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FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Robben ford | History Defined

“If James Burton recorded that song one more time, it would not have sounded the same. They caught lightning in a bottle”: An all-star guitar panel choose their Telecaster Mount Rushmore – its greatest players, their greatest tracks

Pros pick their favorite Tele riffs and solos and decide who should be carved into that massive “Telecaster Mount Rushmore” that exists only in our deranged minds

Guitar World

"I remember looking at him and thinking: 'This guy's gonna die.'" Robben Ford's wild tales of Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Kiss, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison and more

Session guitarist extraordinaire Robben Ford got high with George Harrison, hit on by Barry Manilow, yelled at by Miles Davis, blanked by Bob Dylan and headhunted by Gene Simmons... and these are his stories

Louder

“I never liked the electric guitar. I’m just not drawn to it”: The life and times of Ralph Towner, the endlessly curious frontiersman of acoustic jazz who worked with everyone from Bill Bruford to Robben Ford

Taking influence from Indian classical, Brazilian bossa nova and beyond, this late jazz master’s touch and vision equalled anyone on the fusion scene

Guitar World

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“I thought, ‘That’s the guitar Mike Bloomfield played…’ I just had to buy it”: The mistake that led Robben Ford to buy his first great instrument –and how Miles Davis and Jeff Beck took him to the Strat

As Ford returns with Two Shades of Blue, the Californian guitar legend drops by for a video lesson and to talk all things guitar, from his adventures with big-box jazz models to Strats

Guitar World

“It was the way for me to learn to approach the guitar a different way, because Jeff Beck was not an early influence”: Robben Ford on rearranging John Lennon, iconic collaborations and paying tribute to Jeff Beck and amp guru Alexander Dumble

Two Shades Of Blues was conceived as a tribute to Beck and Ford's favourite amp builder, and it finds him exploring the Strat and making his own weather with his Overdrive Special

MusicRadar

“I knew that he liked me, and he would call me on the phone. ‘Robben, what you doing!?’” Robben Ford on how playing with Miles Davis made him feel untouchable

Ford wasn't a jazz player when he joined up with Davis in 1986 but he would soon learn – and it give him a sense of self-confidence that's with him to this day

MusicRadar

“I was the only guy playing that guitar. It was their version of a semi-hollow”: How Robben Ford helped Fender design their short-lived answer to the ES-335

The short-lived build aimed to compete with one of Gibson's flagship models

Guitar World

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“When I first met George I was just speechless. But when we started playing, he gave no direction. He liked the way I played, and I would just be myself”: Robben Ford on what it was like working with a Beatle at the age of 22

By his own admission, Ford was “green” when he was called into play on George Harrison’s Dark Horse but there was no pressure to be anything other than himself

MusicRadar

“Six highly collectible amplifiers valued at more than most homes are worth”: Looking for the holy grail tube tones of Joe Bonamassa, John Mayer, Carlos Santana and Robben Ford? IK Multimedia just put $300,000 of Dumble mojo into a Tonex One mini pedal

The Tonex One Double Special is a limited edition pedal preloaded with 20 models from two über-rare Dumbles – and the bundled software presents sounds from six Overdrive Specials

MusicRadar

“It’s like a no-holds-barred riff throwdown between nu-metal and grunge. It. Does. Not. Let. Up.”: February 2026 Guitar World Editors’ Picks

Two generations of virtuosos – Steve Vai and Matteo Mancuso – join forces, Midwest Emo GOATs American Football return, Anna Calvi works wonders with her Telecaster, Mateus Asato gives us long-awaited instrumental bliss, and Angine de Poitrine deliver, uh, “Dada-Pythago-Cubist Mantra-rock” – all this and much, much more

Guitar World

“I said, ‘Oh, Joni, that’s gonna sound terrible. You need an amp, man! You need some tubes vibrating. You need some air! She goes, ‘Would you just try it?’”: Robben Ford reveals how Joni Mitchell helped him nail his guitar tone on a ’70s classic

Ford has fond memories of touring and recording with the “wonderful” Mitchell, who has a producer knows exactly how she wants a guitar to sound – and how to get the tone

MusicRadar

Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: February 16, 2026

Eight songs you need to hear right now, from The Sheepdogs, All Them Witches, Starbenders and more

