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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…
Henry Garza
From Tragedy to Revelation
Los Lonely Boys’ new album, Revelation, draws from several influences while retaining the band’s Texas/Mexican identity. Collaborating with a group…
Dan Wilson’s celebration of jazz legends
Homage with Superb Musicality On his latest album, “Things Eternal,” jazz wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs…
Michael Bloomfield’s ’63 Telecaster
This Guitar Killed Folk!
A silver-spoon teen who loved sneaking into Chicago’s southside blues clubs, Michael Bloomfield reveled in absorbing all he could from…
Jeff Waters
Canadian Thrash-Metal Veteran
Trends come and go, but Canadian rockers Annihilator always deliver crushing speed metal. Their newest release, Triple Threat, is aimed…
Canned Heat
Finyl Vinyl
In the mid/late ’60s, the top American groups of the Blues Revival were Chicago’s Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Los…
Julien Kasper
Non-Traditional Jazz
Berklee School of Music guitar professor Julien Kasper isn’t fond of having his music called “fusion,” especially given the connotation…
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…
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ARTISTS
Fretprints: Ted Greene
Solo Guitarist Extraordinaire
Few guitarists enjoy the adulation bestowed on Ted Greene. A legend who coaxed unimaginable sounds from a humble Telecaster and…
Anne McCue
Comes Into Her Own
As impressive as 2004’s Roll was, the eclectic Koala Motel (on Messenger Records) represents a major step up in Anne…
Billy Bauer
Jazz Guitar’s Hidden Giant
Billy Bauer’s career was so steeped in tradition that he is often thought of as one of the first jazz…
Matteo Mancuso
Journey Into the Future
Emerging as a social-media sensation several years ago, Matteo Mancuso is changing the way we see and hear guitar. Using…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Marshall Super Tremolo Model 1961
The often-told story of Marshall’s birth as a re-creation of the tweed Fender Bassman rarely includes mention of this rendition…
Traditional, Temporary
Guild Basses in the Early 1980s
The early ’80s were a unique time in the history of American electric guitars. Fender and Gibson were both owned…
Familiar Names Create Music as J&B Brothers
Austin-Powered
The J&B Brothers make a sound equal parts Texas country, blues, folkie, rock, jazz, and soul – the spices that…
Fender’s Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic
Little Brothers
Often forgotten amongst Fender’s many classics, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic were conceived to capitalize on teenagers taking up the guitar…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
DigiTech iStomp
Morph For Less
DigiTech iStomp Price: $149.95 Info: www.digitech.com/istomp If you’re the type of gearhead who turns heel and runs from DSP effects,…
EarthQuaker Devices’ Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator
Ground Shaker
EarthQuaker Devices has a knack for launching pedals that range from ideal tools for those seeking otherworldly sonic textures to…
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…
Novax Sweet Annie
Silver Anniversary
Remember chuckling at the Rick 481 slant-fret guitar? Or wondering about those fret intervals on Joni Mitchell’s dulcimer, or the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha
Fender’s Classic Player Strat HH
The Humbucker Paradox
Fender’s Classic Player Strat HH Price: $949.99 (list) Contact: www.fender.com One of the great guitar myths is that pro Fender…
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25
Stage, Studio, Etc.
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 Price: $1,299 (list) Contact: www.mesaboogie.com Housed in teensy cabinets, so-called “lunchbox” amps are all the rage,…
Festive Frets
Suggested Listening for Your “Guitholidays”
Listen to VG’s “Festive Frets Holiday Play List” on Spotify! From the two-string refrain that kicks off Bobby Helms’ “Jingle…
2023 April Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Marty Stuart, Steve Vai, Sunny War, Merle Travis Bio, Kansas’ Leftoverture, Gary Moore, Big Bill Broonzy,…
