• 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…

    Read more >>

Producer Dave Cobb Draws Artists of All Ilks

Music-City tune Charmer

December 7, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Grandson of a Pentecostal minister, as a kid, Dave Cobb attended church every day, weaving old-time hymnal music into his…

Have Guitar Will Travel 084 – Greg Koch

March 8, 2023 · James Patrick Regan

Guitarheads the world over know Greg Koch is a big guy who plays monster licks. In the new episode of…

David Grissom

March 24, 2014 · Dan Forte

One of Les Paul’s favorite aphorisms when assessing other guitarists was, “Can his mother pick him out on the radio?”…

Uli Jon Roth

Return to Tokyo

April 24, 2019 · Greg Prato

In the 1970s, rockers were cranking out now-classic live sets with stunning regularity – Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys in…

Jim Kelley FACS Reverb

January 23, 2017 · Dave Hunter

Truly a deserving name in the early era of the “boutique” amp scene, Jim Kelley is also an extremely under-recognized…

Home Feature Image

Randy Bachman

The Album Title Says It All

May 7, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Canadian guitarist/guitar collector Randy Bachman is known worldwide for his classic licks in songs by the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner…

  • 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,…

    Read more >>

NOW AVAILABLE!

CURRENT ISSUE

Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!

ARTISTS

Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album

Pulverizing Performance

March 8, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

Brutish power chords and shrieking guitar lines abetted by pounding percussion, overdriven bass riffs, and wailing vocals – at the…

Fretprints: Billy Bean

Missing Link of Modern Jazz Guitar

August 1, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

The rediscovery of a missing link is cause for celebration in any field – historic, scientific, or musical. In modern…

Mick Mars

Different Flavors, Different Way

November 1, 2024 · Bret Adams

Guitarist Mick Mars’ long-discussed solo album is finally done. The Other Side of Mars is crushing modern metal with gothic…

Billy Sheehan

Back to Big

April 24, 2019 · Greg Prato

Though there’s no denying Billy Sheehan’s exceptional technical talents on the bass, he has always kept sight on the importance…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Instro-Meister Eric Penna

September 7, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Blues Switch-Up in Trabants Eric Penna’s main gig is playing bass for the garage/surf band Insect Surfers, but he side-hustles…

Vox AC100

Scream Machine

December 9, 2021 · Dave Hunter

The history of Vox amplifiers’ evolution through the early/mid-’60s directly tracks with The Beatles’ increasing needs to be heard over…

GA-20’s Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty

FlashBack Sounds, Forward Steps

August 8, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Musical gateways opened by Jimi Hendrix and the Doors led Matt Stubbs to become a disciple of Johnny “Guitar” Watson,…

Orange OR80 Combo

Sunshine State

August 8, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Created when amps were huge and men were men – or at least had roadies to carry the gear –…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Fractal Audio Systems AX8

Box Of Rock

March 5, 2019 · Pete Prown

Thanks to the digital revolution, guitarists can plug into a small box and access a world of sounds unimaginable a…

Fender Acoustic Pro and Acoustic SFX

Curved Air

March 2, 2017 · Pete Prown

Fender has been making acoustic guitar amps for decades – now they’re reinventing the genre, and their designers deserve a…

ASIA Symposium

The ASIA Symposium

Kinship and Connections

June 21, 2016 · Dan Erlewine

As much a celebration of kinship as it is an educational forum, the biannual Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (ASIA)…

Roland V-Studio 20

The Roland V-Studio 20

January 13, 2014 · Pete Prown

Roland V-Studio 20 Price: $300 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Home digital recording has come a long way in the last 20…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Eve Monsees and Mike Buck

& Their Groovy Orbit

November 7, 2025 · Dan Forte

This is not a solo album as much as an anthology of Austin artists and styles – from blues to…

Cicognani Pompeii PP603

Dimensional Echoes

December 6, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

Cicognani Engineering has been making noise with a terrific lineup of amps and effects, earning raves from notable artists like…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Alan Greenwood

January 14, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Season 02 Episode 1 VG’s “Buy That Guitar” podcast opens its second season with host Ram Tuli joined by Alan…

B.B. King - Ode to the King of the Blues

Ode to the King of the Blues

Guitarists Reflect on the Passing of B.B. King

January 24, 2016 · Vintage Guitar

B.B. King was truly peerless. Beyond his ability to pull an audience up via a single long, vibratoed note, he…

