Knaggs Chena Old Violin

Righteous Axe

October 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

With notable string-bending monsters like Larry Mitchell, Eric Steckel, and Steve Stevens singing the praises of Knaggs Guitars, Peter Wolf…

Classics: December 2022

Reid Farrell’s Fender Tele

August 8, 2023 · Ward Meeker

In 1964, high-school freshman Reid Farrell bought a Fiesta Red ’59 Telecaster with help from his guitar teacher, John Andrews.…

Ed Sanner

Fuzz Redux

January 24, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

While not well-known in California guitar lore, Ed Sanner’s electronics designs have been heard by millions of guitar fans, and…

Pop ’N Hiss: Hawkwind’s Space Ritual

Primal Cosmic Rock

October 30, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Among the evolutionary tangents of London’s pop-music scene in the late ’60s were the original stylings of progressive rock, psychedelia,…

Gibson’s Crest Models

September 23, 2024 · George Gruhn

Gibson has produced two guitars bearing the “Crest” name. While both designs date to the 1960s, they’re very different instruments.…

Sebastian Nagel’s Satisfying Funk

March 29, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Winston Brothers groove it up on “Drift” Sebastian Nagel and his band, The Winston Brothers, balance groove, melody, and space…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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

Richie Kotzen

Goin’ Supergroup

February 25, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Veteran guitar monster Richie Kotzen has done it all from opening for The Rolling Stones, recording with Stanley Clarke, to…

Eric Schenkmann

Funk, Blues, and Thunder

January 24, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

It’s been a quarter-century since the Spin Doctors broke out with “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” which catapulted the New…

Eric Krasno

Front Man

January 5, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Because Eric Krasno isn’t quite busy enough performing 188 dates a year with Soulive, moonlighting with the band Lettuce, or…

 Fretprints: Larry Carlton

Revisiting Room 335

January 2, 2026 · Wolf Marshall

In 1978, Larry Carlton was atop the unforgiving environs of L.A.’s music studios, where technical prowess, precision, creativity, tone, and…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Ask Zac: Deep Dive on the Wide Range

Plus, Joey Molland’s Stratotone

December 1, 2021 · Zac Childs

I have collected several Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups from the early ’70s, and I’m curious about how to check…

Blues guitarist Charlie Apicella’s “Booze and Blues” and “Just Like a Woman”

September 29, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Honoring B.B., Rainey Being V.P. of the North Jersey Blues Society isn’t the only thing that separates Charlie Apicella from…

Gibson’s Experimental Archtop

February 1, 2024 · George Gruhn

Orville Gibson invented the carved-top guitar in the 1890s, and his company refined the design with f-shaped sound holes in…

Eko’s “Celluloid” ’60s Basses

Cool or Gaudy?

July 2, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

By the early 1960s, Europe’s industrial bases had mostly recovered from World War II. Many musical-instrument manufacturers stuck to products…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

LsL Instruments’ Soledad

T-Bone with a Side of Sustain

March 31, 2017 · Phil Feser

Based out of Santa Clarita, California, LsL Instruments was founded by Lance and Lisa Lerman in 2008 after many years…

Yamaha’s THR100HD Dual Amp

Double Vision

July 3, 2019 · Pete Prown

Modeling amps have evolved rapidly as software and circuits have improved and become, dare we say, more organic sounding. The…

Martin D-18 Satin

Spruce Stalwart

March 12, 2024 · Michael Shirek

Death, taxes, and spruce on mahogany. There are only so many certainties in life, and these are three. Another is…

M-Tone Slipstream

M-Tone Slipstream

Delicious Curves

August 14, 2014 · Pete Prown

M-Tone Slipstream Price: $2,600 Contact: www.m-tone.com When it comes to custom, hand-made guitars, many prefer an instrument that innately reveals…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

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…

David Lindley

Ten Fingers, A World of Music

January 11, 2024 · Art Department

“After David Lindley passed away on March 3, newspapers and websites around the world published obituaries and appreciations, many clearly…

Joe Osborn photo: Ed Hirsch.

