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March 2025

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43 articles

March 12
- "Literally, a star is born. I have never, ever seen anything like that in my life." 11-year-old shredder Olly Pearson blows away the competition with his medley of AC/DC, Van Halen and Queen songs
March 11
- "I never liked it. It was a song I just knocked off.” John Lennon hated it, but George Harrison called it one of his favorites. How Lennon's “throwaway” Beatles song made it onto 'Rubber Soul'
- “Tariffs on products from its Mexico and China facilities would increase operating costs by $20 to $25 million.” Fender's credit rating is downgraded as tariffs pose new challenges for the guitar and gear maker
- “When it slid out from underneath the bed, it was like the heavens were opening up.” His dad’s vintage Les Paul became the most important ingredient in his new venture away from Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society
- “The last conversation I had with Tom, he said, ‘If I have to be in a wheelchair, I'm going to do it.’” As he prepares to release his new memoir, Mike Campbell shares the joys and struggles of his years as Tom Petty’s guitar partner
- “It's a hill I’m willing to die on.” Cory Wong just set a high bar for guitar excellence. But a blues god like Stevie Ray Vaughan probably wouldn't have passed his test
March 10
- "I don’t keep anything I don’t think is good enough.” Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson is a hard man to please. Here's his take on Martin Barre, Tony Iommi and four other guitarists who have shaped his music for six decades
- “Can you learn 17 Mastodon songs immediately?” With Brent Hinds' shocking departure from Mastodon, YouTuber Ben Eller endures a baptism by fire to fill his place onstage two days later
- "Pink Floyd had to borrow our instruments so they could play the show." With more than 5,000 recordings with ABBA and other acts to his name, he may be the most-heard guitar virtuoso you've never heard of
- “What if Van Halen played fretless...” What would Eddie Van Halen’s “Beat It” solo sound like on a fretless guitar? Here it is — no whammy bar required
March 9
- "Wanna try a Beatles tune? A Bob Dylan tune?" They thought she was carrying George Harrison's guitar. How a case of mistaken identity led to the former Beatle's last public performance
March 8
- “It's 1969, I'm in New York, and I get a phone call: 'Jimi's in the studio. Would you come down?'” Andy Fairweather Low on 3 a.m. jams with Jimi Hendrix and sleepless nights with George Harrison
- "We used the mic amp of the mixing board to get distortion. It almost sounds like a synthesizer." Jimmy Page on creating the magic behind the famous Led Zeppelin riff he didn't write
- "He was a great guy. And he had my face tattooed on his chest!” Ace Frehley offers his opinion of three guitarists who have called the first Kiss axeman their six-string inspiration
- “The guy jumped in a car, drove to Guadalajara and kidnapped my guitar!” George Harrison recounted how his "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Les Paul was stolen in 1973 — and the extremes he went through to get it back
- “It was easier. There was something about the sound." Courtney Barnett explains why switching to a Fender Jaguar proved to be a pivotal moment in her career
March 7
- "I had to sit back and go, 'Is this really happening?'” Phil X on playing "Livin' on a Prayer" with Richie Sambora at a Bon Jovi show — and how he adapted his guitar playing to make the moment happen
- “This song is called ‘Fiend’ and I recorded it as a performance.“ John 5 fingertaps and shreds a new song in this live-in-the-studio video featuring his custom Fender Ghost Number Two guitar
- “Nobody will be able to afford to make music.” Queen’s Brian May blasts a new law that will make it easier for AI to use artists' music
- "Why it didn't sound like a complete pile of crap, I don't know! It's all riffs. The beat is marvelously tricky.” Steve Howe explains why his 'Close to the Edge' showpiece is so difficult to play
- "I saw Stevie Wonder with one about four years ago. Another guitar player gave me this. No one else has got one." Jeff Beck demonstrates his 'Blow by Blow'-era rig in 1974
- “I have plenty of impressive cheap guitars.” Yvette Young explains why your guitar and amp shouldn't get equal treatment when it comes to your gear budget. Here's what you should know
March 6
- “It just came to me. Rob said, 'Let me get my Walkman and record that.’” He was demonstrating four-track recording to his girlfriend when he spontaneously wrote a global hit song
- "That’s my favorite incarnation of the Firebird, because you’ve got the tuners on the top side.” Gibson's 1965 Firebird revival brings a classic back to life with the most unusual guitar name you've ever heard
- "There’s so much that I can’t share with him. There’s just this black hole.” Wolfgang Van Halen on life without Eddie and how his grief pushed him into a new chapter
- Eddie Van Halen asks: “Do you guys ever run out of film?" A private collection of unseen video from Van Halen's classic era is online. Here's what's in it
March 5
- "I have a Mercury on the guitar now, which makes me very happy.” Brian May’s new signature Gibson SJ-200 features a subtle tribute to the late Queen singer Freddie Mercury
- "BigSky MX will be replacing the BigSky as my go-to reverb pedal. I’ve heard nothing that covers all the bases with such pristine and detailed audio quality." We crowned the Strymon BigSky MX the champ of multi-reverb pedals
- Best chorus pedals 2025: the best options from Boss, Universal Audio, Ibanez, and more
- "Let’s take acoustic-electric amplification to its ultimate realization." How to make an acoustic amp shimmer like a vintage Fender, smolder like a Dumble or scream like a Marshall
- “He felt that he would never be his own man.” Rory Gallagher rejected the chance to bring Cream back from the dead when Eric Clapton left the group in 1968
- Best Clip-On Tuners 2025: 8 Top Picks For Fast And Affordable Tuning
March 4
- “Playing this song onstage was my rock-star moment.” Nita Strauss reveals the five riffs that changed her life and made her one of the most sought-after guitarists in hard rock
- “Everyone had told us it’s never going to work. But hearing it back through the speakers, we thought, We can conquer the world!” Brian May tells how he fought the naysayers to make the Red Special Queen's secret weapon
- Guitar Player Presents Mark Lettieri, March 7 in Napa, California – Win Tickets
- "What he really liked and what he really played at home was the blues." Jimi Hendrix's record collection reveals the artists who shaped his guitar playing. But you'd never guess what record was his favorite
- “Playing power chords but with the E tuned to low D, it's cool. There's a little bit of sadness in there…” How Lilly Hiatt found domestic bliss and conquered her inner critic on new album ‘Forever’
March 3
- “He was upset that it had ‘douche’ in it.” It might be the most famous misheard lyric in rock history. Behind Manfred Mann’s hit cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light”
- “I figured that if it didn't work, I could get a job if I had to.” Alex Lifeson on Rush's big gamble — '2112,' the album that became their global breakthrough
- "This is the guitar that didn’t get away — and it never will.” Mike Campbell says it's the original Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers sound, and the guitar he can't live without
March 2
- "He literally is an Iron Man! His fingers are not human." Tom Morello says Tony Iommi's lesson to guitarists is "Don’t be afraid to be simple and awesome”
March 1
- “Jimmy Page’s playing on the first Led Zeppelin album — we just hadn’t heard someone let loose like that.” Phil Manzanera talks Page, Beck, Townshend and the 10 albums that changed his life
- “I got sticky fingers. I thought, What am I doing here?” Paul McCartney said this performance ruined his chance to be the Beatles' lead guitarist