• Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the  first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set…

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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…

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Have Guitar Will Travel – 029 Featuring Greg Koch

June 23, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

Episode 29 of James Patrick Regan’s “Have Guitar Will Travel” podcast features “The Gristlemaster,” Greg Koch, who talks about his…

Max Cavalera

Roots Revisited

April 15, 2019 · Greg Prato

To the casual fan, heavy metal can get a bit “same sounding” after a while. But then there are those…

Paul Bigsby’s Myrtlewood Guitars

April 30, 2024 · Deke Dickerson

= Few things are as satisfying as a guitar with a good story to tell. Some vintage guitars might be…

Blake Aaron

Blake Aaron

Melodic Passion

June 21, 2016 · John Heidt

Blake Aaron’s fifth solo release, Soul Stories, features eight originals and a couple of covers that have at least one…

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…

Rick Nielsen

Storied Career

January 5, 2018 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

“Many years ago, I was in the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ dressing room with my son, Daxx,” recalls Rick Nielsen. “Flea…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

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Classics: September 2021

Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225

May 6, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me…

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

December 4, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

Jack Bruce, an icon of electric bass, died October 25 in Suffolk, England. Best known for his work with Cream…

Pop ’N Hiss: Lou Reed

Definitive Riffs- Lou Reed’s Rock ’N Roll Animal and Live

December 2, 2021 · Willie G. Moseley

Eccentric and enigmatic, composer/singer Lou Reed gained notoriety in the mid-’60s while fronting the NYC band Velvet Underground. Not particularly…

Laur Joamets

Metamodern Sounds In Country Picking

March 2, 2017 · Michael Dregni

The time-worn, well-trodden path to Nashville traditionally starts from a Tennessee holler, Arkansas cabin, or Texas jook. For Laur Joamets…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Sue Foley

Femme Flamenco

December 10, 2024 · Greg Prato

In a time when pop-music performers rely heavily on post-recording fix-ups and pre-recorded tracks onstage, it’s refreshing – even admirable…

The Ray Butts EchoSonic

April 29, 2021 · Dave Hunter

If you want to talk star-user ratio, the Ray Butts EchoSonic is near the top of the heap. Most accounts…

J.D. Simo

Playing for Elvis

July 13, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Psych-blues guitar maestro J.D. Simo was the wizard behind the guitar work heard on Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann film…

Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines

Archtop Elite

January 3, 2025 · Wolf Marshall

The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Effector 13 Improbability Drive

“Beam Me Up, Jimi” – The Effector 13 Improbability Drive – spacey, fuzzy, and funky

August 15, 2013 · Phil Feser

We understand how you might react. “Another drive pedal?” There are so many… a lot of them similar, or nearly…

PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF

From Jimi to Eric to Angus

September 29, 2011 · Pete Prown

PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF Price: $3,908 (retail)/$2,329 (street) Contact: PRSguitars.com. The PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special…

IBANEZ-RGA8_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Ibanez RGA8

In the Deep End

May 12, 2016 · Pete Prown

Ibanez RGA-8 Price: $1,102.21 (approx. $800 street). Info: ibanez.com In the annals of cool, weird, and unusual guitars, they’re nothing…

Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.

Way Cool Version

June 7, 2023 · Tom Guerra

Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Jim Peterik

Of the Bard, Brian Wilson, Buddy Guy and "Butt-Ugly" RDs

March 10, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Veteran guitarist/songwriter/vocalist/keyboard player/producer Jim Peterik’s career has taken yet another intriguing turn in its long and ever-active history. The Chicago-area…

The Burke Guitar

The Axe that Time Forgot

April 13, 2021 · Ward Meeker

For more than 60 years, aluminum has been used as a component in guitar construction. Exactly whose idea it was…

Ray Cummins Tutorial No. 07

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #7

October 28, 2019 · Doug Yellow Bird

Ray Cummins’ latest exclusive lesson for VG expands on the art of playing “thumbstyle” a la Chet Atkins. Using his…

Kay-Ta Matsuno’s fluid fingerstyle

June 29, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Raised on classical, inspired by movie music Lovers of fingerstyle likely know the music of Kay-Ta Matsuno. For the uninitiated,…

Classics: September 2021

Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225

May 6, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me…

Nili Brosh Vintage Guitar magazine

Nili Brosh

A Matter Of Perception

February 1, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

If you saw Tony MacAlpine on his early-2015 tour, you probably noticed a young woman accompanying him on a seven-string…

