Nat King Cole

Live at the Blue Note Chicago

May 30, 2025 · Dan Forte

Many Nat Cole fans, even diehards, are unaware that, in addition to his beautiful singing voice, he was among the…

Kiss

Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY

February 9, 2024 · Bret Adams

This 1984 concert is the only known soundboard recording with guitarist Mark St. John, whose tenure is one of the…

Gospel Guitars

Semie Moseley’s Venerated Brand

February 28, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

When he wasn’t crafting Mosrites, Semie Moseley could often be found on the road, providing music for evangelists. It makes…

2023 February Issue on Spotify

February 2, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Jim McCarty, Joe Robinson, Vinnie Moore, Tom Rotella, Anthony Gomes, Humble Pie, Jimi Hendrix, The Cult,…

Dennis Budimir

November 13, 2023 · Jim Carlton

Renowned studio guitarist Dennis Budimir died in Los Angeles on January 10. He was 84. Early in his career, Budimir’s…

The First “Mary Kaye” Stratocaster

May 15, 2022 · Iain Ashley Hersey

The Fender “Mary Kaye” Stratocaster. A term guitar aficionados have come to associate with a ’50s Strat with blond finish…

  • 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…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Derek St. Holmes

Making Rock and Roll Cool Again

March 2, 2017 · Johnny Zapp

Derek St. Holmes has been in the rock and roll business since the early 1970s and is best known for…

Tyler Morris Features a Martin Style 2 1/2-17

October 16, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

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…

Josh Smith

Swingin’ Hard

March 31, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Josh Smith has been very busy. When he’s not on tour or sharing production duties with Joe Bonamassa for artists…

Instro-Meister Eric Penna

September 7, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Blues Switch-Up in Trabants Eric Penna’s main gig is playing bass for the garage/surf band Insect Surfers, but he side-hustles…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Steve “Frog” Forgey

August 5, 2025 · Ram W. Tuli

Season 03 Episode 04 In Episode 3.4 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Steve “Frog” Forgey…

The Story of Silver Street Guitars

Building a 
Better…. Gibson?

July 9, 2019 · Michael Wright

In the late 1970s, trends combined to spawn several new guitar companies in the Chicago area motivated by a desire…

Kid Ramos’ Revelation!

August 29, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

West Coast legend melds blues with gospel Check out Kid Ramos using a ’56 Harmony H62 running through a vintage…

Höfner’s Fledermaus Gitarre

A Bat By Any Other Name

May 1, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Much like the scant records of almost every large-scale American guitar manufacturer, production logs at Höfner’s headquarters in Hagenau, Germany,…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Jam Pedals RetroVibe

Bridge Of Floyd

July 10, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

In a civilized world, every guitarist would have a bit of Robin Trower, Pink Floyd, and Band Of Gypsys shimmer…

Providence Silky Drive and Stampede DT

Japanese Silk (and Stomp)

July 24, 2015 · Pete Prown

Providence Silky Drive and Stampede DT Price: $394 (Silky Drive); $249 (Stampede DT) Info: www.providence-ltd.com. From the Land of the…

Fuchs Blackjack-21 II Combo

Fuchs Blackjack-21 II Combo

Hit Me!

February 29, 2016 · Rich Maloof

Fuchs Blackjack-21 II Combo Price: $1,750 Info: www.fuchsaudiotechnology.com Andy Fuchs is an authority in the world of guitar amps. One…

Earthquaker Devices Special Cranker

True Grit

April 3, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Plenty of stompbox fans remember the single-knob simplicity of Earthquaker Devices’ Speaker Cranker Overdrive. Kicking it up a notch, the…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Thin Lizzy

The Acoustic Sessions

November 7, 2025 · Bret Adams

Thin Lizzy’s first studio release in decades, this album reimagines tracks recorded 50+ years ago by the trio of vocalist/bassist…

Mark Elf

Mark Elf

After the Storm

October 30, 2015 · John Heidt

The latest album from guitarist Mark Elf shot to the top of the jazz charts, but the route to success…

Fishman AFX Pedals

Tiny Tools

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

The shrinkologists at Fishman recently introduced a line of mini AFX pedals that do many jobs in an acoustic/electric guitar…

Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E

Grand-Auditorium Cousins

April 26, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E Price: $1,100 (Sean Harkness Model); $1,350 (CG4070E-CERT) Info: www.waldenguitars.com. With 16 years of producing attractive,…

McKinley James’ Blues

October 25, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

 Family Barn Jam! With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a…

Dr Z Z-28 MK II 1×12

Step On It!

