The Latest Breaking News from Guitar World

Chris Bird, MusicRadar Lessons Editor and former Total Guitar Editor has died, aged 48

Gifted guitar tutor rose through the editorial ranks

MusicRadar · May 29, 2025

“I had turned everything to 10, as there was no 11 back then. The engineers asked me to turn it down because it was too distorted”: How the then 18-year-old Steppenwolf guitarist recorded the solo that came to define the band's career

Michael Monarch recalls his start with The Sparrows – which eventually morphed into Steppenwolf – and how their signature song, Born to Be Wild, came to be

Guitar World · May 27, 2025

“I met my biological father as an adult through a DNA test. I was surprised to find that he’d been infatuated with the guitar his entire life as well”: From childhood abandonment to country stardom, here is the incredible story of Rockie Lynne

The late blooming country star discusses his custom guitar range, what musicians can learn from motorcycling, and how he wound up with a perfect copy of Peter Frampton’s rig

Guitar World · May 26, 2025

"The first thing I notice is a bit of surprise": A guitarist tries 9.5 gauge guitar strings for the first time with the new Ernie Ball Tim Henson signature set

Are these strings a sweet spot for players? Guitarist Pete Emery finds out with this long-term test

MusicRadar · May 22, 2025

“You’ve gotta be able to learn the songs by ear – especially with Cradle of Filth. The tabs online are terrible”: Cradle Of Filth’s Donny Burbage and Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda on their theatrical metal roles – and what modern players miss about Marshalls

The hands that rock the Cradle reveal the guitar tonesbehind their theatrical metal mayhem and find modern guitars are weak and false

Guitar World · May 21, 2025

“Geffen thought we were too young to write our own songs. Bob Dylan wrote a song, Bruce Springsteen had a song”: Ryan Hedgecock on Lone Justice's brief but fierce ’80s run – and how Tom Petty and Mike Campbell ended up penning a song on their debut

The promising young band were the subject of a flurry of publicity after they were signed to Geffen, but a behind-the-scenes mismatch in vision led to the outfit's premature demise

Guitar World · May 18, 2025

“Our guitars were so bad, we couldn’t make them work for us. Glenn came over to my apartment with six guitars, three under each arm, and threw them onto the futon”: Sonic Youth are now alternate tunings icons – but the band opted for them out of necessity

The noise-rock icon is famous for his love of weird tunings, but that fixation only happened with a little help from one of the NY art-rock scene’s biggest innovators

Guitar World · May 17, 2025

"We wrote a song based on a riff I had. The idea was to be Mahavishnu Orchestra with vocals": After Deep Purple decided not to hire him after Ritchie Blackmore's departure, Clem Clempson almost formed a wild supergroup with Glenn Hughes and David Bowie

The Colosseum and Humble Pie guitarist was in with a shot at joining the band –but says Tommy Bolin got the gig for one specific reason

Guitar World · May 16, 2025

“He was opening for Bobby Darin and the audience were going, ‘We want Duane! We want Duane!’ Poor Bobby was backstage, almost in tears. From there on, Duane finished the show”: Albert Lee, Joe Bonamassa and Vince Gill on the life and legacy of Duane Eddy

He was the most successful instrumentalist of the rock age. We went along to last month’s all-star Nashville tribute show to learn first-hand about the Titan of Twang – from those who were inspired by him and those who were there

Guitar World · May 15, 2025

“Al Di Meola was at one of the John Petrucci camps and he said, ‘Learn as much theory as you possibly can and then forget it!’” Progressive virtuoso Jason Richardson gives his take on the timeless ‘music theory versus ear training’ debate

Is music theory necessary to write guitar solos that stand the test of time? All That Remains' lead guitarist weighs in...

Guitar World · May 14, 2025