got a lot of modifications since the ’50s, since it was born”: Gibson’s Charlie Starr Les Paul Junior signature upgrades the stock LPJ in just about every way
- “He was living in his mom’s basement because he’s like 18. And he starts playing guitar… and then he brings out his snake”: Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan on the moment he met Slash (and his plus one)
- “I bought one of Eric Clapton’s old Strats for £60. That was my initiation into playing a Strat”: How Ritchie Blackmore ended up buying his first-ever Fender Stratocaster from Eric Clapton
- “He came up to me after the show and said, ‘Mate, you can give John Entwistle a run for his money’”: Gene Simmons recalls the moment Jimmy Page complimented his bass playing – and turned out to be a KISS fan
- “Whether on the road or writing at home, the Fly 3 has become their go-to warm-up amp”: Blackstar and The Dead Daisies have launched a tiny signature practice amp – and it’s got skull-shaped control knobs
- “We have spoken about such things, and it would be lovely to have an edition of the Brian May guitar based in the States”: Brian May confirms Gibson-built Red Specials are on the cards
June 10
- Fender is taking on Amazon’s cheap guitar sellers at their own game by launching a Chinese-made Strat for $119
- “A new world of power and versatility”: Heritage overhauls its Custom Shop Core Collection with the H-157 – debuting all-new pickups in the process
- “Don’t let the small body fool you. It's not your average mini guitar”: Orangewood has launched a short-scale signature acoustic guitar that is designed to feel like an electric
- “He’d call me at four in the morning and leave a 15-minute guitar solo on my voicemail”: Serj Tankian on his collaborations with the enigmatic Buckethead – and the time they played a high school battle of the bands together
- “I played note-for-note. Those albums are the soundtrack to people's lives. I wanted to hear them how it was supposed to be”: Damon Johnson on how he came to play with Thin Lizzy and Lynyrd Skynyrd – and his identical approach for both gigs
- “Someone pinch me… actually don’t, because I want to keep living this dream”: Kiki Wong brings a metal edge to her debut Smashing Pumpkins performance after beating 10,000 guitarists to the gig
June 7
- “I like to have a blast plugging into my Engl amp – even if it's just to wake up the neighbors”: Ritchie Blackmore swapped rock for Renaissance music – but says he’s still not above cranking a tube amp once in awhile
- “I was not expecting that much demand!”: Sophie Lloyd announces her highly-anticipated first headline show – and sells it out in five minutes
- “I'm not gonna try and play this, are you crazy?!”: This nine-year-old’s lightning-quick arpeggio workout has players apologizing to their guitars
- “Fewer things give guitarists that fabled ‘riff face’ more than a fuzz mixed with an analog octave down”: Catalinbread’s Perseus Dio crams its two favorite octave-down styles into one face-contorting pedal
- “Joe Bonamassa's gonna come out right now and shred it up”: It’s PRS vs Gibson, as Orianthi and Bonamassa give their studio collaboration First Time Blues a masterful live outing
- “I’m finally making an artistic statement that is cohesive. The dragon is in harmony”: Fingerstyle virtuoso Marcin has announced his debut album – and the first single features Polyphia’s Tim Henson in fiery form
- “Our mission at Orange Learn is to make education accessible to all”: Orange launches FREE guitar and vocal courses through Orange Learn
June 6
- “An improvement in both dynamics and string-to-string balance”: DiMarzio and Billy Sheehan have reinvented the P-Bass pickup with a new patent
- “An insane synth buzz bazooka sound on the EarthQuaker side and a remorphinator of cosmic waves on the Death By Audio side”: EQD and Death By Audio revive their cult collaboration pedal, Time Shadows
- “A powerful and portable guitar rig for any sized stage or studio”: Barefaced Audio’s Activier turns its guitar cabs into modeling-friendly power amp combos
- “A brand-new Marshall and an Epiphone, if you dial it in right, can sound like a sunburst Les Paul through a vintage Bluesbreaker”: Joe Bonamassa explains why great tones are “much cheaper than people realize”
- “I would know if the ‘Red Eye’ was a good guitar even if I was stone deaf – you can feel it vibrating”: Gibson’s Custom Shop has recreated Jason Isbell’s prized 1959 Les Paul – formerly owned by Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ed King
