Rod Brakes
Rod Brakes is a music journalist with an expertise in guitars. Having spent many years at the coalface as a guitar dealer and tech, Rod's more recent work as a writer covering artists, industry pros and gear includes contributions for leading publications and websites such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Guitar World, Guitar Player and MusicRadar in addition to specialist music books, blogs and social media. He is also a lifelong musician.
Latest articles by Rod Brakes

“It Was a Huge Loss. And I Did Love Him”: Roger Waters Tells the Tragic Tale of Syd Barrett
By Rod Brakes, Christopher Scapelliti published
Video The Pink Floyd co-founder recounts the inside story of one of psychedelic rock’s greatest in this unmissable ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ clip

Watch the Stone Roses’ Momentous “I Wanna Be Adored” Comeback Performance
By Rod Brakes, Mark McStea published
Video Reunited, the band are greeted on stage with rapturous applause

“I Get Down on My Knees and Pray Before Every Show”: Watch My Morning Jacket’s Otherworldly “Circuital” Performance
By Rod Brakes, Christopher Scapelliti published
Video Gibson signature artist Jim James and Co deliver a stirring rendition of this epic track live at Red Rocks

Listen to “Saharan Hendrix” Mdou Moctar’s Mesmerizing "Ibitilan" Recording
By Rod Brakes published
Video The Tuareg guitarist’s raw live track is taken from ‘Vol. 2’ of the two-part ‘Niger EP' series

“Don’t Do This at Home”: Watch ThorpyFX Find out if Their Pedals Really Are Bombproof in This Explosive Video
By Rod Brakes published
Video Can these sturdy British-made effects stand up to a real-life explosion?

Robben Ford Reveals His Weirdest Gig
By Rod Brakes published
Video “I spent nine days in the studio with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. And that was rather unusual,” recalls the jazz fusion master
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to GuitarPlayer. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.