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The story of the Martin F-50
Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric guitar market. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season from…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Timm Kummer
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a legendary figure in the world of collectible guitars with a…
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Reeves Gabrels’ Newest Reverend Spacehawk
For his gig with The Cure, Reeves Gabrels needed a guitar that could cover a lot of sonic territory. The folks at Reverend helped him create the Spacehawk; the latest…
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Joe Satriani
The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Yasmin Williams
Fearless Imagination
On her latest album, Urban Driftwood, Yasmin Williams’ wanderlust expands beyond the acoustic polyphony her fans know well. The songs…
Paul Barrere
The Feats and Famous Friends
Barrere onstage at a recent show with his trusty ’72 Fender Stratocaster. Photo: J. Kosack. It’s been well over a…
Brian Setzer
Rocking Back to the Future
Brian Setzer wears several hats – rockabilly, swing, even hard-rocking Christmas music. But through it all, by and large he…
Dan Wilson’s celebration of jazz legends
Homage with Superb Musicality On his latest album, “Things Eternal,” jazz wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Three Larsons
At first glance, these three guitars appear to be a straightforward collection of different sizes of the same model. A…
Small Screen, Big Pickin’
Crew Strives to Keep it Real on “Nashville”
It’s not often that prime-time network television captures an audience of working class, professional musicians. In 1968, players watched Elvis…
Intriguing Twosome
A Look at Gibson’s EB-6
As the ’50s drew to a close, Gibson was locked in a heated battle with Fender for a share of…
Classics – June 2021
Rob Harrelson’s first guitar – a Kay 1160 – entered his life as a 14th-birthday gift from his grandmother. At…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Alessandro Working Dog amps
Designed and built for tone – and the real world
George Alessandro and his amps have been high-profile for some time, and both are highly regarded. Over the years, George…
Epiphone Greeny Les Paul
A Legend Within Reach
Following Peter Green Collectors Edition and Custom Shop tribute models from Gibson (priced in the tens of thousands), Epiphone recently…
Epiphone Valve Junior and Valve Special amps
Epiphone Valve Junior Through the years, a number of amplifier manufacturers have tried their hands at producing budget tube amps.…
Lollar Pickups
Super-Suitable Substitutes
Seattle’s Jason Lollar not only builds fine pickups, he also builds archtop, solidbody, and lap steel guitars (his list of…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…
