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July 2024

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74 articles

July 31
- “He goes, ‘I don't even understand how you're playing that. I could never play that’”: Dweezil Zappa on the time he taught Eddie Van Halen how to play one of his dad’s most difficult riffs
- “I remember saying to Billy that it can't just be notes – we need something that’s got a sonic blast”: Why Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens used toy ray guns to create Rebel Yell’s “space-age gunfight” guitar solo
July 30
- “I dare the audience to stay seated during our songs”: Claudette King to celebrate B.B. King’s 100th birthday with funk-infused 2025 tour
- “A much-anticipated update with the latest sound design language and features, and countless chain combinations”: Mooer unveils its latest feature-packed and affordable amp modeler and multi-effects unit, the GE200 Pro
- “I started doing some odd jobs, running a bulldozer, cutting hay for people...”: Steve Morse almost quit music, twice – Kansas, and then Lynyrd Skynyrd, brought him back
July 29
- “No disrespect to Marshalls, but they have one sound, and that's about it. They're either really loud, or really quiet. But I found that each Fender amp has its own character”: Why Noel Gallagher overhauled his Oasis rig at the peak of the band's success
July 26
- “Anyone who’s seen him perform his father’s music will testify that not only does Dweezil Zappa do it justice, his improvisational sections are as thrilling as the compositions are deep”: Win tickets to see Dweezil Zappa in San Francisco
- September 2024 Guitar Player lesson audio
- “When I got the role of Keith Partridge, they knew I could play and sing because I played Voodoo Child before my screen test”: David Cassidy on seeing Hendrix, learning from the session guitar greats, and jamming with Paul McCartney and John Lennon
July 25
- “A bombshell guitar that can front any band”: Martin and Reverb unite for an exclusive non-cutaway Grand Performance acoustic
- “I was inspired by one of my favorite players, Mr. Paul Gilbert”: Matteo Mancuso pays homage to one of his heroes with new track, Paul Position
- “A vintage-sounding, modern-featured roaring head inspired by the legendary 1967/1968 Plexi Super Lead 100”: Joe Satriani’s custom Eddie Van Halen-flavored 3rd Power amp is now available as a plugin – with real amps on the way
July 24
- “All these pieces of wood gradually become in harmony with each other over years of playing”: David Gilmour explains his preference for vintage guitars, and demos his 1945 Martin D-18
- “Thank you for rescuing me from oblivion and giving me the courage and enthusiasm to express myself without fear or limit”: Tributes pour in for “champion of the blues” John Mayall
- “He gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire, and entertain”: British blues pioneer John Mayall dies at 90
July 23
- “His playing was never self-indulgent, and his soloing was propulsive”: Moby Grape co-founder and guitarist Jerry Miller dies at 81
- “This SG Junior is entirely my own, and it already looks iconic”: Epiphone and Yungblud team up for a rare signature SG Junior
- “Spark 2 is like taking Madison Square Garden wherever you go”: Positive Grid announces the full details of its Spark 2 modeler – with AI tone hunting, DSP modeling, and a looper set to feature
- “It was uncomfortable, but if we were going to play those songs, then I had to play them”: Dickey Betts initially “hated” having to play Duane Allman's slide parts
July 22
- “If you’re seeking a lightweight all-in-one busker box with loads of features and conveniences, the ShowBox is worth a look”: Mackie ShowBox All-in-One Performance Rig review
- “When you would bend the strings across the fingerboard, the pickups would make this kind of rushing sound because the polepieces went north-south, north-south, north-south”: Brian May on the trials and tribulations of building the Red Special
July 19
- “These two models offer well-considered features, and cut a fresh figure in a crowded field”: ToneLounge's Shoreline TVL and 2TV models smoothly blend the old and the new
- “When Paul Shaffer introduced the Blues Brothers for the first time on SNL, he said, ‘With the help of Curt Salgado and the Cray Band, we give you the Blues Brothers’”: Robert Cray on Animal House, and the origins of the Blues Brothers
July 18
- “Effortlessly transition between glassy clean tones and crunchy overdrives”: Blackstar keeps it simple with the tube-powered, American-voiced, and vintage-inspired TV-10A combo amp
