
Jonathan Horsley
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.
Latest articles by Jonathan Horsley

Has Zakk Wylde’s signature guitar brand spec’d up its most brutal electric guitar design yet? Meet the Thoraxe
By Jonathan Horsley published
When you need to get all Wylde up onstage and chop the audience’s head off with a big ol’ grizzly bear riff, when you need to cut through the mix, reach for the Thoraxe...

Diamond Pedals is officially back with five compact new stompboxes featuring original circuits, and updated classics
By Jonathan Horsley published
The much-loved Canadian brand returns with the Memory Lane delay, Diamond Drive, Tremolo, and the legendary tone-sweetening Comp/EQ for guitar and bass

Rolling Stone Darryl Jones, Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton (and an actual Beatle) to lead next Rock ’N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in New York
By Jonathan Horsley published
Yup, a rhythm section comprising 'fifth Beatle' Pete Best on drums, with Jones and Hamilton on bass, is just the thing for playing Stones, Aerosmith and Beatles classics onstage in NYC

Mike Dawes starts an acoustic jam with Tommy Emmanuel on live TV – in the wrong tuning – but styles it out like a boss
By Jonathan Horsley published
It is every player’s worst nightmare but when disaster strikes you've just got to stay calm and hope Tommy Emmanuel is sitting beside you to assist with fine-tuning

Joe Bonamassa unpacks the influence behind his super-premium guitar tone – “It’s the two Erics, Clapton and Johnson”
By Jonathan Horsley published
Not too bright, throaty and musical – that's just how Bonamassa likes his tone, and he says a Dumble and a 'Burst are “not a prerequisite” for creating the sound in his head

Blues Music Awards 2023: Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram win big as John Primer is inducted into the Hall of Fame
By Jonathan Horsley published
The 44th Annual Blues Music Awards also saw Tommy Castro crowned Entertainer of the Year, with Sue Foley and Ruthie Foster picking up awards as well

Mötley Crüe have finished their first studio album with John 5 – and promise it’s “heavier than anything”
By Jonathan Horsley published
Nikki Sixx confirms the record is in the can and ready for mixing, while John 5 says we should expect something "heavy and aggressive”

Warm Audio Centavo Professional Overdrive review
By Jonathan Horsley published
If it looks like a Klon and sounds like a Klon, is it really a Klon? Not at this price...

Remembering Tom Verlaine, the cult hero who reconfigured guitar and inspired generations of alt-rock players
By Jonathan Horsley published
Inventive, wiry, elusive, genius, Tom Verlaine's guitar playing was a lightning rod for the artistically bold, and in partnership with Richard Lloyd, it gave Television a unique, thrilling sound

D’Angelico debuts stunning signature semi-hollow Deluxe DC for neo-soul virtuoso Melanie Faye
By Jonathan Horsley published
Limited to just 50 instruments worldwide, but not insanely priced, this Metallic Surf Green semi is an absolute cracker

Foxgear launches the Gurus Echosex 3º Steve Lukather Signature pedal, the “always-on” Echorec emulator that gives the Toto guitarist his secret sauce
By Jonathan Horsley published
“The Echosex 3° is the most important and used piece of gear I have,” says Lukather – and now you can stick one on your pedalboard, too

Bush’s Chris Traynor got the Fender Custom Shop to make him a baritone version of Keith Richards’ Micawber Telecaster
By Jonathan Horsley published
Traynor and Gavin Rossdale have revealed their touring rigs and there are some sweet low-end options besides the Rolling Stones homage, including budget Squier, Fender and fretless baritones

Kirk Hammett just bought one of the rarest Les Pauls ever made – a Factory Black ’59 Les Paul Standard
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Metallica guitarist has been unicorn hunting and bagged a true specimen from Carter Vintage Guitars – a guitar to make Greeny green with envy

Watch DragonForce’s Herman Li shred underwater as he goes Through the Fire and the Flames – and a water slide – to end up in a hot-tub
By Jonathan Horsley published
The DragonForce shredder and bassist Alicia Vigil donned masks and snorkels and turned power metal into a water sport during their set at the 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise 2023

NAMM 2023: Fishman debuts signature Fluence pickup sets for Polyphia’s Tim Henson and Scott LePage – complete with an onboard nylon-string substitute setting
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Polyphia boys land the big Fishman, with each pickup featuring three voices, including the ridiculously tantalizing “nylon-string surrogate” mode on Henson’s neck humbucker

Watch Marcus King play a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Custom once owned by Paul Kossoff and Eric Clapton
By Jonathan Horsley published
King was on tour in France when super-collector Matthieu Lucas of Matt’s Guitar Shop dropped by with a very special single-cut in tow

Kiesel unveils the A2, a future-forward offset electric guitar and bass that marks the dramatic evolution of the Aries
By Jonathan Horsley published
The A2 guitar and bass debut a refined body shape and contouring to enhance ergonomics and offer players a speedy ride

Nita Strauss reunites with Alice Cooper for new single Winner Takes All – and Strauss is cutting heads in the solo
By Jonathan Horsley published
“There was no question that I wanted to create a song to collaborate with my longtime boss and friend, the legendary Alice Cooper,” says Strauss

The 50 greatest guitar riffs of all time
By Amit Sharma last updated
From metal to rock, punk to grunge, these are the best guitar riffs ever recorded, as voted for by you

Best 8-string guitars 2025: embrace the low-end with our djent-friendly electrics for all budgets
By Jonathan Horsley last updated
Extend your low end beyond your wildest dreams with our selection of the best 8-string electric guitars

High-school basketball player turns TikTok sensation after shredding The Star-Spangled Banner on a Jackson Soloist moments before taking to the court
By Jonathan Horsley published
If this Texas high school senior's jump shot is as good as his phrasing, look out for him in the NBA

Watch Eric Clapton pay tribute to Jeff Beck as he joins Jerry Douglas for an acoustic rendition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps and folk standard Sam Hall
By Jonathan Horsley published
Slowhand was a surprise guest onstage during Douglas's set at the Royal Festival Hall in London

Jesse Gress, Todd Rundgren guitarist and longstanding Guitar Player contributor, dies aged 67
By Jonathan Horsley published
Gress enjoyed a prolific career as a player and a writer of some of the best guitar reference books you could read, and his insightful lessons graced Guitar Player for over 30 years

Tired of playing power chords? Mr. Black has the pedal for you: the High-Five Instant Power Chord Generator
By Jonathan Horsley published
Just play the root note and this compact pitch-shifter will add the fifth and octave as if by magic, but you’d best hurry – it’s a limited-edition run

Tom Morello says he wrote a “phat jam” with Post Malone that could be the rap superstar’s Beat It
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Rage Against the Machine guitarist says it could be like Eddie Van Halen and Michael Jackson using rock guitar for something unexpected, and calls on Malone to finish the track and release it
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