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August 2024

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63 articles

August 30
- “I went out to have a cigarette. The door opens and it’s the producer. He looks at me and says, ‘You feel like playing?’”: Steve Hunter on the time he spontaneously tracked the guitar solo for Aerosmith's Train Kept a Rollin'
- “Cold plunging is challenging to do. This record is like we’re diving in together and putting it down on tape while it’s fresh”: Cold water therapy inspired Sam Evian’s new album – which has so many guest guitarists, he wound up playing bass
- “A sky’s-the-limit modeling environment, with sound quality that sits well among other leading systems”: Two Notes Genome review
- “It's been a lifetime searching for a spring reverb with a long decay in a small box that could be used on stage and in the studio”: Jack White’s Third Man Hardware and Anasounds join forces to produce his ideal spring reverb, the La Grotte
- The huge Guitar Center Labor Day sale has exclusive offers and up to 50% off – here's why this is the sale to shop this weekend
August 29
- “A celebration of heritage, design, and precision instruments”: Fender finds an unlikely partner in Swiss watchmaker Bvlgari – resulting in a luxury Custom Shop Stratocaster
- “A blues powerhouse that answers the question, ’What if Jerry Lee Lewis played guitar?’” He was one of jazz guitar’s greatest tutors, but on Wildest Guitar, Mickey Baker’s playing is unhinged in the best possible way
- “Should find Bourgeois a broader audience, including fans who can’t muster the money for a full USA build”: Bourgeois Touchstone Signature OM and Dreadnought review
- “A new and unique take on the classic Bluesbreaker with boutique-style modded tones”: Origin Effects honors Marshall’s iconic 1990s drive pedal with the Halcyon Blue Overdrive
- “It was like something you might hear in a symphony”: How Neal Schon’s dramatic arpeggios inspired one of the most famous lines in Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’
August 28
- “When I was 3, I saw Dickey Betts at a blues festival and was mesmerized. I put out my first album at 11 and toured heavily, mostly on school vacations”: Buddy Guy-backed Quinn Sullivan is spreading his wings on his fifth album – at the age of 25
- “Here’s the truth: if you’re a great rhythm guitar player you’ll always have a gig. They’re hard to find. There’s tons of soloists”: Go-to guitarist for everyone from Willie Nelson to Taylor Swift, Kenny Greenberg shares his top 5 tips for session success
- “Build richly detailed soundscapes that elevate musical expression to new heights”: MXR gets wild and weird with Layers – its new organic sustain stacking pedal
- “I've known that Gibson for years. That guitar is part of Dad”: Gibson recreates Johnny Cash’s legendary signature SJ-200 acoustic – and honors his daughter, Rosanne, with her own J-185
- “We spent more hours in the studio and a shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime”: Alex Van Halen’s upcoming audiobook memoir will feature the final song he wrote with Eddie
August 27
- “An enjoyable blend of the classic and the hot rod it’s intended to be”: RS Guitarworks Slab Lowboy review
- “The ES-295 was primed for the grind and sizzle that came to define the sound of rock guitar”: Overshadowed by the Les Paul, the Gibson ES-295 brought rock to concert stages at the hands of Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore
August 26
- “I love playing with Slash. But I think I’m a little more left-of-center than they were”: Dave Navarro reveals why he declined an offer to join Guns 'n' Roses
August 23
- “The Nichols keeps the sounds of your guitars intact while running at distortion levels that you can control for lead and rhythm right from the guitar”: Danelectro Nichols 1966 review
- “The guitar was my savior”: How John 5 battled through personal tragedy and mental health struggles to become a six-string sidekick for David Lee Roth, Lita Ford, and Rob Zombie, and Mick Mars' replacement in Mötley Crüe
August 22
- “Carefully selected features to cover all the needs of an aspiring guitarist”: Blackstar unveils the Debut 30E – a 30-watt analog amp with a built-in tape echo and custom-designed 1x10” speaker
- “Finneas’ innovative spirit shines through in every detail of these signature models”: Finneas becomes the first-ever Fender Acoustasonic artist with two signature Telecaster models
August 21
- “Sparkling like glass and abrasive but still so smooth”: MXR’s Randy Rhoads Distortion+ pedal is finally here – bringing a slice of his legendary “chip pan” pedalboard to market
- “The character and affordability of pre-owned gear with Fender’s seal of approval and sustainability benefits”: Fender launches the first-ever Certified Pre-owned Reverb store – offering its second-hand instruments at a discount
- “We knew that our stuff was floating in the water in this warehouse every day, and we couldn't get in there to get it”: After the 2010 Tennessee floods, Keith Urban had to abandon his ruined guitar collection for last-minute eBay buys in the studio
- “I came up with a lick, started putting the words together and called Ted Templeman at two in the morning”: The Doobie Brothers’ Tom Johnston recounts the stories behind five of the band's classic tunes
August 20
- “Giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of the punishing 5150 amp”: Universal Audio’s fifth amp-in-a-pedal creation, the Anti 1992, aims to emulate the Van Halen-loved Peavey 5150 amplifier
- “The SSC-J may be based on what was originally a Gibson student model, but Knaggs’ rendition is a world-class axe that lives up to its status as a signature model”: Knaggs SSC-J Steve Stevens Signature review
- “He’s highly respectful of Gibson's history; this isn’t just a show guitar that is designed to sit in a display case”: The Gibson Theodore becomes the latest model to join Leo Scala’s high-end Master Artisan collection
- “Randy leaves us in good stead to carry on his legacy and tradition of excellence; he has left an indelible mark on the sound of electric guitar and bass over the last 55 years”: MESA/Boogie founder Randall Smith and Gibson part ways
