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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…
Tom Feldmann
“And the Oscar goes to…” If they gave out Academy Awards for the best guitar instructional film, Tom Feldmann’s latest…
Magnatone X-5 Zephyr
Last Gasp
Ever since Lonnie Mack unleashed The Wham of That Memphis Man and Buddy Holly sang “Peggy Sue,” Magnatone amplifiers have…
PRS Swamp Ash Special
Narrow(field) Win
The bolt-on Swamp Ash Special has been around for nearly three decades, but PRS just retooled the U.S.-built version and…
Fender ’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb
Small Wonder
Fender’s ’68 Custom amp series has become popular among pickers who love old-school looks and sounds but prefer contemporary modifications…
Boss MT-2 3A Metal Zone
Captain Crunch
Over the years, the Boss Metal Zone has often been lampooned for its ferocious personality. But if you plug one…
Ram Tuli Crunches Numbers for The Guide
Strats and Data
Combine a knack for numbers with a love of old guitars and you get… well, you might get any of…
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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
Nicolas Meier
Jeff Beck Sideman Steps Out
If you’ve been to a Jeff Beck concert in the past few years, you may have said to yourself, “Who’s…
Ruyter Suys
Loud and Proud
Nashville Pussy is fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Blaine Cartwright and Ruyter Suys. Its new album, Up The Dosage,…
Kansas’ Leftoverture
Iconic American Prog
Progressive rock emerged from the British psychedelic scene in the late ’60s with bands like the Nice, Procol Harum, Moody…
Tomas Janzon swings on “Ascending”
Silky-Smooth on a vintage hollowbody Hip as all get-out, Tomas Janzon plays some of the silkiest jazz you’ll hear this…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Custom-Order Gibson B-45-12
The term “rare” is applied to guitars in far too many instances. Usually an appealing term, its overuse can be…
Rickenbacker 4005
California’s Rickenbacker guitar company has a tradition of things a bit differently. One of the earliest electric guitars was their…
VG Q&A: Fret Differential
And Examining Two Budget Archtops
Can someone please explain the differences between playing an instrument with jumbo frets versus one with smaller/shorter frets? – John Mackey…
Mark Erlewine’s 40 Years with Willie Nelson’s Trigger
Wooden Wonder
For a decade, Willie Nelson chased fame as a performer in the Nashville mold of the ’60s – hair coifed,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Charis Acoustic SJ
Spirit in the Wood
Charis Acoustic SJ Price: $4,800 (base); $7,100 (as reviewed) Info: www.charisacoustic.com. The spiritual aspects of music perhaps originate with the…
Tech 21 Fly Rig 5
Tone To Carry-On
Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 Price: $249 (list) Contact: www.tech21nyc.com Long before the Line6 POD, the Box of Rock, or…
Harden Muddy Waters
Mojo Working
Harden Engineering is a small Chicago shop that specializes in hand-made instruments in a variety of shapes and sizes and…
Daredevil Pedals Atomic Cock
Green Monster
Daredevil Pedals’ Atomic Cock Price: $150 (list) Info: www.daredevilpedals.com. Despite the many clever take-aways one could derive from its name,…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Xotic Effects RC Booster Reissue
Return of A Legend
Twenty years ago, Xotic Effects unleashed its iconic RC Booster. With variable Gain, EQ, and Volume controls, it was a…
Midge Ure
The Unexpected Retrospective
While guitarist Midge Ure was a member of Visage and was briefly in an early version of Thin Lizzy, he’s…
Greg Douglass and the Accomplices
For years, Greg Douglass was San Francisco’s best-kept guitar secret. At the dawn of psychedelia, his band, Country Weather, made…
Have Guitar Will Travel – 044 Featuring Ricky Byrd
The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd. The New York…
