Paul Gilbert Addresses the ’Dangers’ of Playing Fast: ’It’s so Easy to Get Pulled Away from the Vibe’
Although usually remembered as one of the “shredder” guys, Paul Gilbert openly said that attempting to play the virtuosic fast...
John 5 Explains Most Important Thing About Playing Mick Mars’ Solos, Names Most Fun Mötley Crüe Song to Play Live
While recently appearing on the “That Rocks!” podcast, John 5 discussed his work in Mötley Crüe, playing Mick Mars’ solos,...
Anthrax’s Scott Ian Explains What Metallica Were Like During Big 4 Tour, Recalls How They Were Invited
Initially, Scott Ian thought that Lars Ulrich wasn't serious about doing the Big Four shows......
Session Guitarist Explains Problem With Bassists ’Inserting Their Personality Too Much’ in Music, Discusses ’Playing in the Pocket’
While appearing in an interview with Philip Conrad, session guitar legend Tim Pierce discussed some of the most important things...
Johnny Marr Recalls What RHCP’s John Frusciante Was Like to Work With
Johnny Marr and John Frusciante - this has to be one of the best combos of all time...
Legendary Amp Builder Speaks Up on Eddie Van Halen’s Mysterious Lost Amp
Here's an interesting piece of guitar history…...
Andy Summers Recalls Not Wanting to Play Guitar After The Police Disbanded, Reveals Who Brought Him Back to It
"I would do shows, I made records, but I barely picked up the guitar. It was a sort of weird head trip that I went through."...
Dee Snider Blasts Bands Who Come Back After ’Farewell’ Tours, Recalls One Important Advice From Zakk Wylde
"Just don't sell me a 'No More Tour' shirt. Just don't sell me a premium ticket."...
Anthrax’s Scott Ian Recalls First Reaction to Hearing Metallica With Dave Mustaine, Explains What Cliff Burton Was Like
"And there's Cliff banging his head like he's playing for 10,000 people in an arena"...
J Mascis Says He Wasn’t Impressed By Stevie Ray Vaughan, Explains Why Bob Dylan Is Underrated
"I mean I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan once, and he was OK."...
These Things Can Cost You Your Music Career, Reveals Session Guitar Legend Tim Pierce
Playing guitar and being a musician is way more dangerous than you might think......
You Can Get Pro-Level Guitar Tone While Recording at Home, Explains Ex-Cradle of Filth Guitarist
Getting a pro-tier tone at home isn't impossible these days...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Reveals Why He Uses an Unconventional Guitar Strap, Explains What Makes His Signature Les Paul So Special
Matthew kiichichaos Heafy has a pretty unusual guitar strap...
Robert Fripp Shares Honest Opinion on Kirk Hammett’s Guitar Skills, Explains How He Approached Covering Slipknot
King Crimson mastermind and guitar player Robert Fripp recently reflected on doing a variety of rock and metal covers with...
David Ellefson Explains What Rock Musicians Today Are Lacking, Talks What Was Different When He Was Growing Up
According to ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, there are a few simple yet important things that rock musicians today are lacking....
Session Guitarist Reveals Biggest Misconceptions About Becoming a Pro Musician, Names One Advantage Young Musicians Have Today
Known for his numerous collaborations, session guitarist Tim Pierce pointed out some of the most important things young musicians should...
Kansas Guitarist Explains Why Studio Work is ’Clinical and Boring,’ Talks Biggest Challenges of Live Performances
"It's kind of an assembly line process of getting this stuff recorded."...
Brendon Small Explains How He Came Up With Dethklok’s Music, Reveals a Secret Behind New Song
In the wake of the new film “Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar” and the new album “Dethklok IV,” metal musician...
Devin Townsend Reveals How He Formed a Band With Jason Newsted, Recalls How He Started His Music Career
While recently appearing in an interview for the “Monsters, Madness and Magic” podcast, Devin Townsend looked back at how he...
Universal Audio Launches New Audio Interface: Here’s What You Should Know About Apollo Twin X USB
While they’re mostly famous for their guitar pedals, Universal Audio Inc. have just stepped up their game in yet another...
Yngwie Malmsteen Explains Why Pentatonic Scale Wasn’t Enough for Him, Talks How Jimi Hendrix Influenced Him
Imagine how wild it must have been for people to hear Yngwie Malmsteen play back in the early 1980s...
