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September 2025
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70 articles
- September 12
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- “Makes next-level Gretsch style and sound more accessible than ever”: Gretsch brings its iconic Falcon and Nashville hollowbodies to new-low price points with unveiling of the Synchromatic Collection
- “I set myself the challenge of making a full-length album, using almost entirely the five-stringed guitar, in just four days”: Polymath virtuoso Jacob Collier’s new album is a love letter to the guitar – and alternate tunings
- “A unique and meaningful tribute to your departed loved one”: Would you keep your loved one’s cremated remains in the soundhole of an acoustic guitar?
- “He shaped the tone of his voice like a guitarist would finesse riffs and phrases”: Joe Satriani pays tribute to Chris Cornell with instrumental cover of Audioslave’s Be Yourself
- “Together, our chemistry is magical”: Steve Morse has announced his first new album since leaving Deep Purple – and it’s set to feature Eric Johnson and John Petrucci
- “Nothing’s more real than seeing your Ibanez JS guitars played by the legendary Spinal Tap”: How Joe Satriani became Spinal Tap’s unofficial guitar supplier for the loudest movie of the year
- “A modernized take on the classic shred machine”: Charvel beckons a new era for its So-Cal Superstrat – and brings the classic Pro-Mod model into the modern era
- “Yungblud seems to have positioned himself as a natural heir to the Ozzy legacy”: Justin Hawkins defends his brother’s comments over the VMAs Ozzy Osbourne tribute
- September 11
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- “I grabbed his hand saying, ‘Thank you for everything.’ He goes, ‘You were the only guitar player who said no to me’”: Nuno Bettencourt remembers his final exchange with Ozzy Osbourne – a reminder of the gig he once turned down
- “He wanted to show me his really nice old Les Paul, and I just said, ‘I don’t like Les Pauls,’ and walked off”: When Joe Bonamassa was introduced to Joanne Shaw Taylor – who “offended” him on their first meeting
- “I said, ‘That’s my music.’ His manager said, ‘You’re a girl. You don’t have the money to fight this’”: Rita Coolidge alleges she helped write Eric Clapton’s Layla – but never got credit for it
- September 10
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- “Makes selling music gear more rewarding than ever before”: Reverb relaunches in the UK with reduced seller fees – promising players “more money for their music gear”
- “Connecting directly to that golden era of guitar innovations”: Jackson pays homage to its early days with Pro Origins 1985 San Dimas series – featuring newly developed era-accurate pickups
- “I was instantly in a band because nobody wanted to play bass back then”: How Eddie Van Halen led to Les Claypool picking up the bass – and how he nearly joined Kirk Hammett’s band
- “On the bass…” Spinal Tap recruit Tal Wilkenfeld and Thundercat for Jimmy Kimmel performance of Big Bottom
- “I’m gonna sneak some stuff in there to give it more personality”: Steve Morse injects Coldplay with some Deep Purple flair as he adds a guitar solo to mega-hit Fix You
- “It has had an interesting history. I don’t think it found its true voice until now”: PRS has resurrected its Mira model – and says it's better than ever
- “Of all the artist-associated instruments I’ve been involved with, this has been my favorite journey”: A guitar once owned by Jimmy Page and given away in a magazine competition goes for over three times its estimate at auction
- Get more from Guitar World: How to make Guitar World a preferred source in your Google Search results
- “I was drinking a lot and forgot that I bought it. The folks at Carter Vintage called me and were like, ‘You gonna come get this guitar?’” Marcus King on the vintage guitar he accidentally bought while drunk
- “The player is not renting or subscribing to access the effect… It’s a purchase that lasts a lifetime”: The Boss PX-1 Plugout FX backlash has gone viral – but is it justified? We put the biggest criticisms to Boss – here’s what they had to say
- September 9
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- “The only person who did a version of Summer of ’69 and did it justice was Taylor Swift”: Bryan Adams looks back on the time he crossed Fenders with the world’s biggest popstar on one of his most iconic hits
- “After Kirk introduced me to Greeny, it felt only right to return the favor”: Kirk Hammett let Al Di Meola play his iconic Greeny – so the fusion virtuoso let him play his prized Elegant Gypsy Black Beauty
