• Seymour Duncan Announces the Slash 3.0 Pickup Set

    Seymour Duncan Announces the Slash 3.0 Pickup Set

    SANTA BARBARA, January 13th, 2026 – Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of guitar and bass pickups, effects pedals, and pedal amps, is proud to announce that the Slash 3.0 Pickup…

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  • Thomas Custom Guitars

    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

    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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Albert Castiglia

Righteous and Raucous

January 5, 2018 · Willie G. Moseley

Guitarist Albert Castiglia’s blues-based music has gone through a lot of changes since VG first interviewed him in 2008. In…

Eric Clapton

December 30, 2016 · Dan Forte

With Eric Clapton’s 2014 announcement that he would no longer tour, his tribute album to J.J. Cale the same year,…

Gamechanger Light Pedal

Spring Thing

April 24, 2024 · Pete Prown

All-analog and made with a genuine spring tank, Gamechanger Audio’s Light Pedal adds a wrinkle to the reverb equation in…

J.D. Simo

Remembering Duane Allman

March 3, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Chicagoan J.D. Simo began playing professionally at age 10 and just five years later was on the road full-time, eventually…

Kentucky Colonels

1966

May 13, 2024 · Pete Prown

Clarence White is best known as the B-bendin’ Telecaster pioneer with the Byrds – and his tragic 1973 death. But…

Walrus Audio Iron Horse Distortion V2

Versatile Beast

April 26, 2019 · Art Department

Like virtually every distortion pedal on the market, Walrus Audio’s Iron Horse Distortion V2 will produce enough distortion to molest…

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ARTISTS

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Mark Tremonti

Rock Star, Amp Snob!

May 14, 2015 · Ward Meeker

Many of the people we today consider “guitar heroes” – Eddie Van Halen and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to name a…

Anders Osborne

Making Tracks

January 5, 2018 · John Heidt

When Anders Osborne, his band, and various friends went into the studio to work on what became Spacedust & Ocean…

Fretprints: Toy Caldwell

Southern-Rock Eclectic

August 8, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

Marshall Tucker Band was arguably the most unusual Southern-rock group of the ’70s. Its namesake wasn’t the leader, a member,…

VG Q&A: Jimi Flip

Plus, Precision Bass rests and an odd Galliano

October 12, 2023 · Peter Stuart Kohman

I’ve never read why Jimi Hendrix played and set up a right-hand Strat to play left-handed. Surely, he could’ve found…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Revisiting The Jazzmaster

May 2, 2017 · Michael Wright

While volumes have been written about its more-famous sibling, the Stratocaster, surprisingly little attention is paid to the Jazzmaster –…

The Gibson ES-5

Instrument Profile

June 10, 2020 · George Gruhn

Gibson, like all American guitarmakers, had to shut down electric guitar production for three years during World War II. But…

Late 1920s Gibson L-1 "Florentine" Home page main

Late 1920s Gibson L-1 (Flattop)

Gibson "Florentine"

April 9, 2015 · George Gruhn

Because I don’t know what to call this Gibson guitar, I refer to it as a “Florentine,” for lack of…

The Micro-Frets Saga

Genius in MD

March 18, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Had fate been just a notch kinder, Ralph Jones might today be a ’60s counterculture icon alongside Bob Dylan, Muhammad…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Guild’s F-40 Standard

First-Rate Reboot

September 17, 2024 · Michael Shirek

Bigger may not always be better, but sometimes having a little extra juice can make all the difference. Born in…

Boss’ SD-1-4A Super Overdrive

Black Magic

July 22, 2022 · Pete Prown

Boss’ SD-1 has 40 candles on its cake and the company is celebrating with the SD-1-4A, a new Super Overdrive…

Reverend’s Rick Vito Signature Soul Shaker

Built For Speed

October 15, 2021 · Pete Prown

Blues-/roots-rocker Rick Vito knows what he wants from a guitar, and the Reverend Soul Shaker is proof. An art deco-inspired…

Epiphone Tony Iommi SG Special

Monkey Time

March 16, 2024 · Pete Prown

Digging into the primordial ooze of heavy metal, players often start with Black Sabbath and their resident guitar necromancer, Tony…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Gamechanger Light Pedal

Spring Thing

April 24, 2024 · Pete Prown

All-analog and made with a genuine spring tank, Gamechanger Audio’s Light Pedal adds a wrinkle to the reverb equation in…

Tommy Shaw and James Young

Styx’s Crowning Achievement

April 1, 2022 · Bret Adams

“One thing I like about how Styx does progressive stuff is we try and make it friendly progressive, not math,”…

The Audiovox 736 Electric Bass and 936 Amp

Rare Pair

August 12, 2022 · Peter Blecha

Eight decades ago, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer revealed the story of Paul H. Tutmarc debuting his latest invention – a solidbody…

