Boss's RT-2 Rotary Ensemble offers vintage Leslie mojo in a compact pedal with a super cool display
The RT-2 is a pedalboard-friendly gateway to that heady Leslie vibe, featuring three modes, a drive control, switchable speeds and more
Latest news
Boss's RT-2 Rotary Ensemble offers vintage Leslie mojo in a compact pedal with a super cool display
The RT-2 is a pedalboard-friendly gateway to that heady Leslie vibe, featuring three modes, a drive control, switchable speeds and more
Angel Vivaldi’s latest Charvel signature is a 7-string shred machine that has been 8 years in the making
With caramelized woods, a flame maple top, and gold hardware, the Pro-Mod Nova-7 NAT is a guitar that plays the part and looks even better
BRONCHO’s Ryan Lindsey on the time he toured with Billy Idol – and spilled booze on a guitar hero’s pedalboard
Lindsey has many fond memories from watching Stevens play every night on tour in the US – but one incident involving beer and a pedalboard isn’t one of them
Guitar World deals of the week: get a half-price MXR pedal, $170 off a Fender Player II guitar, plus all the week's best deals
Get your hands on all the biggest guitar gear savings in one place
IK Multimedia gives its best-selling TONEX One a Van Halen-inspired update
The pocket-size pedals each offer 50 accurate and reimagined takes on Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Brown Sound – and they’re available in plugin form, too
How Marty Stuart came to own Clarence White’s highly-modded B-Bender Telecaster
Stuart paid under the odds for the historic electric – but White’s widow needed the guitar to go to the right home, not the highest bidder
“The brains of older musicians stay finely tuned thanks to years of training”: Scientists say long-term musical training helps stop age-related decline – so keep on playing your guitar
A newly published study finds that playing an instrument pays off in later years
![Zia Cyan shreds on Instagram [left]. Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine riffs onstage at Norway's Tons Of Rock Festival 2025](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TDZpXhNEANsNq94k87kRE9-840-80.jpg.webp)
Artists
Scott Gorham on the future of Thin Lizzy – and how the late John Sykes gave them thunder when they needed it most
Gorham remembers John Sykes, the player who stepped in and stepped up, breathing new life into Thin Lizzy with the super hard rock sound of his Les Paul Custom
Spinal Tap once surprised Nigel Tufnel with an all-star guitar solo tribute – but he wasn't thrilled about it
Explaining (well, bickering about, really) the star-studded Break Like the Wind, David St. Hubbins maintained that the collaboration was merely intended as a friendly gesture from admirers, and that Tufnel misunderstood it
Roger McGuinn on The Byrds’ influential guitar style, and why they didn’t follow The Kinks and The Who into distortion
The banjo-inspired Rickenbacker guitar icon recalls how Miles Davis got them signed and weighs up the merits of David Crosby and Clarence White
Meet Ben Lechuga, the Steve Vai-championed Chilean virtuoso who has gone fretless – and why he’s never going back
Lechuga won a Steve Vai scholarship in 2011 and now plays with David Maxim Micic and teaches for Ernie Ball Music Man, and going fretless, he says, has made totally rethink his playing
Remembering Mike Peters, the late frontman of the Alarm
Following 30 years of living with blood cancer, Peters passed away at the age of 66
Dean DeLeo on why his favorite STP songs are the ones he didn’t write, and barging into Allan Holdsworth’s dressing room
The Stone Temple Pilots guitar icon explains how he stumbles upon songs, why nothing’s quite like a Telecaster, and how his latest spellbinding collaboration, One More Satellite, came to be
We Lost the Sea channeled grief into a landmark post-rock album – then they had to face the pressure of how to follow it
The Australian instrumentalists created beauty from tragedy with Departure Songs. Hard-fought third album A Single Flower is a breathtaking product of the journey they’ve been on so far, delivered via aluminum guitars and boatloads of pedals
“That whole Dark Horse tour was a really weird thing”: Robben Ford on touring with George Harrison
Blues/jazz maestro Robben Ford reflects on his time touring with George Harrison in the fall of 1974
Billy Duffy on the Les Paul ’Burst he sold on the cheap – and why player-grade beats all-original every time
Think of Billy Duffy and it’s Gretsch White Falcons, Les Paul Customs or maybe an LP Junior. Here he explains why these three iconic six-strings have been the tools of his trade for over 40 years
Gear
"From incredibly high-quality tones and features for practicing on headphones, studio use or as a ‘fly rig’ solution with very few compromises, it delivers.": Darkglass Anagram review
Darkglass turns its attention to providing you with a do-it-all solution for practice, studio and live use
Best in-ear monitors for guitar players 2025: stay in tune and on time
Plug yourself in with the best in-ear monitors for guitar players from Shure, Sennheiser and more
Best headphone amps for guitar 2025: portable practice solutions
You don’t need to sacrifice tone to practice quietly with my expert pick of the best headphone amps for guitar players
How the DigiTech WH-1 Whammy pedal changed the game for guitar effects
Used by Radiohead, Dimebag Darrell, Tom Morello and countless others, the Whammy was the game-changing pitch-shifter guitar was waiting for
“Much more versatile than a vintage-style Tele”: Fender Player II Modified Telecaster SH review
