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

“Pat Metheny is one of the best composers”: Matteo Mancuso – 10 albums that changed my life
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Sicilian virtuoso salutes Jimmy Page's stylistic adventurism, the compositional genius of Pat Metheny and Al Di Meola, and declares Jaco Pastorius “the Jimi Hendrix of bass”

Gibson unveils Murphy Lab replica of Eric Clapton’s “Disraeli Gears” 1958 Les Paul Custom
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Cream of the crop for collectors, this forensic reproduction ships with a second pickguard signed by Slowhand and Lee, a custom Duck Brothers case and a lot of mojo

Steven Wilson promises no less than the reinvention of the “extended classic rock solo” on new album
By Jonathan Horsley published
The prog visionary says Randy McStine's solo is one of the highlights of an album that's animated by a grand musical ambition in the vein of Mike Oldfield and Pink Floyd

Johnny Marr says satin finishes have no business being on a guitar neck
By Jonathan Horsley published
Gloss is boss in Marr's book as he reveals his six-string pet peeve

The $14,999 “urban myth” amplifier co-designed with Joe Walsh is finally available to order
By Jonathan Horsley published
But with no sound samples online, when will be able to hear G-Craft Audio’s built-to-order GC-1 3 Band Opto Compressor Amplifier?

Joe Bonamassa and Seymour Duncan put pre-CBS tones on the menu with “Greenburst” Strat pickup set
By Jonathan Horsley published
The hottest mod of the year? These replicate the same gray-bottomed single-coils in the ’64 Stratocaster that stopped Bonamassa in his tracks at Norman’s Rare Guitars

Plini shows us his modded signature Strandberg Boden, but what’s that hiding in the tremolo springs?
By Jonathan Horsley published
Plini was hanging around at ArcTanGent 2024 waiting for his set to start. We asked him what was new with his Strandberg, pointed a camera at him, and this is what he told us....

Meris has unveiled the Enzo X – is this “fully polyphonic monster” a game-changer for synth pedals?
By Jonathan Horsley published
It's not cheap but with five modes, polyphonic pitch detection, 99 user presets, and transformative sounds with no special pickup required, it might be the synth pedal you've been waiting for

Paul Reed Smith loved his own Charcoal Phoenix so much that it is now available to buy
By Jonathan Horsley published
This collectible stunner was inspired by the John McLaughlin Private Stock signature model and has been thoroughly road-tested by the PRS Guitars founder

Brian May says it was “illegal” to have a guitar at his school but played during lunch hour anyway
By Jonathan Horsley published
May was reminiscing about the early days of learning on acoustic as he presented his new signature SJ-200 12-string at the Gibson Garage London and performed with Arielle

JHS Pedals expands mega-value $99 3 Series with Tape Echo, Rotary Chorus and Oil Can Delay
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Kansas stompbox company presents vintage analogue sounds for your pedalboard without the expense

Inspired by the stars, co-designed by the Queen guitarist, Gibson unveils Brian May SJ-200 12-String
By Jonathan Horsley published
Just look at those stunning agoya shell star inlays and that planetary-themed pickguard

Paging all “shred warriors,” Wylde Audio’s Berzerker takes the shape of metal guitar to new extremes
By Jonathan Horsley published
OMG... Or should that be EMG. Wylde's new Berzerker is a shape and a half...

"So a $2bn German company has decided to copy a 3rd Mu-Tron product”: Musitronics slams Behringer
By Jonathan Horsley published
Musitronics does not mention Behringer by name but does not miss in a social media post calling out the company for issuing three clones of classic Mu-Tron products

Sustainiac pickups, onboard fuzz! Manson lavishes Matt Bellamy-approved specs on new M-Series models
By Jonathan Horsley published
The new M-Series models are as 21st-century as a T-style gets

Andy Powers on the difficulties of designing a new Taylor electric and the launch of Powers Electric
By Jonathan Horsley published
The CEO, chief designer and president of Taylor Guitars says the design language and aesthetic of the high-end acoustic brand was the wrong fit for his all-new electric guitar

Stray Cats rockabilly legend Brian Setzer has autoimmune disease and cannot play guitar
By Jonathan Horsley published
Setzer says he couldn’t even tie his shoelaces at first but is seeing signs of progress

Vower’s Joe Gosney and Rabea Massaad share Neural DSP Quad Cortex inspiration for festival fly-rigs
By Jonathan Horsley published
In this video interview, the Gosney and Massaad talk modellers, hybrid rigs, and why they're now both fully onboard with guitar's digital transformation

IK Multimedia teams up with Firewind guitarist and ex-Ozzy guitarist Gus G for signature Tonex suite
By Jonathan Horsley published
Welcome to the Gus G Tone Asylum – 27 high-gain Tone Models created by the man himself using his favourite amps, now available for the Tonex ecosystem

Gibson unveils ‘84 Les Paul Standard w/ Bigsby, signed by Johnny Marr to support teen cancer charity
By Jonathan Horsley published
Limited to just 20 units worldwide, this Bigsby-equipped model, inspired by his famous red LP, will be available from the Gibson Garage London from 21 February with all proceeds going to charity

Boss refreshes the Katana:Go headphone amp – new look and exterior design, same sounds and features
By Jonathan Horsley published
Quickest product refresh ever? Boss revisits the Katana:GO a year on as the battle for the headphone amp market heats up

Schecter’s unveils the Red Dawn series – sleek, shreddable S-styles with '80s action movie vibes
By Jonathan Horsley published
Schecter hits all the sweet spots here for contemporary high-performance guitar with extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, multi-voiced pickups, locking tuners, and a super-skinny neck

Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt played Kurt Cobain’s “haunted” Martin and says it was nothing special
By Jonathan Horsley published
Åkerfeldt got a chance to play the late Nirvana frontman’s 1953 D-18, aka Grandpa, in a recent visit to the Martin Museum

How Timothée Chalamet went from a guitar novice to master Bob Dylan's style in A Complete Unknown
By Jonathan Horsley published
Chalamet's guitar teacher Larry Saltzman reveals how the pursuit of authenticity and a $200 Yamaha acoustic helped the star nail his Oscar-nominated performance in A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet learned to play guitar for Bob Dylan role on a $200 beginner Yamaha acoustic
By Jonathan Horsley published
Gibson supplied the period-correct acoustics for the movie but as Chalamet's guitar coach Larry Saltzman reveals, the star of A Complete Unknown bought himself a proper beginner's guitar
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