The Fender Showman

The Showman

September 23, 2013 · Dave Hunter

In addition to several significant shifts in style and presentation, for Fender, the transition of the late 1950s into the…

Remembering Jeff Beck

January 24, 2023 · Greg Martin

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

Realistic Entertainer-34

January 26, 2016 · Dave Hunter

As prolific as the Radio Shack chain was in the ’60s, it’s surprising we don’t see more vintage Realistic guitar…

PRS SE Silver Sky

Aiming Higher

February 7, 2023 · Bob Dragich

In a world filled with Strat-type guitars, it takes a lot to set one apart, let alone stand above. The…

Robert John & The Wreck’s Henry James

July 28, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Cali-Style Southern Rock Southern-fried rock from California? You bet it’s tasty. Check out the guitar work of Henry James Schneekluth…

The Voxmobile

Too Fast to Live, Too Cool to Die

March 22, 2018 · Dave Hunter

Free love, slick guitars, hot cars! Few pieces of late-’60s pop culture were anywhere near as hip and groovy as…

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ARTISTS

Mike Campbell

Got Lucky

December 8, 2025 · Bret Adams

Mike Campbell is one of the most-heard guitarists on earth thanks to his work in the legendary Tom Petty and…

Hangin’ with Kid and Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen

September 5, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Smooth, Funky Blues With Soul Kid Andersen worked with Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop before scoring his current gig with…

Phil Collen

A Rock Cat Plays the Blues

February 27, 2018 · Greg Prato

In the eyes of many, there’s quite a difference between arena rock and blues rock. But not to Phil Collen,…

Michael Wilton

Michael Wilton

Rebuilding the Queensrÿche Brand

August 31, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

The highly publicized firing of singer Geoff Tate from the band Queensrÿche has divided fans and spawned two touring bands…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Fender Master Series

April 16, 2018 · Gary Koehler

Dan Smith had an idea – a solidbody guitar with routed chambers that would provide unique resonant tonal characteristics. And…

Fixing Tuner Holes in a Rare Gibson

Replacement Plague

October 14, 2021 · Dan Erlewine

I’ve worked on plenty of old Gibsons, but guitars like this 1939 J-55 are rare. It’s only the second one…

Etched in Time

“Signature” Gibsons from the Early Days of Cable

January 7, 2014 · Ward Meeker

In 1984, Christian Roebling went from being just another guy watching TV to creating what was likely the first television…

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…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The Universal Audio Astra Modulation Machine

Stately Shimmer

May 10, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Famous for well-regarded interfaces, plug-ins, and vintage-gear emulations, Universal Audio has entered the pedal business with the Astra Modulation Machine,…

Fargen Olde 800 MKII, Sonic Edge J&J Overdrive

Decades of Tone

May 9, 2016 · Zac Childs

The Fargen Olde 800 MKII Price: $1,949 Info: www.fargenamps.com. For 10 years, Ben Fargen has established a reputation for building…

Seymour Duncan SFX-07 Shape Shifter

Vintage Trem Sounds & Beyond

February 2, 2010 · Dan Forte

Seymour Duncan’s reputation when it comes to pickups (from dead-on vintage replicas to his own designs) has been well established…

UAFX Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb

Space, Man

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

The original Roland Space Echo was a thing of sonic beauty, used by everyone from Brian Setzer to Bob Marley…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Vinnie Moore

Double Exposure

October 28, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Neoclassical shredder Vinnie Moore’s latest features vocals for the first time. Double Exposure is a heavy-rock record saturated with funky…

Ceriatone’s OTS Mini 20 Overtone Lunchbox

Meal Ticket

April 26, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

For years, Ceriatone fans have suggested the amp maker offer its stellar Overtone Special sound in a scaled-down, affordable package.…

Fretprints: Robben Ford

The Early Years: Emergence of a Blues/Jazz Virtuoso

January 24, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

“Who is this kid?” gasped incredulous attendees of the Guitar Explosion festival at the Hollywood Bowl in June, 1973. It…

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…

The Orange Acoustic Pedal

Juice To Spare

July 22, 2022 · Michael Shirek

Since the dawn of amplification, engineers have sought a better mousetrap – a more-transparent signal chain that preserves signal and…

Susan Tedeschi

Albums Of Future Passed

November 1, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Susan Tedeschi’s second album, Just Won’t Burn, changed her life. Released in 1998, it pushed her from a local Boston…

Johnny A.

