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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

RnR Hall of Famer Richie Furay and his gorgeous ’53 Gibson J-200!
Buffalo Springfield/Poco Founder Covers a Country Favorite Richie Furay and his ’53 SJ-200 share a glimpse of their bucolic space…

Martin 0-28K
The exotic figuration of Hawaiian koa wood on this Martin 0-28K from 1923 has a visual appeal that matched the…

Pop ’N Hiss: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s (Pronounced ‘Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’)
Down-South Guitar Assault
By early 1973, “Southern Rock” had come into its own, spearheaded by Capricorn Records and its keystone act, the Allman…

Brennen Leigh’s Heart-Tugging Honky-Tonk
Shades of Norman Blake and Dolly Parton A student of the “Carter Scratch” guitar technique – melody on the low…

Unsung: The Story of Marlo Henderson
The creation of great music is almost always a collaborative effort. From session players to engineers, producers, arrangers, and marketing…

Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…
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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

Pop ’N Hiss: Joe Satriani’s Surfing With The Alien
Spacey Hang Ten
The ’80s were teeming with music ranging from pop-metal to new wave, thrash metal, blues revivals, and the New Romantic…
Paul Nelson
Main Man to the Blues Man
Paul Nelson is not only Johnny Winter’s second guitarist, but the blues icon’s musical director, producer, songwriter, and – many…

Samantha Fish
Blues Belle Stretches Out
In 2012, Samantha Fish’s Runaway was named Best Artist Debut at the Blues Music Awards. Known for her energetic blues-rock…

Steve Vai
Rock-Star DNA
Recorded in 1991, Steve Vai’s Gash is an homage to his rock-and-roll past. It’s also a passion project celebrating the…
CLASSIC 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…

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford and the Martin Style 00-44G
Special Signature
Of the nearly 200 artists who have been granted a “signature” Martin guitar, only one was given their own style…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 6
1964: Nu-Sonics and Transistor Trials
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

Robin’s ’80s Import Basses
While the Robin guitar brand’s reverse “imported then domestic” chronology has been documented in this space, the basses shown here…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Taylor 814ce
New Life at 40
Taylor 814ce Price: $4,378 (list); $3,399 (street) Info: www.taylorguitars.com Of all the guitars in Taylor’s product line, the 814ce is…

The Iris Guitar Dan Erlewine DE-11
Renaissance Reimagined
Among the famous names in American guitar lore is Dan Erlewine – guitarist, builder, VG columnist and editorial consultant, and…

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…

Tech 21’s SansAmp Classic
Right The First Time
Every so often, new gear arrives that reminds us all how some builders got it right the first time –…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Fender’s Duel Pugilist Distortion & Dual Marine Layer Reverb
Double Trouble
Fender launched its Pugilist Distortion and Marine Layer Reverb in 2018, after VP of Innovation Stan Cotey – who’d previously…

Eric Johnson
Rescued Relics
For nearly 50 years, Eric Johnson has been a revered guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and vocalist whose music expands far beyond the…

Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter
Tremolo Transformed
Tremolo is a simple effect: the amplitude, or volume, of an incoming signal is raised and lowered in pulsating waves.…
Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz
A Good Buzz
Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz Price: $280 retail/$199 street (TightFuzz); $310 retail, $219 street (Bass TightFuzz) Info: www.amptweaker.com. Since the…










































