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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…

Crazy Tube Circuit White Whale V2
Twin Tones
Introduced in 2017, Christos Ntaifotis’ original White Whale tremolo/reverb became one of his company’s best sellers. Its success, however, didn’t…

Steve Winwood
Voice of a Guitar Great
It would seem contradictory to describe someone as both underrated and a virtuoso, but such is the case with Steve…

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25
Stage, Studio, Etc.
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 Price: $1,299 (list) Contact: www.mesaboogie.com Housed in teensy cabinets, so-called “lunchbox” amps are all the rage,…

Crucial Audio WahVelope
Tube Funk
Crucial Audio makes high-end tube pedals and studio gear at its shop in southern Delaware. Its latest, the WahVelope, is…

The Valley Arts Custom Pro Bass
Keeping the Arts Alive
In 1969, when a North Hollywood guitar teacher named Duke Miller teamed up to start a music store with students…

Whooooo Wal You?
John Entwistle’s fretless ’78 Wal
Wal began building electric basses in the early 1970s as a collaboration between Englishmen Pete Stevens and Ian Waller. Their…
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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

Larry Collins
1944-2024
Larry Collins, a guitar prodigy mentored by renowned flatpicker Joe Maphis, and half of the ’50s brother/sister act The Collins…

Darryl Jones
Stones’ Side Man, Ron Wood Fan
“Unofficial” Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones, who replaced Bill Wyman in 1994, readily admits that playing with the carousing rockers…

Yasmin Williams
Fearless Imagination
On her latest album, Urban Driftwood, Yasmin Williams’ wanderlust expands beyond the acoustic polyphony her fans know well. The songs…

Gary Rossington
1951-2023
As a boy, Gary Rossington would grab a broom and mime in front of a mirror whenever an Elvis Presley…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Renaissance T-200G
What is it about Plexiglas? It’s so cool. You can see through it onstage. It’s dense, yet resonant. You’d think…
Gibson GA-80T Vari-Tone
In the late ’50s and early ’60s, Gibson was apparently convinced the Vari-Tone switch was the way of the future,…
EKO 995
The Beatles’ appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February of 1964 is often referred to as the most important…

Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines
Archtop Elite
The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Amptweaker’s TightDrive Jr
Big Surprise, Small Package
You may remember James Brown as the mastermind at Peavey Electronics and Kustom Amplification. In addition to being the brains…

Roland’s Blues Cube Artist
Roland’s Blues Cube Artist Price: $1,169 (list)/$899 (street) Contact: www.rolandus.com Roland has reinvented and relaunched its Blues Cube combos with…

Reverend Billy Corgan
Smashing Sounds
Reverend’s new twist on its Billy Corgan Signature guitar updates several features but remains a stylish retro-meets-modern solidbody. The most…

Interstellar Audio Machines Octonaut Hyperdrive
Next-Level Drive
Interstellar Audio Machines advertised its original Octonaut Hyperdrive as, “The only overdrive you’ll ever need.” Well… The new version offers…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

The Murph 12-String
Tugging At Your Heartstrings
Here’s a story that has “Hollywood blockbuster” written all over it. It’s got so many cinematic staples, you can almost…
Paul Quinn
Relentless Persistence
For Paul Quinn, music begins and ends with the blues. The soft-spoken guitarist began playing by listening to British blues…
Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX
Saddle Up!
Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX Price: $175 (Raw Hide); $230 (Hard Core XXX) Info: www.metalpedals.com. For many discerning…

Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp
Since the instrument was introduced, those who play the electric guitar have modified it to create new sounds and interesting…








































