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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…
Jay Jay French
Twisted Tales
There are music-business survivors, and then there’s Jay Jay French. Twisted Sister’s founder/co-lead guitarist/manager has led a life of wild…
George Cummings
Remembering Mississippi and Dr. Hook
George Cummings is best known as the original guitarist for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Born in Meridian, Mississippi,…
Gretsch’s “Golden” Tenors
In the 1950s and early ’60s, the electric guitar was establishing itself as a key part of the new voice…
John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson’s Gypsy Jazz Orchestra
Call it a “Gypsy jazz wall of sound.” John Jorgenson’s new album, Istiqbal Gathering, features the master guitarist backed by…
The Cost of Protection
100 Years of Instrument Cases
Modern guitars are typically sold with a hard case. But that wasn’t always so. Here, we look at the history…
Ram Tuli Crunches Numbers for The Guide
Strats and Data
Combine a knack for numbers with a love of old guitars and you get… well, you might get any of…
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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
Jabo, Vince, and Broadcaster 0048
Special Addition
It’s routine for Vince Gill, as one of Nashville’s true connoisseurs of electric and acoustic gear, to receive tips about…
Ewan Currie
Hairy Tones in The Sheepdogs
There are a lot of retro bands, but few get the sonics correct. Hailing from central Canada, The Sheepdogs conjure…
Don Culig
Dream Finish
The Covid pandemic forced immeasurable change on humanity. Much of it involved temporary adaptation, but there were also plenty of…
Kristian Borring
Time Zone
Kristian Borring is a jazz guitarist who lives in Perth, Australia, but sends his fearless playing echoing around the planet…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Gibson EB-4L
Right Ideas, Wrong Era
The antennae of many guitar collectors/enthusiasts pop up when they encounter a Gibson-made instrument bearing a six-digit serial number with…
Horray For Hollywood
The Guitars and Amps of Jersey Boys
Movies made in the 1950s and ’60s that included rock-and-roll music acts typically showed them performing in segments using their…
National-Dobro Model C
We’ve seen some pristine vintage pieces in these pages over the years, but as far as time-capsule amps go, when…
In Detail: Gibson’s 1954-’58 Les Paul Junior
In 1952, Gibson’s Les Paul model guitar was brand spanking new. But it wasn’t cutting-edge. True, it was the company’s…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Volt Electrics #004 Reverse
Mirror Image
From Johnny Winter and Stephen Stills to Scott Holiday, the Firebird has been turning heads since the early ’60s. Builders…
Cort’s Sunset I and II
Jonesin’ For Tone
When Cort isn’t busy making guitars and basses for major musical instrument companies, they’re hard at work building some pretty…
Martin SC-13E Special Burst
Blueprint Blow-up
For nearly two centuries, Martin has been building acoustic instruments befitting the company’s august reputation. The slew of budget-friendly models…
To The Limit
The Effectrode LA-1A Leveling Amplifier
In the world of guitar effects, there are consumer-grade pedals and pro-grade pedals. The former are affordable and fun, the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Robben Ford
Crystal Visionary
Pure is Robben Ford’s first instrumental album since 1997’s Tiger Walk. A work of complex simplicity, it’s also a singular…
Jane Getter
Jazz-Rock Premonitions
Jane Getter’s Anomalia is a mostly instrumental album that traverses the hypnotic seas of jazz-rock, with lyrics. A fusion of…
Chris Butler’s Vox Mark VI: Waitress Server
Melding garage rock with glam, punk emerged in the early ’70s, set on stirring society’s pot. From New York to…
Eli “Paperboy” Reed
“Always” Music
Guitarist/producer Eli “Paperboy” Reed understands the emotional thread between blues, gospel, R&B, and country music. He has created his own…
