EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

Atomic Punk

April 8, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Price: $799.99 (list); $599.99 (street) Contact: www.evhgear.com Decades after the release of the first Van Halen…

Adrian Belew

Still Going Up

June 29, 2023 · Pete Prown

Even after 45 years of guitar heroics with King Crimson, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, and solo, Adrian Belew’s career is…

Tom Feldmann And Noah Levy

Brothers in the Mud

March 3, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Spoiler alert: While it’s early in the year, this album is already a shoe-in as one of the best blues…

Larry McCray

Blues Without You

March 10, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

After 40 years of playing under the radar, Rust Belt bluesman Larry McCray finally gets his big break. On Blues…

LANEYL50H-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Laney L50 Head and L412 Cab

Classic British Tone

January 8, 2016 · Zac Childs

Laney L50H/L412 Price: $1,990 (head); $1,499 (cab) Info: laney.co.uk. Lyndon Laney is no stranger to fans of the iconic British…

2017 Readers’ Choice Awards

January 11, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

Each year, Vintage Guitar asks fans to select Readers’ Choice winners for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year,…

  •  VG Q&A: Harmony History

     VG Q&A: Harmony History

    And an Archtop Mystery

    I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…

    Read more >>

NOW AVAILABLE!

CURRENT ISSUE

Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!

ARTISTS

Fretprints: Hiram Bullock

Dangerously Funky Fusioneer

February 4, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

In the sonic constellation orbiting jazz-rock, Hiram Bullock traveled a separate trajectory. His work on “Angela,” the theme for “Taxi,”…

Rik Emmett Fixes it for Us!

January 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Triumph guitarist shows how to properly play four classic songs Plenty of players on socials post video showing how…

Happy Traum

Folk Guru: 1936-2024

June 25, 2025 · Dan Forte

On July 17, folk music lost one of its guiding lights with the death of Happy Traum at age 86.…

Vinnie Moore

Heavy Melodic Shred

March 18, 2016 · Lisa Sharken

Vinnie Moore emerged in the mid ’80s, garnering praise for his work as a solo instrumentalist and for his contributions…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Booker White’s 1933 National Duolian

Hard Traveled

May 30, 2017 · Michael Dregni

“Hard Rock.” That’s the name used by Mississippi blues man Booker White to christen his 1933 National Duolian. And Hard…

Valco El Grande

Valco El Grande

February 16, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tube: one 6SL7 Output tube: one 6V6GT Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls: Volume, Tone Speaker: 8″ Rola speaker Output: 5 watts…

Classics: October 2021

Ibanez IC200 Iceman

June 10, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Pete Prown’s obsession with the Ibanez Iceman began when the company’s 1978 guitar catalog landed atop dealer display cases; the…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 8

Late ’65: Transistors, Troubles, and Takeover!

February 14, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style

Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style

Aged to Perfection

November 29, 2016 · Pete Prown

Relic Guitars The Hague is a Dutch builder that produces, obviously, relic’d guitars. Mostly using the archetypal Strat and Tele…

Retro and Wonderful

The EHX Mainframe Bit Crusher

December 6, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

The Mainframe Bit Crusher is a nasty little pedal that warps, mangles, distorts and produces lo-fi digital sounds and trippy…

Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro

Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro

Game Changer

March 24, 2016 · Rich Maloof

Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro Price: $299 (list) Contact: www.robertkeeley.com Studio-quality dynamic control at your feet is a luxury that guitarists…

Keeley Noble Screamerb

Ultimate Mash-Up

August 27, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Just when guitarists thought the golden age of gear couldn’t get better, Robert Keeley has combined two great pedals that…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

Road to Rock

The Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

March 10, 2016 · Pete Prown

Fans often mark the beginning of rock and roll as either Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions or Bill Haley & the…

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13

Nice Roll

March 2, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13 Price: $1,850 (list)/$2,050 (with Fishman electronics) Info: www.blackbirdguitar.com What has a 13-fret neck, a small-but-curvaceous body…

Influenced by Benson, Montgomery, and Christian: Jorge Garcia

August 15, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Flavorful Jazz on “Dedicated to You” Jazz guitarist Jorge Garcia brings many flavors to his musical table. Here, his ’77…

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

Ka-Boom!

February 10, 2016 · Chip Wilson

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive Price: $250 (list) Contact: www.dallenpickups.com An Internet search for “overdrive pedals” yields 1,610,000 hits, indicating a…

Joe Bonamassa

Betting On Yourself

October 11, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

The British effect on American blues is undeniable. From the wicked guitar stylings of Paul Kossoff and Mick Taylor to…

Mike Beigel

Resurrection of the Mu-Tron III

January 11, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Mike Beigel is no guitarist. But that never held him back in crafting one of the most legendary of all…

Otis Redding

Otis Forever: The Albums & Singles (1968-1970)

May 13, 2024 · Sean McDevitt

Otis Redding’s death in a plane crash in late 1967 created a monumental task for producer and guitarist Steve Cropper…

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…

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Lights! Sound! Action!

