Joe Gore Pedals Cult Germanium Overdrive and Filth Fuzz

Dirt Simple

March 5, 2019 · Tom Guerra

Composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joe Gore’s career path has been multilayered and includes “guitar effects builder.” Two of his pedals…

1965 Epiphone Emperor

December 3, 2021 · George Gruhn

The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response…

1985 Guild Nightbird Prototype Home Main Big

1985 Guild Nightbird Prototype

March 17, 2016 · George Gruhn

In early 1984, Mark Dronge, son of the Guild founder Alfred Dronge, was president of Guild. That year, Mark and…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Labor of Love

April 19, 2016 · John Heidt

Kenny Wayne Shepherd called his latest record, Goin’ Home because, he says, “It was another opportunity for me to share…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend

What Goes Around…

April 30, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I learned to play guitar during the folk boom that, for me,…

Scott Holiday

Reflection and Escapism in Rival Sons

June 10, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

On the new album by Rival Sons, guitarist Scott Holiday brings a power punch to the band’s most-potent album to…

  •  VG Q&A: Harmony History

     VG Q&A: Harmony History

    And an Archtop Mystery

    I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Slim Bryant

Early Country Guitar’s Last Man Standing

July 13, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

Thomas Hoyt Bryant, known to family and friends as “Slim,” met Perry Bechtel in Atlanta 1929. “I heard your record,…

Rory Gallagher’s Photo-Finish

Legend’s Best

October 13, 2021 · Tom Guerra

The year 1977 saw upheaval in rock and roll, from the death of Elvis Presley and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash…

Remembering Tom Petty

May 21, 2019 · Ward Meeker

In the colossal wake of the Beatles, Tom Petty – more than most – was that kid the Byrds spoke…

Ricky Byrd

Cool and Greasy

April 3, 2014 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

“I wanted to make the type of album I would’ve liked to have heard when I was 13 – cool and…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Small Screen, Big Pickin’

Crew Strives to Keep it Real on “Nashville”

July 6, 2018 · Johnny Zapp

It’s not often that prime-time network television captures an audience of working class, professional musicians. In 1968, players watched Elvis…

Peavey RJ-IV

October 23, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Peavey RJ-IV bass, serial number 04938996. Photo: Bill Ingalls Jr. Instrument courtesy of Naffaz Skota. Americans by the millions “know”…

Paul Bigsby’s Myrtlewood Guitars

April 30, 2024 · Deke Dickerson

= Few things are as satisfying as a guitar with a good story to tell. Some vintage guitars might be…

Meet The GitWik

Cooperative Cognition

July 22, 2019 · Rusty Russell

When it comes to identifying guitars, basses, amps, and effects, nobody knows it all. Anyone save for the true specialist,…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Fender Mustang II Amp

Practiced Past

December 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

When you check out an amp like the Fender Mustang II, you may wonder if the term “practice amp” still…

Jam Pedals’ Delay Llama & Wahcko Wah

What’s In A Name?

July 23, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Positioning its sonic M.O. squarely in the 1960s and ’70s, Jam Pedals strives to create a distinct line of effects.…

MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine Octave Fuzz

Lowdown And Nasty

January 25, 2017 · Pete Prown

Rising from the smoke and flames of the MXR Custom Shop is the pedal of which every fuzz freak dreams.…

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.…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Holbrook TS50 Tommy Skeoch Head

More Than Modded

July 24, 2019 · Phil Feser

After Kevin Holbrook and rock guitarist Tommy Skeoch began working on a custom amp, the former took several trips to…

Ya’ Gig What Ya’ Pay For

Incase’s Tour Bag is ultra-functional, durable

May 27, 2020 · Phil Feser

It wouldn’t be a surprising reaction. “A $200 gig bag?” And one could reasonably assume the price includes a guitar.…

Chuck Berry Greg Martin

God gave us rock n’ roll and Chuck Berry was one of His messengers

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

March 19, 2017 · Greg Martin

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…

John Leventhal

Rumble Strip

January 9, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

After 45 years as a roots music sideman and record producer, winning six Grammys, Leventhal’s first solo effort is an…

