Players “I was playing the Breeders' Divine Hammer, and my whole hand cramped up, I couldn’t move it... It seemed so simple, but it was something I would never play”: J Mascis went electric for his new solo album, but (mostly) without his usual Jazzmaster The Dinosaur Jr. frontman and alt-rock guitar hero will always be associated with Jazzmasters and Marshall stacks, but for his new solo album, What Do We Do Now, Strats, Teles, Vox amps, and even Flying Vs were on the menu instead “I went to Mickie Most's office with an acoustic guitar and played it. It was almost like one of those clichéd movie moments: he said, ‘That’s going to be a hit!’”: Session guitar ace Chris Spedding reveals the stories behind five of his best songs A long-standing sideman to Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry and the late Robert Gordon, Chris Spedding is a master of tasteful playing – just don't expect him to spend too much time looking back at his voluminous discography “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 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 Latest Players "He really lived it": Lightnin' Hopkins picked cotton and worked on a chain gang before becoming the most recorded of the postwar bluesmen – and schooling the likes of Billy Gibbons and Johnny Winter By Jas Obrecht published 27 December 23 "Lightnin' did everything the way you'd think a real blues player would do…" The story of Lightnin' Hopkins: Sage, scoundrel and natural-born storyteller "My solos happen so fast that I don't really know what I'm doing. It's like trying to tell somebody about a car crash: It's all over in two-fifths of a second, and then you talk about it for ten hours afterward": A revealing chat with Jeff Beck By Lisa Sharken published 25 December 23 In 1999, Jeff Beck sat down with Guitar Player for one of his most revealing interviews. Topics covered: why younger players are "crap", the genius of Eric Clapton, and why "the Marshall sound is the balls" “Every guitarist should understand the drums. It's important to know where the kick and snare should land to complement your riffs.” Dave Grohl on the making of the Foo Fighters' There Is Nothing Left To Lose By Kyle Swenson published 24 December 23 Back in late 1999, the Foo Fighters were down to a three-piece, with Dave Grohl playing all the guitars on third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and about to unveil a new guitarist, Chris Shiflett… From sparkling duets with Joe Pass to sweat-soaked virtuoso TV guest spots, his playing was a wonder — here’s why you should take a deep dive into The Roy Clark Guitar Spectacular! By Jim Campilongo published 24 December 23 With elegance, speed, humour and soul, Roy Clark showed he was far more than a “gun for hire” on this toe-tapping, fun-packed 1960’s tour de force "What did we do when the record company asked us for a disco hit? We gave them Highway To Hell!" An archive interview with AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young By Jude Gold published 23 December 23 The secrets of Mutt Lange's production, Malcolm's pick-destroying strings, and why they're really just "two frustrated drummers": 20 years ago we sat down with AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young to look back over their amazing career "I took a screwdriver and stuck it under the strings at the nut…" Gary Rossington on how he came up with his sound on Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird By Lisa Sharken published 21 December 23 Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington died in March, 2023. Back in 1999, he told us the weird trick he used for the slide part on Freebird… “Guitar playing is a creative thing. If you come into it thinking that it’s a competition, you’re already screwed”: Rising U.K. blues guitarist Dom Martin on beating his inner demons and the ghost of Rory Gallagher By Jim Beaugez published 21 December 23 After four years of sobriety and a slew of acclaimed blues albums, Dom Martin hits his stride on Buried in the Hail "When I got the B-Bender, I learned how to find a way to bend so that it doesn’t sound just like a B-Bender but sounds like the strings are being bent by fingers…" Ex-Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin chats about Rio, his first new album of songs in 34 years By Gary Graff published 20 December 23 “The idea was to visit different genres but make sure it still sounds like a cohesive, coherent thing”: Trevor Rabin on scoring his new album Rio using a 1962 Fender Strat, Alvarez and B-Bender Tele “It's all about Bach and Beck. Before Beck, guitars used to just go ‘twang.’ Then they learned to sustain and scream and impersonate a woman’s voice and imitate brass instruments." The career and influences of Steve Hackett in five songs By Joe Matera published 19 December 23 Prog legend, innovator and “musical chameleon”, Steve Hackett spent six years in Genesis before a stellar solo career delving into everything from classical to blues and beyond. Here are five Genesis cuts he considers his best "Five strings, three notes, two fingers and one a**hole – that's all it takes to play guitar!" Keith Richards: The complete 1992 interview By Jas Obrecht published 18 December 23 Guitar playing. Songwriting. Mick Jagger. His blues heroes. Keith Richards is 80. In 1992, we sat down with him for one of his greatest interviews… 123456789Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors MOST READ1Follow the lead of players like Mark Knopfler, Albert Collins, and Lindsey Buckingham, and open the door to new techniques and textures, with this primer in fingerstyle rock guitar2“If a modern shred axe with a bayonet-sharp headstock and a floating Floyd suits your musical vibe, you’ll be thrilled with how useful this new guitar is”: Jackson American Series Virtuoso review 3“I was playing the Breeders' Divine Hammer, and my whole hand cramped up, I couldn’t move it... It seemed so simple, but it was something I would never play”: J Mascis went electric for his new solo album, but (mostly) without his usual Jazzmaster4“I was using a Telecaster because it had a really clean tone for my fingerstyle approach. Fleetwood Mac's pre-existing sound was much fatter, and they felt the Tele really didn’t fit”: Lindsey Buckingham on his turn to Turner guitars 5“I went to Mickie Most's office with an acoustic guitar and played it. It was almost like one of those clichéd movie moments: he said, ‘That’s going to be a hit!’”: Session guitar ace Chris Spedding reveals the stories behind five of his best songs
"He really lived it": Lightnin' Hopkins picked cotton and worked on a chain gang before becoming the most recorded of the postwar bluesmen – and schooling the likes of Billy Gibbons and Johnny Winter By Jas Obrecht published 27 December 23 "Lightnin' did everything the way you'd think a real blues player would do…" The story of Lightnin' Hopkins: Sage, scoundrel and natural-born storyteller
"My solos happen so fast that I don't really know what I'm doing. It's like trying to tell somebody about a car crash: It's all over in two-fifths of a second, and then you talk about it for ten hours afterward": A revealing chat with Jeff Beck By Lisa Sharken published 25 December 23 In 1999, Jeff Beck sat down with Guitar Player for one of his most revealing interviews. Topics covered: why younger players are "crap", the genius of Eric Clapton, and why "the Marshall sound is the balls"
“Every guitarist should understand the drums. It's important to know where the kick and snare should land to complement your riffs.” Dave Grohl on the making of the Foo Fighters' There Is Nothing Left To Lose By Kyle Swenson published 24 December 23 Back in late 1999, the Foo Fighters were down to a three-piece, with Dave Grohl playing all the guitars on third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and about to unveil a new guitarist, Chris Shiflett…
From sparkling duets with Joe Pass to sweat-soaked virtuoso TV guest spots, his playing was a wonder — here’s why you should take a deep dive into The Roy Clark Guitar Spectacular! By Jim Campilongo published 24 December 23 With elegance, speed, humour and soul, Roy Clark showed he was far more than a “gun for hire” on this toe-tapping, fun-packed 1960’s tour de force
"What did we do when the record company asked us for a disco hit? We gave them Highway To Hell!" An archive interview with AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young By Jude Gold published 23 December 23 The secrets of Mutt Lange's production, Malcolm's pick-destroying strings, and why they're really just "two frustrated drummers": 20 years ago we sat down with AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young to look back over their amazing career
"I took a screwdriver and stuck it under the strings at the nut…" Gary Rossington on how he came up with his sound on Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird By Lisa Sharken published 21 December 23 Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington died in March, 2023. Back in 1999, he told us the weird trick he used for the slide part on Freebird…
“Guitar playing is a creative thing. If you come into it thinking that it’s a competition, you’re already screwed”: Rising U.K. blues guitarist Dom Martin on beating his inner demons and the ghost of Rory Gallagher By Jim Beaugez published 21 December 23 After four years of sobriety and a slew of acclaimed blues albums, Dom Martin hits his stride on Buried in the Hail
"When I got the B-Bender, I learned how to find a way to bend so that it doesn’t sound just like a B-Bender but sounds like the strings are being bent by fingers…" Ex-Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin chats about Rio, his first new album of songs in 34 years By Gary Graff published 20 December 23 “The idea was to visit different genres but make sure it still sounds like a cohesive, coherent thing”: Trevor Rabin on scoring his new album Rio using a 1962 Fender Strat, Alvarez and B-Bender Tele
“It's all about Bach and Beck. Before Beck, guitars used to just go ‘twang.’ Then they learned to sustain and scream and impersonate a woman’s voice and imitate brass instruments." The career and influences of Steve Hackett in five songs By Joe Matera published 19 December 23 Prog legend, innovator and “musical chameleon”, Steve Hackett spent six years in Genesis before a stellar solo career delving into everything from classical to blues and beyond. Here are five Genesis cuts he considers his best
"Five strings, three notes, two fingers and one a**hole – that's all it takes to play guitar!" Keith Richards: The complete 1992 interview By Jas Obrecht published 18 December 23 Guitar playing. Songwriting. Mick Jagger. His blues heroes. Keith Richards is 80. In 1992, we sat down with him for one of his greatest interviews…