Latest Features
“I do this thing where I literally black out, and then the song’s over. I’m not even registering what I’m doing – it’s beyond muscle memory”: Kyle Seely has been playing the same Telecaster since he was a teen – but Sheer Mag keep evolving
The acclaimed Philly outfit enter their 10th year with a sound that’s more defined than ever, via their lead guitarist’s accidental journey into a side-project he could barely control
How the 1960s Gibson J-200 upset acoustic purists but remained King of the flat-tops in the eyes of the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Yusuf/Cat Stevens
The bridge was the one thing the purists just couldn't cross, but those who did found an acoustic bursting with songs and a tone that could not be matched
“Eddie Van Halen changed the game. I remember him telling me once, ‘Man, I didn’t mean to start all this madness’”: Steve Lukather on why he’s always championed melody above all else, and how that philosophy informed his new “unabashedly ‘80s” solo album
Returning with the triumphant new album Bridges, Steve Lukather reflects on the madness of shred, why Luke III is his Excalibur and why the melody and the song is all that counts
“We had it in about two takes. The funk was there as soon as we hit it”: Watch Louis 'thunder thumbs' Johnson slap a classic bass solo on the Brothers Johnson’s Stomp!
Johnson used a Music Man StingRay (which he helped design), and strung it with new D’Addario roundwounds
“People don’t talk about Ace doing his pick-tapping thing. Considering this was ’77, before Eddie Van Halen did Eruption, it's even more mind-blowing”: Eric Johnson, Nuno Bettencourt, and 40 other guitar legends share their favorite Kiss guitar moments
Ahead of their very last show, an all-star cast of rock guitar luminaries reveal how they were influenced by the Hottest Band in the Land
“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
The black metal guitar icon inspired a generation of heavy players, including Dave Grohl and Mark Tremonti. Thomas Gabriel Fischer reveals what kindled his unending love of Ibanez, the benefits of writing bloodthirsty riffs on tiny practice amps, and the “absolutely crucial thing that people completely underestimate in achieving a guitar sound”
“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
Carroll’s new double-album, The Abbott, sees him perform the late John Renbourn’s work – he explains why and how he did it, and offers an in-depth guide to performing Renbourn’s masterpieces
“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
After stints with Miles Davis, Madonna, and Sting, Darryl Jones found a home on The Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge
Not changing your amp settings when you leave your rehearsal space for the stage? You're doing EQ wrong
It's called equalization for a reason: adjustments keep your sound consistent from venue to venue. These are the tweaks you need to keep in mind for top-quality guitar tone
“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
Libertino is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and academic, and his latest album, Cartography, finds him chasing new musical horizons and facing the biggest challenge of his career
