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October 2026

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109 articles

October 24
- Who was the first artist to get their own signature guitar from Gibson? Test your knowledge of one of the most iconic guitar brands with our quiz
- The best new gear this week, feat. a new type of metal guitar, the return of Jeff Buckley’s beloved Ovation – and a Fender collab we didn’t see coming
October 23
- “Not exactly cutting edge”: Fender released a $32 Telecaster chopping board – and someone turned it into an actual guitar
- Richie Kotzen all-but-confirms he has a new signature Strat on the way – and it might be his best yet
- Two-hand tapping is coming to Guitar Hero’s spiritual successor thanks to a new controller from a Fender collab
- “There’s this legend, Ozzy, standing next to him, but I’m not watching the legend. I’m watching this new guy on guitar”: The first time Marty Friedman saw Randy Rhoads play guitar
- “I’'m tired of the endless stream of white blues that dominates the blues festival circuit”: British Blues Hall of Famer Robin Davey slams Joe Bonamassa and accuses today’s blues players of lacking soul
- “My hero wasn’t just the guy I hoped he’d be. He was so much more than that”: Country legend John Anderson dies, aged 71
October 22
- “Guitarists with other brands will play their Strandberg at home then get on stage with their signature guitars”: Ola Strandberg on the fight to change the public perception of headless guitars
- “I thought it was a genius idea. It seemed like a whole project rather than just a single bass”: Fender and Mark Hoppus release signature bass you can customize yourself – but it’s only available for 182 hours
- The Offspring guitarist Noodles steps back from live performances following “sudden and fairly serious health issue”
- “PRS probably won’t shake the preconceptions, but your dentist might well be a better sweep-picker”: PRS has made a major metal play with the Tekton lineup – Guitar World editors react
- Fender unveils super-stylish Telecaster to help celebrate anniversary of Paul Smith (no, not that one)
October 21
- The Jerry Cantrell advice that Ann Wilson still carries with her today: “It was rough language, but I knew what he meant”
- “A late career blessing”: The Eagles add more dates to record-breaking Las Vegas Sphere residency
- “When we dared to be different”: Ovation revives the cult Viper guitar, once beloved by Jeff Buckley
October 20
- “Designed for the most technical of modern players”: PRS unveils the Tekton range – purpose-built metal guitars with pickups designed for digital rigs
- “The guy is phenomenal. His bending? He’s curving the bullet”: John Mayer’s current favorite guitar player is disobeying fretboard physics – and has already been championed by Slash
- “It feels overdue as they have been part of the story since the beginning”: Gibson pays homage to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ long legacy with ultra-limited Flying V 50th anniversary model
October 19
- “A dream come true”: Street Fighter soundtrack guitarist revealed
- Bob Dylan has another new mystery guitar player in his band – and fans think they know who it is
- Carbon fiber acoustic pioneer discontinues entire range to make way for its next chapter
- “Helped shape the sound of modern electric guitar”: Lonnie Mack’s guitar rig sells for $550,000 at auction – alongside new record holder for the most expensive 1959 Les Paul ’Burst
- Struggling to find the right beginner acoustic? The Ibanez V Series has you covered
October 18
- “My dad could do things on a guitar neck that most people couldn’t, just because of the physical size of his hands”: What set Chuck Berry’s playing apart, according to his son
October 17
- The best new guitar gear this week, ft. a major moment for Fender, the ultimate overdrive pedal, and a pocket-sized guitar studio
October 16
- Neko Engineering unveils the NAM-compatible wireless studio tool that fits in your pocket – could this AI-equipped guitar workstation transform practice and recording?
