Sam Roche
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
Latest articles by Sam Roche
Robert Fripp and Toyah are on their usual ridiculous form in this bizarre cover of Kiss's I Was Made For Lovin' You
By Sam Roche published
Watch the ever-intriguing husband-and-wife duo tackle one of the rock institution's biggest hits
Burls Art builds guitar out of 1,000 aluminum cans – and the result is insane
By Sam Roche published
The fully functioning six-string is what happens when you combine piles of cans collected from barbecues and camping trips with a 1,800 degree propane furnace
From “upside-down Hendrix licks” to sweetly subversive Whammy solos: here are this week's essential guitar tracks
By Michael Astley-Brown, Jackson Maxwell, Matt Owen, Sam Roche published
Start your 'best of 2023' playlists with smoldering new tunes from boygenius, Arielle, The National, Fall Out Boy, Noel Gallagher, Malina Moye, Screaming Females, Erase Theory and more
Metal-loving couple exchange Gibson Explorers instead of rings at wedding
By Sam Roche published
Madi Danger says she and her husband, Jay Aspen, were “almost more excited” to receive the Explorers than to get married
YouTube influencers join forces to launch new '80s-inspired guitar company
By Sam Roche published
Founded by The Tone King and Phillip McKnight, The Badlands Guitar Company has announced its first electric guitar, the eye-popping GX1
Justin Norvell says Fender will be “full steam in the digital amps and effects space” in 2023
By Sam Roche published
The Big F's Vice President of Products says “most of the innovation and the future of amplification” lies in the digital realm
YouTuber plays 86 Meshuggah riffs in one take
By Sam Roche published
In a truly Herculean undertaking, Greg Desmurs plays back-to-back tracks spanning the Swedish extreme metal outfit's entire discography without taking a single break
How Brian May broke a golden guitar recording rule during the tracking of Queen's debut album
By Sam Roche published
The guitarist talks disrupting conventional approaches to recording in the early '70s in a new interview with Total Guitar
Steve Vai reunited with Yankee Rose “Swiss Cheese” guitar after 36 years
By Sam Roche published
Vai played the mighty unusual guitar during the video shoot for the 1986 David Lee Roth single, but it was stolen during tour rehearsals shortly afterwards
Watch Tommy Emmanuel pay tribute to Jeff Beck with a heartfelt acoustic fingerstyle performance of Cause We've Ended As Lovers
By Sam Roche published
The Australian acoustic maestro honored the late guitar legend during his recent set at Kentucky's Lexington Opera House
From Periphery's jazz turn to Måneskin's team-up with Tom Morello: here are this week's essential guitar tracks
By Matt Owen, Michael Astley-Brown, Sam Roche, Jackson Maxwell published
Killer six-string tracks to get the year started by Black Stone Cherry, Enter Shikari, Sleep Token, Etta Marcus, Daughter, The Hold Steady, H.C. McEntire and more
Brian May pays tribute to Jeff Beck: “He was so unique, and so influential on every guitarist I've ever met in my life”
By Sam Roche published
The Queen guitarist praised “one of the greatest guitar geniuses the world has ever seen” in a heartfelt video on social media – and named the Beck song he considers “possibly the most beautiful bit of guitar music ever recorded”
Guitarist switches the solos of Eagles' Hotel California and Megadeth's Tornado of Souls – and the results are insane
By Sam Roche published
YouTuber Bradley Hall is at it again, picking apart classic guitar tracks and stitching them back together to surprisingly successful effect
Two previously unreleased Frank Zappa concerts from 1980 set for release later this year
By Sam Roche published
Shows recorded at New York's Mudd Club and Munich's Olympiahalle will feature on the sprawling new release, which includes an essay by Steve Vai
PRS launches new Dustie Waring signature guitar, updates Mark Holcomb and Zach Myers SE models
By Sam Roche published
The Between the Buried and Me man adds a hardtail model to his lineup of six-strings, Holcomb's SE gets new modeling amp-friendly pickups and a fresh colorway, and Myers' signature now sports an updated scale length
H.E.R. teams up with Fender for striking limited-edition Blue Marlin version of her signature Stratocaster
By Sam Roche published
Limited to 300 units worldwide, the six-string's eye-catching finish is inspired by fishing trips the guitarist took with her father as a child
Iggy Pop explains why he prefers his albums to sound “rough”: “I like Link Wray a lot better than Yngwie Malmsteen, put it that way”
By Sam Roche published
The punk rock icon has discussed his 19th album, the Andrew Watt-produced Every Loser, which features guest appearances from Josh Klinghoffer, Chad Smith and the late Taylor Hawkins
Guitarist reworks the entirety of Iron Maiden's Powerslave for nylon-string acoustic guitar
By Sam Roche published
Thomas Zwijsen gave the acoustic treatment to Maiden's latest album, Senjutsu, last year. Now, he dives deeper into the band's catalog
Florida man serves up uber-patriotic, shred-heavy rendition of the national anthem at Jaguars vs Titans game
By Sam Roche published
Local Jacksonville guitarist Paul Wane melted thousands of faces with his stars-and-stripes-themed Telecaster at the TIAA Bank Field on Saturday night
A Kramer Triax, one of the most bizarre guitar designs ever conceived, has been listed for sale on Reverb
By Sam Roche published
Designed by Floyd Rose, the Star Trek-inspired axe was initially debuted at NAMM in 1986, and was subsequently put on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Iron Maiden honored by the UK's Royal Mail with a new range of postage stamps
By Sam Roche published
The metal icons have become the fifth music act to be featured in a limited-edition run of Royal Mail stamps, after the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen and the Rolling Stones
Maxi Jazz, frontman of British dance legends Faithless, dies aged 65
By Sam Roche published
Bandmate Sister Bliss confirms the frontman and guitarist died “peacefully in his sleep” at his South London home on Friday night
Solar Guitars unveils the AB2.6 series, bringing bolt-on builds and a choice of fixed, Floyd Rose and EverTune bridges
By Sam Roche published
Comprising six models in total, the drop also offers single and dual humbucker pickup configurations
Brian Johnson “told not to” answer questions about the future of AC/DC, as it's the band's “official line”
By Sam Roche published
The band's frontman was tight-lipped when recently asked by Eddie Trunk about future live shows and a followup to 2020's Power Up
Journey's Neal Schon files cease-and-desist over bandmate Jonathan Cain's Don't Stop Believin' performance at Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort
By Sam Roche published
“Cain should not be capitalising on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band,” the letter reads
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