• 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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VG Hall of Fame 2012 Inductees

January 9, 2013 · Vintage Guitar

Fender The Edge Strat, Edge Deluxe Amp

What You’re Looking For

January 8, 2018 · Michael Dregni

Leo Fender once famously said, “A guitar is just a hammer.” If you haven’t yet found a hammer that fits…

Glenn Hughes

Golden-Voiced Bassist

December 26, 2017 · Greg Prato

In the past year, Glenn Hughes has experienced highs like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 021 Featuring Jake Shimabukuro

January 10, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

In the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro, who talks…

Fryette Valvulator GP/DI Amp

Totally Tubular

April 19, 2019 · Pete Prown

Guitarists are often trying to get more convincing tube tones on their home and studio recordings, but finding authentic valve…

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Brad Paisley

Two Vital Guitars From the Collection of a Modern Superpicker

April 21, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Brad Paisley’s 2011 book, Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, is…

  • 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

Graham Parker plays “We Did Nothing”

January 3, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Reflective take on the world In his review of Graham Parker’s “Last Chance To Learn The Twist,” Dan Forte recalls…

Tony Gilkyson: Country-Rocker, Punk

January 24, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Tasty licks On A Vintage Kay An alumnus of country-rock’s Lone Justice and punk-rockers X, Tony Gilkyson plugged his vintage…

Mike Baggetta Brings the Morricone Sauce!

March 10, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

New Album Explores Styles with Keltner, Watt Check out Mike Baggetta and his Iris AB (serial number 46) playing the…

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…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Supro “Model 24”

July 25, 2014 · Dave Hunter

Okay, Zep police, sound the alarm and prepare to loose the hounds – we are finally about to lift the…

Classics: December 2023

Cliff Antone’s 1952 Fender Precision

August 15, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Texas is known for music, especially Austin, which in the mid ’70s became a hotbed thanks to clubs like Armadillo…

Clapton’s Fool

History’s Greatest Guitar?

November 23, 2015 · J. Craig Oxman

Eric Clapton’s The Fool. A name immediately recognizable to guitarists, yet baffling to others. What is Clapton’s Fool? Very simply,…

Italian Smorgasbord

The Goya Rangemaster 116 SB

April 27, 2020 · Michael Wright

American guitars made in the 1950s and ’60s constitute an almost-holy canon, yet most players in that era took their…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Martin SC-13E Special Burst

Blueprint Blow-up

January 9, 2023 · Michael Shirek

For nearly two centuries, Martin has been building acoustic instruments befitting the company’s august reputation. The slew of budget-friendly models…

EHX Slammi Plus, Hot Wax

Grease Fire

October 14, 2019 · Pete Prown

EHX’s Slammi Plus and Hot Wax pedals are not for the faint of heart. Housed in heavy-duty plastic, the Whammy-shaped…

Marshall’s DSL1C

Small Stack

June 21, 2022 · Bob Dragich

For those who love classic British tone, nothing beats the sound of a Marshall stack cranked to 10. Unfortunately, unless…

The Carvin LB70

Höfner Hybrid

September 15, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

When a Carvin instrument has been featured in this space over the years, it was a either a doubleneck or…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Epiphone 1963 Firebird V

Legacy-Worthy

July 10, 2025 · Bob Dragich

Looking to up the ante in the market battle with Fender, in October of 1962, Gibson CEO Ted McCarty asked…

Phil DeGruy

Laughin’ Matters

April 14, 2020 · Jim Carlton

Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that.…

Fretprints: Wes Montgomery

Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece

October 30, 2025 · Wolf Marshall

Wes Montgomery is an iconic guitarist – a titan in the jazz genre. Boasting a style as unique and inimitable…

Carvin’s AE185-12

Stairway to Heaven

January 8, 2014 · Pete Prown

Carvin’s AE185-12 Price: $1,239 (base retail) Info: www.carvinguitars.com. Most guitarists love the sound of a 12-string, but the thought of…

2017 Readers’ Choice Awards

January 11, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

Each year, Vintage Guitar asks fans to select Readers’ Choice winners for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year,…

Vintage Instrument Research

An Ever-Changing Landscape

May 9, 2019 · George Gruhn

Fretted instruments can be examined in much the same way as zoological taxonomist or forensic pathologist would approach them. They…

Building a Studio

The Art of Home Recording

November 9, 2014 · Dave Hunter

VG will equip readers with the knowledge and skill to achieve professional-sounding home recordings. We guide you through the setup…

