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May 2024
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94 articles
- May 17
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- “A favorite of players all over the world”: It’s been used by Foo Fighters, Nili Brosh and Joe Bonamassa. Now, one of the most popular boost pedals on the market has been given a fresh new look
- “The Mofetta is my way of bringing it all back and re-creating those singing tones”: Wampler’s Mofetta pays homage to a cult ’90s distortion pedal that now sells for upwards of $400
- “This record is a return to joy”: Bon Jovi reunite with the talk box and roll back the years for a new comeback single that will give you serious Livin’ On a Prayer vibes
- “Advancing the lineage of the amps guitars players love, and preserving its heart and soul”: Boss has teased the third generation of its best-selling Katana amp range – and an official announcement is coming soon
- “Better tech, modern features, and the rich warbling vibratos of the ’70s and ’80s”: Diamond revives its fan favorite Vibrato after nearly 20 years – and it’s been given some key upgrades
- Guitar World deals of the week: save $600 on a D'Angelico, get big money off guitar upgrades, plus all the week's best bargains
- “I’m able to pick these instruments up for the first time and play them like I’ve already had them for years”: Spector unveils two new Doug Wimbish USA Custom Series basses, including a replica of the Living Colour bassist's iconic 1987 5-string
- “In today's post-COVID environment, the challenges to our brick-and-mortar business have necessitated a restructuring”: Sam Ash Music files for bankruptcy after announcing the closure of all its stores
- “Expanding our signature aesthetics, ergonomics, and playability to a whole new audience of creators”: Abasi Concepts has debuted its first-ever Larada bass guitar – ushering in a new headless design in the process
- “I don’t play with all four of my fingers, because I attach two of my fingers together… It changes the feel of the whole thing”: Khruangbin’s Laura Lee explains how her lack of technical bass training works in her favor
- May 16
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- “As soon as I heard the demo, I knew it would be crucial to add rock elements”: Justus West reveals how he sneaked Tosin Abasi and Plini onto the new Beyoncé album (sort of)
- “A new standard in simplicity, modularity, and performance for powering pedalboards”: Walrus Audio unveils Canvas Power range of linkable pedalboard power supplies – and one of them is a 22-outlet beast
- “I played one chord on that guitar and bought it right away”: How Hermanos Gutiérrez leveraged vintage guitar tones and Dan Auerbach's guitar tech to create a cosmic sonic palette on Barrio Hustle
- “This is sort of sacrilegious. I might have fibbed and said 'never' with the digital modeling…” Jim Root has switched to the Neural DSP Quad Cortex for some Slipknot shows – and plans on pulling his PRS guitars out of retirement
- “If Ed were here today, he would not stop talking about this guitar. He would love this guitar”: Wolfgang Van Halen’s long-awaited EVH SA-126 signature model is officially launched – after 3 years of development
- May 15
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- “It was funny when I first met James Hetfield. I was like, ‘Thank you for teaching me how to play guitar. You paved the way for me’”: Mastodon's Bill Kelliher on how meeting his guitar heroes pushed him to improve his craft
- “The perfect amp-in-a-box pedal”? Tsakalis AudioWorks’ tube-loaded Mothership merges analog warmth with highly configurable cab sims in one tube overdrive/preamp pedal
- “An audio-controlled sampler that tracks your playing to create immersive musical landscapes”: Chase Bliss’ Onward sampler pedal is glitching and freezing heaven for guitarists of all styles
- “It was four days of recording – I had the flu for two days. You’re in the studio with one of your favorite artists ever, and not wanting to let him down”: Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament on recording with one of their biggest idols
- “They’re fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world”: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plays Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World with covers band in Ukraine
- “The Beach Boys are massively important in the evolution of guitar sound”: Josh Scott, Robert Keeley and Chris Benson have built exclusive effects units inspired by the Beach Boys’ studio tones
- “This is a very iconic guitar. It’s one of the harder guitars I’ve ever had to replicate”: Fender’s latest Joe Strummer tribute model is a meticulous Masterbuilt Custom Shop creation that costs $20,000
