-
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…
Duke Levine, solo guitar on a ’70s country stalwart!
Classic licks on a ’60s Teisco and blackface Princeton Reverb” Boston native Duke Levine’s impressive career has included stints with…
1964 Fender Bassman
1964 Fender 6G6-B Bassman Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier:…
Larry McCray
All In the Family
“A lot of people…think [blues is] all the same. So I try to take that element out. I don’t want…
Reverend Mike Watt Wattplower
During four years of back and forth, Reverend Guitars and legendary punk-rock bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose, Stooges), developed a…
Mark Lettieri
Baritone Funk
Snarky Puppy’s Empire Central was recorded in front of a live audience and pays homage to the city of Dallas.…
Michael Lee Firkins
Meditations in Southern Rock
Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box…
-
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,…
NOW AVAILABLE!
CURRENT ISSUE
Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!
ARTISTS
Scott Holt
Mojo Risin’ in Foghat
It’s been more than 50 years since Foghat unleashed its freewheeling rock and roll, steeped in its blues beginnings. Sonic…
Charlie Starr: Open-Tuning Magic on “Azalea”
Blackberry Smoke frontman on a vintage Gibson Enjoy a bit of the supremely tasty “Azalea,” played by Charlie Starr and…
George Gruhn
How a Zoologist Became a Guitar animal
If you bumped into a bearded, corduroy-jacketed George Gruhn in a Nashville coffee shop, you might think you’d stumbled upon…
Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!
Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
The Strat in Transition
Leap Forward, Step Back
Believing the long-term survival of his company hinged on creating the world’s best electric guitar, in 1953, Leo Fender set…
Classics: November 2021
Gibson Les Paul Personal
Billy Soutar loves the vibe of his 1969 Les Paul Personal and matching LP-12 amp. While the guitar’s mahogany body,…
Yamaha SA-15
Our perception of Japanese guitars has evolved slowly. At one point, they were cheap toys, at other times imperfect copies,…
Rick Vito’s Tale Of Two Grails
Find of a Lifetime
Whether it was by watching “Bandstand” on TV or learning the licks of Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry, or the Ventures,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight
James Trussart SteelCaster
Rust Never Sleeps
James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully…
Crazy Tube Circuits SPT
Greece Is The Word
The modal mellowness of Apollo’s lyre or the perky chirp of the bouzouki might come to mind when one thinks…
St. Blues Juke Joint Series
Domestic Bliss
With the elimination of its Korean-made Pro Series and the introduction of the Juke Joint Series, Memphis-based St. Blues can…
The Xaviere XV-JT90 and XV-585
Planks for Pennies
Xaviere is a company that imports its guitars from China, sets them up in its Massachusetts shop, then sells direct.…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
More Personal
-
Rare Pioneer
Martin 000-30
When a guitar maker introduces an innovative new feature at the same time an appealing, existing feature is being discontinued,…
Sheryl Bailey
New Ground in The SBQ
Sheryl Bailey has enjoyed a steady upward trajectory since her career launched 20 years ago. One of the leading proponents…
Deke Dickerson
Making Merle’s Memoir
From the day he first picked up a guitar at 13, Deke Dickerson honed in on guitarists like Chuck Berry,…
Richie Kotzen
Fight For Familiarity
So he’s not burning up the Top 40, but Richie Kotzen has been a soul-crooning monster guitarist for a very…
