January 2024

Guitar World

Guitar lessons, interviews, product reviews and more!

Guitar World1 min read
Guitar World
EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Damian Fanelli(damian.fanelli@futurenet.com)SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jimmy BrownTECH EDITOR Paul RiarioASSOCIATE EDITORS Andy Aledort, Chris GillPRODUCTION EDITOR Jem RobertsMUSIC TRANSCRIPTIONIST AND ENGRAVER Jeff PerrinCONTRIBU
Guitar World2 min read
Sounding Board
STAY CONNECTED WITH GUITAR WORLD ON AND GET THE LATEST GUITAR NEWS, INSIDER UPDATES, STAFF REPORTS AND MORE! Thank you for a great issue [December 2023]. It was the best issue with the best articles and interviews that I’ve seen and read in a very l
Guitar World2 min read
DEFENDERS Of The Faith
AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: Ravenna, MI GUITARS: Hollowflake Squier Showmaster, Jackson Rhoads RRX24, Takamine G Series Acoustic/Electric, Ibanez Gio bass SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Black Sabbath “Sweet Leaf,” Slayer “Show No Mercy,” Pantera “Cowboys from Hell,”
Guitar World1 min read
My Pedalboard Evan Stanley
WHAT THE AMBER WILD GUITARIST SEES WHEN HE LOOKS DOWN D’ADDARIO TUNER [CT-20 CHROMATIC] “It’s a simple tuner that I grabbed at Guitar Center. I chose it because it’s what they had in stock!” WAY HUGE ORANGER [OP-AMP FUZZ] “The best fuzz I’ve he
Guitar World4 min read
Flaming Youth
CONSIDERING THAT EVAN Stanley grew up watching his dad, Paul Stanley, play guitar in Kiss, most people would assume he’s a dyed-in-the-wool disciple of the Hottest Band in the Land. Sure, his dad’s exploits influenced him, but there’s more to Evan St
Guitar World2 min read
5 Five Questions Girlschool
IT’S BEEN A long time since U.K. rockers Girlschool broke the mold to become the first British all-female metal band to hit the big time — 45 years, in fact, as reflected in the title of their powerhouse new album, WTFortyfive. Founding member and si
Guitar World2 min read
Ariel Posen
ARIEL POSEN BELIEVES in a unified field theory of music. “Playing the guitar is not what I do, it’s just a part of me,” he says. “And I think my playing — and singing and writing — represents me as a person very well. I’m an understated guy. I try no
Guitar World6 min read
LOST CLASSICS: Buzzcocks
ALTHOUGH THE U.K. punk explosion of 1976 was initially a very Londoncentric phenomenon, Buzzcocks — from Manchester in the north of England — were actually one of the very first bands to release a single, “Spiral Scratch,” on their own New Hormones l
Guitar World5 min read
The ’Klok Strikes IV
IN THE UNLIKELY event that two of the world’s greatest fictional bands — the extreme heavy metal outfit Dethklok and the hip-hop virtual group Gorillaz — should ever mix it up in a parking lot brawl, Dethklok’s main man Brendon Small is confident tha
Guitar World6 min read
Welcome To The Club
THERE WAS Atime at the dawn of the alternative rock explosion when Scottish quartet Teenage Fanclub seemed destined for rock stardom. They toured with Nirvana, performed on Saturday Night Live, and Spin rated Bandwagonesque as the best album of 1991,
Guitar World1 min read
My Pedalboard Laur Joamets
“I USED TO travel with a couple of pedalboards, and I’d switch when I’d go from my band, Lore, to Drivin’ & Cryin’. Then I had this epiphany that since I already had a board I was comfortable with that I’d been using with Drivin’ & Cryin’, I’d simpli
Guitar World2 min read
Fairfield Guitar Co.
ARTIST SIGNATURE GUITARS, amps and pedals designed in collaboration with guitarists are common these days. However, Fairfield Guitar Co. (fairfieldguitarco.com) might be the only company that offers artist guitar straps designed with similar input an
Guitar World2 min read
End Reign
DOMENIC ROMEO UNEARTHSmolten metal leads aplenty on The Way of All Flesh Is Decay, the scorched-earth debut from his new End Reign project with members of Integrity, Bloodlet, All Out War and Pig Destroyer. Truth be told, he used to have more on ther
Guitar World13 min read
News Of The (guitar) World
JANUARY 2024 PAGE THIRTY PACKING MORE TWISTS and turns than a Quentin Tarantino movie binge, 2023 will be remembered for many reasons — some good, some surprising and some utterly heartbreaking. There was the return of the mighty Metallica, and while
Guitar World12 min read
Our Favorite Gear Of The Year
JANUARY 2024 PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT $1,699, fender.com THE WORDS “FENDER” and “digital floorboard” hadn’t really existed in the same sentence until October, when the guitar giants dropped a bombshell: they’d be entering the multi-effects processor market
Guitar World3 min read
Rack In The Box
SOMETIME AROUND THE late Seventies or early Eighties, guitarists realized that the best way to get studio sound on stage was by using studio gear. Sometimes this simply wasn’t possible (for example, no one in their right mind would take an EMT plate
Guitar World12 min readMusic
The Year’s Best Guitar Music
