-
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…
Bad Cat Jet Black Combo
Back in Black
Guitar players around the globe praised Bad Cat’s Black Cat amp for its tone, but wanted more punch. Its ear…
Dave Davies
Reflections From A Kink
Twenty-seven years after their last performance, the Kinks still command a loyal following. The 60th anniversary of this fascinating British…
Jon Butcher
Beyond the Axis
One of the most-influential guitarists to emerge from Boston, Jon Butcher has just released his 14th album, 2Roads East. We…
Harden Muddy Waters
Mojo Working
Harden Engineering is a small Chicago shop that specializes in hand-made instruments in a variety of shapes and sizes and…
Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule
Bruising Tones
Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule Price: $125-$340 Info: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk. From the ever-expanding world of boutique pickups…
Toronzo Cannon
Blues The Chicago Way
“I’m not trying to be a starving artist at 48 years old,” says blues man Toronzo Cannon when asked if…
-
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,…
NOW AVAILABLE!
CURRENT ISSUE
Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!
ARTISTS
Return of the Trashmen
Bird Is Still The Word
Surf’s up – again! Thanks to the prodding of guitarist/impresario Deke Dickerson, The Trashmen recently recorded their first album in…
Larry McCray
Redemption Blues
Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where…
Jeff Beck
Blow By Blow
What is jazz? What is rock? These questions perpetually confound and divide music experts and listeners. Similar spirited debates have…
Bill Frisell
For the December ’14 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine, Dan Forte interviewed Bill Frisell. Here’s a look at the many guitars used…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
The “Conversion” Les Paul
Myth, Magic – and Mojo!
One of the more intriguing topics in guitardom is the Gibson Les Paul “conversion.” What is it? Most of the…
United They Stood, Part 2
Ghosts of Jersey City
In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost…
Soldier’s Story
Six Strings Document Tale of the “Blue and Gray” in World War I
Through blood, dirt, rain, and all other forms of hell in the trenches of World War I, U.S. Army Private…
Höfner’s Fledermaus Gitarre
A Bat By Any Other Name
Much like the scant records of almost every large-scale American guitar manufacturer, production logs at Höfner’s headquarters in Hagenau, Germany,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight
Cordoba Stage
Classical Gas
With a 1.5″/fully chambered mahogany body, the Stage – Cordoba’s first foray into the world of nylon-string electric guitars –…
The Carr Skylark
Desert-Island Amp
The Carr Skylark Price: $2,390 (list) Contact: www.carramps.com If you could own only a single guitar amp – horror of…
Ibanez Artcore AF105NT
Class Axe
Ibanez has always had two distinct personalities – first as a purveyor of shreddy solidbodies for the hard rock/metal crowd,…
Walla Walla Maverick Pro Series
To a T
Walla Walla has carved a niche in the world of highly customized guitars and basses in the tradition of those…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
More Personal
-
Rare Pioneer
Fender PM-2
Sitting-Room Savoir Faire
Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of…
Ibanez AF95
Jazzed UP
In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…
Jim Kelley Reverb Model
Legend, Resurrected
Jim Kelley began making his highly acclaimed guitar amplifiers 1978. His big revelation came while he was still doing mods…
EHX Ripped Speaker Pedal
Tore Up
Since the dawn of rock and roll, guitarists have (by accident or with intent) loosened tubes, sliced, or poked holes…
