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DARK SECRETS: 3 | Rare Historical Photos

“The owner refused to believe me and called me a liar. Then I realized the craziest thing...” This luthier was offered the chance to buy a ’90s Les Paul, but something didn’t feel right –it turns out he had the ultimate proof to hand

The guitar was brought into George Parfitt’s guitar shop, but a deep dive into the instrument’s history led him to a baffling discovery – and a powerful illustration in not trusting serial numbers

Guitar World

“I had 30 days left on my visa or they’re gonna throw me out of the country. I didn’t know they’d already auditioned 24 guitarists”: Scott Gorham recalls his nerve-racking Thin Lizzy audition – and his first impressions of Brian Robertson

Back in 1974, Thin Lizzy were auditioning a second guitarist to accompany their newest recruit: the 18-year-old Les Paul-wielding Brian Robertson

Guitar World

“It’s the Kinks meets AC/DC. I had to play around with the riff because I didn’t want it to sound like You Really Got Me – you don’t wanna get sued”: Jim Babjak revisits 5 classic Smithereens riffs – and reveals the gear and stories behind them

New Jersey's finest have had their share of killer riffs. Here Babjak walks us through the catalog, talks trials by click-track, and reveals how A Girl Like You nearly ended up at the movies

Guitar World

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“There’s a sleek look to bands like Loathe, Spiritbox or Knocked Loose. Spiky shapes are engrained in our values – we want to wear our influences on our sleeves”: Employed To Serve are re-embracing metal guitars –but dropping amps

Preparing to tour fifth album Fallen Star, guitarists Sammy Urwin and David Porter talk Scandi influences, trading offsets for baritones and amp modelers, and breaking down musical tribalism

Guitar World

“I remember there was a video of Gary Moore and he played Red House on this Fiesta Red Strat, and I thought it was just the most incredible thing”: Is Toby Lee Britain’s next blues-rock superstar?

The Firebird-toting Blackstar endorsee's name has been mentioned ever since he recorded a track for B.B. King, aged 10. Here, he explains why he was always playing for keeps

Guitar World

“An amazing piece of history from the British blues scene”: Robert Plant is selling a trove of gear for charity – including a John Birch-modded ‘62 Stratocaster with two switches that once belonged to Stan Webb of Chicken Shack

The 1990 Les Paul that Les Paul gave the former Led Zeppelin frontman has been sold but that Strat is one super-cool refin – so too the mandolin and resonator

MusicRadar

“It's like saying, ‘Give a man a Les Paul, and he becomes Eric Clapton. It's not true’”: David Gilmour and Roger Waters hit back at criticism of the band's over-reliance on gear and synths when crafting The Dark Side of The Moon in newly unearthed clip

The clip is featured in Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, the newly restored version of the band's groundbreaking Live At Pompeii film

Guitar World

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“I was in a frenzy about it being trapped and burnt up. I knew I'd never be able to replace it”: After being pulled from the wreckage of a car crash, John Sykes ran back to his burning vehicle to save his beloved '76 Les Paul

What would ~you~ do for your favorite guitar?

Guitar World

"A traditionally spec'd, workhorse machine that sounds like a Les Paul should while offering some limited-edition aesthetics": Gibson Les Paul 60s Double Trouble review

In what seems like a sly reference to some legal battles, Gibson brings a '60s-style Les Paul with vintage appeal

Guitar World

“This is a beautiful, well-executed Les Paul, and that’s the sort of guitar you tend to hold onto for life. That’s as sound an investment as there is”: Gibson Les Paul Standard ‘50s Double Trouble review

Looking for a collectible Gibson electric without the Murphy Lab price tag? This limited edition model is a compelling twist on the current Les Paul Standard with the subtle whiff of vintage mojo

MusicRadar

“It's the most significant development in the last 50 years. Everything else has just been a little tweak on something Leo Fender or Les Paul did”: Once Allan Holdsworth picked up a headless Steinberger, there was no turning back

Though he'd also later work with Carvin, Holdsworth remained a headless guitar devotee for the rest of his life, telling Guitar World in an interview just days before his death, “Once you play a headless guitar, you’ll never want to play a regular guitar again”

Guitar World

“I got together with Jeff a few years ago. The famous white Strat was sitting on the couch so I said, ‘Jeff, pick it up and play it!’” Rockabilly rover Mick Rogers on playing with Frank Zappa, touring with Kiss, and rootsy jams with Jeff Beck

The veteran rocker recalls how Frank Zappa helped him get his first Les Paul – and also got him kicked out of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – and discusses his recordings with Jeff Beck, which Rogers says were the last the late virtuoso ever made

