• Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the  first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set…

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  • 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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Shooter Jennings & the Werewolves of Los Angeles

Do Zevon

December 6, 2024 · Dan Forte

He may not have found a home in a certain institution in Cleveland, despite overwhelming “fan votes,” but the late…

Meet The GitWik

Cooperative Cognition

July 22, 2019 · Rusty Russell

When it comes to identifying guitars, basses, amps, and effects, nobody knows it all. Anyone save for the true specialist,…

Richie Kotzen

Goin’ Supergroup

February 25, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Veteran guitar monster Richie Kotzen has done it all from opening for The Rolling Stones, recording with Stanley Clarke, to…

Peavey VYPYR X2

Small Wonder

July 6, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Continuing its decades-long innovative streak, Peavey’s VYPYR X2 Guitar Modeling Amp brings modern styling, a new open-back cabinet, and re-tooled…

Mustangs of the West

Down at the Palomino

January 9, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Los Angeles’ all-female country quintet has a new record featuring 12 super-cool songs. Produced by Kirk Pasich and Colin Devlin,…

Geddy Lee

Bass Conservator

August 7, 2023 · Ward Meeker

In its 40-plus years, Rush evolved on its own terms. Mixing rock and jazz influences, the band’s 19 studio albums…

  • 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

John Pizzarelli

McCartney Memo

November 28, 2016 · Rich Kienzle

John Pizzarelli wasn’t surprised to receive a FedEx package from Sir Paul McCartney in 2014, given that he (and his…

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…

Steve Hillage

Echoes of Earlier Times

April 18, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Steve Hillage has followed his muse through 40 years making music as a member of the psychedelic band Gong, a…

Jim Weider

Telecaster Master, Camp Counselor

May 30, 2025 · Ward Meeker

Ever dream of hanging out with a couple handfuls of guitar legends while breathing fresh mountain air and (mostly) unplugging…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

ORVILLEGIBSONA-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Orville Gibson A model

March 20, 2015 · George Gruhn

All carved-top guitars and mandolins trace their ancestry back to Orville Gibson of Kalamazoo, Michigan. However, as this A model…

Ask Zac: Deep Dive on the Wide Range

Plus, Joey Molland’s Stratotone

December 1, 2021 · Zac Childs

I have collected several Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups from the early ’70s, and I’m curious about how to check…

100 Years of Boston’s MFA

Playable Exhibits

May 9, 2019 · Michael Wright

Musical instruments – guitars – present an interesting philosophical dichotomy. On one hand, they’re utilitarian objects whose very purpose –…

1933 Gibson L-5 “Special”

November 7, 2014 · George Gruhn

Though many collectors focus on instruments in fine original condition, every so often one emerges that, regardless of condition, is…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ

Classy & Sassy

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

The John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ is another hip offering from the former Fender Custom Shop honcho and co-founder,…

ToneSpeak 12″ Line

Speaking of Tone…

July 10, 2023 · Julian Burtell

New to the musical-instrument side of speaker building, but far from neophyte, Misco introduced its ToneSpeak guitar speakers in 2021…

MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22

MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22

Crossing the Rubicon

January 8, 2015 · Chip Wilson

MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22 Price: $999 Info: www.mtdkingston.com Intuitive, player-oriented design, prime materials, and first-class execution distinguished Michael Tobias’s work…

Ernie Ball’s Music Man Cutlass/Stingray

Talkin’ Tonewoods

April 24, 2019 · Pete Prown

For many builders of solidbody guitars, the challenge is to improve on a handful of pioneering designs from the 1950s…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Fender Palomino

July 3, 2022 · Michael Wright

Whether all collectors are as attached to nicknames as guitar enthusiasts is unclear. Do salt-and-pepper shaker collectors have fond shortcuts…

Jeff Kollman

Validating Versatiltiy

June 25, 2025 · Willie G. Moseley

A perusal of guitarist Jeff Kollman’s resumé forces a double take. Alongside decades of studio work and live gigs with…

Mark Knoll

It's about Time

May 24, 2021 · John Heidt

Despite spending three-quarters of his life as a professional musician, singing and playing blistering lead guitar in various groups, until…

Home Feature Image

La Baye 2X4

May 25, 2016 · Michael Wright

1967, the Summer of Love. Everything still seemed possible, and anything went. No more war, racial and gender equality, Fresh…

Backlund 400

Over the Moon

July 24, 2019 · Pete Prown

If George Jetson – or his daughter Judy, for that matter – played guitar, it’s safe to assume they’d go…

