The Hot Club of San Francisco

Original Gadjo

October 9, 2025 · Dan Forte

Django Reinhardt is inarguably near the top of the most-influential jazz artists, considering how many ensembles (speaking globally) strive to…

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PureSalem Bette

Unfiltered Garage Rock

June 10, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

If you’ve ever worked in the music retail field, you know that not everybody shares your excellent taste in guitars.…

Donner Rising-G Pro

Weather-Ready

July 6, 2023 · Pete Prown

Composite and graphite guitars have been around for more than 50 years, from famous Ovation acoustics to the Parker Fly,…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Freeman Arthur

December 10, 2025 · Ram W. Tuli

Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.8 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Freeman Arthur, who…

Dewa Budjana

Dewa Budjana

Fusion/Progressive/World Music from Indonesia

January 24, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

Back home in Bali, Indonesia, guitarist Dewa Budjana is noted for his work with the pop band Gigi, but recently,…

Hornby Skewes Zonk Machines

Hornby Skewes Zonk Machines

Fuzz Bonk

February 12, 2016 · Michael Dregni

In 1965, fuzz was the “it” sound. Guitarists had recorded with fuzz before, of course, but after Keith Richards plugged…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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

Philip Sayce’s Guitar Meditation

April 25, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Exploring, Expanding Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into…

Motörhead Bassist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister Passes

1945-2015

December 29, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, founding bassist for the iconic heavy metal band Motörhead, died December 28, two days after reportedly being…

Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!

May 13, 2025 · Doug Yellow Bird

“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin…

One Unforgettable ’60s-Oddity Magnatone

Monster Mash

July 2, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Drew Moniot and his band, The Sequins, were on top of the world, playing Gibson SGs through endorsement-deal amp stacks…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Rickenbacker B14A

Silver Service

April 4, 2022 · Dave Hunter

  For most guitarists today, glimpsing a vintage Rickenbacker combo elicits a response like, “Wait… Rickenbacker made amps?” But remember,…

1978 Gibson RD Artist

May 5, 2016 · Michael Wright

Throughout most of the 1970s, Les Pauls ruled the guitar roost. But toward the end of the decade, some players became…

The Martin OM-28

January 7, 2025 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Although popular music of the 1920s featured the tenor banjo as the preferred rhythm instrument, the guitar’s popularity rose steadily…

Classics: August 2022

Billy Soutar’s custom-order 1936 Gibson L-7

April 11, 2023 · Ward Meeker

While scanning an Elderly Instruments ad in Vintage Guitar one day in early 2009, Billy Soutar spotted the description of…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

DryBell Module 4

Compress Yourself

August 28, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

  Inspired by the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, Drybell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s Module 4 Compressor adds several highly usable features.…

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Rockin’ Down the House

August 31, 2015 · Pete Prown

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom Price: $999 (Space Cadet)/$699 (MVX-15) Contact: www.musicvox.com For nearly two decades, Musicvox’s designs…

Peerless Retromatic

Peerless Retromatic

Modern Vintage

April 27, 2016 · Pete Prown

Peerless Retromatic Price: $1,699 Info: www.peerlessguitars.eu While many new guitars of the last decade have touted authentic (or semi-authentic) “retro”…

D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir SS

Touch of Grey

April 26, 2019 · Michael Dregni

When Bob Weir introduced his D’Angelico Premier SS at NAMM last January, he performed a set of Grateful Dead and…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Carr Skylark Special 1×12

Take Flight

January 14, 2026 · Dave Hunter

Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced…

Rivet ’63/’64 Pickup Set

Pole Position

July 3, 2019 · Zac Childs

Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints…

Official Keith Emerson Tribute Concert

Various artists

March 4, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Five years ago, keyboardist Keith Emerson sadly ended his life, but a half-decade later, his work still resonates through the…

Jim Lauderdale

Sweet Music

April 27, 2020 · Michael Dregni

“I consciously did not want to make a knockoff of a Gram record or an Elvis record.” Jim Lauderdale is…

Tech 21’s SansAmp Classic

Right The First Time

March 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

Every so often, new gear arrives that reminds us all how some builders got it right the first time –…

Guild F-512

Iconic ’70s 12-String

December 28, 2017 · George Gruhn

Today, players typically equate the 12-string acoustic with Taylor and Martin. For its part, though, Guild’s F-512 remains one of…

