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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…

2022 March Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Elton John’s Davey Johnstone, Chris Leuzinger, John 5, Keb’ Mo’, John Hall and Larry Hoppen from…

Vega De Luxe Electric Plectrum Banjo
Billed as “the latest orchestral sensation… unparalleled for versatility,” Vega’s electric banjos – developed to compete with one being made…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 051 Featuring Greg V.
Guitarist Greg V. has backed songwriter Bonnie Hayes, Randy Jackson, Ronnie Montrose, drummer Buddy Miles, and stepped into a certain…

2016 Readers’ Choice Awards
Each year, VG asks readers to select Readers’ Choice winners for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and…

MIM Hosts Stephen Stills and Ushers in Dragons and Vines Exhibition
On November 5th, Phoenix, Arizona’s Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) celebrated the opening of their newest exhibition, “Dragons and Vines: Inlaid…

Musicvox MI-5 12-String
That Timeless Jangle
The Musicvox MI-5 12-String Price: $899 Info: www.musicvox.com. Since its appearances in the Austin Powers movies, Musicvox guitars have received…
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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

Pop ’N Hiss: Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak
Fight Or Fall
At the dawn of 1976, Thin Lizzy was in trouble. Neither of the quartet’s previous two studio albums, Nightlife and…

Pop ’N Hiss: Deep Purple’s Machine Head
Definitive Riffs
Now regarded as the “Beethoven’s 5th” of rock and roll, “Smoke on the Water” became a surprise hit in the…

Michael Wilton
Rebuilding the Queensrÿche Brand
The highly publicized firing of singer Geoff Tate from the band Queensrÿche has divided fans and spawned two touring bands…

Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri
Empire Central: Funky homage to Dallas Snarky Puppy guitarist Mark Lettieri took a minute at soundcheck to use his PRS…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Rickenbacker 345
Rickenbacker guitars have a look, feel, and sound that is remarkably distinct from those made by any other manufacturers. In…

Out-Stratting the Strat
The Story of the G&L S-500
It would be an understatement to say that Leo Fender, with the help of George Fullerton, was prolific in the…

Italian Smorgasbord
The Goya Rangemaster 116 SB
American guitars made in the 1950s and ’60s constitute an almost-holy canon, yet most players in that era took their…
Heil Talk Box
When Peter Frampton began using the Heil Talk Box in 1974, he remembers it being viewed with skepticism as an…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Mesa Boogie California Tweed 6V6 2:20 1×10 Combo
Ankle Biter
Classic Fender tweed amps are known for fat, warm clean tones, but even more for their raunch when cranked. Mesa…

Austin Mics DIY Summer Reverb
for Kicks and More
Rick Wilkinson’s Austin Mics company, based in San Diego, specializes in do-it-yourself ribbon-microphone kits and DIY guitar pedals. His latest…

Taylor AD17e
Tube SaviorDream Machine
Taylor’s AD (American Dream) line aims to put affordable U.S.-made acoustics in the hands of most any player. The new…

Mr. Mojo Sustainin’
The Teye Jazz Cat
Teye Wijnterp is a top-shelf guitar craftsman whose work brings to mind Keith and Ronnie’s famous Zemaitis guitars of the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Consentrik Quartet
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Lookout Highway

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

Classics: July 2021
Warren Garstecki’s 1932 Gibson HG-22
Warren Garstecki is a collector who keys on vintage Gibsons with interesting histories, like the HG-22. Introduced in 1929, the…

Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings
Double-bound for Glory
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success…

Godin A6 Ultra Baritone
Sub Sandwich
The basic premise of a baritone is that it allows guitar players to occasionally twang genuine bass notes – not…










































