• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

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Ron Bosse

Unison Groove

October 4, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

While Boston-based guitarist Ron Bosse was inspired to begin his six-string journey while listening to classic rock, he became a…

Fretprints: Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Blues Man’s Jazzy Side

March 4, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

Stevie Ray Vaughan is the uncontested blues champion of the new age. Though he’s been gone more than 30 years,…

Sam Kiszka

Ethereal Energy

April 3, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Guitar rock in 2023 doesn’t get bigger or ballsier than Greta Van Fleet. A veritable steamroller since “Highway Tune” launched…

Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII

December 5, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII bolster the sounds of their first-gen predecessors, using altered algorithms, new controls, and better tonal…

Steve Miller

Some People Call Him Rock Icon, Part 2

February 20, 2015 · Ward Meeker

Though obviously a familiar name given his hits from the 1970s and ’80s were FM staples and today are virtually…

Fender The Edge Strat, Edge Deluxe Amp

What You’re Looking For

January 8, 2018 · Michael Dregni

Leo Fender once famously said, “A guitar is just a hammer.” If you haven’t yet found a hammer that fits…

  •  Reverend Sensei H90

     Reverend Sensei H90

    Live Wire

    So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and…

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ARTISTS

Rick Vito – Cadillac Man

July 25, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Rick Vito – Cadillac Man Make sure to check out Rick Vito’s latest album “Cadillac Man” available now at Blue…

Don Culig

Dream Finish

August 12, 2025 · Ward Meeker

The Covid pandemic forced immeasurable change on humanity. Much of it involved temporary adaptation, but there were also plenty of…

Paul Gilbert

The Joy of Destruction

November 4, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

We’ve all been there; cruising along in the car, minding our business, soaking in cool guitar tunes when another driver…

Robben Ford

Crystal Visionary

June 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Pure is Robben Ford’s first instrumental album since 1997’s Tiger Walk. A work of complex simplicity, it’s also a singular…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Supro 1600R Supreme and 600 Reverb

Toneful Twosome

March 27, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Supro amps from the late 1950s and early ’60s are some of the most stylish of the era, and boast…

Rickenbacker 481

November 24, 2020 · Michael Wright

It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…

The Fender Master Series

April 16, 2018 · Gary Koehler

Dan Smith had an idea – a solidbody guitar with routed chambers that would provide unique resonant tonal characteristics. And…

Classics: December 2023

Cliff Antone’s 1952 Fender Precision

August 15, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Texas is known for music, especially Austin, which in the mid ’70s became a hotbed thanks to clubs like Armadillo…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Lollar’s Gold-Foil Pickup

After the Gold Rush

May 10, 2014 · Ray Wuolo

Lollar’s Gold-Foil Pickup Price: $180 (list, each) Info: www.lollarguitars.com Gold-foil pickups are exotic beasts – just like many of the…

Blackstar Amped 2

Satisfying Sounds

February 8, 2024 · Brett Jochim

Blackstar’s entry to the growing market of “all in one” compact amplifier/effects units claims to offer a high degree of…

Six-String Kicks

Six-String Kicks

Wood from Famed Bowling Alley Set to Sing

March 31, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Few things scratch America’s cumulative itch for nostalgia like Route 66 – the famed wagon-trail-cum-highway that offered passage to those…

New Orleans Guitar Company Model 8

Sonic Mojo

March 1, 2014 · Chip Wilson

New Orleans Guitar Company Model 8 Price: $2,999 Contact: neworleansguitar.com For over a decade, the New Orleans Guitar Company has…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Roy Buchanan

When a Guitar Plays the Blues

June 19, 2024 · Pete Prown

After a recording hiatus, the blues-rock pioneer enjoyed a 1985 comeback with this Telecaster manifesto, now reissued on vinyl. The…

Ronnie Earl

Redemption, Reconciliation, and Reinvention

March 31, 2017 · Bob Dragich

Ronnie Earl is one of the most prolific blues guitarists working today. And though his solo career now spans almost…

Aaron Moreland

Where Zeppelin Meets Son House

June 9, 2015 · Dan Forte

Growing up in a small Kansas town, 38-year-old Aaron Moreland took up guitar at 15, and his first garage band…

Ibanez Tube Screamer

March 8, 2014 · Michael Dregni

From the first notes of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood,” you can hear it loud and clear; that snarly tone…

Eastman MD515

The Mando-lorian

December 6, 2021 · Pete Prown

Guitarists can expand their instrumental range in several ways, from bass to banjo and even the diminutive mandolin, where guitar-like…

Check This Action: England’s Renaissance Bluesman

December 6, 2024 · Dan Forte

Last month, I focused on the blues box Shake ’Em On Down, which included a couple of songs by London-born…

