Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!

May 13, 2025 · Doug Yellow Bird

“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin…

Jerry Riggs

Jerry Riggs

Heavy Metal Forever

January 15, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

Jerry Riggs grew up in the ’60s/early ’70s, and though his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, wasn’t a mecca like Nashville…

Have Guitar Will Travel 140 – Iain Matthews

December 13, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In episode 140 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer-songwriter…

Ampeg R-12-R Reverberocket

July 11, 2014 · Dave Hunter

1962 Ampeg R-12-R Reverberocket Preamp tubes: two 6SL7, two 6SN7 Output tubes: two 6V6, cathode-biased Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls: Volume, Tone,…

Check This Action: Where’s Eric?

October 28, 2022 · Dan Forte

Eric Clapton and London’s Royal Albert Hall are virtually synonymous. In various contexts he has played the storied venue more…

Valvetech Suplex

A Kinder, Gentler Plexi

July 13, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Used by rock royalty, the 100-watt Marshall Model 1959 Super Lead unleashed hellacious tones. Problem was, it was ridiculously loud…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Steve Morse

Return of the Dixie Dregs

April 14, 2020 · Pete Prown

Steve Morse has been revisiting the past. A member of Deep Purple since 1994, this year he reunited with the…

Pop ’N Hiss: The Black Crowes’ Shake Your Money Maker

Hard To Handle

August 21, 2024 · Pete Prown

At the dawn of the ’90s, rock and roll was not in a good place. MTV had spurred a craze…

Larry McCray’s R&B-Blues Meld

July 15, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Rust Belt Veteran does “Arkansas” Larry McCray and his bodacious Custom Shop Flying V show us the hard-drivin’ guitar parts…

Ronnie Earl

Redemption, Reconciliation, and Reinvention

March 31, 2017 · Bob Dragich

Ronnie Earl is one of the most prolific blues guitarists working today. And though his solo career now spans almost…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Greg Martin’s ’53 Fender Telecaster!

Greg Martin’s ’53 Fender Telecaster

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

December 28, 2017 · Doug Yellow Bird

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online features where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…

The Schaffer-Vega Diversity System

Making Rock Roll

December 8, 2021 · Michael Dregni

“ The best thing I ever did in the beginning was not use effects,” AC/DC’s Angus Young told VG in…

Eight-String Basses

Sonic Niche

May 2, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Emerging in ’60s catalogs from Hagström and Framus, eight-string basses occupy a distinct place among musical instruments – their potent,…

The Coulter Company

The Coulter Company

More Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

July 5, 2016 · Peter Blecha

The eye-catching and technologically innovative stringed instruments created by Frank Evans Coulter in the early 20th century are so exceedingly…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Blackstar Artist 15

All ’Rounder

March 5, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Blackstar’s Artist 15 is a British amp with an American accent. Though designed and built around good ol’ American-flavored 6L6…

The Wampler Catacombs

Shimmer Box

September 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

In the pedal market, the category of reverbs and delays is straight fire these days. Wampler has jumped in with…

Tx-Watt Flagship

Tone Big as Texas

January 30, 2023 · Tom Guerra

For more than three decades on the Texas roadhouse circuit, guitarist Jack Kay’s love of vintage Fender and Marshall tones…

St. Blues Scoundrel

St. Blues Scoundrel

Walking the Dog

May 2, 2015 · Rich Maloof

St. Blues Scoundrel Price: $1,898 (list)/$1,349 (street) Contact: www.saintblues.com Intended as a versatile instrument for the player with a budget…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Calexico

El Mirador

February 7, 2023 · Michael Dregni

Calexico has long crisscrossed the border between American (blues, country, rock and roll) and Latin-American sounds, but the band’s latest…

Eric Ambel’s New-Guitar Magic

June 27, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Producer/player’s experience may be like yours! Guitarist/producer Eric Ambel talks about how a guitar can inspire a new lick, which…

KRAMER_PACER_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Kramer 84 and Pacer Vintage

Tap, Shred, Dive!

January 4, 2016 · Sean OBryan Smith

Kramer 84/Pacer Vintage Price: $1,166 (84); $1,267 (Pacer Vintage) Info: kramerguitars.com It’s hard to think of ’80s guitars as vintage,…

Gibson’s Style O Artist Guitar and K-4 Mandocello

Gibson’s Style O Artist Guitar and K-4 Mandocello

Two For the Scroll

February 9, 2016 · George Gruhn

The mandolin originated in the Middle East as a bowl-back instrument. Crusaders brought it back to Europe and early Italian…

Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster

Flipped Axis

March 1, 2017 · Michael Dregni

Pity the poor right-handed masses. Emulating the vibe of Jimi’s various Strats has always been tough on them. Some players…

