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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…
Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295
First Guitar of Rock and Roll
Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the…
Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking
Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking Chris Bergson used his ’60s Teisco to play a bit of his tune, “Hector and…
Eric Krasno
Front Man
Because Eric Krasno isn’t quite busy enough performing 188 dates a year with Soulive, moonlighting with the band Lettuce, or…
Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 FR E HSS
Ultimate Hod Rod
Designed more than 30 years ago, the latest incarnation of Charvel’s Pro-Mod So-Cal keeps the “super” in superstrat. An eye-catching,…
Kay-Ta Matsuno’s fluid fingerstyle
Raised on classical, inspired by movie music Lovers of fingerstyle likely know the music of Kay-Ta Matsuno. For the uninitiated,…
Henriksen’s The Bud
This One’s For You
In theory, a big guitar amp should sound larger than a smaller one. Then there’s Henriksen’s The Bud. Based on…
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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
Honkytonk Homage
Guitars Venerate Bakersfield Landmark
Country-music fans familiar with the history of Bakersfield, California, know of Trout’s nightclub. The last of the venues that gave…
Tom Keifer
Thick and Thin
Tom Keifer is a tad young to be on the (very) long list of musicians inspired first and foremost by…
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
License To Thrill
To a generation of music fans, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter was one of the most recognizable guitarists of the early ’70s.…
Steve Carr
Twenty-Five Years of Tonemaking
In the mid ’90s, Steve Carr was a guitarist playing weekends and working weeknights as a waiter in a swank…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Big Beat Boys
Musings on Fab and Gear, 50 Years Ago
Americans tend to link the beginnings of the Beatles phenomenon to a specific date – February 9, 1964, when the…
Building a Studio
The Art of Home Recording
VG will equip readers with the knowledge and skill to achieve professional-sounding home recordings. We guide you through the setup…
Geddy Lee
Bass Conservator
In its 40-plus years, Rush evolved on its own terms. Mixing rock and jazz influences, the band’s 19 studio albums…
Ditson’s Style 11 and the Birth of the Dreadnought
Martin’s Big Step
In the early 20th century, any shopper who walked into the Charles H. Ditson & Company music stores in New…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Reilander’s Muckbucker Pickups
Fat, But Not Tubby
Reilander’s Muckbucker Pickups Price: $199 (set) Info: www.reilandercustomguitar.com In the 1970s, great guitar-pickup winders began wrapping extra wire on humbuckers,…
Preston Thompson 00-45
New Old Vintage
Given their scarcity, few mortal pickers will ever own a pre-war Martin 00 or 000 with 45-level appointments. But a…
Musicvox Space Cadet USB 30″ Custom
Short-Scale Slugger
Don’t be confused by the USB in this four-string’s name – there’s no computer-cable hookup. Instead, USB stands for “ultimate…
Guild Jetstar
High Flyer
In 1964, Guild launched its original Jetstar as the company’s budget-friendly solidbody. With a more-conventional shape than the S-200 Thunderbird…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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All I Got and Gone
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Consentrik Quartet
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Lookout Highway
Clapton’s Fool
History’s Greatest Guitar?
Eric Clapton’s The Fool. A name immediately recognizable to guitarists, yet baffling to others. What is Clapton’s Fool? Very simply,…
Ally Venable
Heart of Texas
On her fourth album, Ally Venable serves up a heaping helping of poignant songs wrapped in Texas-style blues-rock. Ballsy wah…
TWA Hot Sakè and Dynamorph
Circuit City
Totally Wycked Audio (TWA) builds a line of cool stompboxes that consistently push the envelope in the right direction. Two…
Have Guitar Will Travel – 026 Featuring Ron Thorn
“Have Guitar Will Travel” host James Patrick Regan speaks with Ron Thorn, Principal Masterbuilder at the Fender Custom Shop. Before…
