Patrick Lawlor
Founder & Editor-in-Chief · The Guitar Plugged
Professional guitarist with over 20 years of playing experience. Retail gear specialist at Guitar Center. Content creator with 50,000+ followers across social media. Founder of The Guitar Plugged.
Why I'm qualified to write about guitars
20+ Years Playing
Two decades of hands-on guitar experience across rock, blues, metal, and acoustic styles.
Retail Gear Expertise
Leadership roles at Guitar Center — thousands of guitars and amps handled, demoed, and sold.
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Created The Guitar Plugged to deliver honest, experience-driven guitar coverage independent of algorithmic content farms.
Content Creator
50,000+ followers across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Millions of combined video views.
Brand Collaborations
Fender, DistroKid, TrueFire, Card Chords, Enya — partnerships built on real product knowledge.
Specialties
Classic rock, guitar gear, tone analysis, instructional content for lead playing.
ARTICLES BY PATRICK
Ovation Builds Gus G. an Acoustic-Electric for Electric Players
Ovation's new Gus G. Signature pairs a Super Shallow Bowl body, an electric-style neck feel, OP-Pro electronics and flame artwork for rock and metal players.
Yamaha's Acompass 60 Combines a 60W Acoustic Amp and Vocal Channel
Yamaha's Acompass 60 combines independent guitar and vocal channels, an eight-inch speaker, feedback suppression, Bluetooth and XLR output in an 8.2-kilogram combo.
History of the Riff: Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and the Wah Intro Recorded for a TV Crew
A packed Record Plant, a 15-minute blues jam, a TV crew that wanted footage, and a count-in in E. The next morning's take became the most famous wah intro ever recorded.
The Fender Jaguar History: How Fender's Flagship Flopped, Then Became Alt-Rock's Secret Weapon
Fender launched the Jaguar in 1962 as its most expensive, most complicated guitar. It lost to the Strat, died in 1975, then got rescued by punks, shoegazers and a kid from Aberdeen who bought one out of the classifieds.
Pearly Gates: How a 1936 Packard Bought Billy Gibbons the Most Famous 1959 Les Paul in Rock
A $250 share of a 1936 Packard bought Billy Gibbons a near-mint 1959 Les Paul Standard. The history of Pearly Gates, its pickups, Gibson's $39,999 clone and the new Pearly Gates Les Paul Standard.
Trey Spruance Rejoins Faith No More for 2027, 31 Years After King for a Day
Trey Spruance is back in Faith No More for 2027, 31 years after King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. What he said, his history with Mike Patton, and the band's confirmed 2027 tour dates.
Fender Player Fusion Buyer's Guide: Strat HSS, Floyd Rose Tele, Baritone Jaguar or HH P-Bass?
Fender's Limited Edition Player Fusion series brings a Strat HSS, a Floyd Rose Telecaster HH, a 27-inch-scale Jaguar Baritone Special and an HH Precision Bass. Official US prices, specs, spec-sheet quirks and which model to buy.
John Mayer's Martin Signature Comes to the Road Series: OM-13E and OMC-13E at $1,999.99
Martin's new OM-13E John Mayer and OMC-13E John Mayer bring Mayer's signature specs to the Road Series for the first time at $1,999.99 each. Specs, tonewoods, cutaway vs. non-cutaway, and what to know before you buy.
Seymour Duncan Paints Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein Pickups in Stripes: Custom, Classic and Plus, Explained
Seymour Duncan's three EVH Frankenstein bridge humbuckers now come in red/white/black, white/black, Bumblebee yellow/black and grey/black stripes, each $199 on the official store as of November 11, 2026.
Bad Cat Unleash V3: An Attenuator That Turns Your Amp Down, Turns It Up and Sends It Straight to the Board
Bad Cat's Unleash V3 is a 150-watt reactive load attenuator, 100-watt re-amp power stage and Purepath analog DI in one box, $799.99 on Bad Cat's store as of November 11, 2026. How it works, plus ToneMD safety notes.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Goes Back to Ledbetter Heights: 30 Years, the Original Rig and Better Hands
Thirty years after a Shreveport teenager cut Ledbetter Heights between high school classes, Kenny Wayne Shepherd has re-recorded it with Noah Hunt singing and the old rig plugged back in. Here's how he got here, how he plays, and what he plays through.
Stephen Wilson Jr.'s "Stand By Me" at the Print Shop: The Nylon-String Cover That Made a Songwriter a Star
A battered nylon-string, a pick, a Fender combo and a Ben E. King song he'd been carrying since childhood. Here's how Stephen Wilson Jr.'s "Stand By Me" got out of an Atlanta-area basement, and what guitar players can learn from how he plays it.
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