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The Latest Breaking News from Nuno Bettencourt

“You could write your own Stairway to Heaven on an instrument like this”: The hottest guitar gear launches of 2024 – from Wolfgang Van Halen’s long-awaited semi-hollow signature to UAFX’s Dumble-in-a-pedal

There was an onslaught of new guitar products released over the past 12 months. Here are the ones that had us all talking (and checking our bank balance)

Guitar World

“You could describe it as an early ‘boutique’ pedal company… but its products were made in a damp, rat-infested basement”: Loved by Nuno Bettencourt, Jeff Beck and Kurt Cobain, the ProCo Rat graduated from dank basements to the world’s biggest albums

How the Rat changed the world of distortion for guitarists of all stripes, from hard rockers and metalheads to jazz cats, too

Guitar World

“Somebody in a trailer park was selling the body – at least it wasn’t a real body”: Nuno Bettencourt explains how his custom Washburn N4 was once stolen from a storage lock-up – and met a grizzly end

Bettencourt's OG Padauk N4 featured two distinct dark stripes embedded into the wood, which became crucial in its eventual discovery

Guitar World

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“He turns back to where all the guitars are and the double-neck is gone, stolen from the stage while the lights are down”: Nuno Bettencourt’s custom Washburn N-8 double-neck was stolen from an arena stage – but made a remarkable return

While in the middle of an Extreme tour, Bettencourt found himself without his prized custom Washburn guitar, with suspicion falling on his crew

Guitar World

“I felt some responsibility to keep guitar playing alive”: Nuno Bettencourt once vowed to keep Eddie Van Halen’s guitar fire burning – now he’s using his custom Washburn ‘Bumblebee’ to cover Van Halen with Extreme

The virtuoso has tackled Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love and Mean Street over the past few weeks, with a little help from his custom-made 'Bumblebee' replica

Guitar World

“When Rihanna's team reached out to me, I said, ‘Why would you want to use me? Like, I do what I do’”: Nuno Bettencourt explains why he accepted the role of Rihanna's go-to guitarist

The Extreme guitarist has also detailed why he won't sacrifice his tone to land a gig with a huge artist

Guitar World

“Spark 2 is like taking Madison Square Garden wherever you go”: Positive Grid is launching its groundbreaking Spark 2 desktop amp with a live premiere event featuring Nuno Bettencourt and Periphery's Jake Bowen – watch now

Hosted by Guitar World's own Paul Riario, the star-studded event will give viewers an early look and listen to the already-lauded amp

Guitar World

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“A relentless speed and accuracy rarely heard before on the electric guitar”: Al Di Meola’s peerless alternate-picking style changed the landscape of guitar playing – just ask John Petrucci and Nuno Bettencourt

The fusion master influenced a generation of players, and this lesson will show you why – and make you a cleaner, more accurate player in the process

Guitar World

"Everybody’s worried and everybody’s scared... I love it, man. I’m, like, bring it on": Nuno Bettencourt on why he’s not afraid of AI, as Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess says it "made me a better player"

Nuno Bettencourt and Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess on the challenges of AI

MusicRadar

“I realized that day that you don't perform for people. You don't prove anything to the audience”: Nuno Bettencourt on how Alice in Chains' Layne Staley radically changed the way he plays guitar on stage

Nuno Bettencourt criticizes music fans who think playing on stage is “like scoring points. Like, how was the performance from one to 10”

Guitar World

“I'm really dumb for doing this, but here goes nothing!” Nuno Bettencourt swapped his Washburn N4 for a Les Paul copy to shred onstage with Stone Temple Pilots – and still sounded exactly like Nuno Bettencourt

The Extreme guitarist was spotted playing a Nelson LP copy as he shared the stage with “one of the greatest rock bands of all time”

Guitar World

The best new rock songs you need to hear right now, including Mike Campbell, Orange Goblin, Battlesnake and more

