Features archive

August 2026

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44 articles

August 13
- “We didn’t know if people were going to like it. Jethro Tull was a blues band, and they were like, ‘What’s happened to you?’” Martin Barre on the making of the Jethro Tull album that signaled their shift to prog – even if critics called it “lame and dumb”
- “I didn’t mean to break up my bass, but we don't play music to get full cans of soda thrown at us”: Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament recalls the wild night that brought his custom “NBA” bass to a brutal end
- Why Jeff Beck said no to replacing Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers: “He called my mum several times. She said, ‘That John Mayall sounds very nice!’”
- “I was just stroking Hamer, to be honest!” Brad Gillis on the story behind his 1985 custom Hamer S-style
August 12
- “My hands just wouldn’t work... There was no way I could play the guitar”: You can’t keep a Stray Cat down – the triumphant return of Brian Setzer
- “I expected everybody to be like, ‘Who are you to do this?’” Meet the Pink Floyd tribute band celebrating 50 years of Wish You Were Here by writing three new songs for the classic album
- “You have to get used to being the only one onstage, but there’s beauty in solo bass guitar if you're not afraid to look”: Solo bass pioneer Michael Manring offers his advice to entrants of the first annual Solo Bass Guitar contest
August 11
- “Once I got one of those pedals, it was just like, ‘That’s the sound.’ It feels like your amp is about to explode”: Meet Friko, the Chicago indie darlings with guitar tones rigged to blow
- “Every artist that has played it goes crazy about it – it has been owned by two legends for a reason”: Up close with the Les Paul Custom that both Paul Kossoff and Eric Clapton owned
August 10
- “I was set up in the garage with Rick Rubin. Tom picked up my Broadcaster. He just started playing that rhythm. That’s what ended up on the record”: Mike Campbell on 5 classic Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tracks recorded with his Fender Broadcaster
- “We were making a $10,000 guitar and selling it for $3,000”: From Chet Atkins to the Acoustasonic – the surprising history of hybrid acoustic-electric guitars
August 9
- “We had just left Vegas that morning. They called us in the chartered plane and told us to turn back”: James Burton on his electrifying tenure as Elvis Presley’s guitarist – and the tragic day it came to an end
- “I was all set to say goodbye, and Bruce asked me to come outside. There and then he asked me if I wanted to join”: Nils Lofgren on how the Bruce Springsteen gig saved his life at his lowest point
- “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It was like seeing an instrument from outer space. I said to myself, ‘That’s the future – that’s what I want’": The story of Eric Clapton’s Cream guitars
- “Years later, he saw me playing it and he was mad at me. He said I took advantage of him. I was like, ‘You were gonna throw it away…’”: Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy on his greatest gear bargains – and why Billy Gibbons now owns his two of them
- “Iron Maiden was the hardest to get right. Musically, it’s not the most challenging, but we choreographed the entire song”: You have to be top of the class – of 80,000 students – to make it on the School of Rock AllStars tour
- “He was one of the world’s top authorities on guitars. His depth of knowledge really was that astounding”: The life and times of game-changing guitar journalist Dave Burrluck
- “They’re looking at each other and not saying anything. Finally, they said, ‘We've auditioned a lot of people, and you're the only bass player who wants to play that song’”: The moment Doug Wimbish knew he’d joined Living Colour
August 8
- “A holy relic among blues devotees”: The story of Muddy Waters’ “The Hoss” Telecaster, the guitar that helped define the sound of electric blues
- 10 classic Yngwie Malmsteen quotes – the maestro in his own words: “What I play fast will also sound good at a slower speed. If you slow down the fast licks that a lot of other guitarists do, people would puke”
- “I flew to his funeral in England, and I delivered a eulogy. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do”: Billy Morrison on collaborator and best friend Ozzy Osbourne, his partnership with Steve Stevens, and his all-star new album
- “He said, ‘We’re going to make a record, and we’re going to have two guitar players.’ Then we made the Layla album”: Duane Allman on the first time he met Eric Clapton and made an instant classic