Tech Shares Secrets Behind Eddie Van Halen’s Sound, Says It Was Mostly in His Hands
Turns out that the tone is actually in your hands...
Chris Broderick Explains Biggest Challenges of Joining In Flames, Reveals What He’s the Proudest of as a Musician
Formerly known as the lead guitar player for Megadeth, Chris Broderick joined the Swedish metal band In Flames, sometime in...
Ex-Helloween Guitarist Opens Up on What the Band Was Really Like, Reveals What He Learned From Them
Guitarist Roland Grapow looks back on being a member of Helloween...
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson Shares Honest Opinion on Roger Waters Reworking ’Dark Side of the Moon,’ Explains What Makes a Good Songwriter
While recently speaking on the “Classic Album Review” show, Jethro Tull leader and frontman Ian Anderson weighed in on Roger...
Kansas Guitarist Says ’There’s No Money in Making Records Anymore,’ Recalls First Reaction to Hearing ’Carry on Wayward Son’
"Obviously, there's no money in making records anymore. Hard product is not much of a market anymore."...
Brendon Small Reveals What He Learned from Chris Cornell, Names Biggest Challenges of Playing Dethklok Characters
Brendon Small recalls what he learned from the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell...
Gus G Reveals Why He Switched from ESP to Jackson Guitars, Explains What Fascinated Him About Peter Frampton
Gus G explains his decision to switch from ESP to Jackson...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Names One Thing People Get Wrong About Metal, Explains Why They’re Streaming Their Shows for Free
According to Trivium frontman Matt Heafy, there’s one major misconception about metal and metal music fans. Heafy reflected on this...
Yngwie Malmsteen Recalls How a Producer Told Him to Play Slower, Says He Doesn’t Listen to Other People’s Music
"I do understand the function of partnerships and so on, because it's great for a lot of other people, and God bless them for that. For me, this is the way I do...
Nuno Bettencourt Opens Up on Why He Really Left Extreme in the ’90s, Names Biggest Regret About the Band
"We should be 13 albums in at this point. But life is what it is, and whatever it was meant to be is meant to be because it happened."...
Universal Audio Brings Some Serious Vintage Vibes With These Four New Pedals, Here Are Some Details
Although also making a variety of different products, Universal Audio Inc. are best known for their guitar pedals. Branded as...
The Offspring’s Noodles Says They Never Expected to Become Popular, Names Song That ’Feels as Fresh Today’ As It Did in the ’90s
Guitarist Kevin Wasserman, popularly known as Noodles in The Offspring, looked back on the band’s long career and said that,...
Devin Townsend Opens Up on Why He ’Wasn’t Happy’ While Working With Steve Vai and How Music Industry Affected Him Then
Devin Townsend and Steve Vai - one of the best combos the music world has ever witnessed!...
Alex Skolnick Recalls Having to ’Load Equipment in the Truck’ While Playing for Ozzy Osbourne
Testament axeman Alex Skolnick looked back on the one-time gig playing with Ozzy Osbourne. During his recent interview with Ultimate...
Gus G Opens Up on What It Was Like to Play for Ozzy Osbourne and How It Affected His Career
"It was kind of hard to digest everything, and process everything at that time, and I was still very, very young"...
Vernon Reid Shares Opinion on Nuno Bettencourt’s Playing, Explains Why ’His Approach Is so Much Deeper Now’
It's been a few months and everyone is still talking about Nuno Bettencourt's solo in "Rise"...
What Makes a Great Producer? He Orders Lunch and Lets Us Get Back to Work: Bassist Leland Sklar Explains What Session Work is Really Like
Bassist Leland Sklar, who’s well-known as one of the most prolific session bassists of all time, shared a few interesting...
Ex-Whitesnake Guitarist Reveals What Steve Vai Was Really Like to Work With: ’Our Styles Are so Different’
What's your favorite Whitesnake/David Coverdale album and why is it "Slip of the Tongue"?...
Anthrax Bassist Recalls Odd Live Prank They Pulled on ’Very Serious’ Slayer Members
Anthrax bassist Frank Bello looked back on some of the fun times the band had back in the early 1990s...
