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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…
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Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
The Life and Times of Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan and his battered 1953 Telecaster guitar got inside your head and grabbed you in the gut. He…
Ronnie Lane
His Life & Music on DVD
Lane playing a Zemaitis bass. Photographer unknown; courtesy John Hellier Collection. The quote that opens
Ellen Harper
Music is the Family Business
“Ben likes to joke that this album had a lifetime of pre-production,” Ellen Harper says of Childhood Home, her collaboration…
Bumblefoot
Prog Shred Ain’t Dead
After bursting onto the scene in 1995 with the screwball shred classic The Adventures of Bumblefoot, Ron Thal (a.k.a. Bumblefoot)…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Marcus King
Swamp Guide
Marcus King is a guitar slingin’ powerhouse barnstormer. Unlike most contemporary pop music – heavy on production, low on everything…
The Gibson ES-5
Instrument Profile
Gibson, like all American guitarmakers, had to shut down electric guitar production for three years during World War II. But…
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 8
Late ’65: Transistors, Troubles, and Takeover!
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
The First Days of Fender Acoustics
One day in early June, 1963, I was sitting in the outer office of a deserted (maybe deserted isn’t the…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
B&G Little Sister Private Build
Doncha Go And Do…
B&G Guitars just about do it all – from mixing their own nitro finishes to winding pickups and even casting…
TonePros System II
Happenin' Hardware
If you have a Les Paul or any guitar with a separate tune-o-matic-style bridge and stop tailpiece, you’ve probably discovered…
Newman Guitars 5 String
Less Is More
Getting one’s hands on a five-string electric like the one Ted Newman Jones built for Keith Richards in the ’70s…
Carl Martin Vintage Series Pedals
More Effect, Less Coin
If you’re the type of hardcore gear geek who spends as much time evaluating guitarists based on what’s in their…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…
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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 of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Freeman Arthur
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.8 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Freeman Arthur, who is known worldwide for boosting the profile and appeal of the pedal-steel guitar. He is an active session musician and has performed/recorded with artists across diverse genres. Subscribe to our “Overdrive” newsletter for the latest…
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with…
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The Wildhearts
In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses, Cheap Trick, and The Replacements. Hard rock, power pop, and punk still make up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds…
