All content archive
January 2026
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39 articles
- January 6
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- "Hits the sweet spot of Fender’s heritage, sound, practicality and price": Fender American Professional Classic Precision Bass review
- “He told me, ‘Come in closer, I’ll tell you the secret of playing electric guitar”: How an art-punk icon ended up playing with one of the blues’ all-time greats
- “We have tried about 800 different types of solos and we cannot get it right”: Some of the world's greatest guitarists are all fighting it out to get their solo on this track
- “I said, ‘Man, where’s my audition?’ They said, ‘You got the gig.’ So I got my job just by warming up”: How Dave Mustaine landed the gig with Metallica
- Speed bursts are the path to Shred Heaven: boost your rock chops with 6 jaw-dropping examples (that won't break your fingers)
- “There’s nothing here that’s radical, let alone modern. But that’s in its favor – it’s a considered design that irons out some of Gretsch’s historic quirks”: Gretsch Electromatic Jet review
- With Electro-Harmonix pedals from just $53.95 at Sweetwater, it's time to kick off 2026 with a proper tone upgrade for your 'board
- “2026 is going to be in the record books as one of the most exciting years for Fender”: Fender has announced its new CEO – what does it mean for the future of the iconic guitar brand? We met Edward ‘Bud’ Cole to find out
- “It ain’t gonna sit well with people, but he might be better than George Harrison”: Why John Mayer might be better than a Beatle, according to producer Don Was
- “He said the first guitar was an accident of God. By the fifth one he said, ‘OK, you’re a guitar maker’”: Carlos Santana was one of Paul Reed Smith’s earliest champions – but he thought his first guitars were too good to be true
- “If it sounds heavy on a classical guitar, then it will sound even heavier once I’m plugged in”: Foam swords, steel riffs – and medieval raga? Meet the queen of fantasy doom metal guitar, Castle Rat’s Riley Pinkerton
- January 5
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- “For the Love of God, written by Steve Vai and performed by my 14-year-old son Roman”: Tom Morello says “there is hope” as his son shreds Steve Vai's For the Love of God
- “One of the most expressive effects ever conceived”: Cliché or pedalboard essential? How the Cry Baby wah pedal changed electric guitar – and why it’s still (kinda) underrated
- “Everybody looks at him as Mr. Tap and Mr. Shred. That’s just a flavor of what he did”: Wolfgang Van Halen on one the most overlooked and underrated aspects of Eddie’s playing
- “Kirk Hammett’s in front of me with a guitar trying to teach me stuff. They’re like, ‘Get your stuff. You’re flying on the private jet with us’”: Daron Malakian on the time he saved a Metallica gig – and ended up filling in for an injured James Hetfield
- “Transcribing Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass really helped me on my journey. You can see the amount of joy they were bringing to the music”: How Italian maestro Andrea Rinciari is reinventing the great American jazz guitar songbook
- “It’s one thing to be a visionary, but it’s another thing to have the gift to pull off the vision”: Why Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins collaborated with Yungblud
- February 2026 Guitar World lesson videos and more
- “The chord shapes are a little different than normal, but therein lies the beauty of an open tuning”: Charlie Starr’s open G slide soloing masterclass
- “I bought this on Craigslist at a parking lot in Nashville. Some random guy met me in this weird van”: How Stephen Wilson Jr. bought his workhorse, ride-or-die nylon-string guitar
- “I really have no recollection of doing it. I’d made a record in my sleep!” How Keith Richards wrote the iconic Satisfaction riff – without even realizing it
- “At first, I didn’t have high hopes. But then I saw that one picture and thought, ‘Bingo’”: This vintage Martin once belonged to Johnny Cash – and its current owner has spent decades trying to prove it
- January 4
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- “Like Bach, I think the Beatles are some of the only composers that you can play badly and it still sounds good”: Sting guitarist Dominic Miller on why the Beatles' harmonies are “indestructible”
- “All the grin-inducing firepower of the full-flight 5150 in a stripped-down model”: EVH 5150 Iconic Series 15W EL34 Head review
- “You don’t really see that a lot with competitors in other industries – throwing parties together, doing joint releases, supporting each other online”: The boutique pedal explosion and what comes next in this golden age of guitar effects
- January 3
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- “When I took it down for him to try out, he said, ‘I really don’t need any more of these’”: How a skeptical Slash ended up with one of the best ’50s Goldtops Gibson has ever found
- “Having grown up playing road hockey, I felt I had to hit the bass as hard as I could. Mr Carter taught me to refine my sound”: What Brandi Disterheft learned from her studies with bass legend Ron Carter
- “I was amazed it even worked… the scratchplate looked like somebody had used a hacksaw”: Unorthodox, powered by EMGs, Gary Moore's 1982 Charvel San Dimas was the battle-ready hot-rod he needed in the ’80s
- January 2
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- “Who knows? It was worth pursuing. They did okay without me”: Adrian Smith on the time he auditioned for Def Leppard
- “I showed up on the first day of shooting, saying, ‘This is a guitar I bought at Guitar Center. I want to use my guitar in the movie’”: Jack Black reveals he still owns the Gibson SG that characterized School of Rock
- “I’m not leaving things unfinished”: Dave Mustaine reveals the life-changing hand condition behind his decision to retire Megadeth
- “That belongs in a museum”: Mick Gordon is selling the Axe-Fx that soundtracked Doom – and it includes all of the original presets
- “A Tube Screamer is a Tube Screamer. It’s one of the great cons of the guitar industry. They got these dirt boxes right the first time!” Why Jared James Nichols stopped obsessing over gear – and honed in on his playing instead
- “It’s heavy, cutting, psychedelic and very off the cuff. It’s got the vibe of a madman”: Ace Frehley’s 6 greatest Kiss guitar moments
- “I sold my first guitar to my drummer. He paid me $50, put SpongeBob stickers on it, then lit it on fire”: Kiki Wong reveals her Smashing Pumpkins live rig, gear regrets and how a Line 6 amp made her the player she is today
- January 1
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- “All I remember is thinking that the bass turned into a snake. I broke all the strings, threw it down and left the stage”: Bootsy Collins was tripping on LSD when he took the James Brown bass chair to its most in-your-face level
- “I was broke. I only had $200 and we booked a gig. There was this guitar at a pawn shop that had been there for years...” How George Thorogood stumbled across the Gibson that became his go-to guitar – a week before his first gig with the Destroyers
- “I didn’t know him or trust him. But I gave him all of that money in the hope he would bring me a Strat. I had no idea if I’d see him again”: Rammstein’s Richard ZK on the coffee shop rendezvous in East Germany that got him his first Fender
- “I knew relic’ing was coming. I did it myself, to my own guitar, very crude and primitive. I put it on a stand at a guitar show, with no strategy. And it changed everything”: How relic’ing conquered the guitar world
