Allan Holdsworth

1946-2017, Lion of Legato

April 15, 2019 · Pete Prown

Music fans were relaxing on Easter Sunday when word of Allan Holdsworth’s death began filtering about, bringing shock to the…

Shooter Jennings & the Werewolves of Los Angeles

Do Zevon

December 6, 2024 · Dan Forte

He may not have found a home in a certain institution in Cleveland, despite overwhelming “fan votes,” but the late…

Grace Bowers

Wine on Venus

May 30, 2025 · Pete Prown

It would be easy to dismiss this 18-year-old as a prefab gimmick, but Grace Bowers’ guitar work ain’t no hype.…

Don Leady, Austin Legend

February 7, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

One of Texas’ “Big Guitars” on “Rattler Run” Co-founder of the LeRoi Brothers, leader of the Tail Gators, and one…

The Martin 3K

April 29, 2021 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

The continuing appeal of Hawaiian music through the past 100 years is based in part on the music itself, which…

Luther Dickinson

Luther Dickinson

Acoustic Odyssey

December 9, 2013 · Oscar Jordan

When Luther Dickinson isn’t writing and performing with the North Mississippi Allstars or on the road with The Black Crowes,…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

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…

Ted Greene Remembered

November 10, 2020 · Jim Carlton

You know what happened: discretionary income for the first time and the rise of the indies with things that the…

Buddy Guy

Keeping the Blues Alive and Definitely Kicking

April 18, 2016 · Dan Forte

It was February 21, 2012. As part of the White House’s music series, “Red, White & Blues” featured a cavalcade…

Mike Morgan’s New Twist on Blues

December 12, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Texas Native Does “Aiight”’ Texas blues singer/songwriter Mike Morgan does a solo take on “Aiight,” from his new album, “The…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Recording Electric Guitars

The Art of Home Recording

July 8, 2016 · Dave Hunter

The process might seem simple – stick mic in front of amp, press "Record." Truth is, though, that even just…

The Duane Allman “Layla” Guitar?

A ’57 Gibson Les Paul Emerges To Tell a Story

March 7, 2018 · Ward Meeker

Taken in trade by a music store in Florida, it was sold to a local recording studio in 1977. Shortly…

1983 Peavey T-20 and T-20FL Vintage guitar magazine

Peavey T-20

The Next Step

March 30, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Introduced in 1982, Peavey’s T-20 was different from other basses in the Peavey lineup, the two-pickup T-40, and the single-pickup…

Epiphone “Bikini Logo” Amplifiers

Beach Party

January 3, 2025 · Dave Hunter

Collectors know well the desirability of Epiphone guitars from the years after Gibson acquired the brand. Further off the radar,…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Becos FX TS8-JZ Ziffer Overdrive

Dirty Deeds

December 8, 2022 · Pete Prown

Based on the highly revered Maxon/Ibanez 808 circuit and co-designed with guitarist Jordan Ziff (Ratt, Marty Friedman, Hot Crazy), the…

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges

’Verb Voyage

September 17, 2024 · Pete Prown

Billed as a Tri-Dimensional Reverberation Machine, the Earthquaker Ledges boasts a user-friendly interface with no menus or deep MIDI commands…

Fano Alt de Facto RB6

Classic That Never Was

February 3, 2014 · Sean OBryan Smith

Fano Alt de Facto RB6 Price: $2,495 Info: fanoguitars.com In recent years, a trend in the guitar realm has been…

Soul Tramp Tweed 12

5E3 (Non) Copy

January 8, 2018 · Anders Fransson

Soul Tramp Amps are builder Don Hill’s take on classic amp circuit designs… for instance, his Tweed 12 offers a…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Steve Stevens

Atomic Idol

April 22, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

As Billy Idol’s longtime guitarist and songwriting partner, Steve Stevens’ unique approach – flamenco stylings and the occasional ray gun…

Furch Blue Deluxe SW

Czech Mate

January 18, 2023 · Pete Prown

You might not recogonize the Furch brand, but the Czech Republic builder has spent that last 40-plus years gaining a…

Gurus Amps’ SexydriveMkII

Bellissimo!

