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May 2023

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154 articles

May 31
- Hear the new Extreme single that Nuno Bettencourt says features his favorite solo on the whole album
- Run out of ideas? Try Scott Holiday's 'mind eraser' songwriting method
- Kirk Hammett: “Maybe the age of active pickups is over”
- Double Whammy: metal guitarist Sean Long goes viral with his bonkers dual-pedal technique
- Architects announce departure of guitarist Josh Middleton
- Watch Joe Bonamassa play Peter Green’s guitars – and explain why he’s pleased Kirk Hammett owns the Greeny Les Paul
May 30
- Watch Ben Harper play Ed Helms' custom Gene Autry acoustic in spellbinding kitchen duet with Jack Johnson
- We came for Reb Beach and Steve Morse covering Crossroads. We stayed for the guitar faces
- Ibanez revives the Paul Gilbert PGM for 2023
- Nuno Bettencourt once played through Eddie Van Halen’s rig, but said it was “a horrible nightmare”
- Bob Rock clarifies comments about Nikki Sixx’s recordings: “At no time did I ever actually think Nikki didn’t play bass on Mötley Crüe’s records”
- Dave Grohl appears to confirm his Epiphone signature model is a reality… by posing with one
- Dave Mustaine’s Epiphone and Kramer signature models are finally here – and it looks like they’ve been worth the wait
- Fender debuts limited-run Sakuraburst MIJ Hybrid II Stratocaster – and this one’s actually available outside of Japan
May 29
- Celebrate Father’s Day with irresistible free gifts and money off Positive Grid’s Spark amps and BIAS software
- This is the Hallmark Wing-Bat – a guitar based on the original Batmobile design
May 26
- Jeff Beck's stage-used prototype Graffiti Yellow Fender Stratocaster sells at auction for over $94,000
- Jimmy Page and Jack White both loved Metallica's St. Anger, according to Bob Rock
- This week's essential guitar tracks: two of YouTube's biggest shred heroes team up and a slide titan pays tribute to a Southern rock guitar legend
- DigiTech just dropped a major announcement that made us even more excited about what's in store
- Nikki Sixx once told Bob Rock he thought someone “replaced” his bass parts on early Mötley Crüe albums
- Steve Vai called him “the evolution of guitar”, Tosin Abasi said he was “a virtuoso beyond virtuosos” – now Matteo Mancuso shares his mind-twisting new single
- Get yourself up to 35% off loads of guitar gear in the massive Guitar Center Memorial Day sale
- Save up to 40% on a huge range of guitar gear with the Musician’s Friend Memorial Day sale
- Someone built a robot to pick your guitar strings so you don’t have to
- Kirk Hammett says he prefers the Epiphone Greeny to the $20k Gibson Custom Shop version – here’s why
May 25
- 11-year-old guitarist on Britain's Got Talent leaves Brian May in awe with Queen cover
- Watch Dweezil Zappa nail Eruption with the Kramer guitar Eddie Van Halen gave him when he was 12 years old
- Bill Lee, jazz bassist, composer and father of Spike Lee, dies aged 94
- Eric Clapton and Gary Clark Jr. played Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers at the recent Jeff Beck tribute – see how they handled the show’s most daunting task
- Watch Foo Fighters play their first show with new drummer Josh Freese – and is that Dave Grohl’s new Gibson DG-335 signature guitar?
- Sweetwater’s Memorial Day sale is the place for pedal lovers with sizable discounts on Line 6, Eventide, Walrus Audio, Pigtronix and more
- Alex Skolnick says Phil Demmel is the Winston Wolf of metal guitarists, as the ex-Machine Head man joins Testament’s EU tour
May 24
- Legendary singer Tina Turner dies at 83
- Positive Grid just radically upgraded its BIAS FX 2 software
- Rob Chapman shares one simple trick that will improve the sound of your Boss Katana
- The Soldano SLO-30 Combo is finally here – and it comes in purple
- Epic five-part documentary focusing on Van Halen's crucial 1983-1984 period announced
- TC Electronic debuts the Infinite Mini Sample Sustainer, shrinking John Mayer’s favorite infinite sustain pedal
- Taylor Guitars just made one major change to its entire acoustic line
- What if Dimebag Darrell played the solo in Megadeth’s Symphony of Destruction? Kayla Kent makes it a reality – and the results are scary accurate
- Tom Morello’s guitar rig is now a Neural DSP plugin – watch the Rage Against the Machine firebrand demo his signature software… with a wrench
- The Beatles’ “first left-handed bassist”, Chas Newby, dies aged 81
- Epiphone reboots its Broadway, Sheraton and Casino collections with some of its most luxurious finishes yet
- Mooer’s new smart practice amp wants to take on the Positive Grid Spark at its own game – but is it smart enough?