Khalif Wailin’ Walter

DIY Blues

August 12, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Blues guitarist Khalif Wailin’ Walter now makes his home in Essen, Germany, but the sound that emanates from his fretboard…

Classics: Norman Harris

Rare Pioneer

January 30, 2026 · Ward Meeker

As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band…

John Scofield

January 27, 2017 · Rich Kienzle

The history of jazz guitarists playing country tunes is long and distinguished, starting with Slim Bryant, Les Paul, and George…

The Rickenbacker 4000

March 21, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

The model 4000 was not only Rickenbacker’s first foray into the electric-bass market, it was decidedly different from Fender’s Precision…

Chris Duarte

Ain’t Giving Up

January 25, 2024 · Pete Prown

After Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death in 1990, an army of Strat cats rushed into the breach, vying to be the…

Line 6 Catalyst 100

Natural Vibe

April 4, 2023 · Pete Prown

The latest array of amp modelers from Line 6 – pioneers in the field – is the Catalyst, in 60-,…

WIDMAN_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Widman Set Neck

An Eye For Detail

December 30, 2013 · Zac Childs

Widman Set Neck Price: $3,900 Info: widmancustomelectrics.com. John Widman is a custom guitar builder whose artistic leanings began while he…

Supro Amulet 1×10

Old-School Soul

December 23, 2023 · Charlie Wilkins

Paying homage to low-powered tube amps from yesteryear, the Supro Amulet was designed to re-create classic Supro sounds with a…

Tony Valentino

75, Still Rockin’

March 29, 2017 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

Most fans of classic-rock radio know The Standells garage-punk classic “Dirty Water,” which was listed in Rolling Stone’s “Top 500…

Cliff Goodwin

Double Trouble

July 11, 2024 · Pete Prown

Veteran rocker Cliff Goodwin has worked with everyone from Joe Cocker to Robert Palmer in a long, 4/4-heavy career. Now…

Jerry Douglas

Helping Hiatt

May 1, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

In April of 2020, Jerry Douglas and his band were set to back singer/songwriter John Hiatt on his new album,…

J.D. Simo

Playing for Elvis

July 13, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Psych-blues guitar maestro J.D. Simo was the wizard behind the guitar work heard on Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann film…

Fender’s Classic Player Strat HH

Fender’s Classic Player Strat HH

The Humbucker Paradox

November 5, 2015 · Pete Prown

Fender’s Classic Player Strat HH Price: $949.99 (list) Contact: www.fender.com One of the great guitar myths is that pro Fender…

In Memoriam: Tony “T.S. McPhee

April 3, 2024 · Dan Forte

Groundhogs leader Tony “T.S.” McPhee ranked with the greatest British blues guitarists, whether solo acoustic or ensemble electric, slide or…

Dom Martin

More Than a Feeling

August 6, 2024 · Sean McDevitt

From the first fingerpicked notes of “Hello in There,” a gentle, inviting 98-second acoustic instrumental that opens Dom Martin’s Buried…

Nils Lofgren Shines Solo – Again

September 26, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Star Grabs Vintage J-50 for “Ain’t the Truth Enough? An in-demand sideman for more than 50 years, guitar wizard Nils…

Fixing Tuner Holes in a Rare Gibson

Replacement Plague

October 14, 2021 · Dan Erlewine

I’ve worked on plenty of old Gibsons, but guitars like this 1939 J-55 are rare. It’s only the second one…

Eric Ambel

Proficient Professional

December 26, 2017 · Dennis Pernu

Ace sideman (Joan Jett, Steve Earle), producer of note (Bottle Rockets, Nils Lofgren, Marshall Crenshaw), and proprietor of Brooklyn’s 24-track…

Warren Haynes

Gov’t Revolution

April 23, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Digging through the Gov’t Mule catalog recalls a legacy of great music. More than just another jam band, the group…

The Leilani Lap Steel and Amplifier

April 4, 2014 · Eric C. Shoaf

You can receive more great articles like this in our twice-monthly e-mail newsletter, Vintage Guitar Overdrive, FREE from your friends…

Carbe and Durand

August 30, 2016 · John Heidt

The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe…

Thomas Custom Guitars

Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

January 9, 2026 · Peter Blecha

Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better…

Deke Dickerson

Making Merle’s Memoir

December 14, 2023 · Ward Meeker

From the day he first picked up a guitar at 13, Deke Dickerson honed in on guitarists like Chuck Berry,…