-
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…

Nancy Wilson
One Heart
The Covid-19 pandemic halted much of our lives, but there was a silver lining. Many musicians who couldn’t tour or…

Jim Kelley Reverb Model
Legend, Resurrected
Jim Kelley began making his highly acclaimed guitar amplifiers 1978. His big revelation came while he was still doing mods…

Classics: Mike Semrad’s ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska – at least as far back as his…

Jim Kweskin
Where Jazz Meets Folk
Jim Kweskin grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and in 1958 entered Boston University, placing him near coffee houses at the…

Classics: January 2024
Bill Woodward's 1953 Gibson Les Paul
Gravitational heavyweights in our culture, beyond baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie, few things say “American” more than music and…

Pop ’N Hiss: King’s X’s Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
Faith, Hope & Pain
By the final year of the ’80s, King’s X was a powerhouse of curiosity cleaving its way through the harmonic…
-
Reverend Sensei H90
Live Wire
So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and…
ARTISTS

Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his…
Jerry Douglas
Slide Ruler – Jerry Douglas’ Love Affair with the Dobro
You know, it’s the coolest-looking instrument that ever was made!” It should come as no surprise that Jerry Douglas is…

Vic Juris
The Core of Big Apple Jazz
Every noted jazz artist in the world is familiar with Vic Juris. His body of work commands serious respect and…

Ty Tabor
Digging Deep
King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor’s latest solo album is a guitar-centric meditation on mindfulness and the complexities of existence. With…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Webb Wilder’s take on “Beautiful Delilah”
“Hillbilly Speedball” sample Since the mid ’80s, Webb Wilder has cranked out consistently fine roots-rock. His latest is “Hillbilly Speedball,”…

Dwight Twilley’s ’57 Fender Super
Cowboy Fringe
Plenty of vintage amps have made it into these pages on their own merits. But when a hallowed creation also…
Realistic Entertainer-34
As prolific as the Radio Shack chain was in the ’60s, it’s surprising we don’t see more vintage Realistic guitar…

Warwick Thumb Bass
Generational Innovation
Founded in the early 1980s by Hans-Peter Wilfer, Warwick has a familial connection to another well-known German brand from a…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight

G&L Fallout
Form Follows Function
G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten…

Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423
Classic Comeback
Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423 Price: $739 list/$479 street (1423); $629 list/$399 street (1449) Info: www.silvertoneclassic.com With an up-swell of interest…

Tunerette
Smokin’ Tuner
The guitar world has many options to stay in tune but none as cool-looking as the Tunerette. Don’t let the…

Dusky Electronics Toasted Overdrive
Let It Burn
Dusky Electronics’ new Toasted Overdrive is an upgrade of the company’s two-stage MOSFET amp in a box; builder Chris Rossi…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
Consentrik Quartet
-
Lookout Highway

Joe Satriani
Capturing the Energy
Joe Satriani’s new album, What Happens Next, is a terrific back-to-basics effort with Satch in a trio format. Enlisting Red…

João Erbetta and Pete Curry
Los Angeles
Guitarist Erbetta has composed and produced film scores in his native Brazil, while Angelino Pete Curry plays bass with Los…

Built to Survive
Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression
In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely…

Austin legend Jon Dee Graham plays “This Old Guitar”
From the Continental Club to You! Jon Dee Graham’s parts Strat has been his stage and studio mainstay for more…










































