Guitar Magazine

In-depth and essential reading for the serious guitarist

Guitar Magazine2 min read
Highly Evolved
We guitarists often stand accused of being obsessed with the past, but this month’s magazine devotes a healthy chunk of real estate to the future. As well as taking a deep dive into Fender’s new top-of-the-line American Ultra series and the company’s
Guitar Magazine2 min read
Fretbuzz
Join the conversation Email us at [email protected] I really enjoyed your Gear Of The Decade feature issue 376, and agreed with pretty much all your choices. The Strymon BigSky was perhaps not the choice I’d have made, but it’s a good example of the
Guitar Magazine4 min read
Oscar Jerome
From playing with the collective Kokoroko to touring Australia, Oscar Jerome’s penchant for melody is drawing people in swathes. The Norfolk-born guitarist has found his spiritual home in London’s kaleidoscopic jazz scene alongside peers such as Sons
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Bring Me The Head Of Jerry Garcia
Formed in 2002 as The Keys, following a poll asking fans to name the band, Matthew Evans has developed KEYS into one of Wales’s most formidable bands. Their new album, Bring Me The Head Of Jerry Garcia, offers a fresh perspective for the band, not le
Guitar Magazine2 min read
The Playlist
Continuing a tradition of festive releases that began back in 2017, Bridgers enlists Matt Berninger and Fiona Apple for this Simon & Garfunkel cover. Baritone guitar and impeccable harmonies abound. The Bath-based trio have returned following a hiatu
Guitar Magazine2 min read
Win A Boss Katana-50 Mkii worth £237
Boss has been renowned for making affordable, industry standard stompboxes for decades now, but the last few years have seen the company make significant forays into the world of guitar amplification. Four years on from its first iteration, the digit
Guitar Magazine9 min read
AMERICAN ULTRA TELECASTER & STRATOCASTER HSS
For 2020, Fender’s flagship American Elite line has been superseded by a new series: American Ultra. Although American Elite instruments were only introduced to the catalogue at Winter NAMM 2016, at the launch of Fender’s Songs learning app in New Yo
Guitar Magazine8 min read
The Next Great Guitar
Back in the day, Leo Fender thought a new guitar model would simply take the place of an earlier one. He figured the new improved Stratocaster, introduced in 1954, would replace the Telecaster, because he viewed the Tele and the Strat not as individu
Guitar Magazine18 min read
The Future Of Guitar
Paul Reed Smith is a uniquely successful and influential figure in the world of guitar. A man who founded his own company back in 1985 to realise his radical vision for the future of electric guitar, and in the 35 years since has earned a place at th
Guitar Magazine12 min read
Keith Urban
James Brown might have once held the title of the hardest working man in showbusiness, but for one Saturday evening in mid-October, Keith Urban was giving him a run for his money. In London to promote his 2020 UK tour – his first in over a decade – m
Guitar Magazine14 min read
Road Machines
As riffmeister general with soulful US hard-rock sensations Rival Sons, Scott Holiday makes no apologies about loving guitars and gear. If you’ve seen the multiple Grammy-nominated band play live – and if you haven’t, you should – you’ll doubtless ha
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Custom Shopping
Between the high ceilings and polished concrete floors of Gibson’s loft-style London Showroom hangs a glittering array of desirable guitars. The exclusive space is located just off Oxford Street and is an invite-only musicians’ hangout fully equipped
Guitar Magazine5 min read
Best In Show
Vintage Guitar Show Veenendaal takes place twice a year in central Netherlands and is Europe’s biggest event dedicated to vintage guitar gear, with around 100 exhibitors and over 1,200 guitars. Myself and fellow Guitar.com contributor Ed Oleszko have
Guitar Magazine9 min read
Chris Swope Swope Guitars
The solo luthier’s lot is not an easy one. Despite the wealth of experience and skill backing him up, Chris Swope finds he’s always scrambling for the next angle that will help keep it all above water. Even with guitars in the hands of a Rolling Ston
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Ask The Amp Tech
Have a burning question about your amp, or worse still, a burning amp? Email us at [email protected] Hi Chris. Is it true that I can damage my amp by not using the standby switch? And if so, why don’t all amps have them? PAUL, TORQUAY Valves have be
