Innehållsförteckning för Holiday 2025 från Guitar World

AS YOU MIGHT’VE seen in the little gray circle on this issue’s cover, Guitar World has been around for a whopping 45 years. We didn’t really make a big deal out of it during the year because, well, what’s the last time you’ve been to someone’s massive 35th-, 45th- or 55th-birthday extravaganza? People tend to celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries on the big-zero years — like 40, 50, 60 and so on. And, yeah, we’re like those people. For proof, go and dig up our 40th-anniversary issue (November 2020). Frankly, that stressful issue still feels like it came out yesterday, and — really — what else are we gonna say about the history of Guitar World that wasn’t already said back then? All that aside, we still wanted to do…

Q What was your first guitar? There was an acoustic at our house that my father played every now and then when we were kids, but it was kind of a mess and difficult to play. One Christmas, when I was 13, my father took me to the local music store, which was a record shop, but they had three or four guitars on the wall. He said, “Pick whichever one you want.” They were all terrible guitars, but I picked one, an Orpheus acoustic. It had this big old baseball-bat neck, and the strings were so high and off the fretboard. It was just not a good guitar, but when you’re that old, you don’t really care. I was excited as hell. My dad bought it for $60. Q…

Guitarist Dave Navarro Guitar Early Nineties Gibson Les Paul GW Cover Date March 1996 This interview June 2025 Q How exactly did you acquire this guitar? I was a Les Paul player from day one. It’s actually not very well known, but in the early days of Jane’s Addiction, in the Eighties, I was a Les Paul player. I had a Black Beauty, and that’s what’s on the first live record [1987’s Jane’s Addiction]. I was always playing Les Pauls, but I was on tour once and one of them broke. The neck snapped off. That’s how I ended up in the hands of Ibanez. At that point, we were so young; the only company that would grant me an endorsement was Ibanez. They turned out to be amazing. I…

A LOT CAN happen in 25 years. We’ve seen digital products go from strength to strength. At the turn of the millennium, such tools were probably best described as sufficient, while even analog purists would be forced to admit that the hardware and software of today is undoubtedly groundbreaking. Overall, the general template for guitar building hasn’t changed too drastically, though there has been serious innovation in places, best evidenced by the 2019 arrival of Fender’s Acoustasonic line, which blurred the line between electric and acoustic instruments. Similar things can be said in terms of pickup manufacturing; on the surface, it seems like business as usual, but inventions like the Fishman Fluence series have completely reimagined how we go about capturing the sound of strings vibrating through wood. The boutique…

WHEN PRS DROPPED its USA-made Core Silver Sky in 2018, they weren’t just releasing a John Mayer signature six-string, and they weren’t trying to break the Internet; they were reinventing the wheel, to speak. The wheel in question was the Fender Strat, a guitar brandished by everyone from Jeff Beck to David Gilmour to Mayer himself. But Mayer — and Paul Reed Smith — wanted something different, something fresh, new and inventive. This would require forward thinking, painstaking effort and, to be frank, balls. Of Mayer’s general mentality toward the Silver Sky, Smith says, “He’s not messing around. If he had a guitar that he liked better, he would use it.” The Silver Sky, be it the Core or SE model, has been a sensation since its release. But beyond…

WHILE CRAFT PEDAL makers existed before the turn of the millennium — soldering circuit boards in their basement workshops, putting together one-of-one pieces for their friends — we’ve experienced a hell of a boutique pedal boom this past quarter century. It’s been a golden era of tone-chasers discovering small-batch stompboxes outside the norm, with humble-sized companies busting out massive sounds — whether remixing classic fuzzes or ringing up freaked-out modulations major manufacturers wouldn’t dare deliver off the assembly line, en masse. “Some smaller companies are willing to take bigger chances — fuzz pedals that have atypical controls, or total chaos machines,” says EarthQuaker Devices founder Jamie Stillman, somewhat summing up the specialized sonic ethos his business has harnessed since 2004. “A big company wouldn't tend to touch that, because it…