May 23
- Blackstar and Toby Lee aim to cover everything “from Buddy Holly to Metallica” with new St. James signature guitar amp
- Fender finally releases John 5’s Ghost signature model – and it's one of the most striking Telecasters ever made
- Nail Slash’s iconic tone - only louder - with the new Seymour Duncan Slash 2.0 pickup set
- Algy Ward, bassist with The Saints and The Damned and founder of Tank, dies aged 63
- Does John Frusciante have a signature Fender Stratocaster in the works? Here’s the truth
- Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Kirk Hammett and more close out first Jeff Beck tribute concert with star-studded rendition of Going Down
- Nick Jonas says his “guitar solo debacle” with Kelsea Ballerini at the ACM Awards led him to seek therapy
May 22
- Justin Hawkins explains why he thinks John Frusciante is overrated
- Duane Betts shares new single featuring Derek Trucks – and it’s a tribute to his dad, Allman Brothers founder Dickey Betts
- Take your playing a level up with Dean’s hot-rodded Thoroughbred Select Quilt Maple with Floyd Rose electric guitar
- Abasi Concepts finally launches the Emi 6 – an ergonomic reinvention of the classic Stratocaster design
- That time Little Richard reprimanded Jimi Hendrix for his guitar showmanship: “Don’t you ever play your f**king guitar behind your head again!”
- Zakk Wylde reveals why he and Dimebag Darrell never jammed together
- Is this the most expensive smashed guitar ever sold? Kurt Cobain’s stage-smashed Fender Stratocaster sells at auction for $600,000 – 10 times its initial estimate
- Foo Fighters officially name Josh Freese as their new drummer
May 19
- Godin announces the Session HT MN – adding new finishes and maple necks to the firm’s flagship solid body guitar
- Six of Eddie Van Halen's stage-played Charvel EVH Art Series guitars – and a Masterbuilt Frankenstein copy – go up for auction
- This week's essential guitar tracks: Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton's final collaboration is revealed, and psychedelic titans channel their inner thrash demons
- Hear the previously unreleased Jeff Beck tracks that were played at the Stratocaster icon’s funeral
- Andy Rourke, bassist with The Smiths, dies aged 59
May 18
- Gibson adds Kirk Hammett’s 1960 “Sunny” Les Paul Standard to its Certified Vintage Collection
- Benson expands its temperate-controlled fuzz pedal range with the vintage '60s flavors of the Stonk Box
- Kate Bush on John Giblin: “We’ve all lost a great man and an unmatchable musician”
- Richie Faulkner says he used a Bigsby-equipped Fender Telecaster for his clean tone on Judas Priest’s Firepower
- 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
- Has Zakk Wylde’s signature guitar brand spec’d up its most brutal electric guitar design yet? Meet the Thoraxe
May 17
- Diamond Pedals is officially back with five compact new stompboxes featuring original circuits, and updated classics
- Rolling Stone Darryl Jones, Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton (and an actual Beatle) to lead next Rock ’N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in New York
- Tony Iommi trades guitars with Brian May and faces the struggle of all left-handers, as he wields the Red Special upside down
- Gretsch launches six celebratory 140th Anniversary models – see the luxuriously-spec’d guitars in action
- Inside Zakk Wylde's heartfelt celebration of Pantera's Dimebag Darrell – only in the new Guitar World
- The Tella-Fiddle – a Telecaster and electric violin hybrid – gets put to inspiring use by its creator in this Shipping Up To Boston cover
- Mike Dawes starts an acoustic jam with Tommy Emmanuel on live TV – in the wrong tuning – but styles it out like a boss
- EarthQuaker Devices revives its flagship Disaster Transport delay pedal with wild new graphics in limited run
May 16
- Josh Scott says this distortion pedal is the most unique design he’s seen "in decades" – and it’s still on shelves
