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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. …
Godin’s A4 and A5 Ultra SA
Brave New Basses
Godin A4/A5 Ultra SA Price: $1,395 (A4 Ultra SA fretted); $1,645 (A5 Ultra SA fretless) Info: godinguitars.com. For years, Godin…
Scott Holiday
Unrivaled Son
Regardless of the state of pop or rock music, it’s invigorating when a group comes along to remind us what…
Brad Gillis
Playin’ On
A member of the cutting-edge vanguard that made the Floyd Rose locking vibrato a huge part of ’80s rock guitar,…
Pop ’N Hiss: Vanilla Fudge’s Near The Beginning
Proto-Prog Tour De Force
Rock fans recall the New York quartet Vanilla Fudge for its dramatic reworkings of pop hits; the band melded classical…
Mu-FX Octave Divider
The Mu Is Back
This is rocket science. Or at least as close as a stompbox gets. Sure, building a pedal that tweaks a…
JangleBox Acousticomp
Sweet Woodiness
Compression and sustain are the icing on most guitarist’s tonal palette. While many use such effects in service of electric…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri
Empire Central: Funky homage to Dallas Snarky Puppy guitarist Mark Lettieri took a minute at soundcheck to use his PRS…
“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…
Have Guitar Will Travel 090 – Happy Fits and Greensky Bluegrass
In Ep 90 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with band members from Happy Fits and…
Steve Cropper
Looking Back at Stax
The gloriously soulful music recorded by Stax Records is still entertaining listeners six decades after its release, and the label…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Freddie King’s Gibson ES-345 Keeps on Playin’
Family Ties
Watching her baby boy become rapt whenever his grandma played country blues on her guitar, Ella May King had a…
VG Q&A: Fret Differential
And Examining Two Budget Archtops
Can someone please explain the differences between playing an instrument with jumbo frets versus one with smaller/shorter frets? – John Mackey…
The Höfner Model 485G
At the end of World War II, the town of Schönbach, in western Bohemia, became Luby, Czechoslovakia, and the people…
Gibson’s “Non-Reverse” Firebirds
When Down Was Up
Some guitars get no respect, at least historically. At the dawn of the ’70s, Gibson’s original (1963-’65) Firebirds were already…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Cardinal’s Magpie
Bird in Hand
Cardinal Magpie Price: $4,300 Contact: www.cardinalinstruments.com While most folks are happy to buy guitars off the rack, the Cardinal Magpie…
Category 5 Samantha
Hook, Line, and Tone
Blues-rocker Samantha Fish (VG, December ’21) electrifies audiences with her high-energy shows. A decade ago, she began favoring Category 5’s…
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25
Stage, Studio, Etc.
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 Price: $1,299 (list) Contact: www.mesaboogie.com Housed in teensy cabinets, so-called “lunchbox” amps are all the rage,…
Sitori Sonics pedals
New Highs with Sitori Sonics’ Doob Dreamer, Tidal Phase, and Reel Repeat
Sitori Sonics pedals Price: $188 list (Doob Dreamer, Reel Repeat); $168 (Tidal Phase) Info: sitorisonics.com. Despite the vast possibilities of…
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Croy and the Boys
There’s something about the Telecaster – as well as its forerunners and inspired imitators – that attracts musicians whose music…
The Rivolta Combinata Bass VII
Euro Flash
Rivolta’s Combinata VII bass takes ideas from Rickenbacker, Höfner, and various European builders lost to history and wraps them into…
Roland Micro Cube
Mighty Mouse
Roland Micro Cube Price: $130 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Every once in a while you have to pinch yourself and thank…
John Hart
“Unsung” is a good word to describe John Hart. He’s been part of the jazz-guitar scene for more than two…
