“I grabbed a diaper and shoved it under the strings near the bridge”: How Tony Levin came up with his muted bass tone on Peter Gabriel's Don't Give Up By Nick Wells published 30 September 23 Peter Gabriel called it the “super wonder nappy sound”
“It sounds like Lindsey Buckingham meets The Clash!” That time Duff McKagan played bass for the Manic Street Preachers By Nick Wells published 29 September 23 Nicky Wire on working with Duff and why Guns N’ Roses are the best band ever
“Every guitarist should be in search of their toothpaste tone!” Larkin Poe explain how good guitar tone can make your playing better By Amit Sharma published 29 September 23 Roots rock sister duo Megan and Rebecca Lovell on what makes drive pedals essential for shaping your soloing, why even blues players shouldn’t dismiss amp modelers – and what toothpaste tone actually is…
Are your drive pedals sounding the best they could? Here are 19 ways to get more from your overdrives, distortions and fuzzes – and make them work with your rig By Chris Bird published 29 September 23 Whether you’re using overdrive, distortion, boost or fuzz, there are plenty of ways you can tweak your setup for maximum tone
“Rick Rubin is one of the most inspirational guitar players of my childhood. It’s a curveball, isn’t it?!” Justin Hawkins names the 14 guitarists who shaped his sound By Ellie Rogers published 29 September 23 The Darkness frontman turned YouTube personality on why Keith Richards’ playing is underrated, what makes Eddie Van Halen’s solo blueprint so spectacular, and why guitarists who “make you feel like you want to grab a guitar and do it” are more important than any virtuoso
“I think a bass solo can be as exciting as a guitar solo – if not more”: Listen to John Entwistle’s live bass solo on The Who’s 5:15 By Nick Wells published 28 September 23 John Entwistle proves why bass solos aren't always a bad idea
10 times an iconic band swapped out their guitarist for a fresh face By Andrew Daly published 28 September 23 These star players swooped in to occupy a vacant guitarist spot – sometimes it made the lineup better, sometimes it saved the band entirely…
Types of guitar pickups explained: learn the difference between single coils, humbuckers, P-90s and active designs By Chris Bird published 28 September 23 If the wood is the soul of the electric guitar, the pickups are the brains of the operation. We walk through the most common pickup styles and what they mean for electric guitar tone
8 ways to get more from your guitar amp By Amit Sharma published 27 September 23 How to find new sounds and rekindle your love affair with your amp
“Selective picking, to me, is drumming on guitar. Tosin Abasi brought this technique to the world and it made me excited”: Prog-metal visionary Pomegranate Tiger was ahead of his time. Now he’s tackling cutting-edge technique and AI head-on By Gregory Adams published 27 September 23 Eight years since the release of his last album, Martin Andres reveals what he learned from playing with Oni, Mark Morton and Gojira, how he discovered selective picking before it went mainstream, and why he’s creating an AI version of his musical self
Not sure what all those guitar tone buzz words mean? Get the lowdown with our jargon-buster By Chris Bird published 27 September 23 Fuzz this, intonation that – life can be confusing for the beginner player. This handy glossary explains what some of the most commonly heard terms mean
Best looper pedals 2023: go it alone with the greatest loop pedals for practice, live performance and jamming By Alex Lynham last updated 26 September 23 Whether you're writing songs or woodshedding solos, using a loop pedal will make you a better guitarist – these are the best looper pedals from Boss, TC Electronic, Line 6 and more
Best Christmas gifts for guitar players 2023: the ultimate festive gift guide for guitarists By Daryl Robertson last updated 26 September 23 Treat them right with our pick of the 46 must-have guitar items, essential accessories, clever gadgets and instruments for every budget
“Know your history. But don’t be cliché and try to do what the guys in Chicago did in the ’60s. We don’t need more of that”: Josh Smith is on a mission to save the blues – he names 10 guitarists who are pushing the genre forward By Andrew Daly published 26 September 23 The defender of the blues faith names the players bucking the clichés and preventing the genre going stale, and explains why anyone who says Joe Bonamassa can't play the blues is “full of s**t”
How to set up your electric guitar – improve your guitar’s tone and playability with this step-by-step guide By Stuart Williams published 26 September 23 How to set your intonation and pickup height, keep your guitar in tune and get it playing better than ever
“I'd never heard somebody play the bass like that”: How Don Blackman’s 1982 classic album inspired a young Marcus Miller By Chris Jisi published 25 September 23 The session ace-turned-solo artist recalls his earliest bass hero, and the swung-funk bassline on Don Blackman’s Heart’s Desire
“Some people equate shred with speed, but that's narrow-minded. The haters will hate because they can't do it themselves”: With Shrapnel Records, Mike Varney invented the technical guitar scene. He reflects on his legacy and the virtuosos of today By Andrew Daly published 25 September 23 The technical guitar impresario reveals his thoughts on the now-dirty word status of 'shred', what he's always looked for in guitar players, and his favorite guitar brand (hint: it's probably not one you'd expect)
“We know amps and guitars are important, but your own DNA is bigger than that”: Nuno Bettencourt on why, when it comes to tone, your personality always comes first By Amit Sharma published 25 September 23 The Extreme guitarist drops some tone wisdom and explains why you should be looking for a rig that gets out of your way and lets you be you
Unhappy with your electric guitar sound? Start with these 5 tone tips before you try anything else By Chris Bird, Stuart Williams published 25 September 23 Because great tone begins with getting the fundamentals right, from picks and strings through to pedals
“Hearing Jaco Pastorius changed my life. I took the frets out of my first bass because of Jaco! He could make you like the bass, whether you liked it or not”: Victor Wooten names 10 bassists who shaped his sound By Amit Sharma published 24 September 23 One of the bass guitar’s all-time greats on how Béla Fleck got him into Paul McCartney, the time Stanley Clarke sent him a broken bass string, and why Marcus Miller is “so good, he can play on something and you won’t know it’s him”
