Latest articles by Matt Owen
Fender Japan revives its 12-string Stratocasters and Telecasters for the first time in over a decade
Fender first put out a 12-string electric in the 1960s, and it's been over 10 years since we last saw the firm produce expanded Strat and Tele models
Rickey Medlocke on the first time he played Lynyrd Skynyrd’s iconic Free Bird guitar solo
Medlocke rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd as their new guitar player in the early 1990s, and one of his main responsibilities ever since has been to tackle Allen Collins’ legendary lead effort
Jack White has been on a lifelong quest for the perfect spring reverb – so he made one with Anasounds
White's latest collaborative release has been nearly four years in the making, and combines three springs with a specially engineered built-in preamp
Fender’s Custom Shop channels Fender Japan’s most desirable designs for its latest luxury collaborative Stratocaster
The striking six-sring celebrates the Strat's 70th Anniversary with the help of Bvlgari, and takes inspiration from the Aerodyne and Elemental families
Steve Vai and Positive Grid have launched a signature Spark Mini – and it’s got four Vai-designed presets
The latest artist-approved Spark Mini features a unique Hydra artwork and a quartet of guitar tones that cover Vai's favorite practice sounds
The Halcyon Blue recreates John Mayer’s favorite Marshall drive pedal – but it’s more than a clone
The latest addition to the Halcyon range seeks to take the famed drive stompbox from the 1990s to new heights
Dave Navarro on the time he turned down joining Guns N’ Roses
After Jane's Addiction split in the early 1990s, Navarro's six-string services were on the market. At the same time, GNR were also looking for a replacement for the outgoing Izzy Stradlin
Oasis are officially reuniting for their first live shows in 16 years – but who will be playing guitar?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The latest addition to the firm's range of US-made workhorse electrics continues Jackson's quest to bring metal guitars to the mainstream
