“For James Hetfield fans, this guitar is a no-brainer”: Epiphone Explorer 80s EMG review Epiphone's latest Explorer delivers the ultimate unofficial tribute for Metallica fans Guitar World · Jan 27
The best new guitar gear of NAMM 2026: More effects, more amps, more guitars and more tech than ever MusicRadar's Rob Laing carried the weight of the guitar world on his shoulders as he single-handedly took on the NAMM Show 2026... and survived to tell the tale MusicRadar · Jan 27
A Hetfield-esque white 80s Explorer with EMGs, long-tenon necks and rosewood fingerboards for all: Epiphone revamps core lineup with the Inspired By Gibson series NAMM 2026: Laurel is out, rosewood is in for all but entry-level models, as upgrades come across the board MusicRadar · Jan 27
“Takes the most iconic Gibson body shapes and remixes them with modern, professional-grade features”: Epiphone looks to the future with its hot-rodded Futura guitars, as stainless steel frets make their Epiphone debut, and long-awaited signatures arrive Gibson's budget-friendly sister company is bringing bigger and better specs to lower price ranges for the first time Guitar World · Jan 23
“We want to tell the handcrafted element of this; blood, sweat, and tears have gone into these guitars”: Gibson gives us a sneak preview of its 2026 guitars – including long-awaited signature models for two guitar legends From ‘50s and ‘60s-inspired reissues to signature models for Mick Ronson, Michael Schenker, and Gary Clark Jr., it promises to be a big year for the historic firm Guitar World · Jan 23
“Is this the next ‘Moderne’? Time will tell”: Gibson had a secret offset prototype hidden in its private room at NAMM 2026 – meet the Atomic Age We sat down with the unlikely retro-futuristic concept guitar and brand-new body shape Guitar World · Jan 23
“Everybody can play it... Just bring your own energy”: Fatoumata Diawara’s signature SG wears her Malian roots proudly on its horns NAMM 2026: Push/pull coil splitting and phase shifting for the genre-breaking fusion fun MusicRadar · Jan 22
“This guitar carries my Malian roots and my voice”: Fatoumata Diawara makes history with her new Epiphone signature guitar The visually striking signature SG is Diawara through and through, with nods to Epiphone’s Muse SG, push/pull coil-splitting for genre-blending tonal versatility, and a body graphic uniquely inspired by her heritage Guitar World · Jan 21
“They played a lot of fast drop D, but they also played a lot of harmony power chords. You can hear a lot of that in our early music”: Kevin Jonas on his love for the Dove, and why you’ll almost always find the Jonas Brothers in DADGAD It turns out Kevin Jonas – yes, the Kevin Jonas of pop superstars the Jonas Brothers – lives and breathes guitar, and it all started with a ‘teach yourself guitar’ book and a cheapo red electric Guitar World · Jan 20
“Does this young lady get it or what?” Joe Bonamassa and Slash team up for blues classics in New York – but did their young special guests steal the show? The two guitar greats played a host of blues classics for charity, but two next-gen stars have made startling impressions Guitar World · Jan 19
“It might just be the coolest offset guitar ever. And it’s finally back”: All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including some huge early NAMM releases It is the week before NAMM, and the gear drops are coming in thick and fast. This week, we have "the ultimate modern headless guitar", a recreation of Keith Richards' go-to six-string, John Mayer's new-favorite Silver Sky finish and more Guitar World · Jan 17
“All I can tell you is what my father said to me: ‘Someone stole my guitar off the stage.’ Those were his exact words... he couldn’t find another guitar just like it”: T-Bone Walker and the guitar that gave birth to electric blues The author of the newly released Electric Blues! T-Bone Walker & TheGuitar That Started It All, Tony Bacon, joins us to spotlight T-Bone’s personal contribution to the creation of this game-changing style Guitar World · Jan 15
“The guitar wasn't always user-friendly, and the old-school lights often became red hot, leading to burns”: The Smoker, the Rocket-Shooting Les Paul… The one with, like, a million lights – here are Ace Frehley’s 5 most iconic Kiss guitars Because to be Spaceman in Kiss, a plain old blackguard Tele ain't gonna cut it Guitar World · Jan 14
