Latest articles by Jackson Maxwell
Black Friday guitar deals 2025: Don't miss out on the greatest savings for guitar players
Here are the best savings still live this Black Friday, from Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Positive Grid, and more
This 20% Black Friday discount on the PRS SE Custom 24 has me considering taking the PRS plunge
I've never quite clicked with the look of PRS guitars, but this discount puts the SE Custom 24 in exactly my current price range – and my co-workers' praise of the model is starting to make me reconsider my views...
Get $200 off the best acoustic guitar you can buy this Black Friday
Built with impeccable precision, adaptable to virtually any genre, and loaded with more history than just about any other acoustic guitar model, the D-28 remains the acoustic king. Save big on one this Black Friday
Buy a Friedman amp for $99 in this bonkers Black Friday deal
Dave Friedman’s amp sorcery was long a closely guarded secret for many of the world’s top players, but the BE-Mini Head brings it to the masses – and at $99 this Black Friday, those mythical tones have never been cheaper
“The perfect marriage of Aerosmith and the Cult. An Aerocult, if you will”: November 2025 Guitar World Editors’ Picks
The new guitar music that GW editors have been obsessed with this month: fresh names, old hands and trailblazing players
The nylon-string guitar riff that has taken TikTok by storm – and been covered by John Mayer
Filmed in a field in Southern Indiana, a video of singer/songwriter Hudson Freeman's off-the-cuff performance of his song, If You Know Me, has racked up 1.5 million views, and caught the attention of one of guitar's biggest names
Who's the greatest guitar hero to emerge in the 21st century so far?
As the first quarter of the 21st century enters its final days, we ask you – who do you think has re-defined the guitar since 2000? Whether it's their technical skill, showmanship, or songwriting that moves you – let us know
Paul McCartney was meant to be the Beatles’ lead guitarist – then stage fright led him to George Harrison
McCartney explains how Harrison became the band’s primary soloist in this exclusive extract from The Beatles Anthology
The difficult Radiohead song that reduced Thom Yorke to tears – and went on to be a viral smash
Inspired by seeing Jeff Buckley in concert, Thom Yorke wrote this stunning power ballad of sorts while under pressure to produce a follow-up to the band's breakthrough hit, Creep. In the end, it was a huge mixing mistake that helped make it a classic, and a hit – 30 years later
Far Caspian made one of this year's best indie records, and he did it by paring down guitar layers and embracing dirt
Joel Johnston channels R.E.M. and shoegaze on his latest indie-rock opus. He tells us why he’s a Japanese-built Fender offset loyalist through and through
How Jack White came upon the castaway guitar he'd use to play Seven Nation Army at the Grammys
The story tracks with someone who has made not one, but two, special cameo appearances on a popular reality TV show about sifting for valuable artifacts in yard sales and antique shops
Tom Petty wanted to turn a catchy riff into a much-needed hit. He didn't stop playing it until he did
Under pressure to follow up his multi-platinum breakthrough, Damn the Torpedoes, with another best-selling album, Petty wanted a lead single “that had a little lick from the beginning”. That lick proved to be a stubborn one
October 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks
Liven up your Halloween with six-string (and five-string) sorcery from Alter Bridge, Mei Semones, Whitney, Karma Sheen, Jacob Collier, Unprocessed, and many more
Stray Cats cancel fall tour as Brian Setzer battles “serious illness”
Just days ago, the beloved rockabilly trio were forced to cancel the opening show of their tour due to Setzer's ongoing health issues
Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer Ad guitar sells for $2,734,000 at auction
The eye-watering price tag makes it the sixth most expensive guitar ever sold publicly
Test your knowledge of guitar and rock history with the Guitar World quiz
Why was that guitar instrumental banned from radio? Those two were in a band together? See if you know the answers to these questions and more – without the drink minimum
Ace Frehley, larger-than-life Kiss guitarist, dies at 74
Though, his playing was, in his own words, “always old school,” Frehley set a new bar for guitar showmanship
The day the Beatles visited New York’s most legendary guitar store
The salesmen at Manny's Music were happy to give the Fab Four a free guitar, but needed permission from its manufacturer. No freebies, they were told – not even for the biggest band in history
D’Angelo, legendary, boundary-pushing R&B singer/songwriter, dies at 51
The multi-instrumentalist released only three albums over the course of his three-decade career, but each proved hugely influential
John Lodge, Moody Blues bassist and singer, dies at 82
The beloved British band's bassist for over 50 years, Lodge also penned some of their biggest hits, among them I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)
Spare 5 minutes to tell us about your guitar habits and collection – and you could win a $200 Amazon gift card
We want to hear from you! Tell us about yourself, and your relationship with the guitar, in Guitar World's 2025 Readers' Survey
Mick Taylor's Rolling Stones baptism by fire came just two days after Brian Jones' death – in front of 250,000 people
Jones’ decline into drug addiction in the two years prior to his tragic death at the age of 27 prevented the Stones from touring, leaving them quite rusty – not that that lessened their drawing power
25 years ago, Radiohead were the world's most talked-about guitar band. Then they burned the rulebook
Released 25 years ago, Kid A subverted all of the lofty expectations that had been placed on the band, and cemented their status as one of popular music's leading creative lights
