HISTORICAL FACTS: 2 - Caught on Camera

“You will not meet a punk-rock songwriter who doesn’t love the Descendants. They’re responsible for what’s so popular today”: The secret to Descendents’ seminal punk guitar sound and why Milo stood the test of time

Downpicking like demons on all six strings, the Descendents tore through L.A.’s ’80s underground and launched a thousand punks-in-waiting

Guitar World · Aug 31

Mastodon masterclass: Nick Johnston reveals his insane soloing techniques

Luscious legato, hot hybrid picking, busy blues bends and creative chromaticism are the trademarks of Nick Johnston. Here are five of his favorite lead approaches

Guitar World · Aug 31

“I never saw what the big fuss was about Clapton to begin with”: Angus Young’s thoughts on Eric Clapton – and the players he prefers

When the AC/DC guitarist was coming up, Clapton was the player blowing everyone's mind but his

Guitar World · Aug 31

“Coming back at this age, your fear is that you can’t do it anymore, and you’re going to be a compromised version of yourself”: Geddy Lee details the intense preparation behind Rush’s reunion

Lifeson and Lee also reveal what they consider to be the hardest song on their set list

Guitar World · Aug 31

“If we add in the convenience of the pentatonic shapes also being available… I think we have a pretty compelling case for staying with standard tuning”: Why you don’t need open tunings to play slide guitar

Blues legends like Muddy Waters often preferred playing slide in standard tuning. This lesson might convince you, too – and it makes a great introduction to slide

Guitar World · Aug 30

“Strats had that great shape, Les Pauls have those beautiful curves, but the Telecaster always looked like it was thrown together with leftover parts!” Mike Campbell on what makes the Telecaster magic (even if he thinks they’re kinda ugly)

The former Heartbreaker and Dirty Knobs main man on his lifelong love affair with the world's first mass-produced electric guitar

Guitar World · Aug 30

“Nick Zinner was like, ‘They gave me this pedal that’s not out yet.’ It was the original POG. That was the first time I ever heard something like that”: From Blood Brothers to Evil Island’s horror-surf, the wild ride of hardcore hero Cody Votolato

Evil Island is a vampire-obsessed, POG-abusing new project from hardcore scene survivors

Guitar World · Aug 30

“My go-to amp that I could just plug into has been ruined: I now have to have this thing sat in front of it”: Inside the making of the ThorpyFX Kudu – the pedal that makes everything... better?

Adrian Thorpe designed the Kudu to be a different type of overdrive, a flatter of amps with switchable clipping and a name from the safari

Guitar World · Aug 30

“They were the weirdest things. He was asking me, ‘What do you think I should play over this stuff?’” When Joe Satriani got an exclusive preview of new Metallica material during lessons with his student Kirk Hammett

As the …And Justice for All arrangements grew crazier, Hammett sought help from the master

Guitar World · Aug 30

“The secret wasn’t a special effect, a particular amp, or studio trickery, but rather a very simple quirk”: Roy Buchanan inspired countless players, including Jeff Beck, to pick up Telecasters – his favorite Tele was defined by a fascinating tonal “flaw”

Nicknamed “Nancy”, the Telemaster’s beloved ’53 model had a bridge pickup that mystified pickup designers for years

Guitar World · Aug 29