• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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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George Lynch

Mr. Scary’s New Empire

July 8, 2014 · Lisa Sharken

George Lynch is one of the premier axe men to emerge in the ’80s. His melodic hard-rock riffs were the…

Kenny Brown

Mississippi Slide

July 22, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The Black Keys’ latest album, Delta Kream, is a collection of blues standards from the Mississippi Hill Country. Drummer Patrick…

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Lights! Sound! Action!

November 6, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab Price: Amp $1,995 (list); cabinet $895 (list) Contact: www.immix11.com Remember the first time you encountered…

Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

Road to Rock

The Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

March 10, 2016 · Pete Prown

Fans often mark the beginning of rock and roll as either Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions or Bill Haley & the…

1939-’42 Gibson SJ-100

$100 Cowboy Flat-Top

September 1, 2023 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Through the 1910s and early ’20s, Gibson catalogs denigrated flat-top guitars as inferior, unworthy of the company name. But that…

 Jason Isbell

New Vistas, Old Gear

January 2, 2026 · Rich Kienzle

Jason Isbell’s powerful songs, compelling vocals, and formidable guitar skills have made him one of America’s most-respected singer/songwriters. A charismatic…

  • 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

Blackberry Smoke Unplugs

Ds and LGs

March 3, 2017 · Ward Meeker

By sound and association, Blackberry Smoke walks a fine stylistic line. A good ol’ rock band when it started rollin’…

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.…

Mike Vernon

July 26, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Surf-Guitar Ace Mike Vernon Chills on “Lucky Boy” Surf-instro revivalist Mike Vernon grabbed his (semi-hollow) Gretsch Tennessee Rose (with flatwounds)…

The Collins Kids

Mostly-Moseley Memories

January 8, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Siblings Lorrie and Larry Collins sprang into the public eye in the mid 1950s – dawn of the television era…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

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…

NGM Visits Texas

Nearing Permanent Home, Museum Honors Raitt

April 14, 2020 · Dan Forte

“It was born at the junction of form and function,” country guitar ace Bill Kirchen sings in “Hammer Of The…

1983 Peavey T-20 and T-20FL Vintage guitar magazine

Peavey T-20

The Next Step

March 30, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Introduced in 1982, Peavey’s T-20 was different from other basses in the Peavey lineup, the two-pickup T-40, and the single-pickup…

History of the Fender Bassman

High Times for Low-End

October 9, 2019 · Dave Hunter

If they could have just one amplifier, many guitarists – from bar-room grinders to arena megastars – would choose a…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Moniker Dixie Solid

Click to Customize

November 21, 2014 · Rich Maloof

Moniker Dixie Solid Price: $849 (base) Info: www.monikerguitars.com. Moniker Guitars recently launched a line of customizable electric guitars that players…

BC Audio JTX45 Octal Plex

Plexi Class

March 1, 2017 · Ray Wuolo

In an amp world full of boutique clones, Bruce Clement has developed a unique twist on the venerable ’60s British…

Guild’s F-40 Standard

First-Rate Reboot

September 17, 2024 · Michael Shirek

Bigger may not always be better, but sometimes having a little extra juice can make all the difference. Born in…

MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine Octave Fuzz

Lowdown And Nasty

January 25, 2017 · Pete Prown

Rising from the smoke and flames of the MXR Custom Shop is the pedal of which every fuzz freak dreams.…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Tommy Emmanuel

May 2, 2017 · John Heidt

As the title suggests, this is a collection of performances pulled from several Public Television concerts Tommy Emmanuel has done,…

Jorma Kaukonen

Hot Tuna, Part 1

November 23, 2015 · Dan Forte

Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady have been playing music together for 53 years – 40 of them as…

Mark O’Connor

Virtuoso Comeback

March 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

Some musicians are multi-instrumentalists, but Mark O’Connor is something else – a multi-virtuoso. Regarded as a master on guitar, violin,…

Yamaha Weddington Custom

A Better “Classic”

December 9, 2024 · Michael Wright

In 1987, classic American guitars like the Les Paul and Stratocaster were still going strong, with few changes since their…

Steve Turner

The March To Fuzz

April 29, 2024 · Dennis Pernu

Thirty-five years after Steve Turner and Mudhoney became forever linked with two legendary pedals by coining their debut EP Superfuzz…

Tele Jimmy Bryant

Sixty Years of Tele-Kinetic Guitar Heroes

Flying Saucers! Tail Fins! Robots!

