-
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…
-
Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
NOW AVAILABLE!
CURRENT ISSUE
Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!
NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Alan Lancaster
Alan Lancaster, co-founder and longtime bassist in Status Quo, died September 26. He was 72 and had been living with…
Alex Lifeson
Three at 30
The legendary Canadian rock trio Rush certainly knows how to market a birthday celebration for its fans. The deluxe version…
Have Guitar Will Travel 078 – Matt Stell, Ian Flanigan, and Erin Kinsey
Ep 78 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” is a three-fer with host James Patrick Regan interviewing Matt Stell, Ian Flanigan,…
John Pizzarelli Swings On A Vintage D’angelico
Jazz Ace on an Heirloom Guitar For this exclusive rendition of “Just In Time,” swing ace John Pizzarelli grabbed the…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Travis Bean Interview
Metal Machine Music – The Next Phase
“Bean is Back!” proclaimed the signs at a recent California guitar show. Indeed, Travis Bean, builder of the short-lived-but-legendary ’70s…
Benson Model 300H
Wrecking Ball
Even with all the excellent guitar amps available by the late ’60s, nothing was quite good enough for jazz and…
Martin F-9 Archtop
While the Martin Guitar Company is today best known for its flat-top steel-string guitars, from 1931 through 1942 the company…
Hofner 185
Have you heard the line, “If Hendrix had a Magnatone, Strats would be worth $200 now?” A highly debatable proposition,…
APPROVED GEAR
-
Lively Drives
-
Posh Squash
-
Chet Powered!
Garage Guru
The Epiphone Crestwood
The original Epiphone Crestwood was built at Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory, alongside Les Pauls and other ’50s classics. A double-cut solid-body,…
Demeter Fat Conrol, Compulator, and Reverb
Trio
Every once in a while, someone who has “genius” written all over him hits the music scene. In James Demeter’s…
Allen Amplification Accomplice Jr.
Raw and Ready
Allen Amplification Accomplice Jr. First impressions of Allen Amplification’s new Accomplice Jr. begin to form even before you open the…
EarthQuaker Devices’ Erupter
Bring The Fuzz
EarthQuaker Devices is one of the most admired pedal builders today, thanks to their original designs that feature tweakable controls…
-
Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
