Queen guitarist to become doctor? Brian May is writing a thesis on astronomy. I should have guessed it'd be astronomy, after all he's mates with Patrcik Moore, isn't he?

Hello Kitty Limited Edition Fender Guitar for sale at record price: No, this isn't the model you've already seen, it's a really posh one with what looks like a peraloid scratchplate, "Hello Kitty" inlaid into the finderboard, and three lipstick pickups. Made for the Japanese market, of course!

Modern Guitars Magazine: Photos from the 2006 Tokyo Guitar Show

CigTone.com - Cigar Box Guitars and a hub-cap banjo too!

Jef Sarver tries for longest guitar solo: he'd been playing for over 40 hours at the time of the news item.

Liverpool guitarist Sam Mitchell dies, 56

Chris Eccleshall Guitars: new website featuring some very classy guitars from this Devon luthier.

Fretlight USB Guitars Go Pro: Optek have announced that they are adding high-end "professional" models to their existing electric and acoustic-electric guitar offerings.

5th annual Tokyo Guitar Show

The Top 10 Guitars For Girls are rated and reviewed over at Electric Guitar Review. I don't really get the author's beef at Gibson and Squier for dumbing down their girl guitars by equipping them with less control knobs. I always thought that a single volume knob (and pickup selector) is all you really need. Tone controls on guitars are usually just a big waste of time. Who really uses them? Perhaps what Gibson and Squier are saying in reducing the knob quota on their girl guitars is that women are more practical and less likely to be impressed by a vast array of virtually useless controls.

78-year-old Ontario man cashes in his 1953 Gibson guitar for $16,750

Gary Kramer releases the Tomcat Guitar, the newest version of the American Delta Wing guitar series: Tomcat is the ultimate guitar for its new ergonomic contour, DiMarzio pickups and Delta Wing's patented "Recessed Tuning" system.

Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi answers fans questions

The Story of Mosrite Guitars: now in three parts over at Modern Guitars Magazine.

Pete Townshend vows not to smash another guitar

Pete Townshend: "I will never smash a guitar up again!": The 61-year-old has now decided this trademark has become a cliché, and he has decided to auction the last guitar he smashed up to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in America's Gulf Coast region. Fans can enter a lottery on website InTheAttic.tv to buy the shattered instrument, signed by Townshend, that the guitarist trashed onstage in Japan in 2004. Here's the video of that final guitar smash:

Whiteman Guitars introduces the Drop Shoulder Cutaway Classical Guitar

G&L Custom Shop Introduces 25th Anniversary Model Guitar

Frank Zappa's Gibson Les Paul Goldtop to be Auctioned: please click this link for full story and more photos of Zappa's well-customised Les Paul!

Also up for auction at Cooper Owen is the remnants of one of Pete Townshend's smashed Gibson SGs. I always feel sorry for guitars like that - if it got into my hands I'd say bugger the historical significance and give it to a luthier to rebuild.

Check out the girls of Epiphone: "When most people think of a guitarist, they picture a guy standing feet spread apart with low slung Les Paul and a mean guitar face. But there's much more to our cult club than the shredding guy with a beard or gotee. In fact, some of the finest players we know are not guys at all. Women players are popping up in all genres of music and we are proud to be associated with many of them."

Yeah, not too sure about the inclusion of an unamusing cartoon character though.

D'Addario Offers Seven Free Online Guitar Lessons From Workshop Live With Select String Sets

The Tritare: A guitar with Y-shaped strings: read all about it over on Music Thing. Personally, I think it's pretty daft, although I appreciate the desire to experiment with ideas such as these. For the rest of you interested in getting some of these kind of sounds, get yourselves a resonator.

Gibson Guitar Salutes Les Paul on his 91st Birthday

New Martin Guitars at Summer NAMM 2006

Thai musician turns rifle into guitar on peace mission

Cars Guitarist In Bus Accident

Girl, 17, beats all the guys in electric guitar contest

Epi Les Pauls, Built To Perform, Night After Night, Gig After Gig: a bit of PR from Epiphone.

Iner Souster and the Experimental Instruments He Lives With: This is a fascinating blog showing the creations of this possibly quite eccentric Canadian guy and his even more eccentric instruments! As he says: "This is a collection of instruments that I have been building since the year 2000. Some of them are functional, some just plain suck."

They include a few guitar-like stringed insturments... well, vaguely guitar-like, I suppose. There's a fair few other non-stringed instruments too.

They all look fantastic from an artisitic point of view. How musical or playable they are is another matter that I couldn't possibly comment on!
(Via Fretboard Journal)

Master Class - Guitar Builder Wayne Henderson: arguably America's greatest guitar builder, he says he favourite tool is his penknife!