From Badass to Bonamassa

New Pedals from MRX, Cry Baby, and Way Huge

May 20, 2021 · Max Prown

The latest from Dunlop includes a pair of overdrives and a fresh addition to the venerable Cry Baby wah family.…

The Rascals’ Gene Cornish

Wild Legacy

April 26, 2019 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

Gene Cornish is fond of the time he spent in the ’60s pop band The Rascals, which he credits for…

PRS SE Silver Sky

Aiming Higher

February 7, 2023 · Bob Dragich

In a world filled with Strat-type guitars, it takes a lot to set one apart, let alone stand above. The…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Reviving a ’56 Duo-Jet, Part Two

Ugly, But An Oldy

March 16, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

In the March issue, I introduced you to my apprentice, Blake Burkholder, and the restoration he was doing to a…

What’s So Special About Guitar Picks

May 9, 2018 · Eric C. Shoaf

You may have one in your pocket. They only cost about 25 cents. But if you have always used one…

Lucinda Williams

Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart

March 20, 2024 · Michael Dregni

Turning 70 is a time for reflection, and Lucinda Williams offers two takes. Her poetic autobiography recounts her troubled, peripatetic…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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

Joanna Connor

Blue-Collar Virtuoso

June 9, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Joanna Connor’s latest is her most-potent album to date. Best Of Me serves up a feast of guitar styles and…

Have Guitar Will Travel 077 – Patrick Davis

June 9, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

For Ep 77 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with Patrick Davis, from Songwriters in Paradise.…

Rick Nielsen

Storied Career

January 5, 2018 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

“Many years ago, I was in the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ dressing room with my son, Daxx,” recalls Rick Nielsen. “Flea…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part One

April 5, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

There are many ways for an advertiser to attract attention, and in the history of 19th- and 20th-century print hucksterisim…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Elliot Easton

Star Board: Elliot Easton

November 25, 2015 · Ward Meeker

Elliot Easton’s “Pedalboard” Though Elliot Easton enjoys his loaded full-size Pedaltrain board, his new band, The Empty Hearts (with Clem…

The “Conversion” Les Paul

The “Conversion” Les Paul

Myth, Magic – and Mojo!

June 21, 2016 · Pete Prown

One of the more intriguing topics in guitardom is the Gibson Les Paul “conversion.” What is it? Most of the…

The Collings SoCo Deluxe

November 23, 2020 · Phil Feser

Whether you’re a fan of the flat-top or simply appreciate a good archtop, chances are you’re familiar with Collings Guitars.…

Fender Precision Bass

The “Final” Configuration

June 5, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

The Fender Precision Bass was the first commercially successful solidbody electric bass. Played somewhat like a guitar and sporting a…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Newman Guitars Lake Placid Blue

Portrait in Blue

July 5, 2018 · Rich Maloof

Excitement at the arrival of this offset beauty was dampened by the sad news that its creator had passed away…

New Orleans Guitar Company Model 8

Sonic Mojo

March 1, 2014 · Chip Wilson

New Orleans Guitar Company Model 8 Price: $2,999 Contact: neworleansguitar.com For over a decade, the New Orleans Guitar Company has…

Mesa/Boogie Drive Pedals

Four on the Floor

December 19, 2014 · Phil Feser

Mesa/Boogie Drive Pedals Price: $179 (Tone-Burst, Grid Slammer and Flux-Drive); $199 (Throttle Box) Info: www.mesaboogie.com. Long a stalwart in the…

Magnatone Panoramic Stereo

Tales of True Vibrato

January 8, 2018 · Ray Wuolo

Magnatone amplifiers date back to the 1940s and ’50s – the era of Hawaiian-steel guitar – and boasted pearloid-covered casework…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Nate Bergman

Skankin’ With Lionize

November 12, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

The members of Lionize blend heavy rock with reggae to create infectious tunes… kind of like if the guys in…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Creating the Iris DE-11

Something New From Something Old

September 8, 2022 · Dan Erlewine

In last month’s “Approved Gear,” VG reviewed the Iris Guitar Company DE-11. If you missed it, I’d suggest you grab…

PAISLEY_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Brad Paisley

Two Vital Guitars From the Collection of a Modern Superpicker

April 21, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Brad Paisley’s 2011 book, Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, is…

Keeley Hydra Stereo Reverb & Tremolo

The Life Aquatic

January 27, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Stompbox wizard Robert Keeley’s latest creation packs a boatload of deep-sea diver sounds in one small package. The Hydra Stereo…

