Editorial Standards
We want you to be able to read Guitar Gear and know exactly where the information came from — whether it's an amp one of us gigged for a year, a pedal we put through its paces, or a spec sheet we pulled from a manufacturer.
Gear reviews
Every review is tagged as one of two things:
- Tested. We (or a named contributor) have actually played the gear. The review names the reviewer and includes how we used it, for how long, and any quirks or faults we ran into.
- Research-based. We've analysed spec sheets, long-term owner reviews, demo videos, and measurements, but we have not played the product ourselves. We say this at the top of the page.
Ratings are on a 5-point scale weighted across tone and sound, build quality, playability or usability, reliability, and value. The scale is the same across categories; a 4.5/5 overdrive pedal and a 4.5/5 amp have cleared the same bar.
Buyer’s guides
Our “best X for Y” guides only recommend gear that at least one of our reviewers has played or researched in depth, and we explain who each pick is for and where it makes compromises. Prices and availability change constantly — we link straight to the retailer so you always see the current price.
We don't use AI-generated photos and we don't restage photos from other sites. Images are either licensed (Unsplash, manufacturer press shots used with permission) or our own.
Use of AI
We use AI tools to help draft, summarise and edit — the same way most publications now use spell-check and grammar tools. Every piece is reviewed by a human editor before publication, and any factual claim about a product is verified against a primary source. We do not publish AI-written content without human editing.
Corrections
If you spot a factual error — wrong distance, outdated permit rules, a discontinued product, anything — let us know via our contact form. We correct quickly, and for material changes we add a dated correction note at the bottom of the affected page.
Sponsored content and gifted gear
If a brand pays for a piece of content, the page is marked “Sponsored” at the top. If we were given a product free to test, the review says so. Brands never have sign-off on our words or ratings; if they want that, we decline the partnership.
Last updated: 2026-06-13