Latest articles by Rob Laing
Thomann Cyber Monday deals 2025: the savings are over for another year
Thomann's massive 2025 Cyber Monday deal have ended, but there are still plenty of ways to save
Who needs the £10,499 Gibson Dave Grohl signature DG-335 when the excellent Epiphone version is just £777 today?
This is a call to all Foo Fighters and semi-hollow fans
Thomann Black Friday deals 2025: Don't miss out on 70% off in the official Cyber Week sale
Black Friday day 3 is here, and Thomann's Cyber Week Sale is still adding new bargains
Just £99 for 14 effects pedals in one? Surely this TC Electronic Plethora X1 compact multi-effects deal makes it the most value-packed stompbox this Black Friday
Save space on your pedalboard – and money
"In terms of audio and signal performance, it delivers everything I would want as a vocalist": Positive Grid Spark Link XLR wireless system review
A simple way to add wireless connectivity to an XLR device with mic signal levels, I find out how well Positive Grid's solution holds up in a full band rehearsal
Best acoustic guitar pickups 2025: electrify your acoustic for stage, studio and sound fx – our top picks for all budgets
Looking to perform live, record in a studio or hook up your acoustic guitar to some dazzling effects? Then fitting a quality pickup is the best upgrade you can make
"It's unlike any humbucker I've tried before": Gibson Tony Iommi Signature Humbucker review
Gibson's first-ever signature pickup artist returns with a humbucker that could be a dark horse
Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
Richard Hansson and Niklas Karlsson on why passive humbuckers are better for downtuned riffs, James Hetfield's influence, and why baritones and extended range guitars are too much guitar
"The 2.0 firmware update has expanded its multi-effects versatility significantly": Neural DSP Nano Cortex review
Neural focuses on guitar amp and drive pedal capturing with its second piece of hardware – but does it get the recipe right?
The Oasis song Liam hated because it was 'reggae': "I remember Our Kid saying 'Why are you writing reggae songs?' And I was like, there speaks a man that has never heard reggae"
A songwriter in peak form, a singer and band who hated it, and the song that became bigger than anyone could have imagined
Can you fix your guitar's frets yourself? We try three innovative approaches from MusicNomad to investigate how they might conquer a major cause of fret buzz
Uneven frets are a common issue with our guitars, but MusicNomad has come up with different ways to empower players to deal with it themselves
"You owe your guitar the chance to be its best": How to clean and polish your guitar frets a better way
We take a look at two different products that can help you get your frets gleaming and your guitar back to its best for smoother bends and clearer vibrato
Best chorus pedals 2025: Our pick of the top chorus pedals
Chorus is back! Find out why with our top-rated chorus pedals you need to try today
"For some guitarists this could be the smartest $199 they spend all year": Positive Grid Neo wireless guitar headphone amp review
The modelling amp disruptor has brought the Spark concept to wireless headphones – is this its strongest showing yet?
Plini shows us his modded signature Strandberg Boden, but what’s that hiding in the tremolo springs?
Plini was hanging around at ArcTanGent 2024 waiting for his set to start. We asked him what was new with his Strandberg, pointed a camera at him, and this is what he told us....
Vower’s Joe Gosney and Rabea Massaad share Neural DSP Quad Cortex inspiration for festival fly-rigs
In this video interview, the Gosney and Massaad talk modellers, hybrid rigs, and why they're now both fully onboard with guitar's digital transformation
"Is this a watershed moment for acoustic-electric guitar?": LR Baggs AEG-1 guitar review
Lloyd Baggs has come full circle back to guitar design as a bespoke platform for his latest pickup system – the result could change expectations for stage acoustics
NAMM 2025 guitar, amp and pedal highlights
Our top picks from the likes of Fender, LR Baggs, MXR, DigiTech, Jackson and more
Fingerboard care basics: 6 things you need you need know about how to clean and condition your guitar fretboard
A string change is the ideal opportunity to get your 'board back to its best
Best reverb pedals 2025: Our pick of reverb effects for your pedalboard
From subtle to extreme, these are our reverb top picks right now
"He didn't tap a foot or move his head or anything. He listened to it all the way through and I thought he hated it": When an Eagle, Heartbreaker, Roger Linn and an Oberheim OB-X combined forces for a pop masterpiece – the Boys Of Summer story
Best of 2024: Tom Petty rejected Mike Campbell's synth and drum machine demo, Don Henley didn't make that mistake… but the 1984 hit had other obstacles to overcome
"It was a fair fight that I got thrown out of the band for, because Moon came for me with a tambourine": When Roger Daltrey was fired from The Who at the worst possible time in 1965
Best of 2024: "When they got on amphetamines the music just turned to a load of crap," reflected the singer
Paul McCartney's favourite song he's ever written is possibly the only one John Lennon complimented him on directly
Best of 2024: "It really gave me a lot of confidence in that song, and in my writing"
