All content archive

August 2025

Filter

Year
Month

130 articles

August 14
- “It came from how much timber had taken off the neck, almost to Ibanez levels of thinness”: What's the secret behind the tone of Jimmy Page's legendary “Number One” Les Paul? Bare Knuckle Founder Tim Mills reveals all
- “We changed the guitar world and how it's played. The bands I played in have influenced the world. Thank you for everything”: Dave Mustaine announces new Megadeth album will be his last
- “As soon as I heard the news, I turned to my roommate and said, ‘That's my gig.’ The next day, Dave rings”: Steve Vai on how he joined David Lee Roth’s band – and Roth’s desire to “beat Van Halen”
- “I just don’t see them as, ‘Oh, a nice guitar,’ or ‘a nice pedal.’ I see the hours behind them. I see, ‘Wow, somebody really committed hours and energy and their soul’”: Seal is a secret tonehound – and he has great taste in gear
- “No decisions have been made”: Staff at Ed Sheeran guitar builder Lowden Guitars reportedly slated for redundancy following “the natural end of the acoustic boom experienced during the Covid-19 period”
- “Sleep Token are big fans of what we did, and they’re the biggest rock band in the world right now. That means a lot”: From Oceansize to Biffy Clyro and now Cardiacs, Mike Vennart is one of the UK’s greatest under-the-radar guitar talents
- “No two guitars will be the same”: Gibson launches signature version of Noel Gallagher’s mystery Oasis reunion Les Paul – one of 2025’s most talked about guitars
- With up to 20% off left-handed guitars at Thomann, southpaw players finally have a sale to call their own
- “You don’t want your favorite tone. The secret is to set your gain, roll your volume back and challenge yourself to play cleaner”: Joe Bonamassa on defying the blues police, his greatest tone discoveries and why you’re not a success until you’re a meme
- With a colossal $530 off an American Ultra Luxe Telecaster, £320 off the American Performer Strat and so much more, Fender isn't holding back in this epic sale
- “It might be a slightly different hue, sonically speaking, but the build and sound quality is all there”: Taylor Builder's Edition 514ce Kona Burst review
August 13
- “I used to play this old POS. I needed that guitar or I couldn’t do my show”: How a $30 guitar shaped indie hero Mac DeMarco’s career
- “A retro-refined take on a classic”: Gretsch reboots the Corvette as the all-new CVT – a sub-$500 build based on the oddball vintage gem beloved by Rory Gallagher and Jimi Hendrix
- “They kicked me out of the band for embarrassing them for being who I am”: Brent Hinds says he was forced out of Mastodon – despite claims his departure was amicable
- “It’s hilarious because that one thing you pour your heart into is just going to be completely covered by an explosion”: Yvette Young on what it was like to record guitar for James Gunn's Superman
- “What Les Paul was for Gibson, Edward Van Halen is for Kramer”: Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer Ad guitar surfaces for sale – and is expected to reach $3,000,000 at auction
- “We love exciting experimental, electronic music that doesn’t even really allow guitars. The rock thing is something we’re trying to fit in”: The Wants’ Madison Velding-VanDam is reimagining jagged post-punk guitar over a genre-spanning sonic landscape
- “Playing along to streamed music works a treat and, while a straight dry click might not be everyone’s favored choice, it’s a useful facility”: Walrus Audio Canvas Rehearsal review
- “Checking or asking for the weight of a guitar isn’t for cork-sniffers only”: What’s the optimum weight for a Les Paul? And is there such a thing as too heavy?