Have Guitar Will Travel 063 – Brendan Byrnes

December 14, 2021 · James Patrick Regan

Host James Patrick Regan welcomes guitarist/composer Brendan Byrnes to the latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel.” Brendan is a…

Friedman IR-X Dual Channel Preamp

Stack in the Box

September 17, 2024 · Pete Prown

Most guitar-electronics companies make a direct-recording preamp, many promising to provide ultimate distortion and overdrive via impulse responses (IR) or…

David Bowie’s Young Americans

January 15, 2026 · Bret Adams

David Bowie was always creatively restless. The English musician decided to step away from the glam rock he’d recorded for…

Fishman Loudbox Mini

Little Big Man

July 28, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Fishman Loudbox Mini is just what its name says – a small amp that delivers the company’s renowned audio…

Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip

January 31, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940…

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Joe Walsh

Life’s Still Good

February 14, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Whether coughing up the #2 talk-box lick of the ’70s, kicking the Eagles into overdrive, or wryly expressing his views…

Phil Lynott

Songs For While I’m Away

November 17, 2022 · Pete Prown

A rock-doc of Thin Lizzy’s fabled frontman, this film traces the singer/bassist’s life through interviews from bandmates, family, and friends.…

Guild’s Starfire I DC GVT

Big Green Monster

March 30, 2022 · Bob Cianci

Guild’s Newark Street guitars are a line of lower-priced instruments anchored by a reissue of the classic Starfire; the most…

Andrew Hyndryx Gears Up with Kellen Boersma and Phil Faconti

October 7, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Andrew Hyndryx Gears Up with Kellen Boersma and Phil Faconti Andrew Hyndryx caught up Kellen Boersma and Phil Faconti for…

Have Guitar Will Travel 070 – JJ Wilde and J.D. Smigelski

February 23, 2022 · James Patrick Regan

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” finds host James Patrick Regan speaking with indie rocker JJ Wilde and…

Johnny Hiland

Mr. Versatility

March 8, 2010 · Ann Wickstrom

“…when you’re onstage, in the heat of the moment in the middle of a solo, you want to have bandmates…

Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

July 8, 2018 · Bob Cianci

The Chicago resident has been exciting blues audiences worldwide for decades. But he built his reputation working the local club…

Bill Nelson

Brit-Guitar Deluxe

April 14, 2020 · Pete Prown

Bill Nelson is one of the unsung heroes of British rock guitar. From his ’70s work with Be Bop Deluxe…

Guild Standard Series Acoustics

Legacy, Cont’d?

January 10, 2012 · Sean OBryan Smith

Founded by a jazz guitarist as jazz-box builder, the Guild company also built a solid reputation with its ’50s acoustic…

Fano Alt de Facto RB6

Classic That Never Was

February 3, 2014 · Sean OBryan Smith

Fano Alt de Facto RB6 Price: $2,495 Info: fanoguitars.com In recent years, a trend in the guitar realm has been…

Headline: In Memoriam: Ian Bairnson

February 9, 2024 · Bret Adams

Guitarist Ian Bairnson, a member of the Alan Parsons Project who played on the band’s 10 studio albums from 1976…

Robert John & The Wreck’s Henry James

July 28, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Cali-Style Southern Rock Southern-fried rock from California? You bet it’s tasty. Check out the guitar work of Henry James Schneekluth…

Fender American Professional Jazzmaster

Return Of The Rebel

April 19, 2019 · Michael Dregni

From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you…

Classics: July 2021

Warren Garstecki’s 1932 Gibson HG-22

March 4, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Warren Garstecki is a collector who keys on vintage Gibsons with interesting histories, like the HG-22. Introduced in 1929, the…

Rush

Rush 50

January 14, 2026 · Pete Prown

The goal of any anthology is to capture the broad scope of an artist’s career. Rush 50 is a strong…

Marshall JMP50 “Plexi”

April 28, 2020 · Dave Hunter

Kids wanna rock? Plug into your plexi and bow to the mighty crunch. Marshall amps of the company’s first 10…

Jimmie Vaughan

The Pleasure’s All Mine

January 25, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

Vaughan’s 2010 album, Blues, Ballads and Favorites, honored his blues, R&B, country and rock roots, followed a year later by…

Joanna Connor

Still Rising

February 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Joanna Connor’s new album is a killer batch of tunes with a live feel infused by the spirit of Chicago’s…