Latest articles by Jonathan Horsley
Nuno Bettencourt launches his own guitar company debuting two new S-styles – and the N4 isn’t going anywhere
If Bettencourt can make 'em as well as he can play them then we are all in for a treat. “These are true workhorses built with the same passion I’ve put into every note I’ve ever played” he says
Fender adds analogue heat to the Hammertone lineup with the budget-friendly $99 Breakup Drive and Boost pedals
The Hammertone Breakup Drive and Hammertone Boost have abundant tone-sweetening powers with lots of bang for your buck
Line 6 introduces multi-voicing for active guitar speakers as the Powercab CL offers ups the ante for amp modelling rigs
Available in 1x12 and 2x12 formats, the Powercab CL offers players the choice of six switchable virtual speakers based on classic drivers, and you can turn them all of if you prefer
“"There is something magic in that instrument”: Billy Gibbons on why Pearly Gates is one of the greatest Les Pauls ever
All Gibson Les Paul Standards from 1959 are special but what is it about the ZZ Top frontman's Pearly Gates that makes it so unique? As Gibbons says, it might be something entirely supernatural
With an eight-octave range, has Boss raised the standard for pitch-shifting pedals with the XS Poly Shifter range?
The XS-100 is a pitch-shifting workstation with integrated expression pedal, 30 memory slots, MIDI, and lots of range while the XS-1 presents a 6-octave range in compact format
Greg Mackintosh on the secrets behind the Paradise Lost sound and why he is still trying to learn Trouble’s tone tricks
The Paradise Lost guitarist on how '80s nightclubs shaped his style, writing guitar as a vocals, and how an old overwound Ibanez Iceman pickup was the holy grail tone on new album Ascension
“He wanted all that at an undoable selling price”: Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith confirms rumours that it built James Hetfield a signature model – and it combined three iconic amps in one
A Diezel, a JC-120 and a Mark IIC+ all in one? That would have cost a whack – and it would have, which is why the Metallica frontman's prototype never got released
Players who deal in big gnarly riffs might need to add the Way Huge Smalls Doom Hammer to their ‘board ASAP
Inspired by a modded '78 op-amp fuzz, with tighter low-end, the awesomely named Doom Hammer Fuzz is a simple but versatile three-knob stompbox with a wide range of gain
PRS uses wood felled in a Category 5 hurricane for the S2 Special Semi-Hollow Reclaimed
The S2 Special Semi-Hollow Reclaimed is a limited edition electric guitar like no other, literally, with each instrument unique, and it uses exotic tonewoods salvaged and lovingly repurposed
Positive Grid unveils BIAS X, an AI-powered plugin allowing players to design tones using text and “music-to-tone” prompts
The BIAS X AI-powered guitar tone platform lets you to type in what kind of sound you like, then it designs it, and allows you to refine it. Have we officially entered the era of Chug GPT?
Electro-Harmonix adds switchable clipping, bias control and Fat switch to a stone cold fuzz classic
The Bender Royale allows players to choose LED or germanium clipping, and has expanded EQ controls to help you dial in a wicked fuzz tone
Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X shares details about upcoming signature Gibson – an SG like no other?
The Drills frontman and lead guitarist for the New Jersey rock legends says he is on Prototype #3 – does this suggest that we could be close to seeing the finished article sometimes soon?
Derek Trucks on the unlikely triumph of Tedeschi Trucks Band and Leon Russell’s “intense” Mad Dogs & Englishmen set
TTB and Leon Russell's Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited set at LOCKN' 2015 was a historic moment as the key players from the 1970 tour reunited for the first time. With the live album out now, Trucks tells us how it all went down
Derek Trucks is one of the greatest slide players of all time – here’s how he decides when to use it
Trucks says you can be just as lyrical playing fretted – just look at what Jeff Beck did with his Strat
“Look for one that says ‘80’s Icon on the case”: Johnny Marr says UPS has lost his guitars
The indie guitar icon takes aim at the courier company on Twitter/X
All Rhoads lead to California as Jackson brings one of its most-iconic metal guitars home for a high-end upgrade
A classic Jackson with a Seymour Duncan JB and ‘59 humbucker pairing, the American Series Rhoads RR24 is equally vicious with or without a Floyd, as Brandon Ellis and Jeff Loomis demonstrate...
Misha Mansoor teams up with Neural DSP for Archetype plugin that nails his Periphery tone – but does so much more
Neural DSP's most ambitious plugin yet? Archetype: Misha Mansoor X collects three amps, virtual stompboxes, from the everyday to exotic granular and pitch-shifting effects, CabSims, EQs and more
“Players have asked us to push further – into more adventurous, exploratory delay and reverb”: Source Audio dials up the ambience with the Encounter – six reverbs, six delays, one tricked-out pedal for “deeply immersive soundscapes”
Not your garden variety delay/reverb, Encounter is described as a "fully-loaded vessel of atmospheric discovery" with presents players with presets, tap tempo, deep edits via the app and more
![Joe Bonamassa wears a blue suit and plays his P-90 loaded Epiphone signature Les Paul [left] and BB King cups his hand to his ear to ask for some more from his audience at a 1991 show in Chicago.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pGzJdAHFic3RJjgCi33Ejh-840-80.jpg.webp)
Joe Bonamassa announces all-star album celebrating life of BB King on the King of the Blues’ 100th birthday
BB King’s Blues Summit 100 is out Feb 6 and features guest spots from Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, George Benson, Eric Gales and more
Gibson teams up with Loog for child-friendly 3-string versions of its most famous electric guitars
Designed for kids aged three and above, these are super-accessible first guitars to give young players a start on the instrument
Fender’s Vintera II Road Worn series has Golden Era vibe, tone and feel with era-correct pickups and aged nitro finishes
The Vintera II '60s Stratocaster, '60s Telecaster, '50s Jazzmaster and '60s Precision Bass get the aged treatment for a limited time only
Warren Haynes on the Allman Brothers, Woodstock ’94, and finishing what Gregg Allman started with Derek Trucks’ help
The Whisper Sessions finds the Gov't Mule frontman paring his solo album back to its essence, and here he talks about how it all ties in with seminal experiences with David Allan Coe and the Allmans
“These guitars empower metal artists with the authentic, crushing tone that built Jackson’s legendary reputation”: Jackson takes us back to the heyday of shred with the Pro Origins 1985 San Dimas series – and what about that Two Face finish?
Here's a collection of S-styles that take us back to the era of coin-op arcade machines, the arms race of technicality, and to the early days of an LA guitar brand that was weaponising electric guitar
