“Barry was yelling at me, ‘Play!’ He could tell I was nervous”: How Barry Johnson 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”
“It was considered a no-no to chain two Fuzz-Tones together. But I saw Hendrix chain five of them!” Billy Gibbons remembers opening for Jimi Hendrix with his pre-ZZ Top band the Moving Sidewalks By Jackson Maxwell published 22 September 23 Before the long beards, sold-out arenas, spinning fur guitars and MTV stardom, Billy Gibbons cut his teeth in a psychedelic group called the Moving Sidewalks, who opened for – among other A-tier rock acts – one James Marshall Hendrix...
“How far can we push the prog, without sounding like it’s a cliché of a prog album?”: Nothing But Thieves are one of the UK’s breakout guitar bands – but their tonal tastes are anything but conventional By Jenna Scaramanga published 22 September 23 On concept album Dead Club City, Nothing But Thieves not only ditched the amps, but the speaker sims as well. Dominic Craik and Joe Langridge-Brown share their love of “honky” tones, stacking Queen-esque harmony guitars and how Dave Grohl shaped the sound of the record
“Shredding over the top is what all prog-metal does – we have a Pink Floyd approach to lead rather than John Petrucci”: Nobody djents like TesseracT – and two decades in, the tech-metal heroes are making their most mind-bendingly intricate riffs yet By Ellie Rogers published 22 September 23 Influential UK seven-stringers Acle Kahney and James Monteith on the secret to mastering their shape-shifting time signatures, recording their most challenging riffs and why the Quad Cortex is their new amp modeler of choice
“You played on Midnight Train to Georgia? You don’t need no other credits!” How Bob Babbitt bolstered a ‘70s soul classic with a touch of James Jamerson By Chris Jisi published 22 September 23 A graduate of “Motown Funk University,” Babbitt said that he took from James Jamerson, but rightly so: “he was the original”
“If Greeny was broccoli then Sunny is mango”: Kirk Hammett is selling a 1960 Gibson Les Paul that ranks among the finest ever made – he reveals how it compares to his most famous ’Burst By Matt Parker published 21 September 23 Fame, flame and punchy tone – meet the ’Burst that has it all. And it’s yours for $500,000...
“It’s all about what sounds cool… Not theoretically what you’re supposed to do”: How guitarists from Drug Church, Militarie Gun and Scowl are leading the melodic movement in hardcore punk By Jim Beaugez published 21 September 23 Nick Cogan of Drug Church and Militarie Gun joins Malachi Greene of Scowl to share the state of play in U.S. hardcore, a formerly rules-based art form that is now a free for all creatively
“I started with Strats, but then I got hooked on Les Pauls. I like that I have to pick a fight with them when I'm playing”: How Leilani Kilgore went from aspiring punk player to college dropout playing searing blues-rock for a living By Andrew Daly published 21 September 23 Leilani Kilgore's dream was to ring out power chords on the Warped Tour. Then she studied the blues greats and started to “take the guitar seriously… as a means of conversation rather than just shouting”
From the Bat Strat to Arm the Homeless and the Dean from Hell: 10 all-star guitars that defined the ’90s By Andrew Daly published 20 September 23 As hair-metal met its end and the alt-rock explosion reinvented guitar anew, a fresh breed of electric guitars were getting plastered on bedroom walls
“I wanted to play like Johnny Marr, but I lacked the ability – or was too lazy. So we ended up with these big, beautiful drones”: Slowdive are one of shoegaze's most important bands – here's how they shaped a genre (and the pedal market) By Andrew Daly published 20 September 23 Their tones are so revered, entire pedals are dedicated to replicating their 1994 opus, Souvlaki. Slowdive's soundscaping guitarist Christian Savill reveals how unwanted stompboxes from local metal bands developed the band's groundbreaking sound, and how they avoided “being too much like My Bloody Valentine”
Have you injured yourself playing guitar? New study reveals that musculoskeletal injuries are not related to bad technique – but sadly might be unavoidable By Adam Kovac published 19 September 23 The research proves that shredding can make your wrists and shoulders go ouchie, but is there anything we can do to prevent injury?
“Steve Vai is phenomenal – I’m not sure he gets the credit that he should”: Aerosmith’s Joe Perry names 8 guitarists who shaped his sound By Andrew Daly published 19 September 23 As the rock ’n’ roll legends gear up for their farewell tour, Perry names the trailblazers who inspired his trademark rock guitar swagger: “There are some wizards on YouTube that are incredible, but these guys are the ones that started it all”
“Kim invited me to join and asked, ‘What do you want to play?’ I said lead guitar – frankly, I was surprised she said yes”: Kelley Deal couldn’t play guitar when she joined the Breeders. A year later, she recorded a ’90s alt-rock masterpiece By Andrew Daly published 19 September 23 30 years ago, the Breeders’ Last Splash would become a monster hit for former Pixies bassist Kim Deal and her sister Kelley. But at the outset of its recording, Kelley was still honing her guitar skills. She explains how Led Zeppelin set her on the six-string path and why she's no fan of the Fender Twin
“My original ’60 Stratocaster will always sound the best. This one is right next to the best”: Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready on why he’s playing his more affordable signature guitar live, covering Eruption and embracing digital amps By Michael Astley-Brown published 18 September 23 Now onto his second signature Fender, grunge’s answer to Stevie Ray Vaughan reflects on his greatest Stratocaster moment, how Eddie Van Halen and Chris Cornell inspired his guitar playing, and why you should be excited for the next Pearl Jam album – oh, and his rock opera about the Seattle scene
“Tone is so important to me. Whenever I go to a show and there are good guitar sounds, I soak it in”: For Emily Wolfe, the tone is as important as the hooks – and her Epiphone signature model is key to her explosive sound By Jamie Dickson published 18 September 23 Wolfe’s evocative music draws upon both Motown and Zeppelin but has a taut and soulful contemporary edge. We joined the Texan on tour to learn all about it…
“I get off stage, and Paul and Gene want to talk to me: ‘We think you’d be perfect for Kiss. Would you consider playing a Les Paul?’” White Lion’s Vito Bratta on the time he nearly joined Kiss – and his failed Ozzy Osbourne audition By Andrew Daly published 18 September 23 The ’80s shred icon explains what stood between him and the gig of a lifetime with Ozzy – and why he turned down Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley
