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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…

Boss AC-22LX
Acoustic Air
On the surface, Boss’ AC-22LX is a 10-watt acoustic-electric guitar amp with two channels. But, dig in, and goodies are…
Dave Stewart
Six-Strings, Studios, and Songs
Guitarists often cite instruments as sources of inspiration. For musician, songwriter, and producer Dave Stewart, it wasn’t a ’57 Strat…

Robbie Robertson
The Many Sides of
It’s difficult to say which is more ironic: the fact that Robbie Robertson, one of rock guitar’s true stylists, is…

Mike Keneally Makes the Gravy
Dig his Meaty “Celery” The track is called “Celery,” but Mike Keneally sure makes it meaty! With a splash of…

Toy Caldwell
Marine and Marshall Tucker Guitarist Toy Caldwell
One of the earliest VG interviews Willie G. Moseley did with a veteran “Southern rock” musician was a conversation with…
Taylor Baritone-8
Crazy Eight
The Taylor Baritone-8 Price: $3,998 list; $3,200 street Info: www.taylorguitars.com Some guitarists are happy with conventional guitars and basses. Others,…
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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,…
ARTISTS

McKinley James’ Blues
Family Barn Jam! With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a…

Van Wilks
Stormin’ out of Austin
Texas-born guitarist/vocalist Van Wilks’ first new album in a decade, 21st Century Blues, is full of loud Texas tones. Born…
Mary Osborne
Charlie’s Angel
Jazz guitar pioneer Mary Osborne was the only female guitarist to realize a significant impact on jazz in the 1940s…

Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs
Time-Signature Shifts on “Aristoclub Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Perfect Curves
Fender’s Stratocaster Turns 60
Sixty years down the road since its creation, the Fender Stratocaster is the default image of the electric guitar for…
Gibson Super Jumbo 100
The Super Jumbo 200 is Gibson’s most celebrated flat-top model, and deservedly so, thanks to its use by cowboy movie…

Rickenbacker 481
It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…

Trainwreck Express “Nancy”
World’s most desirable amplifier? Aside from any “standard” vintage amps that have been elevated through their associations with major artists,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Marshall’s EH-1 Echohead, RG-1 Regenerator & RF-1 Reflector
Little Marshalls, Big Tones
Continuing the tradition set forth by the stout little metallic gray/gold boxes of the GV-2 Guv’nor Plus, BB-2 Bluesbreaker II,…

Harmonic Design’s VP-90
Tone with Intent
Harmonic Design’s VP-90 Price: $100 Contact: www.harmonicdesign.net Harmonic Design must be doing something right. Specializing in replacement pickups, they boast…
EHX Spruce Goose OD
Blues-breakers Bump
Known and loved for its smooth breakup and sensitivity, Marshall’s Bluesbreaker circuit is a legend unto itself. The Spruce Goose…

Mr. Mojo Sustainin’
The Teye Jazz Cat
Teye Wijnterp is a top-shelf guitar craftsman whose work brings to mind Keith and Ronnie’s famous Zemaitis guitars of the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Danelectro Viscount
1961 Danelectro Viscount Preamp tubes: two 12AX7, one 6AU6 Output tubes: two 6V6GT Rectifier: 6X5 Controls: Volume, Tone, Vibrato Strength,…

The España 6/12 Doubleneck
More is always better, right? Eleven is better than 10 on an amplifier, three pickups are better than two, and…

Black Cat’s D&S and N-Fuzz
Two Faces of Fuzz
Located in south-central Connecticut, Black Cat blends an ear for vintage tones with an eye toward modern function and bulletproof…

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5
Pretty, Stunning
Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5 Price: $3,199 (list) Contact: www.hullamps.blogspot.com A beat-up ol’ blackface amp can be a thing of beauty,…








































