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July 2025

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325 articles

July 31
- “Nuno Bettencourt isn’t the only one keeping Eddie Van Halen’s fire burning – the most underrated guitarist on the planet just gave him a run for his money”: July 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
- October 2025 Guitar World lesson videos and more
- “You don't come into a Van Halen record and tell Eddie, ‘This is how we're going to do it’”: Why Eddie Van Halen didn’t double-track his guitars
- “There was the greatest guestlist in rock history – Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Neil Young”: Jimmy Rip was a session man in demand by Mick Jagger and Tom Verlaine – then came a rock ’n’ roll icon
- “We were opening for Deep Purple, and Ritchie Blackmore got food poisoning and was in the hospital overnight”: How a support slot with Deep Purple and a last-minute guitarist replacement led to Eric Johnson meeting Christopher Cross
- “They have always been a big thing for me because I think they’re the heart and soul of a Fender”: What gives a Fender guitar its spirit? For the Custom Shop's Senior Master Builder, there’s only one answer
- "One of the most versatile baritone guitars I’ve ever played": Orangewood Del Sol Baritone review
- “Kurt said, ‘I want the guy that did the Slayer album’”: How Kurt Cobain brought a more aggressive edge to Nevermind with the help of Slayer’s producer
- “I went to Guitar Center and saw this Iceman sitting there and I was like, ‘You know, that’s a guitar that not too many people use’”: How the Ibanez Iceman became System of a Down’s Daron Malakian’s go-to guitar – and why he initially didn’t play it live
- “The music was very dependent on accurate timing… If it was a big stage and we were spread out, it was just murder for us”: They were a pivotal band in prog’s golden age and split in 1980, but Gentle Giant still have a rabid fanbase
- “From a selection of over 300 instruments I’ve measured over the past seven years, things are not quite what they seem”: Why string spacing can radically change the way an electric guitar plays
- “That's my specialty: playing fast clusters of notes with the guitars. I had to pluck with four fingers instead of three!” Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert trade blistering licks in this standout rocker from Mr. Big
July 30
- “With the new opportunities that I have ahead, I need to prioritize my long-term future”: Prog virtuoso Jason Richardson leaves All That Remains after 7 years
- “The first one was a struggle. Making the video was harder than making the album. I was fully expecting that it was going to be a train wreck”: How guitarist and YouTube sensation Rob Scallon manages to write – and record – a full album in one day
- “Playing Dean Town forces me to keep my chops up. Vulfpeck fans can sing every note of that bassline”: Joe Dart breaks down his lightning-quick studio approach – and how he tackles his hardest bassline to play live
- “I got tired of carrying different guitars with me. It’s delightful”: Skunk Baxter is a session legend – and his cutting-edge guitar rig probably isn’t what you expect
- “It got stuck in the snow. We were like, ‘The truck’s not making it, the gear is not making it”: Primus’ Larry LaLonde on how he and Les Claypool ended up with off-the-rack gear from Guitar Center right before a show
- “I wish I’d been treated more fairly by the record execs, but I was part of the creation of one of the biggest bands of all time. That’s a nice legacy”: How LA guitarist Chris Weber laid the foundations for Guns N’ Roses in a single studio session
- “I can't help but question why Gibson decided to label this model as a Les Paul”: Gibson Les Paul Music City Special 50th Anniversary review
- “It’s that Rolling Stones thing – using two guitars to make one part bigger. We’re aiming to sound more like one-and-a-half players than two!” Too rock for country and too country for rock, Morganway are an old-school guitar duo in the best way
- D’Angelico celebrates Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary with 3 special-edition guitars – which revive the Lightning Bolt design
- “After touring so much, I do not enjoy sweating bullets, having to nail every little surgical run”: Yvette Young on the pressures of touring in the social media age – and why we all need to rethink our relationship with music
- “If you listen to Summer Nights, the Van Halen tune, that’s a headless guitar. It sounded fantastic”: Could PRS ever make a headless guitar?
- “Aja by Steely Dan is the blueprint… If there was a formula for every kind of success you could have in music, that record embodied it”: Young Gun Silver Fox are keeping yacht-rock afloat with lawsuit guitars and 10-year-old strings
July 29
- “Even though everybody saw it coming with Ozzy, it just took our breath away when it happened”: Johnny Depp joins Alice Cooper onstage to cover Black Sabbath’s Paranoid in honor of Ozzy Osbourne
- “Initially, his strongest influence was the blues. Then his Mexican heritage surfaced and combined with the influences of Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Tito Puente and Gábor Szabó”: Decoding the magic of Carlos Santana’s supernatural soloing style
- “I’m sure I’m not the only one they scammed. They’re hunting people like this”: Fake Guitar Center websites set up to scam players are on the rise – here’s what you need to look out for
- “I said to myself, ‘Well, Buddy, you better hang on a little longer. My health ain’t doing too bad, so… I just try to play the best I can”: Buddy Guy says he’s not retiring until the blues gets a higher profile
- “We need time and space to grieve”: Pantera cancel tour dates to mourn Ozzy Osbourne
- “When we lost Jeff, his wife wrote to me and said, ‘I’m going to sell the guitars. They keep reminding me of him’”: John McLaughlin remembers gifting Jeff Beck the white Strat that featured on his seminal Wired record – and helped shape his guitar legacy
- “The last text I got from Oz said, ‘Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn’t see you. Thanks for everything’”: Zakk Wylde looks back on his closer-than-close relationship with Ozzy Osbourne, and their final moments together onstage
- “I paid $2,800 for it at a vintage dealer. Now, I think the guitar would be worth six figures”: What was Elliot Easton’s greatest gear find? The Cars legend reveals all – and argues that today’s players have never had it better
- “It’s the wide range of voices that impresses. Old or new, these are far from one-trick ponies”: PJD Carey Classic review
July 28
- “I’d saved up $2,000 just from busking and playing gigs and asking my grandparents for money at Christmas”: Molly Tuttle reminisces on her first Martin – and how it ended up in Arizona's Musical Instrument Museum
- “Introduces several highly requested features”: Neural DSP answers players’ prayers with new Nano Cortex update
- “We had our ups and downs over the years – I hadn’t spoken to Ozzy since 2017. But I always knew if I reached out, he’d be there for me”: Geezer Butler remembers the genius and humor of his friend and Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne
- “A new benchmark for authentic sound”: Line 6 has finally shared what the Helix Stadium’s potentially game-changing tones actually sound like
- “I can’t play like I used to, but I still enjoy playing”: Victor Wooten opens up on his battle with the health condition that he says is turning him into a beginner bass player again
- “We were on stools next to each other, going back and forth on the parts in front of the board. That was the first time we’d met”: How Grace Bowers ended up on Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton’s latest solo record
- “We make those in the same quantities no matter what is in fashion”: Guitar trends come and go – but these are the Fender finishes that will never disappear
- “This, ladies and gentlemen, is Dimebag’s number one guitar”: Dimebag Darrell’s Dean From Hell guitar makes a surprise comeback with Pantera
