• 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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Strymon’s Deco Tape Saturation and Doubletracker

Strymon’s Deco Tape Saturation and Doubletracker

Smart Box

February 11, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Strymon’s Deco Tape Saturation and Doubletracker Price: $299 (list) Contact: www.strymon.net It’s scary, wielding a stompbox that’s smarter than you.…

Rickenbacker Guitars: Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fireglo

Martin Kelly and Paul Kelly

January 17, 2023 · Michael Dregni

At long last, Rickenbacker gets the treatment it deserves, with this glorious large, comprehensive, and colorful history of the guitars,…

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Buzz Feiten

Unsung Hero

May 1, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

An unsung hero, accomplished inventor, and builder possessing priceless musical knowledge, Buzz Feiten’s list of session credits could fill a…

Hall & Collins Signature Echo

Echo Rock

March 5, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

For guitarists whose lives are dedicated to replicating the echo effects heard on songs like Hank Marvin’s “Apache,” Hall &…

Pentangle

The Albums

July 5, 2018 · Dan Forte

Take Five When one thinks of bands with two (or more) lead guitarists, groups like the Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver…

Steve Hillage

Echoes of Earlier Times

April 18, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Steve Hillage has followed his muse through 40 years making music as a member of the psychedelic band Gong, a…

  • 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

Robert Lockwood, Jr.

1915-2006

June 23, 2020 · Dan Forte

With the death of Robert Lockwood, Jr., the blues world lost one of the few direct links to Robert Johnson…

Mark O’Connor

Virtuoso Comeback

March 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

Some musicians are multi-instrumentalists, but Mark O’Connor is something else – a multi-virtuoso. Regarded as a master on guitar, violin,…

Greg Lake

Greg Lake

Welcome Back, My Friends Part 1 and 2

December 8, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Bassist/vocalist Greg Lake, a force in the advent of progressive rock in the early 1970s with Emerson, Lake and Palmer…

Jerron Paxton

Country-Blues Scholar

August 12, 2025 · Pete Prown

Hailing from Los Angeles, Jerron Paxton is a remarkable bluesman, able to conjure sounds of the rural, interwar South through…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Guitars of Ernst Heinrich Roth

International Influence

December 21, 2023 · Cliff Hall

Now just a sleepy town in Germany, over the last 200 years, Markneukirchen has been home to countless luthiers ranging…

Tyler Morris – 1963 Fender Stratocaster

December 6, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Tyler Morris – 1963 Fender Stratocaster Tyler Morris guides us through his 1963 Fender Stratocaster in Fiesta Red. Follow Tyler…

Mick Taylor’s ’58 Les Paul Standard

The Ya Ya’s Out!

July 3, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Hard-edged face of the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones introduced the world to the implements, trappings, and accessories of rock-and-roll…

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…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Vox Bobcat V90

Feral Feline

January 18, 2023 · Bob Cianci

In the Swinging ’60s, Vox guitars were all the rage, particularly among British and European players. Though stylish and visually…

Tim Bogert’s Modified Fender

One Fudged Bass

August 22, 2013 · Willie G. Moseley

When Vanilla Fudge helped pioneer the progressive-rock movement in the latter half of the ’60s, bassist Tim Bogert played more…

Charis Acoustic SJ

Charis Acoustic SJ

Spirit in the Wood

February 1, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Charis Acoustic SJ Price: $4,800 (base); $7,100 (as reviewed) Info: www.charisacoustic.com. The spiritual aspects of music perhaps originate with the…

Martin GPCE Inception Maple

Bold Beginning

December 23, 2024 · Michael Shirek

Almost 100 years ago, Martin reinvented the flat-top box when it began delivering X-braced, square-shouldered, and oversized dreadnoughts. Now, the…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Gibson Johnny Smith

June 29, 2015 · George Gruhn

In 1961, Gibson’s Johnny Smith model not only associated Gibson with one of the most popular guitar stylists of the…

Tedeschi Trucks Band feat. Trey Anastasio

Layla Revisited

May 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

A live recording of Derek & the Dominos’ masterpiece? Featuring Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi – plus Doyle Bramhall, II…

Have Guitar Will Travel 087 – Rhys Lewis and Chase Mitchell

May 10, 2023 · James Patrick Regan

HGWT episode 87 has host James Patrick Regan speaking with singer/songwriters Rhys Lewis and Chase Mitchell. Rhys grew up in…

Fretprints: Foghat

Slow Ride to Boogie Wonderland

April 4, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

If the ’70s were the era of good times and excess following the tumultuous ’60s, the boogie band would be…