August 12
- “If I were anywhere else in America, I might not be here”: Three Days Grace guitarist opens up after he suffered a heart attack mid-show – and kept going
- “I ended up using it on the Donna Summer album. It was a hell of a deal”: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on the cheap $35 guitar that ended up becoming a trusted stage and studio stalwart
- “People have bought tickets and you can see them thinking, ‘That’s not ‘Brothers in Arms’”: Mark Knopfler on why one of the Dire Straits’ most iconic tracks hinges on this four-note guitar intro
- “This is the original, hand-made at the Nashville Gibson Custom Shop”: Dave Grohl’s own Gibson DG-335 prototype has surfaced – and it’s up for sale on Reverb
- “We got on the stage and I just remember watching people walk away before we even started playing”: Brad Whitford and Joe Perry on the time Aerosmith were upstaged by their support act
- “Some purists will find the mix of vintage and Ultra spec sacrilegious, but working players will have waited for a Tele exactly like this”: Fender Ultra Luxe Vintage ’60s Telecaster Custom review
- “We’ve redefined the balance between heritage and innovation”: Fender debuts the American Ultra Luxe Vintage range – taking on its boutique rivals and rolling out its new Heirloom relic’ing process
- “I was throwing the guitar at the amp over and over”: Billy Corgan wanted to make a statement on this Smashing Pumpkins song – so he trashed his guitar rig
- “It’s essentially based off of a knockoff Fender!” Khruangbin’s Laura Lee Ochoa just got a signature Fender based on the first bass she ever bought – but it was a Jazz Bass copy
- “Steve Vai walked me through the process – he’s had it done twice. He introduced me to one of the best surgeons in the US”: Adrian Belew on his carpal tunnel fears and recovery, working with Vai and Frank Zappa, and his next musical adventure
- “I was side of stage, watching Jake with his ‘number one’ SG. It was a crazy, spiritual experience. I hadn’t heard a guitar player like that before”: Chris Turpin on teaming up with Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka for Mirador and the unplanned magic of rock
- “Interviewers were telling me that I started the whole glam rock, hair metal scene. I said, ‘What? Don’t blame me for that!’” Drugs, guitars, triumph and tragedy – the inside story of Hanoi Rocks
August 11
- “Someone said, ‘Grief is the price of Love.’ I say that to myself every day but at the end of the day I just miss my friend so much”: Ozzy Osbourne collaborator Andrew Watt opens up on the Black Sabbath legend’s passing
- “I don’t care who you are, I’d recommend this to any guitar player”: Carlos Santana’s practice routine that will make you a better musician
- “This Mk.gee thing came along. It’s really new and fresh and different”: JHS Pedals has put Mk.gee’s beloved Tascam 424 multi-track tones into a pedal – as it finally unveils its mystery stompbox
- “Geezer broke down into tears. He had a hard time speaking, and then he delivered an amazing eulogy”: Robert Trujillo opens up on his experience of Ozzy Osbourne’s “beautiful” funeral
- “If you can’t beat them, join them”: Mark Tremonti’s love for Dumbles and tube amps is well-documented – but he’s brought a Neural DSP Quad Cortex on tour
- “If airlines can damage professional-grade instruments and then refuse to take responsibility, it puts every traveling musician at risk”: Emily Wolfe’s signature guitar smashed inside hardcase during flight – airline taking no responsibility
- “I was a Marshall guy back then. Now I literally cannot listen to Marshalls”: How Jeff Beck inspired former Joan Jett and the Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd to switch from Marshall stacks to Fender combos
- “It is impossible for me to adapt to that role”: Classic rock supergroup parts ways with their new guitarist – after just one gig
- “They said, ‘Now it’s time to play the solo.’ I just came up with it on the spot”: Remembering Rick Derringer – the B.C. Rich-toting maverick who brought the fire to Johnny Winters’ band, and was a one-take ace for Steely Dan and more
- “Working on Jimmy Page’s guitar was bucket list stuff for me”: Bare Knuckle’s Tim Mills on how he built the biggest indie pickup brand in the world – and why Page’s ‘Number One’ Les Paul sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Strat
