Best Christmas gifts for guitar players 2023: the ultimate festive gift guide for guitarists By Daryl Robertson last updated 7 December 23 Treat them right with our pick of the 46 must-have guitar items, essential accessories, clever gadgets and instruments for every budget
Best compressor pedals 2023: tame your tone's dynamics with compression By Jonathan Horsley last updated 7 December 23 With great options from Boss, Keeley, MXR, and more, there has never been a better time to add a comp pedal to your 'board
“There was no way I was shredding like them – I had to find my space in their universe”: Meet Shubh Saran, the shred chameleon whose jams with Jakub Zytecki and Mark Holcomb helped him find his voice – and left Plini asking, “What the f**k is happening?” By Phil Weller published 7 December 23 Armed with a Fender John Mayer Strat and a host of diverse musical projects, Saran’s guitar approach draws from blink-182 and Allan Holdsworth in equal measure – and his unique solos have blown his shred peers’ minds
Without a truss rod, your guitar would be a lot harder to play – here's everything you need to know, from the history of the truss rod to how to adjust it safely By Huw Price published 7 December 23 We have Gibson's Thaddeus "Ted" McHugh to thank for truss rods, and a lot to be thankful for. They made the instrument ready for the steel-string era, more playable and more durable – and adjusting them isn't as scary as you might think
“Even if there are only a few sounds, I try to play in a way that directly expresses my feelings and touches our hearts”: Boris guitarist Wata is an experimental rock legend – and three decades on, her playing is still impossible to pigeonhole By Andrew Daly published 7 December 23 Wata reveals what inspired the Japanese noise-rock icons to team up with NYC industrial metallers Uniform for an album rich in atmosphere and ambiguity – and how the three guitarists find their own space in the mix
“Jimmy sat there for the whole two hours then waited until after the show before he asked me, ‘How did you find out how to make my sound?’” Meet Mr. Jimmy, the Japanese kimono salesman who has dedicated his life to becoming Jimmy Page By Joe Matera published 6 December 23 This is the story of Akio Sakurai, aka Mr. Jimmy, and his lifelong quest to replicate Jimmy Page’s guitar style and tone, and perform Led Zeppelin just as Page did back in the day – and, eventually, in front of the man himself
10 late ‘90s nu metal albums that don’t suck By Andrew Daly published 6 December 23 Big shorts, seven-string guitars, hip-hop beats and a full workout of the quiet/loud dynamic guaranteed
“I had to stop buying records. I stopped being a fan of music – I felt that was affecting my individuality and my style”: SSD were hardcore legends, then Al Barile sold his guitar gear to buy a jet ski. Here’s how he found his way back to his Gibson SG By Gregory Adams published 6 December 23 He may have been schooled on AC/DC, Van Halen and classical guitar, but Al Barile attacked his instrument with a vicious physicality inspired by his love of hockey. He looks back on his love-hate relationship with music – and the ‘80s SG he snapped after performing a jump-kick at CBGB’s
“Most people think three guitarists is a lot, but to me, it’s the minimum – it sounds way thicker and heavier”: Meet Hotline TNT, the Jack White-approved shoegaze band who don’t like pedals By Ellie Rogers published 6 December 23 Think shoegaze is all reverb, delay, fuzz? Well, there's another sonic path, and Hotline TNT are taking it with three guitarists. Will Anderson unpacks the approach behind their acclaimed noise-pop sound
“We had to perform 700 songs in the space of five weeks, but we had to learn 1,200. I didn’t sleep for seven weeks”: Being a guitarist on TV is no walk in the park. Just ask The Voice and The Masked Singer six-stringer Dan Maher By Gregory Adams published 6 December 23 The seasoned session guitarist has played with Rita Ora and Adam Lambert, and tackled an impossible number of songs for Australia’s premier primetime TV shows. Maher explains what it’s like to accompany an avocado, why playing AC/DC made him more nervous than anything else, and that time he got a FaceTime call in the middle of a live show… and couldn‘t read his charts
Best acoustic guitars for beginners 2023: our pick of easy acoustic strummers for new players By Chris Corfield last updated 6 December 23 The best beginner acoustic guitars, featuring epic affordable six strings from Epiphone, Taylor, Fender, Yamaha and more
“I’m actually surprised we’re that well-remembered. I’m just a normal musician who doesn’t really think about the fame side of it”: In his final interview, Denny Laine looks back on the breakthrough success and enduring legacy of Paul McCartney and Wings By Bill DeMain last updated 6 December 23 1973 was the year Paul McCartney’s ragtag group, Wings, first scored Beatles-sized success. As late guitarist Denny Laine recalled, they were no overnight success
“The guitar is such an interesting instrument; it can be a sound palette, create harmonies and be presented in endless ways”: Trevor Rabin breaks down the tales and tools behind some of his greatest guitar highlights By Andrew Daly published 5 December 23 The six-string wizard (and songwriter) behind Owner of a Lonely Heart shares the stories behind six classic Yes tracks and six tracks from his masterful new album, Rio
Jason Becker hailed his “stunning technique and explosive guitar tone” – now Jien Takahashi is building a unique brand of shred shaped by Ritchie Blackmore, Morbid Angel and a quest to prove “a guitar solo can be as persuasive as a singer's voice” By Andrew Daly published 5 December 23 The rising Japanese virtuoso has an undying love for the shred heroics of Becker and Marty Friedman, but also uses his Ibanez, PRS and occasionally his $50 Legend Strat copy to traverse much wider melodic ground
“I tend to brutalize electric guitars, so anything I have in my personal stash stays away from the live stage these days”: John Cale opens up about AI, amp exploration and the emotional potential of effects By Bruce Fagerstrom published 5 December 23 The Velvet Underground co-founder returns with Mercy, a new solo album featuring Weyes Blood, Actress and Animal Collective – and Cale's typically restless search for new sounds
“McCartney was fantastic. Mind you, I tried one of those Hofner basses and I thought it was crap”: Judas Priest’s heavy metal veteran Ian Hill picks his top 5 bass albums By Joel McIver published 5 December 23 From the Beatles to the Bluesbreakers, we asked Ian Hill to name five albums that helped him along the righteous path to metal glory with Judas Priest
“I thought to myself, ‘Nobody’s done anything with that for at least 25 years. It looks like a piece of medieval torture instrumentation’”: How G7th revolutionized the guitar capo By David Mead published 5 December 23 The British company has sought to give the humble capo a player-friendly future. As with many great ideas, it evolved from a simple question that designer Nick Campling asked himself while playing an acoustic guitar…
Best travel guitars 2023: top acoustic and electric travel guitars for portability and performance By Rob Laing last updated 5 December 23 Top travel guitar choices and buying advice for musicians on the move
“The ‘tone stars’ of tomorrow are going to be the ones who can do the most creative programming”: Why digital modeling and AI will be more important than big-name players in shaping the future of guitar tone By Justin Sandercoe published 5 December 23 Justin Sandercoe is an old-school tube lover, but he's exploring both sides of the tone universe, analog and digital – and he's excited about whatever tonal evolution comes our way
“Paul McCartney was one of my favorite bass players. I didn’t do him justice”: Paying tribute to the Beatles turned out to be a humbling experience for Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn By Nick Wells published 4 December 23 As a member of Booker T. and the MGs, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn cut an instrumental version of the Beatles’ Abbey Road. But the experience wasn't all that satisfying...