WHETHER YOU CALL them beginners’, budget, entry-level or student models, the stigma of low-cost guitars has diminished significantly — and perhaps even disappeared — over the last 25 years. Thanks to rapid advancements in guitar building technology and know-how, the gap in quality between an affordable guitar and a high-end professional instrument has become narrower than ever. In fact, many pros today proudly perform on stage with budget guitars and are increasingly attaching their names to a new breed of affordable signature models. The concept of a budget-model guitar is nothing new. American guitar companies started offering instruments with basic features and relatively austere designs at reduced prices as far back as the Great Depression in the late 1920s, if not earlier. During the early years of the solidbody electric…

THE RAPID GROWTH of the internet during the early 2000s drastically changed the way guitarists shop for and purchase instruments. Today, many musicians turn to online outlets like Amazon, Musician’s Friend and Sweetwater for new guitars and eBay and Reverb for used and new instruments, which has unfortunately resulted in the near-extinction of the small, independent instrument retail stores that almost every decent-sized town used to have. Many mega-size brick-and-mortar retailers have also fallen on hard times, like Mars Music, which only lasted from 1996 to 2002, and Sam Ash, which closed its shops for good in 2024 after being in business for 100 years. Even New York City’s legendary music row on 48th Street, once home to more than a dozen bustling guitar shops, has completely vanished. However, although…

IF YOU’RE EXPECTING something like Rory Gallagher’s or Mike McCready’s tattered Strats, you’re going to be disappointed. The new limited-edition Road Worns — a ’50s Jazzmaster, the ’60s Strat reviewed here, a ’60s Telecaster and ’60s Precision bass — employ, in Fender’s words, a “new subtle aging process combining light checking, gentle wear patterns and a semi-gloss finish.” Fender also tells us they’re using nitrocellulose lacquer, and while you have to look closely, there are plenty of mild cracks to the body and to the front and back of the headstock. Semi-gloss? It’s pretty glossy if we’re being honest, and it’s certainly overall a milder aging than the recently released Fender Ultra Luxe Vintage range. The hardware isn’t really relic’d, but it doesn’t look box-fresh either, and unlike an original…

I RECENTLY GOT back off the road with my band Black Country Communion, which features Jason Bonham on drums, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals — the “Voice of Rock!”— and the master of the keyboards, Derek Sherinian. The conversation came up about the difference between what I do in my “day job” with my regular band versus when playing and writing for Black Country Communion. BCC is a “heavy” band; the songs are in a hard rock style, as opposed to the bluesier context of my normal band. Much of the difference, guitar playing-wise, comes down to the approach. Contrary to what one might assume, with the heavier music and chordal work with this band, I don’t need tons of gain on my guitar because everyone else is distorted!…

AN ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUE all electric guitarists should strive to master is the art of string bending, which can be used to create personally expressive, vocal-like sounds in unique ways. String bending first grabbed my attention when I heard “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. Guitarist Tony Iommi begins the song by bending his open low E string behind the nut, raising then lowering the note’s pitch to create a spooky moaning sound. When I heard that, my first thought was, “well, you can’t do that on a piano!” My next pivotal encounter with string bending was hearing Eric Clapton’s solo in Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.” When I heard those opening notes, I thought, “that sounds like a voice!” It’s so soulful! My awareness of string bending then snowballed through listening…

“WHAT’S GOING ON” WORDS AND MUSIC BY RENALDO BENSON, ALFRED CLEVELAND AND MARVIN GAYE. COPYRIGHT © 1970 STONE AGATE MUSIC, JOBETE MUSIC CO., INC., MGIII MUSIC, NMG MUSIC AND FCG MUSIC. COPYRIGHT RENEWED. ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING (US) LLC, 424 CHURCH STREET, SUITE 1200, NASHVILLE, TN 37219. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.…

Wah effects have graced many classic tunes, from “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “Theme from Shaft” to “Yankee Rose”and “Man in the Box” THE HUMBLE WAH-WAH pedal is probably one of the most underappreciated effects in the electric-guitar universe. Its most vocal legions of detractors usually point to its clichéd use in vintage porno movie soundtracks and a few too many Kirk Hammett solos, but wah effects have graced so many classic tunes from Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and Isaac Hayes’ “Theme from Shaft” to David Lee Roth’s “Yankee Rose” and Alice In Chains’ “Man in the Box” that it’s pretty hard to truly hate the wah. Vox/Thomas Organ developed the first commercial wah pedal almost by mistake when engineer Brad Plunkett designed a variable midrange circuit to replace the three midrange preset buttons on the…

