-
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…

Paul “Mayo” Mayasich
The latest from guitarist Paul Mayasich and his band of buddies is an eclectic mix of American music. You get…

Josh Smith
Swingin’ Hard
Josh Smith has been very busy. When he’s not on tour or sharing production duties with Joe Bonamassa for artists…

“Unicorn”: Ca. 1910 Rafael Casana
This extremely rare guitar has been dubbed the “Unicorn” by virtue of the fact that for all his fame, it…

Joel Hoekstra
Road Warrior
The busiest man in hard rock, Joel Hoekstra spends his life touring, recording, and jamming with Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Iconic,…

Naia Izumi
Intuitive Artistry
It’s difficult to pigeonhole the music of Naia Izumi, a singer/songwriter who’s also one of the most uncanny guitarists around.…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 1
Beginnings – The Early 1960s
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
-
Reverend Sensei H90
Live Wire
So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and…
ARTISTS

Have Guitar Will Travel 087 – Rhys Lewis and Chase Mitchell
HGWT episode 87 has host James Patrick Regan speaking with singer/songwriters Rhys Lewis and Chase Mitchell. Rhys grew up in…

Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker
“Blue Mirror” jam from “The Weight of the World” Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker grabbed his pearl-front Zemaitis…

Pop ’N Hiss: Dio’s Holy Diver
Divine Metal
Vocalist Ronnie James Dio was on a roll as he formed the band that would record his 1983 album Holy…

Steve Howe
Yes: In The Present
Progressive-rock icons Yes are still going strong after more than 40 years of recording and performing. Throughout their reign as…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Built to Survive
Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression
In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely…

VG Q&A: Fret Differential
And Examining Two Budget Archtops
Can someone please explain the differences between playing an instrument with jumbo frets versus one with smaller/shorter frets? – John Mackey…

Gibson’s Crest Models
Gibson has produced two guitars bearing the “Crest” name. While both designs date to the 1960s, they’re very different instruments.…

Gibson Les Paul Spotlight Special
Unlocking the Mystery
It was 1983, and Gibson was in the throes of its darkest days. Norlin Industries had incurred excessive debt, sales…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight

DryBell’s The Engine
British Splendor
Customers like John Mayer and Mike Landau have helped put DryBell Musical Laboratory effects on some of the world’s biggest…
Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust, Splash MKII, and Pin Up Fuzz
Pure Sanity
Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust, Splash MKII, and Pin Up Fuzz Price: $290 (splash MKll); $260 (Pin Up Fuzz); $235 (Stardust)…

GJ2 Arete 5-Star
Monster of Rock
Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $3,999 Info: www.gj2guitars.com. Grover Jackson is a name forever associated with classic metal and…

McGregor Pedals’ Crunch and Crunch Plus
Transparent Pair
McGregor Pedals founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Mad Scientist” Garth McGregor Heslop hand-wires pedals in his Vancouver shop. Two of them…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
Consentrik Quartet
-
Lookout Highway

Carl Verheyen
On <em>Mustang Run</em> and Making a CD that Lasts
Fresh off a 42-show/13-country European tour with his own band, Supertramp guitarist and L.A. studio ace Carl Verheyen has just…

Rex Solidbody
Italian Connection
An internet search for “Rex guitars” will turn up a fair – if confusing – amount of information about the…

Harden Rodeo Boost
Yippee-Ki-Yay
Known for building some of the coolest guitars to roll out of Indiana, Harden Engineering recently expanded its line with…

The Surfrajettes
On ’Board
The Surfrajettes delight their fans with the perfect wave of jangly guitars, kooky kitsch, and ’60s fashion. After several years…









































