Latest articles by Ellie Rogers
Songhoy Blues’ Garba Touré created his own crossover guitar style – now he’s changing it up again
From “African rock, African roll” to a new exploration of traditional instruments, techniques and tunings – the exiled artist continues to build bridges with new album Héritage
Vox guitars deserve a second look – just ask L.A. Witch’s Sade Sanchez, who’s teaming hers with ugly pedals for nouveau garage rock thrills
After working on an electronica side-project, Sanchez took her band from their California comfort zone to medieval Paris to find fresh influence for third album DOGGOD – and it worked
Sean Rowe on getting steel drum tones with a pen, a pedal and a dollar bill – and why he keeps wearing out his Takamines
The New York singer-songwriter came up with a unique effect on a train in Europe, – and that’s just one example of his experimental approach to tone
Meet mercury, the wall-of-sound indie-rockers teetering on the edge of chaos
Tennessee alt-rock experimentalist Maddie Kerr writes on acoustic before piling up the pedals on her partscaster – but a cranked-up Marshall is the key to her “out of control” sound
How flipturn keep their three-guitar approach tight, while leaving room for creativity
The Floridians share their love of open tunings, the one pedal they couldn’t live without, and the nightmare feeling when a ’board fails during a show
Jasmine.4.t on being produced by all three members of boygenius, borrowing their baritone – and why you should try writing in DADGAD
The first British artist signed to Bridgers’ label explains how she used her Dano ‘63 Baritone to escape her previous life and turn horror into triumph on You Are the Morning
The best guitar songs of 2024 – as chosen by Guitar World editors and pro players
With the help of pals including Eric Gales and Vernon Reid, we run down the songs that lit up the guitar-o-sphere this year, including a remarkable hardcore breakthrough, a virtuoso collab for the ages and the prodigy that everyone’s talking about
“This is like Santana’s Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock or Hendrix’s Machine Gun”: The best guitar solos of 2024
From a supernova of tapping and pitch-shifted metal guitar anarchy to all-star team-ups, here is your year in lead guitar – featuring Mdou Moctar, Diamond Rowe and some dudes named Satriani and Vai…
“There was a time you wouldn’t have touched a Superstrat”: How Chris Shiflett learned to love his inner shredder
The Foo Fighters guitarist discusses playing with Brian May, the lessons of his podcast – and how his new Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe got its name
FINNEAS on bringing guitar back to pop – and why he loves Fender’s Acoustasonic Tele
The producer and guitarist shares his recording insight, his new Fender signature model, plus the playing discussions he has with Billie Eilish
Meet Daniel ‘Dafreez’ Johnston, the “blues rave-up” pioneer combining folk fingerstyle and EDM
Teaming classic Strat sounds with tightly sync'd delays in My Baby, Daniel ‘Dafreez’ Johnston is a mercurial guitar talent
“Her number one piece of feedback is to be quieter”: FINNEAS reveals his guitar technique debates with Billie Eilish
The artist and super-producer recalls recording guitars on Eilish's latest album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, and why the Fender Acoustasonic is a key tool in his production toolkit
The 50 greatest acoustic guitar songs of all time
As voted for by you, this list spans some of the most significant acoustic moments ever committed to tape – and features a controversial winner…
How Thunder Mother’s pregnant guitarist Filippa Nässil changed her rig to suit her bump
The Swedish hard rocker details the challenges of staying on the road into her third trimester – and why it proves you can have everything you want
Meet Heartworms, the six-string experimentalist who went from busking for rent to playing the Royal Albert Hall with St. Vincent
Self-taught and self-motivated, Jojo Orme expresses herself through her complex pedal arrangements and quest for uncomfortable riffs
Susan Tedeschi on the making of her long-awaited signature Telecaster and the next generation of blues guitar heroes
The blues powerhouse’s first signature Fender has been a long time coming. She explains why it has finally given her confidence in her guitar playing – and names the up-and-coming players she’s keeping an eye on
Meet husband-and-wife guitar team Spotlights, the dreamsludge tonesmiths championed by Mike Patton
Dreamsludge, doomgaze, doomsludge… Whatever you call them, Mario and Sarah Quintero are producing some of the heaviest tones in the business. They reveal how they do it – and why couples who riff together, stay together
Meet Anthony Pirog – the John Frusciante favorite who’s jamming with Fugazi’s rhythm section
The D.C. virtuoso has joined forces with his heroes as The Messthetics
Mike Kinsella on his journey to cult guitar hero status with American Football
As his latest Owen album looms, the guitarist reflects on how he discovered the tunings that made him so influential, doing it all without pedals and why he can only play Teles
12 blues guitar albums that chart the genre – and the instrument’s – evolution
From Son House to Eric Gales, John Lee Hooker to Albert Collins, these classics highlight how blues guitar has changed over the years – its stories, tones and techniques all passed down and reinvented
“I asked Ibanez for a Telecaster-style guitar with a single neck pickup. I was expecting them to make fun of me and say no!” Standards’ Marcos Mena is bringing joy to virtuoso playing with his custom mint green tapping machine
As the pop-shred maestro honed his fruit-inspired instrumental math-rock technique, Ibanez warned him his neck-pickup-only AZ might look bad – but it turned out to be his perfect guitar
How does a Welsh rock band that trades in “filthy, nasty guitar tones” end up writing a song with Brian Johnson of AC/DC? Himalayas’ Mike Griffiths explains the story behind their “unexpected gift”
The Welsh rockers’ debut album, From Hell to Here, is essential listening for those who like rock from the garage and the desert – especially where the guitar “sounds quite wild a lot of the time”
“I’ve always picked up my dad’s guitars, but I wasn’t that serious about it. Then I realized it was natural to me – it was so deep in my soul I didn’t have a choice”: Thurston Moore loved her demos. Now Devon Ross is journeying from actor to guitarist
Inspired by ‘60s pop and ’90s alt-rock alike, the Fender Mustang-toting Irma Vep star – and daughter of Lenny Kravitz guitarist Craig Ross – brought her debut EP to fruition with help from the Sonic Youth icon
“Technical playing can get cleaner, and that’s possibly even more challenging than just being faster”: We met the academics who study shred guitar for a living – they explained why it’s changed dramatically since the ’80s, and the 3 ways it can develop
A new study documents the challenges facing modern-day virtuosos, who not only have to balance perfection and authenticity, but now have to be “10 things that used to be 10 full-time professions”
“I love Gibson – I always have. Even though people like Slash play Les Pauls, for me they work better in a jazzier sound-world”: Jimmy Page was bowled over by her playing. Now Rosie Frater-Taylor is injecting jazz solos into pop for an all-new sound
Inspired by jazz-go-pop stars like George Benson and Pat Metheny, the Pickup Music tutor and rising star has a unique guitar-meets-vocal vamping style
