Troy redfern

Blackberry Smoke’s guitarist reveals his greatest guitar triumphs, the pitfalls and blessings of his Les Paul Junior addiction, and his outright disdain of “bad amps”

From his early days in the repair shop to heading up one of the world’s leading pickup brands, the master pickup maker tells us how his problem-solving mindset led to him working with some of the biggest names in the biz, and why he humbly still seems himself as “crew”

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Why are more and more guitar builders making their own pickups, wonders Dave Burrluck, and does it affect us players who are used to decades-old designs road-tested by giants?

When the Irish band were a folksy blues three-piece, it was Eric Bell who defined Thin Lizzy on their 1971 self-titled debut and early 70s follow-ups, Shades Of A Blue Orphanage and Vagabonds Of The Western World

With his trusty Fender Strat in hand and at a young 64, Bob Mould is an evergreen icon of alt and indie guitar – and he’s back with a new solo album