• 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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Booker White’s 1933 National Duolian

Hard Traveled

May 30, 2017 · Michael Dregni

“Hard Rock.” That’s the name used by Mississippi blues man Booker White to christen his 1933 National Duolian. And Hard…

Lance Lopez

Hard-Time Music

August 7, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Lance Lopez is back and better than ever. Trouble Is Good is wild, hellacious, and packed with three essential influences…

Alan Sparhawk

Lowdown

March 3, 2017 · Michael Dregni

Blame it on a guitar. For Low’s Alan Sparhawk, the inspiration behind the band’s latest album, Ones and Sixes, came…

Gypsy jazz master Christophe Astolfi plays “La Valsajo”

June 24, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Traditionalist offers standout new album Christophe Astolfi offers an exclusive rendition of Jo Privat’s “La Valsajo” using a guitar made…

Fender Harvard

April 7, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Given the current craze for semi-small “home” and “recording” amps, Fender’s 5F10 Harvard of 1955-’60 could be the ideal tweed…

John Scofield

January 27, 2017 · Rich Kienzle

The history of jazz guitarists playing country tunes is long and distinguished, starting with Slim Bryant, Les Paul, and George…

  •  Reverend Sensei H90

     Reverend Sensei H90

    Live Wire

    So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and…

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ARTISTS

Joanna Connor

Joanna Connor

Going Viral

February 5, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Her overnight success was decades in the making, but a video gone viral of a jaw-dropping slide guitar performance at…

Leslie West

Leslie West

Still Climbing!

September 7, 2014 · Lisa Sharken

Leslie West is renowned for his iconic tone and revered as a forefather of classic rock. A true survivor, he’s…

Uli Jon Roth

Return to Tokyo

April 24, 2019 · Greg Prato

In the 1970s, rockers were cranking out now-classic live sets with stunning regularity – Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys in…

Khalif Wailin’ Walter

DIY Blues

August 12, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Blues guitarist Khalif Wailin’ Walter now makes his home in Essen, Germany, but the sound that emanates from his fretboard…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

National N-275

April 19, 2016 · George Gruhn

Gibson is widely known for its guitars, mandolins, and banjos, but many are unaware the company built instruments for nearly…

Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps

Mad Maxed

December 12, 2025 · Dave Hunter

As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz

October 30, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like…

Kevin Keaton’s 1958 Esquire

Swamp Thing

June 17, 2022 · Ward Meeker

June 10, 2020, was a summer night like most in the life of Kevin Keaton, a postal mail carrier and…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

B&G Guitars’ Caletta Standard Build

Small But Mighty

December 8, 2022 · Rich Maloof

B&G Guitars are made in Tel Aviv by a talented shop that translates the best traits of traditional guitars into…

Music Man’s JP13

Petrucci Pick

February 23, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes…

Crazy Tube Circuits SPT

Greece Is The Word

January 8, 2018 · Chip Wilson

The modal mellowness of Apollo’s lyre or the perky chirp of the bouzouki might come to mind when one thinks…

EHX Walking on the Moon Flanger/Filter Matrix

Andy Flange

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

With its mouthful of a name – The Andy Summers Walking On the Moon Flanger/Filter Matrix – the latest Electro-Harmonix…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Watkins Scout

Merit Badge

July 9, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Watkins amps never landed big stars, or at least didn’t hold on to the endorsements of guitarists once they became…

Austin Guitarst Eric Hisaw on “Someone Else.”

June 1, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Rockabilly Meets Punk! Straight outta Austin, Eric Hisaw and his early-’80s import Fender Tele play a cool living-room rendition…

Home Feature Image

Mu-FX Octave Divider

The Mu Is Back

June 10, 2016 · Michael Dregni

This is rocket science. Or at least as close as a stompbox gets. Sure, building a pedal that tweaks a…

Nancy Wright

December 9, 2016 · Dan Forte

The ubiquitous saxophonist of the San Francisco blues scene for 30 years, Nancy Wright finally stepped to the fore and…

Milbert Amplifiers GAGA D-60

Shape Shifter

December 28, 2015 · Rich Maloof

The Milbert Amplifiers GAGA D-60 Price: $2,950 list Info: www.milbert.com/gaga Gear reviews, whether describing guitars or amps, often speak to…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robben Ford and Yellowjackets

Inside Story

March 11, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

In 1975, 24-year-old Robben Ford was making a name for himself on the Los Angeles music scene, where competition was…

