• 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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L-5 to Super 400

L-5 to Super 400

The Story of Gibson’s Big Archtops

September 30, 2015 · George Gruhn

The archtop guitar is a uniquely American instrument which can be traced directly to the creative genius of one person…

Ethan Brosh

Ethan Brosh

Living The Dream

August 6, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

In case you were wondering, shred is not dead, and Ethan Brosh is determined to keep it that way. The…

Brian Tatler

Still Evil

February 27, 2018 · Greg Prato

Though Diamond Head never achieved the same worldwide commercial success enjoyed by some of its fellow New Wave of British…

Check This Action: The Salad Days of British Blues

October 29, 2024 · Dan Forte

What springs to mind when you hear the term “British blues movement”? Is it covers of Slim Harpo, Muddy Waters,…

EHX Good Vibes, Tone Corset

Rawk Boxes

July 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

The musical spirit of the ’60s and ’70s lives again in two of EHX’s latest stompboxes: the Good Vibes analog…

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…

  • 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

Popa Chubby

Head, Heart, and Hands

October 12, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Popa Chubby is back on the road again, preaching the gospel to blues fans around the world. His new album,…

Dana Sutcliffe

Here’s the Scoop

March 15, 2019 · Michael Wright

Many know Dana Sutcliffe from his classic guitar design, the Alvarez Dana Scoop produced from the late 1980s through the…

Philip Sayce

Scorched-Earth Tones

May 9, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Philip Sayce’s album Scorched Earth Volume 1 was a live recording from 2016 that displayed the kind of blistering blues-rock…

Sue Foley

Still Playing Pinky

September 8, 2022 · Michael Dregni

Sue Foley’s Paisley-finished Telecaster is the one guitar to which she has remained true since her debut album, Young Girl…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

GIBSON-EB-2-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Gibson EB-2

Kalamazoo’s Biggest Bass Innovation?

October 22, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

In the mid 1950s, Gibson president Ted McCarty was paying close attention to two new instruments impacting the musical-instruments market…

Electra MPC

Standard X340

November 1, 2013 · Michael Wright

One of the more successful Japanese-made guitar brands of the 1970s was Electra, the brand name used for electric guitars…

Classics: January 2023

Jay Mitzner’s ’53 Gibson Les Paul.

September 20, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Overhearing his 13-year-old son noodling on a beginner guitar in his bedroom one day in 1958, it occurred to Murray…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tommie James

August 6, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tommie James Season 01 Episode 05 In Episode 5 of “Buy That Guitar,”…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Carl Martin’s Red Repeat Delay Echo, Greg Howe’s Lick Box

Boxes of Rock

May 30, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

After hearing – and taking to heart – feedback from players, Carl Martin recently upgraded its Red Repeat Delay Echo…

The Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi

Smooth Successor

October 6, 2014 · Phil Feser

Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi Price: $133 (list)/$99.75 (street). Contact: ehx.com. The Big Muff Pi overdrive is the effect…

Friedman Amplification JEL-20

Firebreather

August 4, 2024 · Charlie Wilkins

For 25 years, Dave Friedman has been creating amplifiers that helped him (eh-hem) gain amp-guru status. His limited-run Jake E.…

Jensen Tornado Stealth Speakers

Sheer Magnetism

April 23, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

Jensen has been in the speaker game for a very long time and its wares are some of the most…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial 5

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #5

June 27, 2018 · Ray Cummins

In his fifth exclusive lesson for www.VintageGuitar.com, Ray Cummins demonstrates and explains his use of harmonics on Gibson Country Gentleman plugged into…

Greg Martin

Elder Statesman

March 14, 2019 · John Heidt

Albums by Kentucky Headhunters have a history of making guitar players shake their collective heads at the great sounds made…

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII contact microphone can record everything from acoustic guitars to a train bridge with a frequency…

Patterson Hood

Drive-By Truckers Change Gears

June 26, 2020 · John Heidt

It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says…

Orangewood Berkeley Live

Professional Finesse

October 13, 2022 · Stephen Stone

Orangewood. Why not Ironwood or Peachwood? What does the brand name matter compared to the actual guitar? The simple answer…

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Knaggs Guitars’ Chesapeake Severn Tier 2 Trembuck

All-Genre Style

April 18, 2016 · Tom Guerra

Knaggs Guitars’ Chesapeake Severn Tier 2 Trembuck Price: $ 5,600 (list)/$4,300 (street) Info: www.knaggsguitars.com. Maryland-based Knaggs Guitars was founded five…

