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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

VG Q&A: Fret Differential
And Examining Two Budget Archtops
Can someone please explain the differences between playing an instrument with jumbo frets versus one with smaller/shorter frets? – John Mackey…

2Frontiers
New Old West
Categories can be bandied about – catchalls like Americana or alt this or that – but this is basically old-timey…

First-Rate Second Fiddles
Jimi’s Gibsons at the Hard Rock Cafe
No two ways about it, as his career hit stride, Jimi Hendrix was a Strat guy. Not famously loyal to…

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.…

Eric Krasno
Funk Soul Brother
Smart guitar players discover early on that if they want to control their musical destiny, it doesn’t hurt to learn…
Mike Beigel
Resurrection of the Mu-Tron III
Mike Beigel is no guitarist. But that never held him back in crafting one of the most legendary of all…
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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,…
ARTISTS

Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip
Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940…

Ryan McKay
Swingin’ Jazz Cat
After five records with his glam-rock-inspired band Crash Street Kids, guitarist Ryan McKay has settled in with Louis Prima, Jr.…

Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers Change Gears
It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says…
Johnny Smith
An American Treasure
Jazz guitarist Johnny Smith died at his home June 11, 2013, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Arguably the…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Fender “Wide-Panel” Twin
While Fender’s high-powered 5F8-A Twin of 1958-’60 (VG, March ’09) has been much raved about in recent years, there’s a…

Two Tickets to the Top
Keeley Electronics’ Katana and Flexi 4×2
Any gearhead who’s been paying attention the last seven years knows the name Robert Keeley. Since 2001, he and his…

The Rickenbacker B14A
Silver Service
For most guitarists today, glimpsing a vintage Rickenbacker combo elicits a response like, “Wait… Rickenbacker made amps?” But remember,…

The Supro 1600R Supreme and 600 Reverb
Toneful Twosome
Supro amps from the late 1950s and early ’60s are some of the most stylish of the era, and boast…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

HeadRush MX5
Many Riches
In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…

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

Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest…

Ibanez Artcore AGS73FM and Vintage VSA500HB
Solid Semis
In the past several years, many import guitar brands have improved their build quality while continuing to offer their goods…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Carvin Audio VLD1 Legacy Drive
Legend In A Box
When Steve Vai needed a portable preamp to take on the road to emulate his signature amp tones, Carvin Audio…

Nuno Bettencourt
Extreme Versatility
When Extreme reunited for its fifth album, 2008’s Saudades de Rock, it seemed a foregone conclusion the band was back…

EMG T-52 Set
EMG pickups have been around since 1976, offering a diverse line of active pickups used in just about every genre…

Marcin
Birth Of The Dragon
Marcin wields classical, flamenco, percussion, and two-handed tapping to create jaw-dropping music. Dragon In Harmony is his first full-length album,…














































