Latest articles by Jackson Maxwell
"We were still gluing the fur on the tuning keys when the FedEx driver showed up to pick up the guitars": The iconic fur-covered spinning bass from ZZ Top's Legs video is going up for auction
Made by Dean Zelinsky, the bass is the crown jewel of a forthcoming auction of the late Dusty Hill's instrument and memorabilia collection
“That long-haired hippie’s got the word ‘f**k’ on his guitar!” Tommy Bolin’s 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard has one of the most checkered histories of any ’Burst – watch the late guitar hero play it live on TV with his pre-Deep Purple band, Zephyr
With an American flag pickguard and a made-for-a-Tele Bigsby tremolo, this guitar – which now belongs to Joe Bonamassa, via a straight-from-the-movies cash transaction with its mysterious former owner – is far from your average ’Burst
Legend of Zelda-inspired fret-burner gallops and drunken bends: This week's essential guitar tracks
Usher in the weekend with must-hear cuts from Brittany Howard, Dead Poet Society, Kurt Vile, DragonForce, IDLES and more
Using Dumble-modded Fender Twins and the "Stay With Me" Zemaitis, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood grace The Rolling Stones' comeback album with some of their finest fretwork in decades
Helmed by super-producer Andrew Watt and featuring a stellar bass turn from Paul McCartney, Hackney Diamonds – the Stones' first new album of original material in 18 years – is better than it has any right to be
This week's essential guitar tracks: Fresh eyebrow-singing solos from Judas Priest, and a former coma patient delivers jaw-dropping Dimebag-meets-EVH shred
The hottest new cuts from Richie Faulkner and co, Moon Tooth, Spiritbox, Tyler Larson, Black Pumas, Lamb of God, Scott Stapp (yes), and many more…
"That song was going in the trash until I played on it": Andy Summers is locked in a "contentious" battle with Sting over Every Breath You Take songwriting credits
Though coy about details of the dispute, the Police guitarist told listeners of The Jeremy White Show to "watch the press" in the coming year
Wolfgang Van Halen’s favorite guitarist tears it up while death metal has never sounded more alive: this week’s essential guitar tracks
Round out the week with our curated list of unmissable songs from Intervals, Alluvial, Sophie Lloyd, Santana, Kvelertak, Sleater-Kinney and more
How rubber bridge guitars became the hottest trend for the next generation of players: 10 songs that tell the story of its unstoppable rise
From its beginnings on tracks by alt-rockers like Phoebe Bridgers and Blake Mills, this fascinating mod made its way onto chart-topping albums by the likes of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo
The guitarists who recorded with Pink Floyd (whose names aren't David Gilmour, Syd Barrett or Roger Waters)
A number of session kings – and a one-time member of Thin Lizzy – all made six-string contributions to the band's catalog
“If this doesn't clear the house...” Watch U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cover Muddy Waters on his Fender Strat – at a state dinner
Now that's how you incorporate your artistic passion into your day job...
A Young Guitarist of the Year returns and Toto’s Africa meets extreme metal: This week’s essential guitar tracks
Fresh new tunes you need to check out this week, from Juho Ranta-Maunus and Marnie Stern to U2 and Bernie Marsden
“Knowing Bernie's eagerness to get the album out there, we want to follow his wishes and release it as planned”: Posthumous Bernie Marsden album set for release in November
The late Whitesnake alum was able to finish recording the album, and oversee and approve its sequencing, mastering, and artwork, before his death in late August
“The doctor's in the house”: Watch Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton tip their caps to Peter Green with searing Black Magic Woman at the 2023 Crossroads Festival
Guitar legends who had passed on since the last Crossroads gathering in 2019 were on the minds of audience members and performers alike at this year's festival
“It was considered a no-no to chain two Fuzz-Tones together. But I saw Hendrix chain five of them!” Billy Gibbons remembers opening for Jimi Hendrix with his pre-ZZ Top band the Moving Sidewalks
Before the long beards, sold-out arenas, spinning fur guitars and MTV stardom, Billy Gibbons cut his teeth in a psychedelic group called the Moving Sidewalks, who opened for – among other A-tier rock acts – one James Marshall Hendrix...
