All content archive

October 2025

Filter

Year
Month

280 articles

October 31
- “It’s become impossible to operate sustainably as a predominantly brick and mortar musical instrument retailer in the UK”: Scotland’s Kenny’s Music is the latest guitar shop chain to close its doors – despite strong sales figures
- “Matt and MGW have collaborated for several years to fine-tune the pedal… And the results will astonish you”: Manson Guitar Works' debut fuzz pedal is here, but will Matt Bellamy’s high-end boutique stompbox be worth the wait?
- "Will it knock your socks off? For some, absolutely, but for me, I find it works admirably in a cranked rig and stacks nicely with other gain pedals": Warm Audio Tube Squealer overdrive pedal review
- “What Dire Straits would sound like if Mark Knopfler grew up in the deserts of Algeria rather than the streets of Newcastle”: October 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
- “It was about completing the circle and us showing what James and I as guitar players did to change the world”: Dave Mustaine reveals why Megadeth are covering Metallica on their final album
- “Looking forward to seeing what the future holds”: Eric Gales joins Stephen Carpenter, Devin Townsend and Sophie Lloyd in the Kiesel artist ranks – is a signature guitar in the works?
- “I sold it to the boyfriend of a girl I knew. 30 years later I said, ‘Do you still have it?’ He sold it back for the same price I sold it for – $225”: Xan McCurdy on Cake, dumping Joe Satriani, and buying the wrong guitar thanks to Keith Richards
- David Gilmour is a master of melodic bluesy phrasing – here are 3 ways to cop his style in your own playing
- Holiday 2025 Guitar World lesson videos and more
- “Ranking guitar players is tough for me… Being a guitar player is all about self-expression”: Samantha Fish on the magic of 335s, “best” players – and why the North Hill Country Delta blues is a bottomless well of inspiration
- “There’s a lot of dark times associated with the band. Scott came in and provided the fun”: Scott Sorry, former Wildhearts bassist, has died aged 47
- Putting the HSS into SRV? Ibanez’s new AZ signature model is like the voodoo child of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s #1 Strat
- I wasn’t expecting my favorite multi-effects pedal to go on sale this early, but Guitar Center just knocked $100 off for their pre-Black Friday deals
- “The tones you've been listening to for 20 years right at your feet”: The Adventure Box crams Tom DeLonge’s Angels & Airwaves sounds into a 2-in-1 stompbox
- “I had no idea that show would be my last. The whole thing felt like a divorce”: How Paz Lenchantin’s departure from the Pixies led to her first-ever solo album
October 30
- “A couple of Ace’s people were furious. I got cornered by a couple who were asking if I had a problem”: Justin Hawkins on his run-in with Ace Frehley – who saw the funny side to their ‘spat’
- “The fact that Martin was willing to do that for these guitars makes me really happy”: Jason Isbell’s new Martin signatures revive his prized pre-war acoustic – and it wasn’t an easy task
- “Helped define Oasis’ sound”: Bonehead and Gem Archer both get signature Epiphones – and they’re recreations of 2 classic Oasis guitars
- “When I go, ‘Let’s try a Marshall,’ and we put it in, I go, ‘I don’t like that!’ Marshalls hurt my ears these days”: Ricky Byrd on tracking with Joan Jett, his Franken-Tele that sounds nothing like a Tele, and how sobriety has improved his playing
- “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of history”: Jim Irsay’s billion-dollar guitar collection is going to auction, with legendary instruments from Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour up for grabs
- Sweetwater isn't waiting for Black Friday – and neither should you, with up to $600 off one of my all-time favourite Les Pauls and loads more in their Early Access Black Friday sale
- “I got a text saying, ‘Bruce would like to send you something…’” The vintage guitar Bruce Springsteen sent Jeremy Allen White so he could learn to play
- “I bumped into one of Queen’s techs. He said, ‘Steve, come down to the studio – the lads would love to see you’”: How Steve Howe ended up playing on a Queen track
- “It’s fun to have shreddiness, but even my dad would say the best solos are the ones you can sing”: Wolfgang Van Halen reveals the Mammoth guitar solo that was inspired by Smells Like Teen Spirit
- “This guitar is simply too cool to not be released”: Noel Gallagher’s internet-breaking Oasis reunion Les Paul has been brought to the masses with a Standard launch
- “When I went to England in 1965 with this Strat, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page said, ‘Man, I didn’t know that kind of guitar could play the blues’”: Buddy Guy on showmanship, Sinners – and why he has unfinished business with the blues
- “I discovered that you need to be anxious – it keeps you motivated. I try to feed off the anxiety and play guitar”: The life and times of Brent Hinds, the visionary guitarist with a maverick style who made Mastodon a big beast of metal
- “Instruments that shaped metal forever”: The mystery Gibson SG Kirk Hammett played at Ozzy Osbourne’s last show is heading to auction – along with more than 150 other guitars from his collection
October 29
- “Boss’s claims of the pedal being artifact-free more than hold up. I’d have the confidence to gig with this and use it to avoid guitar changes”: Boss XS-1 Poly Shifter review
- “Experience premium tone anywhere”: Positive Grid’s $159 Spark NEO Core could be the headphone amp you’ve been waiting for
- “Back to the Future has been the number one trending search on Reverb”: Epiphone Back to the Future ES-345s are being listed for up to $7,000 as scalpers strike the second-hand market
- “You’re counting on each other, and that’s a great feeling. And if somebody screws up, there’s nothing you can do”: For John McLaughlin, it all comes back to Montreux – this is how he took his playing there to the 4th Dimension one last time
- “I didn’t get the whole Telecaster movement”: Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram just landed his second signature Telecaster – but he wasn’t convinced by the Fender classic at first
- “The JB has been the go-to pickup for guitarists across countless genres”: Seymour Duncan has retooled its Jeff Beck-backed JB pickup – and it might be your next Tele mod
- “It’s like, which kid do you love more? It’s really hard to say”: Guitar Center CEO reveals his favorite guitars he owns
- “A counterpart to the legendary Hummingbird”: Kirk Hammett and Gibson have released the Raven – putting a horror-themed twist on the classic dreadnought design
- “We put in everything but the kitchen sink… It sounded like a real monster”: How Geddy Lee created one of the most outrageous bass tones of all time for a Rush fantasy classic
- “Extreme music expresses hardship and suffering – but we’re reaching towards joy”: Introducing Agriculture, the “ecstatic black metal” band who recorded their sophomore LP as the LA wildfires closed in
