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February 2025

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81 articles

February 28
- "Whether these exact models will return, I can’t say.” Gibson spotlights its forgotten Superstrat era in its latest Certified Vintage collection of electric guitar models
- "Rhythms impossible to replicate by hand.” Circle Guitar does the picking for you, freeing your strumming hand for new chord shapes and more. Radiohead's Ed O'Brien is buying the first one
- “He was a loose cannon and played too fast. And I didn’t realize how short he was!” Ace Frehley tells us what he thinks of his Kiss replacements Bruce Kulick, Vinnie Vincent and Tommy Thayer
February 27
- “You see the strongest Van Halen fans acting in a way my dad would be disgusted with.” Wolfgang Van Halen hits back at the haters who threatened to tarnish his time in Van Halen
- “It’s just heartbreaking to see someone spend so much money on something fake.” Joe Bonamassa and Gibson’s Tom Murphy explain how to tell a real Gibson Les Paul from a fake
February 26
- "Playing a six-string is like driving a truck. But a four-string tenor is like driving a sports car." Tenor guitars are thriving again in the hands of modern players like Neko Case and at this May's annual Tenor Guitar Gathering
- “The pedal is scary good. I haven’t met a guitar player yet who disagrees." Does the new Universal Audio Enigmatic ’82 Overdrive Special Amp pedal capture that Dumble magic? We compared notes with Dumble aficionado Ben Harper
- "I’m pretty sure I played a lot of that stuff without looking." Mark Knopfler called it his most challenging Dire Straits song to perform. The reason has nothing to do with the guitar part
- "I took everything out of the freezer and sat the guitar in overnight.” John Mayer had an unusual idea about how to fix his Fender Strat. The solution was much simpler
February 25
- "Because it does things that nothing else does!” Why Prince, Robert Fripp and Kirk Hammett chose to play underdog guitars instead of the big-name brands
- “We found out it had been heavily modified by Cesar Diaz.” Strymon’s new EC-1 Single Head dTape Echo pedal was born from a vintage tube Echoplex modded by the storied guitar tech to Stevie Ray Vaughan
- “'You know my Gretsch Country Gentleman? I'm thinking maybe I'll trade you that.'” Norman's Rare Guitars turned down the chance to own one of George Harrison's most famous Beatles guitars
- “We were told that’s how audiences in Ireland express their love.” Bruce Kulick toured the world as lead guitarist for Kiss — but nothing prepared him for his worst gig of all time
February 24
- "We had to say, 'Leave it alone! It's part of our sound.' Nobody understood what we were doing." Tony Iommi reveals how Black Sabbath fought power to get its signature heavy guitar tone on record
- "Our dear friend was killed in a car accident." Karl Cochran, guitarist who worked with Kiss and Joe Lynn Turner, has died
- Best Desktop Guitar Amps 2025: Great Space-Saving And Portable Picks From Boss, Blackstar And More
- “There’ve been so many times we thought, 'Oh God, that's it. How can we go on?’” Steve Howe reflects on the future of Yes — and reveals that he once refused to let his techs tune his guitars
February 23
- "These are six of my favorite modal licks." Molly Miller shows how to put the power of modes to work in blues and jazz using hybrid picking, finger slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs
February 22
- "It was very strange for Eric Clapton and me. We went and watched Jimi at about 10 London shows together.” Pete Townshend recalled how Jimi Hendrix led him to write ‘Tommy,’ the Who's 1969 breakthrough
February 21
- “I said, If I don't buy this guitar now, I'll never buy it.” Ana Popovic got her favorite guitar with a box of $20 bills. Years later, it helped her find the strength to survive the worst
- “This might just be the greatest recorded piece of guitar in the world. Ever.” Queen’s Brian May on Jeff Beck and the guitar tone that changed his life
- “Almost everybody in the club walked out — including one of the other bands and the judges.” Nita Strauss recalls her worst gig of all time — and the good that came from it
February 20
- "John Mayer relies on his custom-built Wylde acoustics to create his soaring solos." A fake Wylde Audio website is full of bizarre claims and hilariously awful AI imagery. Buyer beware
- “I showed it to guitarists who went nuts. And that was the silent version." Lost footage of Led Zeppelin playing Denmark in 1979 has surfaced and been restored with original audio
- "We unleashed an approach that had been deemed impossible." With its innovative technology and updated Ascender model, Ciari Guitars is rising high as the industry’s premier travel guitar maker
- "I just was like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute. This feels like acid." Don Felder makes his first public comments after nearly collapsing onstage
- "He's underrated. Honestly, there’s no one close to him." They've both worked with Frank Zappa. But Steve Vai says he had no idea his guitar partner in Beat was such a powerhouse virtuoso
