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The story of the Martin F-50
Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric guitar market. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season from…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Timm Kummer
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a legendary figure in the world of collectible guitars with a…
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Reeves Gabrels’ Newest Reverend Spacehawk
For his gig with The Cure, Reeves Gabrels needed a guitar that could cover a lot of sonic territory. The folks at Reverend helped him create the Spacehawk; the latest…
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Joe Satriani
The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
First Guitar of Rock and Roll
Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295
Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the…
Dominic Miller
Team Player, Solo Turn
A longtime member of Sting’s band, Dominic Miller is the quintessential team player, even on his own solo albums. His…
Glen Burtnik
Styx Southpaw (and much more)
The assimilation of New Jersey guitarist/bassist/songwriter Glen Burtnik into the bass player slot of the current incarnation of Styx is…
Pop ’N Hiss: Deep Purple’s Machine Head
Definitive Riffs
Now regarded as the “Beethoven’s 5th” of rock and roll, “Smoke on the Water” became a surprise hit in the…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Benson Model 300H
Wrecking Ball
Even with all the excellent guitar amps available by the late ’60s, nothing was quite good enough for jazz and…
1964 Fender Bassman
1964 Fender 6G6-B Bassman Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier:…
Ralph Novak
Philosophy of the Luthier
I first met Ralph Novak in 1980, when he was working at Subway Guitars in Berkeley, California. I’d assembled a…
Gretsch Chet Atkins Nashville 7660
1972 Gretsch Chet Atkins Nashville 7660. Photo: Michael Wright. In many ways, the storied past of Gretsch guitars is a…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Fishman’s Aura Spectrum DI, ToneDEQ
Potent Preamps
Unlike most electric guitarists, acoustic-electric pickers tend to worry about preamps. A lot. This front stage is critical because acoustic…
PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow
Multi-Functional Gem
While most guitarists are familiar with PRS (and some dream every day of adding one of the company’s Private Stock…
Alessandro Working Dog amps
Designed and built for tone – and the real world
George Alessandro and his amps have been high-profile for some time, and both are highly regarded. Over the years, George…
Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe
Stomp Festival
Jimi Hendrix passed into infinity at the tender age of 27. The fact that his influential career lasted only four…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
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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 pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…
