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September 2025

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114 articles

September 11
- “Heavy metal and drop D is a match made in heaven”: Eddie Van Halen used it, Jimmy Page loved it, and all of your heavy metal heroes have tried it – drop D made drop-dead simple
- “I saw the message and I was like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ He called me the next day and offered me a world tour”: How Yungblud bassist Silke Blansjaar got the gig of a lifetime – despite not playing bass
- “I grabbed his hand saying, ‘Thank you for everything.’ He goes, ‘You were the only guitar player who said no to me’”: Nuno Bettencourt remembers his final exchange with Ozzy Osbourne – a reminder of the gig he once turned down
- “He wanted to show me his really nice old Les Paul, and I just said, ‘I don’t like Les Pauls,’ and walked off”: When Joe Bonamassa was introduced to Joanne Shaw Taylor – who “offended” him on their first meeting
- “I measure success by the number of knock-off clones I have – that gives me an idea as to how I’m perceived in the pedal world”: Robert Keeley on becoming one of the most imitated pedal builders in the biz – and the “smoking” drive he can't sell online
- “I said, ‘That’s my music.’ His manager said, ‘You’re a girl. You don’t have the money to fight this’”: Rita Coolidge alleges she helped write Eric Clapton’s Layla – but never got credit for it
- “The first gig, they handed me a mayonnaise jar full of cocaine and said, ‘Welcome to the band’”: Blues survivor Walter Trout on wild times with Canned Heat, how John Mayall helped him get sober – and his death metal tone secret
September 10
- “It’s clear that the pickups on this guitar are geared for the loud and lewd stuff”: Gretsch Electromatic CVT review
- “Makes selling music gear more rewarding than ever before”: Reverb relaunches in the UK with reduced seller fees – promising players “more money for their music gear”
- “Connecting directly to that golden era of guitar innovations”: Jackson pays homage to its early days with Pro Origins 1985 San Dimas series – featuring newly developed era-accurate pickups
- “I was instantly in a band because nobody wanted to play bass back then”: How Eddie Van Halen led to Les Claypool picking up the bass – and how he nearly joined Kirk Hammett’s band
- “On the bass…” Spinal Tap recruit Tal Wilkenfeld and Thundercat for Jimmy Kimmel performance of Big Bottom
- “I’m gonna sneak some stuff in there to give it more personality”: Steve Morse injects Coldplay with some Deep Purple flair as he adds a guitar solo to mega-hit Fix You
- “It has had an interesting history. I don’t think it found its true voice until now”: PRS has resurrected its Mira model – and says it's better than ever
- “Of all the artist-associated instruments I’ve been involved with, this has been my favorite journey”: A guitar once owned by Jimmy Page and given away in a magazine competition goes for over three times its estimate at auction
- “The guitar I play live is secretly a Squier. I replaced the neck plate – I was like, ‘I’m too big for this!’” How Frankensteined Fenders and vintage Gibsons supercharged the rise of Jack White-backed rockers Die Spitz
- Get more from Guitar World: How to make Guitar World a preferred source in your Google Search results
- “If Leo Fender had released a Jazz Bass like this back in the ‘60s, it would have changed the entire history of popular music”: The inside story of Adrian Younge’s half-fretless, fuzz-loaded Fender Custom Shop Jazz Bass
- “I was drinking a lot and forgot that I bought it. The folks at Carter Vintage called me and were like, ‘You gonna come get this guitar?’” Marcus King on the vintage guitar he accidentally bought while drunk
- “You get emails saying they’d like to try a guitar and you think, ‘It’s not going to be THAT Audley Freed, is it?… Then the penny drops”: How Ivison Guitars became Britain’s hottest high-end brand
- “The player is not renting or subscribing to access the effect… It’s a purchase that lasts a lifetime”: The Boss PX-1 Plugout FX backlash has gone viral – but is it justified? We put the biggest criticisms to Boss – here’s what they had to say
September 9
- "Check one out before someone realises they’ve miscalculated the price!" PRS S2 Mira 594 Satin review
- “The only person who did a version of Summer of ’69 and did it justice was Taylor Swift”: Bryan Adams looks back on the time he crossed Fenders with the world’s biggest popstar on one of his most iconic hits
- “He recorded some of the most important and enduringly popular instrumental guitar music”: Joe Bonamassa pays homage to Duane Eddy – and reminds us why the “Titan of Twang” was a great blues player, too
