Guitar Player Staff

Guitar Player is the world’s most comprehensive, trusted and insightful guitar publication for passionate guitarists and active musicians of all ages. Guitar Player magazine is published 13 times a year in print and digital formats. The magazine was established in 1967 and is the world's oldest guitar magazine. When "Guitar Player Staff" is credited as the author, it's usually because more than one author on the team has created the story.

Latest articles by Guitar Player Staff

Technique shots
Warm-Up Time: 11 Guitar Exercises That Will Help You Play Even Better

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Here are 11 ways to get your hands and fingers ready for action, both off and on the guitar

Lessons
Richie Blackmore of Rainbow performs at Madison Square Garden on March 19 1984 in New York City, New York.
Ritchie Blackmore got the loudest Marshall amp ever made. All he had to do was keep two secrets 

By Guitar Player Staff Published

The guitarist said his volume while testing amps was distracting to Marshall's workforce, even when he was in a soundproofed room

Gear
Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd onstage at the Sports Arena in April 1975 in Los Angeles, California.
David Gilmour talks soloing in Guitar Player's guide to the Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Behold the genius of Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and many more — as voted by the readers of Guitar Player

Music
Jake E. Lee and Red Dragon Cartel perform at club Webster Hall in New York City, December 2, 2014.
Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee shot in Las Vegas

By Guitar Player Staff Published

The former Osbourne guitarist was shot multiple times. He is currently in the ICU and expected to make a full recovery

Guitarists
Jimi Hendrix performs with the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London, February 18, 1969.
“Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you'll hate the guitar." Jimi Hendrix shares his struggles in a 1968 Guitar Player interview

By Guitar Player Staff Last updated

Hendrix also discussed problems with his Stratocaster and band mates and offered advice for young musicians

Guitarists
David Gilmour adorns the cover of the November 2024 issue of Guitar Player
November 2024 Guitar Player lesson audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Richie Sambora, pictured on the cover of the August 2024 issue of Guitar Player
August 2024 Guitar Player lesson audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
John 5 adorns the cover of Guitar Player's July 2024 issue
July 2024 Guitar Player lesson audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Mark Knopfler, pictured on the cover of the June 2024 issue of Guitar Player
June 2024 Guitar Player lesson audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Gary Clark Jr. adorns the cover of the May 2024 issue of Guitar Player
May 2024 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
“Sister Rosetta Tharpe inspired artists like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Chuck Berry, and helped give birth to rock and roll, soul, and electric blues”: A brief look back at the career of a perennially under-appreciated rock guitar pioneer

By Guitar Player Staff Published

With her impassioned voice and twanging double-stop licks, Tharpe imbued her religious tunes with elements of jazz, blues, and a joyful, hard-driving rhythm

Guitarists
Lenny Kravitz, pictured on the cover of Guitar Player's April 2024 issue
April 2024 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Kim Thayil (left) and Chris Cornell pictured on the cover of Guitar Player's March 2024 issue
March 2024 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Joe Satriani
Eric Clapton's "Beano" Les Paul, George Harrison's 1965 Rickenbacker, Joe Satriani's "Pearly" prototype: Six stolen guitars that are still missing

By Guitar Player Staff Published

The stories behind six famous purloined axes.

Guitars
Wayne Kramer at the Above Ground benefit for MusiCares, September 2019
"He gave you everything he had and then some. It's a dark day for rock ‘n’ roll." Tributes paid to MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, dead at 75

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Slash, Tom Morello, Vernon Reid and more pay tribute to proto-punk guitarist Wayne Kramer, who died yesterday

Guitarists
Paul McCartney, pictured on the cover of the February 2024 issue of Guitar Player
February 2024 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Joe Bonamassa, pictured on the cover of the January 2024 issue of Guitar Player
January 2024 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
(from left) Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Tommy Thayer adorn the cover of Guitar Player's Holiday 2023 issue
Holiday 2023 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) being interviewed before his concert at the Fillmore Auditorium, on February 1, 1968, in San Francisco, California.
"Advice? Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you want to give up – you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’ll be rewarded.” Jimi Hendrix talks technique, songwriting, making records and more in this 1968 Guitar Player interview

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Electric Ladyland was released 25 October 1968. Guitar Player interviewed Jimi Hendrix shortly before the album's release...

Guitarists
People playing guitar
Content Funding on GuitarPlayer.com: How we fund the content you read on GuitarPlayer.com

By Guitar Player Staff Published

How we fund the content you read on GuitarPlayer.com

Makers
Keith Richards adorns the cover of Guitar Player's December 2023 issue
December 2023 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
Jack Bruce (left), Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton perform live at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City in October 1967
"I Was 19 When I Left the Yardbirds. I Intended to Give Up Then, but John Mayall Offered Me a Job... I Needed the Bread, and Some Kind of Identity Too': Cream's Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce Discuss Balancing Blues, Jazz, and Volume in 1967 GP Interview

By Guitar Player Staff Published

This classic from the GP archives is a window into rock's pioneering supergroup in their prime, and an intimate look at how they re-wrote the genre's rulebook.

Guitarists
Brian Setzer adorns the cover of the November 2023 issue of Guitar Player
November 2023 Guitar Player Lesson Audio

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Lessons
John McLaughlin, Marty Friedman, Yngwie Malmsteen and Al Di Meola
John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Marty Friedman and Yngwie Malmsteen Didn't Rely Exclusively on Western Scales - so Why Should You?

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Add intriguing twists to your playing with the tonal flavors of the Far East, Middle East, Africa and beyond

Lessons
L-R: Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Andy Summers and Dimebag Darrell
Learn How to Use Suspended Chords in the Style of Jimmy Page, Van Halen, the Police, Pantera and Others

By Guitar Player Staff Published

Ditch the 3rd and explore sus 2, sus 4 and 7sus4 chords using open-position and movable voicings

Lessons
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