Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX

Saddle Up!

August 8, 2014 · Sean OBryan Smith

Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX Price: $175 (Raw Hide); $230 (Hard Core XXX) Info: www.metalpedals.com. For many discerning…

Heathkit TA-16 Starmaker

Basement Jams & Blown Speakers

October 29, 2025 · Dave Hunter

1966 Heathkit TA-16 Starmaker Combo The days when a kid would break out the soldering iron and take on a…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 3

Backbone Instruments 1962-’64

January 31, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

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Chris Isaak

Sun Worship

May 9, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Most pop-music fans became aware of Chris Isaak through his 1991 hit “Wicked Game” and its uber-high-profile video, directed by…

Tele Jimmy Bryant

Sixty Years of Tele-Kinetic Guitar Heroes

Flying Saucers! Tail Fins! Robots!

April 2, 2014 · Pete Prown

Taking a cue from the burgeoning world of television, in 1951, Leo Fender married the name “Telecaster” to his new…

1986 Dumble Overdrive Special

1986 Dumble Overdrive Special

July 5, 2016 · Dave Hunter

The exalted amps of Alexander Dumble have been legendary since he began building in the late ’60s, and have become…

  • Rik Emmett

    Rik Emmett

    Canadian Custom

    Rik Emmett is a master of many guitar styles and other artistic endeavors. As co-lead vocalist/guitarist in the hard-rock trio Triumph from 1975 to ’88, he experienced life as a…

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ARTISTS

Kenny Brown

Mississippi Slide

July 22, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The Black Keys’ latest album, Delta Kream, is a collection of blues standards from the Mississippi Hill Country. Drummer Patrick…

The Manakooras

Tiki Twang

June 7, 2023 · Pete Prown

Call it exotica or tiki twang, but the Manakooras play tropical instro that evokes visions of dreamy Pacific islands. Led…

Stephen Ulrich

One-Man Band

December 13, 2023 · Pete Prown

New York-based guitarist Stephen Ulrich is known for the suspenseful “crime jazz” and surf-rock tones of his instrumental trio, Big…

Scott Holt

Mojo Risin’ in Foghat

August 6, 2024 · Bret Adams

It’s been more than 50 years since Foghat unleashed its freewheeling rock and roll, steeped in its blues beginnings. Sonic…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Fender 
Telecaster Thinline

Weight-Loss Trial

July 22, 2019 · George Gruhn

Born in turbulent times on the downslope of the “guitar boom,” Fender’s Telecaster Thinline has always existed in the shadow…

Epiphone 1968 Les Paul Prototype

Fraternal Twin

May 9, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

Ted McCarty’s leadership at Gibson was highlighted by the introduction of top-shelf instruments created by knowledgable, intuitive designers and builders.…

Gibson 1953 GA-40 Les Paul Model

Brown Sound

March 31, 2025 · Dave Hunter

Gibson landing Les Paul’s name on the headstock of its debut solidbody electric in 1952 was the biggest guitar-star endorsement…

Harp Legend Charlie Musselwhite

May 30, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Stringin’ on “Blue Lounge” Harp legend Charlie Musselwhite has recorded and performed with a stunning array of guitarists in his…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Kay’s K161 Thin Twin

Post-war Blues Box

July 5, 2018 · Pete Prown

In his day, Jimmy Reed was a huge influence on everyone from Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield to the Rolling…

Interstellar Audio Machines Octonaut Hyperdrive

Next-Level Drive

May 13, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Interstellar Audio Machines advertised its original Octonaut Hyperdrive as, “The only overdrive you’ll ever need.” Well… The new version offers…

Fishman AFX Pedals

Tiny Tools

June 26, 2024 · Pete Prown

The shrinkologists at Fishman recently introduced a line of mini AFX pedals that do many jobs in an acoustic/electric guitar…

Magnatone Varsity

Magnatone Varsity

Less is More, Plus

February 22, 2016 · Pete Prown

Magnatone Varsity Price: $1,699 (list); $1,799 (as tested) Contact: www.magnatoneusa.com Magnatone earned a cult of admirers in the mid 20th…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Ana Patan’s funky “General Conspiracy”

October 26, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

“Live” from a Swedish forest From her home deep in a forest in Sweden, Ana Patan and her Framus Renegade…

The Thompson Tremor Bender

Big Bend

April 29, 2020 · Zac Childs

Longtime musician and professional tool-and-die maker Don Thompson recently introduced the Tremor Bender, a retrofit stringbending device for most Fender-…

Graham Dechter

Post-War Perfection

October 4, 2022 · Pete Prown

Since his debut at age 19, Graham Dechter has rekindled a post-war jazz sound, effortlessly swinging and always in the…

Wes Beech

Life in The Plasmatics

October 29, 2025 · Ward Meeker

From the moment he met Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams, things for Wes Beech were never really “normal.” Walking…

