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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 Campbell
Got Lucky
Mike Campbell is one of the most-heard guitarists on earth thanks to his work in the legendary Tom Petty and…
Check This Action: A Mess of Blues
It doesn’t happen often, but I still encounter people who think the blues is strictly sad music. I tell them…
Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget
Things Just Got Serious
Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget Price:$799 (list) Contact: www.crucialaudio.com It’s hard not to be impressed by the physical presence of the Crucial…
Carbe and Durand
The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe…
Godin
Godin’s 5th Avenue CW Kingpin II and Richmond Dorchester – Funky to Fab
We’re living in a golden age of retro guitars – a period when you can barely turn around without tripping…
Michael Lee Firkins
Meditations in Southern Rock
Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box…
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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
Kiko Loureiro
Metal-Fusion From Brazil
“When I would play with musicians from the neighborhood, I noticed that my passion for Brazilian music was making me…
Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking
Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking Chris Bergson used his ’60s Teisco to play a bit of his tune, “Hector and…
Burlison & Sugg
Demon Eye, At Your Service
Demon Eye mixes the best elements of ’70s hard rock and ’80s metal, and delivers the goods in tight, dark…
Dick Taylor
From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things
When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
United They Stood, Part 2
Ghosts of Jersey City
In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost…
Charlie Starr: Open-Tuning Magic on “Azalea”
Blackberry Smoke frontman on a vintage Gibson Enjoy a bit of the supremely tasty “Azalea,” played by Charlie Starr and…
Horses of Another Color
1) This ’57, from batch 253xx, has the added intrigue of a gold G-cutout tailpiece in place of the Bigsby…
Eric Bibb plays “Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie”
Soulful Blues Beyond I-IV-V Sensational fingerstylist Eric Bibb uses the ’47 Levin Model 13 Ambassadör to honor us with a…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Maestro Comet Chorus and Discoverer Delay
Return to the Space(y) Age
Maestro’s Comet Chorus and Discoverer Delay, from the company’s Original Collection effects series, may have a retro-chic aesthetic, but they…
Harden Engineering BluesBird
Bird Can Sing
If you’re wondering about builder Bill Harden’s inspiration in creating the BluesBird, think Coodercaster – a customized Frankenstein’s monster of…
Debut Drive
Slamo Guitars’ Turquoise Cabronita
Slamo Guitars may not have yet achieved the name recognition of certain others, but Frank Silano has been building guitars…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Reviving a ’56 Duo-Jet, Part Two
Ugly, But An Oldy
In the March issue, I introduced you to my apprentice, Blake Burkholder, and the restoration he was doing to a…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Singular Sound BeatBuddy
Drums Even You Can Play
Everyone knows a good drummer joke. Or two. Drummers are indeed a special breed. Singular Sound’s BeatBuddy drum-machine pedal, however,…
Cash Box Kings
Oscar’s Motel
For two decades, the Cash Box Kings have stood apart from the multitudes of “blues bands” that focus on bar-band…
Sovtek MIG-50
Curtain Call
Given their development in the twilight years of the U.S.S.R. and arrival at the fall of the Iron Curtain, it…
Familiar Names Create Music as J&B Brothers
Austin-Powered
The J&B Brothers make a sound equal parts Texas country, blues, folkie, rock, jazz, and soul – the spices that…
