Dear Guitar Hero: Kerry King

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Guitar World Staff
Guitar World Staff

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Wednesday 13
“We both wanted to shred. Joey wanted to be as crazy on guitar as he was on drums”: Wednesday 13 on getting his guitar confidence back – with help from some heroes – and the Murderdolls future that never happened
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins is haloed by a stage light and wears black as he performs live with his white signature Reverend electric guitar.
“I still use the Strat and Big Muff sound here and there for overdubs, but when I watched Eddie Van Halen play 3 feet in front of me, I learned that it’s about the hands”: Billy Corgan on critics, tone secrets, and how he keeps Smashing Pumpkins fresh
Andy Summers and Robert Fripp Looking at their Hands
“I subsequently became the world’s most famous guitarist with The Police. I wanted to play with somebody else to see how I’d do, like an experiment on myself”: At the height of his ’80s success, Andy Summers needed a challenge – he found Robert Fripp
Fred Tackett
“Dylan asked, ‘What’s the least amount of notes you can play?’ I said, ‘I could play one.’ He goes, ‘Do that’”: Fred Tackett compares his gigs with Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Bob Seger, and recalls his friendship with Lowell George
Mark Morton
“Dime is in there. I have a big Eddie Van Halen influence. The same goes for Eric Clapton. It all channels back to the blues”: Mark Morton explains why he’s jamming with Grace Bowers and Jason Isbell on his solo album – and those Gibson signature rumors
James Walbourne and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders pose with Telecasters against a mauve background. Hynde wears a Motörhead T-shirt.
“I’d go into a soundcheck, there’d be all these cases open and they’d say, ‘Choose one. We’ll give you a guitar.’ I’d be like, ‘No, thanks. I have a guitar’”: The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and James Walbourne on what it takes to be a real guitar hero
Rory Gallagher's 1961 Fender Stratocaster
I’ve been involved with guitars for decades, and in all that time I can probably count on two hands the vintage instruments I’ve seen with half the finish gone. Has guitar relic'ing gone too far?
Toshi Dorji plays live and is silhouetted against a deep red background.
“I’ve been to guitar shops and played fancy guitars and cheaper ones. I just don’t understand why people pay so much money”: Tashi Dorji explains why he sees little value in expensive instruments – but views improv guitar as anarchy
Adam "Nolly" Getgood Poses with his custom T-styles: his new collaboration with Bare Knuckle brings us a PAF-alike with more output, designed for the player of today's tone preferences.
“Anyone can dial in a really fat, thick, saturated guitar tone for single notes, but what happens when they palm-mute? Does it just fall apart? A lot of the time it does”: Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood busts myths about how to get great high-gain tone
Connor Wyatt and his dog standing in front of the music store GAK
“There are people out there that had paid £2,000 for a guitar…and we were still getting emails from people saying, ‘Where’s my stuff?’”: What happens when a guitar store goes bust? A former employee at one of the UK's biggest guitar stores tells all