Crimson Guitars

David Mead hits the road again with a troubled Gibson SG in hand to see if he can learn enough about the luthier’s dark arts to restore it to life and optimum playability

Kickstarter

Brit builder Leigh Dovey is making waves with his PJD Guitars. Barely into his second year of production, a tie-up with a UK store means he’s a busy man

Jakko Jakszyk

It’s been 50 years since King Crimson released seminal album In The Court Of The Crimson King and so, as they prepare to blow out the candles on their celebratory cake, we enlist the services of Jakko Jakszyk to give a personal overview of the legendary band’s half century…

Blues Run The Game

Martin simpson is one of the finest fingerstyle guitarists working today. With a new album, Rooted, in the can, he explains why a chance encounter with a vintage Martin D-28 that belonged to american troubadour Jackson c Frank changed his musical life – and walks us through the vintage and custom guitars that keep inspiration flowing…

Alan Rogan 1951 – 2019

Whitesnake alumnus Bernie Marsden remembers a legendary guitar tech who worked with more major artists than almost any other and became an influential force in guitar in his own right

Woodstock Message To Love

By Turns Shambolic, Historic, Hallucinatory And Majestic, The Woodstock Festival Of August 1969 Marked Both The Pinnacle Of A Revolution In Music – And The Beginning Of Its Fall. It Also Gave Us Some Of The Greatest Moments Of Wild, Unfiltered Guitar Genius The World Has Ever Witnessed. Join Us As We Celebrate Its 50Th Anniversary And Uncover The Six-String Stories Behind The Festival’S Greatest Performances, From Hendrix To Ten Years After…

Pure Custom

Veteran Guitar Maker Chris George Is The Epitome Of The Solo Luthier, Crafting Both Electric And Acoustic Models To Your Taste. We Check Out His Latest Vision…

Seth Baccus Guitars

Last Issue, We Reviewed One Of Seth’S Nautilus Guitars And Were So Impressed We Decided It Was High Time We Headed Off To Cornwall To Meet The Man Himself…

The Other Guys

If You Can’T See Past The Teles And Strats In The Fender Catalogue, Check Out The Latest In The Offset Bloodline, With Their Vintage Looks And Modern Playability

Super Natural

Boutique Feel And Features At A Midmarket Price? We Find Out If Auden’S Poised And Polished Guitars Are Giant Slayers In The ‘Serious Acoustic’ Stakes

Special Relationship

Vox Adds A Limited-Edition Ac15 Featuring A Us Warehouse Loudspeaker To Its Roster. A Different Flavoured Classic? We Find Out…

Lloyd Cole

If Elvis Had Taken A Philosophy Degree, He Might Have Emerged Making Music Like Lloyd Cole’S. Underpinned By The Brash Voice Of His Telecaster, Cole Had A String Of Hits With The Commotions In The 80S And His Thoughtful Journey Into Songcraft Has Only Deepened Since Then. We Join Him To Talk About His New Album, Old Guitars And Lost Weekends

Dave Hill

Dave Hill Shot To Fame In The 70S With National Glam-Rock Treasures Slade As They Exploded In The Uk Charts With No Less Than 13 Top 10 Singles. He Acquired His First Guitar In 1959 At Age 13, And This Year Marks The 60Th Anniversary Of Dave Hill The Guitarist – A Man Who, While Touring With Slade To This Day, Is Still Very Much Feeling The Noize. We Caught Up With Dave On Home Turf In His Native Black Country To Reflect Upon The Glam, The Glitz And The Guitarz…

Good Enough For Jazz

With The Jazzmaster’S Underdog Image Rapidly Fading Into The Past, Guitarist Takes A Step Back In Time With Fender Historian Terry Foster, And Catches Up With Mike Long, Proprietor Of Vintage Specialists Atb Guitars In Cheltenham, To Touch On Its Future…

50 Years After

At 8.15Pm On Sunday 17 August 1969, Ten Years After Took To The Stage At Woodstock To Perform A Set That Would Change The Band’S Fortunes Forever And Propel Alvin Lee On To Guitar Superstardom. This Is The Story Of That Night And Of ‘Big Red’, The Iconic Es-335 That Alvin Bought In A Nottingham Music Shop For A Mere £45 (With Case)…

Call Of The Wild

Receiving rave reviews in the USA, Teye guitars are now becoming available in the UK. We listen to the howls of the Super Coyote.

Special Delivery

These very different takes on Gibson’s strippeddown Junior and Special ‘student’ guitars are still valid some 60 years after they were introduced

The Twang! Guitar Story

Steely Dan guitarist and session legend Elliot Randall fills in the gaps and brings us up to date in the concluding part of his epic saga that is his life in guitars

Julian Lage

The US jazz man on early heroes, leaps of faith and why his genre isn’t as elitist as you think…

Muscle Man

The second signature guitar from Knaggs aims to hit the pro-spec workingman’s single-cut spot

Crowd Pleasers

Conceived by YouTube star Rob Chapman with input from his online community, the new 2017 range boasts impressive modern spec at tidy prices

Neptune Rising

Supro goes big on size, 60s styling and vintage sounds with its latest combo release

Hone Your Tone - Feel The Blues

Getting nuanced, expressive blues tone is surprisingly difficult – here’s five ways to improve yours

Buyer's Guide - Gretsch White Falcon

Dan Orkin of Reverb.com gets out his binoculars for a bit of twitching, explaining what to look out for when seeking this spectacular bird of prey

Classic Gear - Gretsch White Falcon

Gretsch spared no expense with the launch of their flagship guitar…

Purrer

A stompbox that offers twin channels of boost and drive to make your amp purr like a contented cat

Neville's Advocate

Nev Marten reminisces about his early days of buying gear, joining bands and learning the ropes…

Session Diary - Styling & Profiling

With no time for the January Blues Adam Goldsmith got nerdy in the studio with his Kemper profiling amp

Maximum Overdrive

From volcanic lead tones to organic, expressive crunch, every guitarist needs a touch of overdrive from time to time. But how do you make sure your drive tone is warm as honey and twice as sweet – not tizzy as a bee imprisoned in a tin? We consulted three acknowledged experts on the subject of great overdriven tone to hear their seasoned advice on dishing the dirt…

Lifting The Veil

A dark-sounding Les Paul Standard has Mod squad chief Dave Burrluck considering some cost-effective tone changing choices