Brian F. Wright

The Bastard Instrument: A Cultural History of the Electric Bass

May 2, 2025 · Pete Prown

There isn’t enough serious literature about the electric bass, but this book is a worthy contribution. The author takes us…

Crown Lands

Fearless

February 9, 2024 · Pete Prown

This Canadian duo doesn’t disguise its Rush fanaticism. The obvious parallel is Greta Van Fleet, and what that quartet did…

Honkytonk Homage

Guitars Venerate Bakersfield Landmark

April 29, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Country-music fans familiar with the history of Bakersfield, California, know of Trout’s nightclub. The last of the venues that gave…

Andrew Hendryx

Andrew Hendryx – Lesson #1: “Hey Joe” on a mandolin

May 7, 2017 · Andrew Hendryx

In his first exclusive video tutorial for VG Online, Andrew Hendryx uses his Collings MF5 mandolin to show us how to play…

ASIA Symposium

The ASIA Symposium

Kinship and Connections

June 21, 2016 · Dan Erlewine

As much a celebration of kinship as it is an educational forum, the biannual Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (ASIA)…

Fab Four’s Big Three

The Beatles’ “Ed Sullivan Show” Guitars, 50 Years On

November 9, 2015 · Peter Stuart Kohman

For Americans, the legend of the Beatles has a very specific starting moment: 8 p.m., February 9, 1964. That Sunday…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Check This Action: Real Gone for a Change

August 13, 2025 · Dan Forte

“Hold it, fellas.” After languidly singing the first line of “Milk Cow Blues,” Elvis Presley halted the proceedings. “That don’t…

Pop ’N Hiss: Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire

Strife Under Pressure

September 18, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

With a title taken from a Ronald Reagan quip about the Soviet Union, Rage Against The Machine’s second album, Evil…

In Memoriam: Rusty Russell

March 20, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Rusty Russell, a Nashville-based guitarist, songwriter, photographer, and writer who accompanied notable country and jazz musicians in studios and on…

Rik Emmett Fixes it for Us!

January 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Triumph guitarist shows how to properly play four classic songs Plenty of players on socials post video showing how…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

1985 Guild Nightbird Prototype Home Main Big

1985 Guild Nightbird Prototype

March 17, 2016 · George Gruhn

In early 1984, Mark Dronge, son of the Guild founder Alfred Dronge, was president of Guild. That year, Mark and…

Home Feature Image

Buddy Holly’s ’58 Magnatone 280

1958 Magnatone Custom 280

May 13, 2016 · Dave Hunter

When guitarists talk tremolo or vibrato, you can bet the magnificent Magnatone amps will find their way into the conversation.…

Jeff Plankenhorn’s “Alone At Sea”

January 9, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Tasty slide on a square-neck Oahu Singer/songwriter Jeff Plankenhorn’s music is a rootsy mix that embraces blues and pop while…

Cry, Baby!

The Story of the Vox Wah

December 9, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Beyond being crowned “Album of the Century” by Time magazine, Marley and the Wailers’ 1977 LP Exodus is a wah-wah…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

ValveTrain PowerTrain Studio 20

Tube Savior

October 13, 2022 · Pete Prown

We’ve all watched the guitar amp deconstruct before our eyes, as pedals, preamps, and power amps all shrink – and…

The Daddy Mojo Ozark

All But The Kitchen Sink

May 21, 2019 · Bob Cianci

For a decade, Daddy Mojo has been making cigar-box guitars that refine the vibe of those rudimentary instruments. In 2016,…

Area 51 The Alienist Voicing Boost

Manmade Tone Monster

April 24, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Gather ’round, children, for a scary bedtime story. Once upon a time, there was no such thing as a high-gain…

Blackstar Artist 15

All ’Rounder

March 5, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Blackstar’s Artist 15 is a British amp with an American accent. Though designed and built around good ol’ American-flavored 6L6…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Gomez Amplification “G” Reverb

Wet, Hot, or Blue

April 6, 2010 · Phil Feser

As amp builders go, Dario G. Gomez is about as fresh as they come. Though he has been repairing tube…

Jimmy James

Unadulterated Guitar

April 5, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Not even a pandemic can stop the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. After a successful European tour, they were lean, mean,…

TWA Hot Sakè and Dynamorph

Circuit City

April 23, 2019 · Pete Prown

Totally Wycked Audio (TWA) builds a line of cool stompboxes that consistently push the envelope in the right direction. Two…

Dennis Dunaway

Earwigs, Alice, and Beyond

March 20, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Lungs burning, sweat soaking their shaggy hair in the Arizona sun as miles passed beneath their feet, Dennis Dunaway and…

