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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

Pasquale Grasso
One-Man Duo
In the 1940s, jazz pianist Art Tatum wowed audiences with a virtuoso technique that sounded like two players. Today, Pasquale…
Roland V-Studio 20
The Roland V-Studio 20
Roland V-Studio 20 Price: $300 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Home digital recording has come a long way in the last 20…

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Swampy grooves mix blues with rock Enjoy Bex Marshall and her Ozark 3515BTE Custom Cutaway resonator delivering superbly on…

Fishman’s Aura Spectrum DI, ToneDEQ
Potent Preamps
Unlike most electric guitarists, acoustic-electric pickers tend to worry about preamps. A lot. This front stage is critical because acoustic…

Khalif Wailin’ Walter
Phoenix Risin’
Spawned on the mean streets of Chicago but making his home in Essen, Germany, blues man Khalif Wailin’ Walter has…

Hot Tuna
Live at Sweetwater / Live in Japan
Jorma Kaukonen, who started as an acoustic folk-blues guitarist, returned to that style in 1969 when he and bassist Jack…
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VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…
ARTISTS

Brian Setzer
Still Rockin’ the Holidays
Brian Setzer’s guitar – usually a Gretsch 6120 – is the compass that leads him down various musical roads, live…

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Swampy grooves mix blues with rock Enjoy Bex Marshall and her Ozark 3515BTE Custom Cutaway resonator delivering superbly on…

Davy Knowles
Manx Bluesman
The Isle Of Man, which sits in the middle of the Irish Sea, measures 15 by 30 miles. The…

Lance Lopez
Supersonic Blues Machine
Lance Lopez is a guitar-slinging blues machine that burns like Texas hot sauce in August. He has scorched the festival…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Peavey Forum Basses
Durable, Dependable
In his 2003 book, American Basses, author Jim Roberts noted that for all of Peavey’s innovative offerings in the 1990s,…

Gibson’s Budget Redux
The SB Series Guitars and Basses
As the 1960s rolled into the ’70s, Gibson had established itself in the electric-bass market with front-line instruments such as…

Gibson M-III Standard
Missing the Mark(et)
Gibson’s bread and butter has long been tried-and-true designs that represent remarkable innovations – even if they date back to…

National Style O
Although it has never been the favorite guitar of Hawaiian players, National’s Style O, with its shining metal body and…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Ibanez AF95
Jazzed UP
In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…

Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor-II PRO
Archtop Ruler
In the early 1950s, the grand old luthiers like Epiphone and Gibson couldn’t believe there would ever be a market…

Larry Alan Guitars’ The Harlot
Siren Song
Hot idea: pack a sturdy-yet-petite 1590B casing with specially selected parts rendering a powerful, variable guitar overdrive, add a couple…

Gretsch G5191BK Tim Armstrong Electromatic
Cool Player, Punk Heart
Few punk-rock guitarists have made their mark like Tim Armstrong. Through his work with renowned punkers Rancid, Armstrong has torn…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero

Dan’s Guitar RX: Rock-And-Roll High School(er)
Building a From-Scratch Class Project, the Conclusion
In my November ’22 column, Ceil Thompson’s class-project guitar was nearing completion – the lacquer coats were applied and, after…
Standard in Custom
Schecter’s Custom Shop Marks 35 Years
Riding high after 35 years with an array of original instruments, an impressive artist roster that started early with Pete…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 011 Featuring Shannon and the Clams
In episode 11 James speaks with Cody Blanchard (guitar and vocals), Nate Mahan (drummer and aspiring luthier) of Shannon and…

Dave Specter, Swimming in ’verb!
Twangy Texas blues via Chicago Dave Specter (no relation to Phil!) uses his reissue Jazzmaster plugged into a ’65 Vibrolux…














