- “I became obsessed with the idea and decided to reach out. I framed it like: ‘Would you be open to this if I worked on a prototype?’” How two of the pedal world’s most groundbreaking firms joined forces to make the ultimate overdrive
- “One guitar that got used a lot was an ex-Keith Richards 1956 TV Yellow Junior… we were drowning in amazing gear”: Wrecking old tube amps, thrashing vintage Fenders, Chris Buck is taking no prisoners as Cardinal Black return
- “Nearly impossible to produce a bad tone”: Xotic AC Booster V2 review
- “My guy redesigned it into a medieval weapon: he did the blood splatter, drilled spikes on the side, and added three stripes because we wear Adidas all the time”: Slaughter To Prevail’s electric guitars are as savage as their deathcore breakdowns
July 27
- "It was already broken, but now we’re seeing how broken and how evil it really is": Merpire on the rise of AI bands, and the recording of her new dream pop opus Milk Pool
- “Impressive value for guitarists seeking rich clean/overdrive tones and timeless distortion tones”: PRS Archon Classic Head review
- “If it felt like punk speed freaks, so much the better. Elvis never came up to us saying, ‘Suspicious Minds was too fast tonight’”: At the suggestion of guitar picker James Burton, Elvis set up an audition with an unlikely bass candidate – Jerry Scheff
July 26
- “With Mammoth, I play an EVH prototype built by Chip Ellis at the Fender Custom Shop. Only 2 exist!” Bassist Ronnie Ficarro on taking Wolfgang Van Halen’s studio sound to the stage
- “An arresting, unsettling, sometimes unpredictable effect – and in that sense it nails the Deftones brief”: KHDK Digital Bath review
- “The truth of the matter is, I don’t believe that anybody asked us”: James LoMenzo reveals Megadeth weren't invited to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's final show
- “I didn’t know their tunes, but we played some Chuck Berry and reggae, then Paul McCartney said, ‘What are you doing for the next few years?’” How Laurence Juber went from winning a Grammy with Wings to landing a hit record with Harry Styles
- “Martin and Taylor, watch out. There’s a new small-bodied build on the block”: This is all the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – and I think I've been convinced to finally go wireless
July 25
- "Featuring an array of genuinely useful extras, this is a surprisingly versatile and natural-sounding analogue overdrive": Nobels ODR-1X review
- “Should anybody be remotely interested…” Noel Gallagher shares pics of his Oasis reunion live rig – and we are definitely maybe interested
- “Bears clear indication of its historical significance”: Randy Rhoads’ Quiet Riot Les Paul – which features on the back cover of their debut record – expected to sell for up to $200,000 at auction
- “I felt a connection to the space and all that happened there before me. I immediately opened my guitar case and started writing”: Al Nesbitt & the Alchemy deliver a genre-spanning EP inspired by a mysterious L.A. hotspot, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin
- “He called me and said, ‘Paul! Paul! I need your help. Eddie’s coming up”: Paul Reed Smith on the time Kramer asked him to build a guitar for Eddie Van Halen
- “Pivotal throughout the band's pre-fame era and used for seminal recordings from Appetite for Destruction”: Slash’s famed B.C. Rich Warlock – which once went missing for 30 years – is going up for auction (again)
- “I compared the two and the $140 Squier Telecaster, to me, sounded better”: Why Skunk Baxter chose to buy a beginner guitar over a “bazillion” dollar vintage Telecaster
- “Page must be mental giving away such a terrific guitar as this”: 50 years ago, Jimmy Page gave a guitar away for free in a magazine competition – now it's expected to fetch over $67,000 at auction
- “Everything is set as loud as it can go without collapsing. All my heroes played loud – Clapton played loud, Jimi Hendrix played loud”: Joe Bonamassa breaks down his epic onstage guitar rig – and why your volume control is a tonal superpower
- “The revised big board du jour”: Seal, a self-confessed guitar pedal fanatic, shares the secrets of his pedalboard – and it's filled with surprise boutique stompboxes
- “This is probably the only time you will read Julian Lage and Nigel Tufnel’s names in the same sentence”: Every guitar featured in the trailer for Spinal Tap II, from St. Vincent’s Music Man to Joe Satriani’s Ibanez JS-3
- “Refining the standard that players should expect from their digital rigs”: Laney’s LFR-110 is a portable powerhouse FRFR that looks to set a new benchmark for amp modeler users
- “I’m so sorry I couldn’t spend more time with you on the weekend”: Jake E. Lee shares the last text message he received from Ozzy Osbourne
- “The story is nuts. I was sat in the control room when our receptionist rang through and said, ‘Bob Dylan’s on the phone’”: How Eurythmics legend Dave Stewart became friends with his hero – after what he thought was a prank call
- “I asked Olivia, ‘I’d love to play one of George’s guitars.’ She just said, ‘Of course – which one?’” How a Gypsy jazz guitarist came to play George Harrison’s iconic Beatles guitars on a new tribute album
- “A knockout instrument imbued with modern performance enhancements”: John Page Signature The DL review
- “Countless Zoso wannabes have tried to decipher Jimmy Page’s tone secrets”: Hands-on with the ultimate Led Zeppelin amps – Sundragon’s painstakingly accurate replicas of the guitar hero’s elusive backline
July 24
- Guitar Center secures three-year debt extension to ensure it can deliver on its business plan
- George Kooymans, Golden Earring guitarist and driving force of Europe’s hard rock evolution, dies aged 77
- “We have incurred anywhere between $500,000 to $750,000 in additional costs”: Will the price of guitar strings skyrocket on August 1? As tariff deadline looms, D’Addario’s CEO reveals how the firm has been weathering the storm
- "As a recording utility to help a part cut, or a way to get you a little closer to the QOTSA sound, it’s mission accomplished": Peavey Joshua Homme Decade Too amp review
- “My hand started getting numb and it would stay numb from the moment that I woke up, all the way until soundcheck. It was a little scary”: Adrian Belew reflects on having his left hand repaired – and how his playing is recovering
- “You’re not going to find a guitar like this anywhere, unless you're at a dump site": Brendon Small says a studio break-in prompted him to downsize his gear collection – so he’s set up a Reverb shop
- “It sucks that we are in a world that doesn't have Ozzy Osbourne anymore”: Wolfgang Van Halen honors the Prince of Darkness with emotional cover of Mama, I’m Coming Home
- “I look over at Zakk and he can’t work the fretboard. I’m screaming at him, ‘It’s from liftin’ them weights!’ I didn’t realize he’d taken all the antibiotics in the bottle”: How Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde became metal’s most beloved partnership
- “I think he must have had something in his head that said, ‘Well, this is the last thing I’m ever gonna do’”: Tony Iommi opens up on Ozzy Osbourne’s passing – and his Back to the Beginning farewell show
- “I actually prefer people who play bass with their fingers. A pick has to be used just right to not blunt the guitar attack”: Billy Corgan takes us inside the zeitgeist of his low-end studio work with the Smashing Pumpkins
- “I hate guitar jams because they usually get competitive. You have to breathe, be true to yourself and think, ‘This has to be music’”: Folk icon Richard Thompson on tuning revelations, keeping his chops up, and why you won't find him in a guitar jam
- “I could hardly believe it when James reached over to the guitar case sitting opposite and lifted out his Olson acoustic”: What I learned from interviewing folk-rock icon James Taylor
- “Proper spring reverb that fits on any pedalboard”: Danelectro Spring King Junior review
July 23
- “If you’re a beginner looking for a bedroom amp, then this can cover any style of playing you can throw at it”: Mooer SD10i Intelligent Amp review
