Paul McCartney leads the charge of 400 stars opposing changes to AI copyright laws
AI firms want exemptions to expand the tech’s learnings. An open letter backed by McCartney highlights the risks to America’s creative industries
Guitarists
Steve Stevens on how Paul Stanley turned him onto Hamer guitars in the '80s
Billy Idol’s right-hand man went on to have a pair of signature guitars with Hamer — but says they never appeared on any significant recordings
"No one can do this with me as well as he can.” Alex Van Halen enlists Steve Lukather to help create a new Van Halen album from Eddie Van Halen's demos
The Toto guitarist confirms his involvement, noting, "Ed, Alex, and I were very close for years"
“You can't look over and be, 'Omigod! I'm playing with Jimmy Page!'” Twenty-five years after Page and the Black Crowes joined forces, Rich Robinson explains the group’s split with the legend as an expanded ‘Live at the Greek’ arrives
The Page and Crowes tandem marked a high point in both artists' histories. Robinson recalls being "awestruck" to perform with his hero
Gear
Best guitar stands and hangers 2025: Keep your precious guitars safe and secure
From multi-guitar racks to compact stands and wall hangers, we pick the best from K&M, PRS, Fender, Hercules and more
Best guitar amps 2025: Tube-driven triumphs and peerless pedal platforms for home, studio, and stage
From solid-state practice amps to all-tube stage amps, here’s our pick of the best amplifiers on the market – featuring Boss, Blackstar, Orange, and more
We crowned the Strymon BigSky MX the champ of multi-reverb pedals
With new algorithms, IR importing, higher-quality processing and the ability to use two reverbs at once, the BigSky MX takes reverb to an entirely new level
Best chorus pedals 2025: the best options from Boss, Universal Audio, Ibanez, and more
Digital or analog; bypass or buffered? We look at the best chorus pedals you can buy right now
Guitars
Andy Timmons on the guitars that got away and the best guitar deal he ever made
The guitarist is celebrating the release of his new album, 'Recovery,' and says fans enjoyment — and gear — are the fuel that keep him going
Stephen Stills sold his Les Paul 'Burst to Waddy Wachtel — and forgot the deal ever went down
Wachtel used the guitar throughout his career until Gibson Custom created a limited-edition Collector’s Choice replica for him in 2014
Best 3/4 acoustic guitars 2025: Top short-scale options from Taylor, Martin and more
Here are the best short-scale acoustic options that don’t compromise on tone, build quality or performance
What would Eddie Van Halen’s “Beat It” solo sound like on a fretless guitar? Here it is — no whammy bar required
Fretless guitar virtuoso Ilya Franciosi tackles Ed’s tricky solo flawlessly to demonstrate what’s possible with the instrument
When George Harrison’s “Lucy” Les Paul was “kidnapped” in 1973, he went to extreme measures to get it back
The cherry-finished Les Paul — dubbed Lucy — had been owned by several famous guitarists, including Eric Clapton, who gifted it to Harrison in 1968
Brian May’s new signature Gibson JS-200 features a subtle tribute to Freddie Mercury
May's new acoustic has another quirky feature — reversed string pairs that suit his style of strumming
Gibson's 1965 Firebird revival has has the most unusual name
The guitar was an important transitional build as it tampered with the model designed to rival the Stratocaster
Makers
New tariffs are having a negative impact on Fender’s credit rating
The taxes affect production at Fender’s facilities where guitars, amps, pedals and other electronics are made
Ciari Guitars is rising high as the industry’s premier travel guitar maker
Ciari founder Jonathan Spangler tells the story behind his company's innovative folding guitar design and technology
Paul Reed Smith explains why it doesn’t matter where guitars are made
Calling Carlos Santana and Jimmy Herring up as witnesses, the luthier continues his electric guitar myth-busting streak
Gibson revamps the Les Paul Studio with tonal, playability, and aesthetic upgrades
A lighter body, plain maple cap, updated electronics, and new finishes give the affordable LP a new lease on life
Fender launches the first-ever Certified Pre-owned Reverb store – offering its second-hand instruments at a discount
All guitars are professionally inspected before being listed, come with a one-year warranty, and are on average 25 percent cheaper
After the 2010 Tennessee floods, Keith Urban had to abandon his ruined guitar collection for last-minute eBay buys in the studio
Urban says he was forced to buy a Clapton Strat to fill the void, but felt like he was “cheating” on his beloved guitars
Guitar Center employees find thousands of dollars worth of cocaine, and methamphetamine hidden inside a guitar amp
The Atlanta-area store was listed as the shipment’s return address to minimize suspicions, but it ended up at the store by mistake
Lessons
Hybrid picking, slides, pentatonics, bends, muting and double-stops are powerful techniques for country guitar playing
Mattheus Canteri’s 6 favourite licks are not only impressive but a lot of fun to learn too!
Molly Miller shows six licks that put the power of modes to work in blues and jazz
Often the best way to develop modal vocabulary is by learning short phrases which resonate with "flavor" notes that are uniquely placed in the mode
The whammy bar is a magical device for bending strings; Carl Verheyen shows 6 stunning licks and riffs for you to learn
Verheyen said Beck's album "made me realize it would be nice to know what intervals would happen when I pulled on the bar”
Music
Alex Lifeson on how Rush’s early failure pushed them for their breakthrough success
The guitarist explains how the band’s more ambitious direction “inspired me to mess around with my guitar tone”
His ex called up to complain about her marriage. The result was his first hit song
Fuel’s “Shimmer” launched the post-grunge act to fame. Carl Bell says it wouldn’t have happened without that fateful phone call
The Ultimate Beatles Guitar Quiz
Know everything there is to know about the guitars of The Beatles? Then test yourself with the GP quiz…
John 5 shreds live in the studio on his upcoming song "Fiend"
The guitarist tells us the song is destined for a solo album and that his producer assists him by handling effects so John can focus on his playing
"We used the mic amp of the mixing board to get distortion. It almost sounds like a synthesizer." Jimmy Page on creating the magic behind the famous Led Zeppelin riff he didn't write
Page and the group struggled with the tricky rhythm. In the end, they discovered that keeping it simple was the solution
He was demonstrating four-track recording when he wrote a 3 million-selling hit song
Hooters guitarist Eric Bazilian imagined “One of Us” as a song for the Crash Test Dummies. Instead it became Joan Osborne's 1995 triple-Platinum breakthrough
Jimi Hendrix's record collection reveals the artists who shaped his guitar playing
Kathy Etchingham, Jimi's former girlfriend, treated Guitar Player to a look at the albums he loved while they lived together in London