’They Didn’t Want People to Know’: That Time Session Guitarist Secretly Did a Solo for Aerosmith
Although the name Steve Hunter usually won’t ring any bells among rock fans, he’s worked as a backing and session...
Glenn Hughes Opens Up on Why He Didn’t Get a Gig in Van Halen
While looking back at his career, Glenn Hughes recalled talking to Eddie Van Halen and finding out that he was...
Bass Legend Explains What People Don’t Understand About Session Musicians, Names Biggest Challenges in the Business
Leland Sklar, session bassist who has a pretty extensive body of work, recently sat down with Rick Beato for an...
Ex-Megadeth Guitarist Recalls Dave Mustaine Talking About Metallica: ’He Always Has to Find Someone to Disparage’
"I was like, 'Dude why can't you get over that?'"...
Adrian Vandenberg Reveals Why He Initially Disliked Steve Vai’s Playing in Whitesnake, Names Major Regret About the Band
What's the best lineup of Whitesnake?And yes, there's been A LOT of Whitesnake lineups......
Rudy Sarzo Recalls How Ozzy Osbourne Was Affected By Randy Rhoads’ Passing
Rudy Sarzo, who was famously a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band back in the early 1980s, recalled how the famous...
Steve Howe Explains One ’Challenge’ of Writing Music Today, Says Yes is ’Avoiding Prog-Rock Cliches’
Steve Howe, progressive rock guitar legend and the classic member of Yes, reflected on how he and his bandmates approach...
Buying a New Guitar? Here’s the Most Important Thing You Should Do, According to Jason Isbell
Country music star Jason Isbell went into more detail about what any guitar player should do when purchasing a new...
John Petrucci Names One Common Rhythm Guitar Tone Mistake, Explains Why He Doesn’t Use Noise Gate
Are you making this mistake?...
John 5 Explains Why He Plays Mötley Crüe Guitar Solos Note-for-Note: ’They’re so Important to the Audience’
Reflecting on his time being a new guitar player for Mötley Crüe, John 5 explained why he prefers to do...
John Petrucci Says ’Nobody Can Probably Tell’ Between Digital and Real Amps, Weighs in on Nuno Bettencourt’s ’Rise’ Solo
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: John Petrucci explains why "nobody could probably even really tell" the difference between digital and real amps...
Steve Vai Opens Up on What It Was Like to Play in Whitesnake, Admits That He Was ’Difficult’
"If anybody was difficult, it was me. I was a bit of a primadonna."...
Geezer Butler Says Tony Iommi Didn’t Like Working With Rick Rubin on Black Sabbath’s Final Album
While appearing in an interview with Mike Brunn, Black Sabbath bassist and founding member Geezer Butler revealed that Tony Iommi...
Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher Recalls Odd Way He Achieved Guitar Distortion as a Kid
Mastodon axeman Bill Kelliher recalled a very unconventional way he achieved the distortion effect while he was still in the...
Warren Haynes Explains How Short Attention Spans Affected Music: ’Eventually, Everything Is Just a Soundbite’
Gov’t Mule frontman and leader, Warren Haynes, reflected on the modern tendency for songs to get shorter and shorter where...
Steve Vai Says Guitarists ’Don’t Really Need to Know Theory,’ Explains What Rock Musicians Get Wrong About Classical Music
While recently hanging out with Winger leader Kip Winger in his podcast, legendary electric guitar virtuoso Steve Vai reflected on...
Legendary Producer Explains Why Power Chords Are Lazy, Calls Eric Clapton ’One-Dimensional’
Producer Steve Lillywhite, who has worked with some of the biggest names in rock music, recently explained why he doesn’t...
Nikki Sixx Opens Up on Mick Mars Leaving Mötley Crüe, Reveals What John 5 Is Like to Work With
"We never saw it coming that Mick wasn't going to be able to tour and was going to have to quit the band."...
Jake Kiszka Says New Greta Van Fleet Album Is ‘A Pretty Heavy Record,’ Explains How It’s Inspired By Classic Blues
While chatting with Guitar World, Greta Van Fleet guitarist Jake Kiszka went into more detail about the band’s new album...