Beck-Ola: Johnny Plays Jeff

January 14, 2025 · Bob Dragich

The passing of Jeff Beck affected few people as much as it did Johnny Antonopoulos. “It had the same impact…

Marc Bonilla

Servant Of The Music

April 5, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

On March 11, 2016, keyboardist Keith Emerson took his own life. He was 71 and left a legacy of groundbreaking…

Coppersound Kingpin Clipper and Iris Optical Compressor

Royal Restraint

August 4, 2024 · Charlie Wilkins

With the growing popularity of small-footprint effects, Coppersound’s Kingpin Germanium Clipper and Iris Optical Compressor nicely fit the bill –…

Ana Popovic

Power

February 8, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Blues-rock barnstormer Ana Popovic’s latest is about love, perseverance, strength, and survival. After rising victoriously from 14 cancer treatments in…

Trainwreck Express “Nancy”

April 3, 2020 · Dave Hunter

World’s most desirable amplifier? Aside from any “standard” vintage amps that have been elevated through their associations with major artists,…

Gibson’s J-45 50s Faded

Lore Holder

January 18, 2024 · Michael Shirek

In the decade leading up to World War II, guitar builders started scaling up their acoustic offerings to meet the…

Becos FX TS8-JZ Ziffer Overdrive

Dirty Deeds

December 8, 2022 · Pete Prown

Based on the highly revered Maxon/Ibanez 808 circuit and co-designed with guitarist Jordan Ziff (Ratt, Marty Friedman, Hot Crazy), the…

Kansas’ Leftoverture

Iconic American Prog

December 23, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

Progressive rock emerged from the British psychedelic scene in the late ’60s with bands like the Nice, Procol Harum, Moody…

Wayne Kramer

1948-2024

December 13, 2024 · Willie G. Moseley

Guitarist and activist Wayne Kramer, best known as a founder of the iconic Detroit hard-rock band MC5, died in a…

Guitar Tone Company’s Bloody Finger

Rugged Facelift

December 27, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

While honing his ears at Greene Street Recording Studio in New York, David Harrington was inspired to build studio-quality stompboxes.…

Ron Jackson: Standards and Originals

May 23, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Warm, Inviting Jazz a la Montgomery and Benson Jazz guitarist Ron Jackson is a specialist on the seven-string. Here, he…

BluGuitar Amp1

Tiny Tube Terror

July 10, 2019 · Pete Prown

The trend toward the miniaturization of guitar gear shows no signs of slowing. Thanks to modern technology, guitarists are fitting…

Danelectro ’59 Resonator

Book This Dano

July 5, 2018 · Chip Wilson

While guitar enthusiasts expend a lot of brain power waxing poetic about tonewoods, for many VG readers of a certain…

Steve Ripley In the studio with a miscellany of tools of the trade - everything fom his favorite Tele to a National resoglas.

Steve Ripley

First Takes & Extra Takes

January 4, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Ed. Note: Guitarist/producer/recording artist/guitar innovator (we could add more to that list!) Steve Ripley has passed away (January 3, 2019)…

Wes Montgomery: His Life and His Music

Oliver Dunskus

December 9, 2021 · Wolf Marshall

You don’t have to be a bebopper thumbing a Gibson L-5 to appreciate the music of Wes Montgomery – arguably…

Billy Sheehan

Back to Big

April 24, 2019 · Greg Prato

Though there’s no denying Billy Sheehan’s exceptional technical talents on the bass, he has always kept sight on the importance…

John Mayall

1933-2024

May 30, 2025 · Pete Prown

Drummer Mick Fleetwood was only briefly a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but that was enough to launch his platinum…

Dennis Dunaway

Earwigs, Alice, and Beyond

March 20, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Lungs burning, sweat soaking their shaggy hair in the Arizona sun as miles passed beneath their feet, Dennis Dunaway and…

Whooooo Wal You?

John Entwistle’s fretless ’78 Wal

January 10, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Wal began building electric basses in the early 1970s as a collaboration between Englishmen Pete Stevens and Ian Waller. Their…

Rickenbacker 375F

Seven Siblings

October 4, 2017 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Every guitar company has had its odd ducks, its failures, its forgotten models. While some are consigned to the scrapheap…

Boss DD-200 Digital Delay

Test For Echo

May 5, 2023 · Pete Prown

Delay pedals are essential, but there are so many different types – tape, reverse, tap, cascade, shimmer, analog and more.…

Mark Lettieri’s funky finesse

January 2, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Virtuoso take on “Greenspace” Stepping out from his band, Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri exhibits the finesse, funk, and fury that…

Weller Guitars’ Stageliner

Jetson Moderne

November 29, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

More and more, guitar designers are digging deep, thinking out of the box, and using their imaginations to conjure hip,…