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MYSTERIOUS: 4 - What They Never Told You

“No guitar has shaped popular culture like the Strat”: How the Fender Stratocaster ushered in an evolution in guitar design – and a revolution in guitar music

The Strat’s radical design transformed electric guitar and reshaped culture, and continues to do so after 70 years of service – and it’s only just getting started

Guitar World

“While I was on the phone, there was this loud noise in the background… It was David, who had been working on one note all day long for two weeks”: He’s spent decades chasing David Gilmour’s guitar tone – now Steve McElroy reveals what he’s learned

The Australian Pink Floyd Show mastermind has bought just about every piece of gear Gilmour has ever used. He reveals the secrets behind his Strat tones and techniques – and settles a few myths and legends

Guitar World

“That was the one and only thing I found with Strats that I don’t like. I think they’re awful”: Yngwie Malmsteen reveals the one spec of certain Stratocasters he's not a fan of

While this feature might not work for him, Malmsteen admits other players make it “sound great”

Guitar World

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“Even Eddie Van Halen – god bless him, I love him – was mainly pentatonic. I was radically different”: Yngwie Malmsteen on Rising Force and the introduction of a neoclassical shred icon

Breaking out of Alcatrazz and releasing Rising Force in 1984, a young Yngwie Malmsteen took us all through a supernova of virtuosity that changed guitar forever

Guitar World

Fender's guitar models explained: We break down the entire Fender line-up from Player to Custom Shop, to help you find the right one for you

Get to know your Jazzmasters from your Jags and your Players from your Performers with our breakdown of the vast Fender catalog

Guitar World

“He preferred what was readily available – and affordable. And when he measured responses, he didn’t really see differences between woods”: Leo Fender didn’t think tonewoods made much difference to solidbody guitar tone

The electric guitar pioneer used pine, alder, ash, poplar, mahogany and more, but apparently deemed the tonal differences negligible

Guitar World

“Like so many of Leo Fender’s products, these instruments ended up being wildly successful at producing sounds that ran contrary to his intentions”: The history of Fender offset guitars

Only now, over 60 years on from their launch, are the Jazzmaster and Jaguar becoming recognised as guitars for all players. We trace the innovations that mapped the offset’s long journey from misunderstood outsider to contemporary king

Guitar World

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‘With a Strat you can rule the world!’ Nile Rodgers, Bonnie Raitt and John Squire on the electric guitar that changed everything

How did a radio repair man make an instrument so sublime that it makes giants of music weep with reverence? As the Fender Stratocaster turns 70, we explore its extraordinary life

The Guardian - UK

“A true unicorn”: Joe Bonamassa has just acquired one of the rarest Fenders ever made – a 1954 Blackguard Tele with a huge factory-installed Paul Bigsby pickup

The model is thought to be a complete one-off and is a rare example of a factory-made modification on one of Fender’s most sought-after historic builds

Guitar World

“John was constantly seeking better solutions, which manifested as astonishing woodwork and innovative electronics”: Remembering John Diggins – the luthier who built guitars for Tony Iommi and the first Red Special replica

Diggins was the mastermind behind Jaydee Custom Guitars and had over five decades of experience in making top-quality instruments

Guitar World

“People think Seventies Fenders are bad, but that’s not correct”: Yngwie Malmsteen explains why players shouldn’t be quick to disregard early '70s-era CBS Strats

The Stratocaster’s CBS era may be remembered as one of the instrument's lowest points, but the Swedish virtuoso has pinpointed a key fact regarding the first decade of CBS's ownership of Fender

Guitar World

Floyd Rose: "Many people ask if this would have happened without Eddie Van Halen and I think it would have, but certainly not as quickly"

A rare 2010 interview with the locking tremolo innovator

MusicRadar

“My tone is already destroyed by the time it gets to the amp”: Yard Act are redefining post-punk guitar with plugins and ‘cheapo’ gear – and they reckon a Squier Bullet Tele sounds great DI’d

In a radical new album, Yard Act are blurring the lines between post-punk and hip-hop. Guitarist Sam Shipstone reveals how it was made – with sampling, budget gear and an experimental approach to tone

Guitar World

“It delivers a lot of the classic Stingray sound and it plays like a dream”: Sterling By Music Man SUB Series Stingray Ray4 review

The most affordable take on the Stingray might just be one of the greatest budget basses money can buy

Guitar World

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Fender 70th Anniversary Stratocaster editions celebrate the enduring icon

New Fender 70th Anniversary Stratocaster editions celebrate the enduring appeal of an icon of both modern music and industrial design. Here’s the new line-up

These special 70th anniversary Fender Strats look as good as they sound

Fender Stratocaster celebrates 70 years in style with special edition guitars

Guitar World

“Am I a good bassist? I’m a f**king good bassist!” Sting on bass playing, Cream and his “battered looking” P-Bass

From the Bass Player Archive: An interview with Sting

Guitar World

“He is the fastest and cleanest and has more technique than any other”: Jimmy Bryant was one of the very first Telecaster heroes. Learn how his trailblazing playing shaped the guitarists who followed

Effortlessly mixing jazz, country and blues, Bryant was one of Albert Lee’s great influences, and his style remains a white-knuckle ride of technique and imagination

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MusicRadar

"All of that other stuff – the outboard gear, the electronics – can continue to evolve but the thing that you hold close to your body, that becomes part of you… you don’t have to keep evolving that" – Fender's Justin on heritage and progression

The Big F’s executive VP of product says eyes peeled for more Road Worn finishes, artist signature Acoustasonics, and more special releases to celebrate 70 years of the Stratocaster

Guitar World

“Steve Vai and Joe Satriani’s setups are amazing examples of streamlined innovation. But with my maple neck Strat, it would be hard to do what they’re doing”: Eric Johnson on G3, profilers, and the custom pedal he “might actually put on the market”

Reunited with old friends for a new run of shows, Johnson still swears by his custom Strat and pedal – and rejects the idea that Joe Bonamassa owes him an apology

Guitar World

“90 percent of my guitars are in mint condition – untouched and unmolested... The last 10 percent – those are the ones I play on the road”: Joe Bonamassa on his legendary collection, perseverance, and how he picks his touring guitars

The blues guitar titan looks back on the 2003 album that saved his career, explains why – 20 years later – he's recorded a sequel, and reveals how his legendary guitar collection gave a new voice to slept-on blues tracks

Guitar World

“The message for tube nostalgists is clear: enjoy today what may not be here tomorrow”: Can the tube amp survive in the digital era?

As digital guitar amplification continues to wow the market and guitar players alike, is it realistic to assume that it will be business as usual for the tube amp?

Guitar World

Short-scale vs long-scale bass: what's the difference?

Get the lowdown on the low-end - we look at the differences between short-scale and long-scale basses

Guitar World

“When someone wants to rehearse before the session, that’s the kiss of death”: Watch Lee Sklar’s YouTube playthrough of Steve Lukather’s Stab in the Back

Bass legend Lee Sklar used his “Frankenstein 4-string” on Lukather’s 2008 nod to Donald Fagen

Guitar World

The world’s most influential guitar gear designers: meet the pioneers behind the innovations that changed the electric guitar forever

It’s not just star guitarists who have changed the way we play – these are the innovators whose inventions forever altered the course of the guitar itself

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