How Paul Rodgers made Jimmy Page play guitar again after John Bonham’s death
Page hadn’t picked up a guitar for two years. A casual encounter with the Bad Company bandleader changed everything
Guitarists
“I was nervous for about a minute and said, ‘Forget it’” Steve Vai on replacing Eddie Van Halen as David Lee Roth’s guitarist for ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’
On the album’s 40th anniversary, we revisit Vai’s classic Guitar Player interview when he stepped into rock guitar’s most intimidating role
The Beatles debuted All You Need Is Love live to an audience of 400 million. Is it any wonder George fluffed his solo?
The biggest mystery: Why didn't he fix it later?
Freddie Mercury didn’t want a guitar solo. Brian May fought for it — and created one of Queen’s most celebrated moments on record
May says creative friction was part of the process that made the group so successful
Joe Satriani says Sammy Hagar has him beat in one aspect of guitar playing
As the Best of All Worlds band heads to Europe for July dates, Satriani says Hagar's greatest strength as a guitarist comes from thinking more like a lead singer than a shredder.
Paul Gilbert reveals the bizarre effect hearing loss has on his live shows
The former Mr. Big guitarist says tinnitus can make entire performances sound painfully out of tune — even when audience recordings prove everything was pitch-perfect. But the condition also led him to become a more melodic player
Gear
10 mega sales in this weekend's massive 4th of July guitar blowout with discounts hitting up to 60% off
I've found all of the best sales for guitarists to help celebrate the 4th of July weekend
Best electric guitar strings 2026: freshen up your sound with some new guitar strings
Get your guitar playing to its potential with our pick of the best strings for electric guitar
Best delay pedals 2026: my top picks from slapback to space-age soundscapes
Make your tone massive with our pick of the best delay stompboxes from Line 6, Boss, Strymon, and more
Missed out on the Prime Day deals? Here are 26 guitar gear deals that are still live right now
If you were out of the loop for Prime Day, there are still some great deals you can pick up
Guitars
Best electric guitars under $1,000 in 2026: find your perfect guitar for less than a grand
Here are my top picks of the best electrics below $1,000 from Fender, PRS, Jackson, and more
"I hit it with a hammer…" J.J. Cale had one of the craziest guitars you'll ever see
When his Harmony acoustic was wrecked, Cale transformed it into a 'solid body' electric. With no back.
Best beginner electric guitars 2026: start your guitar journey with our pick of guitars for beginners
From Squier to Ibanez, here's our expert selection of the best electric guitars for beginners
A jaw-dropping $899 off a Gibson Les Paul Modern has just kicked off a wave of 4th of July guitar savings - here are 9 deals on guitars from a genuine Gibson and Epiphone addict
Score hefty discounts on a slew of Gibson Les Pauls, as well as Epiphone Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck, and Jerry Cantrell signature models
Thomann sues Fender over S-style cease-and-desist to take on fight for smaller manufacturers
The retailer says it is stepping in on behalf of makers as Fender seeks to enforce copyright claims tied to the Stratocaster body shape.
Lenny Kravitz on the desperate deal that gave him his number-one guitar
The guitarist learned vintage-guitar hunting from Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. Then a chance parking-lot encounter landed him a ’53 Goldtop conversion that's appeared on every album since Are You Gonna Go My Way.
We review the Martin D-18 and D-X2E Molly Tuttle acoustics
Built for Tuttle’s precision flatpicking and clawhammer techniques, these two dreadnoughts are aimed at very different budgets
Makers
Roger Daltrey says the Who invented metal before Black Sabbath
The singer says the Who's pioneering use of volume, feedback and Marshall amps laid the foundations for metal years before Black Sabbath arrived.
Fender serves a cease-and-desist to PRS, but does this latest target meet Fender’s copyist criteria?
PRS confirms it received a cease-and-desist letter over the Silver Sky — John Mayer’s massively successful signature model. But does this latest target meet Fender’s copyist criteria?
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
Lessons
Blues and Jazz Chord Masterclass! Learn the sweetest chords from world-renowned Gypsy-jazz guitarist Tim Lerch
Discover a wealth of dominant 7th, diminished and chromatically colored chords to bring variety and sophistication to your playing
DADGAD for Dummies: You already know 50 percent of this tuning
With its evocative and enigmatic sound, DADGAD is one of the guitar’s best-kept secrets
Warm-Up Time: 11 Guitar Exercises That Will Help You Play Even Better
Here are 11 ways to get your hands and fingers ready for action, both off and on the guitar
Music
”We need to make a live album.” Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman reveal the complete story behind rock’s definitive live album
Fifty years on this definitive album remains the gold standard of blues-based rock and roll.
Win tickets to see blues-rock prodigy Taj Farrant perform at Guitar Player Present in Northern California
The 17-year-old Australian sensation appears at the Hopmonk Tavern in Novato on Friday, July 10
How John Lennon’s murder inspired one of Mark Knopfler’s most personal songs
The Dire Straits leader drew on his experiences with an obsessive fan who followed him from show to show — but it took him 16 years to finish the song
Win tickets to see Charo in concert in Northern California
The flamenco guitar goddess performs at the Orinda Theatre in Orinda, California on Saturday, June 20
"It was tense... then he waved his magic wand." Andy Summers reveals the Beatles connection that saved the Police's biggest album
When a screaming match threatened to destroy Synchronicity, a desperate hike across a Caribbean island to find legendary Beatles producer George Martin changed everything
Mike Campbell on his studio secrets, channeling Jimmy Page, and what “terrifies” him about the Heartbreakers’ catalog
Fresh off his best-selling memoir, Tom Petty’s legendary chief lieutenant and the band he calls “my go-to project” return with ‘Mission of Mercy’
“What the heck is a demo?” How Sylvester Stallone accidentally created one of rock’s biggest hits
Survivor guitarist Frankie Sullivan reveals how a rejected Queen song, a broken guitar, and a confused action star birthed "Eye of the Tiger," released on this day in 1982
