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Super PickupGiveaway 2025
Win Big! 11 Sets! 11 Winners! Win a set of pickups from one of these sponsors: Deadline is March 15, 2026. Complete the survey below to enter giveaway. One entry…
Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive
Icon In Reach
If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the…
Brian Setzer
Still Rockin’ the Holidays
Brian Setzer’s guitar – usually a Gretsch 6120 – is the compass that leads him down various musical roads, live…
Willie Nelson
Soon after arriving in Nashville in 1960, Willie Nelson signed a songwriting contract with Pamper Music, co-owned by Ray Price,…
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Live in Maui
This 1970 performance was contrived for Rainbow Bridge, a hippie movie that flopped. The gig itself was faintly ridiculous, as…
Dave Specter
Chicago Deep Dish
There are many styles of blues guitar, from haunting Delta acoustic to volcanic blues-rock. Hailing from the mecca of Chicago,…
Suzi Quatro
The Devil In Me
Why didn’t Suzi Quatro become a star in America? The ahead-of-her-time Detroit native, now 71, had a distinctive voice, catchy…
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Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings
Double-bound for Glory
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success came early and their lap steels set standards of quality,…
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ARTISTS
Banjo Master Tony Trischka Plays “Chinese Breakdown”
Prime “Earl Jam” sample! One of the most influential figures in roots music, Tony Trischka, master of the five-string, shows…
Phil Chen
1946-2021
His business card read “Phil Chen De Bassman,” and his picks had “OD” after his name, standing for the Order…
Popa Chubby
Live and Dangerous
Like all great rock and roll, Popa Chubby’s new double album, Live at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC, invokes a…
Bernie Marsden
1951-2023
Bernie Marsden, one of the founding guitarists of Whitesnake, co-writer of the band’s massive hit “Here I Go Again,” and…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip
Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940…
Gibson’s Crest Models
Gibson has produced two guitars bearing the “Crest” name. While both designs date to the 1960s, they’re very different instruments.…
Marcus King
Swamp Guide
Marcus King is a guitar slingin’ powerhouse barnstormer. Unlike most contemporary pop music – heavy on production, low on everything…
Matchless JJ-30
Stage Staunch
Rare and sought-after, in part because only about 40 were built, the Matchless JJ-30 John Jorgenson is the only Signature…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Worland Prairie
Built For Speed
Worland Prairie Price: $1,950 Info: www.worlandguitars.com. It’s been well-documented how car-crazy vets and teens in postwar America reimagined the American…
Dr Z Octal Six 1×12 combo
Valve Variation
Classic guitar amplifiers have made certain vacuum tubes household names (among gearheads) – 12AX7, 12AT7, 6L6, 6V6, EL84, and EL34.…
M&V Guitars and Pickups Atlas Large-Pole Precision Bass Pickups
Big Bottom
M&V Guitars and Pickups Atlas P Bass-Style Pickups Price: $75 Info: www.mvguitars.com. Let’s face it – when it comes to…
Epiphone 1963 Firebird V
Legacy-Worthy
Looking to up the ante in the market battle with Fender, in October of 1962, Gibson CEO Ted McCarty asked…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Reb Beach
There’s no two waysabout it – thanks to MTV dunces Beavis and Butthead, Winger gets no respect. But the band…
Custom VG Backgrounds
Time to give your computer, tablet, or phone a new look? VG offers different classic images, each downloadable in a…
Tracii Guns
Black Diamond Shine
There’s no denying that with Tracii Guns manning L.A. Guns’ lead-guitar slot, the sleaze veterans become a different animal. Since…
Cliff Goodwin
335 Reunion
Cliff Goodwin was catapulted into the big time on a decade-long stint with Joe Cocker that began in the late…
