Features

Latest

Victor Wooten posing against a grey background

“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

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”

Billy Gibbons performs onstage with ZZ Top at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee on October 23, 1973

“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

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...

Nothing But Thieves

“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

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

TesseracT guitarists Acle Kahney and James Monteith perform live

“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

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

Bass player Bob Babbitt poses during a private photo shoot on April 20, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee.

“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

A graduate of “Motown Funk University,” Babbitt said that he took from James Jamerson, but rightly so: “he was the original”

Kirk Hammett with his 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Sunny'

“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

Fame, flame and punchy tone – meet the ’Burst that has it all. And it’s yours for $500,000...

Drug Church

“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

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

Leilani Kilgore performing at the 2023 Summerfest music festival on June 30th, 2023 in Milwaukee, WI.

“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

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”

A composite image of Tom Morello, Dimebag Darrell, Kurt Cobain and Eddie Van Halen

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

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

Christian Savill performs with Slowdive at the Tomavistas Festival in Madrid, Spain on May 20, 2022

“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

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”

GWM569 guitar injuries

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

The research proves that shredding can make your wrists and shoulders go ouchie, but is there anything we can do to prevent injury?

Joe Perry performs in concert with Alice Cooper at the HEB Center on July 29, 2019 in Cedar Park, Texas.

“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

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”

Musician Kelley Deal of The Breeders performs onstage during day 2 of 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 22, 2023 in Indio, California.

“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

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

Mike McCready with his new Fender Signature Stratocaster

“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

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

Emily Wolfe with her Epiphone "White Wolfe" Sheraton

“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

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…

American Rock musician Vito Bratta, of the group White Lion, performs onstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, July 12,1989.

“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

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

Victor Wooten Promotes His New CD "Soul Circus" and Fodera Bass - November 6, 2005 at O-East in Tokyo, Japan.

“The best way to get the bass sound I wanted was to play like Larry Graham. But it wasn’t fast enough for me”: Victor Wooten sums up his game-changing slap technique

By Nick Wells published

Victor Wooten’s double thumb technique is unlike any other – and he has Larry Graham to thank

Gretsch G2220 Electromatic Jet Bass guitar on a black background

Best budget bass guitars 2023: our top pick of basses under $500/£500

By Richard Blenkinsop last updated

Need to tackle the low-end on a budget? Not to worry, our experts have run the rule over our favourite bass guitars that come in under $500/£500

Matteo Mancuso

Steve Vai called him “the evolution of the guitar” while Al Di Meola said his playing was “light years ahead”. We meet Matteo Mancuso, the young guitarist redefining virtuosity

By Henry Yates published

The Sicilian virtuoso is at the forefront of technical guitar playing, but as he explains, “I’m not a shredder and I’m not a jazz player – I listen to a lot of different stuff and I wanted it all in my music… You need to be open-minded”

Night Verses' Nick DePirro performs live

“In the beginning, I would just rip Tom Morello… Then I realized I could maneuver notes, harmonics and chords. I can do some weird stuff with the Whammy”: How Nick DePirro became one of instrumental metal’s most technically adventurous players

By Gregory Adams published

The Night Verses guitarist exploits open tunings, delays and a heck of a lot of Whammy pedal to devastating effect. He explains how he found himself in guitar solo rabbit holes, what it took to secure a guest spot from Tool’s Justin Chancellor, and why he uses harmonics as often as he possibly can