• Seymour Duncan Announces the Slash 3.0 Pickup Set

    Seymour Duncan Announces the Slash 3.0 Pickup Set

    SANTA BARBARA, January 13th, 2026 – Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of guitar and bass pickups, effects pedals, and pedal amps, is proud to announce that the Slash 3.0 Pickup…

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  • Thomas Custom Guitars

    Thomas Custom Guitars

    Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

    Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich…

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  • Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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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Alex Machacek

Stripped Down

February 16, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

When you get the thumbs-up from icons like John McLaughlin and Chick Corea, it’s got to feel good. But, fusion…

Have Guitar Will Travel 069 – Brian Moss

February 9, 2022 · James Patrick Regan

James Patrick Regan welcomes Brian Moss to Episode 69 of “Have Guitar Will Travel.” Guitarist in the jam band Spafford,…

Watkins Scout

Merit Badge

July 9, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Watkins amps never landed big stars, or at least didn’t hold on to the endorsements of guitarists once they became…

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…

Webster-Chicago RMA 375 Model 166-1

Grammy Winner

July 18, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Modified or repurposed amps generally don’t fit into our monthly discussion here, but some are representative enough of a certain…

Terry Dolan

44 Years Later

January 26, 2017 · Dan Forte

The market is flooded with previously unreleased albums and reissue CDs containing alternate takes. It must be simple to get…

  • 2025 December Issue on Spotify

    2025 December Issue on Spotify

    This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free…

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ARTISTS

Michael Johnny Walker

Michael Johnny Walker

Vintage Attitude Required

July 5, 2016 · Johnny Zapp

The term “vintage” isn’t always literal when it comes to gear, but it certainly can be used to describe attitude.…

Philip Sayce

Proactive Perseverance

December 13, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Philip Sayce is a living, breathing, godmonster beast on the Stratocaster. But his chops, tone, feel, and great songs don’t…

Phil Collen

A Rock Cat Plays the Blues

February 27, 2018 · Greg Prato

In the eyes of many, there’s quite a difference between arena rock and blues rock. But not to Phil Collen,…

Doobies, Brothers

A Discussion with Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons

January 3, 2014 · Ward Meeker

American music rarely is more pure than when it comes from the minds, hands, and mouths of the Doobie Brothers.…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Martin Elegant, a.k.a. “Lula”

December 29, 2014 · George Gruhn

It’s an extraordinarily rare event to find a high-grade, historically significant mid-1800s guitar in a pawn shop, but that is…

1924 Martin 00-45

1924 Martin 00-45

October 11, 2015 · George Gruhn

When trying to determine originality, guitar dealers and collectors have a tendency to study instruments with the care of a…

Simon Adahl’s 1958 Höfner 162

Missing Link

October 12, 2021 · Ward Meeker

He may not be part of anthropological history like Dutch paleontologist Eugene Dubois, but Simon Adahl did have to dig…

The Slingerland May Bell

February 1, 2022 · Michael Wright

It’s hard to imagine a more poorly “documented” guitar brand than Slinglerland. The company has been around since before World…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

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Bohemian Boho Moonshine

In The Can

June 9, 2016 · Stephen Stone

Here at VG, we see all manner of guitars – those made out of steel, graphite, even animal shells. But…

Amptweaker’s FatMetal Distortion

Amptweaker’s FatMetal Distortion

Metal To the Pedal

April 14, 2016 · Tom Guerra

With all of the subgenres of heavy metal out there, it was only a matter of time before the pedal…

Crucial Audio’ Die Götterdämmerung Germanium Fuzz/Ring Modulator

Ring Tones

April 26, 2019 · Pete Prown

Named by Flaming Lips guitarist Steven Drozd after composer Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle opera, Crucial Audio’s lavishly named Die Götterdämmerung…

Carvin’s HH2 Allan Holdsworth

Off With Their Heads

April 29, 2016 · Phil Feser

Headless guitars and basses, which had their heyday back in the big-hair/thin-necktie ’80s (think Power Windows-era Geddy Lee), still have…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Joanna Connor

Blue-Collar Virtuoso

June 9, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Joanna Connor’s latest is her most-potent album to date. Best Of Me serves up a feast of guitar styles and…

Universal Audio’s OX Amp Top Box

The Tube Abides

October 14, 2019 · Ray Wuolo

Since the mid ’60s, electrical engineers have been trying to drive a stake into the heart of the vacuum tube,…

Gibson Goldtops

Molten Mojo, Head-To-Head Vintage Versus Reissue

May 28, 2022 · Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate

In the good ol’ days of 1952, jazzmeister Les Paul strutted to the center of the world’s stage and proudly…

MARKTREMONTI_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Mark Tremonti

Rock Star, Amp Snob!

