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“It found its right home. Collecting is about what you love and what you are gonna do with it”: Joe Bonamassa confirms he passed up the chance to buy the iconic ‘Greeny’ Les Paul before it ended up with Kirk Hammett
Bonamassa was approached with the prospect of purchasing the prized LP back in 2013 – the same year he played it live at the Royal Albert Hall
“It felt like a really special moment to celebrate by using the Frankenstein. It was like having my dad right there with me”: Wolfgang Van Halen on how it felt to use Eddie’s OG Frankie and Marshall rig to record one of Mammoth WVH’s standout solos
Found on the latest Mammoth WVH record, the lead effort on Take a Bow was recorded using one of the most iconic gear combos in music history
“There has been an explosion of guitar music in the past 5 years… LERXST amplifiers provide a platform for these players”: Alex Lifeson unveils LERXST amp range in collaboration with Mojotone – and there are new guitars, pedals and pickups to come
The Rush guitar icon’s previously limited-edition Omega amp build is now available to all, alongside a new Chi head and combo – with more to come…
“A true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation”: The Pogues icon Shane MacGowan has died aged 65
MacGowan was noted as one of the finest lyricists of his generation, and collaborated with Kirsty MacColl in 1987 for the classic Christmas hit, Fairytale of New York
“The sounds of classic tube amps and mic’d speaker cabinets in a standard stompbox”: Boss takes the fight to Universal Audio and Strymon with its smallest amp and IR pedal to date, the IR-2
11 factory amp and cab pairings – including Fender, Soldano, Marshall and Mesa/Boogie-inspired amp models – and third-party IR compatibility head up the new unit
“The guitar riff is dying out”: New survey suggests the ‘majority’ of music fans believe the riff is on its way out
A new research piece has concluded the humble riff may be on its deathbed – and identified Prince's Purple Rain as the second greatest riff of all time
“The narrative is I grew up in a rich family – wrong. The narrative is it was handed to me – wrong. It’s sweat equity over 35 years”: Joe Bonamassa sets the record straight on the humble beginnings of his world-famous guitar collection
In a conversation with Rick Beato, the gear connoisseur revisits the roots of his collecting journey – and responds to those quick to claim his buying habits take stock away from aspiring players
“A brazen new model designed for the progressive guitarist seeking a spectrum of sound beyond the norm”: Charvel gets in on the made-in-Japan hype with new Superstrat-inspired MJ San Dimas models
The speed-friendly HSH six-strings showcase the Fender Corporation's recent focus on Japan
“They said they invited us to perform at that show. I never got a phone call. They just said that to sell tickets”: Despite reports, Ace Frehley says he hasn’t heard from Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons about joining Kiss’s last-ever gig
The glam rock heroes will take to the stage for the last time ever later this week – but Frehley won't be there
“A dirt device that covers all the gain bases”: Catalinbread sees the JHS Pedals Notaklön and raises the Knight School Overdrive – an $85 DIY pedal kit based on a timeless circuit favored by Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer and Paul Gilbert
The $85 kit can come ready for assembly or readymade for your pedalboard, and harks back to an early overdrive circuit that has been tweaked by EHX, Way Huge and many more
