Vega Director Model A-60

Enticing Extras

April 15, 2019 · Dave Hunter

A worthy vintage combo in all regards, there’s sad irony in the fact the Director Model A-60 is representative of…

Supro’s Titan 1642RT

Born To Gig

July 5, 2018 · Michael Dregni

Supro’s new Titan amp is built to play out. This 50-watt 1×10 tube combo packs it all into a compact,…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 7

1965: Summer Of The Hollowbodies

February 14, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

The Way Back Beat survey of instruments designed by James Ormston Burns continues with the final products developed by his…

Thom Douvan

Thom Douvan

Motown and More

July 5, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Released in April, guitarist Thom Douvan’s third album, All Over Again, is a mix of self-penned instrumentals (with one notable…

Fishman’s Aura Spectrum DI, ToneDEQ

Potent Preamps

March 13, 2019 · Pete Prown

Unlike most electric guitarists, acoustic-electric pickers tend to worry about preamps. A lot. This front stage is critical because acoustic…

Wylde Audio Odin Grail Genesis Bullseye

Berserker Broadax

July 10, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Zakk Wylde emerged from New Jersey in the late ’80s to give Ozzy Osbourne’s music a style and attitude unlike…

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ARTISTS

Corb Lund’s (Acoustic) Roots Rock!

February 22, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Low-key in the living room Corb Lund rescued his ’80s Kramer Ferrington from a hair ballad so he could use…

Jared James Nichols’ glorious goldtop

April 27, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Mods and pedals need not apply! Watch Jared James Nichols tear it up on “Dorothy,” his ’52 Gibson Les Paul,…

Hilary Gardner’s jazz/country connection

September 30, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Classic sounds on “Silver on the Sage” Hilary Gardner and her band are devout fans of classic cowboy (and other…

Phil Chen

1946-2021

November 3, 2022 · Dan Forte

His business card read “Phil Chen De Bassman,” and his picks had “OD” after his name, standing for the Order…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

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…

Classics: November 2023

Al Caiola’s Gretsch Prototype

July 31, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Robby Zolezzi has been a touring pro guitarist since he was 18 years old, having taken up the instrument at 11, spurred by…

The Birth of Newman Guitars

September 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

  Newman Guitars was established in Austin, TX in 1977 by Ted Newman Jones. Ted was a pioneer of design…

Rosalie Allen’s SJ-200

Trophy Flat-Top

March 27, 2019 · George Gruhn

On the pages featuring the Super Jumbo 200, Gibson’s 1940 catalog trumpeted, “This king of the flat-top guitars was especially…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Reddick Voyager Custom

Swap Meet

June 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

The concept of pickup-swapping guitars has been around for decades, almost always with cumbersome results. With the Voyager, Reddick Guitars…

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…

Taylor 724ce

Bold And Bright

June 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

In the Hawaiian tongue, koa means “bold” and it’s an apt name for the wood known in guitardom for its…

DigiTech iStomp

Morph For Less

October 22, 2015 · Rich Maloof

DigiTech iStomp Price: $149.95 Info: www.digitech.com/istomp If you’re the type of gearhead who turns heel and runs from DSP effects,…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Cimarron Guitars’ Model P

From the Parlor to the Stage

September 24, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

Cimarron Guitars has being making custom instruments since 1978 in the dry, mild climate of southwest Colorado. The company’s Model…

Andrew Synowiec

Pyrotechnics and Substance

September 9, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Andrew Synowiec’s latest album, Fun, is loaded with ferocious pentatonics, muscular grooves, and the kind of instrumentals that harken to…

Scott Gorham

Heavy Fire

March 14, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

It’s hard out there for a ’70s guitar hero. With the struggles of keeping older fans happy verses the challenge…

Mike Vernon

July 26, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Surf-Guitar Ace Mike Vernon Chills on “Lucky Boy” Surf-instro revivalist Mike Vernon grabbed his (semi-hollow) Gretsch Tennessee Rose (with flatwounds)…

“Tremolo” Trio

Three new approaches to replacement vibrato systems

June 24, 2020 · Phil Feser

Three new aftermarket vibrato systems for common double- and single-cutaway solidbody guitars offer the convenience of “drop in” installation. Each…

Check This Action: Walking In Memphis

May 1, 2025 · Dan Forte

I first visited Memphis in 1990, and it struck me that radio stations played loads of music from the area.…

Keith Nelson

Keith Nelson

Buckcherry Gear Jammer

June 21, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Over the last few years, Buckcherry has offered a lot of music to fans – online via its monthly Singles…

