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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…

Banjo Master Tony Trischka Plays “Chinese Breakdown”
Prime “Earl Jam” sample! One of the most influential figures in roots music, Tony Trischka, master of the five-string, shows…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Doubleneck Redux, Part 2
Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
In the November issue, we started to refurbish a doubleneck mandolin/guitar I made for Jerry Schafer in 1977. It needed…

Donner DST-700 Hyper
Value City
It’s often the case that guitars with roasted necks cost more than gloss poly finishes, but Donner is challenging that…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland Season 01 Episode 10 In Episode 10 of VG’s “Buy That…

Strymon Iridium Amp & IR Cab
Model Citizen
It can be tough, living in the golden age of gear tech. Which piece of amazing equipment to get next?…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Nate Westgor
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Nate Westgor Season 01 Episode 01 In Episode 1 of “Buy That Guitar,”…
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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,…
ARTISTS

Dewa Budjana
Fusion/Progressive/World Music from Indonesia
Back home in Bali, Indonesia, guitarist Dewa Budjana is noted for his work with the pop band Gigi, but recently,…

Jack Bruce
Surging Septuagenarian
Bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, who turned 71 in May, recently released Silver Rails, his first solo album in a decade, with…

Rich Robinson
Back on the Wing
Rich Robinson. All photos by Neil Zlozower. Emerging as grunge began casting a metaphorical pall over the pop music landscape…

Ghalia Volt’s Stompin’ slide!
Belgium Born, Delta Fostered Brussels native Ghalia Volt moved to the U.S. in 2013 to busk in music-rich cities like…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Ray Butts EchoSonic
If you want to talk star-user ratio, the Ray Butts EchoSonic is near the top of the heap. Most accounts…

Fender‘s 50th Anniversary Strat
Height of the Reissue
In celebration of the 50th “birthday” of its famous Stratocaster model, Fender has taken the reissue concept to new heights.…
Gizmotron
Most Bizarre Guitar Effect of All Time?
Led Zeppelin’s final studio album, 1979’s In Through The Out Door, opens with an eerie, otherworldly drone that weaves and…

Classics: February 2024
Sean Slade’s 1964 SG Junior
They might not seem to have a ton in common aside from first names. J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr.’s co-founder and…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-M
Satisfying Source
Can’t get no satisfaction from your fuzz pedal? Step back to the source, with Maestro’s new Fuzz-Tone. The FZ-M is…

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5
Pretty, Stunning
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,…

Eastwood MRG Lap Steel
Slide Piece
Now more than 90 years old, the lap steel was the earliest example of an electric guitar and remains a…

Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423
Classic Comeback
Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423 Price: $739 list/$479 street (1423); $629 list/$399 street (1449) Info: www.silvertoneclassic.com With an up-swell of interest…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Blues Player of the Year
Joe Bonamassa Awarded in 2018 Joe Bonamassa can be safely filed in the “force of nature” category. Thirty years ago,…

The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face
Fuzz Buzz
There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations…

Mike Lipe Virtuoso
Back to the Future
Mike Lipe Virtuoso Price: $4,000 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has built guitars for top players and guitar…

Jethro Tull
Released in the summer of 1969, Stand Up was Tull’s first album with guitarist Martin Barre and showed them honing…











































