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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…
Pet Sounds and the Birth of Psychedelic Sunshine
Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Scott Gorham
Still Dangerous!
Scott Gorham in the ’70s. Photo: Denis O’Regan. Thin Lizzy was formed in 1969 by bassist/frontman Phil Lynott and drummer…
Jules Leyhe
Bottleneck Breakout
Forget everything you know about slide guitar. Jules Leyhe just upended the genre on Your First Rodeo, an instrumental set…
David Bromberg
Testifying for the Blues
Jerry Jeff Walker said it best. Describing David Bromberg’s contribution to Walker’s trademark 1968 song, “Mr. Bojangles,” he said simply…
James Burton
In rural Louisiana in the early 1950s, it was no small feat when a family scraping by to survive bought…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Charlie Starr: Open-Tuning Magic on “Azalea”
Blackberry Smoke frontman on a vintage Gibson Enjoy a bit of the supremely tasty “Azalea,” played by Charlie Starr and…
O’Hagan Guitars
Jaws Invades the Upper Mississippi
By the shores of Gitche Gumee, Minnehaha gives a little yelp of surprise. There, just behind Mary Tyler Moore, cutting…
New Lease on Life
The Sound of Rock Gets a Brush-Up
If restoring dusty, neglected old tube amps built more than half a century ago isn’t challenging enough, restoring amps with…
Fender Deluxe Reverb
Vintage Guitar magazine Hall of Fame 2011 Instrument
In the June ’07 issue of VG, amp profiler extraordinaire Dave Hunter said of the Fender Deluxe Reverb, “If guitarists…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Music Man’s JP13
Petrucci Pick
Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes…
Dr Z Z-28 MK II 1×12
Step On It!
If you’ve driven a classic muscle car like the Camaro Z28, you know that when you step on the gas,…
Carvin’s AE185-12
Stairway to Heaven
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…
Juke 1210
Tonal Treat
Amp purists may have a tough time dealing with Warbler/Juke’s 1210. Until they hear it! The 1210 is unique both…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
