Latest articles by Jackson Maxwell
“Make a bold statement”: Gibson gives the Les Paul Standard a 2023 makeover with vibrant finishes that are anything but sunburst
The firm's US-made Les Paul Standard 50s and Les Paul Standard 60s models can now be purchased with plain or figured tops – with six arresting finishes for each option
“We all loved Larry Carlton’s guitar, it was just magic… We were all looking for guitars with chunky necks, to try and get the sustain that he had”: Session legend Dean Parks reveals the secrets of his most iconic Steely Dan and Eric Clapton guitar parts
You can hear Parks on Josie, Haitian Divorce, Change the World, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and innumerable other songs – here, the guitarist unpacks the gear and recording sessions that forged them
“As I came off the stage I said, ‘How much do you want for it?' He wanted the princely sum of 600 pounds”: Bernie Marsden plays the blues on “The Beast,” his legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and reveals its origin story
Gary Moore was in awe of its tone, and Jeff Beck played Scatterbrain on it... Here, the late blues-rock guitar titan tells the story of the most famous six-string in his collection
Gossamer tremolo picking and the stuff of Phrygian nightmares: This week's essential guitar tracks
Unmissable new songs from Fiddlehead, HotWax, Guns N’ Roses, Emily Wolfe, Born of Osiris, Babymetal ft. Tom Morello, CLT DRP, and more
“An absolute groundbreaker as a player”: His Telecaster mastery was the backbone of records by Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and countless others – watch James Burton demonstrate his incredible chicken pickin’ technique
Beloved by Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Brian May, and innumerable other rock guitar giants, Burton's skill and list of stage and studio credits are mind-boggling
“I never thought I could actually play a solo on this thing”: YouTuber creates a ‘neckless’ guitar – and even manages to record a song with it
Djenty-crunch, "extreme vibrato," whammy-like bends... Bernth Brodträger gets a surprising amount of range from his crazy Ibanez in this original composition
Palm-muted gut-punches and Strandberg shred that sounds like Plini meets Mario Kart: This week’s essential guitar tracks
Fresh, guitar-driven cuts from Bleed From Within, The Joy Formidable, Ottto, Angra, James Bay, Eliza McLamb, and loads more
Steve Hackett called him “probably the most proficient tapper out there”: Watch underrated tapping genius Stanley Jordan apply his masterful technique to Stairway to Heaven – on two guitars at once
The visionary virtuoso put a jazzy and classical spin on a technique most often associated with hard-rock, and applied it to a bold reimagining of the Led Zeppelin classic
"We had no idea we were going to do it": That time Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge saluted the Band with a surprise campfire cover of The Weight
The impromptu acoustic jam closes out the 2008 guitar-themed documentary, It Might Get Loud
Robbie Robertson, guitarist for Bob Dylan, the Band, dies at 80
The famed guitarist had recently completed work on the score for the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sixto Rodriguez, singer-songwriter of Searching for Sugar Man fame, dies at 81
The Detroit native's two once-obscure early '70s albums – filled with distinct, plain-spoken songs focused on oppression, poverty, and racism – found a massive audience in South Africa, which he remained unaware of for decades
“The kids just went ape”: Link Wray's Rumble inspired Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck – and had a guitar tone so aggressive it was banned from the radio
Finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, Link Wray was a guitar pioneer who – when he released Rumble in 1958 – made the instrument sound more dangerous than anyone before him
“I don’t want someone coming away from my show thinking, ‘He doesn’t sound any good’”: Buddy Guy opens up on his retirement from the road
The blues guitar legend says that seeing the toll advanced age took on the live performances of some of his own heroes – including B.B. King – played a significant factor in his decision
Marty Friedman revisits his thrash heyday once again for ferocious four-song guest spot with Megadeth
The Wacken Open Air festival played host to the legendary shredder's second 2023 reunion with the metal icons
“I don't know whether we played it properly, but the audience loved it”: When Black Sabbath regularly covered Smoke on the Water – and unwittingly inspired Spinal Tap's Stonehenge
Sabbath's ill-fated Born Again tour featured comically oversized props “as big as the real Stonehenge”, onstage spills, and a crowd-pleasing hard-rock crossover
Johnny Cash’s 1930s Martin makes a comeback – and so does Napster-era crunch: This week's essential guitar tracks
You just gotta hear these new songs from Sophie Lloyd, The String Revolution ft. Tommy Emmanuel, Crypta, Graveyard, The Linda Lindas, Wilco, Nervosa and so very many more
His underrated guitar playing influenced everyone from the Beatles to Nirvana – here's how Lead Belly used his 12-string skills to play his way out of prison
Huddie Ledbetter's magnetic musical talent got him an early release from a hellish Texas prison – yet his full impact on 20th century guitar playing is often overlooked
Wolfgang Van Halen’s new single has a monster tapping solo – featuring his uncle operating his wah pedal
On the latest preview from the forthcoming Mammoth II album, Wolfgang shows that – when it comes to chops – the apple didn't fall far from the tree
Paul Gilbert thinks freeform guitar solos are “pretty dangerous” – but he’s brought them back for Mr. Big’s farewell tour anyway
Though the virtuoso has admitted he's “a bit rusty with the artform” of freeform soloing, there's little sign of it in the electrifying examples that have surfaced from the band's ongoing final tour
The bizarro novelty hit from 1965 that featured one of the wildest alternate tunings in guitar history – and Lou Reed
Pickwick Records specialized in elevator music and clearance-rack recordings major labels wanted to rid themselves of. One of its releases, however, was not like the others…
"Man, I like this thing!" Watch Billy Gibbons play the blues on a cardboard Strat
Even with the odd body material, the ZZ Top man looks – and sounds – right at home
Chuck Berry-by-way-of-the-gutter riffs and choppy Strat-isms from Fender's latest signature artist: This week's essential guitar tracks
Must-hear new cuts from Brian Setzer, Steve Lacy, Of Mice & Men, Buck Meek, Bad Wolves and loooads more
Singer/songwriter Sinéad O'Connor dies at 56
O'Connor's 1990 re-interpretation of the sweeping Prince ballad, Nothing Compares 2 U, topped the charts in the US, UK, and a number of other countries
Eric Clapton and Van Halen covered his songs, and he led Jimmy Page's favorite American band: Watch overlooked guitar genius Lowell George demonstrate his slide technique on German TV
A guitarist for Frank Zappa before forming and taking the reins of Little Feat, George's influence has long overshadowed his recognition
