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
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
Sonicake upgrades its flagship amp modeller/effects with the Matribox Pro II (and it's just $299!)
By Jonathan Horsley published
At this price for an touchscreen-equipped amp modeller and effects unit, guitarists can their Sonicake and eat it too
Harley Benton channels that Chris Cornell and Jack Casady vibe with semi-hollow guitar and bass trio
By Jonathan Horsley published
Olive Drab with a Bigsby-style vibrato, the HB-35Plus Tremolo offers an affordable entry-level option for that Cornell vibe, while those HB-50 semi-hollow basses definitely have '60s Casady on their mind
Gibson celebrates 130th anniversary with exquisitely ornate Custom Shop J-45 tribute to its founder
By Jonathan Horsley published
Orville Gibson would surely have approved of this limited edition J-45, with over 100 pieces of shell inlay used to transform the songwriter's favourite into a real showstopper
“An essential tool for musicians on the move”: Ed Sheeran unveils 200W portable PA for buskers
By Jonathan Horsley published
Grab your guitar and take your show mobile, with an onboard three channel mixer and Alesis effects to finesse your sound, Bluetooth streaming for the backing track, and ample battery life
Rob Chapman shares what he learned about picking speed from his baptism of fire transcribing Yngwie
By Jonathan Horsley published
Chapman was thrown in at the deep end but he says there was much to learn from the session – about recording, managing expectations and the secret behind Yngwie's technique
“The perfect musical companion”: Gibson unveils the versatile and newly updated Les Paul Studio
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Studio arrives refreshed in a quartet of nitro finishes, with plain maple tops, coil-splits on Burstbucker Pro humbuckers and Ultra Modern weight relief
Fender and Jack White reimagine the Telecaster and Acoustasonic – and design an all-new tube amp
By Jonathan Horsley published
White says the collab blends the old with the new, all together in a package that would have made Leo Fender “very proud”. Meet the Jack White TripleCaster, TripleSonic and Pano Verb...
Sophie Lloyd announces debut US headlining show, shares blazing shred cover of Alice Cooper’s Poison
By Jonathan Horsley published
Lloyd will follow up her UK headlining debut with visit to Sunset Strip on 16 January and celebrates the occasion with a typically audacious reworking of a shock rock classic
Mythos unveils the Envy Pro Overdrive, adding low-end and spicy clipping options to the TS recipe
By Jonathan Horsley published
It's green, has three knobs, and is another TS-style drive, but with a wider range of gain, more output, and a switch for added low-end oomph, this might be the TS for all occasions
Mark Tremonti on amp addiction and how he bought one of his sweetest-sounding Dumbles at a swap meet
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Alter Bridge and Creed guitarist is the proud owner of four Dumbles, confessing that he now has a whole room dedicated to amps and he'll just go in there to look at them
Unmissable sequel? Mooer Audio unveils the Ocean Machine II, Devin Townsend’s upgraded reverb/delay
By Jonathan Horsley published
The deluxe delay and reverb has a new look, improved DSP algorithms, and once more presents a cornucopia of delay and reverb sounds with inventive ways to combine them
Noel Gallagher’s “Definitely Maybe” Epiphone Les Paul fetches more than $170,000 at at auction
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Sotheby's auction also saw Gallagher's Epiphone EA-250 hollowbody and Flying V exchange hands for big money
Fender unveils limited edition Blu DeTiger Player Plus Jazz Bass in Sky Burst Sparkle
By Jonathan Horsley published
The NYC bass phenom's signature model is funk-friendly but built for all styles with custom humbucker and a Noiseless Jazz single coil. And what about that mirrored pickguard!?
Cory Wong teams up with Hotone Audio for the Wong Press, a 3-in-1 volume, expression and wah pedal
By Jonathan Horsley published
The funk maestro's new pedal is the very definition of a hard-working stompbox, and will save you pedalboard space. But will it help trigger a wah comeback? Wong says it's long overdue
Steve Vai’s guitar collection to be documented in upcoming book, and there’s a $25,350 Ultra Edition
By Jonathan Horsley published
Wire & Wood: The Guitars of Steve Vai took Michael Mesker 5 years to finish, and features more than 1,000 pages
Gibson brings the Victory S-style back – new and improved with coil-splits and an Explorer headstock
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Victory returns with 80s Tribute humbuckers, coil-splits, revised body counters and improved balance and weight, and with the choice of a figured maple top or solid-colour satin finish
Slash says you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a guitar that’s “as good as you’ll ever need”
By Jonathan Horsley published
The Guns N' Roses guitarist has a formidable guitar collection but argues a lot of vintage guitars sound bad, and the same people who'd drop a million bucks on a guitar have a Rolls-Royce mentality
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