Louder

“I got bored with Miles Davis. He was like, ‘Robben, play that just like the record.’ And I didn’t join Miles Davis to do that”: Robben Ford explains his dalliance with Davis, Joni Mitchell’s fuzz tips – and how Jeff Beck got him back on the Strat

Ford on two moments when Joni Mitchell was right and he was wrong, why his late 80s stint with Davis didn't work out and his go-to Dumble alternative

Guitar World

“The guitar is the most difficult instrument to play. Trumpet players might argue with me”: Robben Ford on his favorite Tele, Dumble magic and why the guitar is a tough nut to crack

The jazz, blues and rock great plays favorites with his gear and recalls that time when he was supporting Jimmy Witherspoon and he took a fall... and took the drums with him

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I was like, ‘Joni, that’s gonna be terrible, we need an amp.’ She was like, ‘Would you just try it?’” Robben Ford on Joni Mitchell’s fuzz pedal experiments that shaped one of her most adventurous tracks

Ford says the experience defines what “the ultimate creative artist” is like to work with – and it changed the way he played

Guitar World

“I had just done 9 months with Joni Mitchell… But that whole Dark Horse tour was a really weird thing. George was uncomfortable being a band leader”: Robben Ford on the highs and lows of touring with George Harrison

Blues/jazz maestro Robben Ford reflects on his time touring with George Harrison in the fall of 1974

Guitar World

“My phone buzzes: ‘Come down and see Robben’s amp.’ I’m stressing out like, ‘Oh, somebody's poured beer in it...’” That time Robben Ford brought his prized Dumble amp to a guitar retreat – and let fans play it

It may be one of the most coveted amps in the world, but Ford let fans get up close and personal with the holy grail #102 Dumble

Guitar World

Black Sabbath! The final interview with Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – all yours in the new Guitar World

Plus interviews with Jake E. Lee, Adam Jones, Creed Bratton from The Office, the guys from Goose, former Jethro Tull man Martin Barre, K.K. Downing, Zakk Wylde, Jerry Cantrell, Tom Morello, Lzzy Hale, Billy Duffy, Robben Ford and more

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Guitar World

“There was nothing challenging about it in any way whatsoever”: Robben Ford spent months touring with George Harrison – but the experience didn’t stretch his guitar chops

The Beatle’s music may not have put the fusion star’s guitar skills through their paces, but the tour proved the making of him in other ways

Guitar World

Played by everyone from Magic Sam and Otis Rush to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robbie Robertson, Noel Gallagher, and Robben Ford, the Riviera remains Epiphone's semi-hollow superstar

The Riviera played a crucial role in Epiphone's evolution through the New York jazz clubs of the 1920s, '50s electric blues, to today’s vibrant, diverse scene – and it might be the brand's GOAT

Guitar World

“If you’ve ever wondered what unobtanium looks like in amp form, this is it”: Played and revered by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, and John Mayer, Dumble amps have an almost mythical reputation. But what's all the fuss really about?

The late Alexander Dumble built only a handful of meticulously crafted, much-sought-after amplifiers every year – and they ended up in the backlines of many of the greatest guitarists of all time. So where exactly did the magic come from?

Guitar World

Guitar modes lesson 2: The Dorian mode is a bittersweet minor mode – here’s how it works

Robben Ford and Nile Rodgers are just two iconic fans of a mode that countless guitarists use in riffs and solos

Guitar World

Blues-rock legend Michael Landau has made harmonic changes his calling card – and this lesson in his sophisticated soloing style demonstrates how you can, too

Landau’s articulate playing and reference-quality tone makes him one of guitar’s unsung GOATs

MusicRadar

“You don't need a wall of Marshall stacks in order to really be dark": Tom Morello on how acoustic music can be just as ‘hard’ as metal

Morello and Bonamassa dispense some sage advice

Guitar World

“It is without doubt the most exciting, inspiring and moving guitar amp I have ever heard or played”: When That Pedal Show got their hands on an iconic Dumble, it changed everything they thought they knew about great tone

When you play the best guitar amp of your life but know you can never own it, how do you move on? We speak to Mick Taylor and Daniel Steinhardt of That Pedal Show about their tussle with Robben Ford’s Dumble

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