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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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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Michael Wilton
Rebuilding the Queensrÿche Brand
The highly publicized firing of singer Geoff Tate from the band Queensrÿche has divided fans and spawned two touring bands…
Oz Noy
Dishing Out More Twisted Blues
Oz Noy is talented enough to pay the bills not only as a first-call New York session cat, but also…
Robbie Robertson
The Many Sides of
It’s difficult to say which is more ironic: the fact that Robbie Robertson, one of rock guitar’s true stylists, is…
Bob Page
Bob Page, co-founder of the vintage-instrument shop Buffalo Brothers, died December 24 after falling and suffering a head injury at…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Fender’s 1961 Showman
The Show Must Go On
When Fender stepped up from the tweed-covered amps of the 1950s to the radically redesigned Tolex amps of the ’60s,…
La Baye 2X4
1967, the Summer of Love. Everything still seemed possible, and anything went. No more war, racial and gender equality, Fresh…
Alvino Rey’s “Mini” Gibsons
Alvino Rey’s 1936 Gibson mini guitar. From its beginnings, Gibson has built custom orders and unique instruments for specific artists,…
The Slingerland May Bell
It’s hard to imagine a more poorly “documented” guitar brand than Slinglerland. The company has been around since before World…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Xotic Guitars’ XSC-1 California Classic
New Connection
Xotic is known for its plethora of sonic effect-pedal goodies, but its current guitar line also tends to turn heads.…
ValveTrain PowerTrain Studio 20
Tube Savior
We’ve all watched the guitar amp deconstruct before our eyes, as pedals, preamps, and power amps all shrink – and…
Electro-Harmonix Tube Zipper
Exotic Tones For Eclectic Players
Hailed by its creators as the greaest product introduced by Electro-Harmonix in over 20 years, the new Tube Zipper was…
Reverend Rick Vito Soul Agent
Swank Plank
Some guitars look great, while others sound or play great. With Reverends’ Rick Vito Soul Agent, you get all three…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