Paul Gilbert

One-Man Electrical Jam

March 30, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Paul Gilbert’s 16th solo album, Werewolves of Portland, is an ambitious DIY project where he plays all the instruments. From…

Eight-String Basses

Sonic Niche

May 2, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Emerging in ’60s catalogs from Hagström and Framus, eight-string basses occupy a distinct place among musical instruments – their potent,…

Joe Satriani

The Artist’s Way

January 4, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Whether orchestrating guitar instrumentals, writing comic books, or bringing his imagination to the canvas with acrylic paint, Joe Satriani has…

Check This Action: One Sax, Three Guitars

June 7, 2023 · Dan Forte

It starts with a tenor saxophone floating above spare electric guitar arpeggios. After a dipsy-doodle cadenza, the sax states a…

Khalif Wailin’ Walter

DIY Blues

August 12, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Blues guitarist Khalif Wailin’ Walter now makes his home in Essen, Germany, but the sound that emanates from his fretboard…

The Norma EG 470-2 Deluxe

June 25, 2020 · Michael Wright

Everyone of a certain age – and no doubt some younger folks – remembers the sage career advice given young…

“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…

John Leventhal

Tele-Singing Architect of Americana

March 27, 2019 · Zac Childs

When Shawn Colvin’s Steady On won a Grammy in 1989, John Leventhal was instantly transformed from NYC sideman to in-demand…

J Mascis

Heavy Steps : Dinosaur Jr. Journey

January 27, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Fans recognize the first three albums by Dinosaur Jr. – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug – as…

2024 June Issue on Spotify

June 7, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Marty Friedman, Twisted Sister, Blackberry Smoke, Blue Öyster Cult, Rick Vito, Judas Priest, Kay-Ta Matsuno W.C.…

Sweet Sustain

Guitar Tech Craig’s Dino Sauce Compressor

April 16, 2020 · Chip Wilson

Imagine a Strat tuned to open G, a D chord being floated at the seventh fret with a Craftsman deep-well…

Joe Ely

Driven to Drive

May 30, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

From the start of his solo career, Joe Ely’s west Texas audacity and unpredictability has been an asset – an…

Vox’s AC10C1

Vox’s AC10C1

Blast of the Past

July 6, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Few amps give such an instant jolt of history as a Vox. The golden nameplate, that distinctive crisscross speaker fabric,…

Larry Collins 1944-2024

January 8, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Larry Collins, a guitar prodigy mentored by renowned flatpicker Joe Maphis, and half of the ’50s brother/sister act The Collins…

Duke Robillard

Swingin’ with Singers

January 30, 2023 · Pete Prown

Robillard needs no introduction here, as he’s been one of the leading old-school players of the past 40 years –…

Alan Sparhawk

Lowdown

March 3, 2017 · Michael Dregni

Blame it on a guitar. For Low’s Alan Sparhawk, the inspiration behind the band’s latest album, Ones and Sixes, came…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1

August 7, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

It’s easy to summarize Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s raw-yet-modern blues approach. Joined by co-vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd delivers a lyric straight…

Fishman Loudbox Mini

Little Big Man

July 28, 2023 · Pete Prown

The Fishman Loudbox Mini is just what its name says – a small amp that delivers the company’s renowned audio…

Boss MT-2 3A Metal Zone

Captain Crunch

November 10, 2022 · Pete Prown

Over the years, the Boss Metal Zone has often been lampooned for its ferocious personality. But if you plug one…

Lonnie Mack

Strike Like Lightning

April 24, 2024 · Sean McDevitt

Lonnie Mack hadn’t released an album in eight years when this comeback effort arrived in January of 1985. His first…

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.…

Home Feature Image

Rickenbacker Electric 12-Strings

Double-Bound for Glory

May 21, 2016 · Richard R. Smith

George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success…

Les Paul

Birth of a Guitar Icon

February 27, 2004 · Gil Hembree

Fifty years ago, Gibson’s new Les Paul Model was quickly becoming one of the company’s most popular guitars, and (though…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Daniel Escauriza

August 27, 2024 · Doug Yellow Bird

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Daniel Escauriza Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 8 of “Buy That Guitar,”…

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…