Fender’s ’57 Custom Pro-Amp

Big Brother

March 13, 2019 · Michael Dregni

When most guitarists consider Fender’s famed vintage tweeds, the first that come to mind are the 5E3 Deluxe and 4×10…

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV

January 6, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: three ECC83 (12AX7), one ECC81 (12AT7, in the phase inverter) Output tubes: six EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal…

John Wetton

Back In Asia

July 13, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Bassist/vocalist John Wetton has exhibited his solid chops and plaintive baritone voice through the decades in King Crimson, Asia, and…

John Leventhal

Tele-Singing Architect of Americana

March 27, 2019 · Zac Childs

When Shawn Colvin’s Steady On won a Grammy in 1989, John Leventhal was instantly transformed from NYC sideman to in-demand…

Pretty Things, Procol Harum, David Bowie, and Various Artists

January 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

For all the British psych bands you do know – such as the Move and Small Faces – you’ve probably…

Noshir Mody’s Elegant Flow

December 1, 2023 · Doug Yellow Bird

 Contemporary-jazzer sets the mood with “The Yards” Noshir Mody’s new album, “A Love Song,” is highlighted by his elegant…

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…

George Fullerton

Guitar Icon

May 14, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

George Fullerton, whose decades-long association with Leo Fender earned the two early electric-guitar innovators a place in history, He died…

Tomer Cohen

From Israel to NYC

December 14, 2023 · Pete Prown

Twenty-five-year-old Tomer Cohen plays jazz with the earthy feel heard in improvisations by Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, and early Pat…

Henretta Engineering Pedals

Henretta Engineering Pedals

Good Things, Small Packages

September 7, 2014 · Michael Dregni

Henretta Engineering Pedals Prices: Green Zapper, Bluebird, and Purple Octopus, $125 each; Chord Blaster, $140 Info: www.henrettaengineering.com. Bigger is not…

Check This Action: Blue Steel

February 8, 2024 · Dan Forte

Freddie Roulette was one of the most amazing musicians I ever heard, knew, or saw – the absolute monster of…

Foghat

Road Fever: The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-1975

January 25, 2024 · Pete Prown

By the time British blues-and-boogie quartet Foghat struck gold in 1975, it already had a solid catalog under its belt.…

The DryBell Vibe Machine V-2

Catch A Wave

March 13, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

DryBell is renowned for one of the most authentic and pedalboard-friendly Uni-Vibe recreations on the market. Five years after launching…

Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One Humcutters

Clear Crunch

November 13, 2023 · Pete Prown

In the quest for tone, the secret is a combination of pickups, wood, construction, and the magic in a player’s…

Fender’s Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic

Little Brothers

July 27, 2022 · Terry Foster

Often forgotten amongst Fender’s many classics, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic were conceived to capitalize on teenagers taking up the guitar…

Jim Campilongo

Jim Campilongo

“I’m a Guitar Player”

August 14, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

It’s been two years since Jim Campilongo put out a solo record, but on the new Dream Dictionary, his patented…

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade

Wicked Switch

December 22, 2014 · Phil Feser

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade Price: $149.99 (black or white three-ply); $164.99 (white pearloid); $169.99 (brown tortoiseshell) Info:…

Michael Nesmith

Infinite Tuesday: Autobiographical Riffs

May 26, 2017 · Pete Prown

Aside from being in the Monkees, Mike Nesmith was a talented songwriter and key contributor to the birth of country-rock.…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend

What Goes Around…

April 30, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I learned to play guitar during the folk boom that, for me,…

J.D. Simo

Mind Control

December 8, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The topic is psychedelic blues, and J.D. Simo is the man with the brown acid. Hypnotic wah, talking hollowbody guitars,…

Michael Schenker

Temple Of Rock

January 22, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Michael Schenker has had the kind of stormy past that could give Keith Richards a run for his money. He…

Jimi Hendrix

Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision

August 13, 2025 · Bret Adams

It’s astonishing – and fortunate – that so much unreleased Jimi Hendrix material exists, given his brief recording career. It…

Sweet Sustain

Guitar Tech Craig’s Dino Sauce Compressor

April 16, 2020 · Chip Wilson

Imagine a Strat tuned to open G, a D chord being floated at the seventh fret with a Craftsman deep-well…

Knaggs Chena Old Violin

Righteous Axe

October 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

With notable string-bending monsters like Larry Mitchell, Eric Steckel, and Steve Stevens singing the praises of Knaggs Guitars, Peter Wolf…

George Gruhn

How a Zoologist Became a Guitar animal

May 15, 2024 · Louis R. Carlozo

If you bumped into a bearded, corduroy-jacketed George Gruhn in a Nashville coffee shop, you might think you’d stumbled upon…