Gretsch Malcolm Young “Red Beast” Signature Jet

Let There Be Rock

September 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Forty-odd years beyond when AC/DC first hit American airwaves, the band still inspires multitudes of guitarists with intoxicating riffs, mesmerizing…

Bryan Bassett

Foghat’s Slide Secret

July 22, 2022 · Pete Prown

A half-century after its inception, Foghat has just one original member – drummer Roger Earl – yet the quartet is…

A Hero’s Gretsch 6117

March 16, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

In the 1960s, the astronauts were bigger cultural icons than the Beatles. And no, that’s not the Colorado-based surf band…

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade

Wicked Switch

December 22, 2014 · Phil Feser

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade Price: $149.99 (black or white three-ply); $164.99 (white pearloid); $169.99 (brown tortoiseshell) Info:…

Dumble Overdrive Special OD150 WR

March 6, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Alexander Dumble’s creations were already established as legendary when we probed our first example in this space back in May…

Michael Staertow

Michael Staertow

Gramm Backer

April 11, 2016 · Chuck Riley

You may not recognize the name, but Michael Staertow has been playing some of classic rock’s most memorable riffs for…

  •  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

Jenny Boyd

Jenny Boyd

Searching For The Source

February 26, 2016 · Dan Forte

Dr. Jenny Boyd is founder and director of Spring Workshops, “organizing psychotherapeutic groups for people in need of personal development.”…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part Two

April 5, 2024 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Last month, we began looking at some of the more entertaining fretted instrument advertising of the 20th century, in what…

Mike Stern

Mixed Sources

September 5, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Mike Stern made his name playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, and others, carving a notable…

Ritchie Blackmore

Machine Head at 45: Tone Secrets of Deep Purple’s Masterwork

April 22, 2019 · Pete Prown

In any conversation about the dawn of hard rock and metal, several bands rise up –  Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath,…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Danelectro’s Four-String Basses

January 8, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

The guitars and basses made by Danelectro in the ’60s epitomized “no frills.” And though they were considered the nadir…

Tom Petersson

Lower-End Innovator

June 10, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

It’s been a long time comin’… Like his longtime bandmate, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick bassist/songwriter Tom Petersson collects classic stringed…

The Ovation Adamas II

October 10, 2023 · Michael Wright

What do you get when you cross a helicopter with a Martin dreadnought? Easy answer – Ovation guitars, perhaps the…

Recording King Ray Whitley

April 16, 2015 · George Gruhn

As a maker of high-quality instruments, Gibson was hit hard by the onset of the Depression in the 1930s. Company…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Keeley Electronics Dark Side

Floyd Explorer

May 3, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

In the multi-verse of effects, Robert Keeley’s gizmos are a thing of beauty – particularly those that provide multiple sounds.…

Kay’s K161 Thin Twin

Post-war Blues Box

July 5, 2018 · Pete Prown

In his day, Jimmy Reed was a huge influence on everyone from Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield to the Rolling…

Collings CJ-45 T

Golden Child

October 12, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Every now and then, you pick up a guitar and realize you’re holding magic in your hands. Welcome to the…

GJM Guitars Tenoroc

Designed To Rock

January 18, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Road-warrior guitarists with years of gigs under their belt who later design guitars have an advantage over builders without that…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Don Latarski

Electrifying

November 13, 2023 · Pete Prown

Don Latarski is well-known in the Pacific Northwest as a player, author, teacher, and composer. His acoustic playing is revered,…

Analog Man Bi-Comprossor

Analog Man Bi-Comprossor

Fresh-Squeezed Sounds

October 24, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Analog Man Bi-Comprossor Price: $275 Info: www.analogman.com Mike Piera, a.k.a. Analog Man, is known for creating pedals with a vintage…

Monster Mike Welch

From Phenom To Blues Veteran

April 28, 2024 · Dan Forte

Twenty-seven years after his debut album at age 17, Monster Mike Welch delivers perhaps his best disc yet with Nothing…

Guyatone Micro Effects

Little Boxes, Big Effects

April 29, 2020 · Phil Feser

Musical-instrument accessories importer Guyatone introduced its first series of Micro Effects three years ago to widespread praise. Knowing it was…

Ana Popovic

Memphis via Belgrade

April 9, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Ana Popovic was but a toddler when she started to absorb major musical mojo through her father’s love of the…

Jim Singleton

Jim Singleton

Clarksdale Collaboration

April 5, 2016 · Lisa Sharken

A connoisseur of vintage gear, VG readers may know Jim Singleton as the main man at Jim’s Guitars, in Pennsylvania.…

Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp

Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank

September 20, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for…

Keeley Electronics Dark Side

Floyd Fare

August 10, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

In the multi-verse of effects pedals, Robert Keeley’s compressors, dirt boxes, and workstation gizmos are a thing of beauty –…

Gibson EDS-1275 and EMS-1235

March 6, 2025 · Michael Wright

It’s hard not to associate doubleneck electric guitars with images of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page or fusion guru Mahavishnu John…

Gibson’s Budget Redux

The SB Series Guitars and Basses

March 2, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

As the 1960s rolled into the ’70s, Gibson had established itself in the electric-bass market with front-line instruments such as…

Dave Murphy: Acoustic Country!