- “After Kirk introduced me to Greeny, it felt only right to return the favor”: Kirk Hammett let Al Di Meola play his iconic Greeny – so the fusion virtuoso let him play his prized Elegant Gypsy Black Beauty
- Sting's legal representatives claim Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland may have been “substantially overpaid” following lost royalties lawsuit
- “Makes me sick how people jump on this to further their own careers”: The Darkness’ Dan Hawkins blasts Yungblud, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry for their VMAs Ozzy Osbourne tribute
- “We did this show in Amsterdam. It was quite loud, so it was shut down after 20 minutes. The people started throwing wooden shoes”: Nigel Tufnel on the return of Spinal Tap – with Marshall amps that go to infinity, new custom guitars, and a point to prove
- “We all talked to each other before we went on – Kirk, Zakk and Slash. Kirk said, ‘I’m nervous, man!’ I said, ‘I am too’”: Jerry Cantrell looks back at the “walk-off home run” of Ozzy Osbourne’s final show
September 8
- “There isn’t a bad sound in the RT-2, and this thing has real mojo”: Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble pedal review
- “I wrote Flea a fan letter, and I was like, ‘I want to do what you're doing. Do you have any advice?’ He wrote me back – it's unbelievable”: Vulfpeck’s Joe Dart on the priceless bass advice he got from Flea as a teenager
- “There are no limits. It’s basically: how long will it take and how much is it going to cost?” Behind the scenes at the Fender Custom Shop – where anything goes, and heritage and innovation go hand in hand
- “One of my favorite moments”: That time Eric Johnson shredded a custom Dean V – which had been built for Dave Mustaine to use on the Experience Hendrix tour
- “Though every note has been learned and rehearsed and played, you need to think, ‘Oh, there’s something about the feel that had before that it’s gone forever’”: David Gilmour sets the record straight on the Pink Floyd solo that accidentally got erased
- “David said, ‘Slicky, you don’t have Les Pauls anymore.’ I said, ‘I haven’t been playing them.’ He said, ‘You need to get a couple’”: The one time David Bowie ordered Earl Slick to swap his Fenders for Gibsons
- “Our riffs are unconventional because we don’t know what key anything is in. Most guitar players wouldn’t admit that”: From Billy Corgan to Big Thief, how Momma became one of alt-rock’s most addictive bands
- “It’s the preeminent instrument in the world. Every culture has made something of their own of it”: Andy Summers to explore the guitar’s impact on the world in globe-trotting docu-series
- “I’ll try my best to do you proud Oz”: Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Yungblud pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a medley of Prince of Darkness classics at the VMAs
- “I almost cried when I first saw John Frusciante live. But when I got involved in extreme music, people would say, ‘Don’t mention RHCP’”: How Arve Isdal carved his own extreme metal path with Enslaved – and became Norway’s answer to Slash
September 7
- “Duane Allman told me he was inspired to pick up slide guitar because he saw me playing with the McCoys. That blows my mind”: The life and times of Rick Derringer, the all-American guitar hero
- “I can’t feel it. It’s bone on bone. I’ve had to adjust my style. In a way, it’s like learning to play guitar again”: Jake E. Lee on how he has changed his playing – and gear – due to arthritis struggles
September 6
- “I said, ‘I can’t accept this. I haven’t earned it.’ He was like, ‘You need to go pick it up’”: How a 17-year-old guitar prodigy ended up with a 1957 Goldtop Reissue from the foundation of a band she once hated – after her Number One Les Paul got stolen
- “Proof that semi-hollows can rock as hard as the clichés, even if they are bedecked with gold”: Gretsch Professional Broadkaster LX review
- “It’s taken 3 years, but a more affordable spin-off of one of the 21st century’s most advanced guitar designs has finally landed”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the most extravagant acoustic you will see all year
September 5
- Ibanez treats its best-selling nylon-string to a stunning exotic tonewood glow-up – and it gives Tim Henson’s signature model a run for its money
- “I had some guitars stolen. Fender heard about it because we were trying to find them. They sorted us out”: How a guitar that went missing led IDLES' Lee Kiernan to his now-famed pink Mustang
- “They’ve held value better than almost any other brand”: Reverb declares PRS “quiet champion” in the market for used guitars – but which Squier turned out to be the best investment?
