CATEGORIES

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

Neville Marten recalls how playing thousands of good and bad instruments has gained him a degree from the guitar university of life’

4 mins |

Under Pressure

This issue, Alex Bishop deals with the twin troubles of tension and playability that you may encounter when building a guitar

ALTER BRIDGE

Guitar duo Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti discuss their new album, custom guitars, the art of crafting long songs, and why you really, really don't want tinnitus...

Albums

The month's best guitar music a hand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax

4 mins |

THERE'S A STORM A'COMING

Rising prices are everywhere, including on our cherished guitars. VWWe discuss the background to the ongoing price hikes with the head of PRS Europe, Gavin Mortimer

MAINSTREAM ELECTRICS

Irresistible builds from both sides of the pond

CHARLIE BURCHILL

He's the Glasgow guitar maverick who broke into the 80s stadium league with Simple Minds. Now, as the band return with 18th album, Direction Of The Heart, Charlie Burchill tells us about pushing the envelope, falling for the White Falcon, commandeering The Edge's rig, and why you won't catch him playing powerchords

8 mins |

SUPER 'NAUT

If you can't make the world’s most influential acoustic guitar better, you can always make it bigger, explain Scott Sasser and Tim Teel of Martin

And Custom For All

Fender's Mod Shop offers buyers the chance to custom-build a new guitar andit’s cheaper than going the Custom Shop route. Our editors try it out

AMPS

Portable power with vintage tone, modern features or both you're spoilt for choice

Team Player

Chapman is the latest brand to take advantage of York-based UK Guitar Builders’ manufacturing facility to produce its new flagship model. We plug in the first batch

Voice Leading

Richard Barrett shares some useful gradual transitions between chords around the fretboard

GEAR YEAR OF THE

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN WE PRESENT OUR PICK OF 2022’S MOST OUTSTANDING GEAR

BLACKSTAR ST JAMES EL34 1x12 COMBO

In recent years we've seen many guitar amplification designs leveraging Class D technology to produce lots of watts from unfeasibly small packages.

THE ACOUSTIC PARADOX

Are there times when a top-ofthe-range acoustic guitar is just foo good to use for the job in hand?

Sound Shapers

Zilla Cabs’ Paul Gough demystifies the humble baffle, and explores how different types can affect your combo’s sound

One For Your Money

Following last year’s release of the award-winning Dept. 10 valve pedals, Blackstar’s multi-function, paperback-sized new tone machine has arrived to cover any need

the Wishlist Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for...

PRS Robben Ford Limited Edition McCarty £4,995

Gimme Five

Walrus Audio adds to its Five-State range of overdrive and distortion effects with this quintet of fuzzes in one box

Fretbuzz

A monthly look at must-hear artists from all corners of the guitar world,from the roots of their sound to the tracks that matter most

PRESTIGE ELECTRICS

The flawless electrics that reside at the peak of guitar design in 2022

TAYLOR 724CE KOA

Taylor’s commitment to a more ecological approach regarding the use of timbers in its guitars is exemplified in its new koa-bodied 700 Series.

UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAFX RUBY '63 TOP BOOST AMPLIFIER

Universal Audio has been on a stompbox roll recently. Following a trio of effects last year, the company has condensed the sound and features of three classic amps into three stompboxes.

Clarity Redefined

Premium-quality USB audio interfaces designed for producers, engineers and artists.

Benny Andersson – "We learned from The Beatles"

And now to meet the man behind those 40 (plus one) amazing songs... Along with Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA's chief melodist, Benny Andersson, comprises what is finally - after years of being dismissed as pop lightweights - regarded as one of the great songwriting partnerships, up there with Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards, Holland-Dozier-Holland and Wilson-Love. And with the Voyage album, their first for 39 years, and the ABBA Voyage concert spectacular featuring virtual avatars going on 'til well into 2023, ABBA are poised at last to be hailed as true immortals. But what was it like to make their first ABBA music since 1982? How have they managed to pick up after so lon-----g? "It was like it had been three weeks, not 40 years," Andersson tells Pete Paphides in this rare interview.

ABBA – The History Book on the Shelf

For years, music fans have debated about which are the finest songs ever by the likes of The Beatles, the Stones, Bowie, Springsteen, and Kate Bush - those artists widely regarded as all-time greats. But how about ABBA? Surely, postMamma Mia! the movie and musical and decades of mainstream adoration, they have earned their place in the pantheon and their catalogue merits serious evaluation. Pete Paphides believes so and, in this ABBA Special, picks their 40 (plus one) Best Songs. Then, on page 100, RC enjoy a rare encounter with one half of the group's peerless songwriting partnership...

Skid Row – The Crazy Gang

New Jersey’s Skid Row have 36 years on the clock and a clutch of platinum records on the wall, but far from resting on the laurels of their peak successes back in the early 90s, they’re now back on ebullient form with their first album in 16 years, The Gang’s All Here. With a new frontman and a bright future, the band feel they’ve got a new lease of life. “How lucky are we?” founder member Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo and vocalist Erik Grönwall ask John Tucker.

All in the family

The inspiration for David Cassidy et al, The Cowsills are the pop family that stayed together: 57 years after their recorded debut, they are making some of the best music of their lives their first new album in 30 years, Rhythm Of The World, was released last month. Bill Kopp talks to Bob, Paul and Susan Cowsill about the rain, the park, the fun, the horror - including an abusive father - and other things.

Johnnie Taylor – Smooth Operator

Although his biggest hit came after he left the label, Johnnie Taylor was one of the bestselling - and most consistently brilliant artists to record for the legendary Stax. He remains a sorely underrated soul artist, a "seducer-showman" suffused with polish and grit, regarded by some as the missing link between Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye. Jack Watkins sings his praises.