The Pigtronix Envelope Phaser 2

Sophisti-Phaser

October 29, 2013 · Zac Childs

Pigtronix Envelope Phaser II Price: $249 (street). Contact: Phone (631) 331-7447; Pigtronix.com. Pigtronix effects are known not only for their…

Hilary Gardner returns with a fresh take on a holiday classic!

December 24, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Hilary Gardner returns! Ready to set the tone for your holidays, Hilary Gardner and her band return for a fantastic…

Steve Lukather

Sun Shine

January 26, 2022 · Bret Adams

Steve Lukather has been a busy professional guitarist for 45 of his 63 years, as a founding member of Toto,…

Ritchie Blackmore

Machine Head at 45: Tone Secrets of Deep Purple’s Masterwork

April 22, 2019 · Pete Prown

In any conversation about the dawn of hard rock and metal, several bands rise up –  Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath,…

JONATHAN WILSON

Jonathan Wilson

Charlotte to Cali

March 12, 2014 · Kathleen Johnson

Jonathan Wilson is having a very good year. His Gentle Spirit CD (Bella Union), a hippie-soul drenched 80 minutes of…

Fender Deluxe Reverb

Vintage Guitar magazine Hall of Fame 2011 Instrument

October 20, 2014 · Ward Meeker

In the June ’07 issue of VG, amp profiler extraordinaire Dave Hunter said of the Fender Deluxe Reverb, “If guitarists…

  • 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

Chris Spedding

Chris Spedding

Convergence of Legends and Friends

March 23, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

The career of guitarist Chris Spedding has spanned more than four decades and included a commendable solo career, a stint…

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Robin Trower

20 Albums In

June 7, 2016 · Steve Rosen

On his 20th album, Something’s About to Change, Strat stalwart Robin Trower once again dives into the blues for a…

Revealing Jesse Ed Davis

Douglas K. Miller

August 12, 2025 · Bret Adams

Jesse Ed Davis was an unsung guitar hero – unless you were a legend like Eric Clapton, John Lennon, George…

Frank Gambale Vintage Guitar magazine

Frank Gambale

Soulmine

December 11, 2013 · Oscar Jordan

Frank Gambale has had an amazing career playing the music he loves. From being the go-to guy for sweep-picking, and…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Fender’s Tweed-to Tolex Transition

Best Face Forward

June 6, 2022 · Dave Hunter

Through its 75 years, Fender has been responsible for myriad leaps forward in the history of guitar-amplifier design and manufacture.…

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…

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Hosts “Storied Strings” Exhibit

Guitars In Art

August 10, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Dr. Leo Mazow’s vision for the new “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of…

Peavey RJ-IV

October 23, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Peavey RJ-IV bass, serial number 04938996. Photo: Bill Ingalls Jr. Instrument courtesy of Naffaz Skota. Americans by the millions “know”…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Xaviere XV-JT90 and XV-585

Planks for Pennies

September 19, 2013 · Pete Prown

Xaviere is a company that imports its guitars from China, sets them up in its Massachusetts shop, then sells direct.…

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

Grand Designs

March 23, 2016 · Steven Stone

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature Price: $8,999 (list) Contact: www.prsguitars.com What do you call the most beautifully made production acoustic you’ve…

Lengardo Milano JBE Series

Lengardo Milano JBE Series

Beyond Kalamazoo

February 15, 2016 · Zac Childs

Lengardo Milano JBE Series Price: $4,254 Contact: www.JBEPickups.com Though a name unfamiliar to most, Lengardo is a brand of Phaselus,…

Jam Pedals’ LucyDreamer Supreme

Crunchilicious

October 14, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Like so many boutique gear companies, Jam Pedals has established a distinct sonic stamp. Its effects have an uncompromising retro…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Jam Pedals’ Delay Llama & Wahcko Wah

What’s In A Name?

July 23, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Positioning its sonic M.O. squarely in the 1960s and ’70s, Jam Pedals strives to create a distinct line of effects.…

John Mayer

Sob Rock

July 13, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

John Mayer’s latest is a somber ode to the soft-rockin’ ’80s – think Henley and Hornsby. But don’t start eye-rolling…

Pop ’N Hiss: Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire

Strife Under Pressure

September 18, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

With a title taken from a Ronald Reagan quip about the Soviet Union, Rage Against The Machine’s second album, Evil…

BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II

BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II

Big-Tone City

March 11, 2016 · Pete Prown

BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II Price: $2,495 (list) Contact: www.bcaudio.com Bruce Clement is known for his quality amp…

Donald “Duck” Dunn

Memphis Blues Legend

June 14, 2012 · Willie G. Moseley

Click Here to view Donald “Duck” Dunn Obit. In the history of popular music, the story of Memphis-based Stax Records…

George Kilby, Jr.

