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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…

Jack Bruce
Shadows and (Erstwhile) Short-Scale Basses
Veteran bassist Jack Bruce is back in action with a new album and tour. Best known for his membership in…

Michael Kelly 1957
Bargain Boutique
Michael Kelly 1957 Price: $875 (list) Contact: www.michaelkellyguitars.com Michael Kelly Guitars has steadily gained a reputation for offering big bang…

Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P asks “Who’s Gonna Ride”
’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the…

Dave Jenkins
Cruisin’ Again
Anyone who listened to Top 40 radio in the late ’70s and early ’80s is familiar with Pablo Cruise. The…

John Scofield
Uncle John’s Band
Cue up the title cut and admire John Scofield’s chord-melody approach to the Grateful Dead’s 1971 FM hit. While Sco’…

The Birth of the Gretsch Duo Jet
Gretsch Gets With It!
In 1950, Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster. The first solidbody electric Spanish guitar to bear his soon-to-be-famous name, its thin…
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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,…
ARTISTS

Bex Marshall and her ’63 Hummingbird
Family History Straight from the “Classics” feature in the August issue, here’s Bex Marshall playing the ’63 Gibson Hummingbird bought…

Jeff Pilson
Definitive Diversity
Jeff Pilson’s career has included many notable facets. He rose to acclaim in the classic lineup of the hair-metal band…

Classics: Larkin Poe
American Gothic
The latest album from Grammy-nominated axe-slinging sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell is a showcase of artists rising to new heights.…
Luther Dickinson
Acoustic Odyssey
When Luther Dickinson isn’t writing and performing with the North Mississippi Allstars or on the road with The Black Crowes,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

1963 Fender 6G7-A Bandmaster
Last of the Oxbloods
Those who love vintage amplifiers are often fascinated by little anomalies that present themselves in an otherwise period-correct specimen, and…

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

Matchless Superchief 120
A maker at the forefront of the “boutique amp” movement, Matchless is known for its Class-A designs – that is,…

The Valley Arts Custom Pro Bass
Keeping the Arts Alive
In 1969, when a North Hollywood guitar teacher named Duke Miller teamed up to start a music store with students…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

The Pinter SB1-R
Days of Sustain
Mike Pinter conceived his new SB1-R as a do-it-all “rock star” guitar that would combine design concepts and tone choices…

Siegmund Midnight Special
Tried ’N True, Twisted
Siegmund Midnight Special Price: $1,895 (list, as tested) Contact: www.siegmundguitars.com Driven by a quest for preserving the original tonal qualities…

The Luker Chameleon Combo
True to Its Colors
The Luker Chameleon Combo Price: $1,850 (list) Contact: www.lukeramps.com Considering the state of modern vacuum tubes, a surprising number of…

Epiphone USA Coronet
Simple Screamer
Single-pickup guitars are flat-out cool: think Leslie West, Keith Richards, Johnny Thunders, Steve Marriott, Johnny Marr, and Jimi Hendrix. Once…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Spencer Kirkpatrick
Jammin’ Southern Hero
In the ’70s, Hydra was a Southern-rock band that owed more to the heavy British blues of Cream and Free…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend, Part 2
What Goes Around…
In the September, issue I told the story of the ’58 ES-335 I sold to my friend, Al, for $225…

Chris Stapleton
Higher
Chris Stapleton’s distinctive style – blending elements of Outlaw country with high-caliber original songs, powerful vocals, and a minimalist, edgy…

Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young on “The Mission”
Mars, Pluto… And Styx
Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents…













