- “This album has given me a golden opportunity to create chordal movements and structures that I thought were a bit different”: Steve Howe says writing on keyboards let him get experimental on his new solo album, Guitarscape
- “Elevate your playing and unlock new musical possibilities with Spark 2's all-new Groove Looper”: Positive Grid’s Spark 2 will have a looper feature – fixing a flaw of the hugely successful first-gen modeler
- “Femininity in rock and roll isn’t always something you find. If you’re a woman, being tough has meant being like Joan Jett”: With a helping hand from Greta Van Fleet's Sam Kiszka, Hannah Wicklund has her eyes on the prize
- “This guitar feels great in the hand, with an interesting twist in the control layout that allows you to easily access fun alternative sounds”: Reverend Chris Freeman Signature review
- These 11 outstanding Prime Day guitar deals are still live – including electric guitars, acoustics, amps and more
July 17
- “I was getting more into atmospherics and noises; I wanted to get into open, wide arrangements with fewer chord changes”: Johnny Marr’s The The-era '62 American Vintage Strat reissue to be auctioned off
- “It won the audition for a whole pile of songs”: Mark Knopfler teams up with music therapy charity Nordoff and Robbins to give away a signed – and extremely rare – Boswell acoustic
- “There's a lot of chromatic stuff, and slides in a very tight space, within three or four frets”: Deep Purple guitarist Simon McBride reveals the Ritchie Blackmore lick that's given him the most trouble
- Score up to $500 off a range of Breedlove acoustic guitars at Guitar Center in this epic Prime Day-beating sale
July 16
- “Rory was one of the first to put Irish rock on the international stage; it’s important that it's kept in Ireland”: The Irish government is considering what it can do to keep Rory Gallagher’s Strat in the country
- “Addictive playability, versatile tone, and distinctive looks in a quality package”: PRS launches head-turning, sandblasted SE Swamp Ash CE 24
- Keep your guitar playing fresh with these awesome Prime Day discounts on guitar strings from Ernie Ball, D'Addario and more
- “In light of the total amount of debt, Fernandes plans to file for bankruptcy proceedings as soon as possible”: Fernandes Guitars, Japanese brand loved by Kirk Hammett and The Edge, files for bankruptcy
- “I got the idea: ‘What if I had something with a variable speed motor, like a Dremel?‘ My tech said, ‘Oh, you want a vibrator‘: David Bowie and the Cure guitarist Reeves Gabrels on the joys of taking your tone into uncharted waters
- Positive Grid has unleashed some of its biggest Spark discounts for Prime Day – save up to 40% at Amazon
July 15
- “The best part of being your own bassist is that you can play anything without worrying about what the bass player is going to do”: The Boss Octave pedal's Poly mode allows guitarists to make their own bass parts, and add dimension to their sound
- “When I heard David Lindley play the Weissenborn, I went, ‘That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life!’”: Ben Harper on playing with Jack Johnson and Harry Styles, and the crazy Martin Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie built
- Get your hands on 5 cheap guitar accessories at Amazon with these mega Prime Day deals
July 12
- “Jerry slides, uses tone and volume swells, and plays glissandos that kiss the sky”: Steel Guitar Favorites shows Jerry Byrd at the very top of his game
- “I love the clone Strats and Teles that Tokai made illegally in the ’80s. I asked Nile Rodgers how he got the sound on David Bowie’s China Girl, and he pulled out a Tokai Strat”: INXS's Tim Farriss on tonal touchstones, and that reality TV show
- Who knew Amazon would serve up genuine effects bargains for Prime Day? Here are 5 huge guitar pedal deals we'd buy
July 11
- “The guitar is a symbol of what he represents for us; we must do it for him and our heritage”: A fundraising campaign has been launched to buy Rory Gallagher’s Stratocaster and keep it in Ireland
- “I need the numbers for getting that perfect volume setting for whatever song we're doing”: Joe Satriani on the key mod he’s made to his Best Of All Worlds EVH guitars
- "I kept on bidding with excitement and nervousness; this is John Lennon's... I must be mad!”: John Lennon’s first Vox amp has apparently been rediscovered after 60 years
- “Chet Atkins told me, ‘A guitar’s your friend for life. It’ll be your best friend.’ And they are. They’re wonderful companions”: Mark Knopfler on the guitars he couldn't send to auction, and that all-star version of Going Home
