Matt Owen
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
Latest articles by Matt Owen
Ernie Ball Music Man’s new Sabre HT features pickups inspired by its guitar string innovations
By Matt Owen published
Ernie Ball Music Man says its potentially groundbreaking Heat Treated humbuckers were made using the insights that helped innovate the Cobalt and M-Steel Slinky strings
IK Multimedia takes aim at Nano Cortex with free TONEX upgrade – making the modeler more versatile than ever
By Matt Owen published
An updated suite of effects, AmpliTube 5 X integration and a new-look version of the TONEX headline IK Multimedia's anniversary celebrations for its game-changing amp modeler
George Harrison’s Futurama – which starred in the Fab Four’s historic Hamburg tour – is heading to auction
By Matt Owen published
The oddball electric – which originally went up for auction back in 2019 – was also used on the Fab Four's first official Polydor recordings, having featured heavily during their early Cavern Club gigs
Tetrarch’s Diamond Rowe becomes Jackson’s first female signature artist with the launch of her new ground-breaking signature guitar
By Matt Owen published
The metal trailblazer was announced as a Jackson artist earlier this year, and now she's been honored with a history-making signature model
Martin has introduced an all-new body shape that delivers dreadnought tones from a smaller build
By Matt Owen published
In honor of the Hawaiian music craze of the 1920s and 1930s that influenced the “Golden Era” acoustic boom, Martin has unveiled the O'ahu HG-28
Gibson has brought back the ES-330 – reviving one its most iconic hollowbody models for the first time in years
By Matt Owen published
A distant cousin of the Epiphone Casino and a sibling to the more popular ES-335, the ES-330 has been out of the limelight for quite some time – but now it's officially back
Paul Reed Smith explains why the country a guitar is made in doesn’t matter
By Matt Owen published
Though the provenance of a guitar can have a huge sway on its price and perception, the PRS founder himself has leapt to the defence of overseas builds
Harley Benton is now shipping direct in the US for the first time via a new Reverb store
By Matt Owen published
The champion of cheap gear is extending its influence overseas, and will be shipping directly to US players through a new virtual storefront
Mick Thomson explains why his solos were erased from Slipknot’s debut album – and how he reacted
By Matt Owen published
25 years ago, Slipknot dropped a debut album that changed the face of heavy metal – but one of the guitarists who helped write it had his solos completely removed
Joe Bonamassa’s 12th Epiphone signature guitar is his first with P-90s – and features one of the rarest Les Paul finishes ever made
By Matt Owen published
Only three Copper Iridescent 1955 Les Paul Standards are currently accounted for – and Bonamassa owns two of them. Now, the quirky single-cut has been revived
“It passed almost every test with flying colors”: Squier Classic Vibe 60s Telecaster SH review
By Matt Owen published
A stealth contender for the nicest-looking (and best-performing) Squier of the year, this budget stunner has serious Andy Summers vibes – and versatility written all over it
“I have convinced myself that they are the best actual rock band in the world at the moment”: September 2024 Guitar World editors' picks
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Your monthly round up of the freshest new cuts from the world of guitar courtesy of Tetrarch, The Cure, Larkin Poe, Amyl and The Sniffers, Dayglow, and many more
Why Steve Vai kept his guitar playing a secret when he first started
By Matt Owen published
Vai didn't tell anyone when he began learning the guitar, but eventually announced his new-found fretboard abilities in quite spectacular style
“You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything”: Kris Kristofferson dies aged 88
By Matt Owen published
The actor, songwriter and country giant was lauded by Bob Dylan, had his material covered by Johnny Cash and Janis Joplin, and joined a supergroup with some of country music's biggest names
Ibanez finally honors prog guitar hero Manuel Gardner Fernandes with his first signature model
By Matt Owen published
The percussive fingerstyle heavyweight has swapped AZ Superstrats for the ergonomics of the Quest range, resulting in Ibanez's finest headless guitar yet
Kemper responds to the Neural DSP Nano Cortex with not one, but two new upgrades for its Profiler Player – but you'll have to pay
By Matt Owen published
The compact rig replacement has been elevated to a whole new level with two impressive upgrades, which offer an effects explosion and popular Kemper functions – but they don't come cheap
Gibson unearths the forgotten history of Joe Staunton’s mystery “Orphanage Burst” – a ‘59 Les Paul like no other
By Matt Owen published
The blues legend – also known as 'The Left-Handed Wizard' – first purchased the LP in 1969, and used it throughout the course of his career as he helped shape the Irish music scene
Fender partners with video game franchise Monster Hunter for a wild Telecaster that glows red in the dark – and has a literal scratchplate
By Matt Owen published
Fender's latest foray into the world of video games has resulted in one its most striking special-edition Teles yet
Epiphone has brought back its quirky cult classic 1970s Grabber bass beloved by Gene Simmons, Krist Novoselic and Mike Dirnt
By Matt Owen published
The double-cut four-string was a hit back in the 1970s, and finally makes a triumphant return in the form of a more affordable Inspired by Gibson Epiphone reissue
Keith Urban on what it’s like to play through the Dumble that John Mayer used during his blues trio days
By Matt Owen published
Urban is in possession of the Overdrive Reverb that helped Mayer launch his blues trio project back in the early ’00s
New Eddie Van Halen documentary traces the guitar journey that led him to create the Frankenstein – and it's narrated by the man himself
By Matt Owen published
From Van Halen's first $40 Teisco Del Ray to the Univox 12-string that featured Eddie's first successful mod, The Journey to Frankenstein tells the story of the instruments that came before one of the most legendary guitars of all time
Keeley spent three years crafting the Octa PSI – a crazy 3-in-1 octave/pitch shifting/fuzz pedal
By Matt Owen published
With versatile switching, a wealth of voices and some smart functionality, the Octa Psi could be the only pitch/octave/fuzz pedal your ’board could ever need
Gibson honors one of B.B. King’s greatest live performances with knockout ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ ES-355
By Matt Owen published
Before Gibson officially launched its Lucille model in 1980, King favored a 1974 Walnut ES-355, which was by his side during his iconic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ set
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