Latest articles by Phil Weller
Nita Strauss opens up about the support of her guitar hero, Steve Vai, and her hopes to inspire more female guitar players
She also credits Jennifer Batten as a female guitarist who "checked the boxes for me" at a time when few women were playing guitar
Dweezil Zappa laments the absence of riffs in modern music and what it means for future guitar players
He’s mused on how songwriting has changed over the years, which has come at the expense of the riff and people’s exposure to the instrument
Brian May details his disastrous experiment with a Marshall stack — and how Jimi Hendrix then showed him up with it
He tried out the amp in front of 7,000 people before Jimi Hendrix showed him how to make it sing
John Lennon’s legendary Framus 12-string gets an official reissue just months after its landmark sale
The guitar, used on a string of Beatles hits and missing for 50 years, has since become one of the most expensive guitars sold at auction
Can David Lee Roth pick guitarists? Just ask Steve Vai, Jason Becker and John 5
Looking to go one better than Van Halen, the singer recruited the best guitar playing talents he could find
Alex Skolnick explains what everyone misses about Eddie Van Halen
He’s pointed to two songs as evidence that there was so much more to Eddie’s skill set than shredding
Johnny Marr trashes the satin-finished neck trend. Here's why you should go with gloss
Satin necks have increased in popularity, offering a worn-in feel, but Marr believes all that players need is a gloss neck and a little elbow grease
Celebrated session player Tim Pierce explains how Kurt Cobain changed the guitar landscape – and boosted his career
He says Nrivana’s success ushered in a “changing of the guard” in terms of what the world wanted from guitar players
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson on the obscure jazz record which helped kickstart the British prog boom of the ‘70s
The genre-mashing LP featured two would-be Cream members and unusual instrumentation, leaving a lasting impression on the prog rock icon
Dweezil Zappa recalls when Eddie Van Halen came to his high school talent show and told him how to play "Runnin' With the Devil"
The guitarist says Eddie's quickfire lesson is “burned into” his mind and reveals an important aspect of Van Halen's personality
Steve Vai and Marty Friedman on John Sykes' influence and guitar skills
Friedman has called the late guitarist a “game changer” when it came to solos, while Vai says he could never play guitar like him
Jeff Beck’s guitar collection breaks records as it sells for more than $10.7 million
His famed "Oxblood" Les Paul, featured on the cover of his 'Blow by Blow' album, is the record-breaking star of the show
Jimmy Page and company recall Led Zeppelin's rise and first rehearsal in their new documentary
The group had wrestled its way through a blues classic while discovering the extent of one another’s talents
Marty Friedman explains why he doesn't practice guitar at home — and why you shouldn't either
The guitarist pushes live performance over practice, saying, "If you go out and do the real thing, you're going to get good at doing the real thing.”
An Irish councilor is pushing for a Gary Moore statue in his hometown of Belfast
The politician wants the country's finest artists honored to “tell Gary's story for future generations of aspiring musicians”
Ace Frehley on the stunt that nearly killed him but instead inspired a Kiss classic
His Kiss days were blighted with injuries, but none were as death-defying as one shocking night in Florida in ‘76
Zakk Wylde reveals Ozzy Osbourne's strict rules about his guitar gear
After joining the band in 1987, the guitarist quickly learned what was off the table when it came to his tone
“We had different ideas." Jack Bruce on how Eric Clapton was the odd man out in Cream
Bruce said the band's label saw Cream as a quick cash grab and had no idea the group would be as influential as it was in England and abroad
“It's cobbled together, but it has an aura to it.” Jeff Beck's 'Blow by Blow' Oxblood Les Paul is not all that it seems
It was the star of his most famous album's cover, but the ‘54 Les Paul — like its owner — defies convention
Pete Townshend said no one can touch him on guitar when it comes to one particular skill
He claimed Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton both praised him for his talent, which he honed in response to the performance style of his bandmates in the Who
Why this rare clip of Jimi Hendrix in his early years proves he was always destined for greatness
He was a mere sideman during a televised Buddy & Stacey performance in 1965, but even if the camera neglected him, his talents do not
Steve Vai says Robert Fripp saw something in his playing he didn't like. So he told him how to fix it
It was a song that had proved troublesome in the build-up and after scouring clips online, the guitarist received a valuable lesson from the man himself
Mateus Asato on playing with Bruno Mars, shredding with Nuno Bettencourt and finally going solo
The Brazilian guitarist is hot property after a busy last few years. He shared lessons learned and plans for the future in a new tell-all chat
