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2025 December Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free…
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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…

Jeff Beck
Blow By Blow
What is jazz? What is rock? These questions perpetually confound and divide music experts and listeners. Similar spirited debates have…

Fender Mustang
Truly Transitional
Despite its short scale, the Mustang has a potent sound, and as a result it was used by many notable…

A.J.’s 1950 Fender Broadcaster
$10 at a time
In 1950, A.J. Custer traded his triple-neck steel for a white-guard Broadcaster. Total cost was around $300, which he paid…

Jimi Hendrix
Into the New Rising Sun – Speculating on Jimi's Later Career Move's
It has been 40 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix. In his honor, this month we will look at…

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Hosts “Storied Strings” Exhibit
Guitars In Art
Dr. Leo Mazow’s vision for the new “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of…

Steve Howe
Yes: In The Present
Progressive-rock icons Yes are still going strong after more than 40 years of recording and performing. Throughout their reign as…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s…
ARTISTS

Pop ’N Hiss: Dio’s Holy Diver
Divine Metal
Vocalist Ronnie James Dio was on a roll as he formed the band that would record his 1983 album Holy…

Marty Friedman
Wall of Shred
Between playing on Cacophony’s landmark 1987 shred album, Speed Metal Symphony, and Megadeth’s 1990 classic, Rust in Peace, Marty Friedman…

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…

Derek St. Holmes
Nuge Redux
Singer/guitarist Derek St. Holmes’ relationship with guitarist Ted Nugent has had its ups and downs. The two have been associated…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Redd Volkaert
Season 03 Episode 03 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of…

Guild Aristocrat M-75
Guild didn’t intro-duce a true solidbody electric guitar until 1963, but the Aristocrat of 1954 gave the appearance that Guild…
Carvin DN640K
Doubleneck instruments have always been a unique niche in the guitar market, for good reason. They’ve also carried an air…

Tyler Morris Features a Martin Style 2 1/2-17
Tyler Morris Playing a Martin Style 2 1/2-17 Tyler Morris grabbed his 19th-century Martin Style 2 1/2-17 to play a…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!

Andrew White Guitars’ Freja 1013W
Shape Shifter
Though electric guitars have undergone radical change since the world first laid eyes on Rickenbacker’s “frying pan,” acoustics have rarely…

Gibson L-5S Ron Wood Signature
Serious Lumber
In 1972, Gibson introduced the L-5S as a smaller, thinner solidbody version of its L-5 hollowbody. Most mistook it for…

Brown’s Guitar Factory Lap Steel
Steel Yourself
At the beginning of amplified music, one of the first instruments to get a magnetic pickup was the Rickenbacker “frying…
Effectrode Tube-Vibe and Goran Fat Boy
Premium Pedalin’
Effectrode Tube-Vibe Price: $429 (Tube-Vibe) Contact: www.effectrode.com Goran Fat Boy Price: $429 Contact: www.goranguitars.com In the annals of guitar stompboxes,…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides

Paul in the Family
Chris Arena's Black '59 LP Standard
“I wanna be a musician!” The declaration – typically from an adolescent family member – purses the lips of parents…

Gomez Amplification “G” Reverb
Wet, Hot, or Blue
As amp builders go, Dario G. Gomez is about as fresh as they come. Though he has been repairing tube…

Fishman’s Fluence Greg Koch Gristle-Tone Pickups
Voices Not In Your Head
In 2014, Fishman introduced their Fluence line with the goal of combining vintage tone with freedom from the inductance problems…

Alembic Essence Zebrawood 4
Alembic basses are the stuff of low-end legend, famed for magical tones in the hands of Stanley Clarke, Jack Casady,…











































