• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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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The Valley Arts Custom Pro Bass

Keeping the Arts Alive

April 29, 2020 · Art Department

In 1969, when a North Hollywood guitar teacher named Duke Miller teamed up to start a music store with students…

Carr Skylark Special 1×12

Take Flight

January 14, 2026 · Dave Hunter

Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced…

The MXR Eric Gales EG74 Raw Dawg

Bark And Bite

May 10, 2022 · Bob Dragich

During a recording career that spans three decades and includes 19 albums, blues guitarist Eric Gales has achieved a reputation…

Judas Priest and Deep Purple

Metal-Morphosis

May 25, 2017 · Pete Prown

This 30th-anniversary reissue of Judas Priest’s 1986 album is above average, but not for the reason you might think. Turbo…

Dan Wilson

Akron’s Finest

April 28, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

On Things Eternal, jazz-guitar wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical…

George Lynch

George Lynch

Home Run with KXM

March 25, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Creative chemistry is an under-discussed topic when it comes to a successful collaborative effort. With the right people, sparks can…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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

Larry McCray

All In the Family

April 15, 2010 · John Heidt

“A lot of people…think [blues is] all the same. So I try to take that element out. I don’t want…

Julian Lage

Jazz Memoir

September 1, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

The latest from Julian Lage contains mesmerizing originals featuring Bill Frisell’s supple artistry and Lage’s potent six-string imagery. View With…

Bobby Eli

Philly-Soul Pioneer

July 11, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records, the spotlight is on the songwriting team of Kenneth…

Have Guitar Will Travel 082 – Drew Holcomb, Foy Vance and Christophe Paubert

January 6, 2023 · James Patrick Regan

In the latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan connects with three artists – two musicans…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Rickenbacker 481

November 24, 2020 · Michael Wright

It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…

Fender Super Reverbs from 1963 and ’68

First and Last

April 18, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Among the many distinct eras of vintage-amp production, Fender’s so-called “blackface” models are legendary. Made from late 1963 until ’67,…

Supro S6651

Supro S6651 Big Star

March 8, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Don’t we guitarists just love gear that looks like it was salvaged from our mom’s kitchen circa 1961? Give us…

The Schaffer-Vega Diversity System

Making Rock Roll

December 8, 2021 · Michael Dregni

“ The best thing I ever did in the beginning was not use effects,” AC/DC’s Angus Young told VG in…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Guild Bluesbird

Flyin’ High Again

April 24, 2019 · Bob Cianci

The Guild Bluesbird has a long history that began in the 1950s with Guild’s answer to the Gibson Les Paul…

Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931

Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931

Vintage Revolution

July 7, 2016 · Pete Prown

If you’ve ever played a fine vintage guitar, you know how two things jump out at you immediately: 1) they’re…

Peavey Vypyr VIP2

Backline in a Box

May 7, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Peavey Vypyr VIP2 Price: $199.99 Contact: www.peavey.com For more than 40 years Peavey’s ongoing evolution while building guitars, amps, and…

Carr Impala

Big-Block Tone

October 16, 2015 · Phil Feser

Carr Impala Price: $2,490 (retail, in black); $2,640 (two-tone) Info: www.carramps.com. While the new Carr Impala amplifier gets its name…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

TC Electronic Spark

Booster Shot

June 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

Everyone’s guitar tone sometimes needs a little assistance, especially playing with a band. To the rescue comes the TC Electronic…

“Sneaky” Pete Kleinow

1934-2007

February 26, 2021 · Rich Kienzle

The Gilded Palace of Sin, and nothing else, he’d still have left an indelible mark on country-rock and the pedal…

Classics: Steve Kimock 1968 Goldstop

January 3, 2025 · Ward Meeker

It was a moment when the angels did sing. Wanting to chat with his de facto big brother, one fateful…

DryBell Module 4

Compress Yourself

August 28, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

  Inspired by the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, Drybell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s Module 4 Compressor adds several highly usable features.…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton

August 13, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 6 of “Buy That Guitar”…

Vintage Guitar magazine Tom Feldmann demonstrates one of Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riffs

Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riff

August 28, 2016 · Tom Feldmann

Vintage Guitar magazine presents Tom Feldmann Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riff Tom demonstrates one of Lightnin’ Hopkins trademark riffs on his…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 8

Late ’65: Transistors, Troubles, and Takeover!