- “I traveled around the world for four years, recording 22 guests in some crazy places”: Jimmy Rip remembers recording Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and more for one of the greatest all-star albums of all time
- “This might be stupid coming from the son of Eddie Van Halen”: Wolfgang Van Halen on why not every song needs a guitar solo
- “They labeled us as teenage jailbait or punk rock. Just give me my guitar. I just wanted to play”: Lita Ford reflects on The Runaways and why people didn't know what to make of the pioneering band
- Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarists through the years: the players who served the Prince of Darkness for his classic albums and tours, in pictures
- “Championing the artists who are redefining the role of guitar in music and culture”: Fender Next previously touted Wet Leg, Phoebe Bridgers and IDLES as ‘Ones to Watch’ – find out which artists were handpicked for its class of 2025
- When tapping's not shredding: how to play tapped harmonics like Eddie Van Halen
- “Every other Strat I picked up at the time didn’t have the same feeling to me”: Warren Haynes on why the theft of a Custom Shop Strat convinced him to change to Gibson Les Pauls
- “Goodbye, dear friend. So glad we got to do it one last time”: Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward pay tribute to the Prince of Darkness
- “Ozzy changed the world. For millions of people, it’s nearly impossible to imagine where we might be if he hadn’t”: Ozzy Osbourne, 1948-2025 – the guitar world pays tribute
- “Whenever I feel like a guitar is indispensable, I want to pawn it. It’s held me back from being a good player”: Want to make as many records as King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard? Abuse $10 amps, don’t bring songs to sessions and never get comfortable
- “Leo Kottke used this guitar and described it as ‘the best‑sounding New Yorker I’ve personally played’”: This 1942 New Yorker proves why D’Angelico’s acoustic archtops are widely regarded as the peak of Jazz Age lutherie
- “We have to ask: can the electric guitar get any better?” With 40 years of groundbreaking luthierie behind it, the limited PRS Charcoal Phoenix is deserving of its mythical status
July 22
- “I want someone that’s hungry. I want someone who wants to go out and kick Eddie Van Halen’s ass”: Ozzy Osbourne rates his guitarists – and reflects on the highs and lows of Black Sabbath
- “I'm no superman, no person from another planet – I'm just a lucky guy”: Ozzy Osbourne was an extraordinary frontman and working class hero with great taste in guitar players
- Ozzy Osbourne has died aged 76
- Steve Morse tackles Led Zeppelin, Mountain, Cream and Lynyrd Skynyrd hits – and honors a cast of guitar greats during intimate jam session
- “The company's performance has deteriorated due to the rise of the secondhand market and intensifying competition”: Iconic Japanese guitar firm Fernandes Guitars files for bankruptcy again – but there's still hope for fans of the brand
- Guitar Center employee allegedly charged over $5,000 to credit cards that belonged to “rude” customers
- “I didn’t know John had a pink one coming out, so it looked like John had given me a pink guitar and I’d relic’d it. People were mad”: Zach Myers’ heavy relic’d PRS John Mayer Silver Sky has given him so much grief he might burn it
- “There was one bit I used to play at a bit of a stretch. He told me, ‘Oh, no, I play it like this’”: Paul McCartney gave Robbie McIntosh a guitar lesson on their first meeting – and showed him how to play a Beatles classic properly
- “He loved that I was playing Peavey… when we ended up touring with them, I saw why”: BRONCHO’s Ryan Lindsey has built a career on unique melodic chug, and won fans in Josh Homme and Jack White. But he still owes Steve Stevens an apology
- “I say to people: ‘I’m sorry to tell you, but in 20 years, your finish will crack because it’s gonna get thinner. But it’ll sound better – so look forward to it!’” How Gibson brought relic’d finishes to its iconic acoustic guitars with the Murphy Lab
- “If you’re out of practice, a rosewood guitar can be guaranteed to throw every imperfection into sharp relief”: How your acoustic’s back and sides affect your guitar tone
- “Once the show became a hit, people started going down the rabbit hole – ‘Oh my God! He really was in the Grass Roots!’” The life and times of Creed Bratton, from AM rock stardom to taking an Office job
- “Nothing about it says ‘budget’… matches almost anything we’ve played in quite a while”: Martin DE Retro Plus Mahogany review
July 21
- “Like having a professional gear consultant in the palm of your hand”: Guitar Center introduces Rig Advisor, the guitar world’s first-ever AI shopping assistant
- “She gets on the intercom and says, ‘There's a boy from Australia here to see you.’ I hear him say, ‘Is he a fingerpicker?’” Tommy Emmanuel knocked on the door of his biggest guitar hero – and ended up jamming with him
- “I’ve got 7 guitar solos throughout the set, which is kind of insane – and that’s totally from her wanting that”: With Olivia Rodrigo, Arianna Powell is staking her claim as a guitar hero for a whole new audience
- “That will be the end of JHS after more than 60 years”: Vintage and Fret-King owner John Hornby Skewes & Co is closing down – but not because of financial troubles
- Alex Lifeson joins Tom Morello onstage to jam a Rush classic – during surprise guest spot in the band’s home city
- “I realized I had something very exciting on my hands. I wasn’t expecting it at all”: Guitarist unwittingly buys John Lennon’s old Fender Deluxe – after the suspected White Album combo turned up on Facebook Marketplace
- “The wood buyers didn’t think we would be able to use it. I went, ‘Oh no, that's going to turn into a ridiculous color’”: PRS turned unwanted wood into some of its best guitar finishes – including the one found on Paul Reed Smith’s go-to guitar
- “To be honest, I think most people will only be aware of the Led Zeppelin version”: Teenage blues phenom Muireann Bradley is keeping O.G. acoustic blues alive – and taking Where the Levee Breaks back to the source
- “Every bit of that legendary sound is ready and waiting to be coaxed out of these amps”: Vox AC30X, AC15X and AC4 Hand-Wired review
- “You can take the back of this guitar off and the thing stays in tune as well as if it had the back on”: How L.R. Baggs reinvented the acoustic electric guitar
- “I had no contact. I just happened to be looking through emails and saw, ‘Bootsy Collins appearing at the NAMM booth’”: How Bootsy Collins and James Brown’s band ended up playing on the soundtrack of this hit Seth Rogen movie
July 20
- “Chuck Schuldiner called to see if I could fill in for some Death shows in Mexico. I was still in high school, but I learned the set in a few days and jumped on”: Paul Masvidal on taking progressive extreme metal to new heights with Cynic and Death
- “They asked me to play the E string of a Chapman Stick with a bow for six minutes. Somebody else got that gig”: Why Nick Beggs passed on his audition for Blue Man Group – and what he learned from Frank Zappa
- “The first pickup had a bad buzz, so I sent the guitar to a shop. When I went to get it, it was gone. And by that I mean the store was gone”: Neil Young's Old Black Les Paul is one of rock's most iconic guitars, and its backstory is appropriately colorful
- “I don't like auditions. Let those boys like Beck and Clapton fight it out with each other. Let me watch and laugh”: Spinal Tap discuss all-star guitar duels, (maybe) influencing the Beatles, and persevering through multiple sudden tragedies
- “A real journeyman instrument that channels the Gibson classics yet ends up very much its own thing”: Knaggs Kenai Hollowbody Genie review
- “One of metal’s most coveted and exclusive amps was finally brought to the masses… for a few hours, at least”: This is all the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – and how about that dreamy Stratocaster/Jazzmaster hybrid?
