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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…
Pop ’N Hiss: Humble Pie’s Smokin’
Free Wailin’
British rockers Humble Pie were steeped in blues and R&B influences that coursed through vocalist/rhythm guitarist Steve Marriott. When they…
Check This Action: Playing Guitar With The Ventures
Think of your favorite rock band, and imagine sitting in with them – or better yet, being a member. The…
Tom Feldmann And Noah Levy
Brothers in the Mud
Spoiler alert: While it’s early in the year, this album is already a shoe-in as one of the best blues…
Maintenance, Man
Basic Skills for Every Player
Acquiring and owning musical equipment is an expensive proposition. Used regularly, guitars and amps require maintenance that can lead to…
2025 January Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Lynyrd Skynyrd, Plasmatics, Jerry Douglas, Phil Lesh, Mark Farner, Larkin Poe, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ronnie Baker…
Styx
Crash of the Crown
BreaBreaking While 2017’s concept album The Mission embraced progressive rock, the new Styx album has even higher ambitions. Returning to…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
The Magical Philosophy Of Slide
Time, Touch, and Reverence
In ancient Africa, when early man first dragged a flat rock across a string tied to a stick, he couldn’t…
Letritia Kandle
and the Magnificent Grand Letar
Run down the list of early electric-guitar innovators and an all-male group typically comes to mind – Les Paul, Alvino…
Billy Squier
Recollections, Guitar Collection
Much has been written and said about Billy Squier and how his 1981 album, Don’t Say No, provided the spark…
Whitey Kirst
Life After Iggy
Whitey Kirst is known for smoldering lead-guitar tone and collaborating with punk-rock pioneer Iggy Pop. After four albums and hundreds…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
VG Q&A: ’71 Mahogany Precision?
Plus, a ’60s Conrad 12-String and Converting a ’65 ES-345TD-SV to Mono
I have a Fender Precision Bass with a 1971 neck date and serial number 296XXX, and I’ve always suspected the…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Rick Hogue
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Rick Hogue Season 01 Episode 09 In Episode 9 of VG’s “Buy That…
Gibson Style J Mando-bass
Decades before Audiovox or Leo Fender dreamed of making a fretted electric bass, Gibson started manufacturing fretted acoustic mando-basses that…
Yamaha Image
Some years back, an insurance company promoted itself as “the quiet company.” While they probably wouldn’t like to hear it,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Magnatone Twilighter
King of Vibrato
Magnatone Twilighter Price: $2,249 (12″ combo, list) Info: www.magnatoneusa.com. Magnatone is dead, long live Magnatone! The original Magnatone amp company…
Death By Audio’s Deep Animation
The Other Side
If you thought envelope filters died out after Jerry Garcia passed into the great beyond, think again. Submitted as proof…
Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive
A Step Further
Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive Price: H20 V3 $199 (list); VS-XO $199…
Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo
Endless Echo
Like politics, religion, and overdrive pedals, echo boxes are sure to incite staunch views, heartfelt arguments, and perhaps even fisticuffs.…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Allen Hinds, Tyler Reese, Brad Myers and Michael Sharfe
Instrumental Eclectic
In the hands of creative players, the guitar can do so many things. These three recent releases of mostly instrumental…
Jim Singleton
Clarksdale Collaboration
A connoisseur of vintage gear, VG readers may know Jim Singleton as the main man at Jim’s Guitars, in Pennsylvania.…
Fuchs Clean Machine II
Spotless Tone
The folks at Fuchs Audio Technology know that most guitarists use pedalboards loaded with effects they’ve loved, swapped, upgraded, and…
David Allen Bazooka Overdrive
Ka-Boom!
David Allen Bazooka Overdrive Price: $250 (list) Contact: www.dallenpickups.com An Internet search for “overdrive pedals” yields 1,610,000 hits, indicating a…