- “Tony was a very successful professional guitarist who played for Frank Sinatra... he designed this guitar with Les Paul”: Through a Dumble it sounds “like Madison Square Garden” and it’s totally unique – meet Tony Mottola’s 1968 Gibson ES-355TDR
October 28
- “The ultimate anthem for guitar”: Viral troubadour pens ode to buying guitars – and catches the ears of Joe Bonamassa and Billy Strings
- “Can absolutely replace going the traditional route of a practice amp”: Positive Grid Spark Neo Core review
- “I’ve been trying everything I can to go on and do these shows, but it is just not possible”: Stray Cats cancel fall tour as Brian Setzer battles “serious illness”
- “Whatever magic John brought to the Chili Peppers, I didn’t have that style of magic”: Dave Navarro was the odd man out when he replaced John Frusciante in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But 30 years later, he has no regrets
- Sammy Hagar is touring the UK for the first time since 1996 – and bringing Joe Satriani and Van Halen’s Michael Anthony with him
- “All the same comfort and playability as their American counterparts”: Rabea Massaad’s Sterling by Music Man Sabre has been one of the firm’s most anticipated builds – and now it’s finally here
- “Brent’s got an entire album that hasn’t seen the light of day”: Brent Hinds had a trove of solo material that was never released, according to his former bandmate
- “The director said, ‘I’m looking for a young, hip rock ‘n’ roll band like Greta Van Fleet.’ And the producer’s like, ‘Well, I know someone…’” How Greta Van Fleet ended up in the new Bruce Springsteen biopic
- “ESP asked me to pyrograph James Hetfield’s Explorer. I wasn’t sure who James was, but I said yes”: Meet Dino Muradian, the pyrographer who makes a living burning artwork into stars’ guitars
- “His reaction went from polite puzzlement, to resistance, to anger. He finished up with, ‘I think it's a dumb idea’”: When Anthony Jackson came up with the idea for a six-string bass, he struggled to find anyone to build it
- “The more I got to know him, the more I could tell he was interested in different sounds, from Indian classical to Middle Eastern”: Nicolas Meier was hand-picked by Jeff Beck. Now he’s honoring the late guitar icon with a sound that seeks new horizons
- “Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook knows a thing or two about using inventive and interesting chord voicings”: How you can swap the notes in a chord to give it a different feel
October 27
- “All-solid body construction and premium electronics for under $350? You have my attention”: Harley Benton CLC-650SM-CE review
- “I knew I couldn’t take a ‘56 Junior and butcher the nut to put on the super fat strings that I would need for these low tunings”: Why Three Days Grace’s Barry Stock is embracing the Ibanez Iceman – and picking his trusty Quad Cortex over a 7-string
- “A distinctive tone beyond limits”: After Jack White, Donner has collaborated on 2 signature pedals with another big-name player
- “My only regret is that I don’t get to play them all as often as I would like”: U2’s Adam Clayton is auctioning off a score of bass guitars that have shaped the band’s sound over the years
- “A new way to keep your favorite picks organized, visible and easy to reach”: Has D’Addario solved the missing guitar pick conundrum?
- “Eddie Van Halen said, ‘How do you guys do that with three guitars? I have a hard enough time with just myself!’” A salute to Freddie Salem, the guitar ace who delivered licks for Barbra Streisand, and Southern rock fire and brimstone with the Outlaws
- “This isn’t ‘inspired by’ it. It’s built on the same ingredient that forged it”: Korn pioneered the very sound of nu metal with their debut album – now those tones have been put in a pedal
- “I fought tooth and nail for it not to be on the record, but Ed was like, ’If it’s not, I’m leaving’”: Thom Yorke reflects on the viral Radiohead smash that nearly broke up the band
- “That bassline was the first thing that came out of my head. By the end of the soundcheck we had the whole song down”: Limp Bizkit remain one of the biggest nu-metal bands ever – but they wouldn't have taken those giant strides without bassist Sam Rivers
- “The standard-bearer against which to judge all small combo amps”: Fender Blues Junior IV 30th Anniversary review
- “An unspecified buyer dipped into their pocket for $2,857,500 – so far a record for any guitar previously owned by a Beatle”: The story of the Framus Hootenanny, the resurrected John Lennon favorite that was a key component of Beatles tone
- “Offers musical feel that responds like a great amp”: Orange’s animalistic King Comp looks to level up your compression game
October 26
- “This guitar has changed my playing on stage so much”: Ibanez has dropped a stunning seven-string signature for metal shredder Hazuki – but it’s a Japan exclusive
- From the shred heroics of Joe Satriani to the melodic mastery of George Benson and fascinating phrasing of Yvette Young, we chart 25 game-changing Ibanez guitarists
- “It took nearly 20 years for the Hello Kitty Strat to return, and now it’s raining cats and… er, more cats”: All the guitar gear that caught my eye this week – including two replicas of the Marty McFly ES-345 that inspired a generation to play guitar
October 25
- “So Dave, how do I slash the amp?” Dave Davies shows you the proper way to slash an amp to achieve his Kinks tone
- “Someone once told me I had vibrato like Eric Clapton. I thought, ‘Well, if you’re gonna give me a compliment, you can definitely say that!’” Lindsay Ell on feel, failure and finding her voice – and what jams with Keith Urban and Buddy Guy taught her
- “The upper level of my dreams was to play DIY basement shows in college”: Meet Will Paquin, the musical polymath who is reluctantly stepping into the spotlight to give alt-rock and indie some Brazilian flair
October 24
- “Apparently it had been modded by Dumble. I plugged it into one of my single 12 cabs, put a mic on it, and it just sounded incredible”: How Robert Jon & the Wreck were living the dream – sleeping at the studio, firing up Holy Grail amps, and chasing tone
- "The effects pedal equivalent of a jukebox packed with classics and overlooked gems – but how well it fits your needs may depend on how much extra you're willing to spend": Boss PX-1 Plugout FX pedal review
- “It’s very simply the best guitar you can buy today”: Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer Ad guitar sells for $2,734,000 at auction
- “Randy tells me that you’re the guy, and we just auditioned a bunch of hacks”: How Rudy Sarzo said no to Sharon Osbourne and still got the Ozzy gig – with a little help from Randy Rhoads
- “It sounded like an ice pick. I thought he was gonna laugh. He looks up and goes, ‘It’s pretty awesome.’ I thought, ‘Is it?! It sounds terrible to me’”: Why Joe Walsh’s distinct taste in amps took Tom Bukovac by surprise
- “Liam goes to his dressing room and picks up a guitar, comes back and starts throwing it around like an axe”: The Gibson ES-355 that broke up in Oasis in 2009 has sold at auction – but the Wonderwall acoustic failed to sell
