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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…
DNA Analogic Effects
Chemical Reaction
If you‘re a “first impressions mean a lot” kind of gearhead, DNA Analogic’s line of effects pedals may just win…
Koll Super Glide Almighty
Grady’s Choice
What do you get when you cross a Jazzmaster, Les Paul, Gretsch Duo Jet, ES-335, and Tele? You just might…
Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.
Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using…
Will Ackerman
Acoustic Artisan
A defining idiom of ’80s guitar, the Windham Hill label captured a certain audio sound and style of understated acoustic…
Gibson 1928 L-1 Blues Tribute
Blues Time Machine
Gibson 1928 L-1 Blues Tribute Price: $4,255 retail; $3,299 street Info: www.gibson.com. The Gibson L-1 boasts the kind of intriguing…
Ace Frehley
The Space Man’s Cover Plan
Few guitarists in hard rock have proven as influential as Ace Frehley; just about any guitarist interviewed after the mid…
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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
Albert Castiglia
Righteous and Raucous
Guitarist Albert Castiglia’s blues-based music has gone through a lot of changes since VG first interviewed him in 2008. In…
Tom Petersson’s Gretsch 12-string Basses
Tricked-Out Trio
Cheap Trick fans are aware of his contribution to the band’s songs, but few know he actually invented the 12-string…
Prince
Rhapsody In Purple
A year after his death, VG remembers Prince, a musical revolutionary, whose emergence was jarring, even for the most youthful…
The Soul of John Black
Living In The Sunshine
I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Parsons/White StringBender
From the origins of country-rock to Jimmy Page, Metallica, and a slew of modern country-pickin’ wizards, the string bender lends…
Zakk Wylde
Doomsayer
Best-known as Ozzy Osbourne’s longest-tenured guitarist, Zakk Wylde has also been the leader of Black Label Society since the late…
1978 Dean Z
The mid 1970s were a turbulent time in guitar history. The American guitar establishment – at least Gibson and Fender…
The Hagstrom EDP46 DeLuxe
World War II was responsible for an unbelievable amount of what we today know as the modern world, from computers…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Godin ACS SA
Nylon Dreams
Too often, the notion of plugging in a thin-body guitar and getting a reasonably natural acoustic/electric tone is more dream…
Xotic Bass BB Preamp V1.5
In Your Face
Sometimes, bassists need boost, too, like when that bass-solo interlude from Sade’s “Smooth Operator” comes along and it’s time to…
PureSalem Bette
Unfiltered Garage Rock
If you’ve ever worked in the music retail field, you know that not everybody shares your excellent taste in guitars.…
UAFX Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb
Space, Man
The original Roland Space Echo was a thing of sonic beauty, used by everyone from Brian Setzer to Bob Marley…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
HeadRush MX5
Many Riches
In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…
“Unicorn”: Ca. 1910 Rafael Casana
This extremely rare guitar has been dubbed the “Unicorn” by virtue of the fact that for all his fame, it…
Fender Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass
Ladies’ First
With a quick glance and a dash of judginess, Fender’s Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass looks like what…
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…