Song: Periphery, “Wildfire”Riff: Covet, “Firebird”Solo: Intervals, “Mnemonic”Guitar Moment: Nuno Bettencourt and Extreme back with their new album, Six.New Band: Blink-182 (They’re not new, but Tom DeLonge’s return makes it feel new again.)New Guitar
Guitar World16 min read
Massive Attack
For Wolfgang van Halen, 2023 was a huge year. He spent an enormous chunk of it on the road with his band, Mammoth WVH — opening for Metallica’s M72 stadium tour shows in the United States, Europe and Canada as well as the Alter Bridge Pawns & Kings t
Guitar World15 min read
The Guitarists Of The Year
Nuno Bettencourt Wolfgang Van Halen Josh Klinghoffer Andrew Watt The Rolling Stones John 5 Cory Wong Sophie Lloyd Nita Strauss Zakk Wylde Buddy Guy Periphery Steve Lacy Vernon Reid Joe Bonamassa Tom DeLonge John Osborne Synyster Gates Graham Coxon Jo
Guitar World3 min read
No Frills
BACK WHEN JOHN Mayer approached Paul Reed Smith about essentially building a “Strat” that ultimately became the PRS Silver Sky, much of the online commentary erupted into heated debates over its Strat similarities — or justifying how much Mayer and S
Guitar World3 min read
Buzz Bin Danelectro ’59 Triple Divine
AT THE MOMENT, there are 25 Danelectro models to choose from. And sure, most of us musical snobs all love Danelectro’s ’59 DC and Longhorn bass because of their vintage pedigree. Even the more esoteric Sitar and Baritone models are equally adored for
Guitar World2 min read
Mighty Mini
WE FIRST REVIEWED the Taylor GS Mini shortly after Taylor announced the model in 2010. Over the last 14 years, Taylor has introduced a wide variety of GS Mini models and expanded the line, which now consists of 10 models that range in price from $499
Guitar World3 min read
Party Monster
THE EVH STRIPED Series is pretty much the coolest thing going for guitarists who want to make a loud and proud statement about their appreciation for Eddie Van Halen and his influence. However, many players may prefer something a little less flashy a
Guitar World2 min read
Sing The Song
ONE OF THE greatest things about the guitar is its capacity to emulate the melodic nuances and expressiveness of the human voice. Singers rarely simply hit pitches; there are often glissandos between notes, meaning ascending or descending movement fr
Guitar World3 min read
Tools Of The Trade, Part 10
THIS MONTH’S “TOOLof the trade” is a 1969 white “maple cap” Fender Stratocaster, which I refer to as my “bronchitis Strat.” I purchased this guitar in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2017. While the band was in Chicago, our crew were staying in Des Moines and m
Guitar World3 min read
The Next Level
IN THE LAST few columns, we’ve been investigating my song “Winterland” (Theme from a Perfect World) and looked at the tune's intro, verse and chorus sections. I'd now like to present its 16-bar solo, shown in FIGURE 1. I begin the solo with a one-bar
Guitar World1 min read
“Patient Number 9”
“PATIENT NUMBER 9” WORDS AND MUSIC BY ALI TAMPOSI, ANDREW WATT, CHAD SMITH, JOHN OSBOURNE AND ROBERT TRUJILLO. COPYRIGHT © 2022 RESERVOIR 416, ANDREW WATT MUSIC, SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC., AVANAILS PUBLISHING,BLIZZARD MUSIC LIMITED, ROBERT TRUJILLO. A
Guitar World2 min read
A Good Rep
IN THE NEXTfew columns, I’d like to discuss three tools I use to strengthen my approach to improvisation. These three things help me to tell better stories with a solo, all of which have nothing to do with note choice or melodic information. They are
Guitar World4 min read
Performance Notes
WELL-WRITTEN AND ambitiously produced, this title track from the Prince of Darkness’ latest studio album brings to mind some of his finest collaborations with the legendary Randy Rhoads, featuring hauntingly beautiful, classical-style chord progressi
Guitar World1 min read
“Rebel Yell”
“REBEL YELL” WORDS AND MUSIC BY BILLY IDOL AND STEVE STEVENS. COPYRIGHT © 1983 BMG MONARCH, BONEIDOL MUSIC AND WC MUSIC CORP. ALL RIGHTS FOR BMG MONARCH AND BONEIDOL MUSIC ADMINISTERED BY BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (US) LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY P
Guitar World3 min read
Electro-harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger/filter Matrix
THE EMERGENCE OF bucket-brigade device (BBD) integrated circuits like the Panasonic/Matsushita MN3001 in late 1974 and the Philips TDA1022 and Reticon SAD1024 in late 1975 kicked off the music industry’s equivalent of the Space Race. These ICs enable
Guitar World1 min readCrime & Violence
“Riders On The Storm” (solo Guitar Arrangement)
“RIDERS ON THE STORM” WORDS AND MUSIC BY THE DOORS. COPYRIGHT © 1971 DOORS MUSIC COMPANY, LLC. COPYRIGHT RENEWED. ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY WIXEN MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY PERMISSION. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD
Guitar World2 min read
Guitars On TV
USUALLY, I’D USE this space to tell you what a great — or at least interesting — year this has been in guitar land, but I think you’ll get the gist when you read everything that appears between pages 30 and 71. Instead, I’d like to discuss some prett

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