Latest articles by Matt Owen
Why some of the most famous Fenders are so heavily worn, according to a Custom Shop Masterbuilder
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
It took more than 2 years to retool and redesign the classic S-type template – and PRS made a significant discovery along the way
When Eddie Van Halen crash-tested one of EVH’s most iconic guitar amps – and risked 5150 Studios in the process
Before Eddie Van Halen could sign off on the EVH 5150 III, he had to make sure it was borderline indestructible
Former G&L employee speaks out following quiet closure of company – as Fender purchases the 'Leo Fender' trademark
Steve Araujo, who worked with G&L for nearly a decade, has shed light on the fate of the company following weeks of speculation
The one thing stopping headless guitars being embraced by traditional players, according to Ola Strandberg
Strandberg instruments have been pigeonholed as metal guitars, but the company wants guitarists to realize they aren't just for prog players
All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the Hummingbird’s evil twin
A host of highly anticipated signatures, some surprising company-firsts, and the evil twin of the classic Hummingbird all landed this week
October 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
Liven up your Halloween with six-string (and five-string) sorcery from Alter Bridge, Mei Semones, Whitney, Karma Sheen, Jacob Collier, Unprocessed, and many more
Bonehead and Gem Archer both get signature Epiphones – and they’re recreations of 2 classic Oasis guitars
A gift from Noel Gallagher and a legendary 1984 Riviera helped shape the Oasis sound. Now, both are back as new signatures for the band's two loyal guitarists
Jim Irsay’s billion-dollar guitar collection is going to auction, with legendary instruments from Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour up for grabs
With a wealth of record-breaking guitars among the collection, it promises to be the biggest guitar auction event of all time
The vintage guitar Bruce Springsteen sent Jeremy Allen White so he could learn to play
White went into the project having never played guitar. He ended up learning on something rather spectacular, thanks to the Boss...
Noel Gallagher’s internet-breaking Oasis reunion Les Paul has been brought to the masses with a Standard launch
Months after the Custom Shop Murphy Lab reissue sold out, Gibson has brought back one of 2025's most talked about guitars
The mystery Gibson SG Kirk Hammett played at Ozzy Osbourne’s last show is heading to auction – along with more than 150 other guitars from his collection
The SG was used to play a Black Sabbath cover at Back to the Beginning, and it’s headed to the auction block alongside some other choice picks from Hammett's collection
Epiphone Back to the Future ES-345s are being listed for up to $7,000 as scalpers strike the second-hand market
Punters are taking advantage of the hype surrounding the release by attempting to flip the sold-out guitars at extortionate premiums
The 16 most expensive guitars of all time
Fenders owned by Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, Martins belonging to Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour, and one independently made axe headline the list of most profitable guitars sold at auction
Guitar Center CEO reveals his favorite guitars he owns
Gabe Dalporto is a keen collector and player, as well as the CEO of the retail giant – and he’s got quite the collection
