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Duke Robillard – Lowdown
Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set…
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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…

Closer to My Home
Mark Farner
Grand Funk Railroad, the hard-rock “people’s band,” earned little critical respect. But there’s no denying GFR’s massive influence – led…

Roy Orbison & Friends
Black & White Night 30
The year 1987 saw Roy Orbison in the midst of a triumphant resurgence. His ’60s recording “In Dreams” was featured…

Brown Guitar Factory Chambered Electric
Beast Mode
To use a slightly skewed metaphor, John Brown builds guitars to the beat of a different drummer. After all, who…

The Preston Thompson 12-Fret 000
Old Soul
Until 1928 the largest and loudest guitar in C. F. Martin’s catalog was their 12-fret 000-sized guitar. Until the OM…

National-Dobro Model C
We’ve seen some pristine vintage pieces in these pages over the years, but as far as time-capsule amps go, when…

Joel Shapira
Solo Flight
Guitarist Joel Shapira has released a string of fine recordings, but his latest, In Essence, is his first stab at…
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…
ARTISTS

Tom Principato
Bridging the Big Pond
Tom Principato’s 18th album, Live and Still Kickin’! portrays the energy of its title and was recorded on two continents.…

Earth, Wind & Fire’s “That’s the Way of the World”
Guitars, Groove, and Mysticism
Earth, Wind & Fire played “world music” before the phrase was coined. By 1974, bandleader Maurice White’s ensemble of talented…

Myles Goodwyn
1948-2023
Myles Goodwyn, co-founder, creative force, and guitarist/frontman in April Wine, died December 3. He was 75 and while no cause…

The Uncanny Approach of Walter Strauss
Fingerstylist melds melodies, polyrhythms, and visceral picking on “Fabara” Walter Strauss shows his extraordinary technique with help from his Sexauer…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: Mike Semrad’s ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska – at least as far back as his…

“Unicorn”: Ca. 1910 Rafael Casana
This extremely rare guitar has been dubbed the “Unicorn” by virtue of the fact that for all his fame, it…

Sixty Years of Tele-Kinetic Guitar Heroes
Flying Saucers! Tail Fins! Robots!
Taking a cue from the burgeoning world of television, in 1951, Leo Fender married the name “Telecaster” to his new…

Dumble Overdrive Special OD150 WR
Alexander Dumble’s creations were already established as legendary when we probed our first example in this space back in May…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Guild Bluesbird
Flyin’ High Again
The Guild Bluesbird has a long history that began in the 1950s with Guild’s answer to the Gibson Les Paul…

Louis Electric Buster
Beyond Deluxe
Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595. Info: louisamps.com Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than…
3rd Power Dream Weaver
Tone Cubed
3rd Power Dream Weaver Price: $3.299 Info: www.3rdpower.com. Purchasing a new amp is much more than buying a piece of…

Guild Standard Series Acoustics
Legacy, Cont’d?
Founded by a jazz guitarist as jazz-box builder, the Guild company also built a solid reputation with its ’50s acoustic…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band
Live at the Capitol Theatre
Once, there was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; decades later came Crosby, Stevens, Willis & League – better known as…

Robert John & The Wreck’s Henry James
Cali-Style Southern Rock Southern-fried rock from California? You bet it’s tasty. Check out the guitar work of Henry James Schneekluth…

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

Warren Haynes
G-Mule Shout!
Gov’t Mule’s blues-based rock has never followed a formula, opting instead for an improvisational modus operandi that gives its music…










































