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![IDLES's Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan [right]](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7NmfKqjZr8S39kVfaGSgbn-840-80.jpg.webp)
“We’re trying to avoid sounding like a conventional guitar band… Our goal has always been to expand what guitars can do”: Idles’ radical guitar duo dissect their “violent, dark tones” and explain why modeling is “wack”
Savage, socially charged and allergic to cliché, Idles are less categorisable than ever on fifth album, Tangk, and its dynamic guitar partnership Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan are holding nothing back
“John was constantly seeking better solutions, which manifested as astonishing woodwork and innovative electronics”: Remembering John Diggins – the luthier who built guitars for Tony Iommi and the first Red Special replica
Diggins was the mastermind behind Jaydee Custom Guitars and had over five decades of experience in making top-quality instruments
![[L-R] Sam Vallen (Caligula's Horse), Brandon Lloyd (Reliqa) and Simone Dow (Voyager)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cAmN6QV4u67dvQgbxpPJmY-840-80.jpg.webp)
“The quality of bands is much higher than it used to be… There’s something going on here that we cannot describe”: Why is Australia turning out some of the most amazing prog metal guitarists on the planet?
From Karnivool, Plini and Caligula’s Horse to Voyager, Dead Letter Circus and Reliqa, Aussie acts that make it overseas are often at the forefront of next-level guitar playing. How come?
“With Marvin Gaye, we could feel we were onto something extraordinary. We could feel the magic of Let’s Get It On from the beginning”: Meet Motown mainstay David T. Walker, the session guitarist behind some of music’s all-time classic albums
Walker’s Gibson Byrdland and Fender Tweed can be heard on hits by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, and many, many others – and he’s never lost his original approach
“I’m constantly going back to Davey Graham… He is massively neglected as an insanely creative player. For me, he’s like Jimi Hendrix – his stuff should be analyzed in forensic detail”: Henry Parker on his journey from metal to virtuoso folk
The English folk phenom returns with Lammas Fair, an album introducing proggy psych to his sound. He discusses his approach to open tunings, paying tribute to acoustic great Michael Chapman, and making the most of resonant strings
“John Lydon once made a stab at poaching Flea for Public Image. At which point Flea keeled over and passed out”: Anthony Kiedis takes a nostalgic look back at Flea’s finest hour from Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Flea’s reputation as a killer bass player almost saw him lured away from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Bono always wanted me to play that part with a pick, but I get a different reaction from playing bass with my fingers. There’s nothing quite like that contact of pulling the wires”: Adam Clayton on the U2 sound
Whether he’s playing steady eighth-notes or a rocking counter melody, U2’s Adam Clayton seems to have the perfect tone for every song
“I’d never buy one from the ’70s because I’ve always felt that there’s no such thing as a good guitar from that decade”: Robby Krieger on what makes his 1968 Gibson Barney Kessel special
In 1983, the Doors guitarist and rock legend posed on the cover of Guitar World with a 1968 Gibson Barney Kessell. Krieger reveals the story behind his fellow cover star – and why it isn’t an SG
The smallest, the simplest, the best? Why the MXR Phase 90 remains a pedalboard classic, beloved by EVH and Gilmour enthusiasts the world over
Famously used by Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour and Steve Hackett, this single-knobbed phaser pedal has never been out of style, with a chewy psychedelic sound that can't be beat
