• Michael Manring

    Michael Manring

    Bass Convergence

    Most music fans who learn that the eclectic trio 3Below is all bass players will react with, “You gotta be kiddin’!” However, musicians who appreciate the unusual will stay for…

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NEWSWIRE

ARTISTS

Richard Lloyd

Still Broadcasting

May 24, 2006 · Kathleen Johnson

Television always seemed to be from another planet. Alien-like, the band was an anomaly: a dichotomy of punk attitude and…

Southern Boogie from Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

August 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Band jams on acoustic “Flatcar” take “The South is a complex and nuanced place,” says Ben Reynolds of his native…

Fretprints: Van Halen

Birth of the Brown Sound

November 4, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

In the late 1970s, hard rock was on the ropes. Always a guitar-dominated form of music, it had been diluted…

Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs

April 23, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Time-Signature Shifts on “Aristoclub Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gibson Johnny Smith

June 29, 2015 · George Gruhn

In 1961, Gibson’s Johnny Smith model not only associated Gibson with one of the most popular guitar stylists of the…

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…

PRS Basses

Subjective Funk & Cool

June 6, 2001 · John J. Slog

The Paul Reed Smith bass was introduced at the January ’96 NAMM show. Set-neck and bolt-on (CE model) models were…

Greg Lake’s 
Zemaitis Doubleneck

Twice as Heavy

March 20, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

With progressive-rock juggernaut Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (1947-2016) played more than one instrument made by the renowned…


APPROVED GEAR

Reddick Voyager Custom

Swap Meet

June 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

The concept of pickup-swapping guitars has been around for decades, almost always with cumbersome results. With the Voyager, Reddick Guitars…

Music Nomad Keep It Simple Setup

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Music Nomad’s Keep It Simple Setup kit includes three tool kits. The 26-piece premium guitar tech screwdriver-and-wrench set has a…

Eastwood Marksman 5

Bullseye!

October 13, 2015 · Zac Childs

Eastwood Marksman 5 Price: $999 (retail) Info: www.eastwoodguitars.com. Reviving great and unusual designs from the past has been the focus…

Blues Guitars On A Budget

A New Breed of L-Style

February 3, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Picture the archetypal 1930s blues man, photographed with a studio backdrop, jaunty hat, knowing leer…. What else do you see?…

  •  Prestige Guitars Unveils 2026 Heritage Series Guitars 

     Prestige Guitars Unveils 2026 Heritage Series Guitars 

     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 14, 2025  Vancouver, BC — Prestige Guitars is proud to announce the return of the Heritage Series, featuring an all-new lineup of guitars for 2026. The new Heritage models include the Elite in Pelham Blue and Gold Top, the return of the Troubadour in its sleek Matte Black finish and new…

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  •  Gator’s G-TOUR Truck Pack Line Grows Smaller 

     Gator’s G-TOUR Truck Pack Line Grows Smaller 

    11.15.2025  TAMPA, FL – As part of an expanding range of truck pack solutions, Gator has introduced a more compact addition to its G-TOUR Series with the GTOURTRK2222HS. Designed for tighter loadouts and reduced cargo space, the new size retains the ATA-style construction and tour-grade protection of larger G-TOUR truck pack models while offering a…

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  • Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive

    Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive

    Icon In Reach

    If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the trigger, its creator now has a realistic alternative. Expanding on the original single-channel SLO Overdrive pedal, the SLO Plus introduces a Normal channel alongside Overdrive, each with dedicated controls that allow for detailed tweaking of…

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  • Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100

    Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100

    Playpen Power

    For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Baby introduced a few years back with a new trio – the Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby. All 100-watt amps with solid-state Class A/B output stages, Jfet preamp stages (another form of solid-state), and two footswitchable channels, they’re housed in 12″ x 3.25″ x…

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  • Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay

    Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay

    Double Echo

    Based on the famed Roland SDE-3000 rack unit, Boss’ SDE-3 combines some classic delay sounds of the 1980s, updated with a bevy of modern tricks and features. Like a lot of delays, it can be run in mono, but you’ll get the biggest bang going in stereo to different amps or outputs. The core of…

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Album of the Year

February 8, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

From 2012 to the present — read about each Readers' Choice Awards Albums.

The Metallica Blacklist Album

Various artists

September 12, 2022 · Pete Prown

Conquering the charts 30 years ago with their “black album,” Metallica has become the global ambassador for heavy metal –…

Bob Page

November 13, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Bob Page, co-founder of the vintage-instrument shop Buffalo Brothers, died December 24 after falling and suffering a head injury at…

“Tremolo” Trio

Three new approaches to replacement vibrato systems

June 24, 2020 · Phil Feser

Three new aftermarket vibrato systems for common double- and single-cutaway solidbody guitars offer the convenience of “drop in” installation. Each…

Robbie Robertson

The Many Sides of

October 26, 2015 · Dan Forte

It’s difficult to say which is more ironic: the fact that Robbie Robertson, one of rock guitar’s true stylists, is…