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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…
Julian Lage
Squint
Julian Lage walks an intriguing line between jazz and rock-and-roll. On his latest – and first release on the stellar…
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 5
1964: Solid Heyday
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
Sheryl Bailey’s “Homage”
Jazz star’s tribute to Pat Martino – “The Velvet Hammer” A leading proponent of modern jazz guitar, Sheryl Bailey has…
Amptweaker’s FatMetal Distortion
Metal To the Pedal
With all of the subgenres of heavy metal out there, it was only a matter of time before the pedal…
The West Avalon R
Too Funky
1971 West Avalon R • Preamp tubes: two 12AX7, two 12AT7 • Output tubes: two EL34 • Rectifier: solid-state •…
David Bromberg
Testifying for the Blues
Jerry Jeff Walker said it best. Describing David Bromberg’s contribution to Walker’s trademark 1968 song, “Mr. Bojangles,” he said simply…
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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
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 1
Beginnings – The Early 1960s
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
Jim Campilongo & Steve Cardenas
Mutual Musical Idiosyncrasies
Steve Cardenas and Jim Campilongo have been playing guitar together for a long time, though the constellations only recently aligned…
Tom Petersson
Lower-End Innovator
It’s been a long time comin’… Like his longtime bandmate, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick bassist/songwriter Tom Petersson collects classic stringed…
Peter Frampton
Part One: The Humble Pie Years
Formed with two formidable front men in Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton, Humble Pie was one of the earliest “supergroups”…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Peavey RJ-IV
Peavey RJ-IV bass, serial number 04938996. Photo: Bill Ingalls Jr. Instrument courtesy of Naffaz Skota. Americans by the millions “know”…
Revisiting The Jazzmaster
While volumes have been written about its more-famous sibling, the Stratocaster, surprisingly little attention is paid to the Jazzmaster –…
Gibson Wall-Board Guitar
Out of the Woods, Off the Wall
In the world of “guitarcheology,” it’s well-documented that the truly interesting stuff – prototypes, one-offs, custom instruments – usually surface…
Dumble Garage Band Ripper
Orange Crushed
Through much of his career, Alexander Dumble made amps at his discretion, building one of his hallowed tone machines only…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Teye Guitars’ Master Series Knights Templar
Knight Time
Guitar fanatics find inspiration from different players. And if Woody swapping licks and practicing “the ancient art of weaving” with…
Xaviere XV-950
Jazzy Looks, Multi-Purpose
Gibsonguildgretsch! Cumbersome as it may be in word form, Xaviere’s XV-950 gracefully combines attributes from the “big trio.” The XV-950…
Death By Audio’s Deep Animation
The Other Side
If you thought envelope filters died out after Jerry Garcia passed into the great beyond, think again. Submitted as proof…
EarthQuaker Devices’ Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator
Ground Shaker
EarthQuaker Devices has a knack for launching pedals that range from ideal tools for those seeking otherworldly sonic textures to…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Beckley and Bunnell
America History Lesson
Few bands warrant a career-retrospective box set, let alone two. Then again, most don’t keep going after 50 years. America…
Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #4
Ray Cummins' latest lesson changes things up by mixing country, jazz, and blues. He takes a simple chord progression, adds a…
B.B. King
In France
By 1977, when this French live album was recorded at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, the “King of the Blues”…
The D’Angelico Excel 59
Hybrid Hotshot
Some might see it as a Frankenstein’s monster, while others will view it as the best of all worlds. The…
