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The story of the Martin F-50
Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric guitar market. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season from…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Timm Kummer
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a legendary figure in the world of collectible guitars with a…
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Reeves Gabrels’ Newest Reverend Spacehawk
For his gig with The Cure, Reeves Gabrels needed a guitar that could cover a lot of sonic territory. The folks at Reverend helped him create the Spacehawk; the latest…
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Joe Satriani
The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Vinnie Moore
Between Then and Now
Vinnie Moore emerged in the 1980s as one of the decade’s premier rock guitarists, earning recognition for his extraordinary technique…
Tony Iommi
Heaven and Hell: This Mob Still Rules!
Toni Iommi photo: Rick Gould. There is an undeniable power generated when certain musicians join forces. That is most definitely…
Martin Turner
Low-End Unorthodoxy
When he transitioned from playing guitar, former Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner kept a pick in his right hand and…
Gary Duncan
Millennium Mercury Man
One of the more respected musical aggregations to emerge from the fabled San Francisco “psychedelic music” era in the late…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Molly Miller – top-flight instrumental rock, jazz, and twang
Trio rips on “2 West” Instrumental guitar music is having a moment. Offering a stellar example, Molly Miller and her…
Prototypes and Pathfinders
Five Amps That Set the Tone – Or Hoped To
Groundbreaking and undeniably collectible guitar amplifiers have made frequent appearances in this space over the years, but so have prototypes,…
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams: Funky Syncopation
Fine pickin’ on “The Way You Make Me Feel” Husband-and-wife team Martin D-18, while Teresa comps on an Emmylou Harris…
Dallas Shaftesbury 30
We mine the rich seam of obscure vintage American tube amps on a regular basis here in the pages of…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
ToneVille Amplifiers Broadway
Red-Carpet Ready
ToneVille Amplifiers Broadway Price: $2,295 Contact: www.tonevilleamps.com What is it that drives boutique amp builders to expend gallons of skull…
Carvin PB4
Classic Looks, Modern Function
Carvin PB4 Price: $1,899 (list/base); $869 (street/base) Info: www.carvinguitars.com. Trends come and trends go, but tradition stands the test of…
Rocky Mountain Slides Company Firecracker Aluminum Slides
Slick Slide
Rocky Mountain Slides Company’s new “Firecracker Aluminum Slides” may look like other guitar slides but it is internally flared in…
SynapticGroove Snapperhead OD/Distortion
Dirty Deeds
With their first offering, Benjamin Harrison and Chrystal Gilles of SynapticGroove set out to fill the gap between heavy effects…
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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 in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
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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…
