Taking shape

This month Alex Bishop unravels the intricate fretwork of a century-old concert mandolin

Charlie Wilkins explores why guitarists crave sustain, how to get it and why some guitars sustain better than others

Can this early 60s Gibson Southern Jumbo be saved or has it gone belly up?

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

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

THERE ARE VARYING degrees of guitar hero, but Carlos Santana is a name you’d expect to find near the top of any list. Like Jimi Hendrix, Brian May or Slash, Santana has transcended guitar music and pe