- “Page must be mental giving away such a terrific guitar”: The incredible story of Jimmy Page’s 1957 Gretsch 6120 that fetched over $130,000 at auction – 50 years after the Led Zeppelin icon gave it away for free
- “The next collectible cult classic”: The Fender x Hello Kitty Stratocaster is officially back – and it’s got a limited-edition new look
- “He’s gonna be on the new record, for sure. He’s writing like crazy”: Mastodon have seemingly confirmed their new guitar player – revealing Nick Johnston is writing and recording for their next albums
October 23
- “Hello Kitty is all about creativity, joy, and imagination – exactly what we want kids to feel when they pick up a guitar”: Missed out on the Hello Kitty guitars? Loog is now launching kid-friendly acoustics and a Fender-approved Strat
- “If a guitarist is just riffing away on minor pentatonic licks, it will make their playing sound ‘scale-y’; you don’t want to sound scale-y!” Power up your blues with a turnaround trick that was a specialty of the great Freddie King
- “Every working player knows a day will come when something goes wrong with their financial affairs. They’ll need an instrument for that day”: Robert Fripp on the guitars he’s kept, and the one he bought with no intention of playing
- “Without him, I don’t know whether I would’ve ever wanted to play guitar”: Tom Morello on why Ace Frehley is his ultimate guitar hero – and why he owes him a “life debt”
- “It’s something I’ve never seen in my lifetime. Biggest reunion of all time”: Johnny Marr, one of the Gallagher brothers’ earliest supporters, gives his thoughts on the cultural impact of Oasis’ reunion tour
- “You have to be prepared to spend hours and hours and hours programming”: Joe Bonamassa on why you’ll never catch him playing an amp modeler
- “When I started playing PRS, I never looked back”: John Mayer explains why he got hooked on PRS guitars
- “The Goldtop Les Paul was the first guitar I bought leading into the Harry rehearsals. I played SNL with it – and every night since”: Mitch Rowland on treading the line between pop superstars and sublime folk fingerstyle – and why touring doesn’t add-up
- “For Bon Jovi, I run through the big, thematic solos. You really don’t want to mess those moments up. One bad moment will be there forever”: Phil X on his upcoming Gibson signature, lead discipline – and how to prepare for shows in the YouTube age
- “Turned each band member’s concept into reality”: The Smashing Pumpkins designed some wild Yamaha guitars to celebrate their first gigs in Japan in 12 years – and they were played live
October 22
- “It isn’t just a showpiece – it’s a symbol of American creativity and culture”: In the ’70s, Elvis owned a 41-foot Cadillac in the shape of a guitar – after years of neglect, it's now being restored to its former glory
- “Boss has worked hard to counter the DigiTech Whammy's biggest pitfalls, but whether it dethrones it outright is a matter of taste”: Boss XS-100 Poly Shifter review
- “The sound that comes out of that speaker is just dynamite”: One of the main guitars on Biffy Clyro’s new album was a tiny Fender with a built-in speaker – which is also beloved by Tom Bukovac
- “It may be a cliché, but let’s say it anyway: Jimi Hendrix didn’t do too badly with CBS Fenders”: Fender’s CBS era is often associated with the company losing its reputation for quality – but is that view still justified?
- “It was just amazing to stand on stage and let a chord rip, especially as it was my first time playing an arena”: Erica Fox on the holy trinity of the touring guitarist, Avril Lavigne’s stadium shows – and holding down gigs with Maren Morris
- “You really have to work for it”: Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstein is one of the most famous guitars of all time – but Wolfgang says it has its limitations
- "When I got my first signature, I was probably too young. I was really excited, but I also felt maybe a little bit of imposter syndrome – I don't know if I'm a real guitar player": Benji Madden on the gear that made him, and his forthcoming signature Suhr
- Flight’s new Aviator line puts a forward-thinking spin on the humble ukulele – utilizing modern design and mango tonewoods
- “What happens if you turn it to 10?” This guitarist recreated Phoebe from Friends’ absurd guitar rig – which runs an acoustic through a Hiwatt half stack
- “I opened the case and Glenn went, ‘Wow. What’d you pay for that?’ I went '$1,200...’ He said, ‘Cheap!’ in a very derogatory way – so I called my ’59 ‘the cheap Les Paul’”: Don Felder on medical emergencies, Eagles sessions and his million dollar ’Burst
- “There is no possible way that I would do that”: David Gilmour sets the record straight on the chance of a Pink Floyd reunion with Roger Waters
- “I think my time of doing the performance grind is closing. That window is closing”: Steve Morse opens up on the constant struggle of playing with arthritis
October 21
- “It's a place where musicians find inspiration and where Fender gains direct insight from artists to co-create the future of music”: Following Nashville, Tokyo, and London, Fender sets its sights on Shanghai, and opens its first Artist Showroom in China
- “I wanted something that, when you hear it, it’s not obvious. I wanted people to go, ‘What is that?’” The Last Dinner Party’s Emily Roberts on why she’s ditching Fenders and Gibsons in favor of this genre-bending guitarist’s signature model
- “My emotional celebration of life”: Mateus Asato left Bruno Mars and Jessie J to begin his solo career – and now his debut single is finally here
- “What stood between me and a martini was this 30-minute lesson. I’d checked out. I completely blagged the whole thing”: Joe Bonamassa was totally unprepared to deliver this guitar lesson – but it ended up going viral
- Supergroup what-ifs, Kurt Cobain's multi-million dollar acoustic, and secret soloists: Test your knowledge of guitar and rock history with the Guitar World quiz
- “It irritated a few people! I saw a couple of other pedal builders who seemed to be annoyed by how toy-like and fun it was”: Josh Scott on the Notaklön’s wild success, recovering from his mountain bike crash – and his gratitude to John Mayer
- “This guy walked in with a silver Rickenbacker case. I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just a fellow musician, that’s fine’”: How Roger McGuinn’s Byrds Rickenbacker was stolen – from right under his nose
- “Celebrating the most treasured guitar scene in movie history”: Gibson has launched Custom and Epiphone replicas of the Back to the Future ES-345 – but its search for the long-lost original guitar goes on
- “The crowd started chanting ‘Angus’ just like on the live recording, and it hit me – this is what it feels like to be a rock star”: The Air Guitar world champion on how he conquered an ‘air-off’ to claim his crown
- “Whenever I play a three-single-coil normal Strat, I just never felt like I fully sound like myself. The Strat always has such a voice”: Ariel Posen is a Stratocaster lifer – but his signature guitar wants to be a Jazzmaster
