• Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the  first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set…

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  • Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

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Clapton’s Fool

History’s Greatest Guitar?

November 23, 2015 · J. Craig Oxman

Eric Clapton’s The Fool. A name immediately recognizable to guitarists, yet baffling to others. What is Clapton’s Fool? Very simply,…

Marcus King

Young Blood

June 9, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Young gun Marcus King enlists Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys as producer on this latest project. Young Blood combines…

Have Guitar Will Travel 100 – Brian Venable (Lucero)

June 21, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In episode 100 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with Brian…

Fretprints: Johnny Meeks

Rock-and-Roll Guitar Pioneer

November 10, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

In the 1950s, “rock” music was a melange of blues, country, and hillbilly that also snared elements from boogie-woogie, gospel,…

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…

Derek St. Holmes

Making Rock and Roll Cool Again

March 2, 2017 · Johnny Zapp

Derek St. Holmes has been in the rock and roll business since the early 1970s and is best known for…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    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…

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ARTISTS

Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking

January 10, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking Chris Bergson used his ’60s Teisco to play a bit of his tune, “Hector and…

Andrew Synowiec’s Ebullient Tonefest

January 5, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Uplifting Instrumental Rock! Check out Andrew Synowiec and his Heritage Custom Core H-150 P90 ripping through a chunk of “Lead…

 Fretprints: Larry Carlton

Revisiting Room 335

January 2, 2026 · Wolf Marshall

In 1978, Larry Carlton was atop the unforgiving environs of L.A.’s music studios, where technical prowess, precision, creativity, tone, and…

Wes Beech

Life in The Plasmatics

October 29, 2025 · Ward Meeker

From the moment he met Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams, things for Wes Beech were never really “normal.” Walking…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Vega De Luxe Electric Plectrum Banjo

April 5, 2017 · George Gruhn

Billed as “the latest orchestral sensation… unparalleled for versatility,” Vega’s electric banjos – developed to compete with one being made…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Redd Volkaert

July 29, 2025 · Ram W. Tuli

Season 03 Episode 03 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of…

The Sammick Viper

April 29, 2021 · Michael Wright

Some guitars hit the market at the perfect time to becom e classics – think Les Paul and Stratocaster. Some…

Fall Philly 2014

November 13, 2014 · Lisa Sharken

[caption id="attachment_19277" align="alignleft" width="300"] We are here at the Philly show checking out all the killer guitars! Here's a '54…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Martin D-13E Ziricote

Contemporary Cannon

March 3, 2022 · Michael Shirek

From the time the first self-branded models shipped from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in the early 1930s, the Martin dreadnought has been…

The DoleSonic Vintage 108 Woody

Not Your Dad’s Boutique Amp

August 16, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

The guitarist’s greatest quests is most often that of the tone that resides within their heads. That quest drove guitarist…

McElroy OM Model

OM, Gee!

March 4, 2015 · Pete Prown

McElroy OM Model Price: $7,500 (base; $8,500 as reviewed) Info: www.mcelroyguitars.com. Brent McElroy is a Seattle luthier specializing in high-quality…

The Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15

Living Loving Gain

March 15, 2019 · Art Department

While many have tried via transistor trickery to replicate the tone of Jimmy Page’s Hiwatt at Led Zeppelin’s legendary January…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

BASSMAN-HOME-MAIN-THUMB

1964 Fender Bassman

February 17, 2016 · Dave Hunter

1964 Fender 6G6-B Bassman Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier:…

PRS NF 53

Mojo, Distilled

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

Players who appreciate simple, elegant, well-built guitars may find themselves enamored with the new PRS NF 53, inspired by one…

Arliss McMinn and the California Playboys

The "Fenderized" Teens

May 3, 2016 · Richard R. Smith

“What started in California?” you ask. The list includes a broad range of inventions, fads, pop culture, and social movements.…

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking – Lesson 6

Tom Feldmann’s Beginner Fingerpicking – Lesson 6

August 15, 2017 · Tom Feldmann

Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop to present an exclusive eight-part series on beginner…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robin Trower’s Twice Removed from Yesterday

Think Again

June 14, 2024 · Bret Adams

The solo career of guitar icon Robin Trower took off like a rocket in the early ’70s after he left…

