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Taylor® Guitars Kicks Off 2026 With Two Major Launches – The Next Generation Of Its Flagship Grand Auditorium Guitars And New Gold Label Square-Shoulder Dreadnoughts
Taylor upgrades its most iconic models, adding “Next Generation” features to its Grand Auditorium body shape while expanding its recently introduced Gold Label Collection with traditional, square-shoulder dreadnoughts EL CAJON,…
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Thomas Custom Guitars
Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich…
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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…
Zac Sokolow
LA LA Land
LA LOM rekindles of the sound of “psychedelic chicha” – a south-of-the-border reaction to the electrified 1960s. Picture the Ventures…
National Style O
Although it has never been the favorite guitar of Hawaiian players, National’s Style O, with its shining metal body and…
EHX Slap-Back Echo
Alright, Mama
Unlike the vast echoes of modern delays, the original “slap back” tone of the 1950s was a short delay that…
Jim Lauderdale
Sweet Music
“I consciously did not want to make a knockoff of a Gram record or an Elvis record.” Jim Lauderdale is…
Steve Cropper
Homage to Lowman Pauling
All but forgotten today, with his low-slung guitar, stylish rhythm licks, and tasty leads, Lowman Pauling was one of the…
Pop ’N Hiss: Lou Reed
Definitive Riffs- Lou Reed’s Rock ’N Roll Animal and Live
Eccentric and enigmatic, composer/singer Lou Reed gained notoriety in the mid-’60s while fronting the NYC band Velvet Underground. Not particularly…
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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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ARTISTS
Rod Price
Opens Up
Part One It used to be that photos didn’t lie. But nowadays (as supermodels and tabloids have proven) that’s not…
Larry McCray’s R&B-Blues Meld
Rust Belt Veteran does “Arkansas” Larry McCray and his bodacious Custom Shop Flying V show us the hard-drivin’ guitar parts…
Classics: November 2023
Al Caiola’s Gretsch Prototype
Robby Zolezzi has been a touring pro guitarist since he was 18 years old, having taken up the instrument at 11, spurred by…
Mark Knopfler
Straitforward
Very early in life, Mark Knopfler had a connection with music. His mother cared for the family while BBC programs…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Basses from Bakersfield
The history of guitar manufacturing in the Bakersfield area of California includes names like Mosrite, Hallmark, and Standel. One of…
Dan’s Guitar RX: A ’57 Strat Goes Under the Knife
Battle-Scarred
B.K. Vaught recently walked into my shop with a vintage Strat that had been modified and refinished. While its changes…
Gibson Trini Lopez
In the early 1960s, as Les Paul was leaving Gibson’s artist roster, the company recruited three of the most respected…
Classics: December 2021
1967 Rickenbacker 360/12
Live-music fans who roamed South Florida from the early ’80s until the mid 2000s might recognize Craig Ball’s ’67 Rickenbacker…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
HomeWrecker Pickups
Slumbering Strats, Awake!
In 2011, session guitarist Joshua Hernandez began winding pickups in his living room. From these modest beginnings, and with no…
Godin ACS SA
Nylon Dreams
Too often, the notion of plugging in a thin-body guitar and getting a reasonably natural acoustic/electric tone is more dream…
Danelectro ’66
Alluring Curves
The new Danelectro ’66 brings together several threads of retro-dom in one hip package. Visually, this Danny brings to mind…
Epiphone’s Masterbilt Century Deluxe Classic
The New Vintage
Most vintage aficionados admire the grand old acoustic archtops of the 1920s and ’30s, but admire them from afar. They’re…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Revisiting Room 335
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie plays The Blues… On Guitar
In a career spanning 45 years, Charlie Musselwhite has taken the blues to places it’s never been – literally (playing…
Have Guitar Will Travel – Featuring 005 BottleRock Music Festival Pt. 2
James hits BottleRock again and speaks to blues-rock guitarist Hamish Anderson, singer/songwriter Matt Maeson, and Bay Area picker Milo Horstman.…
Benson Model 300H
Wrecking Ball
Even with all the excellent guitar amps available by the late ’60s, nothing was quite good enough for jazz and…
Bad Cat Cub V EL34 Amp
First-Class Blast
The Bad Cat Cub has evolved through several iterations since arriving with the maker’s inaugural lineup 25 years ago. It…
