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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…
Lyle Workman
Orchestral Maneuvers
You might not recognize his name, but in the last 30 years, Lyle Workman and his guitars have backed Sting,…
Steve Ripley
First Takes & Extra Takes
Ed. Note: Guitarist/producer/recording artist/guitar innovator (we could add more to that list!) Steve Ripley has passed away (January 3, 2019)…
Roine Stolt
Progressive Double-Duty
If you want to see a hard-working guitar ace, look no further than Roine Stolt, who has been going non-stop…
David Allen Bazooka Overdrive
Ka-Boom!
David Allen Bazooka Overdrive Price: $250 (list) Contact: www.dallenpickups.com An Internet search for “overdrive pedals” yields 1,610,000 hits, indicating a…
Michael Kelly Custom Collection 55 Ebony
Kelly Tele
Is there a better platform for guitar customization than the Tele? Easily sourced lumber combine with straightforward electronics and hardware…
SynapticGroove Snapperhead OD/Distortion
Dirty Deeds
With their first offering, Benjamin Harrison and Chrystal Gilles of SynapticGroove set out to fill the gap between heavy effects…
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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
Arliss McMinn and the California Playboys
The "Fenderized" Teens
“What started in California?” you ask. The list includes a broad range of inventions, fads, pop culture, and social movements.…
Spencer Kirkpatrick
Jammin’ Southern Hero
In the ’70s, Hydra was a Southern-rock band that owed more to the heavy British blues of Cream and Free…
Al Di Meola
Still Elegant
For close to 45 years, Al Di Meola’s career has brimmed with guitar virtuosity, taking him from red-hot fusion to…
Don Wilson
1933-2022
Don Wilson, co-founder and last remaining member of the Ventures’ “classic” lineup, died in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington, on…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Music Man’s Hybrid Boogie Amp: The RD-50
Say hey, fellow guitarists! If you live in the Northeast, it’s great to have a hobby that doesn’t require going…
Popa Chubby’s Dangerous Attitude
NYC blues beast rips on “I Don’t Want Nobody A fixture in New York City blues joints and familiar face…
The España 6/12 Doubleneck
More is always better, right? Eleven is better than 10 on an amplifier, three pickups are better than two, and…
The G&L El Toro
At the beginning of 1983, Leo Fender was just more than three years into his last guitar-manufacturing venture when he…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
The Peavey HP2
Best Of Both Worlds
Introduced in 1996, the EVH Wolfgang was an evolution of Eddie Van Halen’s previous models from Music Man, Kramer, and…
The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic
Heart Pounder
Sometimes, it takes awhile to dial-in a good idea. The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic improves on Gibson’s Nighthawk design from…
Crucial Audio WahVelope
Tube Funk
Crucial Audio makes high-end tube pedals and studio gear at its shop in southern Delaware. Its latest, the WahVelope, is…
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce
Revved Up
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce Price: $420 Info: www.lazyjprojects.com. The Lazy J Cruiser Deuce is more complex than your classic stomp-and-go…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha
Neil LeVang
Six Strings Behind — and Beyond — Champagne Music
Neil LeVang was about to get a lecture. Days earlier, the A-list studio guitarist’s new boss, Lawrence Welk, had golfed…
Southern Boogie from Chickasaw Mudd Puppies
Band jams on acoustic “Flatcar” take “The South is a complex and nuanced place,” says Ben Reynolds of his native…
Michael Schenker
Acoustic Album, Electric Gear
One of the most influential guitarists in hard rock history, Michael Schenker has imbued the music of UFO, Scorpions, and…
Gibson Theodore Standard
Flower Power
Named in honor of Ted McCarty, the Theodore is based on a design the legendary Gibson president penciled into a…