- ESP officially welcomes Slipknot's Mick Thomson to its artist roster – and confirms a new ESP/LTD signature model is on the way
- Zakk Wylde used a Guitar World buyer’s guide to help him assemble his Pantera rig
- Ernie Ball Music Man and Tosin Abasi introduce a six-string version of the “visionary and compelling” Kaizen electric guitar
- Joe Bonamassa names the biggest guitar geek he’s ever met
- DiMarzio partners with Periphery’s Jake Bowen for Mirage signature pickups – a “super-saturated” set that has been tailored to his picking technique
- Fender debuts limited-edition British Racing Green finish – but you’ll need to be quick off the line to bag one
May 15
- Joe Bonamassa unpacks the influence behind his super-premium guitar tone – “It’s the two Erics, Clapton and Johnson”
- Reverse tapping virtuoso Luís Kalil channels Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads in one of 2023's most explosive guitar tracks
- Blues Music Awards 2023: Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram win big as John Primer is inducted into the Hall of Fame
- PRS once made a prototype thinline model for Eric Johnson – and it’s one of the strangest 'what if?' guitar designs you’ll see
- Gene Simmons: “Eddie Van Halen talked about being a fan of Eric Clapton. I’m sorry, I don’t see that. What he did was closer to classical music”
- Mötley Crüe have finished their first studio album with John 5 – and promise it’s “heavier than anything”
- Is this the return of Stella? The first US-made Harmony acoustic guitars for 50 years could be on the way...
- Nita Strauss announces The Call of the Void – a star-studded new solo album featuring Lzzy Hale, Marty Friedman and Alice Cooper
May 12
- Andy Timmons and Robert Keeley join forces once more on the Super AT Mod Overdrive – the “ultimate expression” of the virtuoso’s broken-up clean tone
- Eric Clapton releases Jeff Beck collaboration Moon River – an emotional new single showcasing Beck’s masterful guitar work
- Sting, Nikki Sixx and Paul McCartney to guest on new Dolly Parton album
- Here’s what Mick Mars texted John 5 after he joined Mötley Crüe
- Ed Sheeran says this is why he never learned to shred
- Taylor’s bold new Builder’s Edition 814ce reimagines the company’s flagship model with premium performance enhancements
- How Jeff Beck sparked Fender’s first Graffiti Yellow finish – and the Strat Plus design that helped revive its ’90s fortunes
- Tim Henson reveals how his rejection from Berklee inspired Polyphia: “I didn't have a back-up plan”
- This week's essential guitar tracks: alt-rock heroes return and a virtual metal band team up with a thrash legend
May 11
- The worlds of reverb and tremolo come crashing together in Catalinbread's new Tremol8 pedal
- Orianthi and Eric Johnson tackle technical issues and trade freestyle solos in searing cover of Never Make Your Move Too Soon
- Ed Sheeran makes Lowden signature guitars available in the US through Amazon
- Meet Fender’s latest Master Builder, who worked on its Game of Thrones guitars and some stunning signature models
- Jacob Collier shows off his custom-made Strandberg electric guitar – which only has five strings
May 10
- Joe Satriani shares brutal photo of his fingers post-show – and seeks advice for the problem he's had ever since he started playing guitar
- Empress Effects unveils updated Heavy Menace stompbox – its “most versatile distortion pedal ever”
- Electro-Harmonix’s most metal pedal yet: the Hell Melter takes the Boss HM-2 circuit to new extremes
- Nuno Bettencourt says he recorded with a seven-string for the first time on this new Extreme track
- Gibson might be bringing back Dave Grohl’s DG-335 signature guitar – and an Epiphone version could also be on the way
- Dolly Parton’s upcoming rock album will feature Peter Frampton, Richie Sambora, Warren Haynes, Gary Rossington and many more
- Billy Gibbons gets his pedals on Amazon – and his favorite brand starts at $15
May 9
- Vito Bratta recounts emotional meeting with Eddie Van Halen: "I was touched enough to where I had to leave the room, go to the bathroom, and cry"
