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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…
TC Electronic Spark
Booster Shot
Everyone’s guitar tone sometimes needs a little assistance, especially playing with a band. To the rescue comes the TC Electronic…
Walrus Audio Messner Stage-One Overdrive
Into Thin Air
First off, who the heck is this Messner guy? Well, in 1978, mountaineer Reinhold Messner became the first person to…
The Rickenbacker 4000
The model 4000 was not only Rickenbacker’s first foray into the electric-bass market, it was decidedly different from Fender’s Precision…
Music Man’s JP13
Petrucci Pick
Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes…
Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through The Grunge Explosion
Steve Turner with Adem Tepedelen
Mudhoney never really cashed in on the early-’90s grunge sweepstakes. In fact, its members have largely eschewed the G word.…
2024 May Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Gary Clark, Jr., The Beatles, Deep Purple, Johnny A, Scott Hebderson, Kinga Glyk, D.K. Harrell, Frank…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
1940- 2024
Phil Lesh
The rock world was saddened to learn of bassist Phil Lesh’s death on October 25, at age 84. Perhaps the…
Tyler Morris – Eleanor Rigby
In this series, Tyler Morris will perform music that inspires him, in a laid-back context using just a guitar and…
Arlen Roth
No Stone Unturned
To guitarists raised on his “Hot Licks” instructional video series, session and touring great Arlen Roth is something of a…
Doc Watson
1923-2012
Over a career spanning 52 years, the passage of time only enhanced Doc Watson’s stature. His virtuosity and musical range,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Alive! Guitar Revived
The Tale of Frampton’s ’54 Les Paul Custom
Gifted to Peter Frampton after a 1970 Humble Pie concert at Fillmore West in San Francisco, for years, this ’54…
Hofner 185
Have you heard the line, “If Hendrix had a Magnatone, Strats would be worth $200 now?” A highly debatable proposition,…
Ken Fischer
1945-2006
Although by most estimates he produced fewer than 100 Trainwreck amps, Ken Fischer – tech, designer, and amp-maker – will…
Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1 Basses
Horizontal Vibe
Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 take their design inspiration from Ampeg’s quirky mid-’60s Horizontal Bass series, the brainchild of Dennis…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Fender Bassbreaker 45 Combo
Hybrid Love Child
Fender’s new nine-product Bassbreaker series combines popular traditional amplifiers with modern technology. Classic tones and flexibility are the name of…
McElroy OM Model
OM, Gee!
McElroy OM Model Price: $7,500 (base; $8,500 as reviewed) Info: www.mcelroyguitars.com. Brent McElroy is a Seattle luthier specializing in high-quality…
Eastwood’s Airline Bighorn
Goin’ “Old-Store”
Most everyone has seen a department-store-catalog guitar (or two!) from the ’60s or ’70s. With their funky, cool body shapes…
PRS S2 Custom 24-08
Plentiful Tones
As the youngest of the big three guitar manufacturers, PRS Guitars has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Mr. Sun
Plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite
In 1960, Duke Ellington’s orchestra recorded his reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.” He and arranger Billy Strayhorn took ample liberties…
Blackmore’s Best
To help denote the 45th anniversary of the release of Machine Head, we asked subscribers to Vintage Guitar’s electronic newsletter,…
Dennis Budimir
Renowned studio guitarist Dennis Budimir died in Los Angeles on January 10. He was 84. Early in his career, Budimir’s…
Jerron Paxton
Country-Blues Scholar
Hailing from Los Angeles, Jerron Paxton is a remarkable bluesman, able to conjure sounds of the rural, interwar South through…
