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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…
Robben Ford
Made To Last
When Robben Ford approaches traditional blues, he takes ownership, transporting it to new places. This latest five-song EP is no…
Luna Art Vintage Parlor Acoustic/Electric
Rustic Charm
Luna’s newest entry in its Vintage Series, the Art Vintage Parlor takes modern playability and puts it in a rustic…
Rick Turner Model 1 Deluxe LB
All-Terrain Guitar
Ever wonder about that strange-looking guitar Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac has been playing all these years? The same one…
Check This Action: So Long, Charlie and Top
I was saddened to hear of the passing of ’50s rocker Charlie Gracie on December 16. The 86-year-old rocker sure…
The Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi
Smooth Successor
Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi Price: $133 (list)/$99.75 (street). Contact: ehx.com. The Big Muff Pi overdrive is the effect…
Popa Chubby
Live and Dangerous
Like all great rock and roll, Popa Chubby’s new double album, Live at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC, invokes a…
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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
Banjo Master Tony Trischka Plays “Chinese Breakdown”
Prime “Earl Jam” sample! One of the most influential figures in roots music, Tony Trischka, master of the five-string, shows…
Steve Vai
Taming The Hydra
After finishing a sold-out tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson for the G3 Reunion concerts, Steve Vai joined Adrian…
Duke Robillard
Swingin’ with Singers
Robillard needs no introduction here, as he’s been one of the leading old-school players of the past 40 years –…
The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part Two
Last month, we began looking at some of the more entertaining fretted instrument advertising of the 20th century, in what…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
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…
Gretsch 6134 White Penguin
There’s no doubt the White Penguin is one of the rarest Gretsch instruments. It is estimated that no more than…
Classics: January 2023
Jay Mitzner’s ’53 Gibson Les Paul.
Overhearing his 13-year-old son noodling on a beginner guitar in his bedroom one day in 1958, it occurred to Murray…
Rickenbacker 4005
California’s Rickenbacker guitar company has a tradition of things a bit differently. One of the earliest electric guitars was their…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
The Reverend Thundergun Bass
Three In One
Players who love a hotrod Lincoln, a good drive-in, or a rocking retro guitar are familiar with Reverend Guitars, a…
Grez Mendocino Short Scale Bass
Time-Machine Tone
In the beginning, there was the Precision Bass. Following Leo Fender’s revelation, things branched out in all directions as builders…
Mojo Hand Swim Team Chorus Flanger
Double Duty
Michigan-based Mojo Hand Effects has been building a variety of hand-assembled pedals since 2010. Their latest, the Swim Team, pulls…
Mooer’s Slow Engine Volume Swell
Bring It Up
Long out of production, the Boss Slow Gear was one of the coolest pedals of the ’80s, duplicating the sound…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder
Gettin’ Loopy!
Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder Price: $476.21 (street); $119.25 (foot controller) Info: www.ehx.com. Looping has a rich history, with roots tracing…
The España 6/12 Doubleneck
More is always better, right? Eleven is better than 10 on an amplifier, three pickups are better than two, and…
Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66
Welcome to the Machine
Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66 Price: $2,799 (list) Contact: www.redplateamps.com Redplate builds boutique amplifiers with point-to-point wiring and meticulous hands-on attention to…
Ray Benson
Swing Ambassador: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel
“Why are you all playin’ that modern music?” Asleep at the Wheel guitarist Ray Benson fielded the question from Harry,…
