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Trending Now
Fresh from Barcelona Sebastià Gris used his Gibson SG as eye-candy to play a sample of “Clickbait,” from his latest album, “Oli, All i Julivert.” It was custom-finished by his friend, David Solé, at Leno Guitars, who also built the Small Jumbo he used to record the album. He finishes with a bit of […]
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VG Approved Gear
API Audio TranZformer GT and LX
Stripped Down
Automated Processing Inc. (API) is best-known for its high-end mixing consoles for broadcast and recording, along with the mic preamps, compressors, and EQs it has been making since the ’60s. The company’s discrete analog circuits are sought after for their uncolored sound. The legendary analog EQ and compression circuits in API channel strips recently became […]
VG Approved Gear
Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest to tempt discriminating players with high-tech features and promises of classic sounds. Controls and connections on the R1 are plentiful, including MIDI in/through jacks, 9-volt power jack (no battery), dual footswitches with multi-color LEDs, and […]
Artists
Fingerpicked Country-Folk, Malcolm Holcombe-Style!
Redoubtable singer/songwriter and a beloved ’58 Gibson Malcolm Holcombe shows us how he does “Good Intentions,“ from his new album, “Tricks of the Trade.” That’s his prized ’58 Country Western sounding great along with him. Our review of the album appears in the January issue. Read Now!
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel – 044 Featuring Ricky Byrd
The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd. The New York native played with Joan Jett in the heyday of the Blackhearts and also backed Roger Daltrey and Ian Hunter. Speaking with host James Patrick Regan, Ricky touches on his musical beginnings, his first club gigs […]
VG Approved Gear
EVH Wolfgang WG Standard
Atomic Punk
EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Price: $799.99 (list); $599.99 (street) Contact: www.evhgear.com Decades after the release of the first Van Halen album, universal acceptance of Edward Van Halen as the last musician to revolutionize the electric guitar periodically rises and falls. About every five years or so, renewed admiration and respect is often followed by indifference […]
Classic Instruments
Vintage Instrument Research
An Ever-Changing Landscape
Fretted instruments can be examined in much the same way as zoological taxonomist or forensic pathologist would approach them. They fit well into a Linnaean taxonomic order, and in fact that is very much the approach we use in identifying and dating fretted instruments. In addition, these instruments can be examined much the same way […]
VG Approved Gear
JHS 3 Series
Budget Boutique
JHS’ seven new 3 Series pedals strip away cosmetics and frills. History has told us that simple pedal designs can sacrifice key elements. Is that the case here? Presented in plain white aluminum boxes, the series includes an Overdrive, Distortion, Fuzz, Chorus, Delay, Reverb, and Compressor. And economy doesn’t end with the spare window dressing. […]
Classic Instruments
The Martin 0-42
Through the years, Martin’s dreadnought, OM, and 000 guitars may have gained the most notoriety. But for the sweetest and best-quality sound, Martin itself recommends the size 0, exemplified by this 0-42. There’s obviously a catch to that statement, since only two of Martin’s current offering of over 200 models are size-0 guitars. The recommendation […]
Artists
Steve Stevens
Moxy at the Roxy
Steve Stevens earned stardom as Billy Idol’s songwriting partner and guitarist in the ’80s. The Grammy-winning New York City native has also recorded with other major artists and released his own solo albums. A forthcoming album with Idol, State Line, is from a concert filmed at the Hoover Dam, and Stevens is planning a solo […]
Artists
Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking
Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking Chris Bergson used his ’60s Teisco to play a bit of his tune, “Hector and Donna,” one of the tracks from his new lockdown-inspired album, “All I Got Left.” Patiently waiting their turns are an ’80s Gibson dot-neck reissue ES-335, a ’73 Dove, a ’74 L-5, a custom-made single cut, […]
Artists
Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Southwest Survivors
TexiCali marks the latest chapter in the partnership of L.A. roots-rock vet Dave Alvin and revered West Texas singer/songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore – old friends who had appeared on the same shows, but never together. After Gilmore’s agent suggested they try teaming up, in 2018 they recorded Downey to Lubbock. The alliance surprised some. “Dave […]
VG Approved Gear
Blackstar’s HT Series Pedals
Gain to the Third Power
Blackstar Amplification is known for its successful Artisan, Series One, and HT amp lines. Its new HT effects line includes boxes for delay, reverb, modulation, distortion, drive, and boost. All pedals in the series use a heavy-duty 6.25″ x 4.75″ x 2.25″ die-cast chassis with top-mounted controls, side-mounted 1/4″ jacks, tube window, on/off stompswitch with […]
Artists
Pop ’N Hiss: Deep Purple’s Machine Head
Definitive Riffs
Now regarded as the “Beethoven’s 5th” of rock and roll, “Smoke on the Water” became a surprise hit in the summer of ’73 thanks to its simple, massive guitar riff. Despite being a hard-rock track, the first single from Machine Head reached #4 on the Billboard pop charts. That bulldozer riff, however, belied the album’s […]
Artists
Sue Foley’s Pinky Tele
Powerhouse Blues on “Dallas Man” Sue Foley and her band (Corey Keller on drums and John Bradley on bass) tear through a chunk of “Dallas Man,” one of the tracks from her album, “Pinky’s Blues.” Sue is playing Pinky III, a paisley Tele given to her by Billy Gibbons, running through a Boss reverb pedal […]
Music
Bob Dylan
The Complete Budokan 1978
The original double-live album culled from Bob Dylan’s 1978 Tokyo shows was a Japan-only release until Dylan-mania demanded a global offering the next year; reviews were lukewarm. After the fiercely inspired Rolling Thunder Revue, the debut of Street-Legal and subsequent world tour were sculpted and polished. This four-CD or eight-LP collection of all 58 tunes […]
Music
Jared James Nichols
Jared James Nichols
Pentatonic beast and Gibson ambassador Jared James Nichols’ third album bristles with out-of-the-box soloing amidst crafty tunes where blues-rock meets grunge at the trailer park. Nichols cuts loose with testosterone-fueled vocal intensity and solos that signal the end of the world. Raw production and unmanicured bass and guitar support Nichols’ refreshing meat-and-potatoes vision. The 12 […]