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THE TRUTH ABOUT: 2 - The Untold Story

“I was driving home, and I thought of this chord sequence. I was about 20 minutes away from the studio. I turned around and went back”: Robert Smith on the flash of inspiration that shaped the Cure's biggest hit

Proving beyond doubt that the band's range extended far beyond dense, brooding epics, it remains the Cure song to reference for those who know only of the band's name and maybe their frontman's inimitable hairdo

Guitar World

Bob Dylan has just recruited one of the world's greatest jazz guitarists – and no one quite knows what's going on

Virtuoso Julian Lage – who's very likely your favorite guitarist's favorite guitarist – has been welcomed into Dylan’s band without prior announcement or fanfare

Guitar World

“I’ve never been very confident as a player. I’ve always felt like I had to work hard, and maybe I didn’t appreciate that I have a natural talent for playing guitar”: Alex Lifeson’s 20 greatest guitar moments in Rush

From fever-dream epics to blistering solos, weird harmonizer effects and 12-string chime, here are Lerxst’s finest hours with the iconic Canadian prog trio

Guitar World

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“What an amazing gift. Only years later did I realize he'd dropped my SG and put a crack in the neck”: Why Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard played an obscure Fender model early in his career – and the reason he's picked it up again after two decades

The alt-rock statesman's relationship with the Bullet, a beginner-friendly model, began with a gift that he thought at the time was an act of pure, unprompted generosity. He didn't quite know the whole story...

Guitar World

“It’s called Bruno…. They blowtorched it and scraped it up”: Steve Vai is bringing his original For the Love of God Ibanez with him on tour – but he isn’t playing it

The seven-string has officially been added to Vai’s touring arsenal – here’s why you didn’t see it on stage

Guitar World

“I didn’t like it, but Tom said, ‘No, it’s great. Now you’ve got to double it’”: Mike Campbell on the riff he wanted to ditch – but Tom Petty made him double down

Campbell was forced to get creative to make a Heartbreakers classic

Guitar World

“The downpicking approach was inspired by competition between Dave and I. Like, ‘Here’s a riff… Wait, you can’t play that. Hahaha!’” How James Hetfield wrangled Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax for metal’s biggest reunion

James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett explain the origins of the Big 4 shows – which united Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax on one historic bill

Guitar World

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“I opened for Brad Paisley and his tech jokingly said, ‘Don’t do the B-Bender thing. That’s Brad’s thing’”: John Osborne on the time he got warned off the B-Bender – even though he didn’t have one

Osborne couldn't afford a B-Bender at first, so instead he got good, really good, at emulating the pedal steel sound without one

Guitar World

“It’s something I’ve always done all my life, and I can’t get away from it. I have to remind myself it’s okay to play the tops of chords”: Doug Gillard of Guided By Voices on finally going solo again –and the playing quirk he can’t shake

Parallel Stride is a essential listening for Guided By Voices who have been jonesing forever in the wait for Gillard to release a follow-up to 2014's Parade On

Guitar World

“I showed up, plugged in, and it was over. Then I saw a video and thought, ‘I’m glad I didn’t dream it’”: When two of the world’s finest guitar players joined forces – Julian Lage on his jam with Derek Trucks

They traded licks for 15 minutes, but it was all over too soon

Guitar World

“Weird, small, brilliant, respectful of pedalboard space. What more could you need?” This week’s hottest new guitar gear – including Alex Lifeson’s ES-355, Charvel’s US return and Ed Sheeran’s new Orange squeeze

We’ve got weird reverbs from EHX, super-cheap AI-enabled multi-effects units, high-end shredders, climate-controlled gig bags and more

Guitar World

“I fell in with some Texas boys and started jamming. They had these G&Ls. The first time I picked one up, I fell in love”: Jerry Cantrell on the magic and mods of his iconic “Blue Dress” G&L Rampage – and his gift from Eddie Van Halen

Back in January 1996, Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell was on the cover of Guitar World with his “Blue Dress” Rampage. 30 years on it's still going strong

Guitar World

“I just don't like chords – I don't like playing them. Music is much more interesting when everybody plays a harmonic line that creates a wider picture”: How Death Cab for Cutie found their second act – by embracing the weird, and guitars from their past

Ben Gibbard developed the songs for their sharp and confident new album I Built You a Tower like he did in the indie icons' earliest days, power trio style – but he and guitarist Dave Depper have never been more in lockstep

Guitar World

“Ed’s own techs said the only person that could help was this girl outta Nashville. Joe called me and said, ‘Apparently I should be talking to you’”: How Joe Satriani found the amp builder for his dream Eddie Van Halen tone

Satriani needed an amp with exacting specifications for the Best of All Worlds tour – and he got more than he bargained for

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“She was a complete stranger. She was a bit intimidated at first because she’d heard of the band, but she wasn’t a Rush fan”: Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee on Anika Nilles’ rollercoaster audition for Rush's Fifty Something tour

Their five-day session with Nilles wasn’t an audition, but it took until the last day for their doubts over a Rush reunion tour to be destroyed

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

“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

“I was just jamming to the track, and Michael came down with Brooke Shields. I asked, ‘Is this cool?’ He said, ‘Anything you want, Slash’”: The surreal beginning to Slash’s musical relationship with Michael Jackson

The two would go on to become frequent collaborators, with the top-hatted guitar great contributing to every subsequent album Jackson released during his lifetime

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Guitar World

“I was on the way to Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festival and I got a DM from John Mayer…” Tom Misch on the time his guitar hero reached out of the blue and offered to join him on stage

The jazz-funk guitar star was on his way to play the Crossroads Guitar Festival when Mayer messaged him

Guitar World

“Stone Gossard is the reason I picked up guitar in the first place. Having a front row seat to his playing has been amazing”: Josh Klinghoffer on Chili Peppers vs. Pearl Jam and playing in Andrew Watt's new wrecking crew

These days Klinghoffer’s leaving his most well-worn guitars at home, but on his new Pluralone album he went back to his beloved 1947 Martin

Guitar World

“I was like, ‘Let’s freshen up the electric guitar.’ 60 years later, you’re still putting out tributes to the station wagon”: The story of John Mayer’s Fender fallout – and how it gave birth to the Stratocaster’s biggest rival

Mayer left Fender after his wishes for an elevated S-style fell on deaf ears – and he found the perfect partner in PRS and the Silver Sky

Guitar World

“He only ever said one thing to me about sounding like anyone he’d played with before”: Rowan Robertson on the key piece of advice he received from Ronnie James Dio on how to faithfully play Tony Iommi’s riffs

Though Robertson was only 17 at the time he was hired for Ronnie James Dio's band, the legendary frontman had the utmost confidence in him

Guitar World

“Once John’s back in the picture, it’s like the other records don’t exist”: Why Josh Klinghoffer feels his Red Hot Chili Peppers contributions have been erased from history

As Klinghoffer embarks on a new era, the former Chili Peppers guitarist reflects on his tenure with the band and why he feels “slight disrespect” towards his legacy

Guitar World

“I said, ‘It’s everything I need. Can I borrow it to do my demo?’ They went, ‘Let me ask Ern’”: Steve Morse on how a gear nightmare lead him to Ernie Ball – and the signature guitar of his dreams

Morse has become one of Ernie Ball’s most loyal and high-profile endorsers – and it all started with a broken volume pedal

Guitar World

“The focus is on products that completely replicate the exact body design”: Fender is finally speaking out on its cease-and-desist strategy. We reveal the company’s endgame, how it plans to work with rivals and who it’s really going after

Fender might not be declaring war after all – but if its legal campaign succeeds, the guitar market will change forever

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