January 27, 2021
By Cynthia Smith Conjuring images of luaus and leis, the diminutive, toy-like ukulele has had a decade-long resurgence. The uke continues to gain popularity, as it’s not only a fun and easy instrument to learn, its unique sound and portability also make it the perfect songwriting tool. Enter Grammy-winning artist Billie Eilish and her signature […]
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January 6, 2020
I’m dreaming here, of course, because the groovy gear manufacturers unveiling new products at Winter NAMM 2020 on January 16-19, long ago decided what they were developing for the big show. But this is my little world—at least for the sake of this article—and I am free to muse over products that I would love […]
August 12, 2019
An Ode to the Tech 21 Paul Landers Fly Rig PL1 ••• We bullied this Box for Months to See If It Could Stand Up to Your Gig Needs ••• We Also Wanted to See If a Signature Device from the Rammstein Guitarist is a Tool for Almost Everyone or an Extremely Niche Product “That’s […]
July 18, 2019
Well, truth be told, Penny, Ken, and Joe of Reverend Guitars are true Guardians who support this site, but they also make awesome guitars (and pickups) that you should know about, so I’m certainly not going to ban their news releases because someone might accuse me of business favoritism. Wait. What am I talking about? […]
June 28, 2019
OPINION It was great to go to Winter NAMM this past January and see all the energy in the Gibson booth—especially after the company had weathered bankruptcy, leadership changes, and scores of other challenges (such as some mind-bending build-quality issues at the end of the old regime). Many guitarists—including me—have long histories with Gibson products, […]
April 26, 2019
Spreading the univibe in Wroclaw Poland, May 1, 2018 (left to right) — Andrzej Nowak, LeBurn Maddox, me, Leszek Cichoński, David Price Leszek Cichoński is not only the founder of the annual Guitar Guinness World Record Festival in Wroclaw Poland, he is also a wonderful blues guitarist, educator, and dreamer. One of the ways his […]
March 14, 2019
Guardians of Guitar is presenting the third in a series of interviews Lisa S. Johnson filmed about the creation of her new photography book Mortal + Immortal Guitars—which is set for a fall 2020 release. Here, Johnson and Lonn Friend talk with Billy Sherwood of the band Yes. “It was cool to sit with Billy at NAMM 2019, […]
March 2, 2019
Here’s the second installment of Lisa S. Johnson‘s video documentary on the creation of her new photography book Mortal + Immortal Guitars—which is set for a fall 2020 release. This time, Johnson and Lonn Friend talk to Quiet Riot and Ratt guitarist Carlos Cavazo about his Gibson Flying V and Jackson Soloist. “Carlos is a quiet […]
February 13, 2019
Lisa S. Johnson appears to be on a quest to photographically document every fabulous “artist guitar” on the planet. Her 2013 book, 108 Rock Star Guitars, is a treasure trove of stunning images that showcases guitars owned by Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ben Harper, Carlos Santana, Mick Ronson, Chrissie Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, and tons of other […]
February 6, 2019
I have attended more NAMM shows than I will ever admit (though, hey, iced teas and movie tickets are reasonable bribes if you must know). They are crowded. They are loud. At times, they are absolutely silly. But they’re also excellent excuses to hang with industry friends and peruse a bounty of new products that […]
February 4, 2019
January 23, 2019
It’s personally devastating to realize Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album—a record that didn’t leave my turntable for weeks and collected enough dust to fill Dick Van Dyke’s chimney-sweep bin in Mary Poppins—turns 50 years old this month. (All of these half-century rock-and-roll anniversaries of the past few years are rather chilling to “people of a […]
January 19, 2019
Moderating a 2017 NAMM panel on “The Future of Guitar.” And where are we today? As expected, a lot of the angst and hand-wringing over the demise of the guitar—at least that which was promoted in the media over the past year—was pretty much dead wrong. Gibson appears to be reinventing itself with some savvy […]
September 11, 2018
Reeves Gabrels Blackstone Appliances Mosfet Overdrive “It’s hard to narrow it down to one thing, because when the Pro Co RAT came along, it changed everything,” says Cure guitarist and former Bowie collaborator Reeves Gabrels. “Finally, there was a pedal that didn’t sound like a fuzz box. You see, I used to like to set my […]
