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
Oasis are officially reuniting for their first live shows in 16 years – but who will be playing guitar?
By Matt Owen published
The Gallagher brothers are finally getting back together for a string of live dates next year. But who will be joining the newly reformed Oasis?
Corey Feldman hopes his viral guitar playing will inspire others to pick up the instrument
By Matt Owen published
Despite being targeted by TikTok trolls for his chaotic guitar solos, Feldman refuses to let the negativity of the internet get in the way – and even sees a silver lining from the whole episode
Vernon Reid gives us the closest look yet at his forthcoming Reverend signature model – and it’s got googly eyes
By Matt Owen published
The Living Colour icon has a series of signatures in the works at Reverend, but it will be hard to top this especially eye-catching 'Mystery Tramp' variant
Kirk Hammett doesn't pay attention to solo trolls – and thinks “bad” solos are a thing of the past
By Matt Owen published
The Metallica guitarist's lead effort in Lux Æterna came under intense fire from online commenters upon its release, with some even recording their own 'improved' versions
Fender honors FINNEAS with its first-ever signature Acoustasonic Telecaster models – and they have a built-in chorus effect
By Matt Owen published
The Grammy-winning Billie Eilish super-producer and prolific multi-instrumentalist has been bestowed with two signature Acoustasonics that aim to be the ideal all-in-one stage and studio instruments
Fender has launched its first-ever Certified Pre-Owned program on Reverb
By Matt Owen published
New second-hand instruments will be added to the online store every week, and each item will be professionally checked, refurbished if necessary, and sold with a one-year warranty
Universal Audio repackages Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Peavey 5150 in pedal form – with a built-in noise gate and overdrive
By Matt Owen published
The latest entry to Universal's The Edge-backed, highly praised pedal amp family sets its sights on harnessing the tones of an influential modern metal and heavy rock stalwart
Gibson confirms the departure of legendary amp designer and Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith
By Matt Owen published
The influential boutique amp builder joined the Gibson family of brands following the firm's acquisition of Mesa/Boogie in 2021
Sterling debuts new Intro Series, unveiling $199 Cutlass and $249 StingRay models
By Matt Owen published
The firm looks to take on the beginner gear market's more established models with a range of nicely spec'd – and nice-looking – affordable electric and bass guitars
Jackson has made Phil Collen a Tele-style model with a neck twice as thick as a regular guitar’s
By Matt Owen published
The Def Leppard guitarist has remained loyal to Strat-style models for much of his career, but he's developed a new affinity for single-cuts
Noel Gallagher’s Definitely Maybe Les Paul is going to auction – and it could sell for more than $100,000
By Matt Owen published
The humble Cherry Sunburst single-cut can be seen in the Oasis music video for Supersonic
That time Rory Gallagher got crippling stage fright because he was performing in front of his guitar hero
By Matt Owen published
Gallagher's brother secretly invited one of Rory's biggest heroes to attend a show at the Royal Albert Hall – and even had him introduce the blues rock legend to the stage
Phil Collen's first Def Leppard solo is one of his most famous – and he did it in one take
By Matt Owen published
Recruited by Def Leppard in 1982, Collen was put straight to work on Pyromania, and contributed a rather notable lead effort he nailed in one go
Ernie Ball Music Man gives Jason Richardson’s signature Cutlass a serious upgrade, with touch-sensitive pickups
By Matt Owen published
The prog virtuoso's latest signatures make use of some newly innovated humbuckers that are said to be the result of “decades of guitar string research”
This study claims to have identified the lightest tonewood of them all – and it’s not one you’d expect
By Matt Owen published
This new research piece compared the weight of 466 solidbody guitars to found out which tonewood makes the lightest instruments
Jackson just made its genre-blurring American Series more accessible than ever with the Virtuoso HT
By Matt Owen published
The latest addition to the firm's range of US-made workhorse electrics continues Jackson's quest to bring metal guitars to the mainstream
Fred Durst wanted to see if Corey Feldman’s viral guitar playing was real – so he went on stage to see for himself
By Matt Owen published
Feldman is currently opening for Limp Bizkit on their Loserville tour, and caught some strays on TikTok after his guitar playing went viral
The Fender Duo-Sonic that helped launch Peter Green’s late-’70s comeback is going up for auction
By Matt Owen published
The late Fleetwood Mac legend returned after nearly a decade away from the limelight to record In the Skies – and he did so with the help of this Duo-Sonic
Seymour Duncan's new guitar strings could be the key to unlocking “true vintage tone”
By Matt Owen published
The pickup specialist has expanded its Antiquity range with a six-string set that looks to help players harness “true vintage tones of the most infamous guitars ever produced”
Fender’s Cobalt Chrome pickups will breathe new life into your Jazz or Precision bass – but developing an all-new bass pickup design wasn’t easy
By Matt Owen published
Voiced by tone titan Tim Shaw, Fender's latest Jazz and Precision bass pickups look to help reduce noise and add extra flair to your low-end tone
Pixies’ new bass player on how she ended up joining the band – and why it forced her to change her approach to playing
By Matt Owen published
Emma Richardson was recruited earlier this year to replace Paz Lenchantin in the alt-rock outfit – and that meant re-evaluating her playing
“We’d hit it against curbs”: Julian Lage radically DIY aged his father’s prized Telecaster
By Matt Owen published
The jazz virtuoso has a close bond with the Telecaster, and one of his earliest experiences with the model involved some drastic relic'ing methods
Michael Lemmo on the surreal time he met Eddie Van Halen – who was dating his friend’s mom
By Matt Owen published
Norms’ Rare Guitars’ resident virtuoso idolized Van Halen as a youngster, and miraculously crossed paths with him when a new kid arrived in town…
Ibanez doubles down on its quest to conquer the headless guitar market with revamped Q Series
By Matt Owen published
As the popularity of headless guitars continues to boom, the Japanese firm has dropped four new models in a bid to make its Quest range more appealing than ever before
D’Angelico unveils third Bobby Weir signature model – and the Grateful Dead legend has been playing it at the Sphere
By Matt Owen published
The semi-hollow stunner is the direct result of years of intense development and rigorous road-testing, and is said to be the pair's “best work yet”
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