Session Bassist Recalls Odd Gig Recording for Michael Jackson: ’He Was Going Through a Period of Hiding’
Bass legend Guy Pratt looks back on recording his parts on Michael Jackson's 1995 album "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I"...
Dave Mustaine Says He Thought He’d Never Achieve Success as Musician, Reveals His Pre-Show Warmup Routine
"If you would have said that I would have been successful for 40 years straight, I would have said 'No,I don't believe it.'"...
Kirk Hammett Recalls What He Didn’t Really Understand About Metallica’s Early Success: ’I’m Actually Blown Away When I Look Back at It’
Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett looked back on the band’s early days, particularly the band’s first two albums. Since this...
Wolfgang Van Halen Names His Favorite Solo By Eddie Van Halen
Wolfgang Van Halen, son of Eddie Van Halen and the current leader of Mammoth WVH, singled out his all-time favorite...
Steve Vai Opens Up on How ’Crossroads’ Cameo and the Film’s Success Affected Him, Reflects on Working With David Lee Roth
Did you know that Stevie Ray Vaughan was considered for the role of Jack Butler in the 1986 film "Crossroads"?...
Watch: Kirk Hammett Messes Us Intro to ’Nothing Else Matters’ at Recent Metallica Show
Some new videos have emerged on YouTube, showing Kirk Hammett playing the intro to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” at the...
Do You Even Need an Expensive Guitar? Pro Songwriter Used a $99 Squier With 5-Year-Old Strings on This Hit Song
This $99 Squier Strat ended up on a Justin Bieber song and it sounds amazing...
Legendary Pickup Builder Explains How Tonewood Can Impact Your Electric Guitar Sound
Want to start making your own guitar pickups? There's a lot of things that you can learn from Jason Lollar...
Warren Haynes Explains the Most Challenging Aspect of Playing David Gilmour’s Solos
While appearing on a recent episode of the “Dipped in Tone” podcast, Gov’t Mule frontman and leader Warren Haynes reflected...
It’s Not Okay for Bands Not to Play Their Hit Songs Live, Says QOTSA’s Josh Homme
According to Qeens of the Stone Age frontman and leader Josh Homme, big bands deciding not to play their most...
Steve Vai Reveals How Much More He Earned by Bypassing Record Labels: ’Why Would Anybody Get Paid More Than Me for My Work?’
Labels were taking a huge cut so Steve Vai started his own record label...
Steve Vai Recalls Odd Method He Used to Learn Frank Zappa Songs Due to a Very Tight Schedule
"Frank would write the setlist five minutes before we went on the stage, and it was different every single night."...
Steve Lukather Explains Why Expensive Gear Won’t Make You a Better Guitar Player, Reveals One Valuable Guitar He Owns
"I've played Eddie Van Halen's guitars, Jeff Beck's guitars, and I sound like me."...
Warren Haynes Recalls ’Uncanny Thing’ When Performing Live With Bob Dylan, Names His Favorite Band
"Part of me was just thinking, 'Is this a test or a joke?'"...
Nita Strauss Names One Guitar Technique She’s Still Not Good at, Reveals What She Learned from Marty Friedman
While discussing her work on the new solo album “The Call of the Void,” Nita Strauss reflected on her playing...
This Is What Makes a Great Thrash Metal Song According to Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine shared a few simple ingredients for a successful thrash metal song. Starting his career in the...
Fender Director of Product Explains Why They Don’t Use High-Output Pickups, Reflects on Popularity of Offset Guitars
Allen Abbassi, the director of product for Fender, explained why the company prefers “medium-to-low” output with their guitar pickups. Abbassi...
John Petrucci Recalls How Rise of Grunge Impacted Dream Theater, Weighs in on ‘Shred vs. Feel’ Debate
"I wonder if it would have been worse if all the bands at that time were all prog metal. "...
Zakk Wylde Recalls How Dimebag Darrell Felt About Pantera Disbanding, Reveals What He Told Him
Playing guitar in the current incarnation of Pantera, Zakk Wylde recently recalled talking to the band’s original guitar player Dimebag...
Simon McBride Had to Modify One of His Amps for Deep Purple Shows, Here’s Why
Simon McBride is using Engl Amps with Deep Purple but one of them is modified. Here's why...
Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka Shares Odd Story of How He Acquired His $20k Gibson
Here's a story of how Greta Van Fleet Jake Kiszka got his vintage Gibson guitar...