For decades, players such as Keith Richards have been swapping out their Tele's neck single-coil for a humbucker – now Fender has unveiled its most high-spec take on the format yet
How G&L Guitars is carrying on the legacy of Leo Fender
G&L director of sales Steve Araujo on the other brand that Leo Fender built, and the innovations that have made it a favorite of A-list pros such as Jerry Cantrell
“Impossible to resist”: Fenech VT Camphor Laurel Auditorium & VT Professional Blackwood Dread D78 review
An Australian brand with a burgeoning reputation down under steps into the limelight with a pair of hand-built acoustics that incorporate premium tonewoods and a sharp eye for design
Lessons
Jared James Nichols on Albert King's electric fingerpicking
Albert King played upside down, in a weird tuning, and influenced SRV and Hendrix alike, and he did it without a pick. So it's no surprise Nichols is a huge fan – he breaks down King's magic
Learn 5 altered chords that can create or dissolve harmonic tension
Jimmy Page often employed dissonant chords with Led Zep and you can, too. You don't even need to know the name of the chord to use them
“Yes, Eric can certainly shred!” Joe Bonamassa shows you how to connect lead phrases like Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson's playing is inspiring but bamboozling. How does he sound so fluid? Well, Joe Bonamassa has some thoughts (and four examples) on how we can nail Johnson's style
What funk maestro Cory Wong learned from James Hetfield
Papa Het has got a brand new bag when it comes to downpicking, and it’s full of lessons for the funk guitar player
The secret behind Marcin, Matteo and Paco? How rest note picking can improve your tone, speed and volume
Paco Peña, Marcin Patrzałek and Matteo Mancuso all use rest strokes to play powerful single notes – here's how to make them work for you
Buddy Guy influenced Clapton, Page and Hendrix – here’s what you can learn from the blues icon
No-one plays the blues like Buddy Guy – but that doesn't stop us trying. We look at four ways the blues icon approaches his solos. Warning: it's going to get fiery
Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones explains what people get wrong about his Black Dog riff
In his inaugural Guitar World lesson column, authored in 1996, the legendary bassist also revealed why he used pick to lay the song down in the studio – and why he later would use an eight-string bass to play it live
Reviews
"From incredibly high-quality tones and features for practicing on headphones, studio use or as a ‘fly rig’ solution with very few compromises, it delivers.": Darkglass Anagram review
Darkglass turns its attention to providing you with a do-it-all solution for practice, studio and live use
“Much more versatile than a vintage-style Tele”: Fender Player II Modified Telecaster SH review
For decades, players such as Keith Richards have been swapping out their Tele's neck single-coil for a humbucker – now Fender has unveiled its most high-spec take on the format yet
“Impossible to resist”: Fenech VT Camphor Laurel Auditorium & VT Professional Blackwood Dread D78 review
An Australian brand with a burgeoning reputation down under steps into the limelight with a pair of hand-built acoustics that incorporate premium tonewoods and a sharp eye for design
“There’s something here for all drive lovers. Bit of a game-changer, this one”: Crazy Tube Circuits Venus review
Crazy Tube Circuits takes on a classic tube overdrive pedal and makes it accessible and relevant for the modern ’board
"Crisply built and shines like a gem on the live stage": Taylor 314ce Studio review
An attainably priced “serious” Taylor with high-end touches
“Not just another copycat design”: Eastman FullerTone SC ’52 and DC ’62 review
Last year’s D’Ambrosio series guitars signified numerous firsts for Eastman, not least that they were US-made with boutique prices to match. These new FullerTones capture the magic at a fraction of the price
"This is the kind of guitar that encourages you to play your best, allowing you to perform faster, smoother, and more expressively than you thought possible": Gibson Marcus King ES-345 review
Marcus King delivers a royal reimagining of an ES classic – and it may take the crown as the finest signature guitar of the year
Buying Guides
Best in-ear monitors for guitar players 2025: stay in tune and on time
Plug yourself in with the best in-ear monitors for guitar players from Shure, Sennheiser and more
Best headphone amps for guitar 2025: portable practice solutions
You don’t need to sacrifice tone to practice quietly with my expert pick of the best headphone amps for guitar players
Best compressor pedals 2025: control your tone with the must-have utility pedal
With great options from Boss, Keeley, MXR, and more, there has never been a better time to add a comp pedal to your 'board
Best acoustic guitar pedals 2025: pedals to transform your tone and boost creativity
Improve and shape your tone with the best acoustic guitar pedals from the likes of Boss, Fishman, MXR & LR Baggs
Best locking tuners 2025: improve your performance with these powerful upgrades
Keep your guitar playing consistently with our top locking tuner picks from Fender, Schaller, Sperzel and more
Best guitar slides 2025: every budget and material covered, plus how to choose the right slide for you
Getting into the bluesy world of slide guitar? From Shubb and Dunlop, to Taylor and Ernie Ball, these are our top choices
Best pedalboard power supplies 2025: juice your ‘board with my pick of pro-grade power, fully tested
I put budget-spanning pedal power supplies from Fender, Cioks, Walrus Audio and more through their paces – these were the standouts
