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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…
Gibson Les Paul Spotlight Special
Unlocking the Mystery
It was 1983, and Gibson was in the throes of its darkest days. Norlin Industries had incurred excessive debt, sales…
To The Limit
The Effectrode LA-1A Leveling Amplifier
In the world of guitar effects, there are consumer-grade pedals and pro-grade pedals. The former are affordable and fun, the…
The Gibson Starfire TR 1000 RVT
Trans-Galactic Toneway
Relatively unsung among early entrants to the field of solid-state guitar amplifiers, Gibson was the first high-output, high-quality manufacturer to…
B&G Little Sister Private Build
Doncha Go And Do…
B&G Guitars just about do it all – from mixing their own nitro finishes to winding pickups and even casting…
Marc Bonilla
Servant Of The Music
On March 11, 2016, keyboardist Keith Emerson took his own life. He was 71 and left a legacy of groundbreaking…
Oz Noy & Andrew Synowiec
Recreational Substance
Fusion guitar experts Oz Noy and Andrew Synowiec join forces for an album of shameless note density and post-bebop shred.…
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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
Vernon Reid
Kind of Blue
Vernon Reid went against the grain of rock guitarists in the 1980s, conjuring Parliament-Funkadelic, Ornette Coleman, Bad Brains, Carlos Santana,…
Ian Hunter
New Music and a Mott Reunion
Ian Hunter is upbeat when he discusses his newest album, Man Overboard, and the upcoming reunion with old friends in…
History of a Mystery
Kurt Hendrick and His Enigmatic Axes
One of the most-enigmatic brands in the history of American guitars was a line of funky solidbody electrics created by…
Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts
Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Epiphone Crestwood
’60s Un-Gibson Solidbody
Gibson’s acquisition of Epiphone in 1957 presented a tremendous challenge to guitar designers and marketers at the company. One challenge…
Epiphone “Bikini Logo” Amplifiers
Beach Party
Collectors know well the desirability of Epiphone guitars from the years after Gibson acquired the brand. Further off the radar,…
Webster-Chicago RMA 375 Model 166-1
Grammy Winner
Modified or repurposed amps generally don’t fit into our monthly discussion here, but some are representative enough of a certain…
The Koch Studiotone
No-Sweat Double-Duty
Koch Amplifier’s 20-watt Studiotone uses an all-tube circuit powered by a matched pair of Ruby EL84 tubes producing 20 watts…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II
Big-Tone City
BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II Price: $2,495 (list) Contact: www.bcaudio.com Bruce Clement is known for his quality amp…
Dr. Z 35th Anniversary Carmen Ghia 1×10
Start Me Up
At the forefront of high-end boutique design, the Carmen Ghia was Dr. Z’s first commercially available amplifier when launched in…
Fender’s 70th Anniversary Esquire
One-Pickup Wonder
In the past, Fender has paid homage to its history with precise replicas of certain classics. The company’s 70th Anniversary…
Tyler Amp Works’ HM-18 Combo
Jersey Original
New Jersey has a history as home of some iconic amplifiers, and Tyler Amp Works in Westfield is a father-son…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Eastwood’s Airline Bighorn
Goin’ “Old-Store”
Most everyone has seen a department-store-catalog guitar (or two!) from the ’60s or ’70s. With their funky, cool body shapes…
Tom Petty and Mike Campbell
Guitars at Heart for 30 Years
Remember the first time you strummed a D chord or fumbled your way oh-so-slowly through “Walk Don’t Run”? Chances are…
United Guitar Corporation
United They Stood…. A Jersey City Tale
The history of the United Guitar Corporation, which unfolded in Jersey City, just over the river from the glitter of…
Penco A-15-JD
The 1970s is often called “the Copy Era” for the dominating presence and spectacular success of Japanese “copies” of popular…
