“I bought a tiger-stripe Les Paul and started playing it on stage. I broke the neck, got it back and it sounded better. Then I was even more attached to it!” Kirk Hammett on Gibsons, the magic of Greeny and why he thinks the age of active pickups is over
“People have it played at their wedding, and I’m like, ‘Why?’”: We speak to the duo behind one of the most uplifting songs of the 1990s
“When Bob sensed I might refuse to appear, he took the gloves off.” For Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page and Bob Dylan, Live Aid was a case of bad vibes for a good cause
“I was watching Taxi Driver – a bass was sitting on my lap, and I was just hitting the strings. A commercial came on and I realised I’d written an entire song”: How Flea accidentally wrote one of his funkiest basslines
“Paul really misses being in a band. His joy of just being in that context is great”: Keith Richards on why Paul McCartney’s collaboration with the Rolling Stones meant so much
We got an exclusive first look at Nopia, the viral chord synth and “harmony machine” that broke the internet
“Rather than scratching his chin, saying, “I don’t know if this works yet”, he’ll go ‘This could be the beginning of something incredible, let’s keep pushing in that direction’: David Byrne discusses treating the studio “like a playground” with Brian Eno
“Everyone was telling us we sucked. We were the outcast band, and every other high school band at that time talked smack about us”: How Death overcame the odds to bring death metal to the world
“What makes this album so interesting is the fact that there are guitars that are not totally in tune – but good luck trying to get a take as good as that!”: The creative genius and ‘insane’ methodology in Van Halen’s biggest selling album
“Everything started from the hand of a human being”: Italian DJ and producer Ciauru wins Reply AI Music Contest
“I got a hold of a little psychedelic substance and tripped out all night. By morning, I said, ‘I’m a bass player!’” How a psychedelic-fueled studio session set Ron Blair on the path to becoming a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
“Eight and a half years ago, my life changed immeasurably. Music is not part of my life anymore”: Huey Lewis reveals the tragic impact of hearing loss
“He called me and said, ‘There’s a scene in this film which is going to make it a hit all over again.’ I saw it and said, ‘Oh my God!’ When I played that song in England it would go down like a lead zeppelin”: The story of Elton John’s classic sleeper hit
“Diamond is grown as a crystalline layer before the substrate is removed, leaving a self-supporting diamond dome”: Fancy dropping $8,500 on some new cans?
“It’s extremely easy to use, but only once you’ve got to grips with what is quite an esoteric control interface”: Donner DBM-100 metronome review
“We want to stand head and shoulders with the giants and say ‘Yeah it is nice up here Bob Dylan, John Lennon because I’m Richard Ashcroft. We’re The Verve”: The Rolling Stones-sampling Britpop epic that has captivated a new generation
“I was so shocked and sad when he died. At the time, we were recording in Montserrat with George Martin. That night, I wrote a song about Bon”: Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen’s heartfelt tribute to legendary AC/DC singer Bon Scott
“I started playing some of Steve Cropper’s riffs to him and told him how much Soul Man influenced one of our songs. He giggled and was very tickled by that”: Jimmy James on taking Parlor Greens’ funky sound “to the cosmos”
“I only ever use a slapback, so why can’t I stop thinking about a $679 delay pedal?” My pick of the best new guitar gear launched this week – and the new drops you might have missed
Danny Cedrone recorded possibly “the best rock and roll solo of all time” – twice! – but a cruel tragedy meant that he never got to perform it
“You couldn’t tell the difference between the Squier and the Fender. I played them live, and I couldn’t tell”: John 5 on the Squier Telecaster that competes with Fender
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