Guitar Magazine4 min read
Monty’s Guitars
How did you get into guitar in the first place? “The initial spark was watching Back To The Future as a child and being captivated by Marty McFly playing Johnny B Goode on a red Gibson ES-345. Then when I was a bit older it was getting into bands lik
Guitar Magazine2 min read
Pedalboard Amps
1 The Iridium puts three iconic amplifier sounds and nine different impulse response speaker cabinets at your disposal, all from the convenience of your pedalboard. The Room knob also allows you to control the level of natural room ambience and toggl
Guitar Magazine5 min read
BRIAN SETZER SIGNATURE NASHVILLE & STEVE WARINER NASHVILLE GENTLEMAN
The iconic Gretsch 6120 and Nashville models are closely related. Most associate the 6120 with its single-cutaway incarnation. The last of these was made in 1961, and thereafter the 6120 became a slimmer double-cutaway with faux f-holes. This version
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Lk100 Luke
Guitar EDITOR’S CHOICE Seven years ago, Music Man released the Luke III, with a more affordable Sterling-branded version of the sleek Steve Lukather signature model arriving in 2014 in the shape of the LK100D. It’s now a long-running success as a sig
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Excel Gramercy
Rising like a flat-top phoenix from the ashes of a venerable 1930s archtop brand, D’Angelico’s acoustic guitar line was first launched in 2015 and has proved so popular that it now accounts for nearly half of the company’s worldwide sales. Now upgrad
Guitar Magazine4 min read
Katana-100/212 Mkii
There are probably more Boss stompboxes on the planet right now than there are ants, but maybe it’s time to stop thinking of the legendary Japanese brand as just a pedal peddler. Its original Katana amps won over a lot of digi-sceptics – and the MkII
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Drv
Guitar EDITOR’S CHOICE It’s a tale as old as time, a tone-obsessed guitarist – frustrated by the capabilities and quality of existing units on the market – begins a quest for new horizons of sonic excellence. 1981 Inventions’ Matthew Hoopes was one s
Guitar Magazine3 min read
REGENT 150 PREAMP & VERZERRER DISTORTION
East Germany used to be famous for Brecht, the Stasi and a lot of heavily juiced shot-putters. But repressive regimes need musical equipment too, so what better place for an indie pedal maker such as Fredric Effects to look for some left-field inspir
Guitar Magazine3 min read
GCJ95 GARY CLARK JR CRY BABY & DB01B DIMEBAG CRY BABY FROM HELL
It bounces in and out of fashion like a tennis ball, but the wah effect never completely goes away – and the fact that Dunlop’s Cry Baby brand alone has 33 models to choose from right now suggests plenty of guitars are still gently (or not so gently)
Guitar Magazine5 min read
Authentic Hendrix ’69 Psych Series Pedals
Some people worship Jimi Hendrix for his mastery of the electric guitar. Some feel he’s underrated as a songwriter. And some just see that video of him playing The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock and want to know how the hell he made all those wild
Guitar Magazine8 min read
Build Your Own Reverb Unit
I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with reverb. I’m crazy about plate and spring reverb effects in the studio, and always have to take care not to overdo it. But when it comes to the traditional tube-driven spring reverb in most guitar amps, I so
Guitar Magazine2 min read
Part 13 The Minor Pentatonic Scale, Shape 3
A few lessons back, we examined the second form of the minor pentatonic scale, and now that we’ve used these shapes to form a few licks over the last few issues, it’s time to take a look at the pentatonic’s third variation, and how it interacts with
Guitar Magazine3 min read
How To Play Chords Like Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher’s knack for a hooky chord progression was at the heart of the stratospheric success that Oasis enjoyed from their lightning in a bottle 1994 debut Definitely Maybe to their acrimonious split 15 years later. The varied solo work the 52-
Guitar Magazine3 min read
Petrus Du Plessis
“I don’t want to go into too much detail, but… I might have been a bit naughty at school! When I was 16, I was sent home for a week and my parents said, ‘Right, you’re not leaving the house!’ We had a guitar in the house, so I just sat in my room for

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