Articles by: Jonathan Horsley

Guitar World

Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.

Articles by: Jonathan Horsley

The best 12-string guitars in 2022, featuring 12-string acoustic and electric guitars

By Jonathan Horsley published 13 January 21

Our expert guide to the best 12-string guitars from Takamine, Taylor, Rickenbacker and others, from 12-string acoustic guitars to shimmering electrics

The history of Jackson Guitars

By Jonathan Horsley published 22 December 20

As Jackson celebrates its 40th anniversary, we chart its history from custom repair shop to number one supplier of rock and metal guitars

Best bass strings 2022: Get the best tone, feel and lifespan from your bass guitar with these string sets

By Jonathan Horsley published 21 December 20

Strings to bring the thunder from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, Rotosound and more

The 20 best guitar albums of 2020

By Jonathan Horsley published 18 December 20

Supergroups, Southern roots revival, off-brand prog-metal genius and a Brazilian phenom defined your year in guitar…

[L-R] Mark Tremonti, Stephen Carpenter, Matt Heafy and Daron Malakian

The 10 best guitar riffs of 2020

By Jonathan Horsley published 16 December 20

Please make some noise for this year’s finest rhythm playing – as voted for by you

[L-R] Joe Satriani, Plini, Gus G and Kiko Loureiro

The 10 best guitar solos of 2020

By Jonathan Horsley published 15 December 20

It’s time to reveal the greatest lead guitar moments of the year, as voted for by you

Buy a Line 6 Helix LT from Sweetwater and get a free backpack worth $169

By Jonathan Horsley published 27 November 20

Buying the guitar multi-effects processor du jour secures you a bonus backpack in this killer Black Friday deal

Songhoy Blues' Garba Touré: “I want to have my own way on the guitar, so people say, ‘That’s Garba playing’”

By Jonathan Horsley published 24 November 20

The desert blues guitarist on staking out new frontiers for Malian music, and his love for the Gibson SG

The future sound of Fender: Black Pumas, Yola, Girl In Red, Ashley McBryde and IDLES on gear, tone and songwriting

By Jonathan Horsley published 18 November 20

We meet the Fender Next alumni who are building new sounds from fresh approaches

Why 2020 marks a new golden age for Fender

By Jonathan Horsley published 3 November 20

How the world’s biggest guitar company takes the guitar world’s most-loved instruments and remakes them anew

Jon Gomm: “It's inevitable that when I write a new song I'm going to have some ridiculously complex way of playing it“

By Jonathan Horsley published 29 October 20

The English acoustic guitar trailblazer on beauty over technique, audience expectations and his game-changing new Ibanez acoustic

Jackson X-Series Soloist SL4X DX review

By Jonathan Horsley published 27 October 20

Jackson classes up the neoclassical shred game with this retro-inspired electric

15 of the greatest all-star guitar teachers

By Jonathan Horsley published 20 October 20

From legends of the old-school to the internet era’s pedagogues of polyphonic fingerstyle, these are the players who changed the guitar teaching game

[L-R] Shooter Jennings and Marilyn Manson

Shooter Jennings: "Marilyn Manson's miraculous poetic ability doesn’t grow cold, like a lot of people’s songwriting"

By Jonathan Horsley published 23 September 20

Manson's guitarist and producer discusses the enigmatic singer's new album We Are Chaos, the pair's eerily similar musical taste, and why his favorite amp is a Gallien-Krueger

Robby Krieger: “In the Doors’ music there are a lot of silences. We weren’t the type of band that had to fill up every little gap“

By Jonathan Horsley published 16 September 20

The ex-Doors man on developing his style, free-form sensibility and how it was jazz informing the band all along

Kenny Wayne Shepherd performs as part of Experience Hendrix at ACL Live on September 30, 2014 in Austin, Texas

Kenny Wayne Shepherd reveals his onstage Fender amps are actually Dumbles in disguise

By Richard Bienstock, Jonathan Horsley published 10 September 20

Revered amp builder Alexander Dumble hand-wires his own circuit within KWS's Fender cabinets

Yamaha LL6 ARE review

By Jonathan Horsley published 19 August 20

A sumptuous mid-priced jumbo that’s big on top-end detail

What makes a great metal guitar?

By Jonathan Horsley published 18 August 20

High-output humbuckers, a speedy neck and a headstock that wouldn’t make it past airport security? Here’s what to look for in a metal guitar

Buzz Osborne: “Why does every metalhead who picks up an acoustic end up sounding like f**king James Taylor?!”

By Jonathan Horsley published 13 August 20

The Melvins' King Buzzo on his new acoustic album with Trevor Dunn, what he looks for in a bassist, and the key to his devastating live tone

Fender CD-60S All-Mahogany review

By Jonathan Horsley published 11 August 20

Has Fender just raised the bar for the entry-level acoustic with the CD-60S All-Mahogany?

Best 8-string guitars 2022: embrace the low-end with our djent-friendly electric guitars for all budgets

By Jonathan Horsley published 30 July 20

The 8-string guitar opens up a world of musical possibilities – these are the best from Schecter, Ibanez, Jackson and more

Jeff Bridges on how his Breedlove signature acoustic will help save the planet - and why he started his first rock band at 60

By Jonathan Horsley published 21 July 20

The Oscar-winning actor reflects on his guitar heroes, Zen koans, and finding harmony on the film set

Larkin Poe: "We want to take roots American music to new places – and not treat the blues like a time capsule"

By Jonathan Horsley published 23 June 20

The multi-instrumentalist sister duo discuss recording efficiency and the vintage gear that fed into Self Made Man

The best electric guitar pickups in 2022, including single coils, humbuckers and P-90s to upgrade your tone

By Jonathan Horsley published 17 June 20

Breathe new life into your electric guitar tone with a fresh set of pickups

Frank Turner: “I play hard. For a long time, I found myself going through guitars – they couldn’t take a beating"

By Jonathan Horsley published 17 June 20

The erstwhile punk turned troubadour on performance, songwriting, and the power of good memories

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