AFTER SPENDING THE past several years backing power pop-smith Nick Lowe, the Luchador-masked instrumentalists Los Straitjackets have surfed back to the fore with Somos Los Straitjackets, their first non-collaborative full-length release since 2012. The new album, however, sports a few songs that will be familiar to the outfit’s keenest fans. “High Wire Act,” for instance, originally featured on Los Straitjackets guitarist Greg “Gregario” Townson’s 2022 solo release, Beyond the Horizon, as a clean-picked bossa nova before Los Straitjackets reworked it with uproarious, motorboat-rudder Dick Dale-isms. The cocktail-jazzing “Two Steps Ahead” appeared earlier this year on another Townson record, In Focus, but without Los Straitjackets’ martini-drunk bend work and vibraphone accompaniment. Founding guitarist Eddie Angel also brought “Spinout” — the riptide-clearing cut he originally recorded with the Neanderthals in the early…

PASQUALE GRASSO MIGHT not be a household name, but to members of the jazz community, he’s something of a godlike figure. Take Pat Metheny, who described the Italian-born/NYC-based guitarist as “the best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life.” The judges of the 2015 Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition were similarly bowled. One judge, Bill Milkowski, said the guitarist “stunned the judges with his sheer speed, fluency and sophisticated eloquence on the instrument.” “I’m very flattered, of course,” Grasso says, “and more than anything, I’m pleased that people I admire recognize the important aspects of what I do, like articulation and precise playing.” One of Grasso’s overarching goals is preserving traditional jazz for younger generations. “Unfortunately, the jazz audience is mostly made up of elder people,” he…

WOLFGANG VAN HALEN was only 16 when the EVH 5150 III dropped in 2007. Since then, the guitar amp his father Edward made famous has become a huge success. With that, Wolfgang has made an observation, telling GW, “I feel like you can’t be in a metal band without at least having a 5150 or using a ripoff of some sort.” “It’s one of the most successful amp brands of all time,” adds Matt Bruck, the man who helped EVH develop the amp. “The legacy continues. We were incredibly fortunate to have Ed for the time that we had him. I’m humbled and honored by what it is, but I’m not surprised.” “There’s a lot of pride involved,” says Van Halen, who plays 5150 IIIs live and in the studio.…

TO SAY POSITIVE Grid’s Spark Mini is essential to Steve Vai would be an understatement. “I carry one in my luggage at all times,” he says. “I have one for my dressing room and one on the bus. Before every show, I use it to warm up, and I’ve even used it in the studio directly into my DAW.” After years of dealing with archaic and unreliable tech, Vai was overjoyed to discover the reliability and larger-than-life sound of the Mini. This led him to develop a signature version of the Mini, the Spark Mini Vai. And, yeah, he loves it. “Virtually every guitar-player friend of mine that I gifted one to is over the moon with it,” he says. “They write me all the time and tell me how…

REWIND TWO AND a half decades, and it was perfectly normal to find signature products made in collaboration with some of the world’s biggest artists. You could walk into any high-end music store and stumble upon Gibson Les Pauls customized by the likes of Slash, Joe Perry and Gary Moore, or Fender Strats bearing the names of Eric Clapton, Yngwie Malmsteen and Jeff Beck. Just a few steps away on the Ibanez wall, you would be greeted by models co-designed by Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and George Benson, while elsewhere there might have been ESP models tailored to fans of George Lynch, Ronnie Wood and Stephen Carpenter. And it wasn’t just guitars; we’ve grown used to seeing artists developing their own amps, pedals, pickups, plug-ins, slides and strings, all of…

OLA STRANDBERG HAS helped spearhead something of a headless-guitar renaissance following the launch of his eponymous brand in 2012. He’s also brought an entirely fresh perspective on guitar design to the table, forgoing conventional approaches and manufacturing norms for an overarching ethos centered around one foundational pillar: “Play more.” This is realized by bold guitar designs optimized for ultimate playability, embracing ergonomics and stroke-of-genius specs that position player comfort as a priority. The Boden N2 Original is the next generation of the Strandberg school of thought, positioned as the brand’s most advanced platform to date. Highlights include the chambered swamp ash body, which is incredibly light (just over 5 lbs. for our test model) but robust, and the roasted birdseye maple neck and fretboard, which has been adjoined to the…

