Latest articles by Jamie Dickson
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
“This was Les Paul in his ear”: The story behind Gibson’s distinctive Alnico V ‘Staple pickup’
A lesser celebrated pickup the ‘Staple’ pickup features those distinctive rectangular polepieces and a sound that makes it ripe for rediscovery, especially with a range of replicas on the market
Is this oddball ’60s electric the weirdest custom model Gibson has ever created?
The guitar – reportedly admired by Billy Gibbons – was built in 1966 for Torpedo Joe, and is said to be one of the strangest custom models Gibson has crafted
Scott Gorham nearly lost his 'Holy Grail' 1957 Gibson Les Paul to a customs officer just after he bought it – and he had to go to court to get it back
The Thin Lizzy guitarist bought the vintage guitar while in Boston with the band, but ran into a few issues when trying to take it overseas
Ola Strandberg brought headless guitars back from the dead. Now he wants to take them to the masses with his first sub-$1,000 electric
The Boden Essential makes the future-forward Boden ergonomics available to a wider demographic than ever before. Ola Strandberg walks us through its development
Guitar prices and the conundrum of high-priced budget electric vs entry-level prestige model
With top-of-the-line Epiphones challenging Gibson USA models for spec, and being priced accordingly, how do you decide which model is right for you?
“Sometimes the guitar will tell you what it likes the best”: How to choose the right strings for your guitar
String guru Curt Mangan busts myths and drops knowledge that will help us make better decisions when it comes to the most fundamental gear purchase we routinely make
Fender’s Master Builders on what makes a good Stratocaster – and the best Strats they’ve ever played
As two of the Custom Shop’s best luthiers, there are few people in the world better qualified to talk Strats than Paul Waller and Austin MacNutt. They share the secrets behind the truly special ones – and the mods that could revitalize yours
Tommy Emmanuel on how to set the bar high for yourself in the studio and on stage
From honing your creativity to eradicating erroneous string noise, the acoustic maestro explains how to set the bar high for yourself in the studio and on stage
Up-close with the 1974 Martin guitar that Eric Clapton used to write Wonderful Tonight
Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight is one of the great love songs of our time. So when the guitar he wrote it on, a 1974 Martin 000-28, came up for auction in London, we didn’t need a second invitation to go and take a closer look
