-
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…
-
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…
NOW AVAILABLE!
CURRENT ISSUE
Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!
NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Kevin Borden
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Kevin Borden Season 01 Episode 04 In Episode 4 of “Buy That Guitar,”…
Muireann Bradley
Eire Apparent
The term “old soul” is overused, yet Muireann Bradley effortlessly lives up to it. Just 17 years old, her debut…
Elliot Easton
Shifting Gears Again
Not long after he released an instrumental album with an aggregation known as the Tiki Gods, veteran southpaw guitarist Elliot…
Ed Mundell
Gettin’ Ultra Electric
Since he arrived in Los Angeles in 2010, it’s been “all systems go” for former Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell.…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Jon Butcher’s psychedelia mastery
Jon Butcher tales his Olympic White ’63 Strat for a rip on “Jam,” a track from his new album, “Nuthin’…
Ovation Solidbody Guitars
No matter how hard they tried
1982 Epiphone U.S. Map
The idea of making “presentation- grade” guitars – special instruments meant as much for marketing as for rich customers –…
Manuel Ram
Classic Fakery: Manuel Ram
APPROVED GEAR
-
Lively Drives
-
Posh Squash
-
Chet Powered!
Boss Katana Gen 3
Big Step
The Boss Katana amplifier has a cult of devotees, many of whom have been waiting for a Bluetooth version that…
Xotic RC Booster, AC Booster, Robotalk
High-quality, and a new twist
Some would argue that the world of guitars and amps has reached the point of oversaturation. And right along with…
Bray Coco 50
Feelin’ Brown
Eddie Van Halen’s “brown sound” is, for many players, the Holy Grail of guitar tone. Featured on his band’s 1978,…
Siegmund Micro Tube Overdrive
The Nuance of OD
Chris Siegmund is an up-and-coming guitar/amp wizard from Vienna, Austria. A unique type of craftsman, Siegmund is a musician born…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
