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INSANE: 55 | Vintage Vibes

Game-changers, taste-makers and trend-setters: here are 2023's guitarists of the year

We tip our hats to the players that made 2023 such a defining year in guitar history – and whose achievements we'll be talking about in years to come

Guitar World

Abbey Road engineer Ken Scott on recording The Beatles: “I was there when Eric Clapton played the solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, but it was just another day at the office so it didn't mean anything at the time”

Best of 2023: On working with Lennon and McCartney: “Paul was exceedingly patient, and would keep on going until it was the way he wanted it, whereas John would prefer to get it over with as quickly as possible”

MusicRadar

Jazzmaster back scratchers, tweed amp humidors and, erm, shower curtains: Here are the wild Joe Bonamassa collectibles you didn't know you needed in your life

Move over KISS and Cory Wong – the President of Nerdville wins the award for the most amazing merch catalog ever

Guitar World

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Budweiser bodies and a new kind of competition stripe? Feast your eyes on Fender Japan’s early Christmas present: the Wasted Youth Telecaster and Mustang Bass collection

Renowned graphic designer and Budweiser creative director Verdy has lent his keen eye for eye-catching aesthetics to FJ's 2023 end-of-year releases

Guitar World

“When you’re playing pop, you need to get the ego out of the way. You’re trying to elevate the song, rather than be heard as a guitar player”: The key to good pop guitar, says MUNA guitarist Josette Maskin, is to play less than you actually want to

Inspired by Jeff Beck and session legend Paul Jackson Jr, Josette Maskin explains how MUNA balances three guitar players, how they ended up using fuzz more than distortion, and why label boss Phoebe Bridgers is underrated as a guitarist

Guitar World

The best new guitar gear of 2023: our favourite guitars, amps and pedals that we played this year

The year of the amp pedal, Fender's new horizons, Boss being bosses and more effects than we knew what to do with

MusicRadar

Fender Highway Series Parlor review

The middle ground between tradition and Acoustasonic?

MusicRadar

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“We had no idea it was going to perform the way it did – or if it was even going to be shown to anyone”: How Cardboard Sessions’ Dave Lee convinced Billy Gibbons, J Mascis and Keanu Reeves to slam on his Fender-approved cardboard guitars

Built by a Master Builder at Fender HQ, you can work the cardboard Strat hard and even whammy it – but you can also see right through it. Could this fun experiment be the future of guitar manufacturing?

Guitar World

“Jeff Pilson called me and asked if I would play some solos. I had no idea it was for Dokken – I was still in a suit and tie from work that day!” Jon Levin has been shredding with Dokken since ’97 – and has to tackle George Lynch’s scariest solos

After 25 years with the heavy metal stalwarts, Dokken's longstanding guitarist details his surprise induction into the group, why you'll find a Danelectro on most of his recorded tracks, and how he captured “lightning in a bottle” on the band's first album in 11 years

Guitar World

The world’s biggest amp brands are not who you think they are: these are Reverb’s best-selling guitar amps of 2023

The used and new retailer's shared its top-selling amps this year – and it asks some serious questions of legacy names

Guitar World

“Precision-designed to get the most out of your modeler”: HeadRush seeks to take the lead in the FRFR arms race with 2 updated speaker cabs – now with Bluetooth connectivity

New-and-improved units offer updated specs and improved I/O options in order to “deliver all the intricacies of your amp and cab emulations”

Guitar World

Universal Audio UAFX Lion '68 Super Lead Amp pedal review

Bringing Plexi back

MusicRadar

“Charles Manson actually stole one of my Martins years ago and I never, ever got it back”: The Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine on his musical regrets, favorite guitars, and the acoustic that got away

Jardine on his custom-made Fender Strat, love of Super Reverbs and the joy of playing the late Carl Wilson’s solos on tour

Guitar World

Fender Tone Master FR-12 review – the FRFR cab your amp modeler has been waiting for

Intended to partner the Tone Master Pro, the relatively affordable FR-12 performs its purpose flawlessly – but its practical applications stretch beyond serving Fender's flagship modeler

Guitar World

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Guitar World

Fender California Series King Vintage review – This guitar is sure to cut through the noise of a busy open-mic night, and there’s an abundance of character in the tone

Fender’s regal dreadnought is a love letter to the company’s past, and might just be the big-voiced acoustic you need in your life

Guitar World

Squier Paranormal Baritone Cabronita Telecaster review – a bargain baritone that can get properly heavy

The Squier Paranormal range’s only baritone offers some unusual sounds for explorative players at a bargain price, but is it more jack of all trades than master of one?

Guitar World

“The Silver Sky reigns supreme”: Reverb reveals its best-selling guitars of 2023 – including the most popular used models, with some surprising results

PRS continues to take a chunk out of the Strat sales and Gibson flourishes in the used market: here's a breakdown of Reverb's annual sales stats

MusicRadar

Nevermind the other festive guitar deals, the iconic Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang has 20% off at Fender

As well as slashing the price of the legendary offset, Fender is also heavily discounting everything from the Paranormal range to the Sonic series, Acoustasonics and Players

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Guitar World

“The ultimate amp modeling software”? HeadRush revives the ReValver modeling engine for the first time in nearly 10 years – introducing seamless plugin and pedalboard integration

After a few years in the digital wilderness, the amp sim software once created by Peavey returns to tackle unprecedented competition – and it's brought some serious upgrades

Guitar World

“Blending the timeless essence of history with the spirit of the modern musician”: Fender is starting the Stratocaster’s 70th anniversary celebrations early, with souped-up Player and American Professional II models and the return of a beloved finish

2024 will see a major milestone for the iconic model, and the Big F has previewed a year of special celebrations and releases with six appropriately styled six-strings

MusicRadar

Fender marks 70 years of the Stratocaster with new colour options, and limited edition American Professional II and Player Series Anniversary editions

The Big F adds Anniversary 2-Color Sunburst to your finish options for the American Professional II and Player Series Strats, and hints at more Anniversary business to come in 2024

Guitar World

“I had to drive several hours through snow to get to him. He told me this was one of the first Stratocasters, and there were some things I noticed immediately”: This 1954 Fender Stratocaster is one of the most unusual Fender builds in history

David Davidson of Well Strung Guitars explains what makes this uniquely preserved vintage Strat so unique – starting with control pots from a TV set

MusicRadar

The 7 ways I learned to improve my guitar tone – that won't cost you money

How I improved my guitar sound; from recording, teaching and playing gigs

Guitar World

Seth Baccus Argonaut Classic and Argonaut Classic Baritone review – not another boutique Fender bender, but a fresh shot at an original offset design

It’s been a long time coming, but Seth Baccus’s Argonaut is finally here and sets a new level for offset design. Guitar‑making rarely gets better than this!

Guitar World

“The sounds of classic tube amps and mic’d speaker cabinets in a standard stompbox”: Boss takes the fight to Universal Audio and Strymon with its smallest amp and IR pedal to date, the IR-2

11 factory amp and cab pairings – including Fender, Soldano, Marshall and Mesa/Boogie-inspired amp models – and third-party IR compatibility head up the new unit

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