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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. …

Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane
Rough Mix, Pete Townshend, Empty Glass
Two important Townshend solo albums have received their long-awaited vinyl reissue. Internal friction gnawed at the Who in the mid…

Black Cat Vibe and TWA’s Triskelion Mk. II
Opposites Attract
In today’s world of proliferating boutique pedals, guitarists have a staggering array of divergent options. Case in point, the Black…
Ibanez Tube Screamer
From the first notes of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood,” you can hear it loud and clear; that snarly tone…

Richard Williams
Kansas’ Team Player
Unleashing pent-up creativity is a gratifying experience for a band, as Kansas guitarist Richard Williams can attest. The band known…
Taylor Baritone-8
Crazy Eight
The Taylor Baritone-8 Price: $3,998 list; $3,200 street Info: www.taylorguitars.com Some guitarists are happy with conventional guitars and basses. Others,…

Friedman Plex
Mystique Maker
Dave Friedman built his brand (and reputation) by making supercharged Marshall-inspired amps, and his latest hones in on one of…
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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

Mick Mars
A Piece of His Action
Since emerging from Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, Mötley Crue has defined the Los Angeles metal scene. Fueled…

Pop ’N Hiss: Brian Setzer’s The Knife Feels Like Justice
Cat Out of the Bag
Changing genres after achieving great success can be a risky career move for a musician. But after making it big…

Jock Bartley
The Return of Firefall
If you listened to pop radio in the late ’70s, it was hard to miss Firefall, whose soft-rock hits were…

Have Guitar Will Travel 099 – Trapper Schoepp
In episode 99 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Ray Cummins – I’ll See You In My Dreams
Ray Cummins Plays the 1956 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 prototype “Dark Eyes” VG ace online tutor Ray Cummins uses the…

Robin Basses
A Photo Retrospective
Alamo Music Products holds a unique place in the history of electric guitars and basses. The Houston-based company began its…

The Komet Constellation
Amid the general run of vintage amps we have explored in this space, the occasional “modern classic” has proved itself…

Chris Butler’s Vox Mark VI: Waitress Server
Melding garage rock with glam, punk emerged in the early ’70s, set on stirring society’s pot. From New York to…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

HeadRush MX5
Many Riches
In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…

TTS Music BMT Overdrive
Fine-Tune Your Crunch
TTS Music BMT Overdrive Price: $175 Info: www.ttspickups.com. No, the “BMT” in the name of TTS Music’s overdrive pedal does…

Orangewood Berkeley Live
Professional Finesse
Orangewood. Why not Ironwood or Peachwood? What does the brand name matter compared to the actual guitar? The simple answer…
Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz
A Good Buzz
Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz Price: $280 retail/$199 street (TightFuzz); $310 retail, $219 street (Bass TightFuzz) Info: www.amptweaker.com. Since the…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

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…

Adam Levy
Staying Spry
As an accomplished sideman, Adam Levy is famous for supplying charismatic guitar sounds for Nora Jones and Tracy Chapman. On…

Carl Martin’s Red Repeat Delay Echo, Greg Howe’s Lick Box
Boxes of Rock
After hearing – and taking to heart – feedback from players, Carl Martin recently upgraded its Red Repeat Delay Echo…

The Time Jumpers
Time Machine
The Time Jumpers formed in ’98 as a lark for a group of A-list Nashville sidemen who loved Western swing.…















































