Christopher Scapelliti

Christopher Scapelliti

Guitar Player editor-in-chief

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.

Latest articles by Christopher Scapelliti

Paul McCartney performs as he headlines the Pyramid Stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 25, 2022 in Glastonbury, England.

“I’ll just do a little bit of it and show you what got me in the Beatles.” Paul McCartney reveals the song he played for John Lennon that earned him a spot in the band

By Christopher Scapelliti published

McCartney says Lennon was impressed by his guitar playing and the fact that Paul knew all the words

Jimi Hendrix performs with the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London, February 18, 1969.

“Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you'll hate the guitar." Jimi Hendrix shares his struggles in a 1968 Guitar Player interview

By Christopher Scapelliti last updated

Hendrix also discussed problems with his Stratocaster and band mates and offered advice for young musicians

John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono outside of the Times Square recording studio the Hit Factory before a recording session of his final album Double Fantasy, in New York City, August 1980

Former Beatle John Lennon's weirdest guitar is one of the last he played

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Check out the bizarre guitar John Lennon used on his last solo album.

Rock band 'Led Zeppelin' performs onstage at the Forum on June 3, 1973 in Los Angeles, California

“Joe Walsh insisted that I buy it”: Jimmy Page on his “Number 1” 1959 Gibson Les Paul

By Christopher Scapelliti published

In this vintage chat, Page talks about his most famous Les Paul and some of its unique aspects, such as its sealed Grover tuners and bridge humbucker-splitting push-pull knob

Rock band 'Led Zeppelin' performs onstage at the Forum on June 3, 1973 in Los Angeles, California

“Joe Walsh insisted that I buy it”: Jimmy Page on his “Number 1” 1959 Gibson Les Paul

By Christopher Scapelliti published

In this vintage chat with Gibson, Page talks about his most famous Les Paul and some of its unique aspects, such as its sealed Grover tuners and bridge humbucker-splitting push-pull knob

Tom Petty performs onstage with a Fender Telecaster.

Tom Petty shared his greatest advice on rhythm guitar playing in a long-lost 1997 interview

By Christopher Scapelliti published

The guitarist, who died on October 2, 2017, also gave his insights on Telecasters and Rickenbackers and the art of songwriting

Kris Kristofferson (left) and Johnny Cash perform a duet on "The Johnny Cash Show," September 15, 1976.

Kris Kristofferson, who died on Saturday, tells how Johnny Cash gave him a break when he was a janitor

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Kristofferson, who died Saturday, recalled Cash’s generosity as an example of how he “always stood up for the underdog”

Sam Evian in the studio

Cold water therapy inspired Sam Evian’s new album – which has so many guest guitarists, he wound up playing bass

By Christopher Scapelliti published

The vintage instruments and recording gear in his upstate New York studio let the singer-songwriter follow his muse where it leads. On Plunge, it swims in a wash of warm, overdriven guitars, with guests including Adrianne Lenker and El Kempner

A guitar player plays a Telecaster-style guitar

Vote for the greatest rock guitar riff of all time

By Christopher Scapelliti published

In our December 2024 issue, Guitar Player will celebrate the 50 greatest rock riffs of all time – as chosen by you

Marshall Crenshaw, pictured in the studio

Marshall Crenshaw looks back on the making of his masterpiece, Field Day

By Christopher Scapelliti published

With the help of producer-of-the-moment Steve Lillywhite, Marshall Crenshaw made the guitar album of his dreams. Critics, however, panned its production, halting his rising career. Four decades later, Field Day is finally being reappraised

Beatles Pete Best line-up, December 17,1961

"Do you know what happened to my lost bass, the one that got pinched?" How Paul McCartney's simple 2019 query over coffee in a studio led to a forensic hunt for the iconic Höfner 500/1 violin bass

By Christopher Scapelliti published

The theft of Paul McCartney’s 1961 Höfner bass is a 50-year-old mystery that spans from Hawkwind to the Who. Here's how the Lost Bass project filled a gap in rock and roll history.

Gear of the year logo

Gear of the Year: The best guitars, amps, pedals and more of 2023

By Dave Hunter, Jimmy Leslie, Christopher Scapelliti, Art Thompson published

Our guide to the greatest guitars, amps, pedals and accessories of 2023, handpicked by the Guitar Player team

2023 Ultimate Gear Guide

Sound better now with the 2023 Ultimate Gear Guide

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Discover the best gear of the year including guitars, basses, pedals, amps, strings, accessories, and much more

Guitarist Peter Green (right) and bassist John McVie, of British rock group Fleetwood Mac, rehearsing at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 22nd April 1969.

