Latest articles by Jamie Dickson
Crazy Tube Circuits' Christos Ntaifotis on how his passion for collecting tube amps has inspired one of the most exciting stompbox brands in the world
One of the most creative yet reliably great-sounding effects makers out there, Crazy Tube Circuits is the brainchild of Christos Ntaifotis, an amp super-geek who is putting a modern twist on classic sounds
Leslie West on giving his Gibson Les Paul Junior to Pete Townshend after tracking three songs with The Who
West met Townshend when The Who recruited him to play lead guitar on several tracks for their 1971 album Who’s Next
Martin Barre on Jethro Tull’s pioneering ’70s era, the Aqualung sessions – and supporting Jimi Hendrix
A signature-shifting collision of bucolic folk and frayed-edge rock, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is one of the ’70s’ most daring records. Barre takes us on a deep dive back to those fabled sessions, from winging his parts to snubbing Jimmy Page
Adrian Thorpe on how he made Chris Buck’s awesome, tube-equipped signature pedal, Electric Lightning
Adrian Thorpe of ThorpyFX remembers the flight path – and turbulence – behind Chris Buck’s Electric Lightning overdrive/boost, named after a fighter jet and packing a bona fide valve
How Eric Clapton got his tone on John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers’ ‘Beano’ album
The ‘Beano’ album has become a benchmark for how a Les Paul ’Burst and a Marshall could sound together. But how Clapton got that tone is a little more complex than that...
Martin Barre explains why his early days with Jethro Tull were a trial by fire
Jethro Tull went on tour with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge right after Barre joined the band
“I just turned my back”: Martin Barre on the time Jimmy Page nearly cut him off mid-Aqualung solo
“I think it was take two,” the Jethro Tull guitarist recalled, “and if I hadn’t got it in two then it would have been a flute solo”
The night Rory Gallagher was spooked by his childhood hero – as the Royal Albert Hall waited in anticipation
Gallagher’s iconic Strat is one of the most storied guitars in the world. But the day Rory, with untold thousands of gigs under his belt, became stage struck in the presence of his hero is one of his brother Donal Gallagher’s favorite tales
How Rory Gallagher’s sweet talk – and a little help from Clapton – secured his $50 Kay Value Leader
This vibey early ’60s electric looked too pricey to buy, even with the help of blues musician John Hammond Jr – but Rory’s charm secured it in a New York minute, as his brother Donal explains
The night Rory Gallagher gave the Slash a taste of affordable GIbson via his modded Melody Maker
Modded with a Gibson humbucker, this 1969 student guitar has lived a life, and was the star of the show when Gallagher jammed with Slash in 1991
A trip on Concorde? Cliff Richard? The story behind Rory Gallagher’s Coral Electric Sitar
Famously used on Philby, the electric sitar is one of the most unique instruments in the Rory Gallagher Collection. Donal Gallagher tells us how he found it and its glam Transatlantic journey home
Ani DiFranco on the dark arts of acoustic – and why she’s over online ‘performers’
Percussive and heavily processed, the US troubadour’s new album, Unprecedented Sh!t, burns the playbook of acoustic folk
How Rory Gallagher grabbed his iconic 1963 Gretsch Corvette for the princely sum of $150
Can you judge a guitar by its case? Not usually, but when Donal Gallagher was shopping for cases for brother Rory, he found one with a very special guitar inside, and there was a deal to be made
Meet Rory Gallagher’s ’32 National Triolian Resonator, a guitar with mojo, scars and stories to tell
Rory’s battered National Triolian could be seen as the acoustic sibling of his infamously weathered 1961 Strat – though this metal workhorse could howl, too
Crushed under the wheels of a baggage truck, how Rory Gallagher’s ’59 Esquire rose from the dead
Heavily modded over the years, this hot-sounding Esquire was, outside of the Strat, Rory’s go-to Fender for slide work – but it nearly came to an untimely demise on an airport runway…
“The guitar has got a life of its own and it’s got to move on”: Inside the Rory Gallagher auction
Nearly 30 years after Rory Gallagher’s death, we join Rory’s brother Donal to find out why it’s time to let go of his legendary 1961 Fender Stratocaster as it heads to auction
Rory Gallagher’s family on why security concerns for his guitar collection encouraged them to sell it
The safety of the guitar has become an increasing concern over the years as several attempts to rehome it in a museum have failed
Louise Patricia Crane on seeking new folkloric prog sounds and world building with Jakko Jakszyk
Netherworld is the sound of Crane and producer Jakszyk testing the boundaries of where guitar can go, in the company of special guests Tony Levin, Gary Husband and Ian Anderson
Richard Hawley on jamming with Robert Plant, his father's guitar sacrifice – and restoring Scott Walker's Tele
Hawley doesn't hide his influences but instead synthesizes them into a sound that is all his own. And on new album, In This City They Call You Love, he might just have ascended into the ranks of the legends
Ani DiFranco on how playing in bars shaped her percussive playing style – and taught her how to grab a noisy audience's attention
In a new interview with Guitarist, DiFranco also talked about exploring vintage guitars, and how this journey led her to Gibson
That time Rory Gallagher got crippling stage fright because he was performing in front of his guitar hero
Gallagher's brother secretly invited one of Rory's biggest heroes to attend a show at the Royal Albert Hall – and even had him introduce the blues rock legend to the stage
Mat Koehler and Jason Davidson on Gibson and the evolution of guitar mega-brand
We join two of experts on Gibson’s history to try to shine a light on some of the more interesting ‘what ifs?’ and behind-the-scenes moves that gave us the company we know today
“Scott’s blood was on the guitar”: Richard Hawley on how he came to own Scott Walker’s Telecaster
Hawley recalls the Pulp recording session that served as the catalyst to him and Walker's friendship
How a former Black Crowe changed Samantha Fish’s soloing style forever
Fish gives her take on what makes solos memorable – and why flashy playing doesn’t speak to the soul
Scott Gorham on his Thin Lizzy audition – and the moment The Boys Are Back in Town “exploded”
Brian Robertson might have given Gorham the coldest of welcomes at his audition but the pair soon formed one of rock's most iconic guitar partnerships. Here, Gorham looks back on their chemistry and the Les Pauls behind his Lizzy sound
