
Matt Owen
Matt is the GuitarWorld.com News Editor, and has been writing and editing for the site for five years. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 19 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. During his GW career, he’s interviewed Peter Frampton, Zakk Wylde, Tosin Abasi, Matteo Mancuso and more, and has profiled the CEOs of Guitar Center and Fender.
When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt performs with indie rock duo Esme Emerson, and has previously opened for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Keane, Japanese House and Good Neighbours.
Latest articles by Matt Owen

Great White guitarist Mark Kendall reveals Stage 4 cancer diagnosis
By Matt Owen published
Kendall says he's being treated by a world class team of doctors and early signs are positive

Wolfgang Van Halen names the 2 classic rock tracks he plays to test any electric guitar
By Matt Owen published
Forget the forbidden riffs and the flashy taps. Wolfgang finds it's better to keep things simple...

All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including a reissue of one of Gibson’s most sought-after signature models
By Matt Owen published
Mark Lettieri's irresistible Fiore gets an HH makeover, John Petrucci's baritone signature makes its long-awaited return, and the Line 6 Helix Stadium XL finally arrives...

Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian has spent 3 years learning how to build guitars – and his prized SG was played at metal’s most historic concert
By Matt Owen published
Gueikian has juggled the demands of his CEO role with learning the art of guitar making, and his builds already have some high-profile admirers – including Jason Momoa, Kirk Hammett and Tony Iommi

Dave Grohl’s DG-335 is one of Gibson’s most in-demand signature models – and now it’s back in an elusive new finish
By Matt Owen published
The wildly popular Trini Lopez/ES-335 hybrid is back – and it's styled after the model Grohl has been playing on stages since 2021

Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, legendary Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist, dies
By Matt Owen published
The influential bassist, who helped shape the groove rock scene of the 1990s, had announced a tour days prior to his death

First images of a Gary Moore tribute statue have been released
By Matt Owen published
The project, which has been in the works for the past few years, is nearing completion

Players have waited months for Line 6’s next-gen Helix Stadium Floor XL to be released – now, the next-gen amp modeler is finally shipping
By Matt Owen published
Redesigned from the ground up with all-new modeling tech and UI upgrades, the Helix Stadium XL was first unveiled by Line 6 back in June

This insane Jaws guitar was made using thousands of tiny pieces of paper from Guitar World magazines – now it’s going up for auction
By Matt Owen published
The intricately decorated Ibanez was featured in Guitar World back in 2013 after Trey Xavier spent hours putting it together

Jacob Collier taught me how to play his 5-string guitar – but I learned so much more than just new shapes and tunings
By Matt Owen published
A crash course in Collier's eye-opening 5-string guitar doubled as a deep-dive into his playing philosophy

Ed Sheeran donates Lowden acoustics to UK school following surprise visit
By Matt Owen published
The multi-Grammy winner visited a school in Belfast to support the musical education of its students

All the guitar gear that caught my eye this week – and the new launches you might have missed
By Matt Owen published
Johnny Marr's latest reinvention of the Fender Jaguar, another pedal inspired by Mk.gee's oddball rig choices, the ultimate evolution of the Tube Screamer and so much more...

Sam Ryder reunites with his childhood guitar teacher after 20 years – and invites him to play at one of the most iconic music venues in the world
By Matt Owen published
Ryder was reunited with his first and only guitar teacher by surprise

Why some of the most famous Fenders are so heavily worn, according to a Custom Shop Masterbuilder
By Matt Owen published
Dale Wilson attempts to solve the mystery of why vintage Fenders played by big-name artists have so much gnarly wear

The hardest part of building a Gibson guitar from scratch, according to CEO Cesar Gueikian
By Matt Owen published
Gueikian has spent around three years learning and building guitars under the CEO Series – and one of his most recent builds was played by Kirk Hammett at Back to the Beginning

Universal Audio just gave its UAFX pedals a major upgrade – and it gives players exactly what they’ve been asking for
By Matt Owen published
All UAFX pedals have now been bolstered by some key tweaks that take them to a whole new level

Marshall has launched Spinal Tap amps that go to Infinity – here’s how ‘the loudest amp ever made’ came together
By Matt Owen published
After starring in Spinal Tap II, the special-edition JVM410H brings a 40-year collaboration in the making full circle

Jacob Collier's 5-string revolution continues with the arrival of 2 new Taylor signature guitars
By Matt Owen published
The multi-instrumentalist has added to his stock of signatures with new GS Mini and Academy acoustics

Jim Carrey remembers Chris Cornell and Soundgarden’s generous guitar gift as he inducts them into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
By Matt Owen published
Soundgarden played on the night with Mike McCready and Jerry Cantrell, while Olivia Rodrigo honored The White Stripes, the Tedeschi Trucks Band covered The Beatles, and Flea performed with Stevie Wonder

All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the crown jewel of PRS’ 40th Anniversary year
By Matt Owen published
Wylde Audio's most metal guitar ever, a new contender for Boss and Fender in the headphone amp space, and GNR bass tones in a pickup set. All that and more landed this week

IK Multimedia takes on Fender and Boss with the TONEX Plug – its first-ever headphone amp
By Matt Owen published
The pocket-sized headphone amp looks to win the hearts of players by offering more than 40,000 tones propped up by the same AI Machine Modeling behind the entire TONEX ecosystem

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
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