Elliot Easton

Star Board: Elliot Easton

November 25, 2015 · Ward Meeker

Elliot Easton’s “Pedalboard” Though Elliot Easton enjoys his loaded full-size Pedaltrain board, his new band, The Empty Hearts (with Clem…

Jay Geils

More of That Jazz

April 13, 2017 · Johnny Zapp

Guitar maestro Jay Geils is a musical chameleon. In the ’70s, the J. Geils Band kicked out nine records that…

Maintenance, Man

Basic Skills for Every Player

January 3, 2018 · Will Kelly

Acquiring and owning musical equipment is an expensive proposition. Used regularly, guitars and amps require maintenance that can lead to…

Rockin’ Independence Day

July 3, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Vintage Guitar has put together a Rockin’ 4th of July playlist. Listen and enjoy! Spotify is free or available without…

Pop ’N Hiss: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom

January 24, 2022 · Pete Prown

There were innovative Stratocaster records before Ah Via Musicom, but Eric Johnson’s 1990 opus changed the rules of the game…

Doc Watson

1923-2012

December 5, 2013 · Rich Kienzle

Over a career spanning 52 years, the passage of time only enhanced Doc Watson’s stature. His virtuosity and musical range,…

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,…

GizmoAudio’s Ripsaw and Sawmill Jr.

GizmoAudio’s Ripsaw and Sawmill Jr.

Just Like the First Time

January 7, 2016 · Ray Wuolo

Durham Electronics’ ReddVerb Price: $180 each (list) Info: www.gizmoaudio.com Most guitar players’ first pedal was a distortion/OD, often acquired after…

Guitar Tone Company’s Bloody Finger

Rugged Facelift

December 27, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

While honing his ears at Greene Street Recording Studio in New York, David Harrington was inspired to build studio-quality stompboxes.…

Fender 
Telecaster Thinline

Weight-Loss Trial

July 22, 2019 · George Gruhn

Born in turbulent times on the downslope of the “guitar boom,” Fender’s Telecaster Thinline has always existed in the shadow…

Robben Ford

The One and Only

April 8, 2014 · Dan Forte

There’s never been a shortage of young guitar hotshots, but in recent years, particularly among blues players, these phenoms seem…

Weller Guitars’ Stageliner

Jetson Moderne

November 29, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

More and more, guitar designers are digging deep, thinking out of the box, and using their imaginations to conjure hip,…

Tommy Smith

Leogun’s Led Zep Connection

March 3, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Some of the loudest buzz – literally and figuratively – in music surrounds the London-base power trio Leogun, fronted by…

Jammy Instruments’ Jammy G

Digital Six

January 27, 2022 · Pete Prown

Digital, MIDI, and synth guitars have been around for decades. One newer entry in the field is the Jammy G,…

Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham and Vivian Campbell

Live and Still Dangerous!

May 19, 2016 · Lisa Sharken

Thin Lizzy has cemented its place in history as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Recognizable…

Martin D-28 and D-45

Definitive Flat-tops

April 4, 2018 · George Gruhn

Martin’s pre-WWII dreadnought guitars set the standard for the modern flat-top, and thus both have been inducted into the VG…

Have Guitar Will Travel 070 – JJ Wilde and J.D. Smigelski

February 23, 2022 · James Patrick Regan

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” finds host James Patrick Regan speaking with indie rocker JJ Wilde and…

Burke Guitar

Axe That Time Forgot

June 15, 2023 · Ward Meeker

For more than 70 years, aluminum has been a component in guitar construction. Exactly whose idea it was originally has…

Al Di Meola

Elegant Warrior

December 27, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

An evolved, technical player and soulful composer, his work has been staggering – from spellbinding compositions employing diverse jazz, rock,…

Guild Polara Kim Thayil

Get Your Grunge

June 26, 2024 · Bob Cianci

With Soundgarden, guitarist Kim Thayil helped define the grunge movement. His unusual weapon of choice was the Guild S-100 Polara,…

Gibson EH-150

An Odd Gibson EH-150

10 Strings, Lap-Style

January 20, 2016 · George Gruhn

Lap-steel guitars were the first commercially available electrics – ancestors of the guitars we plug in today, regardless of their…

Supro’s 600R DeLuxe

Supro’s 600R DeLuxe

“The Magic of Concert Hall Sound”

January 23, 2017 · Michael Dregni

In the early days of reverb, no one was thinking about surf music; they were striving instead to replicate the…