Tony Iommi reveals Ozzy Osbourne’s final text to him. “It was a hell of a shock, really”
The Black Sabbath guitarist says he never imagined his lifelong friend would die just hours after their last conversation
Guitarists
Bob Dylan and Jorma Kaukonen on the 1960s guitar icon who led an electric blues revolution and died alone and unknown
Dylan called Mike Bloomfield “the best guitar player I ever heard.” But his intensity and brilliance obscured a deep-seated discomfort with success
Modest Mouse part ways with Simon O’Connor after allegations he sent inappropriate messages to a minor
The band have replace him on their tour with Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav
Bands hired Alex Lifeson for the Rush sound. He loved disappointing them
“I like to do something that they would never expect,” the guitarist says of his post-Rush collaborations, where he chased strange effects, new textures and unexpected sounds.
Gear
Best overdrive pedals 2026: saturate your guitar tone
Push your sound to break-up with the best OD pedals from Boss, TC Electronic, JHS, Ibanez and more
Fender sues Thomann in latest escalation of its Stratocaster copyright crackdown
The guitar giant says its countersuit is the “expected next step” after Thomann sued over cease-and-desist letters sent to Harley Benton, PRS, Yamaha and other makers of Stratocaster-style guitars.
Guitar Center just slashed up to 25% off high-velocity shred machines, iconic guitar amps, and legendary guitar pedals in this epic sale
The latest sale over at Guitar Center delivers seriously good deals for guitar players
We review the Mesa/Boogie Mark VII 1x12 Combo tube amp
Mesa's all-encompassing 3-channel tube monster delivers Fender cleans and Mesa high gain in a gig- and studio-ready 1x12 combo
Guitars
Best electric guitars 2026: 10 top-rated guitars for every budget and style
From beginner-friendly Squiers, gig-ready Fenders, and premium Gibsons, our gear experts look at the finest electric guitars on the market right now
Mike Campbell on the time he broke his guitar in two onstage with Bob Dylan with just one wrong move
The guitarist bought the 1962 Gibson SG with another guitar for just $120 and famously played it for his guitar solo on Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream"
Best acoustic electric guitars 2026: get the best of both worlds with my top picks
Get yourself gig-ready with the best electro acoustics from Taylor, Martin, Fender, and more
Best bass guitars 2026: low-end tones for any budget
Whether you're tracking at the home studio or regularly gigging, my top bass guitars will deliver tone, feel, and flexibility
Best acoustic guitars 2026: my pick of the very best beginner, intermediate, and top-end acoustics
From high-quality entry-level models to top-of-the-range collector’s pieces, I look at the best acoustic guitars available today
Did the Beatles cause guitar quality to nosedive in the 1970s? This session player thinks so
The corporate buyouts of America’s biggest brands have been blamed for a decline in quality – but what if they only exacerbated the issues facing the industry at that time?
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
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
$99 for full access to Guitar Tricks online lessons is an absolute steal with this Summer Black Friday deal – especially if you’re a beginner
Save a huge $861 off this mega bundle and take your playing to new heights this year
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
Music
Tom Petty and Mike Campbell on the song they couldn’t give Stevie Nicks — and the one they did that became a hit
Asked to write a song for Nicks, Petty nearly gave away a cut he considered one of his best
Elvis Presley inspired it. John Lennon hated it. Behind the Rubber Soul track he wished he'd never written
As Rubber Soul gets a Super Deluxe reissue this October, we revisit the surprising Elvis-inspired origins of Lennon’s darkest Beatles cut
Tony Iommi announces his first solo album in years and premieres thunderous new single, “World Alone”
One year after Black Sabbath’s farewell performance, the guitar legend returns with From the Dark, featuring singer Jorn Lande
“I’m up there like the folk singer I always hoped I would be — before I saw the Beatles.” Lenny Kaye on finally making his first solo album
After more than 60 years of performing, the Patti Smith Group guitarist has finally made an album of his own: ‘Goin’ Local’
Bon Scott had never played bagpipes before AC/DC used them on “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)” — so he had to learn them fast
In honor of Bagpipe Appreciation Day, here’s the gloriously unlikely story behind AC/DC’s most unmistakable musical ingredient
Inside the secret session that turned Simon & Garfunkel’s flop into a number-one hit — without Paul Simon knowing
Session guitarist Al Gorgoni reveals how a frantic, unguided overdubbing session saved “The Sounds of Silence” and launched one of folk-rock’s biggest careers.
Eric Clapton’s Beano album just turned 60, but you’re still missing the point of what Slowhand achieved
Slowhand reinvented electric blues with this landmark recording.
Ozzy Osbourne’s biggest solo hit was years in the making. It took a touch of southern rock to make it the anthem of his lifetime
Guitarist Zakk Wylde says the song — Osbourne’s only top-40 hit as a solo artist — combined some of the singer’s favorite styles into a powerful ballad
“If I had thought, ‘This is going to be discussed a half century later,’ I would’ve screwed it up. Simple as that.” Lenny Kaye on Nuggets, his 1972 grab bag of lost rock tracks that unintentionally predicted the future of punk
The Patti Smith Group guitarist looks back on the making of the landmark compilation, which brought obscure and overlooked ’60s songs back into the spotlight and became a touchstone for generations of musicians