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February 2026

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175 articles

February 22
- “Knowing that I had the other one, Eric starts calling me and asking if I would sell it. He was offering me £200 for it, more than twice what I’d paid for it”: The history and mysteries of Eric Clapton’s Cream guitars
- “Those old players had nothing to hide behind. Just their hands, their feel and the truth coming through the speakers”: 5 modern blues guitar heroes on the impossible task of imitating the blues greats
- “That’ll still smoke most rigs these days too, by the way”: Aaron Marshall of Intervals says the rig he played Blink-182 and Slipknot on as a teenager could more than hold its own today
February 21
- “I tried to talk him out of it... He was too good a writer to have that be his calling card”: The band's guitarist felt the song was beneath its writer, but it became one of the biggest singalong guitar-pop hits of the 2000s
- “Even with their sub-$500 tickets, these guitars have been built with some degree of care and expertise”: Epiphone J-45 Studio and J-200 Studio review
- “My tech said, ‘This bass looks tiny on you.’ I lowered the strap so it would look cooler. You have to throw your whole body into it”: Bought from grunge icons and stolen before Soundgarden reunited – the story of Ben Shepherd’s 1972 Fender Jazz Bass
- “I just had decidedly hated Stratocasters, Les Pauls, any of the common instruments that you see everybody use”: How Jack White found his own voice by seeking out a different kind of guitar
- “This could be one of the biggest steps forward in passive pickup design in years”: All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the most metal Jackson yet
February 20
- “Joe Satriani said,‘Every time I do an album, I feel like the first song I have to prove that I can play guitar’”: Why Paul Gilbert thinks it’s important to practice restraint when it comes to shredding
- “This is a bass guitar that’s going to stir up quite a lot of interest among fans and collectors”: The bass used to record The Specials' gloomy political anthem, Ghost Town, is headed to auction
- “Tony said, ‘Hey, you’re singing flat.’ My dad got really pissed off”: Jack Osbourne says a heated moment during soundcheck before Black Sabbath’s farewell show revealed everything about Tony Iommi and Ozzy’s relationship
- “It sounded perfect, man… like a gift from on high”: Is Slash's no. 1 Les Paul – which isn’t a Gibson – set for a Gibson reboot?
- “It made me want to go all the way in, bring in the best metal players I could find, and create something fearless”: Zakk Wylde gifted William Shatner a guitar. Now Shatner is making an album with 35 metal icons – and an AI-generated Les Paul, apparently
- “We've finally ‘put a ring on it’”: Volbeat confirm new lead guitarist nearly three years after Rob Caggiano’s departure
- “I have the greatest respect for classical and jazz musicians. Their musicality is far greater than mine. But my imagination and inventiveness, most probably, is far greater”: Steve Howe on overcoming stage fright and the tragic fate of his Gibson ES-175
- “Buddy had a stunt singer in the booth, so he could play his guitar solo live with us”: The late Michael Rhodes provided an unshakable foundation for Buddy Guy’s 2013 salute to his hometown
- “Practicing is boring. Getting better at guitar by playing in a band is much more interesting”: Geese are being hailed as the future of rock. Guitarist Emily Green can’t figure out why – but her ‘cloudy’ playing style might have something to do with it
- “Its tonal quality is a match for boutique offerings from smaller high-end manufacturers”: PRS DGT 15 Combo review
- As Arch Enemy announce their new singer, Alissa White-Gluz has revealed her new guitarists – and the lineup has already impressed some heavy-hitters
February 19
- “By the time we met the Beatles, they were thrilled to meet us. They liked us in part because we were women who could play”: The pioneering ’70s band beloved by the Beatles – who recorded with Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper’s sonic architect
- “I had to learn how to get the sound. I was just hooked”: Driven by a Van Halen obsession, Jacob Deraps is a YouTube shred superstar on a mission to bring catchy rock ‘n’ roll back to the mainstream
- “The drums, the guitar and the bass are already in there. What we didn’t have is a vocalist”: Alex Van Halen says a new Van Halen record was virtually finished before Eddie passed away
- What constitutes “fake” guitar playing?
