The JangleBox J-Boost

Seamless Sheen

March 5, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Twelve years ago, Janglebox founder Steve Lasko set out to create effects pedals that capture the sparkling clean chime made…

Earthquaker Devices Sea Machine

Earthquaker Devices Sea Machine

Chorus of Praise

April 6, 2016 · Max Prown

Earthquaker Devices Sea Machine Price: $215 Contact: www.earthquakerdevices.com Known primarily for its monstrous distortion and fuzz units, the folks at…

2021 July Issue on Spotify

June 23, 2021 · Doug Yellow Bird

This This month we feature Blackberry Smoke, Mark O’Connor, Steve Cropper, Ian Crichton, Jane Getter, Jesse Aycock, Ally Venable, Al…

Joe Stump

Professor Shred

September 8, 2022 · Pete Prown

Some musicians use grandiose nicknames like “the doctor” (Dr. John) or “the professor” (Rush’s Neil Peart) – but Boston shredder…

PRS NF 53

Mojo, Distilled

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

Players who appreciate simple, elegant, well-built guitars may find themselves enamored with the new PRS NF 53, inspired by one…

Brennen Leigh’s Heart-Tugging Honky-Tonk

September 5, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Shades of Norman Blake and Dolly Parton A student of the “Carter Scratch” guitar technique – melody on the low…

  • Rik Emmett

    Rik Emmett

    Ten Telecaster Tales

    At the risk of starting a brawl, Rik Emmett’s guitar work was arguably too good for Triumph. As evidence, his latest project centers on a custom-built Loucin that inspired both…

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ARTISTS

Jimmy Olander’s D-Bender Baritone

December 4, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Big-string licks galore! In the mood to play a bit, December cover guy Jimmy Olander grabbed a guitar he…

Festive Frets

Suggested Listening for Your “Guitholidays”

December 17, 2021 · Vintage Guitar

Listen to VG’s “Festive Frets Holiday Play List” on Spotify! From the two-string refrain that kicks off Bobby Helms’ “Jingle…

Fretprints: John Abercrombie

Modern-Jazz Innovator

January 11, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

John Abercrombie operated in four dimensions. A guitarist of unbounded breadth and depth, he redefined space in long, improvised flights…

Pop ’N Hiss: Bad Company

Powerful Purity

May 8, 2023 · Bret Adams

Bad Company’s self-titled 1974 debut album defines “classic rock” – no frills, just superb songs and performances from four gifted…


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…

Greg Martin’s ’53 Fender Telecaster!

Greg Martin’s ’53 Fender Telecaster

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

December 28, 2017 · Doug Yellow Bird

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

A Master’s Pallet

George Fullerton’s Fender Jazzmaster

A Master's Pallet

March 20, 2015 · George Gruhn

This Jazzmaster is an interesting example of what went on behind the scenes at the Fender factory with the research…

The Collins Kids

Mostly-Moseley Memories

January 8, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Siblings Lorrie and Larry Collins sprang into the public eye in the mid 1950s – dawn of the television era…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

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…

TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver

Mono Monster

March 14, 2016 · Pete Prown

TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver Price: $399 Info: www.godlyke.com . Despite its cumbersome name and the fact it…

Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb

Smart Stomps

April 19, 2024 · Pete Prown

After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help…

Fender American Professional Jazzmaster

Return Of The Rebel

April 19, 2019 · Michael Dregni

From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Robby Krieger

New Musical Directions

March 13, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

For all of his decades of noteworthy guitar work, Robby Krieger isn’t resting on his laurels. In 2002, Krieger and…

The PRS HX 50 and HX 2×12 Cabinet

Jimi Jam

July 11, 2022 · Tom Guerra

Paul Reed Smith has earned a reputation building guitars of the highest quality. It wasn’t until just over a decade…

Pop ’N Hiss: Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies

On The Money

February 4, 2024 · Bret Adams

Alice Cooper was on a steady upward trajectory when Billion Dollar Babies topped the Billboard chart for one week in…

Tomer Cohen

From Israel to NYC

December 14, 2023 · Pete Prown

Twenty-five-year-old Tomer Cohen plays jazz with the earthy feel heard in improvisations by Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, and early Pat…

Charlie Gracie

Rock’s Unsung Pioneer

June 24, 2020 · Dan Forte

“…as I went from London to Liverpool to Manchester to Birmingham to Scotland, in the audience were all these young…

