Latest articles by Matt Parker
“Because vast ambient sounds shouldn’t just be for larger pedals with vast price points”: Walrus Audio democratizes atmospheric reverb tones with the affordable Fundamental Ambient
The boutique builder’s back-to-basics line offers a cheaper alternative to high-concept, high-priced atmospheric pedals
“Bruce Springsteen was in the next studio… He had a Gretsch Country Gentleman, and I asked him if I could borrow it”: How a loaner from The Boss powered the iconic spaghetti western line in Blondie’s Atomic
Former Blondie guitarist Frank Infante has revealed that he recorded the twanging lick using a Gretsch belonging to the blue collar rock icon
“Puts authentic sounds from the stage class Boss Katana amp series at the instrument’s output jack”: Has the Katana:GO just changed the headphone amp game forever?
Full-fat Katana tones in a jack – for $119? Boss has seriously upped the stakes when it comes to guitar and bass headphone amps
“Is there an expanded one? Is there a smaller footprint version? Is there a native version?” Fender’s Justin Norvell teases next steps for the Tone Master Pro range – and confirms tweed FRFR speakers are “definitely on the list”
The floor modeler has already established a firm ‘foothold’… but it seems Fender’s just getting started
“A celebration of unity and togetherness in these uncertain and divisive times”: Slash announces the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. traveling blues festival – set to feature Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Larkin Poe, Eric Gales and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram
The Guns N’ Roses icon has unveiled a fundraising festival run in support of his new blues album
“There were times, I admit, when I had to pinch myself”: Eric Carmen – the All By Myself and Hungry Eyes hitmaker, and the man who sold Joan Jett her Melody Maker – dies aged 74
Carmen’s music with The Raspberries influenced everyone from Springsteen to Axl Rose, but he also enjoyed huge success as a solo performer and even played with Ringo Starr
“He didn’t just work here – he lived and embodied the spirit of the brand”: Mike Lewis, the head of Fender’s Custom Shop – an industry legend who played with Chuck Berry and toured with the Rolling Stones – has passed away
From sideman to session player, retailer and 30-year Fender employee, Lewis worked on everything from the firm’s amps to revamping Gretsch and launching the first mass-produced humbucker Strat
“An important piece of the low end theory”: T.M. Stevens, bass legend and session pro who performed and recorded with the likes of Steve Vai, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, and the Pretenders, dies at 72
Stevens manned the low-end on Vai's Sex & Religion album, and played on James Brown's latter-day hit, Living in America
“It was so destroyed you could take the paint off with your hands”: How Rich Robinson brought his ’68 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop back from the brink after Hurricane Sandy
The Black Crowes guitarist says his restored LP is a rare example of an instrument that (eventually) came back stronger following the 2012 disaster
“A versatile, state-of-the-art instrument designed to push your playing to new heights”: Fender’s 70th Anniversary Ultra Strat HSS offers us a glimpse at the future of the world’s most popular electric guitar
The firm has unveiled the plush Ultra Strat alongside a new 1954 American Vintage II reissue – and a celebration of the once-maligned Antigua finish
“Forever ahead of its time”: Fender kicks off the Strat’s 70th anniversary party with star-studded Voodoo Child (Slight Return) mega-jam – featuring Tom Morello, Nile Rodgers, Mateus Asato, Ari O'Neal and Rei
The fiery, tag-teamed take on the Hendrix classic is designed to showcase the Strat’s enduring legacy – and tonal flexibility
“No-one was looking at the Strat when Yngwie picked one up in ’86 – everybody had left it behind after Hendrix. It just continues to reinvent itself and get rediscovered”: Justin Norvell has to guard Fender’s glittering past, while securing its future
Fender remains the world’s number one guitar firm, but as the firm’s EVP of Product tells us, it’s thinking about musicians first – not gear – that keeps it top of the pile
“The wait is over – now you can have it all”: Dave Grohl’s Epiphone DG-335, the most demanded signature model in its 151-year history, is finally here – and it costs less than you might expect