Joe Osborn

A Few (Hundred) Hits

July 8, 2004 · Vintage Guitar

Ed. Note: Joe passed away December 14th, 2018, he was 81. Joe Osborn. His face has never been on a…

David Catching

Desert Eagle

May 21, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

Producer and owner of the enigmatic Rancho de la Luna studio in the California desert, guitarist David Catching has been…

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Heart & Soul Blues

October 4, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi – homeland of the Delta blues – Christone Ingram learned gospel music in the…

SCHENKER-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Michael Schenker

Acoustic Album, Electric Gear

April 29, 2016 · Pete Prown

One of the most influential guitarists in hard rock history, Michael Schenker has imbued the music of UFO, Scorpions, and…

Xotic XW-1 LPB Limited Edition

Small Wonder

June 12, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Wah pedals come in a variety of sizes and textures, so finding one that checks all the boxes can be…

The Iris Guitar Dan Erlewine DE-11

Renaissance Reimagined

July 28, 2022 · Michael Shirek

Among the famous names in American guitar lore is Dan Erlewine – guitarist, builder, VG columnist and editorial consultant, and…

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

Grand Designs

March 23, 2016 · Steven Stone

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature Price: $8,999 (list) Contact: www.prsguitars.com What do you call the most beautifully made production acoustic you’ve…

In Memoriam: John Teagle

February 9, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Guitarist, historian, and author John Teagle passed away March 26 in New York at age 66 after battling cancer. Teagle…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 048 Featuring Rod Abernethy

April 6, 2021 · Art Department

James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist/composer Rod Abernethy in the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel.” A native of…

Blues Player of the Year

February 6, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

Joe Bonamassa Awarded in 2018 Joe Bonamassa can be safely filed in the “force of nature” category. Thirty years ago,…

Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos

Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos

July 10, 2015 · George Gruhn

This Gibson RB-3 five-string from 1925 is a rare piece, as is any five-string banjo from the era dominated by…

Selmer Truvoice

Selectortone Automatic

May 24, 2021 · Dave Hunter

Selmer Truvoice Selectortone Automatic, ca. 1961 Preamp tubes: one ECC83, two EF86 Output tubes: two EL34, cathode-bias Rectifier: GZ34 Controls:…

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;…

Peavey Vypyr VIP2

Backline in a Box

May 7, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Peavey Vypyr VIP2 Price: $199.99 Contact: www.peavey.com For more than 40 years Peavey’s ongoing evolution while building guitars, amps, and…

Gibson Marauder M-1

June 8, 2023 · Michael Wright

Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck…

Cry, Baby!

The Story of the Vox Wah

December 9, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Beyond being crowned “Album of the Century” by Time magazine, Marley and the Wailers’ 1977 LP Exodus is a wah-wah…

Classics: Steve Kimock 1968 Goldstop

January 3, 2025 · Ward Meeker

It was a moment when the angels did sing. Wanting to chat with his de facto big brother, one fateful…

Vintage Guitar magazine Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

Into the New Rising Sun – Speculating on Jimi's Later Career Move's

November 26, 2015 · Pete Prown

It has been 40 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix. In his honor, this month we will look at…

The Gibson Starfire TR 1000 RVT

Trans-Galactic Toneway

October 6, 2022 · Dave Hunter

Relatively unsung among early entrants to the field of solid-state guitar amplifiers, Gibson was the first high-output, high-quality manufacturer to…

Louis Electric Buster

Beyond Deluxe

March 6, 2015 · Zac Childs

Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595 (street) Contact: louisamps.com. Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more…

1933 Gibson L-5 “Special”

November 7, 2014 · George Gruhn

Though many collectors focus on instruments in fine original condition, every so often one emerges that, regardless of condition, is…

Malcolm Brickhouse

Malcolm Brickhouse

Free As You Wanna Be

February 11, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Malcolm Brickhouse was excited but confident after his band, Unlocking The Truth, recently performed its first headlining gig, at The…

Strymon Flint Tremolo and Reverb

Our Man Flint

December 19, 2013 · Rich Maloof

Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb Price: $200 Info: www.strymon.net. In just a few short years, Strymon has established itself as…

James Williamson & Deniz Tek

Stooge meets a Birdman

September 23, 2019 · Greg Prato

The words “proto punk” arouse recollections of furiously strummed guitars and amps cranked to 10. For many, its sound and…

In Memoriam: Lasse Wellander

February 9, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Lasse Wellander, longtime guitarist in ABBA and a renowned studio and solo musician, died April 7. He was 70 and…

Rickenbacker 481

November 24, 2020 · Michael Wright

It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…

Washburn’s Warren Haynes Signature Acoustic

New “Pre-War” Picker

August 20, 2014 · Steven Stone

Washburn’s Warren Haynes Signature Acoustic Price: $1,899 (Dream Solo 1 combo); $3,995 (Dream Solo 4 head); $699 (Switchback 112) Info:…