Features archive

December 2020

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63 articles

December 28
- The best bass gear of 2020
December 24
- Leslie West talks jamming with Jimi Hendrix and seeing Eddie Van Halen for the first time in this classic 1987 Guitar World interview
- Suzi Quatro: ”I grew up in Detroit, so I was weaned on James Jamerson. He’s still the best. I very much take my style from him”
December 23
- GA-20's Matthew Stubbs: ”By 16, I really had the blinders on for that early electric blues sound”
- 60 years of the Fender Jazz Bass
December 22
- 10 classic Fender electric guitars you can snap up on eBay
- Tony Iommi: "In them days, you had to MAKE your sound – you couldn’t buy a gadget that made whatever sound you wanted"
- Marty Friedman talks jamming with Megadeth’s Kiko Loureiro, his love of Fleetwood Mac and why he wishes his playing was more accessible
- The history of Jackson Guitars
- John Petrucci details Terminal Velocity track by track: "These songs had to have a message. And the best way to do that is through melody"
December 21
- The Lemon Twigs: "This record kind of comes at you and either hits you positively or negatively"
- The life and times of Frank Zappa – composer, satirist and towering giant of the electric guitar
- Best bass strings 2021: Get the best tone, feel and lifespan from your bass guitar with these string sets
- Bass guitar pickups explained
December 20
- Deftones: "The bass is a very forward-charging instrument, and it has to be for me to enjoy playing it"
December 18
- The 20 best guitar albums of 2020
- Keith Richards reveals his 10 all-time favorite Rolling Stones riffs and the stories behind them
- Brian May pays tribute to his friend Eddie Van Halen: “I miss his presence in the world“
- Cold's Lindsay Manfredi: ”There’s a feeling when you’re playing bass. It’s different from other instruments”
December 17
- Misha Mansoor: "There’s something very raw about those original demos – it’s kind of nostalgic for me"
- Andrew Watt on the making of Ozzy Osbourne's next all-star album, guitar battles with Post Malone, and what his all-star jam sessions are really like
- Havok: ”It would be a disservice to play those songs live without a huge PA system that shakes your skeleton”
December 16
- Corey Taylor: "I wanted this album to be stacked with the best songs that I have, because you don’t get a second chance to make that first impression"
- The 10 best guitar riffs of 2020
- Broadway and West End bassist Ian King: “Hamilton is an intense gig – I’m playing four instruments in the show!“
December 15
- Spotlight: Danny Miller of Lewis Del Mar
- The 10 best guitar solos of 2020
- Destruction's Schmier on his love of Dean basses and how Born to Thrash was bought with Jack and Coke
- The Black Dahlia Murder's Brandon Ellis and Brian Eschbach talk tone hunting, songcraft and keeping death metal fresh
December 14
- Sevendust: "We want to keep the energy alive, so the first thing we think about is what kind of songs will get people moving"
- Eddie Van Halen 1955-2020: a visionary virtuoso who rewrote the rules of electric guitar
- Angus Young: “I’ve always said if I do anything music-wise, I can only do it the AC/DC way“
December 13
- Seether: "The only pressure I felt was that I needed to exceed the expectations we laid down with the last album"
December 11
- 9 reasons the GoPro Hero9 is the ideal vlogging camera for guitarists
- How Shirley Tetteh became one of the UK's most exciting new jazz guitarists
- Jimmy Page's 20 greatest guitar moments
December 10
- Nickelback: "If you don’t leave a little bit of your sanity behind when you make an album, you haven’t dug deep enough"
- Madina Lake's Matthew Leone: "I was so clueless, I brought my first bass to my first-ever show in a garbage bag"
- Christian McBride: “I was doing things on the double bass that I wasn’t supposed to. It helps to be a rebel sometimes“
- 5 things to check when buying a vintage guitar
December 9
- Biffy Clyro: "It's really special when you can go through a tough moment and come out on the other side with more confidence"
- Download and stream the audio from Total Guitar 340
- Alpha Male Tea Party's Tom Peters: "Throwing a simple major-key riff together wasn't doing it for me any more… I thought, 'How can I use melody differently?'"
- Best ukuleles 2021: acoustic and electric ukuleles for all budgets and playing styles
- Rammstein producer Jacob Hellner details the making of the industrial-metal icons’ 1995 debut, Herzeleid
- 40 guitarists who changed our world since 1980
December 8
- Nothing But Thieves: "I think we need to move rock forward, because it died in its tracks for a reason"
- Dave Pegg and Testament's Steve Di Giorgio talk Jethro Tull, folk rock, fretless bass and Fairport Convention
- Dimebag Darrell reveals his 12 favorite metal tracks in this classic 1993 Guitar World interview
December 7
- PVRIS: “It’s just about wanting to be truthful and authentic to what is actually happening behind the scenes”
- The secrets behind Elliot Easton's tone on The Cars' Touch and Go
December 6
- Spotlight: Courtney Marie Andrews
December 3
- Pillow Queens - In Waiting album review
- Joe Bonamassa shares his greatest finds from a lifetime of buying and selling guitars
- Marshall Plexi guitar amps: everything you need to know
December 2
- The Front Bottoms: “It was fun because we got to get into a room together and just jam out”
- Jimmy Page: ”Whole Lotta Love was so fresh and it still is. If somebody plays that riff it brings a smile to people’s faces”
- Doug Wimbish looks back at 5 of his best – and worst – bass sessions
- Classic gear: Gibson ES-345
December 1
- Obscura Hail - Siren EP review
- Jeff Bridges: “What's great about the guitar is that it's very honest. The more you put in, the better you get“
- Tom Morello: “Trust me, there are plenty of new guitar sounds still to discover. I guarantee you that“
- The best guitar pedals for beginners: everything you need to know to kickstart your pedalboard