July 19
- “David Bowie gave them the song, but Mick wrote the intro – the lick of all licks”: A tribute to Mick Ralphs, Mott the Hoople and Bad Company's rock-steady straight shooter
- “It came from a great deal of eye contact between the two of us”: When it came to Led Zeppelin's most powerful riffs, sometimes what didn't get played was more important than what did, says John Paul Jones
- “Not many people ask me about that bassline. Back then I only had one bass, and only one set of strings”: How Verdine White crafted “one of his best basslines” with Earth, Wind & Fire
- “When it came out, going by the comments on our social media, people were like, ‘What is this?’” How The 1975’s Adam Hann took a “jokey heavy riff” and turned it into the band’s first proper rock song
- “All the coolest things Epiphone ever did packed into one guitar”: Unpacking the gnarly vintage magic of a very rare 1960 Epiphone Coronet
July 18
- “A faithful reproduction of the most famous vintage rotary speaker design”: The Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble captures that vintage Leslie mojo in a compact pedal – and its display is worth the money alone
- “There are many reasons to love the Anagram – it’s a pretty comprehensive set of sounds, aimed at bassists first”: Darkglass Anagram review
- “It just feels free. No resistance, no restrictions”: Angel Vivaldi’s latest Charvel signature is a 7-string shred machine that has been 8 years in the making
- “I spilled my beer on Steve Stevens’ pedalboard. I quickly wiped it up and didn’t tell anybody”: BRONCHO’s Ryan Lindsey on the time he toured with Billy Idol – and spilled booze on a guitar hero’s pedalboard
- Furch’s self-adjusting CNR System® Active neutralizes climate effects and lets players fine-tune action with ease
- “6 groundbreaking albums in 3 TONEX pedals”: IK Multimedia gives its best-selling TONEX One a Van Halen-inspired update – launching a trio of amp modelers that chart the 'Brown Sound' evolution
- “I went, ‘You've made a big mistake. The E string on this guitar is worth that!’” How Marty Stuart came to own Clarence White’s iconic B-Bender Telecaster
- “The brains of older musicians stay finely tuned thanks to years of training”: Scientists say long-term musical training helps stop age-related decline – so keep on playing your guitar
- “He influenced Jimi Hendrix, Prince… John Mayer once told me, ‘Yeah, you just play how you are,’ and he played in a gentle soft-spoken kind of way”: Ella Feingold reveals the unsung guitar hero that every up-and-coming guitarist should learn from
- “The opening has less notes than you are playing”: Instagram guitarist posts Megadeth cover – and Dave Mustaine shows up in the comments with some riff advice
- “They stole our name, which means Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were listening to our records. But the main reason people know us is Gary Moore, and that doesn’t bother me at all”: The tale of the original Irish Skid Row
- “Brann told me I’d be the first person he’d call if anything ever came up. That’s what he did”: How prog fusion ace Nick Johnston ended up replacing Brent Hinds in Mastodon on tour – after a casual coffee hang
- “Tom Morello probably sold more units than every other early adopter combined”: How the DigiTech WH-1 Whammy pedal changed the game for guitar effects
- “Makes you forget the fact that one of these will cost you a fifth of what you’d pay for something with the Murphy Lab moniker”: Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Custom 1962 ES-335 Reissue review
- “One of my biggest musical influences is the king of blues power. He also played in an unorthodox tuning, which is still a mystery”: Jared James Nichols on how Albert King's electric fingerpicking changed the game for blues guitar
July 17
- “I’m waiting for the right player. I don’t want to break the chain of great guitarists coming through”: Scott Gorham on the future of Thin Lizzy – and how the late John Sykes gave them some thunder when they needed it most
- An ultra-rare 1951 guitar that became a stepping stone to Gibson’s Golden Era and a Goldtop Les Paul that “stops you in your tracks” – Gibson’s new Certified Vintage drop has landed
- “Film and TV music will often leave a dissonant chord hanging unresolved to underline the tension”: Learn 5 altered chords that can create or dissolve harmonic tension
- “I'm either wishing I had this back in the White Stripes or I am glad I didn't”: Jack White unveils a brand new custom guitar made by Eddie Van Halen's go-to master builder – and it’s “half bass, half guitar”
- “From your bedroom to Madison Square Garden without missing a beat”: Jimmy Page announces the Sundragon Nymph – packing his stadium-filling tones into a small footprint, low-wattage combo
- “It all came to a screeching halt and forever destroyed the band’s life”: Dave Navarro and the rest of Jane’s Addiction sue Perry Farrell for $10 million following last September's on-stage altercation
- “Much more versatile than a vintage-style Tele”: Fender Player II Modified Telecaster SH review
- “‘Blues approved’ licks that work well both as embellishments to rhythm parts or as phrases within a solo”: Sue Foley shows you how to breathe new life into your 12-bar blues
- “I have a rule: I never argue with a woman holding a knife. So I’m like, ‘All right, Bonnie, I’ll bite...’” How a blues legend ended up engraving her name into Joe Bonamassa’s favorite 1955 Fender Strat
July 16
- “When he told the doctor he was going to perform, the doctor said, ‘You’re out of your mind’”: Richie Sambora recovering from “gruesome” injury after playing through the pain
- “Chet had such facility and knowledge, and yet what he wanted to do was play two chords all morning long. He’d say to me, ‘You’re pretty good, but you’re no Mark Knopfler’”: Mark Knopfler looks back on his jams with fellow fingerstyle legend Chet Atkins
- “I walk in and see on the board: ‘Beck, Satriani, Lukather, Slash.’ I thought it was a send-up”: Spinal Tap once surprised Nigel Tufnel with an all-star guitar solo tribute – but he wasn't thrilled about it
- “Whenever we weren’t playing, Neil would call up and say, ‘Are you guys playing a gig next weekend? Can we borrow the amplifier?’” When Randy Bachman and Neil Young used to share guitar amps
- “We would play these guitars that were supposedly the most expensive, the most rare, like, ‘There's nothing special about it’”: Joe Satriani on why he’s become disillusioned by vintage guitars
- “I don’t think LSD had a real big impact on the songwriting or guitar playing… it was just that we saw brighter colors and got high!” Roger McGuinn on The Byrds’ influential guitar style, and why they didn’t follow The Kinks and The Who into distortion
- “I take these supplements to stay razor-sharp, night after night”: Yngwie Malmsteen launches signature protein powder as he expands his empire of gear to make you shred better
- “One of the rarest and most coveted vintage amplifiers ever”: Mesa/Boogie’s hallowed Mark IIC++ was used by Metallica to shape the sound of 1980s metal – and now it’s been given a production release for the first time ever
- “I imagine myself painting a picture. Before I only had 24 colors to use – now I have an infinite amount on my palette”: Meet Ben Lechuga, the Steve Vai-championed Chilean virtuoso who has gone fretless – and why he’s never going back
- “Yes, Eric can certainly shred! But more important than his speed is his accuracy. Accuracy will always win the day over speed”: Joe Bonamassa shows you how to connect lead phrases like Eric Johnson
July 15
- “It’s like a Jazzmaster on steroids, but you still have that Strat essence”: Fender’s limited-edition Ariel Posen signature is a conceptual hybrid that blends two of the slide master’s favorite guitars together
- “There were things I wanted to achieve that I wasn't really getting out of those amps”: Why Slash worked with Magnatone on a signature amp after 30 years of playing Marshall stacks
- “The same when I first saw Prince, it was like, ‘We’re safe’”: Mk.gee was named Eric Clapton’s favorite new guitarist – now he’s making waves with a guest spot on Justin Bieber’s new album
- “Mike Peters and Eddie Macdonald had written three stone-cold classics by the time they were 25. They showed amazing maturity in their early songwriting”: Remembering Mike Peters, the late frontman of the Alarm
- “This is the way Leo would be building guitars if he were still alive. In our eyes, G&L is more ‘Fender’ than Fender actually is”: How G&L Guitars is carrying on the legacy of Leo Fender
