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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…
Keith Richards’ 1963 Gibson SG Custom
Ready to Ramble
In 1961, Gibson introduced the double-cutaway Les Paul to replace the original version, which had been endorsed by guitarist Les…
Noah Zacharin: Seriously Agile Fingerstyle
“Lester Brown” Live From The Big Lonely From his home in a forest between Ottawa and Toronto, singer/songwriter/fingerpicker Noah Zacharin…
Otis Taylor
Otis Taylor has no concern for your discomfort with racial issues. It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times, and…
Andy Timmons
Electric Truth
Is there life after success in a glam-metal band? Many guitarists were asking themselves that question after the scene fizzled…
Don Leady, Austin Legend
One of Texas’ “Big Guitars” on “Rattler Run” Co-founder of the LeRoi Brothers, leader of the Tail Gators, and one…
Cliff Gallup
Crazy Fingers
There was a custom at Owen Bradley Film & Recording Studios in Nashville; artists cut vocal tracks with backing from…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
J.D. Simo
Tele-Free Trio
J.D. Simo moved to Nashville seven years ago and quickly landed in the coveted hot spot as the lead guitarist…
Kenny Sultan
Left-Coast Blues Machine
Kenny Sultan is a best-selling author of music books and instructional videos covering blues guitar, and is the guitarist in…
Brian Tatler
Still Evil
Though Diamond Head never achieved the same worldwide commercial success enjoyed by some of its fellow New Wave of British…
Fretprints: Steve Khan
Khan-sequential Guitar
Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
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…
The Leo Krebs Tape Echo Amplifier
Twenty-Three and Thee
If you have no recollection of the revolutionary amplifier with 19 knobs, 23 tubes, and built-in tape echo created by…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Creating the Iris DE-11
Something New From Something Old
In last month’s “Approved Gear,” VG reviewed the Iris Guitar Company DE-11. If you missed it, I’d suggest you grab…
Maestro Fuzz-Tone
Fuzz. It’s the sound of fury, aggravation, indignation, and – considering the history of the most famous fuzzbox of all…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Mu-FX Octave Divider
The Mu Is Back
This is rocket science. Or at least as close as a stompbox gets. Sure, building a pedal that tweaks a…
Soldano Astro-20 combo
Rock Machine
Mike Soldano is the man behind amp tones that influenced a generation of guitarists, his hot-rodded ideas having been used…
Mesa Boogie California Tweed 6V6 2:20 1×10 Combo
Ankle Biter
Classic Fender tweed amps are known for fat, warm clean tones, but even more for their raunch when cranked. Mesa…
The Supro Delta King 10
Down To The Crossroads
With the increasing popularity of compact, low-wattage combo amps has come an overwhelming variety of choices. Supro has entered the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
Live at Levon’s!
The term “versatile” is laughable when it comes to Larry Campbell. A handful of the artists he has recorded, produced,…
Lords of Atlantis: Cliché-Free Surf
Ivan Pongracic Lords of Atlantis includes members from a handful of high-profile surf bands, and its debut album is a…
Eric Krasno
Funk, Soul, and Jazz
Eric Krasno is on a roll. The guitarist in the soul-jazz organ trio Soulive moonlights with the funk ensemble Lettuce,…
Esperanza Spalding
Popularly known as that cute female jazz bassist with the Afro who bogarted the Best New Artist Grammy away from…
