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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…
Mike Zito
Back to Solo Soul-Searching
Following a stint of nearly four years in the Royal Southern Brotherhood, Texas-based guitarist Mike Zito is focusing on his…
Walter Trout
Battling Back
In his decades of playing, Walter Trout has served as lead guitarist for John Mayall and Canned Heat, and forged…
João Erbetta: Eclectic instrumentalist
Five-guitar run on “Bubbles” João Erbetta’s all-instrumental album, “Los Angeles,” is eclectic and quirky. Here, the guitarist/banjoist/bassist/keyboardist/steel-guitarist plays five guitars…
Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive
Get Yer’ Kick
Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive Price: $179 (street) Contact: www.truetone.com/ Over the years, the Route 66 pedal by…
Marty Friedman
Wall of Shred
Between playing on Cacophony’s landmark 1987 shred album, Speed Metal Symphony, and Megadeth’s 1990 classic, Rust in Peace, Marty Friedman…
Ty Tabor
Shades
King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor’s 11th solo album is the follow-up to 2018’s Alien Beans. Ten tracks and three bonus…
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Rickenbacker’s 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 came early and their lap steels set standards of quality,…
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ARTISTS
Joe Stump
Professor Shred
Some musicians use grandiose nicknames like “the doctor” (Dr. John) or “the professor” (Rush’s Neil Peart) – but Boston shredder…
Elliot Easton
Driving Classic Cars
The Cars transcended the new-wave movement of the late ’70s by creating a never-duplicated sound. The band’s self-titled debut album…
Woody Harris: Fingerstyle a la Fahey, Basho
Reemergence With a Rare Guitar Woody Harris used his ’76 John Mello guitar (“It has dimensions of a classical guitar,…
Tommy Allsup
1931-2017 From Buddy Holly to Bob Wills
No article on the late Tommy Allsup would be complete without the story of an unsuccessful coin flip saving his…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Gibson Super Jumbo 100
The Super Jumbo 200 is Gibson’s most celebrated flat-top model, and deservedly so, thanks to its use by cowboy movie…
Gretsch 6119 Tennessean
Chet Atkins was the most important endorser ever employed by the Gretsch company. When introduced in the 1950s, models bearing…
Small Screen, Big Pickin’
Crew Strives to Keep it Real on “Nashville”
It’s not often that prime-time network television captures an audience of working class, professional musicians. In 1968, players watched Elvis…
The Rogue VB-100 Violin Bass
Fab As It Looks?
The Rogue VB-100 Series II is an homage to the venerable Höfner 500/1 semi-hollowbody. Popularly known as the “Beatle bass,”…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…
Electro-Harmonix Mel9 Tape Replay Effect
In a Mello Tone
Producer George Martin was so fond of John Lennon’s tape-relay keyboard that he described it “as if a Neanderthal piano…
Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule
Bruising Tones
Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule Price: $125-$340 Info: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk. From the ever-expanding world of boutique pickups…
G&L Fallout
Form Follows Function
G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Philip Sayce’s Guitar Meditation
Exploring, Expanding Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into…
Jimmy James’ Psychedelic R&B
“Parlor Strut” on a vintage Harmony! Proving that ’60s import guitars can make cool sounds, Parlor Greens guitarist Jimmy James…
Arlen Roth & Jerry Jemmott
Super Soul Session
Roth is well-known for his “Hot Licks” instructional videos and method books. But his career is far from academic, having…
Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen
Steve Rosen
Imagine having Edward Van Halen at your house, playing new Van Halen songs or listening to no-vocals cassettes of in-progress…
