Jim Weider

Shinin’ On

March 31, 2023 · Tom Guerra

Few American guitarists have roots in Americana as deep as those of Jim Weider. For 15 years following The Band’s…

Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis

Douglas K. Miller

July 2, 2025 · Bret Adams

“(Jesse Ed Davis) is the cream of the crop; he’s better than Clapton and Hendrix put together,” said Gram Parsons.…

Neil Giraldo Home Main

Neil Giraldo

Road Routine

February 4, 2016 · Ward Meeker

The hard-driving husband-and-wife rock act that hits the stage as Pat Benatar and Neil “Spyder” Giraldo is responsible for more…

Classics: Harold “Sonny” Wright’s 1965 Gibson J-45

June 12, 2025 · Ward Meeker

Growing up 10 miles from Earl Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina with a music-loving father and two older sisters who…

3rd Power Amplification’s Solo Dream 1, Solo Dream 4, and Switchback 112

Dream Babies

December 26, 2013 · Zac Childs

Recording/touring guitarist, studio engineer, and industry veteran Jamie Scott made the metamorphosis into amp designer by learning to repair and…

The Routes

In This Perfect Hell

June 27, 2017 · Michael Dregni

Think old-school Zombies crossed with new-thing Arctic Monkeys: the result may just be the Routes. The guitar-bass-drum trio is part…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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,…

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ARTISTS

Johnny Marr

Brit Gets a Git

November 24, 2015 · Ward Meeker

When pop-music fans in the U.K. talk about guitar heroes, they tend to put more stake in the way a…

Pop ’N Hiss: King’s X’s Gretchen Goes To Nebraska

Faith, Hope & Pain

October 26, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

By the final year of the ’80s, King’s X was a powerhouse of curiosity cleaving its way through the harmonic…

Steve Stevens plays “77”

August 28, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Steve Stevens plays “77” Live from the dressing room at Wembley Arena just before a sold-out performance with Billy Idol,…

Tony Gilkyson: Country-Rocker, Punk

January 24, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Tasty licks On A Vintage Kay An alumnus of country-rock’s Lone Justice and punk-rockers X, Tony Gilkyson plugged his vintage…


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…

Peavey’s Razer, Mystic, and Foundation

Peavey’s Razer, Mystic, and Foundation

Contrasting Chronologies

March 11, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Just a handful of years after Peavey turned the world of electric guitar upside-down with its T-60 guitar and T-40…

Sovtek MIG-50

Curtain Call

February 4, 2022 · Dave Hunter

Given their development in the twilight years of the U.S.S.R. and arrival at the fall of the Iron Curtain, it…

The España 6/12 Doubleneck

April 27, 2023 · Michael Wright

More is always better, right? Eleven is better than 10 on an amplifier, three pickups are better than two, and…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Chemistry Design Werks’ Holeyboard 123

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Chemistry Design Werks’ Holeyboard 123 is made of 1/8″ aluminum with overlapping surfaces that can be adjusted from 13″ to…

Fender Player II Series Telecaster

Twang Banger

May 30, 2025 · Dave Hunter

As the world’s first mass-production solidbody electric guitar fast approaches its 75th birthday, Fender continues to offer variations on the…

Six-String Kicks

Six-String Kicks

Wood from Famed Bowling Alley Set to Sing

March 31, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Few things scratch America’s cumulative itch for nostalgia like Route 66 – the famed wagon-trail-cum-highway that offered passage to those…

Black Cat’s D&S and N-Fuzz

Two Faces of Fuzz

November 29, 2016 · Pete Prown

Located in south-central Connecticut, Black Cat blends an ear for vintage tones with an eye toward modern function and bulletproof…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Home Feature Image

25 Most Valuable Guitars

May 24, 2015 · Vintage Guitar

Data compiled by Alan Greenwood and Gil Hembree Vintage Guitar is marking 25 years of publication with a year full…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Doubleneck Redux

A Return to Glory for “Jerry”

July 31, 2025 · Dan Erlewine

In 1977, I was doing guitar repair in Big Rapids, Michigan, and my services included picking up and delivering repair…

The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face

Fuzz Buzz

October 14, 2019 · Michael Dregni

There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations…

Steve Stevens

Atomic Idol

April 22, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

As Billy Idol’s longtime guitarist and songwriting partner, Steve Stevens’ unique approach – flamenco stylings and the occasional ray gun…

Bobby Womack

Bobby Womack

1944-2014

February 25, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Guitarist, soul singer, and songwriter Bobby Womack passed away June 27. He was 70 and had suffered from diabetes, Alzheimer’s,…

