Cicognani Pompeii PP603

Dimensional Echoes

December 6, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

Cicognani Engineering has been making noise with a terrific lineup of amps and effects, earning raves from notable artists like…

Prestige Heritage Premier P90 FM NAT

Liberating the P-90

November 29, 2016 · Bob Dragich

Approach longtime players with a (yet another) single-cut/single-coil solidbody, and you may find it tough to get their attention. But,…

Bob Spalding: Instrumental Legend

October 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Ventures Guitarist plays “New Space” sampler With a catalog that extends more than 60 years, The Ventures just keep on…

Peter Stroud and Audley Freed

Two Guys, Many Guitars, One Big Hat

January 3, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Many a noteworthy rock and roll band from the Cotton Belt has been propelled by guitar-playin’ good ol’ boys with…

Charlie Musselwhite’s blues chops on a vintage J-45

December 28, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

See it Here: “Blues Gave Me a Ride” Charlie Musselwhite and his ’54 Gibson J-45 do it up (so) right…

Loar LH-309 VS Archtop

One Cool Cat

June 10, 2014 · Pete Prown

Loar LH-309 VS Archtop Price: $569.99 (street) Contact: theloar.com As the retro craze delves deeper into six-string history, a spate…

  • 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

Dudley Taft

Dudley Taft

Raucous, Righteous Blues

June 7, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

With the recent release of his third solo album, Screamin’ in the Wind, guitarist Dudley Taft is serving notice that…

Buddy Guy

Keeping the Blues Alive and Definitely Kicking

April 18, 2016 · Dan Forte

It was February 21, 2012. As part of the White House’s music series, “Red, White & Blues” featured a cavalcade…

Daniele Gottardo

Bittersweetness

September 1, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Italian guitar virtuoso Daniele Gottardo’s latest album, Inkblot, combines the whimsy and wonder of the great early-20th-century classical composers with…

Dom Martin

More Than a Feeling

August 6, 2024 · Sean McDevitt

From the first fingerpicked notes of “Hello in There,” a gentle, inviting 98-second acoustic instrumental that opens Dom Martin’s Buried…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Dano Redux

A Look at Everyone's First Electric Guitar

May 25, 2021 · Eric C. Shoaf

In his book, Neptune Bound: The Ultimate Danelectro Guide, author Doug Tulloch charts the adventures of Nat Daniel as he…

Quest for Volume

Django Reinhardt's Selmer #503

April 15, 2020 · Michael Dregni

Revolutionary jazz demanded a revolutionary jazz guitar. In the summer of 1935, just as his Quintette du Hot Club de…

Gretsch 6130 Round-up

Head ‘em out!

March 29, 2019 · Ward Meeker

The romantic concept of the “Old West” – an enduring element of American pop culture – was spurred by pulp…

Mosrite Basses

The Golden Decade: Ventures and Beyond

July 9, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Mention the Ventures to a pop-music aficionado and the conversation will likely focus on the surf-music phenomenon of the early…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Logan Telemaster

Masterful Mashup

March 7, 2022 · Bob Cianci

Though Bob Logan has been building guitars since 1972, he worked in construction for a few decades before fully dedicating…

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…

Michael Kelly Custom Collection 55 Ebony

Kelly Tele

December 27, 2017 · Chip Wilson

Is there a better platform for guitar customization than the Tele? Easily sourced lumber combine with straightforward electronics and hardware…

Martin D-13E Ziricote

Contemporary Cannon

March 3, 2022 · Michael Shirek

From the time the first self-branded models shipped from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in the early 1930s, the Martin dreadnought has been…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Recording Acoustic Guitars

The Art of Home Recording

April 24, 2017 · Dave Hunter

Recording an acoustic guitar is very different from recording an electric, employing different microphones, placement, and technique. Here are a…

Boss DD-200 Digital Delay

Test For Echo

May 5, 2023 · Pete Prown

Delay pedals are essential, but there are so many different types – tape, reverse, tap, cascade, shimmer, analog and more.…

Have Guitar Will Travel 092 – Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters)

February 26, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In this episode, host James Patrick Regan catches up with Chris Shiflett to discuss his latest solo album, working with…

D’Angelico Excel EXL-1

Laudable Likeness

July 24, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Few vintage guitars are as vaunted as John D’Angelico’s original handcrafted Excel archtops. Building a new – and affordable –…

Eastwood RD Artist

RD Our Lips

July 9, 2018 · Pete Prown

Issued during Gibson’s infamous “Norlin era,” the original RD Artist has become surprisingly collectible over the years, thanks to its…

Billy Strings

Me/and/Dad

December 25, 2023 · Rich Kienzle

Grammy-winning flatpicking wizard Billy Strings was everywhere in 2022. Rightly seen as part of the vanguard of a new generation…

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…

Hall of Fame – Innovators

February 9, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

From 1991 to the present — read about each Readers' Choice Awards Innovators.

