Mick Mars

The Other Side Of Mars

December 6, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

On his first solo album, former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars leaves his glam-metal discography in the rearview, instead going…

Louis Electric Gattone

Louis Electric Gattone

Play The Blues

September 18, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Louis Electric Gattone Price: $2,595 (list) Contact: www.louiselectricamps.com Got the blues? Have we got the amp for you. Louis Rosano…

The Ray Butts EchoSonic

April 29, 2021 · Dave Hunter

If you want to talk star-user ratio, the Ray Butts EchoSonic is near the top of the heap. Most accounts…

Oz Noy

Oz Noy

Dishing Out More Twisted Blues

May 15, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Oz Noy is talented enough to pay the bills not only as a first-call New York session cat, but also…

Keb’ Mo’

Hearts and Ears

November 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Keb’ Mo’s latest is folksy, endearing, and called Good To Be. Co-produced by Vince Gill and with Darius Rucker onboard,…

Acoustik Attak Picks

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Each of Acoustik Attak’s three guitar picks has a different raised formation that alters the way it interacts with strings;…

  •  VG Q&A: Harmony History

     VG Q&A: Harmony History

    And an Archtop Mystery

    I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Susan Santos’ Blues-Rock Riffage

July 31, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Solo take on “Have Mercy” Susan Santos grabbed her LsL T Bone, plugged into a Bugera V5 Infinium amp, and…

Anthony Gomes

Blues, Rock, and Joy

October 4, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Blues-rock connoisseur Anthony Gomes stays on point with his latest, High Voltage Blues. Leaning into the heavier side, Gomes’ feisty…

J.D. Simo

Psychedelia and Satan

December 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Psychedelic bluesman J.D. Simo deploys impressive wah skill, blistering fuzz tones, and hypnotic grooves that will expand your consciousness. His…

Jim Weider

Telecaster Master, Camp Counselor

May 30, 2025 · Ward Meeker

Ever dream of hanging out with a couple handfuls of guitar legends while breathing fresh mountain air and (mostly) unplugging…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Doobie Brothers

Road Rules

January 30, 2026 · Bret Adams

If you’re making a list of beloved bands with a long string of hook-heavy hits, the Doobie Brothers will surely…

Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023

Lasting Legacy

June 11, 2024 · Dan Forte

It’s ironic that Robbie Robertson was famous mostly for his songwriting, because beneath the minimal, compositional style that marked his…

Trainwreck Express “Nancy”

April 3, 2020 · Dave Hunter

World’s most desirable amplifier? Aside from any “standard” vintage amps that have been elevated through their associations with major artists,…

VOXAC50-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Vox AC50

April 21, 2015 · Dave Hunter

Vox AC50 Preamp tubes: one ECC82 (12AU7), three ECC83 (12AX7) Output tubes: two EL34s, fixed-biased Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Volume, Treble…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Fender Bassbreaker 45 Combo

Hybrid Love Child

March 31, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Fender’s new nine-product Bassbreaker series combines popular traditional amplifiers with modern technology. Classic tones and flexibility are the name of…

3rd Power Dream Weaver

Tone Cubed

April 21, 2016 · Zac Childs

3rd Power Dream Weaver Price: $3.299 Info: www.3rdpower.com. Purchasing a new amp is much more than buying a piece of…

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa “Treasure” Firebird I

Sweet Bird

March 15, 2019 · Pete Prown

One thing fans like most about Joe Bonamassa is that, in addition to his bluesy chops, he’s a guitar nut…

GJM Guitars Tenoroc

Designed To Rock

January 18, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Road-warrior guitarists with years of gigs under their belt who later design guitars have an advantage over builders without that…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style

Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style

Aged to Perfection

November 29, 2016 · Pete Prown

Relic Guitars The Hague is a Dutch builder that produces, obviously, relic’d guitars. Mostly using the archetypal Strat and Tele…

Hornby Skewes Zonk Machines

Hornby Skewes Zonk Machines

Fuzz Bonk

February 12, 2016 · Michael Dregni

In 1965, fuzz was the “it” sound. Guitarists had recorded with fuzz before, of course, but after Keith Richards plugged…

The Fender Stratocaster

Aiming High

July 5, 2017 · Richard R. Smith

In 1953, Leo Fender started planning a new standard guitar – the Stratocaster. His partner, Don Randall, who headed Fender…

Andy Stack

Andy Stack

Group Therapy

March 2, 2016 · John Heidt

Andy Stack spent the past few years doing gigs in New York City, staying busy as a session player, doing…

