Guitar World
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Guitar WorldGuitars“I’ve used this guitar on 2,000 albums”: Fender recreates session legend Lee Sklar's iconic P-Bass – used on records by James Taylor, Phil Collins and Jackson Browne Fender has just announced the Lee Sklar Precision bass – a faithful recreation of the highly customized P-Bass that has accompanied him throughout his decades-long career. His one-of-a-kind bass has featured on records b
Guitar WorldGuitars“We’ve never been a Strat band or a Marshall band. It feels a little too on-the-nose for what a rock sound should be”: Troy Van Leeuwen on turning his Custom Shop 12-string into a Squier signature, and channeling Robert Fripp for the new QOTSA record Since its launch back in 2020, Fender have described the Squier Paranormal series as a line of “unconventional and unique” instruments that “combine classic features with unexpected twists.” Similar terminology could be
Guitar WorldGuitars“John and Paul weren’t interested. The next day I was in a car with Eric Clapton and said, ‘Why don’t you come and play on this track?’” George Harrison on the Beatles classic saved by Slowhand While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the Beatles’ most enduring classics, but it had a rocky start. Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr weren’t all that keen on George Harrison’s opus. It took a special guest t
Guitar WorldGuitarsAngine de Poitrine make their Tonight Show debut – and play a new song to mark the occasion Last night (September 14), the polka-dotted duo Angine de Poitrine made their US TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – and used the occasion to debut a new song, Zugzegk . Brandishing their new Godin doubl
Guitar WorldGuitars“Her soloing is wild, well thought out, and performed with ease and abandon. It reminded me of playing with Jason Becker”: Marty Friedman’s 12 favorite guitar collaborations from his Japanese variety show channel Marty Friedman has spent much of his career celebrating Japanese culture. He kicked that pursuit into overdrive after leaving Megadeth, making a home there and becoming something of a national celebrity beyond the confin
Guitar WorldGuitars“He bought it on a trip with Noel Gallagher, a day or two after they first met. Johnny said, ‘Let’s go for a sandwich. Never buy guitars on an empty stomach”: Johnny Marr’s most iconic guitars, the stories behind them – and why he’s selling them now The sale of a great player’s guitar collection is sometimes lamented by fans, however, it’s something we are seeing more often as celebrated musicians reflect on the road travelled and the road yet to come. As a player a
Guitar WorldGuitarsFormer Custom Shop head takes aim at Fender with new firm’s S-style design An ex head of the Fender Custom Shop has seemingly issued a message to his former employer with a new S-style build. After a court ruling gave Fender legal protection over its Stratocaster body design, Thomann , PRS , Ya
Guitar WorldGuitarsCheetah Chrome, co-founder and guitarist of punk legends Dead Boys, dies at 71 Eugene Richard O’Connor, better known as Cheetah Chrome and as one of the co-founders of the first-wave punk band the Dead Boys, has died at the age of 71. The band announced his death on their official Instagram profile
Guitar WorldGuitars“I remember looking at it on the floor going, ‘That can not be The Smiths' guitar’”: The Johnny Marr guitar hidden in an iconic Oasis photoshoot Johnny Marr was one of Oasis' first supporters, and famously lent them an electric guitar or two as they pieced together their earliest material. Most notably, The Smiths’ man sent his iconic 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo
Guitar WorldGuitarsAngine de Poitrine broke a string onstage – and restringing the double-neck was so challenging it nearly derailed the show Mid-gig string breaks are the stuff of nightmares for guitarists. Angine de Poitrine, though, recently turned tragedy into triumph by jamming their way out of trouble. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock since Febru
Guitar WorldGuitars“Classical guitar is under-appreciated in heavy music. No-one would think it could hold a drop A# tuning”: Alt-rock nomad Emma Ruth Rundle on channeling Smashing Pumpkins, her nylon-string awakening, and what made her sell her beloved Gibson SG Emma Ruth Rundle is a restlessly creative musician, visual artist and poet. Across six solo albums and collaborations with Dylan Carlson of Earth, Chelsea Wolfe, Thou and others, she’s refined a dark, heavy and moving bl
Guitar WorldGuitarsWhy Tony Iommi said no to a final Black Sabbath album with Andrew Watt: “He was a bit too excited” Tony Iommi says he rejected Andrew Watt’s designs for making a final Black Sabbath album with the original lineup. Through his work with Ozzy Osbourne, the Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam, Andrew Watt has become one of the
