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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…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Fretprints: Metallica’s Master of Puppets
Genre Giant
In 1984, Kerrang magazine coined the buzzword “thrash,” signaling the arrival of an unprecedented heaviness in rock music – not…
Bakersfield twang from Nashville Honeymoon
Vintage Instruments, Traditional Sounds Nashville Honeymoon plays country music laden with Bakersfield influence – the best kind! Here, Hank Maninger…
John Tropea
A Life in the Studios
John Tropea has spent much of his life in a studio, playing guitar, helping make hit records for people with…
Guthrie Govan
Aristocratic Guitar
Guthrie Govan is at times more stunt pilot than conventional guitarist – his superhero skills mean he can play almost…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip
Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940…
Park 75
Park 75 Preamp tubes: three ECC83 (12AX7 equivalents) Output tubes: two KT88 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Volume II, Volume I, Treble,…
Songbirds: Museum with a Mission
Treasures in Tennessee
Ask anyone who geeks out on vintage guitars, from the well-heeled collector to the dreamer whose prized possession is a…
Classics: January 2022
Sam Ash’s Early PRSs
Sammy Ash first laid eyes on a PRS guitar in the early ’80s, after catching a glimpse of one in…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Ibanez EKM100
Soul On Ice
Ibanez EKM100 Price: $2,799.99 (list) Contact: www.ibanez.com Fans of contemporary soul, jazz, and funk should be well aware of Soulive.…
Louis Electric Buster
Beyond Deluxe
Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595 (street) Contact: louisamps.com. Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more…
The Wampler Catacombs
Shimmer Box
In the pedal market, the category of reverbs and delays is straight fire these days. Wampler has jumped in with…
The 1912 Martin 000-28
The 1912 Martin
By 1912, players of fretted instruments were familiar with steel strings. Mandolins, which were enjoying their period…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
