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Taylor® Guitars Kicks Off 2026 With Two Major Launches – The Next Generation Of Its Flagship Grand Auditorium Guitars And New Gold Label Square-Shoulder Dreadnoughts
Taylor upgrades its most iconic models, adding “Next Generation” features to its Grand Auditorium body shape while expanding its recently introduced Gold Label Collection with traditional, square-shoulder dreadnoughts EL CAJON,…
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Thomas Custom Guitars
Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich…
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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…
The Routes
In This Perfect Hell
Think old-school Zombies crossed with new-thing Arctic Monkeys: the result may just be the Routes. The guitar-bass-drum trio is part…
Fender’s 5E7 Bandmaster
There’s something about the 3×10 Bandmaster that drives vintage-Fender nuts gaga. Introduced in 1953, it underwent substantial design changes in…
In Memoriam: John Regan
John Regan, a songwriter, producer, and bassist who was a member of Peter Frampton’s band and Frehley’s Comet, died April…
The Birth of the Gretsch Duo Jet
Gretsch Gets With It!
In 1950, Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster. The first solidbody electric Spanish guitar to bear his soon-to-be-famous name, its thin…
Cliff Gallup
Crazy Fingers
There was a custom at Owen Bradley Film & Recording Studios in Nashville; artists cut vocal tracks with backing from…
Eastman AR905SCE Uptown Deluxe
Classy Jazz Box
Eastman AR905SCE Uptown Deluxe Price: $3,650 retail Contact: www.eastmanguitars.com Over the past few years the negative stigma attached to guitars…
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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…
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ARTISTS
1937 Martin 0-21
Martin is known for its orderly model-naming system, under which all guitars of a certain style from any particular year…
Fretprints: Hiram Bullock
Dangerously Funky Fusioneer
In the sonic constellation orbiting jazz-rock, Hiram Bullock traveled a separate trajectory. His work on “Angela,” the theme for “Taxi,”…
Freddie King’s Gibson ES-345 Keeps on Playin’
Family Ties
Watching her baby boy become rapt whenever his grandma played country blues on her guitar, Ella May King had a…
Darryl Jones
Stones’ Side Man, Ron Wood Fan
“Unofficial” Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones, who replaced Bill Wyman in 1994, readily admits that playing with the carousing rockers…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355
Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though…
Fender’s Mid-’50s Precision Bass
The "In-Between" Version
In the world of electric basses, the 1952 Fender Precision is the one that started it all. While it’s true…
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 1
Beginnings – The Early 1960s
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
Jabo, Vince, and Broadcaster 0048
Special Addition
It’s routine for Vince Gill, as one of Nashville’s true connoisseurs of electric and acoustic gear, to receive tips about…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Strymon’s DIG Dual Digital Delay
Diggin’ In
Offering the heart and soul of those crystal-clear first-generation 1980s digital delays, California-based Strymon’s DIG Dual Digital Delay provides not only…
Fender’s Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster
Songs Not Included
Fender can’t guarantee its Jason Isbell Custom Tele will instill every player with Isbell’s talent for songcraft, but it sure…
Rivera Shaman Series Pedals
Holy Tones
Rivera Shaman Series Pedals Price: $299 each (street) Info: www.rivera.com. With roots stretching to the late ’70s, SoCal-based Rivera Amplification…
L-Guitar Lance Glass
Tweak City
Builders love tweaking the creations of Leo Fender and his squad of ’50s innovators; California luthier Lance McCormick is making…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Revisiting Room 335
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides
Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri
Empire Central: Funky homage to Dallas Snarky Puppy guitarist Mark Lettieri took a minute at soundcheck to use his PRS…
Dean DeLeo and Tom Bukovac unite on the trip the witch
Cosmic Convergence
At a glance, there’s little reason to connect a guitarist like Dean DeLeo to one like Tom Bukovac. One is…
Kim Simmonds
Back to Basics with Savoy Brown
Under the aegis of founder Kim Simmonds, Savoy Brown has always been a band “subject to change.” Formed in 1965,…
Raul Malo’s Instrumental Side
Mavericks frontman with a vintage Jazzmaster Though he is renowned and beloved for his vocals in the Mavericks, Raul…