The Succinct Approach

May 5, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

George Kilby, Jr.’s Six Pack is, he says, a “collection of singles” rather than an EP or album. Kilby graduated…

Dusky Electronics Toasted Overdrive

Let It Burn

March 13, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Dusky Electronics’ new Toasted Overdrive is an upgrade of the company’s two-stage MOSFET amp in a box; builder Chris Rossi…

Darin and Brooke Aldridge’s Family Album

Darin and Brooke Aldridge’s Family Album

Picture Perfect

April 6, 2016 · Kathleen Johnson

The husband-and-wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge are one of the hottest acts on the traditional bluegrass/Americana scene. The couple’s…

Evil robot Feature Page

Evil Robot EVR-C30

Advances in Mojo

June 11, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Evil Robot EVR-C30 Price: $999 (list) Info: www.frettedamericana.com. In 2010, music retailer Fretted Americana joined forces with amp wizard John…

Midge Ure

The Unexpected Retrospective

November 7, 2025 · Willie G. Moseley

While guitarist Midge Ure was a member of Visage and was briefly in an early version of Thin Lizzy, he’s…

The Pickaso Guitar Bow

Fiddle Stick 

October 15, 2021 · Pete Prown

Ever since Jimmy Page grabbed a bow for “Dazed and Confused,” players have tried to bridge the gap between guitars…

Rob Wrobel Le Voyage Lace III

Boxed Up

July 10, 2019 · Chip Wilson

Cigar-box guitars are a 19th-century creation that today are enjoying a trendy surge in popularity, and attracting the design expertise…

Roy Orbison’s Marshall Model 1961

Dream Baby

June 10, 2024 · Dave Hunter

One of the most-desirable vintage amplifiers ever made goes by a name it never officially had. Possibly the first Marshall…

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…

Keith Urban

Down-Under Uber-Picker

March 30, 2010 · Zac Childs

For a guy born in New Zealand and reared in Australia, Keith Urban certainly knows how to grab the attention…

Rik Emmett

Ten Telecaster Tales

January 14, 2026 · Pete Prown

At the risk of starting a brawl, Rik Emmett’s guitar work was arguably too good for Triumph. As evidence, his…

Bryan Bassett

Foghat’s Slide Secret

July 22, 2022 · Pete Prown

A half-century after its inception, Foghat has just one original member – drummer Roger Earl – yet the quartet is…

Xotic XW-1 LPB Limited Edition

Small Wonder

June 12, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Wah pedals come in a variety of sizes and textures, so finding one that checks all the boxes can be…

Fretprints: Steve Khan

Khan-sequential Guitar

April 8, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him…

Kentucky Colonels

1966

May 13, 2024 · Pete Prown

Clarence White is best known as the B-bendin’ Telecaster pioneer with the Byrds – and his tragic 1973 death. But…

Movie Star, Rancher

Mid-’50s Muse of Wire and Wood

January 5, 2015 · Ward Meeker

In the years immediately after World War II, Americans were settling into a new way of life, and plunging headlong…

Fishman’s Fluence Greg Koch Gristle-Tone Pickups

Voices Not In Your Head

July 5, 2018 · Tom Guerra

In 2014, Fishman introduced their Fluence line with the goal of combining vintage tone with freedom from the inductance problems…

Steve Howell Fingerpicks “Stocking Feet Blues”

January 12, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Solo acoustic homage to rural-blues great Steve Howell is a veteran of blues, rock, and jazz. Here, he fingerpicks a…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 013 Featuring Josh Zee

August 16, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

In this episode of the Have Guitar Will Travel podcast, I speak with Josh Zee, who has recorded two major label albums…

Mike Beigel

Resurrection of the Mu-Tron III

January 11, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Mike Beigel is no guitarist. But that never held him back in crafting one of the most legendary of all…

The Roland Space Echo

Perfect Slap-Back

September 4, 2015 · Michael Dregni

When Brian Setzer kickstarted the Stray Cats into action in 1979, his gear lineup was a hodgepodge of orthodox rockabilly…

Harvey Valdes

Switched-On Bach

March 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

Ever since Andrés Segovia elevated the nylon-string guitar to a serious classical instrument a century ago, players have been performing the…

Ted Greene Remembered

November 10, 2020 · Jim Carlton

You know what happened: discretionary income for the first time and the rise of the indies with things that the…

Bob Seger and the Borneo Band

Lakeview High School, St. Clair Shores, Michigan, April ’73

November 4, 2020 · Ken Settle

If you were a Detroit kid in the 1960s, it was impossible to cruise Woodward Avenue and not hear a…