- Sting's legal representatives claim Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland may have been “substantially overpaid” following lost royalties lawsuit
- “Makes me sick how people jump on this to further their own careers”: The Darkness’ Dan Hawkins blasts Yungblud, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry for their VMAs Ozzy Osbourne tribute
- September 8
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- “I wrote Flea a fan letter, and I was like, ‘I want to do what you're doing. Do you have any advice?’ He wrote me back – it's unbelievable”: Vulfpeck’s Joe Dart on the priceless bass advice he got from Flea as a teenager
- “One of my favorite moments”: That time Eric Johnson shredded a custom Dean V – which had been built for Dave Mustaine to use on the Experience Hendrix tour
- “Though every note has been learned and rehearsed and played, you need to think, ‘Oh, there’s something about the feel that had before that it’s gone forever’”: David Gilmour sets the record straight on the Pink Floyd solo that accidentally got erased
- “David said, ‘Slicky, you don’t have Les Pauls anymore.’ I said, ‘I haven’t been playing them.’ He said, ‘You need to get a couple’”: The one time David Bowie ordered Earl Slick to swap his Fenders for Gibsons
- “It’s the preeminent instrument in the world. Every culture has made something of their own of it”: Andy Summers to explore the guitar’s impact on the world in globe-trotting docu-series
- “I’ll try my best to do you proud Oz”: Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Yungblud pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a medley of Prince of Darkness classics at the VMAs
- September 7
- September 6
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- “I said, ‘I can’t accept this. I haven’t earned it.’ He was like, ‘You need to go pick it up’”: How a 17-year-old guitar prodigy ended up with a 1957 Goldtop Reissue from the foundation of a band she once hated – after her Number One Les Paul got stolen
- “It’s taken 3 years, but a more affordable spin-off of one of the 21st century’s most advanced guitar designs has finally landed”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the most extravagant acoustic you will see all year
- September 5
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- Ibanez treats its best-selling nylon-string to a stunning exotic tonewood glow-up – and it gives Tim Henson’s signature model a run for its money
- “I had some guitars stolen. Fender heard about it because we were trying to find them. They sorted us out”: How a guitar that went missing led IDLES' Lee Kiernan to his now-famed pink Mustang
- “They’ve held value better than almost any other brand”: Reverb declares PRS “quiet champion” in the market for used guitars – but which Squier turned out to be the best investment?
- “All of a sudden, some of the other guitars weren’t really doing it”: Why Linkin Park’s new singer forced Mike Shinoda to change guitars
- “It went off into the universe and it left us thinking, where did it go? There must be an answer…” The remarkable story of Paul McCartney’s Höfner 500/1 bass – which went missing for 50 years – to feature in new documentary
- Brent Hinds found to be “at fault” for the tragic motorcycle accident that led to his death, police determine
- “The ultimate Gibson acoustic to date”: Gibson spares no expense to celebrate its 100th Monarch SJ-200 – a one-of-one Brazilian rosewood build that costs $99,999
- September 4
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- “We did a trade, but he owed some money. The guy whose guitar it was had the cops pull me off stage to get it back”: Phil Demmel’s new Jackson Polka Dot signature King V pays homage to his first Randy Rhoads Jackson model – and the guitar god himself
- “Jeff Ament said, ‘Could you imagine tuning the guitar to all Es? Wouldn't that be crazy? That'd be dumb’”: Kim Thayil on the time Chris Cornell tuned all his guitar strings to E – and the Soundgarden song that came from it
- “I’ve kind of just dealt with it. At first, I had to have an epidural every three months just to live”: Burning Witches and former Iron Maidens guitarist Courtney Cox reveals she has been touring with multiple herniated discs in her back for years
- “I’m thinking, ‘I’m in trouble now…’ And then, Dickey goes, ‘No.’ I go, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘That’s not the good one. Go in the bedroom and grab the good one’”: Tesla’s Frank Hannon on borrowing one of Dickey Betts’ prized Gibson SGs
- “A kid came in, plugged into an amp and started. It was extraordinary. I went out the next day to find records by this character, 'Jimi Hendrix…'”: David Gilmour on the first time he saw Hendrix play – in the company of the Beatles and Rolling Stones