MOST OF US think of PRS guitars and see the beautifully opulent-looking flamed maple-topped masterpieces the Maryland-based company built its 40-year-old reputation on. We also don’t need to tell you that plenty of those guitars cost a pretty penny. Nevertheless, there have been plenty of attempts to produce more stripped-down and affordable U.S.-built options, and the original Mira, which joined the now-called Core lineup in 2008, is a prime example. The all-mahogany 24-fret guitar featured a thinner body with SG-like chamfering, the outline re-drawn from the PRS Santana, which itself isn’t a million miles away from Gibson’s double-cutaway Les Paul Junior, Special and TV models from the late Fifties. It also formed the basis of the USA S2 line back in 2013, then dropped into the SE ranks before being…

HELLO, AND WELCOME to my new column for Guitar World! Over the course of these lessons, I will be sharing and demonstrating my approaches to rhythm playing, soloing, slide guitar, open tunings and songwriting, all of which have contributed to the music I’ve written and recorded with my band, Blackberry Smoke. I’d like to start off with a look at open G tuning, which I used to write the Blackberry Smoke song “Ain’t Much Left of Me” from our 2012 album, The Whippoorwill. When I started writing songs for the band back in 2001, the very first one I wrote was in open G tuning, a tune called “Sanctified Woman.” That song kicks off with a rhythm part along the lines of FIGURE 1. I begin with a G5 chord…

“LACHRYMA” WORDS AND MUSIC BY A GHOUL WRITER, INDIO MARCATO AND KLAS AHLUND. COPYRIGHT © 2024 PAPASTRELLO SONGS AND SONGS OF WOLF COUSINS. ALL RIGHTS FOR PAPASTRELLO SONGS ADMINISTERED BY BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (US) LLC. ALL RIGHTS FOR SONGS OF WOLF COUSINS ADMINISTERED BY WC MUSIC CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY PERMISSION. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.…

GENERALLY SPEAKING, THERE were two versions of the Byrds — the early lineup featuring Roger (formerly Jim) McGuinn alongside David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, and the later, decidedly edgier band that was navigated by McGuinn, the lone “O.G. Byrd,” amid a sea of lineup changes. And while that’s a gross oversimplification that leaves out a host of in-between lineups, one thing is certain: the band’s later variations featured an absolute ace of a guitar player named Clarence White. Some even say that, despite the shimmering beauty of the band’s early singles and albums (consider 1965’s “The Bells of Rhymney” and 1966’s “Wild Mountain Thyme”), the later version of the Byrds created some of the band’s most striking music. McGuinn, to a point, agrees, referring to the…

FENDER TELECASTERS AREN’T generally associated with heavy metal, but that didn’t stop Slipknot’s Jim Root from slapping his name on one in 2010. The result was a guitar that enraged purists but was beloved by metalheads. Most importantly, Root loves it, too. “It doesn’t matter what producer we’re with,” he says. “Every time we record, as soon as I play the white Tele, they’re like, ‘That’s the one.’ I don’t know what it is, but whoever selected the wood for that guitar did a great job. It’s not a Slipknot theme or a Jim Root theme. It’s just a classic workhorse that makes you want to play it.” According to the GW gang, your signature Tele is one of the 50 most important pieces of gear of the last 25…

“DIRECT FLYTE” IS a track from my 2022 album, Power Station, and features the great Victor Wooten on bass. The song has morphed a little bit in subsequent live performances, as we’ve tightened up the arrangement and have gotten very specific about the individual parts. What I’d like to talk about today is how the syncopations of the tune’s primary guitar part work in conjunction with the chordal accents supplied by the keyboard, which I think is a good example of effective ensemble arranging. When you hear how the two instruments work in tandem, you’ll get a good idea of how I like to approach coordinating various musical elements like an orchestral arranger. The form of the tune is “AABA.” The three “A” sections are in A minor, and the…