Latest articles by Michael Astley-Brown
Kiki Wong announced as new Smashing Pumpkins guitarist after 10,000 applications
The popular Instagram guitarist will tour the world with the alt-rock legends from June 2024
I played the Tom DeLonge Starcaster – it’s given one of Fender’s most unpopular guitars a new lease of life
blink-182 taught me how to play the electric guitar 20 years ago, but DeLonge’s long-awaited signature model is no throwback – it might just herald a bright future for the unloved semi-hollow
Wrestling with noisy pedals? One simple trick made my pedalboard whisper-quiet – and it didn’t cost me a thing
Forget buying a noise suppressor – sometimes all your rig needs is some TLC
“Is it just me, or is that Stone Gossard and/or Mike McCready doing The Gojira Pick Scrape™?” March 2024 Guitar World editors’ picks
From indie folk, full-throttle blues rock and flamenco-meets-fusion to the guitar crossover episode you never knew you needed – here are our standout guitar tracks from the past 30 days
“One small stomp for man… one giant leap for chorus, delays and reverbs”: Zoom updates one of the best-value multi-FX on the market with the MS-70CDR+ MultiStomp
The original MS-70CDR was a cult classic and a shoegazer’s best friend – and for $149, the new and improved pedal adds a host of long-requested features
“There’s a different dynamic to distorted slide playing – a fully distorted slide guitar is an incredibly noisy beast”: Meet the guitarist fusing Western slide and black metal – with devastating results
Wayfarer are the self-proclaimed “pre-eminent Western American metal band”, and the roots-infused style of guitarist Joe Strong-Truscelli is integral to their radical fusion. He reveals the unique challenges of playing slide over high-gain metal and why Gilmour is his new guitar god
“It’s one of Boss’ most eagerly anticipated pedals ever – but is this featured-packed reverb worth the wait?” Boss RV-200 Reverb review
The long-awaited twin-footswitch reverb pedal has taken the flagship RV-500 format and downsized it to pedalboard-friendly proportions, all while adding an all-new Arpverb algorithm
“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
“We are so proud to have him in our Gibson family. From a little band called Queen…” Brian May is now working with Gibson – but what does it mean for the Red Special?
The Queen legend accompanied his old friend Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page at the opening of the Gibson Garage London – and we have our theories as to why
NAMM 2024: the 10 biggest things we discovered at this year's show
From a new wave of star-studded semi-hollow signature guitars, to the AI invasion, these are the things we saw, heard, and thought at the music-making event of the year
NAMM 2024: “The aim was to be as tonally versatile as possible”: Rabea Massaad on the origins of his long-awaited Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre design – and the crucial refinement that took the most tweaking
An newly-contoured Sabre body and a set of Bare Knuckle Silos headline the eagerly anticipated instrument, which made its official debut at NAMM 2024
NAMM 2024 live: this year’s biggest guitar news as it happens
Everything you need to know direct from the show floor at the world’s no. 1 guitar gear show
NAMM 2024: all the latest guitar news, rumors and predictions from the greatest gear show on Earth
The guitar, amp and pedal news you need to know about, all in one place
NAMM 2024: Can a Yamaha Pacifica ever be worth $2,000? We played the new Pacifica Professional to find out
Forget the name: there’s a lot more to Yamaha’s new flagship than you might think, including some genuine industry firsts
“One of the most requested models in Epiphone's history”: The Epiphone Dave Grohl DG-335 signature exists – and we’ve played it
The Foo Fighters man’s affordable signature broke cover at Gibson’s pre-NAMM preview event
“What bass would Neo play? An upright bass. He’s going to want to play some jazz. With Morpheus on drums. We’ll be a power trio with Agent Smith on keys”: We interviewed Keanu Reeves about bass guitar – and it was a musical conversation unlike any other
He’s one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but Keanu Reeves has had a lifelong love affair with the bass guitar. In an exclusive interview, he opens up about his weed-fueled Bill & Ted bass duels, why he doesn’t consider himself worthy of a Fender signature model, and what he really learned from Flea in that one-on-one lesson
“There are 8 people working full-time to review each and every one”: The Smashing Pumpkins receive 10,000 submissions for new guitarist role
The alt-rock icons have recruited an entire team to review every single application
Black Keys, Black Crowes and the next in line for Mastodon’s mind-expanding metal crown: this week’s essential guitar tracks
The must-hear licks, riffs, solos and six-string moments from BIG|BRAVE, Bring Me The Horizon, Dead Poet Society, Bodega, Slift, Waxahatchee, and more
“Alex Winter and I would have two-bass jams when we made Bill & Ted – I won’t say there wasn’t any weed involved…” Keanu Reeves recalls his Wyld bass duels with his excellent co-star
Bill & Ted may have been guitar shredders, but Reeves and Winter are bassists in real life. And their off-set jams sounded like a lot of fun…
The Smashing Pumpkins are looking for a new guitarist – anyone can apply, but securing the position won’t be easy. Here are 5 things you need to nail to get the gig
Reckon you’ve got what it takes to play alongside Billy Corgan and James Iha? It will take much more than just learning the songs
“It’s the only delay that can make those OK Computer sounds”: Ed O’Brien explains why one BOSS pedal was integral to Radiohead’s landmark ’90s albums
The Bends and OK Computer wouldn’t sound the same without the BOSS DD-5 – and Radiohead’s resident effects expert is already eyeing up some newly launched delays for the band’s next outing
Alien rhythms, god-level chops and samurai guitar duels: these are the best guitar albums of 2023
Guitar World staff and readers reflect on the finest fretwork captured on record this year
“At its best, the solo can tell a story, give us a sense of spectacle, and even offer a window into a player’s soul”: These are the best guitar solos of 2023
Guitar World staff and readers choose the outstanding lead efforts of the year – including “this decades's Eruption”