- “I thought, ‘I’m going to get this guitar, make a few videos then sell it.’ But I found my place as a guitarist”: Rob Scallon on the eight-string that changed his life – and how it helped him become one of YouTube’s OG guitar stars
August 10
- “I thought it was quite funny-sounding. It was very good as well, though. I’ve gotten used to it”: Dave Davies on Van Halen’s rendition of this career-making Kinks track
- “Three guitars with pretty much the same sonic range: which is best? Well, that could lead to quite a discussion”: PRS Special Semi-Hollow, S2 Special Semi-Hollow and SE Special Semi-Hollow review
- “Bob wanted me to help him not only learn guitar but learn to arrange. I think he caught on!” Ska and reggae pioneer Ernest Ranglin played with everyone from Bob Marley to Jimmy Cliff. At 93, he plans to secure his legacy
August 9
- "A modern rock machine providing up-to-date tones and plenty of fun features at a reasonable price": Manson Meta MBM-2H Sustainiac review
- “Everybody I know that’s a guitar head is like, ‘Why would you do that?’” The true confessions of Ty Segall – his blasphemous SG mod, exploding a vintage Gibson and why a “dying dinosaur” fuzz is one of his holy grail pedals
- "I've never played a PRS Silver Sky but that might be about to change": All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – and I've just solved a problem I didn't even know I had
- “Whenever anybody says, ‘Can you just follow the root note?’ my immediate retort is, ‘Why don't you just f*** off?’” How Peter Hook re-wrote the rulebook on punk bass – and became “allergic to low notes” in the process
- “With our in-house pickups, we’ve now got real control of how our guitars sound”: PJD Guitars founder Leigh Dovey on the evolution of the UK’s most exciting electric guitar brand
August 8
- “I was gonna look like I was trying to be Randy. It was meant to look like the poster for Vertigo”: Zakk Wylde on how his iconic “Grail” Les Paul Custom got its bullseye finish – and gave him his signature style
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art claims to have solved the mystery of the Rolling Stones' 1959 Gibson Les Paul – which Mick Taylor alleges has been missing for decades
- “A George Benson, or John Mayer, or B.B. King, or Albert King solo, you can almost sing it”: Isaiah Sharkey on what he learned about guitar soloing – after playing with the likes of John Mayer, D'Angelo and Paul Simon
- Guitar World deals of the week: get $300 off a signature Gretsch hollowbody, save big on a Digitech Whammy, plus all the best back-to-school sales
- “Eruption with one hand”: This guitar prodigy plays Eddie Van Halen's legendary two-hand tapping part – with only one hand
- “I found myself using less EQ and lighter compression on my guitar tracks while mixing, as the overall sound captured by the mic was close to finished quality”: Warm Audio Fen-Tone WA-FT ribbon microphone review
- “It has become the talk of the town every time it is used”: Noel Gallagher’s mystery Oasis Les Paul looks set for a signature release
- “Every now and then, you’ll look at the wall and think, ‘I can’t believe we’re here’”: Wolfgang Van Halen welcomed Alter Bridge into the hallowed halls of the legendary 5150 Studios to record their new album
- “Am I a number or am I a name?” JHS Pedals has teased a huge new drop with a riddle – and some gear fans think they’ve cracked the code
- “My mom got right in their faces and said, ‘This is my son. He plays guitar and he wants to join a band.’ I was totally embarrassed”: How Return to Dust found their teen guitar phenom and put a fresh face on ’90s grunge
- “The year that I spent with Frank was the first and only time that I’ve ever had serious instruction”: Adrian Belew reflects on his game-changing year with Frank Zappa – and what the avant-garde musician taught him about music and the business
- “People were afraid to get involved, but I’ve no regrets. Giacomo was being a dipstick”: Danny Sapko on social media scandals, his ’80s-inspired AI-generated rock band – and how the ‘Dipstick Lick’ broke America
- “He listened to me play when he was in my belly for 9 months, but now he’s here outside with me and he continues to listen to me play”: Lari Basilio is finding redemption and joy in motherhood and guitar – and she wants to share it with you
