-
Taylor® Guitars Kicks Off 2026 With Two Major Launches – The Next Generation Of Its Flagship Grand Auditorium Guitars And New Gold Label Square-Shoulder Dreadnoughts
Taylor upgrades its most iconic models, adding “Next Generation” features to its Grand Auditorium body shape while expanding its recently introduced Gold Label Collection with traditional, square-shoulder dreadnoughts EL CAJON,…
-
Thomas Custom Guitars
Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich…
-
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…
Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, Nano Big Muff
Add OD, To Taste
Price: Soul Food, $89.25 (list), $62.81 (street); Nano Big Muff, $95.64 (list), $69.80 (street) Info: www.ehx.com Guitarists have an insatiable…
Martin CEO 8.2E
Corner-Office Acoustic
Which new Martin is based on a vintage-reissue with a pronounced low-end? Noooo, the model designation does not begin with…
Don Culig
Dream Finish
The Covid pandemic forced immeasurable change on humanity. Much of it involved temporary adaptation, but there were also plenty of…
Guardians of Grandeur
The Men Who Tend to the Guitars of the Hard Rock Cafe
“A lot of people think I go in [to a sale] with an open checkbook, but that’s not the case;…
Paul Reed Smith
Lions Roaring in Quicksand
The new album by guitar builder Paul Reed Smith and his band, Eightlock, offers soul-based sounds with deep grooves, three…
The Supro Hampton
Island Unto Itself
Supro’s vintage Ozark guitar is famed as Jimi Hendrix’s first axe. According to legend, his father bought him an off-white…
-
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…
NOW AVAILABLE!
CURRENT ISSUE
Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!
ARTISTS
Joe Satriani
Creativity and Chaos
Calling any player “the hardest working guitarist in the business” is rather like referring to one as the “best guitarist”…
Dan Auerbach
Black Keys’ Road Map Back to Blues, British Rock
Forget about the classic quartet. Forget the power trio. Forget any preconceived shortcomings you may have concerning a rock-and-roll duo.…
Shane Theriot
Diggin’ Daryl’s
What does it take to be the lead guitarist and musical director for one of pop’s most celebrated duos, transitioning…
Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355
Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Spectrum 5
Joining playful mid-’60s cultural icons such as the Ford Mustang, NBC’s “The Monkees,” the Beatles’ “Nowhere Man” and Cassius Clay, the…
Selmer/RSA Truvoice TV10
Shock and Awe
If the British market needed a couple of decades to decide what form the guitar amplifier would ultimately take, we…
Recording Acoustic Guitars
The Art of Home Recording
Recording an acoustic guitar is very different from recording an electric, employing different microphones, placement, and technique. Here are a…
Hallmark Swept-Wing
Brief Flight from South of Bakersfield
Bob Shade exemplifies the adage “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The guitar builder has an enviable assortment of…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Lively Drives
-
Posh Squash
-
Chet Powered!
Keeley Hydra Stereo Reverb & Tremolo
The Life Aquatic
Stompbox wizard Robert Keeley’s latest creation packs a boatload of deep-sea diver sounds in one small package. The Hydra Stereo…
DryBell Module 4
Compress Yourself
Inspired by the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, Drybell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s Module 4 Compressor adds several highly usable features.…
Collings CJ-45 T
Golden Child
Every now and then, you pick up a guitar and realize you’re holding magic in your hands. Welcome to the…
Universal Audio’s OX Amp Top Box
The Tube Abides
Since the mid ’60s, electrical engineers have been trying to drive a stake into the heart of the vacuum tube,…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
Revisiting Room 335
-
Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
-
Rising Tides
Danelectro ’84
Love Struck
The Danelectro name first surfaced on amplifiers in the late 1940s, then later on guitars made with Masonite bodies and…
Neil Giraldo
Road Routine
The hard-driving husband-and-wife rock act that hits the stage as Pat Benatar and Neil “Spyder” Giraldo is responsible for more…
The Rickenbacker B14A
Silver Service
For most guitarists today, glimpsing a vintage Rickenbacker combo elicits a response like, “Wait… Rickenbacker made amps?” But remember,…
Michael Bloomfield’s ’63 Telecaster
This Guitar Killed Folk!
A silver-spoon teen who loved sneaking into Chicago’s southside blues clubs, Michael Bloomfield reveled in absorbing all he could from…
