Gibson revives and refreshes its Songwriter Recording Artist acoustic range
Two new models, with and without cutaways, blend vintage Gibson tones with a modern dreadnought shape and L.R. Baggs electronics for a best of both worlds approach
![The Jim Irsay Collection's three big stars of the night [L-R]: Kurt Cobain's 1969 Mustang, David Gilmour's record-breaking Black Strat, and Jerry Garcia's Tiger.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7b4qJRk85dSviaveTCjfAe-1200-80.jpg.webp)
Latest News
Gibson revives and refreshes its Songwriter Recording Artist acoustic range
Two new models, with and without cutaways, blend vintage Gibson tones with a modern dreadnought shape and L.R. Baggs electronics for a best of both worlds approach
When Bonnie Raitt took Melissa Etheridge guitar shopping – and convinced her to swap her Les Paul for a Strat
Proof that we should always listen to Bonnie Raitt's advice, Etheridge never looked back with the Strat
How John Mayer helped Doug Pettibone sharpen his pedal steel skills
When Pettibone’s pedal steel skills were exposed he feared the worst – but what Mayer did next surprised him
Steve Di Giorgio sets the record straight on what it was like to sideman for Dave Mustaine and Megadeth
The Testament bassist has looked back on his experience recording on Megadeth's 2022 release, The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!
Mike McCready has spent 20 years making a rock opera that explores an alternate history of grunge – and it’s finally ready
Farewell to Seasons has been a two-decade labor of love from the Pearl Jam guitarist
The Specials’ Ghost Town bass fetches thousands at auction – having been bought for just £200
Horace Panter used the Fender Precision to record The Specials’ timeless two-tone hit, and also featured in his supergroup, General Public
David Gilmour's Black Strat sells for record-shattering $14.5 million in the biggest guitar auction in history
We were live on the ground at Christie's auction house in New York as the world's greatest guitar collection went under the hammer
Artists
“All I need is insurmountable odds. Give me your worst guitar”: Josh Homme is finally ready to talk tone
From flea market finds to amps that aren’t amps at all, the Queens of the Stone Age mastermind has begun to reveal his tone secrets – starting with the little Peavey that could. The self-proclaimed shepherd of the weird explains why it’s time to share
Glenn Tilbrook on the resurrection of the Squeeze concept album that never was
Demo’d in ’74, when their compositional skills wrote checks their chops couldn’t cash, Squeeze shelved Trixies for 52 years. Now, Tilbrook says he’s proud to pull this lost album from the time machine
He arrived on the shred scene with Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker and John Petrucci… then he vanished
After starting a family and his own company, Darren Housholder's priorities changed – but he’s gradually brought music-making back into his world
How Eric Gales enlisted Buddy Guy, Kingfish, Joe Bonamassa (and his guitar collection) to pay tribute to his brother
With a little help from Bonamassa and Josh Smith, Eric Gales put together one of the great 21st-century blues albums to honor his brother Little Jimmy King
How Gail Ann Dorsey honed her bass craft with David Bowie and Lenny Kravitz
Bowie’s long-time bassist salutes her mentor and unpacks her approach to the bass chair with Lenny Kravitz
![A B/W live shot of the Bangles performing for a music video [l-r]: Vicki Peterson, Susanna Hoffs and Michael Steele](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HaGPwJUm5wdQLiNtbqXueS-840-80.jpg.webp)
Vicki Peterson on a gift from the Bangles’ most famous fan and their garage approach to an ‘80s pop classic
The heat was on. The label expected. And so, in 1986, the Bangles did what the Bangles did best – they put together a set of songs that had the whole world walking differently
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Witch Fever’s Alisha Yarwood on superhero stompboxes, dream tours with IDLES, and why ‘That Great Gretsch Sound’ was doom-punk all along
Raw, feminist, fiercely unrelenting, Witch Fever have taken their sound from clubs to arenas. Here, Yarwood talks tonal epiphanies, starting on drums, and finding freedom on bigger stages
Meshell Ndegeocello favors restraint over fretboard theatrics; but Marcus Miller (and Jaco) get a pass
Meshell Ndegeocello discusses what set Jaco Pastorius apart from the pack, what she looks for in a bassist, and the crucial lesson her jazz musician father taught her
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It was nothing more than a throwaway jam – then they were playing it at the Grammys in tuxedos
In the annals of ’90s alt-rock one-off hits, few were more improbable than Liar, the snarky funk-metal jam that brought hardcore heavyweight Henry Rollins and his band onto mainstream radio, and to music's biggest stage
Gear
The 16 most expensive guitars of all time
Fenders owned by Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, Martins belonging to Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour, and one independently made axe headline the list of most profitable guitars sold at auction
How the Gibson ES-5 paved the way for a new wave of electric blues (and maybe even the Strat, too)
In the vintage market, the big-box jazz guitars are less sought after but this pair of Gibson ES-5s are holy grails in anyone’s book – especially disciples of T-Bone Walker
What Kurt Cobain’s record-breaking 1969 ‘Competition’ Mustang tells us about Fender’s guitar building in the ’60s
The student-model Fender that ignited grunge on the worldwide stage just sold for $6,907,000 as part of the Jim Irsay Collection
“A lot of deceptively clever craft”: Duesenberg Starplayer CBR review
It’s been a while since we’ve dropped into the world of Duesenberg. German ingenuity, retro style and some big-name users – what’s not to like?
