“I’d always seen the guitar as a thing for really accomplished people like Jimi Hendrix – watching Nirvana on MTV Unplugged exploded my brain”: Studio nerd Corinne Bailey Rae broke through after moving on from her punk roots. Then she went back
The Mercury Prize nominee on what she loves about her SG, obsessing in the studio, and how she harnessed the aggression of her youth for her new album, Black Rainbows
Read more » “It combines unique aesthetics with modern playability and impressive tone, creating a Firebird unlike any I’ve had the pleasure of playing before”: Gibson Firebird Platypus review
Gibson resurrects a curiosity from its past, allowing the Firebird to take flight once again
Read more » “Elton said, ‘I’d better buy that guitar just to have in my house.’ I played it and said, ‘Yeah, you’d better buy it, so I can play it when I come by’”: One of Davey Johnstone’s favorite guitars was once a piece of upscale decor for his superstar bandmate
Johnstone did end up with the ’50s-era beauty in the end, though not for a happy reason
Read more » “Leo said, ‘Here, try this guitar.’ I grabbed it, turned it around, held it upside-down backwards and started playing ukulele chords. He almost fell off his chair laughing”: How Dick Dale made the Stratocaster the ultimate surf-rock weapon
The surf guitar king was not only a Fender man to his bones – he had a close working relationship with Leo Fender himself
Read more » “It’s like saying, ‘Give a man a Les Paul, and he becomes Eric Clapton. It’s not true’”: David Gilmour and Roger Waters hit back at criticism of the band’s over-reliance on gear and synths when crafting The Dark Side of The Moon in newly unearthed clip
The clip is featured in Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, the newly restored version of the band’s groundbreaking Live At Pompeii film
Read more » “When I first heard his voice in my headphones, there was that moment of, ‘My God! I’m recording with David Bowie!’” Bassist Tim Lefebvre on the making of David Bowie’s Lazarus
The session for Bowie’s Blackstar album took place in early 2015 at the Magic Shop in New York
Read more » “A new signature for Misha Mansoor, but not the one we’ve been waiting for”: The essential guitar gear releases you might have missed this week, from Chase Bliss and PRS to Jackson and Fender
An emotional tribute to the King of Tone overdrive, an upgraded take on one of the top versatile high-gain amp heads out there, and another exclusive Guitar Center big-brand collaboration are all on the agenda this week
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Damnation Festival announce four new bands
Four new bands have been announced for this year’s Damnation Festival! Following last month’s announcement, which saw the likes of DEAFHEAVEN, ONSLAUGHT, MESSA and more confirmed, now, another four new bands have been announced for…
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ALBUM REVIEW: March Of The Gods – King Kraken
It’s been a busy couple of years for Cardiff’s KING KRAKEN. Following the release of debut album MCLXXX, the quintet spent their time on the road raising their profile considerably, supporting big…
Read more » “I said, ‘Let’s get Hendrix to play on it.’ His manager said, ‘Jimi’s playing shows back-to-back.’ So we got Jimmy Page”: The hit ’60s single that was supposed to feature Jimi Hendrix… but ended up with Jimmy Page
Donovan tried to recruit Hendrix when he went in the studio in the late 1960s, but ended up working with the soon-to-be Led Zeppelin guitar great
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