• 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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Jared James Nichols

Jared James Nichols

June 19, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Pentatonic beast and Gibson ambassador Jared James Nichols’ third album bristles with out-of-the-box soloing amidst crafty tunes where blues-rock meets…

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Louis Electric Buster

Beyond Deluxe

December 18, 2015 · Zac Childs

Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595. Info: louisamps.com Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than…

Check This Action: Remembering Denny Freeman

July 11, 2022 · Dan Forte

As music-conscious as Austin is, not every musician who dies elicits the outpouring given to Denny Freeman. The Paramount Theater…

Tom Petty and Mike Campbell

Guitars at Heart for 30 Years

July 14, 2020 · Ward Meeker

Remember the first time you strummed a D chord or fumbled your way oh-so-slowly through “Walk Don’t Run”? Chances are…

Andrew Watt

Andrew Watt

On Being With Hughes & Bonham

January 19, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Andrew Watt’s star was rising on the New York club scene when bassist Glenn Hughes took his career up a…

Andrew Hendryx

Andrew Hendryx – Lesson: “Into The Mystic” on a mandolin

March 15, 2019 · Andrew Hendryx

Andrew Hendryx lesson of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” on Mandolin Andrew Hendryx uses his Collings MF5 (with D’Addario strings)…

  • 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,…

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ARTISTS

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Pete Huttlinger

A Narrative (and album) From the Heart

August 13, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

To call Pete Huttlinger a survivor is an understatement. The notable Nashville fingerpicker has fought back from a major stroke…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Steve “Frog” Forgey

August 5, 2025 · Ram W. Tuli

Season 03 Episode 04 In Episode 3.4 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Steve “Frog” Forgey…

Jack Bruce

Shadows and (Erstwhile) Short-Scale Basses

April 14, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Veteran bassist Jack Bruce is back in action with a new album and tour. Best known for his membership in…

The Tale of Bobby Whitlock’s D-35

Storied Board

The Tale of Bobby Whitlock’s D-35

January 24, 2017 · Daniel Wile

Plenty of musicians personalize instruments with their names or initials. So, it’s easy to assume that Robert “Bobby” Whitlock commissioned…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Intriguing Twosome

A Look at Gibson’s EB-6

July 9, 2018 · Willie G. Moseley

As the ’50s drew to a close, Gibson was locked in a heated battle with Fender for a share of…

Q&A With George Gruhn: A Strong Case

And When to Get an Appraisal

March 3, 2022 · George Gruhn

Some of my vintage guitar cases are very worn. One Martin case from the ’40s is missing a latch and…

Paul Bigsby’s Myrtlewood Guitars

April 30, 2024 · Deke Dickerson

= Few things are as satisfying as a guitar with a good story to tell. Some vintage guitars might be…

The Rickenbacker B14A

Silver Service

April 4, 2022 · Dave Hunter

  For most guitarists today, glimpsing a vintage Rickenbacker combo elicits a response like, “Wait… Rickenbacker made amps?” But remember,…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Teye Apache

Sound, Feel, Mojo

March 6, 2017 · Ray Wuolo

One of three stunning L-series models (along with its brothers, the El Toro and Cleopatra) introduced by guitar builder Teye,…

Soul Tramp Tweed 12

5E3 (Non) Copy

January 8, 2018 · Anders Fransson

Soul Tramp Amps are builder Don Hill’s take on classic amp circuit designs… for instance, his Tweed 12 offers a…

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Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model

A Semi-Hollow For Joe

January 29, 2014 · Zac Childs

Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model Price: $3,335 (street) Contact: gibson.com. The collaboration of Gibson and blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa began…

Fender’s ’57 Custom Pro-Amp

Big Brother

March 13, 2019 · Michael Dregni

When most guitarists consider Fender’s famed vintage tweeds, the first that come to mind are the 5E3 Deluxe and 4×10…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Yamaha’s THR100HD Dual Amp

Double Vision

July 3, 2019 · Pete Prown

Modeling amps have evolved rapidly as software and circuits have improved and become, dare we say, more organic sounding. The…

BBE Sonic Stomp Pro & Green Screamer V2

Maximized Tone

December 23, 2023 · Pete Prown

Contributing to a recent burst of creative releases in the effects market, BBE added a pair of stompboxes to its…

Steve Dawson

February 9, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Channeling Sol Hoopii in “Singin’ the Blues” Steve Dawson used his unplugged Celtic Cross Weissenborn model lap steel and…

Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis

Douglas K. Miller

July 2, 2025 · Bret Adams

“(Jesse Ed Davis) is the cream of the crop; he’s better than Clapton and Hendrix put together,” said Gram Parsons.…

Spirit

It Shall Be, 1968-’72

July 5, 2018 · Pete Prown

Rock history is littered with truly gifted bands that inexplicably never broke big, from The Move to The Replacements. Spirit…

Jake Andrews

Train Back Home

April 19, 2024 · Dan Forte

In his early 40s now, for some folks around Austin, he’ll always be “Guitar Jake.” When Andrews was eight years…

The ViVi-Tone Aggrandizer

The ViVi-Tone Aggrandizer

March 28, 2016 · Dave Hunter

• Preamp tubes: 6C5, 6F5 • Output tubes: two 6B5 • Rectifier: 80 • Controls: Volume, on/off switch • Speaker:…

The “Conversion” Les Paul

The “Conversion” Les Paul

Myth, Magic – and Mojo!

