Brian Setzer

What a Dude Does

August 17, 2024 · Bret Adams

You can’t keep an iconic rocker down. Brian Setzer’s The Devil Always Collects is his first album in more than…

John Pizzarelli Swings On A Vintage D’angelico

September 4, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Jazz Ace on an Heirloom Guitar For this exclusive rendition of “Just In Time,” swing ace John Pizzarelli grabbed the…

Jesse Aycock

Oklahoma’s Finest

March 1, 2022 · Pete Prown

Super-sideman Jesse Aycock (Hard Working Americans, Elizabeth Cook) has a new self-titled album highlighting his understated (but mindblowing) guitar, slide,…

Mesa Boogie California Tweed 6V6 2:20 1×10 Combo

Ankle Biter

June 29, 2023 · Charlie Wilkins

Classic Fender tweed amps are known for fat, warm clean tones, but even more for their raunch when cranked. Mesa…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part Two

April 5, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Last month, we began looking at some of the more entertaining fretted instrument advertising of the 20th century, in what…

Warren Haynes

Better Music Through Chemistry

August 12, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Warren Haynes’ first solo record in nearly a decade brings themes of optimism, uplift, and hope with Haynes at the…

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ARTISTS

Pop ’N Hiss: Marshall Crenshaw’s Field Day

Jangle All the Way

April 29, 2024 · Pete Prown

Marshall Crenshaw’s brief chart run remains a bright spot of 1980s rock – effectively, the final blast of New Wave…

Martin’s Gibson

April 28, 2021 · Ward Meeker

Greg Martin’s infatuation with the sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard started in 1966, when, “I saw the picture of John…

J.D. Simo

Remembering Duane Allman

March 3, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Chicagoan J.D. Simo began playing professionally at age 10 and just five years later was on the road full-time, eventually…

Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young on “The Mission”

Mars, Pluto… And Styx

April 26, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

March 16, 2016 · Dave Hunter

If you hung around the audio world’s collective R&D room long enough in the late 1950s and early ’60s, you’d…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 11

Burns Oddities and Ends

February 21, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

The Travis Bean TB1000S Standard

A Better Idea

April 14, 2020 · Michael Wright

Guitar history is littered with “better ideas,” some of which stayed around, went nowhere, or went somewhere before landing in…

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

Epiphone’s Masterbilt Century Deluxe Classic

The New Vintage

April 19, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Most vintage aficionados admire the grand old acoustic archtops of the 1920s and ’30s, but admire them from afar. They’re…

Kiesel JB5 Classic

July 3, 2019 · Pete Prown

The look and feel of Kiesel’s JB5 Classic align well with what a bassist expects when they gaze upon it…

Teye Guitars Gypsy Queen

Teye Guitars Gypsy Queen

The Art of Tone

October 23, 2015 · Sean OBryan Smith

For Austin-based Teye Guitars, taking guitar construction to new artistic heights has been a basic tenet since their inception. Mastermind…

ToneSpeak 12″ Line

Speaking of Tone…

July 10, 2023 · Julian Burtell

New to the musical-instrument side of speaker building, but far from neophyte, Misco introduced its ToneSpeak guitar speakers in 2021…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Martin 00-42 Special

June 30, 2020 · George Gruhn

It has all the appoint-ments of a Martin 00-45, particularly the abalone pearl trim around all the borders of the…

Leslie West

Still Climbing

May 7, 2014 · John Heidt

Upon first viewing you’ll notice that The Sound and the Story is different. The new video from guitarist Leslie West…

Epiphone Riviera

August 28, 2022 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

The Epiphone Riviera helped reinvent Epiphone in the 1960s as a modern guitar company whose instruments sported such contemporary features…

Check This Action: Blue Steel

February 8, 2024 · Dan Forte

Freddie Roulette was one of the most amazing musicians I ever heard, knew, or saw – the absolute monster of…

Andrew Hendryx

Andrew Hendryx – Lesson: G Blues Scale

April 4, 2020 · Doug Yellow Bird

Explore the G blues scale with acclaimed mandolinist Andrew Hendryx. Originally appeared on a Facebook Live Lesson on Sunday, April 5th,…

Al Stewart

Cat’s Meow

March 2, 2022 · Bret Adams

Year of the Cat, singer/songwriter/guitarist Al Stewart’s 1976 smash, is being celebrated with a 45th anniversary three-CD/DVD box set. The…

Park 45

Masked Marshall

March 28, 2019 · Dave Hunter

When is a Marshall not a Marshall? When it’s a Park, of course! Though it might not scream “classic rock…

