Features archive

August 2026

Filter

Year
Month

112 articles

August 31
- “You will not meet a punk-rock songwriter who doesn’t love the Descendents. They’re responsible for what’s so popular today”: The secret to Descendents’ seminal punk guitar sound and why Milo stood the test of time
- “I never saw what the big fuss was about Clapton to begin with”: Angus Young’s thoughts on Eric Clapton – and the players he prefers
- “I don’t think anyone is anywhere near Ray Davies as a songwriter. He’s the best we’ve ever had. Closely followed by Paul McCartney”: Graham Coxon on his unearthed solo adventures, the challenge of writing for Blur and Damon Albarn’s guitar skills
August 30
- “Strats had that great shape, Les Pauls have those beautiful curves, but the Telecaster always looked like it was thrown together with leftover parts!” Mike Campbell on what makes the Telecaster magic (even if he thinks they’re kinda ugly)
- “Nick Zinner was like, ‘They gave me this pedal that’s not out yet.’ It was the original POG. That was the first time I ever heard something like that”: From Blood Brothers to Evil Island’s horror-surf, the wild ride of hardcore hero Cody Votolato
- “My go-to amp that I could just plug into has been ruined: I now have to have this thing sat in front of it”: Inside the making of the ThorpyFX Kudu – the pedal that makes everything... better?
- “They were the weirdest things. He was asking me, ‘What do you think I should play over this stuff?’” When Joe Satriani got an exclusive preview of new Metallica material during lessons with his student Kirk Hammett
August 29
- “The secret wasn’t a special effect, a particular amp, or studio trickery, but rather a very simple quirk”: Roy Buchanan inspired countless players, including Jeff Beck, to pick up Telecasters – his favorite Tele was defined by a fascinating tonal “flaw”
- “I was infatuated with slide guitar. I’d use a comparable motion on my fretless by sliding up to the note”: Manning the world’s first production fretless bass, Rick Danko had to be laser-sharp in the Band
- Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on the enduring appeal of the Fender Telecaster: “A lot of guitars now are designed to do everything, but the Tele already does that without trying”
- How Blind Guitars is redefining the traditional blues acoustic guitar: “A vision of roots burnished to a golden glow that transcend their humble origins”
August 28
- “I’m a big fan of Thin Lizzy, so when Midge Ure came into the shop, that was pretty surreal”: On the shop floor at legendary Asbury Park guitar store Russo Music – where no day is a bad day
- “It sounded too clean to me, honestly, but when I heard it with everything else, it was amazing”: How a little songcraft and a lot less gain brought chart success for emo-punk vets Joyce Manor
- That time Yngwie Malmsteen shredded his way through The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon: “That’s a guitar legend right there”
August 27
- “I walked out to my car, thinking I’m never going to hear from those guys again. They called me the next day and I tracked two new songs”: How bassist Zach Cooper earned a permanent place in Coheed and Cambria
- Sleep Token love them. Progressive guitar heroes worship them. But they imploded spectacularly. This is the story of unsung prog icons Oceansize: “We put ourselves through hell because we knew we were better than everybody else in the music industry”
- “It’s been a privilege to have him elevating my songs because he’s a musical genius”: Steve Louw on making his folk-country rock mashup – with a little help from Joe Bonamassa once again
- "You’ll be making your first songs in no time": 7 steps to record your guitar in GarageBand
August 26
- Why I spent 15 years playing guitar to killer whales: “I thought I was going to be the next Eric Clapton. As it turned out, I did something very unusual”
- “David invited me to his hotel. He asked me to go on tour as his live guitarist. I said no”: Robert Fripp on his landmark David Bowie sessions – and why he didn’t join the legendary singer on tour
- “When I came up with the Jolene lick, all the musicians said: ‘Damn, that’s so good. That’s the coolest little lick’”: Dolly Parton on writing Jolene’s iconic guitar parts and pushing the boundaries of her playing (before the long fingernails)
August 25
- “People will forget everything else about us except that we were on that show”: Patrick Simmons recalls the time the Doobie Brothers were stars of the small screen
- “My favorite bass needs to be retired, but it plays so good and has this unmistakable sound. So I gave it to Spector and said, ‘Let’s get close to that’”: How Rex Brown’s new signature bass channels his punchiest Pantera era
