Jeff Beck Was Doing ’Forbidden’ Things on Guitar, Explains Steve Hackett
"He was constructively always doing these things that guitars were forbidden from doing, or no one had tried it out"...
Why Steve Vai Isn’t Into Vintage Guitars: ’I Like Guitars That Have Functionality’
"There is a great romance in owning vintage, but I just don't resonate with it"...
’Traditional Guitar Solo’ Should Go Extinct, Says Marty Friedman: ’They Need Something to Keep Listeners Involved’
"We need guitar music that makes those people feel something. It's the responsibility of guitarists to bring something to solos that will achieve that."...
Mark Knopfler Explains Why You Don’t Need Many Guitars, Says Les Pauls Can Be More Versatile Than People Think
"Whatever it is, you don't need too many," explained Mark Knopfler...
This Guitarist Wasn’t Allowed to Do Tapping When He Opened for Van Halen: ’I Confronted Eddie About It’
"That's Eddie's technique. You're not allowed to play it on the tour - or else."...
One Important Thing About Early Van Halen Solos You (Probably) Didn’t Know, Engineer Ross Hogarth Explains
"What made Van Halen really super special was the interaction"...
Rudy Sarzo Explains Why He Initially Refused to Join Whitesnake, Recalls Working With Steve Vai
Rudy Sarzo reflects on his work with Whitesnake/David Coverdale...
What’s the Hardest Rush Song to Play on Guitar? Alex Lifeson Reveals, and It’s Not ’La Villa Strangiato’
Alex Lifeson names the most challenging RUSH song...
Wolfgang Van Halen’s Semi-Hollow Guitar Finally Arrived, But Will It Live Up to Its Hype?
The EVH SA-126 has officially been announced on Eddie Van Halen's birthday. We'll wait and see if the guitar lives up to its hype...
Joe Satriani Says That People Misinterpreted His Famous Piece: ’People Thought It Was a Romantic Song’
"I can't stop people from doing that."...
Scott Henderson Reveals How Much He Practices at This Point in His Career
Scott Henderson explains how much he practices nowadays...
Bassist Reveals What Joe Bonamassa Is Really Like to Work With, Explains What Sets Him Apart From Other Blues Guitarists
"Joe was different because he took a British blues approach but didn't just copy it"...
Tal Wilkenfeld Recalls Being Allowed to Practice Only 30 Minutes Daily, Names One Important Thing Young Musicians Should Know
"I just learned how to visualize the fretboard in my head," Tal Wilkenfeld recalled...
Joe Satriani Is Facing a String Gauge Problem in 2024: ’I Never Thought It Would Bother Me So Much’
"I wish it was just one guitar with one set of strings and one tuning."...
David Ellefson Reflects on Megadeth’s Tough Period and How Grunge Impacted Metal
David Ellefson recalls how Megadeth managed to turn things around in the late 1980s....
Mark Knopfler Recalls One Important Thing Chet Atkins Told Him About Guitars, Explains How He Chose Guitars for Specific Songs
"I wasn't really thinking so much at the time"...
Bradley Hall Addresses Kirk Hammett’s Recent Comments About Guitar Solos: ‘He Should Be Spreading a More Positive Message’
"He should be spreading a more positive, encouraging message, encouraging people to write good guitar solos, no matter what they are."...
Alex Lifeson Explains Why He Choose Gibson Over Fender, Says His Epiphone Les Paul Is ’Very Close’ to Gibson
RUSH legend Alex Lifeson explains why he chose Gibson over Fender guitars...
Even With Same Tonewoods and Specs, Electric Guitars Sound Different, Scott Henderson Explains
"The thing is, even though it's the same type of wood, or same exact type of wood, same exact hardware, they all sound different because wood is wood."...
Was Eddie Van Halen Right to Replace Michael Anthony With His Son? Van Halen Engineer Weighs in
"One of Eddie's greatest joys was to play music with his son"...
Joe Satriani Recalls Important Lesson About Improvisation, Names One Thing That Drove Him ’Crazy’ About Teaching Guitar
Joe Satriani recalls one important thing he learned from legendary jazz pianist Lennie Tristano...
You’ve Never Heard a Guitarist Like This One, Joe Satriani Says
"He can play as fast as the fastest player that I've ever heard"...
Bassist Tal Wilkenfeld Recalls What Jeff Beck Was Really Like
Tal Wilkenfeld remembers Jeff Beck as a "generous, loving, open musician."...
After Almost Six Decades, Gibson Guitar Amps Are a Thing Again: Here Are Some Details
Gibson amps are back! Here are their two new models!...
Joe Satriani: You Can Play Eddie Van Halen Note-for-Note, but It Won’t Sound the Same
You can learn Eddie Van Halen's guitar parts note-for-note, but it still won't be the same, Joe Satriani explains. Here's why...
