Latest articles by Phil Weller
That time a 14-year-old Eric Gales won a battle of the bands competition that got him signed
It was a gig that changed Gales’ life forever
The playing advice Joe Bonamassa got from Leslie West – and why it’s finally paying off
Three decades later, Bonamassa is taking West’s pointers on board – and they’re making a difference
Todd Rundgren’s love affair with Clapton’s Fool SG, and how he moved on after selling it
He rescued it from peeling-paint hell, restored it after the headstock snapped off, but was never fully happy with the psychedelic Gibson. Then a fan offered a happily-ever-after solution
Kirk Hammett’s mystery SG from Back to the Beginning was built by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian
The one-of-a-kind metallic silver axe was used to cover a Sabbath classic and is being sold to raise funds for Gibson Gives
Tony Iommi reflects on Sabbath’s final performance – and reveals the songs they dropped from the set
Concerns about the show’s scheduling and drummer Bill Ward’s first Sabbath gig in 20 years cut Sabbath’s final set to just four songs. Iommi says there was a couple more in the tank
Why session legend Tim Pierce never joined Bon Jovi
Pierce helped record a Bon Jovi classic but a few considerations made him unsuitable for the gig
How Norman Harris helped reunite a Beatle with his long-lost Les Paul
The Lucy Les Paul was gifted to Harrison by Eric Clapton and used on a score of iconic recordings. When it was stolen, Harris came to his rescue
10-year-old guitarist nails Are You Gonna Go May Way during America’s Got Talent – on a PRS that’s almost as tall as he is
Bay Melnick Virgolino’s PRS might make him look tiny, but the sounds he gets out of it are huge
This ambitious pedal uses AI to recreate the guitar tones from any song you feed it
Show the OnePedal a song and it’ll steal its tonal secrets, its developers say
PRS gives its celebrated NF 53 the SE treatment – tabling a bid for the best sub-$1k electric of 2025
The workhorse six-string is loaded with the firm’s innovative Narrowfield pickups and a bunch of premium specs – and it’s already received rave reviews
Justin Hawkins on why he’s not convinced by alternate tunings
Hawkins believes that E standard offers plenty of opportunity for expression
ESP LTD RZK-III OW review
Rammstein’s riffer-in-chief Richard ZK returns with his third signature guitar, marking a departure from its predecessors with an arsenal of fun features
Joe Bonamassa wraps his Rory Gallagher tribute shows with a stunning cover of As The Crow Flies
The gorgeous ancient relic was made famous by Gallagher’s take on the Tony Joe White song on his 1974 live album, Irish Tour
Nuno Bettencourt was spotted playing a mystery guitar at Back to the Beginning – is he about to launch his own guitar brand?
Bettencourt took to the stage for the historic event with a Washburn-esque build that flashed a new ‘Nuno’ logo on the headstock – and we have some questions
The ‘metal Yardbirds’ assemble at Back to the Beginning
K.K. Downing, Rudy Sarzo and Danny Carey joined the trio to perform Judas Priest and Black Sabbath cuts
DiMarzio is determined to make you like the Tele neck pickup position with its new Muscle T set
The Muscle T aims to add everything Tele pickups lack
Gibson steps up the search for the lost Back to the Future guitar – and its discovery hinges on one key spec
The guitar played by Michael J. Fox for the film’s famous school dance scene has been missing for 40 years – and Gibson is determined to track it down
Gibson spent years trying to convince Warren Haynes to work on a signature guitar – this is what changed his mind
His signature Les Paul steps away from his usual spec choices, and with good reason
Herman Li on how Guitar Hero helped make guitar solos cool again – and why grunge killing off the shred scene wasn’t a bad thing
Guitar cultures come and go, and though Li was instrumental in putting shred back on the menu, he says the grunge scene was “great” for this one reason
Liam Gallagher’s son thinks guitar music is only now making a return
Gene Gallagher, of indie band Villanelle, says a new era of rock music is here
Ibanez has just dropped fresh signature guitars for 3 of its biggest artists – but a new Premium Series has stolen their spotlight
New high-end RGA Premium models have been launched alongside updated Joe Satriani, Lari Basilio and Josh Smith signatures
Dweezil Zappa devises the ultimate tube amp versus modeler test – using both the shred an Eddie Van Halen classic
Zappa put two distinct setups to the test to see if listeners could truly tell the difference between tube amps and their digital counterparts
Green Day invite fan on stage to play Good Riddance – but he trolls them with Wonderwall instead
One young fan has taken the “Anyway, here’s Wonderwall” meme to extreme measures
