• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

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Vintage Visionary

The First Golden Age of Ibanez 1973-1982

October 6, 2014 · Pete Prown

Thirty-Five years ago, Ibanez was a scrappy upstart guitar company that dared to challenge the big boys at Gibson and…

McKinley James

Payin’ Dues in Rhythm & Blues

May 30, 2025 · Pete Prown

If you listen to early electric blues and R&B records, you’ll often notice the original sessions were cut without a…

Ditson’s Style 11 and the Birth of the Dreadnought

Martin’s Big Step

April 15, 2019 · George Gruhn

In the early 20th century, any shopper who walked into the Charles H. Ditson & Company music stores in New…

3Below

Live in Mérida

November 7, 2025 · Pete Prown

The members of 3Below mostly play in the bass clef. You may know names like fretless master Michael Manring (Michael…

Sonny Burgess

1929-2017

May 9, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Sonny Burgess, one of the last of the great Sun Records stars, died August 18. He was 88 and had…

Forrest Lee, Jr. and Friends

August 26, 2014 · Michael Dregni

Forrest Lee, Sr. was a country music legend most folks have likely never heard tell of. So why should they…

  • 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…

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ARTISTS

Carl Verheyen

Carl Verheyen

On <em>Mustang Run</em> and Making a CD that Lasts

February 19, 0201 · Bob Dragich

Fresh off a 42-show/13-country European tour with his own band, Supertramp guitarist and L.A. studio ace Carl Verheyen has just…

Band of Heathens’ Gordy and Ed: Low-Key and Tasty!

April 25, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Austin heroes play vintage-laden twofer Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi use a few of their favorite things to play…

Eugene Edwards

Outlaw Twang, Rockabilly Swagger

July 2, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

Country music icon Dwight Yoakam employs one of the hardest-working bands on the road today. A quintet including Yoakam, they’re…

Steve Cropper

Homage to Lowman Pauling

August 5, 2015 · Michael Dregni

All but forgotten today, with his low-slung guitar, stylish rhythm licks, and tasty leads, Lowman Pauling was one of the…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Travis Bean TB1000S Standard

A Better Idea

April 14, 2020 · Michael Wright

Guitar history is littered with “better ideas,” some of which stayed around, went nowhere, or went somewhere before landing in…

Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp

Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp

February 23, 2016 · George Gruhn

Since the instrument was introduced, those who play the electric guitar have modified it to create new sounds and interesting…

1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb

Silver Serenade

May 21, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Amplifier collectors swarm to models with descriptors like “first year” and “golden age,” but other types can be far more…

The Burke Guitar

The Axe that Time Forgot

April 13, 2021 · Ward Meeker

For more than 60 years, aluminum has been used as a component in guitar construction. Exactly whose idea it was…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine

Synthful

March 19, 2014 · Phil Feser

Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine Price: $283.60 (retail); $212.70 (street) Contact: www.ehx.com Building on the success of its Freeze Sound Retainer…

Gittler Classic Home Feature Image

Gittler Classic

Back to the Future

June 10, 2016 · Zac Childs

The Gittler guitar was invented in the late 1970s by Allan Gittler, whose vision to reduce the guitar to its…

Strymon’s Riverside Multistage Drive

Down By The River

April 16, 2019 · Phil Feser

At first glance, the Strymon Riverside Multistage Drive doesn’t look much different from the rest of the herd. But dig…

Fender Acoustasonic Player Telecaster

Well-Bred Hybrid

November 9, 2022 · Rich Maloof

The truth? Hybrid guitars are a tall order. But with the Acoustasonic line – now five models strong – Fender’s…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

30 Most Valuable Guitars

December 27, 2017 · Ward Meeker

To mark VG’s 30th anniversary, we dig into the 30 most-valuable production guitars.

Mooer’s Slow Engine Volume Swell

Bring It Up

March 15, 2019 · Pete Prown

Long out of production, the Boss Slow Gear was one of the coolest pedals of the ’80s, duplicating the sound…

Have Guitar Will Travel 091 – Kenny Vaughan

February 12, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In Episode 91 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, host James Patrick Regan circles back with Kenny Vaughan, guitarist in Marty…

The 1966 Murph Squire II-T

So-Cal Attention Getter

October 13, 2021 · Michael Wright

Despite what many enthusiasts believe, there has been only one really significant “lawsuit” that defined a class of guitars –…

Rockin’ Independence Day

July 3, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Vintage Guitar has put together a Rockin’ 4th of July playlist. Listen and enjoy! Spotify is free or available without…