David Ellefson Recalls One Important Thing Slayer’s Kerry King Told Him About the Music Business
"Says the man with a devil painted on his head!"...
Joe Bonamassa Shares Honest Opinion on Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Owning the Greeny Les Paul
"When Kirk bought the Peter Green guitar, some of the purists were like, 'I can't believe, that guitar should be playing blues.'"...
Kirk Hammett Names Jazz Guitarist He’s Really Into, Explains Decision to Improvise All Solos on New Metallica Album
"He is spiritual. He meditates. He does yoga. He's a vegetarian. Boom!"...
Joe Satriani Recalls One Thing John Petrucci Said About His Songs, Admits He’s ’Not a Progressive Guitar Player’
"I'm not a progressive guitar player who needs eight minutes or something like that"...
Jazz Fusion Legend Scott Henderson Says He Loves Meshuggah, Addresses Metalheads Who Only Listen to Metal
"You would never catch a metal guy listening to Beyonce because his friends would make fun of him," says Scott Henderson...
Planning to Buy Vintage Guitars? Here’s How to Avoid Fraud, Reveals Joe Bonamassa
"If it's too good to be true, ask questions."...
Joe Satriani Reveals One Thing Digital Amps Can’t Do: ’They Can’t Possibly Capture It’
Are digital amps as good as tube-driven amps? Here's what Joe Satriani has to say about that...
Andy Timmons Explains What Made Ace Frehley Stand Out, Recalls Weird Way He Played Van Halen’s ’Eruption’
"He just put it together in a really cool package and really composed great solos that are very memorable."...
Ibanez Just Launched a Bunch of New Stuff: Who’s the Audience for All These new Releases?
Ibanez has big plans for 2024 and the upcoming NAMM Show...
David Ellefson Names One Thing He ’Always Liked About Metallica Records,’ Recalls Hearing Them for the First Time
"It was dark, it was fast, it was unhinged," Ellefson recalled...
Wolfgang Van Halen Explains What Makes His New Semi-Hollow Guitar So Special
"The SA-126 is way beyond a typical semi-hollow," said Wolf Van Halen...
Joe Satriani Recalls What Steve Vai Was Really Like as a Guitar Student: ’Hey, You’re Going So Fast!’
"He was just on the fast track to greatness," Joe Satriani said about young Steve Vai...
Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka on Why He Stopped Using Marshall Heads and 4×12 Cabs in Studio: ’It Moves So Much Air’
"It almost felt unnecessary - it just moves so much air, even the lower-wattage stuff"...
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil Explains Challenges of Soloing in Odd Time Signatures, Recalls What Made Early Grunge Bands Special
Kim Thayil reflects on Soundgarden's early days and the uniqueness of the Seattle scene in the 1980s...
Leland Sklar Explains ’Weird’ Way He Mutes Strings, Reveals Why He Doesn’t Change Strings Often
How often do you change your strings? Here's what bass legend Leland Sklar has to say about that...
’We Don’t Need a Lead Singer!’ Andy Timmons Explains How He Started Doing Instrumental Music
"No offense to the lead singers out there, we don't need a lead singer!"...
Steve Morse Recalls Deep Purple Fans ’Hating’ Him, Explains How He Approached Playing Ritchie Blackmore’s Parts
"I know it's not cool to a lot of people to be enjoying the music as much as I do on stage, but I think it comes across most of them, it softens them up"...
’There Was No Trickery’: Steve Stevens Explains What Made Eddie Van Halen Stand Out
"You could tell it was coming from this one individual who had created this whole new world of guitar playing"...
Baroness Frontman Explains Challenges of Live Jamming, Names One ’Tricky Thing’ About Evolving as a Band
"With each record, I have to feel like we've opened some new doors up, even at the risk of putting some people off," John Baizley of Baroness explains...
’The Bends Can Go a Little Sharp’: Nita Strauss Explains What Modern Guitarists Don’t Get About Jimmy Page
"He's showed us what we play doesn't always have to be perfectly time-coded or on the grid"...
Joe Bonamassa Revealed His Favorite Boss Distortion Pedal and We’re Shocked
We never thought Joe would be into this pedal......
Neural DSP Now Offers Genuine Vintage Tones With the New Guitar Plugin, The Morgan Amps Suite
Neural DSP steps up their vintage-style game with the new plugin, done in collaboration with Morgan...
Andy Timmons Reveals What Really Got Him into Eddie Van Halen, Explains Importance of Emotion in Music
"I want all the stuff that I go through as a human to come through my art"...
’You’re Never Going to Be Great’ at Guitar If You Don’t Have This Skill, The Police’s Andy Summers Explains
"If you haven't got that, you could be good. You can learn a lot of stuff, but you're never going to be great"...
