“I was playing at three times the speed I normally play at”: When Pete Townshend got his first Jackson guitar… and loved it

2024 Year in Review: It’s no secret that the Who guitarist Pete Townshend tends to stick with the more old-school guitar designs – from Strats to Les Pauls and SGs, not to mention Rickenbackers.

What he’s not known for is playing heavy metal speed machines made by companies like Jackson.

But that all changed at the beginning of the year. In an interview with Guitarist, he explained how he’d been impressed by the light-gauge strings, double-locking tremolo system and whammy bar on his latest acquisition.

“I was playing faster, no question,” he said. “I was playing at three times the speed I normally play at… because these guitars are built for a particular kind of thing. So I’m still learning and I’m still having fun with guitars.”