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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,…
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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…
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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…

ToneTron’s Billy-Rocker
Best Amp You've Never Heard of
ToneTron’s Billy-Rocker Price: $1,200 Info: www.tonetroamps.com. On a quiet residential street in Minneapolis lives a mad scientist. Erstwhile rockabilly guitarist…
Giffin Vikta
Feelin’ Special
Giffin Vikta Price: $2,295 Contact: www.premierbuildersguild.com Roger Giffin is a guitarmaker to the stars, having built for Eric Clapton, Pete…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 035 Featuring Joe Robinson
In Episode 35 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Joe Robinson. Mentored by Tommy…
Gibson Super 400 PN
The Gibson Super 400 Premiere cutaway acoustic first appeared in Gibson literature in the 1940 catalog, on a page showing…

Al Stewart
Cat’s Meow
Year of the Cat, singer/songwriter/guitarist Al Stewart’s 1976 smash, is being celebrated with a 45th anniversary three-CD/DVD box set. The…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robin Trower’s Twice Removed from Yesterday
Think Again
The solo career of guitar icon Robin Trower took off like a rocket in the early ’70s after he left…
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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…
ARTISTS

Andy Summers
Creating Light From Dark
For Andy Summers, it would be easy to compose Police-like music – reggae rhythms, clean/chorus guitar tones, etc. But fans…

2025 December Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny…

Steve Knight
Jazz For People
Chicago resident Steve Knight’s first album, Persistence, takes listeners back to the days of warm jazz-guitar tones, popular tunes, group…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 2
The Black Bison Leads the Herd
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Guild and Gibson Johnny Smith Models
The name “Johnny Smith” is synonymous with class, elegance, and style. Most guitar players are familiar, if not with the…
Premier Twin 12
Sometimes it takes just the slightest aesthetic twist to get an amp nut all worked up. This 1960 Premier Twin…

Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355
Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though…

Watkins Scout
Merit Badge
Watkins amps never landed big stars, or at least didn’t hold on to the endorsements of guitarists once they became…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
The Siegmund Doppler Vibe
The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get
Siegmund Doppler Vibe Price: $495 Info: www.siegmundguitars.com. It’s been said that Buddy Guy was the first guitarist to put his…

Kay’s K161 Thin Twin
Post-war Blues Box
In his day, Jimmy Reed was a huge influence on everyone from Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield to the Rolling…

EHX Tortion JFET Overdrive
EHX Tortion JFET Overdrive Price: $198.67 (list)/$179 (street) Contact: www.ehx.com Having teenage metal-shredders at home makes one appreciate that a…

Epiphone’s 75th Anniversary Electar “1939” Century
Little Heartthrob
Many vintage amp connoisseurs have a special place in their hearts for the early Epiphone Electar amplifiers. David Bromberg is…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Revisiting Room 335
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides

Watkins Rapier 33
If you were an American teenager in the late 1950s or early ’60s, and you wanted to play the new…

The Supro Montauk 1×10
Club Combo
Striking out from its more historically inspired models like the Black Magick and Delta King, Supro’s new Montauk 1×10 combo…

PRS Swamp Ash Special SE
Bolt-On Beauty
Known historically for its set-neck guitars, PRS has produced a number of killer bolt-ons, like the CE and Silver Sky.…

Henriksen’s The Bud
This One’s For You
In theory, a big guitar amp should sound larger than a smaller one. Then there’s Henriksen’s The Bud. Based on…











