May 15, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

 Classic Ballad Style Country/folk/rock singer/guitarist Dave Murphy wrangled guitarist Chris Tarrow for this take on “Josephine,’ from Dave’s new…

Orange County Guitar Show 2017

January 26, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

[caption id="attachment_26910" align="alignright" width="1112"] Joe Bonamassa's Special Fender Strat Exhibit at the Orange County Guitar Show[/caption] [caption id="attachment_26919" align="alignright" width="300"]…

Julian Lage

Squint

March 31, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Julian Lage walks an intriguing line between jazz and rock-and-roll. On his latest – and first release on the stellar…

Henry James Schneekluth

Psychedelic

April 3, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Henry James Schneekluth handles the groovy guitar parts in Robert Jon & The Wreck. While impassioned Southern rock might be an…

Metal Pedals JH-3

Metal Pedals JH-3

Swiss-Army Distortion

July 31, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Metal Pedals JH-3 Price: $235 (list) Contact: www.metalpedals.com Like a Swiss Army knife, the multifunction Metal Pedals JH-3 Johnny Hiland…

PAISLEY_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Brad Paisley

Two Vital Guitars From the Collection of a Modern Superpicker

April 21, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Brad Paisley’s 2011 book, Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, is…

John Scofield

Variety is the Spice

October 9, 2014 · John Heidt

Veteran jazz guitarist John Scofield has released a second album with Uberjam, which includes drummer Adam Detich, guitarist Avi Bortnick,…

Eastwood La Baye 2x4 Devo Signature Model

Eastwood La Baye 2×4 Devo Signature Model

Whip It Good

July 7, 2016 · Pete Prown

For decades, guitarists have lovingly referred to their solidbody guitars as “planks.” In the mid ’60s, a small builder called…

Musicvox MI-5 12-String

Musicvox MI-5 12-String

That Timeless Jangle

April 15, 2015 · Pete Prown

The Musicvox MI-5 12-String Price: $899 Info: www.musicvox.com. Since its appearances in the Austin Powers movies, Musicvox guitars have received…

Rob Wrobel Le Voyage Lace III

Boxed Up

July 10, 2019 · Chip Wilson

Cigar-box guitars are a 19th-century creation that today are enjoying a trendy surge in popularity, and attracting the design expertise…

Bogner Oxford Fuzz

Highly Educational

May 30, 2019 · Phil Feser

Teaming with Rupert Neve, Bogner Amplification has developed a line of pedals based on its renowned amp channels. One result,…

Check This Action: Folk Festival of Blues

October 9, 2025 · Dan Forte

I heard blues records earlier than I can remember. My dad had Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee albums, and a…

1940- 2024

Phil Lesh

September 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

The rock world was saddened to learn of bassist Phil Lesh’s death on October 25, at age 84. Perhaps the…

ValveTrain PowerTrain Studio 20

Tube Savior

October 13, 2022 · Pete Prown

We’ve all watched the guitar amp deconstruct before our eyes, as pedals, preamps, and power amps all shrink – and…

Tunerette

Smokin’ Tuner

May 8, 2025 · Joe Bigley

The guitar world has many options to stay in tune but none as cool-looking as the Tunerette. Don’t let the…

Carla Olson & Mick Taylor

Sway: The Best of Carla Olson & Mick Taylor

April 12, 2023 · Bret Adams

There’s a timelessness to the earthy, powerful rock and roll captured in this collection. The blend of Textones founder Olson’s…

The Fender Stratocaster

Aiming High

July 5, 2017 · Richard R. Smith

In 1953, Leo Fender started planning a new standard guitar – the Stratocaster. His partner, Don Randall, who headed Fender…

Daniel de Visé

King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King

June 8, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Sixty years, 90 countries, 15,000 concerts – and that tally doesn’t include B.B. King’s early years of juke joints, radio…

K775V Kay Jazz II and K5970V Jazz Special Bass

A-Ohh-Kay

February 4, 2016 · Sean OBryan Smith

K775V Kay Jazz II and K5970V Jazz Special Price: $1,495 (K775V Jazz II electric guitar); $1,150 (K5970V Jazz Special electric…