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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…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Duane Betts
Father to Son
It’s understandable if you detect a certain Southern-rock flare in the music of singer/guitarist Duane Betts. After all, his father…
Bill Nelson
Still Deluxe
Most people remember Bill Nelson as the front man/guitar hero in the English band Be Bop Deluxe. Since folding that…
Charlie Gracie
Rock’s Unsung Pioneer
“…as I went from London to Liverpool to Manchester to Birmingham to Scotland, in the audience were all these young…
Sue Foley’s Acoustic Blues
Sue’s Classic(al) jam in E Sue Foley improvises some blues with her flamenco guitar made by Francisco Navarro Garcia, in…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Acoustic Amplifiers
Early Acoustic amplifiers
I’m not really an amp guy, but I have two early Acoustic catalogs, from early ’73 and ’74. We might…
The Gibson Les Paul Model
Its official name – Les Paul model – doesn’t do it justice. After all, Gibson has made over a hundred…
Magnatone Amps
More Magnatone!
Non-MOTS Magnatones By the mid ’50s, mother of toilet seat (MOTS) had lost its appeal, as had Hawaiian music, so…
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 11
Burns Oddities and Ends
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Musicvox Space Cadet USB 30″ Custom
Short-Scale Slugger
Don’t be confused by the USB in this four-string’s name – there’s no computer-cable hookup. Instead, USB stands for “ultimate…
Epiphone’s 75th Anniversary Electar “1939” Century
Little Heartthrob
Many vintage amp connoisseurs have a special place in their hearts for the early Epiphone Electar amplifiers. David Bromberg is…
Cardinal’s Magpie
Bird in Hand
Cardinal Magpie Price: $4,300 Contact: www.cardinalinstruments.com While most folks are happy to buy guitars off the rack, the Cardinal Magpie…
Vox’s AC30CH and V212C Cabinet
Get Back
The Beatles helped popularize Vox amps, and Sir Paul tours with them today because they still have that sound –…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