- “They said, ‘You're playing heavy metal.’ I said, ‘Heavy metal… what's that?’” Why Tony Iommi shunned the heavy metal tag during Black Sabbath's early days
- “The craft is faultless… the range of sounds that it can produce is quite extraordinary”: Swannell Guitars makes an electric like an acoustic with tones that will blow your mind
- “At the end of the show, Jimmy goes, ‘The way you mix rock and Indian music is something I’ve never seen before’”: Meet the psych-rockers merging Hendrix with 600-year-old Hindustani classical music tradition – who count Jimmy Page among their fans
- “It went totally sour. After we did the album thing, it was like, ‘This isn’t happening’”: Why Nile Rodgers and John Mayer’s collaboration was derailed – because of a Rolling Stones album
February 18
- "There’s clarity where you want it, and a glorious wall of noise when you need it": Laney Black Country Customs Billy Corgan Supergrace Loudpedal review
- “You do feel violated, and it was really sad and disturbing to watch the video”: Police in search of robbers who stole $15,000 vintage Martin D-28 from Maryland music store
- “We’ve been writing music together”: The Red Hot Chili Peppers are working on their next project, Flea says – and they’re recording at John Frusciante’s house
- “The best-sounding, most powerful, and most flexible processing Line 6 has ever offered”: Line 6’s Helix Stadium Floor is finally shipping – 8 months after it was first unveiled
- “I had a poster on my wall of B.B. King playing Lucille. I always wanted one of those guitars”: Gary Clark Jr. comes full circle with a new signature Gibson ES-355 that pays homage to his hero
- “I showed it to John Paul Jones. He laughed. And then he played it. He went from giggling to joy”: When Josh Homme introduced a Led Zeppelin legend to his secret-weapon amp
- “I spent a lot of shows in the beginning wondering if he was upset”: John Mayer opens up on his early Dead & Company insecurities – and learning to share the stage with his hero, Bob Weir
- “My main memory is thinking if I stood still for too long, I’d get hit with a beer can”: Thundercat on getting his start with hardcore punk legends Suicidal Tendencies – and how that developed his bass chops
- “People want real experiences. There’s a backlash to this era of perfect music, and I appreciate it”: Converge’s Kurt Ballou on mixing pedals with amp modelers, guitar recording hacks and reclaiming metal’s authenticity
- “I wandered into a Guitar Center vintage room, plugged it in and it just floored me. People literally started coming in asking what amp I was playing”: Inside Fender’s mission to bring the ’62 Super Amp back from the dead
- “I love the sound of acoustics and electrics, which is why I try to merge the two… I prefer bigger textures”: How Pavey Ark are reinventing acoustic guitar with pedals, fake nails and a $60 nylon-string that holds its own in any company
February 17
- "A triumphant first all-analog pedal from Strymon, which will inject your rig with some impressively usable and versatile drive tones": Strymon Fairfax Class A Output Stage Drive pedal review
- “Gene and Paul came back to the studio with their jaws on the floor. Gene said, ‘No-one has ever turned down Kiss’“: The glam-rock guitarist who accidentally turned down Kiss
- “I cut my finger and got blood on the fretboard. It felt like the guitar had chosen me”: Deftones are fans. Wet Leg invited them on tour. Meet Mary in the Junkyard, the classically rooted alt-rockers making mind-bending indie with Elliott Smith’s tunings
- “I’ve had great luck doing the exact opposite of what the internet tells me”: Joe Bonamassa on the ‘unorthodox’ Marshall hack he nicked from Zakk Wylde
- “In the world of extended chords, this is as far as we can go”: Demystifying 13th chords, the voicing that Stevie Ray Vaughan used to stunning effect in Lenny
- Joe Satriani’s amp builder has released a potentially game-changing pickup system – which gives players the power to choose where their gain is created
- “Albert King took me aside. He said, ‘The biggest thing about music is you can’t play what people want you to play.’ My dad said that, too”: Bernard Allison grew up surrounded by blues legends – and hid the fact he was learning guitar for years
- “He exemplified how top instrumentalists can adapt to a remarkable range of styles and settings”: Steel guitarist Pete Finney – who performed with Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and the Monkees – dies aged 70
February 16
- “My only frustrations are with its unstable tuning, which dampens an otherwise fantastic playing experience”: Cort Space G6TR review
- “I thought my computer actually broke”: Bass phenom Kinga Głyk recalls the moment her rendition of an Eric Clapton classic went viral – and made her career