Yamaha Image

December 26, 2013 · Michael Wright

Some years back, an insurance company promoted itself as “the quiet company.” While they probably wouldn’t like to hear it,…

Weller Guitars’ Stageliner

Jetson Moderne

November 29, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

More and more, guitar designers are digging deep, thinking out of the box, and using their imaginations to conjure hip,…

Pop ’N Hiss: Bruford’s Allan Holdsworth

Landmark Fusion of One of a Kind

March 31, 2022 · Pete Prown

Jazz-rock fusion was vastly popular in the mid 1970s, but began to run out of steam as the “smooth jazz”…

Steve Stevens

Atomic Idol

April 22, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

As Billy Idol’s longtime guitarist and songwriting partner, Steve Stevens’ unique approach – flamenco stylings and the occasional ray gun…

Jim Lauderdale

Hope

July 22, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

Inspired by the pandemic, veteran singer/songwriter Lauderdale stresses resiliency and renewal on these 13 originals, enhanced along the way by…

Fretprints: Ty Tabor

X Marks the Spot

June 14, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

The turbulent 1980s ended with a tsunami of bands seeking new sounds. Trends like classic-rock redux, blues/roots revivals, nu-metal, grunge,…

Greg Koch

Making It Work

May 4, 2022 · John Heidt

The latest release from guitar master Greg Koch is From the Up’Nuh with his son, Dylan, on drums and B3-whiz…

Hilton Valentine

1943-2021

January 24, 2022 · Dan Forte

“The first song I learned on guitar was ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by the Animals.” The statement could have…

 Joey Molland

January 16, 2026 · Pete Prown

The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was…

Dave Stryker

Dave Stryker

Fits To a T

July 5, 2016 · John Heidt

The latest project from jazz guitarist Dave Stryker, Messin’ With Mister T, is a tribute to late saxophonist Stanley Turrentine,…

Gary Moore: The Official Biography

Harry Shapiro

July 7, 2023 · Pete Prown

The ultimate unsung hero, Moore made a seismic impact on heavy guitarists, without being a huge star himself. That’s the…

Fender Competition Mustang

Souped-Up Starter

January 9, 2023 · Michael Wright

So it’s no surprise that Fender built the Competition Mustang, a guitar marketed to players who might also be excited…

David Hidalgo Plays Joe Walsh’s ’59 Les Paul

June 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

 David Hidalgo Plays Joe Walsh’s ’59 Les Paul The video that helped convince Joe Walsh to reunite with his…

Chordal Colorations

Iconic Axes of Different Hues

October 3, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Though their colors are complementary, Brian May’s Red Special and Brian Setzer’s ’59 Gretsch 6120 couldn’t be more different in…

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Live In London

October 8, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

In a world where Red Bull-injected athletes have hijacked blues guitar, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is a welcome return to feel,…

DryBell Unit67

Balkan Boost

October 15, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory has been kicking out great pedals for a few year, with clients like Mike Landau, John…

St. Blues Juke Joint Series

St. Blues Juke Joint Series

Domestic Bliss

April 9, 2014 · Phil Feser

With the elimination of its Korean-made Pro Series and the introduction of the Juke Joint Series, Memphis-based St. Blues can…

The Minus 5 and the Monkees

Monkee Business

August 2, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

The 1960s – that halcyon decade which Americans today are most inclined to reconsider with dewy eyes – is in…

Eric Gales

May 2, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

This is the kind of album only Eric Gales could make. It’s full of fiery lines and repentant testimonials about…

EHX Cock Fight and Key9

Pedalin’ To The Past

July 5, 2018 · Pete Prown

When it comes to sweet retro tones, the wizards at Electro-Harmonix (EHX) have been busy again, turning out a fresh…

Built to Survive

Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression

April 21, 2017 · George Gruhn

In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely…

Rik Emmett

Triumphant Return

March 29, 2019 · Greg Prato

Triumph was one of the leading arena-rock acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Striking gold and platinum with…

Jim Kweskin

Never Too Late: Duets with my Friends

December 6, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

The Jim Kweskin Jug Band was among the most-influential acts of the ’60s folk revival. Its free-spirited mix of retro…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1

August 7, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

It’s easy to summarize Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s raw-yet-modern blues approach. Joined by co-vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd delivers a lyric straight…