
Michael Astley-Brown
Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
Latest articles by Michael Astley-Brown

Musician's Friend Black Friday deals 2025: Massive discounts of up to 50% off guitar gear
By Chris Barnes last updated
Black Friday may be weeks away, but at Musician's Friend, you can still grab yourself a great early deal on guitar gear

October 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
By Michael Astley-Brown, Jackson Maxwell, Matt Owen, Matt Parker published
Liven up your Halloween with six-string (and five-string) sorcery from Alter Bridge, Mei Semones, Whitney, Karma Sheen, Jacob Collier, Unprocessed, and many more

Cyber Monday guitar deals 2025: Everything you need to know ahead of this year's sale
By Chris Barnes last updated
Find out where and how to grab the biggest savings on guitar gear when Cyber Monday arrives

Black Friday guitar deals 2025: shop early savings and read our expert shopping tips for the biggest sale of the year
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Get ahead of all other guitarists with the best early savings this Black Friday, from Sweetwater, Guitar Center and more

Guitar Center Black Friday deals 2025: The Pre-Black Friday Sale is here!
By Chris Barnes last updated
Guitar Center has gone early with a Pre-Black Friday sale, which sees up to 30% off from now until November 12

Sweetwater Black Friday deals 2025: the early all-access sale has begun!
By Daryl Robertson last updated
The Sweetwater early All Access Black Friday sale has arrived – here are the best deals on guitar gear

Fender invited music fans to design their own Telecaster. They received over 1,500 applications – and turned four into a reality
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Everyone from children to lifelong guitarists entered the Fender Design Contest, which showcased Fender Japan’s quest to prove guitar is for everyone

Fender is changing the way it approaches signature guitars – and it’s starting with a Japanese pop-rock band named after the Red Hot Chili Peppers
By Michael Astley-Brown published
The Chilli Beans Moto Mustang, Lily Cyclone and Maika Mustang Bass are the first Fender Japan signature guitars built in Indonesia – and their beginner-focused spec signals further shifts for the company

Black Friday Fender deals 2025: what to know before the sale starts
By Daryl Robertson last updated
This Black Friday, we're seeing some fantastic Fender deals crop up across the web, including discounted Player II guitars

Fender unveils the newest entry point to its USA-made collection, the American Professional Classic series
By Matt Owen published
New Coastline pickups, a successor to the Nashville Telecaster, and a double dose of streamlined offsets head up the newest starting point to Fender's most affordable USA-made instruments

Fender wrangles Godzilla for a monster guitar collaboration – featuring two company firsts
By Michael Astley-Brown published
As well as an otherworldly $36,000 Custom Shop Stratocaster with a Godzilla roar button, two Made in Japan models are also packing some flashy new tech

September 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
By Jackson Maxwell published
With amazing guitar work from the likes of Seera, SPRINTS, Mammoth, Mei Semones, Jay Som, Walter Trout, Jacob Collier, and many more, we were spoiled for choice this month

Joe Satriani pays tribute to Chris Cornell with instrumental cover of Audioslave’s Be Yourself
By Michael Astley-Brown published
The virtuoso features on the latest track from King Ultramega, a tribute project for the late Soundgarden frontman

Get more from Guitar World: How to make Guitar World a preferred source in your Google Search results
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Never miss a Guitar World story again

Does ‘bad’ guitar tone even exist anymore?
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Guitarists are lusting after the sound of Portastudios and solid-state practice amps – tones that used to be derided in guitar circles. What changed?

August 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
By Michael Astley-Brown, Janelle Borg, Jackson Maxwell, Matt Owen, Matt Parker published
With killer cuts from Deftones, Lorna Shore, Big Thief, Young Dervish, Paco Peña, and many more, there was plenty of guitar greatness to pick from this month

Co-leader of Mastodon for a quarter century, Brent Hinds was a one-of-a-kind guitarist who took metal guitar into uncharted territory
By Jackson Maxwell published
Hinds was killed in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday, August 20

I went behind the scenes at Fender Japan to find out why its guitars are so radically different – and what’s stopping them reaching the US
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Fender Japan makes some of the iconic guitar firm’s most exciting products, but we know very little about how it operates… until now

“Nuno Bettencourt isn’t the only one keeping Eddie Van Halen’s fire burning – the most underrated guitarist on the planet just gave him a run for his money”: July 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
By Michael Astley-Brown published
New cuts from Deftones, Big Wreck, Wet Leg, Eric Gales and more...

“Arresting, unsettling, sometimes unpredictable… nails the Deftones brief”: KHDK Digital Bath review
By Michael Astley-Brown published
This signature stompbox recreates one of Deftones’ dreamiest tones – but is it more than just a one-trick (white) pony?

Ozzy Osbourne was an extraordinary frontman and working class hero with great taste in guitar players
By Michael Astley-Brown published
The Black Sabbath icon has died at the age of 76, and leaves behind a legacy of game-changing music and guitar talent

With Olivia Rodrigo, Arianna Powell is staking her claim as a guitar hero for a whole new audience
By Michael Astley-Brown published
The seasoned session player made her name with the Black Eyed Peas and Halsey, but it’s the Olivia Rodrigo gig that’s given her incendiary playing a spotlight on a global scale. She breaks down her whirlwind journey so far

I played in a covers band for years, and swore by one pickup combination that covered everything. With $400 off this Charvel San Dimas, this is the HSS guitar I’d be picking up this Prime Day
By Michael Astley-Brown published
This top-spec San Dimas in Aqua Flake is built to thrill – and it’s a steal for covers band guitarists

How Turnstile ramped up the shred in Olivia Rodrigo’s live show
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Lead guitarist Arianna Powell reveals how the hardcore outfit inspired the guitar choices on Olivia Rodrigo’s recent tour

Back to the Beginning was Ozzy Osbourne’s night – but it was also a tribute to Tony Iommi’s singular impact on guitar music
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Iommi’s world-altering riffs led to some of the all-star farewell show’s biggest singalongs – no wonder the supporting cast of guitar heroes had so much fun playing them
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