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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…

The Guitars of Gary Rossington
A Legend’s Legacy
When the time came for Gary Rossington’s family to decide what to do with his guitars and amps after his…

Have Guitar Will Travel 088 – Kevin Bernier and De’Wayne
In Ep 88 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Kevin Bernier of the Suffers,…

Square Amps’ Chippy
Radio King
Matt Richards builds basic cathode-bias amps housed in the carcasses of vintage radios. They’re designed to be compatible with various…

Monster Mike Welch
From Phenom To Blues Veteran
Twenty-seven years after his debut album at age 17, Monster Mike Welch delivers perhaps his best disc yet with Nothing…

Maps and Legends: The Story of R.E.M.
John Hunter
Any balanced rock-and-roll bio scrutinizes a band’s more-unsavory side. And scrutinize is exactly what John Hunter does in this unauthorized…

Brian Setzer
Rocking Back to the Future
Brian Setzer wears several hats – rockabilly, swing, even hard-rocking Christmas music. But through it all, by and large he…
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Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings
Double-bound for Glory
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success came early and their lap steels set standards of quality,…
ARTISTS

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams: Funky Syncopation
Fine pickin’ on “The Way You Make Me Feel” Husband-and-wife team Martin D-18, while Teresa comps on an Emmylou Harris…

Storied Board
The Tale of Bobby Whitlock’s D-35
Plenty of musicians personalize instruments with their names or initials. So, it’s easy to assume that Robert “Bobby” Whitlock commissioned…

Edgy Alt-Blues from Jesse Dayton and Samantha Fish
Duo rips on “Settle For Less” Proving that sparks can fly when regional styles collide, Texas native Jesse Dayton and…

Ty Tabor’s Six-String Meditation!
King’s X Guitarists’s solo work is mindful, complex Ty Tabor used his Player Strat (with a JB Jr. pickup at…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: October 2021
Ibanez IC200 Iceman
Pete Prown’s obsession with the Ibanez Iceman began when the company’s 1978 guitar catalog landed atop dealer display cases; the…
Forty Quid of Klunk
Tales of the Harmony Bass
Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh, Klunk! It’s not the most artful musical introduction, but it was effective. And by the time a screaming Hammond…

The Fender Showman
The Showman
In addition to several significant shifts in style and presentation, for Fender, the transition of the late 1950s into the…

Wandré Modele Karak
We all recognize that guitars are art, but rarely has the instrument been as consciously approached from this perspective by…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
The Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine
Synthful
Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine Price: $283.60 (retail); $212.70 (street) Contact: www.ehx.com Building on the success of its Freeze Sound Retainer…
Colby Dual Tone Booster 50
Double Versatile
Colby DTB50 Price: $3,800 (head); $750 (cabinet) Contact: www.colbyamps.com From 1978 through 2010, Mitch Colby helped Marshall become a preeminent…

Fano Alt de Facto RB6
Classic That Never Was
Fano Alt de Facto RB6 Price: $2,495 Info: fanoguitars.com In recent years, a trend in the guitar realm has been…

The Budda Twinmaster
Return of a Boutique Legend
In the early days of boutique-amp building, there were but a few contenders on the scene. One of the strongest…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Effectrode Blackbird Vacuum Tube Preamp
Uncaged
In a nutshell, the Effectrode Blackbird is a tube amp’s entire preamp section in a floor unit. And just why…

Kim Simmonds
Half a Century with Savoy Brown
Now in its 46th year, the Savoy Brown band, fronted by founder/lead guitarist Kim Simmonds, has returned to its blues-and-boogie…

Neal Schon
Driven Journey Man
It’s been 11 years since Journey released a new studio album, and its latest, Freedom, is packed with 15 arena-ready…

DiPinto Mach IV
Garage Days
There are times when a traditional Strat or Tele won’t scratch a particular itch, and you need a retro plank…












