Home Feature Image

Gibson 1958-’60 Les Paul Standard

A ’Burst by Any Other Name…

June 9, 2016 · Ward Meeker

One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twelve. That’s the number of Les Paul Standards Gibson produced between 1958 and 1960. Amongst guitar…

Jared James Nichols’ glorious goldtop

April 27, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Mods and pedals need not apply! Watch Jared James Nichols tear it up on “Dorothy,” his ’52 Gibson Les Paul,…

The Zelinsky Dellatera Custom

Easy on the senses

March 5, 2019 · Zac Childs

Dean Zelinsky’s history as a guitar builder includes unique designs that are toneful and eyecatching. To many, he might be…

Replacing Rotted Tuning Keys on a ’62 ES-335

Buttons for a Buzzcock

February 8, 2022 · Dan Erlewine

Steve Garvey played bass in the seminal punk band Buzzcocks during its classic era – 1977 to ’81 – with…

Mike Minasi

Better Building Through Mental Shedding

April 27, 2020 · John Heidt

Mike Minasi’s trip to his first CD, Body Resilient, included several detours, including one that saw him step away from…

Victoria Vic 105

The Victoria VIC 105

Raw And Responsive

August 21, 2013 · Zac Childs

Victoria VIC 105 Price: $1,495 Contact: Victoria Amp Co.; phone (630) 820-6400; victoriaamp.com. In the 1990s, Mark Baier put himself…

Ronnie Earl

Stratocaster Royalty

November 7, 2013 · Bob Dragich

For someone who has been a professional musician for more than 30 years, Ronnie Earl is going through a remarkable…

Nate Najar

This Is Nate Najar

June 27, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Nate Najar plays accessible jazz on a classical guitar and applies classical technique to match. This album showcases the music…

Toys For Tots and Dreams Psychedelic Realized Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

Toys For Tots and Psychedelic Dreams

December 23, 2018 · Greg Martin

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…

1962 Gretsch Country Gentleman Custom

Atkins Oddity

April 6, 2023 · Peter Stuart Kohman

By the early 1960s, the Fred Gretsch Company was riding high with an array of eye-catching electric guitars highlighted with…

Check This Action: Up Jumped Elmore

January 14, 2026 · Dan Forte

When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never…

DryBell Unit67

Balkan Boost

October 15, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory has been kicking out great pedals for a few year, with clients like Mike Landau, John…

Chris Bishop Oscar Jordan Vintage Guitar magazine

Chris Bishop

Wizards and Technology

September 5, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Riff rockers Crobot have been promoting their first album, Something Supernatural, with a live show offering full-bombast rock, contagious funk,…

Albert King’s THC Flying V

Coterie Complete

January 2, 2026 · Willie G. Moseley

Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music…

The Gibson Les Paul Special

February 25, 2010 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Gibson’s Les Paul Special was the last of the original Les Paul “family” of guitars introduced, and it was the…

Pasquale Grasso

Be-Bop!

June 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

A genuine six-string phenomenon, Pasquale Grasso (VG, November ’21) is redefining jazz guitar with a radical approach, making one instrument…

Brian Tarquin

Music, Books, and Bookings

July 2, 2019 · John Heidt

Brian Tarquin is thriving in “steady as ya’ go” mode. Since his VG  interview in February ’15, he has released…

Ernie Isley

Burning Desire

July 2, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Contrary to what longtime fans may have heard, Ernie Isley didn’t take guitar lessons from Jimi Hendrix. Though Ernie hung…

Gibson’s Budget Redux

The SB Series Guitars and Basses

March 2, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

As the 1960s rolled into the ’70s, Gibson had established itself in the electric-bass market with front-line instruments such as…

Gibson Basses in The ’70s

Gibson Basses in The ’70s

Plucky Trio from the “Downer Decade”

February 29, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Guitar enthusiasts have long heard that the 1970s were the “downer decade” for Fender and Gibson, both of which introduced…

Tom Feldmann Beginner Fingerpicking - Lesson 8 Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking – Lesson 8

September 6, 2017 · Tom Feldmann

Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop to present an exclusive eight-part series on beginner…

Have Guitar Will Travel – Featuring 002 Bryan Kehoe

May 13, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

Bryan Kehoe went to school with Les Claypool and played with Exodus. He later joined M.I.R.V. and toured the world…

Greg Lake

Greg Lake

Welcome Back, My Friends Part 1 and 2

December 8, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Bassist/vocalist Greg Lake, a force in the advent of progressive rock in the early 1970s with Emerson, Lake and Palmer…

Dallas Shaftesbury 30

March 7, 2017 · Dave Hunter

We mine the rich seam of obscure vintage American tube amps on a regular basis here in the pages of…