April 2, 2014 · Pete Prown

Taking a cue from the burgeoning world of television, in 1951, Leo Fender married the name “Telecaster” to his new…

Fretprints: Randy Rhoads

Transcendent Tribute

August 19, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

September 20, 1980, marked the release of Ozzy Osbourne’s debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz, a hard-rock recording that introduced…

2023 April Issue on Spotify

April 4, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Marty Stuart, Steve Vai, Sunny War, Merle Travis Bio, Kansas’ Leftoverture, Gary Moore, Big Bill Broonzy,…

Phil Manzanera

Glam Jam

September 9, 2024 · Pete Prown

 Some 50 years ago, glam-rock hero Phil Manzanera made his name as the flashy axeman for Roxy Music – and…

Coco Montoya

Hard Truth

May 26, 2017 · John Heidt

It’s been awhile since Coco Montoya’s last studio effort, but he comes out firing here. From the Albert King-style blast…

Dan Fogelberg’s Gretsch White Penguin

June 10, 2015 · George Gruhn

Dan Fogelberg’s success as a singer and songwriter far overshadows his reputation as a musician, but the man whose tenor…

Mike Stern

Echoes and Other Songs

July 2, 2025 · Pete Prown

Mike Stern’s smokin’ new album is the last with longtime keyboardist and producer Jim Beard (Steely Dan), who died in…

Gov’t Mule

Peace… Like a Rive

April 19, 2024 · Bret Adams

It’s fortunate the world still has artists like Gov’t Mule to influence aspiring musicians and prove that it’s possible to…

Roger McGuinn

Head Byrd Looks Back

February 27, 2018 · Greg Prato

Few ’60s rockers have had the lasting influence of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, whose 12-string Rickenbacker “jangle pop” sound influenced…

Pentangle

The Albums

July 5, 2018 · Dan Forte

Take Five When one thinks of bands with two (or more) lead guitarists, groups like the Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver…

Railhammer’s Nuevo 90 Humcutter Set

July 22, 2019 · Zac Childs

Joe Naylor has a long history of designing and marketing everything in the music business from high-end amps, guitars, basses,…

UAFX Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb

Space, Man

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

The original Roland Space Echo was a thing of sonic beauty, used by everyone from Brian Setzer to Bob Marley…

Guild Standard Series Acoustics

Legacy, Cont’d?

January 10, 2012 · Sean OBryan Smith

Founded by a jazz guitarist as jazz-box builder, the Guild company also built a solid reputation with its ’50s acoustic…

Don Wilson

1933-2022

December 6, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

Don Wilson, co-founder and last remaining member of the Ventures’ “classic” lineup, died in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington, on…

Alan Parsons

New World Record

June 6, 2023 · Bret Adams

With his latest album, From The New World, legendary musician/producer Alan Parsons continues a string of lushly orchestrated progressive rock,…

The Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi

Smooth Successor

October 6, 2014 · Phil Feser

Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi Price: $133 (list)/$99.75 (street). Contact: ehx.com. The Big Muff Pi overdrive is the effect…

Beck, Bogert & Appice

Live In Japan 1973, Live In London 1974

June 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

After one underwhelming studio album, Beck, Bogert & Appice – a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine…

George Lynch

George Lynch

Home Run with KXM

March 25, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Creative chemistry is an under-discussed topic when it comes to a successful collaborative effort. With the right people, sparks can…

How Ron Wood’s New Barbarians Saved the Stones

Ear-to-Ear Violence

January 5, 2018 · Michael Dregni

Today, the Rolling Stones continue to perform live, more than 50 years since their first gig. But few realize how…

Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb

Reams of Reverb

February 10, 2022 · Phil Feser

Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…

Gustavo Assis-Brasil

Chromatic Dialogues

March 12, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

While guitarists have more platforms than ever when it’s time to showcase their music, rising above a sea of marketing-savvy…

Shredding and songcraft – Kire Najdovski

December 22, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Talas guitarist offers taste of “1985” Kire Najdovski does a great take on “Close to the Killer,” from Talas’ new…

Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan

In Session (Deluxe Edition)

October 9, 2025 · Bret Adams

Talk about a summit – this session was a Luke Skywalker-meets-Yoda moment. The live album, originally released in 1999, is…

Popa Chubby

Head, Heart, and Hands

October 12, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Popa Chubby is back on the road again, preaching the gospel to blues fans around the world. His new album,…