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2025 December Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free…
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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…

Steve Vai
Vai/Gash
Recorded during two weeks in 1991, Vai/Gash is a collaboration between Steve Vai and late singer Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto, expressing…

Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931
Vintage Revolution
If you’ve ever played a fine vintage guitar, you know how two things jump out at you immediately: 1) they’re…

Joanna Connor
Still Rising
Joanna Connor’s new album is a killer batch of tunes with a live feel infused by the spirit of Chicago’s…

The DryBell Vibe Machine V-2
Catch A Wave
DryBell is renowned for one of the most authentic and pedalboard-friendly Uni-Vibe recreations on the market. Five years after launching…

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+
35 Watts on a Gold Platter
Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+ Price: $1,599 (list) Contact: www.suprousa.com Upon introduction in 1964, the Valco-made Supro Thunderbolt Model S6420 was a…

Pop ’N Hiss: Be Bop Deluxe’s Live! In the Air Age
Atmospheric Axes
For a shining moment, the eclectic British quartet Be Bop Deluxe rose above an upheaval in rock and pop in…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s…
ARTISTS

Pasquale Grasso
One-Man Duo
In the 1940s, jazz pianist Art Tatum wowed audiences with a virtuoso technique that sounded like two players. Today, Pasquale…

God gave us rock n’ roll and Chuck Berry was one of His messengers
Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop
This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…

Stephen Ulrich
Film Noir Guitar
The instrumental music of Big Lazy echoes of Hollywood soundtracks – scores from gritty detective flicks, suspenseful prison breakouts, and…
George Kilby, Jr.
The Succinct Approach
George Kilby, Jr.’s Six Pack is, he says, a “collection of singles” rather than an EP or album. Kilby graduated…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Ampeg VT-22
Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Bass Instrument…

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

National Style O
Industrial Art
National. The name is patriotic! And what else but American inventiveness could have brought about a metal-bodied guitar? The answer…

Fixing Tuner Holes in a Rare Gibson
Replacement Plague
I’ve worked on plenty of old Gibsons, but guitars like this 1939 J-55 are rare. It’s only the second one…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Music Man’s JP13
Petrucci Pick
Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes…

Lipe Guitars Maestro
Whole Lotta Mahogany
Lipe Maestro Price: $4,900 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has a wall of gold records. Why? Not because…

PRS SE NF3
Expanded Options
The latest result of PRS Guitars “reverse-engineering”/ reconsidering its own instruments, the SE NF3 is the first PRS to be…

Cornford Hurricane
Exemplary "extension of your playing" amplifier
Since its introduction, English amp builder Paul Cornford’s 6-watt Harlequin recording amp has had a reputation for great sound. Many…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides

Richie Kotzen
Nomad
More than 30 years into a wildly eclectic career (hey, the guy played with Poison and bass god Stanley Clarke),…

Marshall’s DSL1C
Small Stack
For those who love classic British tone, nothing beats the sound of a Marshall stack cranked to 10. Unfortunately, unless…

Ally Venable
Real Gone
Ally Venable has deep roots in blues-rock, but it’s easy to picture her as a festival headliner. A legitimate triple…

The Selmer Zodiac 50
The Zodiac Twin Fifty
An amp maker at the very heart of the British guitar boom of the late ’50s and early ’60s, Selmer…











































