News archive
August 2025
Filter
48 articles
- August 9
- August 8
-
- “I was gonna look like I was trying to be Randy. It was meant to look like the poster for Vertigo”: Zakk Wylde on how his iconic “Grail” Les Paul Custom got its bullseye finish – and gave him his signature style
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art claims to have solved the mystery of the Rolling Stones' 1959 Gibson Les Paul – which Mick Taylor alleges has been missing for decades
- “A George Benson, or John Mayer, or B.B. King, or Albert King solo, you can almost sing it”: Isaiah Sharkey on what he learned about guitar soloing – after playing with the likes of John Mayer, D'Angelo and Paul Simon
- Guitar World deals of the week: get $300 off a signature Gretsch hollowbody, save big on a Digitech Whammy, plus all the best back-to-school sales
- “Eruption with one hand”: This guitar prodigy plays Eddie Van Halen's legendary two-hand tapping part – with only one hand
- “It has become the talk of the town every time it is used”: Noel Gallagher’s mystery Oasis Les Paul looks set for a signature release
- “Every now and then, you’ll look at the wall and think, ‘I can’t believe we’re here’”: Wolfgang Van Halen welcomed Alter Bridge into the hallowed halls of the legendary 5150 Studios to record their new album
- “Am I a number or am I a name?” JHS Pedals has teased a huge new drop with a riddle – and some gear fans think they’ve cracked the code
- “The year that I spent with Frank was the first and only time that I’ve ever had serious instruction”: Adrian Belew reflects on his game-changing year with Frank Zappa – and what the avant-garde musician taught him about music and the business
- August 7
-
- “I got fired because I couldn’t get it”: Eric Johnson has written some of the greatest lead lines of all time – but once got sacked from a session because he couldn’t come up with anything
- “My grandma asked me why I was spending so much time pretending to play the guitar when I could just get a real guitar and try to learn how to actually play”: Inhaler’s Josh Jenkinson reveals that Guitar Hero was his launchpad to picking up the guitar
- “It’s in there to make your tone nicer, the sustain really nice, and the buzz even less”: Khruangbin’s Laura Lee Ochoa reveals the little trick she’s picked up along the way to ensure a buzz-free bass tone
- “It produces the most amazing distortion, but I can’t sell it”: Robert Keeley has invented a drive pedal that is also a weed vape – but he’s not allowed to release it
- August 6
-
- “A fresh chapter for Epiphone acoustics”: Gibson brings some of its most sought-after vintage gems to Epiphone’s Inspired by Custom range for the first time
- “Hetfield personally hooked me up with them back in the day. I’m not cheating on anyone. I want all the instruments!” Gojira’s Joe Duplantier explains how he started playing ESP guitars – and why he’s still playing Charvels
- “It survived crashing onto the highway and turned up in a pawnshop”: How Zakk Wylde’s ‘The Grail’ Ozzy Osbourne Les Paul found its way back to him – 3 years after it fell out of a moving vehicle
- “He took us to 5150, and it still had all the tapes up there. There was Jump, the old analog tapes, everything marked”: Lzzy Hale on why Wolfgang Van Halen is well positioned to “save rock ‘n’ roll”
- “Somebody had stolen some equipment from the opening act and we got blamed for it. The crowd went crazy”: Ricky Byrd on the disastrous Joan Jett gig where they were wrongly accused of stealing gear – and the audience turned on them
- “You could argue that the pickups are the most important thing. But in the end, there’s nothing more important on the guitar than this”: Paul Reed Smith on a guitar's most crucial feature – and how it dictates your tone
- “She's got that thing that I could never do – I have to cheat”: Billy Corgan reveals the technique Kiki Wong can do on guitar that’s beyond him
- “We’ve had to bring in some help”: Gibson hires the investigative journalists who helped find Paul McCartney’s lost Höfner violin bass to aid the hunt for the missing Back to the Future ES-345
- August 5
-
- “Four new colors inspired by traditional American fashion”: PRS and John Mayer unveil fresh finishes for the best-selling SE Silver Sky – and add new Maple models
- The all-new October 2025 Guitar World – where Smashing Pumpkins and Sex Pistols mingle openly with Carlos Santana and Khruangbin
