
Andrew Daly
Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Bass Player, Guitar Player, Guitarist, and MusicRadar. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Morello, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.
Latest articles by Andrew Daly

How Eric Bell wrote one of Thin Lizzy’s most iconic guitar solos
By Janelle Borg published
Originally an Irish traditional song, Whiskey in the Jar found new life in Thin Lizzy's – and, eventually, Metallica's – respective repertoires

Rory Block left home as a teenager then met and impressed her blues heroes
By Andrew Daly published
She refined her skills with help from Skip James, John Hurt and Fred McDowell, wound up with a signature Martin guitar, and with advice from Maria Maulder, fought self-doubt to deliver new album Heavy on the Blues

How Jim Root’s radical signature Telecaster updated a Fender mainstay for the 21st century
By Matt Owen published
The Slipknot guitarist was originally pushed towards Charvel, but he had his sights set on reinventing a Fender classic

The unexpected discovery in John Mayer’s iconic ’64 Fender Strat that helped shape the sound of the Silver Sky
By Matt Owen published
It took more than 2 years to retool and redesign the classic S-type template – and PRS made a significant discovery along the way

Ernest Ranglin talks Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, James Bond – and how he influenced “almost every aspect of Jamaican music”
By Andrew Daly published
Bob Marley asked him to teach him how to play and how to write. He wrote music for Dr. No. He worked with Jimmy Cliff, Millie Small, and more. Ernest Ranglin reflects on his peerless legacy

Slash on his return to Guns N’ Roses, changing up the Sweet Child O’ Mine solo, and what needs to happen for a new GNR album
By Andrew Daly published
Slash is the luckiest man in rock. Quitting GNR in ’96 when they were on top, he returned in ’16 and hasn't looked back. Here he talks about the past, present, and what the future might hold...

When Eddie Van Halen crash-tested one of EVH’s most iconic guitar amps – and risked 5150 Studios in the process
By Matt Owen published
Before Eddie Van Halen could sign off on the EVH 5150 III, he had to make sure it was borderline indestructible

How surviving cancer inspired Ana Popovic to take blues guitar to the dancefloor
By Andrew Daly published
Dance to the Rhythm is Ana Popovic once more torching convention and presenting a take on the blues that's true to herself and animated by an energy and life she could hardly contain

Bass journeyman Jo Burt on playing with Freddie Mercury, Brian Setzer and The Troggs – and getting booted from Black Sabbath
By Andrew Daly published
The veteran bassist on his Queen and Led Zeppelin links, love for fretless, fighting with a Music Man EQ, and Tony Iommi’s smile when Geezer Butler’s Ampeg rig made a bass feel like an animal

Xan McCurdy on Cake, dumping Joe Satriani, and buying the wrong guitar thanks to Keith Richards
By Andrew Daly published
Obsessed with the British bands of the mid ‘60s, McCurdy started playing to impress his older friends, and was delighted to wind up in a band that used trumpet while grunge was exploding

Ricky Byrd on tracking with Joan Jett, his Franken-Tele, and how sobriety has improved his playing
By Andrew Daly published
Byrd has seen the world of rock ’n’ roll go through changes, but one thing he’s stuck with is his “tricky” approach to playing – and he’s full of optimism for the future

Buddy Guy on showmanship, Strats – and why he has unfinished business with the blues
By Andrew Daly published
Is Buddy Guy our greatest living blues guitarist? As his 10th decade approaches, we meet the master for a frank talk about passing the torch, the importance of a sip of cognac and his advice for Hendrix

For John McLaughlin, it all comes back to Montreux – this is how he took his playing there to the 4th Dimension one last time
By Andrew Daly published
The six-string legend is signing off with a live album that chronicles one of the greatest shows of his stellar career, but his journey with guitar is far from over

Dave Navarro was the odd man out when he joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But 30 years later, he has no regrets
By Andrew Daly published
Emerging from the wreckage of Jane's Addiction, Navarro turned down a spot in Guns N' Roses in favor of a band he felt more of a connection with. The resulting album, One Hot Minute, was polarizing, but the guitarist sees it as a “difficult but valuable” part of his career

Robert Fripp on the guitars he’s kept, and the one he bought with no intention of playing
By Andrew Daly published
The King Crimson mastermind is best known for his ’59 Les Paul Custom, and there’s a reason most of his key instruments have been Gibsons – but he has a few “honorable mentions” too, like the '57 Strat Robin Trower gave him...

Don Felder on medical emergencies, the secret to writing Eagles songs and his million dollar ’Burst
By Andrew Daly last updated
With The Vault – Fifty Years Of Music, the ex-Eagles guitarist marks a career milestone by bringing lost demos to life and re-recording the classic Heavy Metal. And he isn't stopping any time soon

“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
By Andrew Daly published
As he recovers from mountain biking injuries, Scott recalls how the NotaKlon irritated other pedal makers, how he underestimated success, the 424 gain stage and what’s coming once he’s fully recovered

How Roger McGuinn’s Byrds Rickenbacker was stolen – from right under his nose
By Phil Weller published
The guitarist’s trust in a ‘fellow musician’ was tragically misplaced

John McLaughlin has been playing a revolutionary new PRS guitar
By Phil Weller published
The jazz legend has been testing one of two prototypes, and both big names have been blown away...

Ted Turner on eating biscuits with John Lennon and how Deep Purple gave Wishbone Ash their big break
By Andrew Daly published
The Les Paul slinger shares the secret behind his twin-guitar sound with Andy Powell, why he quit the band not once but twice, and working as a session player on John Lennon’s Imagine

Jake E. Lee revisits Badlands, the album the music industry doesn't want you to hear
By Andrew Daly published
Why can't we buy Badlands' self-titled debut? Who knows. The record label buried it. But former Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee swears it's his best work

I spoke to Ace Frehley a dozen times in the last two years of his life – he was the true embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll spirit
By Andrew Daly published
Guitar World correspondent Andrew Daly got to know Frehley, his idol, incredibly well in his final years, and just as vivid as the memories of conversations about Kiss and the guitar are the chats about egg sandwiches, and why the guitar hero's home always had geese around

Xan McCurdy of iconic alt-rockers Cake on why he quit taking lessons from Satch
By Matt Owen published
The Satriani curriculum failed to move Cake's Xan McCurdy

David Immerman on moving from pure shredding to playing with American Idol stars and Avril Lavigne
By Andrew Daly published
The session and production specialist reveals how indulging his ‘90s dreams evolved into touring gigs with A-list pop-rockers, and what he does to match the studio sounds of Lavigne’s timeless hits
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