- “That was a riff that I really liked, and that was Eddie Van Halen’s favorite”: Tony Iommi reveals the Black Sabbath riff EVH was always asking him to play
- “I was in shock for the first few days – I never thought I'd meet a Beatle, much less play with one”: Rusty Anderson on how he became Paul McCartney's guitarist
June 5
- “I have struggled with this decision but realize I cannot continue touring at this time”: Robin Trower cancels North American tour due to health concerns
- “I said, ‘The winner is…’ and pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket – and said, ‘Edward… uh… Van Halen!’” Unseen footage of Eddie Van Halen and Leslie West's onstage jams and backstage hangs has been unearthed
- “I never thought I would like coated strings, but these are silky, easy to play, and lasted 9 shows”: Jared James Nichols and Henrik Linder have a new favorite set of strings – and they're designed to “get more from your guitar”
- “A gnarly octave fuzz tone that interacts with your dynamics, optimized for bass”: Is octave fuzz the pedal your bass ’board is missing? Electro-Harmonix sure thinks so
- “The perfect electric mandolin is back”: A Firebird-shaped electric mandolin headlines Epiphone’s new Bluegrass collection
- “It's the end of anything that that could have been tribute-wise”: Michael Anthony gives his thoughts on Alex Van Halen selling all his gear
- “A brand new range of tones and ergonomics”: We're calling it now – Harley Benton just dropped the best-value electric guitar of 2024
- “I wondered if she would fit in, because I knew her as more of a metal guitarist… She just felt like a real breath of fresh air”: Billy Corgan reveals how many guitarists the Smashing Pumpkins auditioned in person – and how they knew Kiki Wong was the one
- “We didn’t really tune our guitars. We’d tune to the track. He’s like, ‘No, listen to what you’re playing’”: IDLES explain why Radiohead’s producer banned them from using guitar tuners
June 4
- Fender just dropped the biggest Tone Master Pro update since the launch of its flagship amp modeler – including all-new models for the first time
- “I spent an entire summer solidly trying to get inside Brian’s playing, hearing all the little details”: The Last Dinner Party’s Emily Roberts on how a Brian May tribute gig radically changed her guitar playing
- “When I left the band I took most of my Aerosmith guitars, put them in road boxes, and left them there”: Joe Perry on the lost golden-era Aerosmith guitar he misses the most
- “If you look closely at the surface you can see bits of train sets, an old vacuum cleaner, and even a Covid test”: Luthier spends 3 years assembling sci-fi guitars – using model-building techniques lifted from Star Wars
- “Super-compact, versatile, and lightweight practice amps”: Blackstar just made its best-value practice amp even better with one essential upgrade
- “It’s a very zombie, rock ‘n’ roll horror movie setting”: Pixies release first music with new bassist
June 3
- “Enhanced features at more affordable prices”: Solar Guitars brings premium metal guitar specs to new $599 lineup
- “My intention when I buy them is to use them... You’ve got David Gilmour’s Black Strat. Are you gonna take it down to the local pub and jam?” Slash on why he won’t spend money on famous guitars
- “The guitar neck is made of rubber, and there are only two strings on it”: James Hetfield opens up on the guitar-based anxiety dreams he had ahead of Metallica’s recent tour
- “From supporting beginners to legends like Jimi Hendrix, it’s unquestionable the impact Manny’s has made on the world of music”: Legendary guitar store Manny’s Music poised to return after Sam Ash sells trademark
- “I thought, ‘This is my David Gilmour moment...’ The record label hated it”: Bryan Adams’ guitarist says their label thought (Everything I Do) I Do It for You would spell the end of his career
- Ibanez expands its Prestige range with a sleek new metallic gray finish option – and an RG with a twist
- “I made a dedicated spot for a Taylor guitar within each store and encouraged people to play by offering discounts of 5% off for one song”: The Taylor GS Mini just got a surprise makeover – from a mountain lifestyle brand
- “We took the train to Hoboken with the vodka, a couple guitars and a bag of ice that was slowly melting. We got to the studio and we just did it”: Lenny Kravitz on how he finally collaborated with his high-school classmate Slash