- Dimebag Darrell
- “I look at guitar playing as a dance between both hands. One hand brings discipline, the other brings chaos…” John Butler shares his secrets in this stunning masterclass
- David Gilmour
- James Hetfield
- Tom Morello
- “All of a sudden, some of the other guitars weren’t really doing it”: Why Linkin Park’s new singer forced Mike Shinoda to change guitars
- “I did the least amount of overdubs on Alive! – I’ll let the fans decide why that is…” Ace Frehley looks beyond his next Origins album to his travel guitar, more touring and even reconciling with Kiss
- “It went off into the universe and it left us thinking, where did it go? There must be an answer…” The remarkable story of Paul McCartney’s Höfner 500/1 bass – which went missing for 50 years – to feature in new documentary
- “It was a major step up for me. I still pull it out from time to time at home – it’s a bit of a lost classic in the Gibson range”: Zakk Wylde on the miracle of his ‘Grail’ Les Paul and the three most important guitars in his life
- “Something a little different, with vibey and diverse sounds for not a lot of money”: Vintage REVO Galactica and Astrostar review
- Brent Hinds found to be “at fault” for the tragic motorcycle accident that led to his death, police determine
- “The ultimate Gibson acoustic to date”: Gibson spares no expense to celebrate its 100th Monarch SJ-200 – a one-of-one Brazilian rosewood build that costs $99,999
September 4
- “It evokes a cool old Jazz Bass that's picked up some useful mods over its life”: Squier Classic Vibe Active ’70s Jazz Bass review
- “We did a trade, but he owed some money. The guy whose guitar it was had the cops pull me off stage to get it back”: Phil Demmel’s new Jackson Polka Dot signature King V pays homage to his first Randy Rhoads Jackson model – and the guitar god himself
- “I’d just hit the bass really hard and overdrive it with my hand. There’s no need to have any finesse if you’re a bass player”: Nikki Sixx recalls his decadent early days with Mötley Crüe
- “Jeff Ament said, ‘Could you imagine tuning the guitar to all Es? Wouldn't that be crazy? That'd be dumb’”: Kim Thayil on the time Chris Cornell tuned all his guitar strings to E – and the Soundgarden song that came from it
- "Back then, I was pretty much a nobody, so Gibson sold it to me at cost!" Slash's 5 most iconic guitars, in his own words
- “I’ve kind of just dealt with it. At first, I had to have an epidural every three months just to live”: Burning Witches and former Iron Maidens guitarist Courtney Cox reveals she has been touring with multiple herniated discs in her back for years
- “The pick hand is the timekeeper, and I’ve spent a lot of time working on exercises designed to bolster my strumming competence”: Rhythm guitar master Cory Wong shares his secrets to perfect pick-hand timing
- “I’m thinking, ‘I’m in trouble now…’ And then, Dickey goes, ‘No.’ I go, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘That’s not the good one. Go in the bedroom and grab the good one’”: Tesla’s Frank Hannon on borrowing one of Dickey Betts’ prized Gibson SGs
- “A kid came in, plugged into an amp and started. It was extraordinary. I went out the next day to find records by this character, 'Jimi Hendrix…'”: David Gilmour on the first time he saw Hendrix play – in the company of the Beatles and Rolling Stones
