Latest articles by Jackson Maxwell
“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
“As I came off the stage I said, ‘How much do you want for it?' He wanted the princely sum of 600 pounds”: Bernie Marsden plays the blues on “The Beast,” his legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and reveals its origin story
Gary Moore was in awe of its tone, and Jeff Beck played Scatterbrain on it... Here, the late blues-rock guitar titan tells the story of the most famous six-string in his collection
Gossamer tremolo picking and the stuff of Phrygian nightmares: This week's essential guitar tracks
Unmissable new songs from Fiddlehead, HotWax, Guns N’ Roses, Emily Wolfe, Born of Osiris, Babymetal ft. Tom Morello, CLT DRP, and more
“An absolute groundbreaker as a player”: His Telecaster mastery was the backbone of records by Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and countless others – watch James Burton demonstrate his incredible chicken pickin’ technique
Beloved by Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Brian May, and innumerable other rock guitar giants, Burton's skill and list of stage and studio credits are mind-boggling
“I never thought I could actually play a solo on this thing”: YouTuber creates a ‘neckless’ guitar – and even manages to record a song with it
Djenty-crunch, "extreme vibrato," whammy-like bends... Bernth Brodträger gets a surprising amount of range from his crazy Ibanez in this original composition
Palm-muted gut-punches and Strandberg shred that sounds like Plini meets Mario Kart: This week’s essential guitar tracks
Fresh, guitar-driven cuts from Bleed From Within, The Joy Formidable, Ottto, Angra, James Bay, Eliza McLamb, and loads more
Steve Hackett called him “probably the most proficient tapper out there”: Watch underrated tapping genius Stanley Jordan apply his masterful technique to Stairway to Heaven – on two guitars at once
The visionary virtuoso put a jazzy and classical spin on a technique most often associated with hard-rock, and applied it to a bold reimagining of the Led Zeppelin classic
"We had no idea we were going to do it": That time Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge saluted the Band with a surprise campfire cover of The Weight
The impromptu acoustic jam closes out the 2008 guitar-themed documentary, It Might Get Loud
Robbie Robertson, guitarist for Bob Dylan, the Band, dies at 80
The famed guitarist had recently completed work on the score for the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sixto Rodriguez, singer-songwriter of Searching for Sugar Man fame, dies at 81
The Detroit native's two once-obscure early '70s albums – filled with distinct, plain-spoken songs focused on oppression, poverty, and racism – found a massive audience in South Africa, which he remained unaware of for decades
“The kids just went ape”: Link Wray's Rumble inspired Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck – and had a guitar tone so aggressive it was banned from the radio
Finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, Link Wray was a guitar pioneer who – when he released Rumble in 1958 – made the instrument sound more dangerous than anyone before him
“I don’t want someone coming away from my show thinking, ‘He doesn’t sound any good’”: Buddy Guy opens up on his retirement from the road
The blues guitar legend says that seeing the toll advanced age took on the live performances of some of his own heroes – including B.B. King – played a significant factor in his decision
Marty Friedman revisits his thrash heyday once again for ferocious four-song guest spot with Megadeth
The Wacken Open Air festival played host to the legendary shredder's second 2023 reunion with the metal icons
“I don't know whether we played it properly, but the audience loved it”: When Black Sabbath regularly covered Smoke on the Water – and unwittingly inspired Spinal Tap's Stonehenge
Sabbath's ill-fated Born Again tour featured comically oversized props “as big as the real Stonehenge”, onstage spills, and a crowd-pleasing hard-rock crossover
Johnny Cash’s 1930s Martin makes a comeback – and so does Napster-era crunch: This week's essential guitar tracks
You just gotta hear these new songs from Sophie Lloyd, The String Revolution ft. Tommy Emmanuel, Crypta, Graveyard, The Linda Lindas, Wilco, Nervosa and so very many more
His underrated guitar playing influenced everyone from the Beatles to Nirvana – here's how Lead Belly used his 12-string skills to play his way out of prison
Huddie Ledbetter's magnetic musical talent got him an early release from a hellish Texas prison – yet his full impact on 20th century guitar playing is often overlooked
Wolfgang Van Halen’s new single has a monster tapping solo – featuring his uncle operating his wah pedal
On the latest preview from the forthcoming Mammoth II album, Wolfgang shows that – when it comes to chops – the apple didn't fall far from the tree
Paul Gilbert thinks freeform guitar solos are “pretty dangerous” – but he’s brought them back for Mr. Big’s farewell tour anyway
Though the virtuoso has admitted he's “a bit rusty with the artform” of freeform soloing, there's little sign of it in the electrifying examples that have surfaced from the band's ongoing final tour
