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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…

Late 1920s Gibson L-1 (Flattop)
Gibson "Florentine"
Because I don’t know what to call this Gibson guitar, I refer to it as a “Florentine,” for lack of…

Walrus The Melee
Super Soaker
Just when you think you’ve seen everything, along comes Walrus’ The Melee: Wall of Noise, a pedal with a built-in…

Peekamoose Model 3
Modern Retro
There’s no shortage of cool, retro-looking solidbodies on the market today, from the big guys as well as the increasing…

Gibson’s GA-8 Discoverer
Sonic Satellite
By the end of the 1950s, “space” was the name of the game, and any forward-thrusting gear that hoped to…

Coco Montoya
Writing on the Wall
Since his debut album in 1995, Coco Montoya – who cut his teeth with fellow southpaw Albert Collins and John…

Influenced by Benson, Montgomery, and Christian: Jorge Garcia
Flavorful Jazz on “Dedicated to You” Jazz guitarist Jorge Garcia brings many flavors to his musical table. Here, his ’77…
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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…
ARTISTS

Gwenifer Goes “Cattywomp”
Fierce fingerstyle! Hailing from Wales, former punk-rock drummer Gwenifer Raymond’s fingerstyle playing is inspired by greats like John Fahey and…

Larry Parypa
Sonics Thunder
“I never thought this would happen to us all these years later,” marvels Sonics guitarist Larry Parypa on the reception…

Bryan Bassett
Foghat’s Slide Secret
A half-century after its inception, Foghat has just one original member – drummer Roger Earl – yet the quartet is…

Mark Lettieri’s funky finesse
Virtuoso take on “Greenspace” Stepping out from his band, Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri exhibits the finesse, funk, and fury that…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Rickenbacker 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…

Traynor YBA-2 Bass Mate
Canadian amp maker Traynor gets a lot of respect in some circles for turning out solid, good-sounding tube amps that…

Mosrite Joe Maphis
The 1960s were arguably the most memorable decade in the history of American guitar manufacturing. True, some legendary electric guitar…

Park 45
Masked Marshall
When is a Marshall not a Marshall? When it’s a Park, of course! Though it might not scream “classic rock…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Taylor 814ce
New Life at 40
Taylor 814ce Price: $4,378 (list); $3,399 (street) Info: www.taylorguitars.com Of all the guitars in Taylor’s product line, the 814ce is…

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…

So-Cal Steel
Asher Guitars & Lap Steels Ben Harper Signature Model
If Nashville is the pedal-steel capital, surely Southern California is a lap steel hotspot. David Lindley and Ben Harper, along…

Budda’s Baby Budda Amp Head
Big-Boy Tone
Budda Amplification staked its claim in 1995 with the Twinmaster boutique amplifier. Its hand-wired construction and user-friendly tones were hits…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

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…

Classics: March 2022
Chris Leuzinger’s 1952 Gibson Les Paul
If your radio was tuned to a country station even for a few minutes anytime in the last 30 years,…

Epiphone Excellente
Sonny James' Epiphone Excellente
The Epiphone Excellente was the fanciest flat-top Gibson made in the 1960s, and to some ears it was Gibson’s best.…

Roman Bulakhov
Ukrainian Trailblazer
If there’s a 21st-century guitar style, Roman Bulakhov is a prime example, particularly how he fuses rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop…









