- “I pushed him towards the Les Paul. I can see him now, holding those notes. I don’t think he could have played those parts on any other guitar”: Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits’ inner circle look back on Brothers in Arms – their world-conquering “fluke”
October 20
- “Everybody thinks playing technical and fast is harder. It takes a lot more courage to tone it down and play what’s right for the song”: Nuno Bettencourt on what Ace Frehley taught him about guitar playing
- “I use my pick-hand index finger in a Jimi Hendrix-like way”: Jared James Nichols explains how to use open strings and Drop D tuning to bulk up your blues fingerstyle
- “The Super Overdrive never tasted so good”: John 5’s entire pedalboard has been recreated in cake form for his birthday – and it gives a new meaning to ‘tasty tone’
- “Picking up a guitar when you’ve never held one before… That was the most frightened I’ve been in my work life”: Jeremy Allen White had never played guitar until he was hired to play Bruce Springsteen – and it was the scariest challenge of his career
- “I had to sell my phone to buy my first guitar because my parents wouldn’t let me get one! It was a very, very bad acoustic – a knock-off Gibson called Givson”: How Bloodywood went from dodgy guitars and YouTube covers to India's biggest metal band
- “I went up to Sam after the show and said, ‘You're unbelievable. I’ve got this idea for a band.’ He looked at me and said, ‘I’m in. Let's do it’”: Fred Durst pays tribute to Sam Rivers – and explains why Limp Bizkit couldn't have happened without him
- “We hit it off right away. He saw me playing my '63 P-Bass and said, ‘That's a Bootsy bass, right?’” How a chance meeting between Pino Palladino and D’Angelo helped create the sound of the late neo-soul legend's Voodoo album
- “I was pissed off at Steve Thompson – he was sitting on the chair there, razzing me. So I said, ‘Let me just practice it once.’ He rolled it, and I was just in his face”: How Frank Hannon accidentally wrote one of Tesla’s most iconic guitar solos
- “I've done so many things DIY with the Coheed comics and toys. Why should guitars be any different?” Coheed and Cambria on going it alone to make a signature guitar, channeling Joe Walsh – and the prospect of their swan song
- “One of the most visionary and influential bassists in the history of our instrument”: Anthony Jackson, low-end legend who pioneered the concept of the modern six-string bass, dies aged 73
October 19
- This iconic jazz progression was played by countless guitar legends – and it can help you learn the chord secrets of Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery
- “I was just talking to Paul Reed Smith – and I don’t know if I should be telling you this – but he’s made a new guitar that’s a revolution”: John McLaughlin teases unreleased PRS that he calls the mysterious ‘Yellow Guitar’
- “A Gretsch guitar for just $189?! Yes please… the no-nonsense, raw-and-raucous Electromatic and Streamliner Jets are here – and they are beautiful”: All the new guitar gear that caught my eye this week, from digital oil-can echo to Fender’s new US range
- "Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player – he was pure magic…" Limp Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers has died, aged 48
- “It’s nasty and greasy and oozing funk. It’s a masterclass in funk bass”: Robert Wilson had his step-out performance on this Gap Band classic, which features two bass parts, both cut on a flatwound-strung P-Bass
October 18
- “He was standing two feet from me. When he was done, he said, ‘Well, what do you think?’ And I said, ‘I want to cry’”: How this bluesman linked up with Eric Clapton – and got him to play a solo on his album
- “The string mute had disintegrated, so I stuck a piece of scouring pad to whatever was left”: How Squarepusher found a signature sound with a 1979 Rickenbacker bass, a DIY string mute and some heavy EQ
- “Ritchie Blackmore was playing licks to soundcheck. Andy started answering him. Their conversation with guitars was enough to impress Ritchie”: Ted Turner on eating biscuits with John Lennon and how Deep Purple gave Wishbone Ash their big break
October 17
- "A Bluesbreaker and a King of Tone walk into a bar… and I went home with both of them": Warm Audio Throne of Tone pedal review
- “I knew how bummed out Neil was. He wasn’t feeling like making music. He was really sick”: How Willie Nelson’s son convinced Neil Young to get back on the road
- “Ozzy would say, ‘No. This isn’t Frank Zappa, this is Ozzy Osbourne. Go back and write me something else’”: Jake E. Lee revisits Badlands, the album the music industry doesn't want you to hear
- “The first pedal emulation that truly captures the mechanical yet wildly organic nature of these oddball machines”: Strymon’s all-new digital stompbox offers an authentic recreation of classic oil can delays
- Gibson aims to expand its retail and live presence with third global Gibson Garage location
- “The last thing he told me during that last interview was, ‘I’m probably gonna go until the wheels come off!’” I spoke to Ace Frehley a dozen times in the last two years of his life – oft-misunderstood, he was the true embodiment of rock ’n’ roll spirit
- “There was great jubilation and there were tears”: Fender invited music fans to design their own Telecaster. They received over 1,500 applications – and turned four into a reality
- “I’m a big Metallica fan. I’ve seen Kirk playing it over the years and know what a big deal that guitar is”: Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil is a Strat player through and through – but here's why he couldn't say no to Gibson's ‘Greeny’ reissue
- “Ace reminded us all that rock should never apologize for being fun and that a little chaos can sound downright heavenly”: The guitar world pays tribute to the late Ace Frehley – the Spaceman who took Kiss into orbit
- “My dad was a great guitarist but a terrible guitar teacher”: Why Eddie Van Halen had to ask Paul Gilbert to give his son a guitar lesson
- “I was like, ‘What are all these guitars?’ And he's like, ‘Oh, it's nothing.’ And then he’s playing Bruce Springsteen-level guitar”: Jeremy Allen White was secretly practicing guitar on another set while preparing for his role as Bruce Springsteen
October 16
- “Scoring especially highly for its superb ergonomics”: Sterling By Music Man Kaizen 7 review
- “Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!” Ace Frehley, larger-than-life Kiss guitarist, dies at 74
- “Jimmy Page would be nice to have on there”: Dweezil Zappa has already tapped Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and Yngwie Malmsteen for his ambitious instrumental project – but wants to recruit a few more guitar greats before it’s finished
- “I toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan when he was sober and he was a freak of nature. I couldn’t relate to his playing”: The Outlaws' Henry Paul on opening for The Rolling Stones, finding fame thanks to Lynyrd Skynyrd, and his one-of-one red Gretsch Falcon
