Latest articles by Jackson Maxwell
March 2026 Guitar World Editors’ Picks
Collaborative instrumental greatness from six-string aces new (Jack Gardiner and Matteo Mancuso) and old (SatchVai), bossa nova guitar bliss from Mei Semones, sublime slide work from Duane Betts, swashbuckling 12 bar blues from Kirk Fletcher... we've had it all this month
Have you ever regretted selling a guitar?
It’s a crossroads that nearly every guitarist has come to at some point or another. Share your story with us
How Travis Barker-championed pop-punk heavyweight KennyHoopla found his dream Tele via a shady Facebook Marketplace deal
Lightweight, loaded with a pair of P-90s, and adorned with a photo of his late childhood cat, the Tele has become the singer-songwriter/guitarist's closest six-string companion
What makes a guitar worth $14.6 million?
Last week, David Gilmour's Black Strat sold at auction for an incredible $14.6 million. What could compel someone to spend that kind of money on a guitar?
I attended the biggest guitar auction in history – and witnessed a new dawn in the value of the instrument
The monumental bidding wars that took place on the first night of the Jim Irsay Collection auction at Christie’s New York were a testament to the power of the instrument and the aura of the classic rock gods, and left attendees spellbound
David Gilmour's Black Strat sells for record-shattering $14.5 million in the biggest guitar auction in history
We were live on the ground at Christie's auction house in New York as the world's greatest guitar collection went under the hammer
Who's the best guitar player you've ever seen live?
Did the best live guitar playing you've ever seen come from a hero you'd been dying to see for years? Or someone out of the blue, who you'd never heard before? Tell us the story!
It was nothing more than a throwaway jam – then they were playing it at the Grammys in tuxedos
In the annals of ’90s alt-rock one-off hits, few were more improbable than Liar, the snarky funk-metal jam that brought hardcore heavyweight Henry Rollins and his band onto mainstream radio, and to music's biggest stage
Which guitarist should every beginner listen to?
Someone you know has just picked up the guitar for the first time. They ask you: which guitarist should I listen to and really study first? Who can I learn the most from? You can only name one
February 2026 Guitar World Editors’ Picks
Two generations of virtuosos – Steve Vai and Matteo Mancuso – join forces, Midwest Emo GOATs American Football return, Anna Calvi works wonders with her Telecaster, Mateus Asato gives us long-awaited instrumental bliss, and Angine de Poitrine deliver, uh, “Dada-Pythago-Cubist Mantra-rock” – all this and much, much more
We asked what constitutes “fake” guitar playing – here's what you had to say
It seems many of you came to an agreement on where to draw the line
The band's guitarist felt the song was beneath its writer, but it became one of the biggest guitar-pop hits of the 2000s
Though critically beloved, Fountains of Wayne are known to most only as the band behind Stacy's Mom, the cheeky and irrepressible smash hit that remains a staple of 2000s nostalgia playlists – and that's exactly what guitarist Chris Collingwood was afraid of
What constitutes “fake” guitar playing?
Separate viral videos in recent months have accused multiple young, ultra-popular, social media-savvy guitarists of being “fake”. But what does that mean in this day and age? And what makes that label a new phenomenon?
When one of alt-rock’s goofiest bands snuck into a storage space, and recorded a solo through Santana’s guitar rig
A tip from a roadie led to a clandestine operation that, its lead perpetrator said, “resembled an early morning bank heist”
Prove your knowledge of the strangest guitars ever built
You're a no-nonsense guitar type? Sorry, this is all nonsense! OK, not all of it – some of these six- (and four, and... 17) string builds have serious functions, but they sure make it weird along the way
Billie Joe Armstrong shows off mysterious new Marshall at Green Day's Super Bowl set – could a signature amp be on the cards?
Eagle-eyed viewers have pointed to the top left corner of the amp, which has a label boasting a word that looks a heck of a lot like “Dookie”. An official take on Armstrong's “Dookie mod” Marshall, perhaps?
Top players and a gun-wielding Phil Spector: the wild story of John Lennon's rock 'n' roll covers album
Recorded under threat of a lawsuit, while in the midst of his infamous “Lost Weekend”, Rock 'n' Roll was the craziest ride of the Beatle's career – featuring top players and a gun-wielding Phil Spector
January 2026 Guitar World Editors’ Picks
Featuring an onslaught of leviathan power chords from Sunn O))), a bruiser of a blues rock romp from Jared James Nichols, a beautiful, heartfelt piece of desert blues from Imarhan, a genre-obliterating piece of twisty guitar genius from Tim Henson, and a whole lot more
How some inspiration from Yngwie Malmsteen helped transform Europe's the Final Countdown from “dreadful” demo into smash hit
A staple of sporting events around the world, this keyboard-driven anthem was given a healthy dose of muscle by its skeptical guitarist, transforming it into a perfect-for-the-era, stadium-pleasing classic
NAMM 2026: rumors, predictions and breaking news from the world's biggest guitar gear show
All the latest and greatest gear drops coming out of the largest music trade show in the world – with new launches from Ibanez, Taylor, EVH, Marshall and more
JBL unveils the BandBox, an AI-powered amp and speaker that might just change the way guitarists practice
Available in Solo and Trio versions, the BandBox can also be connected to the JBL ONE app, from which players can access a number of amp models and effects
The Yamaha Revstar pulled Chris Buck away from Strat loyalty – and his new signature model boasts some tantalizing personal touches
A recreation of Buck's cherished custom Revstar, the RS02CB departs from the design of its siblings in a few key ways
When Jimi Hendrix gave Billy Gibbons a guitar lesson unlike any other
Gibbons' pre-ZZ Top band, the Moving Sidewalks, toured with Hendrix for a time in 1968 – and he got to witness the Strat legend's magic up close
