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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…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Jerry Kennedy
A-Team Guitarist, A-List Producer
Jerry Glenn Kennedy, a 13-year-old who recorded for RCA Victor as “Jerry Glenn,” got the shock of his young life…
In Memoriam: Sammy Ash
Sammy Ash, COO of the family-run Sam Ash Music chain, died September 16, 2023, after a year-long battle with stage…
John Mayall
1933-2024
Drummer Mick Fleetwood was only briefly a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but that was enough to launch his platinum…
Mark Elf
After the Storm
The latest album from guitarist Mark Elf shot to the top of the jazz charts, but the route to success…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
G.L. Stiles Solidbody
Every once in awhile, a guitar comes out of left field. In the case of this solidbody electric labeled “Lee…
O’Hagan Guitars
Jaws Invades the Upper Mississippi
By the shores of Gitche Gumee, Minnehaha gives a little yelp of surprise. There, just behind Mary Tyler Moore, cutting…
Höfner’s Fledermaus Gitarre
A Bat By Any Other Name
Much like the scant records of almost every large-scale American guitar manufacturer, production logs at Höfner’s headquarters in Hagenau, Germany,…
30 Most Valuable Guitars
To mark VG’s 30th anniversary, we dig into the 30 most-valuable production guitars.
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Small Wonder
The Orange Rocker 15 Terror
Small-footprint amp heads – tube and solidstate – are all the rage and getting better all the time. Case in…
Gibson 1928 L-1 Blues Tribute
Blues Time Machine
Gibson 1928 L-1 Blues Tribute Price: $4,255 retail; $3,299 street Info: www.gibson.com. The Gibson L-1 boasts the kind of intriguing…
UAFX Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb
Space, Man
The original Roland Space Echo was a thing of sonic beauty, used by everyone from Brian Setzer to Bob Marley…
Blackstar Artist 15
All ’Rounder
Blackstar’s Artist 15 is a British amp with an American accent. Though designed and built around good ol’ American-flavored 6L6…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
