Unbelievably, the guitar received its first jolt of electricity more than 130 years ago – and it’s been humming along ever since.
With that in mind, I invited former Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski – who’s also the co-author of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar – to write this issue’s epic cover story, “The Electric Guitar’s 50 Greatest Moments.” And he did – as only he can!
Join us as we namecheck an assortment of beloved weirdos – from George Breed to Lee de Forest to George Barnes to Edward W. Kellogg to George Beauchamp – and a bunch of people you’ve actually heard of!
This jam-packed issue also features:
>>>G.A.S.: Fact or Fiction? Is Gear Acquisition Syndrome a real affliction or a fictitious ailment coined to justify the urge to splurge? GW checks in with experts and self-proclaimed gear addicts to find out if G.A.S. exists or is simply a figment of our imagination.
>>>King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: We take you inside the strange world of the most eclectic and prolific rock band in our corner of the universe
>>>Mercyful Fate: The G.O.A.T.s of occult metal take stock of 40 years of hellish riffery, their Strat-fueled sound and why there’s no better time than the present for us to come to the sabbath
>>>Arch Enemy: “They said I ruined the band!” Michael Amott looks back on his days with Carcass and recounts the creation of Arch Enemy’s explosive new album, Deceivers.
>>>Editors’ Choice: Eight of our favorite pedalboards!
This issue is available right here, right now (opens in new tab).
Elsewhere in this issue...
We have interviews with Dave Davies of the Kinks, Jim Babjak of the Smithereens, Blake Ibanez of Power Trip and Fugitive, Andrea Benz, Katatonia, Doll Spirit Vessel, Opeth’s Fredrik Åkesson (who shows off his pedalboard), Marcos Mena, Randy Jacobs of the Boneshakers and more, plus a guide to 10 young guitar slingers who are making the Les Paul cool again, the Introducing and Playlist columns and the photo/quote/flashback of the month.
Meanwhile, Joe Bonamassa does a deep dive into Pee Wee Crayton’s Wine-o, Andy Aledort shows you how to get the most out of oblique bends, and Josh Smith and Andy Timmons show you how to play some pretty cool tunes.
This month’s transcriptions are The Dying Song (Time to Sing) from Slipknot’s 2022 album, plus Not Alone by Lari Basilio and Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum.
We have reviews of the Jackson American Series Soloist SL3, Steel Panther’s interesting new 1987 Pedal, the D’Angelico Deluxe Brighton LE Sage and Strymon’s V2 BlueSky Reverberator and V2 El Capistan dTape Echo pedals.
In Power Tools, Chris Gill explores the history and lore of the legendary 1984-85 Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ amp.
Hope you enjoy it! Read you in four-ish weeks!
You can buy new issues of Guitar World at Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Hudson News, Books a Million and other stores – and online from Magazines Direct (opens in new tab). And, while you're at it, why not save on every issue by subscribing (opens in new tab)?