Fender’s Musicmaster and Duo‑Sonic

Little Brothers

August 28, 2018 · Terry Foster

Often forgotten, the diminutive student-grade duo went from concept to reality in short order to capitalize on teenagers taking up…

GIBSON F-7 1934

1934 Gibson F-7

January 12, 2015 · George Gruhn

Prior to Gibson’s innovations, mandolins were bowl-back instruments with a lute-like back usually constructed with rosewood or maple back ribs…

Vox/Thomas Organ V-14 Super Beatle

Solid Sound

September 20, 2023 · Dave Hunter

After producing some of the most-iconic guitar amplifiers of the early 1960s, Vox leaned unwittingly into a failing technology –…

Andy Gill

The Gang’s All Here

February 27, 2018 · Greg Prato

One of the most original-sounding guitarists to emerge from the post-punk/new wave movement of the late ’70s was Gang of…

Andy Powell

The Wishbone Forges on

December 1, 2005 · Willie G. Moseley

Wishbone Ash guitarist Andy Powell isn’t caught in a time warp. True, he’s the sole remaining member of the English…

Brian Ray

Brian Ray

From Blues to Beatles

August 11, 2014 · Tom Guerra

Brian Ray spent the last 11 years playing guitar as Paul McCartney’s side man. While such duty would be a…

Robert Randolph

Soul Power

March 12, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

“I wasn’t really a Coltrane fan, but when I heard Kind Of Blue I was like, ‘Hell, as long as…

Sonny Burgess

1929-2017

May 9, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Sonny Burgess, one of the last of the great Sun Records stars, died August 18. He was 88 and had…

Gibson Wall-Board Guitar

Out of the Woods, Off the Wall

September 28, 2024 · Deke Dickerson

In the world of “guitarcheology,” it’s well-documented that the truly interesting stuff – prototypes, one-offs, custom instruments – usually surface…

George Cotsirilos – Jazz Sans Cliché

December 14, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Deft work on an L-5 for “The Three Doves” George Cotsirilos grew up listening to Bloomfield, Hendrix, and Clapton, then…

John Notto

Dirty Deeds

March 30, 2022 · Greg Prato

The “Is rock dead?” debate rears its head every few years. But with the emergence of new bands like Dirty…

Roy Buchanan and Tom Principato

Masters of the Telecaster

May 2, 2017 · Dan Forte

In 1972, Roy Buchanan shook up the guitar world with his self-titled debut album. The tones he extracted from his…

Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk’s We’re An American Band

Rockin’ Patriots

October 30, 2025 · Bret Adams

Thundering out of Michigan in 1969, Grand Funk Railroad quickly became one of the most popular bands in the world.…

John 5 - Telewiedler

John 5

Telewielder

March 1, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Since ditching his spot backing alternative-metal singer Marilyn Manson 10 years ago, superhuman guitarist John 5 has used his skills…

Mike Rutherford

Mike Rutherford

Re-Living The Years

January 4, 2016 · Bret Adams

Mike Rutherford prefers focusing on the future, even if recent projects have required the guitarist/bassist to think about life. Late…

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

February 24, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

For those who like their sacred steel music a little less sacred, Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s latest is…

Blu DeTiger: Funk-Pop Pioneer

October 23, 2024 · Ward Meeker

When she was seven years old, sibling rivalry spurred Blu DeTiger to get a bass so she could play along…

Elliot Easton

Different Directions

January 9, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Lefty guitarist Elliot Easton has chosen a different route for his most recent musical venture, but its sonic direction should…

Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355

June 8, 2024 · Teisco Del Rey

Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though…

Otis Taylor

March 30, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Otis Taylor has no concern for your discomfort with racial issues. It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times, and…

Reverend Descent H90 Baritone

Deep Twang

July 13, 2016 · Pete Prown

Electric baritones have increased in popularity for the last 20 years. Filling the gap between standard-tuned electric guitar and bass,…

Tedeschi Trucks Band feat. Trey Anastasio

Layla Revisited

May 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

A live recording of Derek & the Dominos’ masterpiece? Featuring Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi – plus Doyle Bramhall, II…

Richie Kotzen

Solo and Salty

April 19, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Richie Kotzen was one of those kids – always entertaining the family with song and dance, usually in a crazy…

Emma Electronic DiscumBOBulator V.2 & Big Joe Powerbox Lithium

Envelope Pushed

July 23, 2019 · Pete Prown

Scandinavia may not be the first corner of the globe that comes to mind when one ponders classic funk tones.…