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The Latest Breaking News from Richard Fortus

“When I first came into the band, it was split into factions. Now everything feels solidified”: Guns N’ Roses’ longest-serving guitarist Richard Fortus on his bond with Slash and why he’s as surprised as anyone he’s still in the band

What does it take to be in Guns N’ Roses for 23 years and counting? For Richard Fortus, it requires tone mastery, the ability to mesh with his legendary gunslinger partner and a highly desirable signature Gretsch

Guitar World

“A lot of the issues were to do with management and stuff that pitted me and Axl against each other”: Slash on his return to Guns N’ Roses, changing up the Sweet Child O’ Mine solo, and what needs to happen for a new GNR album

Slash is the luckiest man in rock. Quitting GNR in ’96 when they were on top, he returned in ’16 and hasn't looked back. Here he talks about the past, present, and what the future might hold...

Guitar World

Slash wasn't a fan of Guns N' Roses classic Sweet Child O' Mine initially

Guns N' Roses rocker Slash has revealed that he wasn't struck on the group's popular anthem Sweet Child O' Mine initially.

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“He was my favorite guitarist I played with, besides Slash, and was the one I felt most unified with”: Richard Fortus on how he’s held down the Guns N’ Roses gig – and his other favorite GNR guitarist

Fortus reveals who his favorite co-guitarists have been, and the man whose parts he'll never change

Guitar World

“It’s coming. I know it’s coming because everybody is thinking about it”: Are Guns N' Roses going to release a new record? This is what Slash had to say

The band have “so much material” to work with, but Slash isn’t giving a timeline for its release

Guitar World

“There’s so much material at this point – it’s a matter of having the discipline to sit down and get into it”: Slash says a new Guns N’ Roses album is coming

He’s just not sure when

MusicRadar

“A once-in-a-lifetime celebration of the life, music and legacy of one of Ireland’s most iconic musicians”: Members of Thin Lizzy and Guns N' Roses set to celebrate Phil Lynott's life and legacy at upcoming Dublin show

The Dedication To Phil Lynott concert will take place on January 4, and marks 40 years since the Thin Lizzy frontman and bassist's untimely death

Guitar World

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“A very clever original design, albeit one that could easily have come out of the Gibson factory in the early ’60s. That’s not easy to do”: Ivison Dakota Standard review

Used by big names such as Richard Fortus and Audley Freed, and made in the UK, Ivisonguitars recall the lost art of the ‘goldenera’ but in very original dress

Guitar World

“My pickups melted!” Guns N’ Roses’ show in Saudi Arabia was so hot that Richard Fortus’ guitar pickups started to melt

The guitarist’s signature Gretsch was left feeling the heat, and it made for a grizzly sight

Guitar World

“Well this is a first…”: Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus says it was so hot in Saudi Arabia that his pickups melted

One thing that Fortus will learn from this GNR tour is that the desert heat can do crazy things to your electric guitar

MusicRadar

"The band thanks Frank for his friendship, creativity, and sturdy presence": Guns N' Roses announce departure of long-serving drummer Frank Ferrer

Frank Farrer has been behind the Guns N' Roses kit for 19 years

Metal Hammer

“All-stars like Phil X, Jimmy Herring, Derek Trucks and Richard Fortus have sung the Hyperdrive’s praises. Now a new IAM overdrive/boost pedal has entered Earth’s atmosphere”: Interstellar Audio Machines Supernova Zoeldrive review

Greetings, Earthlings, here comes a boost/overdrive fresh from the final frontier bearing all the tonal hallmarks of the reassuringly terrestrial Fender Tweed drive

Guitar World

Dead Daisies guitarist Doug Aldrich diagnosed with throat cancer

Former Whitesnake, Dio and Revolution Saints guitarist Doug Aldrich will be replaced for upcoming Dead Daisies shows in Europe