- “I gave up hope on any future tours. I threw together a resume and sent it in, thinking it probably would get lost”: Kiki Wong reveals how she nailed her Smashing Pumpkins audition ahead of 10,000 other candidates
- “Searing hotness that will cut through any mix”: Seymour Duncan promises country tone without the hum with new noiseless Hot Chicken Strat and Tele pickups
- May 14
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- “It was a quality instrument to learn on. Without my dad, who knows what kind of tree trunk I would’ve had”: You’ll never guess what guitar thrash metal pioneer Kerry King learned to play on
- Slayer's Kerry King and the 30 greatest New Jersey guitarists of all time – only in the new Guitar World
- “I felt very dissatisfied with what I came up with… self-doubt rears its scary head to the point where I wonder who the hell I think I am”: Brian May questioned his guitar abilities ahead of a “challenging” virtuosic collaboration with Jean-Michel Jarre
- “It was all automatic Eddie Van Halen comparisons. I wanted something different”: Vito Bratta explains why he switched from Stratocasters to his iconic Steinberger
- “A one-of-a-kind collectible of immense cultural significance”: Eric Clapton was moved to tears when he sold the Martin 000-28 he used to write Wonderful Tonight – now it’s headed to auction again
- “A legendary Epiphone original comes home”: Epiphone’s updated Coronet revives one of its earliest solidbody electric guitars – and, for the first time in decades, it’s made in the USA
- May 13
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- “I came to America with a guitar and a toothbrush. When Fender said they wanted to make me a Strat, I didn’t even know what a signature guitar was!” Yngwie Malmsteen traces his Stratocaster story – and recalls the origins of his scalloped signature model
- “I wish guitar players were more adventurous, but they’re just not. They seem like the most conservative people on the face of the planet”: Buzz Osborne has a piece of playing advice that every guitarist should listen to
- “Abigail is a pickup god. I named the ABI after her to make sure she’s never forgotten”: Legendary pickup builder Abigail Ybarra comes out of retirement for a new line of guitars with a former Fender Master Builder
- “Transform your boring guitar’s voice and let it party!” Kasabian’s Sergio Pizzorno just got a signature psychedelic fuzz pedal with built-in reverb and no controls
- “You may think, ‘That guy can’t solo.’ You wanna see me do a guitar solo right now?” Dave Grohl pranks an entire audience by ‘playing’ EVH's Eruption – with a little help from Wolfgang Van Halen
- May 10
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- “The bass has been given the nickname ‘Momoa’s Koa’”: Jason Momoa is auctioning off a collection of Gibson and Fender Custom Shop guitars and handmade bass builds, including signed Slash and Billy Gibbons Les Pauls
- “I would pick her out in a crowd... Like, ‘I know who that is,’ like David Gilmour”: Heart's Nancy Wilson says this “Clapton-type shredder” is her favorite contemporary guitarist
- “The shape of things to come”: Rivolta’s Forma series brings Dennis Fano’s most out-there electric guitar designs to life
- “I was really delving into the nuance of why a guitar sounds the way it does”: One of The Edge's personal Strats is up for auction for a good cause
- “He doesn’t like the sound of new strings. The ones on the guitar for the new album were two years old”: Mdou Moctar prefers old guitar strings – and the Roland Cube is his favorite amp for a very good reason
- “A fantastic replica of this extraordinary guitar. Same dot neck, Bigsby tremolo, and finish. You have to check it out”: Gibson has announced a signature Slash ES-335 – and it includes tickets to an exclusive gig
- “Direct, personalized one-on-one lessons with top instructors from the Fender Play roster”: Fender has announced a major expansion of its guitar learning platform – offering direct access to guitar teachers for the first time
- “Before there was Muff, there was boost”: Electro-Harmonix has reimagined the 1968 effect that launched the brand as a tone-shaping powerhouse – and it could become your pedalboard’s secret weapon
- May 9
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- “It might be the only chance you’ll get to see this lineup in a live performance”: Three of the biggest guitar and bass YouTubers are going on tour to ‘Escape the Internet’
- Improve your Fender’s neck playability and reliability with a KLŌS Guitars’ F-Series Carbon Fiber Neck Replacement for Strat, Tele and Jazzmaster
