• 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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  • Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval

    Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval

    Heartbreaker: A Memoir

    In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack…

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NEWSWIRE

ARTISTS

Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele Hero

August 29, 2022 · Dan Forte

It’s one of the most unlikely success stories in music. Armed with a four-string tenor ukulele, a young Hawaiian videos…

Leo Lydon

Beefy Tones

November 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

The wildly named Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol doesn’t play the typical “doom metal” or “stoner metal” that has been hip…

J.D. Simo

Psychedelia and Satan

December 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Psychedelic bluesman J.D. Simo deploys impressive wah skill, blistering fuzz tones, and hypnotic grooves that will expand your consciousness. His…

Fretprints: Gary Moore’s Still Got the Blues

Defining Document

August 26, 2025 · Wolf Marshall

Throughout his career, Gary Moore was haunted by a prevailing assumption (in rock circles) that he was simply too good…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Teisco Checkmate 30

Café Culture

December 16, 2023 · Dave Hunter

In a world where the best riffs often come when one is lounging in the family room, sipping espresso and…

Home Feature Image

Music Man HD-130 Reverb

November 13, 2018 · Dave Hunter

Intended to be the masterpiece of a titan in guitar-amp design, Music Man amps of the mid/late ’70s are all…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Building a From-Scratch Class Project, Part Two

Rock-And-Roll High School(er)

July 13, 2023 · Dan Erlewine

In the August issue, we introduced you to Ceil Thompson, a high-school intern in my shop who’s building a guitar…

G&L’s Climax & LB-100

March 26, 2010 · Willie G. Moseley

G&L Climax (serial number B025855) in Emerald Blue finish. Carve on the back of the Climax.Photos: Bill Ingalls Jr. Instruments…


APPROVED GEAR

Electro-Harmonix Operation Overlord Allied Overdrive

Sound Assault

April 26, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Like its namesake World War II invasion, Electro-Harmonix’s Operation Overlord Allied Overdrive involves an assault of sorts – though this…

Fender Clapton and Beck Strats

Slowhand meets El Becko

March 18, 2003 · Pete Prown

Fender’s Signature line of Strats and Teles have always been of great interest to guitar players, and are now even…

Keeley Electronics Loomer

Tone Weaver

October 12, 2022 · Tom Guerra

As effects pedals proliferate, so do multifunction boxes. Case in point: Keeley Electronics’ Loomer, combining three reverbs with a raging…

The PRS Studio

Bird Watcher

April 1, 2022 · Pete Prown

The new Studio model is the culmination of many decades of work from the design minds at PRS, as they…

  • Paul Johnson

    Paul Johnson

    The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company

    This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…

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  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

    Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get…

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  • “Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Freeman Arthur

    “Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Freeman Arthur

    Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.8 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Freeman Arthur, who is known worldwide for boosting the profile and appeal of the pedal-steel guitar. He is an active session musician and has performed/recorded with artists across diverse genres. Subscribe to our “Overdrive” newsletter for the latest…

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  • Pink Floyd

    Pink Floyd

    Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd

    It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with…

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  • The Wildhearts

    The Wildhearts

    In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses, Cheap Trick, and The Replacements. Hard rock, power pop, and punk still make up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds…

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Gibson’s 1958-’62 ES-335TD

May 26, 2021 · Ward Meeker

The Redoubtable “Dot-Neck” Early every guitar conceived or designed by Ted McCarty during his tenure as president of Gibson (1948-’66)…

Ally Venable

Fire and Honey

March 7, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Ally Venable’s latest album, Real Gone, features excellent production, accessible songwriting, intense guitar playing, and guest spots by Joe Bonamassa…

Classics: September 2021

Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225

May 6, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me…

Johnny Smith

An American Treasure

October 29, 2015 · Jim Carlton

Jazz guitarist Johnny Smith died at his home June 11, 2013, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Arguably the…

Pop ’N Hiss: The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet

Feast Your Ears

October 30, 2024 · Bret Adams

The Rolling Stones were back. Well, they’d never really gone anywhere, but most fans thought they’d lost their way with…