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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…

Tommy Emmanuel Straight Blazin’!
Fingerpicking mastery on “Son of a Gun Whoa…. Check out Tommy Emmanuel backstage at the Grand Ole Opry with his…

Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience…

Star Board: Craig Bartock
This month, we take a guided tour of the pedalboard belonging to Craig Bartock, guitarist with Heart. Craig Bartock, a…

1940- 2024
Phil Lesh
The rock world was saddened to learn of bassist Phil Lesh’s death on October 25, at age 84. Perhaps the…

Nicolas Meier
Jeff Beck Sideman Steps Out
If you’ve been to a Jeff Beck concert in the past few years, you may have said to yourself, “Who’s…

Shakti
This Moment
Now a half-century since their earliest adventures, Shakti is back with age-defying guitarist John McLaughlin (who’s now 81) and tabla…
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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

Have Guitar Will Travel – 035 Featuring Joe Robinson
In Episode 35 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Joe Robinson. Mentored by Tommy…

Ace Frehley
Shock Waves
As an original member of rock titans Kiss, “Space Ace” Frehley inspired countless budding musicians. His new album, 10,000 Volts,…

Austin Guitarst Eric Hisaw on “Someone Else.”
Rockabilly Meets Punk! Straight outta Austin, Eric Hisaw and his early-’80s import Fender Tele play a cool living-room rendition…

Jeff Hanna
Decades of Dirt
One’s taste in music usually starts in the home, where immersion can fuel the subconscious. Jeff Hanna’s parents loved Ella…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Pop ’N Hiss: Taste
Breakout Blues
The ’60s may have been the most musically significant decade in the history of popular music, but very few countries…

Out-Stratting the Strat
The Story of the G&L S-500
It would be an understatement to say that Leo Fender, with the help of George Fullerton, was prolific in the…

United They Stood, Part 2
Ghosts of Jersey City
In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost…
Martin Elegant, a.k.a. “Lula”
It’s an extraordinarily rare event to find a high-grade, historically significant mid-1800s guitar in a pawn shop, but that is…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Line 6 Catalyst 100
Natural Vibe
The latest array of amp modelers from Line 6 – pioneers in the field – is the Catalyst, in 60-,…

Vox Real McCoy Chrome Wah Ltd and V846 Vintage Wah
Replica Treadles
Thanks to notable users ranging from Del Casher and Frank Zappa to Jimi Hendrix and Kirk Hammett, the “wah wah”…

PureSalem Honey Bunny, Pink Beard, Attack Captain
Bring The Fuzz
Remember your first fuzz pedal? Maybe, like a certain reviewer, you literally worked up a sweat trying to strike a…

Ibanez EKM100
Soul On Ice
Ibanez EKM100 Price: $2,799.99 (list) Contact: www.ibanez.com Fans of contemporary soul, jazz, and funk should be well aware of Soulive.…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

The ‘‘Blackburst’’
Les Paul Standard of a Different Shade
Among experienced (and often jaded) veteran guitar collectors, precious few things create an adrenaline rush – strange one-offs, oddball brands that never quite blossomed,…

Steve Vai
Taming The Hydra
After finishing a sold-out tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson for the G3 Reunion concerts, Steve Vai joined Adrian…

Fretprints: Kim Simmonds
Ode to the British Blues Icon
Leader and guiding spirit of Savoy Brown, Kim Simmonds was an architect of the ’60s British Blues movement. A powerful…

Top 100 Guitarists
30 Years, 30 Favorites
To help mark its 30th year of publication, VG asked readers to submit a list of their five favorite guitarists…













