- “The warm wash of top-class tone we experienced from both these guitars was impossible to resist”: Fenech VT Camphor Laurel Auditorium and VT Professional Blackwood Dread D78 review
- “I love using toy guitars that you have to wrestle with. It adds to the performance – you’re pulling from the instrument”: Dean DeLeo on why his favorite STP songs are the ones he didn’t write, and barging into Allan Holdsworth’s dressing room
July 14
- “I never thought I would ever see anything like this”: Steve Vai considers this solo to be his “ultimate achievement” – and one fan’s cover has left him in awe
- “He gave the guitar back to me after the set and said, ‘Oh man, it’s such a good one’”: Marcus King takes Rory Gallagher’s legendary Isle of Wight Fender Telecaster for a spin on stage
- “Mick Taylor is mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met’s collection”: A stolen Rolling Stones ’59 Les Paul that has been missing since 1972 has surfaced – in a museum
- “We had people crying on our shoulders every night. We had no idea it would be so impactful that it literally saved people’s lives”: We Lost the Sea channeled grief into a landmark post-rock album – then they had to face the pressure of how to follow it
- “By the time he finished, Memphis knew they were witnessing the birth of a legend”: That time a 14-year-old Eric Gales won a battle of the bands competition that got him signed – and kickstarted his career
- “I’m just like, ‘Oh my God. This is a compliment and a diss at the same time from Kirk Hammett!’” Tim Henson addresses Kirk Hammett’s mixed response to his ‘boomer bends’ comments
- “He goes, ‘You know, Joe, you’d be my favorite guitar player if you’d just divide by two’”: The playing advice Joe Bonamassa got from Leslie West – and why it’s finally paying off
- “One of Eric Clapton’s guitars went for half a million dollars. I was, as I often am, in trouble with the IRS. I thought, ‘This is probably the time’”: Todd Rundgren’s love affair with Clapton’s Fool SG, and how he moved on after selling it
- “I had just done 9 months with Joni Mitchell… But that whole Dark Horse tour was a really weird thing. George was uncomfortable being a band leader”: Robben Ford on the highs and lows of touring with George Harrison
- “He reached under the sofa and pulled out this dusty old case. And he says, ‘Mark, I want you to have this guitar. I don’t play it anymore’”: Mark Knopfler on the treasured Gibson he received as a gift from a rock hero – which became his studio go-to
- “There’s something here for all drive lovers. Bit of a game-changer, this one”: Crazy Tube Circuits Venus review
July 13
- Metal guitars have officially gone mainstream – as pop star Kesha is the latest to don a Jackson Rhoads model
- “I sold it to Bob Rock for the same amount I paid for it. Just after that, the ‘Slash effect’ happened… he sold it for 15 times what he paid”: Billy Duffy on the Les Paul ’Burst he sold on the cheap – and why player-grade beats all-original every time
July 12
- “Cliff played guitar as well as bass – I picked up a few things from him that ended up on Master of Puppets”: Before Robert Trujillo and Jason Newsted, Cliff Burton set the musical bar for Metallica and established an indelible legacy
- “They’re humbuckers but have an amazing, almost Dumble harmonic range”: Keith Urban offers first look at his Tele-inspired PRS signature model
- “The director said, ‘Fine, why don’t you just mime in that case?’ So we did – and air guitar was born”: Have the origins of air guitar finally been found? Unearthed footage contests the Joe Cocker at Woodstock ’69 theory
- “As soon as I saw it my heart jumped into my throat – I’d bought it from a trusted guy and I couldn’t imagine that he would have done something improper”: This 1960 Gibson ES-335 proves that there’s always something to learn from vintage guitars
- “It’s official. The age of touchscreen guitar amps is here”: This is all the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – and we might have a winner for the best new sub-$1k electric guitar of 2025
July 11
- “Maybe that was part of the reason I had overlooked it before. It was so perfect and almost doesn’t stand out”: Alice Cooper’s new guitarist on why Glen Buxton is a seriously underrated guitar hero
- "Crisply built and shines like a gem on the live stage": Taylor 314ce Studio review
- Kirk Hammett’s mystery SG from Back to the Beginning was built by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian – and now it’s being auctioned off for charity
- “With him doing his own set – which I didn't think he should do – I didn't want him to get burnt out”: Tony Iommi reflects on Black Sabbath’s final performance, his concerns over Ozzy's solo set – and reveals the songs they rehearsed but didn’t play
- “I just had a feeling. I didn't even play it properly. It had one dodgy jack lead, and I squeaked out two chords on it and I thought, ‘This is the guitar for this project’”: How Chris Turpin found the perfect foil for Jake Kiszka’s Number One Gibson SG
- “Jon and I became friends. He came to L.A. when he was looking for musicians to join his band, but a couple of things happened...”: Why session legend Tim Pierce never joined Bon Jovi – despite recording their earliest hit
- “I’m more interested in putting in stuff that I’m unfamiliar with and trying to be more than just the power chord. But I still end up back there, that’s the problem”: Stephen Carpenter shares his power chord addiction as Deftones announce new album
- “It was a true surprise. And to be shouted out alongside Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ to boot? That felt surreal”: Meet Jesse Williams, the Joe Bonamassa-backed singer-songwriter tackling the mountain blues
- “Something that really blows my mind is that before Wet Leg, Rhian didn’t know how to play guitar”: Wet Leg are one of the hottest indie bands on the planet – but leader Rhian Teasdale couldn’t play guitar until she started the band
- “My friend calls and says, ‘I’ve got this customer. I need you to come down here right away. It's George Harrison'”: How Norman Harris helped reunite a Beatle with his long-lost Les Paul
- “I try not to be Alex Lifeson from Rush… my days of shredding and playing like a crazy maniac are over. There are a million people on Instagram that do that now”: Alex Lifeson on throwing sonic curveballs with Envy of None – and why he’s all in on plugins
- “The Kennedy Center thing was a wild experience – being around that many famous people and shaking Robert DeNiro’s hand at the White House”: How Goose took flight to become the world’s hottest jam band
July 10
- I played in a covers band for years, and swore by one pickup combination that covered everything. With $400 off this Charvel San Dimas, this is the HSS guitar I’d be picking up this Prime Day
- Forget Amazon for guitar deals - Sweetwater has an irresistible $200 off Epiphone’s 1964 SG Reissue for all Iommi and Angus fans
- Always thought in-ear monitors were too expensive? This mega Prime Day sale on Linsoul IEMs says otherwise – invest from as little as $39.99 and find out why more amateur players than ever are using them
- Sweetwater is looking to Seek & Destroy Amazon with the very best Prime Day guitar deal for Metallica fans – save $359 off the iconic Kirk Hammett White Zombie
- “I said to my tour manager, ‘I need 350 bucks,’ which he wasn’t happy about. That bass changed my career”: In 1981, Pino Palladino bought a fretless StingRay that altered the course of his musical life – now it’s been recreated as a signature model
- “Bey wanted a solo. She’s like, ‘We can have a 16-bar solo on this record.’ So that was a little bit of pressure”: Eric Gales nearly recorded a guitar solo for Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter
- There are few things in life I hate more than re-stringing my guitars, but with packs from as little as 83 cents per string this Prime Day, I've run out of excuses
- “I just went nuts and added lots of parallel distortion!” Thunderstruck on bass? With slapping and tapping? Modern-day bass hero Toby Peterson-Stewart flexes his formidable chops in tribute to AC/DC
- “Everyone in Olivia’s band and Olivia herself is a huge fan. I was watching them, thinking, ‘This is so cool. They’re playing Jacksons’”: How Turnstile ramped up the shred in Olivia Rodrigo’s live show
- Guitar Center is taking the fight to Amazon this Prime Day with 25% off an "endless" selection of electric guitars - including $200 off a Player II Strat!
