NAMM 2024 live: this year’s biggest guitar news as it happens By Michael Astley-Brown last updated 25 January 24 Everything you need to know direct from the show floor at the world’s no. 1 guitar gear show
NAMM 2024: With the $3,700 Pacifica Professional, Yamaha is hoping to prove the beginner workhorse has thoroughbred potential. Can it persuade players to pay custom prices for an entry-level name? By Matt Parker published 24 January 24 The firm's new Japanese-made Professional and Standard Plus models are challenging perceptions of the enduringly popular Pacifica
NAMM 2024: all the latest guitar news, rumors and predictions from the greatest gear show on Earth By Michael Astley-Brown last updated 24 January 24 The guitar, amp and pedal news you need to know about, all in one place
NAMM 2024: “I don't have anything in my sonic world that's anything like it”: Keeley Electronics has released a new signature overdrive for Andy Timmons – and it’s left the virtuoso in “tone heaven” By Phil Weller published 24 January 24 The pedal offers Andy Timmons and Robert Keeley-specific voicings for transparent clean boosts and all-out germanium fuzz tones
NAMM 2024: “We want to do for the guitar community what Fulltone has always done – make amazing products for working class guitar players”: Fulltone has been resurrected by Jackson Audio – and the OCD is coming back By Phil Weller published 24 January 24 Having ended its large-scale production in 2022, Fulltone has been given a second life through a collaboration with Jackson Audio, with old favorites and new inventions on the way
NAMM 2024: “A new era in acoustic guitar amplification”: L.R. Baggs innovates the acoustic pickup again with the HiFi Duet – a non-invasive pickup-and-mic system that mounts to your guitar using a sticker By Matt Owen published 24 January 24 The Duet adds a Silo mic to the foundations of the flagship HiFi system and promises to deliver “unparalleled sonic excellence”
NAMM 2024: all the latest guitar news, rumors and predictions from the greatest gear show on Earth By Michael Astley-Brown
NAMM 2024 live: this year’s biggest guitar news as it happens By Michael Astley-Brown last updated 25 January 24 Everything you need to know direct from the show floor at the world’s no. 1 guitar gear show
NAMM 2024: With the $3,700 Pacifica Professional, Yamaha is hoping to prove the beginner workhorse has thoroughbred potential. Can it persuade players to pay custom prices for an entry-level name? By Matt Parker published 24 January 24 The firm's new Japanese-made Professional and Standard Plus models are challenging perceptions of the enduringly popular Pacifica
NAMM 2024: “I don't have anything in my sonic world that's anything like it”: Keeley Electronics has released a new signature overdrive for Andy Timmons – and it’s left the virtuoso in “tone heaven” By Phil Weller published 24 January 24 The pedal offers Andy Timmons and Robert Keeley-specific voicings for transparent clean boosts and all-out germanium fuzz tones
NAMM 2024: “We want to do for the guitar community what Fulltone has always done – make amazing products for working class guitar players”: Fulltone has been resurrected by Jackson Audio – and the OCD is coming back By Phil Weller published 24 January 24 Having ended its large-scale production in 2022, Fulltone has been given a second life through a collaboration with Jackson Audio, with old favorites and new inventions on the way
NAMM 2024: “A new era in acoustic guitar amplification”: L.R. Baggs innovates the acoustic pickup again with the HiFi Duet – a non-invasive pickup-and-mic system that mounts to your guitar using a sticker By Matt Owen published 24 January 24 The Duet adds a Silo mic to the foundations of the flagship HiFi system and promises to deliver “unparalleled sonic excellence”
NAMM 2024: “For all of the original mojo and magic craved by the true believers”: EHX’s Double Anniversary Big Muff Pi delivers its first ‘big box’ Ramshead circuit since the 1970s – and sells-out in hours. Will there be more big boxes on the way? By Matt Parker published 24 January 24 The firm’s extremely limited edition full-size reissue of the definitive ’70s fuzz circuit sold-out soon after its announcement
NAMM 2024: “A tribute to all the players who have made Taylor a part of their musical journey over the past half-century”: Taylor celebrates its 50th birthday in style with 3 elegant Anniversary Collection models By Phil Weller published 24 January 24 Including beloved features, vintage touches and a modern mentality, the new range serves up three distinctive guitars that pay homage to Taylor's heritage with one eye on the future
Green Day, Ace Frehley and George Harrison's last Beatles guitar – only in the new Guitar World By Damian Fanelli published 23 January 24 Plus! Code Orange, Johnny Marr, Chelsea Wolfe, Eddie Martinez, Marty Friedman, Adam Jones and the sad tale of Ted Nugent's original Gibson Byrdland
“Artfully aged by the Murphy Lab to match the look and feel of Kirk’s original”: Gibson’s Custom Shop takes on Kirk Hammett’s mod-heavy, “blacked-out” 1989 Les Paul Custom – and it’s safe to say it’s nothing like Greeny... By Matt Parker published 23 January 24 The Metallica guitar god debuts his latest signature Les Paul – and it’s a little different to his other recent custom shop build...