- “It was only at the end of the day when he was heading home, he rang me on the train and freaked out – just a little – that he had had Rory’s Strat in his hands”: The life and times of the late guitar expert Steve Clarke
August 7
- “I was convinced I wasn’t playing well, but they kept calling me back. Before I knew it I was playing bass on the entire album”: How Becky Baldwin landed her dream gig playing bass for Tony Iommi
- “William Shatner is a force of nature. When I heard his spoken word back at the studio, he was speaking in perfect 3/4 time”: Chris Poland on writing to Captain Kirk’s voice and Nuclear Messiah’s Megadeth alumni club
August 6
- “It’s insane. He died aged 25, only guitar players remember him, and yet he was the sound of the Pretenders”: Chrissie Hynde on the underrated guitar hero who defined the Pretenders
- "Try to put yourself in the mindset of a music listener, not a music maker": Record better guitars at home with 8 of my pro tips
- “The firm’s scattershot denial seemed unconvincing, like Mötley Crüe insisting they have no idea what happened to that attaché case of cocaine”: From string demos to fake influencers, AI’s main use case seems to be ‘ruining music’
- “I was watching a Brad Paisley video and saw this contraption attached to his strap: ‘What is going on here?’ I heard of this thing called the B-bender…” How John Osborne fell down the B-bender rabbit hole and came out with a signature Fender Tele
August 5
- "No amp can fix a guitar that feels like a plank of wood with strings, or even worse, won’t stay in tune": Are you prioritizing the wrong end of your signal chain? Two pro gear reviewers debate whether you should spend more on your guitar or amp
- “John Petrucci inviting me to Guitar Universe was insane. I thought it was someone impersonating him”: Is Baxty the future of shred?
August 4
- How to install LR Baggs’ HiFi Duet acoustic pickup – and yes, we’re gonna drill a hole in Chris Buck’s guitar
- “J Mascis put this guitar into my hands. He went to some store and the guy was trying to peddle this Jazzmaster, and J has so many of ’em…” Kurt Vile on meeting Neil Young, his prized vintage offset and why he prefers dead strings
August 3
- “They had a picture of me up at the NAMM Show but I wasn’t an endorsee! I went to the Fender booth, and they said, ‘We want to give you a deal’”: John 5 is a modern master of the Telecaster – here are his 5 favorite Teles
- “Jack White is the last rock star that I can think of. He’s very dangerous. His approach to playing… you just don’t know what’s going to happen”: Billy Howerdel is trying to avoid being “too good”, as he writes A Perfect Circle’s next album
- “I’d love to go and see him but I probably wouldn't stay for the whole concert”: What Jeff Beck thought about Eddie Van Halen
August 2
- From Hendrix’s pyrotechnics to Cory Wong’s hot-buttered funk, for 72 years the Strat has revolutionized how we play guitar. These are the 25 players who wrote – and burnt – the playbook
- “I tend to cringe when I hear people who’ve obviously taken my style. I think it’s a joke that’s often played on me”: The Edge has never been impressed by players who try to imitate his sound
- “All I was using was one Fender Twin Reverb, which I stole off Bob Marley… I had it turned up to 10 the whole time”: Stolen amps and punk rivalry – inside the making of the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks
- “He said, ‘There's a room upstairs filled with guitars, but you can't see them – we’re only selling them all at once.’ We came back and waved hundred dollar bills in his face”: Blondie's Chris Stein on his greatest (and strangest) guitar shopping spree
August 1
- “That group was like a dragster when it burns out – you get a lot of noise, but it doesn't go anywhere”: Bassist Tim Bogert on why Beck, Bogert & Appice fell short despite its all-star lineup
- “Most people don’t get to see guitars like these”: Meet the 1968 Gibson Super 400 that was customized for Merle Travis – the ultimate artist’s guitar (even if the materials aren’t that great)
- “Harrison lost interest in the Rosewood Telecaster well before Let It Be came out. In December 1969, he gave it away”: How George Harrison fell in and out of love with the Tele he played at the Beatles’ final performance – and where it is now
- “I’ve lost count of how many SGs I have. But none of them match up to that one guitar”: Angus Young on his favorite Gibson SG from his collection – and the hunt to find a replacement