- “I was looking at my watch thinking, ‘I’m so miserable doing this.’ That was the last time we did anything with the original lineup”: Steve Jones on why Frank Carter gave the Sex Pistols a new lease on life – and where things stand with John Lydon
- ”Stevie told me to call his brother Jimmie and ask him to lend me his amp and then play it with a Strat so he could feel it through me”: Carlos Santana on his “visitation” from Stevie Ray Vaughan, who implored him to borrow his Dumble amp
- “The first thing that I grabbed when I was like, ‘We’ve got to get the hell out of here’ was the double-neck that Alex Lifeson gave me”: Primus’ Larry LaLonde opens up on losing his house and nearly all his gear in the devastating California wildfires
- “It looks sweet, sounds sweet, and the music that comes out of it should be sweet too”: Russian luthier builds Les Paul out of donuts (sort of)
- “I’m, like, ‘Why are they calling me? Did every rock guitar player in Los Angeles disappear spontaneously at the same time?’” When Joe Bonamassa guested on an Ozzy Osbourne album – and couldn't quite believe it
- “One of the greatest to ever do it”: Terry “Superlungs” Reid, the guitarist, singer, and songwriter who forged his own path after turning down Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, has died aged 75
- “I remember my first concert, and that incredible band is actually here tonight to play a few songs”: Olivia Rodrigo’s first-ever gig was Weezer – now she’s played with them at Lollapalooza
- “The idea is Kirk was gonna play rhythms along with James. That changed everything, and some people don’t like it”: Bob Rock says Metallica's divisive Load album redefined the Hetfield-Hammett guitar partnership
- August 4
-
- With up to 40% off guitar amps Thomann's huge Hughes & Kettner sale just made upgrading your backline a lot more affordable
- “I got a phone call from L.A. It’s David going, ‘We’re putting Pink Floyd back together. Would you be interested and available?’” Why David Gilmour's go-to bassist for the past four decades very nearly didn't get the gig
- “He looked at me like I had five heads”: Spike Lee once asked Prince for his signature guitar – he didn’t expect what happened next
- Jimmy Page settles decades-long Dazed and Confused lawsuit with original songwriter
- “We love you, Ozzy!” Nuno Bettencourt covers three Ozzy Osbourne classics with Extreme – and nails Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee’s iconic solos
- August 1
-
- Met Museum refutes that former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor ever owned the ’59 Les Paul he claims was stolen from him – and now appears in a new exhibit
- “For over two years, we worked closely with some of the top techs in the world”: Level up your fret game with MusicNomad’s Fret Care line and resource hub – which offers everything you could ever need to master your setup
- Guitar World deals of the week: get $500 off a Guild hollowbody, save big on Positive Grid smart amps, plus a half-price EHX fuzz pedal
- “Right after the concert, I got a call from my parents saying that I had to rush back to Italy because the finance police was looking for me”: Slap bass phenom Davie504 lifts the veil on the pressures of becoming a YouTube megastar
- “Two legends right there”: Slash joins Michael Schenker on stage to cover a UFO classic
- “I remember the phone call. He said, ‘Jim, I just wrote this thing. It was for Blue Öyster Cult. But I don't think they're going to keep it…’” The Bryan Adams track that started life as a Blue Öyster Cult song
- “The credit was obscured. And as the years have passed, they have brought it out into the open”: Tim Pierce has recorded with Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and more – but this song is his crowning achievement
- “One of a kind”: 19-year-old follows in Marcin’s footsteps and brings percussive fingerstyle acoustic to America’s Got Talent with knockout performance
- “I’ve had so many people reach out wanting to know what it is and if we can build one for them”: What’s the story behind Noel Gallagher’s new Murphy Lab Les Paul? Gibson finally reveals all
- “Thought the DIY pedal trend had run its course? Think again”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including a reverb pedal inspired by an abandoned nuclear reactor
- “Do I placate the minority of folks, or do I play an arena gig with blues songs that nobody else is doing?” Joe Bonamassa’s approach to the blues has triggered some purists – this is his response
