• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

    Read more >>

Home Feature Image

Teye Super Coyote

Zemaitis Redux

June 10, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Teije Wijnterp has been around. Born in the Netherlands, he studied flamenco guitar in Spain before relocating to Austin and…

Greg Lake’s 
Zemaitis Doubleneck

Twice as Heavy

March 20, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

With progressive-rock juggernaut Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (1947-2016) played more than one instrument made by the renowned…

Fishman’s Fluence Greg Koch Gristle-Tone Pickups

Voices Not In Your Head

July 5, 2018 · Tom Guerra

In 2014, Fishman introduced their Fluence line with the goal of combining vintage tone with freedom from the inductance problems…

The Birth of Newman Guitars

September 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

  Newman Guitars was established in Austin, TX in 1977 by Ted Newman Jones. Ted was a pioneer of design…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 039 Featuring Lyle Workman

December 1, 2020 · Art Department

In Episode 39 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist/composer Lyle Workman, whose new solo…

Harvey Valdes

Switched-On Bach

March 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

Ever since Andrés Segovia elevated the nylon-string guitar to a serious classical instrument a century ago, players have been performing the…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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,…

    Read more >>

NOW AVAILABLE!

CURRENT ISSUE

Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!

ARTISTS

Price’s highly modified Les Paul Jr. (shown here in ’77) has been his primary guitar for years.

Rod Price

Opens Up

February 6, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Part One It used to be that photos didn’t lie. But nowadays (as supermodels and tabloids have proven) that’s not…

Fretprints: Mick Ralphs

Delivering in Bad Company

April 29, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Unabashedly British and irresistibly swaggering, Bad Company personified ’70s arena rock. Detractors denounced them as machismo, but fans have bought…

George Kilby, Jr.

The Succinct Approach

May 5, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

George Kilby, Jr.’s Six Pack is, he says, a “collection of singles” rather than an EP or album. Kilby graduated…

Fretprints: Jack Wilkins

Farewell to a Modern Jazz Master

July 26, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Jazz guitar recently lost one of the great ones. Jack Wilkins, champion of modern traditionalism (or is it traditional modernism?)…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Supro 1600R Supreme and 600 Reverb

Toneful Twosome

March 27, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Supro amps from the late 1950s and early ’60s are some of the most stylish of the era, and boast…

The Duane Allman “Layla” Guitar?

A ’57 Gibson Les Paul Emerges To Tell a Story

March 7, 2018 · Ward Meeker

Taken in trade by a music store in Florida, it was sold to a local recording studio in 1977. Shortly…

Gibson L-00

1933 Gibson L-00

March 3, 2016 · Dave Hunter

While most of the instruments featured in this space are high-end, often elaborately ornamented models that were expensive when new…

Tony Mottola

Mr. Big, Guitar Pioneer

June 12, 2025 · Jim Carlton

Some argue that Tony Mottola was more legendary than famous. In a career spanning 50 years, the guitarist logged thousands…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

JHS Pink Panther

Diamond Delay

July 3, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

To mark the 10th anniversary of its original Pink Panther delay, JHS has created an updated edition that packs a…

Iconix Pickups Black Mass

Michigan Metal

July 9, 2018 · Chip Wilson

Michigan may have given us the automobile production line, but Troy-based Iconix Pickups is the antithesis of an assembly line…

Ibanez AF95

Jazzed UP

October 13, 2022 · Pete Prown

In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…

Cordoba 15CFM

Hawai’i Not?

January 21, 2022 · Pete Prown

The ukulele phenomenon shows no signs of slowing, with models ranging from well under $100 on up to thousands. The…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

The Dead Live On

Various Artists

July 5, 2018 · Michael Dregni

The Grateful Dead just may be more popular now that the band is actually dead and gone. Their musical industrial…

Jam Pedals RetroVibe

Bridge Of Floyd

July 10, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

In a civilized world, every guitarist would have a bit of Robin Trower, Pink Floyd, and Band Of Gypsys shimmer…

Gibson 1953 GA-40 Les Paul Model

Brown Sound

March 31, 2025 · Dave Hunter

Gibson landing Les Paul’s name on the headstock of its debut solidbody electric in 1952 was the biggest guitar-star endorsement…

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…

Paco de Lucia

Paco de Lucia

1947-2014

October 7, 2014 · Pete Prown

Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia died February 26 after suffering a heart attack in Cancun, Mexico. He was 66.…

Fretprints: Billy Duffy

Personality of The Cult

October 13, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

Co-founder of The Cult, Billy Duffy was Britain’s last ’80s guitar hero, with an attitude and sound that embodied the…

