-
Thomas Custom Guitars
Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich…
-
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…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Creating the Iris DE-11
Something New From Something Old
In last month’s “Approved Gear,” VG reviewed the Iris Guitar Company DE-11. If you missed it, I’d suggest you grab…

Pop ’N Hiss: Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom
There were innovative Stratocaster records before Ah Via Musicom, but Eric Johnson’s 1990 opus changed the rules of the game…

Manouche Latcho Drom Swing 42
Hot Club Hot Stuff
In the galaxy of Gypsy jazz guitars, the Modèle Special Chorus made by Sicilian-born, Parisian-based Antoine Di Mauro was something…

Jorma Kaukonen
Hot Tuna, Part 1
Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady have been playing music together for 53 years – 40 of them as…

Have Guitar Will Travel 091 – Kenny Vaughan
In Episode 91 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, host James Patrick Regan circles back with Kenny Vaughan, guitarist in Marty…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 024 Featuring Barry Grezbik
In Ep. 24 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan visits with luthier Barry Grezbik, of Grez Guitars.…
-
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…
ARTISTS

Duke Robillard’s Swingin’ R And B!
Blues/Jazz Great Jams on “Four Bills” Duke Robillard’s custom-made J.W. Murphy 17” archtop is the perfect accomplice for this…

Pat Martino
Redefined Jazzman
Pat Martino is a legend. He has been delighting the globe’s collective ear for more than 50 years, making an…

Dave Murray
Maiden Voyager
After 46 years, Iron Maiden is still reinforcing its stature as a legendary heavy metal band. Senjutsu, the British juggernaut’s…

John Pizzarelli
From Stage to Seven-String
The John Pizzarelli Trio is back on the road supporting its latest album, Stage and Screen. Joined by Isaiah J.…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!
“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin…

1988 Guild Liberator Elite
Every once in awhile you find a guitar that’s almost too beautiful to play. It’s just enough to sit there…

Tyler Morris Features a Martin Style 2 1/2-17
Tyler Morris Playing a Martin Style 2 1/2-17 Tyler Morris grabbed his 19th-century Martin Style 2 1/2-17 to play a…

Custom Kraft Red Fury
Most guitar aficionados are comfortable with the notion of guitar brands being made by the company of the same name.…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Lively Drives
-
Posh Squash
-
Chet Powered!

Mario Guitars Serpentine
Custom Flagship
Given that Mario Martin credits his guitar-building education to a stint at the Fender Custom Shop, it’s no surprise that…

Jeff Senn Original Senn Model One
Making Perfect Senns
For 15 years, Jeff Senn has been building, repairing, and modifying guitars for Nashville’s touring and studio elite. His double-cutaway…

L-Guitar Lance Glass
Tweak City
Builders love tweaking the creations of Leo Fender and his squad of ’50s innovators; California luthier Lance McCormick is making…

DLS TR1 Tremolo and RotoSim
Swirls and Twirls
If you’ve ever played guitar through a Leslie rotating-speaker cabinet, you’re aware of its lush 3D sound. Many guitarists would…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
Revisiting Room 335
-
Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
-
Rising Tides

Fretprints: Kim Simmonds
Ode to the British Blues Icon
Leader and guiding spirit of Savoy Brown, Kim Simmonds was an architect of the ’60s British Blues movement. A powerful…

Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium
Various artists
This double-CD’s 40 tracks represent a wide swath of black roots music, from zydeco to gospel, from a Mississippi fife-and-drum…

Watkins Joker
Beat-Gen Beaut
This could be just what every well-heeled young “Beat” guitarist and singer in Britain needed in the early 1960s –…

1934 Gibson F-7
Prior to Gibson’s innovations, mandolins were bowl-back instruments with a lute-like back usually constructed with rosewood or maple back ribs…














































