Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on their avatar show, new songs, and being bigger than Mickey Mouse
The band have teased more details about their $200m avatar extravaganza, and said when they expect it to launch
Guitarists
“There were about 15 people in the audience — and about 10 when they finished.” Chris Spedding on discovering the Sex Pistols and landing them their record deal
The session guitarist recalls taking the young band into a London studio in 1976 to cut the demos that led to the birth of punk rock
How Mike Bloomfield and a chance encounter saw Robben Ford convert to a Telecaster enthusiast
He was the player who inspired him to pick up a guitar, but his mainstay Tele would come much later
Carmine Appice on cutting a Coke ad with Jeff Beck, hanging with Jimi Hendrix and playing with Rod Stewart and Rick Derringer
As he returns with a new Cactus album, Appice tells tales from his star-studded past dating back to his years in Vanilla Fudge
Gear
Tony Iommi leads the tributes as Laney Amplification founder Lyndon Laney dies, aged 77
Lyndon Laney founded his namesake firm in Birmingham, England, in 1967, and helped forge the sound of heavy metal alongside the Black Sabbath guitarist
"Blends classic tube simplicity with a few modern features that genuinely add value": We review the tiny tube tones of the Marshall DSL1CR
Marshall's mini tube amp delivers the spirit of the stack in a tiny 1-watt format
Get the blueprint for legendary guitar tone at any price point from a lifelong Slash fanatic with my pick of guitars, amps, picks, pickups, and more
Got an appetite for destruction and a thirst for great tone? Well, here are the items you need to sound like Slash
Best mini amps 2026: tiny amps for powerful tones
Our pick of the best small guitar amps will get you great big tone in a teeny-tiny package
Guitars
Luthier immortalizes his late wife in a guitar that features her ashes and wedding ring
The tear-jerking build features some incredible detailing as he ensures his wife remains with him forevermore
Best Martin guitars 2026: top-tier acoustic guitars for all
Considering a Martin? Here's my pick of the best Martin acoustics for every type of player
“Purpose-built from the ground up for female players.” We review the Venus Revolution and Revolution Elite Dark Roast electric guitars
What Venus gets right is that the concept isn't cosmetic — it's physical
These 9 eye-popping bargains in Guitar Center's annual Guitar-A-Thon sale are almost too good to be true – including a massive $700 off a Gibson Les Paul
One of the biggest sales of the year just landed for guitarists, time to stock up and save
“I’ve got some bad news, Paul. Our truck was broken into and the bass was stolen.” Ian Horne recalls how he lost Paul McCartney’s Höfner bass
The former Wings sound engineer recalls the events that led to the disappearance of the famous Beatles bass
Zakk Wylde’s beloved Grail Les Paul fell off the back of a truck. Here’s how he got it back
It was the guitar he launched his Ozzy Osbourne career with, but it nearly crashed out of his life forever
The woman who found Paul McCartney’s bass guitar in her attic had no idea a global search for the instrument was going on
Cathy Guest discovered she had the bass after uploading a photo of it to Google Images
Makers
Studio legend Glyn Johns on Paul McCartney's shocking request to work on what became the Beatles' final album
The album’s roots live on as 'Let It Be,' but Johns says the rest of the band didn’t get McCartney’s “really interesting” idea
From Taylor Swift to Phoebe Bridgers and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy — how indie rockers came to adopt a guitar bridge born from parts in Home Depot's toilet aisle
Rubber-bridge guitars have changed the sound of acoustic guitar over the past 10 years. And it's all down to one man's invention
Recording engineer Glyn Johns on why he never used click tracks when working with the Stones, Beatles, and Led Zeppelin
He’s recorded and mixed seminal records by some of rock’s biggest artists, and click tracks were always left out in the cold
Tommy Emmanuel reveals everything you need to know about his upcoming Guitar Camp U.S.A.
Presented by Dreamcatcher Events this October, the camp is a hands-on learning experience unlike any other, featuring the acoustic virtuoso and other noted guitarists
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
Lessons
Giant’s Jimmy Westerlund shows you licks and techniques that channel the glory days of AOR rock guitar
Learn the virtuosic, expressive and sophisticated style played by guitarists like Steve Lukather, Neal Schon and Dan Huff
Learn five essential fingerstyle patterns and timeless techniques in Eric Bibb’s blues masterclass
From rich chords to articulate fingerpicking, this tutorial will elevate your acoustic blues vocabulary and deepen your musicality
B.B. King on his trick for getting more sounds out of your guitar
The King offered invaluable advice that any guitarist can put to use
Music
Samantha Fish doesn’t like her first live album — that’s why she did it right with her latest, ‘Paper Doll Live’
The blues-rock guitarist’s latest release builds on the Grammy Award–nominated success of her 2025 studio album
Brian May on the chart-topping Queen hit Freddie Mercury composed while getting ready one morning
John Lennon said the song inspired his return to the studio in 1980 for his final album, ‘Double Fantasy’
Elvis Presley inspired it. John Lennon hated it. Behind the song he wanted to keep off the Beatles’ first psychedelic record
Lennon borrowed a line from Presley’s “Baby, Let’s Play House” to write one of his darkest lyrics
“I thought it was just a little bit too simple.” Tom Petty almost gave away his biggest hit — five years after he wrote it
It took a persistent producer and a blunt comment from a studio assistant to convince him to dust off the gem and claim it for the Heartbreakers
“I was feeling like I had so much s*** to hurl at the tape.” How Sheryl Crow broke up her hit-making band with just two words
A remark during a David Letterman interview ignited tensions with the musicians who helped create one of her earliest career-defining tracks.
Bruce Springsteen hated Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light,” says singer Chris Thompson
The guitarist recalls the tape-machine glitch that created rock’s most infamous misheard lyric — and the awkward dinner where he asked Springsteen what he thought.
“You might be wrong.” Roger Daltrey said the record business Is “a joke.” Now Pete Townshend is talking about making another Who album
The guitarist says the band may still record again — and he has up to 450 unfinished pieces of music to start with
