Foo Fighters officially name Josh Freese as their new drummer By Matt Owen published 22 May 23 With the help of Chad Smith, Tommy Lee and Danny Carey, Dave Grohl and co confirmed Freese would be joining the band full-time for their upcoming tour
Godin announces the Session HT MN – adding new finishes and maple necks to the firm’s flagship solid body guitar By Matt Parker published 19 May 23 The Strat-like, Canadian-made guitar has been spruced up for 2023
Six of Eddie Van Halen's stage-played Charvel EVH Art Series guitars – and a Masterbuilt Frankenstein copy – go up for auction By Matt Owen published 19 May 23 Each Art Series guitar was played and signed over the course of Van Halen's tours in 2004, 2007, and 2012, and are being auctioned off alongside a Chip Ellis-built model as one mega collection
This week's essential guitar tracks: Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton's final collaboration is revealed, and psychedelic titans channel their inner thrash demons By Jackson Maxwell, Matt Owen, Matt Parker published 19 May 23 Hear fresh, vital new guitar work from Nita Strauss, Joe Bonamassa, Red Devil Vortex, R.L. Boyce, Bully, Creeping Death, and many more
Hear the previously unreleased Jeff Beck tracks that were played at the Stratocaster icon’s funeral By Matt Parker published 19 May 23 Two of the recordings by the late, great guitar hero that were played at the service have now been released on the Tribute EP
Andy Rourke, bassist with The Smiths, dies aged 59 By Matt Parker published 19 May 23 Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has led tributes to the man he says “reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player”
Gibson adds Kirk Hammett’s 1960 “Sunny” Les Paul Standard to its Certified Vintage Collection By Matt Owen published 18 May 23 Sunny was used by the Metallica maestro up until last year, and joins the company’s growing cohort of ultra-exclusive vintage instruments to be sold to customers direct via the Gibson Garage
Benson expands its temperate-controlled fuzz pedal range with the vintage '60s flavors of the Stonk Box By Jonathan Horsley published 18 May 23 Inspired by the earliest fuzz boxes – think a Maestro FZ-1 or Tone Bender MKI – the Stonk adds some extra controls and Automatic Thermal Bias tech to keep it sounding consistent
Kate Bush on John Giblin: “We’ve all lost a great man and an unmatchable musician” By Nick Wells published 18 May 23 Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Guy Pratt and many more pay tribute to bassist John Giblin
Richie Faulkner says he used a Bigsby-equipped Fender Telecaster for his clean tone on Judas Priest’s Firepower By Jonathan Horsley published 18 May 23 The Gibson-loving Judas Priest guitarist maintains, though, that the Flying V remains his, err, elegant weapon of choice
Boss reinvents the SDE-3000 Digital Delay rack unit as two feature-packed pedals – and one is preloaded with Eddie Van Halen’s live settings By Matt Owen published 18 May 23 There is a standard delay and one co-developed with EVH – featuring the exact same presets found on the dual SDE-3000 rack setup that served as a key part of his Van Halen live sound
Has Zakk Wylde’s signature guitar brand spec’d up its most brutal electric guitar design yet? Meet the Thoraxe By Jonathan Horsley published 18 May 23 When you need to get all Wylde up onstage and chop the audience’s head off with a big ol’ grizzly bear riff, when you need to cut through the mix, reach for the Thoraxe...
Diamond Pedals is officially back with five compact new stompboxes featuring original circuits, and updated classics By Jonathan Horsley published 17 May 23 The much-loved Canadian brand returns with the Memory Lane delay, Diamond Drive, Tremolo, and the legendary tone-sweetening Comp/EQ for guitar and bass
Rolling Stone Darryl Jones, Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton (and an actual Beatle) to lead next Rock ’N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in New York By Jonathan Horsley published 17 May 23 Yup, a rhythm section comprising 'fifth Beatle' Pete Best on drums, with Jones and Hamilton on bass, is just the thing for playing Stones, Aerosmith and Beatles classics onstage in NYC
Tony Iommi trades guitars with Brian May and faces the struggle of all left-handers, as he wields the Red Special upside down By Matt Parker published 17 May 23 The two British guitar heroes and friends spent the afternoon trading licks – and instruments – as part of a forthcoming documentary on riffs
Gretsch launches six celebratory 140th Anniversary models – see the luxuriously-spec’d guitars in action By Jackson Maxwell published 17 May 23 The stylish collection comprises three high-end, Japanese-made models and a trio of more affordable Chinese-built six-strings, and boasts striking Two Tone Platinum finishes
Inside Zakk Wylde's heartfelt celebration of Pantera's Dimebag Darrell – only in the new Guitar World By Damian Fanelli published 17 May 23 Plus! Neil Giraldo, the history of Aria Guitars, why Joe Bonamassa loves '54 Strats, Jesus Piece, Ally Venable, the life and times of Zal Yanovsky, a fuzz fiesta and more
The Tella-Fiddle – a Telecaster and electric violin hybrid – gets put to inspiring use by its creator in this Shipping Up To Boston cover By Matt Parker published 17 May 23 Nashville-based guitarist and fiddle player Maxi Werker showcases her invention on this Dropkick Murphys cover with YouTuber Music Is Win
Mike Dawes starts an acoustic jam with Tommy Emmanuel on live TV – in the wrong tuning – but styles it out like a boss By Jonathan Horsley published 17 May 23 It is every player’s worst nightmare but when disaster strikes you've just got to stay calm and hope Tommy Emmanuel is sitting beside you to assist with fine-tuning
EarthQuaker Devices revives its flagship Disaster Transport delay pedal with wild new graphics in limited run By Matt Owen published 17 May 23 The brand's cult modulation delay returns as a Reverb exclusive with an altered form factor, Flexi-Switch technology and eye-popping artwork from Pieter “Parra” Janssen