- “I went to Guitar Center and said, ‘I want an ES-335 so bad. But I only have $600’”: How Emily Wolfe ended up with the Epiphone that’s defined her career – after missing out on her dream Gibson
- We’ve reviewed dozens of online guitar lessons platforms – now you can fix your playing for less with 45% off our number one choice
- “Joe told me he’d used plugins. And I was stunned because I had a very snobbish attitude”: Steve Vai and Joe Satriani relied on guitar plugins for their new collaborative album
- “Celebrating his musical legacy and creative spirit”: Fender honors George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records legacy with limited-edition Stratocaster
- “He's no musician. I heard them playing acoustic instruments, and they couldn't. It was appalling”: Roger Waters slams James Hetfield following controversial comments at The Sphere in Las Vegas
- John Mayer has worked with PRS and Fender, but the Strat wasn’t his first signature guitar. Do you know what was? Test your knowledge of one of guitar’s biggest names in our quiz
- “This is one of the craziest items in our history”: Josh Scott of JHS Pedals is selling a treasure trove of rare pedals and prototypes in new Reverb store
- “There’s videos of me playing five strings. I broke a string in the first bend”: Joe Bonamassa’s nightmare string snap at Buddy Guy's 90th birthday bash
October 15
- “There is a lot riding on this one”: Fender’s overhauled American Professional line has officially dropped – Guitar World editors react
- “I fretted a string and it sliced right through my finger. There was blood all over the place”: What happened when Tony Iommi played guitar without his prosthetic fingertips
- “He had just left Van Halen, and he wanted to get the hottest guitar player, I guess”: Yngwie Malmsteen on turning down David Lee Roth’s band
- 16-year-old America's Got Talent winner Nene Royal joins Avenged Sevenfold onstage: “They asked for me”
- “I’d try to figure out chords, but Nancy would pick it up and just rule on it. I realized she was a killer player when she was only eight”: How Nancy Wilson ended up becoming Heart's guitar player instead of Ann
October 14
- Randy Rhoads, Marty Friedman and Scott Ian honored in Jackson’s new Legend Series – celebrating some of the most iconic guitars in the brand’s history
- Gibson has rolled out its game-changing Baggs acoustic pickup system on four new guitars
- “When the Falcons asked me to suggest songs that would bring some serious energy to the stadium, there was one band that instantly came to mind”: Tetrarch's Diamond Rowe delivers searing performance of a Metallica classic at NFL game
- “Ozzy said, ‘It’s not an option. It’s what I want. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way’”: Ozzy Osbourne went against medical advice to play his final show
- “The ultimate overdrive”? JHS Pedals crams the Morning Glory and Notaklön into one unit – and you don’t have to build it yourself
October 13
- More than just a modeler: the MELOFTY Axom Max will change the way you think about guitar tone – and take you into new tonal frontiers
- “We didn't want to just say we changed everything. But we were like, ‘How can we make it better?’” Fender reveals the next-generation American Professional range – and fixes a “70-year gripe”
- Tom Morello on being one of the only people on the planet to hold Randy Rhoads’ guitar: “His mom didn’t want anyone else to ever play it again, but I got to hold it. The crazy thing was that the leather guitar strap still smelled of cigarette smoke”
October 12
- “A next-generation guitar pedal that will redefine everything”: Zoom embraces NAM and AI stem separation with a $300 touchscreen amp modeler, the Neurig
- “I feel incredibly lucky that I got to know him, hang out with him and play music with him”: Slash honored with the Les Paul Spirit Award
- “At the age of 13, I bought a Guitar World with Eddie Van Halen on the cover and fell in love with his signature model”: John Mayer shreds Van Halen with Dave Grohl on the Music Man Axis that made his childhood dreams come true
October 11
- “Seeing that much talent onstage at one time was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I’ll never forget”: What’s the best guitar jam you’ve ever seen?
