Latest articles by Matt Owen
Adrian Belew leads tributes to Ken Parker, pioneering guitar maker who has died aged 73
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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
The third entry into Jackson’s made-in-Corona collection revisits the Ozzy Osbourne guitarist’s legendary design that helped launch the brand
The playing advice Glenn Tipton gave Richie Faulkner on his first tour with Judas Priest
Faulkner brought a huge array of influences to the Priest gig but worked to shake them off so he could find his own voice
The VP-1 Dark Fang is a space-age Super Guitar that introduces a wild new fretboard capable of ‘outward string bending’
Inspired by the Indian sitar and Chinese pipa, the The VP-1 Dark Fang looks to facilitate an entirely new way of playing the guitar
Fender’s Road Worn guitars have become a dying breed – but now they're back as limited-edition Vintera II guitars
An all-new aging process that offers a subtle 'closet classic' vibe is paired with era-correct pickups and authentic neck shapes
“I have long harbored a slight obsession with this hugely underrated guitar. The new finish doesn’t help with that one bit”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including... an urn that fits inside an acoustic?
A whole load of new Jacksons, Charvels, Yamahas and Gibsons headline the last seven days of guitar gear drops
Nuno Bettencourt remembers his final exchange with Ozzy Osbourne – a reminder of the gig he once turned down
As a 15-year-old, Bettencourt auditioned to become Randy Rhoads’ replacement. When the gig presented itself years later, he declined
When Joe Bonamassa was introduced to Joanne Shaw Taylor – who “offended” him on their first meeting
The two blues guitar greats crossed paths at a festival in 2008 – but Taylor wasn’t interested in what Bonamassa had to show her
Rita Coolidge alleges she helped write Eric Clapton’s Layla – but never got credit for it
In a resurfaced interview, Coolidge recalls the time she sought a songwriting credit for composing the song’s piano coda – but was rebuffed
Jackson pays homage to its early days with Pro Origins 1985 San Dimas series – featuring newly developed era-accurate pickups
Four new models boast fresh pickups based on early Jackson innovations
The Boss PX-1 Plugout FX backlash has gone viral – but is it justified? We put the biggest criticisms to Boss
We leveled 5 of the internet’s most common issues with the divisive PX-1 to its maker. Now Boss has set the record straight
