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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. …

Julian Lage
A Guitar Wizard Comes of Age
People having been raving about Julian Lage since he was a young guitar prodigy almost 20 years ago – he…

Laney L50 Head and L412 Cab
Classic British Tone
Laney L50H/L412 Price: $1,990 (head); $1,499 (cab) Info: laney.co.uk. Lyndon Laney is no stranger to fans of the iconic British…

History of a Mystery
Kurt Hendrick and His Enigmatic Axes
One of the most-enigmatic brands in the history of American guitars was a line of funky solidbody electrics created by…

Greg Howe
A New Wheelhouse
Greg Howe is a globe-trotting, guitar-clinic-teaching, concert-performing fusion monster. He’s known for taking risks and pushing his playing into fresh…

Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
Alt-Blues Summit
Blues is a language of many dialects, and when regionalisms collide, sparks fly. So it has been since Texas six-stringer…

Henry Garza
From Tragedy to Revelation
Los Lonely Boys’ new album, Revelation, draws from several influences while retaining the band’s Texas/Mexican identity. Collaborating with a group…
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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

Fretprints: Jeff Beck
The JBG: Birth of Heavy Metal?
The proverbial chicken-or-egg conundrum has an equivalent in the spirited debate over the Jeff Beck Group versus Led Zeppelin as…

Brian Setzer
Return to Rumble
Like any guitarist at his level, Brian Setzer lives life answering the call of music. Grateful for the gift, he’s…

Don Culig
Dream Finish
The Covid pandemic forced immeasurable change on humanity. Much of it involved temporary adaptation, but there were also plenty of…

John Sykes 1959-2025
Remembering a Heavy Hero
The guitar universe was rocked on January 20 by the announcement of John Sykes’ death from cancer, at age 65.…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gretsch 6130 Round-up
Head ‘em out!
The romantic concept of the “Old West” – an enduring element of American pop culture – was spurred by pulp…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 3
Backbone Instruments 1962-’64
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

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…

Lyon and Healy
So what is it? Its original black-finished spruce top is simply ladder-braced from within, but its back and sides feature…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Wampler’s Ego Mini Compressor and Faux Tape Echo v2
Both Ends
With an extensive line of nearly 30 devices, it’s no surprise Wampler Pedals has entries in both the traditional-size and…

Rebel Boards’ Rockstar Pedalboard
Songs from the Wood
Rebel Board’s Rockstar Pedalboard Price: $159 (Rockstar); $199 (Rockstar Pro) Info: www.rebel-boards.com. Puzzle-piecing a pedalboard together is equal parts fun…

Ibanez EKM100
Soul On Ice
Ibanez EKM100 Price: $2,799.99 (list) Contact: www.ibanez.com Fans of contemporary soul, jazz, and funk should be well aware of Soulive.…
Carvin Steve Vai Legacy 3 VL300
The Legend Continues
Carvin Steve Vai Legacy 3 VL300 Price: $899 Info: www.carvin.com. For more than 13 years, Steve Vai has been collaborating…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero

The Hagstrom EDP46 DeLuxe
World War II was responsible for an unbelievable amount of what we today know as the modern world, from computers…

Carvin’s GH24 Greg Howe Signature
Super Unleaded
After decades of jumping from one guitar manufacturer to another, Greg Howe recently began working with Carvin (more specifically, Kiesel)…

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom
Rockin’ Down the House
Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom Price: $999 (Space Cadet)/$699 (MVX-15) Contact: www.musicvox.com For nearly two decades, Musicvox’s designs…

Willie Nelson
Soon after arriving in Nashville in 1960, Willie Nelson signed a songwriting contract with Pamper Music, co-owned by Ray Price,…












