“Is there a more iconic guitar player on Earth? For more than six decades, the ‘Human Riff’ has been the heartbeat of The Rolling Stones”: Gibson launches jaw-dropping Keith Richards Collector’s Edition 1960 ES-355, signed by the man himself NAMM 2026: A meticulous replica of one of the most famous (and coolest) ES-355s of all time MusicRadar · Jan 13
Guitar World · Jan 13 “A love letter to one of the coolest guitars on the planet”: Gibson pays tribute to Keith Richards’ 1960 ES-355 with 2 Collector’s Edition models – painstaking replicas of his main six-string The guitar was used on Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St., and has played a staring role across countless Stones tours across the years
Guitar World · Jan 13 “Some Squier guitars have more flash, panache and personality than many standard Fender guitars”: Why the stigma of budget electric guitars has disappeared over the past 25 years As Squier and Epiphone have upped the quality, expanding their range, so too have the likes of PRS, ESP, Jackson and more, narrowing the gap between beginner and “serious” instrument
Guitar World · Jan 12 The Gibson SG Standard has been played by Angus Young, Robby Krieger, Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa, George Harrison... and the list goes on – but is it still underrated? Raising the bar for upper-fret access, the SG is the solidbody electric that took the world by storm, but doesn't get the respect it deserves
Guitar World · Jan 10 “Back then people would come with some great old Gibson that had been under the bed”: Lenny Kravitz used to buy guitars from fans in parking lots at his shows – here’s why he’s stopped It was the strangest thing. Kravitz would be getting ready to get back on the bus and he'd make the gear purchase of his life – a vintage grail at a good price... Those days are gone
MusicRadar · Jan 9 “The first time I played it, I had such a connection with it. I thought, ‘This is it. This is the one’”: On his 26th birthday in 1970, Jimmy Page played his beloved Les Paul Custom ‘Black Beauty’ at the climax of a legendary Led Zeppelin show And soon after, that famous guitar vanished
MusicRadar · Jan 8 "Where this guitar truly shines is under the fingers of a blues or folk picker": Epiphone Blues King Studio review Epiphone takes a swing at a regal pint-sized parlour, but unfortunately, there are some QC issues
Guitar World · Jan 3 “When I took it down for him to try out, he said, ‘I really don’t need any more of these’”: How a skeptical Slash ended up with one of the best ’50s Goldtops Gibson has ever found Gibson's Certified Vintage Program manager, Mitch Conrad, discusses what it takes to unearth a musical gem – and how he convinced Slash to purchase one more Les Paul...
Guitar World · Jan 2 “I showed up on the first day of shooting, saying, ‘This is a guitar I bought at Guitar Center. I want to use my guitar in the movie’”: Jack Black reveals he still owns the Gibson SG that characterized School of Rock The off-the-shelf guitar became a piece of cinematic history in 2003 when it was featured in the once-in-a-generation movie
Guitar World · Jan 2 “A Tube Screamer is a Tube Screamer. It’s one of the great cons of the guitar industry. They got these dirt boxes right the first time!” Why Jared James Nichols stopped obsessing over gear – and honed in on his playing instead Freedom, says Nichols, is the knowledge you can pick up anyone's guitar and sound like you, and now the Nashville-based Les Paul wrangler is finding that freedom in songwriting
Guitar World · Jan 1 “I was broke. I only had $200 and we booked a gig. There was this guitar at a pawn shop that had been there for years...” How George Thorogood stumbled across the Gibson that became his go-to guitar – a week before his first gig with the Destroyers Thorogood recounts how he originally opted for a now-discontinued hollowbody – with a little inspiration from the Beatles and Keith Richards
Guitar World · Dec 31, 2025 “I learned to play everything on it. We wrote our first song as Jonas Brother on that guitar”: In the mid-2000s, the Jonas Brothers exploded onto the scene as a guitar-slinging band for teens – Kevin Jonas looks back on the guitar that started it all Nowadays, Jonas has a penchant for Gibsons, but he hasn't forgotten the humble Japanese build that kickstarted his career