Music is the universal language
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
Guitar World
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, some people sound better than all of us playing a cheap Squier Stratocaster”: Charlie Starr on guitar collecting, his vintage Juniors theory – and the time he was gifted a ’58 Les Paul
The Blackberry Smoke guitarist reveals his greatest guitar triumphs, the pitfalls and blessings of his Les Paul Junior addiction, and his outright disdain of “bad amps”
Categories: General Interest
“Tubes are overrated. And you never know what you’re going to get overseas. I can’t play through a Marshall JCM – they sound like crap”: Sludge titans Thou have never been afraid to tear up the rulebook – but they do need a spreadsheet for their tunings
Andy Gibbs and Matthew Thudium reflect on abyssal drop tunings, their DIY ethic, silly song nicknames and the value of having a tuning spreadsheet
Categories: General Interest
“People tell me that I invented that rhythmic gallop – but I just brought it to the fore”: Iron Maiden remain one of most domineering forces in heavy metal – and bassist Steve Harris has led the charge
Steve Harris has always pushed beyond the conventions of rock bass guitar, but in his mind, he’s no bass hero
Categories: General Interest
“You were part of a team. There were always 350-400 studio musicians working in the busy 1960s”: Carol Kaye has declined her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction invitation
The hard-working recording artist and bass guitar icon explained why in a post on social media
Categories: General Interest
How Ibanez flipped the script for Japanese electrics with the Iceman – a flavor of original cool that Steve Miller and Paul Stanley of Kiss were waiting for
The story of an electric guitar so cool, there's no wonder they called it the Iceman
Categories: General Interest
“Someone sent me a picture and was like, ‘Isn’t this your guitar?’” That time Diamond Rowe saw her signature guitar on stage with one of her biggest influences
Fellow Jackson artist Christian Andreu took Rowe’s history-making axe for a trip with French metal heavyweights Gojira during their joint tour with Korn
Categories: General Interest
“The last time I saw one for sale on Ebay, somebody wanted $300 for it”: Session ace Justin Ostrander on the sought-after pill bottle slide used by Duane Allman and Derek Trucks – and how he got one for free
As Ostrander explains, a number of legendary slide players have turned to particular vintage Coricidin bottles – to the point they can now command crazy money on the used market
Categories: General Interest
He played a guitar held together by a belt, was admired by Keith Richards, covered by Springsteen and described by Bert Jansch as “the most underrated guitarist ever” – the life and times of a beatnik folk pioneer
Wizz Jones may not be a household name but he came out of the same scene as Eric Clapton and influenced everyone from Keith Richards to Thurston Moore
Categories: General Interest
“Built to make tuning faster, more precise, and effortless”: Band Industries’ Roadie 4 – a noise-immune automatic tuner – builds on its acclaimed predecessor, with some key upgrades
It looks like cybertech lifted from dystopian fiction, but this smart tuner is very much real
Categories: General Interest
“This is for the guys that think they know everything about the clone, yet they just want to have a little bit more”: Keeley Electronics adds more compression, suppression, bass, and headroom to the Klon Centaur recipe
Robert Keeley’s fingerprints are all over the Manis as the pedal boffin delivers a pedal that can serve faithful Klon tones, and plenty more punch beyond it
Categories: General Interest
“When I picked up the Fender, it immediately responded to what I was putting into it. So I went out and bought a Tele and a Strat on the same day”: Fender's highly sought-after Richie Kotzen signature Stratocaster has just been rolled out worldwide
The guitar had previously been available as a Fender Japan-exclusive release
Categories: General Interest
“I used to ask, ‘What was Hendrix really like?’ All Noel would say was, ‘He was a black blues player who took a lot of acid’”: Eric Bell tells the tale of how he joined forces with Noel Redding, after leaving Thin Lizzy as a self-confessed ‘basket-case’
Northern Irish guitarist recalls his difficult departure from Phil Lynott’s band and the strange experience of connecting with Redding – who’d never, ever talk abut Jimi Hendrix
Categories: General Interest
“We were all ready to become millionaires after a couple of years... He was great at that age. I couldn’t believe it”: How Gary Moore came to join Skid Row at just 15 years old – and why the guitar legend left
Brush Shiels, bassist with the Irish blues rock band, explains why despite two albums plus prestigious support tours with The Allman Brothers Band and Mountain under their belt – Moore still decided to leave
Categories: General Interest
“They understood the sentimentality of these instruments and worked incredibly hard to bring them home”: Heart's stolen instruments have been recovered by the police – with a little help from the public
Nancy Wilson’s custom-built baritone and Paul Moak’s 1966 Gibson mandolin were stolen from the stage in Atlantic City last month, resulting in a city-wide search
Categories: General Interest
I've just found the best streaming deal of the summer – get up to 4 free months of Amazon Music Unlimited right now
Amazon has dropped a huge streaming freebie for music-lovers, saving you big on unlimited music listening
Categories: General Interest
“You’re talking about somebody who’s touched by the hand of God. You can’t even fathom it”: Paul Gilbert worshipped his playing, he tutored Luther Dickinson, and he remains, decades after his death, perhaps the greatest little-known guitarist of all time
He was made a guitar legend by his jaw-dropping speed, but Shawn Lane is more worth remembering for his sheer fretboard versatility – he aced country sessions, while blowing minds onstage equally with Southern rock bands and Indian classical-influenced ensembles
Categories: General Interest
“I want to share with everyone else what he shared with me”: Marcus King’s vintage Gibson ES-345 has passed through 3 generations of his family. Now, his new signature model brings it to the masses
Based on his 1962 “Big Red” guitar, King’s latest signature is a sleeker version of the exclusive Custom Shop model that arrived back in 2021
Categories: General Interest
Meshuggah pioneered it, Periphery took it to new levels, and John Petrucci thinks it opens up "a new world" – here is everything you need to know about learning 8-string guitar
Six different ways to get the most from your 8-string guitar by Haken’s Charlie Griffiths
Categories: General Interest
“Barracuda is a powerful piece of music that was never intended for political use”: Nancy Wilson speaks out after Donald Trump uses a Heart classic without permission
Wilson joins a growing list of artists whose music has been used by Trump
Categories: General Interest
“My phone buzzes: ‘Come down and see Robben’s amp.’ I’m stressing out like, ‘Oh, somebody's poured beer in it...’” That time Robben Ford brought his prized Dumble amp to a guitar retreat – and let fans play it
It may be one of the most coveted amps in the world, but Ford let fans get up close and personal with the holy grail #102 Dumble
Categories: General Interest