• 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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Tinsley Ellis

Tinsley Ellis

Tougher Than Ever

March 22, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

After decades of roadhouses, bars, and international touring, bluesman Tinsley Ellis is still going strong. A 1979 graduate of Emory…

Colby Dual Tone Booster 50

Double Versatile

August 12, 2014 · Tom Guerra

Colby DTB50 Price: $3,800 (head); $750 (cabinet) Contact: www.colbyamps.com From 1978 through 2010, Mitch Colby helped Marshall become a preeminent…

Budda’s Chakra and ZenMan Pedals

Zen and the Art of Tone Maintenance

April 14, 2014 · Pete Prown

Budda’s Chakra and ZenMan Pedals Price: $149.99 Contact: www.budda.com Best known in guitar circles as an admired amp builder, Budda…

Penco A-15-JD

July 29, 2023 · Michael Wright

The 1970s is often called “the Copy Era” for the dominating presence and spectacular success of Japanese “copies” of popular…

Mick Taylor’s ’58 Les Paul Standard

The Ya Ya’s Out!

July 3, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Hard-edged face of the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones introduced the world to the implements, trappings, and accessories of rock-and-roll…

Rush

Moving Pictures 40th Anniversary

March 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

If “The Spirit of Radio” helped Rush kick open the door to FM radio, its 1981 follow-up elevated them to…

  • Greg Koch

    Greg Koch

    Blues

    The Gristle Master returns with scintillating blues and the influences that made him the six-string slayer he is today. On this live recording, Koch uses an array of guitars including…

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ARTISTS

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…

Gene Simmons

Night Vision

August 31, 2023 · Bret Adams

Between stints on its lengthy End of the Road farewell tour, Kiss has been issuing an Off the Soundboard series…

Aldo Nova

Fully Engaged

February 7, 2023 · Bret Adams

I did a lot of disappearing acts in my career. And when I disappear, I disappear,” Aldo Nova says with…

Dave Mustainen

Alive and Shredding

June 5, 2023 · Bret Adams

One of the most rugged, resilient rock musicians ever, Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine is a thrash-metal pioneer who has weathered…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The story of the Martin F-50

December 24, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric…

GIBSON FIREBIRDS

Gibson Firebirds

May 4, 2015 · R.K. Watkins

Say the words “custom color” to a collector or enthusiast and most will think of “Fender.” But Gibson had its…

“Boogie Mod” Dual Showman

January 2, 2026 · Dave Hunter

What do you do when the humble blackface Bandmaster you acquired sight-unseen turns out to harbor one of rock’s hottest…

Electra MPC

Standard X340

November 1, 2013 · Michael Wright

One of the more successful Japanese-made guitar brands of the 1970s was Electra, the brand name used for electric guitars…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT

Shagadelic

July 21, 2014 · Pete Prown

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT Price: $799 (guitar); $899 (bass) Info: www.musicvox.com. Popularized in film and television, Musicvox Spacerangers…

Knaggs Guitars’ Steve Stevens Signature Model

Rebel Yell

February 3, 2014 · Pete Prown

Knaggs Guitars’ Steve Stevens Signature Model Price: $6,000 Contact: www.knaggsguitars.com Everyone wants to build a better mousetrap, and those who…

Fuchs Audio Technology Full House-50 Combo

The Art of the Deal

December 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

The Fuchs Full House-50 1×12 is a compact amp that strives to deliver a range of tones in a small…

Carr Bel-Ray 1×12

Brit-Based Invasion

December 23, 2024 · Charlie Wilkins

Carr Amplifiers are renowned for their build quality and vintage-inspired tones. Not one to rest on his laurels, founder Steve…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Fretprints: Jimi Hendrix

The Creation of Are You Experienced?

May 13, 2025 · Wolf Marshall

It was a bio-pic fantasy. The scene: Outside a London venue where Jimi Hendrix is performing for the first time.…

Stephen Ulrich

One-Man Band

December 13, 2023 · Pete Prown

New York-based guitarist Stephen Ulrich is known for the suspenseful “crime jazz” and surf-rock tones of his instrumental trio, Big…

Pete Anderson

How to Produce a Record: A Player’s Philosophy for Making a Great Recording

March 20, 2024 · Sean McDevitt

Known as longtime musical partner and guitar ace with country singer Dwight Yoakam. But, his real claim to fame might…

The Minus 5 and the Monkees

Monkee Business

August 2, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

The 1960s – that halcyon decade which Americans today are most inclined to reconsider with dewy eyes – is in…

Marshall 2100 Lead & Bass

Rock Breaker

February 1, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Adescendant of the legendary “Bluesbreaker” combo that helped launch the cranked-Marshall sound into the annals of rock, the 2100 combo…

