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
Epiphone and Tak Matsumoto strike gold with 1955 Les Paul Standard based on his vintage original
By Jonathan Horsley published
This Epiphone x Gibson Custom shop collaboration is liberally finished in Antique Gold and features USA Burstbucker Pros, but it’s only available in Japan and from the Gibson Garages
Joe Bonamassa reveals the secret to tube amp consistency on tour and he “nicked it” from Angus Young
By Jonathan Horsley published
Tube amps are like fine wine; they often don’t travel well. But a power gizmo designed for clinical settings keeps Bonamassa’s epic touring rig in top form
Fractal packs “over 400” effects from the Axe-Fx III into its compact VP4 ‘Virtual Pedalboard’
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Fractal VP4 stakes a claim for pedalboard supremacy offering players hundreds of sounds in an easy-to-use format, 104 user configurable presets, and a signal path that can be populated by up to four effects simultaneously,
Friedman unveils Jake E. Lee IR-J tube preamp pedal, a high-end solution for nailing ‘80s Ozzy tones
By Jonathan Horsley published
The former Ozzy guitarist’s tone is all about ‘70s hard-rock and the box-office hard rock and metal of the ‘80s, and this fully featured, IR-equipped tube preamp pedal nails it all
Gretsch unveils a stunning limited edition Center Block electric for Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore
By Jonathan Horsley published
The G6618-MG Martin Gore Anniversary Center Block betrays the synth-pop pioneer's rock 'n' roll influences, and features a top-tier build with TV Jones pickups, a Two-Tone Smoke Green finish, and we just can't get enough of that G-cutout tailpiece
Johnny Marr on how “Moogs, Korg 101s and Space Echo” shared space with guitar to shape his sound with the Healers
By Jonathan Horsley published
With Johnny Marr and the Healers’ Boomslang receiving a deluxe reissue, the guitar icon reflects on the album's sessions and the impact technology had on writing and recording it
Fender gives its classic models a high-performance makeover with the American Ultra II series
By Jonathan Horsley published
The American Ultra II series features all-new pickups, compound radius fingerboards, premium components, fresh finishes and Fender’s “fastest-playing necks” as standard
Furch unveils the Booster Soundport, an “innovative resonator” to transform acoustic performance
By Jonathan Horsley published
Can six linear holes on the top-side of an acoustic enhance its tone, volume and your playing experience? Petr Furch believes so, promising “clearer, louder, and more resonant sound” via the Booster Soundport
Schecter and the Cure’s Robert Smith join forces for charity with the release of the Shellflower UltraCure
By Jonathan Horsley published
This limited edition run comprises an UltraCure electric guitar and its 30" scale six-string bass sibling, and $500 from the sale of each instrument goes to the World Cancer Research Fund
Have Ernie Ball and John Mayer found the Goldilocks option between light and heavy strings?
By Jonathan Horsley published
Whether or not you agree with the assertion that Mayer plays the strings or the guitar – or both – his signature set runs from 10.5-47 and will be a crowd-pleaser for players in-between gauges
Watch Jared James Nichols unleash Blues Power magic on Lester Williams’ “Texas Troubador” 1954 Strat
By Jonathan Horsley published
Nichols might be a Les Paul guy but as a long-time SRV fan he still knows how to light up a Stratocaster... And besides, he also took the opportunity to put a '57 LP Custom through its paces
Chase Bliss unveils Clean, a studio-quality analogue compressor to revolutionise your clean tone
By Jonathan Horsley published
Make that many, many twists… This being a Chase Bliss design, Clean presents stereo compression like never before
“It’s the perfect combination of vintage Fender vibe and modern high-tech performance”: Fender expands its Tone Master lineup with a tweed-covered '59 Bassman – a lightweight, digital-brained 4x10 with mojo to burn
By Jonathan Horsley published
One of the most iconic amps in the Fender lineup gets the Tone Master treatment and you know what that means: old-school tone in a lightweight format, with modern features like power scaling, effects loop and balanced XLR out with cab sims
Ernie Ball Music Man launches Tosin Abasi's Kaizen in Gallium and it is the coolest finish ever
By Jonathan Horsley published
Available as a six or seven-string, the Kaizen Gallium looks like an alien artefact, guitar design as a work of sci-fi, and we want one now. The bad news? They're only making 66 of them
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
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.