Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought

Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought?

February 18, 2016 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Gibson was a late entry into the flat-top guitar market, offering its first model in 1926, but Gibson was a…

Peekamoose Model 3

Modern Retro

August 9, 2016 · Pete Prown

There’s no shortage of cool, retro-looking solidbodies on the market today, from the big guys as well as the increasing…

MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit

MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit

Do It Yerself

February 28, 2016 · Ray Wuolo

MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit Price: $265 (list) Contact: www.modkitsdiy.com A good friend jokingly remarked that building tube amps…

Les Paul

Birth of a Guitar Icon

February 27, 2004 · Gil Hembree

Fifty years ago, Gibson’s new Les Paul Model was quickly becoming one of the company’s most popular guitars, and (though…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part 3: The 1960s

April 5, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Fretted-instrument advertising in the 20th century relied heavily on “glamor” or “cheesecake.” Electric instruments and accessories, in particular, are still…

Kenny Brown

Mississippi Slide

July 22, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The Black Keys’ latest album, Delta Kream, is a collection of blues standards from the Mississippi Hill Country. Drummer Patrick…

  • 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

John Wetton

Back In Asia

July 13, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Bassist/vocalist John Wetton has exhibited his solid chops and plaintive baritone voice through the decades in King Crimson, Asia, and…

Dave Stryker

Dave Stryker

Fits To a T

July 5, 2016 · John Heidt

The latest project from jazz guitarist Dave Stryker, Messin’ With Mister T, is a tribute to late saxophonist Stanley Turrentine,…

Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young on “The Mission”

Mars, Pluto… And Styx

April 26, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents…

Chris Cain

Tales to Tell

June 10, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Armed with a new deal with Alligator Records and producer Kid Andersen (of Rick Estrin & The Night Cats), Chris…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Guitars of Ernst Heinrich Roth

International Influence

December 21, 2023 · Cliff Hall

Now just a sleepy town in Germany, over the last 200 years, Markneukirchen has been home to countless luthiers ranging…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Adding Master Volume to a Les Paul

Plus One

November 16, 2023 · Dan Erlewine

My friend Alex Aguilar recently asked me to do something most guitarists would consider sacrilegious – add a Master Volume…

2021 Readers’ Choice Awards

May 24, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Each year, Vintage Guitar asks fans to select Readers’ Choice winners for Player of the Year in four categories, along…

Classics: January 2022

Sam Ash’s Early PRSs

September 1, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Sammy Ash first laid eyes on a PRS guitar in the early ’80s, after catching a glimpse of one in…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Keeley Electronics Seafoam Chorus

Keeley Electronics Seafoam Chorus

Side Effects

March 13, 2015 · Tom Guerra

Keeley Electronics Seafoam Chorus Price: $229 (list) Contact: www.robertkeeley.com In a world of proliferating effects pedals, discovering one that does…

The Budda Twinmaster

Return of a Boutique Legend

September 26, 2013 · Zac Childs

In the early days of boutique-amp building, there were but a few contenders on the scene. One of the strongest…

Eastwood Sidejack DLX 20th LTD

Horn Section

August 4, 2024 · Pete Prown

If you love twangy guitars from the ’60s, you know about Mosrites – the immortal slabs of The Ventures and…

Fender’s 70th Anniversary Esquire

One-Pickup Wonder

February 10, 2022 · Michael Dregni

In the past, Fender has paid homage to its history with precise replicas of certain classics. The company’s 70th Anniversary…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Check This Action: Up Jumped Elmore

January 14, 2026 · Dan Forte

When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never…

Henretta Engineering Pedals

Henretta Engineering Pedals

Good Things, Small Packages

September 7, 2014 · Michael Dregni

Henretta Engineering Pedals Prices: Green Zapper, Bluebird, and Purple Octopus, $125 each; Chord Blaster, $140 Info: www.henrettaengineering.com. Bigger is not…

Roger Glover

Time Machine

January 14, 2025 · Bret Adams

Deep Purple’s 1972 album, Machine Head, is one of rock’s totemic monsters, especially its best-known track, “Smoke on the Water,”…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robben Ford and Yellowjackets

Inside Story

March 11, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

In 1975, 24-year-old Robben Ford was making a name for himself on the Los Angeles music scene, where competition was…

Fishman Loudbox Mini

Little Big Man

August 10, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Fishman Loudbox Mini is just what its name says – a small amp that delivers the company’s renowned audio…

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

March 16, 2016 · Dave Hunter

If you hung around the audio world’s collective R&D room long enough in the late 1950s and early ’60s, you’d…

