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“I was 100% better on guitar when I was 15. Technically, I’m a much worse guitarist now – but I’m a better songwriter”: Meet Sprints, the Irish garage rockers cranking Boss Katanas in stadiums
The rising-star Irish outfit are Telecaster diehards, but they sure appreciate a lightweight amp, even when supporting Liam Gallagher. Now endorsed by Fender, they reveal their secret-weapon pedals and how they replicated the Smiths’ most sought-after effect in studio
“Rubber-bridge guitar is another sonic hemisphere that existed this whole time but was going untapped. It’s really special”: Ariel Posen on his adventures in tone – and why songwriting is like hitting the gym
Tonemeister Ariel Posen stops by to share his tonal revelations on new album Reasons Why – and the long list of guitars he used to make it happen
How does a Welsh rock band that trades in “filthy, nasty guitar tones” end up writing a song with Brian Johnson of AC/DC? Himalayas’ Mike Griffiths explains the story behind their “unexpected gift”
The Welsh rockers’ debut album, From Hell to Here, is essential listening for those who like rock from the garage and the desert – especially where the guitar “sounds quite wild a lot of the time”
“The higher end the guitar, the more robust the demand is”: Why are guitars getting more expensive? We spoke to the world’s biggest guitar companies to find out
From $50k acoustics to eye-watering ‘premium offshore’ prices, the cost of big-name new guitars has felt like it’s spiraling. So how did we get here? And how do we get out of it?
“It’s an anti-establishment statement – I’m trying to make it okay for jazz guitarists to go out with their metal guitars”: Meet Cecil Alexander, the prog-loving jazz guitarist who’s challenging elitism by shredding bebop on a Jackson
The Michigan-born virtuoso shares his secrets for getting the perfect jazz tone on a metal guitar, the parallels between jazz and prog, and why jazz guitar isn’t as scary as it seems
“In pop-punk, you have to be able to sing any guitar part. To have a shreddy solo feels like a waste – it just shows off that individual’s musicianship and doesn’t do much for the audience”: Neck Deep on how to write the perfect pop-punk song
The Welsh pop-punk stalwarts’ six-string engine room share their strategies for mass audience singalongs, praise digital amp rigs, and explain why sometimes you don't have to do what the producer says
“I’ve always picked up my dad’s guitars, but I wasn’t that serious about it. Then I realized it was natural to me – it was so deep in my soul I didn’t have a choice”: Thurston Moore loved her demos. Now Devon Ross is journeying from actor to guitarist
Inspired by ‘60s pop and ’90s alt-rock alike, the Fender Mustang-toting Irma Vep star – and daughter of Lenny Kravitz guitarist Craig Ross – brought her debut EP to fruition with help from the Sonic Youth icon
“The White Album was the first thing that I connected with as a kid”: Flea picks his top 5 ‘desert island’ discs
The Red Hot Chili Pepper was also asked to name his dream supergroup. Safe to say he picked himself on bass
The history of Paul McCartney and the Höfner 500/1 bass guitar
What made the violin bass Macca's number one through the Beatles years and beyond – and how he was reunited with his original Höfner, over 50 years after it disappeared
“I loved the sound of doubled guitars, but it just becomes a slog. I couldn’t hate the process more… it goes right against the immediacy I wanted for this record”: Why Jawbox hero J. Robbins changed his attitude to recording… and smashing guitars
The Jawbox leader, who regrets breaking his “dearest companion” Jazzmaster, shares his love of hand-built Hiwatt clones, how Stone Temple Pilots hooked him up with his live guitar arsenal, and what it was like to snag Naked Raygun’s “secret shredder” John Haggerty for his latest album, Basilisk
