Latest articles by Alan di Perna
The mod that made Kurt Cobain's $6 million MTV Unplugged Martin one of a kind
According to Nirvana guitar tech Earnie Bailey, Cobain was far from a vintage guitar fiend, and had no qualms with making his already weird D-18E even more unusual
“We knew we didn’t want to do an acoustic version of Teen Spirit”: The story of Nirvana's seminal MTV Unplugged set
Resisting network pressure to simply play the hits, Kurt Cobain, Pat Smear, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl pulled together a remarkable and eclectic set that served as the haunting apex of Nirvana's final chapter
“I remember my first lesson with Joe. I had a guitar and a set of strings. I’d never really played. I didn’t know how to tune or string it”: Steve Vai and Joe Satriani discuss the evolution of guitar playing, and what they taught each other
In 1990, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani sat down for an extensive discussion with Guitar World, during which they joked that – when they were older – they would record a song called The Sea of Emotion. Now, more than three decades later, that premonition has come true
“We didn’t realize we were breaking up as it was happening”: The Beatles intended to go back to their roots on Let It Be – instead, they documented the collapse of their magical creative partnership
A mix of rootsy, spirited rockers, stunning ballads, and unfocused jams, Let It Be captured the Fab Four looking to find their footing as a group again
“When Keith and I are together, we talk through our guitars. We never say, ‘You do this and I’ll do that.’ We weave”: How Brian Jones, Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood made the Rolling Stones what they are today
The story of three different eras and three different players, all bound by the ability to bob and weave through Keith Richards' unforgettable riffs and drive the Stones ever-forward
“It was considered a no-no to chain two Fuzz-Tones together. But I saw Hendrix chain five of them!” Billy Gibbons remembers opening for Jimi Hendrix with his pre-ZZ Top band the Moving Sidewalks
Before the long beards, sold-out arenas, spinning fur guitars and MTV stardom, Billy Gibbons cut his teeth in a psychedelic group called the Moving Sidewalks, who opened for – among other A-tier rock acts – one James Marshall Hendrix...
“For me, Wish You Were Here is the most satisfying album. I really love it. I'd rather listen to that than Dark Side of the Moon”: David Gilmour opens up on the creative tension that built Pink Floyd's classic records
In this classic GW interview, the Stratocaster icon discusses the “egocentric megalomaniacal tension” that shaped Dark Side of the Moon, how he constructed the Comfortably Numb solo, and the time he used a mic stand leg as a slide
“I knew exactly what I wanted to do in every respect”: How Jimmy Page built Led Zeppelin from the ashes of the Yardbirds
Using knowledge gleaned from his time as a first-call session pro – and his brief but crucial tenure alongside Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds – Page formed a rock colossus from the ground up
The Lovin’ Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky is one of the Sixties' most overlooked guitarists – here's how he fearlessly blended genres to forge the 'Americana' guitar sound
Yanovsky brought the weird, wonderful and the none-too-serious to Good Time Music, and was a genius player, but did he get the credit he deserved?
Keith Richards: “They haven't really improved the electric guitar since Les Paul and Leo Fender put their touch to it. Everything else is trying to sound like them”
In this classic interview from 2002, The Human Riff reflects on the key guitars, songs, and sounds from 40 years with The Rolling Stones
How Indian slide maestro Debashish Bhattacharya made the 24-stringed chaturangui come alive on The Sound of the Soul
Bhattacharya is a genius of slide guitar whose new album is an uplifting twist on Hindustani classical ragas, featuring “the best instrument to unify cultures”
Custom Flying Vs, strange open tunings and massive bends: how Albert King created his own strain of the blues – and inspired Hendrix, Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan
A left-hander, King flipped a right-handed guitar upside down, put it in an unorthodox tuning, and forged a style steeped in steely drama and epic bends
Jeff Beck – the ultimate interview: one of the electric guitar's most prolific innovators reflects on his sprawling career
In this classic 2009 Guitar World interview, the guitar legend waxed lyrical on his formative years with The Yardbirds, how his radical technique inspired a new era of instrumental guitar, and his musical relationships with Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton
The greatest rock concerts in music history
From Metallica's Damaged Justice to Ozzy Osbourne's Diary of a Madman tour, Guitar World presents the most incredible concerts and roadshows in rock and metal history
How Chuck Berry wrote Johnny B. Goode, and created the first rock and roll guitar hero
In his 1958 masterpiece, Berry created the ultimate rock-and-roll folk hero in just a few snappy verses
Behind the scenes of Blizzard of Ozz, the album that launched Ozzy Osbourne's solo career and made Randy Rhoads a guitar god
Producer Max Norman details the recording of Ozzy's solo debut, and explains why “Randy was the sort of guy you didn’t argue with – you just tried to keep up”
Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl: "Through Kurt, I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down. That's more powerful"
In this 1997 GW interview, Grohl discusses how Nirvana shaped his songwriting approach, the impact of Taylor Hawkins, and a then-new song of his called Everlong
The story of Randy Rhoads’ long-lost Jackson RR3 prototype – and why it is now going up for auction
Built for the late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist in 1982, only to be completed after his death, the prototype RR3 presents the metal guitar and the Jackson brand at a crucial stage of their evolution, and now its owner, Sean Michael Clegg, is putting it up for sale
Pete Townshend: "I was at an art school where the course was dedicated to breaking the rules, and I just drafted that into my work as a guitar player"
In this candid 1994 GW interview, The Who's six-string creative mastermind discusses his time with Page and Hendrix, Marshall stacks, his aggressive playing style, and more
Remembering the Creation’s trailblazing guitarist Eddie Phillips, pioneer of the bowed guitar and feedback whisperer
With British Invasion record producer Shel Talmy, we unpack the legacy of the Creation. A fractious, brilliant band, who in Phillips had a guitar player with a groundbreaking style
"Everybody was going flat out": Keith Richards on the trials and tribulations that formed The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St.
In this classic GW interview, Keef tells all about the Stones' pioneering double-album masterpiece. From the recording setup to the debauchery to the stories behind classics like Happy and Tumbling Dice
"All we ever wanted to do in this band is kick people's ass": The Smashing Pumpkins on '80s Marshalls, epic guitar arrangements and their essential pedals
In this 1995 GW interview, Billy Corgan and James Iha discuss the gear that powered their sprawling, double-disc masterpiece, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Remembering Michael Nesmith (1942-2021)
A trailblazer for pop culture, film producer and alt-rock inspiration, the former Monkee was a polymath whose career was guided by his gift for songwriting
Paul Pigat: “I took a little lesson from AC/DC on the solos for this record: to make the solo completely different from the rest of the song”
The Canadian guitarist walks through the retro-rock techniques and tones that inform his unique rockabilly style on Cousin Harley’s new album, Let’s Go!
