Watch Bonnie Raitt leave B.B. King in awe with a series of stunning slide solos at the House of Blues Chicago in 2004 By Jackson Maxwell published 8 March 23 King once said that Raitt was the “best damn slide player working today”
Watch Pedalpocalypse, Season 1 By Scott Rowley published 7 March 23 Every episode of "the Desert-Island-Discs but for pedals", starring Vai, Trout, Smith, Krasno, Fletcher, Grossi and McKeon, in one binge-able place
Gary Rossington recalls the making of 10 landmark Lynyrd Skynyrd tracks: “The more wild experiences you have the better songs you can write” By Alan Paul published 6 March 23 In this classic interview, the late Southern rock icon discusses Ronnie Van Zant's habit of writing lyrics in the shower, how Sweet Home Alabama started as a joke and why the band's record label begged them not to include Free Bird on their debut album
Watch David Gilmour play the Black Strat with Pink Floyd for the final time By Jackson Maxwell published 24 February 23 Gilmour's long-icy relationship with estranged Floyd bassist and songwriter Roger Waters thawed just long enough for the band's classic lineup to perform one last time at the 2005 Live 8 benefit concert
Why Steve Vai’s vibrato is unlike any other guitar player’s – and how he came up with his innovative ‘circular’ approach By Michael Astley-Brown published 17 February 23 The virtuoso wanted his vibrato to bend the note’s pitch down as well as up, so he figured out his own way of doing it
Watch Jeff Beck play Locomotive with Guns N' Roses at a 1992 soundcheck for a live collaboration that never happened By Jackson Maxwell published 17 February 23 Beck would ultimately pull out of his performance in Paris with the hard-rock giants – and, potentially, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry – leaving these rehearsal videos as a tantalizing 'what if'
Introducing alternate hybrid picking, a new guitar technique that could change the way you solo By Matt Owen published 14 February 23 Pioneered by Thiago Trinsi and inspired by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, alternate hybrid picking seeks to add a "modern touch" to two traditional playing techniques
Watch Japanese fusion legend Masayoshi Takanaka shred on an awe-inspiring surfboard guitar By Jackson Maxwell published 10 February 23 Revered for his contributions to Japanese popular music, Takanaka is equally well-known for his love of truly jaw-dropping custom guitars
This instrumental virtuoso is evolving this tiny, traditional Brazilian guitar – and jamming with Steve Vai provided the inspiration By Matt Owen published 10 February 23 The four-string, 13”-scale Bahian guitar has remained relatively true to its heritage since it was invented back in the 1940s. Now, Igor Hereda – with the help of a radical six-string signature model – is aiming to bring the instrument into the modern era
Walter Trout: "You don't need pedals. If you get a kickass amp, why would you put it through a $100 pedal?" By Scott Rowley published 6 February 23 Walter Trout explains and demonstrates why he doesn't use pedals: it's all in his volume control and pickup selection
Hear Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather’s isolated guitar parts from Michael Jackon’s Beat It By Matt Owen published 26 January 23 From Lukather’s iconic riff to Van Halen’s ground-breaking solo, listen to all the guitar parts behind Jackson’s 1982 smash hit in extreme clarity
Hank Marvin: “When I got the first Strat we’d ordered with a ‘tremolo arm’, I was intrigued. None of us had seen one before or really knew what it did” By Neville Marten published 19 January 23 Cited by Clapton, May, Page and more, Marvin is the first true legend of instrumental guitar. Here, he talks gypsy jazz, his favorite Shadows tunes, and the genius of Jeff Beck
Yardbirds guitar legends unite: Watch Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page jam on Layla at 1983 ARMS Charity concert By Jackson Maxwell published 18 January 23 The three Yardbirds alums – who between them did much to shape rock guitar – came together for the first time for a magical run of shows in the early '80s
Jeff Beck's 10 greatest guitar solos By Amit Sharma published 17 January 23 10 solos every guitarist needs to hear from one of the most influential players to ever pick up the instrument
Why Jeff Beck was the guitar hero's guitar hero: Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Vince Gill, Steve Stevens and more pay tribute By David Von Bader published 12 January 23 Some of guitar's greatest names share how Beck influenced their own playing, praising his mastery of the space between the notes and relentless pursuit of innovation
Uli Jon Roth: “For me, the heavy metal direction was boring. I wasn't interested in it. I wanted to go in almost the opposite direction” By Andrew Daly published 11 January 23 The German virtuoso on how feeling in “musical no man's land” led to his decision to leave Scorpions in 1975, and go on to spearhead a new style of neoclassical guitar – and what he thinks about Kirk Hammett quoting his solos in Metallica's Battery
Watch John Mayer help Steve Jobs launch GarageBand and usher in a new age of home recording By Matt Owen published 11 January 23 On this week in 2004, the musical and entrepreneurial visionaries teamed up to debut the revolutionary software, which changed the world of home recording and production forever
Michael Jackson's Beat It: two of rock's best guitarists recall how they helped create the groundbreaking hit, and the 30-second solo that changed the world By Jackson Maxwell published 4 January 23 Coming off the disco-flavored Off the Wall, Jackson wanted Thriller to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, including fans of heavier music. Enter Steve Lukather and Eddie Van Halen...
Session guitarist Mitch Dalton takes you behind the scenes of the recording of Eric Idle's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life By Mitch Dalton published 16 December 22 How the Monty Python classic was made, buried, resurrected by a Beatle and celebrated an afterlife as a football terrace chant
The 10 best guitar solos of 2022 By Jonathan Horsley published 14 December 22 As voted for by you, and featuring the lead guitar skills of Nita Strauss, Sophie Lloyd, John Frusciante, Polyphia, Steve Vai and more, here are the solos that lit up your year