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June 2025

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119 articles

June 22
- “I wanted to have the register like a violin. The luthier said to me, ‘I can build you any guitar you like.’ It was a lightbulb moment for me”: Uli John Roth on what you get when you cross a Strat and a Les Paul with a violin hybrid
June 21
- “This wasn’t a guy who got better every six months or every week; this was a guy who got better every 60 seconds”: Randy Rhoads became a legend with Ozzy Osbourne, but his incredible playing was evident long before then
June 20
- “I wanted it to be striking, bright, and a baritone so I can use it on tour for the song”: PRS celebrates Ed Sheeran’s collab with Dave Grohl and John Mayer on the F1 movie soundtrack with one-off, racing-themed guitar
- Guitar World deals of the week: save $230 on a Fender Tone Master amp, get more than half off a guitar pedal, plus all the week's best deals
- Two world leaders solidify diplomatic relations by delivering their own rendition of an Eric Clapton classic
- “It's best always to just do the same chord and call it different things”: SNL legend Fred Armisen has a signature guitar strap – but there's something not quite right about his guide to chords
- “I’ve never been one of those guys who will go into a guitar store and play Stairway to Heaven…’” Jim Babjak reveals he once bought a ’70s Les Paul without even trying it – and how it would go on to shape one of The Smithereens' biggest hits
- “Keith didn't want anything to do with it. He hated my records”: Dann Huff and Keith Urban got off to a rocky start – but they went on to create a string of number 1 singles together
June 19
- “He played upright but wanted to play the P-Bass. Motown said, ‘Nah, you ain't making no money playing that.’ But he said, ‘If you want me, I'm playing the P-Bass’”: Bootsy Collins on the musician that totally “changed his mind” about bass playing
- “Ensures your tuning stays locked no matter how hard you go”: Charvel adds an Evertune to its shred-friendly hardtail Superstrat
- “I wanted to say, ‘There’s nobody out there. We gotta walk away from this.’ But I couldn’t. He was a great player”: The guitarist who saved Thin Lizzy – and made their last album hit like a “sledgehammer”
- Electric Legoland: Jimi Hendrix is now available in Lego form – but it’s missing the Strat
- “You were part of a team. There were always 350-400 studio musicians working in the busy 1960s”: Carol Kaye has declined her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction invitation
June 18
- “Someone sent me a picture and was like, ‘Isn’t this your guitar?’” That time Diamond Rowe saw her signature guitar on stage with one of her biggest influences
- “The last time I saw one for sale on Ebay, somebody wanted $300 for it”: Session ace Justin Ostrander on the sought-after pill bottle slide used by Duane Allman and Derek Trucks – and how he got one for free
- “Built to make tuning faster, more precise, and effortless”: Band Industries’ Roadie 4 – a noise-immune automatic tuner – builds on its acclaimed predecessor, with some key upgrades
- “This is for the guys that think they know everything about the clone, yet they just want to have a little bit more”: Keeley Electronics adds more compression, suppression, bass, and headroom to the Klon Centaur recipe
- “When I picked up the Fender, it immediately responded to what I was putting into it. So I went out and bought a Tele and a Strat on the same day”: Fender's highly sought-after Richie Kotzen signature Stratocaster has just been rolled out worldwide
- “We were all ready to become millionaires after a couple of years... He was great at that age. I couldn’t believe it”: How Gary Moore came to join Skid Row at just 15 years old – and why the guitar legend left
- “They understood the sentimentality of these instruments and worked incredibly hard to bring them home”: Heart's stolen instruments have been recovered by the police – with a little help from the public
- I've just found the best streaming deal of the summer – get up to 4 free months of Amazon Music Unlimited right now
June 17
- “I want to share with everyone else what he shared with me”: Marcus King’s vintage Gibson ES-345 has passed through 3 generations of his family. Now, his new signature model brings it to the masses
- “Barracuda is a powerful piece of music that was never intended for political use”: Nancy Wilson speaks out after Donald Trump uses a Heart classic without permission
- “My phone buzzes: ‘Come down and see Robben’s amp.’ I’m stressing out like, ‘Oh, somebody's poured beer in it...’” That time Robben Ford brought his prized Dumble amp to a guitar retreat – and let fans play it
- “I bet if it had been Brian May playing this it would have been labeled incredible!” Sam Ryder delivers an electric guitar-driven rendition of the British national anthem – and somehow stirs up controversy
- “He started playing rhythm stuff and asked me to play lead. I said, ‘Pete, it’s your album’”: How Snowy White ended up working with Peter Green on In the Skies – the comeback album that lifted the blues rock legend out of obscurity
- “I would love to work with artists who have already built up beautiful collections and are ready to let a few things go”: Is Gibson about to start selling artist-owned vintage gems?