What’s So Special About Guitar Picks

May 9, 2018 · Eric C. Shoaf

You may have one in your pocket. They only cost about 25 cents. But if you have always used one…

VG Q&A: Odd Dots

Import fretboard markers, and Kay’s Model 1961

April 8, 2024 · Michael Wright

In the mid ’60s, why did some Japanese electric-guitar manufacturers put the marker on the 10th fret rather than the…

Bryan Beller

Bass Aristocracy

December 13, 2024 · Pete Prown

If you love daredevil musicians, you’ll dig The Aristocrats. A contemporary-fusion trio, the band includes guitar monster Guthrie Govan (VG,…

2025 May Issue on Spotify

May 2, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

This month, we feature The Dobbie Brothers, Popa Chubby, Joey Molland, Carlos Alomar, Cream, David Bowie, Rush, Norman Harris, Greg…

Martin Style 000-28K

February 13, 2023 · George Gruhn

During the 1920s and ’30s, Martin made a considerable number of guitars with bodies constructed of Hawaiian Koa wood. The…

Lollygagger FX Canaglia Overdrive

Rude ’Tude

July 9, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Sean Wright’s love for guitars and electronics has resulted in a family business that realizes his vision of stompbox perfection.…

Gibson’s 1958-’62 ES-335TD

May 26, 2021 · Ward Meeker

The Redoubtable “Dot-Neck” Early every guitar conceived or designed by Ted McCarty during his tenure as president of Gibson (1948-’66)…

Ceil Thompson and her self-made guitar

January 25, 2023 · Dan Erlewine

“Dan’s Guitar Rx”: VG’s Rock-and-Roll High School(er)! In 2022, Dan Erlewine’s “Guitar Rx” column walked readers through a class-project guitar…

Sebastian Nagel’s Satisfying Funk

March 29, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Winston Brothers groove it up on “Drift” Sebastian Nagel and his band, The Winston Brothers, balance groove, melody, and space…

Webster-Chicago RMA 375 Model 166-1

Grammy Winner

July 18, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Modified or repurposed amps generally don’t fit into our monthly discussion here, but some are representative enough of a certain…

Greg Koch

Making It Work

May 4, 2022 · John Heidt

The latest release from guitar master Greg Koch is From the Up’Nuh with his son, Dylan, on drums and B3-whiz…

Andrew Hendryx

Andrew Hendryx – Lesson: G Blues Scale

April 4, 2020 · Doug Yellow Bird

Explore the G blues scale with acclaimed mandolinist Andrew Hendryx. Originally appeared on a Facebook Live Lesson on Sunday, April 5th,…

Leon Rhodes

Country-Jazz Genius, Terrific Texas Troubadour

August 15, 2002 · Jim Hilmar

Leon Rhodes 1932-2017 We are saddened to hear of the passing of guitar legend Leon Rhodes, one of the most-beloved…

John Mayall

1933-2024

May 30, 2025 · Pete Prown

Drummer Mick Fleetwood was only briefly a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but that was enough to launch his platinum…

Jonny Wickersham

Jonny Wickersham

Social D Guitarist Does ’70s Cali Rock

March 21, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

Best known as the Les Paul Junior-slinging guitarist stage left of Mike Ness in Social Distortion, Jonny “Two Bags” Wickersham…

Andrew Hendryx on a ’64 Fender Mandocaster

March 3, 2023 · Andrew Hendryx

 Andrew Hendryx Demoing ’64 Fender Mandocaster On a recent mandolin safari, Andrew Hendryx visited a shop in Asheville, North…

Steve Turner

The March To Fuzz

April 29, 2024 · Dennis Pernu

Thirty-five years after Steve Turner and Mudhoney became forever linked with two legendary pedals by coining their debut EP Superfuzz…

Jeff Pilson

Definitive Diversity

April 15, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Jeff Pilson’s career has included many notable facets. He rose to acclaim in the classic lineup of the hair-metal band…

Andy Stack

Andy Stack

Group Therapy

March 2, 2016 · John Heidt

Andy Stack spent the past few years doing gigs in New York City, staying busy as a session player, doing…

Walrus Audio Iron Horse Distortion V2

Versatile Beast

April 26, 2019 · Art Department

Like virtually every distortion pedal on the market, Walrus Audio’s Iron Horse Distortion V2 will produce enough distortion to molest…

National N-275

April 19, 2016 · George Gruhn

Gibson is widely known for its guitars, mandolins, and banjos, but many are unaware the company built instruments for nearly…

Easy Pickins

The Fine Art of Pick Collecting

May 9, 2018 · Chris Hewitt

You collect guitar picks? Is this a joke? Umm, no…and in a world where books are dedicated to the collectibility…

Check This Action: Remembering David Lindley

March 16, 2024 · Dan Forte

Much has been written about David Lindley since the 78-year-old passed away on March 3 of complications from long Covid.…