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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…

Epiphone’s Inspired by 1955 Les Paul Custom
Dressed to Kill
Produced from 1954 to 1956, the Black Beauty Custom is one of the most revered Les Pauls. Marketed as the…

The Metallica Blacklist Album
Various artists
Conquering the charts 30 years ago with their “black album,” Metallica has become the global ambassador for heavy metal –…

Leslie West
Hangin' With Unusual Suspects
In deciding who to hit up to play on his new album, Unusual Suspects, Leslie West put a lot of…

Rik Emmett Fixes it for Us!
Triumph guitarist shows how to properly play four classic songs Plenty of players on socials post video showing how…

Blackstar Nominated for NAMM TEC Award
Each year, the NAMM Foundation gathers artists, fans, and music-industry professionals for an evening celebrating the achievements of producers, engineers,…

John Oates
Rhythm-Minded
From 1975 through ’85, John Oates and Daryl Hall created a trove of era-defining R&B-influenced pop/rock hits on the way…
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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

Freddie Krc gets “Dandy” on a ’64 SJ
FTop-Flight Tune by Texas Stalwart You can’t blame Freddie Krc for loving his ’64 Southern Jumbo, which he’s using here…

Freddie King’s ’73 ES-355
Thinline Crown
Influenced by Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and others including jump-blues…

Susan Santos’ Blues-Rock Riffage
Solo take on “Have Mercy” Susan Santos grabbed her LsL T Bone, plugged into a Bugera V5 Infinium amp, and…

Warren Haynes
Gov’t Revolution
Digging through the Gov’t Mule catalog recalls a legacy of great music. More than just another jam band, the group…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: December 2023
Cliff Antone’s 1952 Fender Precision
Texas is known for music, especially Austin, which in the mid ’70s became a hotbed thanks to clubs like Armadillo…

History of the Fender Bassman
High Times for Low-End
If they could have just one amplifier, many guitarists – from bar-room grinders to arena megastars – would choose a…

Bex Marshall and her ’63 Hummingbird
Family History Straight from the “Classics” feature in the August issue, here’s Bex Marshall playing the ’63 Gibson Hummingbird bought…
The Rickenbacker 4000
The model 4000 was not only Rickenbacker’s first foray into the electric-bass market, it was decidedly different from Fender’s Precision…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
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,…

Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo
Endless Echo
Like politics, religion, and overdrive pedals, echo boxes are sure to incite staunch views, heartfelt arguments, and perhaps even fisticuffs.…

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…

DSM Humboldt ClearComp 1078 Dynamic Threshold Compressor
Smooth and Sweet
When it comes to compressor pedals, the modern standard is to pursue studio-quality results in a pedalboard-friendly box. DSM Humboldt…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Mack Atomsmasher DB-40
Super Dynamics
What do you get when you have a rockin’ pair of 12AX7 tubes and a pair of EL34 power tubes?…

Reverend Guitars Ron Asheton Model
Raw Power
Reverend Guitars Ron Asheton Model Price: $1,079 Info: www.reverendguitars.com. If Ron Asheton had recorded just one album in his musical…

Bohemian Boho Moonshine
In The Can
Here at VG, we see all manner of guitars – those made out of steel, graphite, even animal shells. But…
Chris Dreja
Yardbird Recall
Chris Dreja had a front-row seat to rock-and-roll history, playing rhythm guitar and bass in the Yardbirds behind Eric Clapton,…












