Guitar World

“They’re basically Les Paul copies, let’s be frank. It’s a Les Paul-style guitar and I already have amazing Les Pauls”: Kirk Hammett owns over 100 guitars but none of them are PRS. He explains why

The Metallica guitarist has an enviously extensive guitar collection, but it doesn’t feature any of Paul Reed Smith’s builds

Guitar World

“We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear”: The Les Paul Recording Studio opens in Hollywood – bringing the innovator’s revolutionary gear to a whole new generation of musicians

Aside from his work revolutionizing the electric guitar, Les Paul helped modernize recording methods, and this new studio honors his legacy with the gear he built

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

"This console is where multi-track recording was born": The Les Paul Recording Studio opens with "meticulously restored" equipment used by the inventor and guitarist

"We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear to working condition, allowing today’s artists to record using the exact tools that revolutionized popular music"

Guitar World

“The Boys Are Back in Town is at least as memorable for its guitar breaks as for its chorus”: Thin Lizzy inspired Metallica, Iron Maiden, and the Cure, practically invented twin lead guitar, and have had 15 guitarists. Here’s your guide to all of them

Thin Lizzy are tough enough for punks, heavy enough for metalheads, poetic enough for romantics – and their catchy riffs and licks have been played by some of the finest guitarists on earth

Guitar World

“A meeting was arranged, but the guy took off and drove to Guadalajara”: It was used for one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, then “kidnapped” and driven to Mexico – the Hollywood-like story of one of George Harrison's most famous guitars

Clandestine meetings, dramatic TV pleas, ransom demands, hurried getaway drives across the Mexican border... it sounds like a thriller, but it all revolved around a very special Les Paul

MusicRadar

“It’s just heartbreaking to see someone spend so much money on something that is fake”: YouTuber assembles team of guitar experts including Joe Bonamassa and Gibson's Tom Murphy to show you how to spot a fake Les Paul

Robert Baker puts a lot of guitar knowledge in one room to run the rule over a cheap and nasty counterfeit Gibson

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Guitar World

“We often overlook this humble technique, yet it’s such an important tool for expressive rhythm and lead playing”: Palm muting is an essential guitar technique – but there’s a lot more to it than just chugging. Are you using it to its full potential?

First used by ’50s legends Chet Atkins and Les Paul, it is rock, metal and punk that have made palm muting so popular today

MusicRadar

“It’s a privilege to be involved in this good cause… especially when it involves making a fantastic Les Paul”: Gibson and Johnny Marr team up for limited edition replica of his red 1984 Les Paul Standard in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust

Limited to just 20 units worldwide, Marr's Bigsby-equipped Les Paul will be available from the Gibson Garage London from 21 February with all proceeds going to charity

Guitar World

“We’re not hearing $1,750 difference in the sonic quality, feel or playability. Far from it”: Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard and Gibson Les Paul Standard ’50s Mahogany Top review

Two recent Les Paul launches from Gibson and Epiphone take a nod back to the ’50s in style. But not only are they made on different continents, they’re very different inprice. Which is best? Let’s find out

Guitar World

“It threw me off completely. Here I am in front of 16,000 people, on the stage where Jeff Beck stood, where The Beatles stood, and where Jimi Hendrix stood”: Steve Lukather on wielding Beck’s Strat, jams with George Harrison –and his best solo slip-up

Luke sets the record straight on recent fake interview about modern players, explains how he knew when Michael Jackson liked his playing, and hints at what to expect from his new Music Man signature

Guitar World

“Jimmy Page said, ‘If you want to go work straight away, do the Ozzy gig. If not, we’d love to have you’”: Phil Soussan is one of the ultimate bass journeymen – he looks back at his storied career, and why he picked Ozzy Osbourne over Jimmy Page

The Last in Line member recalls his weird experience of recording bass on The Ultimate Sin, what it was like being in the room for Zakk Wylde’s Ozzy audition, being frustrated with Vince Neil’s band, and his amazing chemistry with Steve Lukather

MusicRadar

NAMM 2025: “The NAMM Show has always been an excuse for guitar-makers to pull out all the stops”: Gibson turns the clock back to 1955 for a commemorative Murphy Lab Les Paul in five holy grail custom colours

Thanks to Joe Bonamassa, you'll all be familiar with Copper Iridescent, but how about a P-90 loaded Custom Shop LP in Samoa Beige, Nugget Gold, Viceroy Brown and Platinum?

Metal Hammer

“I should have been dead that night!”: Ace Frehley looks back on Kiss' wild on-stage mishaps, including the trick that doctors warned could have left him in a wheelchair

Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley fell down many, many times...and once even almost died on stage

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