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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…

Classics: December 2023
Cliff Antone’s 1952 Fender Precision
Texas is known for music, especially Austin, which in the mid ’70s became a hotbed thanks to clubs like Armadillo…

2021 July Issue on Spotify
This This month we feature Blackberry Smoke, Mark O’Connor, Steve Cropper, Ian Crichton, Jane Getter, Jesse Aycock, Ally Venable, Al…

The Clark Gainster
Trick Your Tweed
Before he got into the effects pedal biz, Michael Clark had a reputation for building killer tweed-inspired amps. In 2001…

One of Two of a Kind
Gibson’s L-3 Ganus Brothers Special
Making custom instruments has always been problematic for companies designed to manufacture in quantity. Though it had an unenforced policy…

The Guild Factory 2007
In the 1960s, Guild was the guitar of choice amongst East Coast jazz players. By the late ’60s and early…

Joe Bonamassa
Royal Tea
It’s no secret that Joe Bonamassa has a Jones for British blues-rock. Royal Tea is Exhibit A, as it was…
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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

Mick Mars
A Piece of His Action
Since emerging from Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, Mötley Crue has defined the Los Angeles metal scene. Fueled…

Bobby Eli
Philly-Soul Pioneer
With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records, the spotlight is on the songwriting team of Kenneth…

Philip Sayce – Strat monster!
Post-SRV blues-rock wizard Godmonster beast on his (two) ’63 Fender Strats, Philip Sayce plays the one he calls Mother running…

Have Guitar Will Travel 139 – Buck Dharma from Blue Oyster Cult
In episode 139 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time…

Custom Kraft Red Fury
Most guitar aficionados are comfortable with the notion of guitar brands being made by the company of the same name.…

KayKraft Style A
Almost any guitar can be viewed in terms of a confluence of influences that produced it, from the company history…

Stromberg Master 400
The Stromberg Master 400, measuring a gigantic 19″, is considered by many to be the ultimate orchestral rhythm guitar. The…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…

St. Blues Bluesmaster, Blindsider, and Delta Blues Box
Straight from the Delta
Saint Blues Bluesmaster/Blindsider Price: $2,399 (Bluesmaster); $2,550 (Blindsider) Info: saintblues.com St. Blues’ history stretches back to the days when its…

Yamaha’s THR100HD Dual Amp
Double Vision
Modeling amps have evolved rapidly as software and circuits have improved and become, dare we say, more organic sounding. The…

Walrus Audio Iron Horse Distortion V2
Versatile Beast
Like virtually every distortion pedal on the market, Walrus Audio’s Iron Horse Distortion V2 will produce enough distortion to molest…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

IK Multimedia iRig HD
Pocket Rocket
Ain’t technology grand? With a device like the iRig HD, you can plug your guitar into an iPhone, iPad, or…

Honkytonk Homage
Guitars Venerate Bakersfield Landmark
Country-music fans familiar with the history of Bakersfield, California, know of Trout’s nightclub. The last of the venues that gave…

Steve Evans’ Guitars & Cars Passion Project
Pretty Pairs
Steve Evans was just 12 years old in 1968, when he began to appreciate the sleek bodies of electric guitars…

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01
This Old Strat
Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01 Price: $2,200 (list) Contact: www.actionfigurestudios.com Improving upon classic designs is a consistent theme in the…












































