
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

Gibson has launched Custom and Epiphone replicas of the Back to the Future ES-345 – but its search for the long-lost original guitar goes on
By Matt Owen published
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic film, Gibson has launched two replicas of Marty McFly's generationally inspiring ES-345

All the new guitar gear that caught my eye this week, from digital oil-can echo to Fender’s new US range
By Matt Owen published
We've got Fender electrics and basses hot out of Cali, a state-of-the-art "vintage" delay pedal, cheap acoustics, expensive acoustics, and maybe the headphones monitoring tech you've been waiting for...

Dweezil Zappa has Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and Yngwie Malmsteen on his ambitious instrumental project – but wants to recruit more guitar greats
By Matt Owen published
Albert Lee, Steve Morse and Steve Vai have also recorded for What The Hell Was I Thinking?, which Zappa began work on back in 1989

Michael J. Fox has a theory about the fate of Back to the Future’s long-lost Gibson ES-345
By Matt Owen published
Gibson is conducting a global hunt to track down the iconic ES-345 that went missing after filming wrapped on Back to the Future

Gretsch ushers in the next evolution of its affordable Jet family – which now includes a workhorse Streamliner for $189
By Matt Owen published
With prices that don't go beyond $579, the new-for-2025 Jet family could be a solid contender for the best entry-level lineup on the market

Xan McCurdy of iconic alt-rockers Cake on why he quit taking lessons from Satch
By Matt Owen published
The Satriani curriculum failed to move Cake's Xan McCurdy

Fender unveils the newest entry point to its USA-made collection, the American Professional Classic series
By Matt Owen published
New Coastline pickups, a successor to the Nashville Telecaster, and a double dose of streamlined offsets head up the newest starting point to Fender's most affordable USA-made instruments

All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including an affordable recreation of one of Nerdville’s rarest Les Paul Customs
By Matt Owen published
A boatload of new PRS SE models, a new signature for Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, and a monstrous collaboration from Fender Japan all arrived this week

Misha Mansoor joins Tim Henson and Tosin Abasi in praising this emerging virtuoso – who’s changing the landscape of progressive guitar
By Matt Owen published
Shred’s finest new talent can add another name to the list of guitar heroes who have singled him out for praise

Adrian Belew leads tributes to Ken Parker, pioneering guitar maker who has died aged 73
By Matt Owen published
Parker's builds were played by everyone from Belew and Joni Mitchell to Eddie Van Halen and Matt Bellamy

Chris Buck explains how the Guns N’ Roses guitar hero came to the aid of Cardinal Black on their first US headline tour
By Matt Owen published
Cardinal Black hit a hurdle when they needed to acquire visas for their maiden North American tour. Luckily, Buck knew who to call on

Bernth on why thinner necks don’t always result in speedier soloing – and how switching helped improve his playing
By Matt Owen published
The prolific prog virtuoso recently unveiled his first signature Ibanez, which features a few choice specs

"So much more than just 'Mk.gee in a pedal', this clever little preamp box leaves plenty of room to find your own voice": JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage review
By Matt Owen published
Everyone is talking about the 424 MK1 multi-track recorder. Does the first big brand attempt to bring this to your pedalboard live up to the hype?

September 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
By Jackson Maxwell published
With amazing guitar work from the likes of Seera, SPRINTS, Mammoth, Mei Semones, Jay Som, Walter Trout, Jacob Collier, and many more, we were spoiled for choice this month

Nuno Bettencourt has launched his own guitar brand, Nuno Guitars – marking the end of his longstanding partnership with Washburn
By Matt Owen published
Many speculated a Bettencourt brand was in the works after the virtuoso was spotted performing at Ozzy Osbourne's last-ever show armed with a mystery guitar

Everything that caught my eye at Guitar Summit 2025 – from the grand unveiling of a brand-new guitar company to the year’s most anticipated amp modeler
By Matt Owen published
Rosengarten Mannheim became a scorching-hot cauldron of all things guitar for three days – and there were plenty of highlights

“Quite unlike anything I’ve ever played. Every guitarist, at some point in their playing life, should experience this”: Strandberg Boden N2 Original review
By Matt Owen published
The most advanced Boden platform to date is here, bringing with it some choice upgrades and pickups designed in collaboration with Fishman

Join Guitarist and Gibson for an evening celebrating ‘Holy Grail’ guitars with ‘The Burst Experience’
By Matt Owen published
Guest performances of revered ’Bursts from Aynsley Lister, as well as insights from a panel of ’Burst experts, head up the unique three-hour event on October 10

The song that started life as an Eagles track – but ended up as the theme song for an animated film
By Matt Owen published
Plans for a Hotel California sequel were in motion, but the track wouldn’t emerge from the Eagles archive until a few years later

Positive Grid embraces the age of AI with BIAS X – which responds to prompts and recreates the guitar tones of any reference song
By Matt Owen published
Text-to-tone and music-to-tone functions head up the radical new amp and effects software

All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including a triumphant return for one of Gibson’s most sought-after builds
By Matt Owen published
Fender, Ernie Ball Music Man, Jackson, and a load of new Gibson drops headline this week’s round-up

One of the biggest guitar YouTubers has launched their own brand – and its first model is destined to become a rarity
By Matt Owen published
The Otera TK-1 has been years in the making and puts a distinct spin on the T-style template

Jackson drafts the Rhoads V into its high-end American Series – bringing Randy Rhoads’ iconic metal guitar back to the States
By Matt Owen published
The third entry into Jackson’s made-in-Corona collection revisits the Ozzy Osbourne guitarist’s legendary design that helped launch the brand
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