The biggest stories in the guitar world, updated automatically as new articles publish.
Breaking NewsThirty-three years after his final departure, Ritchie Blackmore says he plans to step onto a Deep Purple stage again — for one song, one night, and perhaps one final glimpse of a guitar chemistry that helped invent hard rock.
BirthdayMark Knopfler turns 77 today, and his playing remains one of the hardest things in rock to imitate. Not because the notes are difficult — because almost none of what makes it sound like him is written down.
Tone DecodedYou bought the guitar, the amp, and the pedals — so why doesn’t it sound right? The last 10 percent of guitar tone is the most important part, and it’s almost never about the gear list.
TributeFrom an immigrant kid learning piano by ear in Pasadena to the homemade guitar that changed an industry, the impossible sound of "Eruption," 5150, the Brown Sound and a legacy that still defines electric guitar: this is the complete story of Edward Van Halen.
Breaking NewsThe blues-rock heavyweight says online guitar culture has become obsessed with judging players, ranking performances and tearing musicians apart over mistakes. For Bonamassa, the infamous backlash against Nick Jonas shows just how ugly it can get.
Ranked ListThe low-end lines that made songs instantly recognizable — from John Deacon and Chris Squire to Flea, Geddy Lee and John Entwistle.
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You bought the guitar, the amp, and the pedals — so why doesn’t it sound right? The last 10 percent of guitar tone is the most important part, and it’s almost never about the gear list.
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Mark Knopfler turns 77 today, and his playing remains one of the hardest things in rock to imitate. Not because the notes are difficult — because almost none of what makes it sound like him is written down.
From an immigrant kid learning piano by ear in Pasadena to the homemade guitar that changed an industry, the impossible sound of "Eruption," 5150, the Brown Sound and a legacy that still defines electric guitar: this is the complete story of Edward Van Halen.
The blues-rock heavyweight says online guitar culture has become obsessed with judging players, ranking performances and tearing musicians apart over mistakes. For Bonamassa, the infamous backlash against Nick Jonas shows just how ugly it can get.
The low-end lines that made songs instantly recognizable — from John Deacon and Chris Squire to Flea, Geddy Lee and John Entwistle.
TONE DECODEDYou bought the guitar, the amp, and the pedals — so why doesn’t it sound right? The last 10 percent of guitar tone is the most important part, and it’s almost never about the gear list.
TONE DECODEDOne note is all it takes to recognize Carlos Santana. We decode the PRS guitars, Mesa/Boogie and Dumble amps, humbucker choices, controlled feedback, and singing vibrato behind the most vocal lead tone in electric guitar.
TONE DECODEDThe Strat. The heavy strings. The Tube Screamer. The wall of amplifiers. We break down what really made Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tone sound so enormous.
TONE DECODEDEveryone chases the Strat, the Tube Screamer, the CE-1 chorus. But the real Frusciante sound lives in his hands, his dynamics, and the way he treats pedals like colors — not crutches.
TONE DECODEDFrom Brian May's orchestra-in-one-guitar to Eddie Van Halen's Brown Sound, these are the ten greatest guitar tones ever captured on tape — and the rigs that made them legendary.
TONE DECODEDInside Joe Perry's iconic tone — the vintage Les Pauls, cranked Marshalls, key pedals, and playing techniques that define Aerosmith's sound.
Fender, Charvel, and Line 6 — the guitars and gear we'd actually buy. Affiliate links support the magazine.
The low-end lines that made songs instantly recognizable — from John Deacon and Chris Squire to Flea, Geddy Lee and John Entwistle.
From Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones to Rush and the Allman Brothers, these are the 25 classic rock bands that shaped everything that followed — ranked on influence, songwriting, musicianship, longevity and legacy.
Top hat, Les Paul, cigarette, Marshall stack — the image is instantly recognizable. But it's the playing that made Slash a rock guitar hero. Ten solos that explain why.
From Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Nancy Wilson to Jennifer Batten, St. Vincent and Sophie Lloyd — the pioneers, icons, shredders and trailblazers who changed the guitar forever.
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Deep dives into the players who shaped electric guitar history.
/ 02How the legends got their sound — rigs, settings, and secrets.
/ 03Note-by-note breakdowns of the solos that changed everything.
/ 04The guitars, amps, and pedals behind the players you love.
/ 05Greatest guitarists, riffs, and rigs of all time — ranked.
/ 06Guitar Garage is where The Guitar Plugged gets practical. From restringing a Floyd Rose to setting pickup height, fixing fret buzz, cleaning fretboards, and dialing in better tone at home, this is the hands-on section for guitar players who want to keep their gear playing right.
Mark Knopfler turns 77 today, and his playing remains one of the hardest things in rock to imitate. Not because the notes are difficult — because almost none of what makes it sound like him is written down.
You bought the guitar, the amp, and the pedals — so why doesn’t it sound right? The last 10 percent of guitar tone is the most important part, and it’s almost never about the gear list.
From an immigrant kid learning piano by ear in Pasadena to the homemade guitar that changed an industry, the impossible sound of "Eruption," 5150, the Brown Sound and a legacy that still defines electric guitar: this is the complete story of Edward Van Halen.
The blues-rock heavyweight says online guitar culture has become obsessed with judging players, ranking performances and tearing musicians apart over mistakes. For Bonamassa, the infamous backlash against Nick Jonas shows just how ugly it can get.
The low-end lines that made songs instantly recognizable — from John Deacon and Chris Squire to Flea, Geddy Lee and John Entwistle.
From Santana prodigy to the melodic engine behind Journey, Neal Schon built a guitar vocabulary where blues, fusion, fire and unforgettable melody could all exist in the same solo.
Some players have performed the same 24 bars more than three thousand times. Boredom is the obvious assumption — and, according to the guitarists who actually do it for a living, mostly the wrong one.
Strip away the satire, the sprawling discography and the sheer weirdness, and you're left with one of rock's most individual lead guitarists. A guitarist's look at Zappa's phrasing, rhythmic displacement, tone and the solos that prove it.
Millions of guitarists can play more notes than David Gilmour plays in the opening phrases of Comfortably Numb. Almost none of them could have written it. A working guitarist's breakdown of melody, phrasing, tension, dynamics and tone — and how to use all of it when you write your own solo.
