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Taylor® Guitars Kicks Off 2026 With Two Major Launches – The Next Generation Of Its Flagship Grand Auditorium Guitars And New Gold Label Square-Shoulder Dreadnoughts
Taylor upgrades its most iconic models, adding “Next Generation” features to its Grand Auditorium body shape while expanding its recently introduced Gold Label Collection with traditional, square-shoulder dreadnoughts EL CAJON,…
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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
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…
Kenny Lovelace
The Killer’s Axe Man
Playing behind the Killer, you wouldn’t want to hit a wrong note. Kenny Lovelace has picked his guitar with Jerry…
Jake Andrews
Train Back Home
In his early 40s now, for some folks around Austin, he’ll always be “Guitar Jake.” When Andrews was eight years…
In Memoriam: Leslie West
1944-2020
Leslie West, guitarist/frontman in the pioneering hard-rock band Mountain, died December 22, 2020, after going into cardiac arrest. He was…
John Mayer
Sob Rock
John Mayer’s latest is a somber ode to the soft-rockin’ ’80s – think Henley and Hornsby. But don’t start eye-rolling…
The Gretsch 1955-’61 White Falcon
Jimmie Webster’s Master Showpiece
Mike Campbell: Rick Gould. When it came to fancy electric guitars in the early/mid 1950s, Gibson’s Super 400 was ensconced…
Classics: September 2022
Danny Gatton’s ES-295
Glenn Holley was just five years old when he became infatuated with the sound of rockabilly music thanks to Elvis…
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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…
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CURRENT ISSUE
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ARTISTS
Paul Nelson
Sideman Steps Out
Manhattan native Paul Nelson has been influenced by many great guitarists – some of whom gave him lessons, gigs, and/or…
Mick Taylor
Shedding Light on the Genius of Mick Taylor
The mid/late 1960s were a fertile and progressive time for rock guitar, with “Swinging London” serving as the birthplace and…
João Erbetta: Eclectic instrumentalist
Five-guitar run on “Bubbles” João Erbetta’s all-instrumental album, “Los Angeles,” is eclectic and quirky. Here, the guitarist/banjoist/bassist/keyboardist/steel-guitarist plays five guitars…
Steve Stevens
Return of the Ray-Gun Ace
Best known as Billy Idol’s guitar ace for the past 25 years, Steve Stevens won early fame for Idol’s 1983…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
National Style 3 Hawaiian
Metal-bodied guitars built by the National String Instrument Company before World War II represent a giant leap in guitar design…
Meet The GitWik
Cooperative Cognition
When it comes to identifying guitars, basses, amps, and effects, nobody knows it all. Anyone save for the true specialist,…
The Schaffer-Vega Diversity System
Making Rock Roll
“ The best thing I ever did in the beginning was not use effects,” AC/DC’s Angus Young told VG in…
Prodigal Sunburst
Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard
A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Homestead Amps HS50
Tone On The Range
So, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Waylon Jennings walk into a bar… No, wait, they walk into a NAMM Show. And,…
Danelectro Baby Sitar
Paint It Sunburst
Legend has it that during a break in the filming of Help!, George Harrison picked up a sitar left behind…
Friedman Motor City Drive & Fuzz Fiend
Sonic Rapture
An innovative designer, builder, and repairman, Dave Friedman has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry,…
Tech 21’s SansAmp Classic
Right The First Time
Every so often, new gear arrives that reminds us all how some builders got it right the first time –…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Revisiting Room 335
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides
Gibson’s 1941 SJ-100
Second Coming
Gibson 1941 SJ-100 Price: $3,868 (list)/$2,999 (street) Info: www.gibson.com Sporting a unique “stair step” headstock, the first Gibson SJ-100s began…
Blackstar Amped 2
Satisfying Sounds
Blackstar’s entry to the growing market of “all in one” compact amplifier/effects units claims to offer a high degree of…
Blackstar ID:30TVP
Tone in the Digital Domain
Blackstar ID:30TVP Price: $399.99 Info: www.blackstarampsx.com. Since forming in 2007, Blackstar has been building user-friendly amplifiers and attracting high-profile artists…
Radial Tonebone Shotgun and Mix-Blender
Swiss-Army Stompboxes
Whether it’s due to shrinking pedalboard real estate, shrinking discretionary budgets, or both, stompboxes that serve more than one function…
