Eric Clapton transformed his guitar into an Ouija board for 1967’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” conjuring a sound for his solo that was so sweet, strange, high-voiced and spectral that it demanded a name.

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die is an audacious title, but Philadelphia-based music journalist and National Public Radio correspondent Tom Moon’s new 1007-page tome does its best to live up to that marquee.

Even if you can’t make it to Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show this weekend or Anaheim for the NAMM show next weekend, that doesn’t mean you can’t be there in spirit.

We don’t mean to brag but the Gibson Les Paul is one of the most recognizable guitars of all-time and the artists who brandish them seem to transcend age, era, gender and genre. In fact from heavy metal enthusiasts to indie rock icons to reggae superstars, it seems like nearly every musical legend off has strapped on a Les Paul at some point to take advantage of its signature sound. Sure, the axe is heavy, but that’s part of the secret to its tone—and if it’s good enough for the fifteen legendary players listed below it should be good enough for you, right?

Several weeks ago, we began rolling out our new product pages, starting with the electric guitars in our USA division. Now, we've also added all new product pages for Epiphone, Gibson Custom Shop, Gibson Acoustic and Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments. Plus, many of the USA product pages now come with streaming audio so you can hear exactly how our guitars sound. The idea is to provide you with more intuitive navigation. Have a look around and let us know what you think! And keep an eye out. All of our product pages will follow this same format in the near future. Check out the new product pages here.

Novelist Philip Roth once pointed out that the lives of writers rarely match the excitement and drama that fuel their narratives. Fortunately, that’s not the case with most rock artists. As evidenced in the flurry of rock books published in 2008 – including the 10 profiled below – the lives of rock and rollers are often inextricably woven into their work.

You already know the Internet is an incredible resource for musicians, but with the record industry in a tailspin and the economy falling flat, there’s no better time to seek out the Web sites that help guitarists keep doing what they do best. It’s time to update your bookmarks with these indispensable online destinations.

It takes years of dedication, hard work and sheer fan enthusiasm for a good tribute band to succeed. Which is why it’s nothing short of amazing when a lone, enterprising musician pulls off the feat all by themselves. Meet American indie scene vet Matt Mahaffey and French YouTube subscriber Steackmike, who at first glance don’t seem to have a lot in common – other than a serious jones for the hard rocking sounds of AC/DC, that is.

Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz presented Dark Fire to Tak Matsumoto, Japan’s biggest rock star and one of the world’s foremost guitarists, at Gibson Japan’s event on Dec. 20, 2008 to celebrate the opening of its new Tokyo headquarters in Ginza.

Puddle of Mudd is one of those bands I put in the same category as Black Stone Cherry -- full on rock that makes you want to pick up a guitar and play along.