June 16
- Giacomo Turra stole their work – now, Jack Gardiner, Alex Hutchings, and a host of other players have teamed up to deliver the ultimate funk masterclass
- “Will remind me of the hours I spent in the taverns of Azeroth”: Jackson has built a one-of-a-kind World of Warcraft guitar for Malevolence’s Konan Hall – and it was inspired by his in-game character
- Fender re-enters the tuner pedal market with an “ultra-precise” strobe stompbox to rival Peterson and Boss – and it’s more affordable than both
- “I apologize for the broken beer bottle that was thrown at him”: Melissa Auf der Maur surprises fans as she reunites with Billy Corgan to perform a Smashing Pumpkins classic
- “I said, ‘Give me a mop and some cleaning supplies.’ I scrubbed that bathroom and I made it spotless”: Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto is on a mission to raise store standards – and says he’s not above scrubbing restrooms
- “A first in the history of electric bass guitar”: Stephen Malkmus is using his bass string as a guitar strap onstage with his new supergroup – and it looks uncomfortable
- “Noel pointed to my smashed guitar and said, ‘Whose is that?’ Liam said, ‘That’s yours.’ Noel replies, ‘It ain’t mine!’” How an Oasis engineer ended up with the Wonderwall acoustic – after his budget Fender got destroyed in a Gallagher brother bust-up
June 15
- “The boys and I had just gotten off tour. We got a call from our booking agent…” How a “fluke accident” led to Lzzy Hale playing at Dio’s last-ever show
June 14
- “One of the most hotly anticipated gear releases of the modern era has finally landed – and it still managed to sneak in a few surprises”: Here is all the new gear that has caught my eye this week – and, yes, that's a pink Jazzmaster
- “I went, ‘I’m sorry we all couldn’t do it.’ Tom Morello goes, ‘Well, Dan and Maynard are playing with these people.’ I went, ‘I didn’t know that…’” Adam Jones on why Tool weren’t originally going to take part in Ozzy Osbourne’s last-ever show
June 13
- “Phenomenal tone at any volume”: Fender’s American Vintage ’62 Super revives a “hidden treasure” tube amp that bridged the gap between two legendary combo designs
- “I’d never heard it like that, apart from on record, because in the days of Zeppelin, I’d do as much as I could with the one guitar”: 25 years ago, Jimmy Page’s live vision for one Zeppelin classic was fully realized – thanks to the Black Crowes
- “Bringing together the analog elements that have defined Supro with state-of-the-art cabinet emulation”: Supro’s new Airwaves combo is a 6V6-driven 1x12 with onboard Two Notes tech for vintage-modern versatility
- “It’s time”: Matt Bellamy channels his inner Meshuggah with a wild new 8-string Manson model – which has already been put to work on a monstrous new Muse song
- “Reimagining the acoustic experience for daring and adventurous players”: Fender debuts the California Standard Series – bringing its popular budget acoustics to even lower price points
- Fender promised a tweed version of our top-rated Tone Master FRFR speaker last year – now, it’s finally been announced
June 12
- “I had no idea of the impact that these Instagram videos were having until I went to South Korea. There were 500 people there just to see this ‘Mateus Asato guy’”: How Mateus Asato changed gears from sideman and Instagram guitarist to fully-fledged artist
- Mark Speer has captivated audiences with his genre-blending playing style – but the Khruangbin guitarist claims it's mainly due to playing only one single guitar for over two decades
- “With my wrist, the arthritis and everything, that would be very challenging”: Everyone is expecting Jake E. Lee to play Bark at the Moon at Ozzy Osbourne’s last show – but he has his doubts
- Hardtail Strats, Bigsby-clad Teles, and a pink Jazzmaster: Squier rolls out its 2025 Classic Vibe collection – and heads into unexpected territory
- PMT, one of the UK’s largest instrument retailers, has been placed into administration – closing all stores and making 96 members of staff redundant
- Black Sabbath! The final interview with Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – all yours in the new Guitar World
- “I had no idea you could get a sound like that”: The player that almost convinced The Office star Creed Bratton to give up guitar altogether
- “He looks at the way the black finish is cracking, takes the finish off, and there's a Paisley staring at him”: Brad Paisley thought he had bought just another ’60s refin Tele – turns out, there was a $30,000 guitar hidden under the spray paint