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967

October 8, 2024 · Pete Prown

 Imagine a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert where the audience actually disliked the band. That’s the scenario here, a secretly recorded…

Gretsch Malcolm Young “Red Beast” Signature Jet

Let There Be Rock

September 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Forty-odd years beyond when AC/DC first hit American airwaves, the band still inspires multitudes of guitarists with intoxicating riffs, mesmerizing…

Raul Malo

Say Less

June 19, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

Raul Malo’s passionate, searing vocals helped define the Mavericks from the early ’90s on. Malo blended his Cuban-American roots into…

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…

Scott Henderson

Voodoo Carnival

January 14, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Scott Henderson continues to blow minds with his ever-evolving guitar mastery. From his early years blending bop and Holdsworth to…

Harvey Mandel and Dennis Coffey

Two Instrumental Masters

January 27, 2017 · Dan Forte

If it’s possible to be both unsung and an icon, then guitarists Dennis Coffey and Harvey Mandel would fit the…

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking - Lesson 7

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking – Lesson 7

August 29, 2017 · Tom Feldmann

Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop to present an exclusive eight-part series on beginner…

Pop ’N Hiss: Taste

Breakout Blues

August 26, 2025 · Willie G. Moseley

The ’60s may have been the most musically significant decade in the history of popular music, but very few countries…

To The Limit

The Effectrode LA-1A Leveling Amplifier

April 15, 2020 · Pete Prown

In the world of guitar effects, there are consumer-grade pedals and pro-grade pedals. The former are affordable and fun, the…

Maestro Electronics Titan Boost and Arcas Compressor Sustain

Louder, Tighter

October 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Maestro Electronics has been around for 60 years and is best known for creating the FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone used by Keith…

JMI Vox AC15 “Two-Tone” 1×12″

TV Star

May 19, 2025 · Dave Hunter

The permutations of early Vox models remain endlessly fascinating to vintage-amp enthusiasts, and few get us as worked up as…

Arteffect Bonnie Wah

Cry No More!

May 12, 2010 · Phil Feser

Israel-based Arteffect’s new Bonnie wah pedal is an accurate re-creation of the highly soughtafter vintage Vox Clyde McCoy wah. The…

Tom Feldmenn CC Rider

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking – Lesson 3

July 25, 2017 · Doug Yellow Bird

Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop to present an exclusive eight-part series on beginner…

Have Guitar Will Travel 052 – Cesar Gueikian

June 9, 2021 · Art Department

Gibson’s newly appointed Brand President, Cesar Gueikian, returns to “Have Guitar Will Travel,” with host James Patrick Regan. Cesar is…

Jazz Player of the Year

February 6, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

George Benson Awarded in 2018 Even within the category of jazz, it’s hard to pin down guitar wizard George Benson.…

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…

Pop ’N Hiss: Brian Setzer’s The Knife Feels Like Justice

Cat Out of the Bag

March 4, 2022 · Tom Guerra

Changing genres after achieving great success can be a risky career move for a musician. But after making it big…

Border Crossing

C.F. Martin and the Influence of German and Spanish Guitar Designs

May 30, 2017 · George Gruhn

It has often been said that today’s Martin guitars are direct descendants of the instruments made in Vienna by Johan…

Marty Stuart

Current Traditions

September 8, 2015 · John Heidt

The latest record from Marty Stuart, Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, is a tour de force of country music…

Jensen Tornado Stealth Speakers

Sheer Magnetism

April 23, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

Jensen has been in the speaker game for a very long time and its wares are some of the most…

Brad Paisley

Keep Pushing Play

February 4, 2010 · Zac Childs

Ten years into what has become a stellar career, when Brad Paisley hits your town to play a show these…

Harmony H27

Fancier Than You May Think

July 1, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

“The H27 was fanciest semi-hollow bass ever offered by Harmony.” During the guitar boom of the 1960s, the Chicago-based Harmony…

Tommy Skeoch

Rock and Roll Forever

October 8, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

Tommy Skeoch is revered for delivering guitar tone with equal parts attitude and guttural conviction. Since his departure from Tesla…

Maestro Agena, Orbit, and Mariner

Wavy Gravy

December 23, 2023 · Pete Prown

Everyone loves modulation and filter pedals – those swishy, soupy sound makers that doll up a guitar’s signal. Maestro is…

Connie Smith

Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches

May 2, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

Connie Smith’s career began with her ebullient 1964 hit “Once a Day,” now part of the Library of Congress’ prestigious…