Burlison & Sugg

Demon Eye, At Your Service

November 28, 2016 · Kathleen Johnson

Demon Eye mixes the best elements of ’70s hard rock and ’80s metal, and delivers the goods in tight, dark…

J.D. Simo

Remembering Duane Allman

March 3, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Chicagoan J.D. Simo began playing professionally at age 10 and just five years later was on the road full-time, eventually…

Robben Ford

Sky Above The Note

October 17, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

 The new album from Robben Ford is packed with beautiful music and the indelible ingredients that for decades have made…

Ray Gomez

A Time for Honor

March 2, 2017 · Tom Guerra

One of the hottest guitarists to emerge from the mid-’70s fusion scene was Ray Gomez, who first became known through…

Mike Anthony

Jazz Big-Leaguer

March 18, 2019 · Jim Carlton

Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco were his mentors; both recognized his extraordinary talent and relentless work ethic. When L.A. session…

Mundell Lowe

Jazz All Around

July 3, 2019 · Jim Carlton

Mundell Lowe is arguably the most successful jazz guitarist of his era. He routinely performed with such luminaries as Charlie Parker,…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    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…

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ARTISTS

Darin and Brooke Aldridge’s Family Album

Darin and Brooke Aldridge’s Family Album

Picture Perfect

April 6, 2016 · Kathleen Johnson

The husband-and-wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge are one of the hottest acts on the traditional bluegrass/Americana scene. The couple’s…

Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams

Old Soul, Fresh Sounds

July 18, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Seattle’s Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams is a rare find in the guitar universe. At a time when music influences run…

Paul Quinn

Ramming It

November 30, 2016 · Greg Prato

As one of the leading bands of the early-’80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Saxon is responsible for…

Kim Simmonds

1947-2022

November 12, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

The British blues movement of the late ’60s lost one of its original proponents and practitioners when Savoy Brown lead…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Magnatone X-5 Zephyr

Last Gasp

June 14, 2023 · Michael Wright

Ever since Lonnie Mack unleashed The Wham of That Memphis Man and Buddy Holly sang “Peggy Sue,” Magnatone amplifiers have…

Gibson EH-150

An Odd Gibson EH-150

10 Strings, Lap-Style

December 1, 2021 · George Gruhn

Lap-steel guitars were the first commercially available electrics – ancestors of the guitars we plug in today, regardless of their…

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

March 16, 2016 · Dave Hunter

If you hung around the audio world’s collective R&D room long enough in the late 1950s and early ’60s, you’d…

Jimmy Bryant

Country-Jazz Virtuoso

September 23, 2019 · Wolf Marshall

When Leo Fender strode into a cowboy bar on the outskirts of Hollywood one day in 1950, he had no…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Supro Hampton

Island Unto Itself

March 13, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Supro’s vintage Ozark guitar is famed as Jimi Hendrix’s first axe. According to legend, his father bought him an off-white…

Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk Mk2 & Boomster Mk2

Brothers In Tone

June 26, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Jam Pedals continually evolves its line by creating a cool menagerie of point-to-point stompboxes that adapt to a multitude of…

Devi Ever:FX Big Distortion Sound Machine

Devi Ever:FX Big Distortion Sound Machine

Enough is Never Enough

March 3, 2016 · Pete Prown

Devi Ever:FX Big Distortion Sound Machine Price: $200 (list) Contact: www.devieverfx.com Want fuzz, crunch, and overdrive? How about all at…

Homegrown Tone 420

Homegrown Tone 420

Legalized Tweed

February 17, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Buzz Feiten Blues Pro Price: $1,799 (list) Contact: “Homegrown Tone Amps” on facebook.com Can’t get enough hemp in your life?…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Furch Blue Deluxe SW

Czech Mate

January 18, 2023 · Pete Prown

You might not recogonize the Furch brand, but the Czech Republic builder has spent that last 40-plus years gaining a…

Thomas Custom Guitars

Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

January 9, 2026 · Peter Blecha

Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better…

The Soul of John Black

Living In The Sunshine

July 16, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and…

Taurus Devil Drive and Acid Reflux

No Bull Tone

December 27, 2017 · Phil Feser

Russ Pedersen and his crew at Arkansas-based Taurus Pedals build a wide variety of distortion, overdrive, chorus, fuzz, boost, and…

Stroger lays it down on “Bob’s Back in Town”

July 22, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Chicago Blues Mainstay and His Legendary Bass Enjoy as Chicago mainstay bassist Bob Stroger uses his 1960 Jazz Bass (with…