- “He goes, ‘You’ve got to put a battery in the back.’ I was like, ‘A battery? What are you talking about?’” Zakk Wylde on how a student introduced him to a pickup pairing that would end up defining his sound with Ozzy Osbourne and beyond
- “He dug around and said, ‘You know what this is? It’s one of the Beach Boys amps’”: Ben Harper’s Dumble was inexplicably found at a yard sale – and it had previously belonged to one of the biggest rock bands of all time
- “A sleek new take on a classic machine”: Jackson officially launches its affordable Surfcaster reissue – bringing the cult offset back for a new generation of heavy players
June 11
- “A new type of product”: Line 6 ushers in a bold new era of amp modelers with the Helix Stadium – an extensively upgraded family of touchscreen-equipped floorboards that take the term ‘all-in-one rig’ to unprecedented heights
- Brian Wilson, creative leader of the Beach Boys and transformative figure in pop music, dies at 82
- “He said, ‘It’s really cool when you watch someone a lot and then you get to meet them in person’”: Marty Schwartz recently bumped into Slash – and it turns out the guitar legend had been watching his videos to brush up his blues chops
- “These instruments are extensions of our musical souls”: Nancy Wilson’s stolen custom Telecaster has been found by police – but the search for a second missing Heart instrument goes on
- “I was broke. I only had $200 and we booked a gig. There was this guitar at a pawn shop that had been there for years...” How George Thorogood stumbled across the Gibson that became his go-to guitar – a week before his first gig with the Destroyers
- “It caught me, this broken guitar amongst all this rubble. Then someone recognized it and reached out”: After a tornado devastated its community, this local music store is fixing guitars damaged in the storm for free
- “A turning point in Orangewood’s evolution”: After bringing the rubber bridge mod to the masses, Orangewood has now launched its first electric – a stunning offset baritone
- Guitar World Discussion: What’s your greatest guitar hero encounter?
- “I had that guy on the phone and said, ‘Give me one good reason why we should sell you the guitar?’ He said, ‘The money.’ I said, ‘That’s not a good reason’”: Why Uli Jon Roth turned down a $9 million offer for Jimi Hendrix’s iconic black Strat
- “The world has changed. I can confidently make up my mind to stop”: Former Evanescence guitarist Jen Majura steps away from music industry due to “AI-related developments”
- “There was nothing challenging about it in any way whatsoever”: Robben Ford spent months touring with George Harrison – but the experience didn’t stretch his guitar chops
June 10
- “Khruangbin has made a huge mark on music. They blend cultures and eras into something entirely their own”: For the first time, Fender has launched a signature guitar and bass for the same band simultaneously – with new Mark Speer and Laura Lee models
- Gibson brings back its wild Les Paul acoustic hybrid for the first time in more than 20 years – and it’s unlike any other version that came before it
- “To scare Randy, I pulled the gun and fired it into the ceiling, thinking that would make him leave. He charged right at me”: Kelly Garni on how a drunken fight with Randy Rhoads spelled the end of his Quiet Riot career
- “He’s gesturing wildly to us and finally he gets the courage to come over. He says, ‘You guys are sitting on the pyro!’” The time Ozzy Osbourne almost blew up Tom Morello and Slash
- “Ever dreamed of owning a piece of Nirvana’s legacy?” A Kurt Cobain guitar pick previously sold for more than $14k – now his MTV Unplugged plectrum is being raffled off for much, much less
- Missed out on tickets to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s last-ever live gig? Here’s how you can still watch the “greatest heavy metal show ever”
June 9
- “A monumental figure, a groundbreaking innovator, and a true pioneer who redefined the landscape of pop, funk, and rock music”: Sly Stone, restlessly creative musical giant who led Sly and the Family Stone, dies at 82
- “At some point in time, we may have to get our head around the fact that these things we trade will be worth absolutely nothing”: Joe Bonamassa on the one thing you should never do when buying a guitar
