Jonathan Horsley

Why Zakk Wylde brought his “Grail” Les Paul Custom out of retirement for Ozzy Osbourne tribute song

By Jonathan Horsley published 31 January 26

The iconic cream Les Paul Custom with the bulls-eye graphic completed a full circle moment as Wylde salutes his old boss on new Black Label Society album

“You never know”: Zakk Wylde says its possible that the Pantera tribute lineup could record music together

By Jonathan Horsley published 29 January 26

The Black Label Society frontman/guitarist says "never say never" – but if they did it might end up like the Eagles

Dave Mustaine admits he nearly passed on Marty Friedman for Megadeth because he didn’t like his hair

By Jonathan Horsley published 27 January 26

But then he heard Friedman play...

Epiphone revamps core lineup with the Inspired By Gibson series

By Jonathan Horsley published 27 January 26

NAMM 2026: Laurel is out, rosewood is in for all but entry-level models, as upgrades come across the board

“This has been a difficult decision for us”: Harley Benton is closing its US store on Reverb

By Jonathan Horsley published 27 January 26

Players in the US have until 31 January to place their orders before the doors shut at the German brand's US warehouse. Harley Benton says it is “no longer feasible” to operate in the US

MXR's high-gain Eddie Van Halen collab headlines Jim Dunlop's fresh pedal drop – and there's an Iron Maiden Killers Cry Baby too

By Jonathan Horsley published 22 January 26

NAMM 2026: The MXR EVH Modern High Gain Pedal was co-designed with Eddie Van Halen in 2015 and is officially here, and it's joined by a special Way Huge fuzz and some cool Cry Babies

Seymour Duncan unveils MortalCoil active humbucker set – will it dethrone Fishman as metal’s state-of-the-art pickup?

By Jonathan Horsley published 22 January 26

NAMM 2026: A serious upgrade to any high-performance electric guitar, Seymour Duncan promises a super-fast attack, clarity even when the gain is dimed – and hey, there's a single-coil voicing too

Billy Corgan and Laney Amplification unveil the ultimate Smashing Pumpkins amp-in-a-box pedal

By Jonathan Horsley published 22 January 26

NAMM 2026: The Supergrace is a two-hander between Laney and Brian Carstens, and Corgan gave it a trial by fire when playing with My Chemical Romance in front of 60,000 fans

“Our goal has been to define the standard for what an all-in-one digital rig can be”: Neural DSP’s game-changing Quad Cortex amp modeller just got a lot smaller – but it’s got the same sounds, the same power, and a 7” touchscreen too

By Jonathan Horsley published 21 January 26

NAMM 2026: It does all the things that the regular-sized Quad Cortex, only it's small, a lot smaller

“It transforms how a guitarist commands the stage”: Casio’s Dimension Shift lets you control effects with your strap

By Jonathan Horsley published 21 January 26

NAMM 2026: The Dimension Shifter allows guitarists to control stompbox parameters wireless simply by moving their guitar strap

PRS and Ed Sheeran team up for SE Hollowbody Piezo Baritone featuring pop superstar’s own artwork

By Jonathan Horsley published 20 January 26

NAMM 2026: Limited to 1,000 instruments worldwide, the Ed Sheeran SE Hollowbody Baritone 'Cosmic Splash' has a unique build and look and comes with an 8" by 8" signed print

“I wanted to fix every issue I’ve ever had dialling in metal tones on similar pedals or even the original”: Warm Audio has just made Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce its first ever signature pedal and he explains why, yes, the world needs another overdrive

By Jonathan Horsley published 20 January 26

NAMM 2026: The Fluff Drive was inspired by the Maxon TS-01 but features a suite of contemporary updates to make it work gangbusters with extended-range guitars

Orange Amps rolls out the OR60, a single-channel 60-watt tube powerhouse officially approved by Down/COC’s Pepper Keenan

By Jonathan Horsley published 20 January 26

NAMM 2026: Orange says it is the most versatile single-channel amp it has ever made

Vox unveils “re-engineered” treble booster with all the tone and none of the inconsistency of vintage units

By Jonathan Horsley published 20 January 26

NAMM 2026: Vox's VTB-1 Treble Booster in inspired by vintage Rangemaster units but remixes the circuit recipe and promises lower noise and a more robust performance

Silvertone resurrects the cult semi-hollow electric guitar loved by Elvis Costello, Hubert Sumlin and Chris Isaak

By Jonathan Horsley published 19 January 26

NAMM 2026: A long-lost catalogue classic is back from the dead and it might be the coolest release you'll see all year

Squier unveils huge Sonic Series refresh – super-affordable, beginner and child-friendly versions of classic Fender models

By Jonathan Horsley published 19 January 26

NAMM 2026: There are Sonic Mustangs with dual-humbuckers, vintage and modern colour finishes, classic Strats, HSS Strats... A 3/4-sized Strat too. But you'll have to wait until July

Peter Capaldi on how he found Doctor Who’s “junk shop” Yamaha electric guitar on Denmark Street

By Jonathan Horsley published 15 January 26

What better guitar for a time-travelling Time Lord to play than a cult electric nicknamed the Flying Samurai...

Joe Bonamassa gives his blessing as Norman Harris sells Norman’s Rare Guitars and says the future of his iconic LA store has been secured

By Jonathan Horsley published 15 January 26

TNAG Global, which owns Carter Vintage Guitars, is the buyer, and under CEO Ben Montague, it promises to preserve the soul and grow the business of one of the world's most-loved guitar stores

Boss tackles budget rivals head-on with feature-packed entry-level GX series multi-fx pedals for guitar and bass

By Jonathan Horsley published 15 January 26

NAMM 2026: The GX-1 and GX-1B have hi-res displays, assignable footswitches, AIRD tech and the all-new Gear Suite feature for super-easy amp and effects settings

“There’s only two of these on the planet”: Myles Kennedy bassist Tim Tournier on the EVH bass Wolfgang Van Halen gave him

By Jonathan Horsley published 14 January 26

Tournier's prototype Wolfgang bass was is a dual-humbucker doozie, masterbuilt by Chip Ellis, and it is being road-tested hard. But will EVH Gear ever release it?

Has Martin redefined the workhorse acoustic? Legendary brand announces blockbuster refresh of its Road Series

By Jonathan Horsley published 14 January 26

NAMM 2026: The Road Series might be Martin’s mid-priced lineup but these upscale Retro Plus models with their torrefied spruce tops are too fancy to be anyone’s “workhorse”

Jared James Nichols on why he took his Klon off his pedalboard – and what players get wrong about drive pedals

By Jonathan Horsley published 14 January 26

Not everyone is expanding their pedalboards. Nichols explains why he prefers to keep it simple – and to leave the super-rare high-value pedalboard gold at home

Taylor refreshes flagship acoustic with a trio of game-changing features – meet the Next Generation Grand Auditorium

By Jonathan Horsley published 13 January 26

NAMM 2026: Taylor’s Next Generation Grand Auditorium cutaways are updated with scalloped V-Class bracing, Action Control Necks and the all-new Claria pickup and preamp system