- “When the wonderful David Fleming approached me to help out with guitar for the new James Gunn Superman film/soundtrack, I was like, ‘Um, hell yes?!’”: Yvette Young confirms that she's the guitar-wielder on the new Superman soundtrack
- “You’re a walking encyclopedia of Stevie knowledge”: This 16-year-old has been called the next Stevie Ray Vaughan – and he’s finally been given the keys to “the real SRV tone” after years of experimenting
- “These guitars really come across as a very boutique, artisan pair of instruments… Above all, they’re not just another copycat design”: Eastman FullerTone SC ’52 and DC ’62 review
- “People shied away from its political edge – they didn’t get their love songs. But for us it was a lot of fun”: Junior Marvin on Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Survival – and the influence Hendrix’s guitar pedal guru had on its sound
- “That was also where Mitch Mitchell brought Jimi’s white Woodstock Strat for me to set up, prior to him selling it”: My afternoon interviewing Hank Marvin over beans on toast and chickening out of a Paul McCartney 'audition'
- “If you think about the approach to guitar I’m known for, it seems to have little in common with Hetfield’s. But I would argue that it has much to do with it”: What funk maestro Cory Wong learned from James Hetfield
- A guitar amp with a touchscreen? Mooer’s $190 F15i looks to set a new benchmark for desktop modeling amps – and promises to “redefine portable guitar practice”
July 9
- Here are the 13 must-try guitar accessories for under $25 this Prime Day - including the Hetfield-approved Dunlop Black Fang guitar picks for only $8.25!
- The secret behind Marcin, Matteo and Paco? How rest note picking can improve your tone, speed and volume
- “My gosh, that’s a big guitar”: 10-year-old guitarist nails Are You Gonna Go May Way during America’s Got Talent – on a PRS that’s almost as tall as he is
- “I remember reading it and thinking, ‘Why did he say I left the band?’ I never left the band. I was fired”: Vivian Campbell sets the record straight on his infamous departure from Ronnie James Dio’s band
- "This is the kind of guitar that encourages you to play your best, allowing you to perform faster, smoother, and more expressively than you thought possible": Gibson Marcus King ES-345 review
- “I stepped on the stage really hard and the guitar fell over and exploded. The headstock shattered into five pieces”: That time Ty Segall accidentally smashed his beloved ’60s Gibson
- “Sound like your favorite song with a single click”: This ambitious pedal uses AI to recreate the guitar tones from any song you feed it
- These Boss favorites are still on sale for Prime Day, including the beloved Boss DS-1W – but hurry, the deals end tonight!
- “A modern take on vintage tones”: PRS gives its celebrated NF 53 the SE treatment – tabling a bid for the best sub-$1k electric of 2025
- Shhhh... Donner's 4.5-star Hush-X travel guitar just dropped by a chunky 20%, making practice at home or on vacation more family-friendly
- “I like a standard-tuning guitar. If you can’t put your ideas across with that, you’re in trouble”: Justin Hawkins on why he’s not convinced by alternate tunings
- “There were a lot of things I wish I had done with Greta that if I could go back in time and do differently, I would”: Jake Kiszka’s Greta Van Fleet journey so far has been an astounding success – but there are some things he’d change about it
- “Korn was doing their 30th anniversary show with Gojira. I was like, ‘I have to go give Christian a guitar, and I have to give Head a guitar’”: Tetrarch on the joy of handing out signature models to their heroes and designing metal’s gnarliest tones
- “Rule number one: When you’re not using a pedal, your guitar must sound like your original guitar sound”: Steve Stevens on the pedalboard the guru Dave Friedman made him, his favorite Klon klone and why he can't use chorus anymore
July 8
- I bought the HX Stomp years ago and it's still one of my smartest gear purchases - get up to $200 off Line 6 in the Sweetwater sale
- “Well-spec'd and looking like it could do serious damage on the battlefield, this guitar is as muscular as Rammstein’s live shows”: ESP LTD RZK-III OW review
- “If you think PRS just makes guitars for well-heeled doctors and dentists, you might have to change your opinion”: PRS SE NF 53 review
- “I miss being at the end of the stage and turning up my amp as loud as possible”: Oasis have performed their first live shows in 16 years – and Noel Gallagher re-embracing guitar solos after all this time is set to be a highlight of the entire reunion
- Amazon still has dirt-cheap guitar pedals starting from only $20.79, but the Prime Day deals end today – give your 'board a budget boost while you can
- “There’s apparently only two of them, so I feel very lucky to have it”: The oddball electric guitar that fast-rising soul-pop guitarist Maya Delilah favors over her Strats and Teles
- I track pedal deals year-round and the Electro-Harmonix Lizard Queen octave fuzz for just $39.60 is next-level cheap
- Guitar god Eric Johnson thinks "every guitarist should learn the piano," and with Prime Day discounts on models from Roland, Yamaha, and Casio, it's never been cheaper to learn
- One of my favorite sub-$500 guitars just got even cheaper thanks to this $136 Prime Day discount – but the deal is ending in 24 hours
- Quick! These 8 guitar accessories are still cheap in the Prime Day sale, but only until tonight – and the cheapest one is only $5.05
- Give your pedalboard the glow up it deserves with over $100 off this Fender patch cable kit – pay just $3 per cable and save 65%
- “I was expecting weirdness, but Michael wasn’t that way at all. He was very interested in my pedalboard”: Session legend Tim Pierce on working with Michael Jackson – and how the King of Pop turned out to be an unexpected gear nerd
- “Draws on everything we’ve learned”: Gibson (sort of) revives the cult Marauder model beloved by Adam Jones and Paul Stanley – by combining it with an even more obscure build
- Seriously? $109.99 for a genuine Telecaster?! Fender’s Squier Debut models are the ultimate beginner guitars, and with this wallet-friendly Prime Day discount, you'll have enough left over to buy a tuner
- “We were doing War Pigs… Ozzy looks at me and mouths, ‘What are the words?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ So he started singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm”: Jake E. Lee on his wild Ozzy Osbourne days and why Tony Iommi is harder to emulate than Randy Rhoads
- “I gave up trying to be a great guitar player. I have enough to get by in the studio – I got away with murder”: Mark Knopfler on why he doesn’t consider himself a “guitar god” – and the ones in the industry who deserve that title
- “You gotta quit at the right moment, and Gary did the worst thing any band member can do. I was angry, man”: Scott Gorham on how his guitar partnership with Gary Moore came to a dramatic end – and building bridges with the late guitar hero decades later
- “The audience got on my side when I came out with this broken guitar… it started life as a Baby Taylor but got stepped on and snapped”: He's been called the UK's “best, most humane songwriter” but a broken acoustic is the secret to Richard Dawson's sound
- “A bold step forward in modern amp design”: Blackstar goes up against Boss and Positive Grid with the ID:X – a next-gen modeling amp with newly developed tech that isn’t afraid of the competition
July 7
- “Still processing it all. It might take a while”: Joe Bonamassa wraps his Rory Gallagher tribute shows and delivers a stunning cover of As The Crow Flies on Gallagher’s original 1932 National resonator
- Nuno Bettencourt was spotted playing a mystery guitar at Back to the Beginning – is he about to launch his own guitar brand?