- “Even if no-one’s applauding, this is still going”: Mark Speer was so afraid the audience wouldn’t applaud at early Khruangbin shows, he figured out how to do it on guitar
- I didn’t think the Amazon Presidents’ Day sale would be any good for guitarists, but I’m happy to admit I’m wrong – here's 6 stellar savings on great guitar gear, including Boss, Fender, D'Addario, and more
- “I would sneak off with her guitar. She’d get really p***ed off at me”: Nancy Wilson’s first guitar was unplayable – so she kept stealing her sister’s
- With over $1,000 off PRS Core guitars and amps, I think I just found the most tempting sale around this Presidents' Day
- “Classical guitarists are at war with the guitar. They want to be part of the greater tradition like violin and piano. They want it to be more than it is”: How classical-schooled Derek Gripper rehabilitated himself with 21-string West African technique
- Score a vintage spec Fender with $600 off this Presidents' Day thanks to some gigantic Vintera II discounts over at the official Fender store
- These are the 5 guitar sales that get our vote this Presidents' Day – score up to 60% off a whole host of guitars, amps, pedals and accessories
- “To my ears, it’s not very usable”: The main problems with Telecasters, according to Paul Reed Smith
- “Cutting-edge Fluence technology meets world-class artistry”: Fishman brings Herman Li’s PRS Chleo Fluence pickups to the masses – but there’s a catch
- “I did tours sleeping in a tent to save money. I asked this family if I could pitch up in their garden. That helped me get my first P-Bass”: Rock ’n’ roll's ‘Forrest Gump’ Leo Lyons shares the story of Ten Years After and their iconic Woodstock set
- “It was not possible to get a left-handed Jazzmaster in this country. Fender told me, ‘You might as well be ringing Ibanez – we just don’t make them’”: Mike Vennart on the Squier Strats that are simply unbeatable – and why he hates acoustics
- “It was an extremely agile move. It was so smooth, it was like we had choreographed it”: Michael Angelo Batio on the time Billy Corgan spared his blushes during a Smashing Pumpkins guest spot
February 15
- “There’s more than a whiff of Keef’s fabled old Telecasters”: The Newman Torn and Frayed Edition might be the Rolling Stones-inspired T-type we’ve been dreaming of
- “David shook my hand and said, ‘Here’s the song I want to do.’ It was Golden Years. I was auditioning during the making of the album”: Bassist George Murray’s six-year stint with David Bowie
February 14
- “We were terrified we were going to get caught. A lot of people would have lost their jobs”: That time one of alt-rock’s goofiest bands snuck into a storage space at 2am, and recorded a solo through Carlos Santana’s full guitar rig
- “Tal came over and said, ‘Sting, it doesn’t quite go the way you’re playing it…’” When Tal Wilkenfeld taught Sting the correct way to play an Aerosmith classic
- Five-neck guitars, custom models with nine pickups, and... model train lap steels? Prove your knowledge of the strangest guitars ever built
- “He was like, ‘No, I want the other position.’ That’s where it became so acrimonious between us”: Francis Rossi opens up on the internal tensions between Status Quo’s two guitar greats
- “I saw these at Guitar Summit last year and came away with one thought: this might be the guitar of my dreams”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including a long-awaited Lamb of God Les Paul
February 13
- D’Addario just launched a glove to clean your guitar
- “Blends performance and aesthetics into a single, uncompromising musical tool”: Harley Benton’s well-specced $285 eight-string finally gets a left-handed version
- “It didn’t work well at the time. Then it just became one of the most popular guitars ever made”: The latest in Gibson and Leo Scala’s Master Artisan Collection is a love letter to the O.G. Explorer – and our addiction to rare guitars
- “A piece as collectible as it is playable”: Prince’s signature Taylor is back for the first time in 15 years – but you’ll have to go to Paisley Park to get it
- “These performances present him at his very best – and they’re thrilling to hear”: Blues gold unearthed as rare Freddie King live performance surfaces after 50 years
- “I hadn’t even had a chance to play this guitar before it was ripped off from our gig”: Nancy Wilson on the story of her stolen baritone – which made its debut at a Chappell Roan gig
- “As soon as they started to jam, all three felt the magic. They instinctively knew they were on to something”: Their first single was so bad, the label pulled 10,000 copies. Yet they went on to be one of the most influential supergroups in music history
- “Demonstrates just how extreme Gibson’s custom division was prepared to get in order to make a customer happy”: When is a Gibson Barney Kessel not a Gibson Barney Kessel? This 1967 unicorn explains all...
