Articles by Janelle Borg

Guitar World

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.

Articles by: Janelle Borg

Left - Guitarist Bill Kelliher of Mastodon performs on stage during the Hellfest Open Air Festival on June 17, 2022 in Clisson, France;Right - Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of the band Metallica perform at the 2024 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on March 20, 2024 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC

“It was funny when I first met James Hetfield. I was like, ‘Thank you for teaching me how to play guitar. You paved the way for me’”: Mastodon's Bill Kelliher on how meeting his guitar heroes pushed him to improve his craft

By Janelle Borg published 15 May 24

Mastodon's Bill Kelliher also credits Slayer's Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman for changing his previously nonchalant attitude to warming up before a show

Neil Young and Pearl Jam perform on stage at Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, Belgium, 25th August 1995. L-R Jeff Ament, Neil Young, Stone Gossard

“It was four days of recording – I had the flu for two days. You’re in the studio with one of your favorite artists ever, and not wanting to let him down”: Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament on recording with one of their biggest idols

By Janelle Borg published 15 May 24

Pearl Jam were recruited by the godfather of grunge to help him record his 1995 album

A person playing a turquoise Strat on the left and a woman playing a Telecaster on the right while smiling

“Searing hotness that will cut through any mix”: Seymour Duncan promises country tone without the hum with new noiseless Hot Chicken Strat and Tele pickups

By Janelle Borg published 15 May 24

Seymour Duncan’s latest single coils were designed with contemporary country guitarists’ high-gain demands in mind

Guitarist Kerry King of Slayer displays the Dean Guitars Kerry King signature model guitar at the Dean Gordon Guitars Space at Anaheim Convention Center on April 13, 2023 in Anaheim, California

“It was a quality instrument to learn on. Without my dad, who knows what kind of tree trunk I would’ve had”: You’ll never guess what guitar thrash metal pioneer Kerry King learned to play on

By Janelle Borg published 14 May 24

Kerry King’s first guitar is as far away from his hellishly barbed electric guitars as you can get

Jean-Michel Jarre on the left, and Brian May with his signature red guitar on the right, performing on stage

“I felt very dissatisfied with what I came up with… self-doubt rears its scary head to the point where I wonder who the hell I think I am”: Brian May questioned his guitar abilities ahead of a “challenging” virtuosic collaboration with Jean-Michel Jarre

By Janelle Borg published 14 May 24

The Queen guitarist publicly expressed how anxious he was before performing a brand new Jean-Michel Jarre set in front of a 100,000-strong audience

Left - Nancy Wilson of Heart opens for Styx at Abbotsford Centre on October 06, 2022 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada; Right - Grace Bowers performs during 2023 Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park on October 15, 2023 in Austin, Texas

“I would pick her out in a crowd... Like, ‘I know who that is,’ like David Gilmour”: Heart's Nancy Wilson says this “Clapton-type shredder” is her favorite contemporary guitarist

By Janelle Borg published 10 May 24

Nancy Wilson explains how the young guitarist has impressed her with her distinct conversational-type shredding

Left - The Edge from U2 perform at Stade de France on July 26, 2017 in Paris, France; Right - A Fender The Edge Stratocaster electric guitar

“I was really delving into the nuance of why a guitar sounds the way it does”: One of The Edge's personal Strats is up for auction for a good cause

By Janelle Borg published 10 May 24

The Edge Strat is expected to sell for $75,000, benefiting Venice Family Clinic's mission to fund critical healthcare services in LA

Mdou Moctar performs on the Hydro Quebec stage at Place D'Youville during Day 4 of the 52nd Festival D'été Quebec (FEQ2019) on July 7, 2019 in Quebec City, Canada

“He doesn’t like the sound of new strings. The ones on the guitar for the new album were two years old”: Mdou Moctar prefers old guitar strings – and the Roland Cube is his favorite amp for a very good reason

By Janelle Borg published 10 May 24

The gear (or lack of) behind Mdou Moctar's searing signature sound on Funeral For Justice, which fuses Saharan rock music with Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen flair

Collage of Ola Englund (Left), Charles Berthoud (Center) and Bernth (Right) with their instruments

“It might be the only chance you’ll get to see this lineup in a live performance”: Three of the biggest guitar and bass YouTubers are going on tour to ‘Escape the Internet’

By Janelle Borg published 9 May 24

The aptly titled Escape The Internet Tour sees three YouTube guitar and bass behemoths tour together for the first time

Musician Ozzy Osbourne signs copies of his album "Patient Number 9" at Fingerprints Music on September 10, 2022 in Long Beach, California

“He was and is the best guitar player I've ever played with”: Ozzy Osbourne reveals the name he rates above all his other guitarist collaborators

By Janelle Borg published 9 May 24

Ozzy Osbourne says he has played with many guitarists, but none of them could quite capture the energy of one of his former bandmates

Lee Ranaldo holds the Sonic Sixsteen guitar that Steve Albini built for Sonic Youth

“I note the passing of old friend Steve Albini – certainly gone too soon”: Lee Ranaldo remembers the time Steve Albini made Sonic Youth a guitar with 16 high E-strings – and an inlaid appendage

By Janelle Borg published 9 May 24

The alt rock icon has recalled the producer and guitarist’s ultimate in-joke custom guitar build

Mick Thomson of Slipknot performs in concert at the Ericsson Globe Arena on February 21, 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden

“My pickups were tuned in a studio and then tested on the road, the end result being both musical and face melting”: Slipknot's Mick Thomson has just released his much-speculated Fishman Fluence signature pickup set

By Janelle Borg published 8 May 24

Mick Thomson's signature pickups come fully equipped with three voicings that reflect the wide array of tones Thomson has employed during his career

Bass player Michael Anthony, formerly of Van Halen, performs onstage during the Adopt the Arts annual rock gala at Avalon Hollywood on January 31, 2018 in Los Angeles, California

“I’m not gonna point fingers, but through all of this, one of the ingredients was not playing ball with everybody else”: Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony sets the record straight on the much-rumored VH tribute project

By Janelle Borg published 8 May 24

According to Michael Anthony, internal disputes have ruined the Van Halen tribute project's potential

BB King performs on stage at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey, United States, January 2 1997

“Being close to him is like approaching a source of spiritual energy. I gave him my guitar as a sign of respect”: B.B. King once gifted one of his Gibson Lucille guitars to the Pope – now it’s up for sale

By Janelle Borg published 8 May 24

After belonging to B.B. King and Pope John Paul II’s Vatican collection, the guitar is expected to fetch more than $80,000 at auction

Left: Prince holding his Cloud 3 guitar on stage; Right: an image of the yellow Cloud 3 guitar

“Prince was not a guy who would sit around and polish his guitars or even think that much about them – they were tools”: In 2005, Prince’s Cloud 3 sold for $10,000. Now it’s expected to fetch $600,000 at auction

By Janelle Borg published 8 May 24

Since its original sale, the guitar has been rediscovered as one of Prince’s most heavily used stage guitars, used on iconic tours including Purple Rain, Sign of the Times, and Diamonds & Pearls