• 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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Cornford Hurricane

Exemplary "extension of your playing" amplifier

December 29, 2004 · Phil Feser

Since its introduction, English amp builder Paul Cornford’s 6-watt Harlequin recording amp has had a reputation for great sound. Many…

Earl Slick

Martian Connection – and More

April 1, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

Brooklyn-born guitarist Earl Slick is best-known for his work with David Bowie, which spanned several decades. His recent participation with…

ZVEX Woolly Mammoth 7

Fuzzy Beast

March 6, 2017 · Michael Dregni

Zachary Vex masterminds some of the most radical and downright fun pedals known to mankind. And as he states in…

Donner LAX Comp

To The Limit

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

Whether used for funky tones, a gentle sonic sheen, or as gatekeeper for your rig’s volume, compressors are handy –…

Eric Krasno

Funk Soul Brother

August 30, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Smart guitar players discover early on that if they want to control their musical destiny, it doesn’t hurt to learn…

Hannu Könönen: Surf Stirred with Rautalanka

March 1, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

From Finland’s Icy Fjords Hannu Könönen used his home-assembled guitar to play “Lets’s Surf to the Dawn,” a track from…

  •  Reverend Sensei H90

     Reverend Sensei H90

    Live Wire

    So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and…

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ARTISTS

Check This Action: One Sax, Three Guitars

June 7, 2023 · Dan Forte

It starts with a tenor saxophone floating above spare electric guitar arpeggios. After a dipsy-doodle cadenza, the sax states a…

Neil Giraldo Home Main

Neil Giraldo

Road Routine

February 4, 2016 · Ward Meeker

The hard-driving husband-and-wife rock act that hits the stage as Pat Benatar and Neil “Spyder” Giraldo is responsible for more…

 Steve Hackett

No Limits

November 7, 2025 · Bret Adams

Steve Hackett is one of the busiest guitarists around, regularly issuing new studio and live albums. His latest, Live Magic…

Mick Ralphs

Good Company

March 20, 2019 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

In 1972, one of Britain’s best bands, Mott The Hoople, still hadn’t made any impact on the charts. Its record…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Marshall Major

Force Commander

March 3, 2022 · Dave Hunter

Any player who shows up these days with a 200-watt guitar amp will elicit a hearty, “Are you out of…

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…

L-5 to Super 400

L-5 to Super 400

The Story of Gibson’s Big Archtops

September 30, 2015 · George Gruhn

The archtop guitar is a uniquely American instrument which can be traced directly to the creative genius of one person…

Brian Setzer

What a Dude Does

August 17, 2024 · Bret Adams

You can’t keep an iconic rocker down. Brian Setzer’s The Devil Always Collects is his first album in more than…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

GJ2 Arete 5-Star Featured Image

GJ2 Arete 5-Star

Monster of Rock

June 5, 2015 · Pete Prown

Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $3,999 Info: www.gj2guitars.com. Grover Jackson is a name forever associated with classic metal and…

Tim Bogert’s Modified Fender

One Fudged Bass

August 22, 2013 · Willie G. Moseley

When Vanilla Fudge helped pioneer the progressive-rock movement in the latter half of the ’60s, bassist Tim Bogert played more…

Xotic Bass BB Preamp V1.5

In Your Face

August 28, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Sometimes, bassists need boost, too, like when that bass-solo interlude from Sade’s “Smooth Operator” comes along and it’s time to…

Ernie Ball Music Man Luke3

Cool-Hand Luke

April 10, 2014 · Rich Maloof

The latest model in Ernie Ball Music Man’s Steve Lukather signature series was designed to answer Lukather’s demand for an…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

John McLaughlin

The Montreux Years

January 17, 2023 · Pete Prown

This retrospective from the Swiss jazz festival spans 28 years, covering miles of jazz-rock territory. In 1984, McLaughlin formed a…

Larry Coryell

January 26, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

The lastest from the godfather of fusion guitar harkens back to his ’71 album Barefoot Boy, revisiting the energy, philosophy,…

The No Ones

My Evil Best Friend

January 25, 2024 · Dennis Pernu

This latest in decades of collaborations between R.E.M. guitar man Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey is the pair’s third collection…

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”

March 13, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

This may well be the most desirable Fender Stratocaster on the face of the planet. And it happens to be…

Reverend Rick Vito Soul Agent

Swank Plank

February 8, 2024 · Pete Prown

Some guitars look great, while others sound or play great. With Reverends’ Rick Vito Soul Agent, you get all three…