"This Was the Secret We’d All Been Searching for!" Discover the Key to Peter Green's “Magic” 1959 'Burst Les Paul Tone

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Learn how the legendary Fleetwood Mac guitarist got the incredible out-of-phase sound on his famous 1959 Gibson Les Paul, "Greeny"

Soma Laboratory Cosmos Drifting Memory Station

Soma Laboratory Cosmos Drifting Memory Station Review

By Christopher Scapelliti published

A mood-shifting gizmo that will expand your creative mindset while it soothes you, lowers your blood pressure and lets you drift off into heady sonic realms

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges Tri-Dimensional Reverberation Machine Review

By Christopher Scapelliti published

The sounds on tap here have realism, depth and plenty of liveliness that lend guitar tones a three-dimensional quality

Magic fusion shape

Add This “Magic Shape” to Your Musical Vocabulary for an Instant Fusion Sound

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Video This simple trick adds left-field fusion color to guitar riffs and solos

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MIke Oldfield 'Tubular Bells' (Virgin); Led Zeppelin 'Houses of the Holy' (Atlantic); Roxy Music 'For Your Pleasure' Warner Bros./Island; Pink Floyd 'The Dark Side of the Moon' (Harvest/Capitol); Lou Reed 'Berlin' (RCA); New York Dolls 'New York Dolls' (Mercury); David Bowie 'Aladdin Sane' (RCA); Stevie Wonder 'Innervisions' (Tamla)

50 Years Ago, Rock and Roll Experienced One of Its Greatest Years: Here’s Why

By Christopher Scapelliti published

With debut albums from Queen and Aerosmith, epic masterpieces by Mike Oldfield and Elton John, plus Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Houses of the Holy,’ 1973 was a multi-genre, stylistically freewheeling musical jamboree

American guitarist, composer and arranger Bill Frisell poses for a portrait circa October, 1995 in New York, New York.

Here’s Why Bill Frisell and Elvis Costello’s ‘Deep Dead Blue’ Collaboration Is Essential Listening for Every Guitarist

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Featuring just two instruments – voice and guitar – this incredible live album shows jazz maestro Bill Frisell has no rival when it comes to stylistic fluidity

John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs during their Unlimited Love Tour at Marvel Stadium on February 7, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. He is playing a Fender Telecaster Custom electic guitar.

“I Didn’t Have to Worry About Trying to Prove Myself”: John Frusciante Retraces His Path to Musical Excellence on Fellow Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea’s ‘This Little Light’ Podcast

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Hosted by Flea, this fascinating podcast episode reveals how John Frusciante “really found his voice as a musician”

The Rolling Stones pose for a portrait in 1967 (L-R): singer Mick Jagger, bassist Bill Wyman, drummer Charlie Watts, guitairst Keith Richards, and guitarist Brian Jones.

One of the Most Reviled Albums in the Rolling Stones’ Catalog, Is It Time We Took Another Listen to ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’?

By Christopher Scapelliti published

This 1967 psychedelic departure could be the Stones’ most underrated album

Guitarist Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks Band performs at PNC Music Pavilion on July 23, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Watch Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Spine-Tingling “I Am the Moon” Red Rocks Performance

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Video With tone, technique and passion in abundance, Derek Trucks’ slide guitar solo is breathtaking to behold

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Yes 'Close to the Edge' album artwork

John Frusciante Called This Album “Beautiful” While John Petrucci Played It “Over and Over and Over”: Here’s Why Yes’s ‘Close to the Edge’ Remains a Prog Rock Masterpiece

By Christopher Scapelliti published

“It’s astounding. Even I can see that,” said Steve Howe

David Bowie (1947-2016) and guitarist Mick Ronson (1945-1993) perform during Bowie's last appearance as Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on July 3, 1973.

Watch the Remastered 4K Version of David Bowie’s Monumental “Ziggy Stardust” Hammersmith Odeon Performance

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Video This newly upgraded film celebrating the concert’s 50th anniversary captures guitarist Mick Ronson’s anthemic riff-mastery at its finest in the heyday of glam rock

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(L-R) Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai perform at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on October 25, 1996.

Watch Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson’s Knockout “Going Down” Performance

By Christopher Scapelliti published

Video This incredible clip featuring the classic G3 lineup is a lesson in electric guitar virtuosity

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