Latest articles by Matt Owen
Yamaha takes on LAVA with a new TransAcoustic that delivers smart guitar specs in a traditional high-end build
Yamaha has given its TransAcoustic family an overhaul amid increased smart guitar hype – and the TAG3 C seeks to marry an orthodox all-solid wood design with futuristic flair
Fender’s Player II range has been expanded with new tonewoods and forgotten finishes unearthed from the archives
Fender relaunched its Player II range earlier this year with the return of rosewood fretboards and new colorways – and now there are some fresh tonewoods on tap
PRS gives its SE range a huge overhaul, introduces the long-awaited lefty John Mayer Silver Sky
PRS has rolled out some wholesale changes to its family of Indonesian-made electric and acoustic guitars, and finally brings Mayer's best-selling SE Silver Sky to southpaw players
“He said very politely, ‘Can I get up on stage with you and use your guitar?’ It was very overwhelming to play with a Beatle”: That time Ritchie Blackmore and George Harrison jammed Little Richard at a Deep Purple concert
Harrison had decided to check out Deep Purple while in Australia in 1984, and ended up sharing the stage with Blackmore for an eight-minute jam of Lucille
How Rick Rubin shaped the sound of Slayer’s first album by ignoring heavy metal norms
The 1986 record was the first metal album Rubin produced – and he singled out one of the genre's biggest names when highlighting what he thought shouldn't be done in the studio
Positive Grid’s new AI-equipped Edge might be the ultimate PA for busking guitarists
Positive Grid has turned its attention to musicians on the move with an app-compatible, amp modeling PA that can create AI guitar tones from user prompts
Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction will feature performances from Wolfgang Van Halen and more
Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith and Steve Stevens will also take part in the ceremony, which will feature an induction speech from Jack Black
Akiro Sakurai has dedicated his life to becoming Jimmy Page – and he received some key advice when he first met the Led Zeppelin legend
Mr. Jimmy has devoted his career to learning the songs and solos of Page's back catalog, and had a fateful encounter with his hero 10 years ago
Grace Bowers takes a rare acoustic turn to cover Led Zeppelin on her new single
The fast-rising 18-year-old blues-rock sensation has paid homage to Page with an atmospheric take on Going to California for her new single
Joe Satriani gifted Steve Vai his custom-painted Ibanez signature – now it’s one of Vai’s most treasured guitars
The birthday gift – which is unlike any Satch signature you've ever seen before – ranks alongside the ‘Swiss Cheese’ guitar and Vai's first-ever Fender Strat as one of the virtuoso’s most prized instruments
Ernie Ball Music Man’s new Sabre HT features pickups inspired by its guitar string innovations
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
