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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…
Colin Linden
Bringing it Back Around
Colin Linden’s Still Live is a step back to his first recording – a live album made three decades ago.…
Al Di Meola
Elegant Warrior
An evolved, technical player and soulful composer, his work has been staggering – from spellbinding compositions employing diverse jazz, rock,…
The Supro Montauk 1×10
Club Combo
Striking out from its more historically inspired models like the Black Magick and Delta King, Supro’s new Montauk 1×10 combo…
Mike Zito
Back to Solo Soul-Searching
Following a stint of nearly four years in the Royal Southern Brotherhood, Texas-based guitarist Mike Zito is focusing on his…
Fretprints: Foghat
Slow Ride to Boogie Wonderland
If the ’70s were the era of good times and excess following the tumultuous ’60s, the boogie band would be…
Fishman Broken Record
Acoustic Looper
Part of Fishman’s line of AFX Mini Acoustic pedals, the Broken Record is a looper/sampler for players who like to…
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Rising Rockers
Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
In an era when the sub-20-watt combo is arguably the most popular guitar-amp format, it’s worth remembering that several classics of the category emanate from the ’50s. And just as…
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ARTISTS
Shane Speal
King of the CBG
In an era of high-tech musical toys, there’s some irony in the fact that the cigar-box guitar – most primitive…
Eric Schenkmann
Funk, Blues, and Thunder
It’s been a quarter-century since the Spin Doctors broke out with “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” which catapulted the New…
The (Way) Back Beat: Top O’ The Line, For Only $150!
The Immortal Danelectro Guitarlin
Having looked at the most expensive electric guitars offered in 1960s – over 50 years ago. Traditional makers – Gibson,…
Jane Getter
Jazz-Rock Premonitions
Jane Getter’s Anomalia is a mostly instrumental album that traverses the hypnotic seas of jazz-rock, with lyrics. A fusion of…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Sixty Years of Tele-Kinetic Guitar Heroes
Flying Saucers! Tail Fins! Robots!
Taking a cue from the burgeoning world of television, in 1951, Leo Fender married the name “Telecaster” to his new…
The Bass That Waited
Rickenbacker’s Early 4000 and 4001
In the January and February installments, we looked at Gibson’s Thunderbird, an instrument condemned by its maker to a quick…
The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part 3: The 1960s
Fretted-instrument advertising in the 20th century relied heavily on “glamor” or “cheesecake.” Electric instruments and accessories, in particular, are still…
Ken Fischer
1945-2006
Although by most estimates he produced fewer than 100 Trainwreck amps, Ken Fischer – tech, designer, and amp-maker – will…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Classic Character
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Synth Evo
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Musical, Minimalist
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Big Bottom
Guild Polara Kim Thayil
Get Your Grunge
With Soundgarden, guitarist Kim Thayil helped define the grunge movement. His unusual weapon of choice was the Guild S-100 Polara,…
St. Blues Bluesmaster, Blindsider, and Delta Blues Box
Straight from the Delta
Saint Blues Bluesmaster/Blindsider Price: $2,399 (Bluesmaster); $2,550 (Blindsider) Info: saintblues.com St. Blues’ history stretches back to the days when its…
Mack Atomsmasher DB-40
Super Dynamics
What do you get when you have a rockin’ pair of 12AX7 tubes and a pair of EL34 power tubes?…
B&G Guitars’ Caletta Standard Build
Small But Mighty
B&G Guitars are made in Tel Aviv by a talented shop that translates the best traits of traditional guitars into…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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The Artist’s Way
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Life At Full Speed
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Bass Mechanic
Michael Lee Firkins
Meditations in Southern Rock
Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box…
Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Year
After the Clash, Saint Joe Strummer (to borrow the beatification endowed by The Hold Steady) spent some years in the…
Benson Model 300H
Wrecking Ball
Even with all the excellent guitar amps available by the late ’60s, nothing was quite good enough for jazz and…
Alive! Guitar Revived
The Tale of Frampton’s ’54 Les Paul Custom
Gifted to Peter Frampton after a 1970 Humble Pie concert at Fillmore West in San Francisco, for years, this ’54…