- “Nike tried to go direct and pull back from retailers. It got crushed”: Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto may be facing new competition from Fender and Gibson in the retail space – but it isn’t fazing him
- “That’s one of the first things Phil said to me, ‘You’re in, but we gotta change that guitar’”: Scott Gorham may have passed his Thin Lizzy audition – but his budget Les Paul copy certainly didn’t
- “I’ll list them on eBay or Reverb”: Kirk Hammett doesn’t want his guitars to go unplayed – so he’s been secretly selling them online
- “I have the memories”: Wolfgang Van Halen says he’s stopped listening to his dad’s music
- “The perpetrator is in custody now”: Nancy Wilson confirms a man has been arrested for the theft of “one-of-a-kind” Heart instruments – but the instruments are nowhere to be found
- “We teased it as an April Fools. It was intentional to keep people guessing”: Strandberg is working on a headless acoustic guitar – and you may have already seen a prototype
June 8
- “He was like, ‘Dude, you need to give me guitar lessons!’”: Tetrarch's Diamond Rowe reveals the metal legend who asked her for guitar pointers
- “There's a great picture of Eddie, Pat Thrall, and myself backstage. Oh man, we look awesome. Three guitar players, just 24 years old”: Pat Travers recalls the best show he ever played – with Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Van Halen all on the same bill
June 7
- “I think John always thought it was me, Steve, and Paul against him, but it wasn’t quite like that”: Glen Matlock opens up about Sid Vicious replacing him in the Sex Pistols to become one of punk's most iconic figures
June 6
- “The importance of one clear voice playing the melodies and solos are things we take seriously”: Joe Satriani reveals how Satch/Vai’s onstage chemistry works – and why sometimes some songs are best left to Steve Vai
- Guitarists, it’s time to change those strings – bag 25% off D’Addario XS at Guitar Center in celebration of World String Change Day
- “It showed us that a rock band can still bring the house down on such a mainstream platform”: Indian band Girish and the Chronicles deliver searing riffs on America's Got Talent with their hard rock take on an Adele classic
- “We got back to the hotel, and when we walked up to the desk, the guy said, ‘There’s a message from David Bowie’”: Fanny's June Millington recalls the band's first encounter with the Thin White Duke, who would become one of their biggest fans
- A pink Daisy Rock acoustic guitar, signed by Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, has just smashed its estimate as it sells for over $100,000 at auction
- “Swan song folks, it's been a great ride”: Joe Bonamassa adds a ninth Dumble to his collection – and promises it will be his last
- “If something works there, it works everywhere”: Why Josh Homme prefers to write his songs on acoustic guitar first
- “I was just like, ‘This is a sign, man, because this situation blows right now”: The moment that Andrew Watt dived into production – after starting out his career as a recording musician
June 5
- “I only asked them to play on my album because the record company thought a few well-known names would be a good selling point”: Snowy White tells the story of his 1994 collaboration with Gary Moore and David Gilmour
- “Whatever I’ve done, whatever I’ve made, whatever I’ve turned into has pretty much been built on this thing”: Chris Stapleton shows Josh Brolin the trashed '50s Gibson he bought for just $380 – and that became his most treasured possession
- “I’d met Leslie West, and like a lot of guitar players, you couldn’t meet Leslie West and come out unscathed”: Martin Barre explains how the Mountain man influenced his most iconic solo on Jethro Tull’s Aqualung
- “I said, ‘I want to riff through all of my favorite guitarists – doing Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend’s windmill, the Eddie Van Halen hammer thing”: Michael J. Fox and others discuss the Back to the Future guitar – and a clue to its identity
- “It’s a preamp, but it’s got the biggest distortion I’ve ever heard”: Fontaines D.C.'s Carlos O'Connell reveals the secret weapon on his pedalboard – a plain box with one knob and oodles of gain
- “When the Strat wasn't working right during a show, Rory would pick this up”: Rory Gallagher’s back-up ‘Frankenstein’ Strat – gifted to its current owner by U2 – sells at auction for over $50K
June 4
- “Not just another clone but instead a blatant counterfeit of Klon’s legendary pedal”: Klon creator Bill Finnegan is suing Behringer over the design of its Centaur Overdrive
