Latest articles by Matt Parker
“The iconic solo was about to come up and it's like, ‘Oh god. This is not gonna work out well’”: Bumblefoot says he received death threats after fumbling the Welcome to the Jungle solo – while he was stuck in a stormtrooper helmet
The guitarist ranks the onstage mishap with Guns N’ Roses as his ultimate Spinal Tap moment
“Eddie Van Halen handed me a guitar and said, ‘I had to learn that damn riff for Wolfie. Show me how you played it!’” Power Rangers composer Ron Wasserman discusses how he “fooled the master” in his performance of the iconic theme
The man behind the X-Men and Power Rangers soundtracks says EVH asked him for pointers on the track he wrote in just two-and-a-half hours
“20 watts, four Galaxies, IR equipped”: Soldano’s Astro 20 is a tech-ed up tube amp that offers another dimension (or rather three of them) for high gain tone
The tube amp stalwart turns its eye to the stars with this forward-thinking take on a modern, made-in-the-USA amp design – and all for less than $2,000
“Our first artist model for a female guitarist”: Kramer’s Lzzy Hale signature Voyager makes its debut – with a custom body shape and a blinding Holographic Sparkle finish to match
The Halestorm leader’s new guitar represents a string of firsts for Kramer
“The last person to really play it like that was Ed”: Eddie Van Halen personally gifted this guitar to Jason Becker in 1996. Now Norm’s demo whiz Michael Lemmo puts the #69 Peavey Wolfgang through its paces in a killer EVH-style demo
The guitar is headed to auction later this month and was brought down to Norman’s Rare Guitars for a preview
“He just could not be contained. That was what was so beautiful... If you’ve been tasked with the job of imitating him, it’s like, ‘Well, which moment?’” Joe Satriani says the biggest challenge in covering Eddie Van Halen is pinning him down
The virtuoso has been sharing his thoughts on how to tackle covering one of the world's greatest guitarists – and how to find the sweet spot in EVH's rigs
“It’s called Roman because of the Roman numerals I etched into the back”: James Hetfield owns five ’59 Gibson Les Paul Standard ’Bursts – and he’s carved a massive ‘12’ into one of them
The Metallica man’s new guitar book Messengers showcases perhaps the ultimate example of zero-f**ks-given guitar ownership
Harley Benton’s new resonator costs less than $200 – and looks surprisingly classy for it
The new acoustic-electric has looks to kill and a price that eats the competition for breakfast
10,000 volt lead licks and the bluesier side of Peaky Blinders: This week's essential guitar tracks
Killer new cuts from Ace Frehley, Judas Priest, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Anna Calvi, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Alkaline Trio, and many more
“There has been an explosion of guitar music in the past 5 years… LERXST amplifiers provide a platform for these players”: Alex Lifeson unveils LERXST amp range in collaboration with Mojotone – and there are new guitars, pedals and pickups to come
The Rush guitar icon’s previously limited-edition Omega amp build is now available to all, alongside a new Chi head and combo – with more to come…
My local guitar store owner has $20k custom shop models sitting about, yet he plays one of these Lava acoustics every day – now you can scoop one up with a healthy 25% discount
You’ve seen them all over YouTube, but the touch-screen guitar is now on sale
I’ve lost count of the players who told me they got their start on a Squier Stratocaster – now Fender is offering them for under $150, a huge 40% discount on the go-to learner guitar
For a limited time you can pick up a Surf Green Affinity Strat for just $149
The best discounts I've seen this Cyber Monday are almost all on bass guitars – with up to 44% off some of our best-reviewed models
Bass discounts eclipse the offers on guitars this year – with almighty savings to be had on Fender, Spector, Guild, Squier, Sterling by Music Man and many more, it's a good time to go bass shopping
If I hadn’t bought a Spark last Black Friday, I’d pull the trigger this year – or else I’d pick up one of these killer cheap amp deals
There are some big deals to be had on small amps right now
We challenge you to find a cheaper ’59 Les Paul this Black Friday – as Guitar Center drops its biggest Epiphone deals of the year
From Silverburst Customs, to a golden ES-335 and the holy grail of Gibson designs, there are some treasures to be found in this year’s sale
Is this Guitar Center’s best Black Friday deal? The D’Angelico Premier Series Bedford offset just got a massive 40% discount – but it’s shifting fast
The semi-hollow offset is usually priced at $899, but is currently available for a worryingly affordable $509.99
There's 20% off all EarthQuaker Devices pedals at Guitar Center – but this 3-in-1 fuzz/distortion masterpiece is our pick of the bunch
The Sunn O))) Life pedal got top marks in our review, and now you can score a healthy $60 off the list price
“That is a ’54 reissue. This is the real ’54. It’s number 588”: Måneskin’s Thomas Raggi drops by Norman’s Rare Guitars – and ends up playing one of the first Fender Strats ever produced
The Italian guitarist headed to the store following his LA Forum performance – and found time for a killer jam of Jimi Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower with Michael Lemmo
“Tom Murphy’s magnum opus”: Gibson has handed the Murphy Lab man its stockpile of Brazilian rosewood for these ultra-exclusive, $20k Les Paul ’Burst reissues
The models promise the ultimate showcase of the firm’s craftsmanship in 2023 – and, in the process, pay tribute to Gibson’s prized luthier
“The whole idea of being a great guitar player is nobody can do you like you… Mean Street is the perfect storm of why people don't f**k with Edward Van Halen”: Nuno Bettencourt explains why you’ve gotta give Joe Satriani “a pass”
The Extreme guitarist explains the key to nailing EVH’s tricky intro and says its time to cut Satch some slack
“Jim Root 182”: The Fender Tom DeLonge Stratocaster is getting a (nearly) all-black metal makeover for Black Friday – but you’ll have to be quick to get one
The highly limited blacked-out blink-182 instruments go on sale this Friday (November 24)
“Our Epiphone and Gibson Custom Shop teams are continually collaborating”: Gibson’s Mat Koehler confirms open-book headstock will roll out on more Epiphone models
The much-talked about Gibson-aping headstock will feature on the brand’s new top-tier Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop builds
“I want to honor the sound, but I don't want to lose myself”: Joe Satriani says he’s coming to terms with the fact that he doesn't sound like Eddie Van Halen
The guitar icon has been drafted in to take on EVH parts alongside Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony in the Best of All Worlds tour – and compares the challenge to taking on Ritchie Blackmore’s parts on tour with Deep Purple in the early-’90s
“I never thought that my signature would be on anything – never mind Fenders, Gibsons, and Martins, they're the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost of guitars”: Mark Knopfler is selling off 120 guitars, including his Money For Nothing Les Paul
See the Scottish guitar great talk through highlights of his immense collection of signature models, custom builds and guitars used on Dire Straits’ most iconic tracks
“An amazing opportunity for more players to experience the spirit of Greeny”: The Epiphone Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ Les Paul is finally here – complete with a Gibson headstock and a price tag to match
The most anticipated Epiphone model in its history hails the arrival of a new era of Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop models
