Waves just dropped loads of its plugins back to Black Friday prices – record better guitar tones from just $9.99 By Matt McCracken published 19 March 24 We've hand-picked 7 essential (and discounted) plugins that will massively improve your home guitar recordings
“Inspired by original drawings from 1957”: Gibson announces the Theodore Standard – bringing the unearthed archive design to the firm’s core USA line for the first time ever By Matt Owen published 19 March 24 First released exclusively as a Custom Shop model based on a sketch from the ’50s, the Theodore is back – and it’s come with some choice tweaks
Van Halen, Metallica, SRV, Iron Maiden, Rush, Dio, Yngwie, Vai and the greatest guitar albums of 1984 – only in the new Guitar World By Damian Fanelli published 19 March 24 Featuring new interviews with Ace Frehley, Alex Lifeson, Adrian Smith, Adrian Belew, Earl Slick, Mike Ness, Steve Vai, Vicki Peterson, Vivian Campbell, Yngwie Malmsteen and more
Classic Jazz Bass tones minus the buzz? Lollar’s new hum-cancelling pickup offers a “fuller bass sound that’s still vintage-faithful” By Nick Wells published 19 March 24 Lollar’s new DC J-Bass pickups are designed to help reduce noise and add “clarity, presence, and punch” to your low-end tone
“I thought, ‘He’s got to be joking,’ because John Paul Jones is God on bass, as far as I’m concerned”: How Lita Ford almost ended up joining Led Zeppelin – on bass By Matt Owen published 18 March 24 In the early '70s, Jones was poised to take a step back from his role as the band's bassist – and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant eyed up The Runaways lead guitarist as a potential successor
“Stands at the crossroads of utility and elegance”: Bourgeois Guitars collabs with Eastman for the Touchstone Signature – a historically-styled model that pays homage to prewar acoustics By Phil Weller published 18 March 24 Available in dreadnought and OM variants, the new addition to the series offers historically inspired features and a torrefied tonewood top
“Bruce Springsteen was in the next studio… He had a Gretsch Country Gentleman, and I asked him if I could borrow it”: How a loaner from The Boss powered the iconic spaghetti western line in Blondie’s Atomic By Matt Parker published 18 March 24 Former Blondie guitarist Frank Infante has revealed that he recorded the twanging lick using a Gretsch belonging to the blue collar rock icon
“Gibson Supremes with Floyds!”: Neal Schon has rekindled his relationship with Gibson, bringing the Floyd Rose to the luxed-out Les Paul Supreme for a trio of potential signature models By Phil Weller published 18 March 24 The Journey guitarist is back working with Gibson – and details of the pair's new models will reportedly be announced later this week
“His music was determinedly and insistently unconventional”: Steve Harley, Cockney Rebel singer and guitarist, dies at 73 By Jackson Maxwell published 17 March 24 Harley wrote and sang the glam-rock band's mid-'70s smash, Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
“Noel spat on his T-shirt, rubbed off the signature and said, ‘I’ll take it anyway!’”: Noel Gallagher once bought one of Peter Green’s Les Pauls – but erased Green’s signature to get back at the store owner who sold it to him By Matt Owen published 16 March 24 Bill Ryder-Jones, the guitar's current custodian, revealed how the Oasis man came into possession of the storied Les Paul, and stripped it of its notable scrawl
Guitar World deals of the week: get Amplitube for just $49.99, a $120 discount on a D'Angelico, plus all the week's best guitar gear deals By Matt McCracken published 15 March 24 Get the low down on the biggest savings and best deals from all the major music retailers
“Furthering Fortnite’s commitment to working with forward-thinking music brands”: Fender teams up with Fornite to bring its Stratocaster and Precision Bass to the digital realm By Phil Weller published 15 March 24 Fender’s collaboration with one of the world’s biggest video games brings the two timeless models to Fortnite’s 221 million players
“Advanced playability for the seasoned professional and the aspiring performer”: Charvel launches its latest Pro-Mod model – rolling out relic’d finishes to its standard range for the first time By Phil Weller published 15 March 24 Giving a worn-in look and feel to its flagship model, the firm looks to marry old and new with a guitar that is said to blend “sophisticated style with assertive tone for maximum playing enjoyment”
“What he did with it, it just brings you to tears”: Jeff Beck’s last-ever recording has been released – as Mark Knopfler’s sensational star-studded charity single finally arrives By Matt Owen published 15 March 24 More than 50 of the world’s finest guitar heroes have joined forces for the track, which has been recorded to raise funds for teenage cancer charities
“We’ve arrived at something that’s really special”: Gibson launches Jimmy Page’s ultra-exclusive Collector’s Edition 1969 EDS-1275 double-neck signature guitar – a meticulous, $50,000 recreation of an enduring rock ’n’ roll symbol By Matt Owen published 14 March 24 Only 50 units exclusive to the Gibson Garage will be made, and each come played and hand-signed by the Led Zeppelin legend himself
“The sound of other guitars is leading the player. With the Stratocaster, the player leads the sound”: Tom Morello explains why the Fender Strat is unlike any other electric guitar By Matt Owen published 14 March 24 The Strat served as Morello's “North Star” and helped him break out of his “sonic safety zone” – and that's because it grants a level of agency that other models simply don't provide
“Slash says, ‘You got the gig. Learn the whole catalog.’ I was like, ‘Don’t you have a set of songs?’ Slash goes, ‘There’s no setlist. Axl just calls ’em out’”: How Gilby Clarke got the Guns N’ Roses gig – and learned the band’s back catalog in a week By Matt Owen published 14 March 24 Clarke was formally announced as Izzy Stradlin's replacement in the early ’90s – but not before undergoing an audition process that saw him learn his test tracks in the car last minute
“One small stomp for man… one giant leap for chorus, delays and reverbs”: Zoom updates one of the best-value multi-FX on the market with the MS-70CDR+ MultiStomp By Michael Astley-Brown published 14 March 24 The original MS-70CDR was a cult classic and a shoegazer’s best friend – and for $149, the new and improved pedal adds a host of long-requested features
“Puts authentic sounds from the stage class Boss Katana amp series at the instrument’s output jack”: Has the Katana:GO just changed the headphone amp game forever? By Matt Parker published 14 March 24 Full-fat Katana tones in a jack – for $119? Boss has seriously upped the stakes when it comes to guitar and bass headphone amps
“That wasn’t in the job description”: This metal guitarist mistook a photographer for his guitar tech – and accidentally launched his guitar at him By Phil Weller published 13 March 24 Just weeks after unveiling his new Schecter signature guitar, Sullivan King unintentionally trashed one after trying to pull off the Springsteen-esque stage stunt