- The ‘metal Yardbirds’ assemble at Back to the Beginning – as Billy Corgan, Adam Jones and Tom Morello put on a supergroup set that’s been years in the making
- “The songs, the artwork, the image, Ozzy’s sinister, untrained monotone, Iommi’s monolithic riffs. This was the emerging sound of heavy metal”: The complete history of Black Sabbath – lineup by lineup, album by album
- Steven Tyler makes triumphant return to the stage with Back to Beginning set alongside Ronnie Wood and Nuno Bettencourt – fueling Aerosmith reunion speculation
- “Journeyman guitars have the lightest relicing available, as if the guitar has been used but not abused during its fictitious lifetime”: Up close with Fender Custom Shop’s ’59 Journeyman Stratocaster – a stunning vintage repro fresh out of the box
- “It can definitely zero in on the Beatles’ retro tones. But there’s more to it than that”: Aclam Go Rocky Go review
- “People think it’s a banjo or a toy, and they’re stunned when they hear it. I put a Slash humbucker and some SG electronics in it, and let me tell you, it rips!” Meet The Frst’s Mikei Gray, the virtuoso whose guitar is made out of a ’50s Buick hubcap
July 6
- “He got really upset and ran off down the street. He turned the corner, and I never saw him again”: Jack Bruce’s final encounter with Jaco Pastorius
- “Hearing the crowd sing the War Pigs solo gave me chills”: Back to the Beginning was Ozzy Osbourne’s night – but it was also a tribute to Tony Iommi’s singular impact on guitar music
- “He was told early in his career that his playing was too loud, too strident and outside the accepted norms of the day”: Buddy Guy influenced Clapton, Page, Hendrix and countless others – here’s what you can learn from blues guitar’s greatest showman
- Every guitar hero, special guest and all-star cover from Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s epic Back to the Beginning farewell show
- “Every guitar player should have a nylon-string guitar in their collection. This is an ideal ‘gateway’ instrument for electric players”: Cort Sunset Nylectric DLX review
July 5
- “A vast universe of distortion and fuzz effects and much more”: SOMA Harvezi Hazze review
- “If we played a two-hour show, the blood would be dripping down the bass!” Nile Rodgers on what made Bernard Edwards a bass genius – and the making of some iconic 4-string moments
- “Brands are making these guitars, but it’s just a model in a lineup. Others make guitars without headstocks – we make headless guitars”: Ola Strandberg ushered in a new era of headless guitars – but no-one is doing it like his own company
- “It proved to be too tricky for everyone to hear and perform together without losing track of the beat”: Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones explains what people get wrong about his Black Dog riff – which originally tripped up even Jimmy Page and John Bonham
- “That one’s a ’62. It’s also been shot. There’s a mark on the bottom where the bullet went in”: From his legendary Franken-Les Paul, Old Black, to his Hank Williams-owned Martin, and a pedalboard “ugly button,” Neil Young's rig is like no other
- “I watched Tony a lot. We became friends. It was emotional – not in a ‘pinch me!’ sense, but realizing how on-point he was – and how much he was not phoning in that performance”: Rival Sons’ Scott Holiday on what it’s like to open a Black Sabbath show
- “My dad stepped in to greet the ensemble – and then in came The King”: Billy Gibbons shares the story of the “treasured moment” he sat in on a B.B. King session – as a child
July 4
- “It just never felt like it worked with Queens. There’s something about it – it’s a little too ordinary”: Troy Van Leeuwen explains why Queens of the Stone Age are not a Fender Strat band
- “More of the glassy sparkle that Tele neck pickups always lacked”: DiMarzio is determined to make you like the Tele neck pickup position with its new Muscle T set
- Can you keep up? 6 minor pentatonic licks that go FASTER!
- “The solution to your Tele neck pickup headaches and a fitting farewell for the godfather of heavy metal”: This is all the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – and it includes my new dream reverb machine
- If I was starting guitar again today, this is the first deal I’d jump on – get $1,000 worth of content for just $125.65 with Guitar Tricks' Summer Black Friday
- “I felt like it was going to be a scam but emailed them anyway, signing off as Este Haim”: How Este Haim ended up buying her dream ’70s Fender Precision Bass on Craigslist for a bargain – from one of her favorite guitarists
- “That’s how we’re gonna know we’ve found the right one”: Gibson steps up the search for the lost Back to the Future guitar – and its discovery hinges on one key spec
- “My first reaction was, ‘There’s only one Les Paul.’ I prolonged the conversation”: Gibson spent years trying to convince Warren Haynes to work on a signature guitar – this is what changed his mind
- These are the best 4th of July acoustic guitar deals I’ve ever seen – here’s the 9 models I’d buy
- “I said, ‘Ted, you can see inside the horn, it's got a maple cap.’ He goes, ‘Shut up’”: Paul Reed Smith says early Les Pauls were all Goldtops to hide a tonal breakthrough from Leo Fender
- “People laughed at us, saying, ‘Why are you playing guitar solos? This is so lame.’ We thought, ‘Let's go even faster’”: Herman Li on how Guitar Hero helped make guitar solos cool again – and why grunge killing off the shred scene wasn’t a bad thing
- “Oz said, ‘Let’s just do Free Bird twice. That should take up an hour!’” Zakk Wylde on Tony Iommi’s genius, Black Sabbath’s immeasurable influence – and Ozzy’s unlikely Back to the Beginning demands
- “The original blue Strat that I bought in ’88 became the ‘Bob guitar’… that was when I started reinventing the way I looked at guitar”: From Hüsker Dü’s “fighter jets” to Sugar’s “sheets” of guitar, how Bob Mould built his wall of sound
- “Now it’s coming back and everyone is getting excited about it”: Liam Gallagher’s son thinks guitar music is only now making a return – and the Oasis reunion could be to thank
- “I don’t even think he had a pick. He just heard the tracks once and was ready to go”: Ricky Warwick on welcoming Lita Ford, Charlie Starr and Billy Duffy to vintage guitar nirvana for his new solo album – and the magic of seventh chords
July 3
- “Am I supposed to feel jealous or something? Sid Vicious had his moments – but I can have my moments as well. I’m no shrinking violet!” Glen Matlock on how the Sex Pistols have changed, while his bass rig never has and never will
- “I sold this model guitar as a teenager and have regretted it for many years now”: Jack White reveals the one guitar he regrets letting go – and why he still hopes to be reunited with it
- My favorite Telecaster just got a massive $240 discount in the Fender Summer Sale – this is why it’s my go-to for recording and gigging
- September 2025 Guitar World lesson videos and more
- “I’m finding that new gear can actually sound really good, and that old gear can be really overrated”: Why folk legend Richard Thompson is embracing new guitar gear – but drawing the line at digital
- “With the ongoing tariff uncertainties in the U.S., we wanted to take decisive action to bring clarity”: Irish guitar firm announces a new U.S.-based distribution hub to tackle tariff impact – will other manufacturers follow suit?
