Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1

August 7, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

It’s easy to summarize Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s raw-yet-modern blues approach. Joined by co-vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd delivers a lyric straight…

Walrus Audio’s Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo

Delirious Tremors

May 31, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

At some point, nearly every guitarist realizes they simply can’t function without an effects pedal that creates warm, pulsating modulation.…

Fender’s V-Front 5B4 Super-Amp

Wonder Wedge

July 12, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Though all tweed Fender amps of the late ’40s and ’50s are lauded and lusted after, the V-front Super might…

Chris Duarte

Ain’t Giving Up

January 25, 2024 · Pete Prown

After Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death in 1990, an army of Strat cats rushed into the breach, vying to be the…

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John Page Classic Ashburn

Turn the Page

June 10, 2016 · Phil Feser

With the creation of John Page Classic Guitars in 2006, the guitar builder, designer, and co-founder of the Fender Custom…

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…

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ARTISTS

A Tribute To Chuck Berry

That Brown-Eyed Handsome Guitar-Playing Man

March 27, 2019 · Michael Dregni

When those first notes of Chuck Berry’s first Chess single came blasting out of the radio in July of 1955,…

 Isaiah Mitchell

Crowe’s Feat

December 2, 2022 · Pete Prown

When not playing with the Black Crowes, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell works with Earthless, a power trio that just released Night…

Stroger lays it down on “Bob’s Back in Town”

July 22, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Chicago Blues Mainstay and His Legendary Bass Enjoy as Chicago mainstay bassist Bob Stroger uses his 1960 Jazz Bass (with…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 035 Featuring Joe Robinson

September 15, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

In Episode 35 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Joe Robinson. Mentored by Tommy…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Sonny James's Epiphone Excellente

Epiphone Excellente

Sonny James' Epiphone Excellente

November 19, 2002 · Walter Carter

The Epiphone Excellente was the fanciest flat-top Gibson made in the 1960s, and to some ears it was Gibson’s best.…

D’Angelico New Yorker

Top of the Line from a Master Builder

January 8, 2018 · George Gruhn

Having earned its place in the VG Hall of Fame as one of the finest guitars in the history of…

Teisco Del Rey Basses

’60s Egalitarianism from Japan

July 13, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

Teisco Del Rey basses from the 1960s are exemplary of the Japanese-made instruments that swept into the American market like…

Stromberg Master 400

Stromberg Master 400

July 7, 2005 · George Gruhn

The Stromberg Master 400, measuring a gigantic 19″, is considered by many to be the ultimate orchestral rhythm guitar. The…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

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…

The Eastwood Super Axe

Chet Powered!

December 5, 2025 · Pete Prown

Wait – what? Did Eastwood just bring back the Super Axe, that incredibly rare bird from the late ’70s? Indeed,…

Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus 50th Anniversary

Mr. Clean

November 13, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Roland Corporation was born in 1972 and just a few years later introduced its landmark Jazz Chorus JC-120 amplifier.…

Meris LVX Delay

Next-Gen Echo

September 17, 2024 · Pete Prown

Designed for guitarists drawn to effects with a simple, straightforward interface, Meris LVX Modular Delay System is an attention-getter. Perfect…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 3

Backbone Instruments 1962-’64

January 31, 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…

Jules Leyhe

Bottleneck Breakout

September 8, 2022 · Pete Prown

Forget everything you know about slide guitar. Jules Leyhe just upended the genre on Your First Rodeo, an instrumental set…

Joe Robinson

Eyes on the Prize

October 4, 2023 · Bob Dragich

Bouncing on a trampoline in the yard of the home his father built outside Temagog, Australia, nine-year-old Joe Robinson gleefully…

The Byrds: 1964-1967

Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, David Crosby

August 1, 2023 · Rich Kienzle

Like Dylan, the three founding members of the Byrds were ’60s acoustic folkies who, inspired by Beatlemania and the British…

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Teye Super Coyote

Zemaitis Redux

June 10, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Teije Wijnterp has been around. Born in the Netherlands, he studied flamenco guitar in Spain before relocating to Austin and…

Paul Gilbert

The Dio Album

January 24, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

It’s been almost 13 years since the passing of vocalist and metal visionary Ronnie James Dio, yet his essence looms…

Bumblefoot

Prog Shred Ain’t Dead

July 18, 2019 · Greg Prato

After bursting onto the scene in 1995 with the screwball shred classic The Adventures of Bumblefoot, Ron Thal (a.k.a. Bumblefoot)…