August 24
- Joan Jett on the end of The Runaways – and why she nearly gave up on a solo career: “I was devastated. My dream was over. I felt we had failed”
- “I reached for an acoustic guitar to idly play. Jeff’s like, ‘That’s the most expensive guitar in this building... Just so you know’”: Cut Worms’ Max Clarke on recording with Jeff Tweedy – and the indie icon's epic gear collection
- “If I had a perfect Strat, I’d take off a volume and a tone knob – because I’m a dreadful man – just to make it like a Tele”: Graham Coxon on the perfection of the Telecaster (and why you shouldn’t lend him your Strat)
August 23
- “He erased one of the original guitar tracks. He rubbed the damn thing out”: Jimmy Page on how a ‘lost guitar track’ almost derailed Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti
- “Snake Sabo is the master of the riff. I’ll never forget when he played me 18 and Life for the first time... We had no formula”: Skid Row’s Rachel Bolan on going solo, his ’70s inspirations, and the band’s continuing search for a new singer
- “He said, ‘The thing was made wrong in the first place!’ I joked, ‘Let me see you build a vibrato contraption that works!’” How Merle Travis pushed Paul Bigsby to one-up Gibson with his iconic vibrato
- “I saw this big security-guard-looking dude staring at me. When I put the bass down, he grabbed me and said, 'Come with me’”: When Robert ‘Bubby’ Lewis mistook Andrew Gouché for a security guard – and ended up landing the gig with Snoop Dogg
- How Positive Grid reinvented the digital guitar amp: “People began to see that amp as a companion when the rest of the music scene shut down”
- “If James Burton recorded that song one more time, it would not have sounded the same. They caught lightning in a bottle”: An all-star guitar panel choose their Telecaster Mount Rushmore – its greatest players, their greatest tracks
August 22
- “I didn’t think it was that strong, but I never got around to fixing it”: The Alice in Chains guitar solo that Jerry Cantrell hated – and the one he wished he re-recorded
- How did The Last Dinner Party become one of the UK’s biggest bands? Bassist Georgia Davies reflects on their sudden success and whirlwind tours: “Suddenly we were getting emails from managers, labels… and, weirdly, lawyers”
- “Vintage guitars that are too nice repel me – I have a 1945 Martin, and it sounded good, but it was like sunlight to a vampire”: Brian Fallon on what makes for guitar greatness, and the most fundamental lick
- “I just wacked it off from the very beginning to the very end, but it turned out that the tape operator hadn’t pressed the ‘record’ button”: Elliott Randall on his blistering Steely Dan solo – and what Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were really like
- “A lot of people might think it was ruined, but I think it’s like 10 times cooler because of that”: King Tuff on his beloved butchered Gibson SG and the world’s most embarrassing Uber journey
August 21
- “If the house were on fire, it wouldn’t just be the one guitar I’d take – it would be the one possession I’d take. I love it that much”: Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli on the guitar he values most, and what links Jimmy Page and Prince
- “He said, ‘You sound like Jimi Hendrix!’ I said, ‘Jimi who?’” How Buddy Guy first encountered Jimi Hendrix
- “You’re an unknown – then all of a sudden 10 million people have seen you”: How Sawyer Hill went from playing in Arkansas garage bands to touring arenas with Yungblud
- “It just seemed really distasteful. Eric had been a friend of mine, and I couldn’t possibly have been a party to that”: Why Jimmy Page turned down multiple offers to join the Yardbirds – and why he relented
August 20
- “His death was such a shock. I met him before he joined the Pretenders – he had actually talked to me about playing with the band”: How the Pretenders emerged from tragedy with new guitarist Robbie McIntosh
- “I found a 1968 Gibson on eBay and took a chance. The neck has snapped three times, but it's still the best bass I've ever played”: How a battle-scarred vintage Gibson survived three broken necks to power a Mercury Prize-nominated jazz collective
- What Ritchie Blackmore thinks of Yngwie Malmsteen: “He’s probably the best at what he does and – for what it’s worth – the fastest”
- “Eddie Van Halen came over and yelled at me for not doing anything”: Lita Ford on how Eddie Van Halen encouraged her to kickstart her solo career after The Runaways
