Best desktop guitar amps 2023: our top desktop amps for portable practice By Nick Guppy last updated 25 October 23 The desktop guitar amp market is getting crowded, but our top picks from Yamaha, Blackstar, Fender, and more might just be the finest money can buy
“Unlike Jimi Hendrix, we never deliberately tuned down”: Listen to Jack Bruce’s bassline on Cream’s Politician By Nick Wells published 25 October 23 Jack Bruce wrote with Pete Brown for Cream’s third album, 1968’s Wheels of Fire
“Playing scales up and down is dumb… this isn’t a f**king recital!” We meet the outspoken cartoon shredder who teamed up with Gary Holt, Alex Skolnick and George Lynch for one of this year’s biggest shred guitar albums By Amit Sharma published 25 October 23 Led by a guitarist who claims to be the Bay Area lovechild of James Hetfield, The Shredderz just put out an all-star thrash metal album like no other. We get the lowdown on how a fictional band recruited some of today’s finest soloists for an orgy of sweep picking and searing shred
Best clip-on guitar tuners 2023: stay in tune with our pick of the best available today By Jonathan Horsley last updated 25 October 23 The best clip-on guitar tuners offer a quick, easy and affordable tuning solution. Explore our expert picks for acoustic, electric and bass guitar
Best amps for metal 2023: our top picks for high-gain heroes By Jonathan Horsley last updated 25 October 23 These powerhouse metal amps from PRS, Orange, Friedman, EVH, and more will have you primed to seek and destroy
“What people tend to do is learn licks and then try to stick them into the solos – and that’s not really the way to do it”: Iron Maiden’s Janick Gers shares his tips for better guitar solos By Amit Sharma published 25 October 23 The Iron Maiden stalwart explains why he is a big advocate for guitar solos with the safety off: no soundchecks, no warm-ups, and something different each and every night
“Sometimes bad gear can give you a good idea! I’ll go with whatever’s around. There are no rules”: Code Orange’s Reba Meyers on writing “pure evil” riffs and why she’d rather play a guitar that “sounds a little sh**tier” than a studio classic By Amit Sharma published 25 October 23 New album The Above finds the Pittsburgh metalcore crew pushing at the extremes – but just don't take those clean tones as some kind of '90s revival
Best Telecasters 2023: the top Fender Tele electric guitars for all budgets and styles By Amit Sharma last updated 25 October 23 Figure out which is the best Telecaster for you - we pay homage to Fender's iconic electric guitar
“I never have to think about strumming patterns – it’s all taken care of because the motor is always going”: Cory Wong is the modern king of funk guitar – he shares his tips for tightening up your rhythm playing By Amit Sharma published 25 October 23 The maestro of contemporary funk shares what he learned from Nile Rodgers, the classic chord you won’t find in guitar books, and why guitarists have to leave some room for the audience’s imagination
“The guitars have a vagueness and messiness – there’s a certain cloudiness that creates our perfect environment. That's our sound”: Blonde Redhead might not be the best of friends, but their otherworldly guitar textures are a match made in heaven By Andrew Daly published 25 October 23 Last year, alt-rock stalwarts Blonde Redhead supported Tool. For 2023, they've released their first album in nine years. Kazu Makino and Amedeo Pace share how they learned that “you don't need to get along as people to have strong musical chemistry” – but you do need some top-drawer delay pedals to craft those ethereal guitar sounds
“People forget that great rhythm guitar will help make your solo sound better”: YouTube guitar guru Marty Schwartz on the biggest mistakes aspiring guitarists make – and how to fix them By Amit Sharma published 24 October 23 The star of online guitar teaching on why you should never underestimate the importance of good rhythm guitar, and the best songs to improve your guitar playing fast
“That long-haired hippie’s got the word ‘f**k’ on his guitar!” Tommy Bolin’s 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard has one of the most checkered histories of any ’Burst – watch the late guitar hero play it live on TV with his pre-Deep Purple band, Zephyr By Jackson Maxwell published 24 October 23 With an American flag pickguard and a made-for-a-Tele Bigsby tremolo, this guitar – which now belongs to Joe Bonamassa, via a straight-from-the-movies cash transaction with its mysterious former owner – is far from your average ’Burst
“I like the rawness and the vulnerability you get from a cleaner sound... I like having to work for it a little bit”: Gina Gleason explains why Baroness made the switch from humbuckers to single coils – and sounded all the heavier for it By Ellie Rogers published 24 October 23 Telecasters and Jazzmasters for metal? The former Cirque du Soleil shredder unpacks the heavy institution’s unconventional approach to tone
Best beginner bass guitars 2023: four-string basses for beginners By Jonathan Horsley last updated 24 October 23 The best beginner basses for young players, newcomers and the budget-conscious – featuring Yamaha, Squier, Ibanez and more
Best cheap electric guitars under $500 2023: epic electrics for smaller budgets By Amit Sharma last updated 24 October 23 These budget electric guitars offer fantastic tone and great playability, all within a more wallet-friendly price range
“I wanted to put a great band together like Rainbow, Deep Purple or Humble Pie. Nikki Sixx simply was not capable. So I told Tommy, ‘If this is the guy you want, I’m leaving’”: Before Mick Mars, Greg Leon was Mötley Crüe’s original guitarist By Andrew Daly published 24 October 23 Leon replaced Randy Rhoads in Quiet Riot and toured with Dokken before he formed Mötley Crüe with Tommy Lee. But when the band’s wild-man rhythm section took shape, things quickly fell apart
“We’re trying to do the AC/DC version of a two-pronged attack, especially when we play live”: The Darkness’ Justin and Dan Hawkins on the high-volume twin-guitar secrets behind Permission To Land By Amit Sharma published 23 October 23 To celebrate 20 years of Permission To Land, the Hawkins brothers take us back to the start, and unpack a sound built upon the elemental force of Marshall amps and Gibson Les Pauls
“I think Leo Fender reinvented the universe when he made the Telecaster because it’s just so simple and perfect”: Jesse Dayton on his greatest gear hits and misses By David Mead published 23 October 23 Dayton reveals his nostalgic yearning for 1980s Ibanez Artist guitars, and shares his biggest gear-buying tip
Best acoustic guitars under $500 2023: our top picks, including acoustic-electric models By Chris Bird last updated 23 October 23 These sub-$500 acoustic guitars are ideal for everything from folk and indie guitar to blues and country
Best earplugs for musicians 2023: guitarist-friendly plugs to suit every budget By Chris Corfield last updated 23 October 23 Our pick of the best affordable earplugs to protect your hearing from the din of the rehearsal room to the stage
