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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…

Wendy Melvoin
Beyond Controversy
As a guitarist backing Prince on the world-dominant Purple Rain along with Parade and Around The World In A Day,…

Harvey Valdes does Bach – Electrified!
Artist Plugs in to Tackle Work of a Master Harvey Valdes shows us how he does J.S. Bach’s “BMV 999…
Neil Young
In more ways than one, Journey Through The Past – the title of Neil Young’s 1972 directorial film debut –…

Jane Getter
Jazz-Rock Premonitions
Jane Getter’s Anomalia is a mostly instrumental album that traverses the hypnotic seas of jazz-rock, with lyrics. A fusion of…

1937 Martin 0-21
Martin is known for its orderly model-naming system, under which all guitars of a certain style from any particular year…
Robben Ford
The Space Between the Notes
When it comes to blues, Robben Ford has always been inspired by the most profound practitioners of the form and…
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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,…
ARTISTS

Mick Box
Deep Heep
It’s hard to believe, but there is only one member still with us from the classic early-’70s Uriah Heep lineup…
Greg Howe
Return to Rock with Maragold
Greg Howe continues to evolve, pushing his artistry into fresh territory. One of the most successful artists on Shrapnel Records,…

Wata
Mega-Decibel Fuzz
Anyone who digs fuzzed-out hard rock with amps pushed to their limit should add Boris to their play list. Hailing…

Lance Lopez
Hard-Time Music
Several years after being liberated from Supersonic Blues Machine, Lance Lopez is back and better than ever. Wielding hard lessons…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Sammick Viper
Some guitars hit the market at the perfect time to becom e classics – think Les Paul and Stratocaster. Some…

Kay Jazz Special and Value Leader
Kay entered the electric bass market in the mid 1950s with the K162, which later morphed into the similar K5965…

The “Okie Dokie Stomp” Esquire
Gate’s Swing
As a high-school student and emerging guitarist in Houston in the early ’60s, John Andrews couldn’t get a club gig…

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…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.
Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using…

So-Cal Steel
Asher Guitars & Lap Steels Ben Harper Signature Model
If Nashville is the pedal-steel capital, surely Southern California is a lap steel hotspot. David Lindley and Ben Harper, along…

Carvin’s HH2 Allan Holdsworth
Off With Their Heads
Headless guitars and basses, which had their heyday back in the big-hair/thin-necktie ’80s (think Power Windows-era Geddy Lee), still have…

The Walrus Audio ACS1
Simple Simulation
From worship services and home-recording where volume is an issue to fly-in shows where a full rig is impossible, amp…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

ToneTron Billy-Rocker 10
Small Is Beautiful
Small amps are big. As venues become increasingly intimate and amplifiers are miked through sound systems rather than muscling-up to…

Brad Paisley
Keep Pushing Play
Ten years into what has become a stellar career, when Brad Paisley hits your town to play a show these…

25 Most Valuable Basses
Vintage Guitar is marking 25 years of publication with a year full of features. This month, using data compiled for…

Nick Perri
Constant Creator
The elements of life that mold a person are constant and ever-evolving. Influence is all about perspective. Philadelphia-born Nick Perri…














