Pat Metheny

The Jazz Guitar Prodigy at 60

December 1, 2016 · Dan Forte

His success is obvious – 20 Grammy awards, crossover popularity, loyal fans dating back 40 years. Still, his career path…

Gibson’s “Non-Reverse” Firebirds

When Down Was Up

February 4, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Some guitars get no respect, at least historically. At the dawn of the ’70s, Gibson’s original (1963-’65) Firebirds were already…

Oddfellow Napoleon Boost

Oddfellow Napoleon Boost

Little Dictator

March 10, 2016 · Pete Prown

Oddfellow Napoleon Boost Price: $119.99 (list) Contact: www.oddfellowfx.com Overdrive is one of the guitarist’s great joys. Unlike flat-out distortion, overdrive…

The Oud

The Oud

Ancient to Modern

July 5, 2016 · Neil Haverstick

If Beatles guitarist George Harrison had used an oud instead of a sitar to give “Norwegian Wood” its distinct sound,…

Mark Lettieri

Can I Tell You Something?

August 13, 2025 · Pete Prown

The Snarky Puppy virtuoso delivers a set of crisp funk-fusion, touching on everything from Steely Dan jazzisms to an ’80s…

Danelectro’s Four-String Basses

January 8, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

The guitars and basses made by Danelectro in the ’60s epitomized “no frills.” And though they were considered the nadir…

Tom Feldmann And Noah Levy

Brothers in the Mud

March 3, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Spoiler alert: While it’s early in the year, this album is already a shoe-in as one of the best blues…

Orianthi

The Power Of O

February 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

On Orianthi’s latest album, O, the fierce guitar slinger injects mass quantities of blues-rock fury into a contemporary pop-music setting.…

Matching Mojo

May 4, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

During the “guitar boom” of the 1960s, one method of getting a band noticed was to equip it with matching…

Dobro Model 27

Brother Oswald's Dobro – Country Music History Maker

December 22, 2014 · Vintage Guitar

The melodic, evocative warbling of a resonator guitar has for decades been a fixture in country music, and knowledgeable fans…

Phantom Reissue 1964 PH12

Ghost of Vintage Past

September 25, 2014 · Chip Wilson

From the Hollies to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, from Robert Junior Lockwood to the Stones, the electric 12-string has a prominent…

Eric Ambel

August 2, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

Eric “Roscoe” Ambel is accomplished guitarist (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Steve Earle) and go-to “roots rock” producer (Bottle Rockets,…

Fender Precision Bass

The “Final” Configuration

June 5, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

The Fender Precision Bass was the first commercially successful solidbody electric bass. Played somewhat like a guitar and sporting a…

Spectrum 5

December 30, 2013 · Michael Wright

Joining playful mid-’60s cultural icons such as the Ford Mustang, NBC’s “The Monkees,” the Beatles’ “Nowhere Man” and Cassius Clay, the…

Kramer Pacer Deluxe

Superstrat or Bust

August 26, 2025 · Michael Wright

On rare occasions, the zeitgeist – not some lucky designer – creates a guitar that captures hearts and minds. Such…

United They Stood, Part 2

Ghosts of Jersey City

July 11, 2022 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost…

Connie Smith

Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches

May 2, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

Connie Smith’s career began with her ebullient 1964 hit “Once a Day,” now part of the Library of Congress’ prestigious…

Classics – May 2021

January 25, 2022 · Ward Meeker

This 1940 ES-250 with serial number 96385 left the Gibson factory bound for retailer New York Band on October 25,…

PRS S2 Custom 24-08

Plentiful Tones

May 3, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

As the youngest of the big three guitar manufacturers, PRS Guitars has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception…

Review: “Gimme All Your Lovin’: The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons”

May 1, 2025 · Bret Adams

In his prologue, author Christopher McKittrick acknowledges the difficulty of condensing Gibbons’ six-decade career into one book, partially due to…

Fender 6G13-A Vibrasonic

April 21, 2017 · Dave Hunter

Amid the classics in Fender’s “golden-era” amp line, some remained in production only a short time because of timing, misjudgment…

Tom Feldmann

Delta Blues DeLuxe

May 9, 2019 · Pete Prown

Tom Feldmann burst out of Minneapolis with an authentic take on acoustic blues unlike anything heard in years. Gifted with…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend

What Goes Around…

April 30, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I learned to play guitar during the folk boom that, for me,…

Blackberry Smoke

January 27, 2017 · Michael Dregni

The Atlanta band walks the line between blues, alt country, and Southern rock on their fifth studio album, getting lower…