August 19
- “If an overdrive designed by a self-proclaimed hater of drive pedals sounds like something you wouldn’t even want to plug into, think again”: Silktone Overdrive+ review
- “I took Brian May's Red Special off him to show him what I was trying to explain about the song. You should've seen the look on his face! He was petrified”: Ian Hunter on Mott the Hoople’s All the Way From Memphis
August 16
- “It’s such an incredible help to have the tunes come quicker once you’ve got the guitar ready”: why acoustic fingerstyle virtuoso Teja Gerken recommends playing air guitar
August 15
- “Used for many gigs and on the album recordings for In the Skies and Little Dreamer”: Peter Green’s peculiar Fender Duo-Sonic II – used extensively during his late ‘70s comeback – to be auctioned off
- “One of the first 500 Jackson guitars ever made, it helped shape the sound of metal and shred”: Marty Friedman’s Rust In Peace-era Jackson Kelly has been listed on Reverb
- “Weight is a crucial consideration that impacts both playability and tone”: A new study weighed more than 450 guitars to determine the lightest tonewoods on the market
- “Everybody in Coltrane’s band had multiple shotguns pointed at everybody else’s face”: Derek Trucks on channeling the intensity and free spirit of jazz in his guitar work, and recording with the genre's giants
August 14
- “A hot-rod attitude, glassy trebles, and ergonomic comfort”: Jackson unveils hardtail version of its celebrated American Series Virtuoso metal machine
- “A perfectly voiced companion to the Antiquity series pickups”: Seymour Duncan releases pure nickel Antiquity string sets
- “These new pickups are a level up and the Kokiri Forest finish is absolutely stunning in person”: Jason Richardson's latest Ernie Ball signatures feature custom-voiced humbuckers over a decade in the making
August 13
- “For those that want the bite of a Jazz Bass pickup but still need the fullness and solidity that a Precision has”: Fender unveils Tim Shaw-designed P/J bass pickup set
- “Hasn't been played since Prince's final band performance”: Prince’s Vox HDC-77 – untouched since he last played it – to be sold at auction
- “Stolen guitar alert – please keep an eye out for them”: Four guitars stolen from Paul Gilbert in Frankfurt
- “We’re focused on bringing back the rebellion and that bad-boy attitude, and raising the middle finger”: Back from the brink, Dean Guitars is here to bring the ruckus to guitar craftsmanship
August 12
- “The absence of tradition invites players to pick up a Novo without any preconceptions of what the guitar is or what it does”: Novo's Miris J has the feel and vibe of a rediscovered make from the golden age of the electric guitar
- “Am I a country guitarist? Sure. But the genre is so wide. I mean, Chuck Berry is a rock guitarist, but so is Buckethead”: How John Osborne overcame tinnitus and mental health difficulties to make a career-defining album with his brother TJ
August 9
- “It was a truly wonderful night and a little bit emotional; that guitar birthed one of the most famous rock songs of all time”: Watch Chris Buck pay tribute to Bernie Marsden by performing with his legendary $1m “The Beast” Les Paul
August 8
- “I’ve been on an endless quest to find a tone that makes me really sit up and beg; this is it”: Bob Weir’s third D’Angelico signature guitar is the pair's “best work yet”
- “The sonic tenacity and versatility of invective amps in a road warrior package”: Peavey and Misha Mansoor deliver the invective.112 combo amp – combining EL84 tubes with digital features
- “Paul said that in the more than 300 songs he and John wrote, he could only remember one time where they got stuck”: Paul McCartney guitarist Brian Ray talks the Beatles' creative process
August 7
- Rick Nielsen to be honored with 62-foot checkerboard Hamer monument at the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, Illinois
- “You have to have a POG if you're gonna play guitar nowadays; it's the ‘Jack White law’”: Electro Harmonix updates its esteemed POG pedal, calls it the “most powerful polyphonic octave generator ever”
- “It got flooded along with the whole bus during Hurricane Sandy – it was soaked and warped”: Blitzen Trapper's Eric Earley reveals how his beloved vintage Gibson Hummingbird was improbably brought back to life
August 6
- “Twang, sparkle, and fire, with classic fat Tele tones ”: Fender launches signature Telecaster pickup set for Jason Isbell
- “An exhibition that highlights the history of modern guitar”: Jim Irsay’s historic guitar collection to go on display at Indiana University Bloomington
- “It’s over 50 years now since The Dark Side Of The Moon – my feeling is that this is the best album I’ve made in all those years”: David Gilmour is set to release his first solo album in 9 years, and he reckons it's some of his best work
August 5
- “It was me who said Clapton was God. I was the one who kind of found him in my God-sort-of dreams”: Peter Green on his time with John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac, and wrestling with his demons
August 2
- “We have no relationship at this point. He’s doing his thing, I’m doing my thing”: John Oates discusses the end of his longtime partnership with Daryl Hall
- Vote for the greatest rock guitar riff of all time
August 1
- “Smooth, velvety clipping virtually identical to a '95 Klon Centaur”: Joe Bonamassa makes up for giving his original gold Klon Centaur away for free by creating the “ultimate clone” with Way Huge
- “Unmatched tone with lightning-fast playability and a relic'd, worn-in finish”: EVH breaks its colorway trend with Vintage Sunburst, Silver, and Blue finishes for the Frankenstein
- “It featured on Showbiz Blues – there's some fantastic slide playing from Moore, it sounds incredible”: Gary Moore’s modded Blues For Greeny 1961 SG Junior to be auctioned off in September
- “In this case, we have employees who did exactly the right thing”: Guitar Center employees find thousands of dollars worth of cocaine and methamphetamine hidden inside a guitar amp