’90s alt-rock giants unite and blink-182 make a surprisingly heavy return: this week’s essential guitar tracks
Tasty new guitar tracks that need to be on your radar from Johnny Marr, Yasmin Williams, Art of Anarchy, The Vaccines, Bleachers, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Chelsea Wolfe and more
"Not for Josh": JHS's Josh Scott is banned from owning this new fuzz/overdrive pedal
Poison Noises has banned the popular YouTuber and pedal fanatic from owning its new four-knob creation, and he's responding to the trolling in (mostly) good humor
“A moment for modern guitar playing” that reaches new technical heights and Spinal Tap’s antidote to the Barbie hype: this week’s essential guitar tracks
Hot new cuts courtesy of Unprocessed, Derek Smalls, Meet Me @ The Altar, Wargasm, While She Sleeps, Erja Lyytinen, Wilco, Big Thief and more
“I still remember writing the intro to Sweet Jane sitting on a couch in my living room”: How a session guitar legend resurrected Lou Reed’s career with hard-rock lead heroics – and help from Blood, Sweat & Tears’ Steve Katz
He was the ghost player on Aerosmith's Train Kept a Rollin’, and defined many a classic Alice Cooper album with his stinging, melodic leads, but Lou Reed's ferocious Rock ’n’ Roll Animal live album may just be Steve Hunter’s finest hour – and contains one of the most underrated twin-guitar solos of the ’70s
“All of the Eric Johnson signature sounds are inside this preamp and power amp”: Vertex Effects played Eric Johnson’s $400,000 Dumble rig – here’s what it sounds like
The “rarest of rare” in the Dumble line, this custom-made Manzamp preamp and Odyssey power amp are said to be among the legendary amp builder’s “weirdest and most unobtainable” builds
Remarkable returns from the Rolling Stones and Måneskin, plus a Tool bassist’s sonic experiments: this week’s essential guitar tracks
Besides stadium and arena mainstays, we’ve got fresh cuts from The Gaslight Anthem, Dead Poet Society, Shylmagoghnar and an eclectic Justin Chancellor side-project
“You know, I've never played slide before, but it just started doing things on its own – I didn’t even have to try”: That time Paul McCartney channeled his inner bluesman – with the help of Nirvana, and a wild 4-string cigar box guitar
Matty Baratto's guitars have been played by Slash, Keith Richards, Zakk Wylde, Prince, Josh Homme, Joe Perry, and countless others. Seeing the Beatle use one of his four-string creations live with Nirvana, though, was a truly "surreal" moment for the luthier
Pantera-inspired groove-metal throwdowns and the return of one of the 21st century’s foremost tapping talents: this week’s essential guitar tracks
New releases you can’t afford to miss from Marnie Stern, Jason Hook, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, George Lynch, Ty Segall, Blackberry Smoke and so… much… more!
"Finally!" Jackson cements its relationship with Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser with a single-pickup, skull-emblazoned Soloist
After three decades, the thrash metal guitar icon finally has a signature Jackson – and it certainly stands out from the Soloist pack
“Make a bold statement”: Gibson gives the Les Paul Standard a 2023 makeover with vibrant finishes that are anything but sunburst
The firm's US-made Les Paul Standard 50s and Les Paul Standard 60s models can now be purchased with plain or figured tops – with six arresting finishes for each option
“We all loved Larry Carlton’s guitar, it was just magic… We were all looking for guitars with chunky necks, to try and get the sustain that he had”: Session legend Dean Parks reveals the secrets of his most iconic Steely Dan and Eric Clapton guitar parts
You can hear Parks on Josie, Haitian Divorce, Change the World, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and innumerable other songs – here, the guitarist unpacks the gear and recording sessions that forged them
