Pedal to the Metal: The 25 Greatest Wah Solos of All Time
Since the guitar's inception, there have been countless talented players who could make the instrument sing, but it wasn't until the mid-'60s and the arrival of the wah pedal that guitarists could make...
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Say Wah? Five Essential Signature Wah Pedals
For all the audio wizardry made possible by effect pedals, nothing quite rivals the expression allowed by a great wah pedal.Originally intended to mimic the sound of a muted trumpet, it didn't take...
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We've Got Your Back: The 10 Best Backing Bands of All Time
Besides reliable gear, sensible footwear and a guaranteed ride to gigs, members of good backing bands must have:• Humility. After all, they're not the stars. The frontman (or woman) is.• Natural talent...
View ArticlePhoto Gallery: 50 Classic Acoustic Rock Songs
Whether you began on an electric or an acoustic guitar, there's no doubt the latter will eventually find its way into your hands at some point.The nature of the acoustic guitar's efficiency (no amp!)...
View ArticleLittle Games: Jimmy Page's Five Best Guitar Solos with The Yardbirds
Before he wielded the hammer of the gods — and a Les Paul — as a member of mighty Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page was a Telecaster-wielding Yardbird.Today we turn our attention to Page's best guitar work with...
View ArticleSmall Wonders: Five Essential 15-Watt Guitar Amps
Let's face it, bringing a 100-watt guitar amp to your average weekend bar gig is a lot like taking a Lamborghini to Shop Rite for Sunday-afternoon grocery shopping. You simply don't need all that power...
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La Grunge: The Top 10 Blues-Approved Overdrive/Distortion Pedals
The origin of guitar distortion goes back to the earliest electrified blues guitarists. They didn’t care that their primitive tube amps were breaking up and distorting, as long as they were loud. Soon,...
View ArticlePhoto Gallery: Top 10 Weirdest Custom Guitars
Most guitarists at one point or another in their development have gone through some sort of “I want a custom guitar” phase. Whether it’s a funky paint job or a radical new shape, a custom ax presents...
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Your Signature, Please: Five Essential Pieces of Signature Gear
About 10 years ago, a home-furnishings company named a line of rugs after a gorgeous movie and TV actress. It turns out that, aside from walking, sidling and sashaying on them for a few decades, she...
View ArticleTop 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties
Yeah, they dressed funny and their lyrics often lacked the angst and agonized self-awareness that we’ve come to expect in this decade of the rock and roll sissy-band, but the pop metal acts of the...
View Article1973 Photo Gallery: 50 Classic Albums Celebrating Their 40th Anniversary in 2013
Nineteen hundred and seventy-three is one of those rare years — like, say, 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1991— that saw the release of an impressive assortment of seminal rock albums. As we wrote two years ago...
View ArticleFastest Guitars in the Country: 10 Essential Country Shred Guitar Songs
Below, Guitar World picks the 10 essential country shred guitar songs. Enjoy!Joe Maphis, “Flying Fingers”Flying FingersThe link between blazing acoustic bluegrass and electrified country shred began...
View Article25 Things Every Guitarist Should Know
Many people believe that possessing talent alone is enough to guarantee an artist success in the music business. Nothing could be further from the truth. In a perfect world, the best musicians — the...
View ArticleThe 100 Greatest Metallica Songs of All Time
Metallica are undeniably the most influential rock band of the past 30 years. That fact can be perceived simply by looking at the numbers. They are on the exclusive list of music artists who have sold...
View ArticleZero to '60s in Five Pedals: Five Modern Effects that Conjure Far-Out,...
Many guitar players — at some point — can't help but fall under the spell of the sounds found on classic rock albums of the mid- to late '60s. Players like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy...
View ArticleThe Top 10 Songs That'll Get You Lucky
When you first started playing guitar, it was to get girls, right? Perhaps you were influenced by the party scene in Animal House where the collegiate folkster attracts a gaggle of swooning females by...
View ArticleThe Top 30 12-String Guitar Songs of All Time
When considering the choices for this list, we realized it wasn't as easy a task as we first thought. What makes for a great 12-string guitar song as opposed to a great song that just happens to have a...
View ArticleThe 30 Greatest Shred Albums of All Time
To some people, shred guitar is about one thing, and one thing only: the need for speed. The yearn to burn. The desire for fire. Just the word itself can conjure glorious images of long-haired,...
View ArticleThe Top Five Studio Guest Appearances by Stevie Ray Vaughan
For someone who spent a mere seven years in the spotlight, Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan left behind an impressive amount of recorded material.He released four studio albums, a double live album and a...
View ArticleSynth City: 10 Classic Guitar Synth Songs
Here's an ode to a piece of gadgetry rarely heralded on GuitarWorld.com, something that has brought a whole new world of sounds to guitarists' fingertips: the guitar synthesizer, aka the guitar synth.A...
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