• 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 >>

TWA Hot Sakè and Dynamorph

Circuit City

April 23, 2019 · Pete Prown

Totally Wycked Audio (TWA) builds a line of cool stompboxes that consistently push the envelope in the right direction. Two…

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…

Walter Jr.

A Taste of (and from) Louisiana

July 13, 2020 · John Heidt

Walter Jr.’s blend of soul, funk, R&B, and everything-in-between never wanders far from home. It’s not hard to tell from…

Jorge Glem: Cuatro Mastery

April 6, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Brooklyn-Cumaná Jorge Glem uses his Venezualan cuatro to show us some of “Matapalo y Fuga,” from his new duet album…

Knaggs Chena Old Violin

Righteous Axe

October 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

With notable string-bending monsters like Larry Mitchell, Eric Steckel, and Steve Stevens singing the praises of Knaggs Guitars, Peter Wolf…

Carr Skylark

The Carr Skylark

Desert-Island Amp

May 2, 2015 · Michael Dregni

The Carr Skylark Price: $2,390 (list) Contact: www.carramps.com If you could own only a single guitar amp – horror of…

  • 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

Mary Osborne

Charlie’s Angel

July 9, 2014 · Jim Carlton

Jazz guitar pioneer Mary Osborne was the only female guitarist to realize a significant impact on jazz in the 1940s…

Adrian Smith

Different Scales

November 25, 2021 · Pete Prown

Guitarists usually spend years learning their scales, but Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith enjoys scales of the aquatic kind. In his…

Stroger lays it down on “Bob’s Back in Town”

July 22, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Chicago Blues Mainstay and His Legendary Bass Enjoy as Chicago mainstay bassist Bob Stroger uses his 1960 Jazz Bass (with…

Grant Geissman

Still Feeling Good

July 27, 2023 · Pete Prown

Admired for the iconic phase-shifter solo on Chuck Mangione’s 1978 smash “Feels So Good,” Grant Geissman can today look back…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

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…

Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos

Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos

July 10, 2015 · George Gruhn

This Gibson RB-3 five-string from 1925 is a rare piece, as is any five-string banjo from the era dominated by…

Watkins Rapier 33

October 8, 2015 · Michael Wright

If you were an American teenager in the late 1950s or early ’60s, and you wanted to play the new…

Jussi Jaakonaho’s beguiling “Beauty Box”

May 30, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Masterful Tapestry Soak it in as Jussi Jaakonaho and his 1970 Gibson SG Standard jam on ”Beauty Box” through a…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Setting Up Effects

Certain Guidelines Apply to a Signal Chain, But Your Ears Are the Ultimate Judge

June 2, 2015 · Lisa Sharken

One question frequently asked by guitar players is how to set up effects and arrange them in a 
proper signal…

BC Audio Grand Prix 100

Hand-Wired Heaven

April 16, 2019 · Pete Prown

For the past few years, builder Bruce Clement of BC Audio has been getting attention for his killer-sounding and meticulously…

Elektron Analog Drive

Big Swede

April 16, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Take a look at your pedalboard. You probably have three or four overdrives and fuzzes hooked up – and are…

Fender PM-2

Sitting-Room Savoir Faire

April 16, 2019 · Dennis Pernu

Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Jim Kelley Reverb Model

Legend, Resurrected

December 2, 2016 · Bob Dragich

Jim Kelley began making his highly acclaimed guitar amplifiers 1978. His big revelation came while he was still doing mods…

2021 November Issue on Spotify

November 2, 2021 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Night Ranger’s Brad Gillis, Eric Bibb, Rick Vito, K.K. Downing, Bobby Eli, Guy King, Pasquale Grasso,…

Billy Strings

Live, Volume 1

August 13, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

Billy Strings has travelled far from his days as bluegrass flatpicking prodigy, though that style remains a linchpin of his…

2021 October Issue on Spotify

November 2, 2021 · Doug Yellow Bird

This month we feature Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn, ZZ Top, Brian May, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford,…

Country Player of the Year

February 6, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

Albert Lee Awarded in 2018 Known primarily as a virtuoso sideman, over the past half-century, Albert Lee journeyed from British…