The Supro “Model 24”

July 25, 2014 · Dave Hunter

Okay, Zep police, sound the alarm and prepare to loose the hounds – we are finally about to lift the…

Tinsley Ellis’ new dimension

April 30, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Unplugged, and Worth the Wait! A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style…

GluBoost MasterGlu, Fill N’ Finish, MasterTint, and Gludry Accelerator

Stick-To-It-Iveness

May 21, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

There exists a subculture of guitarists who build, customize, or resurrect their own instruments, or help friends with theirs. GluBoost’s…

Jon Butcher’s psychedelia mastery

December 5, 2025 · Doug Yellow Bird

Jon Butcher tales his Olympic White ’63 Strat for a rip on “Jam,” a track from his new album, “Nuthin’…

Analog Man BC183 Sun Face

Here Comes the (Black Hole) Sun

April 15, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Analog Man BC183 Sun Face Price: $185 Contact: www.analogman.com Mike Piera has been building his line of stomp boxes bearing…

Pop ’N Hiss: Humble Pie’s Smokin’

Free Wailin’

October 11, 2023 · Bret Adams

British rockers Humble Pie were steeped in blues and R&B influences that coursed through vocalist/rhythm guitarist Steve Marriott. When they…

Nels Cline

Blues Notes and So Much More

December 9, 2016 · John Heidt

Nels Cline has quite the musical resumé, and yet has always been hard to pin down. Whether doing some form…

Rupert Neve Designs’ Portico 5017/ SE Electronics’ Voodoo VR1

Studio on the Go

March 13, 2019 · Pete Prown

Despite what some folks may tell you about the merits of “going direct” for guitar, nothing sounds better than a…

Have Guitar Will Travel 084 – Greg Koch

March 8, 2023 · James Patrick Regan

Guitarheads the world over know Greg Koch is a big guy who plays monster licks. In the new episode of…

Mu-FX Phasor 2X

Next Phase

July 10, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Mastermind effects mad scientist Mike Beigel is back with another re-creation of a classic Musitronics effect. The Mu-FX Phasor 2X…

Breedlove Pursuit Exotic S Concert Amber 12-String CE

Tonal Transcendence

October 12, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

In 1990, Steve Henderson and Larry Breedlove quit their day jobs at Taylor Guitars and moved to Oregon, where they…

Bob Seger and the Borneo Band

Lakeview High School, St. Clair Shores, Michigan, April ’73

November 4, 2020 · Ken Settle

If you were a Detroit kid in the 1960s, it was impossible to cruise Woodward Avenue and not hear a…

Leslie West

Leslie West

Hangin' With Unusual Suspects

January 17, 2014 · Ward Meeker

In deciding who to hit up to play on his new album, Unusual Suspects, Leslie West put a lot of…

Supro Super 1606 and Reverb 1605R

Little Amps That Could

July 10, 2019 · Michael Dregni

In guitardom, players far too often believe there is nothing more sonically pleasing than a tall stack. Yet, plenty of…

Henriksen Amplifiers’ The Blu

Sound Cube

October 14, 2019 · Steven Stone

One old cliché among gigging musicians is, “They pay me for the aggravation, the music is free.” A good deal…

Check This Action: George Bowen

September 8, 2025 · Dan Forte

Luthier George Bowen passed away August 19 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 69. In March of 2023, a…

Brian Tarquin

Shreddin’ for Veterans

December 14, 2023 · Ward Meeker

For guitarist Brian Tarquin, helping military veterans is part of life. The son of a World War II vet, he…

Owen Campbell

February 27, 2017 · Rick Allen

While the electric guitar might define rock and roll, Owen Campbell elevates the image of the acoustic guitar as an…

Patterson Hood

Drive-By Truckers Change Gears

June 26, 2020 · John Heidt

It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says…

Paul Reed Smith

Roaring With Hendrix

November 1, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Believe it or not, Paul Reed Smith can play the hell out of the guitar. In a world where most…

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…

Phantom Reissue 1964 PH12

Ghost of Vintage Past

September 25, 2014 · Chip Wilson

From the Hollies to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, from Robert Junior Lockwood to the Stones, the electric 12-string has a prominent…

Jim Kweskin

Where Jazz Meets Folk

December 13, 2024 · Dan Forte

Jim Kweskin grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and in 1958 entered Boston University, placing him near coffee houses at the…

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Pete Huttlinger

A Narrative (and album) From the Heart

August 13, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

To call Pete Huttlinger a survivor is an understatement. The notable Nashville fingerpicker has fought back from a major stroke…

NGM Hosts “Medieval to Metal” Exhibit

String Spectacle

August 10, 2022 · Pete Prown

The National Guitar Museum, which has toured the U.S. for more than a decade, recently opened an exhibition titled “Medieval…