Eric Sardinas

Eric Sardinas

Resonator Rock

May 3, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Resonator/slide specialist Eric Sardinas is no blues curator. While he pays homage to the music that inspires him, Sardinas is…

Built to Survive

Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression

April 21, 2017 · George Gruhn

In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely…

Have Guitar Will Travel 071 – Adrian Belew & Turkuaz’s Dave Brandwein

March 10, 2022 · James Patrick Regan

In episode 71 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” James Patrick Regan talks to guitarist/frontman Dave Brandwein of the band Turkuaz,…

Check This Action: My Kind of Blues

June 19, 2024 · Dan Forte

The great Junior Parker sang, “You will feel like dying when you get these kind of blues.” But he sang…

The Marcus King Band

December 30, 2016 · John Heidt

It’s easy to see why Warren Haynes has so much respect for young Marcus King. The 20-year-old guitarist, vocalist, and…

The Alligator Christmas Collection

Various artists

August 12, 2024 · Pete Prown

First released in 1992, this cornucopia of blues is now on red vinyl, celebrating the spirit of the season. The…

Keeley Electronics Loomer

Tone Weaver

October 12, 2022 · Tom Guerra

As effects pedals proliferate, so do multifunction boxes. Case in point: Keeley Electronics’ Loomer, combining three reverbs with a raging…

Shane Theriot

Out of the House

April 25, 2019 · John Heidt

Shane Theriot’s new album, Still Motion, is more stripped-down funky “jazz trio” than the lush soul he helps create as…

The Byrds: 1964-1967

Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, David Crosby

August 1, 2023 · Rich Kienzle

Like Dylan, the three founding members of the Byrds were ’60s acoustic folkies who, inspired by Beatlemania and the British…

Jessi Colter

Edge of Forever

October 8, 2024 · R.K. Watkins

 After husband Waylon Jennings’ death 22 years ago, Jessi Colter resumed her recording and performing career with several albums that…

The Vox Bruno TB35C2

Yankee Doodle Tony

November 1, 2013 · Phil Feser

When it comes iconic guitar tone – especially “British” tone – Vox and its flagship AC30 are at the top…

Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II

Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II

Sustain For Days

February 12, 2016 · Pete Prown

Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II Price: $175 (list, depending on exchange rate) Contact: www.vibesware.com In the beginning, there was the…

Larry McCray’s R&B-Blues Meld

July 15, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Rust Belt Veteran does “Arkansas” Larry McCray and his bodacious Custom Shop Flying V show us the hard-drivin’ guitar parts…

J.R. Cobb

Classic Bands, Classic Songs

March 4, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

When he joined Atlanta Rhythm Section in early 1972, J.R. Cobb and Barry Bailey had more in common than simply…

Greg Martin’s ’65 Fender Stratocaster Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

Greg Martin’s ’65 Fender Stratocaster

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

November 12, 2017 · Doug Yellow Bird

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online features where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…

Colby Amplification Park 45

Colby Amplification Park 45

Put It Here

January 26, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Colby Amplification Park 45 Price: $2,500 (list) Contact: www.colbyamps.com There are legends that gear fanatics all know, and then there…

Taylor T3

Tone Poet

January 6, 2014 · Pete Prown

The Taylor T3 Price: $2,998 Info: www.taylorguitars.com. Some guitar players never touch a tone knob, while others view it as…

2024 February Issue on Spotify

February 1, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Osborne Brothers, Robben Ford, Campilomgo & Cardenas, Myles Goodwin, Jef Beck, Hawkwind, Adam Levy, Sue Foley,…

The Rickenbacker B14A

Silver Service

April 4, 2022 · Dave Hunter

  For most guitarists today, glimpsing a vintage Rickenbacker combo elicits a response like, “Wait… Rickenbacker made amps?” But remember,…

Demeter FZO-1 Fuzzy Octavulator

Demeter FZO-1 Fuzzy Octavulator

Fuzz Flavors

October 24, 2014 · Zac Childs

James Demeter has a long history in the amp and effects biz. His project-boxed/Dymo-labeled Tremulator pedal pre-dates the ’90s boutique…

Have Guitar Will Travel 095 – Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids)

March 27, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In episode 95 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Kenneth Pattengale from The Milk…

DryBell Vibe Machine 3

Big Deepness

February 8, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s original Vibe Machine (its take on the classic Univibe) was developed 11 years ago and received…