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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…
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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
Mick Mars
A Piece of His Action
Since emerging from Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, Mötley Crue has defined the Los Angeles metal scene. Fueled…
Vic Johnson
At Your Service
Music fans might remember Vic Johnson as the wickedly eclectic guitarist from the ’80s band The Busboys; it thrived in…
Kansas’ Leftoverture
Iconic American Prog
Progressive rock emerged from the British psychedelic scene in the late ’60s with bands like the Nice, Procol Harum, Moody…
Phil DeGruy
Laughin’ Matters
Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that.…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
A Guitar for Mr. Richards
The Saga of Ted Newman Jones
For anyone who visited the tiny workshop inhabited by guitar builder Ted Newman Jones in the 1970s and ’80s, two…
Veillette-Citron Shark
It’s not often a guitar can be said to have been inspired by a TV show, but that is the…
Robin Ranger
1993 Robin Ranger, serial number 931353. Photo: Bill Ingalls, Jr. Instrument courtesy of Charles Farley. The saga of Alamo Music…
Dickerson Melody King
Few who love vintage amps can resist its art-deco appeal, let alone its luscious hand-wiring and edgy, touch-sensitive 6V6 tone.…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Bad Cat Jet Black Combo
Back in Black
Guitar players around the globe praised Bad Cat’s Black Cat amp for its tone, but wanted more punch. Its ear…
GluBoost MasterGlu, Fill N’ Finish, MasterTint, and Gludry Accelerator
Stick-To-It-Iveness
There exists a subculture of guitarists who build, customize, or resurrect their own instruments, or help friends with theirs. GluBoost’s…
EHX Lizard Queen
Filthy Fuzz
In 2021, JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott teamed with graphic designer Daniel Danger to design a ’70s-style/E-H-inspired fuzz pedal. The…
SoloDallas Schaffer Replica Tower
Instant Angus
There should be a hall of fame of gear that’s famous for “lateral applications” – that is, features and functions…
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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…
