Kramer Pacer Deluxe

Superstrat or Bust

August 26, 2025 · Michael Wright

On rare occasions, the zeitgeist – not some lucky designer – creates a guitar that captures hearts and minds. Such…

Pasquale Grasso

One-Man Duo

July 22, 2022 · Pete Prown

In the 1940s, jazz pianist Art Tatum wowed audiences with a virtuoso technique that sounded like two players. Today, Pasquale…

James Elkington

Alt-Tuned Sojourn

April 24, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Expatriate English guitarist James Elkington has long been based in Chicago, collaborating with other musicians including Janet Bean, Nathan Salsburg,…

Mark Lettieri’s funky finesse

January 2, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Virtuoso take on “Greenspace” Stepping out from his band, Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri exhibits the finesse, funk, and fury that…

Golden Age Pre-73 MkIII, Ear Trumpet Edwina, and Avantone CR-14

The Front End

July 5, 2018 · Pete Prown

Strike up a conversation with anyone who records music and they’ll talk your ear off about mics and preamps. If…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Labor of Love

April 19, 2016 · John Heidt

Kenny Wayne Shepherd called his latest record, Goin’ Home because, he says, “It was another opportunity for me to share…

  • Rising Rockers

    Rising Rockers

    Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s

    In an era when the sub-20-watt combo is arguably the most popular guitar-amp format, it’s worth remembering that several classics of the category emanate from the ’50s. And just as…

    Read more >>

NOW AVAILABLE!

CURRENT ISSUE

Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!

ARTISTS

Daniele Gottardo

Bittersweetness

September 1, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Italian guitar virtuoso Daniele Gottardo’s latest album, Inkblot, combines the whimsy and wonder of the great early-20th-century classical composers with…

Tony Mottola

Mr. Big, Guitar Pioneer

June 12, 2025 · Jim Carlton

Some argue that Tony Mottola was more legendary than famous. In a career spanning 50 years, the guitarist logged thousands…

Steve Stevens

Moxy at the Roxy

July 11, 2024 · Bret Adams

Steve Stevens earned stardom as Billy Idol’s songwriting partner and guitarist in the ’80s. The Grammy-winning New York City native…

Dallas Perkins dazzles on “Mexican Puppets”

March 14, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Dallas Perkins: Elemental Experiments Progressive-rock shredder Dallas Perkins brings it with “Mexican Puppets,” a track from his new instrumental album,…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Weymann Model 848

Mail-Order Rara Avis

October 8, 2019 · George Gruhn

From 1864 through the 1940s, H.A. Weymann and Son, Inc. made, imported, and sold marching band, orchestral, percussion, and other…

The Cost of Protection

100 Years of Instrument Cases

July 10, 2018 · George Gruhn

Modern guitars are typically sold with a hard case. But that wasn’t always so. Here, we look at the history…

Webster-Chicago RMA 375 Model 166-1

Grammy Winner

July 18, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Modified or repurposed amps generally don’t fit into our monthly discussion here, but some are representative enough of a certain…

Soldier’s Story

Six Strings Document Tale of the “Blue and Gray” in World War I

November 3, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Through blood, dirt, rain, and all other forms of hell in the trenches of World War I, U.S. Army Private…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Supro Montauk 1×10

Club Combo

September 8, 2025 · Dave Hunter

Striking out from its more historically inspired models like the Black Magick and Delta King, Supro’s new Montauk 1×10 combo…

Music Man’s JP13

Petrucci Pick

February 23, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes…

Cordoba Stage

Classical Gas

October 11, 2023 · Bob Cianci

With a 1.5″/fully chambered mahogany body, the Stage – Cordoba’s first foray into the world of nylon-string electric guitars –…

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

Ka-Boom!

February 10, 2016 · Chip Wilson

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive Price: $250 (list) Contact: www.dallenpickups.com An Internet search for “overdrive pedals” yields 1,610,000 hits, indicating a…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Epiphone Coronet

Epiphone Coronet

March 26, 2016 · George Gruhn

This Epiphone Coronet from 1959 was probably a shocking sight to a guitar buyer of the late ’50s. Not only…

Robert Cray

Robert Cray

Four Nights Of 40 Years

July 8, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Five-time Grammy winner Robert Cray has always played serious blues. But, early on, he sidestepped a genre that would descend…

The Supro Montauk 1×10

Club Combo

September 8, 2025 · Dave Hunter

Striking out from its more historically inspired models like the Black Magick and Delta King, Supro’s new Montauk 1×10 combo…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 047 Featuring Reb Beach

