Beck on beck

Fender’s Custom Shop had a precarious start in the mid-1980s, but the story of its formative years is full of big ideas, some bizarre instruments, and a queue of famous guitarists

The ever-active session legend on his love for cheap guitars, Roland gear, and modding his pickups

Nearly 40 years on from the Custom Shop’s inception, its creations are more ambitious than ever. Find out how the team walks the tightrope between ‘canon’ and ‘cannot’, and where its guitars are heading next

Returning with an album of man-and-guitar Dylan covers, the Eurythmics legend’s playing has never been laid so bare. He tells us about gigging folk clubs underage, the blues in his palette, and a memorable night on the tiles with Robert Zimmerman himself

Mike Zaite explains how a background in electronics and a front-row seat to the British Invasion of the 1960s led to the formation of Dr Z Amplification – and why the sonics always lead the schematics

Will we ever know the true story of this fabled guitar? For some it’s iconic, for others it was simply a cobbled together working tool for a master…