Louder

“Leo Fender got it wrong and Hendrix corrected it”: Richard Fortus explains the simple tweaks used by Jimi Hendrix and Joe Perry that improved the Stratocaster beyond its original design

Fortus has made the two relatively straightforward adjustments to his own signature Strat-style guitar, as he believes they both vastly improve a Stratocaster's tone

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

“I think Leo Fender sort of got it wrong, and Jimi Hendrix corrected it”: Richard Fortus explains how Hendrix and Joe Perry improved the Stratocaster’s tone by flipping it upside down

Back to front or upside down, whichever way you look at it, Fortus says Hendrix's reverse approach is the secret to “piano-like low-end” and Aerosmith's Perry was paying close attention

Guitar World

“You can hear the influence of those riffs on Guns N’ Roses, but I’m sure it’s not a conscious thing. It’s in our subconscious, ingrained in our DNA”: Richard Fortus on how Aerosmith changed his life, and what he and Slash learned from Joe Perry

The GNR guitarist and Aerosmith super-fan explains what makes Joe Perry one of rock guitar's GOATs and the influence he and Brad Whitford had on him, sonically and sartorially

Guitar World

“Richard Fortus messaged me and said, ‘I’ve shown Slash your guitar and he likes it, too…’ After that, the phones didn’t stop”: How a small UK boutique builder became a Guns N’ Roses favorite and the next big name in retro-inspired electric guitars

Ivison Guitars has only been in business for six years, but its Dakota model has already headlined Glastonbury with Guns N’ Roses star Richard Fortus. Founder Neil Ivison shares its story

Louder

"I owe him an apology. I'd like to sit down with him and have a beer": Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt on upsetting a member of Guns N' Roses and the guitar solo that broke the internet

In 2023, Extreme released their first new album in 15 years, Six. Guitarist Nino Bettencourt also found time to play at the Super Bowl with Rihanna and bust his knee playing basketball

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Guitar World

“Malcolm Young would shred picks. It's like he would pick them up and they’d turn to dust!”: Richard Fortus breaks down his role as Guns N’ Roses’ rhythm machine – and explains the overlooked details that separate good players from great ones

GNR's resident Gretsch signature artist discusses his chemistry with Slash – and how it echoes that of Izzy Stradlin's – and pinpoints his approach to staying in the pocket

Guitar World

“I need to keep my f**king mouth shut”: Nuno Bettencourt issues apology to Richard Fortus following Rihanna gig disagreement

The Extreme guitarist's apology comes after he fired back at Fortus, who defended Slash in the wake of Bettencourt's suggestion he would struggle playing with Rihanna

Metal Hammer

“It’s always some fabricated, over-exaggerated bulls**t”: Why Slash doesn’t want a Guns N’ Roses biopic (yet)

Hoping for a Guns N' Roses biopic? “I just don’t see it happening anytime in the foreseeable future,” says Slash

Metal Hammer

Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt and Richard Fortus from Guns N’ Roses are having an online bust-up over Slash and Rihanna

“As if I’d ever think Slash isn’t capable of playing any Rihanna song in his sleep,” seethes Nuno Bettencourt in one-sided online spat with Richard Fortus

Guitar World

Nuno Bettencourt fires back at Richard Fortus after he defends Slash over Rihanna gig comments

After Bettencourt suggested “most of the guitar players” he admires would struggle playing with Rihanna, Fortus said he “respectfully disagreed” – and it's prompted a heated reply

MusicRadar

Richard Fortus defends Slash following Nuno Bettencourt's Rihanna gig comments – and the Extreme guitarist fires back to clarify his views

"I'm sure you're a decent player, but did you really need to repost a headline that made me look like I am badmouthing a fellow player, Slash"

MusicRadar

"This is a moment I won't forget in a hurry" – Richard Fortus is now flying the flag for two great British guitar brands with Guns N' Roses

Ivison guitars and Sunbear pickups get their chance to shine in huge venues

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