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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…
Mike Stern
Echoes and Other Songs
Mike Stern’s smokin’ new album is the last with longtime keyboardist and producer Jim Beard (Steely Dan), who died in…
Rivet ’63/’64 Pickup Set
Pole Position
Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints…
Nils Lofgren
Great American Journeyman
Nils Lofgren’s resumé stretches 47 years and counting. He joined Neil Young’s band at age 19 and was a member…
Reb Beach
There’s no two waysabout it – thanks to MTV dunces Beavis and Butthead, Winger gets no respect. But the band…
Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…
Yates McKendree
Blues Emotion
Yates McKendree hasn’t yet turned 22, but he has already digested a lifetime’s worth of American roots music. The proof…
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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
Pop ’N Hiss: Santana’s Caravanserai
Pageant of Enlightenment
By the summer of 1971, 24-year-old Carlos Santana and his band – Neal Schon on guitar, drummer Michael Shrieve, Gregg…
Butch Walker
Hummingbirds and Ghosts
Butch Walker readily admits that when it comes to his life as a musician, performer, and producer, he has some…
Tom Petersson’s Gretsch 12-string Basses
Tricked-Out Trio
Cheap Trick fans are aware of his contribution to the band’s songs, but few know he actually invented the 12-string…
Jake Shimabukuro Plays the Beatles “Something”
Silky-Smooth Shimabukuro Jake Shimabukuro’s playing is a silky delight on this run through the Beatles “Something.” That’s his Kamaka tenor…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Jabo, Vince, and Broadcaster 0048
Special Addition
It’s routine for Vince Gill, as one of Nashville’s true connoisseurs of electric and acoustic gear, to receive tips about…
The (Way) Back Beat: Top O’ The Line, For Only $150!
The Immortal Danelectro Guitarlin
Having looked at the most expensive electric guitars offered in 1960s – over 50 years ago. Traditional makers – Gibson,…
National Model N-720
Star of an Era's End
Most acoustic guitar players will likely show disdain for any instrument with a bolt-on neck. Even though there have been…
Three Larsons
At first glance, these three guitars appear to be a straightforward collection of different sizes of the same model. A…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Peavey VYPYR X2
Small Wonder
Continuing its decades-long innovative streak, Peavey’s VYPYR X2 Guitar Modeling Amp brings modern styling, a new open-back cabinet, and re-tooled…
Gibson 1928 L-1 Blues Tribute
Blues Time Machine
Gibson 1928 L-1 Blues Tribute Price: $4,255 retail; $3,299 street Info: www.gibson.com. The Gibson L-1 boasts the kind of intriguing…
Collings I-30 LC
Desert Island Axe
If you found yourself stranded on that proverbial desert isle with – horror of horrors – just a single guitar…
Lollar’s Gold-Foil Pickup
After the Gold Rush
Lollar’s Gold-Foil Pickup Price: $180 (list, each) Info: www.lollarguitars.com Gold-foil pickups are exotic beasts – just like many of the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Gretsch’s “Golden” Tenors
In the 1950s and early ’60s, the electric guitar was establishing itself as a key part of the new voice…
Bohemian Boho Moonshine
In The Can
Here at VG, we see all manner of guitars – those made out of steel, graphite, even animal shells. But…
Fretprints: Earl Hooker
Unsung Blues-Guitar Legend
Chicago, 1959. Ask any blues musician where to go, and the answer was likely, “Wherever Earl Hooker is playing.” Earl…
Eric Gales
Makin’ Good
The wild and crazy life of Eric Gales has been well documented, but through it all, his guiding light has…