- “Instead of being like, ‘Hey, man, you’re my favorite guitar player,’ I was like, ‘Watch out for that cable running across the floor’”: Bill Kelliher on his awkward Tony Iommi encounter and Mastodon’s Back to the Beginning plans
- “We’re talking about it. I know there’s gotta be at least another Aerosmith gig”: Joe Perry leaves the door open for an Aerosmith reunion – and he’s not the only band member who’s keen
- “Epiphone’s ’50s-style Flying V is a perfectly decent guitar that emulates the spirit of the real thing without being completely vintage-accurate”: Can we turn an Epiphone Flying V into a vintage Gibson unicorn? It’s easier than you might think
- “It might be the smallest of the small, but it’s a Goliath in sound”: On-Stage Travel Guitar Amplifier review
July 2
- “An ultra-flexible way into the Tone King sound for a quarter of the price, and a fraction of the size and weight of the amp it’s based on”: Tone King Imperial Tri Tube Preamp review
- “I knew the record was good, but when you hear the way he plays, there's no question that Stevie was an all-time great guitar player”: How Stevie Ray Vaughan's biggest hit benefitted from one of the baddest rhythm sections in blues history
- Ibanez has just dropped fresh signature guitars for 3 of its biggest artists – but a new Premium Series has stolen their spotlight
- “I attempt to recreate the sound of Eruption with a Fractal and an amp I’ve never played”: Dweezil Zappa devises the ultimate tube amp versus modeler test – using both the shred an Eddie Van Halen classic
- I’ve been buying used pedals for years and with up to 66% off, Reverb’s summer sale is the first place I’d look right now
- “My parents got divorced – I got a TV off my mum and a guitar from my dad. And it’s still a great guitar”: Sam Fender’s first guitar was a budget Strat copy – and even though he’s selling out stadiums, he still plays it to this day
- These huge 4th of July guitar sales have taken the wind out of Prime Day’s sails – shop 10 of my top picks
- I was holding out for Amazon Prime Day, until Thomann's massive Music Days sale dropped up to 65% in savings on Fender, ESP, Gibson, Martin, Taylor, and more
- “I was noticing I was having a hard time playing a simple thing. ‘Why am I having a problem playing this?’ I didn't know yet”: Phil Collins’ go-to guitarist, Daryl Stuermer, reveals his Parkinson’s diagnosis – and shares how it has impacted his playing
- “You told me you could play this song!” Green Day invite fan on stage to play Good Riddance – but he trolls them with Wonderwall instead
- “I took Heaven and Hell to a sleepover – the other girls looked at me like I had aliens crawling out of my ears”: Lzzy Hale on how Halestorm ended up playing Ronnie James Dio’s final show – and doing the same for Ozzy Osbourne
- “He turned out to be George Harrison’s gardener. He gave the CD to George… Next thing I know George and Olivia call to ask if we’d play at their Christmas party”: Meet Robin Nolan, the Gypsy jazz guitarist who collaborated with a Beatle
- “I forgot to turn my guitar off. A lady passed by, and her dress tail hit the G string. I’ll never forget that. I’ve been doing it ever since”: How Buddy Guy accidentally stumbled upon guitar feedback – a tool that would shape his sound and style
- “Sabbath and AC/DC are similar to me because people make the mistake of thinking, ‘That’s so easy. It’s like a caveman. Anyone could play those parts’”: Tony Iommi was such a big influence on Scott Ian that he tried to play left-handed
- “Exceptional tuning stability, bright and articulate tone, and enhanced output”: Pro musicians’ go-to guitar strings, Cleartone Strings – founded by music legend Phil Everly – are now available in the UK and Ireland
July 1
- Become a better guitarist for just 27 cents a day? That's not as absurd as it sounds thanks to TrueFire’s massive July 4th sale – save 60% on an annual subscription
- “After two weeks, my tone remained the same as it was in the first minute of restringing”: I tried Cleartone treated electric guitar strings for the first time – and the results impressed me
- “It was under a staircase for 50 years. The owner’s family thought it could be worth £5,000. They were told, ’It’s worth more than that…’” The curious tale of Joe Bonamassa’s ‘Royal Albert’ Les Paul – and its mysterious mod
- With deals starting from below the $200 mark, Fender's Summer Sale is the place to bag yourself a new guitar with up to $550 off Fender and Squier guitars
- “I just said, ‘Look, Ed, if you want to do this, I’ll set up a guitar for you, and if you don’t like what we do, I’ll just destroy it in front of you’”: Eddie Van Halen and Keanu Reeves nearly ended up on the John Wick soundtrack
- “The Epiphone and Squier guitars that you can get now, with a good setup, will play great and sound very close to more expensive versions”: Why The Cars' Elliot Easton believes a guitar's setup is more important than its price tag
- “No shrinking violet, this pedal will stamp its authority on your tone”: ThorpyFX Six Zero review
- “What we've created is a platform where you can upload your collection, and put in whatever prices you want, which only you can see”: We speak to the people behind an all-new, safe way to buy and sell vintage guitars online
- “People hear surf guitar in our music, but I think that comes more from the fact Dick Dale was Greek – so Misirlou was a Greek tune”: Introducing LA LOM, the LA trio turning fiberglass guitars and psychedelia into a dance party of guitar instrumentals
- “Judas Priest were doing something different. Black Sabbath gave us a real confidence boost to carry on what we were doing”: K.K. Downing on coming up with fellow metal gods Black Sabbath in Birmingham, and why no-one can play like Tony Iommi
- “The return of a legend”: Tony Iommi and Laney mark Black Sabbath’s final show with an ultra-limited signature amp – which revives an old favorite for the first time in 13 years
- “We wanted to play a 20-minute crazy solo. An extended, jammy outro used to be a pretty common thing, and now it feels completely dead”: Meet Dutch Interior, the SoCal indie-rock outfit channeling the Allman Brothers with six – yes, six – guitarists
- “Alice in Chains have had a long relationship with Ozzy, who gave us one of our first breaks – and gave us a bass player”: Jerry Cantrell on his lifelong love of Black Sabbath and touring with Ozzy Osbourne (before taking his bassist)