Fearless Guitar Heroes

Metallica’s Hammett and Hetfield Stage Legendary Solidbodies

July 10, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Metallica emerged as the antithesis to corporate rock and the “hair metal” that dominated L.A.’s Sunset Strip in the ’80s.…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend

What Goes Around…

April 30, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I learned to play guitar during the folk boom that, for me,…

Jack Casady

Hot Tuna, Part II

January 8, 2012 · Dan Forte

Jazz bass great Anthony Jackson once told Bass Player magazine he was drawn to Jack Casady’s “big, rich, metallic sound…

Dusky Electronics Toasted Overdrive

Let It Burn

March 13, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Dusky Electronics’ new Toasted Overdrive is an upgrade of the company’s two-stage MOSFET amp in a box; builder Chris Rossi…

Richie Kotzen

Solo and Salty

April 19, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Richie Kotzen was one of those kids – always entertaining the family with song and dance, usually in a crazy…

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…

Pop ’N Hiss: The Police’s Synchronicity

Sonic Stamp

June 5, 2025 · Bret Adams

“Going out on top” is a common sentiment among artists and athletes hoping to end their careers at their best…

St. Moritz Stereo

December 9, 2021 · Michael Wright

The notion of a stereo guitar became almost implicit when guitars started having two pickups. But it didn’t become a…

Eric Krasno

Always Keepin’ On

October 4, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Groovemeister Eric Krasno continues to push his funky, soul-jazz narrative with guitar front and center. His new record, Always, features…

Home Feature Image

2015 Readers’ Choice Awards

February 15, 1990 · Vintage Guitar

Each year, VG asks readers to select Readers’ Choice winners for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and…

Leo Lyons

Fifty Years After

September 9, 2024 · Pete Prown

More than a half-century ago, Ten Years After sat at the vanguard of British FM rock, blending blues boogies with…

Matteo Mancuso

Journey Into the Future

June 10, 2024 · Pete Prown

Emerging as a social-media sensation several years ago, Matteo Mancuso is changing the way we see and hear guitar. Using…

Epiphone 1963 Firebird V

Legacy-Worthy

July 10, 2025 · Bob Dragich

Looking to up the ante in the market battle with Fender, in October of 1962, Gibson CEO Ted McCarty asked…

Metallica

72 Seasons

March 16, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Metallica’s 11th album is a blast from the band’s hard-charging past, and does not disappoint. As the follow-up to 2016’s…

The DGN Custom Guitars Paragon Standard

In Search of Perfection

August 7, 2013 · Pete Prown

DGN custom guitars paragon standard Price: $3,000 (base) Contact: DGNcustomguitars.com. For the past few years, luthier Dan Neafsey has been making…

Classics: September 2021

Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225

May 6, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me…

Gibson Johnny Smith

June 29, 2015 · George Gruhn

In 1961, Gibson’s Johnny Smith model not only associated Gibson with one of the most popular guitar stylists of the…

Classics – March 2021

December 9, 2021 · Art Department

Scarce and beautiful, Gibson’s Flying V was an ahead-of-its-time marketing failure when introduced in 1958. Made of exotic limba (a…

Dave Wyndorf

Tab of God

July 2, 2019 · Greg Prato

In the early ’90s, a handful of bands were trailblazers in the realm of “stoner rock”; Kyuss, Sleep, Fu Manchu,…

John Leventhal

Rumble Strip

January 9, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

After 45 years as a roots music sideman and record producer, winning six Grammys, Leventhal’s first solo effort is an…

Tinsley Ellis

Tinsley Ellis

Tougher Than Ever

March 22, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

After decades of roadhouses, bars, and international touring, bluesman Tinsley Ellis is still going strong. A 1979 graduate of Emory…

David Bromberg

Testifying for 
the Blues

April 16, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Jerry Jeff Walker said it best. Describing David Bromberg’s contribution to Walker’s trademark 1968 song, “Mr. Bojangles,” he said simply…

Dave Davies

Dave Davies

Personal Songs and Power Chords

March 28, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

For more than a half-century, the world has known of guitarist Dave Davies and his raucous electric sound, thanks to…

John Pizzarelli Swings On A Vintage D’angelico

September 4, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Jazz Ace on an Heirloom Guitar For this exclusive rendition of “Just In Time,” swing ace John Pizzarelli grabbed the…