Features

Steve Howe on overcoming stage fright and the tragic fate of his Gibson ES-175

By Joe Matera published 20 February 26

The Yes, Asia and GTR legend explains why drinking and playing guitar are “stupidly incompatible” and gives some love for the Line 6 Helix

The late Michael Rhodes provided an unshakable foundation for Buddy Guy’s 2013 salute to his home town

By Chris Jisi published 20 February 26

Rhodes played his ’57 Fender P-Bass for the Meet Me in Chicago session at Nashville’s famed Blackbird studios

Geese guitarist Emily Green breaks down her ‘cloudy’ playing style – and what she thinks of the hype

By Jacob Paul Nielsen published 20 February 26

Geese’s Emily Green shares her love of offbeat electrics, her all-time favorite delay pedal and why she thinks only 5% of jams are any good

Van Halen, Jacob Deraps, and the making of a YouTube shred superstar

By Adam Kovac published 19 February 26

This is the origin story of Jacob Deraps, the player whose brain exploded when he heard Eddie Van Halen for the first time, and he never looked back

Swannell Guitars makes an electric like an acoustic with tones that will blow your mind

By Dave Burrluck published 19 February 26

Jamie Swannell makes some seriously high-end acoustics and has applied that knowhow to the IA, a super-versatile, vibey electric that might just be the boutique slide machine of your dreams

Meet the psych-rockers merging Hendrix with Hindustani classical music – who count Jimmy Page among their fans

By Janelle Borg published 19 February 26

Frontman and lead guitarist Sameer Khan explains how hotly tipped London psych-rockers Karma Sheen are sticking to their guns, honoring their heritage, and building a bridge between ancient traditions and contemporary sounds to give rise to a new form of Hindustani rock fusion

Converge’s Kurt Ballou on mixing pedals with amp modelers, guitar recording hacks and reclaiming metal’s authenticity

By Phil Weller published 18 February 26

Fifth album Love is Not Enough sees the producer-guitarist embracing modern gear while opposing modern music’s “data-entry” trends – and returning to a jam space filled with Christmas lights and Iron Maiden flags

“It just floored me”: Inside Fender’s mission to bring the ’62 Super Amp back from the dead

By Charlie Wilkins published 18 February 26

Long hidden in the shadows of Fender history, the early ’60s brown-panel Super Amp has reemerged. Senior product manager, Rick Heins, talks us through its rebirth

How Pavey Ark are reinventing acoustic guitar with pedals, fake nails and a $60 nylon-string that holds its own in any company

By Amit Sharma published 18 February 26

Neil Thomas’ adventurous playing and ear for unorthodox tuning finds the English collective exist between two worlds of traditional and neo-folk

Meet Mary in the Junkyard, the classically rooted alt-rockers making mind-bending indie with Elliott Smith’s tunings

By Cheri Amour published 17 February 26

London songwriter Clari Freeman-Taylor explains the eureka moment of moving to electric from classical guitar, her blood-sealed bond with a new Epiphone, and why she keeps leaving pedalboards on Lime bikes