Best fingerstyle guitars 2023: the finest guitars for fingerstyle, whatever your budget By Simon Fellows published 21 March 23 Take your playing to the next level with our selection of the best guitars for fingerstyle from Martin, Yamaha, Taylor, Washburn, Larrivee, Cordoba, Fender…
Prashant Aswani explains why his sensational new signature Charvel is “basically a custom shop guitar, made in Mexico for $1,399” By Jenna Scaramanga published 21 March 23 The session ace and Greg Howe protegé has spec’d a signature guitar that takes inspiration from Pete Thorn and Guthrie Govan, and has resulted in one of Charvel’s most meticulously designed production-line models ever
Dave Mustaine: “I’m a very advanced rhythm guitarist who can play complicated rhythms and sing over the top of them – most people can’t do that” By Andrew Daly published 21 March 23 The Megadeth main man discusses his forthcoming signature “Gibson Les Paul for thrash guys”, why Kiko Loureiro is the band’s best-ever guitarist, and succeeding even though “Metallica has always tried to hold me back”
Joe Perry remembers Jeff Beck: “I was sitting with Jimmy Page, like two kids elbowing each other every time Jeff would play something!” By Jenna Scaramanga published 21 March 23 In his own words, the Aerosmith guitarist reflects on his hero – and that time he accidentally stole his fuzz pedal and paid him back with a Klon Centaur
PRS SE DGT vs USA Core DGT: what are the similarities, and how do the builds differ? By Dave Burrluck published 21 March 23 Less a copy, more an ‘inspired by’ design, the SE DGT cleverly emulates the USA model but with plenty of differences
Best patch cables 2023: tidy up your ‘board with our pick of the best patch leads By Alex Lynham last updated 20 March 23 Need to organize a messy pedalboard? Patch cables are a simple and creative cable solution for your guitar pedals
Rudy Sarzo: "Randy didn't live long enough to be the best Randy Rhoads. There was so much more inside of him that we never got to see" By Andrew Daly published 20 March 23 The LA bass legend reflects on the legacy of his Ozzy Osbourne bandmate, 40 years of Quiet Riot's Metal Health, and explains why you can't compare Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads
Best Strat pickups 2023: Upgrade your tone with a new set of pups By Richard Blenkinsop published 20 March 23 Treat your prized old battle axe to a set of the best Stratocaster pickups – single coils and humbuckers included
Remembering the Boss TU-1000 – the gigantic, pedalboard-dwarfing tuner pedal that launched a hundred memes By Michael Astley-Brown published 20 March 23 One of the largest pedals ever released, the enormous tuner quickly became the subject of guitarists’ ridicule – but it did eventually find an audience
The 50 greatest guitar riffs of all time By Amit Sharma, Jonny Scaramanga, Ellie Rogers, Grant Moon, Jonathan Horsley, Sian Llewellyn, Henry Yates, Matt Frost, Joel McIver last updated 20 March 23 From metal to rock, punk to grunge, these are the best guitar riffs ever recorded, as voted for by you
The Lowlist: Jamiroquai’s Emergency on Planet Earth was a solid platinum gem for all bass players By Mike Brooks published 18 March 23 An appreciation of the album that introduced the young Stuart Zender
Jet Harris was Britain’s first bass guitar player, the first to own a Fender Precision, and its first rock’n’roll hellraiser too By Tom Poak published 18 March 23 Fights, car crashes, affairs with starlets – Jet Harris set the template for British bass players and bad behaviour, and along the way inspired everyone from McCartney to Lemmy
Bruce Kulick names 10 guitarists who shaped his sound By Andrew Daly published 17 March 23 The hard-rock guitar slinger names the unlikely influences behind a number of his best-known Kiss riffs, and the player he likens to "a race car champion with the soul of a great blues musician"
Daddy Long Legs' Murat Aktürk on his open G anarchy: “I keep all six strings on there, unlike Keith Richards who takes off the low E – I have to work harder” By Ellie Rogers published 17 March 23 There's something rotten in the Big Apple and it's the hot guitar sound of Daddy Long Legs, offering street-wise rhythm and blues for a new generation of big city punks
Andy Fraser: “It was me trying to impersonate Pete Townshend, who was, to me, the all-time greatest chord king” By Nick Wells published 17 March 23 How Free’s worst ever gig inspired one of the most iconic bass solos in rock
Watch the moment Derek Trucks receives the biggest compliment possible from B.B. King after dazzling him with his slide skills By Matt Owen published 17 March 23 Susan Tedeschi and John Mayer were also in attendance when the blues guitar hero labeled Trucks' slide solo “as good as I’ve ever heard”
The Mu-Tron III: “Without it, there ain’t no Bootsy” By Nick Wells published 17 March 23 Everything you need to know about the iconic stomper from Musitronics
Isaiah Mitchell: "I played Les Pauls, Teles and Strats with the Black Crowes, but with Earthless, Strats are my number one. They're the most versatile guitars out there" By Andrew Daly published 17 March 23 The Earthless founder on 22 years of freeform inspiration, his arsenal of high-wattage amps and why he's no longer with the Black Crowes
Best modeling amps 2023: recreate iconic guitar tones with these top amplifier picks By Richard Blenkinsop last updated 16 March 23 Our pick of the best modeling amps from Boss, Fender, Line 6, Blackstar and more
The rise of the Gibson Les Paul/SG Standard By Rod Brakes published 16 March 23 How the timeless rock machine found a user base that numbered some of the world's greatest players, and became a mainstay of the Gibson catalog
