Ace Frehley

10,000 Volts

January 9, 2025 · Bret Adams

Kiss’ original guitarist didn’t appear at the band’s final concert, crushing the rock-and-roll dreams of diehard fans. But, his latest…

Jane Getter

Jazz-Rock Premonitions

March 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Jane Getter’s Anomalia is a mostly instrumental album that traverses the hypnotic seas of jazz-rock, with lyrics. A fusion of…

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Billy Duffy

Weapon: Chosen

January 14, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Billy Duffy has long been a different sort of bloke. As his peers in rock bands of the mid ’80s…

Michael Lee Firkins

Meditations in Southern Rock

April 2, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box…

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators

4

December 7, 2022 · Bret Adams

Slash is among the last of the old-school guitar heroes; there’s a line from ’60s and ’70s gods straight to…

Exquisite fingerstyle from Will Ackerman

August 11, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Trademark Melodies from an Icon Will Ackerman and his Steve Klein guitar show us a piece of the lovely “I…

  • 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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ARTISTS

Fretprints: Mick Ralphs

Delivering in Bad Company

April 29, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Unabashedly British and irresistibly swaggering, Bad Company personified ’70s arena rock. Detractors denounced them as machismo, but fans have bought…

Sunny War

Art & War

May 4, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Sunny War’s latest album, Simple Syrup, digs deep into the complexities of the human experience. As an acoustic fingerstylist who…

Pop ’N Hiss: Wishbone Ash’s Argus

Twin-Lead Loadstone

July 6, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

Founded in 1969, Wishbone Ash attained fast fame in the U.K. with its meshing of intricate twin-lead-guitar passages and harmony…

Nancy Wilson

Fire in the Heart

December 8, 2014 · Will Kelly

In the early ’70s, women didn’t play rock guitar. Nor did they front bands. Nancy Wilson was an exception. Few…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Trainwreck Express “Nancy”

April 3, 2020 · Dave Hunter

World’s most desirable amplifier? Aside from any “standard” vintage amps that have been elevated through their associations with major artists,…

A Master’s Pallet

George Fullerton’s Fender Jazzmaster

A Master's Pallet

March 20, 2015 · George Gruhn

This Jazzmaster is an interesting example of what went on behind the scenes at the Fender factory with the research…

George Ducas: Modern Honky-Tonkin’

September 3, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Taste of “Long Way From Home” Singer/songwriter George Ducas is a Nashville traditionalist influenced by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and…

Five Classic Amps

Five Classic Amps

A Tone-Spotter’s Arsenal To Cover It All

March 31, 2016 · Dave Hunter

When it comes to classic guitar tones – whether it’s blues through a Dumble, country through a Fender, rock through…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

TTS Music BMT Overdrive

TTS Music BMT Overdrive

Fine-Tune Your Crunch

June 8, 2015 · Pete Prown

TTS Music BMT Overdrive Price: $175 Info: www.ttspickups.com. No, the “BMT” in the name of TTS Music’s overdrive pedal does…

Alday B-Blender

Alday B-Blender

One For The Masses

September 13, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Taylor 814ce Price: $129.95 (list) Info: www.b-blender.com Why aren’t we guitarists ever happy to have our guitars sound like guitars?…

BluGuitar Amp1

Tiny Tube Terror

July 10, 2019 · Pete Prown

The trend toward the miniaturization of guitar gear shows no signs of slowing. Thanks to modern technology, guitarists are fitting…

Electro-Harmonix Pico Canyon, Rerun

Spacious Sounds, Less Space

November 26, 2024 · Bob Dragich

Electro-Harmonix’s Pico pedals are designed for players running out of space on their pedalboards. Each occupies just 71/3 square inches…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

The Supro Delta King 10

Down To The Crossroads

April 29, 2022 · Bob Dragich

With the increasing popularity of compact, low-wattage combo amps has come an overwhelming variety of choices. Supro has entered the…

Wolf Strat

A Legend’s Guitar, Discovered

December 28, 2017 · Pete Prown

After possessing it for several years, curiosity finally got the best of the owner of this 1963 Stratocaster. He had…

Steve Kimock flashes back to Zero

December 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Amazing improv on “End of World Blues” We review the reissued 1992 album “Naught Again” by Zero, a band that…

The Collings I-35 LC Vintage

Semi-Struck

June 3, 2022 · Pete Prown

The semi-hollow ES shape remains one of the most alluring electric designs in history. The folks at Collings know this…

Billy Mure

Supersonic Guitarist Remembered

February 29, 2016 · Dan Forte

Guitar great Billy Mure (born November 4, 1915) passed away September 25, at the age of 97. He last performed…

