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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…
Good Times In Bad
The Origin of Fender’s Vintage Series
The years leading up to CBS Musical Instruments’ 1985 sale of the Fender brand were fluid times at the instrument…
Washburn’s Warren Haynes Signature Acoustic
New “Pre-War” Picker
Washburn’s Warren Haynes Signature Acoustic Price: $1,899 (Dream Solo 1 combo); $3,995 (Dream Solo 4 head); $699 (Switchback 112) Info:…
The Return of Slash and The Conspirators
4 From the Floor
In the weeks before they gathered to record a new album in the spring of 2021, guitar legend Slash, frontman/songwriter…
Have Guitar Will Travel – Featuring 006 BottleRock Music Festival Pt. 3
One last show from BottleRock ’18, with guests including Chris Vos (Record Company), Austin Burns (Dani Bell and the Tarantist),…
Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time…
The Metallica Blacklist Album
Various artists
Conquering the charts 30 years ago with their “black album,” Metallica has become the global ambassador for heavy metal –…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
Arliss McMinn and the California Playboys
The "Fenderized" Teens
“What started in California?” you ask. The list includes a broad range of inventions, fads, pop culture, and social movements.…
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers Change Gears
It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says…
Jimmy Olander’s D-Bender Baritone
Big-string licks galore! In the mood to play a bit, December cover guy Jimmy Olander grabbed a guitar he…
John Notto
Dirty Deeds
The “Is rock dead?” debate rears its head every few years. But with the emergence of new bands like Dirty…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Premier Twin 12
Sometimes it takes just the slightest aesthetic twist to get an amp nut all worked up. This 1960 Premier Twin…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Mending Chuck Panozzo’s 1960 ES-125
Thinline Revival
Like you, I got a kick out of the February “Classics” feature on Chuck Panozzo being reunited with his Gibson…
The Collings SoCo Deluxe
Whether you’re a fan of the flat-top or simply appreciate a good archtop, chances are you’re familiar with Collings Guitars.…
Gretsch Rancher
“A spectacular model in real he-man outdoor Western finish with powerful appeal for Hill-billy and Cowboy bands.” This is how…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…
Full Dozen, Semi-Hollow
12 Variations on a Classic Design
To complement our February 2016 issue survey of the semi-hollow electric guitar, we tested 12 examples of the form as…
Fender American Professional Jazzmaster
Return Of The Rebel
From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you…
Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone 2
See The Light
Optical compressors are known for making guitars sound smooth and musical – a truth well-captured in the latest Pigtronix offering,…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Khalif Wailin’ Walter
Phoenix Risin’
Spawned on the mean streets of Chicago but making his home in Essen, Germany, blues man Khalif Wailin’ Walter has…
Hall of Fame – Instruments
From 1990 to the present — read about each Readers' Choice Awards Instruments.
Selwyn Birchwood
Living In a Burning House
Selwyn Birchwood’s third album for Chicago-based Alligator Records represents new creative frontiers for the 36-year-old Florida native. The robust use…
Dale Watson
Keep On Truckin’
The seeds of the latest album from Dale Watson were sown in 1998, when he released The Truckin’ Sessions .…
