“It’s like Brian May walked over to his tone booth and just turned it up to 11!” Kirk Hammett names his favorite Queen song – and it’s a seriously deep cut By Jonathan Horsley published 20 March 24 Metallica may have covered Stone Cold Crazy, but that’s not Hammett’s no. 1…
“We did a Pepsi Challenge on the Klon!” Henry James of Robert Jon & The Wreck names his favorite pedals – and his no. 1 Klon clone By Tom Poak published 20 March 24 It's the return of Pedalpocalypse, “the Desert Island Discs for pedals”, with Henry James from Robert Jon & The Wreck and King Tree & The Earth Mothers on the three pedals he would take with him in the event of a future lockdown
“I met Ritchie Blackmore during the Sepultura days. At first, he wasn’t interested in talking to anybody. But the minute I asked, ‘Do you like football?’ he said, ‘Yes – come with me!’” Max Cavalera names 10 guitarists who shaped his sound By Amit Sharma published 20 March 24 The metal pioneer reveals how to score private time with Ritchie Blackmore, the reality of trying to cover Tony Iommi, what Chuck Shuldiner would be doing today – and why he’s finally playing all six strings… on a James Hetfield guitar
“George Martin wasn’t going to leave his own studio, and Jeff never gave directions or said much, so there was nobody telling us what to do”: Listen to Wilbur Bascomb’s bassline on Jeff Beck’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat By Chris Jisi published 20 March 24 New York session bassist Wilbur Bascomb Jr. recorded on Jeff Beck’s 1976 version of this Charles Mingus ballad
“Mötley Crüe was a whole different animal from what I’m doing. Writing the anthems was what the band was all about. Then it got a little sideways…” Mick Mars opens up on the highs and lows of life in Mötley Crüe – and his solo rebirth By Joe Bosso published 20 March 24 The legendary Crüe guitarist looks back on the good times and bad times with the world’s most outrageous band, how he knew it was time to retire from the road (but not the group), and why his hard-hitting new solo album is and isn’t a blues record
“My being fired was premature… We’d wrapped pre-production on Killers but I never got the chance to record”: Meet Dennis Stratton, the man who brought harmony guitars to Iron Maiden By Andrew Daly published 20 March 24 Armed with a Les Paul Custom copy and an obscenely heavy old combo amp, Stratton only discovered metal when he joined the future giants – and left them the legacy of harmony guitar attack
“Every band wants to have a Sgt. Pepper’s type of moment. And American Idiot was that moment for us”: Billie Joe Armstrong on the making of the magnum opus that saved Green Day By Richard Bienstock published 19 March 24 The world's biggest punk band faced a crossroads in 2004 and it was a case of go big or go home. Armstrong explains how they supersized their sound – and saved the band
“I was playing a gig with Jack Bruce and one of my amps suddenly burst into flames!” Robin Trower's onstage disasters and famous firsts By Joe Matera published 19 March 24 The genius behind Bridge of Sighs talks flaming amps, favorite Strats and why he still practices every day – even if he didn't do it all that much when he was younger
“Jack loved that a kid like me, with a blue mohawk and plaid guitar, was making the songs my own – playing Cream and doing divebombs in the corner”: Blues Saraceno toured with Clapton’s Cream bandmates, recorded for Cher and had a bumpy ride with Poison By Andrew Daly published 19 March 24 The ‘kid who replaced Clapton’ as a teenager and landed a double-salary stint with Poison moved into TV, movies and videogame soundtracks – and doesn’t plan to come back
“Jaco’s groove is like a fingerprint – nobody can duplicate it”: Listen to Jaco Pastorius’ isolated bassline on Weather Report’s Barbary Coast By Chris Jisi published 19 March 24 Weather Report’s 1976 cut introduced the world to the full-tilt boogie of Jaco Pastorius
“At some point I might come up with a new single-cut unique enough not to upset anybody”: Nik Huber on the perils of riffing on the classics and the evolution of his powerhouse boutique brand By Dave Burrluck published 18 March 24 There’s always the risk that someone might object to a maker’s designs. In the case of Nik Huber’s Krautster, it came 15 years after the guitar was introduced…
“If you’ve ever seen Slash give that look to whoever when they hit a bad note… You get that look once, man. You don’t want it twice”: Gilby Clarke survived a baptism by fire in Guns N’ Roses – but one day the pay checks stopped coming By Andrew Daly published 18 March 24 The guitarist played with GN'R during their chaotic Use Your Illusion era. Now he discusses his heart-stopping audition, the early-’90s Guns album that never was and why he was never actually fired from the band
“I’m now running a dual rig – it’s like hearing Queens of the Stone Age and Guy Ritchie movies mixed together!” Meet Kid Kapichi – the UK beat-punks busting out Chuck Berry moves and opening for Liam Gallagher By Amit Sharma published 17 March 24 Ben Beetham is a pedalboard thrill-seeker whose tones make Kid Kapichi one of the most vital bands on the UK rock scene
Best free online guitar lessons 2024: Where learning guitar costs nothing By Simon Fellows published 15 March 24 Many of the finest online guitar tuition sites, apps and channels are yours for free. The only investments you need to make are time and effort!
“If the mini-humbucker had remained exclusive to Epiphone, it may have been a mere footnote. It developed a following because they ended up in Gibson guitars”: The mini-humbucker’s surprising history – and why it deserves more love By Huw Price published 15 March 24 Often passed over in conversations about the greatest electric guitar pickups, the mini-humbucker has a unique tone of its own, its story inextricably linked to Epiphone and Gibson
Best guitar audio interfaces 2024: our top picks for every budget By Chris Schwarten last updated 15 March 24 These are the best audio interfaces for taking your guitar recordings to the next level, regardless of your budget or experience
Best practice amps 2024: 10 great picks for honing your guitar and bass chops at home By Chris Corfield last updated 15 March 24 These are the best practice amps for enabling you to keep the noise down when getting in some essential practice time with your electric guitar or bass
“Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Ry Cooder, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healey and Buddy Guy... I naturally gravitated towards a Strat because my main influences were all playing them”: Philip Sayce on why the best studio magic is live By David Mead published 15 March 24 Returning with new solo LP The Wolves Are Coming, the blues ace discusses big studio energy during downtime for the world, his enduring guitar heroes, and his exacting standards for the Strat
“I was young, I had never been in the studio, and I had no idea what to expect…I took a lot of inspiration from Tom Scholz’s ’board”: Grand Funk Railroad’s new guitarist Mark Chatfield goes way back with the band By Andrew Daly published 15 March 24 His recently resurrected school band The Godz was produced by Don Brewer, before Chatfield fell in and out with Bob Seger, rejected then embraced Mesa/Boogie, and finally became Brewer’s bandmate in Grand Funk, replacing Bruce Kulick
“I was scared to death. Miles didn’t say a word to me. Afterwards, I asked what he thought of my playing. He said, simply, ‘It was cool’”: T.M. Stevens on playing with Miles Davis and James Brown – and what went wrong on Vai’s Sex & Religion project By Chris Jisi published 14 March 24 Vai hired the “flashy bassist with the long hair” after spotting him in a Joe Cocker video