- “It disproves all the people who spend their lives arguing about which sounds better out of ash, maple, alder, mahogany or rosewood”: Zakk Wylde isn’t convinced by the tonewood debate
- “I once visited a science museum… my guitar was literally controlling physical fire”: Stanley Jordan is writing a metal album on James Hetfield’s signature ESP
October 10
- Comfortably Numb is considered David Gilmour’s greatest achievement, but it features another guitar player as well. Who is it? Test your knowledge with our Pink Floyd guitar quiz
- “I wanted to hate it”: The week in gear, ft. Castle Rat’s medieval signature model, Joe Bonamassa’s digital Twin and much, much more
October 9
- Journey halts set after drummer Deen Castronovo suffers onstage medical emergency
- “When asked ‘how long can you continue,’ I’ve always answered, ‘until my performances suffer.’ I hate to say it, but that time has come”: Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill retires after nearly 60 years, names replacement
- “Tarantino wanted to get a genuine reaction out of her”: Ex-Martin employee says destruction of 145-year-old acoustic in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight was no accident
- “I called Tony. He said he was into it as long as Bill was there”: Andrew Watt and Tony Iommi are at odds over why the final Black Sabbath album never happened
- “I didn’t know Carlos Santana and John Mayer were dentists”: Paul Reed Smith tackles the PRS ‘guitars for dentists’ reputation head on
October 8
- Your backstage pass to music's most-talked-about reunion tour – here's how to watch Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger from anywhere
- “For Joe Bonamassa to choose a digital Fender, and say it sounds even better than the original, is a real inflection point for our industry”: Joe Bonamassa goes digital with the first ever Fender Tone Master signature amp
- Aerosmith announce two star-studded Hollywood Bowl shows featuring Slash, Nuno, Steve Stevens and Heart – but is this goodbye?
- “Don't be bidding up the old version on eBay”: Behringer got sued over its Klon Centaur clone. Now it’s back with four different versions – all priced under $76
- UK budget guitar brand that won a fan in Joe Bonamassa saved from closure: “We’re proud that we have the chance to continue the journey”
October 7
- “Few guitars carry a legacy as rich”: Gibson revives one of the most influential archtops in its history
- Playing through a modeler? I've tested 15 pairs of studio headphones, and 2 of my favorite cans are on sale for Prime Day
- “This is the sound of Wylde Audio evolving”: Zakk Wylde’s guitar brand has launched its first acoustic guitars – and they’ve been tested on Black Label Society’s new album
- Prime Day guitar deals 2026 LIVE: Amazon Big Deal Days may be over, but these guitar discounts are very much still live
- The secret supergroup that once featured Eddie Van Halen has been resurrected – and has recruited John Petrucci, Steve Vai, Joe Bonamassa and Steve Lukather
- Struggling to find decent guitar deals in Amazon's Prime Day sale? Head over to Musician's Friend's up to 50% off Rocktober sale instead – I've found silly prices on Epiphone, Schecter, Fender, Gibson and more
- I tested this rechargeable Mooer multi-effects pedal for three hours and it barely lost any battery – now it's dropped to $210 for Prime Day
- “We’re really looking forward to welcoming the Hurricane back onto the stage”: Nita Strauss returns to Alice Cooper’s band for the first time after her temporary leave
- I'm a Les Paul addict. Now with $700 off a Gibson Les Paul, plus hundreds off Epiphone Jeff Beck and Jared James Nichols signature models, these Prime Day deals are seriously testing my willpower
October 6
- “Fender was always just the pinnacle. I wanted nothing more to have the best guitar for me”: John 5 becomes the most decorated Telecaster artist in history with three new signature Fenders
- “I was supposed to walk down the stage with a 50ft cape. There were going to be explosions”: Prince headhunted acoustic virtuoso Andy McKee to open his shows. Then he laid out his outrageous vision
- I’ve found 11 amazing Big Deal Days deals for guitar players - and they’re all $20 or less
- $119 for a genuine Strat? Count me in. This Squier Debut Prime Day deal will leave beginners with enough cash for an amp
- Every Positive Grid Spark amp has been discounted for Prime Day – including 4.5-star favorites, the Steve Vai Spark Mini and the Neo Core headphones
- Stock up on guitar strings from just $4.99 a pack with these mega multipack guitar string deals in the Amazon Big Deal Days sale
- We bought, tested, and ranked 8 dirt-cheap Amazon pedals – now 7 of them are discounted in the Big Deal Days sale starting from only $27.06!