- "It was like the ‘I've seen the light’ church scene in the 'Blues Brothers' movie.” Ronnie Baker Brooks dedicated his life to the blues on behalf of his father, Lonnie Brooks. The connection runs deep on 'Blues in My DNA'
February 19
- "I never went back after that.” Tony Iommi almost launched Black Sabbath's heavy metal crusade with a Fender Stratocaster. A stroke of bad luck changed everything for the better
- “It's in my DNA — once the war paint was on, I became the Demon.” Gene Simmons recalls how Kiss scared the daylights out of Black Sabbath on the glam-rockers' 1974 debut tour
- "George Lynch, Van Halen and a couple of different people saw me doing it." Harvey Mandel says he wants credit for introducing Eddie Van Halen to two-handed tapping
February 18
- "We were like, ‘Who?’” Metallica's first national tour in 1983 left audiences scratching their heads. The band that gave them their break reveals what went down when James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett hit stages
- "I think Eddie got rubbed the wrong way." Peavey's CEO says Joe Satriani's endorsement deal led Eddie Van Halen to depart for Fender — and take the 5150 amp with him
- "I picked fire because I liked the Stones song ‘Play with Fire.’ ” Here's everything guitarist Robby Krieger didn't tell Rick Beato about how he wrote the Doors' "Light My Fire"
February 17
- “I said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, but that’s a note-for-note guitar solo from the Doors.'” Gene Simmons says Ace Frehley copied a Robby Krieger guitar solo for a classic Kiss song
- “Thank you for your understanding, and remember – drink your water!” Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder feeling better after being rushed offstage by medical emergency
- “She can shred any guy out there.” Joe Satriani says this young musician shows how guitarists are “playing better than guitar players have ever played before”
February 16
- "They launched a revolution that continues to this day." Meet 30 players who tapped, twanged, sweep-picked and shredded the 1980s to its greatest glory
February 15
- "This exceptional new guitarist in John Mayall's band persuaded me to give up playing electric guitar." Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson says Eric Clapton convinced him he had no future as a guitarist
February 14
- "I cannot play guitar." Rockabilly legend Brian Setzer reveals he has an auto-immune disease that prevents him from playing guitar
- "We thought his music was very similar to ours, and we latched on to him amazingly quickly.” Paul McCartney explained how a youthful error led him to write one of his greatest guitar tracks for the Beatles
February 13
- "I thought, Wow, what an effective thing to do! And I learned it directly from him.” Alex Lifeson reveals the technique he stole from Rory Gallagher during their time together on the road
- “He ain’t no Mick Taylor, and he’s no Harvey Mandel! He’s what I call a C-plus guitar player.” Harvey Mandel tells how Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards ruined his chance to join the Rolling Stones
- I found 3 deals at the Musician's Friend’s Presidents' Day sale that might just be too good to pass up
February 12
- “Those guys were focused. We were drug addicts.” Marty Friedman and Chris Poland downplay the Metallica/Megadeth rivalry and admit they learned a lot from the metal giants
- “I said, 'Oh God, I made a big mistake!'” Rudy Sarzo nearly lost the opportunity of a lifetime when he rejected Ozzy Osbourne's offer to join his band
- Win tickets to see Julian Lage in a special duo setting with Marc Ribot as the two jazz masters make a dozen strings come together as one sound
- "She got me a black '50s Gretsch Duo Jet and a Gibson ES-350 with three P90 pickups — a really rare guitar — for like $125.” Jeff Tweedy tells how his mother scored rare guitars for him at farmer's auctions
- “I developed this whammy-bar setup when I heard Jeff Beck's 'Guitar Shop' album." Carl Verheyen helps you master the whammy with six stunning licks and riffs in our video lesson
February 11
- “The most remarkable Taylor I’ve reviewed in nearly a decade.” Taylor’s Gold Label 814e SB Super Auditorium delivers classic pre-War era sound and style in a modern Taylor guitar
- "You bury the pick with your thumb and you have all the room you need." Leslie West revealed the picking techniques that made him a singularly great guitar hero to Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads and Pete Townshend
- "You need that pedal to give you the oomph.” Zakk Wylde says his job “wouldn’t be as much fun” without this must-have pedal in his setup
- “I have this little box, I turn it up and it sings for me”: Brian May recalls meeting Rory Gallagher in the late ‘60s and how it changed his tone forever
February 10
- “Think you’ve heard the most jaw-dropping hardcore blues solos of all time? We don’t think so.” Guitar Player presents 50 badass blues guitar solos you must hear
- "It's a steal, but since it’s the only one, who knows how it might appreciate?" What do you get when a car designer builds a guitar? Our intrepid guitar hound goes in search of his next six-string oddity
