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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…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Happy Traum
Folk Guru: 1936-2024
On July 17, folk music lost one of its guiding lights with the death of Happy Traum at age 86.…
Tony Iommi
When Sabbath Rocked with Ronnie
Black Sabbath sounded reinvigorated and refocused on its first two albums of the ’80s – Heaven and Hell and Mob…
Duane Allman
Duane Allman in 1970. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. Though he stood in the limelight a scant three years, Duane Allman…
Myles Goodwyn
1948-2023
Myles Goodwyn, co-founder, creative force, and guitarist/frontman in April Wine, died December 3. He was 75 and while no cause…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Greg Lake’s Zemaitis Doubleneck
Twice as Heavy
With progressive-rock juggernaut Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (1947-2016) played more than one instrument made by the renowned…
Ibanez MC500 Musician
Ibanez MC500 Musician. Ahhh, the late 1970s… While many vintage guitar enthusiasts disdain the guitars from the “Me Decade” in…
Mark Erlewine’s 40 Years with Willie Nelson’s Trigger
Wooden Wonder
For a decade, Willie Nelson chased fame as a performer in the Nashville mold of the ’60s – hair coifed,…
Buddy Holly’s ’58 Magnatone 280
1958 Magnatone Custom 280
When guitarists talk tremolo or vibrato, you can bet the magnificent Magnatone amps will find their way into the conversation.…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
PRS David Grissom Trem
"Swiss Army" Axe
PRS David Grissom Trem David Grissom is at or near the top of any list of significant Texas guitarists, having…
Gibson Super Goldtone GA-30RV
Contemporary Classic
Gibson returned to the ampli-fier business in the late ’90s with its Goldtone amps, de-rived from the ’50s-era Trace Elliot/Vellocette…
The Fender Bullet Deluxe/JP-90
No Frills, Didn’t Fly
Fender has tried more than once to market basses with a low-budget vibe. And while the idea is…
Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1
Horizontal Vibe
Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 take their design inspiration from Ampeg’s quirky mid-’60s Horizontal Bass…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