November 6, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab Price: Amp $1,995 (list); cabinet $895 (list) Contact: www.immix11.com Remember the first time you encountered…

2025 June Issue on Spotify

June 3, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

This month, we feature The Meters’ George Porter, Tommy Emmanuel, Jedd Hughes, Dudley Taft, Lari Basilio, Ally Venable, The Police,…

Todd Rundgren

Rock’s True Renaissance Man

May 9, 2019 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

For 50 years, Todd Rundgren has been compiling one the most eclectic and impressive resumés in music. From forming the…

The Winfield Dust Devil

Devil’s In The Details

March 15, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Unlike most amp builders who take up the challenge to create amplifiers that replicate the sounds of the 1960s, Winfield…

1961 Fender Bassman

Blond Ambition

November 16, 2022 · Dave Hunter

1961 Fender 6G6(A) Bassman • Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7) • Output tubes: two 5881 (6L6GC) • Rectifier: GZ34 tube…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest David Davidson

July 16, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest David Davidson Season 01 Episode 02 In Episode 2 of “Buy That Guitar,”…

The Jayhawks

Power Pop With Twang And Thunder

April 20, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

Those with only a casual ear to the pavement will likely file the Jayhawks under murky signifiers such as “Americana”…

Supro’s Titan 1642RT

Born To Gig

July 5, 2018 · Michael Dregni

Supro’s new Titan amp is built to play out. This 50-watt 1×10 tube combo packs it all into a compact,…

Gibson EH-150

An Odd Gibson EH-150

10 Strings, Lap-Style

January 20, 2016 · George Gruhn

Lap-steel guitars were the first commercially available electrics – ancestors of the guitars we plug in today, regardless of their…

Donald “Duck” Dunn

Memphis Blues Legend

June 14, 2012 · Willie G. Moseley

Click Here to view Donald “Duck” Dunn Obit. In the history of popular music, the story of Memphis-based Stax Records…

Bumblefoot

Prog Shred Ain’t Dead

July 18, 2019 · Greg Prato

After bursting onto the scene in 1995 with the screwball shred classic The Adventures of Bumblefoot, Ron Thal (a.k.a. Bumblefoot)…

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT

Shagadelic

July 21, 2014 · Pete Prown

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT Price: $799 (guitar); $899 (bass) Info: www.musicvox.com. Popularized in film and television, Musicvox Spacerangers…

Michael Wilton

Michael Wilton

Rebuilding the Queensrÿche Brand

August 31, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

The highly publicized firing of singer Geoff Tate from the band Queensrÿche has divided fans and spawned two touring bands…

Parsons/White StringBender

August 17, 2017 · Edward B. Driscoll Jr.

From the origins of country-rock to Jimmy Page, Metallica, and a slew of modern country-pickin’ wizards, the string bender lends…

ISAAK_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Chris Isaak

Sun Worship

May 9, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Most pop-music fans became aware of Chris Isaak through his 1991 hit “Wicked Game” and its uber-high-profile video, directed by…

Have Guitar Will Travel 076 – Nashvillains

May 26, 2022 · James Patrick Regan

Ep 76 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Troy Johnson, Scott Lindsey, and Brett Boyette of the band Nashvillains. The…

Jazz singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding performing at the North Sea Jazz festival 2012 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo: JBreeschoten/Wikimedia.

Esperanza Spalding

May 15, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Popularly known as that cute female jazz bassist with the Afro who bogarted the Best New Artist Grammy away from…

Phantom Guitarworks’ Teardrop

Droppin’ In On The ’60s

January 25, 2017 · Rich Maloof

Phantom Guitarworks is dedicated to producing odd-shaped guitars based on designs introduced in the early 1960s like the Vox Mark…

Eastwood’s Classic 6 TA PHo

Phish Food

July 28, 2023 · Pete Prown

If you’ve seen Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio onstage, you may have noticed an unusual archtop in his mitts – a…

The Taylor 712e

Naturally Bold

March 13, 2019 · Phil Feser

Taylor Guitars recently redesigned their 700 Series, to add performance bracing, two-piece maple/spruce bridge plate, protein (hide) glue on bridge…

Brown’s Guitar Factory Lap Steel

Steel Yourself

July 13, 2016 · Steven Stone

At the beginning of amplified music, one of the first instruments to get a magnetic pickup was the Rickenbacker “frying…