“It’s a pedal I didn’t even know I needed”: EHX Effects Interface review
From the creator of the Big Muff comes a handy unit for getting your pedalboard and your DAW effects talking to each other
The history and preservation of Eric Clapton’s The Fool SG
With its psychedelic paint job, Clapton’s iconic Cream-era Gibson SG is a guitar like no other. As it goes under the hammer as part of the Jim Irsay Collection, we take a closer look at The Fool SG
Best pedalboard power supplies 2026: juice your ‘board with my pick of pro-grade power for every budget and size of 'board, fully tested
I put budget-spanning pedal power supplies from Fender, Cioks, Walrus Audio and more through their paces – these were my standouts
I just discovered savings of up to 26% off Boss pedals in the Amazon Spring Deal Days sale – get big money off a Waza Craft Metal Zone, the versatile DD-8 digital delay, and the flagship GT-1000CORE multi-effects pedal
With these savings on Boss pedals Amazon is proving it's not just the destination for budget stomp boxes
Lessons
5 altered chords you need to know – and how they get their names
Altered chords can be intimidating at first, but here we demystify the naming conventions, and once you understand that, you can easily find your own
Cory Wong on why doubling the bassline is one of the “most badass” things a guitarist can do
Cory Wong uses Vulfpeck's Jaco-inspired Dean Town to teach us the value of doubling a bassline on guitar
How to play B.B. King’s greatest song (with some help from Joe Bonamassa)
Bonamassa says B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone is so perfect that he initially couldn’t find anyone to cover it on his tribute album. Here, he unpacks the tones and approaches of the King of the Blues
Bopping blues and greasy grooves: Ally Venable's rhythm guitar tips and secrets
Learn how to boost your blues to pro levels of authenticity with a handful of great chords and a rock-solid rhythm technique
Big jumps for a bigger sound: Steve Morse’s masterclass on wide intervals
Deep-dive your technique for powerful intervals with six string-jumping, fretboard-stretching examples from one of the world's most influential super-pickers
What we can learn from Mike Oldfield about breaking free of the pentatonic box
In this lesson, we reimagine folk, jazz, blues and Celtic music for a blues roadmap that takes the road less traveled
KT Tunstall’s 5 guitar tips to boost your songwriting skills
Learn KT's five go-to guitar techniques: from power strumming to rich chords, colorful picking, and unison vocal/guitar riffs.
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Reviews
“A lot of deceptively clever craft”: Duesenberg Starplayer CBR review
It’s been a while since we’ve dropped into the world of Duesenberg. German ingenuity, retro style and some big-name users – what’s not to like?
“It’s a pedal I didn’t even know I needed”: EHX Effects Interface review
From the creator of the Big Muff comes a handy unit for getting your pedalboard and your DAW effects talking to each other
“A cost-effective way of accurately amplifying your modeled tone, which is exactly what many guitar players need”: Blackstar Artist FR Special review
Bypassing some of the fancy features of other FRFR cabinets, Blackstar gets straight to the point with a no-frills solution for amplifying your modeled guitar tones
“Amp and cab models that surpass some expensive units from bigger brands”: Blackstar ID:X Floor Three review
Blackstar swerves the touchscreen for a tactile, amp-style workflow
“Great neck shape, playability and setup – and it’s gig-ready, something we don’t always say about Epiphone, or indeed Gibson”: Epiphone Fatoumata Diawara SG review
Grammy-nominated Malian singer and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara joins forces with Epiphone to produce a vivid-looking and wicked-sounding SG that’s a celebration of her style
“It may not have the same EQ options as other FRFRs, but the Laney LFR-110 amplifies your digital tone in a way that will easily get you heard on stage”: Laney LFR-110 review
Laney introduces its most compact FRFR guitar cabinet yet, in what could be the perfect on-stage companion to your carefully curated modeling tone
"It’s fast-feeling, streamlined, and distressed already, so go ahead and beat it up - this under $700 guitar is geared for many road miles and serious shredding": Fame Custom ST RW review
Fame delivers an absolute burner of a guitar that exceeds expectations.
“The pickups are so often the Achilles heel of more affordable guitars, and that’s no different here”: Cort Space G6MS review
Cort has been making headless guitars for Strandberg for years, so has its learning translated into a must-have budget axe, or is there work to be done?
"A successful first foray into amp and effects modeler floorboards for the firm, which has a really bright future in the space": Blackstar ID:X Floor One review
Blackstar becomes the latest in a long line of companies to develop a floorboard-based amp modeler rig solution – and it's gone about it in the perfect way
Buying Guides
Best pedalboard power supplies 2026: juice your ‘board with my pick of pro-grade power for every budget and size of 'board, fully tested
I put budget-spanning pedal power supplies from Fender, Cioks, Walrus Audio and more through their paces – these were my standouts
Best delay pedals 2026: our pick of the coolest spacey pedals for your pedalboard
Whether you prefer digital or analog delay pedals, the options in this round-up will help boost your creativity on the guitar
Best electric guitars 2026: our top picks for every playing style, ability and budget
Useful buying advice and our expert pick of the best electric guitars for newcomers to pro players
Best acoustic guitars for beginners 2026: My top picks for new players, reviewed by a pro
I've tested epic affordable six-strings from Fender, Taylor, Yamaha, and more – read on for my best beginner acoustic guitar recommendations and watch my video demos
Best cheap acoustic guitars 2025: budget acoustics with genuine pedigree
Great tone doesn’t have to break the bank – these are the best cheap acoustic guitars from Fender, Yamaha, Cort and more
Best guitar audio interfaces 2026: get better recorded guitar tones
My pick of the best audio interfaces for guitar will have you up and recording in no time
Best EQ pedals 2026: must-have effects to tame your tone
Our expert pick of EQ pedals for the discerning player from the likes of Boss, Chase Bliss Audio, MXR and more