Jimmy Leslie

From the Bay to the Swamp and Back

November 4, 2020 · John Heidt

“My intention was to do more of a singer/songwriter thing,” Jimmy Leslie says of his new CD, Surfin’ the Swamp.…

Larry Campbell

All-Americana Multi-Instrumentalist

February 24, 2017 · Dan Forte

You’ve probably seen his face, and maybe even watched his hair and beard go from black to gray. Whether it’s…

2021 July Issue on Spotify

June 23, 2021 · Doug Yellow Bird

This This month we feature Blackberry Smoke, Mark O’Connor, Steve Cropper, Ian Crichton, Jane Getter, Jesse Aycock, Ally Venable, Al…

Check This Action: Remembering David Lindley

March 16, 2024 · Dan Forte

Much has been written about David Lindley since the 78-year-old passed away on March 3 of complications from long Covid.…

The Original ES-150

How Gisbson Won The ES War

December 14, 2020 · Andre R. Duchossoir

The story of the ES-150, Gibson’s first commercially successful electric guitar, has been told many times, and its association with…

1980 Renaissance T-200G Home thumb

Renaissance T-200G

January 8, 2014 · Michael Wright

What is it about Plexiglas? It’s so cool. You can see through it onstage. It’s dense, yet resonant. You’d think…

Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane

Rough Mix, Pete Townshend, Empty Glass

June 20, 2024 · Bret Adams

Two important Townshend solo albums have received their long-awaited vinyl reissue. Internal friction gnawed at the Who in the mid…

This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick

Brian J. Kramp

September 12, 2023 · Bret Adams

Bearing an incredibly accurate subtitle, the story told here is presented mostly as an oral history, loaded with minutiae about…

Jonathan Pearce

Kiwi Krunch

June 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

Hailing from New Zealand, the Beths play crackling power pop fronted by singer/guitarist Liz Stokes with Jonathan Pearce on lead…

Mike Campbell

Fat-Free Rock and Roll

March 30, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

On External Combustion, Mike Campbell pours on the boogie, pens spellbinding ditties, and leans into a live sound. With ancestral…

The Guitars of Ernst Heinrich Roth

International Influence

December 21, 2023 · Cliff Hall

Now just a sleepy town in Germany, over the last 200 years, Markneukirchen has been home to countless luthiers ranging…

The Peavey HP2

Best Of Both Worlds

February 9, 2022 · Pete Prown

Introduced in 1996, the EVH Wolfgang was an evolution of Eddie Van Halen’s previous models from Music Man, Kramer, and…

Jorge Glem: Cuatro Mastery

April 6, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Brooklyn-Cumaná Jorge Glem uses his Venezualan cuatro to show us some of “Matapalo y Fuga,” from his new duet album…

Walrus Audio Eons Five-State Fuzz

November 13, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Hot on the heels of its Ages Five-State Overdrive and Eras Five-State Distortion, Walrus Audio has unleashed the Eons Five-State…

Steve Hillage

Echoes of Earlier Times

April 18, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Steve Hillage has followed his muse through 40 years making music as a member of the psychedelic band Gong, a…

GIFFIN VITKA

Giffin Vikta

Feelin’ Special

March 20, 2014 · Pete Prown

Giffin Vikta Price: $2,295 Contact: premierbuildersguild.com. Roger Giffin is a guitarmaker to the stars, having built for Eric Clapton, Pete…

Earthquaker Devices’ Avalanche Run

Test for Echo

July 5, 2018 · Zac Childs

The story of Earthquaker Devices begins with Jamie Stillman fixing his own overdrive pedal and then deciding to get into…

Gibson Marauder M-1

June 8, 2023 · Michael Wright

Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck…

Rickenbacker Guitars: Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fireglo

Martin Kelly and Paul Kelly

January 17, 2023 · Michael Dregni

At long last, Rickenbacker gets the treatment it deserves, with this glorious large, comprehensive, and colorful history of the guitars,…

Glenn Phillips

Cult-Guitar Icon

April 18, 2019 · Pete Prown

For more than 40 years, Glenn Phillips has been an underground hero of the guitar. His solo albums, unusual choices…

Familiar Names Create Music as J&B Brothers

Austin-Powered

May 29, 2019 · Pete Prown

The J&B Brothers make a sound equal parts Texas country, blues, folkie, rock, jazz, and soul – the spices that…

Fretprints: Steve Khan

Khan-sequential Guitar

April 8, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him…

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…

Rybski Cougar

Wild Cat

December 22, 2015 · Zac Childs

Rybiski Cougar Price: $3,850 Info: www.rybskiguitars.com. Before moving to the United States, Rybski founder Slawomir Waclawik repaired and built upright…