- September 3
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- “Push the boundaries of modern guitar design”: Rick Graham’s second Charvel signature is an ode to his reconnection with the guitar – and it’s got a killer relic’d pink finish
- “I want the guitar to play fast, to wear close to the body, and communicate a degree of aggression”: Sterling by Music Man and Tosin Abasi bring the futuristic Kaizen to a new low price point – slashing nearly $3k off the original
- “There’s so much tasty guitar playing that’s also pretty achievable for a lot of people as well. I think it should be in everyone’s repertoire”: Mike Dawes on the one John Mayer hit that every guitarist should learn
- “Everyone in the pedal market is concerned. I think it's going to take a big chunk of the market”: Brian Wampler of Wampler Pedals on why digital modeling could be Napster for traditional pedal makers
- “It was a bit of a disaster. I plugged my guitar in, and it was instant feedback”: John McLaughlin remembers his nightmare jam session with Jimi Hendrix – when he was forced to play acoustic
- “If you bring in some cheese, I might trade you one of the guitars on the wall”: Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel has been running a cheese shop where guitars can be used as currency
- “I didn't want to put it down. I've missed it ever since!” Jake E. Lee played Kirk Hammett’s legendary Greeny Les Paul backstage at Ozzy Osbourne’s final show – but he almost wishes he hadn’t
- “I sat on the bed while he sat on the floor. He jumped up after I finished the solo and gave me a hug. He cried out, ‘I love you, Bradley’”: Brad Gillis remembers the moment he got the Ozzy Osbourne gig
- September 2
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- “The most immersive, intuitive headphone amp on the market today”: Blackstar’s Beam Solo takes on Fender and Boss – is this the new headphone amp to beat?
- “We took Randy’s pedalboard out for the first time and did the first pedal with the polka dots. We’re releasing a second one”: MXR’s latest Randy Rhoads Distortion is inspired by another of the guitar great’s iconic axes – the Jackson Concorde
- “I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the bucket”: Buckethead once auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne – now he’s covering Ozzy and Black Sabbath classics in tribute to the gig that didn’t quite work out
- “They would hear Aerials or Chop Suey! on the radio or MTV, and they’d be like, ‘That’s the one we heard you playing in your room’”: Daron Malakian wrote System of a Down’s career-defining album while still living with his parents
- “It now goes to Infinity. Just think about that for a moment… Oh, my God, that’s literally infinity”: For Spinal Tap’s reunion, Nigel Tufnel asked Marshall to make him an an amp that went beyond 11
- “I kept comparing myself to others and it just stopped being fun. I've been finding it harder to stand out”: Sophie Lloyd lifts the veil on being a successful guitarist in the era of social media
- “It was a Facebook marketplace find. By the time we were done, I kept finding more and more”: Gibson’s Certified Vintage manager on his most memorable guitar safari discovery (and it wasn’t a guitar)
- September 1
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- A rare 12-string guitar that Mark Knopfler “borrowed” for 50 years is now up for auction
- “I always wanted a Les Paul but I couldn’t play them”: Tony Iommi on why he never became a Les Paul player – despite wanting to become one
- “A tribute to Ibanez’s past”: Ibanez has revived one of its most outrageous shred guitar designs from the 1980s
- Atlanta police release further details of Brent Hinds' fatal motorcycle accident
- “I probably had a better chance of getting struck by lightning”: Daron Malakian joins System of a Down tribute band onstage – after wandering into their gig off the street
- If you want to sound better live, three of our top-rated in-ear monitors just got some mega discounts in the Thomann In-Ear Days sale - save up to 30% on pro-level live sound
- “There is a revolution taking place right now in guitar playing”: John Mayer posts surprise demo of JHS Pedals’ new Mk.gee-coded stompbox – and explains why it reflects a wider change in guitar music
- I thought I was done buying Gibsons, but with a massive up to $450 off everything from my favorite Explorer to a newly released Les Paul in the Musician’s Friend Labor Day sale, I’m about to add another
- “We didn’t just make another speaker. We created solutions tailored to what guitarists actually need”: How Laney went above and beyond with its LFR range to create the ultimate speaker solution for guitarists with digital rigs
