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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…
Bloom
Larkin Poe
Grammy-winning sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell deliver an album that continues their trajectory into rural soundcapes and bluesy, heartfelt authenticity.…
Newman Guitars Lake Placid Blue
Portrait in Blue
Excitement at the arrival of this offset beauty was dampened by the sad news that its creator had passed away…
The Roland Space Echo
Perfect Slap-Back
When Brian Setzer kickstarted the Stray Cats into action in 1979, his gear lineup was a hodgepodge of orthodox rockabilly…
Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story
Paul Salley
When a former Beatle name-checks you before a guitar solo on your very first recording with the band, you must…
Fretprints: Jack Wilkins
Farewell to a Modern Jazz Master
Jazz guitar recently lost one of the great ones. Jack Wilkins, champion of modern traditionalism (or is it traditional modernism?)…
Jeff Beck
Blow By Blow
What is jazz? What is rock? These questions perpetually confound and divide music experts and listeners. Similar spirited debates have…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
Louie Shelton
Gold Coast Gigmeister
On August 16, 1966, the Beatle-esque guitar riff that opens “Last Train To Clarksville” crackled out of radios across America…
Steve Kimock flashes back to Zero
Amazing improv on “End of World Blues” We review the reissued 1992 album “Naught Again” by Zero, a band that…
Snowy White
British Blues Deluxe
There’s a reason Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, and Roger Waters secured the services of Snowy White – his extraordinarily soulful…
Joe Long’s “stack-knob” Fender Jazz Bass
If you’re a fan or aficionado of vintage instruments, odds are that any early-’60s Fender Jazz Bass catches your eye.…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
Silver Serenade
Amplifier collectors swarm to models with descriptors like “first year” and “golden age,” but other types can be far more…
The Watkins Dominator
Crying V
Is there any more stylish vintage amp than the V-front Watkins Dominator? This creation is delightfully twee yet utterly enticing…
Martin’s “12-Fret” 000-42
Martin has never been a stranger to producing certain guitars in very limited quantities. But just how rare is the…
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…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
EHX Cock Fight and Key9
Pedalin’ To The Past
When it comes to sweet retro tones, the wizards at Electro-Harmonix (EHX) have been busy again, turning out a fresh…
Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro
Game Changer
Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro Price: $299 (list) Contact: www.robertkeeley.com Studio-quality dynamic control at your feet is a luxury that guitarists…
Positive Grid Spark Go
Ready, Set…
Following the success of its highly portable Spark and Spark Mini practice amps, Positive Grid went really small with the…
Valco FX Five-0
Garage Band
The Valco FX Five-0 was conceived as “Dick Dale in a box.” Offering overdrive, reverb, and tremolo – each with…
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Etched in Time
“Signature” Gibsons from the Early Days of Cable
In 1984, Christian Roebling went from being just another guy watching TV to creating what was likely the first television…
Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in…
FOMOfx Virtual Jeff Pro
Whammy For All
On most guitars, installing a traditional vibrato is a task ranging from difficult to impossible. And even done right, mechanical…
Colby Amplification Park 45
Put It Here
Colby Amplification Park 45 Price: $2,500 (list) Contact: www.colbyamps.com There are legends that gear fanatics all know, and then there…
