National Style O

Industrial Art

August 27, 2017 · Eric C. Shoaf

National. The name is patriotic! And what else but American inventiveness could have brought about a metal-bodied guitar? The answer…

Check out Micki Free’s bad-boy swagger!

April 12, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Rockin’ with conviction on “Heavy Mercy” Take in allll the vibes as Micki Free uses his Fender Monterey Strat to…

1978 Gibson RD Artist

May 5, 2016 · Michael Wright

Throughout most of the 1970s, Les Pauls ruled the guitar roost. But toward the end of the decade, some players became…

The ViVi-Tone Aggrandizer

The ViVi-Tone Aggrandizer

March 28, 2016 · Dave Hunter

• Preamp tubes: 6C5, 6F5 • Output tubes: two 6B5 • Rectifier: 80 • Controls: Volume, on/off switch • Speaker:…

Star Board: Craig Bartock

Star Board: Craig Bartock

April 4, 2015 · Vintage Guitar

This month, we take a guided tour of the pedalboard belonging to Craig Bartock, guitarist with Heart. Craig Bartock, a…

Adrian Smith

Different Scales

November 25, 2021 · Pete Prown

Guitarists usually spend years learning their scales, but Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith enjoys scales of the aquatic kind. In his…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Fretprints: Tony Rice

Newgrass Fusion Master

February 4, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

The world lost one of its most innovative and defining guitar voices on December 25, 2020. Bluegrass maestro Tony Rice…

Rodrigo Sanchez

Philosophical Resonance

March 6, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

The latest from Rodrigo y Gabriela, In Between Thoughts…A New World, shows the acoustic duo in top form with passion,…

Freddie Salem

Outlaw On The Trail

October 11, 2021 · Pete Prown

The Outlaws weren’t just a great Southern band, but also one of the most intense guitar experiences in all of…

Graham Clise

Bay Area Blaster

March 11, 2019 · Kathleen Johnson

Graham Clise is one of the most-heralded underground rock guitarists of the past 15 years. A mashup of Chuck Berry,…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Dad’s Day 2021

VG’s Annual Salute to Fathers Who Inspire

March 7, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Marty Ashby’s very musical family has been playing together since he was a little kid. Here’s a shot of them…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 8

Late ’65: Transistors, Troubles, and Takeover!

February 14, 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…

Tokai Talbo

March 7, 2022 · Michael Wright

For aficionados of copy guitars – replicas of mostly American classics that give U.S. manufacturers apoplectic fits – perhaps no…

“Unicorn”: Ca. 1910 Rafael Casana

November 17, 2022 · R.E. Brune

This extremely rare guitar has been dubbed the “Unicorn” by virtue of the fact that for all his fame, it…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

HomeWrecker Pickups

Slumbering Strats, Awake!

March 10, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

In 2011, session guitarist Joshua Hernandez began winding pickups in his living room. From these modest beginnings, and with no…

Reverend’s Reeves Gabrels Dirtbike

Wheelie Machine

October 3, 2019 · Zac Childs

Signature guitars tend to be either fan-boy models, the owners of which hang them alongside a collection of signed 8×10…

Supro Comet 1610RT

Desert-Island Jams

April 16, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Supro’s Comet 1610RT just may be the perfect desert island amp – a high-gain, low-watt 1×10 combo that maybe doesn’t…

TTS Music BMT Overdrive

TTS Music BMT Overdrive

Fine-Tune Your Crunch

June 8, 2015 · Pete Prown

TTS Music BMT Overdrive Price: $175 Info: www.ttspickups.com. No, the “BMT” in the name of TTS Music’s overdrive pedal does…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

The Epiphone ES-175 Reissue

Return of a Classic

August 26, 2013 · Pete Prown

There are plenty of affordable hollowbodies on the market, but Epiphone’s recent reissue of the Gibson ES-175 is almost a…

The Story of Silver Street Guitars

Building a 
Better…. Gibson?