May 14, 2015 · Ward Meeker

Many of the people we today consider “guitar heroes” – Eddie Van Halen and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to name a…

Tyler Morris

Have Guitar Will Travel – 036 Featuring Tyler Morris

October 7, 2020 · Art Department

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” features host James Patrick Regan speaking with Tyler Morris. They discuss what…

Jussi Jaakonaho’s beguiling “Beauty Box”

May 30, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Masterful Tapestry Soak it in as Jussi Jaakonaho and his 1970 Gibson SG Standard jam on ”Beauty Box” through a…

Ally Venable

Heart of Texas

March 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

On her fourth album, Ally Venable serves up a heaping helping of poignant songs wrapped in Texas-style blues-rock. Ballsy wah…

Wayne Kramer

1948-2024

December 13, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Guitarist and activist Wayne Kramer, best known as a founder of the iconic Detroit hard-rock band MC5, died in a…

Michael Schenker

Rocking Reunion

April 15, 2019 · Greg Prato

Michael Schenker has been part of many live releases over the years, and one of the most intriguing is his…

Todd Rundgren

Rock’s True Renaissance Man

May 9, 2019 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

For 50 years, Todd Rundgren has been compiling one the most eclectic and impressive resumés in music. From forming the…

Epiphone Empero1965 Main

1965 Epiphone Emperor

November 1, 2022 · George Gruhn

The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response…

Joanne Shaw Taylor

Passion and Soul

July 27, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

British blues-rock guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor is leaving her mark on the classics. With The Blues Album, Taylor’s husky vocals…

Steve Lukather

Bridges to Toto’s Past

April 18, 2024 · Bret Adams

Discussing his ninth solo album, Steve Lukather is a ball of energy – reflective, witty, ready with a joke. “I…

Julian Lage

Squint

March 31, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Julian Lage walks an intriguing line between jazz and rock-and-roll. On his latest – and first release on the stellar…

E.W.S. BMC2

E.W.S. BMC2

Tiny Green Giant

July 7, 2016 · Anders Fransson

As mini-sized pedals continue to gain in popularity they are also becoming increasingly refined and versatile in their layouts. One…

Tom Guerra

Tom Guerra

Rock and Roll Swagger

January 24, 2015 · Pete Prown

After 15 years and four albums with Connecticut trio Mambo Sons, Tom Guerra just released his first solo album, All…

Joe Ely

Digging Through The Vaults

February 26, 2021 · John Heidt

Joe Ely’s new record, Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch, is full of just what you’ve come to expect from the…

Jake E. Lee

The Legend Returns

May 29, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Jake E. Lee found fame replacing Randy Rhoads to co-write two of Ozzy Osborne’s most popular albums – Bark At…

Pop ’N Hiss: Prince’s 1999

Music, Sex, and The New World Order

January 31, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

1981, the world was enveloped in the Cold War, with its nuclear weapons, Reaganomics, and uncertainty. Prince Rogers Nelson had…

Blowing Free: Underground and Progressive Sounds of 1972

Various artists

March 10, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Cherry Red label is spot-on at packaging vintage U.K. rock, and this boxed set is no exception. This one…

Classics: June 2023

Danny Gattons ’51 Nocaster

February 2, 2024 · Ward Meeker

From learning a first lick to playing an entire song with friends, musicians thrive on motivations big and small. Growing…

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…

'62 Les Paul Rarity

’62 Les Paul Rarity

December 21, 2015 · George Gruhn

In its early years, the Gibson Les Paul Custom evolved through several body-style and spec changes and was the earliest…

Full Dozen, Semi-Hollow

12 Variations on a Classic Design

December 2, 2016 · Vintage Guitar

To complement our February 2016 issue survey of the semi-hollow electric guitar, we tested 12 examples of the form as…

Gibson Custom Colors in the 1960s

Burning Embers, Chilled Whites

January 11, 2017 · Andre R. Duchossoir

Unlike its rival from the West Coast, Gibson did not readily embrace the concept of offering custom-color finishes. It wasn’t…

Strymon Zuma

Power Station

July 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Are you tripping over a spiderweb of effects power cords? Have a pedalboard that requires an advanced degree in electrical…

Relic the Hague’s Scumbag

Rock-and-Roll Animal

May 30, 2019 · Pete Prown

On the surface, the Scumbag is a simple rock beast. With a 25.5″-scale neck, maple fingerboard, and bolt-neck construction, it…

Weller El Dorrado

Rock-and-Roll Screamer

July 10, 2025 · Pete Prown

Tucked away in southwest Illinois near St. Louis, luthier Steve Weller is making interesting instruments. His El Dorrado model is…

Preston Thompson 00-45

New Old Vintage

July 24, 2019 · Steven Stone

Given their scarcity, few mortal pickers will ever own a pre-war Martin 00 or 000 with 45-level appointments. But a…