Andy Timmons Weighs in on What Made Eddie Van Halen So Great and Unique
"That's why we love those records, they have the feel," Andy Timmons explains...
Joe Satriani Names One Aspect of Eddie Van Halen’s Playing He’ll Practice the Most for Upcoming Tour
"That's gonna take me, I bet, three months of 45 minutes a day, working with a metronome, to work that into my bag of tricks"...
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil Reveals Why He Chose Guild Guitars Over Fender and Gibson
Kim Thayil of Soundgarden recalls how he started playing Guild Guitars in the first place...
Metallica Fan Beats Guinness World Record for Most Tattoos of One Band (and We Asked Him a Few Questions)
We interviewed the man who got recognition from Guinness World Records for his Metallica tattoos...
Joe Bonamassa Names One Thing That Made Gary Moore Sound Unique
"That incendiary thing that he had - that's all in his soul"...
Kemper Follows Compact Guitar Amp Sim Trends With New Pedal
Amid the recent trend of compact amp sim pedals, Kemper brings a potent little beast called Profiler Player...
Dave Mustaine Speaks Up on Massive Expenses Bands Pay on Tours, Explains What People Don’t Get About Ticket Prices
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine explains all the financial hardships bands are facing on tours....
Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka Addresses Band’s Public Image and What They’re Doing for Rock ’n’ Roll Music Today
"I think people have realized that we're sticking around, and this is who we are."...
Baroness Frontman John Baizley Addresses His ’Limitations as a Guitar Player’
"I try to push beyond them a little bit"...
Are Marshall Amps Getting Worse? One ’Disappointing’ Issue With Flagship Model Exposed
Some of this year's Marshall amps seem to be flawed...
’I Hate to Say It…’: Most Listeners Won’t Remember Guitar Solos, Claims Kirk Hammett
"They are not going to remember guitar solos," said Kirk Hammett about the majority of the music listeners....
What Do Recent Guitar Gear Sales Trends Tell Us About the 2023 Market?
Here are the best-selling guitar pedals and amps in 2023 over at reverb.com...
This Is What Every Bass Player Should Do, Explains Ex-Santana Bassist Keith Jones
"You can play more than just the root"...
No One Can Copy Randy Rhoads, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen, Says Mick Mars
"Look how many people are trying to imitate Jimi after all these years. It doesn't work"...
Are Offset Guitars Good for Metal? Spiritbox Guitarist Explains How He Got Into Jazzmaster Body Shape
Are offset guitars metal enough?...
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil Reacts to Being Called a ’Sloppy’ Guitar Player, Explains Why He Doesn’t Rely on Patterns
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil discussed his approach to guitar playing and why he prefers not rely on established fretboard patterns...
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Recalls Gary Cherone ’Struggling’ in Van Halen, Looks Back on Opening for the Band
Kenny Wayne Shepherd looks back on opening for Van Halen in 1998 and 2015...
This Guitar Combines Fender and Gibson Qualities, Says Warren Haynes
"There’s something about that combination of Firebird with P-90s that is really unique and special”...
Affordable Models Dominate Best-Selling Lists of 2023, and This PRS Outperformed Fender and Gibson: Report
Looking at this report by reverb.com, cheaper guitars seem to be dominating the lists of best-selling in 2023...
Richie Faulkner Explains Why He Doesn’t Like Using Pedalboards, Names Distortion He Didn’t Like but Now Uses
"I like it a bit chaotic"...
Duff McKagan Names One Important Pedal He Used on Guns N’ Roses’ Debut Album: ’I Still Have It’
"I got one for, like, 30 bucks"...
Warren Haynes Reveals How He Ended Up Buying a ’59 Gibson Les Paul
"I was like, 'I will never pay $15,000 for a guitar, are you crazy?'"...
This New Product Supposedly Makes Locking Nuts Obsolete and Will Change Floyd Rose-Equipped Guitars
Here's something interesting from Graph Tech Guitar Labs...
Every Guitarist Should Know These Solos, Says Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa shares four essential guitar solos that every guitarist should know how to play...
Brian May Shares Honest Opinion on Vanilla Ice’s ’Ice Ice Baby,’ Recalls First Reaction
'Ice Ice Baby,' it still makes me smile," Brian May said....
Warren Haynes Says Jamming ’Can’t Maintain the Attention of Your Audience,’ Reflects on His Session Work
"Jamming is great, but it can't maintain the attention span of your audience if that's all you do"...
Here’s What Pat Metheny’s Synth Guitar Is Really Like
What do you know about Pat Metheny's Roland GR-303 guitar controller and GR-300 analog synth?...
