Green Machine

Form & Function

This month’s cover feature celebrating seven decades of

Iron Maiden

Another new wood joins the Taylor stable: let’s introduce red ironbark to the world of guitar tone! But what does it bring to the table? We take a look

Crown Tools

After releasing his career-defining album, Crown, earlier this year, the bar is set high for Eric’s new signature guitar

Triple Treat

TC Electronic’s Plethora X3 presents the company’s TonePrint pedals f lexibly arranged in one compact unit

Minor Royalty

Forgo the five-year waiting list for Analog Man’s elusive purple pedal and give this MXR collaboration a go instead

Kauer Korona Supreme £3,499

Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for...

Naked Ambition

Some two decades since they first appeared, Gibson’s Faded series instruments are back in what-you-see-is-what-you-get style: no options and not a lot of finish, either. What’s going on?

Shine On

One of two limited-edition models that celebrate Takamine’s 60th Anniversary, both of which engage the charms of Hawaiian koa in their construction. Let’s move in for a closer look

Diamond Days

Master luthier Makoto Terasaki joins us to celebrate Takamine’s 60th anniversary as we reflect on some of the company’s landmarks from the past six decades

Outside The Box

In collaboration with ThorpyFX, this new range of pedals from Victory aims to capture the tones and performance of its current amp range in solid-state stompbox format

Gas Supply

Our pick of the month’s most delectable and wallet-bothering new gear

Fretbuzz

A monthly look at must-hear artists from all corners of the guitar world, from the roots of their sound to the tracks that matter most

Albums

The month’s best guitar music – ahand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax

Tones Behind The Tracks

Formed in 2020 after a decade of history together, Cardinal Black are finally ready to release their debut album to the world

Bad To The Bone

We guitarists talk a lot about tone in the electric realm. What, then, can we do to lift the acoustic to new realms of sonority, asks Neville Marten

Body Building

This month Alex Bishop sees his latest projects start to take shape as “overcomplicated boxes with holes in” become bona fide guitars

Telecaster Transformation

Jamie Dickson gets his refinished and aged Tele Custom back – so was it worth it? Let’s find out in part two of his Tele story

Moving Voices

Richard Barrett outlines a harmony using chord changes in small steps, which is great for use in a trio format

Feedback

Your letters to the Guitarist editor. Drop us a line at guitarist@futurenet.com

BARRIE CADOGAN

The Little Barrie main man opens up about a stellar deal on a ’62 Epiphone Crestwood and his fondness for P-90 pickups

OFFSET DIY (PART 2)

With the chassis smoothly sanded, the fingerboard and frets looking good, DAVE BURRLUCK Dave Burrluck considers the sonic options for his offset kit-build

Power Valves

After last issue’s focus on preamp valves, Huw looks to their higher-voltage brethren

Old Timers

Paul Gough of Zilla Cabs sings the praises of vintage speakers – with a few choice war nings to consider before buying used

Martin D-18

A true workhorse of the Martin line, this iconic guitar is a zenith of flat-top design

GORDON GILTRAP

What is good music? What is good guitar playing? Though the premise of such questions is simple, it can take a lifetime to arrive at meaningful answers, as acoustic master Gordon Giltrap reflects when we join him to discuss his powerful new album, Scattered Chapters

70 YEARS Les Paul

Built for jazz, the Les Paul found its true métier in the hands of blues-rock artists years after its debut. Likewise, the sunburst Les Pauls of 1958 to ’60 saw weak sales initially but are today the world’s most desired guitars. Here, we examine the rise, fall and rise of the mercurial, ageless Gibson Les Paul, seven decades on from its birthday...

GOLD RUSH

Gibson’s Mat Koehler is a tireless archive-miner who’s spent countless hours tracing the history of the company’s iconic electrics. We join him to get a handle on the epochal first 10 years of the model’s history in which it transformed from elegant jazz guitar to the weapon of choice of the nascent rock ’n’ roll revolution

LP EVOLUTION

Below we chart the key changes the Les Paul and its variants went through in its seminal early years from 1952 to 1978

MAKING A SCENE

It’s arguable that the Les Paul might have become a footnote in guitar history if Clapton hadn’t sent its reputation rocketing in ’66 with that Bluesbreakers album. Here, Whitesnake legend Bernie Marsden recalls how the Lester entered the mainstream of British rock guitar in the early 70s

OLD GLORY

Tom Murphy has been the driving force behind Gibson’s ever-more accurate reissues of vintage Les Pauls, culminating in the creation of the ‘Murphy Lab’, which crafts the company’s hand-aged guitars. We join him to discuss what the Les Paul was designed to be, what it became – and what it takes to make a great one today

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Gibson CEO JC Curleigh joins us to talk about the past and future of the Les Paul at the Nashville-based company – including its Epiphone Lesters

MORE ’PAUL

Whether it’s to get better tone, fix tuning problems or make your guitar look as close as possible to a 1950s Goldtop or ’Burst, Les Pauls are among the most modified of all the classic guitar models. Here are our top 20 tips for making your Les Paul the best it can be

Peter Frampton

From early pop stardom with The Herd to releasing the biggest album on the planet with Frampton Comes Alive! and finding salvation in Bowie’s band, Peter reflects on a rollercoaster career and the darker side of fame…

FIT FOR A KING

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram is one of the most viscerally exciting blues guitarists working today. As Fender launches a version of its 70s-era Tele Deluxe, tweaked to Christone’s needs, we join him to find out more

Blues Headlines

Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks