SOME KIND OF MONSTER

Kirk Hammett set out to write background music. Instead, he created the four horror movie-themed guitar instrumentals that his debut solo effort, Portals.

LIVING ON THE EDGE

WRITTEN AND RECORDED PIECEMEAL ON DAYS OFF BETWEEN GIGS, CLOSE TO THE EDGE COALESCED INTO A PROG-ROCK MASTERPIECE. ON THE ALBUM'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY, STEVE HOWE REVEALS HOW YES CREATED THEIR GREATEST TRIUMPH.

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE

Following a 13-year hiatus, Porcupine Tree regroup with one less member and a broader musical palette. Steven Wilson explains why this is a new beginning for the progressive-rock group or maybe the end of the road.

The LAST of the SINGING COWBOYS

He tutored under Woody Guthrie and influenced a young Bob Dylan. Now 90, folk legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott reflects on his role in the postwar folk revival and a life spent making music.

KING of the ROW

With more than 700 albums to his credit - including his Dean DeLeo project, Trip the Witch Nashville session ace Tom Bukovac is one of the world's busiest guitarists. Here he shares the guitars behind Music Row's biggest records.

PHIL JONES BASS

Nanobass X4 digital amp

Let It Rub

Trey Anastasio on using "rubs" to open up standard tuning.

How I Wrote..."Close My Eyes Forever"

Lita Ford looks back at her badass signature 1989 power ballad.

Better Call Walls

With old-school gospel roots and new-school guitar chops, Erick Walls has emerged as one of today’s most in-demand guitarists.

Eric Krasno – Up the Funktion

L.A.’s Eric Krasno has fretboard fire and a prolific pen, making him one of the most exciting R&B-vibed guitarists working today.

ONE-MAN JAM

Trey Anastasio’s first deep acoustic interview reveals how his classical roots inform Phish, and how an extraordinary gift inspired his premiere solo acoustic effort, Mercy.

SKUNK WORKS

Over his 50-year career, he's been the change agent behind Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, as well as a formidable freelancer in the studio. As he drops his first-ever solo album, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter takes Guitar Player through his life's highlights, from playing with Jimi Hendrix to working on U.S. national security.

HIGHER SHREDUCATION

THEY WERE A FLEET-FINGERED MENTOR AND MENTEE WHO BECAME THE FASTEST OF FRIENDS. IN THIS GUITAR PLAYER EXCLUSIVE, STEVE MORSE AND JOHN PETRUCCI SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND ADVICE ON THE ART AND CRAFT OF SHRED...WITH A FAIR AMOUNT OF MUTUAL ADMIRATION FOR GOOD MEASURE.

IN HER NATURE

On Crooked Tree, Molly Tuttle bends the rules of bluegrass tradition. "It's fun," she says, "to stretch the limits."

LAVA - Blue Lava Touch

LAST MONTH, WE took a look at Lava's first smart guitar, the ME 3, which won an Editors' Pick Award. This month, we'll carry on with the brand-new Blue Lava Touch, which promises Lava's considerable innovation in a slightly more conventional, smaller and far more affordable package.

POSITIVE GRID: RIFF Guitar Interface and App

POSITIVE GRID EARNED a ton of well-deserved attention in 2020 with Spark, its groundbreaking guitar practice amp and app. The compact, 40-watt combo not only delivers a range of great amp emulations and effects powered by Positive Grid's BIAS Tone engine but also helps players practice, jam and learn with a variety of applications and features.

FENDER - 60th Anniversary Jaguar

IN 1962, FENDER rolled out the Jaguar, a new top-of-the-line instrument that company literature said offered "faster, more comfortable" playing. The Jag's offset waist gave its body a look that was very different

LINE 6 - Catalyst 100 1x12 Combo

AS MUCH AS tube amplifiers rule for tone, dynamic feel and raw punch, many players enjoy the benefits of modeling amps with their ability to deliver a multitude of sounds, not to mention their affordability and lighter weight. One of the newest contenders in the modeling arena is the Line 6 Catalyst series combos that include a 60-watt 1x12, a 200-watt 2x12 and the 100-watt 1x12 featured in this review.

SOURCE AUDIO: Zio analog front-end + boost

SOURCE AUDIO IS best known for its forward-thinking digital effects pedals, like the C4 synthesizer and Ultrawave distortion, as well as the Nemesis delay and Ventris reverb. But a few years ago, the company began working with Christopher Venter of Shoe Pedals to combine the "under the hood" tweakability of its Neuro editing system with more traditional sounds.

Wham Bam Thank You, Ma'am!

“We had two weeks to make an album!” Engineer and producer Ken Scott recalls David Bowie’s ascent from one-hit boy wonder to the nazz of glam and the album that made it all happen: the rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars.

Larry McCray – Better Days

A promising blues guitarist in the early 1990s, Larry McCray spent the past 20 years in the wilderness. Thanks to a restart and a new album, Blues Without You, his future looks brighter than ever.

Artful Selection

With the Telstar, Gene Baker’s b3 Guitars delivers the best of the Big F’s top two timeless models.

Ry Cooder – Back on Board

Ry Cooder reunites with Taj Mahal for an album that returns to both men’s roots: Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Aero Instrument

dBuz Cable and dBuzX Extender

TOP GUN

With fans that ranged from Pete Townshend to Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen, Leslie West inspired players across the genres with his singular playing style and a searing lead guitar tone that could belong to no other.

SHRED WHITE & BLUE JACK WHITE

HAS PUT HIS SIGNATURE STYLE ON GEAR — FROM ITS SOUND TO ITS LOOK. AS HE DROPS HIS LATEST ALBUM, FEAR OF THE DAWN, HE GIVES GUITAR PLAYER AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE GUITARS, PEDALS AND PASSION BEHIND HIS BLUE PERIOD.

MIAMI VICE

Nile Rodgers riffs on his famed Hitmaker Stratocaster as Fender releases a limited-edition replica.

SQUIER

40th Anniversary Telecaster, Gold Edition

MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS

As The Police — Greatest Hits returns in a deluxe edition, Andy Summers reflects on five classic tracks from the band's timeless catalog.

LINE 6

DL4 MkII Delay Modeler Pedal