Dave Mustaine Praises Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: ’He’s a Really Good Guitar Player’
Did... Did Dave Mustaine just praise Kirk?...
Geezer Butler Answers If Van Halen Were Really Better Than Black Sabbath at Joint Tour in Late ’70s
Were Van Halen really better than Black Sabbath when they opened for them back in 1978?...
Session Bassist Reveals What Madonna Was Like to Work With in Studio, Recalls Almost Getting Fired By the Singer
Bass legend Guy Pratt looks back on working with Madonna...
Ex-Megadeth Guitarist Reveals One Thing About Solos That Dave Mustaine Couldn’t Stand, Shares Opinion on Band’s Newer Albums
Well, it turns out Dave Mustaine wasn't the biggest fan of improvising guitar solos...
Steve Vai Explains How Actually Difficult It Was to Play in Frank Zappa’s Band
Nonetheless, Steve Vai was always up to the task!...
Eric Johnson Says It’s All About ’Musical Ideas’ and Not About Having a ’40-Foot-Pedalboard’
Guitar maestro Eric Johnson explained how the real magic of music lies in actual musical ideas, what you play on...
Nuno Bettencourt Names One Important Thing You Shouldn’t Do If You Want to Sound Unique on Guitar
Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme pointed out that the technological advantages that young guitar players have today might not always work...
John Petrucci Reveals How Much He Practices at This Point in His Career and If Using an 8-string Guitar Was a Challenge
Dream Theater axeman John Petrucci recently sat down with us here at Killer Guitar Rigs to discuss his newly launched...
Nita Strauss Says Difference Between Real Guitar Amps and Digital Replicas Isn’t Noticeable
Guitarist Nita Strauss, best known for her work with Alice Cooper, explained how there’s not really any noticeable difference between...
Rockabilly Guitar Legend Recalls Declining The Rolling Stones Audition, Reveals Why He Had to Stop Using Gretsch Guitars
Chris Spedding, who’s one of the best-known guitar players in rockabilly, as well as a very prolific session musician, recently...
Playing Guitar for a Pop Star Isn’t as Easy as It May Seem, Nuno Bettencourt Explains
Guitar legend Nuno Bettencourt spoke up on his work with Rihanna, explaining how the gig ended up being way more...
’It Seems so Stupid to Me’: Steve Vai Explains What He Dislikes About Conventional Guitar Models
Steve Vai recalls how he loved Strats but "wasn't crazy about the sound, and the single-coil pickups weren't rock and roll for me." So he came up with his own g...
Geezer Butler Recalls Tony Iommi’s ’Glorious Moment’ as a Guitarist and Praises His ’Uncanny Ability to Conjure a Monster Riff’
Legendary Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler praised Tony Iommi’s “uncanny ability” to come up with some of the best riffs...
Steve Vai: Why Frank Zappa Was Different Than Other Rock Musicians of His Era
There'll never be a musician like Frank Zappa ever again...
Exclusive Interview: John Petrucci Reveals What His New Company Tonemission Is All About
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: John Petrucci has launched Tonemission and here are some details behind it!...
Greg Howe Explains Why Metal and Fast Solos Never Appealed to Him: ’I Participated, but I Grew Out of It’
Guitar master Greg Howe explained why he never really got into the music of a generation that he was a...
Epiphone Has Just Launched New Guitars and None of Them are Gibson Copies, Here Are Some Details
Although Epiphone is well-known as a cheaper alternative to Gibson, the brand goes a long way back to the time...
Why Black Sabbath Changed Their Style in the Mid-1970s? Geezer Butler Explains
Black Sabbath bassist and founding member Geezer Butler reflected on the band’s drastic change of style halfway through their original...
Gene Simmons Claims He Taught Geddy Lee the Blues Scale, Says The Edge ’Couldn’t Play Chords’ When Starting With U2
Bassist Gene Simmons looked back on the time when Rush were opening for Kiss back in the 1970s and how...
Nita Strauss Speaks Up Against Guitar Shredder Haters: ’I Don’t See the Value in Belittling Anybody’s Vibe’
Nita Strauss, known for her work as a touring guitarist for Alice Cooper and Demi Lovato, discussed the use of...