Guitarist Magazine

09/12/2024

“I went to a Fender event with her and they allowed the public into the exhibit. People were losing their minds. It kind of scared me”: Abigail Ybarra is a legend of the pickup world – but her daughter didn’t realize until she got mobbed by fans

The famed pickup maker worked for Fender for more than 50 years, and her pickups were played by some of the biggest guitar players in the game, including Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton

09/12/2024

“Jimi Hendrix came in with an old Duo-Sonic. I had just put together a Strat I’d strung up left-handed, and I went, ‘I’ll trade you.’ I was docked three weeks’ pay”: Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter recalls the questionable guitar deal he made when he met Jimi Hendrix

A young Baxter was working in a local guitar store when Hendrix came searching for a new guitar

09/12/2024

“I played and sang Suffragette City and everyone else was doing Foxy Lady – I was so drunk, I didn’t even know”: The Cure’s Robert Smith on his disastrous first show as a singer and guitarist... when he butchered a Jimi Hendrix classic

Smith only carried on fronting the band because he’d fallen out with everyone who filled the role

09/12/2024

“I blew it up and replaced it with a black-panel Deluxe. He probably doesn’t know...”: Steve Hill on the time he recorded at Foo Fighters’ studio – and broke Chris Shiflett’s prized Fender Princeton

Hill’s experience of recording at the Foo Fighters’ legendary Studio 606 turned into a costly endeavor

09/12/2024

“The finest tone we’ve ever achieved. It’s knocking industry titans off pedalboards”: Keeley has launched a new Rotary pedal – and it could be the brand’s most significant launch in some time

Featuring a suite of customization via a simple interface, the pedal promises to pack vintage charm for modern rigs

09/12/2024

“We are both at the top of our game”: Steve Vai and Joe Satriani have formed a new band together – and will release new music ahead of upcoming tour dates

The two virtuosos hit the road next summer for a string of European dates – and a new original track is set to land shortly before

09/12/2024

“I have a Southern accent, and it’s the same on the guitar. I adapted the guitar to do the talking for me when I was too shy”: Marcus King on why your fretboard has its own language – and how mental health became his muse

The Americana-loving singer-songwriter digs into the ties between the ebb and flow of his emotional state and the safe space inherent in the well-worn fretboard of his beloved Big Red

08/12/2024

: An all-new electric from the man who makes Taylor one of the biggest names in acoustic design, the A-Type is typically high-end, thoroughly original, and might well be a modern classic in the making

An all-new electric from the man who makes Taylor one of the biggest names in acoustic design, the A-Type is typically high-end, thoroughly original, and might well be a modern classic in the making

08/12/2024

Dig deep into SRV's six-string artistry with our compilation of his finest performances

08/12/2024

: According to Nirvana guitar tech Earnie Bailey, Cobain was far from a vintage guitar fiend, and had no qualms with making his already weird D-18E even more unusual

According to Nirvana guitar tech Earnie Bailey, Cobain was far from a vintage guitar fiend, and had no qualms with making his already weird D-18E even more unusual

07/12/2024

“I went to this very posh house in Regent’s Park in London, knocked on the door and this 16-year-old American kid held it up. I said, ‘It’s a red guitar – I’ll have it!’” How Phil Manzanera got his trademark Roxy Music Gibson Firebird

Manzanera’s iconic Firebird has been by his side for much of his career and began life as a custom build from Kalamazoo

07/12/2024

: The Edge bought a delay just to fill out the sound out in U2 – it ended up all but defining them. But there's a trick to how to use it in tandem with your playing and make it sound huge

The Edge bought a delay just to fill out the sound out in U2 – it ended up all but defining them. But there's a trick to how to use it in tandem with your playing and make it sound huge

07/12/2024

From metal to rock, punk to grunge, these are the best guitar riffs ever recorded, as voted for by you

07/12/2024

: The Smashing Pumpkins frontman's latest signature collab with Reverend is built for drop tunings. Is this the ultimate grunge machine?

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman's latest signature collab with Reverend is built for drop tunings. Is this the ultimate grunge machine?

06/12/2024

“Gilmour says, ‘I want to play on it’ – like, he doesn’t do this’”: Body Count rip through their Comfortably Numb reimagining on the Tonight Show, as Ernie C does his best David Gilmour

In an interview with host Jimmy Fallon, Ice-T recalled getting the approval (and assist) for the modern-minded reworking from Gilmour – while also getting the go-ahead from Roger Waters

06/12/2024

“Captures the very essence of British rock ’n’ roll”: The Masquerader Standard makes one of cult UK builder Shergold’s most distinctive guitars significantly more affordable

The newly revived firm continues its renaissance by returning to one of its earliest designs – and giving it a modern-day makeover

06/12/2024

“It’s everything the SLO is, all in a pedal”: Soldano’s SLO Plus could be the new hard rock pedal amp to beat – bringing both channels of the legendary SLO-100 guitar amp to the floor

A single-channel offering from 2022 has been usurped by the two-channel upgrade, which promises the tube-amp-like tones of the iconic SLO-100

06/12/2024

“I had a hard time playing in tune. The producer stopped me and said, ‘George, tune up again.’ I didn’t realize the value of that until Breezin’ came out”: How George Benson landed a hit album by breaking the rules – and learning to play in tune

As Benson prepares to share his skills first-hand in an immersive music experience, the jazz guitar legend looks back on a magical career and explains why he's still learning