The electric guitar shredded itself to death in the ‘80s. It had to start over, but the ‘90s grunge revolution didn‘t just change the face of guitar playing – it changed the world By Brad Tolinski
“I had a couple of solos mapped out, but for the most part I just go for it... I think that you lose all the soul if you think about it too much”: Roy Z on keeping things simple and song-serving with Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford's solo bands By Andrew Daly published 25 January 24 Having served as the guitarist and producer for the solo bands of not one, but two, metal giants, Roy Z says that the secret is to focus on what the music needs, and not overthink
“When 18 and Life played back and I heard Scotti play the first three notes in the solo, I got chills. I called Jon Bon Jovi and said, 'Do you ever get chills listening to your own music?'”: Snake Sabo and Scotti Hill on Skid Row's massive debut album By Richard Bienstock published 23 January 24 Skid Row's two-guitar tandem discuss building their own pedals, in-the-works Kramers, and what they learned from each other while recording their star-making, self-titled 1989 debut
“Bass should stand on its own. It’s as powerful as the guitar”: Conrad Lant on his disdain for Ampeg SVTs and how he bought Andy Fraser’s Gibson EB-3 for £50 – “It was the exact one he played on All Right Now!” By Joel McIver published 23 January 24 Venom, the original black metal band, have been invoking Old Nick since 1981. On the bass, meet Conrad Lant – ‘Cronos’ to the (black) masses
“We were auditioning for bass players, but most of the guys who came in were too good. One day I just said, ‘What if I play bass?’” Shavo Odadjian on why he switched from guitar to the bass By Joel McIver published 23 January 24 Shavo Odadjian holds down the low-end in System of a Down, America’s most uncategorisable band
Best phaser pedals 2024: our guide to this versatile modulation guitar effect By Chris Corfield last updated 23 January 24 Looking to create that swirling sound effect? These are the best phaser pedals to try from MXR, Electro-Harmonix, Walrus Audio and more
“Session players don’t get the credit they deserve. Some of the signature licks they come up with are ones people won’t know they wrote”: Brent Mason on why session guitarists deserve more respect, and how he became Nashville’s hottest hired gun By Andrew Daly published 23 January 24 Mason has played on over a thousand recordings, collaborated with A-listers such as George Strait and Shania Twain, and few are more capable with a Fender Tele. So why are there some days he wants to sound like anyone other than Brent Mason?
How the Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress became the go-to flanger for David Gilmour and Andy Summers, and remained a pedalboard staple for nearly 50 years By Chris Gill published 23 January 24 Was it the world's first flanger? Who cares. What matters is that the EHX Flanger/Filter Matrix can legitimately claim to be the coolest, and contributed to some classic recordings
“The message for tube nostalgists is clear: enjoy today what may not be here tomorrow”: Can the tube amp survive in the digital era? By Jamie Dickson published 22 January 24 As digital guitar amplification continues to wow the market and guitar players alike, is it realistic to assume that it will be business as usual for the tube amp?
“I remember running over to Carlos Santana and asking him to bless my pick to allow me to cross through the portal of his powers”: Porno For Pyros are NOT over – but Peter DiStefano already has a lifetime of tales from the band By Andrew Daly published 22 January 24 DiStefano has lived a thousand lives: he refused to join Jane’s Addiction, wrote his band’s first hit about a murdered school friend, escaped a junkie death through an out-of-body experience, and cried with Perry Farrell after announcing their (no longer a) farewell tour
Bernie Marsden was British blues-rock's secret weapon – and his melodic, emotive approach to guitar solos is a must-learn By David Gerrish published 24 January 24 In honor of the late, great Bernie Marsden, we put his solo style under the microscope with two lead workouts that showcase the former Whitesnake rock legend's chops and phrasing
One of the greatest things about the guitar is its capacity to emulate the nuances and expressiveness of the human voice – improve your phrasing now with this lesson in how make your playing more vocal By Andy Aledort published 22 January 24 By making clever use of string bends, finger slides and vibrato, you can make your guitar sing
Matteo Mancuso's mind-bending technique has taken the guitar world by storm – learn how to increase your fingerpicking speed to nail his extraordinary licks By Declan Zapala published 20 January 24 It's time to build speed without the pick, with a little help from the hottest guitar player in the world right now – and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Stop spending all your practice time on soloing: rhythm playing is even more important – and embellishing chords will seriously up your game By Andy Saphir published 18 January 24 We show you how to take regular chords and level them up with sliding shapes, doublestops and legato
Ditching the pick adds a whole new set of colors to your guitar palette – and these 10 fingerstyle jazz licks will class up your playing (even if you’re not a jazz guitarist) By Arianna Powell published 15 January 24 Pickup Music’s Arianna Powell shares a wealth of tasty jazz ideas that will work in any genre
The doublestop is a neo-soul guitar staple – learn how it can add harmonies to your solos and spice up your chord transitions By Niklas Myhre published 10 January 24 Neo-soul is one of the hottest guitar trends of the moment – and in this lesson, Pickup Music's Niklas Myhre gives you a primer on one of its essential approaches
Jimi Hendrix smashed the barriers between lead and rhythm guitar with his revolutionary chord work. Learn how the most influential guitarist of them all worked his voodoo style with this essential chord lesson By Total Guitar editors published 5 January 24 Learn about the often overlooked rhythmic foundations of the guitar icon’s world-changing playing
Master the way of the exploding guitar in this lesson on the technique and abundant creativity of cult shred icon Mr Fastfinger By Charlie Griffiths published 3 January 24 Take your playing to a higher plane of existence with this study of Mika Tyyskä, the Finnish creator of the animated shredder
How Jimi Hendrix’s groundbreaking techniques are still influencing the modern rock, blues and R&B styles of today’s players By Andy Aledort published 31 December 23 This tab and video lesson details how Hendrix inspired the likes of Melanie Faye, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Marcus Machado, Ayla Tesler-Mabé, Joanne Shaw Taylor and Ayron Jones
