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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. …

Oz Noy & Andrew Synowiec
Musical Combustion
New from Oz Noy and Andrew Synowiec is a guitar team-up highlighting hot licks, high energy, and strong songwriting. The…

Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp
Since the instrument was introduced, those who play the electric guitar have modified it to create new sounds and interesting…

Bryan Sutton
Into His Own
Bryan Sutton ranks as one of the most accomplished and in-demand acoustic players in Nashville. In 1991, fresh from high…

The Brothers Comatose Cover “Stickshifts and Safetybelts”
“Hardly Strictly Bluegrass” From San Francisco Here’s a dose of bluegrass flavor courtesy of The Brothers Comatose, playing a cover…

Duke Robillard’s Swingin’ R And B!
Blues/Jazz Great Jams on “Four Bills” Duke Robillard’s custom-made J.W. Murphy 17” archtop is the perfect accomplice for this…

Fender’s 5E7 Bandmaster
There’s something about the 3×10 Bandmaster that drives vintage-Fender nuts gaga. Introduced in 1953, it underwent substantial design changes in…
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VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…
ARTISTS

Sam Williams
Sinister Surf
Sam Williams is known as the guitarist for the roots-punk band Down by Law, but now he’s shaking it up…

Mundell Lowe
Jazz All Around
Mundell Lowe is arguably the most successful jazz guitarist of his era. He routinely performed with such luminaries as Charlie Parker,…

Les Sabler
Long-Distance Jazz
Like many musicians, guitarist Les Sabler’s life has been turned topsy-turvy by the worldwide pandemic. Originally from Montreal, Sabler now…
Shuggie Otis
Return Of The Prodigy
The son of bluesman Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis was born into a world of blues, R&B, nightclubs, and stages. As…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gibson’s Experimental Archtop
Orville Gibson invented the carved-top guitar in the 1890s. The Gibson company refined the design with the addition of f-holes…

Marty Friedman’s Melodic Grandeur
Vintage Strat, new style on “Illumination” A devout Jackson user with a longstanding signature model, Fender Strat that’s also heard…

The Oud
Ancient to Modern
If Beatles guitarist George Harrison had used an oud instead of a sitar to give “Norwegian Wood” its distinct sound,…

Tinsley Ellis’ new dimension
Unplugged, and Worth the Wait! A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Martin GPCE Inception Maple
Bold Beginning
Almost 100 years ago, Martin reinvented the flat-top box when it began delivering X-braced, square-shouldered, and oversized dreadnoughts. Now, the…

Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive
Icon In Reach
If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the…

Martin CEO 8.2E
Corner-Office Acoustic
Which new Martin is based on a vintage-reissue with a pronounced low-end? Noooo, the model designation does not begin with…

The Gretsch G5655T-CB Electromatic Center-Block
Gettin’ Gainy
The Gretsch G5655T-CB Electromatic Center-Block Price: $1,275.00 (list); $899.00 (street) Contact: www.gretschguitars.com It’s no secret that hollowbodies don’t excel in…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero

Lace Cybercaster LS
Modern Mixer
The mere name of Don Lace’s Cybercaster may set calloused fingertips to head-scratching. After all, “cyber” connotes cutting-edge, futuristic. How…

Weller El Dorrado
Rock-and-Roll Screamer
Tucked away in southwest Illinois near St. Louis, luthier Steve Weller is making interesting instruments. His El Dorrado model is…

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #9
Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #9 For his ninth exclusive lesson for VG, Ray Cummins shows how to play a…
Ibanez Tube Screamer
From the first notes of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood,” you can hear it loud and clear; that snarly tone…













































