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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…
Hallmark Swept-Wing
Brief Flight from South of Bakersfield
Bob Shade exemplifies the adage “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The guitar builder has an enviable assortment of…
Steve Earle
Hillbilly Highway
When Epic Records dropped Steve Earle in ’85 after a series of fiery but commercially unsuccessful recordings, Nashville was in…
Bob Cowsill Plays a Topical Tune
New Cowsills album is an impressive self-contained work Before the Jackson 5 and the Osmonds, The Cowsills scored four Top…
Have Guitar Will Travel 066 – Eddie Perez
James Patrick Regan welcomes Eddie Perez to “Have Guitar Will Travel.” Eddie’s impressive career included backing Dwight Yoakam, which springboarded…
Lipe Guitars Maestro
Whole Lotta Mahogany
Lipe Maestro Price: $4,900 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has a wall of gold records. Why? Not because…
Andrew Hendryx – Lesson #1: “Hey Joe” on a mandolin
In his first exclusive video tutorial for VG Online, Andrew Hendryx uses his Collings MF5 mandolin to show us how to play…
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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
Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album
Pulverizing Performance
Brutish power chords and shrieking guitar lines abetted by pounding percussion, overdriven bass riffs, and wailing vocals – at the…
Andy Peake – Roots Without Boundaries
Andy Peake – Roots Without Boundaries Andy Peake is a drummer/percussionist with a long list of accomplished-guitarist friends. For proof,…
Paul in the Family
Chris Arena's Black '59 LP Standard
“I wanna be a musician!” The declaration – typically from an adolescent family member – purses the lips of parents…
Jeff Beck
He Can’t Help It… He Just Keeps Getting Better
In 1985, speaking of the ’83 Action Research into Muscle Distrophy (A.R.M.S.) Tour that united Yardbirds alumni Jeff Beck, Jimmy…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Classics: Norman Harris
Rare Pioneer
As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band…
Excelsior Americana
If you play any breed of twang, country, roots-rock or, well, “Americana,” could there possibly be a better amp than…
1986 Dumble Overdrive Special
The exalted amps of Alexander Dumble have been legendary since he began building in the late ’60s, and have become…
Kramer Pacer Deluxe
Superstrat or Bust
On rare occasions, the zeitgeist – not some lucky designer – creates a guitar that captures hearts and minds. Such…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals
Crying Out Loud!
RMC3FL Prices: $255 RMC4 Picture Prices: $235 RMC8 Guitar Eqwahlyzer Prices: $269 RMC10 Prices: $235 Info: www.realmccoycustom.com. Geoffrey Teese began…
The Collings I-35 LC Vintage
Semi-Struck
The semi-hollow ES shape remains one of the most alluring electric designs in history. The folks at Collings know this…
Vintage V52 Icon
Cost-Effective Twang
Vintage V52 Icon Price: $459 Info: www.jhs.co.uk The U.K.-based distributor John Hornby Skewes offers guitars under the brand Vintage that…
Jim Kelley Reverb Model
Legend, Resurrected
Jim Kelley began making his highly acclaimed guitar amplifiers 1978. His big revelation came while he was still doing mods…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Vernon Reid
Kind of Blue
Vernon Reid went against the grain of rock guitarists in the 1980s, conjuring Parliament-Funkadelic, Ornette Coleman, Bad Brains, Carlos Santana,…
Supro’s Titan 1642RT
Born To Gig
Supro’s new Titan amp is built to play out. This 50-watt 1×10 tube combo packs it all into a compact,…
Cactus
Guitarist Jim McCarty (not to be confused with the Yardbirds’ drummer of the same name) initially turned heads in the…
Kurdt Vanderhoof
These Go to XI
When it comes to thrash metal, the “Big 4” – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax – get credit for popularizing…
