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Paul Stanley with Matt's Guitar Shop holding his Gibson Flying V

“This is unforgettable. This guitar will stay in my private collection”: Paul Stanley played this Gibson Flying V at the final Kiss concerts – now he’s gifted it to a high-profile vintage guitar dealer

By Matt Owen published

Don't expect it to crop up on the private collector's circuit soon, though – its new owner has decided to add it to his personal collection, and we don't blame him one bit

Ron Bumblefoot Thal performs in a stormtrooper mask

“The iconic solo was about to come up and it's like, ‘Oh god. This is not gonna work out well’”: Bumblefoot says he received death threats after fumbling the Welcome to the Jungle solo – while he was stuck in a stormtrooper helmet

By Matt Parker published

The guitarist ranks the onstage mishap with Guns N’ Roses as his ultimate Spinal Tap moment

Guitarist playing a guitar on a backlit stage

What’s the best guitar riff of 2023?

By Matt Owen published

Recap a year of riffage and help us find the best of the best

Power Rangers and Eddie Van Halen

“Eddie Van Halen handed me a guitar and said, ‘I had to learn that damn riff for Wolfie. Show me how you played it!’” Power Rangers composer Ron Wasserman discusses how he “fooled the master” in his performance of the iconic theme

By Matt Parker published

The man behind the X-Men and Power Rangers soundtracks says EVH asked him for pointers on the track he wrote in just two-and-a-half hours

Ace Frehley

“Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have tried to destroy my reputation over the years. 10,000 Volts is going to make them look like imbeciles”: He may have missed Kiss’ last-ever performance, but Ace Frehley is set to make a statement with his new solo album

By Matt Owen published

The former Kiss guitarist says he's “always been the kind of guy to let the music do the talking” – and that's exactly the plan for his forthcoming record

Soldano Astro 20

“20 watts, four Galaxies, IR equipped”: Soldano’s Astro 20 is a tech-ed up tube amp that offers another dimension (or rather three of them) for high gain tone

By Matt Parker published

The tube amp stalwart turns its eye to the stars with this forward-thinking take on a modern, made-in-the-USA amp design – and all for less than $2,000

Denny Laine performs onstage at Bogie's in Westlake Village, California on February 1, 2018

Denny Laine, Paul McCartney & Wings, Moody Blues guitarist, dies at 79

By Jackson Maxwell published

Aside from Paul and Linda McCartney, Laine was Wings' only constant member

A group of 70th Anniversary Fender Stratocasters

“Blending the timeless essence of history with the spirit of the modern musician”: Fender is starting the Stratocaster’s 70th anniversary celebrations early, with souped-up Player and American Professional II models and the return of a beloved finish

By Matt Owen published

2024 will see a major milestone for the iconic model, and the Big F has previewed a year of special celebrations and releases with six appropriately styled six-strings

Graph Tech Un-Lock

“The future of guitar tuning”: Graph Tech’s new ‘game-changing’ sub-$30 Un-Lock Nut looks to replace the locking nut – and solve your tremolo issues in one go

By Matt Owen published

Tired of locking nuts? Suffering annoying tremolo troubles? The Un-Lock Nut could be the answer, with some choice innovations promising to deliver “the future of guitar tuning”

Kramer Lzzy Hale signature Voyager

“Our first artist model for a female guitarist”: Kramer’s Lzzy Hale signature Voyager makes its debut – with a custom body shape and a blinding Holographic Sparkle finish to match

By Matt Parker published

The Halestorm leader’s new guitar represents a string of firsts for Kramer

PRS NF 53

Step aside, Silver Sky: PRS’ best-selling guitar of 2023 wasn't John Mayer’s signature guitar – it was its all-new ‘Telecaster’-style NF 53 and Myles Kennedy models

By Matt Owen published

Despite only launching in June, the two new entries to the PRS ranks rose straight to the top of the brand's best-selling six-strings of the year

Michael Lemmo

“The last person to really play it like that was Ed”: Eddie Van Halen personally gifted this guitar to Jason Becker in 1996. Now Norm’s demo whiz Michael Lemmo puts the #69 Peavey Wolfgang through its paces in a killer EVH-style demo

By Matt Parker published

The guitar is headed to auction later this month and was brought down to Norman’s Rare Guitars for a preview

Interstellar Audio Machines pedals

Achieve out-of-this-world tones with Interstellar Audio Machine’s Octonaut Hyperdrive, Fuzzsquatch Fuzzdrive and Marsling Octafuzzdrive effect pedals

By Guitar World Staff published

This trio of standout stompboxes offers up everything from super-clean boosts and singing drives to gnarly fuzz and octave-bending mayhem, with top-notch tones and first-class design

Tim Henson, Manuel Gardner Fernandes and Scott LePage

“3 God-tier guitarists on one track”: Tim Henson, Scott LePage and Manuel Gardner Fernandes make late plays for solos of the year on fretboard-melting new collab

By Matt Owen published

Featuring members of Polyphia and Unprocessed, Die on the Cross of the Martyr unites three of today's finest progressive virtuosos – and the result is “the ultimate guitar nerd’s wet dream”

A Sterling by Music Man John Petrucci signature electric guitar on a blue background

Quick! There are only 3 days left to take advantage of Sweetwater's unbelievable up to 80% off Cyber Week Sale

By Matt McCracken published

These sweet deals on guitars, pedals, and amps are still live but won’t be around for much longer

J Mascis and Warren Haynes perform live

Warren Haynes lends his epic solo chops to Dinosaur Jr. as he jams Neil Young and the Cure with J Mascis

By Jonathan Horsley published

The Gov’t Mule frontman became the latest high-profile guest on Dinosaur Jr.’s tour celebrating 30 years of Where You Been, when he joined them at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York

Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani

“He just could not be contained. That was what was so beautiful... If you’ve been tasked with the job of imitating him, it’s like, ‘Well, which moment?’” Joe Satriani says the biggest challenge in covering Eddie Van Halen is pinning him down

By Matt Parker published

The virtuoso has been sharing his thoughts on how to tackle covering one of the world's greatest guitarists – and how to find the sweet spot in EVH's rigs

Kiss

“The new Kiss era begins now”: Watch Kiss close out their 50-year live career with epic last-ever performance – before announcing plans for “digital immortality”

By Matt Owen published

A 23-song setlist filled with hits, some trademark displays of showmanship and a surprise cameo from the digital stars set to carry Kiss into their next era

Myles Goodwyn

Myles Goodwyn, April Wine frontman and Canadian rock legend, dies aged 75

By Jonathan Horsley published

Goodwyn had stepped down from touring with the Canadian Music Hall of Famers in recent months

James Hetfield with 1958 Gibson Les Paul Burst and Roman, his 1959 Les Paul Standard

“It’s called Roman because of the Roman numerals I etched into the back”: James Hetfield owns five ’59 Gibson Les Paul Standard ’Bursts – and he’s carved a massive ‘12’ into one of them

By Matt Parker published

The Metallica man’s new guitar book Messengers showcases perhaps the ultimate example of zero-f**ks-given guitar ownership