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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…

The Alligator Christmas Collection
Various artists
First released in 1992, this cornucopia of blues is now on red vinyl, celebrating the spirit of the season. The…

Mr. Smith goes to Rudy’s
“Upstairs” at a famed NYC guitar boutique
Nashville has Music Row and London has Soho, but if your heart starts palpitating at the mere mention of carved…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 017 Featuring Kenny Vaughn
In the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks to session ace and all-star backing…

Grace Bowers
Truth of Youth
The word “prodigy” is overused in the music biz, but Grace Bowers is a real-deal young funkster. Just 18 years…

Heritage Guitars’ H-157W
Turnkey Head-Turner
In 1985, Heritage Guitars took over a certain factory space at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former…

Freddie King
Getting Ready/Texas Cannonball/Woman Across the River
A three-in-one reissue, this Freddie King package encompasses the LPs he recorded for Leon Russell’s Shelter label from 1971 to…
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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

John Oates
Rhythm-Minded
From 1975 through ’85, John Oates and Daryl Hall created a trove of era-defining R&B-influenced pop/rock hits on the way…

Mike Campbell
New Band, New Times
Being a true rock star, Mike Campbell was never a morning guy. While living his best life amidst a pandemic,…

Remembering B.B. King
Ed. Note: Everyone associated with Vintage Guitar magazine is saddened to learn of the passing of B.B. King. In 1995, Mr. King…

Charlie Ballantine
Midwest Expressive
Befitting a guitarist from America’s heartland, Charlie Ballantine’s mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Name that Twang
The Guild-Duane Eddy Connection
The fledgling Guild company scored a coup when it signed Johnny Smith to an endorsement deal in 1956. Perched atop…

National Westwood
Whether Valco – the company that made National guitars in the 1950s and ’60s – was actually inspired by U.S.…

Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1 Basses
Horizontal Vibe
Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 take their design inspiration from Ampeg’s quirky mid-’60s Horizontal Bass series, the brainchild of Dennis…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Adding Master Volume to a Les Paul
Plus One
My friend Alex Aguilar recently asked me to do something most guitarists would consider sacrilegious – add a Master Volume…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Guild Aristocrat HH
High Roller
Since its arrival in 1954, the chambered Guild Aristocrat and it’s later solid cousin, the Bluesbird, have offered an alternative…

DiPinto Mach IV
Garage Days
There are times when a traditional Strat or Tele won’t scratch a particular itch, and you need a retro plank…

D’Angelico Excel EXL-1
Laudable Likeness
Few vintage guitars are as vaunted as John D’Angelico’s original handcrafted Excel archtops. Building a new – and affordable –…

Gretsch G5191BK Tim Armstrong Electromatic
Cool Player, Punk Heart
Few punk-rock guitarists have made their mark like Tim Armstrong. Through his work with renowned punkers Rancid, Armstrong has torn…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Becos FX TS8-JZ Ziffer Overdrive
Dirty Deeds
Based on the highly revered Maxon/Ibanez 808 circuit and co-designed with guitarist Jordan Ziff (Ratt, Marty Friedman, Hot Crazy), the…

Claudia Thompson with Barney Kessel
Goodbye To Love
In 1956, Julie London’s “Cry Me A River” was the unlikeliest of hits, yet her breathy reading of a minor-key…

Danny Kortchmar
Family Reunion
Fifty years ago, singer/songwriters like James Taylor, Carole King, and Jackson Browne were busy conquering the rock charts; behind them,…

My Years With UFO
Michael Schenker
One of the most-underrated rock guitarists in history, it’s about time homage was paid to the master of the Flying…












































