CATEGORIES

Built For Speed

Combining old-school curb appeal with modern performance, this silver dream machine from the kings of rockabilly offers that new-car smell for the price of an old banger

Shine On

This month Alex Bishop confronts every luthier’s most feared topic – the elusive art of guitar finishing

Playing Tribute

Larrivée’s new Tommy Emmanuel tribute guitar is already sending out shockwaves across the acoustic world. We speak to Tommy and Jean Larrivée to find out more

Custom Heritage

Yamaha’s custom shop is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We catch up with its founding father, Ken Dapron

Cracking The Nut

In the second of two pieces, Jamie Dickson speaks to luthier Seth Baccus about how a well-made nut contributes to tone and playability

A Man Of Many Parts

This month Adam Goldsmith embraces the advantages of remote sessions while celebrating his latest creation…

JOHN SMITH

John Smith is one of the UK’s brightest rising stars on the singer-songwriter stage, but the onset of lockdown meant cancelling his first American headline tour. You can’t tie a good man down, though, and his response was to release a new live album and take to the internet in order to promote it…

Revolution Rock

Martin’s vice president of product management, Fred Greene, explains some of the concepts and rationale behind the SC-13E, and admits that one aim of the design was to “upset the old guard”

No Limits

Martin’s big launch for 2020 is a very un-Martin-style ‘crossover’ guitar, strongly hinting at a desire to move forwards. A designer’s folly or the future?

Longtermers

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

JOHNNY A

He’s got taste and tone to die for, Gibson and Epiphone signature models to his name, and he’s played in the band that he grew up idolising. We join the mercurial Massachusetts guitar legend to talk gear, Yardbirds and the future...

HOME-GROWN TONE

Ever fancied building your own guitar but feel daunted by the options? Dave Burrluck, or rather Trev Wilkinson, has the answer with a new range of all-in-one kits. How hard can it be?

Zoia

This box of tricks could change the way you think about effects…

Michelangelo Overdrive Plus

The Italian maker presents a trio of voices for valve-style drive

GIBSON L-5

We take a look back at the history and evolution of Gibson’s seminal f-hole jazzbox, the L-5, with archtop historian Thomas Van Hoose and examine how this watershed design set a benchmark in guitar building

McCarty's Legacy

Always in the shadow of the Custom, the now 26-year-old McCarty was PRS’s first ‘vintage-aimed’ model. We take a look at this ever-evolving guitar in its 2020 guise

New Romantic

Eastman might be better known in recent years for its solidbody range, but this Romeo calls on the brand’s archtop heritage. Love at first sight?

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Innovation, artistry and elbow grease – how women luthiers are rewriting the rulebook

Mako D1 High-Fidelity Stereo Delay

A new range from Walrus kicks off with a compact but potent delay

Celebrate In Style

One of three special PRS models to commemorate the brand’s 35th anniversary, this S2 offers expanded sounds for half the price of the Core Custom

CORY WONG

If you haven’t experienced Cory Wong’s amazingly funky rhythm style with the bands Vulfpeck and The Fearless Flyers, we’d invite you to check out the video Introducing The Fearless Flyers on YouTube before reading any further. It’s okay, we’ll wait…

A DESIGN FOR LIFE

When the first Paul Reed Smith guitar found its way into the Guitarist office many, many years ago we knew we were looking at something really special. Suddenly, there was a new kid on the block and, boy, could he make guitars… Coming back up to date and that passion for design and sonic excellence continues apace as the brand celebrates its 35th anniversary…

Thrill Seeker

The latest amp from legendary British amp builder Dennis Cornell packs quite a punch in a small package. Your journey into the analogue zone starts here…

Slim Pickin'

Two contrasting models from Takamine’s new Thinline range tell tales of superb player comfort and excellent onstage performance. Let’s see how they measure up…

RICHARD SMITH

We caught up with the nylon-string maestro during one of his all-too-rare visits to the UK for a lively conversation about all things acoustic and a very special video masterclass…

Roaring Forties

One of the oldest ‘classic’ pickup designs makes a return to the Guild range. But is everything quite what it seems?

Lose Your Illusion

Hot on the heels of its reimagined ’59 and ’60 Les Paul reissues come four new LP models built to the specs of the Guns N’ Roses legend

ED WYNNE

We touch down on planet Earth with the captain of Ozric Tentacles’ space rock craft, Ed Wynne, following the release of his debut solo album, last year’s Shimmer Into Nature

Mods & Rockers

The Stray Cat struts in once again with a litter of killer new signature guitars to sink your claws into. Just don’t expect them to bat like 50s throwbacks...

GIBSON ES-330s

We take an in-depth look at the background development and evolution of Gibson’s ES-330 models with George Gruhn, co-author of vintage guitar bible Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars and proprietor of Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee…