-
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…

Carl Bradychok
Rockabilly’s Newest Guitar Wizard
Carl Bradychok’s instrument and genre of choice seemed destined from day one. “There are pictures my parents took of me…

Valco ‘Thunder stick’
Put your gut money on a dark horse every so often, and you might find the rest of the regurgitating…

Mark Sampson
Back Cat
Epitome of the restless designer/tinkerer, Mark Sampson has co-founded four guitar-amplifier companies, two of which – Matchless and Bad Cat…

Vox AC50
Vox AC50 Preamp tubes: one ECC82 (12AU7), three ECC83 (12AX7) Output tubes: two EL34s, fixed-biased Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Volume, Treble…

Maestro Rover R0-1
The UFO of Rotating Speakers
To record “Little Wing,” Jimi Hendrix plugged his Stratocaster into his usual amplifier, then did the unthinkable; he ran guitar…

Godin’s A4 and A5 Ultra SA
Brave New Basses
Godin A4/A5 Ultra SA Price: $1,395 (A4 Ultra SA fretted); $1,645 (A5 Ultra SA fretless) Info: godinguitars.com. For years, Godin…
-
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

Jorge Garcia
Led Bop
Jazz covers of rock songs often fall flat on their face, but Cuban-American guitarist Jorge Garcia nails it on Crossover.…

Moeller, Moore, and Dayton serve up a Texas jam
Texas Headhunters gonna getcha! Johnny Moeller and his buds in the Texas Headhunters gathered to jam a bit on “The…
Bobby Black
Steel Before and After Commander Cody
When he got the invitation, Bobby Black wasn’t sure. The pedal-steel virtuoso, a 20-plus-year veteran of San Francisco’s music scene,…

Alan Parsons
New World Record
With his latest album, From The New World, legendary musician/producer Alan Parsons continues a string of lushly orchestrated progressive rock,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gretsch’s “Golden” Tenors
In the 1950s and early ’60s, the electric guitar was establishing itself as a key part of the new voice…

Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp
Since the instrument was introduced, those who play the electric guitar have modified it to create new sounds and interesting…

Magnatone X-5 Zephyr
Last Gasp
Ever since Lonnie Mack unleashed The Wham of That Memphis Man and Buddy Holly sang “Peggy Sue,” Magnatone amplifiers have…

Fender’s Musicmaster and Duo‑Sonic
Little Brothers
Often forgotten, the diminutive student-grade duo went from concept to reality in short order to capitalize on teenagers taking up…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight

Guild Surfliner
Hang Ten
The Surfliner is Guild’s first new solidbody to come along in decades. A thoroughly modern design with classic features, there’s…

PRS S2 Custom 24-08
Plentiful Tones
As the youngest of the big three guitar manufacturers, PRS Guitars has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception…

Boss’ SD-1-4A Super Overdrive
Black Magic
Boss’ SD-1 has 40 candles on its cake and the company is celebrating with the SD-1-4A, a new Super Overdrive…

EHX Walking on the Moon Flanger/Filter Matrix
Andy Flange
With its mouthful of a name – The Andy Summers Walking On the Moon Flanger/Filter Matrix – the latest Electro-Harmonix…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
More Personal
-
Rare Pioneer
Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riff
Vintage Guitar magazine presents Tom Feldmann Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riff Tom demonstrates one of Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riffs on his…

Sue Foley
Femme Flamenco
In a time when pop-music performers rely heavily on post-recording fix-ups and pre-recorded tracks onstage, it’s refreshing – even admirable…

John 5
Telewielder
Since ditching his spot backing alternative-metal singer Marilyn Manson 10 years ago, superhuman guitarist John 5 has used his skills…

Lonnie Mack
Strike Like Lightning
Lonnie Mack hadn’t released an album in eight years when this comeback effort arrived in January of 1985. His first…









































