• 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…

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Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’

Bluesy and the Folksy

June 28, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

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

December 30, 2016 · Pete Prown

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

July 13, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

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

Marty Friedman

Marty Friedman

En Fuego on Inferno!

November 12, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

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

Beyond the Parlor

Part Three: Women

December 28, 2015 · Tim Brookes

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

July 28, 2023 · Michael Dregni

Maestro’s new all-analog overdrive and distortion pedals are like evil twins – two black-sheep siblings that differ in concept but…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    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…

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ARTISTS

Steve Turner

The March To Fuzz

April 29, 2024 · Dennis Pernu

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

June 30, 2023 · Jim Carlton

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

Ray Bonneville

Ray Bonneville

Easy Groove

January 18, 2016 · John Heidt

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

June 9, 2023 · Jim Carlton

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

February 9, 2022 · Jim Carlton

In 1961, Gibson introduced the double-cutaway Les Paul to replace the original version, which had been endorsed by guitarist Les…

Rosewood Dobro

Rosewood Dobro

January 18, 2016 · George Gruhn

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

A 5E3 Mystery

January 23, 2017 · Dave Hunter

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

May 13, 2025 · Dan Erlewine

Five years ago, I started making a Tele-style guitar inspired by the Gretsch Roundup. When Covid hit, I was up…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

Grand Designs

March 23, 2016 · Steven Stone

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

October 28, 2024 · Pete Prown

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’s Fire Bottle Magnetic Pickup Booster

Effectrode Fire Bottle Magnetic Pickup Booster

The Box That Went to Harvard

January 21, 2016 · Pete Prown

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

Providence Anadime Chorus ADC-4

Don’t Call It a Comeback

July 31, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

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

Jake Andrews

Train Back Home

April 19, 2024 · Dan Forte

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

October 8, 2019 · George Gruhn

From 1864 through the 1940s, H.A. Weymann and Son, Inc. made, imported, and sold marching band, orchestral, percussion, and other…

KRAMER_PACER_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Kramer 84 and Pacer Vintage

Tap, Shred, Dive!

January 4, 2016 · Sean OBryan Smith

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

March 3, 2014 · Dan Forte

Usually, the hook with boxed reissues is that they include previously unreleased songs, alternate takes, live material, and maybe some…

Woodstock 1969

Ten Years After

September 8, 2025 · Dan Forte

Though he was a multifaceted guitarist, Ten Years After’s Alvin Lee had a reputation as a speed demon – not…

Gibson’s Experimental Archtop

February 1, 2024 · George Gruhn

Orville Gibson invented the carved-top guitar in the 1890s, and his company refined the design with f-shaped sound holes in…

Charlie Parr

A Muse From Olden Times

November 28, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Charlie Parr makes new music from olden times. And he makes it the old way – not only using just…

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

February 24, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

For those who like their sacred steel music a little less sacred, Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s latest is…

The Vox Saturn IV

June 30, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

In the mid 1960s, England’s Vox company was in the right place at the right time. Buoyed by frontline British…

Friedman Amplification JEL-20

Firebreather

August 4, 2024 · Charlie Wilkins

For 25 years, Dave Friedman has been creating amplifiers that helped him (eh-hem) gain amp-guru status. His limited-run Jake E.…

Bobby Broom plays “Humpty Dumpty”

December 15, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

 Chicago native leans into the Benson/Green playbook on “Suspects” Guitarist Bobby Broom has recorded with legends including Kenny Burrell,…

Robin Trower featuring Sari Schorr

Joyful Sky

October 29, 2024 · Bret Adams

Trower, a legendary guitarist who has occasionally sung lead on his own albums, has more-often worked with stellar vocalists to…

Lucinda Williams

Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart

March 20, 2024 · Michael Dregni

Turning 70 is a time for reflection, and Lucinda Williams offers two takes. Her poetic autobiography recounts her troubled, peripatetic…

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…

A Tribute to Leslie West

Various artists

December 8, 2022 · Pete Prown

Here’s a much-deserved tribute to the Mountain guitarist who died in 2020, getting his due thanks to a procession of…

Epiphone Riviera

August 28, 2022 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

The Epiphone Riviera helped reinvent Epiphone in the 1960s as a modern guitar company whose instruments sported such contemporary features…

Fretprints: Michael Schenker

The UFO Years

June 5, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

Underrated pioneers of melodic metal in the 1970s and ’80s, UFO’s music compared with contemporaries Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, AC/DC, and…

Carl Bradychok and Don Leady

Roots Rock Generations

July 6, 2016 · Dan Forte

Those once considered the young guns of roots rock (Deke Dickerson, Dave Biller, Joel Paterson) are now “middle-aged.” So it’s…

Guy King

May 15, 2016 · John Heidt

Blues veteran Guy King steps out with a full big band on his latest and proves up to the task…

Rahul Mukerji

Indian Fusion Fanatic

September 20, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Traditional music from India makes ready use of stringed instruments such as sitars, veenas, and tanpuras. But Rahul Mukerji is…

Valvetech Suplex

A Kinder, Gentler Plexi

July 13, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Used by rock royalty, the 100-watt Marshall Model 1959 Super Lead unleashed hellacious tones. Problem was, it was ridiculously loud…

Ana Popovic

Relentless

January 30, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Rising victoriously after 14 cancer treatments, Ana Popovic continues to push the boundaries of blues-rock. Her latest album tells the…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Installing an Acoustic Pickup System

Un-Unplugged

November 10, 2022 · Dan Erlewine

For years, one of the most common jobs I’ve been asked to do is put a pickup in an acoustic…

Tyler Bryant’s “Bare Bones” and a vintage Duolian

January 28, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Shakedown front man offers taste of “Shake The Roots” Tyler Bryant grabbed his super-cool 1934 National Duolian to play a…

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…

The Blues Will Set You Free

May 30, 2025 · Dan Forte

We’ve all heard of blues in bars, but what about blues behind bars? That’s what Paul Oscher had in mind…

Keeley Hydra Stereo Reverb & Tremolo

The Life Aquatic

January 27, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Stompbox wizard Robert Keeley’s latest creation packs a boatload of deep-sea diver sounds in one small package. The Hydra Stereo…

Republic 207 Tricone

Brass Ring

July 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Resonator guitars appear to inspire a particular kind of affliction among players. And it’s a difficult addiction to maintain, given…

B&G Guitars’ Caletta Standard Build

Small But Mighty

December 8, 2022 · Rich Maloof

B&G Guitars are made in Tel Aviv by a talented shop that translates the best traits of traditional guitars into…