- Norman Harris on the future of Norman’s Rare Guitars and why he finally decided to sell: “When you’re faced with a major health scare, things become a lot more real”
- “Nick said, ‘I’m not here to fill Brent’s shoes. I want to help write the future of Mastodon’”: Troy Sanders on rebuilding Mastodon and why new guitarist Nick Johnston was an instant fit
- “My hands started shaking as soon as I began recording. We weren’t talking about it or rehearsing – we were actually doing it”: Vivian Campbell on joining Dio just before recording their classic debut album
August 19
- David Bowie’s guitarists on what it was like to play with the Thin White Duke: “I had just come from working with Frank Zappa for a year, and Frank was very directive. David was entirely the opposite”
- When Nils Lofgren tried to join the Rolling Stones: “I was nervous. I said, ‘Hi, Keith. Ron Wood might have mentioned me…’”
August 18
- “There’s a subtle slickness to what we do. We love session guys and have respect for Toto and the Wrecking Crew”: Meet Robert Jon and the Wreck, the rock fanatics who sound like they rolled out of Georgia in ’82
- Deep Purple guitarist Simon McBride on sharing the stage with Ritchie Blackmore: “If I can play that well when I’m that age, I’ll be happy. People should look at it for what it was – a magical night”
August 17
- Sin City filmmaker Robert Rodriguez lifts the lid on his guitar collection – including two guitars previously owned by Stevie Ray Vaughan: “I’m probably the only director who always has a guitar on his set”
- How a Fender Strat anniversary event led to Queen’s first world tour since Freddie Mercury’s death: “Brian May got on the phone to me and said, ‘You have to look at what we just did’”
August 16
- “I think they actually thought I was going to die, but they never took steps to kick me out of the band, which I can’t believe”: How Mike McCready overcame his addictions to form a grunge supergroup
- “My godfather played drums with Herbie Hancock, and he asked this guy to help me out on bass. Years later I found out it was Jaco”: How a chance family connection brought Raphael Saadiq a lesson with one of the greatest bass players of all time
- “They’re so scarce. Fender only made 200 and the majority of them have been monkeyed with”: The Stratocaster was in constant flux during its first year of production – and these two 1954 models prove it
- “I was a session guitarist for a bit, which is unbelievable because I can’t read music. I used to pretend to flip the music sheets during sessions!” Dan Hawkins says it’s a miracle The Darkness have survived so long
August 15
- “It changed what we thought was possible for electric guitars”: How a $20 box designed for cheap speakers became the secret weapon behind Metallica’s massive Black Album guitar sounds
- “Frank who? They were like, ‘Frank Ocean!’ He listened halfway through, took a picture, and posted it”: How Cashier’s DIY alt-rock sound is winning them fans in high places
- How rhythm and lead techniques can combine for the ultimate blues solo – especially in a trio
- “He couldn’t resist the offer to trade it for the car of his dreams”: The story of Danny Gatton’s strange, magical ’53 Telecaster – and where it is today
August 14
- “One of the secrets that they will deny to this day was that they could not come up with the sound that I wanted”: Why Ritchie Blackmore’s iconic Marshall stacks were actually Vox amps in disguise
- "Technically speaking, there are infinite notes available to us. The problem is we can’t hear all of them": Decoding the notes between the notes – the ultimate guide to microtonal guitar
- “I asked what the artist’s name was. He said, ‘Meat Loaf.’ I thought he was joking. He said, ‘Just show up at the studio tomorrow…’” Bass journeyman Kasim Sulton on Meat Loaf, Todd Rundgren, Joan Jett, the New Cars, and the hand he never got to shake
- “We were opening for ZZ Top at Madison Square Garden. I told the guys, ‘I’ll go out there and blow for 60 seconds, then we’ll go into the first tune.’ I hit the first chord and my Marshall blew up”: Richie Sambora on Bon Jovi's nightmare arena debut
- “When I heard Anna play, I thought, ‘How the hell is that sound coming out of a 22-year-old’s fingers?’” Alice Cooper’s guitar trio on how a wunderkind from England replaced Nita Strauss – and tackled the Godfather of Shock Rock’s most challenging tracks
- “Larry started playing that beat, while Edge was playing something else entirely. Bono said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop!’ So we kept playing and he improvised that melody”: How a spontaneous studio jam sparked an unexpected moment of U2 magic
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