- “A very good guitar with an evocative backstory”: Gretsch Limited Edition Abbey Road RS201 Studiomatic review
- “Delivers surprisingly good amp models and one of the best AI practice tools I’ve ever used”: JBL BandBox Trio review
February 12
- “Many guitarists are wary of getting into slide playing. This is a great way to dive in”: How to play slide guitar in standard tuning
- “I don’t know why I’m so late to the game. I am kicking myself”: Yvette Young shares a closer look at her next signature guitar – which features her latest gear revelation
- “The most significant guitar in the career of the Muse guitarist”: Manson releases like-for-like recreation of Matt Bellamy’s main guitar – complete with all the onboard effects
- “I took Gem Archer’s job when he joined Oasis. Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy came in on Saturdays and we’d just play”: How a job in the “party guitar shop” gave Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne his start in the industry
- “Honoring a century of music, storytelling, and unforgettable moments on country’s most iconic stage”: Martin teams up with the Grand Ole Opry on a one-of-a-kind, limited-edition acoustic
- “I found a Gibson Melody Maker but he said, ‘It’s not good enough.’ I said, ‘Take my Flying V.’ When he came off stage he said, ‘I can’t give it back.’ For my brother I did everything… and still failed!” Rudolf Schenker’s 60 years with the Scorpions
- “The concept is simple. Capture a performance in a single take”: Ichika Nito shares unedited one-take performance – as ‘fake playing’ accusations spread on social media
- “He made me want to push the blues-rock envelope. He had this hip-hop persona, playing fiery blues riffs with all the soul you’d get from B.B. King”: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram has learned from the masters on his road to becoming a modern-day blues great
- “More than anything, I wanted to go, but I just froze”: Warren Haynes on the time he missed the chance to play with B.B. King
- “His creative contributions were immense”: Greg Brown, co-founder and guitarist of Cake and songwriter of the hit The Distance, dies at 56
- $500 off a jaw-dropping Gibson Les Paul Standard is just the tip of the iceberg in Guitar Center's unbeatable Presidents' Day sale – here's more of my expert picks
February 11
- "The combination of onboard multi-effects and a looper on a travel acoustic is an inspirational proposition here": Cort Earth GO 3/4 Dreadnought guitar review
- “The tone got me addicted – when it broke I’d say, ‘I can’t play!’” April Wine are hitting arenas again with Triumph – guitarist Brian Greenway discusses his hopes for a new album, and the pedal he couldn't live without
- “He wanted $200 for it. Now it’s worth millions”: Andy Summers was skeptical of Telecasters at first – until he found one that would become one of his main Police guitars
- “Once you have it down, you can explore improvised melodies along with the steady bass pattern”: What is “Dead thumb” fingerpicking?