- “I’m not a big fan of bands that take themselves too seriously. Look at Angus Young. He’s a grown man who wears a schoolboy uniform”: Justin Hawkins unfiltered – the inside story of the rise, fall and rebirth of the Darkness
August 7
- “I got fired because I couldn’t get it”: Eric Johnson has written some of the greatest lead lines of all time – but once got sacked from a session because he couldn’t come up with anything
- “The Core preserves much of what made the original Expander such a useful tool”: Boss WAZA Tube Amp Expander Core review
- “My grandma asked me why I was spending so much time pretending to play the guitar when I could just get a real guitar and try to learn how to actually play”: Inhaler’s Josh Jenkinson reveals that Guitar Hero was his launchpad to picking up the guitar
- “We played a local gig and Jeff said, ‘Why don’t we go on tour with Brian Wilson?’” Nicolas Meier was playing in a London jazz club, when he looked up and spotted Jeff Beck standing a few feet away – it proved to be a life-changing moment
- “If I were to strum a full barre-chord voicing for each chord, it would feel too ‘chunky.’ Instead, I do what Nile advised me to do”: Cory Wong on the most important technique you can learn from Nile Rodgers
- “It’s in there to make your tone nicer, the sustain really nice, and the buzz even less”: Khruangbin’s Laura Lee reveals the little trick she’s picked up along the way to ensure a buzz-free bass tone
- “I missed out on being in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, but I don’t think I had the image!” Session pro and YouTube favorite Tim Pierce never wanted to be a rockstar – but he’s sure made a lot of their records
- “I always wanted to reconcile, tell him there weren’t any hard feelings and end things on a friendly note. I got to do that”: Jake E. Lee had a hero’s welcome at Back to the Beginning – but mending his rift with Ozzy Osbourne was what meant the most
- “It produces the most amazing distortion, but I can’t sell it”: Robert Keeley has invented a drive pedal that is also a weed vape – but he’s not allowed to release it
August 6
- “A fresh chapter for Epiphone acoustics”: Gibson brings some of its most sought-after vintage gems to Epiphone’s Inspired by Custom range for the first time
- “Hetfield personally hooked me up with them back in the day. I’m not cheating on anyone. I want all the instruments!” Gojira’s Joe Duplantier explains how he started playing ESP guitars – and why he’s still playing Charvels
- “It survived crashing onto the highway and turned up in a pawnshop”: How Zakk Wylde’s ‘The Grail’ Ozzy Osbourne Les Paul found its way back to him – 3 years after it fell out of a moving vehicle
- “He took us to 5150, and it still had all the tapes up there. There was Jump, the old analog tapes, everything marked”: Lzzy Hale on why Wolfgang Van Halen is well positioned to “save rock ’n’ roll”
- “Somebody had stolen some equipment from the opening act and we got blamed for it. The crowd went crazy”: Ricky Byrd on the disastrous Joan Jett gig where they were wrongly accused of stealing gear – and the audience turned on them
- “You could argue that the pickups are the most important thing. But in the end, there’s nothing more important on the guitar than this”: Paul Reed Smith on a guitar's most crucial feature – and how it dictates your tone
- “Ghost Guitar is a beam of light coming in through a window and illuminating a big empty space”: Rafiq Bhatia breaks down the experimental techniques that earned him an Oscar nomination for his scores – and why it all stems from Jimi Hendrix
- “She's got that thing that I could never do – I have to cheat”: Billy Corgan reveals the technique Kiki Wong can do on guitar that’s beyond him
- “We’ve had to bring in some help”: Gibson hires the investigative journalists who helped find Paul McCartney’s lost Höfner violin bass to aid the hunt for the missing Back to the Future ES-345
- “I know I’m being judged right now. I read comments saying, ‘You’ve got nothing on Brent.’ I’m not worrying. I feel free”: How Nick Johnston went from instrumental virtuoso du jour to joining Mastodon and playing Ozzy Osbourne’s final show
- “The ego is quite useless in a writing situation. I just ask myself, ‘What does this song want?’” Deacon Blue’s polymath guitar genius Gregor Philp dissects his six-string approach, and reveals his favorite Strat (clue: it isn’t a Fender)
