Reverb's Favorite Articles and Videos of 2018

Every year on Reverb, we publish hundreds of different articles and videos about music gear, music making, and really anything that might be useful or inspiring to the musicians that visit our site. And of course, the end of the year is a great time to take stock of our work.

We've already shared with you our "Gear in Review: The Stories That Dominated Music Gear Discourse in 2018," which looked at the events that shook the industry or lit up gear forums. And we've compiled our annual guides to the top-selling synths, amps, recording equipment, and pedals. In addition, we've shared the most drool-worthy vintage gear that sold on Reverb this year, and picked some of our favorite software releases, new synthesizers, and effects of 2018.

Today, to finish off our ongoing efforts to thoroughly summarize and reflect upon the year, we're showcasing some of our favorite articles and videos we made. From Joe Shadid's dissection of what makes Spaghetti Western scores so great, to Tony Bacon's archival interviews with legendary artists and industry giants, to synth tips from masters of the craft, we're particularly proud of this list below.

Click on the links to read any stories you've missed or want to read again. And if you have anything you'd like to see us cover in 2019, let us know in the comments.

Most Read Article
Still at Large: 6 Famous Stolen Guitars that have Yet to be Recovered
From Clapton's "Beano" Burst to Lee Ranaldo's "Jazzblaster," these guitars were taken from their rightful owners and never returned.
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Most Watched Feature Video
Why is Spaghetti Western Music So Cool?
These twangy, electric guitar-centric scores stood in contrast to the large, orchestral compositions written for big-budget American Westerns.
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Most Watched Guitar Lessons
Tommy Emmanuel Teaches 4 Steps To Fingerstyle Guitar Technique
Learn the basics of fingerpicking and then see a master of the style at work.
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Synth Tips from the Masters
"Right On the Seat of Losing It All": Richard Devine on the Thrill of Eurorack
We talked to the electronic veteran about shifting his attention from plugins to modular patches.
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Hottest Gibson Take
How Will Gibson's Bankruptcy Affect Used Gibson Prices?
What's in store for Gibson's future—and how will that change the used market?
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Most Watched Bass Lessons
Radiohead Bassist Colin Greenwood's Techniques
From "Paranoid Android" to "15 Step," Jake's breaking down five inventive, melodic lines from the Radiohead bassist.
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Most Pressing Questions Asked
How Many Les Paul "Bursts" Did Gibson Really Make?
A journey through Gibson's dusty records to solve, or, almost solve, the enduring mystery.
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Most Ambitious Use of Vintage Drum Machines
Electric Rhythm: The History of the Drum Machine
How an add-on contraption came to define popular music.
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Most Frequently Taken Quiz
Quiz: Can We Guess What Type of Amp You Play?
The guitar version of this quiz upset a lot of people. Let's see if we do any better with amps.
Take the Quiz
Most Watched Synth Videos
Synth Sounds of Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
How to recreate this enduring new wave classic in Ableton Live, Pro Tools, and Logic.
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Most Watched Feat of Guitar Playing
20 Classic Telecaster Guitar Riffs in One Take
Watch as Joe Shadid takes his Tele from Buck Owens to Marilyn Manson.
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Most Overly Elaborate Way to Achieve a Certain Studio Effect
6 Detuned Acoustic Guitars for Natural Chorusing
Pink Floyd got lush acoustic sounds by varying tape speeds on doubled parts. We're detuning 6 tracks in Pro Tools to get achieve the same wide, chorused sound.
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Most Heart-warming Travelogue
A Guitarist's Guide To London w/ Andy Martin & Dan Steinhardt
Watch Andy and Dan traverse through London, stopping by the best music shops and venues to visit while you're in the city.
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Most Controversial Take on Leo Fender and Other Hits from Bacon’s Archive
Fender's Don Randall Offers Revisionist Take on Leo, CBS, and the Company's Early Days
“If I do say so myself—and I’m as self-serving as the next guy—if it hadn’t been for me, I don’t think Leo Fender would have been in business.”
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Best Articles About Bad Decisions
6 Guitars That Tried to Predict the Future—and Failed
Guitars with onboard synths, FM antennas, or digital effects? These instruments failed to meet large audiences in their time.
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Most Watched Andy Demo
1988 ProCo Rat 2: Andy's Vintage Picks
We're going back to Andy's childhood with this classic distortion pedal.
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