Michael Kelly 1957

Michael Kelly 1957

Bargain Boutique

August 26, 2015 · Chip Wilson

Michael Kelly 1957 Price: $875 (list) Contact: www.michaelkellyguitars.com Michael Kelly Guitars has steadily gained a reputation for offering big bang…

Randy Rhoads

Diary of an Axeman, 30 years Later

March 11, 2014 · Pete Prown

(RIGHT) Rhoads’ polka-dot guitar was built in 1979 by Karl Sandoval, with a mahogany body, modified ’60s Danelectro non-adjustable maple…

Bobby Eli

Philly-Soul Pioneer

July 11, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records, the spotlight is on the songwriting team of Kenneth…

Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!

September 26, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV,…

MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine Octave Fuzz

Lowdown And Nasty

January 25, 2017 · Pete Prown

Rising from the smoke and flames of the MXR Custom Shop is the pedal of which every fuzz freak dreams.…

Killer Guitar Components Killer Trem Bridge

Bridging the Gap

March 1, 2017 · Phil Feser

In the mid 1950s, Leo Fender and his crew spent countless hours on the design and manufacture of their revolutionary…

Trainwreck Express “Nancy”

April 3, 2020 · Dave Hunter

World’s most desirable amplifier? Aside from any “standard” vintage amps that have been elevated through their associations with major artists,…

Vega Director Model A-60

Enticing Extras

April 15, 2019 · Dave Hunter

A worthy vintage combo in all regards, there’s sad irony in the fact the Director Model A-60 is representative of…

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Music Man HD-130 Reverb

November 13, 2018 · Dave Hunter

Intended to be the masterpiece of a titan in guitar-amp design, Music Man amps of the mid/late ’70s are all…

Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!

May 13, 2025 · Doug Yellow Bird

“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin…

Kristian Borring

Time Zone

October 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

Kristian Borring is a jazz guitarist who lives in Perth, Australia, but sends his fearless playing echoing around the planet…

Kirn Vaquero

Ride ’Em, Cowboy

February 9, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Veteran builder Ron Kirn, noted for his Fender-inspired creations, has produced his first original design, and it exudes quality along…

Robert Lockwood, Jr.

1915-2006

June 23, 2020 · Dan Forte

With the death of Robert Lockwood, Jr., the blues world lost one of the few direct links to Robert Johnson…

Nancy Wright

December 9, 2016 · Dan Forte

The ubiquitous saxophonist of the San Francisco blues scene for 30 years, Nancy Wright finally stepped to the fore and…

Judas Priest

50 Heavy Metal Years of Music

August 11, 2022 · Pete Prown

With 42 CDs containing every studio and live album by the British colossus – including 13 discs of unreleased material…

Morphine

No Guitar, No Problem

February 27, 2017 · Dan Forte

They were a band like no other – either before or since. That was the inevitable description of the rock…

Amptweaker’s TightDrive Jr

Big Surprise, Small Package

January 8, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

You may remember James Brown as the mastermind at Peavey Electronics and Kustom Amplification. In addition to being the brains…

Taylor 724ce

Bold And Bright

June 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

In the Hawaiian tongue, koa means “bold” and it’s an apt name for the wood known in guitardom for its…

Greg Koch

Making It Work

May 4, 2022 · John Heidt

The latest release from guitar master Greg Koch is From the Up’Nuh with his son, Dylan, on drums and B3-whiz…

Relic the Hague’s Scumbag

Rock-and-Roll Animal

May 30, 2019 · Pete Prown

On the surface, the Scumbag is a simple rock beast. With a 25.5″-scale neck, maple fingerboard, and bolt-neck construction, it…

Gibson GA-CB Custom Built

February 10, 2014 · Dave Hunter

Gibson GA-CB Preamp tubes: three 6SJ7, two SQ7, two Sj5 Output tubes: two 6L6 Rectifier: 5T4 Controls: Microphone Gain, Instrument…

Roine Stolt

Transatlantic Crossing

January 3, 2024 · Pete Prown

Thirty years into a stellar career, progressive-rock wizard Roine Stolt can be heard on the latest – and perhaps final…

Anthony Phillips

Anthony Phillips

Progressive 12-String Master

January 29, 2016 · Pete Prown

Ant Phillips was a founding member of Genesis and, along with guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, created the signature 12-string acoustic sound…