- “It’s a monster – the most powerful Magnatone to date, delivering enough unbelievable tone, gain and headroom to fill a stadium”: Magnatone’s mega-loud signature Slash head the SL-100 is available in new Blackout Edition finishes
- “He was and is the best guitar player I've ever played with”: Ozzy Osbourne reveals the name he rates above all his other guitarist collaborators
- “I note the passing of old friend Steve Albini – certainly gone too soon”: Lee Ranaldo remembers the time Steve Albini made Sonic Youth a guitar with 16 high E-strings – and an inlaid appendage
- May 8
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- “Musician, studio engineer and the mastermind behind some of rock's greatest albums”: Steve Albini, punk guitar icon and producer for Nirvana, Pixies, dies at 61
- “My pickups were tuned in a studio and then tested on the road, the end result being both musical and face melting”: Slipknot's Mick Thomson has just released his much-speculated Fishman Fluence signature pickup set
- “I’m not gonna point fingers, but through all of this, one of the ingredients was not playing ball with everybody else”: Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony sets the record straight on the much-rumored VH tribute project
- “Keep Rude Dude”: Mick Mars’ ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ Kramer appears in Motley Crüe’s You’re All I Need video, features NSFW rear artwork and has just gone up for auction
- “Sharper attack, extended sustain and a warmer tone”: Could brass saddles supercharge your Strat tone?
- “Being close to him is like approaching a source of spiritual energy. I gave him my guitar as a sign of respect”: B.B. King once gifted one of his Gibson Lucille guitars to the Pope – now it’s up for sale
- “When Bob Dylan went electric, this guitar was there”: Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson's much-customized 1965 Telecaster is up for auction and could fetch up to $700,000
- “That was one hell of a fall”: Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready falls off stage mid-solo – but doesn’t miss a note
- “Prince was not a guy who would sit around and polish his guitars or even think that much about them – they were tools”: In 2005, Prince’s Cloud 3 sold for $10,000. Now it’s expected to fetch $600,000 at auction
- “These won’t last long!” Fender issues surprise limited-edition semi-hollow guitar drop, bringing the Telecaster Thinline to the American Professional II Series and reviving the Stratocaster Thinline
- May 7
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- “Retains all the charm of the original 1960s classic design in all its vintage glory”: Danelectro has brought back its Big Sitar – with some modern upgrades
- “Open the doors to versatility, creativity, and otherworldly sounds”: Red Witch aims to harness Frank Zappa and Carlos Santana tones with its new sample hold filter pedal – but it’s limited to just 59 units
- “Derek looks so proud during Duane’s solo – like a brother would”: Duane Betts and Derek Trucks trade solos for the first time since Dickey Betts’ passing with emotional cover of the Allman Brothers Band’s Dreams
- “I thought, ‘OK, I’ll prove myself. I’m not a guy, so if I prove myself a little bit harder, then I might be noticed and taken seriously as a player’”: Nancy Wilson on the making of her acoustic masterpiece turned Instagram guitar staple
- “If it makes it more accessible and achievable for girls to chase their dreams, then it’s a win in my book”: Gibson’s Miranda Lambert Bluebird was its best-selling signature acoustic of the past year. Now there’s a much more affordable Epiphone model
- “This is like a Neural DSP Tinder”: Plini and Mateus Asato go on a guitar virtuoso date to write a song in a day – and the results are jaw-dropping
- “This recognition holds immense significance for me”: Gary Clark Jr. joins Carlos Santana and Van Halen on Guitar Center Hollywood’s iconic RockWalk
- “I was going for a sound where it’s like, ‘Is this person virtuosic, or do they totally suck?’ That’s kind of where I live”: St. Vincent on channeling Neil Young and embracing a less-is-more approach to guitar solos
- “Nobody cares about new material anymore. They just want to hear the old stuff from guys like us”: Alex Lifeson says he’s jamming with Geddy Lee again – but they sound like a “really bad tribute band” at times
- May 6
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- “I've put it through every nightmare scenario it could have been exposed to, and it's been faultless”: ThorpyFX’s Electric Lightning is a tube-driven overdrive/boost pedal built in collaboration with Chris Buck
