The Latest Breaking News from Guitar Player

Celebrated jazz guitarist George Freeman, best known for his work with Charlie Parker and Gene Ammons, has died aged 97

Freeman was a staple of Chicago's jazz music scene – and played with contemporaries including Gene Ammons and Groove Holmes

Guitar World · Apr 11, 2025

Was this teenage prodigy the world’s first electric guitar player?

The instrument that defined rock had to start somewhere - and all evidence points towards George Barnes

MusicRadar · Mar 22, 2025

“A lot of old-school guitar players can play amazing. But sometimes they’re not so innovative with the actual sound”: Steven Wilson on why guitarists need to switch up their tones to prevent their solos sounding stale

Alongside guitarist Randy McStine, the musical polymath took a tone-first approach to composing – and playing – solos on his new album, The Overview

Guitar World · Mar 21, 2025

“Guitar World was putting together this CD... I thought, ‘Guitar players are gonna try to play the most mind-blowing shredding’… So I did an acoustic piece in DADGAD”: The Cars' Elliot Easton considers this lost gem to be one of his best performances

Walk On Walden stood out in comparison to Easton's previous work with the Cars, and especially in the context of the compilation in question. Not that this was an accident

Guitar World · Feb 16, 2025

“It was very simplistic compared to my later compositions”: It may have been inspired by the Kinks, but Al Di Meola's Race with Devil on Spanish Highway is one of the great virtuoso displays in guitar history. Watch the maestro play it with Steve Vai

This intimate rehearsal clip shows the fretwork of both guitar legends up-close

Guitar World · Jan 17, 2025

“When we were little kids our dad would say, ‘Get your guitars and play for our guests.’ Someone would always say, ‘Maybe someday you can make a record together’”: Jimmie Vaughan on the only album he and Stevie Ray Vaughan ever made together

In 1990, the Vaughan brothers linked up in the studio to record Family Style, which was released weeks after SRV died

Guitar World · Dec 17, 2024

“It was just the best amp that I’d ever had in my collection. And it was so roadworthy. It did all those Led Zeppelin tours, and all the recordings”: Jimmy Page reveals his favorite amp, which did “flippin’ everything” throughout his career

Page’s affinity for his modded Marshall head stood the test of time – so much so that his boutique Sundragon amps are inspired by its unique tone

Guitar World · Oct 28, 2024

“When Guitar Player made its debut in 1967, it marked a new era for guitar”: Guitar Player magazine to cease print publication

The world's oldest continuously published magazine devoted to guitarists, guitar gear, and instruction, Guitar Player was instrumental to the careers of Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, and Yngwie Malmsteen, to name just a few examples

Guitar World · Oct 9, 2024

“Grunge? I don’t know too many things where people are praised for having less skill”: The blazing story of Shrapnel Records, the 80s label that gave shred to the world

How guitar shredders Yngwie Malmsteen, Racer X, Cacophony and Richie Kotzen turned Shrapnel Records into the fastest label of the 80s

Louder · Aug 31, 2024

“As a player, I like to get down on my knees, turn delay knobs and make a bunch of noise. That does not work for Guns N’ Roses”: Dave Navarro on the time he turned down joining Guns N’ Roses

After Jane's Addiction split in the early 1990s, Navarro's six-string services were on the market. At the same time, GNR were also looking for a replacement for the outgoing Izzy Stradlin

Guitar World · Aug 27, 2024