July 9, 2019 · Michael Wright

In the late 1970s, trends combined to spawn several new guitar companies in the Chicago area motivated by a desire…

Valvetech Amplifier Company’s VAC 25

Tractable Tweed

July 5, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Who says pragmatic utility and classic tones have to be mutually exclusive? Not Rob Pierce, whose Valvetech Amplifier Company deals…

Have Guitar Will Travel 092 – Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters)

February 26, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In this episode, host James Patrick Regan catches up with Chris Shiflett to discuss his latest solo album, working with…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 032 Featuring Brad Gillis

July 27, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

For Episode 32 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan sits with Brad Gillis to discuss his storied…

Sebastian Nagel’s Satisfying Funk

March 29, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Winston Brothers groove it up on “Drift” Sebastian Nagel and his band, The Winston Brothers, balance groove, melody, and space…

M-Tone Slipstream

M-Tone Slipstream

Delicious Curves

August 14, 2014 · Pete Prown

M-Tone Slipstream Price: $2,600 Contact: www.m-tone.com When it comes to custom, hand-made guitars, many prefer an instrument that innately reveals…

The Pinter SB1-R

Days of Sustain

September 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

Mike Pinter conceived his new SB1-R as a do-it-all “rock star” guitar that would combine design concepts and tone choices…

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…

2022 June Issue on Spotify

June 2, 2022 · Doug Yellow Bird

This month we feature Mike Campbell, Vince Gill, Ron Wood, Billy Gibbons, Robben Ford, Derek Trucks, Tedeschi-Trucks Band, John Sebastian…

Boss’ SD-1-4A Super Overdrive

Black Magic

July 22, 2022 · Pete Prown

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

Tab Benoit

What 10 Sounds Like

October 4, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

I Hear Thunder marks a return to recording for Tab Benoit. With 13 years between albums, he is recording music that…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 10

Saga of The Lost Supersounds

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…

PRS SE Silver Sky

Aiming Higher

February 7, 2023 · Bob Dragich

In a world filled with Strat-type guitars, it takes a lot to set one apart, let alone stand above. The…

Steve Hill

One-Man Band

December 14, 2023 · Pete Prown

Canadian guitarist Steve Hill is a flat-out rocker, smashing blues into rock and roll with terrifying force, as heard on…

Custom-Order Gibson B-45-12

March 14, 2016 · George Gruhn

The term “rare” is applied to guitars in far too many instances. Usually an appealing term, its overuse can be…

Jerry Douglas

Slide Ruler – Jerry Douglas’ Love Affair with the Dobro

October 8, 2015 · Michael Dregni

You know, it’s the coolest-looking instrument that ever was made!” It should come as no surprise that Jerry Douglas is…

Dave Alvin

Return of the Battlin’ Brothers

January 24, 2017 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

“The title says it all,” explains Dave Alvin of his reunion with older brother Phil on Lost Time. Known for…

 Yasmin Williams

Art of Collaboration

October 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

Yasmin Williams turned heads a few years ago with her brilliant solo acoustic music, often playing the guitar flat on…

Fuchs Audio Technology Full House-50 Combo

The Art of the Deal

December 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

The Fuchs Full House-50 1×12 is a compact amp that strives to deliver a range of tones in a small…

Phantom Reissue 1964 PH12

Ghost of Vintage Past

September 25, 2014 · Chip Wilson

From the Hollies to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, from Robert Junior Lockwood to the Stones, the electric 12-string has a prominent…

Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval

Heartbreaker: A Memoir

December 8, 2025 · Bret Adams

In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire…

EHX Good Vibes, Tone Corset

Rawk Boxes

July 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

The musical spirit of the ’60s and ’70s lives again in two of EHX’s latest stompboxes: the Good Vibes analog…

Home Feature Image

Fender Custom Colors in the 1960s

Misty Lakes, Foamy Shores

January 2, 2017 · Andre R. Duchossoir

In the 1950s, America’s fascination with the automobile was running at a fever pitch. The booming economy of the country’s…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 040 Featuring Johnny Hatton

December 15, 2020 · Art Department

  In Episode 40 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with bassist Johnny Hatton, whose current…

Quilter Labs’ Aviator Cub

High Flyer

April 7, 2022 · Rich Maloof

Quilter Labs has gained a rep for busting popular perceptions. They’ve attempted to step up their game with this single-channel…

Steve Stevens

Atomic Idol

April 22, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

As Billy Idol’s longtime guitarist and songwriting partner, Steve Stevens’ unique approach – flamenco stylings and the occasional ray gun…

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…

Rick Vito – Cadillac Man

July 25, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Rick Vito – Cadillac Man Make sure to check out Rick Vito’s latest album “Cadillac Man” available now at Blue…