Features

Straight out of West Georgia with stories to tell and songs to sing, Willis tells us why he the time is now for acoustic blues and how the British Invasion brought good and bad for the art form

We put Fender’s two headphone amps for guitar in a room together to duke it out

If the perfect tone doesn't exist then why are we still search for it? As Austin powerhouse Ian Moore sees it, "the journey is the destination"

During Cream's late '60s heyday, and again during their brief reunion in 2005, drummer Ginger Baker felt that both his – and even Eric Clapton's – contributions were often drowned out by bandmate Jack Bruce's

Oakley added a Hagstrom Bi-Sonic pickup to his 1972 Jazz Bass, giving him a total of three pickups and five control knobs

Monstrous tones (and a massive signal chain) are just part of Chris Wolstenholme’s bass evolution with Muse

A close connection with John Lennon's musical arranger put Gordon Edwards in the studio for 1973’s Mind Games

With The Moon and the Melodies remastered and reissued, the architect of the lushest sounds committed to tape reflects on the effects experimentation and accidental magic of the quintessential 4AD band

The French black metal institution has always let the light in, embracing shoegaze and post-rock experimentalism. Les Chants de l’Aurore is the sound of Neige on the other side of writer’s block, answering “the magic” and finding solace in sound

We've played epic affordable six-strings from Epiphone, Taylor, Fender, Yamaha and more – read on for our best beginner acoustic guitar recommendations and watch our video demos

Getting over her thoughts of quitting, Young has developed a glitchy sound “like a dying battery,” and moved away from technique-focused shredding to dream pop. However, don’t write off her math rock days just yet...

How the father of slap bass drove the world’s grooviest band

Sanders might be one of death metal's most ferocious and technical players but he tells us you're never too good to stop improving, and a lesson from one of his students transformed his technique, making it more vicious and controlled than ever

Once upon a time, Kotzen went into Home Depot and made this bespoke ’board for his effects, but with a little help from Andrew Barta, it is now a very pro all-enclosed unit, and it's pretty much everything he needs

The Tetrarch shredder discusses the challenge she set Jackson in designing her own Pro Series model, securing nu-metal tones and blasting out uncomfortable-sounding solos

The ’70s gets a bad rep from some guitarists but it's too easy to say this was a bad time for Gibson and Fender and that's the story. There were some real treasures and technological breakthroughs

Introducing Frederico and Nicolò Vese, two brothers who traffic in progressive djent, elevator jazz and mercury-dripping guitar and bass runs

The Canadian-born virtuoso discusses the rise and fall of the Pat Travers Band, witnessing the U.K. punk revolution and the riotous roots of Snortin’ Whiskey

The former David Bowie guitarist talks Young Americans, Station to Station and the Berlin Trilogy, plus recording (and co-writing) Fame with John Lennon

The Strat-wielder’s religious moment with Hendrix’s Hey Joe compelled him to spend all his money on a pawn shop guitar… which led to him performing for Bill Clinton, guesting with B.B. King, working with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble and much more