March 24, 2021 · Art Department

In the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan welcomes Reb Beach. The renowned guitar slinger for Winger and Whitesnake delves into his…

Nate Najar

This Is Nate Najar

June 27, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Nate Najar plays accessible jazz on a classical guitar and applies classical technique to match. This album showcases the music…

The Howlin’ Brothers

August 18, 2014 · Michael Dregni

Like a long-lost radio show from the ’50s suddenly coming to life on your radio in the late nighttime hours,…

Epiphone Emperor Swingster

Juke-Joint Jammer

August 9, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

Though its high-point in terms of popular exposure may have occurred when McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison “discovered” the Casino, Epiphone…

Paul Gilbert

The Dio Album

January 24, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

It’s been almost 13 years since the passing of vocalist and metal visionary Ronnie James Dio, yet his essence looms…

Eric Bibb

Beyond the Blues

June 30, 2022 · Pete Prown

It’s almost a curse to categorize a musician a “blues artist,” as it implies someone who simply plays standard I-IV-V…

The 1966 Murph Squire II-T

So-Cal Attention Getter

October 13, 2021 · Michael Wright

Despite what many enthusiasts believe, there has been only one really significant “lawsuit” that defined a class of guitars –…

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…

The Dead Live On

Various Artists

July 5, 2018 · Michael Dregni

The Grateful Dead just may be more popular now that the band is actually dead and gone. Their musical industrial…

The Pedulla Buzz Bass

Fast and Fretless

September 23, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Introduced in 1980, the M.V. Pedulla Buzz Bass is one of the most-enduring examples of an upscale model offered fretless.…

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.…

Eko’s “Celluloid” ’60s Basses

Cool or Gaudy?

July 2, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

By the early 1960s, Europe’s industrial bases had mostly recovered from World War II. Many musical-instrument manufacturers stuck to products…

Pirate Guitar Effects’ Plank Overdrive and Boost

Walk The Plank

April 24, 2019 · Chip Wilson

Every pro guitarist who has laid eyes on the Pirate Guitar Effects Plank has initially thought they recognized the logo…

Paul “Mayo” Mayasich

November 1, 2016 · John Heidt

The latest from guitarist Paul Mayasich and his band of buddies is an eclectic mix of American music. You get…

Noah Zacharin

Simple Pleasures

October 17, 2024 · Pete Prown

While some regard folk guitar as a relatively simple style, Noah Zacharin is a seriously agile fingerpicker. Also a fine…

Alternative ’60s Club Classics

Amps Beyond the Everyday

August 26, 2025 · Dave Hunter

The “club amp” has been a perpetual best-seller since the dawn of guitar amplification, and several big-name ’60s models are…

Roland Cube Lite

Roland Cube Lite

High-Calorie Tone

January 18, 2016 · Phil Feser

Roland Cube Lite Price: $169 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. At just under four pounds, and with a 10″ x 6″ footprint,…

Belén Bandera – Jazz Soundscape

November 15, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Spanish singer shines on “Arbre” Accompanied by Jaume Llombart’s beautiful playing on a ’92 Gibson ES-350T modded with a…

Wes Beech

Life in The Plasmatics

October 29, 2025 · Ward Meeker

From the moment he met Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams, things for Wes Beech were never really “normal.” Walking…

Tech 21’s SansAmp Classic

Right The First Time

March 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

Every so often, new gear arrives that reminds us all how some builders got it right the first time –…

Lari Basilio

Love, Law, and Guitars

June 29, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Lari Basilio’s latest album, Your Love, is highlighted by spellbinding note density, feel, and whiplash twists and turns. Her forté…

Robby Krieger

New Musical Directions

March 13, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

For all of his decades of noteworthy guitar work, Robby Krieger isn’t resting on his laurels. In 2002, Krieger and…

Neil Young + Promise of the Real

August 30, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Neil Young often does whatever he pleases. And now, at age 70, that’s truer than ever. This new album proves…

Johnny Marr

Brit Gets a Git

November 24, 2015 · Ward Meeker

When pop-music fans in the U.K. talk about guitar heroes, they tend to put more stake in the way a…

Kiss

Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY

February 9, 2024 · Bret Adams

This 1984 concert is the only known soundboard recording with guitarist Mark St. John, whose tenure is one of the…

Check This Action: Discovering Son House, Again

February 1, 2023 · Dan Forte

In 1964, blues enthusiasts Nick Perls and Phil Spiro, along with freelance photographer/writer Dick Waterman, made a pilgrimage to track…