Steve Hackett: ”The wounds never healed from my dad’s guitar. He said, ‘You’ll get calluses’… but I just had fingers that were bleeding!” By David Mead The former Genesis guitarist on the story of his career, from the mouth organ to prog-rock trailblazer
Rookie: “Sometimes you just need to let the song breathe... your part will be more powerful through the negative space“ By David Von Bader Let this Chicago six-piece whisk you away to a land ruled by Big Star, the Eagles, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty
The best bass gear of 2020 By Bass Player Staff Despite a mutant virus, presidential upheaval and the end of all our gigs, we’ve had plenty of new bass guitars, amps and effects to enjoy
Leslie West talks jamming with Jimi Hendrix and seeing Eddie Van Halen for the first time in this classic 1987 Guitar World interview By Gene Santoro The trailblazing Mountain guitarist discusses life on the road in one of the heaviest hard-rock outfits of the time
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” By Joel McIver Kicking down boundaries, 50-million album sales, primetime TV star and awesome bassist... Suzy Q explains how she ended up owning the '70s
GA-20's Matthew Stubbs: ”By 16, I really had the blinders on for that early electric blues sound” By Andy Aledort The Boston-based retro blues-wailers are the product of swampy influences, impressive pedigree and total dedication
60 years of the Fender Jazz Bass By Joel McIver, Roger Newell We meet Allen Abbassi, Senior Product Development Manager, for a look back – and forward – on the subject of the mighty J...
10 classic Fender electric guitars you can snap up on eBay By Chris Corfield Classic Fender electric guitars you can get 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" By Matt Doria To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Black Sabbath's classic Paranoid album, we swung way back to its inception with the man, myth and maniac himself, Tony Iommi
9 best guitar straps 2021: secure your guitar in style By Chris Corfield The best guitar straps for acoustic, electric and bass guitars, and for every budget
Marty Friedman talks jamming with Megadeth’s Kiko Loureiro, his love of Fleetwood Mac and why he wishes his playing was more accessible By Richard Bienstock The virtuoso goes deep ahead of his New Year’s Day “multi-dimensional” livestream
The history of Jackson Guitars By Jonathan Horsley As Jackson celebrates its 40th anniversary, we chart its history from custom repair shop to number one supplier of rock and metal 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" By Jon Wiederhorn The Dream Theater guitarist takes a closer look at his 2020 solo album, a veritable supernova of next-level guitar playing
The Lemon Twigs: "This record kind of comes at you and either hits you positively or negatively" By Matt Doria After two enormous, game-changing concept albums, The Lemon Twigs dial things back a notch for their ambitiously lowkey third album
The life and times of Frank Zappa – composer, satirist and towering giant of the electric guitar By Alan di Perna Looking back at the career of the one-of-a-kind musician and guitar visionary
Best bass strings 2021: Get the best tone, feel and lifespan from your bass guitar with these string sets By Jonathan Horsley Strings to bring the thunder from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, Rotosound and more
Bass guitar pickups explained By Dan Veall Confused about the pickups on your bass? Don't be. Read on for the skinny on split-coils, soapboars, humbuckers and actives
Deftones: "The bass is a very forward-charging instrument, and it has to be for me to enjoy playing it" By Matt Doria Nine albums down, the alt-metal assassins in Deftones continue to reinvent themselves – and the sound that made them one of the world’s most enticing musical outfits to begin with
The 20 best guitar albums of 2020 By Jonathan Horsley Supergroups, Southern roots revival, off-brand prog-metal genius and a Brazilian phenom defined your year in guitar…
Keith Richards reveals his 10 all-time favorite Rolling Stones riffs and the stories behind them By Alan di Perna How the guitar used to record Gimme Shelter disintegrated immediately after the song's completion, and other incredible stories