Rex Solidbody

Italian Connection

November 30, 2023 · Michael Wright

An internet search for “Rex guitars” will turn up a fair – if confusing – amount of information about the…

Zac Sokolow

LA LA Land

June 25, 2025 · Pete Prown

LA LOM rekindles of the sound of “psychedelic chicha” – a south-of-the-border reaction to the electrified 1960s. Picture the Ventures…

’66 Epiphone Casino

April 6, 2020 · George Gruhn

In the Epiphone line of the 1960s, the Casino occupied middle ground. In appearance as well as electronics it ranked…

The Siegmund Doppler Vibe

The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get

December 19, 2013 · Tom Guerra

Siegmund Doppler Vibe Price: $495 Info: www.siegmundguitars.com. It’s been said that Buddy Guy was the first guitarist to put his…

The Vox AC15

AMP-O-RAMA

June 24, 2020 · Dave Hunter

The Vox AC30 grabbed most of the headlines for years, but many tonehounds have come to appreciate the sweet, juicy…

Godin A6 Ultra Baritone

Sub Sandwich

February 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

The basic premise of a baritone is that it allows guitar players to occasionally twang genuine bass notes – not…

Jock Bartley

The Return of Firefall

November 26, 2021 · Pete Prown

If you listened to pop radio in the late ’70s, it was hard to miss Firefall, whose soft-rock hits were…

Dan’s Guitar RX: A 1955 Gibson Touch-up

Team Effort.

October 30, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

 To keep work flowing in my shop, repairs often become a group effort. Recently, Gene Imbody, T.K. Kelly, Paul Schmittauer,…

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…

Pigtail Music

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Pigtail music makes ABR-style and wraparound bridges (in the U.S.) with vintage-style appearance and materials, but to tighter tolerances. Their…

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin

Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys

June 19, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

Ray Price (1926-2013) created a distinctive hard-country sound in the ’50s, combining his powerful vocals with the iconic Cherokee Cowboys,…

Steve Vai

Inviolate

December 9, 2022 · Pete Prown

After decades of technical shred-dom, Vai returns to his musical mindset prior to David Lee Roth, composing soundtrack-scaled material that…

Electra MPC

Standard X340

November 1, 2013 · Michael Wright

One of the more successful Japanese-made guitar brands of the 1970s was Electra, the brand name used for electric guitars…

Orange VT1000 Valve Tester

June 16, 2014 · Zac Childs

Orange VT1000 Valve Tester Price: $499 Info: www.orangeamps.com. Many a Vintage Guitar reader has a stash of tubes lying about…

Echoplex EP-2 Feature Home Page Vintage Guitar magazine

Echoplex EP-2

February 17, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Sam Phillips didn’t invent tape echo with his mid-’50s recordings of Elvis, but he just as well may have. So…

Check This Action: Jimmie’s Blues Box

August 3, 2022 · Dan Forte

Don’t think music can be life-changing? Try moving 1,700 miles. In 1987, I moved from Northern California to Austin, Texas,…

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Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo

Endless Echo

June 10, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Like politics, religion, and overdrive pedals, echo boxes are sure to incite staunch views, heartfelt arguments, and perhaps even fisticuffs.…

Loretta Lynn

Standing Proud

July 6, 2016 · Rich Kienzle

Loretta Lynn, who turned 84 this year, first became famous for her plain-spoken, proudly twangy hits in the ’60s and…

Guthrie Trapp

Life After Dark

July 5, 2018 · John Heidt

Guthrie Trapp has spent the last couple decades in Nashville, supporting major acts in the studio and on the road.…

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Bruce Kulick

B-A-C-K to KKB

May 7, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Most associate the name, face, and licks of Bruce Kulick with his 12-year stint in the non-masked Kiss. A busy…

Gov’t Mule

Heavy Load Blues

October 27, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

When a successful band of fine musicians is struck by the compulsion to revisit the muses of their youth by…

Vega De Luxe Electric Plectrum Banjo

April 5, 2017 · George Gruhn

Billed as “the latest orchestral sensation… unparalleled for versatility,” Vega’s electric banjos – developed to compete with one being made…

Jeff Beck

He Can’t Help It… He Just Keeps Getting Better

February 26, 2014 · Dan Forte

In 1985, speaking of the ’83 Action Research into Muscle Distrophy (A.R.M.S.) Tour that united Yardbirds alumni Jeff Beck, Jimmy…

DiMarzio’s Black Angel Pickup

Got a Sweet…

July 13, 2016 · Pete Prown

Back in the old days, adding a pickup to an acoustic guitar was a major operation that required a luthier’s…