Guitar Magazine

Welcome to the 400th and final print edition of Guitar Magazine. On its launch back in 1991, with the tagline “Bringing the guitar into the nineties” and Johnny Marr as the cover-star, this title represented a genuine alternative to the other voices in guitar journalism. In recent years we’ve worked hard to recapture that spirit and produce a magazine which, in addition to being filled with expert words and beautiful images, is as inclusive and richly diverse as the global guitar community it celebrates. Although writing the final editor’s letter for this title is tinged with sadness, I hope you’ll join us for the ride at Guitar.com where you’ll find all of the great content that you love reading every month and so much more besides, as we divert our energy…

JOSH GARDNER CHATTY MAN Managing editor Josh has been chatting to the great and good of guitar since he joined the brand in 2017. “They say never meet your heroes,” he reflects. “But this job has shown me that no matter how famous you are, guitarists love talking about guitar. Whether it’s St Vincent or Slash, Jason Isbell or Steve Vai, it’s the common ground that unites us all. It’s been my great privilege to nerd out with so many guitar icons over the last few years, and to share those stories with you. I can’t wait to tell even more of them on Guitar.com.” HUW PRICE POWER RANGER Guitar tech and former studio engineer Huw has been writing for Guitar for more than 20 years. You can find his final print contribution on p121.…

Join the conversation Email us at editors@guitar.com CAN YOU DIG IT Hi, over the past few months you’ve been asking for examples of home-build guitars. I thought I’d send in mine, as they are certainly a little different to what others have submitted so far: jerry can guitars and matching amps! Both the guitar and amp are built without opening the jerry cans themselves, other than the cut-outs to install the neck and the pickup. So far I’ve built two matching pairs of jerry can guitars and amps: one green, and one red, with the amps being made by modifying a kit that I bought from The Jam Jar Amps in Wales. In addition to my two completed pairs, I’ve also built a third amp, which contains both a 0.25W and a 1.25W amp…

"When I made Alone At Last, I had only been writing songs for two years. I hardly even knew what kind of songwriter I was,” says Tasha of her 2018 debut album. Her reservations aside, what’s clear on her latest, Tell Me What You Miss The Most, is how much her craft has developed since then, revealing her tender approach to melody and chordal work. There may be twists and turns between the euphoric highs of a new relationship and the sombre lows of an impending break-up but overall this LP is bursting at the seams with joy and acceptance, thanks in part to Tasha’s beautiful vocal delivery. Both a musician and poet, Tasha says that her lyricism was “born from this desire to get back to an intimacy, or honesty, with…

After an illustrious career that has comprised more than 20 albums and spans almost three decades, how do you continue to reimagine your work as a band? By going back to the beginning. With Heavy Load Blues, Warren Haynes and his bandmates deliver their first dedicated blues album, which features original songs, previously unheard covers, and time-tested blues standards that have become incorporated into their live set. Recorded live onto analogue tape at Power Station New England studios in Connecticut alongside producer Joe Paterno, the album saw Gov’t Mule set up a series of small vintage amps, including 50s Gibson and Supro offerings, giving Haynes a combination of three amps for each song. Throughout the record’s 13 tracks, the band embellish blues favourites with impromptu midway jams, as on their version…

THE BLACK KEYS Delta Kream It’s hard to nominate an album of the year when I’m struggling to stop hitting repeat on two beautiful tracks I’ve heard recently: the sun-dappled Change by Big Thief, and Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers’ song for the ages Nothing New. But I’m here to talk albums – and the standout for me in 2021 was Delta Kream. Old-school fans who’ve wanted Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach to revisit their OG hill country blues influences are in for a treat, with the duo here aided by RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough sidemen Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton. Auerbach sits in the pocket as Brown’s slide playing takes centre stage, and there’s an authenticity in these grooves rarely heard in modern blues. Chris Vinnicombe, chief editor DRY CLEANING New Long Leg Upon…