magcontent “We’re the birthplace of blues, country and rock and roll music, and the guitar is at the core of all of it”: The America at the Crossroads exhibit charts the guitar’s history with instruments owned by Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and more A new exhibit at The MAX museum explores the guitar’s cultural impact through dozens of significant instruments – from a stunning custom Martin D-28 built for Elvis Presley's estate to a rickety Soviet-era Tonika model “The Opus might not displace your Helix, Fractal, Kemper or Quad Cortex, but it offers a lot of good-sounding emulation in a compact and usable package at a fraction of the price”: Two Notes Opus Amp Sim and IR Loader Unit review There’s a lot of sound and even more flexibility in this little box, and it should prove to be exactly what many guitarists are looking for “One of the beautiful things about Leo is one of the hardest things to do – forget that you’re playing a guitar and just feel like you’re playing music. He embodies that transcendence”: The lessons Julian Lage learned from acoustic master Leo Kottke As Lage further explores his unplugged instincts, he reflects on some of Kottke's humorous nuggets of wisdom – one being that readings from sometimes-unreliable electric tuners are “only a suggestion” Latest magcontent “Some people operate the guitar. Joe Pass really played it”: The genius of Joe Pass, one of the 20th century's greatest jazz guitarists By Denny Ilett published 14 February 24 Consummate soloist, impeccable accompanist, tireless educator, fearless improviser, and bona-fide jazz legend, Pass remains the paragon to which guitarists still aspire “I learned economy from artists like Albert King, for whom one note could tell a whole story”: At 78, guitar legend Robin Trower isn't done evolving, but he always keeps the blues in sight By Martin McQuade published 13 February 24 Teaming up with vocalist Sari Schorr for the R&B-flavored Joyful Sky, the tone king remains – 60 years into his career – creatively restless “I got John Lennon’s Epiphone Casino and played through his amp, Paul got on the drums. It was like we’d been playing together forever”: Steve Miller on jamming with the Beatles, his pre-show warmups, and 50 years of the Joker By Alan Paul published 13 February 24 In a candid interview, the classic rock hero discusses the strange journeys of some of his biggest hits, opening for Pink Floyd, and injecting blues into the San Francisco scene in the midst of the Summer of Love “He said, ‘I want to make a little-amp record.’ Apparently on Layla, Eric Clapton and Duane Allman were playing through Champs and facing each other, and that’s what we did”: Charlie Starr on how Blackberry Smoke evolved by slimming down in the studio By Alan Paul published 12 February 24 Blackberry Smoke's frontman and guitarist dishes on making a “little-amp record,” and how playing guitar in another famous band helped strengthen his connection to his own group "Wondrous… unique… exquisite": The seven-string guitars and smooth "lap-piano" style of forgotten jazz and swing guitarist George Van Eps By Jim Campilongo published 11 February 24 On his 1966 album, My Guitar, George Van Eps makes the best case ever for playing with seven strings "Having played through Friedman's amps, I'd say the IR-X captures their very useable foundations…" Why you need to check out this new tube amp and pedal combo By Dave Hunter published 10 February 24 Review: the Friedman IR-X Dual Tube Preamp and IR Pedal "We started jamming and he stopped playing and looked at me and, serious as can be, he said, ‘Slow the f*** down!’ He meant it": Leslie West's invaluable advice for Jared James Nichols By Joe Bosso published 9 February 24 Blues rocker Jared James Nichols learnt from the very best. Passing on those invaluable tips, here's his five ways to bring out your own best "A reminder of just how far ahead of the curve Leo Fender was in 1950": Here's why the Vintera II series guitars sound as good as they look By Art Thompson published 9 February 24 Reviewed: Vintera II ’50s, Jazzmaster ’60s, Telecaster and ’70s Mustang. "A guitar that sounds as aggressive as it looks, with four gold-foil pickups wired in series, resulting in a very hot output…" The green monster that is the 1970 Kimberly Deluxe By Terry Carleton published 6 February 24 More attitude than Godzilla, it's a mean-in-green Japan-made classic "It was all there in the parlor guitar: that depth and inspirational tone. The only reason guitars got bigger was to compete with barking dogs and juggling children in vaudeville…" The big history of small acoustics By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Richard Hoover unravels the history and mystery of parlor guitars 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 READ1PRS SE CE24, SE Custom 24 Quilt and SE Swamp Ash Special review 2How a deeply personal twist of events brought a beloved 'Burst into Vince Gill's life3How 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
“Some people operate the guitar. Joe Pass really played it”: The genius of Joe Pass, one of the 20th century's greatest jazz guitarists By Denny Ilett published 14 February 24 Consummate soloist, impeccable accompanist, tireless educator, fearless improviser, and bona-fide jazz legend, Pass remains the paragon to which guitarists still aspire
“I learned economy from artists like Albert King, for whom one note could tell a whole story”: At 78, guitar legend Robin Trower isn't done evolving, but he always keeps the blues in sight By Martin McQuade published 13 February 24 Teaming up with vocalist Sari Schorr for the R&B-flavored Joyful Sky, the tone king remains – 60 years into his career – creatively restless
“I got John Lennon’s Epiphone Casino and played through his amp, Paul got on the drums. It was like we’d been playing together forever”: Steve Miller on jamming with the Beatles, his pre-show warmups, and 50 years of the Joker By Alan Paul published 13 February 24 In a candid interview, the classic rock hero discusses the strange journeys of some of his biggest hits, opening for Pink Floyd, and injecting blues into the San Francisco scene in the midst of the Summer of Love
“He said, ‘I want to make a little-amp record.’ Apparently on Layla, Eric Clapton and Duane Allman were playing through Champs and facing each other, and that’s what we did”: Charlie Starr on how Blackberry Smoke evolved by slimming down in the studio By Alan Paul published 12 February 24 Blackberry Smoke's frontman and guitarist dishes on making a “little-amp record,” and how playing guitar in another famous band helped strengthen his connection to his own group
"Wondrous… unique… exquisite": The seven-string guitars and smooth "lap-piano" style of forgotten jazz and swing guitarist George Van Eps By Jim Campilongo published 11 February 24 On his 1966 album, My Guitar, George Van Eps makes the best case ever for playing with seven strings
"Having played through Friedman's amps, I'd say the IR-X captures their very useable foundations…" Why you need to check out this new tube amp and pedal combo By Dave Hunter published 10 February 24 Review: the Friedman IR-X Dual Tube Preamp and IR Pedal
"We started jamming and he stopped playing and looked at me and, serious as can be, he said, ‘Slow the f*** down!’ He meant it": Leslie West's invaluable advice for Jared James Nichols By Joe Bosso published 9 February 24 Blues rocker Jared James Nichols learnt from the very best. Passing on those invaluable tips, here's his five ways to bring out your own best
"A reminder of just how far ahead of the curve Leo Fender was in 1950": Here's why the Vintera II series guitars sound as good as they look By Art Thompson published 9 February 24 Reviewed: Vintera II ’50s, Jazzmaster ’60s, Telecaster and ’70s Mustang.
"A guitar that sounds as aggressive as it looks, with four gold-foil pickups wired in series, resulting in a very hot output…" The green monster that is the 1970 Kimberly Deluxe By Terry Carleton published 6 February 24 More attitude than Godzilla, it's a mean-in-green Japan-made classic
"It was all there in the parlor guitar: that depth and inspirational tone. The only reason guitars got bigger was to compete with barking dogs and juggling children in vaudeville…" The big history of small acoustics By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Richard Hoover unravels the history and mystery of parlor guitars