Eleonora Strino

Italian Jazz Ace

June 10, 2024 · Pete Prown

Eleonora Strino is making waves in the jazz world as both guitarist and media-savvy artist. Through her videos and online…

Babicz Octave Blue Flame

Flaming Glory

December 29, 2010 · Chip Wilson

When a vintage-minded guitarist recollects cracking open the case of a big ol’ hollowbody and catching a glimpse of flame,…

Les Paul

Birth of a Guitar Icon

February 27, 2004 · Gil Hembree

Fifty years ago, Gibson’s new Les Paul Model was quickly becoming one of the company’s most popular guitars, and (though…

Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II

Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II

Sustain For Days

February 12, 2016 · Pete Prown

Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II Price: $175 (list, depending on exchange rate) Contact: www.vibesware.com In the beginning, there was the…

Joanna Connor

Joanna Connor

Going Viral

February 5, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Her overnight success was decades in the making, but a video gone viral of a jaw-dropping slide guitar performance at…

John Wetton

1949-2017

March 12, 2019 · Pete Prown

Born June 12, 1949, British bassist and front man John Wetton died of colon cancer on January 31 at the…

Wendy Melvoin

Beyond Controversy

September 23, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

As a guitarist backing Prince on the world-dominant Purple Rain along with Parade and Around The World In A Day,…

Jay Geils

Blues and Archtops

July 6, 2023 · Tom Guerra

If you grew up listening to music in the ’70s, you probably associate the name J. Geils with a five-piece…

Buddy Emmons

Buddy Emmons

1937-2015

July 5, 2016 · Rich Kienzle

Buddy Emmons, who revolutionized the pedal-steel guitar both musically and technically, died July 21 in Nashville after suffering a heart…

This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick

Brian J. Kramp

September 12, 2023 · Bret Adams

Bearing an incredibly accurate subtitle, the story told here is presented mostly as an oral history, loaded with minutiae about…

David Hamburger

Top-Tier Tutorial

November 7, 2025 · Dan Forte

Whoever said, “Those who can’t do, teach” has never heard David Hamburger. Among his two dozen instructional books and videos,…

Fishman Broken Record

Acoustic Looper

May 13, 2024 · Pete Prown

Part of Fishman’s line of AFX Mini Acoustic pedals, the Broken Record is a looper/sampler for players who like to…

MIM Hosts Stephen Stills and Ushers in Dragons and Vines Exhibition

December 7, 2016 · Johnny Zapp

On November 5th, Phoenix, Arizona’s Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) celebrated the opening of their newest exhibition, “Dragons and Vines: Inlaid…

Trevor Rabin

Return with Rio

August 8, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

The first vocal album in 34 years from the former Yes guitarist (there was a killer instrumental CD in 2012…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 014 Featuring Robert Berry

August 19, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Robert Berry, renowned bassist in The Greg Kihn Band. A passionate progressive-rock…

Miko Marks and the Resurrectorsd

Feel Like Going Home

October 28, 2023 · Michael Dregni

Miko Marks can sing the hell out of country, blues, and soul. And with guitarist/songwriter/producer Steve Wyreman again at her…

Robert Randolph Vintage Guitar magazine Facebook Live

Robert Randolph Demonstrates the “I Want It” Riff

February 2, 2017 · Robert Randolph

Robert Randolph’s new album, "Got Soul," streets on February 17. Here, he uses a SlideKing, made by Jackson Steel Guitar…

Reverend’s Reeves Gabrels Dirtbike

Wheelie Machine

October 3, 2019 · Zac Childs

Signature guitars tend to be either fan-boy models, the owners of which hang them alongside a collection of signed 8×10…

Robben Ford

Night In The City

October 29, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

A live recording can be a snapshot in time or the accumulated powers of an artist’s lifelong passion. Robben Ford…

Marcin

Birth Of The Dragon

October 8, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Marcin wields classical, flamenco, percussion, and two-handed tapping to create jaw-dropping music. Dragon In Harmony is his first full-length album,…

Tinsley Ellis

Tinsley Ellis

Tougher Than Ever

March 22, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

After decades of roadhouses, bars, and international touring, bluesman Tinsley Ellis is still going strong. A 1979 graduate of Emory…

Mick Box

Deep Heep

November 12, 2023 · Greg Prato

It’s hard to believe, but there is only one member still with us from the classic early-’70s Uriah Heep lineup…

Gurus Amps’ SexydriveMkII

Bellissimo!

April 24, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

Chalk up another score for Italian innovation. Chicco Bellini and his company, Gurus Amps, are among the top dogs in…

Supro’s 600R DeLuxe

Supro’s 600R DeLuxe

“The Magic of Concert Hall Sound”

January 23, 2017 · Michael Dregni

In the early days of reverb, no one was thinking about surf music; they were striving instead to replicate the…