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,…

Jim Lauderdale

December 30, 2016 · Rich Kienzle

From the beginning, four-time Grammy winner Jim Lauderdale’s masterful body of material has reflected a gifted vocalist/writer infused with country…

Walrus Audio Iron Horse Distortion V2

Versatile Beast

April 26, 2019 · Art Department

Like virtually every distortion pedal on the market, Walrus Audio’s Iron Horse Distortion V2 will produce enough distortion to molest…

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band

Honeysuckle

December 8, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from…

Louis Stewart

Irish Jazz Giant

March 20, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Next to Jameson whiskey, Louis Stewart remains Ireland’s leading export – and his playing can be just as intoxicating. The…

Dave Specter

Chicago Deep Dish

October 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

There are many styles of blues guitar, from haunting Delta acoustic to volcanic blues-rock. Hailing from the mecca of Chicago,…

Fender’s 70th Anniversary Esquire

One-Pickup Wonder

February 10, 2022 · Michael Dregni

In the past, Fender has paid homage to its history with precise replicas of certain classics. The company’s 70th Anniversary…

Joanne Shaw Taylor

Nobody’s Fool

December 3, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Combining her love of blues and accessible pop, Nobody’s Fool finds Joanne Shaw Taylor leaning into songcraft and transforming life…

Debut Drive

Slamo Guitars’ Turquoise Cabronita

April 16, 2020 · Bob Cianci

Slamo Guitars may not have yet achieved the name recognition of certain others, but Frank Silano has been building guitars…

Arlen Roth

Flourishing After Adversity

December 21, 2020 · Dan Forte

By any measure, Arlen Roth’s recent spate of creativity would be impressive. It began with his solo acoustic CD, Drive…

Stomp Under Foot Ram’s Head

Piece of the Pi

April 23, 2019 · Phil Feser

Matt Pasquerella has a reputation as a pi connoisseur… no, not the eating kind, the fuzzy kind. The creator of…

Cliff Goodwin

335 Reunion

April 18, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

Cliff Goodwin was catapulted into the big time on a decade-long stint with Joe Cocker that began in the late…

Mick Ralphs

Good Company

March 20, 2019 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

In 1972, one of Britain’s best bands, Mott The Hoople, still hadn’t made any impact on the charts. Its record…

John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ

Classy & Sassy

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

The John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ is another hip offering from the former Fender Custom Shop honcho and co-founder,…

UFO

Lights Out 2024 Remaster

December 6, 2024 · Pete Prown

UFO was a ferocious live band, but had trouble translating that hard-rock excitement to the studio. They got close on…

Pop ’N Hiss: Uriah Heep’s Demons and Wizards

Under Its Spell

May 6, 2022 · Bret Adams

Hard rock/heavy metal and progressive rock were burgeoning genres in the early ’70s, and music fans by the millions eagerly…

Damon Fowler

Damon Fowler

Steamrolled

April 28, 2016 · John Heidt

Damon Fowler’s records have traditionally been eclectic conjugations of American music – rock, country, a little sacred steel, and lots…

Born In Chicago Documents ’60s Revival

Disciples Of The Blues

July 11, 2024 · Dan Forte

A new documentary on the blues revival of the late ’60s opens with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band performing live…

Positive Grid Spark Go

Ready, Set…

August 4, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Following the success of its highly portable Spark and Spark Mini practice amps, Positive Grid went really small with the…

Steven Wilson

Guitar Harmony

October 17, 2024 · Greg Prato

Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson isn’t a guitar hero, but his playing fits his compositions perfectly – as exemplified by his…

Billy Strings

Me/and/Dad

December 25, 2023 · Rich Kienzle

Grammy-winning flatpicking wizard Billy Strings was everywhere in 2022. Rightly seen as part of the vanguard of a new generation…

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967

October 8, 2024 · Pete Prown

 Imagine a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert where the audience actually disliked the band. That’s the scenario here, a secretly recorded…

Louis Stewart

Irish Jazz Giant

March 20, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Next to Jameson whiskey, Louis Stewart remains Ireland’s leading export – and his playing can be just as intoxicating. The…

Joe Goldmark

Blue Steel

July 5, 2018 · Rich Kienzle

Along with his work with Jim Campilongo and others, San Francisco-based pedal steel guitarist Joe Goldmark has produced eight solo…