- "He was everything I hoped he would be. I'll never ever forget that.” Alex Lifeson recalls the thrill of meeting his guitar hero, Jimmy Page
- “You’d be surprised how hard it is to find a big rock electric guitarist playing rhythm in tune.” Steve Vai says he's “admired” this guitar player “for quite a while.” Now they're playing together
February 9
- "This went on for 45 minutes. Not even the bartender was watching us.” Joe Bonamassa says he's played over 3,500 shows. This was his worst
- “The guys had big smiles on their faces, like, ‘What did you do?’“ Elliot Easton talks us through his guitar solos on “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Just What I Needed” and three other classic cuts
February 8
- “I felt like this band was created for me and for everything I was looking for.” Nels Cline on the Allman Brothers Band, the Byrds, John Coltrane and the 10 albums that changed his life
- "Tommy Bolin's Les Paul had to go. The first black Stratocaster ever made had to go." Joe Bonamassa gives an update on the Nerdville guitars following the L.A. fires and lays out his plans for handling future catastrophes
February 7
- “Stevie had this superstition about numbers.” Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar and amp secrets are revealed in this deep dive into his gear and tone
- “When I saw this 'Let It Be' footage, I noticed how easy it looked to play.” Paul McCartney on why he pulled his Höfner bass out of mothballs after ignoring it for nearly two decades
February 6
- “ZZ Top didn’t just happen upon becoming a trio because it was easier; it’s a lot more challenging.” Billy Gibbons explains the role Cream and Jimi Hendrix played in the creation of ZZ Top
- “He just didn't want to do it, so he came up with the most ridiculous suggestion.” Joe Satriani reveals that a G3 tour with Jeff Beck nearly happened – only for him to pull out last minute and suggest Prince filled his spot
- “I've experienced everything, but this was a different level.” Rudy Sarzo on the differences between Ozzy and Dio — and the Dio rarities tour that never was
February 5
- “He was the whole package; I learned a lot from that.” Eric Johnson on the one thing that took Stevie Ray Vaughan’s playing to the next level
- “In my head, I could hear it as a monster.” Tony Iommi on the moment he instantly composed “Iron Man,” calling it one of two Black Sabbath songs he relates to
- "I remember thinking, Why didn’t anybody tell me that you could do that with a guitar?" Nita Strauss opens up about the support of her guitar hero, Steve Vai, and her hopes to inspire more female guitar players
- “This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever!” The original Black Sabbath lineup will reunite for one final show with Ozzy Osbourne, with guests to include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and an all-star supergroup
- “Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix were great at writing them. Now the guitar riff has disappeared from popular music." Dweezil Zappa laments the absence of riffs in modern music and what it means for future guitar players
- “George said, ‘No, I’m playing rhythm. You’re playing lead.’” Peter Frampton recalled the shocking recording session that led him to perform on George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass'
February 4
- “It sounded like an angry wasp. It didn’t have any depth or articulation.” Brian May details his disastrous experiment with a Marshall stack — and how Jimi Hendrix showed him up with it
- “It started with the lick — just fooling around on the guitar. And I thought, ‘That could turn into a song!’” He kickstarted 1970s power-pop with a Gibson SG, a rented acoustic and a gem of a song that remains a classic
- “I had him mix some paint there on the spot, and finally we came up with Fiesta Red!” With one decision, Fender increased the desirability — and future value — of a select few guitars
- “It's the sound you recognize when you hear 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.' ” John Lennon’s legendary Framus 12-string gets an official reissue just months after its landmark sale
February 3
- "When it comes to playing, if you do it well and keep at it, somebody is going to appreciate it.” B.B. King on the night in 1967 when he jammed with Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in New York City
- “They said if I told anyone, they would deny it.” Ritchie Blackmore got the loudest amp Marshall ever made. All he had to do was keep two secrets
February 2
- “I can play so funky it bring teardrops to your eyes.” John Lee Hooker told us how the blues is supposed to be played — with each foot tapping to a different beat
February 1
- “John learned upside down too, because of me.” Paul McCartney said necessity made him and John Lennon learn to be ambidextrous guitar players
- “I was trying to figure out what my sound was going to be. I didn’t have an answer until I heard 'Maggot Brain.'” Grace Bowers on Funkadelic, Leslie West and the 10 records that changed her life