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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…
Vox Pacemaker V-3
1965 Vox Pacemaker v-3 Preamp tubes: three Mullard ECC83 (12AX7) Output tubes: two Mullard EL84, cathode-biased, no negative feedback Rectifier:…

Gator Cases MiniVault
Rolling Rack
Every gigging guitarist who lugs their own gear (so, 95 percent of us) knows firsthand how instrument cases take a…

Ernie Ball Music Man Luke3
Cool-Hand Luke
The latest model in Ernie Ball Music Man’s Steve Lukather signature series was designed to answer Lukather’s demand for an…

Eric Clapton in Mayall’s Blues Breakers
A God is Born
John Mayall Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton casts a long shadow in the annals of modern music. Released in 1966,…

Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus 50th Anniversary
Mr. Clean
The Roland Corporation was born in 1972 and just a few years later introduced its landmark Jazz Chorus JC-120 amplifier.…

In Memoriam: Lasse Wellander
Lasse Wellander, longtime guitarist in ABBA and a renowned studio and solo musician, died April 7. He was 70 and…
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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 came early and their lap steels set standards of quality,…
ARTISTS

Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers Change Gears
It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says…

Phil Collen
A Rock Cat Plays the Blues
In the eyes of many, there’s quite a difference between arena rock and blues rock. But not to Phil Collen,…
Steve Cropper
Homage to Lowman Pauling
All but forgotten today, with his low-slung guitar, stylish rhythm licks, and tasty leads, Lowman Pauling was one of the…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Blues From the Backroads
Stepping into the spotlight to play the blues with the classic bands that backed Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, most…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Renaissance T-200G
What is it about Plexiglas? It’s so cool. You can see through it onstage. It’s dense, yet resonant. You’d think…

VG Q&A: Odd Dots
Import fretboard markers, and Kay’s Model 1961
In the mid ’60s, why did some Japanese electric-guitar manufacturers put the marker on the 10th fret rather than the…

Martin 5-18
The Martin style 5-18 is the smallest guitar in Martin catalogs; at the lower bout, it measures 11.25″, while at…
Standard in Custom
Schecter’s Custom Shop Marks 35 Years
Riding high after 35 years with an array of original instruments, an impressive artist roster that started early with Pete…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100
Playpen Power
For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Baby introduced a few years back with a new trio –…

Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-M
Satisfying Source
Can’t get no satisfaction from your fuzz pedal? Step back to the source, with Maestro’s new Fuzz-Tone. The FZ-M is…

Golden Age Pre-73 MkIII, Ear Trumpet Edwina, and Avantone CR-14
The Front End
Strike up a conversation with anyone who records music and they’ll talk your ear off about mics and preamps. If…

The Vox Bobcat V90
Feral Feline
In the Swinging ’60s, Vox guitars were all the rage, particularly among British and European players. Though stylish and visually…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Edgar Winter
Tribute to “Brother Johnny”
Edgar Winter describes making Brother Johnny in tribute to his late brother, blues-rock guitar icon Johnny Winter, as “one of…
Arbiter Fuzz Face
When Jimi Hendrix released his first album, 1967’s Are You Experienced, he launched a new level of guitar heroics as…

Have Guitar Will Travel 090 – Happy Fits and Greensky Bluegrass
In Ep 90 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with band members from Happy Fits and…

Dudley Taft
Raucous, Righteous Blues
With the recent release of his third solo album, Screamin’ in the Wind, guitarist Dudley Taft is serving notice that…













































