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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…

Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’
Bluesy and the Folksy
Meeting the demand for fans hankering for two titans of the blues to finally make an album together, Taj Mahal…

John Lee Hooker
Mr. Boogie
John Lee Hooker was the bridge between country blues and electric blues, something elegantly captured during a 53-year career. The…

Teisco Del Rey Basses
’60s Egalitarianism from Japan
Teisco Del Rey basses from the 1960s are exemplary of the Japanese-made instruments that swept into the American market like…

Marty Friedman
En Fuego on Inferno!
As he gears up for a co-headlining tour with Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G., Marty Friedman has 13 solo albums…

Beyond the Parlor
Part Three: Women
Ed. Note: In the final installment in his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes offers a study of several…

Maestro Ranger Overdrive and Invader Distortion
Evil Twins
Maestro’s new all-analog overdrive and distortion pedals are like evil twins – two black-sheep siblings that differ in concept but…
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…
ARTISTS

Steve Turner
The March To Fuzz
Thirty-five years after Steve Turner and Mudhoney became forever linked with two legendary pedals by coining their debut EP Superfuzz…

Tim May
The MVP
Renowned studio guitarist Tim May played his first film-score session in 1974, for John Schlesinger’s Day of the Locust. Now…

Ray Bonneville
Easy Groove
Ray Bonneville’s latest album, Easy Gone, glides on a steady groove. “I really like the way it sounds with these…

Bill Pitman
1920-2022
One of the last surviving members of the record industry’s famed Wrecking Crew, Bill Pitman died at his home in…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Keith Richards’ 1963 Gibson SG Custom
Ready to Ramble
In 1961, Gibson introduced the double-cutaway Les Paul to replace the original version, which had been endorsed by guitarist Les…

Rosewood Dobro
In the 1930s, the original Dobro company went through a series of ownership changes and licensing agreements. It did not…

A 5E3 Mystery
Readers of Vintage Guitar occasionally stumble on unique, prototype, or otherwise fascinatingly non-standard amps, and it’s a pleasure to share…

Round-Up Range
Rolling on a Post-Pandemic Project
Five years ago, I started making a Tele-style guitar inspired by the Gretsch Roundup. When Covid hit, I was up…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature
Grand Designs
PRS Alex Lifeson Signature Price: $8,999 (list) Contact: www.prsguitars.com What do you call the most beautifully made production acoustic you’ve…

Taylor T5z-12 Classic DLX
12-String Tech
Taylor’s acclaimed merging of acoustic and electric guitars continues to evolve with the T5z-12, a thinline 12-string with five-way pickup…

Effectrode Fire Bottle Magnetic Pickup Booster
The Box That Went to Harvard
The Effectrode Fire Bottle is a pedal that deviates from the norm and offers something fresh. Unlike a chorus, distortion,…

Providence Anadime Chorus ADC-4
Don’t Call It a Comeback
Providence Anadime Chorus ADC-4 Price: $249 (list) Contact: www.providence-ltd.com The chorus pedal holds the distinction of once having been extremely…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

Jake Andrews
Train Back Home
In his early 40s now, for some folks around Austin, he’ll always be “Guitar Jake.” When Andrews was eight years…

Weymann Model 848
Mail-Order Rara Avis
From 1864 through the 1940s, H.A. Weymann and Son, Inc. made, imported, and sold marching band, orchestral, percussion, and other…

Kramer 84 and Pacer Vintage
Tap, Shred, Dive!
Kramer 84/Pacer Vintage Price: $1,166 (84); $1,267 (Pacer Vintage) Info: kramerguitars.com It’s hard to think of ’80s guitars as vintage,…
ZZ Top
The First 20 Years, Un-Remixed
Usually, the hook with boxed reissues is that they include previously unreleased songs, alternate takes, live material, and maybe some…











