- “We got off stage, he came up to all of us and was like, ‘You guys, I’m really sorry that I played so bad’”: Chino Moreno opens up on how Stephen Carpenter’s health problems forced him to play more guitar on Deftones’ new album
- “They’re not speaking up”: Michael J. Fox has a theory about the fate of Back to the Future’s long-lost Gibson ES-345
- “We don’t want to be just another modern death metal band. Taking ideas from David Gilmour and George Harrison is a big deal for us”: How Blood Incantation are opening the Stargate to take death metal to a higher cosmic plane
- “Built for players shaping the next wave of music”: Gretsch ushers in the next evolution of its affordable Jet family – which now includes a workhorse Streamliner for $189
- “We didn’t have time to paint it, so we used a blowtorch. We thought it was going to catch on fire”: Nashville session bassist Travis Dykes spent $136 building a bass from Temu parts. Now he’s playing it on some seriously big gigs
- “Lennon says, ‘Tell him we’ll put the guitar on our next album cover.’ The guy says, ‘Nope, sorry.’ The album was Sgt. Pepper’s”: The day the Beatles visited New York’s most legendary guitar store
October 15
- “They want their fans to join them on that journey”: Fender is changing the way it approaches signature guitars – and it’s starting with a Japanese pop-rock band named after the Red Hot Chili Peppers
- “It’s the simple stuff that’ll kill you – especially when everyone’s recording it on their cell to put on YouTube”: How Phil X warms up to nail Bon Jovi's biggest songs on stage
- “Every pattern, every bend, every note – same key, same tempo. Not a second of originality”: Giacomo Turra returns after viral song-stealing scandal – and his new music has already been accused of lifting licks
- “I think he took the blues up as his personal crusade”: Why Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds and joined the Bluesbreakers, according to his former bandmate
- “This was an instant yes”: John Mayer provides live soundtrack for Matthew McConaughey’s book reading in this year’s most unexpected artist crossover
- “He was born 10 years too late, because he’d be competing with Eddie Van Halen”: Justin Hawkins names the guitar virtuoso who could have been EVH’s equal in the 1980s
- “If BeatBuddy 2 hasn’t replaced your drummer yet, at least keep one on your board for the next time they don’t show up”: Singular Sound’s BeatBuddy 2 is here – your drummer just got an upgrade
- “I’m seeing players compose something crazy-hard and pretend they can play it when they can’t. It’s dishonest”: How Hedras became one of today’s leading virtuosos by fusing shred smarts and boomer sensibilities
- “It’s a vintage Les Paul with a different shape. I wanted to have my own recipe”: Meet the Tributo, the Italian super-guitar that turns the ’59 Les Paul formula on its head
- “Andy Summers is one hell of a jazz guitarist, but it was Sting who volunteered him for the session”: How jazz bass legend Christian McBride reunited The Police duo for his latest album
- “I took lessons from Joe Satriani. I felt like he was trying to build an army of shredders with finger exercises. He hated me because I didn’t practice his stuff enough”: The iconic alt-rock guitarist who quit taking lessons from Satch
October 14
- “I went back to Joe and I said, ‘It’s my dream guitar but I don’t have $5,000’”: Joanne Shaw Taylor on how Joe Bonamassa’s haggling skills helped her land a signed signature model of her favorite player
- “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind”: D’Angelo, legendary, boundary-pushing R&B singer/songwriter, dies at 51
- “He will just sit down and do a warm-up, no matter what. Even if you’re talking to him, he’s going to keep on”: Steve Morse on why warming up before a show is crucial – and the one guitarist who does it right
- “If my tone or phrasing sounded awkward my teacher would make me do push-ups!”: David Immerman on moving from pure shredding to playing with American Idol stars and Avril Lavigne – and why he never wanted to start his own band
- “They’re awful, ‘never should have occurred in nature’ kind of things… It was unplayable”: Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal remembers his radical mad scientist fretless guitar experiments
- “It’s the first time I’ve ever used a Floyd Rose. It felt very scary for me”: Wet Leg are one of indie rock’s hottest acts – but their guitarist has been accidentally channeling Bon Jovi with her axe of choice
- “While it doesn’t reinvent Fender’s decades-old designs, this Stratocaster is not only crisply made but really hard to put down”: Fender American Professional Classic Stratocaster review
- “The entry point into the whole USA Fender offering”: Fender unveils the newest gateway to its American-made collection, the American Professional Classic series
- “It’s like in Harry Potter when the wand chooses the wizard. It’s the same thing with guitars, right?” Ally Venable on why the guitar is not a one-size-fits-all instrument – there’s a bit of magic to it
- “I never had the inclination to completely go up against my dad – writing blues never came naturally up until this point”: How Jack Moore is expressing his own sonic identity with Marshall amps, wah pedal extremity – and his father's signature Les Paul
- “I really like the look of Parker Flys, but I don't think I could find one to try in Australia”: Plini on the origins of his passion for Strandberg and headless guitars – and the models he might have otherwise played
October 13
- “He our admiration for his music and our respect for his talent for recognizing guitar genius”: The life and times of Ozzy Osbourne – metal’s godfather and Prince of Darkness
- “He was my favorite guitarist I played with, besides Slash, and was the one I felt most unified with”: Richard Fortus on how he’s held down the Guns N’ Roses gig – and his other favorite GNR guitarist
- “A true artifact of musical genius”: Frank Zappa’s ‘Baby Snakes’ SG is heading to auction for the first time – and expected to sell for half a million dollars
- “It’s perfect for playing Chuck’s classic songs, like Johnny B. Goode and Maybellene”: Joe Bonamassa on his love for the Gibson ES-350 – and why it's a blues powerhouse
- “Over the span of several years of wrestling with that dynamic, I had an epiphany”: JHS Pedals’ Josh Scott on how IKEA inspired him to create a DIY Klon clone that took the internet by storm
- “You’ll laugh, but I thought he used to play too loud”: Buddy Guy remembers the first time he saw Jimi Hendrix play – and the warning he used to give him before gigs
- “It’s totally his fault. I just couldn’t take my eyes off his guitar”: John 5 on the unlikely player who started his life-long love affair with the Telecaster
- “When I was younger I avoided acoustic because of the ‘female singer-songwriter’ trope. But now I don’t feel like I have anything to prove”: Flock of Dimes on how turning to ’70s and ’80s Yamaha acoustics helped her capture the pain of generational trauma
October 12
