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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…

Jimmy Bryant
Country-Jazz Virtuoso
When Leo Fender strode into a cowboy bar on the outskirts of Hollywood one day in 1950, he had no…

Benson Set to Host Breezin’ With The Stars Retreat
In the December ’24 issue of Vintage Guitar, the legendary George Benson discusses his new album, the forthcoming sale of…

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…

Fretprints: Wes Montgomery
Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
Wes Montgomery is an iconic guitarist – a titan in the jazz genre. Boasting a style as unique and inimitable…

Cable Porter
Much of a musician’s setup time is relegated to detangling cable thought to be wrapped pristinely at the previous gig.…

To The Limit
The Effectrode LA-1A Leveling Amplifier
In the world of guitar effects, there are consumer-grade pedals and pro-grade pedals. The former are affordable and fun, the…
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…
ARTISTS

Dan Wilson’s celebration of jazz legends
Homage with Superb Musicality On his latest album, “Things Eternal,” jazz wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs…

J.D. Simo
Playing for Elvis
Psych-blues guitar maestro J.D. Simo was the wizard behind the guitar work heard on Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann film…

Buddy Whittington
Guitar-Lover’s Smorgasbord
Though his status as a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers has changed since VG last talked to him, guitarist Buddy…
Justin Hayward
Prolificity and Perceptions
In addition to touring and recording with the legendary English band, Moody Blues lead guitarist/vocalist Hayward released his most recent…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Blues guitarist Charlie Apicella’s “Booze and Blues” and “Just Like a Woman”
Honoring B.B., Rainey Being V.P. of the North Jersey Blues Society isn’t the only thing that separates Charlie Apicella from…

Simon Adahl’s 1958 Höfner 162
Missing Link
He may not be part of anthropological history like Dutch paleontologist Eugene Dubois, but Simon Adahl did have to dig…

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib
If you hung around the audio world’s collective R&D room long enough in the late 1950s and early ’60s, you’d…

The Dallas Rangemaster
Eric Clapton christened it “woman tone.” On the famed 1966 “Beano” album, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, the…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

James Trussart SteelCaster
Rust Never Sleeps
James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully…

The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic
Heart Pounder
Sometimes, it takes awhile to dial-in a good idea. The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic improves on Gibson’s Nighthawk design from…

Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone 2
See The Light
Optical compressors are known for making guitars sound smooth and musical – a truth well-captured in the latest Pigtronix offering,…

Schertler’s Magnetico AG6
Direct Results
For performers, the struggle to amplify acoustic guitars properly never goes away. But as Schertler shows, things are getting better.…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

Axe-Calibur Guitar Stand
While guitar stands are a dime a dozen, few bring a sense of style nice enough for the living room.…

Collings CJ-45 T
Golden Child
Every now and then, you pick up a guitar and realize you’re holding magic in your hands. Welcome to the…

Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget
Things Just Got Serious
Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget Price:$799 (list) Contact: www.crucialaudio.com It’s hard not to be impressed by the physical presence of the Crucial…

Seth Lee Jones
Pedal Pusher
Thanks to giants like Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Sonny Landreth, we’re living in a golden age of bottleneck guitar,…









