PRS S2 Custom 24-08

Plentiful Tones

May 3, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

As the youngest of the big three guitar manufacturers, PRS Guitars has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception…

Jim McCarty

Detroit Rock Royalty

October 4, 2023 · Dan Forte

Playing Detroit in 2013, Joe Bonamassa had a special treat in store for the crowd. “The best, most badass guitar…

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…

Roland Cube Lite

Roland Cube Lite

High-Calorie Tone

January 18, 2016 · Phil Feser

Roland Cube Lite Price: $169 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. At just under four pounds, and with a 10″ x 6″ footprint,…

Check This Action: The Salad Days of British Blues

October 29, 2024 · Dan Forte

What springs to mind when you hear the term “British blues movement”? Is it covers of Slim Harpo, Muddy Waters,…

Producer Dave Cobb Draws Artists of All Ilks

Music-City tune Charmer

December 7, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Grandson of a Pentecostal minister, as a kid, Dave Cobb attended church every day, weaving old-time hymnal music into his…

Andy Summers

Creating Light From Dark

April 23, 2019 · Greg Prato

For Andy Summers, it would be easy to compose Police-like music – reggae rhythms, clean/chorus guitar tones, etc. But fans…

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Eliot Lewis

Growing Up With Legends

May 7, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Eliot Lewis was just 10 years old when he started rubbing elbows with legendary performers, thanks to a friend’s father…

Michael Sweet

Frontman, Shredder

December 3, 2013 · Oscar Jordan

The yellow-and-black attack of the Christian-metal band Stryper has returned. The band’s new album, Second Coming, helps mark 30 years…

Anne McCue

Comes Into Her Own

July 13, 2020 · Dan Forte

As impressive as 2004’s Roll was, the eclectic Koala Motel (on Messenger Records) represents a major step up in Anne…

The Vox AC30C2X and AC15C1

Brit-Rock Mojo in a Box

August 20, 2013 · Pete Prown

Fully appointed in classic Vox dress, the famed British amp maker’s new AC30C2X and AC15C1 both sport enough of that…

Punk-Rock Pioneer Ivan Julian

July 17, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

NYC Luminary Goes Avant-Garde! Ivan Julian does an experimental take on “Misty” before going into the solo from “Love Is…

Fralin’s Wide-Range Humbucker

July 22, 2019 · Pete Prown

Gibson and Fender have a long history of influencing each other’s designs. When hard rock and warm, jazzier textures were…

Delta Labs Concept 1

Delta Labs Concept 1

January 19, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: Two 6U8A, two 12FQ7, in addition to more-common types Output tubes: eight 33JV6 horizontal-output tubes Rectifier: solidstate Controls:…

Keith Richards’ 1977 Mesa/Boogie Mark I

Still Rollin’

November 30, 2023 · Dave Hunter

As ubiquitous as the little 1×12″ Mesa/Boogie Mark Series combo has become over the past 48 years – and as…

The Gretsch 6120 Tenor

December 2, 2014 · George Gruhn

This 1958 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 four-string tenor guitar is a very rare variation of the model. Gretsch built other…

Q&A With George Gruhn: A Strong Case

And When to Get an Appraisal

March 3, 2022 · George Gruhn

Some of my vintage guitar cases are very worn. One Martin case from the ’40s is missing a latch and…

Schertler Giulia X

The Little Things

September 11, 2023 · Charlie Wilkins

In the mid ’80s, Swiss multi-instrumentalist Stephan Schertler decided to follow his passion for electronics and created the Schertler brand…

Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp

Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank

September 20, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for…

Mike Baggetta Brings the Morricone Sauce!

March 10, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

New Album Explores Styles with Keltner, Watt Check out Mike Baggetta and his Iris AB (serial number 46) playing the…

Jeff Senn and Crazy Aces

Dealing Out Twang

June 6, 2014 · Michael Dregni

When you build guitars for a living, you might unwind with another hobby – say, beer-can collecting or crochet. Not…

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Lyon and Healy

April 8, 2016 · R.J. Klimpert

So what is it? Its original black-finished spruce top is simply ladder-braced from within, but its back and sides feature…

Epiphone by Gibson Firebird 500

Race on

January 6, 2023 · Michael Wright

Gibson will forever be celebrated for its heritage of innovation, including guitars that didn’t look like the common perception of…

Best In Tone

The Marshall DSL40CR

November 10, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

In the minds of guitarists, the Marshall name verges on mythic – from Bluesbreakers to plexis, they hold a special…