July 10
- “It burned all through the night and there it was, gone”: Watch Deep Purple give a very literal performance of Smoke on the Water atop a burning Lake Geneva
- “Underneath all these left-field things was a really tasty blues guitar player”: Slash says Eddie Van Halen was a blues player at heart – and that's what made him so good
- “This ruling reinforces our belief in fair competition within the guitar industry”: Dean Guitars wins the right to a retrial in its ongoing trademark dispute with Gibson
July 9
- “I don't think he would have swapped it for anything in the world. Truthfully, it was his wife”: Rory Gallagher’s legendary ’61 Stratocaster to be sold at auction
- “A detailed re-imagining of our core silhouettes, incorporating feedback from musicians around the world”: Fender introduces its second generation of Player Series guitars with choice upgrades
- “Increased sonic versatility and new heights of beauty”: Gibson adds the ES to its Supreme series – with Art Deco aesthetics and split coil pickups
- “Les became my godfather, and he taught me my first three chords. I wore the skin off my thumb in a week just playing those chords”: Before he became a reliable rock hitmaker, Steve Miller was a child protégé of Les Paul
July 8
- Luther Dickinson is a royal blues rocker who's led the North Mississippi Allstars for over a quarter century: Win tickets to see him and the Allstars live in Northern California
- “Our vision is to make guitars that are treated more like gear than fine art, or delicate furniture at grandma’s house’’: Charging full speed ahead with carbon-fiber designs, the founders of Klos Guitars believe guitars should be used, not babied
July 5
- “One day, Eric called and said, ‘Buddy Guy, George Harrison, and I are playing the Roxy tonight. You’re going to come and jam’”: The night Eric Clapton invited Richie Sambora to a dream jam session
- “Human-centric design with the feel and response of a real amp”: Blackstar says it’s fixed the biggest audio interface issue that guitarists face with the new Polar 2
- “I had no illusion there. I knew he would clock it, of course”: Chris Shiflett on trying to convince Joe Bonamassa his Murphy Lab ‘59 Les Paul was genuine – and why it’s great for country music
July 4
- Get a year’s worth of guitar lessons for only $99 with Guitar Tricks' epic Summer Black Friday offer
July 3
- “Tube tone and dynamism distilled into affordable, portable, and analog designs”: Laney says its new Lionheart Foundry solid-state combos can rival tube amps
- “I just found that my old combo amps are so susceptible to dirty power and things coloring your tone”: Chris Shiflett on ditching tube amps for a Quad Cortex onstage, and on his new solo EP
- “To throw away one of the main ingredients for making instruments because the internet says it doesn’t make a difference – I don't buy it”: Paul Reed Smith believes woods do affect tone, but brings a fresh perspective to the table
- “It's more about songwriting when it comes to Mammoth”: Wolfgang Van Halen doesn't want to sound like his dad – but holds one soloing lesson from him to heart
- August 2024 Guitar Player lesson audio
July 2
- “A rock machine with boutique, hand-built craftsmanship... it's exactly what I was hoping it would be”: Dweezil Zappa gets a “microphonic” signature Shabat guitar with some tricks up its sleeve
- 5 of the best 4th of July sales for guitarists to save on guitars, amps, pedals, strings and more
- “Cut the cables from your rig with 70 feet of wireless freedom and unparalleled signal strength”: Fender enters the wireless system market with the small but feature-packed Telepath
- “Virtually indistinguishable from the original,” at a fraction of the price: Fender uses DSP modeling for a faithful – and affordable – recreation of its ‘59 Bassman amp
- “They were my go-to guitar players for a bunch of stuff... Whatever I thought of and asked for, they could do it”: How Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner transformed Lou Reed's moody, street-smart performances into an album of twin-guitar-led hard rock heroics
July 1
- “Whether your playing leans toward Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nile Rodgers or Eric Johnson, you’ll find the 70th Anniversary Ultra Stratocaster a mesmerizingly cool guitar”: Fender 70th Anniversary Ultra Stratocaster HSS review
- “I try to avoid using my middle pickup. That’s the Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. My treble pickup sounds more like me”: Scott Henderson on trombone-emulating pedals, and balancing dense arrangements with blues progressions