Latest articles by Jonathan Horsley
“For 40 years, guitar manufacturers have been trying to get me to flaunt their product”: Lars Ulrich turns his hand to guitar demos for the first time – while Kirk Hammett shreds on a Strat
It’s only taken four decades, but Juanes’ signature Fender Strat is so cool that Lars finally feels comfortable sharing his guitar-playing capabilities as Metallica turn their hand to gear demos
The surprising secret behind Kurt Cobain’s guitar tone on Nirvana’s In Utero has been discovered, 30 years on from its release
And it’s not a magic pedal, magic amp or a magic guitar...
This year’s most versatile shred machine? Vola’s Maycown Reichembach signature model boasts P-90 and fire-breathing humbucker pickups – and a heck of a lot of switching options
Vola turns its hand to P-90s for the first time on this well-equipped signature guitar for the Argentinian fusion wizard – and with direct-to-consumer pricing, it’s surprisingly affordable, too
Guild makes a major play for the made-in-USA acoustic market with the “no frills, boutique quality” Standard Series
They're classy, made in Cali, and available in Natural, Antique Burst and Pacific Sunset Burst, all finished with a lick of Vintage Gloss nitro, and the series marks the return of the D-50
Best bass strings 2025: Get the best tone, feel and lifespan from your bass guitar with these string sets
Our expert pick of strings to bring the low-end thunder from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, Rotosound and more
Island of Love’s Karim Newble and Linus Munch: “When we started rehearsing we didn’t even have a fuzz pedal. We are still borrowing amps every single show”
The first UK band to be signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records are having big fun making big noise but can someone, anyone, lend these lovable rogues some gear?
Charvel Jim Root Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 review
The Slipknot riffer returns to the original hotrod shop for a Superstrat that's built to handle all manner of high-gain rough and tumble
Best electric guitar pickups 2025: upgrade your tone with single-coils, P90s, humbuckers, and more
We’ve rounded up the best electric guitar pickups available on the market right now for a range of budgets, including models from Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, and more.
Benson expands its temperate-controlled fuzz pedal range with the vintage '60s flavors of the Stonk Box
Inspired by the earliest fuzz boxes – think a Maestro FZ-1 or Tone Bender MKI – the Stonk adds some extra controls and Automatic Thermal Bias tech to keep it sounding consistent
Richie Faulkner says he used a Bigsby-equipped Fender Telecaster for his clean tone on Judas Priest’s Firepower
The Gibson-loving Judas Priest guitarist maintains, though, that the Flying V remains his, err, elegant weapon of choice
Has Zakk Wylde’s signature guitar brand spec’d up its most brutal electric guitar design yet? Meet the Thoraxe
When you need to get all Wylde up onstage and chop the audience’s head off with a big ol’ grizzly bear riff, when you need to cut through the mix, reach for the Thoraxe...
Diamond Pedals is officially back with five compact new stompboxes featuring original circuits, and updated classics
The much-loved Canadian brand returns with the Memory Lane delay, Diamond Drive, Tremolo, and the legendary tone-sweetening Comp/EQ for guitar and bass
Rolling Stone Darryl Jones, Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton (and an actual Beatle) to lead next Rock ’N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in New York
Yup, a rhythm section comprising 'fifth Beatle' Pete Best on drums, with Jones and Hamilton on bass, is just the thing for playing Stones, Aerosmith and Beatles classics onstage in NYC
Mike Dawes starts an acoustic jam with Tommy Emmanuel on live TV – in the wrong tuning – but styles it out like a boss
It is every player’s worst nightmare but when disaster strikes you've just got to stay calm and hope Tommy Emmanuel is sitting beside you to assist with fine-tuning
Joe Bonamassa unpacks the influence behind his super-premium guitar tone – “It’s the two Erics, Clapton and Johnson”
Not too bright, throaty and musical – that's just how Bonamassa likes his tone, and he says a Dumble and a 'Burst are “not a prerequisite” for creating the sound in his head
Blues Music Awards 2023: Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram win big as John Primer is inducted into the Hall of Fame
The 44th Annual Blues Music Awards also saw Tommy Castro crowned Entertainer of the Year, with Sue Foley and Ruthie Foster picking up awards as well
Mötley Crüe have finished their first studio album with John 5 – and promise it’s “heavier than anything”
Nikki Sixx confirms the record is in the can and ready for mixing, while John 5 says we should expect something "heavy and aggressive”
Warm Audio Centavo Professional Overdrive review
If it looks like a Klon and sounds like a Klon, is it really a Klon? Not at this price...
Remembering Tom Verlaine, the cult hero who reconfigured guitar and inspired generations of alt-rock players
Inventive, wiry, elusive, genius, Tom Verlaine's guitar playing was a lightning rod for the artistically bold, and in partnership with Richard Lloyd, it gave Television a unique, thrilling sound
D’Angelico debuts stunning signature semi-hollow Deluxe DC for neo-soul virtuoso Melanie Faye
Limited to just 50 instruments worldwide, but not insanely priced, this Metallic Surf Green semi is an absolute cracker
Foxgear launches the Gurus Echosex 3º Steve Lukather Signature pedal, the “always-on” Echorec emulator that gives the Toto guitarist his secret sauce
“The Echosex 3° is the most important and used piece of gear I have,” says Lukather – and now you can stick one on your pedalboard, too
Bush’s Chris Traynor got the Fender Custom Shop to make him a baritone version of Keith Richards’ Micawber Telecaster
Traynor and Gavin Rossdale have revealed their touring rigs and there are some sweet low-end options besides the Rolling Stones homage, including budget Squier, Fender and fretless baritones
Kirk Hammett just bought one of the rarest Les Pauls ever made – a Factory Black ’59 Les Paul Standard
The Metallica guitarist has been unicorn hunting and bagged a true specimen from Carter Vintage Guitars – a guitar to make Greeny green with envy
Watch DragonForce’s Herman Li shred underwater as he goes Through the Fire and the Flames – and a water slide – to end up in a hot-tub
The DragonForce shredder and bassist Alicia Vigil donned masks and snorkels and turned power metal into a water sport during their set at the 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise 2023
NAMM 2023: Fishman debuts signature Fluence pickup sets for Polyphia’s Tim Henson and Scott LePage – complete with an onboard nylon-string substitute setting
The Polyphia boys land the big Fishman, with each pickup featuring three voices, including the ridiculously tantalizing “nylon-string surrogate” mode on Henson’s neck humbucker