Jazz Trio

Fender’s Geddy Lee Jazz Bass and Ibanez’s Black Eagle Reissue Take On an Icon

March 2, 2017 · Ward Meeker

Though it got most of the looks in the family, Fender’s Jazz Bass is nonetheless the tag-along younger brother to…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest  Timm Kummer

December 23, 2025 · Ram W. Tuli

Season 03 Episode 09 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a…

Steve Boone

Low-end with the Lovin’ Spoonful

September 9, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

 The iconic quartet known as the Lovin’ Spoonful germinated in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the mid ’60s and…

Cedric Burnside

Be Trying

August 11, 2022 · Dean L. Farley

One of 35 grandchildren of the late R.L. Burnside, Cedric grew up in the rundown Holly Springs, Mississippi, home that…

Fretprints: Johnny Meeks

Rock-and-Roll Guitar Pioneer

November 10, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

In the 1950s, “rock” music was a melange of blues, country, and hillbilly that also snared elements from boogie-woogie, gospel,…

Wolf Strat

A Legend’s Guitar, Discovered

December 28, 2017 · Pete Prown

After possessing it for several years, curiosity finally got the best of the owner of this 1963 Stratocaster. He had…

Carvin’s AE185-12

Stairway to Heaven

January 8, 2014 · Pete Prown

Carvin’s AE185-12 Price: $1,239 (base retail) Info: www.carvinguitars.com. Most guitarists love the sound of a 12-string, but the thought of…

Electro-Harmonix Mel9 Tape Replay Effect

In a Mello Tone

March 5, 2019 · Rich Maloof

Producer George Martin was so fond of John Lennon’s tape-relay keyboard that he described it “as if a Neanderthal piano…

Oz Noy

Coming to America

April 27, 2020 · John Heidt

When Oz Noy mov-ed to New York City at age 24 in 1996, he was an established guitarist in his…

Yamaha Weddington Custom

A Better “Classic”

December 9, 2024 · Michael Wright

In 1987, classic American guitars like the Les Paul and Stratocaster were still going strong, with few changes since their…

The Birth of Newman Guitars

September 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

  Newman Guitars was established in Austin, TX in 1977 by Ted Newman Jones. Ted was a pioneer of design…

Cedric Burnside

Be Trying

August 11, 2022 · Dean L. Farley

One of 35 grandchildren of the late R.L. Burnside, Cedric grew up in the rundown Holly Springs, Mississippi, home that…

Fender American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass

Ageless Anchor

August 4, 2024 · Michael Shirek

It wasn’t literally the first electric bass, but Fender’s Precision was the genesis of the instrument the world knows today.…

The Everly Brothers

March 30, 2017 · Dan Forte

If you’re weary of rock concert DVDs with critical commentary, typically unauthorized and of varying quality, this Everly Brothers retrospective…

Have Guitar Will Travel 085 – Michelle Malone

March 31, 2023 · James Patrick Regan

Host James Patrick Regan talks with singer/songwriter Michelle Malone about the inspiration behind her new album, “1977,” and life on…

Hilary Gardner returns with a fresh take on a holiday classic!

December 24, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Hilary Gardner returns! Ready to set the tone for your holidays, Hilary Gardner and her band return for a fantastic…

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5

Pretty, Stunning

January 20, 2016 · Ray Wuolo

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5 Price: $3,199 (list) Contact: www.hullamps.blogspot.com A beat-up ol’ blackface amp can be a thing of beauty,…

Classics – June 2021

February 7, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Rob Harrelson’s first guitar – a Kay 1160 – entered his life as a 14th-birthday gift from his grandmother. At…

Extreme

Six

March 20, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Extreme’s sixth studio album – their first since 2008’s Saudades de Rock – was a long time coming. With only…

Gibson EH-150

An Odd Gibson EH-150

10 Strings, Lap-Style

December 1, 2021 · George Gruhn

Lap-steel guitars were the first commercially available electrics – ancestors of the guitars we plug in today, regardless of their…

Greg Howe

Return to Rock with Maragold

December 10, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Greg Howe continues to evolve, pushing his artistry into fresh territory. One of the most successful artists on Shrapnel Records,…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Doubleneck Redux, Part 2

Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece

October 30, 2025 · Dan Erlewine

In the November issue, we started to refurbish a doubleneck mandolin/guitar I made for Jerry Schafer in 1977. It needed…

Scott Gorham

Heavy Fire

March 14, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

It’s hard out there for a ’70s guitar hero. With the struggles of keeping older fans happy verses the challenge…

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”

March 13, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

This may well be the most desirable Fender Stratocaster on the face of the planet. And it happens to be…

Classics – May 2021

January 25, 2022 · Ward Meeker

This 1940 ES-250 with serial number 96385 left the Gibson factory bound for retailer New York Band on October 25,…