Rob Laing
Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.
Latest articles by Rob Laing
"He didn't tap a foot or move his head or anything. He listened to it all the way through and I thought he hated it": When an Eagle, Heartbreaker, Roger Linn and an Oberheim OB-X combined forces for a pop masterpiece – the Boys Of Summer story
By Rob Laing published
Best of 2024: Tom Petty rejected Mike Campbell's synth and drum machine demo, Don Henley didn't make that mistake… but the 1984 hit had other obstacles to overcome
"It was a fair fight that I got thrown out of the band for, because Moon came for me with a tambourine": When Roger Daltrey was fired from The Who at the worst possible time in 1965
By Rob Laing published
Best of 2024: "When they got on amphetamines the music just turned to a load of crap," reflected the singer
Paul McCartney's favourite song he's ever written is possibly the only one John Lennon complimented him on directly
By Rob Laing published
Best of 2024: "It really gave me a lot of confidence in that song, and in my writing"
"If your guitar isn't in tune you'll never sound good": 4 causes of your strings going out of tune and how to solve them
By Rob Laing published
The biggest cause of frustration for guitar players? The struggle to stay in tune is real, but there are ways to make things easier
Best guitar tuners 2025: From tuning pedals and clip-ons, to guitar tuning apps
By Rob Laing last updated
Keep your all-important tuning on point with the best strobe, polyphonic and chromatic tuners
Best guitar cables 2025: Leads and patch cables for all budgets
By Rob Laing last updated
Quality cables make the difference, here's our top picks from Mogami, Ernie Ball, Fender and more
Thomann Cyber Monday deals 2024: The Cyberweek sale is over, but there are still a few ways to save
By Chris Barnes last updated
Thomann's massive 2024 Cyber Monday deals has ended with a bang. These re the bargains you can still get your hands on
I like this bargain pedalboard power supply so much I bought three of them: now it's even cheaper for Cyber Monday
By Rob Laing published
Harley Benton's PowerPlant range is the dark horse of its catalogue, and the competition can't get close to it on value
Are Gibson guitars expensive? This surprising SG Standard Cyber Weekend deal suggests not always!
By Rob Laing published
For those about to save (£430)… we salute you
Get a Dream acoustic before Cyber Monday ends: These stunning deals on USA Taylor guitars are lower than I could have expected
By Rob Laing published
A Taylor American Dream AD22e that can deliver for decades – and there are travel-sized and left-handed bargains to be had too!
Did the Neural DSP Quad Cortex just hit its lowest-ever price for Black Friday weekend?
By Rob Laing last updated
We think it might have, and this killer deal is still live
I wish I could have got it this cheap: You can still grab the analogue pedal powerhouse Boss DM-101 Delay Machine for under half the price it was at launch for Cyber Monday
By Rob Laing last updated
When I reviewed this pedal, I knew I had to buy one – but now it's a bargain
Thomann Black Friday 2024 deals: You can still save up to 70% today in Thomann's massive Cyberweek sale
By Chris Barnes last updated
There's an incredible selection of discounted gear in the Thomann Cyberweek sale - from Harley Benton and Yamaha, to Universal Audio and Boss. We're rounding up all the best deals as they happen, including Daily Deals and new additions
"Universal Audio's Dream '65 Fender Deluxe plugin is so good I've started playing through it more than my amp": and it's still more than half-price this Black Friday weekend
By Rob Laing published
We've found it cheaper than anywhere else and you still have time to grab this bargain
Don't be afraid of your electric and acoustic guitar's truss rod – we'll show you how to adjust it
By Rob Laing published
Changing your neck curvature is not some mystic art, but it can make a lot of difference to your guitar and how playable its neck is
“I think that a specific drawback of this guitar could make it unsuitable for regular live use, but it’s still an inspiring acoustic for the home”: Yamaha TransAcoustic TAG3 C review
By Rob Laing published
The second generation of Yamaha’s TransAcoustic flagship debuts looping, delay and Bluetooth features – but is something undermining the practicality for the stage?
KEN Mode’s Jesse Matthewson on the greatest reverb/delay ever what's on his “essentials” pedalboard
By Jonathan Horsley published
You, too, can travel light when meting out a punishing set of hardcore, metal and noise, so long as you choose your pedals of mass destruction carefully…
"This is a very impressive neck experience for a guitar at this price": Harley Benton TE-62DB
By Rob Laing published
Double-bound for glory?
There's no need to suffer with high (or low) action anymore: How to adjust the string height on your electric guitar and bass
By Rob Laing published
Get the guitar action you need
Neural DSP's Francisco Cresp on what its new Nano Cortex means for the innovative company
By Rob Laing published
"One of the main drivers of that for me to start making hardware and software was that I couldn't get the sounds that I wanted to get"
Levelling and polishing your guitar frets might have just got a whole lot easier with the MusicNomad U File and Fret Polisher
By Rob Laing published
The company has also launched its fret care hub to make it even easier to diagnose and work on your guitar frets
How to clean your guitar better
By Rob Laing published
Finish, strings, hardware – it all needs a spruce now and again. Here's how to do it right
"Most dyed-in-the-wool Gibson people... their favourite pickup is a P-90": Joe Bonamassa introduces new Epiphone signature guitar with the 1955 Les Paul
By Rob Laing published
"I can already tell you this one sounds better than one of my original '55s," says Joe. And there's a new Flying V too!
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