April 24, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

Chalk up another score for Italian innovation. Chicco Bellini and his company, Gurus Amps, are among the top dogs in…

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII contact microphone can record everything from acoustic guitars to a train bridge with a frequency…

GIBSON FIREBIRDS

Gibson Firebirds

May 4, 2015 · R.K. Watkins

Say the words “custom color” to a collector or enthusiast and most will think of “Fender.” But Gibson had its…

Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele Hero

August 29, 2022 · Dan Forte

It’s one of the most unlikely success stories in music. Armed with a four-string tenor ukulele, a young Hawaiian videos…

In Memoriam: Lasse Wellander

February 9, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Lasse Wellander, longtime guitarist in ABBA and a renowned studio and solo musician, died April 7. He was 70 and…

Orange VT1000 Valve Tester

June 16, 2014 · Zac Childs

Orange VT1000 Valve Tester Price: $499 Info: www.orangeamps.com. Many a Vintage Guitar reader has a stash of tubes lying about…

Arv Garrison

Forgotten Hero of Bebop Guitar

May 8, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

American music history is fraught with tales of forgotten heroes. In the ’40s, jazz guitarists like Tiny Grimes, George Barnes,…

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins

New Traditionalists

January 13, 2016 · Steven Stone

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins1 Price: FF $2,265 (list), $1,699 (street); KO $1,999 (list), $1,499 (street) Info: www.breedlovemusic.com. Unlike luthiers…

Keb’ Mo’

Hearts and Ears

November 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Keb’ Mo’s latest is folksy, endearing, and called Good To Be. Co-produced by Vince Gill and with Darius Rucker onboard,…

Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts

August 29, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers…

Dave Haskell

Wings and Strings

April 20, 2016 · John Heidt

Plenty of improbable stories involve guitarists making first records amid peculiar circumstances. But few match Dave Haskell’s journey to Pivot…

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Mick Mars

A Piece of His Action

December 17, 2015 · Lisa Sharken

Since emerging from Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, Mötley Crue has defined the Los Angeles metal scene. Fueled…

Hallmark Swept-Wing

Brief Flight from South of Bakersfield

March 31, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

Bob Shade exemplifies the adage “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The guitar builder has an enviable assortment of…

John Pizzarelli

Better Days

June 10, 2022 · Pete Prown

In just over a one-week period in April of 2020, John Pizzarelli turned 60, lost his father (famed jazz guitarist…

Have Guitar Will Travel 099 – Trapper Schoepp

June 21, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In episode 99 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist…

 Joey Molland

January 16, 2026 · Pete Prown

The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was…

Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb

Smart Stomps

April 19, 2024 · Pete Prown

After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help…

DigiTech iStomp

Morph For Less

October 22, 2015 · Rich Maloof

DigiTech iStomp Price: $149.95 Info: www.digitech.com/istomp If you’re the type of gearhead who turns heel and runs from DSP effects,…

The Rivolta Combinata Bass VII

Euro Flash

July 18, 2022 · Pete Prown

Rivolta’s Combinata VII bass takes ideas from Rickenbacker, Höfner, and various European builders lost to history and wraps them into…

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking – Lesson 1

Tom Teaches the Blues!

July 7, 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…

Red Witch Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave and SoloDallas Schaffer Replica

Circuits Gone Wild

March 5, 2019 · Pete Prown

Fuzz and octavers are among the hottest pedals around, with some builders even melding them to great effect. The Red…

The Surfrajettes

On ’Board

March 10, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Surfrajettes delight their fans with the perfect wave of jangly guitars, kooky kitsch, and ’60s fashion. After several years…

BILLY F GIBBONS-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Billy F Gibbons

Return of the Revvvv

April 22, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Every time Vintage Guitar sets up an interview with the redoubtable Billy F Gibbons, lead guitarist/vocalist of the legendary Texas…

Koll Super Glide Almighty

Grady’s Choice

October 14, 2019 · Pete Prown

What do you get when you cross a Jazzmaster, Les Paul, Gretsch Duo Jet, ES-335, and Tele? You just might…

TWA Hot Sakè and Dynamorph

Circuit City

April 23, 2019 · Pete Prown

Totally Wycked Audio (TWA) builds a line of cool stompboxes that consistently push the envelope in the right direction. Two…

Charlie Starr

Celestial Guide

April 15, 2020 · Ward Meeker

“It’s hot! 77 degrees,” exclaims Charlie Starr from a hotel room in Augusta, Georgia, a few hours before the third…

Marty Walsh

Marty Walsh

With a Little Help From Friends

January 27, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Marty Walsh has plied his trade for decades, though relatively few may be familiar with his efforts. A Los Angeles…