I can still remember the very first time I became aware of the Wah Wah pedal. It was on an audiocassette my dad had: a compilation album called Songs Of A Psychedelic Age. It was a two-tape set which featured a whole bunch of psych classics like "Strange Brew" by Cream, "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix and "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane.

Corey Taylor knows what makes a good rock song. After all, the singer and guitarist has topped the charts in not one but two blockbuster bands: masked metallers Slipknot and melodic rockers Stone Sour.

Electric guitars are full of options, with various pickups, bridges, fret sizes, neck radii, tone woods, tuners and so on all having an impact on how an instrument plays and sounds. But stripping things down to the absolute basics, there are three types of electric guitars: solid bodies, hollow bodies and semi-hollow bodies. And they’re ideally suited for different playing approaches.

This year at NAMM, Gibson enlisted its own YouTube army to barrage artists and celebrities with questions and bring a real insider scoop to our coverage. You can see their reports in our NAMM coverage here.

Muddy Waters had his working. So did the Rolling Stones. And Austin Powers lost his, if only for a time. But for many who are not steeped in the crypto-mystical lore of the deep blues culture of the American South, the question remains: What is a “mojo?”

The guitar pick might seem like the lowliest piece of gear in a six-stringer’s ensemble, but the truth is it’s a mighty device that needs to be reckoned with. Any player who’s never explored the sizes, materials, sound-producing qualities and other subtleties of the plectrum should consider becoming pickier about picks.

Bruce Springsteen has had a special relationship with Sweden ever since his first visit here in 1975 on the Born To Run Tour. In fact, Sweden was the first non-English speaking country that The Boss visited. That first visit he played in a small concert hall, but with each successive visit he would gradually step it up; first to arenas during The River Tour, and finally graduating to stadiums with the Born In The USA Tour in 1985.

KISS turn 40 in 2013. They played their first show in January 1973 in Queens, New York. Since then KISS have become adored and derided in equal measure, but their influence on a generation of guitar rockers has been huge, and they have proved themselves time and time again to be masters of marketing and self-mythology.

The annual NAMM Show in Anaheim, California is a great place to check out new musical instrument equipment, watch performances by some of the biggest names in music, attend classes and workshops on everything from music education to music retail to social media, and to simply kick back and enjoy a drink with the friends you made last NAMM, if you're lucky enough to attend multiple times.

Not many guitarists can boast a resume that matches that of Steve Lukather. In addition to his extraordinary work in Toto, the 55-year-old six-stringer has appeared, as a guest player, on more than 1,000 albums. Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Elton John and Miles Davis are just a few of the many artists who’ve sought Lukather’s services through the years. No less a maestro than Quincy Jones has called him his favorite guitarist.