• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

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Gregg Wright plays “Hey Li’l Girl”

May 27, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Fiery riffs from a blues-rock legend! Gregg Wright has opened for Albert and Freddie King, and toured with The Jacksons.…

Duke Robillard

Doing Things His Way

December 22, 2015 · Eric C. Shoaf

Mix one part blues, one part jazz, one part swing, stir in some rock and soul, bring to a simmer,…

Park Model 1229

Half-Stack Heaven

August 15, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Vintage Park amplifiers have long offered happy hunting for those seeking stealthy “Marshall in disguise” kicks. But the maker used…

Various Artists

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan and Dominic Miller

June 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

Bill Frisell is a living jazz icon, famed for his ethereal tone and snaking post-bop lines. Here, he partners with…

Park Model 1229

Half-Stack Heaven

August 15, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Vintage Park amplifiers have long offered happy hunting for those seeking stealthy “Marshall in disguise” kicks. But the maker used…

MARK DUTTON

Mark Dutton

A.K.A. “Muddy”: Vintage Vibes, Retro Grooves

January 24, 2017 · Johnny Zapp

Mark “Muddy” Dutton is one cool cat with an impressive resumé and an affinity for the budget-friendly basses of yesterday.…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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,…

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ARTISTS

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…

James Williamson & Deniz Tek

Stooge meets a Birdman

September 23, 2019 · Greg Prato

The words “proto punk” arouse recollections of furiously strummed guitars and amps cranked to 10. For many, its sound and…

Tyler Ramsey – These Ghosts

June 27, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

 Tyler Ramsey – These Ghosts My recent album, “New Lost Ages,” was recorded in Seattle and produced by Phil…

Jimmy Olander’s D-Bender Baritone

December 4, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Big-string licks galore! In the mood to play a bit, December cover guy Jimmy Olander grabbed a guitar he…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Magnatone X-5 Zephyr

Last Gasp

June 14, 2023 · Michael Wright

Ever since Lonnie Mack unleashed The Wham of That Memphis Man and Buddy Holly sang “Peggy Sue,” Magnatone amplifiers have…

Freddie King’s Gibson ES-345 Keeps on Playin’

Family Ties

May 29, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Watching her baby boy become rapt whenever his grandma played country blues on her guitar, Ella May King had a…

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV

January 6, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: three ECC83 (12AX7), one ECC81 (12AT7, in the phase inverter) Output tubes: six EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal…

Peavey’s Razer, Mystic, and Foundation

Peavey’s Razer, Mystic, and Foundation

Contrasting Chronologies

March 11, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Just a handful of years after Peavey turned the world of electric guitar upside-down with its T-60 guitar and T-40…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Martin’s DJr-10E StreetMaster

Dread, Not

July 6, 2022 · Michael Shirek

The big, booming dreadnought has been a Martin hallmark since its debut in the 1930s. From that tradition comes Martin’s…

SITORI-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Sitori Sonics pedals

New Highs with Sitori Sonics’ Doob Dreamer, Tidal Phase, and Reel Repeat

September 14, 2015 · Tom Guerra

Sitori Sonics pedals Price: $188 list (Doob Dreamer, Reel Repeat); $168 (Tidal Phase) Info: sitorisonics.com. Despite the vast possibilities of…

Fender’s J Mascis

Fender’s J Mascis Artist Jazzmaster – J’s Rockin’ Axe

January 30, 2014 · Phil Feser

Introduced in the late 1950s as Fender’s “jazz guitar,” the Jazzmaster was also supposed to compete in the market with…

McGregor Cozmic Fuzzball

Sweet & Gnarly

November 9, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The culmination of a quest to build the perfect transparent overdrive, Garth Heslop’s Cozmic Fuzzball is the third pedal in…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

1983 Peavey T-20 and T-20FL Vintage guitar magazine

Peavey T-20

The Next Step

March 30, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Introduced in 1982, Peavey’s T-20 was different from other basses in the Peavey lineup, the two-pickup T-40, and the single-pickup…

The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic

Heart Pounder

March 30, 2022 · Steven Stone

Sometimes, it takes awhile to dial-in a good idea. The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic improves on Gibson’s Nighthawk design from…