Guitar WorldGuitars“Slayer’s Kerry King saw Mustaine rip it up on this guitar, leading to him accepting the offer to join Megadeth… for three weeks”: Dave Mustaine’s life in guitars – how the Megadeth main man weaponized the Flying V In life and in music, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine pulls no punches. He’s got an edge and his guitars do, too. And we mean that literally. Be it his Rich Biches, Destroyers or various V’s, Mustaine sure does have a thing for
Guitar WorldGuitars“We strongly deny allegations of ill intent”: Mastodon respond to Brent Hinds estate lawsuit Mastodon have broken their silence after it was announced the band is being sued by the estate of the late Brent Hinds . “Sadly, a private business dispute with the estate of our dear departed friend Brent Hinds was made
Guitar WorldGuitars"For me, what sets it apart is its sheer versatility and interactivity": Z.Vex Vexter Fuzz Factory review What is it? It’s hard to believe that the Z.Vex Fuzz Factory is over 30 years old, heck, it’s almost as old as I am. This tiny, yet pioneering stompbox launched way back in 1995 and proved that not all boutique pedals ha
Guitar WorldGuitars“I don’t want to say it was a dirty little secret. Insiders knew, but I wasn’t really allowed to talk about it”: Why Anthrax’s riff-writing isn’t like other bands’ With their 12th studio album, Cursum Perficio , arriving next week, thrash metal titans Anthrax are showing no signs of slowing down. Their Jackson V-touting guitarist, Scott Ian, has often served as the band’s figurehea
Guitar WorldGuitars“That energy popped back like we had been playing all the time. Nobody was rusty, man. Everybody was on – like we'd just got off the J.B.’s bus!” How Bootsy Collins and his James Brown alumni brought the J.B.’s back to life for the Superbad soundtrack “Recording with the J.B.’s cats again felt incredible – beyond sex,” said Bootsy Collins in the October 2007 issue of Bass Player . The funk bass legend was talking of his soundtrack session for the comedy film Superbad
Guitar WorldGuitars“There’s the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, and Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass. But there’s no mother of bluegrass”: How Lindsay Lou, Molly Tuttle and an all-star cast united to uncover the women behind bluegrass’ biggest songs Not long after Michigan-raised songwriter Lindsay Lou moved to Nashville in 2015, she made a startling discovery: many of the bluegrass standards she’d been performing since her Uncle Pete took her to her first jam in Mo
Guitar WorldGuitars“When I’ve played the guitars of people I’ve looked up to, it always feels like there’s DNA on them – like you’re getting a visit from your heroes”: Marcus King on his new signature Epiphone acoustic, playing Tiger, and his brotherhood with Brent Hinds Marcus King has a new signature model with Epiphone . Sure, he’s gotten behind self-branded instruments before – but this one is different. Personal, even. “The El Dorado was the first guitar I have a memory of,” he says
Guitar WorldGuitars“We tell our guitar techs we’re sorry profusely. I feel horrible for making theirlives miserable”: Mark Holcomb on how Periphery harnesses super-heavy guitars for a super-heavy album that takes djent to a dark place There comes a point in every long-running band’s career when the unpredictable becomes, well, predictable. For progressive metal titans Periphery, who over the past decade and a half have defined modern djent through a s
Guitar WorldGuitars“I walked into the studio, and she was playing the song that we were going to cut that day. It’s hard when you’re in a room with greatness like that”: Steve Lukather recalls his first studio session with Joni Mitchell The treasure trove of artists that session legend – and Toto guitarist – Steve Lukather has worked with includes the likes of Michael Jackson, George Benson, Ringo Starr, and Aretha Franklin. Among those big names is Jon
Guitar WorldGuitars“Gibbons has used his frequently on ZZ Top albums – he often plays through two at once”: Meet the world’s first ‘pedal’ – a steampunk wonderland you need Windex to use The electric guitar was still in its infancy when guitarists and electrical engineers sought new ways to make the instrument sound different than an acoustic guitar ever could. Only a few years after the first guitar amp
Guitar WorldGuitars“The first thing he said to me was, ‘You’re in the band, but you gotta get a new guitar. You can’t play that SG’”: Neil Giraldo on how a push from Rick Derringer led him to the B.C. Rich Eagle Before he met his partner-in-crime in both music and life, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo cut his teeth in late rocker Rick Derringer’s band. It was no trivial job, he beat 200 other guitarists to get the gig – not to mention
Guitar WorldGuitars“I’m not trying to toot horns, but Joe Bonamassa said there are only a few guitar players that can do the Albert King bends correctly, and he said my name”: From teenage rigs to stage disasters – the life and times of Eddie 9V Eddie 9V has a whole lot coming to you on his eclectic fifth studio full-length , Down Here, and the vibe is downright electric. Though he’s an Atlanta-raised six-stringer who began self-producing music when he was a tee
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