Jonathan Horsley
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. 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
Yamaha’s new TG3 C TransAcoustic is a cutaway dreadnought with onboard effects, looper and Bluetooth
By Jonathan Horsley published
Yes, this is the acoustic that has onboard effects and can play music streamed to it via your smartphone... It's also got an all-solid wood build of Sitka spruce on top, mahogany on the back and sides
“The world’s most authentic amp models”: Universal Audio releases amp modelling pedals as plugins
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Dream ’65, Lion ’68 and Ruby ’63 brought golden age Fender, Marshall and Vox tube amp tones to our pedalboards – and are now available to run natively on Mac and Windows
Give your Tele some OG vintage tone with the Seymour Duncan Joe Bonamassa 1950 Broadcaster pickups
By Jonathan Horsley published
Demoing these Tele-friendly single-coils on a Squier is a power move from Bonamassa as he compares and contrasts with a vintage original from Nerdville
Harley Benton rolls out a hot-rodded S-style for under $200 with the all-new ST-Modern HSS
By Jonathan Horsley published
Sculpted neck heels for upper-fret access? Check. Roasted maple necks? Check? Compound radius fingerboards? Yes. Flame maple veneers? Oh why not... These are grown-up looking electrics at beginner prices
Positive Grid launches Spark Edge, the busking-friendly amp, PA and monitor with dozens of effects
By Jonathan Horsley published
Level up your busing with a four-channel powerhouse that can be used with acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keys, and vocals, with smart AI-assisted tone controls as standard
IK Multimedia celebrates one year of TONEX with potentially game-changing free effects upgrade
By Jonathan Horsley published
Eight new effects arrive for the TONEX and ToneX One pedals, plus two new effects blocks that players can configured pre or post-amp and cab.
Gibson expands Les Paul range with satin nitro finishes and plain mahogany tops for “punchier mids”
By Jonathan Horsley published
A subtle refresh of the Les Paul range that yields some very nice single-cuts and that TV Yellow plain mahogany topped model could be a real cult classic in the making
“He’s enabled fans to achieve the iconic blink-182 tone”: Fender unveils Mark Hoppus signature bass
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Blink-182 co-founder’s signature model is a real bespoke build with a Jazz Bass neck, a reverse-mounted Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P Bass split coil and the choice of 3-Color Sunburst or Sea Foam Green finishes
The Gibson ES-330 is back! And the iconic P-90-equipped hollowbody arrives in four classic finishes
By Jonathan Horsley published
The hollowbodied electric is back and looking fresh in four finish options – including Gibson exclusive Ebony – and comes complete with dog-ear P-90s, deep-set neck and a trapeze tailpiece
“Ideal for players who love the dreadnought tone in a more comfortable size”: Martin debuts all-new body size and salutes Hawaiian influence on steel-string acoustics with the koa-backed O’ahu HG-28
By Jonathan Horsley published
Martin says mahalo to the pioneers of steel-string guitar design with new player-friendly acoustic featuring a slope-shouldered dread-style body with a 000 depth
Steve Howe on 6-string explorations and how a Novation Summit shaped his new guitar-centric solo LP
By Jonathan Horsley published
Guitarscape is the sound of the prog icon deploying his guitar collection in search of new sonic frontiers. The results are typically inventive, and here the Yes guitarist tells us how it came together
“We embarked on a mission to craft the ultimate pedalboards that meet Greg's every need”: Jam Pedals teams up with Greg Koch for Koch Ness Monster signature multi-effects units
By Jonathan Horsley published
Celebrating 15 years of partnership, the stompbox specialist digs into its greatest hits for two deluxe effects units – with the Supreme a $2,190 featuring an onboard Wahcko wah
Harley Benton to ship direct in the US as budget-gear superpower partners with Reverb
By Jonathan Horsley published
In a move that is sure to shake up the marketplace for beginner and under-$500 gear, Harley Benton has an official store serving the US via Reverb
Jane’s Addiction guitar tech says band “is no more”, reveals months of tension before onstage fight
By Jonathan Horsley published
Dan Cleary details the simmering disagreements that led to the fight at Boston, and alleges that Farrell even quit the band before their first US show in Las Vegas
Hiwatt teams up with Reverb for the WEM Copicat – a compact $79 boost based on a legendary tape echo
By Jonathan Horsley published
Made by Hiwatt, based on the Watkins Copicat, and available exclusively via Reverb, this two-knob boost is compact, affordable and could be the missing ingredient in your rig
By popular demand, Epiphone brings back the Mike Dirnt and Gene Simmons-approved Grabber Bass
By Jonathan Horsley published
The much-loved four-string is alive once more to enjoy a second life with Epiphone, offering bassists a humbucker with a splittable coil, and an excuse to stick their tongue out like Gene
Walrus Audio unveils OLED display, improved controls and features on the Mako MkII series pedals
By Jonathan Horsley published
Player feedback has been at the heart of the design for the refreshed and upgraded Mako MkII ACS1 amp/cab sim, D1 delay, R1 reverb and M1 modulation
PRS unveils limited edition semi-hollow version of David Grissom’s versatile DGT signature model
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Texan maestro is one of PRS's longest-standing signature artists and this limited edition variant of the DGT is finished in in McCarty Sunburst nitro
Gibson unveils the BB King Rumble In The Jungle 1974 ES-355 and it’s a heavyweight knockout
By Jonathan Horsley published
This limited edition semi-hollow is a Murphy Lab replica of the Walnut 355 that King used when playing at the legendary Muhammed Ali and George Foreman showdown in 1974
Keeley Electronics unveils the Octa Psi – a pitch-shifting, octave generating “Transfigurating Fuzz”
By Jonathan Horsley published
Are you looking for that one pedal to get nuts with? Robert Keeley has thrown “the kitchen sink” at this anarchic yet eminently usable fuzzbox with many inventive tricks up its sleeve
Warm Audio dishes up a vintage-inspired double with the WA-C1 Chorus Vibrato and Pedal76 compressor
By Jonathan Horsley published
No prizes for guessing what these two stompboxes are emulating but if they are anything like the Centavo and Warmdrive players are in for a treat
Bargain of the century? Rory Gallagher’s 1963 Gretsch Corvette cost just $150 from a pawnshop
By Jonathan Horsley published
Vintage guitars hard to come by? Over-priced? Back in the day you could find happy accidents, like when Donal Gallagher found his brother a red Corvette while shopping for a case
Universal Audio promises holy grail Dumble tones from its UAFX Enigmatic ’82 Overdrive Special Amp
By Jonathan Horsley published
These are bold claims but Universal Audio has earned them with the success of its UAFX amp pedal lineup. And the Enigmatic ’82 might just be its most exciting release yet
Dave Mustaine warns guitarists to learn the instrument first before using pedals to “cheat”
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Megadeth frontman’s gear-buying advice boils down to one thing only
There’s nothing fishy about Beetronics’ Tuna Fuzz – it’s a $99 can of high-protein vintage tone
By Jonathan Horsley published
Beetronics' latest is a fuzz housed in a tuna can. It's got a simple single-knob setup, is the stompbox company's most affordable yet, and is sure to be popular with your cat
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