July 28, 2023 · Charlie Wilkins

If you’ve driven a classic muscle car like the Camaro Z28, you know that when you step on the gas,…

Tx-Watt Flagship

Tone Big as Texas

January 30, 2023 · Tom Guerra

For more than three decades on the Texas roadhouse circuit, guitarist Jack Kay’s love of vintage Fender and Marshall tones…

The Steepwater Band

June 23, 2020 · Ward Meeker

Taking a spin with Chicago sons The Steepwater Band and their latest CD, Revelation Sunday, is an experience akin to…

Yamaha Image

December 26, 2013 · Michael Wright

Some years back, an insurance company promoted itself as “the quiet company.” While they probably wouldn’t like to hear it,…

Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-M

Satisfying Source

April 4, 2023 · Michael Dregni

Can’t get no satisfaction from your fuzz pedal? Step back to the source, with Maestro’s new Fuzz-Tone. The FZ-M is…

Pepper Keenan

Down with CoC

February 27, 2018 · Greg Prato

It’s difficult enough to be a member of one metal band, let alone two. But Pepper Keenan is pulling double-duty…

Betty Davis and Mahalia Barnes

Nasty Girl

October 4, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Betty Mabry was known far and wide by the sobriquet of the Nasty Girl. She earned the moniker for being…

Dio

Holy Diver Super Deluxe Edition

June 9, 2023 · Bret Adams

After Rainbow and Black Sabbath, vocalist Ronnie James Dio assembled his own band with previous accomplices Jimmy Bain (bass) and…

Joe Bonamassa

Betting On Yourself

October 11, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

The British effect on American blues is undeniable. From the wicked guitar stylings of Paul Kossoff and Mick Taylor to…

Steve Knight’s Vibey Jazz

December 12, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

 Chicago native leans into the Benson/Green playbook on “Suspects” Chicago-based jazzer Steve Knight used his Benedetto 16B to play…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 5

1964: Solid Heyday

February 7, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

GIBSON F-7 1934

1934 Gibson F-7

January 12, 2015 · George Gruhn

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

Jimi Bell

Lord of Shred

March 15, 2019 · Tom Guerra

Recognized worldwide as a master technician, southpaw shredder Jimi Bell first received widespread notoriety for his role sharing a nightclub…

Mojo Thunder

The Infinite Hope

July 2, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

The rockin’ Kentucky outfit is back with stomping tunes, passionate lyrics, and a charismatic double-guitar assault. Drummer Zac Shoopman, bassist…

Jazz singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding performing at the North Sea Jazz festival 2012 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo: JBreeschoten/Wikimedia.

Esperanza Spalding

May 15, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Popularly known as that cute female jazz bassist with the Afro who bogarted the Best New Artist Grammy away from…

Bumblefoot

Prog Shred Ain’t Dead

July 18, 2019 · Greg Prato

After bursting onto the scene in 1995 with the screwball shred classic The Adventures of Bumblefoot, Ron Thal (a.k.a. Bumblefoot)…

Matteo Mancuso

Journey Into the Future

June 10, 2024 · Pete Prown

Emerging as a social-media sensation several years ago, Matteo Mancuso is changing the way we see and hear guitar. Using…

Marshall JMP50 “Plexi”

April 28, 2020 · Dave Hunter

Kids wanna rock? Plug into your plexi and bow to the mighty crunch. Marshall amps of the company’s first 10…

Side Hustle

Thom Rotella

September 8, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

Rotella’s long-established fretboard brilliance has put him in some heady music, film, and TV sessions over the decades (including frequent…

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…

ToneConcepts, Nels Cline Co-Op on Goo Distortion Pedal

August 3, 2016 · Ward Meeker

The ToneConcepts Goo distortion pedal was designed in cooperation with guitarist Nels Cline. It has controls for Volume, Shininess (tone),…

Joe Robinson

Eyes on the Prize

October 4, 2023 · Bob Dragich

Bouncing on a trampoline in the yard of the home his father built outside Temagog, Australia, nine-year-old Joe Robinson gleefully…

Fretprints: Jimi Hendrix

The Creation of Are You Experienced?

May 13, 2025 · Wolf Marshall

It was a bio-pic fantasy. The scene: Outside a London venue where Jimi Hendrix is performing for the first time.…

Hands On

Lenser Twists Musician Portraiture

July 9, 2019 · Ward Meeker

In 2012, photographer Marc Mennigmann conceived of shooting musician portraits in a very different way – looking beyond faces and…