- “Eddie came up to me and said, ‘I’m speechless. I had no idea you were that good’”: Tapping genius Stanley Jordan on the time he floored Eddie Van Halen with his playing
- This compact overdrive is so good my bandmate stole it off me – now with 20% off in Amazon's Big Deal Days sale, it's time he bought his own!
- “He was carried in, basically. I couldn’t believe how he’d deteriorated”: Tony Iommi was shocked when he reunited with Ozzy Osbourne for Back to the Beginning rehearsals
October 5
- “90% of these guys… you hear them play and go, ‘Dude, you can’t even play the guitar’”: Jared James Nichols has no time for blues dentists collecting vintage guitars
- “The world has lost a formidable talent”: Sass Jordan, Canadian rock singer and bassist who gave Taylor Hawkins his big break and toured with Van Halen, dies aged 63
- “Hack it all you want. You have my blessing”: John Mayer has seen your Silver Sky mods – and he loves them
- Tom Morello and Bruce Springsteen covering John Lennon, and Jack Black’s Black Sabbath tribute set with Geezer Butler: here’s what went down at Power to the People festival
- “I’ve seen a lot of Marshalls and Les Pauls in my life, and a lot of Strats. What I do not see, that’s what I'm interested in”: Josh Homme on his “dumb system” for picking guitar gear
- I'd never heard of Eart until I reviewed their headless guitar and gave it 4.5 stars. Now it's only $351 in this epic early Amazon Big Deal Days sale
October 4
- “The longest and narrowest digital pedal ever created”: DSM/Humboldt’s concept multi-effects might be a joke – but we kinda love it
- Guitar World editors name the gear trends that leave them cold: “Sorry, it will never be part of my rig”
- Chibson pokes fun at Fender’s Stratocaster copyright campaign with Cease & Desist control knobs – and they go to 11
October 3
- Eruption announced Eddie Van Halen as a game-changing guitarist. But what effect does he kick in for its end section? Test your EVH knowledge with our quiz
- “Each have forged their own remarkable paths as artists, creators and mentors”: Lari Basilio joins Kiki Wong and leads the latest She Rocks Awards honoree list for 2027
- “It’s one of the most mythical amp brands of all time. And now it’s actually returned”: The best guitar gear launched this week, ft. one of John Mayer’s favorite amp heads and the world’s tiniest six-string bass
October 2
- Dean parent company ordered to pay Gibson more than $4 million in legal costs
- I've spent hundreds of hours tracking guitars, and with up to 50% off in Sweetwater's studio and recording sale, here's what I'd buy
- Metallica Sphere Residency 2026: everything the metal legends played on night one in Las Vegas
- “People credit us with starting a movement, but it was inevitable. Punk had died. Metal was lame”: The trailblazing life of Conrad ‘Cronos’ Lant, Venom frontman and extreme metal godfather
- “Forgive my ignorance about who we do shows with. I honestly don’t keep up with new music”: Jim Root responds to backlash over Slipknot taking Marilyn Manson on tour
- Buddy Guy still stuns at 90 during star-studded, curfew-breaking birthday concert – live review: “It’s almost 11, and Buddy Guy and Bobby Rush are piling one blues classic on top of another. The biggest names haven’t even done their numbers yet”
October 1
- “There are still five other body shapes that no-one has seen”: Dimebag Darrell’s confidential guitar designs could become a reality
- Guitar Summit 2026: 10 highlights from Europe's biggest guitar show
- “It’s available in the two most important colors ever – Gothic Black and Ultra Pink”: The hottest bass gear of the month, including the smallest signature bass money can buy
- “Amazon got two takedown orders”: Fender has hit 60 firms with cease-and-desists
- My favorite headphone amp for guitarists just dropped to its lowest-ever price in Positive Grid's Sparktober sale, along with a budget-friendly FRFR cab
- Dumble is officially back: you can now order an Overdrive Special – the amp beloved by John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa and Lowell George