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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…
Spencer Kirkpatrick
Jammin’ Southern Hero
In the ’70s, Hydra was a Southern-rock band that owed more to the heavy British blues of Cream and Free…

National Westwood
Whether Valco – the company that made National guitars in the 1950s and ’60s – was actually inspired by U.S.…
Lee Ritenour
Lee's Six-String Theory
Lee Ritenour’s career accomplishments are the stuff of greatness. With thousands of classic recording sessions and more than 40 albums…

Maps and Legends: The Story of R.E.M.
John Hunter
Any balanced rock-and-roll bio scrutinizes a band’s more-unsavory side. And scrutinize is exactly what John Hunter does in this unauthorized…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Mending Chuck Panozzo’s 1960 ES-125
Thinline Revival
Like you, I got a kick out of the February “Classics” feature on Chuck Panozzo being reunited with his Gibson…
Taylor T3
Tone Poet
The Taylor T3 Price: $2,998 Info: www.taylorguitars.com. Some guitar players never touch a tone knob, while others view it as…
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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

Mike Rutherford
Re-Living The Years
Mike Rutherford prefers focusing on the future, even if recent projects have required the guitarist/bassist to think about life. Late…

Vic Juris
The Core of Big Apple Jazz
Every noted jazz artist in the world is familiar with Vic Juris. His body of work commands serious respect and…

“Monster” Mike Welch
“Monster” Mike Welch digs deep on “Walking to You Baby” “I was thinking about my late friend, Luther ‘Guitar…

Robert Cray
Four Nights Of 40 Years
Five-time Grammy winner Robert Cray has always played serious blues. But, early on, he sidestepped a genre that would descend…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Two Legendary Les Paul Deluxes
Southern Gold
In the late 1960s, Gibson reintroduced the single-cutaway Les Paul based on its classic ’50s model. But, a new version…
Gibson Style J Mando-bass
Decades before Audiovox or Leo Fender dreamed of making a fretted electric bass, Gibson started manufacturing fretted acoustic mando-basses that…

Jimmy James’ Psychedelic R&B
“Parlor Strut” on a vintage Harmony! Proving that ’60s import guitars can make cool sounds, Parlor Greens guitarist Jimmy James…

Gibson Marauder M-1
Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Sebago Sound DT50
Texas Tone – And More
Sebago Sound DT50 Price: $1,999 Contact: sebagosound.com The DT50 is the 50-watt version of Sebago Sound’s acclaime d Double Trouble…

Kramer 84 and Pacer Vintage
Tap, Shred, Dive!
Kramer 84/Pacer Vintage Price: $1,166 (84); $1,267 (Pacer Vintage) Info: kramerguitars.com It’s hard to think of ’80s guitars as vintage,…

Fano Alt de Facto RB6
Classic That Never Was
Fano Alt de Facto RB6 Price: $2,495 Info: fanoguitars.com In recent years, a trend in the guitar realm has been…

Eastwood’s Classic 6 TA PHo
Phish Food
If you’ve seen Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio onstage, you may have noticed an unusual archtop in his mitts – a…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

Don’t Call it Fusion: Julien Kasper’s “Upon a Green Hill”
Beck (et al) Connection! The music made by Julien Kasper is connected to Miles, Beck, Hendrix, Mahavishnu, and Scofield, but…
Paul McCartney & Wings
Band on the Run 50th Anniversary
McCartney’s 1973 classic is a post-Beatles favorite for its title cut (a #1 U.S. single) and rockin’ singles “Jet” and…

Leon Rhodes
Country-Jazz Genius, Terrific Texas Troubadour
Leon Rhodes 1932-2017 We are saddened to hear of the passing of guitar legend Leon Rhodes, one of the most-beloved…

Vox Guitars Invade America
From Dartford to Sepulveda
The Vox brand may be quintessentially English, but it made a huge impact in the U.S. Riding in with the…






