- “Even if you learn to play bass from YouTube videos, you’re still not self-taught. Autodidactic learning is awesome, but everyone needs a teacher”: How Esperanza Spalding created the most complex music of her career under the guidance of an alter ego
- “Leo was somewhat disgusted that he played an indirect role in the newfangled radical and rambunctious sounds that were taking over radio airwaves”: How the Fender Jazzmaster became the one offset to rule them all – even if no one really used it for jazz
- “It might be Fender Japan’s biggest collab to date and it’s not even with an artist”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including an affordable recreation of one of Nerdville’s rarest Les Paul Customs
October 11
- "No matter what type of fuzz you enjoy, you’ll find something to love here": Kernom Moho Fuzz review
- “There's so much baggage that comes with a Strat”: Why Chris Buck ditched his Fender Strat in favor of this underrated Yamaha model
- “Those seeking pointers on how to tailor a solo to serve the song would do well to investigate their back catalog”: The Scorpions guitarists list boasts some of rock's most electrifying and underrated players – this is what you can learn from each of them
- “To me, we were like a Motörhead-type hard rock band, so any kind of ballads were sort of uncongressed”: Sweet Child O’ Mine is Guns N' Roses' most iconic song, but Slash originally wasn't a fan
October 10
- “He was never happier than being on stage – he was ‘Just a singer in a rock and roll band’”: John Lodge, Moody Blues bassist and singer, dies at 82
- “You lit a fire under this genre”: Joe Bonamassa trades licks with “the future” of the blues, Marcus King, during virtuosic Albert King cover
- “You ain't ever gonna see James Hetfield slag off a young rock star”: Yungblud and Jack Osbourne push back against criticism of the VMAs Ozzy Osbourne tribute with Nuno Bettencourt, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
- “If the guitar has ever been your sanctuary, you already know you need to be there”: Nuno Bettencourt announces four-day guitar camp – and he's recruited some big-name players to help
- “Once you learn how to do that, any blues solo will fly”: Joe Bonamassa shares his top tip for blues players looking to level up – and it’s not to learn more solos
- “Josh Homme said, ‘Do you want to come over?’ I was like, ‘So, you want to do Kyuss, but no John Garcia?' I’m good.’ I was bitter, I guess": Scott Reeder on the last days of Kyuss, QOTSA and what he told James Hetfield after that Metallica audition
- “I walked out and Nuno had the crowd chanting my name. It was overwhelming. I’m surprised I didn’t trip and fall down”: Jake E. Lee on defying expectations, arthritis and gunshot wounds to mend his friendship with Ozzy at Back to the Beginning
- “He's definitely trying to push what a guitar could be”: Misha Mansoor joins Tim Henson and Tosin Abasi in praising this emerging virtuoso – who’s changing the landscape of progressive guitar
- “It’s coming. I know it’s coming because everybody is thinking about it”: Are Guns N' Roses going to release a new record? This is what Slash had to say
October 9
- “Someone buys a guitar with my name on it and takes it home – I hope it becomes a part of their daily habit”: Martin teams up with Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy for a new signature model – and reintroduces an old favorite
- “It doesn’t exactly behave like Neural DSP’s other plugins, and that is both its potential weakness and saving grace”: Neural DSP Archetype: Misha Mansoor X review
- Spare 5 minutes to tell us about your guitar habits and collection – and you could win a $200 Amazon gift card
- “I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us who are horrible drivers”: Gene Simmons rushed to hospital after reportedly losing consciousness and crashing his SUV into a parked vehicle
- “My hands were bleeding on my strings”: George Benson session player Corrado Rustici on what it took to record Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody
- “When we sat down and started playing some of the Rush stuff, and I realized how hard it was to play these songs”: Alex Lifeson reveals his biggest challenge when preparing for the Rush reunion tour
- “I don’t want people to know where I come from or what my real name is”: Anonymous guitar star DarWin is keeping the mystery alive, but like Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake before him, he has found a sparring partner in Greg Howe
- “I got it on Craigslist from this avid Strat collector who needed new teeth. He was so sad to see it go. I think of him every time I pick it up”: Indie-rock’s secret weapon Jay Som on a guitar with history, boygenius – and the time Paramore had her back
- 25 Prime Day guitar gear deals still live right now – including 60% off EHX pedals
- “At the push of a button, the legendary roar thunders through the amp”: Fender wrangles Godzilla for a monster guitar collaboration – featuring two company firsts
October 8
- “If any of you have a good name in mind I would welcome hearing from you immediately”: How the Fender Telecaster got its name, with a little help from Gretsch
- Klon creator Bill Finnegan’s lawsuit against Behringer over its Centaur clone has been dismissed
- “It just involves moments where we both shut up for a second”: Two legends of fretless bass, one whip-smart genius shredder – here’s how the mind-blowing Testament x Pestilence fusion project Quadvium came together
- “This is your chance to own the sound that defined heavy metal”: Reverb and Ashdown are selling bass amps used by Geezer Butler during rehearsals for Black Sabbath’s final show
- “It’s great to add this to the lineup as an option”: PRS strips down its acclaimed David Grissom signature for the SE DGT Standard – and it’s the most affordable version to date
- With $160 off a five-star rated PRS SE, this mega sale is the best place to shop for a properly great Prime Day guitar deal
- Quick! 3 of our top-rated Positive Grid Spark amps have hefty Prime Day discounts until the end of today – and they all scored 4.5 stars in our reviews
- "A really clever bit of kit that makes playing along with drum beats an absolute breeze": Singular Sound BeatBuddy 2 review
- “The pedal tap-dance is as important as learning the song on the fretboard. I have to figure out a way around it. If we got drunk before a show we’d be on the floor!”: Nova Twins on keeping sonic secrets, putting vocals through a Plexi and blowing up amps
- “I took the guitar to someone and when I got it back, I almost cried. I decided, ‘Nobody is touching my stuff again’”: The botched luthier job that convinced John Suhr to get into guitar building
- “My one came from a little old lady in Pennsylvania. The family didn't realize it was a very special”: Joe Bonamassa’s ultra-rare 1959 ‘Black Beauty’ Les Paul Custom is one of 20 in existence – now it’s been recreated as an Epiphone signature guitar
- I've recommended this beginner acoustic countless times, and with $136 off, it's an even easier choice – don't hang about, though, the sale ends today!
