Annual (2024)

Guitarist

The Guitar Player's Bible

Guitarist1 min read
A Year In Guitar
All things must pass, as George Harrison put it with the title of his 1970 solo album. Certainly it’s a thought all of us here at Guitarist have had ample reason to reflect on over the past year. On the glad side, we celebrated the milestone of our 5
Guitarist1 min read
Guitarist
Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA Editorial Editor-in-Chief Jamie DicksonArt Editor Darren PhillipsManaging Editor Lucy RiceEditorial Director Jon WhiteSenior Art Editor Andy Downes Cover imageOlly Curtis Photography Phil Barker, Oll
Guitarist11 min read
John Frusciante
Back in April 2022, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released Unlimited Love, their 12th studio effort and, more significantly, their first with John Frusciante, arguably their most fan-beloved guitarist, in more than 15 years. Given that, this time, the Ch
Guitarist7 min read
Samantha Fish
Samantha Fish was in the middle of a UK tour when she dropped by Guitarist’s studios at the end of last year. She was eager to talk about the ominously titled Death Wish Blues, her newest project that sees her teaming up with US Americana guitarist J
Guitarist11 min readMusic
In The Name Of Love
During the course of their four-decade-plus career, U2 have been a daringly stubborn, forward-thinking lot, rarely repeating a proven formula, and constantly searching for the next big idea. Indeed, their momentum seems to have always been fuelled by
Guitarist10 min read
Dark Green
Kirk Hammett’s wiry, wah‑scorched lead tones have been a core component of Metallica’s sound since the band reshaped the landscape of metal in the early 80s. Now 60 years of age, Kirk’s youthful looks mask the fact that he’s been recording at the sha
Guitarist6 min read
Life Of A Pioneer
UNIQUE, FEARLESS, PEERLESS. JEFF BECK, WHO DIED IN JANUARY, LEAVES BEHIND A DAZZLING MUSICAL LEGACY. HERE, THE GUITARISTS WHO KNEW HIM BEST SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF A MASTER AND THE GUITARS HE LOVED Among the golden generation of British guitarists wh
Guitarist3 min read
Bernie Marsden 1951 – 2023
BERNIE MARSDEN7 May 1951 – 24 August 2023 To the uninitiated, Bernie Marsden might have been easy to miss. In an industry of leather, motorbikes and top hats – and from a generation where ‘lead guitarist’ was shorthand for ‘show-off’ – the man once d
Guitarist10 min read
Changing Lanes
Chris Shiflett has the best kind of identity crisis. Back in 1999, when the 28-year-old Californian won out at auditions to become lead guitarist for the Foo Fighters – a triumph he succinctly put down to “learning the fucking songs” – it seemed this
Guitarist10 min read
Moonshine
It’s tempting to think that there’s very little more that can be said about Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece, The Dark Side Of The Moon, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. In fact, none of the remaining members of the band are prepared to
Guitarist8 min read
Messin' WITH THE RIG
You only had to glance at Rory Gallagher to know the road was his natural habitat. The rumpled check shirt, the three-day stubble, the air of nomadic bliss: everything suggested a twilight creature to be spotted at the stage door, gas station and bol
Guitarist9 min read
The Music Of Time
“My first memory of Guitarist magazine comes from the day I bought my first guitar. I was 16 and I’d started working in a local gardening centre. I’d just received my first pay packet of £75 and I couldn’t decide what to spend it on; I thought either
Guitarist7 min read
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Rosetta Nubin was born on 20 March 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, a small town sandwiched between the Midwestern and Southern states. Both parents were cotton workers, although Rosetta didn’t know much of her father except that he sang in his spare
Guitarist9 min read
ROCK Of AGES
“I want it to be loud, a little out of control,” says Pete Thorn, in his urbane Los Angeles drawl. “There needs to be some feedback.” Even if you’ve never watched any of Pete’s highly regarded YouTube videos exploring the world of cutting-edge guitar
Guitarist8 min read
Carol Kaye
If plucking a ripe plum from a tree had a sound, it would resemble Carol Kaye’s signature tone – a tone that made her a ‘first-call’ bassist in the highly competitive studio session world. It wasn’t just that, though. Kaye is arguably the first bassi
Guitarist9 min read
Love That Burns
When the guitar collection of a legendary guitarist goes on sale, it’s normally dominated by guitars that garner record sums. From electrics that were used on platinum-selling albums to vintage unobtainium, such auctions are generally composed of ins
Guitarist14 min read
Ultimate STRATS
Ever since its launch in 1954, the Fender Stratocaster has been, at once, the most recognisable electric in the world and the most mercurial. While Telecasters tend to deliver a somewhat familiar ride every time you pick one up, when you try a Strat
Guitarist6 min read
Unearthed ’burst
Last year, an undocumented 1960 Les Paul Standard miraculously appeared from the West Midlands. When we interviewed Joe Bonamassa about his latest purchase, he assured us “these under-the-bed guitars are usually pristine. And they’re still around, yo
Guitarist11 min read
Spill The T
£3,099 EACH CONTACT PRS Europe PHONE 01223 874301 WEB www.prsguitars.com 1 Just what the world needs – another copy! We have referred to PRS’s Silver Sky as a ‘Stratocaster’ with the wrong headstock, and it’s pretty clear what inspired these new des
Guitarist11 min read
150 Years Of EPIPHONE
You’ll know Epiphone today as Gibson’s alter ego, with its line of well-priced alternatives to the senior brand, as well as reincarnations of some of its own historic models such as the Casino, Texan and Coronet. Epiphone’s roots, though, go back fur
Guitarist5 min read
Fine Tuning
While bolt-on guitars go back to the early days of PRS, the John Mayer Silver Sky cracked the code. “The Silver Sky was a retooling of an historic device,” says Paul Reed Smith today. “It was a goal to get somebody incredibly comfortable with our ins

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