- “It's something a guitar player wouldn't write, it stretches you as a player”: Dave Murray says Iron Maiden stuck out from the pack because because they have a bassist as the lead songwriter
- “I literally made the change that Eddie Van Halen was known for and was thinking about”: Larry DiMarzio says his revolutionary bridge tweak pre-empted Van Halen’s own mods
- “It’s truly one of the most unique purpose-built instruments I’ve ever seen”: How David Lynch created a five-necked guitar that would make the most of his outlandish playing style – and Kurt Cobain’s luthier brought it to life
- “I’m waiting for the right calibre of player. I can’t just pick somebody off the line”: Scott Gorham doesn’t rule out a future for Thin Lizzy – but he’s biding his time to find the perfect guitar foil
- “Recovery is a long road”: Traffic co-founder and George Harrison session player Dave Mason cancels all of his 2025 tour dates after a health setback
- From Paul McCartney’s Höfner to Dave Grohl’s Trini Lopez and Joan Jett’s Melody Maker – a 1:1 scale photography exhibition of famous guitars is heading to London
- “We’re heartbroken, and we’re asking for their safe return”: Nancy Wilson says two “irreplaceable” instruments have been stolen ahead of Heart’s tour
June 3
- “8am one morning there was a knock at the door. It was a cop and he said: ‘Do you have a red Gibson guitar SG model?’ I just handed it to him”: Pat Travers owned three Gibsons by the age of 16 – his luck would not last
- “Warm, woody tones and a beautiful vintage character”: PRS celebrates the launch of the first humbuckers with the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 – a limited-run, traditionally-styled troublemaker with bags of charm
- “The MC5's roaring distortion sound in a box”: MXR and Daredevil bottle Wayne Kramer’s gritty and explosive tone into the Jail Guitar Doors Drive pedal – and it has Tom Morello’s approval
- “Cinema's most influential guitar hasn't been seen in 40 years”: The guitar from Back to the Future's iconic Johnny B. Goode scene has been missing for decades – now Gibson has launched a worldwide search for it
- “You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great sound”: Joe Bonamassa reveals his go-to rig for guest-spots – and the amp he uses when he doesn’t want to cart out his Dumbles
June 2
- “There are so many musicians that, live, you could be blown away by, but once they get into the studio, they can’t come up with parts that will last”: Andrew Watt on the essential studio skill that’s enabled him to work with rock gods and pop icons alike
- “I’ve never been very confident as a player. I’ve always felt like I had to work hard”: Alex Lifeson is one of the greatest guitarists of his time – but he says he’s often lacked faith in his skills
- “My guitar was busted up on the flight – totally destroyed. When I got to Nashville and told Dan Auerbach, he said, ‘Try something new’”: After her beloved Gibson was ruined on a flight, Valerie June found new inspiration in this iconic acoustic brand
- “I wake up the next morning and my SUV is gone. We had just opened a show for Vince Gill, and he'd signed my Telecaster”: Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney had just finished a run of shows with Chely Wright – when his very first guitar got stolen
- I’m a professional gear reviewer and my go-to guitar wireless system just got a generous 20% off – here’s why I use it daily
- “Aggressive cutaways, an ultra-thin body, and extreme arm bend”: Kiesel launches the Kyber – a futuristic metal guitar that’s its answer to Strandberg and Abasi Concepts offerings
- “I’ve been stumped to understand how this worked. He didn’t seem to fret notes, so how was he producing chords?”: David Lynch's Parker Fly is up for auction – and it solves one of the big mysteries about his playing
- “The owner refused to believe me and called me a liar. Then I realized the craziest thing...” This luthier was offered the chance to buy a ’90s Les Paul, but something didn’t feel right – it turns out he had the ultimate proof to hand
June 1
- “I’d go down to Manny’s, pick up a Stratocaster and say, ‘This is like a dead tuna’”: Why Larry DiMarzio decided to start a pickup line that would change the face of guitar music in the 1970s
- “You will pick one up and realize it almost sounds too good. There’s something to be said for guitars that are challenging to play”: Dean DeLeo explains why the ‘worst’ guitars are also sometimes the best