The Art Of Ageing

When a vintage instrument is out of financial reach, or simply too precious to leave its case, the new-old guitar answers the call. Guitar expert and author Tony Bacon traces the history of artificial ageing to today’s relics from big names and independent makers

Hot Fuzz

Victory takes on USA boutique tone with a world-class EL84-powered head that’s compact and ready to take on any gig

GREG KOCH

Those of you who were lucky enough to see Greg on his recent UK tour will already be aware of his formidable six-string wizardry. For the rest of you, our exclusive video lesson should be proof enough of the man’s supernatural abilities…

ZILLA CABS

Look around any pro studio or stage set these days and you’re likely to spot a Zilla speaker cab. We tracked down the company founder, Paul Gough, to talk about the art of matching the right cab, speakers and finish to his customers’ varying musical needs…

The Build - Martin Mahogany Dreadnought Kit - Part 2

In part two of his quest to build a classic Martin acoustic, editor Jamie has a bracing experience – and gets thoroughly trussed up

The Gary Moore Collection

As a new auction brings a host of Gary Moore’s gear within reach of collectors on a more modest budget, we join Graham Lilley – Gary’s long-time friend and tech – for a trip down memory lane and a closer look at some of the kit going under the hammer

Mission Impossible

A half-century after the album’s original release, Dweezil Zappa’s forthcoming tour aims to recreate his late father’s mind-boggling Hot Rats in forensic detail. He told us about the ultimate labour of love, recreating stolen instruments and walking in a dead man’s shoes…

Royal Rumble

Gibson’s head of Product Development, Mat Koehler, and Fender historian Terry Foster explain how the two industry titans battled it out over the electric bass in the early days – and changed the course of popular music in the process…

Own Your Tone

Great tone is about sound, isn’t it? Or is it about how your gear responds to your touch? Actually, it’s both. In this month’s cover feature, we explain how to unlock the full potential of your gear by tailoring it like a Savile Row suit to your style of playing

J Mascis

WITH HIS ACOUSTIC SOLO ALBUM, ‘ELASTIC DAYS’, IN THE BAG, WE CATCH UP WITH THE DINOSAUR JR FRONTMAN ONBOARD BRISTOL’S THEKLA TO TALK GOLDEN ERA GIBSONS, VINTAGE MARTINS AND FUZZED OUT FENDERS…

The Doors: The Soft Parade

Jim Morrison was disintegrating, the studio bills were out of control and guitarist Robby Krieger hated the band’s new string-laden sound. But from the wreckage of The Soft Parade sessions came an album that lit The Doors’ fire once again…

Sound Shaper

A new audio interface featuring a valve preamp and cab simulations specifically aimed at guitarists

True Blues

Blues is the first language of rock ’n’ roll. But a century on from its first golden era in the 1920s, is it still possible to play blues guitar that’s distinctive, powerful and original? We joined some of the world’s finest exponents of 21st century blues to hear their advice on how to play the music with authenticity and flair – on your own terms – on the modern stage

Mary Spender

She’s one of the most dynamic, expressive young British singer-songwriters working today – and also just happens to have an army of fans for her YouTube musings on guitar culture. We find out how Mary crafts her sound and hear her advice on making it big online

Gibson Super 400CES

We take a close look at a stunning collection of Super 400CES electric archtops from Gibson’s golden era and trace the evolution of these superlative guitars with jazzbox expert and author Dr Thomas A Van Hoos

TV Tones

In the last two instalments of Mod Squad we’ve installed new active and plug-in passive humbuckers. In this issue, Dave Burrluck is looking for a different voice…

Vince Gill

Bluegrass maestro and parttime Eagle reflects on his love for the Ryman Auditorium and how golf has kept him sane…

Raising The Tone - Stringing Along

In the first of a series on strings and their influence on tone, editor Jamie meets blues-rock heavyweight Philip sayce

The Mexican Connection

American instruments with a Mexican twist: the story of Fender’s journey from Fullerton, California to Baja California

True Colours

A pair of acoustic guitars at contrasting price points from a builder based in the Czech Republic – how will they fare in today’s highly competitive marketplace?

Pickup Lines - Custom P-90s

In the third part of our focus on P-90s, we meet with Lindy Fralin to find out how his classic pickup design can be tweaked to meet the needs of today’s discerning guitarist

Out Of This World

This new design from Supro – with collaborative input from Keeley Electronics and amp legend Bruce Zinky – could well end your quest for the perfect tone

No Solder

It’s 50 years since man landed on the moon, but when it comes to the electrics in your guitar,we’re still in the dark ages, reckons Dave burrluck

Long Termers

A few months’ gigging, recording and everything that goes with it – welcome to Guitarist ’s longterm test report

The Mexican Connection

American instruments with a Mexican twist: the story of Fender’s journey from Fullerton, California to Baja California

The Hit Parade

The latest in Fender’s ongoing makeovers sees the morphing of the popular Mexican-made Classic and Classic Player guitars into the new decade-specific Vintera series. New name aside, has anything actually changed? We investigate…

Session Diary Happy Together

As the pace slows down a little, Adam spends quality time with his latest go-to guitar

Neville's AdvocAte

This month Nev confesses to buying another strat while trying to convince himself of the many valid reasons to do so

Martin Style 18

From mid-19th-century parlours to MTV, we retrace the history of Martin’s all-American 18-series flat-tops with CF Martin & Co’s museum and archives specialist, Jason Ahner

Larkin Poe

With ecstatic slide guitar and gutsy, juke-joint riffs, sisters Megan and Rebecca Lovell have distilled their own brand of musical moonshine from the tangled roots of American blues – and it’s potent stuff. We joined them on tour to talk Dobros, Deluxes and laying waste to convention…