Guitarist

Blues and rock is still being shaped by the British blues boom of the ’60s – and the O.G. bluesmen who influenced them. But how can today’s players nail their tone and sound? Marcus King, Samantha Fish, Zach Persons, Philip Sayce and Jared James Nichols have their say

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

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

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

The Ten Years After bassist survived Hamburg’s Star-Club, sparked the blues boom, achieved immortality at Woodstock – and is still going strong at 82. “Music,” he says, “it’s a drug…”

The former Oceansize and long-time Biffy Clyro touring guitarist on his love of off-the-beaten-path six-strings and why you've got to try before you buy

With vibe and mojo off the charts, this UK boutique build is a stunning example of what a little imagination can do with when applied to Blackguard inspiration

60 years ago, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker put together Cream. This is the story of the early years of the power trio that changed the face of popular music, and elevated Clapton to God-like status

He might be young, but the Clarksdale, Mississippi phenom has already announced his presence as the world’s bluesman-in-chief

The departed soul man was the Stax band’s MVP, writing and driving the R&B classics that ruled the ’60s

Only two features distinguished a Mary Kaye Stratocaster from any other Strat that might have rolled off Fender’s production line during the mid-to-late 1950s. So why are vintage examples so darn valuable?

Recording acoustic guitars at home can be frustrating and rewarding in equal measure – but it doesn't need to be. Here’s how to get started, and how to get great results

With so much choice and range in price, is it getting harder to know the true worth of a potential purchase?

Boss's Matt Knight gives us the lowdown on the XS-1 and XS-100 Poly Shifter series, the pitch-shifting pedals that put the DigiTech Whammy on notice

DarWin guitarist Greg Howe and bassist Mohini Dey, plus the supergroup’s mysterious namesake, tell us about new album, Distorted Mirror, and how it is reinventing the concept album

Starting out in a London pub, Georgie Hume and the Pity Party are taking a wayfaring approach to jazz, soul, and surf guitar, and Hume has some help from a left-field “secret weapon” pedal

The country superstar shares his love for holy grail amps, writing riffs on cheap guitars, and the Nocaster once owned by Cinderella’s Tom Keifer that’s “worth every cent”