Jeff Kollman

Validating Versatiltiy

June 25, 2025 · Willie G. Moseley

A perusal of guitarist Jeff Kollman’s resumé forces a double take. Alongside decades of studio work and live gigs with…

ZT Amplifiers Club and Lunchbox Acoustic

Big Things, Small Packages

January 24, 2014 · Sean OBryan Smith

In two short years of existence, ZT Amplifiers has found a unique place for itself in the world of boutique…

Tinsley Ellis

Naked Truth

January 9, 2025 · Sean McDevitt

It’s hard to believe that Tinsley Ellis, one of contemporary blues’ most-prominent artists since the late ’80s, is only now…

Chris Tapp’s “Got No Right”

March 7, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Cold Stares’ Guitarist Digs In, Grooves Out Chris Tapp grabbed his real-deal Gibson ’52 goldtop (running through a Kingtone Blues…

ZT Amplifiers’ Lunchbox Junior

Tasty Treat

September 29, 2013 · Erik Elkins

ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox Junior Price: $149 (street) Info: www.ztamplifiers.com. ZT Amplifiers is known for producing compact amps that generate sounds…

Have Guitar Will Travel 055 – Mark Goldenberg

July 27, 2021 · Art Department

The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features guitarist, composer and producer Mark Goldenberg, who studied with Ted Greene…

Mario Guitars Serpentine

Custom Flagship

July 9, 2018 · Rich Maloof

Given that Mario Martin credits his guitar-building education to a stint at the Fender Custom Shop, it’s no surprise that…

Built to Survive

Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression

April 21, 2017 · George Gruhn

In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely…

Andrews Spectraverb 16

No Limits

January 8, 2018 · Phil Feser

Taking inspiration from Fender’s classic AB763 Deluxe Reverb, the hand-wired Andrews Spectraverb 16 uses a pair of JJ 6V6 power…

Mark Elf

Mark Elf

After the Storm

October 30, 2015 · John Heidt

The latest album from guitarist Mark Elf shot to the top of the jazz charts, but the route to success…

Altamira TD Birdseye Oval Hole

Djangology

December 6, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

Altamira Guitars has made a specialty of classical nylon-string, replica, and gypsy-jazz guitars. The latter are created with the same…

Reb Beach

June 26, 2020 · Oscar Jordan

There’s no two waysabout it – thanks to MTV dunces Beavis and Butthead, Winger gets no respect. But the band…

Vox Giulietta VGA-3D

Unconventional Archtop

December 23, 2024 · Pete Prown

It may look like a conventional archtop, but Vox’s latest box offers something truly different. Within the Giulietta VGA-3D is…

Crazy Tube Circuits SPT

Greece Is The Word

January 8, 2018 · Chip Wilson

The modal mellowness of Apollo’s lyre or the perky chirp of the bouzouki might come to mind when one thinks…

The Story of Jay Gower

Startup in Music City

April 18, 2019 · George Gruhn

In Nashville today, there are enough professional luthiers to meet the need for guitar repairs, modifications, and custom builds. In…

Reflecting on Steve Cropper: A Playlist

December 4, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Steve Cropper was just 20 years old when his band, the Mar-Keys, began backing singers in the studios of Stax…

Mudhoney

Plastic Eternity

March 20, 2024 · Dennis Pernu

When it comes to writing music reviews, nothing’s more Lamesville than a critic swiping text from a label’s press release.…

Ana Popovic

Blues Jazz & Soul

January 5, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Ana Popovic brings to her music an inspiring drive and work ethic. Super-appreciative of her fans, she recently released three…

George Cummings

Remembering Mississippi and Dr. Hook

February 27, 2018 · Willie G. Moseley

George Cummings is best known as the original guitarist for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Born in Meridian, Mississippi,…

Pop ’N Hiss: King’s X’s Gretchen Goes To Nebraska

Faith, Hope & Pain

October 26, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

By the final year of the ’80s, King’s X was a powerhouse of curiosity cleaving its way through the harmonic…

SynapticGroove Snapperhead OD/Distortion

SynapticGroove Snapperhead OD/Distortion

Dirty Deeds

May 10, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

With their first offering, Benjamin Harrison and Chrystal Gilles of SynapticGroove set out to fill the gap between heavy effects…

Have Guitar Will Travel 091 – Kenny Vaughan

February 12, 2024 · James Patrick Regan

In Episode 91 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, host James Patrick Regan circles back with Kenny Vaughan, guitarist in Marty…