Kinga Glyk

Real-Life Bass

January 14, 2025 · Pete Prown

Like a tightrope walker, bassist Kinga Glyk finds a delicate balance between funk-fusion virtuosity and wicked, booty-moving grooves. Deploying her…

Noah Zacharin: Seriously Agile Fingerstyle

February 29, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Lester Brown” Live From The Big Lonely From his home in a forest between Ottawa and Toronto, singer/songwriter/fingerpicker Noah Zacharin…

From Badass to Bonamassa

New Pedals from MRX, Cry Baby, and Way Huge

May 20, 2021 · Max Prown

The latest from Dunlop includes a pair of overdrives and a fresh addition to the venerable Cry Baby wah family.…

Rose Lee Maphis

August 29, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

Rose Lee Maphis, country-music legend and musical partner/widow of guitarist Joe Maphis, died October 26. She was 98. Maryland-born Rose…

Pink Floyd & The Dark Side of the Moon

Martin Popoff

March 20, 2024 · Pete Prown

This book marks the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s masterwork – composer/bassist Roger Waters’ meditation on madness set over angsty,…

Vic Johnson

At Your Service

November 28, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Music fans might remember Vic Johnson as the wickedly eclectic guitarist from the ’80s band The Busboys; it thrived in…

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ARTISTS

Jesse Valenzuela

Revisits the Gin Blossoms

May 26, 2020 · Ralph Heibutzki

(Calling All) Angels Tonight: Gin Blossoms guitarist Jesse Valenzuela and his reunited colleagues learned some intriguing lessons on tour in…

Guy Pratt

Rickenbackers and a Resistance

January 3, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Guy Pratt has been the bass player for Pink Floyd since signing on for the tour to support 1987’s A…

K.K. Downing

Preaching Metal

July 7, 2022 · Bret Adams

Classic heavy metal will never fade as long as K.K. Downing remains one of its torchbearers. Sermons of the Sinner,…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz

October 30, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Fender’s 1957 Precision Bass

Fender’s 1957 Precision Bass

January 5, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

When an instrument maintains the same basic design and profile for more than a half-century, it’s safe to say that…

Fender’s Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic

Little Brothers

July 27, 2022 · Terry Foster

Often forgotten amongst Fender’s many classics, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic were conceived to capitalize on teenagers taking up the guitar…

A Guide to Vintage Dobros

March 14, 2018 · Tom Gray

John Dopyera left National in 1929 to begin work on a secret project – a single-cone resonator guitar he believed…

Whooooo Wal You?

John Entwistle’s fretless ’78 Wal

January 10, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Wal began building electric basses in the early 1970s as a collaboration between Englishmen Pete Stevens and Ian Waller. Their…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Brimstone Audio Crossover Distortion XD-1

Bi-Amping in a Box

March 18, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Brimstone Audio Crossover Distortion XD-1 Price: $299.95 Info: www.Brimstoneaudio.com. Brimstone Audio is a relatively new company that hit the ground…

Airline Bojotar

Airline Bojotar

Hybrid G-String Machine

July 6, 2016 · Chip Wilson

There’s something about the Airline Bojotar that makes one ask, “What if Keef had added a high-G banjo string to…

Martin SC-13E Special Burst

Blueprint Blow-up

January 9, 2023 · Michael Shirek

For nearly two centuries, Martin has been building acoustic instruments befitting the company’s august reputation. The slew of budget-friendly models…

Carvin’s HH2 Allan Holdsworth

Off With Their Heads

April 29, 2016 · Phil Feser

Headless guitars and basses, which had their heyday back in the big-hair/thin-necktie ’80s (think Power Windows-era Geddy Lee), still have…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Steve Vai

Vai/Gash

December 25, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Recorded during two weeks in 1991, Vai/Gash is a collaboration between Steve Vai and late singer Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto, expressing…

Guyatone Micro Effects

Little Boxes, Big Effects

April 29, 2020 · Phil Feser

Musical-instrument accessories importer Guyatone introduced its first series of Micro Effects three years ago to widespread praise. Knowing it was…

Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter

Tremolo Transformed

December 27, 2017 · Rich Maloof

Tremolo is a simple effect: the amplitude, or volume, of an incoming signal is raised and lowered in pulsating waves.…

Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton

Alt-Blues Summit

February 4, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Blues is a language of many dialects, and when regionalisms collide, sparks fly. So it has been since Texas six-stringer…

The Pedulla Buzz Bass

Fast and Fretless

September 23, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Introduced in 1980, the M.V. Pedulla Buzz Bass is one of the most-enduring examples of an upscale model offered fretless.…

Chris Spedding

Chris Spedding

Convergence of Legends and Friends

March 23, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

The career of guitarist Chris Spedding has spanned more than four decades and included a commendable solo career, a stint…

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…

Vintage V52 Icon

Vintage V52 Icon

Cost-Effective Twang

February 24, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Vintage V52 Icon Price: $459 Info: www.jhs.co.uk The U.K.-based distributor John Hornby Skewes offers guitars under the brand Vintage that…

Leo Lydon

Beefy Tones

November 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

The wildly named Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol doesn’t play the typical “doom metal” or “stoner metal” that has been hip…

Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp

Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank

September 20, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for…

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…

Fender’s First Reissues

The CBS Era Concludes in Style

March 2, 2016 · Edward B. Driscoll Jr.

By the late 1970s, cumulative changes in the details of the various classic guitar models on the market – Fender’s…

Martin Elegant, a.k.a. “Lula”

December 29, 2014 · George Gruhn

It’s an extraordinarily rare event to find a high-grade, historically significant mid-1800s guitar in a pawn shop, but that is…

Sebago Sound DT50

Texas Tone – And More

March 1, 2014 · Max Prown

Sebago Sound DT50 Price: $1,999 Contact: sebagosound.com The DT50 is the 50-watt version of Sebago Sound’s acclaime d Double Trouble…

Kiss

Destroyer 45

October 27, 2022 · Pete Prown

Following their Alive! breakout, Kiss hired producer to the superstars Bob Ezrin and cut what became their first platinum album,…

Carr Amplifiers’ Lincoln

Hot Rod

March 1, 2017 · Pete Prown

Carr Amplifiers has a fine reputation for high-quality, boutique tube combos with tons of vintage style and panache. Their gear…

Gypsy jazz master Christophe Astolfi plays “La Valsajo”

June 24, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Traditionalist offers standout new album Christophe Astolfi offers an exclusive rendition of Jo Privat’s “La Valsajo” using a guitar made…

Chris Squire

1948-2015

November 28, 2016 · Pete Prown

Yes bassist Chris Squire died June 27th at age 67, after a brief battle with leukemia. Squire co-founded Yes in…

Vega Model 120

April 4, 2017 · Dave Hunter

Viewed from our contemporary perspective, it’s difficult to fully appreciate how different the music scene in general – and the…

Jorge Glem: Cuatro Mastery

April 6, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Brooklyn-Cumaná Jorge Glem uses his Venezualan cuatro to show us some of “Matapalo y Fuga,” from his new duet album…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 026 Featuring Ron Thorn

May 12, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

“Have Guitar Will Travel” host James Patrick Regan speaks with Ron Thorn, Principal Masterbuilder at the Fender Custom Shop. Before…

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5

Pretty, Stunning

January 20, 2016 · Ray Wuolo

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5 Price: $3,199 (list) Contact: www.hullamps.blogspot.com A beat-up ol’ blackface amp can be a thing of beauty,…

Pop ’N Hiss: The Police’s Synchronicity

Sonic Stamp

June 5, 2025 · Bret Adams

“Going out on top” is a common sentiment among artists and athletes hoping to end their careers at their best…

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Robin Trower

20 Albums In

June 7, 2016 · Steve Rosen

On his 20th album, Something’s About to Change, Strat stalwart Robin Trower once again dives into the blues for a…

Fender’s 1951-’54 Telecaster

In Detail

September 13, 2017 · Ward Meeker

Fender’s first Spanish-style guitar was a lesson in functional simplicity with its solid body, single pickup, and bolt-on neck. And…

National Model N-720

Star of an Era's End

November 3, 2005 · Michael Wright

Most acoustic guitar players will likely show disdain for any instrument with a bolt-on neck. Even though there have been…

Dumble Garage Band Ripper

Orange Crushed

June 14, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Through much of his career, Alexander Dumble made amps at his discretion, building one of his hallowed tone machines only…

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…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest David Davidson

July 16, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest David Davidson Season 01 Episode 02 In Episode 2 of “Buy That Guitar,”…