10 legendary blues guitars, featuring Lucille, Lucy, Greeny – and the Loch Ness Monster of Les Pauls By Jonathan Horsley published 26 April 24 Named and famed! Behind every great blues player is a great guitar, and they don’t come more iconic than this...
Flatwound vs roundwound bass strings: What’s the difference? By Richard Blenkinsop published 25 April 24 Mellow and warm or bright and snappy? We look at the key differences between flatwound and roundwound bass strings
Best guitar capos: top choice capos for acoustic and electric guitar By Chris Bird last updated 25 April 24 A capo is a great way to boost your creativity on the instrument. Here’s our expert picks for electric and acoustic guitar, ukulele, 12-string and beyond
Best short-scale basses 2024: the ultimate guide to the greatest pint-sized bass guitars at all price points By Daryl Robertson last updated 25 April 24 From Fender to Gibson, Gretsch to Spector, here are our top picks for the best short-scale basses on the market right now
Rock City Machine Co. went from KISS Army to KISS collaborators. Now they're going it alone. By Andrew Daly published 25 April 24 Ryan Cook and Jeremy Asbrock have worked with Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons, but say it’s time for them to stand on their own, er, four feet...
Why a baritone Les Paul is the perfect prog metal weapon for Wheel’s James Lascelles By Phil Weller published 25 April 24 Upcoming third album, Charismatic Leaders, kickstarts a new era for the Finnish prog-metallers with a sound that’s stubbornly traditional but powerfully progressive
Meet Ava Mendoza the punk-reared jazz guitar maverick turning breath work to fretwork By Andrew Daly published 25 April 24 Echolocation is the sound of a player reared on punk taking what you might call jazz into a new place
Inside the sound and style of Motown master James Jamerson By Chris Jisi published 25 April 24 Five top low-enders with links to the bass great dissect the James Jamerson style
Why Squarepusher (aka Tom Jenkinson) is an artist in a vast left-field league of his own By Brian Fox published 25 April 24 You may or may not know Squarepusher (aka Tom Jenkinson), but chances are he doesn’t care to know you
“Stevie wasn’t a fluent songwriter”: The making of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather By Alan Paul published 24 April 24 In 1984, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble needed new tunes and needed them bad, and necessity became the mother of invention as they put together a bona fide blues classic
“You get so much more choice”: How the Japanese Fender offset conquered the world By Jamie Dickson published 24 April 24 Fender Japan showed the world how radically offsets could be modified. We visited specialist Japanese guitar retailer Gas Station Guitars to chart the evolution of the MIJ offset
Kevin and Michael Bacon on trashing Taylors for Guardians of the Galaxy and love of Fender Acoustasonics By Bruce Fagerstrom published 24 April 24 Movie star Kevin Bacon and his composer brother Michael reveal how they play to their differences during their Bacon Brothers shows – and what happens when they perform Footloose at venues that don’t allow dancing
I’ve played IK Multimedia’s nano modeling amp, the TONEX One – and it could be the ultimate pocket-sized pedal platform By Alex Lynham published 24 April 24 The tiny modeler is not perfect, but it’s going to solve a lot of problems – particularly for players who are willing to put in a little time upfront
Sum 41's Deryck Whibley and Dave Baksh talk perfect guitars, amp profilers – and saying goodbye By Andrew Daly published 23 April 24 How Sum 41’s valedictory album, Heaven :x: Hell, came together on the simple arithmetic of pop-punk and Slayer-inspired thrash, for an album that's light, dark and all shades between
Harmoni Kelley on why five-strings rule for modern country players By Alison Richter published 23 April 24 With no experience of the extra string until her successful audition with Chesney, Kelley’s taken her P Bass attitude and hard rock roots for longterm stroll down Music Row
How I went from guitar journalist to Dickey Betts’ right-hand man By Andy Aledort published 23 April 24 Guitar World’s Andy Aledort played over 250 shows around the globe with his hero. He traces his history with the late Allman Brothers Band icon, and shares his personal experience of working with the complex, generous guitar legend who once gave him one of Duane Allman’s slides
5 signs your guitar cable needs replacing (and 6 ways to make it last longer) By Ross Holder published 23 April 24 Assess the health of your cables with our guide to the warning signs, plus our maintenance tips to extend their life
Is Emanuel Casablanca the hero that modern blues guitar has been waiting for? By Andrew Daly published 23 April 24 Strung Out on Thrills was hard to make and hard to write – every track was challenging. But Emanuel Casablanca's album throws down the gauntlet to blues guitar, presenting a new path forward
MJ Lenderman shares tone secrets and explains why there’s life in the live album yet By Richard Bienstock published 23 April 24 With a blazing (not to mention “fluid like the wind”) band behind him, indie rock’s leading overdrive purveyor takes his best one-man-band material to wild new places
Best acoustic guitars for beginners 2024: our pick of easy acoustic strummers for new players By Daryl Robertson last updated 23 April 24 We've tested epic affordable six strings from Epiphone, Taylor, Fender, Yamaha and more – read on to find the best beginner acoustic guitar for you