Micki Free

Feel and Tone

PRS S2 Custom 24-08

Plentiful Tones

  • Joe Satriani

    Joe Satriani

    The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy…

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NEWSWIRE

ARTISTS

Guthrie Govan

Aristocratic Guitar

May 2, 2022 · Pete Prown

Guthrie Govan is at times more stunt pilot than conventional guitarist – his superhero skills mean he can play almost…

Steve Dawson

Deeper Roots

April 3, 2024 · Pete Prown

Calling Steve Dawson a “roots” artist seems a disservice to a musician so eclectic and wildly talented. On Eyes Closed,…

Pop ’N Hiss: Wishbone Ash’s Argus

Twin-Lead Loadstone

July 6, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

Founded in 1969, Wishbone Ash attained fast fame in the U.K. with its meshing of intricate twin-lead-guitar passages and harmony…

John Sebastian

Lost Treasures From the Early '70s

February 16, 2010 · Dan Forte

Photo: Catherine Sebastian. “Musical style has such a short shelf life. In that year and a half, I lost vital…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

 The Guitars of Gary Rossington 

A Legend’s Legacy

October 30, 2025 · Ward Meeker

When the time came for Gary Rossington’s family to decide what to do with his guitars and amps after his…

Electro/Rickenbacher Amps

Pre-WWII Electro/ Rickenbacher Amps

April 29, 2004 · John Teagle

Introduction Experiments at marketing electrified musical instruments and their accompanying amplifiers may have started in the late 1920s, but it…

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Beyond the Parlor

Part Two: Man and Machine

April 29, 2016 · Tim Brookes

Ed. Note: In part two of his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes addresses the common belief that the guitar…

Dobro Model 27

Brother Oswald's Dobro – Country Music History Maker

December 22, 2014 · Vintage Guitar

The melodic, evocative warbling of a resonator guitar has for decades been a fixture in country music, and knowledgeable fans…


APPROVED GEAR

Chase Bliss Onward

Glitch Niche

August 13, 2025 · Pete Prown

These days, there’s a litany of “glitch” pedals on the market – boxes that deconstruct guitar signal into 8-bit bleeps…

L-Guitar Lance Glass

Tweak City

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

Builders love tweaking the creations of Leo Fender and his squad of ’50s innovators; California luthier Lance McCormick is making…

Michael Kelly 1957

Michael Kelly 1957

Bargain Boutique

August 26, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Michael Kelly 1957 Price: $875 (list) Contact: www.michaelkellyguitars.com Michael Kelly Guitars has steadily gained a reputation for offering big bang…

Aiken Invader 30

February 22, 2006 · Vintage Guitar

Randall Aiken makes his home in Buford, Georgia, and for many years has been repairing and designing amps. A double-degree…

  • Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster

    Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster

    Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…

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  • Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps

    Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps

    Mad Maxed

    As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…

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  • Vivi-Tone “Skeleton

    Vivi-Tone “Skeleton

    A Master’s Magnificent Misfire

    The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…

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  • Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…

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  • Paul Johnson

    Paul Johnson

    The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company

    This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…

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NGM Hosts “Medieval to Metal” Exhibit

String Spectacle

August 10, 2022 · Pete Prown

The National Guitar Museum, which has toured the U.S. for more than a decade, recently opened an exhibition titled “Medieval…

A Little More Better

CopperSound’s Foxcatcher Boost/Overdrive and Polaris Chorus/Vibrato

April 16, 2020 · Rich Maloof

Offering hand-built pedals from their shop in Easton, Massachusetts, CopperSound seems to be finding a niche among small-batch builders, namely…

Check This Action: Walking In Memphis

May 1, 2025 · Dan Forte

I first visited Memphis in 1990, and it struck me that radio stations played loads of music from the area.…

Del Casher

“Papa of the Wah-Wah” Marks Its 50 Years

April 26, 2019 · Dave Hunter

The wah pedal is one of the most widely used effects in popular music, employed by artists playing rock, blues,…

Iron Maiden 

Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast

December 9, 2021 · Pete Prown

From the 2019 tour, this two-CD live set from Mexico captures the British metalers in top form, four decades after…