- Michael Landau recalls recording guitar in front of David Gilmour: “Playing for Pink Floyd was one of the most bizarre things ever”
- Fender debuts the Steve Lacy “People Pleaser”, a signature Stratocaster with a built-in fuzz circuit
- PRS Silver Sky 2.0? John Mayer spotted playing newly spec’d, freshly finished signature model
- Nuno Bettencourt says one of the new Extreme songs made Steve Vai and Tom Morello cry
May 8
- Rob Laakso, Kurt Vile & The Violators guitarist, dies at 44
- A Jimi Hendrix stage-used 1968 Fender Dual Showman cabinet is headed to the auction block
- Wolfgang Van Halen toys with polyrhythms on anthemic new Mammoth WVH track, Like a Pastime
May 5
- Extreme cancel forthcoming M3 Rock Festival appearance due to Nuno Bettencourt knee injury
- Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: Stevie Ray Vaughan – The Making Of A Guitar Hero
- Watch Joe Perry tackle Beck's Bolero in tribute to Jeff Beck
- This week's essential guitar tracks: from Smashing Pumpkins' shredding metal turn to solos from the son of a session legend
- What’s the greatest guitar solo of the 21st century?
- Stevie Ray Vaughan swapped his Strat for this Guild 12-string acoustic in his virtuosic MTV Unplugged performance – now it’s up for auction
- Nuno Bettencourt performs sitting down after busting his knee on Monsters of Rock Cruise – but still nails the Rise solo
- Hear unreleased Rory Gallagher track Continental Op – a rampaging live performance from the Stratocaster great's previously undocumented period
May 4
- Nuno Bettencourt on Rihanna Super Bowl halftime show appearance: "The hell with the NFL for not giving any love to the band"
- Jon Bon Jovi: “I was in the room with Jeff Beck when he took a guitar out of a cardboard box, with a rented amplifier and no pedals and created that sound”
- Kemper announces Liquid Profiling – offering “the perfect marriage of modeling and profiling”
- Kiesel unveils the Sophie Lloyd Signature Series – signature guitars you can spec yourself
May 3
- A Kurt Cobain stage-smashed Fender Stratocaster is going up for auction
- Hear Justin Chancellor play through Les Claypool’s rig as this Primus-Tool supergroup take on Ænima at chest-rattling velocity
- Rage Against the Machine, Sheryl Crow, Link Wray, Willie Nelson lead 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees
- James Hetfield recalls Dimebag Darrell introducing him to solid-state amps: “He had this freaking amazing crunch going on”
- Dustie Waring steps down from Between the Buried and Me tour following sexual assault allegations
- Why Steve Vai’s new rhythm guitarist says he almost got fired on his first night
- Guitarists rally round Ice Nine Kills’ Dan Sugarman as medical scare forces him to pull out of Metallica support slots
- Fender’s latest Tom DeLonge Starcaster features actual meteorite dust in its finish – a potential first for guitar building
May 2
- Cesar Gueikian appointed President, Interim CEO of Gibson
- Tim Bachman, guitarist, co-founder of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, dies at 71
- Gibson’s new 80s Flying V and Explorer models party like it’s 1984 with ebony finishes and high output humbuckers
- Watch Derek Trucks and Nels Cline bring different worlds of lead guitar greatness together in stunning live call-and-response duel with Wilco
- Steve Vai leads 7,968 guitarists in a world record-breaking performance of Jimi Hendrix classic Hey Joe
- Keanu Reeves picks up the bass guitar again as his band Dogstar ready new music and live dates
- Canadian songwriter and folk icon Gordon Lightfoot dies, aged 84
- Watch Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt play the Rise solo live for the first time
May 1
- Dunlop, Daredevil Pedals team up to create "gnarly," fuzz circuit-loaded Cry Baby wah pedal
- Slash, Andrew Watt trade solos, channel their inner punk onstage with Iggy Pop in revved-up take on The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog
- Aerosmith announce farewell North American tour