October 7
- “He just blows everybody away”: Samantha Fish on who she thinks are the best modern blues guitar players right now
- “Proves that a world-class instrument doesn’t have to break the bank”: PRS finally rolls out an SE version of its boundary-pushing Herman Li Chleo signature guitar
- “I cannot thank you enough for your incredible Parker Fly design. Your genius changed my life”: Adrian Belew leads tributes to Ken Parker, pioneering guitar maker who has died aged 73
- How to master the art of tremolo picking – the indispensable picking technique heard in everything from death metal to surf rock that can power up your playing
- "Adding a few tweaks to the winning formula… The perfect pedal platforms": Victory V40 The Duchess MK II Deluxe Combo and Lunch Box head review
- Hunting for guitar gear this Prime Day? These 4 anti-Prime Day sales are taking Amazon on at their own game
- “The next morning, I got an email that had a receipt for a 1957 Gibson Custom goldtop”: Jam band and Southern rock prodigy Bella Rayne was bereft when her Les Paul was stolen – then came an answer to her prayers
- Amazon has failed to deliver any truly good Prime Day deals for guitar players – I'm shopping the Musician's Friend Rocktober sale instead, with up to 40% off guitar gear
- “Our lawyer said, ‘You need a letter from an industry expert.’ So I texted Slash”: Chris Buck explains how the Guns N’ Roses guitar hero came to the aid of Cardinal Black on their first US headline tour
- “I was affected as much as anybody hearing that first Van Halen record. I think the other guitar players in LA went, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve got to compete with that’”: Steve Stevens on why he never felt the need to compete with Eddie Van Halen
- You won't find your next guitar in Amazon's Prime Day sale, but I've looked through 280+ deals and found 6 unmissable accessory savings from $6.49 that will end tonight
- “Dolores said, ‘This is an angry song; I think it needs to be reflected in the music.’ That was the turning point. I bought my first distortion pedal”: How The Cranberries became ’90s alternative icons on borrowed amps and banjo-like guitars
- Quick! Guitar Center's epic Guitar-A-Thon sale leaves Amazon Prime Day in the shade, with up to $900 off Taylor and $500 off Gibson models – but the deals are ending soon
- With up to $54 off Loog’s kids guitars for Prime Day, it’s finally time to buy my son his first guitar
October 6
- “Sweet Child O’ Mine is a terrible song. I don’t like Slash’s playing, but it stands the test of time. That was my inspiration – to write something timeless”: Lorna Shore return with new music, brash Ibanez customs, and a fresh kind of death metal energy
- “I grew up with the myth, the thinner the neck, the faster you can play. For me, that didn't work”: Bernth on why thinner necks don’t always result in speedier soloing – and how switching helped improve his playing
- “At this upper mid-range price point, it's hard to think of a guitar to rival it”: Strandberg Boden N2 Standard review
- December 2025 Guitar World lesson videos and more
- “I played Flying High Again with no amp. He jumped up after I finished the solo and gave me a hug. He said, ‘I love you, Bradley – pull me through’”: Wigs, fake blood, and Ferrari jumpsuits – Brad Gillis on what it was like to be Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist
- “Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we miss it”: Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee announce Rush reunion tour – and name who will be playing drums
- 5 of my go-to Universal Audio plugins just got heavily discounted in the monster Rocktober sale – glow up your recordings from as little as $24
- “It’s hard to understand someone who is trying to do rock music in a new way because, of course, I’m referencing the past”: Yungblud responds to critics following divisive VMAs Ozzy Osbourne tribute with Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler
- “We were on at 10 a.m. We start playing, and nobody’s there yet. But by the time we got to the second or third song, there were thousands of people”: Disturbed's Dan Donegan on Ozzfest, the versatility of his ginormo-rig, and his migration to Schecter
- “He’s been wonderful, and this is an incredible gift”: Brad Paisley gifted his new favorite guitarist a prized Telecaster – and left a hidden message under the pickguard
- “The call was, ‘Michael’s interested. Can you come down, rehearse with the band, and take a year off?’ I said, ‘Take me anywhere for any length of time’”: Jennifer Batten on how she landed the gig of a lifetime with the world’s biggest superstar
- Sweetwater is looking to outshine Amazon's Prime Day 2 with a cool $100 off my favorite ever signature guitar – this versatile 4.5-star Guild is a must-buy for grunge fans
- “The good news is I'm responding really well to treatment”: Oasis guitarist Bonehead temporarily pulls out of reunion tour following cancer diagnosis
- “He knew I wasn’t able to film. He knew I was in a lot of pain”: Josh Scott on how John Mayer ended up demoing JHS Pedals’ new Mk.gee-coded pedal – following the firm founder’s serious biking injury
October 5
- “These guys are pros. Brian handpicked these people to represent his music”: Al Jardine on good times with Brian Wilson (and his band), the legacy of his genius, and how the Beach Boys transformed ‘60s surf and guitar culture
- “A supreme utility pedal”: Diamond Boost/EQ review
- “My objective is to find a purposeful role for each guitar part”: How to layer guitar parts like a pro (with a little help from Cory Wong)
October 4
- “I couldn't afford a real bass guitar, so I just tuned the strings down on a Telecaster”: How Geezer Butler went from playing bass on a guitar to the ominous riff that defined one of Black Sabbath’s darkest moments
- “John Bonham and I would push the tempo and play it ridiculously fast for minutes on end while Page wailed away on the guitar”: John Paul Jones wasn't married to a single bass technique, but for these Led Zeppelin classics, one finger was all he needed
