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 "The Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Pennsylvania called me about a stack of leftover Brazilian rosewood that would have been a living tree in the 1700s": How Santa Cruz's Richard Hoover sources antique materials for his luxurious lutherie By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Santa Cruz captain Richard Hoover applied his ultimate artistic expression to his historic Vault Series that made its stunning debut at NAMM 2024 last week. 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 4 February 24 The stories behind six famous purloined axes. “I used to fall asleep with it on my chest — it’s literally a one-of-a-kind, unreplaceable keepsake": Randy Bachman on the trauma of having his prized 1957 Gretsch 6120 stolen and the remarkable story of how he was reunited with it By Richard Bienstock published 3 February 24 Stolen 45 years ago, the tale of the Gretsch's global journey is now the focus of a new documentary. "Do you know what happened to my lost bass, the one that got pinched?" How Paul McCartney's simple 2019 query over coffee in a studio led to a forensic hunt for the iconic Höfner 500/1 violin bass By Christopher Scapelliti published 2 February 24 The theft of Paul McCartney’s 1961 Höfner bass is a 50-year-old mystery that spans from Hawkwind to the Who. Here's how the Lost Bass project filled a gap in rock and roll history. "It’s always going to be random — it’s never going to sound the same. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not so great": Jazz guitarist Oz Noy on the spontaneity and experimentation of looping and "dancing on the pedals" By Bill Milkowski published 2 February 24 His new live album Triple Play is a laboratory of sonic experimentation. Oz Noy tells us how fusing modern effects with inspiration from legendary jazz and blues heroes became central to his process "Jimmy Herring peeked behind my amp and asked, 'What speakers are you using?'": Why the old hands are asking Daniel Donato for gear advice By Alan Paul published 2 February 24 Roots player Daniel Donato is celebrating the drop of new cross-genre album Reflector by hitting the road with his heroes “I Would Try to Get Different Sounds out of My Guitar”: Muriel Anderson Talks Interpretation, Inspiration and Dreaming About Guitars By Sue Foley published 3 August 23 A true musical adventurer, Muriel Anderson has played with Chet Atkins and Les Paul and continues to perform throughout the U.S. How Grand Funk Railroad Made Stadiums Their Own as They Shook a Generation with a Fierce Rock Sound By Joe Bosso last updated 28 September 22 Mark Farner looks back on the gear, songs, and stories behind the biggest American hard-rock band of the early 1970s. Lee Ritenour on Completing the Most Cathartic of Comebacks with His Breathtaking New Album, ’Dreamcatcher’ By Mark McStea last updated 13 September 22 First came the house fire. Then heart surgery. Now Ritenour bounces back with his first ever solo guitar record. Three Strap-Button Strategies to Change the Way You Play By Jimmy Leslie last updated 9 September 22 Buttonless like Cash? Treble-side? How you wear your guitar can make all the difference in how you play. 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 READ1All-star tribute to David Lindley, one of the greatest sidemen of all time, announced2“We all knew it was really good… The guitar playing is just amazing”: How Dickey Betts made “Ramblin’ Man”, triumphed over tragedy and led the Allman Brothers to their greatest success3Ritchie Blackmore on Steve Howe, Jimi Hendrix, classical influences and more4The Allman Brothers Band’s Dickey Betts has died at 805“Joe Walsh insisted that I buy it”: Jimmy Page on his “Number 1” 1959 Gibson Les Paul
"The Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Pennsylvania called me about a stack of leftover Brazilian rosewood that would have been a living tree in the 1700s": How Santa Cruz's Richard Hoover sources antique materials for his luxurious lutherie By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Santa Cruz captain Richard Hoover applied his ultimate artistic expression to his historic Vault Series that made its stunning debut at NAMM 2024 last week.
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 4 February 24 The stories behind six famous purloined axes.
“I used to fall asleep with it on my chest — it’s literally a one-of-a-kind, unreplaceable keepsake": Randy Bachman on the trauma of having his prized 1957 Gretsch 6120 stolen and the remarkable story of how he was reunited with it By Richard Bienstock published 3 February 24 Stolen 45 years ago, the tale of the Gretsch's global journey is now the focus of a new documentary.
"Do you know what happened to my lost bass, the one that got pinched?" How Paul McCartney's simple 2019 query over coffee in a studio led to a forensic hunt for the iconic Höfner 500/1 violin bass By Christopher Scapelliti published 2 February 24 The theft of Paul McCartney’s 1961 Höfner bass is a 50-year-old mystery that spans from Hawkwind to the Who. Here's how the Lost Bass project filled a gap in rock and roll history.
"It’s always going to be random — it’s never going to sound the same. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not so great": Jazz guitarist Oz Noy on the spontaneity and experimentation of looping and "dancing on the pedals" By Bill Milkowski published 2 February 24 His new live album Triple Play is a laboratory of sonic experimentation. Oz Noy tells us how fusing modern effects with inspiration from legendary jazz and blues heroes became central to his process
"Jimmy Herring peeked behind my amp and asked, 'What speakers are you using?'": Why the old hands are asking Daniel Donato for gear advice By Alan Paul published 2 February 24 Roots player Daniel Donato is celebrating the drop of new cross-genre album Reflector by hitting the road with his heroes
“I Would Try to Get Different Sounds out of My Guitar”: Muriel Anderson Talks Interpretation, Inspiration and Dreaming About Guitars By Sue Foley published 3 August 23 A true musical adventurer, Muriel Anderson has played with Chet Atkins and Les Paul and continues to perform throughout the U.S.
How Grand Funk Railroad Made Stadiums Their Own as They Shook a Generation with a Fierce Rock Sound By Joe Bosso last updated 28 September 22 Mark Farner looks back on the gear, songs, and stories behind the biggest American hard-rock band of the early 1970s.
Lee Ritenour on Completing the Most Cathartic of Comebacks with His Breathtaking New Album, ’Dreamcatcher’ By Mark McStea last updated 13 September 22 First came the house fire. Then heart surgery. Now Ritenour bounces back with his first ever solo guitar record.
Three Strap-Button Strategies to Change the Way You Play By Jimmy Leslie last updated 9 September 22 Buttonless like Cash? Treble-side? How you wear your guitar can make all the difference in how you play.