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Live From the Ryman, Vol. 2

November 7, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium is a special venue for Isbell & the 400 Unit. As their stature has grown beyond roots…

Richie Kotzen

Better Days Coming

July 26, 2023 · Greg Prato

Richie Kotzen is one of today’s busiest rock guitarists. In addition to being a long-time solo artist (and possessing an…

Southern Boogie from Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

August 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Band jams on acoustic “Flatcar” take “The South is a complex and nuanced place,” says Ben Reynolds of his native…

The Cost of Protection

100 Years of Instrument Cases

July 10, 2018 · George Gruhn

Modern guitars are typically sold with a hard case. But that wasn’t always so. Here, we look at the history…

Warner Hodges

Warner Hodges

In And Out of Scorcherland

February 24, 2016 · Ward Meeker

If your ear was at all tuned to “alt-country” (a.k.a. cowpunk) in the late ’80s or you were lucky enough…

Zac Sokolow

LA LA Land

June 25, 2025 · Pete Prown

LA LOM rekindles of the sound of “psychedelic chicha” – a south-of-the-border reaction to the electrified 1960s. Picture the Ventures…

Arbiter Fuzz Face

January 14, 2016 · Michael Dregni

When Jimi Hendrix released his first album, 1967’s Are You Experienced, he launched a new level of guitar heroics as…

Gibson Blond j-35 Photo: Kelsey Vaughn, courtesy George Gruhn. Vintage Guitar magazine Home Feature

Gibson’s “blond” J-35

January 17, 2016 · George Gruhn

In the world of vintage guitars, people tend to use the words “blond” and “natural” interchangeably to describe a finish…

Alan Gogoll

Harmonic Convergence

December 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

Hailing from the Australian island state of Tasmania, Alan Gogoll is reshaping acoustic guitar before our eyes. Sure, you’ve heard…

Roy Treviño

Joining the Conversation

May 20, 2021 · John Heidt

With his new self-titled album, South-Texas-based guitarist Roy Treviño accomplished his goals by simply being himself and letting the music…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 6

1964: Nu-Sonics and Transistor Trials

February 7, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

Bob Page

November 13, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Bob Page, co-founder of the vintage-instrument shop Buffalo Brothers, died December 24 after falling and suffering a head injury at…

Martin’s Gibson

April 28, 2021 · Ward Meeker

Greg Martin’s infatuation with the sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard started in 1966, when, “I saw the picture of John…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Reviving a ’56 Duo-Jet, Part Two

Ugly, But An Oldy

March 16, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

In the March issue, I introduced you to my apprentice, Blake Burkholder, and the restoration he was doing to a…

Marty Stuart

Country Roots Master

April 18, 2019 · Bob Cianci

For 30-plus years, Marty Stuart has blended traditional country, rockabilly, and honky-tonk into a potent mix. Following stints as a…

Robert Mugge

Capturing the Blues

July 6, 2016 · Dan Forte

In 1991, Robert Mugge made the documentary Deep Blues, with the help of journalist Robert Palmer, who wrote the book…

David Hamburger: masterful playing, 00-18 deep dive

July 26, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

David Hamburger and his ’56 00-18 Singer/songwriter David Hamburger is also an impressive fingerstyle player who knows a great guitar…

The Rascals’ Gene Cornish

Wild Legacy

April 26, 2019 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

Gene Cornish is fond of the time he spent in the ’60s pop band The Rascals, which he credits for…

Dave Mason

Now We All Know

June 24, 2025 · Bret Adams

In his new autobiography, Only You Know & I Know, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Dave Mason looks back on his incredible life, including…

GA-20’s Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty

FlashBack Sounds, Forward Steps

August 8, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Musical gateways opened by Jimi Hendrix and the Doors led Matt Stubbs to become a disciple of Johnny “Guitar” Watson,…

Britt Daniel

Spoonful of Sounds

April 14, 2020 · Michael Dregni

If the Beatles were still around, chances are they’d be checking out Spoon. Like the Fab Four, the group revels…

Tommy Emmanuel

One-Man Orchestra

February 2, 2026 · Oscar Jordan

Tommy Emmanuel is a real guitarist in its truest sense. On Live At The Sydney Opera House, he stands onstage…

Frank Gambale Vintage Guitar magazine

Frank Gambale

Soulmine

December 11, 2013 · Oscar Jordan

Frank Gambale has had an amazing career playing the music he loves. From being the go-to guy for sweep-picking, and…