Kiss

Destroyer 45

October 27, 2022 · Pete Prown

Following their Alive! breakout, Kiss hired producer to the superstars Bob Ezrin and cut what became their first platinum album,…

Toys For Tots and Dreams Psychedelic Realized Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

Toys For Tots and Psychedelic Dreams

December 23, 2018 · Greg Martin

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

Tech 21’s Fly Rig Brit and Cali

Little Monsters

March 15, 2019 · Pete Prown

In this age of shrinking guitar rigs, Tech 21’s Fly Rig pedals show just how guitar-related technology is getting smaller…

The Marshall Major

Force Commander

March 3, 2022 · Dave Hunter

Any player who shows up these days with a 200-watt guitar amp will elicit a hearty, “Are you out of…

Beauty and the Bastards

July 6, 2016 · John Heidt

This album is a set of songs beautifully assembled by guitarist Danny Mangold. He recruits various friends, including his former…

Rickenbacker 4005

November 24, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

California’s Rickenbacker guitar company has a tradition of things a bit differently. One of the earliest electric guitars was their…

Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.

December 21, 2022 · Tom Guerra

Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using…

Fender Palomino

July 3, 2022 · Michael Wright

Whether all collectors are as attached to nicknames as guitar enthusiasts is unclear. Do salt-and-pepper shaker collectors have fond shortcuts…

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

It was 50 years ago today…

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

June 1, 2017 · Greg Martin

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

Have Guitar Will Travel – 029 Featuring Greg Koch

June 23, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

Episode 29 of James Patrick Regan’s “Have Guitar Will Travel” podcast features “The Gristlemaster,” Greg Koch, who talks about his…

Strymon Flint Tremolo and Reverb

Our Man Flint

December 19, 2013 · Rich Maloof

Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb Price: $200 Info: www.strymon.net. In just a few short years, Strymon has established itself as…

Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive

Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive

A Step Further

July 29, 2015 · Sean OBryan Smith

Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive Price: H20 V3 $199 (list); VS-XO $199…

Yasmin Williams

Urban Driftwood

October 14, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

Acoustic fingerstylist Yasmin Williams takes ambidextrous musicianship to new and adventurous places on her second album. Urban Driftwood finds Williams…

Donner Rising-G Pro

Weather-Ready

July 6, 2023 · Pete Prown

Composite and graphite guitars have been around for more than 50 years, from famous Ovation acoustics to the Parker Fly,…

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…

Epiphone Emperor Swingster

Juke-Joint Jammer

August 9, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

Though its high-point in terms of popular exposure may have occurred when McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison “discovered” the Casino, Epiphone…

The Birth of the Gretsch Duo Jet

Gretsch Gets With It!

March 4, 2022 · Edward Ball

In 1950, Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster. The first solidbody electric Spanish guitar to bear his soon-to-be-famous name, its thin…

The Rivolta Combinata Bass VII

Euro Flash

July 18, 2022 · Pete Prown

Rivolta’s Combinata VII bass takes ideas from Rickenbacker, Höfner, and various European builders lost to history and wraps them into…

ZT Extortion Expressive Distortion

Mutant Distortion

May 8, 2014 · Rich Maloof

ZT Amplifiers put their name on the map four years ago with the compact Lunchbox solid-state amp. Now they continue…

Tech 21 Fly Rig 5

Tech 21 Fly Rig 5

Tone To Carry-On

March 21, 2016 · Rich Maloof

Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 Price: $249 (list) Contact: www.tech21nyc.com Long before the Line6 POD, the Box of Rock, or…

Zakk Wylde

Doomsayer

August 11, 2022 · Greg Prato

Best-known as Ozzy Osbourne’s longest-tenured guitarist, Zakk Wylde has also been the leader of Black Label Society since the late…

Thin Lizzy

Vagabonds of the Western World 50th Anniversary

October 29, 2024 · Pete Prown

Long before “The Boys Are Back in Town,” Thin Lizzy was a pugnacious Dublin trio with bassist Phil Lynott and…

Zakk Wylde

Electric Heart, Acoustic Soul

February 27, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Storming the stage like King Conan The Biker, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde was one of the highlights of…

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #8

July 16, 2021 · Doug Yellow Bird

Ray Cummins’ eighth exclusive lesson for VG demonstrates how to play backward rolls (arpeggios) being used in an intro or…