- “Lightweight construction and exceptional playability”: Can’t afford the Jimmy Page double-neck? Danelectro has you covered with an $899 alternative
- “It's thrilling that he played my homemade guitar, all those years later”: Brian May pens personal tribute to Duane Eddy, and reflects on the time Eddy played his Red Special
- “If you want to bench press 200lbs, you start at 80... You should concentrate on performing with articulation at whatever speed it is”: Kerry King on how to master thrash metal speed riffing
- “It was very tense – he wasn’t at rehearsal... there's too much mystery around him”: Slash almost missed the I’m Just Ken performance at the Oscars
- “It should be – and usually is – pedal-first for us, because pedals can affect your playing so much”: Shoegaze heroes DIIV on how stompboxes formed the building blocks of their new album
- May 3
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- “Eddie Van Halen’s main solo is a greatest hits of all his best guitar licks”: Dweezil Zappa issues update for What the Hell Was I Thinking? – his ambitious mega-track featuring Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May and more
- “There’s not a guitar teacher in the world that would ever teach anyone to play a guitar like that”: Buzz Osborne thinks Jimi Hendrix is one of the greatest guitarists ever – but says his technique was “wrong”
- “A cache of beautiful gear used in the studio and on tour”: Gilby Clarke is selling his Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit and Heart gear on Reverb
- “Thank you for allowing us to serve musicians like you for 100 years”: Sam Ash Music announces it will be officially closing all its stores
- “I’m playing a Strat, too, which you never hear me use”: Slash explains why he swapped his Les Paul for a Stratocaster to cover a Peter Green track on his new blues solo album
- “I’ve typically been afraid of Strats just because they carry so much baggage”: How a gift from Mike McCready helped change St. Vincent’s relationship with the Stratocaster
- May 2
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- “Designed to be the ultimate professional boost, overdrive and distortion device”: Human Technologies’ first-ever stompbox promises to cram “dozens of expensive high-end vintage pedals” into one little box
- “It was an insane, bare bones show”: Primus's Les Claypool and Ler LaLonde were just forced to play a gig with brand new gear from Guitar Center – and yes, they still sounded exactly like Primus
- “Sparkle, jangle and chime, refined”: Gibson’s Non-Reverse Firebird V 12-string revives an ultra-collectible model from 1965 – with a crucial upgrade
- “A true pioneer and bona fide legend”: Duane Eddy, 1938-2024 – the guitar world pays tribute
- “If my sound isn't right, I feel like I'm wearing ankle weights. To me, playing to a good sound is the most inspiring part about playing guitar”: Warren Haynes explains why having a great guitar tone is non-negotiable
- “Watching a player like Stevie Ray Vaughan play, you begin to understand how much violence the guitar can actually take”: Larkin Poe's Rebecca Lovell on why the secret to great Strat tone is in the right hand
- “It's an elusive quality that hasn't been captured by modeling amps”: Steve Morse pinpoints the key traits that give tube amps the edge over their digital counterparts
- “That was the one and only thing I found with Strats that I don’t like. I think they’re awful”: Yngwie Malmsteen reveals the one spec of certain Stratocasters he's not a fan of
- “Affordable, direct-to-fan, and simple in every way. It really is a dream come true”: Sterling by Music Man’s first-ever Joe Dart signature model is a made-to-order funk powerhouse that costs less than $400
- May 1
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- “One of the most successful instrumentalists in rock history”: Duane Eddy, rock guitar pioneer, dies at 86
- Donner’s BackBeat is a premium electronic drum kit primed for both practice and performance – and lights up to boot
- “It was very emotional. He said, ‘This is where it belongs’”: Jon Bon Jovi has been reunited with the first guitar he ever owned, 45 years after he sold it
- “A better Djent tone than anybody I’ve heard and his secret sauce is literally pasta remnants”: Guitarist proves anything can Djent by ripping Meshuggah with an elastic band and Tupperware
- “My dad always said, ‘Focus on your rhythm and writing songs.’ But when I got the itch to start doing solos, I got into Eddie Van Halen”: Trev Lukather on the guitar lessons he learned from his dad, Steve Lukather
- Learn how to get gigs and make a living from your music with Solo Acoustic Musician – the ultimate resource for the performing musician