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Taylor® Guitars Kicks Off 2026 With Two Major Launches – The Next Generation Of Its Flagship Grand Auditorium Guitars And New Gold Label Square-Shoulder Dreadnoughts
Taylor upgrades its most iconic models, adding “Next Generation” features to its Grand Auditorium body shape while expanding its recently introduced Gold Label Collection with traditional, square-shoulder dreadnoughts EL CAJON,…
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Thomas Custom Guitars
Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich…
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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…
Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66
Welcome to the Machine
Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66 Price: $2,799 (list) Contact: www.redplateamps.com Redplate builds boutique amplifiers with point-to-point wiring and meticulous hands-on attention to…
Kiesel JB5 Classic
The look and feel of Kiesel’s JB5 Classic align well with what a bassist expects when they gaze upon it…
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…
R.C. Allen
1934-2014
R.C. Allen, a noted luthier who built archtops for local and regional players of note and was a fixture at…
Gibson GA-80T Vari-Tone
In the late ’50s and early ’60s, Gibson was apparently convinced the Vari-Tone switch was the way of the future,…
The Metallica Blacklist Album
Various artists
Conquering the charts 30 years ago with their “black album,” Metallica has become the global ambassador for heavy metal –…
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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…
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ARTISTS
Reverend Peyton
Return of the Adrenaline
“I got all the ways/I just ain’t got the means,” 40-year-old Josh “Reverend” Peyton of Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band…
Steve Miller
Some People Call Him Rock Icon, Part 2
Though obviously a familiar name given his hits from the 1970s and ’80s were FM staples and today are virtually…
The Return of Slash and The Conspirators
4 From the Floor
In the weeks before they gathered to record a new album in the spring of 2021, guitar legend Slash, frontman/songwriter…
Larry Campbell
All-Americana Multi-Instrumentalist
You’ve probably seen his face, and maybe even watched his hair and beard go from black to gray. Whether it’s…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Ronnie Wood’s ’69 Hiwatt 100 DR103
1969 Hiwatt 100 (Model DR103 Preamp tubes: four ECC83 Output tubes: four EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal Vol, Brill Vol,…
The Norma EG 470-2 Deluxe
Everyone of a certain age – and no doubt some younger folks – remembers the sage career advice given young…
1965 Epiphone Emperor
The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response…
Danelectro’s Four-String Basses
The guitars and basses made by Danelectro in the ’60s epitomized “no frills.” And though they were considered the nadir…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
The Eastwood BW Artist
Dead Again
Thanks to über-tonemeister Carlos Santana, extended jamming, and the rise of overdrive, the ’70s gave rise to a solidbody trend…
Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423
Classic Comeback
Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423 Price: $739 list/$479 street (1423); $629 list/$399 street (1449) Info: www.silvertoneclassic.com With an up-swell of interest…
MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22
Crossing the Rubicon
MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22 Price: $999 Info: www.mtdkingston.com Intuitive, player-oriented design, prime materials, and first-class execution distinguished Michael Tobias’s work…
Magnatone Varsity
Less is More, Plus
Magnatone Varsity Price: $1,699 (list); $1,799 (as tested) Contact: www.magnatoneusa.com Magnatone earned a cult of admirers in the mid 20th…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Revisiting Room 335
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides
The 1912 Martin 000-28
The 1912 Martin
By 1912, players of fretted instruments were familiar with steel strings. Mandolins, which were enjoying their period…
Eric Johnson
Renaissance Guitarman
Eric Johnson digs deep. Not in the way that guitarists will explode an artery to nail the ultimate epic guitar…
Grace Bowers
Wine on Venus
It would be easy to dismiss this 18-year-old as a prefab gimmick, but Grace Bowers’ guitar work ain’t no hype.…
D’Angelico’s Deluxe Atlantic Baritone
Lowdown
Baritone guitars have been around for decades, traditionally featured in Nashville and Hollywood studios and elsewhere to “sweeten” a track…