- “He’s written some of the heaviest, greatest rock riffs of all time. That’s served me tremendously”: How Harrison Whitford balances inspiration from Aerosmith guitarist dad Brad, boss Phoebe Bridgers and his devotion to alternate tunings
- “I was starstruck when I first met Ozzy. He said he had ‘a good feeling’ about me. He just encouraged me to play with my heart”: Gus G on growing up on Black Sabbath, playing with Ozzy Osbourne – and why Tony Iommi’s style was the hardest to master
September 3
- “Push the boundaries of modern guitar design”: Rick Graham’s second Charvel signature is an ode to his reconnection with the guitar – and it’s got a killer relic’d pink finish
- “I want the guitar to play fast, to wear close to the body, and communicate a degree of aggression”: Sterling by Music Man and Tosin Abasi bring the futuristic Kaizen to a new low price point – slashing nearly $3k off the original
- “There’s so much tasty guitar playing that’s also pretty achievable for a lot of people as well. I think it should be in everyone’s repertoire”: Mike Dawes on the one John Mayer hit that every guitarist should learn
- “Everyone in the pedal market is concerned. I think it's going to take a big chunk of the market”: Brian Wampler of Wampler Pedals on why digital modeling could be Napster for traditional pedal makers
- “It was a bit of a disaster. I plugged my guitar in, and it was instant feedback”: John McLaughlin remembers his nightmare jam session with Jimi Hendrix – when he was forced to play acoustic
- "I've tested loads of pedals for reviews, and it’s not often I come across one that feels this inspiring": Hotone NC-200 Verbera reverb pedal review
- “If you bring in some cheese, I might trade you one of the guitars on the wall”: Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel has been running a cheese shop where guitars can be used as currency
- “I didn't want to put it down. I've missed it ever since!” Jake E. Lee played Kirk Hammett’s legendary Greeny Les Paul backstage at Ozzy Osbourne’s final show – but he almost wishes he hadn’t
- “John Mayer ruined me with getting new guitars and vintage stuff. He’s always experimenting, so I had to expand my own rig”: Isaiah Sharkey is one of guitar’s most versatile talents. He lets us in on how he works with Mayer, D’Angelo and Miles Davis
- “Our definition of what makes a ‘good’ guitar tone has changed dramatically in the past 10 years”: Does ‘bad’ guitar tone even exist anymore?
- “I sat on the bed while he sat on the floor. He jumped up after I finished the solo and gave me a hug. He cried out, ‘I love you, Bradley’”: Brad Gillis remembers the moment he got the Ozzy Osbourne gig
- “An evolved Fuzz Face with an edge, this is no single-sound pedal”: EarthQuaker Devices Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter Fuzz Driver review
- “A good guitar solo should sound like an orgasm. I can hear it in Eddie Van Halen’s playing, and Jimi Hendrix. I live for the juicy notes”: Carlos Santana on playing like a soul singer and his visitations from B.B. King, Miles Davis and Stevie Ray Vaughan
September 2
- “The most immersive, intuitive headphone amp on the market today”: Blackstar’s Beam Solo takes on Fender and Boss – is this the new headphone amp to beat?