- “A classic fuzz with two distinct flavors makes a welcome return”: Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz Heritage Edition review
August 5
- “Four new colors inspired by traditional American fashion”: PRS and John Mayer unveil fresh finishes for the best-selling SE Silver Sky – and add new Maple models
- Metronome magic: master your picking, improve timing, and build up speed – one click at a time
- The all-new October 2025 Guitar World – where Smashing Pumpkins and Sex Pistols mingle openly with Carlos Santana and Khruangbin
- “I was looking at my watch thinking, ‘I’m so miserable doing this.’ That was the last time we did anything with the original lineup”: Steve Jones on why Frank Carter gave the Sex Pistols a new lease on life – and where things stand with John Lydon
- “A Katana killer? The jury’s still out, but one thing’s for sure – this is a great addition to the ID range”: Blackstar ID:X 50 review
- ”Stevie told me to call his brother Jimmie and ask him to lend me his amp and then play it with a Strat so he could feel it through me”: Carlos Santana on his “visitation” from Stevie Ray Vaughan, who implored him to borrow his Dumble amp
- “The first thing that I grabbed when I was like, ‘We’ve got to get the hell out of here’ was the double-neck that Alex Lifeson gave me”: Primus’ Larry LaLonde opens up on losing his house and nearly all his gear in the devastating California wildfires
- “Ozzy looked well. He did not look like he was two weeks away from passing… The feeling was similar to when Randy passed away – that dead void, that emptiness”: Rudy Sarzo on the lifelong kindness of Ozzy Osbourne – and the miracle of his final weeks
- “It looks sweet, sounds sweet, and the music that comes out of it should be sweet too”: Russian luthier builds Les Paul out of donuts (sort of)
- “I’m, like, ‘Why are they calling me? Did every rock guitar player in Los Angeles disappear spontaneously at the same time?’” When Joe Bonamassa guested on an Ozzy Osbourne album – and couldn't quite believe it
- “One of the greatest to ever do it”: Terry “Superlungs” Reid, the guitarist, singer, and songwriter who forged his own path after turning down Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, has died aged 75
- “I remember my first concert, and that incredible band is actually here tonight to play a few songs”: Olivia Rodrigo’s first-ever gig was Weezer – now she’s played with them at Lollapalooza
- “I thought maybe we’d have 2,000 people show up early, but our first performance was for 10,000 people. I was shocked”: Jake Kiszka on Mirador, his hard-riffing collab with blues brother Chris Turpin – and what it means for Greta Van Fleet
- “Being called a guitar hero was just awkward. Whether I’ve written a good song or not, that’s what counts to me”: Mark Knopfler on 40 years of Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms – the guitars, the riffs… the pressure of learning to play in time
- “The idea is Kirk was gonna play rhythms along with James. That changed everything, and some people don’t like it”: Bob Rock says Metallica's divisive Load album redefined the Hetfield-Hammett guitar partnership
August 4
- “We read all the complaints. We’re far from perfect, but we’re moving very quickly to get a lot better”: Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto is on a mission to win back guitar players’ trust
- "The strength of the Triniphase is how much it encourages experimentation": Supercool Pedals Triniphase review
- With up to 40% off guitar amps Thomann's huge Hughes & Kettner sale just made upgrading your backline a lot more affordable
- “I got a phone call from L.A. It’s David going, ‘We’re putting Pink Floyd back together. Would you be interested and available?’” Why David Gilmour's go-to bassist for the past four decades very nearly didn't get the gig
- “He looked at me like I had five heads”: Spike Lee once asked Prince for his signature guitar – he didn’t expect what happened next
- Jimmy Page settles decades-long Dazed and Confused lawsuit with original songwriter
- “From the simplest reverb to complex shifting ambiences, there’s something here for everyone”: Electro-Harmonix Oceans Abyss review
- “We love you, Ozzy!” Nuno Bettencourt covers three Ozzy Osbourne classics with Extreme – and nails Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee’s iconic solos
- “Glenn Frey said it best when he said we ‘created a monster with Hotel California, and it ate us’”: Don Felder on the making of the Eagles’ The Long Run
