Jamie Dickson
Jamie Dickson is Editor-in-Chief of Guitarist magazine, Britain's best-selling and longest-running monthly for guitar players. He started his career at the Daily Telegraph in London, where his first assignment was interviewing blue-eyed soul legend Robert Palmer, going on to become a full-time author on music, writing for benchmark references such as 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and Dorling Kindersley's How To Play Guitar Step By Step. He joined Guitarist in 2011 and since then it has been his privilege to interview everyone from B.B. King to St. Vincent for Guitarist's readers, while sharing insights into scores of historic guitars, from Rory Gallagher's '61 Strat to the first Martin D-28 ever made.
Latest articles by Jamie Dickson
Richard Hawley on jamming with Robert Plant, his father's guitar sacrifice – and restoring Scott Walker's Tele
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Janelle Borg published
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
By Matt Owen published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Janelle Borg published
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
By Janelle Borg published
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”
By Henry Yates published
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’
By Jamie Dickson published
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?
By Matt Owen published
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
By Matt Owen published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
By Jamie Dickson published
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
“Coated strings definitely mitigate finger noise”: How different strings affect your acoustic guitar tone
By Jamie Dickson published
Strings have a major influence on your acoustic sound – here’s how to choose the right ones for your guitar
Mark Knopfler on how he enlisted Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and dozens more for the all-star Local Hero theme
By Jamie Dickson published
Corralling dozens of A-list guitar talent onto one epic track, Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes pulled out the impossible to raise money for teen cancer charities – here's how it all went down
Mark Knopfler on the guitars he couldn't bear to part with, and the six-strings that surprised him on One Deep River
By Jamie Dickson published
On the back of his stirring new album, the guitar icon discusses the primacy of songwriting, and how his relationship with the instrument has changed
Meet 9 of Fender’s most elusive offset guitars
By Jamie Dickson published
From Fender Japan exclusives to mid-’60s unicorns, and a 1958 Sparkle Sunburst Jazzmaster that’s a holy grail in anyone’s book…
“You get so much more choice”: How the Japanese Fender offset conquered the world
By Jamie Dickson published
Fender Japan showed the world how radically offsets could be modified. We visited specialist Japanese guitar retailer Gas Station Guitars to chart the evolution of the MIJ offset
“I’m not thinking about trying to impress anybody”: Fusion legend Scott Henderson talks virtuosity and style
By Jamie Dickson published
Returning with a new instrumental album seamlessly fusing rock, blues and jazz, Scott Henderson checks in to talk gear, style and what we can learn from vocals and horn
How Martin threw away the tonewood recipe book to rethink acoustic guitar with the Inception
By Jamie Dickson published
Martin's vice president of product management Fred Greene gives us the skinny on how the brand's latest acoustic presents players with some seriously innovative features
The history of Fender offset guitars
By Huw Price published
Only now, over 60 years on from their launch, are the Jazzmaster and Jaguar becoming recognised as guitars for all players. We trace the innovations that mapped the offset’s long journey from misunderstood outsider to contemporary king
“Some guitars are just that little bit special that they work their way in, you know?” Mark Knopfler on why he had to keep his Sultans of Swing Strat – despite selling his Money for Nothing Les Paul and the rest of his collection
By Matt Parker published
The Dire Straits icon recently sold off his most famous and valuable instruments – but there were a few notable exceptions...
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