- “We took Randy’s pedalboard out for the first time and did the first pedal with the polka dots. We’re releasing a second one”: MXR’s latest Randy Rhoads Distortion is inspired by another of the guitar great’s iconic axes – the Jackson Concorde
- “I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the bucket”: Buckethead once auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne – now he’s covering Ozzy and Black Sabbath classics in tribute to the gig that didn’t quite work out
- “They would hear Aerials or Chop Suey! on the radio or MTV, and they’d be like, ‘That’s the one we heard you playing in your room’”: Daron Malakian wrote System of a Down’s career-defining album while still living with his parents
- “I used to have a really crap 335 copy – I think it was a Hohner. It would just never stay in tune. Fortunately it got stolen”: Pulp’s Mark Webber explains the happy accidents, thefts and uncontrollable pedals behind the Britpop icons’ guitar sound
- “It now goes to Infinity. Just think about that for a moment… Oh, my God, that’s literally infinity”: For Spinal Tap’s reunion, Nigel Tufnel asked Marshall to make him an an amp that went beyond 11
- “Whether this is the first instrument you buy, or that dream guitar you’ve saved years for, the expectation from Ibanez has always been to over-deliver”: How Ibanez is continuing to cement its legacy as the alternative acoustic guitar brand
- “Ibanez has always been there at the forefront of the metal revolution and evolution”: How Ibanez became one of the biggest metal guitar makers on the planet, beloved by players and pros alike
- “I kept comparing myself to others and it just stopped being fun. I've been finding it harder to stand out”: Sophie Lloyd lifts the veil on being a successful guitarist in the era of social media
- “I saw Kiki’s name, I stopped and thought, ‘Wait… I think I follow her on Instagram.’ …I was like, ‘Oh, that’s that person I really like’”: Billy Corgan and Kiki Wong on the guitar chemistry behind Smashing Pumpkins’ new era
- “It was a Facebook marketplace find. By the time we were done, I kept finding more and more”: Gibson’s Certified Vintage manager on his most memorable guitar safari discovery (and it wasn’t a guitar)
- “I got a writeup in a guitar magazine, and a gentleman from the UK sent me a handwritten letter in the mail saying, ‘Hello, my name is Guthrie’”: Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on the unifying magic of the guitar instrumental
September 1
- Jeff Beck
- A rare 12-string guitar that Mark Knopfler “borrowed” for 50 years is now up for auction
- Eddie Van Halen
- "The true star here is the pickup configuration": PRS SE Studio review
- “I always wanted a Les Paul but I couldn’t play them”: Tony Iommi on why he never became a Les Paul player – despite wanting to become one
- “A tribute to Ibanez’s past”: Ibanez has revived one of its most outrageous shred guitar designs from the 1980s
- Atlanta police release further details of Brent Hinds' fatal motorcycle accident
- “I probably had a better chance of getting struck by lightning”: Daron Malakian joins System of a Down tribute band onstage – after wandering into their gig off the street
- If you want to sound better live, three of our top-rated in-ear monitors just got some mega discounts in the Thomann In-Ear Days sale - save up to 30% on pro-level live sound
- “There is a revolution taking place right now in guitar playing”: John Mayer posts surprise demo of JHS Pedals’ new Mk.gee-coded stompbox – and explains why it reflects a wider change in guitar music
- “Since Clapton was in London, I was tapped to fill in the spaces – I was given credit in the ‘special thanks’ section”: He played with blues legends and taught Trey Anastasio. Now Paul Asbell is reflecting on 50 years as a player’s player
- “I’ve got nothing but love for John. He was brilliant back in the day… We’ve just grown apart”: Steve Jones on the Sex Pistols’ legacy, their ill-fated second guitarist auditions and how a new singer has rejuvenated the band
- I thought I was done buying Gibsons, but with a massive up to $450 off everything from my favorite Explorer to a newly released Les Paul in the Musician’s Friend Labor Day sale, I’m about to add another
- “Julian pushes the boundaries on the guitar. He’s got a specific sound and message he’s going for”: Meet the virtuoso axe-slingers from the Voidz – Strokes singer Julian Casablancas’ inventive other band
- “The closest alignment with Gibson’s legacy that Epiphone has ever achieved”: Epiphone draws on its 152-year-old history and Gibson’s aspirational craftsmanship to bring the Inspired by Gibson Custom Acoustic Collection to players at all levels
- “I didn’t set out to start a guitar company. I set out to solve a problem. That problem became a purpose”: Behind the rise of Strandberg, the firm that ushered in a headless guitar revolution – and changed the concept of guitar design in the process
- “We will continue to innovate and drive our company with passion that’s how we can win”: How Blackstar shook up the amp establishment – and cemented its place in the upper echelons of the industry
- “We really wanted to honor the past, honor the story, honor everything that makes Analog Man's King of Tone special – but with a twist”: Chase Bliss’ Joel Korte lifts the veil on the five-year process that led to Brothers AM – an overdrive for the ages
- “We didn’t just make another speaker. We created solutions tailored to what guitarists actually need”: How Laney went above and beyond with its LFR range to create the ultimate speaker solution for guitarists with digital rigs