- “The world has lost a giant. A colossus of African music”: Ebo Taylor, celebrated Ghanaian guitarist and highlife music pioneer, dies at 90
- “He had nothing left to prove. He still showed up whole-heartedly, simply because a piece of music spoke to him”: Steve Cropper played on my song – and his performance was matched only by his warmth and generosity
- Painted Neck Stratocasters? These Fender Custom Shop models put a distinct – and divisive – twist on the traditional template
- There's no need to wait for the weekend to find your dream guitar – Musician's Friend just slashed prices by up to 60% off in their early Presidents' Day sale
- “The door cracks open and I hear, ‘Who the hell are you? Play that again!‘” Steven Tyler gatecrashed Jared James Nichols’ jam and invited him to hang out with Aerosmith – and he kept coming back
February 10
- “It's the biggest show on the planet... I'm like, ‘Oh you gotta be kidding me right?’” Zakk Wylde recalls his “Spinal Tap moment” during Back to the Beginning
- “This guy came up after a gig and said he was a specialist in repetitive strain injuries. He said, ‘What you’re doing is exactly what we tell people not to do’”: Inside the (literally) blistering sound of British alt-rock’s cultest heroes
- “Chino said, ‘Guitar?’ He looked over at his bandmates and smiled”: Deftones invite superfan onstage to play in front of sold-out arena crowd
- “He’s a weapon. He came back with that over a couple of nights. He really tortured himself”: How Guthrie Govan ended up on prog masters Karnivool’s latest album – which was in the works for 13 years
- “He had definite ideas about how he wanted to do certain songs. I’m similar, so we clashed”: Brian Robertson sets the record straight on his Thin Lizzy exit
- “It crushes me not to be able to play guitar”: Manowar founding guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman diagnosed with ALS
- “At this point, we’re even being emulated by other companies”: Tosin Abasi never planned to be a guitar designer – he explains how Abasi Concepts became one of the biggest names in progressive guitars
- “I never thought I would release a guitar with my own logo”: Epiphone teams up with Chinese pop icon WoWkie Da on a bold new J‑180 signature acoustic
- “There’s nothing that impressive about being able to play the guitar at a decently high level anymore”: Why Billy Corgan changed the way he plays guitar solos
- “Everything you need to create truly iconic tones”: Fractal goes up against Neural DSP and IK Multimedia with ICONS – its first-ever plugin
- “Far, far from limited to our man in terms of its potential use”: Fender Johnny Marr Signature Special Jaguar review
- “I wanted to pay my respects to James Hetfield, who I think is an amazing guitar player, and Lars Ulrich, who was an excellent songwriter”: Dave Mustaine breaks down Megadeth’s final album, track by track – and why he paid tribute to Metallica
February 9
- “You could go to school on what Fred created so effortlessly”: Fred Smith, influential Television and former Blondie bassist, dies at 77
- “Set your preconceptions of the band and brand aside – this is a very capable bass”: Epiphone Mike Dirnt Grabber G-3 review
- “Green Day showing the world how to keep it loud!” Billie Joe Armstrong shows off mysterious new Marshall as Green Day rock the Super Bowl – could a signature amp finally be on the cards?
- “The recording was brutal. Daytime was Dragon's Kiss, nighttime was Jason Becker's Perpetual Burn. I was in the studio 16 to 18 hours a day”: Marty Friedman on leaving Megadeth, reconnecting with Dave Mustaine, and why he wasn't a good fit for Ozzy
- “He told him to keep playing and never stop”: The heartwarming moment James Hetfield met a 10-year-old superfan
- Ex-Turnstile guitarist fired from new band after accusing Turnstile of misusing benefit show funds
- “I have to give credit to him… I was telling him that I was in a quandary about what to do about the band”: How Don Henley got the Eagles back on track after Glenn Frey’s death – with some help from Bono
- What was the guitar-like instrument played during Bad Bunny’s history-making 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?
- “The beginning of an exciting new chapter for the storied brand”: One of Scotland’s most popular guitar retailers set to return under new ownership
- “To place Anthony within a tribute centered on Ozzy Osbourne was a grave miscalculation of his musical identity”: Grammy Awards criticized over Anthony Jackson’s inclusion in rock/metal In Memorium section
- “I asked for a cash discount. The shop assistant said, ‘I could phone up Eric Clapton and he’d come and buy it’”: Robert Fripp’s life in three guitars
- “It became an overnight sensation when Stevie Wonder used the effect”: Loved by Frank Zappa, Bootsy Collins, Steve Vai and more, how the Mu-Tron III became a vintage pedalboard icon
February 8
- “I think about him, ‘What would B.B. King do?’” How Justin Lyons is channeling the King of the Blues in mgk's punk-rock band – and he even has his own Lucille
