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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

Valco ‘Thunder stick’
Put your gut money on a dark horse every so often, and you might find the rest of the regurgitating…

Phantom Guitarworks’ Teardrop
Droppin’ In On The ’60s
Phantom Guitarworks is dedicated to producing odd-shaped guitars based on designs introduced in the early 1960s like the Vox Mark…

Fishman’s Fluence Greg Koch Gristle-Tone P90
A Quiet Place
With the miracle of micro-electronics, you can pack a massive amount of tone into a tight space. Case in point:…

Jimmy Vivino – Canned Heat Shuffle
Solo on a Rare Martin Jimmy Vivino and his Martin Paul Simon PS 2 OM prototype (which was gifted to…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robben Ford and Yellowjackets
Inside Story
In 1975, 24-year-old Robben Ford was making a name for himself on the Los Angeles music scene, where competition was…

Nuno Bettencourt
Extreme Versatility
When Extreme reunited for its fifth album, 2008’s Saudades de Rock, it seemed a foregone conclusion the band was back…
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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,…
ARTISTS

Sonny Landreth
Live In Lafayette
When music fans discuss upper-echelon slide mastery, the name Sonny Landreth tops most lists. The preeminent slide-guitar stylist of his…

Raul Malo’s Instrumental Side
Mavericks frontman with a vintage Jazzmaster Though he is renowned and beloved for his vocals in the Mavericks, Raul…

Phil Collen
A Rock Cat Plays the Blues
In the eyes of many, there’s quite a difference between arena rock and blues rock. But not to Phil Collen,…

Steve Ripley
First Takes & Extra Takes
Ed. Note: Guitarist/producer/recording artist/guitar innovator (we could add more to that list!) Steve Ripley has passed away (January 3, 2019)…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Beyond the Parlor
Part Two: Man and Machine
Ed. Note: In part two of his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes addresses the common belief that the guitar…

The Cost of Protection
100 Years of Instrument Cases
Modern guitars are typically sold with a hard case. But that wasn’t always so. Here, we look at the history…

Joe Long’s “stack-knob” Fender Jazz Bass
If you’re a fan or aficionado of vintage instruments, odds are that any early-’60s Fender Jazz Bass catches your eye.…

The Gibson ES-5
Instrument Profile
Gibson, like all American guitarmakers, had to shut down electric guitar production for three years during World War II. But…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Martin’s DJr-10E StreetMaster
Dread, Not
The big, booming dreadnought has been a Martin hallmark since its debut in the 1930s. From that tradition comes Martin’s…

Louis Electric 6L6-183 Cobra
Humble, Capital D
One glance at the control panel and cabinet styling of the Louis Electric 6L6-183 Cobra is all most will need…

Jordan Boss Tone
Little Fuzz with the Big Buzz
In the august and revered Hall of Fame of Fuzz, the Jordan Boss Tone deserves a prominent pedestal. Perhaps it…

Cort’s Sunset I and II
Jonesin’ For Tone
When Cort isn’t busy making guitars and basses for major musical instrument companies, they’re hard at work building some pretty…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Janne Haavisto
Finnish Instro Auteur
There’s a long history of instro and surf-rock from Scandinavia, perhaps none deeper than that of Janne Haavisto, formerly with…

Mr. Mojo Sustainin’
The Teye Jazz Cat
Teye Wijnterp is a top-shelf guitar craftsman whose work brings to mind Keith and Ronnie’s famous Zemaitis guitars of the…

Sunny War
Art & War
Sunny War’s latest album, Simple Syrup, digs deep into the complexities of the human experience. As an acoustic fingerstylist who…

Electro-Harmonix Synth9
Downright Synth-Ful
For 40 years, guitar synthesizers have come and gone, but the Electro-Harmonix Synth9 looks to be a game-changer for several…














































