# Sanctuary guitar solo > John McLaughlin's guitar solo on Sanctuary by Mahavishnu Orchestra (1973). From the album Birds of Fire. Played on a Gibson EMS-1275 through a Marshall amp. Canonical URL: Mahavishnu Orchestra, 1973, from *Birds of Fire*. Solo by *John McLaughlin*. A slow, meditative piece where McLaughlin's sustained, singing notes carry the melody. It is proof that his power was not only about speed. Sanctuary by Mahavishnu Orchestra is #17 in our ranking of the best Mahavishnu Orchestra guitar solos. The solo is played by John McLaughlin and the song was released in 1973. ## In our lists - [The Best Mahavishnu Orchestra Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/mahavishnu-orchestra-guitar-solos/) — #17 ## Sources ### Who played the guitar solo on Sanctuary? John McLaughlin played the solo on Mahavishnu Orchestra's Sanctuary (1973). ### What guitar was used on the Sanctuary solo? A gibson ems-1275 through a Marshall amp, according to widely reported accounts. --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)