- “Maybe I didn’t expand on it to the extent that I should have”: Chris Buck responds to the backlash against his “Strat baggage” comments
- “Especially with what’s going on in this world, it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore”: The maker of the cult classic King of Tone pedal is thinking of hanging up his soldering iron
February 7
- “Rick said, ‘I think we need to put a bass on it’. One of the kids said, ‘My apartment ain’t too far, I got a bass there’”: How the Beastie Boys saved the day on Aerosmith and Run D.M.C.’s Walk This Way
- “You can’t help being convinced that if a guitar looks like a dread, then it’s going to sound like one, too. But not here”: JWJ Chorale Select review
- “B.B. asked to try a few licks on my guitar. He smiled and asked, ‘Why you working so hard?’” How B.B. King changed Billy Gibbons’ approach to guitar strings
- “With the Crowes, you’d better step up to the plate and swing your bat – or prepare to get completely ripped apart”: Bassist Johnny Colt reveals the inside stories behind the Black Crowes’ controversial Amorica album
February 6
- He’s played with Lady Gaga, played on SNL, and co-founded Dub Trio – now Stu “Bassie” Brooks has officially joined Nine Inch Nails on bass
- “There’s nothing they did for me that other amps hadn’t done before”: Eric Gales says he doesn’t understand all the fuss about Dumble amps
- “I was too young to get in. Then T-Bone Walker walked by and said, ‘Let me talk to ’em, son’”: When a 13-year-old Jimmie Vaughan was stopped from watching B.B. King play, another blues great came to his aid
- “Always ready to ribbit”: The Frog Pedal is a surprisingly versatile octaver that makes your guitar sound like, erm, a frog
- “I was the most vocal about being unhappy. That's when George grabbed Bootsy Collins and his band to replace us”: He was schooled by James Jamerson and freaked Larry Graham out – how William ‘Billy Bass’ Nelson founded the Funkadelic sound
- “I taught myself to scream in secret, in the car and the shower. I kept that in my back pocket until we’d had a few rehearsals!” Meet Cwfen, the Scottish doomgazers ruling the night with haunting shows and steel guitar picks
- “Words fail me in describing his impact. He was on the session when history was made. He came up with the parts we all studied. He produced the records we all worshipped”: Why Steve Cropper was one of guitar’s most humble heroes
- “It's not that I don't want to stay, it's that my hands are betraying me”: Dave Mustaine says his hand problems are forcing him to end Megadeth
- “The jazz people were laughing when they saw me at the audition with my Telecaster”: Steve Morse says the music school jazz snobs were not impressed by his choice of guitar
- “We store our amps and gear in our mom’s basement – that’s where we go to practice and write”: Joyer combine sweet pop hooks with tension, weirdness and gritty guitar solos – and their mom can't get enough of it
- “An outline that’s both striking and original with an almost bygone vibe”: West Valley Indiana review
February 5
- “He said, ‘I know Eddie Van Halen. I have enough money that if I wanted to have him play on this, I could. I want you to play on it’”: Pete Evick has played with Bret Michaels for 21 years. Here’s what he learned
- “I kept it as quiet as I could”: Eric Gales tried to keep his guitar playing a secret – but Carlos Santana spoiled the surprise
- “At long last, a DAW puts the guitar at the very heart of its operations”: Fender Studio Pro 8 review
- “It was the best career move I ever made”: Why Marty Friedman has no regrets leaving Megadeth
- “More than the return of an iconic instrument”: Mosrite Guitars – the underdog firm loved by Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Ramone – is back
- “I was nervous playing in front of my mom and dad. I would avoid playing live at all costs”: How Sophie Lloyd got over her performance anxiety – thanks to an arena show with mgk
- “Every modern guitarist from Joe Bonamassa to Jared James Nichols gets the same haters who say, ‘Everything you play is pentatonic’”: Meet Eric Steckel, the high-gain firebrand painting a new shade of blues guitar
- “We’ve been guilty of doing a lot of the Meshuggah, machine-riff stuff. You gotta throw something else in there”: Car Bomb’s Greg Kubacki is exploring new heavy frontiers – with help from Gojira’s Joe Duplantier
February 4
- “An incredibly powerful, immensely versatile pedal that crams gold-standard modeler experiences and sounds into the smallest form factor possible”: Neural DSP Quad Cortex mini review
- “Though Gary was capable of great delicacy and accuracy on the instrument, this solo was inspired by his more fiery moments”: How to let it rip like the late, great Gary Moore
- “I struggle to think of any Fender that surpasses a Mary Kaye Strat in value or collector appeal”: Body dated January 1956, the first of its kind, played on an Aerosmith album – is this the holy grail of all holy grail Fender Stratocasters?