Keeley Electronics Dark Side

Floyd Explorer

May 3, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

In the multi-verse of effects, Robert Keeley’s gizmos are a thing of beauty – particularly those that provide multiple sounds.…

Scotty Moore

Can't Keep a Good Man Down

May 27, 2005 · Kevin Woods

As the world marks the 50th Anniversary of the recording of “That’s Alright Mama,” one can’t help but wonder what…

Maestro Agena, Orbit, and Mariner

Wavy Gravy

December 23, 2023 · Pete Prown

Everyone loves modulation and filter pedals – those swishy, soupy sound makers that doll up a guitar’s signal. Maestro is…

Dan Fogelberg

May 26, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

The sociopolitical attitude of the American population is often said to be gauged in reference to a town in Illinois.…

Sam Kiszka

Ethereal Energy

April 3, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Guitar rock in 2023 doesn’t get bigger or ballsier than Greta Van Fleet. A veritable steamroller since “Highway Tune” launched…

Classics: December 2021

1967 Rickenbacker 360/12

August 11, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Live-music fans who roamed South Florida from the early ’80s until the mid 2000s might recognize Craig Ball’s ’67 Rickenbacker…

Gregg Wright

King of the Rockin’ Blues

November 18, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Gregg Wright is a force to be reckoned with. He took the top spot in the Southern California Blues Society’s…

Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story

Paul Salley

September 7, 2022 · Bret Adams

When a former Beatle name-checks you before a guitar solo on your very first recording with the band, you must…

Reb Beach

June 26, 2020 · Oscar Jordan

There’s no two waysabout it – thanks to MTV dunces Beavis and Butthead, Winger gets no respect. But the band…

Owen Campbell

February 27, 2017 · Rick Allen

While the electric guitar might define rock and roll, Owen Campbell elevates the image of the acoustic guitar as an…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 015 Featuring Spencer Henderson

September 4, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

Today guest is Spencer Henderson, the owner of “West Coast Pedalboards”… We discuss his transition from working in IT (working…

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…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 038 Featuring Wally Stocker

November 23, 2020 · Art Department

On the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” Wally Stocker tells host James Patrick Regan about his time as…

John Mayer

Sob Rock

July 13, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

John Mayer’s latest is a somber ode to the soft-rockin’ ’80s – think Henley and Hornsby. But don’t start eye-rolling…

Tim May

The MVP

June 30, 2023 · Jim Carlton

Renowned studio guitarist Tim May played his first film-score session in 1974, for John Schlesinger’s Day of the Locust. Now…

Croy and the Boys

February 27, 2017 · Rick Allen

There’s something about the Telecaster – as well as its forerunners and inspired imitators – that attracts musicians whose music…

Guild Starfire I-12

Budget Jangle

July 28, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Twelve-string electrics were ubiquitous in the swinging ’60s, popularized by bands like The Byrds, Beatles, Searchers, Turtles, Beau Brummels, and…

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…

Arteffect Bonnie Wah

Cry No More!

May 12, 2010 · Phil Feser

Israel-based Arteffect’s new Bonnie wah pedal is an accurate re-creation of the highly soughtafter vintage Vox Clyde McCoy wah. The…

Ellen Harper

Music is the Family Business

February 19, 2016 · Dan Forte

“Ben likes to joke that this album had a lifetime of pre-production,” Ellen Harper says of Childhood Home, her collaboration…

Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker

Poles Apart

August 6, 2015 · Lisa Sharken

Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker Price: $139 list/ $89 direct Info: www.railhammer.com Developed by Joe Naylor of Reverend Guitars, Railhammers are…

David Hidalgo Plays Joe Walsh’s ’59 Les Paul

June 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

 David Hidalgo Plays Joe Walsh’s ’59 Les Paul The video that helped convince Joe Walsh to reunite with his…

The Guild Starfire Bass

February 16, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

In the mid ’60s, Guild took its knocks for making guitars that looked “inspired by” Gibson models. Fans of the…

Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp

Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank

September 20, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for…

1965 Epiphone Emperor

December 3, 2021 · George Gruhn

The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 042 Featuring Dave Rude

January 12, 2021 · Art Department

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Tesla guitarist Dave Rude. Host James Patrick Regan sits with the…

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…