Albert King’s THC Flying V

Coterie Complete

January 2, 2026 · Willie G. Moseley

Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music…

Greg Howe

June 23, 2020 · Oscar Jordan

Nimble-fingered fusion monster Greg Howe has been keeping busy since the release of Extraction in 2003. He has appeared as…

Tom Guerra

Tom Guerra

Rock and Roll Swagger

January 24, 2015 · Pete Prown

After 15 years and four albums with Connecticut trio Mambo Sons, Tom Guerra just released his first solo album, All…

Stomp Under Foot Ram’s Head

Piece of the Pi

April 23, 2019 · Phil Feser

Matt Pasquerella has a reputation as a pi connoisseur… no, not the eating kind, the fuzzy kind. The creator of…

Flamin’ Groovies

Live 1971 San Francisco

June 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

Flamin’ Groovies are best known for the ’76 power-pop gem “Shake Some Action,” but this show – recorded five years…

Cliff Goodwin, Solo

December 1, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Joe Cocker alum plays “Leap of Faith,” Cliff Goodwin was Joe Cocker’s guitarist for a decade and has also backed…

Positive Grid’s Bias Head

Tone-Tweaker’s Dream

May 21, 2019 · Pete Prown

Designed to be a dream machine for players who just love to “experiment” with tone, the Positive Grid Bias Head…

Fender’s 5E7 Bandmaster

December 26, 2017 · Dave Hunter

There’s something about the 3×10 Bandmaster that drives vintage-Fender nuts gaga. Introduced in 1953, it underwent substantial design changes in…

Ibanez BWM1 Bob Weir Cowboy Fancy

Return of Cowboy Fancy

January 8, 2018 · Pete Prown

The mid ’70s were a time for bold experimentation in guitar design, particularly with electronics. Guitarists were discovering replacement pickups,…

Acoustik Attak Picks

May 10, 2022 · Julian Burtell

Each of Acoustik Attak’s three guitar picks has a different raised formation that alters the way it interacts with strings;…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend, Part 2

What Goes Around…

July 26, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

In the September, issue I told the story of the ’58 ES-335 I sold to my friend, Al, for $225…

Ibanez Artcore AF105NT

Class Axe

October 1, 2014 · Pete Prown

Ibanez has always had two distinct personalities – first as a purveyor of shreddy solidbodies for the hard rock/metal crowd,…

Carlos Santana

Holding That Tone

April 5, 2022 · Dan Forte

Carlos Santana is illustrating a point. “Most people play like this – around the note,” he says, making a fist…

VG Q&A: Parlor Mystery

Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues

January 2, 2026 · Dan Erlewine

My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the…

Peter Stroud Keeps His Feet, and Keeps Movin’

On “10,” As Always

August 1, 2017 · Ward Meeker

He has played with Dreams So Real, Pete Droge, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow. It’s the latter gig that occupies…

Bob Spalding: Instrumental Legend

October 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Ventures Guitarist plays “New Space” sampler With a catalog that extends more than 60 years, The Ventures just keep on…

Mundell Lowe

Jazz All Around

July 3, 2019 · Jim Carlton

Mundell Lowe is arguably the most successful jazz guitarist of his era. He routinely performed with such luminaries as Charlie Parker,…

Arlen Roth

Flourishing After Adversity

December 21, 2020 · Dan Forte

By any measure, Arlen Roth’s recent spate of creativity would be impressive. It began with his solo acoustic CD, Drive…

Crucial Audio WahVelope

Tube Funk

September 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

Crucial Audio makes high-end tube pedals and studio gear at its shop in southern Delaware. Its latest, the WahVelope, is…

Martin D-28 and D-45

Definitive Flat-tops

April 4, 2018 · George Gruhn

Martin’s pre-WWII dreadnought guitars set the standard for the modern flat-top, and thus both have been inducted into the VG…

Ray Cummins Vintage Guitar magazine Video Lessons

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #3

December 1, 2016 · Ray Cummins

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #3 For his latest tutorial, Ray Cummins plays his Gibson Country Gentleman plugged into a late-’80s Boss…

Travis Stever

Travis Stever

A Conceptual Break

November 30, 2016 · Greg Prato

Few rock bands have explored the “concept album” format as thoroughly as Coheed and Cambria; the band’s first seven full-length…

The Return of Slash and The Conspirators

4 From the Floor

December 6, 2022 · Ward Meeker

In the weeks before they gathered to record a new album in the spring of 2021, guitar legend Slash, frontman/songwriter…