Remembering Jeff Beck

The Guitar Hero, Defined

December 4, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Jeff Beck, the guitarist who pushed the ’60s British Invasion band the Yardbirds from its electric-blues roots to a contemporary…

J.D. Simo

Mind Control

December 8, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The topic is psychedelic blues, and J.D. Simo is the man with the brown acid. Hypnotic wah, talking hollowbody guitars,…

Guild in the Post-Fender Era

Guild in the Post-Fender Era

Round and Round She Goes

March 4, 2016 · Jay Pilzer

Since its beginnings in 1952, Guild has gone through many changes in ownership, location, marketing approach, and design philosophy. In…

Taylor AD11e-SB

Small Gem

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

This latest addition to Taylor’s American Dream line builds on its Grand Theater (GT) series of small-body guitars, the goal…

Arv Garrison

Forgotten Hero of Bebop Guitar

May 8, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

American music history is fraught with tales of forgotten heroes. In the ’40s, jazz guitarists like Tiny Grimes, George Barnes,…

Pop ’N Hiss: Hawkwind’s Space Ritual

Primal Cosmic Rock

October 30, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Among the evolutionary tangents of London’s pop-music scene in the late ’60s were the original stylings of progressive rock, psychedelia,…

Jeff Waters

Canadian Thrash-Metal Veteran

March 28, 2019 · Greg Prato

Trends come and go, but Canadian rockers Annihilator always deliver crushing speed metal. Their newest release, Triple Threat, is aimed…

The Surfrajettes

On ’Board

March 10, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Surfrajettes delight their fans with the perfect wave of jangly guitars, kooky kitsch, and ’60s fashion. After several years…

Adrian Quesada

Boleros Psicodélicos

May 2, 2023 · Michael Dregni

Grammy-winning guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada and his band, Black Pumas, opened for the Stones on their last tour, providing a scintillating…

Ronnie Baker Brooks

February 27, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Second-generation bluesman Ronnie Baker Brooks’ first album in 10 years blends the soul of Chicago, hot guitar licks, and old-school…

Ty Tabor

On A Roll

December 26, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor is on a roll. Despite the band being on hiatus due to bassist Dug Pinnick’s…

Veillette-Citron Shark

December 19, 2025 · Michael Wright

It’s not often a guitar can be said to have been inspired by a TV show, but that is the…

ValveTrain 205

Five Watts, Just So

August 19, 2013 · Zac Childs

Rick Gessner is a tweed amp enthusiast who has more than made a splash since entering the fray in 2005.…

Guild F-512

Iconic ’70s 12-String

December 28, 2017 · George Gruhn

Today, players typically equate the 12-string acoustic with Taylor and Martin. For its part, though, Guild’s F-512 remains one of…

Classics – May 2021

January 25, 2022 · Ward Meeker

This 1940 ES-250 with serial number 96385 left the Gibson factory bound for retailer New York Band on October 25,…

Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E

Grand-Auditorium Cousins

April 26, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E Price: $1,100 (Sean Harkness Model); $1,350 (CG4070E-CERT) Info: www.waldenguitars.com. With 16 years of producing attractive,…

Steve Lukather

Sun Shine

January 26, 2022 · Bret Adams

Steve Lukather has been a busy professional guitarist for 45 of his 63 years, as a founding member of Toto,…

Fretprints: Ty Tabor

X Marks the Spot

June 14, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

The turbulent 1980s ended with a tsunami of bands seeking new sounds. Trends like classic-rock redux, blues/roots revivals, nu-metal, grunge,…

The Pettyjohn Crush Compressor

Big Squeeze

October 3, 2019 · Pete Prown

Compressors can be a real mystery to guitarists who don’t understand the concept. Recording engineers bandy about words like “hard-knee”…

Cliff Gallup

Crazy Fingers

April 22, 2019 · Michael Dregni

There was a custom at Owen Bradley Film & Recording Studios in Nashville; artists cut vocal tracks with backing from…

Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay

Double Echo

November 14, 2025 · Pete Prown

Based on the famed Roland SDE-3000 rack unit, Boss’ SDE-3 combines some classic delay sounds of the 1980s, updated with…

Rickenbacker Transonic Home Feature Image

Rickenbacker Transonic

March 24, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Rickenbacker Transonic TS100 Topology: Solid State Output: 100 watts RMS Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass controls and Hollow, Mellow and Pierce…

T-Rex Replicator

Daily Echo

May 30, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Among the arcana of tone, few things inspire as much devotion – even obsession – as echo. The Holy Grail…