Seth Lee Jones

Pedal Pusher

July 27, 2022 · Pete Prown

Thanks to giants like Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Sonny Landreth, we’re living in a golden age of bottleneck guitar,…

Fender’s Brad Paisley Road Worn Telecaster

Country Composite

May 21, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

One of the newest models from Fender’s Artist series is designed to appeal to vintage Telecaster fanatics, country twangers, and…

Return Of The Prodigy

Michael Schenker

September 8, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Michael Schenker is back with an album covering the music of his early days. My Years With UFO is a…

Warren Haynes

Peace, Love, and Rock & Roll

May 3, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Warren Haynes and his Gov’t Mule crew aren’t the kind of guys to let something like a pandemic slow them…

Building a Studio

The Art of Home Recording

November 9, 2014 · Dave Hunter

VG will equip readers with the knowledge and skill to achieve professional-sounding home recordings. We guide you through the setup…

Fender American Professional Jazzmaster

Return Of The Rebel

April 19, 2019 · Michael Dregni

From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you…

Quest for Volume

Django Reinhardt's Selmer #503

April 15, 2020 · Michael Dregni

Revolutionary jazz demanded a revolutionary jazz guitar. In the summer of 1935, just as his Quintette du Hot Club de…

Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter

Tremolo Transformed

December 27, 2017 · Rich Maloof

Tremolo is a simple effect: the amplitude, or volume, of an incoming signal is raised and lowered in pulsating waves.…

Philip Sayce

Scorched-Earth Tones

May 9, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Philip Sayce’s album Scorched Earth Volume 1 was a live recording from 2016 that displayed the kind of blistering blues-rock…

2022 February Issue on Spotify

February 2, 2022 · Doug Yellow Bird

This month we feature Twisted Sister, Bruce Forman, Styx, Warren Haynes, Greg Martin, Dave Specter, Eric Krasno, Graham Dechter, Eric…

Ray Cummins' latest lesson changes things up by mixing country, jazz, and blues.

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #4

March 8, 2017 · Ray Cummins

Ray Cummins' latest lesson changes things up by mixing country, jazz, and blues. He takes a simple chord progression, adds a…

Rory Gallagher’s Photo-Finish

Legend’s Best

October 13, 2021 · Tom Guerra

The year 1977 saw upheaval in rock and roll, from the death of Elvis Presley and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash…

Force of Nature

Mark Farner

September 8, 2025 · Bret Adams

Mark Farner etched his name in rock history as the primary lead vocalist/songwriter and guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad, which…

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue

Dual-Mode Delivery

November 14, 2025 · Dave Hunter

The evolution of Randall Smith’s legendary high-gain Mesa/Boogie design into the revered Mark IIC+ of the mid ’80s established a…

Pop ’N Hiss: Humble Pie’s Smokin’

Free Wailin’

October 11, 2023 · Bret Adams

British rockers Humble Pie were steeped in blues and R&B influences that coursed through vocalist/rhythm guitarist Steve Marriott. When they…

The Gretsch G5655T-CB Electromatic Center-Block

The Gretsch G5655T-CB Electromatic Center-Block

Gettin’ Gainy

May 13, 2016 · Bob Dragich

The Gretsch G5655T-CB Electromatic Center-Block Price: $1,275.00 (list); $899.00 (street) Contact: www.gretschguitars.com It’s no secret that hollowbodies don’t excel in…

Dwight Twilley’s ’57 Fender Super

Cowboy Fringe

February 8, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Plenty of vintage amps have made it into these pages on their own merits. But when a hallowed creation also…

5150 Iconic Series 60-Watt 2×12

Little Monster

April 24, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

When Edward Van Halen released his 5150 head with Peavey in 1992, it quickly grew famous for its massive gain,…

Orange TH30 Combo

Orange TH30 Combo

Small Clubs, Big Tones

January 5, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Orange TH30 Combo Price:$1,379 (list) Info: www.orangeamps.com Beyond their eye-catching color, Orange amplifiers have always rendered a distinct sound. Today,…

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives

May 2, 2017 · Dan Forte

For decades, Stuart has been one of country music’s biggest champions, and may yet be its savior. His Fabulous Superlatives…

Extreme

Six

March 20, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Extreme’s sixth studio album – their first since 2008’s Saudades de Rock – was a long time coming. With only…

James Trussart SteelCaster

Rust Never Sleeps

October 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully…