Ricky Gervais' much loved character serves up a new way to learn guitar

Described by Seymour Duncan as 'tonal Armageddon', this new pickup is available for seven and eight-string players

The new M69 Prime Distortion offers raw power

Gibson celebrate twenty years of their Historic Reissue Series with a reissue of one of their best-loved Les Paul models

Commander Chris Hadfield covers David Bowie's famous hit Space Oddity from the international Space Station

Ricky Gervais has decided to take The Office's David Brent online for a series of guitar tutorials

Satriani shows off his new Candy Apple Red Ibanez JS24P signature electric guitar in this You Tube vid

This sleek new trio of Performing Arts Series acoustic guitars was first shown at Frankfurt Musicmesse

Gibson's new Frank Zappa Roxy SG is a replica of the guitar used by Zappa during his performances at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywwood

New limited edition aged and VOS Joe Walsh signature models from Gibson Custom

We take a look at a fine thinline semi-acoustic from Epiphone that harks back to the swinging sixties. Review by Richard Purvis

The dawn of the ’60s brought new ideas for Gibson and the latest reissue is a charismatic SG with Lyre vibrato. Review by Richard Purvis

The OR100H promises a combination of 1970s tone, construction and design with modern expertise and it’s the only amp in Orange’s OR series with twin channels. Huw Price gets orange crushed

New from MXR for bassists this year are an overdrive – due out in March – and this subtle analogue chorus. Review by Gareth Morgan

Having established a fine reputation for rock-oriented valve amps, the new ID series of DSP-driven solid-state amps is a departure for Blackstar. Seven years of research and development has gone into these amps. How do they sound? Review by Huw Price.

The obscure and hugely cool Ampeg AEB-1 was designed in the ’60s for upright players who wanted to move to electric. This Italia has the look, but does it have the sound? Review by Gareth Morgan

When the term ‘autotune’ sends Spice Girl-sized shivers down your spine, then wait until you see Peavey’s offering. Review by Martin Wheeler

Got a stash of preamp and power valves rolling around in the parts drawer? This unit can help you sort the good from the bad. Review by Will Nicholas

With the second part of our series, Marcus Leadley looks at the quick, easiest and most pocket-friendly solutions for getting your songs and guitars recorded. After last month's focus on phones, it's time to put those smart blighters away and find out what the specialists can do for you

The first part of a new Guitar & Bass series, Marcus Leadley seeks out the quickest, easiest and most pocket-friendly ways to get ideas down

Some top rockabilly guitarists offer their advice on how to play

Lyndon Jones has a nice Squier partscaster for stage use but it could do with one or two little tweaks to make it perfect. Huw Price takes on the project and shows us how it's done

From Duran Duran to the Sugababes and many projects besides, Dom Brown is a player who needs the right guitar for every occasion. Lars Mullen visits his studio

Try as he might, Peter Holyman just can't break his all-consuming addiction to the great, time-honoured big-name guitar models and why on earth should he? Lars Mullen meets a man who knows what he likes

The third album from the capital's Bluesmix combo is a canny blend of soulful funk, jazz and, yes, blues - and guitarist Robert Fleming knows exactly what he needs to get a righteous sound.

You can switch your strings, buy new pedals, tweak the settings on your amp and change your sound in many ways, but one thing you can't easily escape is the feel of a guitar's neck. Phil Harris ponders this all-important factor

The pro musician's life in the 1970s was both toneful and shatteringly loud but as Phil Harris recalls, there was a high price to pay in pain and sweat