- “The guitars Gibson was making during wartime often reflect a number of shortages they had to deal with”: Why the 1942 Gibson Southern Jumbo is far more than a J-45 in fancy dress
October 3
- “Ibanez has broken the rules of conventional guitar design. Pick it up and break the rules of guitar playing”: Ibanez Q54W review
- “A week later, I got a message from my manager asking, ‘Did you meet Jeff Beck?’ He wanted me to sing on his record”: That time Jeff Beck gave an impromptu guitar lesson to a future pop pioneer – who didn’t know who he was
- “In the time I was involved in attempting to play his parts, never really could I have captured the essence of him”: Buckethead reflects on his time in Guns N’ Roses as Slash pays tribute to the elusive virtuoso
- “I’m on a breathing machine 24/7, and I’ve started to lose the use of my left arm”: Ken Parker, designer of the Parker Fly guitar beloved by Adrian Belew and Joni Mitchell, launches crowdfunding campaign for cancer treatment
- “I was outside shoveling some moldy hay into a wheelbarrow, and my wife comes out holding the phone. She thought it was a prank call”: Scott Reeder on the time he auditioned for Metallica – after Lars Ulrich cold-called him
- “The American tube amp that powered generations of rock, surf, and pop music”: Universal Audio reimagines a classic Fender amp used by Keith Richards, The Beach Boys and beyond as a plugin – and it’s currently free to download
- “It’s insane… If you hold it up to the light you can see through it”: Dweezil Zappa finally gets his hands on the viral cardboard Strat and cooks up a crazy psych-rock rager for the occasion
- “I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I wish I had”: Jimmy Page pays tribute to original Yardbirds guitarist Chris Dreja, who has died aged 79
- “With Taylor, there was a lot of, ‘Give us the kitchen sink – try this, try that!’” He’s a go-to guitarist for Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Jack Antonoff – but for Mikey Freedom Hart, it all started with a kid playing Eruption at church camp
- “John Lennon’s 12-string has a similar trebly edge to it… this guitar passes the ‘Fab Four’ test”: Framus Hootenanny 12-string and 6-string review
- “When I first joined them I couldn’t believe how bad they were. I thought, ‘How do they make such good records?’” Mick Taylor’s Rolling Stones baptism by fire came just two days after Brian Jones’ death – in front of 250,000 people
- “I don’t have heroes, but I adore Queen… I think you can hear bits of Brian in my solos”: Named after a Måneskin track, inspired by Queen and Arctic Monkeys, here’s how Baby Said became the UK’s hottest rock duo
- “There’s so much style in playing blues. The new blues scene is kind of like guitar teachers. They’re great players, but it’s a different thing”: How the triple-guitar threat of the Texas Headhunters is keeping a Lone Star tradition alive
October 2
- "So much more than just 'Mk.gee in a pedal', this clever little preamp box leaves plenty of room to find your own voice": JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage review
- “A powerful, unpredictable, and endlessly fun performance tool”: Gamechanger Audio puts its foot on the gas with the Motor Pedal – a driveable synth pedal that reacts to your playing in real time
- “I was attracted to melodic bass players like Carol Kaye. Why should a rock bassist play dumb notes all the time?” How Tony Visconti rethought rock bass for David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World
- “I remember asking Leslie West, ‘How should I go about this song?’ I remember that as if it were yesterday”: When Ricky Byrd needed to record a solo for this Joan Jett hit, he asked the Mountain legend for advice – this is what he said
- “This is humble music for everyone. It’s for people who have sunk a million hours into fighting zombies on Xbox”: Meet University’s Zak Bowker, the punk guitarist who believes your biggest inspiration should be yourself
- “Modelers are like Spotify. I’d never get excited about a box that has every single tone”: My pedalboard is so huge it’s got wheels. But switching to modelers costs guitarists their identity
- “Its aggressiveness earned it a revered place in heavy rock and metal”: The Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ HRG was championed by John Petrucci and beyond – now it’s been brought back
- “I was just like, ‘I need to make sure Frankenstein is safe’”: Wolfgang Van Halen stowed his dad’s most legendary guitar in his car as a precaution during the LA wildfires
- “Every time I picked up a guitar I got the horrors”: Radiohead were the world's most talked-about guitar band. Then they burned the rulebook, and made the instrument sound like no-one else had before
October 1
- “We couldn’t beat it”: Alex G is a guitar icon for Gen Z – and he gets some of his favorite tones from a stock Logic preset
- “The guitar is tragically, but beautifully intertwined with the impact a changing climate has on the livelihoods of people who live in rainforests”: PRS to auction off one-of-a-kind guitar made using woods salvaged from South American hurricane
- “We love ugly guitars”: KHDK Electronics has started making guitars
- “Mutt Lange would always make me play rhythm. He liked my feel. I’m technically not very good, but I have a feel that’s intuitive to me”: Bryan Adams says he’s no guitar hero, but believes he’s written songs that cover versions can’t beat
- “I have such horrible OCD. Ever since I was a little kid, if I couldn’t get something, I would stay home from school fake sick and play it over and over”: John 5 on staying true to the Crüe, pushing his playing and why he’s surrounded by ghosts
- “It was my first cover. I knew Slash would use a great vintage Les Paul, so I had to up my game”: Gilby Clarke on the story behind his modded ’69 Fender Telecaster, immortalized on the cover of Guitar World