Hybrid guitars seem to be all the rage these days. The benefits are obvious – being able to obtain electric and acoustic guitar sounds at the flick of a switch without changing your guitar. Imagine going from a loud, rocking opening song to a quiet, intimate acoustic ballad without having to change guitars. The reality [...]

As reported by Modern Guitars Magazine, Gibson Guitar will announce six new additions to the Gibson Custom line of “Inspired By” guitars, honouring Steve Jones, Mick Jones, Alex Lifeson, lee Ritenour, Johnny Winter and Joe Bonamassa.  The lineup of custom reissues includes: Mick Jones Les Paul Custom Alex Lifeson ES-355 Steve Jones Les Paul Custom [...]

Only one guitar has the infamous claim of being the first guitar burnt onstage by legend Jimi Hendrix.  The 1965 Fender Stratocaster was doused with lighter fuel and set alight during a performance at London’s Finsbury Astoria in March 1967 – and Hendrix himself was rushed to hospital with minor burns to his hands.  It [...]

Thanks to Thumbrella for spotting this – here’s a cool 12 picture series on how pieces of wood are transformed into a guitar, by luthiers from Knights Guitar. Below is a stage by stage example of how we made Jacks Guitar. All our guitars are handmade by either Gordon or Rob, both experienced luthiers. Our [...]

The world’s largest and finest collection of Gretsch electric guitars, has been purchased by the Gretsch company for its museum in Savannah, Georgia.  The collection was previously owned by Randy Bachman, amassed during his 30 years of touring, scouring music stores, pawn shops and garage sales around the globe. The collection of around 375 instruments, including [...]

Apparently, only 1 in 20 guitars that arrive from the manufacturers are correctly set up.  I’m not sure whether that claim is meant to be sensationalist or what the criteria is for being “properly set up”, but it does make a good point in that you should always make sure that you set your guitar [...]

Ibanez have made a flurry of announcements at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville, including limited edition guitars, new amps and a whole lot of bass products.  Thanks to Harmony Central – here are brief descriptions and links to the headlines: Ibanez Introduces Additional Xiphos Series Model - the XPT700FX metal guitar with fixed-bridge simplicity and sustain to six [...]

Sparrow Guitars is partnering with Ashton Music to bring their line of guitars to a select number of retailers in the UK. The Canadian based operation imports bare bones guitars from Asia, overhauls the hardware and transforms them with custom artwork. We’ve covered the launch of Sparrow Guitars in Australia previously, and have even reviewed [...]

Gibson is featuring a unique guitar each month during 2008 and is highlighting the Gibson Longhorn Double Cut Electric Guitar with Trans Blue Finish during July. The Longhorn guitar was produced in a limited run of 1,000 instruments. The Gibson Longhorn Double Cut Guitar has a unique body style that incorporates slightly extended, asymmetrical cutaways [...]

Guitarists looking for diversity and a more unique look will appreciate two new releases in the “alternative” guitar range. The Kronodale Recycled G is a 3D open body shaped guitars, which backs up its imaginative telecaster shape with 2 Kent Armstrong pickups, gotoh locking tuners and a variety of finishes. Alternative Guitar and Amplifier Company [...]