June 21, 2016 · Pete Prown

One of the more intriguing topics in guitardom is the Gibson Les Paul “conversion.” What is it? Most of the…

FireBelly Amplifiers’ Tweed 1955SE, PR3512SE

FireBelly Amplifiers’ Tweed 1955SE, PR3512SE

Tale Of Two Princetons

April 1, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

FireBelly Amplifiers’ Tweed 1955SE, PR3512SE Price: $949 (Tweed 1955SE); $1,595 (PR3512SE) Contact: www.firebellyamps.com The quest for vintage tone continues, and…

B.J. Baartmans shares his “Cabin Fever”

December 13, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

The Space Age Travellers: Eclectic Instro B.J. Baartmans’ trio, The Space Age Travellers, defies genre labelling. Here, he uses his…

The 1912 Martin 000-28

The 1912 Martin

January 12, 2015 · George Gruhn

      By 1912, players of fretted instruments were familiar with steel strings. Mandolins, which were enjoying their period…

Smith/Kotzen

Black Light/White Noise

January 16, 2026 · Bret Adams

This is the third album from rock veterans Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen (The Winery Dogs). The busy…

Gretsch 6134 White Penguin

March 12, 2014 · George Gruhn

There’s no doubt the White Penguin is one of the rarest Gretsch instruments. It is estimated that no more than…

Top 50 Guitar Songs of the ’80s

May 24, 2015 · Vintage Guitar

By the Readers and Staff of Vintage Guitar Based on input from Vintage Guitar magazine staff and readers, this feature…

3Below

Live in Mérida

November 7, 2025 · Pete Prown

The members of 3Below mostly play in the bass clef. You may know names like fretless master Michael Manring (Michael…

B.B. King - Ode to the King of the Blues

Ode to the King of the Blues

Guitarists Reflect on the Passing of B.B. King

January 24, 2016 · Vintage Guitar

B.B. King was truly peerless. Beyond his ability to pull an audience up via a single long, vibratoed note, he…

The Highwaymen

August 30, 2016 · Rich Kienzle

Country’s first supergroup emerged from a 1984 Johnny Cash Christmas special taped in Switzerland. Along with Marty Stuart, the guests…

Perfect Curves Fender’s Stratocaster Turns 60

Perfect Curves

Fender’s Stratocaster Turns 60

February 4, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Sixty years down the road since its creation, the Fender Stratocaster is the default image of the electric guitar for…

Epiphone Crestwood

’60s Un-Gibson Solidbody

July 14, 2017 · Eric C. Shoaf

Gibson’s acquisition of Epiphone in 1957 presented a tremendous challenge to guitar designers and marketers at the company. One challenge…

The ‘‘Blackburst’’

The ‘‘Blackburst’’

Les Paul Standard of a Different Shade

January 12, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Among experienced (and often jaded) veteran guitar collectors, precious few things create an adrenaline rush – strange one-offs, oddball brands that never quite blossomed,…

Fretprints: Toy Caldwell

Southern-Rock Eclectic

August 8, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

Marshall Tucker Band was arguably the most unusual Southern-rock group of the ’70s. Its namesake wasn’t the leader, a member,…

Malinoski’s New Moon

On The Horizon

June 19, 2014 · Pete Prown

Moniker Dixie Solid

Click to Customize

November 21, 2014 · Rich Maloof

Moniker Dixie Solid Price: $849 (base) Info: www.monikerguitars.com. Moniker Guitars recently launched a line of customizable electric guitars that players…

VG Q&A: Parlor Mystery

Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues

January 2, 2026 · Dan Erlewine

My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the…

The Creation

Biff Bang Pow!

May 2, 2017 · Rich Kienzle

Hard as it seems to imagine, there are U.K. bands of the ’60s who’ve remained obscure and unsung despite increasingly…

Pat Metheny

The Jazz Guitar Prodigy at 60

December 1, 2016 · Dan Forte

His success is obvious – 20 Grammy awards, crossover popularity, loyal fans dating back 40 years. Still, his career path…

Lyle Workman

Orchestral Maneuvers

October 14, 2021 · Pete Prown

You might not recognize his name, but in the last 30 years, Lyle Workman and his guitars have backed Sting,…

Maestro Rover R0-1

The UFO of Rotating Speakers

August 6, 2016 · Michael Dregni

To record “Little Wing,” Jimi Hendrix plugged his Stratocaster into his usual amplifier, then did the unthinkable; he ran guitar…

Greta Van Fleet

The Battle at Garden’s Gate

January 24, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Surviving the slings and arrows of Led Zeppelin comparisons, a world tour, and Grammy win, Greta Van Fleet’s second LP…