Articles by: David Mead

Guitar World

With over 30 years’ experience writing for guitar magazines, including at one time occupying the role of editor for Guitarist and Guitar Techniques, David is also the best-selling author of a number of guitar books for Sanctuary Publishing, Music Sales, Mel Bay and Hal Leonard. As a player he has performed with blues sax legend Dick Heckstall-Smith, played rock ’n’ roll in Marty Wilde’s band, duetted with Martin Taylor and taken part in charity gigs backing Gary Moore, Bernie Marsden and Robbie McIntosh, among others. An avid composer of acoustic guitar instrumentals, he has released two acclaimed albums, Nocturnal and Arboretum.

Articles by: David Mead

Sting guitarist Dominic Miller: “You gave Jeff Beck a tennis racket and a transistor radio, he’d make it sound perfect”

By David Mead published 13 January 23

It's not the gear, it's the player says Miller, but then, those vintage Telecasters and ES-335s sure do come in handy

Gibson J-45 50s Faded, J-35 30s Faded and Hummingbird Faded review

By David Mead published 10 January 23

A trio of Gibson dreadnoughts with faded satin nitro finishes, vintage appointments and modern-day electronics. Serious players or mere novelty acts? Let the auditions begin…

Takamine LTD2022 review

By David Mead published 20 December 22

One of two limited-edition models that celebrate Takamine’s 60th Anniversary, both of which engage the charms of Hawaiian koa in their construction. Let’s take a closer look

Peter Frampton details his farewell tour guitar rig

By David Mead published 16 December 22

It's a stereo rig, it's massive, and Frampton feels a little embarrassed by its size. Here, he takes us through the guitars and amps behind his farewell tour

Barrie Cadogan talks about his great gear hits and misses, and explains why the Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster is a winner for fans of old-school offsets

By Jamie Dickson published 14 December 22

The Little Barrie main man opens up about a stellar deal on a ’62 Epiphone Crestwood and his fondness for P-90 pickups

Chris Buck: “We were shooting for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon meets Ray LaMontagne”

By David Mead published 13 December 22

The Cardinal Black guitarist details the gear behind the gourmet tones on the band's crowdfunded debut album, January Came Close

Peter Frampton on the highs and lows of his remarkable guitar journey, meeting George Harrison, and how David Bowie made him cool again

By David Mead published 9 December 22

From early pop stardom with The Herd to Frampton Comes Alive! and finding salvation in Bowie’s band, Frampton reflects on a rollercoaster career and the darker side of fame…

Breedlove Eco Pursuit EX S Concert Sweetgrass review

By David Mead published 22 November 22

An acoustic guitar where sustainability and ecological common sense are a design and build priority. But do all these good intentions add up to a great-sounding instrument?

Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers performs on stage at Edinburgh Castle on July 21, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Proclaimers’ Charlie Reid talks acoustic guitars, songwriting and working with James Dean Bradfield on the Scottish rock institution's life-affirming new album

By David Mead published 14 November 22

The Proclaimers are back with their own signature brand of earworm choruses tempered with that familiar Scottish lilt, and it's a sound that takes many Taylor acoustics to put together

Meet Dom Martin, the Belfast-born guitarist who may just be Rory Gallagher’s musical inheritor

By David Mead published 20 October 22

They start guitar players young in Ulster. Dom Martin began playing aged 5, but after support slots with Eric Gales and a thrilling new album, is this the next blues-rock great from the six counties?

Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol looks back on 55 years of the band that transformed British music

By David Mead published 20 October 22

Nicol reflects on a guitar journey that went on to change the country's musical landscape, writing new songs that sounded like they had been recovered from the century before

Hugh Cornwell, formerly of the Stranglers, plays Scone Palace at Rewind Festival 2022, in Scotland

Hugh Cornwell: “I can’t fathom what the attraction is about a relic guitar. It’s battered and beaten up, and suddenly it’s 10 times the price?”

By David Mead last updated 17 October 22

The ex-Stranglers guitarist confesses to being a bona fide Tele addict and talks about the business of buying and selling gear, including a peach of a deal on a ’64 Silvertone

Nili Brosh: “For me, the playability is big... I don’t think anybody’s wish is to feel like the guitar is fighting them and everything is harder to play”

By David Mead published 11 October 22

The shred phenom talks gear philosophy, greatest hits and misses, explains the benefits of the high-performance six-string – and how to get the weird sounds Danny Elfman likes

Julian Lage: “A lot of what you hear on this record is first or second take. I like the tape to be rolling when I'm writing because there's a certain sense of discovery”

By David Mead last updated 29 September 22

The guitarist's new album, View With A Room, is full of his signature virtuoso-level guitar playing with splashes of colour provided by special guest Bill Frisell

Cort Flow-OC and Gold-A6 Bocote review

By David Mead published 21 September 22

A pair of contrasting all-solid wood acoustic-electrics from Cort’s Chinese workshop with a host of innovative features to their name

John Petrucci talks buying and selling guitars: “I’m completely illiterate in the world of vintage guitars and Les Pauls and Strats and all that stuff”

By Jamie Dickson published 2 September 22

Dream Theater’s magus of the fretboard on the Les Paul copy that sparked his love of humbuckers and why he might give Django a run for his money…

Al Di Meola on how a legendary live session with Paco de Lucía and John McLaughlin came to light after 40 years

By David Mead published 1 September 22

The sequel to a jazz-fusion guitar classic finally arrives as Saturday Night in San Francisco gets restored for an official release

Robert Fripp in-depth: his quest to combine Hendrix and Bartók, what made King Crimson “problematic” and why he has “no interest in gear at all”

By David Mead last updated 25 August 22

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with the brilliant and divisive progressive guitar icon to discuss the art of Guitar Craft and the highs and lows of King Crimson – and get an intimate look at his guitar collection

John’s 80s AS200 was the basis for his Ibanez signature range, including this JSM20 pictured above

John Scofield: “When you’re playing without a band, all kinds of subtleties in your playing come out, maybe good and bad… You really hear what you’re doing”

By David Mead published 11 August 22

On his latest album, Solo, the jazz guitar luminary plays alone with just a looper for company, and it turned out to be a learning experience that was a lot of fun too

Andrew Gabbard: “My love for Firebirds comes from Neil Young because he had a Firebird pickup in his Goldtop and they just cut through”

By Jamie Dickson, David Mead published 9 August 22

The Black Keys sideman and songwriter says good things come in small packages: namely, mini-humbuckers and Fender amps

Eastman E20OOSS/v and E20SS/v review

By David Mead last updated 10 August 22

Two models that hark back to the glory days of acoustic guitar making – but there’s a very subtle twist to the tale...

John McLaughlin: “I fell in love with the guitar and even started sleeping with it, that’s how much I loved it”

By David Mead published 15 July 22

The jazz-fusion guitar legend shares stories, reflections and life lessons from a career spent pushing the envelope

Larry McCray: “When I saw Gary Moore’s live show and heard the sound that he was getting, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to come up with something a bit more powerful’”

By David Mead last updated 15 July 22

The resurgent bluesman discusses the making of his new record, his love of the Flying V and how, despite his concerns, he had the time of his life in the studio with Joe Bonamassa

Furch Yellow Deluxe GC-CR review

By David Mead last updated 6 July 22

It may look like a straightforward Grand Concert cutaway from the outside, but there’s toneful innovation aplenty going on behind the scenes

Eric Gales on why he is not trying to be the next Jimi Hendrix – and why you shouldn’t be either

By David Mead published 30 June 22

The king of blues-rock talks influences, signature gear, and the message behind his songs, and explains why any good guitar player must stamp their own personality on their sound

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