- “I wound up joining Spinal Tap in Phoenix and played bass along with Adrian Belew on Big Bottom. It was a huge comedy honor”: The chance encounters that led Abby Travis to play bass with Beck, Elastica, The Bangles and The Go-Go’s
August 3
- “When I played with Jason Newsted, I knew he was the one. Not that Robert Trujillo is a bad bass player, but Jason just has this edge”: In March 2003, Ozzy Osbourne introduced the world to his new bassist
- “It was painful for me to listen to Ian Anderson’s voice. I felt for him a lot”: Dave Pegg on why he quit Jethro Tull, beating Metallica to a Grammy, gigging with John Bonham and working with Nick Drake in a smelly squat
August 2
- “Car Bomb opened me up to playing bass with a pick. Now I’ve been a pick guy for so long I’m afraid to play fingerstyle!” Marrying savage hooks to technical prowess, Jon Modell is proof of just how heavy a 5-string bass can be in modern metal
- “The scene was super-underground. When the music industry developed, everyone got excited to start a band”: Meet Seera, Saudi Arabia’s first public all-female band, who are merging Nirvana and Tool with Arabic influences – and going global
- “Those tubes need to be burning. As I put it to the band, I like to smell dinner cooking”: With his gourmet phrasing and R&B hot sauce, D.K. Harrell is the blues hero you need in your life right now
August 1
- Met Museum refutes that former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor ever owned the ’59 Les Paul he claims was stolen from him – and now appears in a new exhibit
- “For over two years, we worked closely with some of the top techs in the world”: Level up your fret game with MusicNomad’s Fret Care line and resource hub – which offers everything you could ever need to master your setup
- “Right after the concert, I got a call from my parents saying that I had to rush back to Italy because the finance police was looking for me”: Slap bass phenom Davie504 lifts the veil on the pressures of becoming a YouTube megastar
- “Two legends right there”: Slash joins Michael Schenker on stage to cover a UFO classic
- “I remember the phone call. He said, ‘Jim, I just wrote this thing. It was for Blue Öyster Cult. But I don't think they're going to keep it…’” The Bryan Adams track that started life as a Blue Öyster Cult song
- “It’s difficult to think of a synth bass sound that couldn't somehow be achieved here”: MXR MB301 Bass Synth Pedal review
- “The credit was obscured. And as the years have passed, they have brought it out into the open”: Tim Pierce has recorded with Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and more – but this song is his crowning achievement
- “One of a kind”: 19-year-old follows in Marcin’s footsteps and brings percussive fingerstyle acoustic to America’s Got Talent with knockout performance
- “I’ve had so many people reach out wanting to know what it is and if we can build one for them”: What’s the story behind Noel Gallagher’s new Murphy Lab Les Paul? Gibson finally reveals all
- “Thought the DIY pedal trend had run its course? Think again”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including a reverb pedal inspired by an abandoned nuclear reactor
- “I wouldn’t be surprised if the guitar moves in a digital direction where it doesn’t have strings”: How Ola Strandberg went from midlife crisis to revolutionizing headless guitars – and what he thinks could be next
- “It’s a daunting task. I’ll always have impostor syndrome… If the fans think it’s jive, we’ll pull it off streaming services!” Jakob Nowell opens up on using his late father’s gear and unreleased jams to create new Sublime music
- “Do I placate the minority of folks, or do I play an arena gig with blues songs that nobody else is doing?” Joe Bonamassa’s approach to the blues has triggered some purists – this is his response
- “I get a lot more feeling when I play with my fingers. Wes Montgomery was my reference as a kid for not using a pick”: Championed by Fender and signed to Blue Note, Maya Delilah might just be the most melodic guitar soloist since John Mayer
- “There was a blue arc of electricity, and I was shot back off the mic – that encouraged me to get a wireless system!” There are some rock ’n’ roll stories that you couldn’t make up. One is how ‘Grog’ Lisee was electrocuted by an unearthed microphone