February 14, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

Rupert Neve Designs’ Portico 5017/ SE Electronics’ Voodoo VR1

Studio on the Go

March 13, 2019 · Pete Prown

Despite what some folks may tell you about the merits of “going direct” for guitar, nothing sounds better than a…

Snowy White

Snowy White

One Man, One Guitar

March 11, 2016 · Donald Wiedman

Snowy White, one of the finest blues and rock musicians to come out of the U.K., built a career on…

Orange County Guitar Show 2017

January 26, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

[caption id="attachment_26910" align="alignright" width="1112"] Joe Bonamassa's Special Fender Strat Exhibit at the Orange County Guitar Show[/caption] [caption id="attachment_26919" align="alignright" width="300"]…

Megan Lovell’s New Lap Steel

Slide Sub

September 25, 2023 · Ward Meeker

In the summer of 2021, Megan Lovell decided enough was enough of her vintage Rickenbacker Model B. While she loved…

Kid Ramos’ Revelation!

August 29, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

West Coast legend melds blues with gospel Check out Kid Ramos using a ’56 Harmony H62 running through a vintage…

Vinnie Moore’s Pandemic Musical Inspiration

February 24, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Instrumental Whiz Adds Vocalists Neoclassical/metal guitarist Vinnie Moore’s latest music features vocals for the first time. Here, though, he sticks…

UAFX Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb

Space, Man

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

The original Roland Space Echo was a thing of sonic beauty, used by everyone from Brian Setzer to Bob Marley…

Worland Prairie

Built For Speed

June 22, 2015 · Dennis Pernu

Worland Prairie Price: $1,950 Info: www.worlandguitars.com. It’s been well-documented how car-crazy vets and teens in postwar America reimagined the American…

Guild Bluesbird

Flyin’ High Again

April 24, 2019 · Bob Cianci

The Guild Bluesbird has a long history that began in the 1950s with Guild’s answer to the Gibson Les Paul…

Lucinda Williams

Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart

March 20, 2024 · Michael Dregni

Turning 70 is a time for reflection, and Lucinda Williams offers two takes. Her poetic autobiography recounts her troubled, peripatetic…

Musicvox Space Cadet USB 30″ Custom

Short-Scale Slugger

March 2, 2017 · Pete Prown

Don’t be confused by the USB in this four-string’s name – there’s no computer-cable hookup. Instead, USB stands for “ultimate…

The Wildhearts

December 10, 2025 · Pete Prown

In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses,…

Warren Haynes

Million Voices Whisper

August 13, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Warren Haynes’ first solo album since 2011 is an uplifting set that reflects am optimistic spirit of change and hope.…

Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive

Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive

A Step Further

July 29, 2015 · Sean OBryan Smith

Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive Price: H20 V3 $199 (list); VS-XO $199…

2025 June Issue on Spotify

June 3, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

This month, we feature The Meters’ George Porter, Tommy Emmanuel, Jedd Hughes, Dudley Taft, Lari Basilio, Ally Venable, The Police,…

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Live in Maui

December 9, 2021 · Pete Prown

This 1970 performance was contrived for Rainbow Bridge, a hippie movie that flopped. The gig itself was faintly ridiculous, as…

Bob Moore

1932-2021

December 2, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

Bob Moore, a charter member of Nashville’s “A-Team” of session musicians and Nashville’s most recorded upright and electric bassist, died…

Kiss

Destroyer 45

October 27, 2022 · Pete Prown

Following their Alive! breakout, Kiss hired producer to the superstars Bob Ezrin and cut what became their first platinum album,…

Eric Bibb

Beyond the Blues

June 30, 2022 · Pete Prown

It’s almost a curse to categorize a musician a “blues artist,” as it implies someone who simply plays standard I-IV-V…

Gibson Johnny Smith

June 29, 2015 · George Gruhn

In 1961, Gibson’s Johnny Smith model not only associated Gibson with one of the most popular guitar stylists of the…

Mike Baggetta Brings the Morricone Sauce!

March 10, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

New Album Explores Styles with Keltner, Watt Check out Mike Baggetta and his Iris AB (serial number 46) playing the…

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits

May 30, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

It’s no shock the late Tom Petty’s right-hand man and MVP on Don Henley hits like “The Boys of Summer”…