’You’ll Want to Quit and Learn to Code After Hearing This’: Twisted Sister Guitarist Reveals What Young Rock Bands Don’t Get
"In the first 30 months of Twisted Sister's existence, which is April '73 to September '75 - that's 30 months - we played 3450 45-minute shows."...
How ’Power Rangers’ Theme Composer ’Fooled’ Eddie Van Halen
"I went over to the grand piano and said, 'Don't kill me.'"...
Joe Satriani Reflects on Messing Up Van Halen Song at Recent Performance
"I kept saying, 'Guys, I don't know these songs, so I'm going to be staring at you.'"...
Polyphia Guitarist Explains How Justin Bieber Inspired Them, Reveals Important Guitar-Playing Tip
Tim Henson explains how one of Polyphia's EPs was inspired by a Justin Bieber song...
Wolfgang Van Halen Reveals What It Felt Like to Play His Father’s Legendary Frankenstrat Guitar on New Album
Wolfgang Van Halen opens up on using the legendary Frankenstrat guitar on his latest album...
Steve Lukather Reveals When He Started Making Money From Music, Explains How He Became Session Musician
"I can't even believe I'd still been doing this, this long"...
Boss Now Has a Compact Amp Sim Pedal: It Has 11 Models, and It’s Also an Audio Interface
BOSS steps up the amp simulator game with their new compact IR-2 pedal. Oh, and it's also an audio interface...
’10,000 Confused People Just Staring at Me’: Bumblefoot Recalls His Guitar Falling Apart Mid-Show
Sounds like a fun show...
Lana Del Rey Loves This Guitar Pedal, According to Her Guitarist
"I had recently bought a reverb pedal, and I showed it to Lana in the studio, and she was like, 'Oh, we need that.'"...
Uli Jon Roth: ’Most Guitar Players Aren’t Good at Jamming’
"So that's the next thing when you're improvising: don't think about yourself. Just let the music flow through you"...
Twisted Sister Guitarist: Giving Young Musicians Advice Is a ’Waste of Time,’ Here’s Why
"Here's the truth, man: before you're The Beatles, you'd better be better than the band next door. Very simple."...
Zakk Wylde Opens Up on How He Really Feels About Playing in Pantera, Recalls Working on ’Rock Star’ Film
"It's a beautiful thing in regard to all those kids that didn't get to see the magic that the four of them created."...
How Long Until New Tool Album? Justin Chancellor Explains
Will we have to wait another 13 years for a new Tool album?...
One Thing Mike Portnoy Liked About Not Being in Dream Theater, David Ellefson Reveals
"He enjoyed not having to work so hard and just be a member.”...
How Difficult Is It to Tune a 42-String Guitar? Pat Metheny’s Tech Reveals
What do you know about Pat Metheny's 42-string instrument, known as the Pikasso guitar? (Yes, with a "K")...
Joe Satriani Names One Issue He Had Playing Deep Purple’s ’Smoke on the Water,’ Opens Up on Challenges of Performing Eddie Van Halen’s Parts
"I went through the mental torture of playing 'Smoke on the Water' and having my guitar not sound like Ritchie Blackmore's"...
Twisted Sister Guitarist Was Grateful Dead Fan but Then Saw Them Sober: ’The Worst Band I Ever Heard’
"I de-Grateful-Dead-ed myself," recalled Jay Jay French....
Steve Lukather Recalls What Jeff Beck Was Like to Work With, Shares Honest Opinion on Johnny Depp’s Musicianship
"There are certain guys that God gave a little extra to, and he was one."...
David Ellefson Shares Honest Opinion on Jason Newsted’s Work on Metallica’s ’Black Album’
"Thank God they got Bob to do 'The Black Album.'"...
Bumblefoot: Musicians Now Are ’Traveling T-Shirt Salesmen,’ Record Deals Are ’Loan at 900% Interest Rate’
"It's the only thing you can do to make any money - sell t-shirts. So you are a traveling t-shirt salesman."...
Is Kiko Loureiro Still Officially in Megadeth or Not?
The recent statements aren't 100% clear. So, is Kiko still a member of Megadeth or not?...
Does Finish Affect the Guitar Tone? Gibson’s Tom Murphy Explains
Will your guitar's finish affect the tone? Do old guitars really sound different? Here's what Tom Murphy has to say about that...
Geddy Lee Recalls How Kiss Treated Rush on Tour, Shares Honest Opinion on Their Music
We're not sure if any bass lessons took place, but RUSH had a lot to learn from KISS back in 1974....
Uli Jon Roth Recalls Yngwie Malmsteen Playing His Song the Wrong Way, Shares Opinion on Al Di Meola’s Playing
"This is exactly what you shouldn't do because if you do pick every note, it will never sound that smooth"...