We got an exclusive look at the Foo Fighters’ man’s new signature back in January – and now it’s available to order
“We think Marshall represents the rock and roll attitude”: Amp sales accounted for just 5% of the Marshall Group’s revenues in 2023 – but it looks like new digital amps could be on the way
A recent Billboard report shows the Marshall Group’s home audio wing brings home the lion’s share of the newly merged firm’s revenues
“I hate modeling, I think it’s wack. You can hear it right away”: IDLES explain why recording with an amp modeler risks messing with your tone, your head – and probably your dog
UK post-punk heroes Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan reckon modelers are best consigned to the role of live backups – and you shouldn’t let them near your recordings
“This song presents a kind of revisionist history where guitar solos were cool after all in the early noughties”: February 2024 Guitar World editors' picks
From neoclassical tapping clinics to cosmic, spaghetti western-esque guitar soundscapes, this month has provided an embarrassment of six-string riches
“Vintage Firebird specifications at an accessible price”: Epiphone’s $1,799 Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V has landed – offering a high-spec take on Gibson’s first neck-through body build
The Chinese-made model also comes in a hardtail Firebird I variant and features Gibson’s USA Firebird mini-humbuckers and a faithful nine-ply mahogany/walnut neck-through construction
“The camp is very protective, and has extremely high standards”: Fender says gaining the EVH endorsement was a crucial benchmark for the Tone Master Pro
Fender’s EVP of Product Justin Norvell tells us that getting the EVH endorsement – the first of its kind on a modeler – was important to the team
“I could finally quieten down this noise in my head... the best in the room is sitting over there – and it doesn’t have to maybe be me”: John Mayer says that when Jeff Beck was in the room, he felt he could finally relax about his guitar playing
Mayer has described a sense of a weight being lifted when in the presence of the formidable guitar talent
“I chipped my tooth – my mom was so mad at me!” John 5 says playing a Jimi Hendrix-inspired version of Star Spangled Banner with his teeth as a kid led to a dental mishap – and shows he can still nail the tooth-picked tune
The Mötley Crüe member has appeared guitar in hand (and mouth) on the Howard Stern Show to demonstrate AC/DC, Queen and Rush riffs
“We talked about things like dampening, creating contrast, hand positions... There’s a bit of detective work involved”: Megadeth’s Teemu Mäntysaari explains the skillset that enabled him to leap into one of the most challenging roles in metal
Stepping into shoes previously filled by the likes of Kiko Loureiro and Marty Friedman is no mean feat. The metal guitar hero-in-the-making tells us how he did it
“Rest in peace, Bobby”: Veteran vocalist and guitarist Bobby Tench – who worked with the likes of Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Humble Pie, Ginger Baker, Van Morrison and many more – dies, aged 79
The British musician played with everyone from Peter Green to Freddie King and Ginger Baker yet never got the limelight he deserved
“We walked into your house, you had the case on the floor and you handed it to me – and then said, ‘No Stairway to Heaven!’” Gibson announces new multi-guitar series with Jimmy Page, kicking off with the signature 1971 EDS-1275 double neck
The firm broke the news at a star-studded opening ceremony for its new Gibson Garage London space – and the partnership is launching with the ultimate symbol of stadium-rocking excess
“The question was, ‘Where would you go to get the ultimate Gibson experience?’ The answer was it didn’t exist – we had to create it”: We went behind the scenes at Gibson Garage London to find out why it’s unlike any other guitar store
The guitar giant has opened the doors of its first flagship store outside of the US, and we’ve spent some time snooping around…
“It’s such a cool guitar in terms of history”: Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley has bought the ’68 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop used on some of Ozzy Osbourne, Hole, Korn and Social Distortion’s most iconic recordings – and it seems it holds a few secrets
The Les Paul previously belonged to super-producer Michael Beinhorn but it looks like it might have a secret past, beneath its celebrity skin...
