Michael Astley-Brown

Guitar World

“I said to Billy, ‘We should order one of these, and I’ll play it. It’ll be hilarious.’ Then it went viral. I hate playing that bass. Now I’ve got to play it every night”: Elwood Francis on why he regrets his 17-string bass becoming a ZZ Top staple

By: Michael Astley-Brown, Andrew Daly

3 min read Elwood Francis reveals the origins of his preposterous 17-string bass – and why he’s disappointed it went viral

Guitar World

Guitar World’s tracks of the month – our editors pick their guitar highlights

By: Matt Parker, Matt Owen, Jackson Maxwell, Janelle Borg, Michael Astley-Brown

Featuring tortuous djent riffs, an 8-bit party rocker, Phoebe Bridgers’ grungiest song to date, a massive shoegaze soundscape, and Steven Wilson’s latest prog opus

Guitar World

Guitar World editors name the gear trends that leave them cold: “Sorry, it will never be part of my rig”

By: Matt Owen, Jackson Maxwell, Michael Astley-Brown, Matt Parker

Headless guitars, AI tone sculpting, too many damn options… What’s the gear trend you’ve never understood?

Guitar World

“There is a lot riding on this one”: Fender’s overhauled American Professional line has officially dropped – Guitar World editors react

By: Matt Owen, Michael Astley-Brown, Matt Parker, Rob Laing

It’s the biggest launch of the year for the Big F – and it’s not just a new lick of paint

How Fender is resetting its electric guitar lineups – starting with the overhauled American Professional range

By: Michael Astley-Brown

Significant updates. Simplified guitar lineups. No more numbers. Heck, there’s even a price drop. Fender’s Chief Product Officer Justin Norvell explains how the guitar giant is changing course with its new flagships

Guitar World

“That pedal sounded amazing. I literally used it that night in the show. I was like, ‘I need this on the guitar’”: Matt Bellamy bought the firm that makes his guitars. Now he’s using it to update Muse’s sound and build instruments for icons

By: Michael Astley-Brown

The Muse frontman wound up owning Manson Guitar Works after 20 years of FX-loaded collaborations. He details its forthcoming Graham Coxon signature model and why mistakes are an important part of his playing

Guitar World

“PRS probably won’t shake the preconceptions, but your dentist might well be a better sweep-picker”: PRS has made a major metal play with the Tekton lineup – Guitar World editors react

By: Matt Owen, Stuart Williams, Matt Parker, Michael Astley-Brown

A new era of PRS is here with the arrival of a family of metal guitars intent on shaking up the market

Guitar World

“I thought it was a genius idea. It seemed like a whole project rather than just a single bass”: Fender and Mark Hoppus release signature bass you can customize yourself – but it’s only available for 182 hours

By: Michael Astley-Brown, Matt Owen

With an exclusive Guava Green colorway and an accompanying sticker set, the limited-edition Jag Bass joins the blink-182 bassist’s growing signature lineup

Guitar World

“My first show back from cancer, Covid and back with Tom was Coachella. It was like being thrown right back into the deep end of the pool”: Mark Hoppus on blink-182’s triumphant third act, their next album and his one-off Fender Jaguar Bass

By: Michael Astley-Brown

One of pop-punk’s most influential bassists reveals what songwriting with Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker is really like, the guitar parts you might not realize he wrote and why his new signature bass is unique for every player

NewsBreak

Mark Hoppus on blink-182’s triumphant third act, their next album and his one-off Fender Jaguar Bass

By: Michael Astley-Brown

One of pop-punk’s most influential bassists reveals what songwriting with Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker is really like, the guitar parts you might not real