The Strange Case Of  THE MISSING BEANO

WhyBuyAGuitar?

Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath,

Feelin’ Good

If ruling the world’s stadiums isn’t enough, Muse’s main-man Matt Bellamy now has his sights set on dominating the guitar world

New Faithful

In among a range of copies is Maybach’s Little Wing – the company’s only original design and a rather fine slice of classic guitar craft from central Europe

Fair Cop

Victory’s new preamp pedal adds a modern twist to vintage Brit tone with spec-beating valves onboard

the Wishlist

Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for

Crest Of A Wave

Epiphone’s trio of ‘Junior’ style reissues look fantastic. But with their entry-level prices, can they really impress a gnarled old Guitarist reviewer? Let’s find out!

Hit The Gym

Two recent releases from the Fender-owned Charvel and EVH brands remind us of the legacy and guitar design skills of Eddie Van Halen

Serious Style

Whether you’re an Eddie Van Halen acolyte or simply want some progressive style, there’s plenty of choice from Charvel and EVH

NightSky

Venture to the outer reaches of reverb with this soundscape workstation

PlexiRanger

Footswitchable control for the classic sound of a treble-boosted Brit amp

Pitch Fork+

Harmonies and more from this dual pitch-shifting tool

Gas Supply

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

The Players

The latest news, views and happenings from the world of your favourite guitarists

Albums

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

Tones Behind The Tracks

The Philadelphian troubadour Steve Gunn shares more about his enigmatic alt-folk masterpiece The Unseen In Between

All That Jazz

Want to up your hire-ability as a session musician? Get some jazz in your repertoire, says Adam Goldsmith

Stretches

This issue’s selection from Richard Barrett presents a workout for your fingers with a physical examination of extended chords

Feedback

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

WIN!

A DANELE CTRO ’64XT  IN MINT GREEN – WORTH £729!

Welcome To The ’Board

How do you integrate your new pedals into an already functioning pedalboard without causing issues? Adrian Thorpe shares his tips…

Longtermers

A few months’ gigging, recording and everything that goes with it – welcome to Guitarist’s longterm test report

MARTIN BARRE

The Tull guitarist mourns the loss of his cherished ’59 Les Paul and details a lucky find in Yakima…

SOLA SOUND TONE BENDERS

Tone Bender builder David Main of D*A*M cleans up the fuzzy picture of these classic British stompboxes

PICK ’N’ MIX

The matched pickup ‘set’ is so last year, reckons our reviews editor Dave Burrluck, who suggests a pickup mismatch is the new black…

THAT UNUSUAL ’BIRD

We investigate the genesis and style of the Firebird’s mini-humbucker

RepairingFenderSingleCoils

We take a look at the brighter side of pickup restoration as Tom Brantley shines a light on his workbench

classicGear

Fender chimes in with its answer to an electric 12-string…

ReverbRarities

Carly Smith profiles a 60s stunner with a storied past

Damage Control

This month Neville Marten muses upon the sorry state of his fingertips, the possibility of a new acoustic, and the prospect of gigs on the horizon

Fan Club

With design, innovation and wonkiness in mind, Alex Bishop ponders the intriguing world of multi-scale guitars

Practice Made Perfect

Editor Jamie Dickson looks at creating the ideal tone-rich home practice room

BROTHER ROBERT

Robert Johnson has been mythologised more than any other figure in modern music to the extent that it’s become very difficult to separate what few facts we know from the fiction that surrounds his story. A new book sets out to put the record straight…

HearMeWhenIMoan

A look at Gibson’s L-1 & L-00 acoustics, which were contemporaries of the legendary Robert Johnson

YUSUF/CAT STEVENS

He’s one of the most influential singer-songwriters in the world but left fame behind to complete a journey of spiritual growth. Now he’s returned to music and joins us to talk guitars and songcraft – and explain why he decided to revisit his most famous album, Tea For The Tillerman, 50 years on

EPIPHONE EPIPHANY

Gibson pumped new life into Epiphone while rescuing the brand from sinking in the late 50s. Head of product development, Mat Koehler, recounts the tale as Gibson returns to its source of inspiration with Epiphone once again…

THE NEXT STAGE

Ciaran McNally learned his craft at Lowden and helped take Atkin to greater heights. Now building guitars under his own name, he explains how he used lockdown to design a touring acoustic for Irish virtuoso Shane Hennessy

Blues Headlines

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

Trading Licks

Robbie Calvo helps you enhance your lead playing with expert concepts to add to your own licks