Gibson Super 400

August 13, 2024 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Much of America was still recovering from the Depression in 1934 when Gibson introduced a guitar at a price that…

Andy Powell

Setting the Record Straight

March 2, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

Wishbone Ash founder/guitarist Andy Powell has a new term for his resumé – “author.” Abetted by Colin Harper, he recently…

Nathan East

March 30, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Nathan East’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing in 40 years. Offered gigs with Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and…

Otis Taylor

March 30, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Otis Taylor has no concern for your discomfort with racial issues. It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times, and…

Bryson Willoughby

Mojo Thunder’s Collective Consciousness

June 25, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Kentucky’s favorite alternative Southern rockers, Mojo Thunder, extrapolate fresh ideas from disparate genres to produce an album as passionate as…

Eric Krasno

Eric Krasno

Funk, Soul, and Jazz

March 10, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Eric Krasno is on a roll. The guitarist in the soul-jazz organ trio Soulive moonlights with the funk ensemble Lettuce,…

Rush

February 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

Grab your hankies, Rush fans – this DVD doc captures moments from the trio’s R40 farewell tour, along with reminiscences…

SoloDallas Schaffer Replica Tower

Instant Angus

December 6, 2021 · Michael Dregni

There should be a hall of fame of gear that’s famous for “lateral applications” – that is, features and functions…

Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young on “The Mission”

Mars, Pluto… And Styx

April 26, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents…

Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931

Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931

Vintage Revolution

July 7, 2016 · Pete Prown

If you’ve ever played a fine vintage guitar, you know how two things jump out at you immediately: 1) they’re…

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins

New Traditionalists

January 13, 2016 · Steven Stone

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins1 Price: FF $2,265 (list), $1,699 (street); KO $1,999 (list), $1,499 (street) Info: www.breedlovemusic.com. Unlike luthiers…

Chris Tapp’s “Got No Right”

March 7, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Cold Stares’ Guitarist Digs In, Grooves Out Chris Tapp grabbed his real-deal Gibson ’52 goldtop (running through a Kingtone Blues…

Bryan Sutton

Bryan Sutton

Into His Own

May 3, 2015 · Steven Stone

Bryan Sutton ranks as one of the most accomplished and in-demand acoustic players in Nashville. In 1991, fresh from high…

King Crimson and Toby Amies

In the Court of the Crimson King

October 30, 2023 · Pete Prown

This film asks the musical question, “Is Robert Fripp a virtuoso guitarist, sensitive tone-poet – or brutal taskmaster?” The answer…

Gene Simmons

Night Vision

August 31, 2023 · Bret Adams

Between stints on its lengthy End of the Road farewell tour, Kiss has been issuing an Off the Soundboard series…

Rybski Cougar

Wild Cat

December 22, 2015 · Zac Childs

Rybiski Cougar Price: $3,850 Info: www.rybskiguitars.com. Before moving to the United States, Rybski founder Slawomir Waclawik repaired and built upright…

Guild Polara Kim Thayil

Get Your Grunge

June 26, 2024 · Bob Cianci

With Soundgarden, guitarist Kim Thayil helped define the grunge movement. His unusual weapon of choice was the Guild S-100 Polara,…

Steve Kimock

May 16, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

There comes a time in a musician’s life when he confronts the inevitable question, “Who am I? Am I a…

B.B. King - Ode to the King of the Blues

Ode to the King of the Blues

Guitarists Reflect on the Passing of B.B. King

January 24, 2016 · Vintage Guitar

B.B. King was truly peerless. Beyond his ability to pull an audience up via a single long, vibratoed note, he…

Michael Lee Firkins

Meditations in Southern Rock

April 2, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box…

Roland V-Studio 20

The Roland V-Studio 20

January 13, 2014 · Pete Prown

Roland V-Studio 20 Price: $300 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Home digital recording has come a long way in the last 20…

Nili Brosh

Bright Horizons

March 16, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

The saying goes, “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it.” But don’t ask…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 009 Featuring Mt. Joy

June 10, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

In this episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, James Regan talks with Matt (Quinn) and Sam (Cooper) from the indie band Mt Joy. The band…

Pandemic Peak?

The Guitar Market’s “Covid Surge”

February 9, 2022 · Ward Meeker

In the September ’20 issue, VG surveyed guitar dealers to learn how they’d been impacted by the early weeks of…

Al Stewart

Cat’s Meow

March 2, 2022 · Bret Adams

Year of the Cat, singer/songwriter/guitarist Al Stewart’s 1976 smash, is being celebrated with a 45th anniversary three-CD/DVD box set. The…