Eight songs to rock you baby like a wagon wheel

Louder

“Playing at the Super Bowl is the easy part. It’s the musical director responsibilities leading up that’s stressful”: Adam Blackstone heads up the biggest gigs on the planet – now with a 5-string Jackson bass named after his grandmother

The Emmy and Grammy winner has led the musical charge for everyone from Rihanna to Eminem and Justin Timberlake. He explains why he went for Jackson over Fender for his signature bass, what makes five strings essential to his style, and how he leads the band while laying down the…

Guitar World

"When we were recording it I thought it would get bigger with strings and drums. It was really tempting, trust me. But I think that was probably the best decision I ever made": Nuno Bettencourt on the story of Extreme's More Than Words

"It’s one of those songs that people don’t get too tired of. Maybe the simplicity of it kept it tolerable"

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Guitar World

“That was my favorite Eddie guitar. It was always the most magical one”: Nuno Bettencourt has had a custom ‘Bumblebee’ Washburn N4 made as a tribute to Eddie Van Halen

The replica will see action during Extreme's tour, and is reportedly set to feature in an upcoming music video

Guitar World

”A jaw-droppingly Shredrageous performance”: Joe Satriani, Richie Kotzen and Nuno Bettencourt showcase their most outrageous licks for a standout rendition of Jeff Beck favorite, Going Down

The three virtuosos were onboard this year's Monsters of Rock Cruise, which played host to the all-star jam

Guitar World

“Once they started doing paint on my guitars, I hated the way they sounded”: Nuno Bettencourt explains why he has always preferred his Washburn N4 guitars to be unfinished

It turns out the decision to leave each N4 model unpainted is more than just a cosmetic choice...

Guitar World

“The Rise solo was anointed by whatever DNA I grabbed from Edward that day. Whatever kiss he gave me on the lips, I went back into the studio and brought it with me”: Nuno Bettencourt unpicks the guitar solo that kept Van Halen’s fire burning

In his “most detailed analysis yet”, Bettencourt shares the story behind the most incendiary guitar solo of 2023, and explains why, these days, he’s “more excited about the accidents” than perfect takes

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Louder

"I owe him an apology. I'd like to sit down with him and have a beer": Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt on upsetting a member of Guns N' Roses and the guitar solo that broke the internet

In 2023, Extreme released their first new album in 15 years, Six. Guitarist Nino Bettencourt also found time to play at the Super Bowl with Rihanna and bust his knee playing basketball

Guitar World

Game-changers, taste-makers and trend-setters: here are 2023's guitarists of the year

We tip our hats to the players that made 2023 such a defining year in guitar history – and whose achievements we'll be talking about in years to come

Guitar World

News of the (guitar) world: the biggest, baddest, weirdest and saddest guitar news of 2023

We track the year’s biggest six-string stories – from landmark gear developments to devastating departures and 2023’s most headline-grabbing players

Guitar World

Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: The best of 2023!

Also in issue 379! Interviews: Kirk Hammett, Nuno Bettencourt, Cory Wong, Yvette Young, Nita Strauss and more. Reviews: New gear from Epiphone, Fender, Guild, Jackson and more. Learn songs by Led Zeppelin, Phoebe Bridgers and Blink-182

Guitar World

“At its best, the solo can tell a story, give us a sense of spectacle, and even offer a window into a player’s soul”: These are the best guitar solos of 2023

Guitar World staff and readers choose the outstanding lead efforts of the year – including “this decades's Eruption”

Guitar World

“I hate to say it, but non-musicians – who are the majority of the listening world – are not going to remember guitar solos”: Kirk Hammett says it doesn’t matter how good or flashy a solo is – most people are going to forget them anyway

According to the Metallica maestro, the average music listener doesn't share a guitar player's enthusiasm for a ripping solo

Louder

“I’m going for blood. I want to bring guitar back in a joyful, exciting way”: Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt on the guitar solo that caused the internet to lose its mind in 2023

Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt delivered on the monumental solo from his band’s comeback single Rise

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