Firebird meets Jazzmaster with Fender’s new Spark-O-Matic model mashup By Michael Astley-Brown The Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster features a trio of Seymour Duncan mini-humbuckers
Dolly Parton is auctioning off a custom-designed “9 to 5” Oscar Schmidt acoustic for charity By Richard Bienstock The autographed guitar will benefit music industry workers affected financially by COVID-19
This jaw-dropping two-hand-tapped version of the Pokémon battle theme features Elite Four-level guitar playing By Michael Astley-Brown Standards’ Marcos Mena offers a sneak Pikachu at his Pokédextrous technique
Furch Guitars launches Covid-inspired antibacterial neck finish for its guitars By Sam Roche The new varnish contains silver microparticles which bind to the proteins of microorganisms, destroying them
From inspired improvisations to 21st century rock swagger: here are this week's essential guitar tracks By Michael Astley-Brown, Jackson Maxwell, Sam Roche, Matt Owen Chase your winter blues away with great new tunes from Ayron Jones, Lamb of God, Mammoth WVH, The Weather Station and more
Wolfgang Van Halen drops hard-riffing new Mammoth WVH single You're to Blame, reveals debut album artwork and release date By Sam Roche Mark your calendar: June 11 is set to bring some powerhouse hard-rock
Meet Ariel Bellvalaire, the Strat-toting pop-rocker who performs stunts while she shreds By Michael Astley-Brown Bellvalaire demonstrates her knack for “shrednastics” and pays tribute to her guitar heroes in the video for irresistible new single, Elastic
Epiphone introduces new Emperor Swingster hollowbody model for 2021 By Matt Owen Metallic finishes, Bigsby vibrato and a pair of SwingBucker pickups head up the versatile new hollowbody offering
Kiesel partners with shred god Andy James for the ultra-customizable AJ2 By Sam Roche Other than its Polarity active pickups, pickup poles and hardware, customers have total control over the AJ2's construction
Dave Grohl voices his support for Phoebe Bridgers' SNL guitar smash: "Let me tell you, it feels good when you do it" By Matt Owen The Foo Fighters leader weighs in on the controversy surrounding the indie-rock star's smashing SNL performance
Duesenberg introduces five new models, including Jeff DaRosa and Tom Bukovac signatures By Matt Owen The catalog of classy offerings boasts bold finishes, new Duesenberg pickups and series of versatile sonic appointments
Rage Against the Machine, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden nominated for inclusion in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame By Sam Roche Jay-Z, Carole King, Tina Turner and New York Dolls have also made the 2021 shortlist
Blind Melon: “We're releasing 10-12 singles instead of an album all at once – we'd rather remind people we exist every couple of months than every 2 years” By Greg Prato Guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn discuss the challenges of completing music during a pandemic
Hayley Williams played every instrument on her new album: "I haven't had this much time to play guitar since I was a teenager" By Matt Owen The Paramore singer sat down to speak about playing guitar on Flowers for Vases / Descansos, as well as the pride she feels for her latest solo offering
Trivium’s Matt Heafy jumps into the sea shanty waters with none-more-metal cover of The Wellerman By Richard Bienstock Heafy takes on the viral challenge with metal, folk and a cappella versions of the 19th-century whaling tune
Alexi Laiho’s final recordings to be released on new Bodom After Midnight EP By Richard Bienstock Paint the Sky with Blood is out April 23
Electro-Harmonix recreates the earliest distorted guitar tones with the Ripped Speaker fuzz pedal By Sam Roche New stompbox is designed to emulate the historic tones achieved by slashing a speaker cone with a razor blade
Late New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain to be honored with virtual Valentine’s Day concert By Richard Bienstock Lineup includes Dolls singer David Johansen, members of Blondie, Sonic Youth, Sex Pistols and more
Man builds guitar out of his dead uncle’s skeleton, uses it to play black metal By Richard Bienstock The surprising story of one metal fan's quest to have his uncle “shred for all eternity”
Julien Baker: “I involve myself in different playing minutiae throughout different periods. I wanted my last album to sound like an ad for the Strymon BlueSky!” By Matt Parker The Memphis multi-instrumentalist talks musical investigations, overflowing pedalboards and discarding the looper pedals on her new album, Little Oblivions
![[L-R] Tom Morello, Dave Grohl and Adrian Smith](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tRx9LbKzCc7X9WJJgkGmjF-1024-80.jpg.webp)
![[L-R] Roger Stevens and Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Nm2qRKxMcQLzkmpEDdhKK4-1024-80.jpg.webp)
