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RARE PHOTOS: Guitar world - The Real Truth

“I looked at him like he had two heads and said, ‘Let me get this straight – you’re going to fire Jake E. Lee from his own band?’” Greg Chaisson waited years to reunite with Jake E. Lee. But then he had to quit, and couldn’t say why

The bassist, who failed his Ozzy audition but wound up in Badlands instead, recalls pushing boundaries with Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, falling into the music business despite sport aspirations, and being forced to use a substandard bass in the studio

Guitar World

“I wanted to leave, but I didn't have the guts to quit. Just as I reached for the phone, it rang. ‘Hi, Flea, you’re fired’”: The call that ended Flea’s days as a pick-playing punk and set him on the path to worldwide fame with the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Flea went on to have major success with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who released their self-titled debut album later that year

Guitar World

Epiphone launches hotly anticipated reissue of Alex Lifeson’s iconic ES-355 – just in time for Rush's return to the stage

The original ES-355 was Lifeson's main guitar for decades, featuring on almost every Rush record before it was sold at auction in 2022

Guitar World

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A signature electric for a fictional guitar hero? PRS has launched a new SE model for an anime character

It's a unique recreation of the guitar used by the lead character in hit anime series, Rock is a Lady’s Modesty

Guitar World

“We have regularly heard players request one change”: Gibson gives in to overwhelming fan demands and supercharges its Victory shred machine with one key upgrade

The Victory has finally got the spec that fans have been begging for

Guitar World

Give your guitar-obsessed dad something he'll actually use this Father's Day – including a best-in-class desktop amp, an intriguing way he can recycle old guitar strings, and more

Save your papa from yet another boring Father's Day with my 9 hand-picked gift ideas for the guitar-playing dad in your life

Guitar World

“So common that it is depicted as a generic electric guitar in a dictionary”: When Fender went to court and lost – the 2009 court ruling that failed to trademark the Stratocaster

In 2009, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board denied trademark protections to the Strat, Tele and P-Bass. How did it arrive at its judgement? And what’s different this time?

Guitar World

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“It is good news. Better than I expected”: Höfner has been bought out after filing for bankruptcy – and will be backed by Thomann for a new era

GEWA Music, of which Thomann is a shareholder, has bought the historic instrument maker beloved by Paul McCartney

Guitar World

“Possibly the best Revstar yet”: Yamaha 60th Anniversary RSP20B and RS02CB Chris Buck review

After redesigning the ‘new’ Revstar back in 2022, Yamaha has added two models to the line-up: a 60th Anniversary knees-up and Chris Buck signature model

Guitar World

“I was just playing, warming up for the show, and Glenn comes busting in… ‘What the hell’s that?’ ‘I don’t know, it’s just this lick I warm up with.’ He said, ‘No, that‘s an Eagles song, dude!’” The making of the Eagles’ 1976 masterpiece Hotel California

How the Eagles harnessed their cresting creative powers – and resisted their appetite for destruction – to create one of rock’s all-time classics

Guitar World

The $330,200 Fender Telecaster that connects Danny Gatton to Lou Reed

Lou Reed's ‘Goldie’ Tele is an early ’90s gem that went under the hammer at the record-breaking Jim Irsay auction

Guitar World

“I’ve been playing B-benders since 1999, so I was eager to get my mitts on this guitar”: Fender John Osborne Telecaster review

The country-rock star’s Tele tears up the template – and could be your fastest ticket to B-bender tone

Guitar World

“I woke up hallucinating. It felt like a really bad acid trip. I tried to talk about that in the song”: Failure’s Ken Andrews is one of alt-rock's most influential tonesmiths. He talks teaming up with Hayley Williams and his return from near-death

After a scary hospital experience, the guitarist lost his mojo for a while – but he’s back with Location Lost, an album that features new twists and turns, along with classic attitude

Guitar World

“I was like, ‘Oh, this playing sounds weirdly familiar.’ And then I found the video. It was lifted note for note”: The moment Jack Gardiner realized Giacomo Turra had lifted his licks

The serial solo thief targeted a range of virtuosos, but Jack Gardiner was one of the first to realize he’d been a victim

Guitar World

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Guitar World

Extreme and Red Hot Chili Peppers classics among first tracks confirmed for Guitar Hero's spiritual successor, Stage Tour

The game seems to be taking a page from Guitar Hero's playbook by featuring both old-school legends and more contemporary powerhouses

Guitar World

“Clapton in Crossroads, Gilmour in Comfortably Numb and Peter Green in Black Magic Woman… all have their own take on how they approach rhythms in the phrasing”: The secret to great guitar solos isn’t technique – it’s rhythm

All the greats put themselves into their phrasing, and that identity was not only note choice but rhythm. Here are four ways you can add rhythmic interest to great effect

Guitar World

“The P-90s in it are ridiculously good. I’m still trying to work out quite why they’re as good as they are, if I’m honest”: What makes this 1957 Les Paul Special such a smokeshow?

This gorgeous and striking late-’50s Special turned out to have freakishly good pickups, says Sunbear Pickups founder Stu Robson – and he can't explain why

Guitar World

“I found myself sitting next to Keith Richards – just two guys playing the guitar. Doesn’t get much better than that!” From Eric Clapton to Daft Punk and Avenged Sevenfold, Greg Leisz has played with everyone. But don’t call him a session guitarist

He says finding himself working with Matthew Sweet, k.d. lang, and Lucinda Williams has been a dream. But he still wants his stolen ’64 Strat back

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Guitar World

"A genuinely brilliant guitar that can do far more than its heavy metal aesthetic suggests": Ibanez Iron Label AZ41B1 review

Ibanez's pitch-black metal machine is hiding a secret beneath its stealthy exterior

Guitar World

“In ’84 that was it. We were done. I was completely bankrupt. It was devastating”: How Mike Matthews saved pedal pioneers Electro-Harmonix from the brink – and managed to secure its longterm future

When Electro-Harmonix went bankrupt in the mid-’80s, Matthews was forced to pivot and find an alternative market for his business, away from the States

Guitar World

“They don’t even say it’s not a real band. And they have a one-neck guitar”: A fake Angine de Poitrine has been passing themselves off as the real deal in Russia

The imitators are passing themselves off as the real thing – and show just how far the band’s success has gone

Guitar World

Rush play first show in 11 years, armed with double-neck guitars and deep cuts

The prog legends returned to the stage at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, and the setlist and gear on display are a sight to behold

Guitar World

“Everyone in the room thought I was buying it. Maybe it helped – people weren’t bidding the way they were on some of the other guitars!” What Derek Trucks made of Jerry Garcia’s $11m Tiger guitar

The slide icon explains why he was really in the room at the record breaking guitar auction – and reflects on the lessons learned making Future Soul

Guitar World

“We continue to fight for the return of Darrell’s guitar designs”: Dimebag Darrell’s estate responds after court rules in Dean’s favor in legal dispute

The late Pantera guitarist’s estate claims that Dean has been engaged in trademark disputes over his Stealth and Razorback guitar designs

Guitar World

Ed Sheeran is about to launch another piece of signature gear – and he’s already gifted it to a young fan

A new signature Orange amp pays homage to Sheeran’s busking roots

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