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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

Slick SL-52 and SL-56
Budget Riff Rockers
Since 2004, Guitarfetish has been selling instruments, parts, pedals, and accessories online. Their Slick guitar line – designed and built…

Gwenifer Raymond
Fierce Fingerstyle
Expect the unexpected from Gwenifer Raymond. Born in Wales, England, she was inspired by underground bands like the Pixies and…

Prestige Guitars DC Coupe Custom T Hybrid
“Tele” Twist
The first Telecasters were so good that today they’re made almost exactly as they were 70 years ago. Working just…

Robert Randolph Demonstrates the “I Want It” Riff
Robert Randolph’s new album, "Got Soul," streets on February 17. Here, he uses a SlideKing, made by Jackson Steel Guitar…

Check This Action: A Year In Their Life
Recently, I stumbled onto one of those “reaction” videos by a New Zealander named Courtney, who wasn’t sure if she’d…

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

Joe Satriani
More Than Meets the Ear
When he emerged in the late ’80s, rock guitarist Joe Satriani stood apart from the hair-band crowd for several reasons.…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part 3: The 1960s
Fretted-instrument advertising in the 20th century relied heavily on “glamor” or “cheesecake.” Electric instruments and accessories, in particular, are still…

Check This Action: A Year In Their Life
Recently, I stumbled onto one of those “reaction” videos by a New Zealander named Courtney, who wasn’t sure if she’d…

Rusty Young
1946-2021
Rusty Young, the versatile pedal-steel guitarist, guitarist, singer/songwriter, and original member of the pioneering country-rock band Poco, died at his…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

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

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…

Fender 5E7 Bandmaster
Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6L6s, fixed biased Rectifier: 5U4G tube Controls: Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass,…

Martin 000-30
When a guitar maker introduces an innovative new feature at the same time an appealing, existing feature is being discontinued,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Marchione Guitars’ 16″ Archtop
The Golden Mean
In 1922, Gibson introduced Lloyd Loar’s L-5, lauded as the first modern archtop. Luthiers have been “advancing” the design ever…

Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals
Crying Out Loud!
RMC3FL Prices: $255 RMC4 Picture Prices: $235 RMC8 Guitar Eqwahlyzer Prices: $269 RMC10 Prices: $235 Info: www.realmccoycustom.com. Geoffrey Teese began…
Loar LH-309 VS Archtop
One Cool Cat
Loar LH-309 VS Archtop Price: $569.99 (street) Contact: theloar.com As the retro craze delves deeper into six-string history, a spate…

Analog Man Bi-Comprossor
Fresh-Squeezed Sounds
Analog Man Bi-Comprossor Price: $275 Info: www.analogman.com Mike Piera, a.k.a. Analog Man, is known for creating pedals with a vintage…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero
Acoustic Remedy’s ClimaStand Display Case
Open and Shut
Acoustic Remedy ClimaStand Price: $899 (walnut) Info: www.acousticremedycases.com Most players have at least one guitar they would like to display…

McGregor Pedals’ Crunch and Crunch Plus
Transparent Pair
McGregor Pedals founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Mad Scientist” Garth McGregor Heslop hand-wires pedals in his Vancouver shop. Two of them…

Alex Haddad and Kyle Lewis
Two Times the Vibes
Nashville’s Them Vibes hearken to the two-guitar teams of yesterday. Established by the songwriting duo of front man Brother Love…

Steve Stevens
Return of the Ray-Gun Ace
Best known as Billy Idol’s guitar ace for the past 25 years, Steve Stevens won early fame for Idol’s 1983…













































