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Francis Rossi on the Status Quo groove, Kempers, and his relationship with the late Rick Parfitt
By Henry Yates published
The Quo’s motormouthed frontman had no intention of releasing a new solo album. But with The Accidental, Francis Rossi tells us he’s stumbled across his best work yet

John Lennon’s ’64 Rickenbacker is officially a $1.3m guitar – but it was originally a replacement for a Beatles live show
By Jamie Dickson published
This stunning stand-in Ricky was owned by both John Lennon and Ringo Starr in its time, and was one of the big sales in the Jim Irsay auction at Christie’s

George Harrison’s 1964 Gibson SG Standard is officially part of the multi-million dollar guitar club – but as a piece of Beatles history it’s priceless
By Jamie Dickson published
Sold at auction for $2,271,000, Harrison’s SG is one of the most significant Beatles guitars

Cory Wong on not buying the Klon hype and vintage unicorns lost and found
By Andrew Daly published
The modern-day funk maestro discusses his career in gear, and that means Strats, creative gear solutions, and why he never got swayed by the “mystique” of Klons and tube amp grails

Jason Isbell on the acoustic that was eons in the making and how a stolen guitar brought him into the Martin lineup
By Henry Yates published
Country star Jason Isbell has played Martins ever since he was bailed out by the company after his van was looted… And now he presents new signature models based on his rare pre-war 0-17

Up close and personal with Prince’s $635,000 Yellow Cloud guitar
By Jamie Dickson published
Flamboyant, elegant and built to rock – it can only be one of Prince’s touring guitars. We take a closer look at a guitar that might be shaped like a cloud but has a heft to it that's more Les Paul than cirrus minor

How 2,000 hours of work and some of the world's most exotic tonewoods birthed Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger”
By Jamie Dickson published
Ornate, laden with brass and exotic woods, ‘Tiger’ has become one of the world’s most expensive guitars as part of the recent Jim Irsay auction

How the Gibson ES-5 paved the way for a new wave of electric blues (and maybe even the Strat, too)
By David Davidson published
In the vintage market, the big-box jazz guitars are less sought after but this pair of Gibson ES-5s are holy grails in anyone’s book – especially disciples of T-Bone Walker

What Kurt Cobain’s record-breaking 1969 ‘Competition’ Mustang tells us about Fender’s guitar building in the ’60s
By Jamie Dickson published
The student-model Fender that ignited grunge on the worldwide stage just sold for $6,907,000 as part of the Jim Irsay Collection

Jake E. Lee has added Yungblud’s signature guitar to his collection
By Janelle Borg published
The former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist has been playing the affordable Epiphone – and he's impressed

How Robben Ford helped Fender design their short-lived answer to the Gibson ES-335
By Janelle Borg published
The short-lived build aimed to compete with one of Gibson's flagship models

The history and preservation of Eric Clapton’s The Fool SG
By Jamie Dickson published
With its psychedelic paint job, Clapton’s iconic Cream-era Gibson SG is a guitar like no other. As it goes under the hammer as part of the Jim Irsay Collection, we take a closer look at The Fool SG

Grammy-nominated Malian changemaker Fatoumata Diawara reveals her biggest guitar hero
By Janelle Borg published
Diawara recently made history herself by becoming the first woman of color to collaborate with Epiphone on a signature guitar

David Gilmour’s Black Strat could be about to break records all over again
By Jamie Dickson published
It was the world's most expensive guitar when sold at auction in 2019, but as it goes under the hammer in the Jim Irsay Collection, there are a number of reasons to think it will claim another record

“He felt a responsibility to look after these things”: Inside the greatest guitar auction of all time
By Jamie Dickson published
With Jim Irsay’s epic collection of iconic guitars about to go under the hammer at Christie’s, we find out how this unique treasury of tone was prepared for auction

Why Myles Kennedy felt uneasy using Jeff Buckley’s Telecaster to play Hallelujah
By Phil Weller published
Kennedy played Buckley’s iconic 'Grace' Tele for a special tribute performance of Hallelujah in 2019

How Eric Gales enlisted Buddy Guy, Kingfish, Joe Bonamassa (and his guitar collection) to pay tribute to his brother
By Amit Sharma published
With a little help from Bonamassa and Josh Smith, Eric Gales put together one of the great 21st-century blues albums to honor his brother Little Jimmy King

Why Kim Gordon has stopped playing the bass – despite being an icon of the instrument
By Matt Owen published
Gordon's work with Sonic Youth cemented her reputation as a modern pioneer of the bass guitar – but she hasn't picked one up in over 10 years

![Joanne Shaw Taylor pictured with a Les Paul [left] and B.B. King, taking solo on Lucille at the Chicago Theater in 1991](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xcyUro4TZ38XsPtW6NxmwJ-320-80.jpg)