Players Peter Frampton reveals the stories behind five of his classic tracks Well over 50 years into his career, the Les Paul-wielding guitar hero has covered amazing stylistic ground, and worked with the best of the best. Learn how he crafted some of his most timeless tunes How Noel Gallagher and Beck helped bring the Black Keys' latest funky full-length, Ohio Players, to life The Black Keys began life as a bare-bones two-piece, but, as Dan Auerbach tells GP, collaboration and an open musical mind have expanded the duo's sound to thrilling new heights Dickey Betts on dueling with Duane Allman, and composing Allman Brothers' biggest hit In 2019, the late Dickey Betts sat down with Guitar Player to reflect on the Allman Brothers and his musical career, from his early influences to his last solo live album Latest Players "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… "We call it 'the claw': the hand shape you typically use on the neck. I change my tunings so that when I do the claw, it’s not something I would typically play.” Kelley Deal on the weird creativity of the Breeders' Last Splash By Tom Beaujour published 15 December 23 30 years on, The Breeders Kelley Deal reflects on the making of the 1990’s alt-rock masterpiece that propelled them to fame "I feel like George Lucas, where you helped create this thing that becomes not just movies and stuff but a culture. We created a culture with Kiss…" The Gene Simmons interview By Ken Sharp published 12 December 23 As Kiss bring their career to a rousing end, the Demon reflects on their 50-year journey from New York City punks to global superstars Six By 5: John 5 picks his 6 favorite Paul Stanley guitar solos By Ken Sharp published 10 December 23 Kiss put John 5 on his guitar journey and turned him into a huge Kiss Kollector. We asked him to choose his six favorite Paul Stanley solos “The worst thing you can do is beat yourself up when you make a mistake…” John Petrucci’s top five tips for guitarists By Joe Bosso published 9 December 23 Whether avoiding over-rehearsing, working out before a gig or stating off the sauce while on tour, these are the tips John Petrucci uses to stay at the top of his game “I didn’t want to be the flashy lead player. Whether it was Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, David Crosby or Richie Havens, what the left hand was doing was more fascinating to me than what the right hand was doing": The Paul Stanley interview By Ken Sharp published 8 December 23 As Kiss hang up their guitars, Paul Stanley looks back on the instruments and musicians that shaped his musical personality “Any good guitar player will tell you his vibrato is as sweet as honey…” Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Joe Perry, Tom Morello and many more on what Paul Stanley’s playing brought to Kiss By Ken Sharp published 8 December 23 Better call Paul! As Kiss hang up their guitars, we asked Kiss members past and present – plus friends and admirers – what mades Paul Stanley’s signature sound so special How Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and "the Randy Rhoads school of soloing" helped Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde write No More Tears By Mark McStea published 7 December 23 Zakk Wylde talks through the making of Ozzy Osbourne’s immortal 1991 track, No More Tears 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 READ1Three guitars that exemplify the PRS SE line in 2024 – reasonably priced, impeccably put-together, and versatile in terms of both tone and playability: PRS SE CE24, SE Custom 24 Quilt and SE Swamp Ash Special review 2“I bought my ’59 sunburst Les Paul from my first wife’s brother... he’d gotten sick – he called me and said, ‘I’m probably not gonna make it. Will you buy my Les Paul?’ Now it gets to live on and still make music”: Vince Gill on his beloved 'Burst 3“Noel’s process is purely guitar. He’s so in love with the chords, and he was cycling through and through... He wouldn’t stop until he was satisfied”: How Noel Gallagher and Beck helped bring the Black Keys' latest funky full-length, Ohio Players, to life4Best amp modelers 2024: Get your dream guitar tone with our top picks5Best overdrive pedals 2024: Strap in, it's time to drive
"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…
"We call it 'the claw': the hand shape you typically use on the neck. I change my tunings so that when I do the claw, it’s not something I would typically play.” Kelley Deal on the weird creativity of the Breeders' Last Splash By Tom Beaujour published 15 December 23 30 years on, The Breeders Kelley Deal reflects on the making of the 1990’s alt-rock masterpiece that propelled them to fame
"I feel like George Lucas, where you helped create this thing that becomes not just movies and stuff but a culture. We created a culture with Kiss…" The Gene Simmons interview By Ken Sharp published 12 December 23 As Kiss bring their career to a rousing end, the Demon reflects on their 50-year journey from New York City punks to global superstars
Six By 5: John 5 picks his 6 favorite Paul Stanley guitar solos By Ken Sharp published 10 December 23 Kiss put John 5 on his guitar journey and turned him into a huge Kiss Kollector. We asked him to choose his six favorite Paul Stanley solos
“The worst thing you can do is beat yourself up when you make a mistake…” John Petrucci’s top five tips for guitarists By Joe Bosso published 9 December 23 Whether avoiding over-rehearsing, working out before a gig or stating off the sauce while on tour, these are the tips John Petrucci uses to stay at the top of his game
“I didn’t want to be the flashy lead player. Whether it was Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, David Crosby or Richie Havens, what the left hand was doing was more fascinating to me than what the right hand was doing": The Paul Stanley interview By Ken Sharp published 8 December 23 As Kiss hang up their guitars, Paul Stanley looks back on the instruments and musicians that shaped his musical personality
“Any good guitar player will tell you his vibrato is as sweet as honey…” Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Joe Perry, Tom Morello and many more on what Paul Stanley’s playing brought to Kiss By Ken Sharp published 8 December 23 Better call Paul! As Kiss hang up their guitars, we asked Kiss members past and present – plus friends and admirers – what mades Paul Stanley’s signature sound so special
How Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and "the Randy Rhoads school of soloing" helped Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde write No More Tears By Mark McStea published 7 December 23 Zakk Wylde talks through the making of Ozzy Osbourne’s immortal 1991 track, No More Tears