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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…

Gretsch G2420T Streamliner
Bang For The Buck
Want to rock like they did back in the glory days, but don’t have pockets deep enough for a top-line…

Prototypes and Pathfinders
Five Amps That Set the Tone – Or Hoped To
Groundbreaking and undeniably collectible guitar amplifiers have made frequent appearances in this space over the years, but so have prototypes,…

Rivet ’63/’64 Pickup Set
Pole Position
Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints…

Black Sabbath
Live Evil 40th Anniversary
Four decades on, Ronnie James Dio’s stint in Black Sabbath is revered almost as much as the Ozzy epoch. This…

Ask Zac: Deep Dive on the Wide Range
Plus, Joey Molland’s Stratotone
I have collected several Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups from the early ’70s, and I’m curious about how to check…

Big Knob Pedals
What’s in a Name?
Big Knob Pedals Price: Tube 808, $139; Echo Flex, $149; Vibe Tone, $159; Octavius, $129 (all list) Contact: www.bigknobpedals.com Gary…
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Reverend Sensei H90
Live Wire
So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and…
ARTISTS

Anne McCue
Comes Into Her Own
As impressive as 2004’s Roll was, the eclectic Koala Motel (on Messenger Records) represents a major step up in Anne…

Sonny Landreth
Live In Lafayette
When music fans discuss upper-echelon slide mastery, the name Sonny Landreth tops most lists. The preeminent slide-guitar stylist of his…

Kim Simmonds
Half a Century with Savoy Brown
Now in its 46th year, the Savoy Brown band, fronted by founder/lead guitarist Kim Simmonds, has returned to its blues-and-boogie…

Jim McCarty
Detroit Rock Royalty
Playing Detroit in 2013, Joe Bonamassa had a special treat in store for the crowd. “The best, most badass guitar…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

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

The Vox/Thomas Organ V-8 Berkeley Super Reverb
Organ Transplant
Most fans of classic British guitar amplifiers have heard the tale of how the great all-tube Vox models of the…

Fender Custom Colors in the 1960s
Misty Lakes, Foamy Shores
In the 1950s, America’s fascination with the automobile was running at a fever pitch. The booming economy of the country’s…
The Guild Starfire Bass
In the mid ’60s, Guild took its knocks for making guitars that looked “inspired by” Gibson models. Fans of the…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Tone King Royalist MKIII
Firebreather U.K. Three-Speed
British tube amps from the mid ’60s and early ’70s have inspired countless designs emulating their beloved tones. In 2014,…

Luna Art Vintage Parlor Acoustic/Electric
Rustic Charm
Luna’s newest entry in its Vintage Series, the Art Vintage Parlor takes modern playability and puts it in a rustic…

Weller El Dorrado
Rock-and-Roll Screamer
Tucked away in southwest Illinois near St. Louis, luthier Steve Weller is making interesting instruments. His El Dorrado model is…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Consentrik Quartet
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Lookout Highway

Alvin Youngblood Hart
Electric Gutbucket
Alvin Youngblood Hart surfs the musical landscape of blues-based music to make his own great art. His influences range from…

Pop ’N Hiss: Be Bop Deluxe’s Live! In the Air Age
Atmospheric Axes
For a shining moment, the eclectic British quartet Be Bop Deluxe rose above an upheaval in rock and pop in…

Paco de Lucía
The Montreux Years
“He didn’t read music – but I have never met a musician with such an impeccable ear,” says John McLaughlin…

Epiphone Zephyr De Luxe Regent and Zephyr Amplifier
The Zephyr De Luxe Regent was Epiphone’s second-from-the-top electric guitar produced from the late 1940s through the mid ’50s. The…










































