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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…
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 9
Late ’60s: Baldwin And Decline
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
Budda Verbmaster 112
Versatile 18-Watter
Budda Verbmaster 112 Price: $1,800 (street) Contact: budda.com As part of its Hand-Wired series, Budda has reissued the tube-rectified Verbmaster…
Dr Z Z-28 MK II 1×12
Step On It!
If you’ve driven a classic muscle car like the Camaro Z28, you know that when you step on the gas,…
Martin’s DJr-10E StreetMaster
Dread, Not
The big, booming dreadnought has been a Martin hallmark since its debut in the 1930s. From that tradition comes Martin’s…
Cort Z44
Single-Cut Shuffle
Cort Z44 Price: $569 list/under $400 street Contact: cortguitars.com Just about everywhere you look these days, manufacturers are devising new…
Mark Lettieri
Can I Tell You Something?
The Snarky Puppy virtuoso delivers a set of crisp funk-fusion, touching on everything from Steely Dan jazzisms to an ’80s…
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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
Paul Gabriel
Rollin’ With Robillard
For Paul Gabriel, the opportunity to work with fellow guitarist Duke Robillard happened decades after they’d met and first played…
Instro-Meister Eric Penna
Blues Switch-Up in Trabants Eric Penna’s main gig is playing bass for the garage/surf band Insect Surfers, but he side-hustles…
Fingerpicked Country-Folk, Malcolm Holcombe-Style!
Redoubtable singer/songwriter and a beloved ’58 Gibson Malcolm Holcombe shows us how he does “Good Intentions,“ from his new album,…
Freddie Green
Artistry in Rhythm
Fellow musicians called him “Pep” or “Pepperhead.” He was also known as “Mr. Rhythm,” and he could drive a band…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
The Supro Thunderbolt S6420
Lightning Strikes
Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the…
’66 Epiphone Casino
In the Epiphone line of the 1960s, the Casino occupied middle ground. In appearance as well as electronics it ranked…
1978 Gibson RD Artist
Throughout most of the 1970s, Les Pauls ruled the guitar roost. But toward the end of the decade, some players became…
Pandemic Peak?
The Guitar Market’s “Covid Surge”
In the September ’20 issue, VG surveyed guitar dealers to learn how they’d been impacted by the early weeks of…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
McGregor Pedals’ Crunch and Crunch Plus
Transparent Pair
McGregor Pedals founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Mad Scientist” Garth McGregor Heslop hand-wires pedals in his Vancouver shop. Two of them…
MXR Slash Octave Fuzz SF01/Slash Cry Baby Classic SC-95
Slash ’N Burn
MXR SF01 Slash Octave Fuzz Price: $129 (street) Contact: www.jimdunlop.com Slash Cry Baby Classic SC95 Wah Price: $129 (street) Contact:…
Peavey VYPYR X2
Small Wonder
Continuing its decades-long innovative streak, Peavey’s VYPYR X2 Guitar Modeling Amp brings modern styling, a new open-back cabinet, and re-tooled…
The PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo
Swiss Army Hybrid
PRS hits on its long-running trifecta – versatility, playability, aesthetic appeal – with its new twist on the electric/acoustic hybrid,…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Carl Martin’s Roadie Bandmate 15
Tone-Rich Traits
Denmark’s Carl Martin has built a following with its PlexiTone series of overdrives and effects pedals used by stars the…
The Victoria VIC 105
Raw And Responsive
Victoria VIC 105 Price: $1,495 Contact: Victoria Amp Co.; phone (630) 820-6400; victoriaamp.com. In the 1990s, Mark Baier put himself…
Pentangle
The Albums
Take Five When one thinks of bands with two (or more) lead guitarists, groups like the Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver…
Skunk Baxter
Speed of Heat
In no apparent hurry, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter just released his first solo album – at age 73. The guitar flash…
