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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…

John Sykes 1959-2024
Remembering a Heavy Hero
The guitar universe was rocked by John Sykes’ death from cancer, December 21 at age 65. Forty years ago, the…

2022 April Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Slash, Myles Kennedy, Ventures’ Don Wilson, J.D. Simo, Isaiah Mitchell, Luther Dickinson, Joe Satriani, Earl Hooker,…

Esperanza Spalding
Popularly known as that cute female jazz bassist with the Afro who bogarted the Best New Artist Grammy away from…

Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly Trio
Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings
Historically, there’ve been two camps of jazz guitar: acoustic Gypsy Django Reinhardt and electric pioneer Charlie Christian. But the swing…

GJM Guitars Tenoroc
Designed To Rock
Road-warrior guitarists with years of gigs under their belt who later design guitars have an advantage over builders without that…

Earthquaker Devices’ Avalanche Run
Test for Echo
The story of Earthquaker Devices begins with Jamie Stillman fixing his own overdrive pedal and then deciding to get into…
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Rising Rockers
Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
In an era when the sub-20-watt combo is arguably the most popular guitar-amp format, it’s worth remembering that several classics of the category emanate from the ’50s. And just as…
ARTISTS

John Notto
L.A. Burner
Dirty Honey is one of the most-exciting bands to emerge in the past few years. The Los Angeles quartet stands…

Dave Murray
Maiden Voyager
After 46 years, Iron Maiden is still reinforcing its stature as a legendary heavy metal band. Senjutsu, the British juggernaut’s…

Thom Douvan
Motown and More
Released in April, guitarist Thom Douvan’s third album, All Over Again, is a mix of self-penned instrumentals (with one notable…

Jules Leyhe says “Start Your Engines”
Greasy, dirty slide on this VG exclusive Jules Leyhe takes his ’61-reissue SG for a slidin’ spin through “Start Your…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Voxmobile
Too Fast to Live, Too Cool to Die
Free love, slick guitars, hot cars! Few pieces of late-’60s pop culture were anywhere near as hip and groovy as…

Gretsch 6119 Tennessean
Chet Atkins was the most important endorser ever employed by the Gretsch company. When introduced in the 1950s, models bearing…

Ram Tuli Crunches Numbers for The Guide
Strats and Data
Combine a knack for numbers with a love of old guitars and you get… well, you might get any of…

Classics: January 2023
Jay Mitzner’s ’53 Gibson Les Paul.
Overhearing his 13-year-old son noodling on a beginner guitar in his bedroom one day in 1958, it occurred to Murray…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Classic Character
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Synth Evo
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Musical, Minimalist
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Big Bottom

Gibson’s J-45 50s Faded
Lore Holder
In the decade leading up to World War II, guitar builders started scaling up their acoustic offerings to meet the…

ZVEX Woolly Mammoth 7
Fuzzy Beast
Zachary Vex masterminds some of the most radical and downright fun pedals known to mankind. And as he states in…

Strobel Rambler Travel Bass
Traveling in Style
As a rule, travel guitars and basses are intended to help one keep up their chops while on the road…

Vox’s AC30CH and V212C Cabinet
Get Back
The Beatles helped popularize Vox amps, and Sir Paul tours with them today because they still have that sound –…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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The Artist’s Way
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Life At Full Speed
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Bass Mechanic

Guild Bluesbird
Flyin’ High Again
The Guild Bluesbird has a long history that began in the 1950s with Guild’s answer to the Gibson Les Paul…

William Peale, Jr. Gibson Super 400
Sharp-Shooter Special
The iconic “singing cowboy” was created by Hollywood actors like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and others. Many used…

The Gibson SJ-200
Long Live The King
Introduced in 1937, Gibson’s Super Jumbos radiated star power and quickly became the guitar of choice for those who wanted…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 10
Saga of The Lost Supersounds
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…










