- “He snuck in without people realizing. The only giveaway was the white feather tail in his hat”: How Stevie Ray Vaughan surprised the son of blues royalty at his 16th birthday
- “The Silver Burst is synonymous with the band. We were talking about how cool it would be to continue that tradition”: Nick Johnston embraces his Mastodon turn with his most metal signature Schecter yet
- I've spent 20 years as a touring guitarist. The live industry is broken – now it’s breaking musicians too. Here’s what needs to change
- “I’ve gone after three Soldanos. Eric Clapton’s, Mark Knopfler’s... and finally Gary’s came up”: Joe Bonamassa test drives Gary Moore’s iconic Soldano amp – which has been unplayed for 20 years
February 3
- “He shoved me down to the floor of the car. He was kicking the windows. The whole time he's yelling at the top of his lungs, ‘Yoko! I want Yoko!’” The wild story of John Lennon's rock ’n’ roll covers album
- “He is the funkiest bass player that ever lived. Every note a mighty oak, a bull elephant, a bomb”: William ‘Billy Bass’ Nelson, Funkadelic bassist who coined the band’s name, dies aged 75
- “It’s such an important piece of music history. For me to be associated with it is one of the greatest honors of my career”: Mark Morton’s signature Gibson Les Paul has been in the making for more than 3 years – now it’s finally here
- “Runs the gamut from boost through to fuzz-flavoured distortion”: Dinosaural Hypoid Drive review
- “We bring out a ton of guitars. I pick one up, strum, and it sounds like Wild Horses – because it’s the actual guitar from Wild Horses”: The Rolling Stones guitar tech on the secrets behind their onstage sound
- “There is a strong possibility the guitar is sitting unrecognized in someone’s attic”: Search launched for Boston guitarist Brad Delp’s long-lost Taylor 12-string
- “Dave was telling us how those songs from back in the day came about. It helped us understand how to make a good Megadeth album”: Teemu Mäntysaari on the making of Megadeth’s final album
February 2
- “I wrote the music before Oz passed away… I wrote the lyrics after we laid Ozzy to rest”: How Zakk Wylde wrote his tribute song to Ozzy Osbourne
- “I walked into a Guitar Center one day and took it off the wall. It launched 1,000 ships of people chasing that sound”: The guitar that changed Billy Corgan’s life
- "Fractal's renowned amp modeling at a lower entry price": Fractal AM4 review
- “Pino Palladino and yours truly here at the Grammys”: Marcus Miller and Pino Palladino share the stage alongside Lauryn Hill at the 2026 Grammy Awards
- “I want to dedicate it to everyone in the guitar shop I grew up in and everyone in a bedroom with a dream”: Guitar at the Grammys 2026 – Slash and Andrew Watt pay tribute to Ozzy, Bruno Mars takes a solo, but Brent Hinds excluded from In Memoriam segment
- “Michael Stipe said, ‘Can I sing with you guys in Brooklyn?’ I’m like, ‘Are you serious?!’” How a Chicago alt-rock stalwart and Hollywood A-lister put together a supergroup to celebrate their favorite records
- “We barely knew the songs when we recorded them. They weren’t even finished”: When he joined the Black Crowes, Marc Ford had no time to second-guess his playing – even when he found it embarrassing
- “Legend has it that Robert Johnson was recorded in the corner of a room facing the wall”: How to record acoustic guitars at home – and why you need a dedicated setup
- “If you have a 16-bar guitar solo, please don’t turn into Yngwie Malmsteen or Joe Satriani”: Ian Anderson had some soloing advice for Jethro Tull’s new guitarist
- “I couldn't believe I was playing a guitar where the strings were not attached to anything”: YouTuber builds experimental guitar with floating strings – and it changed the way he played
- “Having played some pretty off-feeling versions over the years, getting them back as they were is more than worthy”: Gibson Les Paul Junior Double Cut and Les Paul Special Double Cut review
February 1
- “I met him in 1990 when I was 13 years old. We became lifelong friends”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to B.B. King – and shows us why blues starts and ends with the King
- “This is what you guys don’t see on the back-end”: YouTuber Phillip McKnight threatened with legal action by guitar brand
- “I never got drunk again”: Steve Howe reveals his most embarrassing onstage moment – and it involves his prized Gibson ES-175