Freddie Salem

Outlaw On The Trail

October 11, 2021 · Pete Prown

The Outlaws weren’t just a great Southern band, but also one of the most intense guitar experiences in all of…

Austin legend Jon Dee Graham plays “This Old Guitar”

April 16, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

From the Continental Club to You! Jon Dee Graham’s parts Strat has been his stage and studio mainstay for more…

Joe Stump

Professor Shred

September 8, 2022 · Pete Prown

Some musicians use grandiose nicknames like “the doctor” (Dr. John) or “the professor” (Rush’s Neil Peart) – but Boston shredder…

Shooter Jennings & the Werewolves of Los Angeles

Do Zevon

December 6, 2024 · Dan Forte

He may not have found a home in a certain institution in Cleveland, despite overwhelming “fan votes,” but the late…

Gibson Marauder M-1

June 8, 2023 · Michael Wright

Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck…

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…

Rivet ’63/’64 Pickup Set

Pole Position

July 3, 2019 · Zac Childs

Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints…

King’s X

In the New Age: The Atlantic Recordings 1988-1995

February 9, 2024 · Pete Prown

Absurdly talented – and eternally misunderstood – King’s X was always on the cusp of stardom. This box set with…

Watkins Rapier 33

October 8, 2015 · Michael Wright

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

Fuchs Clean Machine II

Spotless Tone

April 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

The folks at Fuchs Audio Technology know that most guitarists use pedalboards loaded with effects they’ve loved, swapped, upgraded, and…

The Pickaso Guitar Bow

Fiddle Stick 

October 15, 2021 · Pete Prown

Ever since Jimmy Page grabbed a bow for “Dazed and Confused,” players have tried to bridge the gap between guitars…

Teye Guitars’ Master Series Knights Templar

Knight Time

April 23, 2019 · Chip Wilson

Guitar fanatics find inspiration from different players. And if Woody swapping licks and practicing “the ancient art of weaving” with…

Dusky Electronics Toasted Overdrive

Let It Burn

March 13, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Dusky Electronics’ new Toasted Overdrive is an upgrade of the company’s two-stage MOSFET amp in a box; builder Chris Rossi…

Hilton Valentine

1943-2021

January 24, 2022 · Dan Forte

“The first song I learned on guitar was ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by the Animals.” The statement could have…

Eric Krasno

Front Man

January 5, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Because Eric Krasno isn’t quite busy enough performing 188 dates a year with Soulive, moonlighting with the band Lettuce, or…

Bobby “Blue” Bland

The Guitarists of Blues’ Crown Prince

October 16, 2015 · Dan Forte

On June 23 of last year, the blues lost one of its greatest singers with the death of Bobby “Blue”…

Eilon Paz

Stompbox: 100 Pedals of the World’s Greatest Guitarists & Stompbox Vintage & Rarities

October 14, 2021 · Michael Dregni

Sure, we’ve all got a “thing” about guitars. And for many, amps strike a similar chord. But there’s something special…

Jeff Beck

August 2, 2016 · Pete Prown

Since the late ’90s, Jeff Beck has been fusing equal parts blues, jazz-rock, and heavy-duty electronica; this time he’s added…

Pigtail Music

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Pigtail music makes ABR-style and wraparound bridges (in the U.S.) with vintage-style appearance and materials, but to tighter tolerances. Their…

Catch Ron Bosse Rumblin’

February 10, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Great jazz on a Strat Ron Bosse learned to play saxophone in grade school and was raised on classic rock,…

DryBell’s The Engine

British Splendor

March 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Customers like John Mayer and Mike Landau have helped put DryBell Musical Laboratory effects on some of the world’s biggest…

Lance Lopez

Supersonic Blues Machine

February 27, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Lance Lopez is a guitar-slinging blues machine that burns like Texas hot sauce in August. He has scorched the festival…

Classics: Mike Semrad’s ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom

October 29, 2025 · Ward Meeker

Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska – at least as far back as his…

Andrew Hendryx

Andrew Hendryx – Lesson #1: “Hey Joe” on a mandolin

May 7, 2017 · Andrew Hendryx

In his first exclusive video tutorial for VG Online, Andrew Hendryx uses his Collings MF5 mandolin to show us how to play…

Chris Stein

Blondie’s Guitar Basher

April 25, 2019 · Greg Prato

While Blondie’s Chris Stein won’t be mistaken for a shredder soloist, there’s no debate he’s an underrated rhythm guitarist and…

Marc Bonilla

Servant Of The Music

April 5, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

On March 11, 2016, keyboardist Keith Emerson took his own life. He was 71 and left a legacy of groundbreaking…