Foghat

Road Fever: The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-1975

January 25, 2024 · Pete Prown

By the time British blues-and-boogie quartet Foghat struck gold in 1975, it already had a solid catalog under its belt.…

BB King Vintage Guitar magazine main home

Remembering B.B. King

September 18, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

Ed. Note: Everyone associated with Vintage Guitar magazine is saddened to learn of the passing of B.B. King. In 1995, Mr. King…

Reverend Mike Watt Wattplower

July 3, 2019 · Phil Feser

During four years of back and forth, Reverend Guitars and legendary punk-rock bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose, Stooges), developed a…

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13

Nice Roll

March 2, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13 Price: $1,850 (list)/$2,050 (with Fishman electronics) Info: www.blackbirdguitar.com What has a 13-fret neck, a small-but-curvaceous body…

SurfyBear Compact Reverb

Bringin’ Springs

April 18, 2024 · Bob Dragich

Reverb got a big push into the world of guitar when Leo Fender installed Hammond’s Accutronics Type 4 Spring Reverb…

Jim Peterik

Of the Bard, Brian Wilson, Buddy Guy and "Butt-Ugly" RDs

March 10, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Veteran guitarist/songwriter/vocalist/keyboard player/producer Jim Peterik’s career has taken yet another intriguing turn in its long and ever-active history. The Chicago-area…

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Lights! Sound! Action!

November 6, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab Price: Amp $1,995 (list); cabinet $895 (list) Contact: www.immix11.com Remember the first time you encountered…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest J Mascis

November 25, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Season 03 Episode 06 In Episode 3.6 of Buy That Guitar, presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is…

Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P asks “Who’s Gonna Ride”

April 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the…

Blackstar Limited Edition JJN-20R MkII

Rockin' Blues Power

February 10, 2022 · Charlie Wilkins

If you don’t know about Jared James Nichols, you likely will soon. One of the hottest up-and-coming blues/rock players on…

Mark Lettieri’s funky finesse

January 2, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Virtuoso take on “Greenspace” Stepping out from his band, Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri exhibits the finesse, funk, and fury that…

Marshall Amplifiers

From Birth to the 21st Century

April 11, 2018 · Edward B. Driscoll Jr.

From the first JTM to models for Clapton and Townshend, Jim Marshall has been building amps since the early 1960s.…

The Art of Home Recording - Microphones and Their Uses

Microphones and Their Uses

The Art of Home Recording

July 11, 2016 · Dave Hunter

The means to make high-quality home recordings are well within the grasp of every guitarists. But, they can only as…

Way Huge Saffron Squeeze MkII

Way Huge Saffron Squeeze MkII

Fresh-squeezed

July 7, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Twenty years after its launch, the Way Huge Saffron Squeeze compressor has been improved upon. Doing fierce business with an…

Beck, Bogert & Appice

Live In Japan 1973, Live In London 1974

June 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

After one underwhelming studio album, Beck, Bogert & Appice – a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine…

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…

Good Times In Bad

The Origin of Fender’s Vintage Series

December 4, 2023 · Ward Meeker

The years leading up to CBS Musical Instruments’ 1985 sale of the Fender brand were fluid times at the instrument…

Rush

Moving Pictures 40th Anniversary

March 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

If “The Spirit of Radio” helped Rush kick open the door to FM radio, its 1981 follow-up elevated them to…

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,…

The Fender Tremolux

January 29, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Most amp nuts are utterly fascinated by Fender’s rapid evolution from archaic to modern through the course of the 1950s.…

Ana Popovic

Relentless

January 30, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Rising victoriously after 14 cancer treatments, Ana Popovic continues to push the boundaries of blues-rock. Her latest album tells the…