Why old coins proved the perfect guitar pick for Brian May
The guitarist is famed for his use of his Red Special guitar and a Vox AC30 amp, but a Queen expert believes his unusual choice of pick is just as important to achieving his tone
Guitarists
Watch Andy Summers teach John Mayer how to play “Message in a Bottle”
Mayer was due to perform with the British trio, but first Summers had to help him tackle a song he had struggled with himself
Eddie Van Halen’s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli hopes a Van Halen biopic never happens, despite his brother putting plans in motion
The drummer has been determined to celebrate Van Halen's legacy in new ways, but Bertinelli says a film would be a bridge too far
Ritchie Blackmore looks back on his career in an interview from our December 1996 issue
The guitarist spoke about Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and his own infamously bad temper
Gear
Best Telecaster pickups 2025: Expert recommendations for perfecting that unmistakable Tele twang
From traditional tones to modern high-gain options, these should be your go-to pickups to breathe new life into your Telecaster
Best Fender amps 2025: The finest Fender amplifiers you can get your hands on
Tube warmth or modern modeling? I've taken a look at the best Fender amps for all players and budgets
We review the Strymon EC-1 Single Head dTape Echo, a convincing take on a very special vintage tube Echoplex
Don't be fooled by its size. There's plenty more under the hood to make the EC-1 one of the more versatile delays we've tested
Best amp modelers 2025: Get your dream guitar tone with my top picks
Amp models so good, you’ll think they’re the real thing
Guitars
Best electric guitars under $1,000 in 2025: My guitar picks that span all skill levels, budgets and genres
Sticking to a budget of a grand? Here are my top picks of the best electrics from Fender, PRS, Epiphone and more
Best guitar cables 2025: Hard-working cables that will preserve your tone
The ultimate plug in and play guide: the best guitar cables from the likes of Mogami, Ernie Ball, D’Addario and more
Guitar Center's Guitar-A-Thon is back, and it includes a colossal $600 off a Gibson Les Paul, $180 off a Fender Strat, and a slew of new exclusive models
Grab yourself some huge savings on all your favorite guitar brands with Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, and loads more
Mike Campbell on his "Red Dog" Telecaster, the focus of two new Fender tribute models
Fender's two new Red Dogs include a Stories Collection edition and a Custom Shop limited-edition model
The story of Joe Satriani’s showstopping Crystal Planet Ibanez JS prototype — which has just sold for $10,000
The custom-built prototype takes see-through specs to a whole new level, making it one of the most intriguing JS models in ever made
Martin unveils its reissue of Eric Clapton’s 'Unplugged' acoustic — but his affinity for the brand began long before that seminal show
The two new acoustics celebrate 30 years of collaboration between Martin and Clapton, but the luthier’s builds were shaping his career decades earlier
"The tuning is E to E but an octave higher than standard." Can this little guitar make you sound like you’re playing mandolin? Meet Ellis Guitars’ Soprano TX
The unique Mando-guitar hybrid delivers the sweet tones of a mandolin without requiring you to learn new fingerings
Makers
New tariffs are having a negative impact on Fender’s credit rating
The taxes affect production at Fender’s facilities where guitars, amps, pedals and other electronics are made
Ciari Guitars is rising high as the industry’s premier travel guitar maker
Ciari founder Jonathan Spangler tells the story behind his company's innovative folding guitar design and technology
Paul Reed Smith explains why it doesn’t matter where guitars are made
Calling Carlos Santana and Jimmy Herring up as witnesses, the luthier continues his electric guitar myth-busting streak
Gibson revamps the Les Paul Studio with tonal, playability, and aesthetic upgrades
A lighter body, plain maple cap, updated electronics, and new finishes give the affordable LP a new lease on life
Fender launches the first-ever Certified Pre-owned Reverb store – offering its second-hand instruments at a discount
All guitars are professionally inspected before being listed, come with a one-year warranty, and are on average 25 percent cheaper
After the 2010 Tennessee floods, Keith Urban had to abandon his ruined guitar collection for last-minute eBay buys in the studio
Urban says he was forced to buy a Clapton Strat to fill the void, but felt like he was “cheating” on his beloved guitars
Lessons
Mike Stern's top five guitar tips include one simple fix to help you develop your personal guitar style
The jazz guitar icon, who recently released the album Echoes and Other Songs, tells us music can be the cure for dark times
Pete Thorn shares the tip that convinced Joe Satriani he was the right guitarist for the SatchVai Band
The L.A. session ace told us the five rules he thinks every player should follow for a successful career
Add vibrant rhythms and sophisticated chords to your guitar playing with Jesse Cook’s five essential flamenco techniques
Delve into the world of rasgueado strumming, triplet rhythms, percussive golpe taps and fast picado picking
Music
Brian May makes a surprise appearance at Coachella to perform Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"
The guitarist had teased his appearance with the singer on Instagram. But apparently not everyone in the audience was as excited to see May as Boone had hoped
Paul McCartney explains how the Beatles introduced harmonized guitar leads to rock and roll with one remarkable song
Absent from rock for years before the Fabs used them, dual lead lines would eventually be embraced by 1970s guitarists ranging from Brian May to Tom Scholz
Christopher Cross covering for a sick Ritchie Blackmore on Deep Purple's first U.S. show
The man behind "Ride Like the Wind" gets support for his tale from Eric Johnson, whose band opened for Deep Purple that night
Joe Perry on Jeff Beck, the Yardbirds and "The 10 Records That Changed My Life"
The guitarist says he picked a pair of albums from his own catalog for one very good reason: "Making those albums made all the difference in my career"
Don Felder on how he crafted his iconic guitar solo for the Eagles’ “One of These Nights”
Felder considers his creation "the most deliberate solo I did" and says he took his cues from the style of alto saxophonist David Sanborn
Steven Wilson redefines the modern guitar solo on 'The Overview' by putting tone first
Wilson's new solo album is influenced by the experience space travelers have when seeing Earth from outer space
Paul McCartney leads the charge of 400 stars opposing changes to AI copyright laws
AI firms want exemptions to expand the tech’s learnings. An open letter backed by McCartney highlights the risks to America’s creative industries
