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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …
JHS’ SuperBolt and Morning Glory Pedals
Zep in a Box
Started with a quick repair to a Boss pedal in Josh Scott’s Mississippi apartment, JHS has evolved into a well-regarded…
BSM RM Majestic Treble Booster
Germany’s BSM is among the rare specialist among modern stompbox builders; their focus is one thing – making treble boosters…
Chris Spedding
Convergence of Legends and Friends
The career of guitarist Chris Spedding has spanned more than four decades and included a commendable solo career, a stint…
Phil Campbell
Motöring Ahead
From 1984 through 2015, Phil Campbell was the guitarist in Motörhead, and for the last 20 years of the band’s…
Fender 5E7 Bandmaster
Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6L6s, fixed biased Rectifier: 5U4G tube Controls: Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass,…
Rickenbacker Electric 12-Strings
Double-Bound for Glory
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success…
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VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…
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ARTISTS
Buzz Feiten
Unsung Hero
An unsung hero, accomplished inventor, and builder possessing priceless musical knowledge, Buzz Feiten’s list of session credits could fill a…
Ray Benson
Swing Ambassador: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel
“Why are you all playin’ that modern music?” Asleep at the Wheel guitarist Ray Benson fielded the question from Harry,…
Prodigal Sunburst
Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard
A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything…
Pop ’N Hiss: Deep Purple’s Machine Head
Definitive Riffs
Now regarded as the “Beethoven’s 5th” of rock and roll, “Smoke on the Water” became a surprise hit in the…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Earliest Gretsch 6120
…Revealed!
The Gretsch company rose to the upper echelon of guitar manufacturers in the 1950s with the introduction of a diverse…
The D’Angelico Excel Mandolin
The 1,164 archtop guitars made by John D’Angelico have brought him great renown as the finest individual archtop guitar builder…
The National Silvo Electric Hawaiian
One of the most innovative companies of the pre-World-War-II era, National found out quickly that innovation was a double-edged sword.…
Bell 30 RV Stereo-Reverb Combo
Accordion to Plan
1961 Bell 30 RV Stereo-Reverb • Preamp tubes: three 6EU7, one 7199, one 12AU7, one 12AX7 • Output tubes: four…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
The Postal Delta Zephyr
No Reservations
It’s nice to find guitar builders producing hand-made guitars that are more than a rehash of familiar models, while using…
Xotic Effects’ Wah XW-1
State-Of-The-Art MousEtrap
Xotic Effects’ Wah XW-1 Price: $295 (list); $249 (street) Contact: xotic.us/ The chase for tone sometimes seems like never-ending “Tom…
Relic the Hague’s Scumbag
Rock-and-Roll Animal
On the surface, the Scumbag is a simple rock beast. With a 25.5″-scale neck, maple fingerboard, and bolt-neck construction, it…
Danelectro Baby Sitar
Paint It Sunburst
Legend has it that during a break in the filming of Help!, George Harrison picked up a sitar left behind…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero
Philip Sayce
Scorched-Earth Tones
Philip Sayce’s album Scorched Earth Volume 1 was a live recording from 2016 that displayed the kind of blistering blues-rock…
Furch Blue Deluxe SW
Czech Mate
You might not recogonize the Furch brand, but the Czech Republic builder has spent that last 40-plus years gaining a…
Stroger lays it down on “Bob’s Back in Town”
Chicago Blues Mainstay and His Legendary Bass Enjoy as Chicago mainstay bassist Bob Stroger uses his 1960 Jazz Bass (with…
Gibson Custom Colors in the 1960s
Burning Embers, Chilled Whites
Unlike its rival from the West Coast, Gibson did not readily embrace the concept of offering custom-color finishes. It wasn’t…
