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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

Charlie Ballantine
Midwest Expressive
Befitting a guitarist from America’s heartland, Charlie Ballantine’s mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot…

Martin D-18 Satin
Spruce Stalwart
Death, taxes, and spruce on mahogany. There are only so many certainties in life, and these are three. Another is…

Dan Auerbach
Black Keys’ Road Map Back to Blues, British Rock
Forget about the classic quartet. Forget the power trio. Forget any preconceived shortcomings you may have concerning a rock-and-roll duo.…

Siegmund Missing Link
Rounding Out the Board
Looking like a Sputnik-era satellite, the Missing Link from Siegmund Guitars and Amplifiers may be the perfect way to –…

St. Blues Scoundrel
Walking the Dog
St. Blues Scoundrel Price: $1,898 (list)/$1,349 (street) Contact: www.saintblues.com Intended as a versatile instrument for the player with a budget…
Carvin’s AE185-12
Stairway to Heaven
Carvin’s AE185-12 Price: $1,239 (base retail) Info: www.carvinguitars.com. Most guitarists love the sound of a 12-string, but the thought 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,…
ARTISTS

Ron Jackson: Standards and Originals
Warm, Inviting Jazz a la Montgomery and Benson Jazz guitarist Ron Jackson is a specialist on the seven-string. Here, he…

Eric Krasno
Always Keepin’ On
Groovemeister Eric Krasno continues to push his funky, soul-jazz narrative with guitar front and center. His new record, Always, features…

Steve Morse
Return of the Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse has been revisiting the past. A member of Deep Purple since 1994, this year he reunited with the…

Aldo Nova’s 2022 “Paradise”
Rock legend’s thunderous return Forty years after “Fantasy,” Canadian rock legend Aldo Nova has returned with two new projects. One…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Story of Melobar
Stand-Up Steel
Born in Northern California in 1920, Walt Smith took piano lessons and became a child prodigy on several instruments before…

Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023
Lasting Legacy
It’s ironic that Robbie Robertson was famous mostly for his songwriting, because beneath the minimal, compositional style that marked his…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Mending Chuck Panozzo’s 1960 ES-125
Thinline Revival
Like you, I got a kick out of the February “Classics” feature on Chuck Panozzo being reunited with his Gibson…

Classics: October 2021
Ibanez IC200 Iceman
Pete Prown’s obsession with the Ibanez Iceman began when the company’s 1978 guitar catalog landed atop dealer display cases; the…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Bergen Guitars ST and TL
Messing with Perfection
Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $2,195 (ST, base)/$2,595 (as tested); $1,895 (TL, base)/$2,295 (as tested) Info: www.bergenguitars.com. If your…

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…

Eastwood RD Artist
RD Our Lips
Issued during Gibson’s infamous “Norlin era,” the original RD Artist has become surprisingly collectible over the years, thanks to its…

Tone Pump Solara Studio
Clean ’N Dirty
Tone Pump Solara Studio Price: $1,099 (list) Contact: www.tonepumpamplifiers.com The story is a familiar one. A guy learns to repair…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Dio
Holy Diver Super Deluxe Edition
After Rainbow and Black Sabbath, vocalist Ronnie James Dio assembled his own band with previous accomplices Jimmy Bain (bass) and…

Henry James Schneekluth
Psychedelic
Henry James Schneekluth handles the groovy guitar parts in Robert Jon & The Wreck. While impassioned Southern rock might be an…
Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz
A Good Buzz
Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz Price: $280 retail/$199 street (TightFuzz); $310 retail, $219 street (Bass TightFuzz) Info: www.amptweaker.com. Since the…

Dallas Perkins dazzles on “Mexican Puppets”
Dallas Perkins: Elemental Experiments Progressive-rock shredder Dallas Perkins brings it with “Mexican Puppets,” a track from his new instrumental album,…










































