Essential Guides

Meet the quirky Japanese band that inspired the Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.

This family band have pricked the ears of fans around the globe for their sweltering blend of African and Western sounds – just don’t call it “world music”.

Austrian composer and guitarist Christian Fennesz weaves shoegaze and electronic music into ambient tapestries.

For decades, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Firebirds and many other offsets have been the go-to instruments for pioneering outsider musicians. Here’s our pick of 15 offset-guitar heroes.

Roll up, plug in and zone out.

What do Slash, Les Paul, Eric Clapton, Mary Kaye, Dave Grohl and St. Vincent have in common? The clue’s in the name… Here, we take a look at the history of signature guitars

Gibson’s Les Paul signature model eventually came to define the sound of rock music – a role it still delights in to this day. Yet its design was a protracted process, with many twists and turns. Here, we present its story first-hand, both from its creators and its most famous players…

The Fender Telecaster was the first – and many still insist, is the definitive – mass-produced solidbody electric guitar. Here, the people who introduced it to the world and helped turn it into an enduring musical icon tell the remarkable story of its creation…

The Jazzmaster’s rhythm circuit has been maligned and misunderstood over the years – they’re far more than just ‘mud’ switches if you know how to use them.

Leo Fender’s decision to get into the guitar-manufacturing business was perhaps surpising given that he didn’t play the instrument himself… but he knew a man who did. Without Doc Kauffmann, Fender guitars and amps might never have existed.