Dumpstaphunk

Where Do We Go From Here

May 4, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Dumpstaphunk’s fourth studio album combines earthy ’70s funk, vintage soul, ripping guitar, and New Orleans swagger. The NOLA natives consist…

Check This Action: Box of Cacti

October 30, 2023 · Dan Forte

The 1970 debut album by Cactus blasted off with a gnarly guitar riff for the ages, as the band’s rendition…

Eric Krasno

Always

October 27, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

On his fourth full-length solo record, two-time Grammy winner Krasno continues to explore the subdivisions of blues, soul, funk, and…

Dominic Miller

Vagabond

April 19, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

When Sting’s guitar player puts out a solo album, guitarists listen. Having played on thousands of sessions, Dominic Miller’s 16th…

Fender AA964 Princeton

What’s (Not) in a Name

October 24, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Getting the job done – five simple knobs on the Princeton’s control panel. 1966 Fender Princeton • Preamp tubes: one…

Big Beat Boys

Musings on Fab and Gear, 50 Years Ago

March 9, 2016 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Americans tend to link the beginnings of the Beatles phenomenon to a specific date – February 9, 1964, when the…

Ampeg VT-22

Ampeg VT-22

October 15, 2015 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Bass Instrument…

George Lynch

Mr. Scary’s New Empire

July 8, 2014 · Lisa Sharken

George Lynch is one of the premier axe men to emerge in the ’80s. His melodic hard-rock riffs were the…

J. Rockett Audio Archer, The Dude, and El Hombre

Overdrive Ecstasy

November 13, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Part of the success behind J. Rockett Audio Designs lies in the fact that, like any player who might tackle…

Fender’s Mid-’50s Precision Bass

The "In-Between" Version

January 12, 2010 · Willie G. Moseley

In the world of electric basses, the 1952 Fender Precision is the one that started it all. While it’s true…

David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band

Live at the Capitol Theatre

September 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

Once, there was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; decades later came Crosby, Stevens, Willis & League – better known as…

Mike Keneally

Mike Keneally

Gainfully Employed

April 1, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Mike Keneally has made a career of inconspicuously assisting Frank Zappa, Andy Partridge, Steve Vai, Dethklok, and Joe Satriani fulfill…

Jim Lauderdale

Hope

July 22, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

Inspired by the pandemic, veteran singer/songwriter Lauderdale stresses resiliency and renewal on these 13 originals, enhanced along the way by…

GA-20 blends R&B, Blues, Hendrix, and much more

December 21, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

VG Exclusive “Dry Run” GA-20 blends influences from Hendrix to the guitar Kings to East Coast Family cassettes. Here, Matt…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 023 Featuring Jedd Hughes

February 12, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

In Episdoe 23 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer/songwriter/A-list session guitarist Jedd Hughes. A…

Movie Star, Rancher

Mid-’50s Muse of Wire and Wood

January 5, 2015 · Ward Meeker

In the years immediately after World War II, Americans were settling into a new way of life, and plunging headlong…

The Wildhearts

December 10, 2025 · Pete Prown

In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses,…

Classics: March 2022

Chris Leuzinger’s 1952 Gibson Les Paul

November 17, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

If your radio was tuned to a country station even for a few minutes anytime in the last 30 years,…

Dick Taylor

From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things

March 2, 2017 · Dan Forte

When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing…

Wes Montgomery: His Life and His Music

Oliver Dunskus

December 9, 2021 · Wolf Marshall

You don’t have to be a bebopper thumbing a Gibson L-5 to appreciate the music of Wes Montgomery – arguably…

STEVEHOWE_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Steve Howe

Yes: In The Present

August 27, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Progressive-rock icons Yes are still going strong after more than 40 years of recording and performing. Throughout their reign as…

Scott Holiday

Reflection and Escapism in Rival Sons

June 10, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

On the new album by Rival Sons, guitarist Scott Holiday brings a power punch to the band’s most-potent album to…

Nels Cline

Consentrik Quartet

January 16, 2026 · Rich Kienzle

ls Cline long ago established a parallel career as an eclectic instrumentalist and contemporary jazz virtuoso. His fourth Blue Note…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part One

April 5, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

There are many ways for an advertiser to attract attention, and in the history of 19th- and 20th-century print hucksterisim…

Retro and Wonderful

The EHX Mainframe Bit Crusher

December 6, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

The Mainframe Bit Crusher is a nasty little pedal that warps, mangles, distorts and produces lo-fi digital sounds and trippy…