Along with his work with Jim Campilongo and others, San Francisco-based pedal steel guitarist Joe Goldmark has produced eight solo CDs (and three earlier vinyl albums) covering broad swaths of popular music, among them collections of ’60s rock and Beatles tunes. This latest follows a similar path, as Goldmark navigates a blend of original instrumentals …

When a guitar maker introduces an innovative new feature at the same time an appealing, existing feature is being discontinued, the result can be a rare configuration of specifications. Although Martin introduced the 15″-wide 000-size body in 1902 and made the last Style 30 model in 1921, the two groups overlapped on only one guitar …

Long out of production, the Boss Slow Gear was one of the coolest pedals of the ’80s, duplicating the sound of a volume swell without putting your pinky to work. Mooer has updated this effect with its new Slow Engine. The Slow Engine uses the popular micro-pedal format that takes about half the footprint of …

Composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joe Gore’s career path has been multilayered and includes “guitar effects builder.” Two of his pedals are Cult and Filth – effects capable of great and varied tones that belie their simple layouts and designs. One of the simplest pedal layouts ever created, The Cult has just one control knob, which …

The story of Earthquaker Devices begins with Jamie Stillman fixing his own overdrive pedal and then deciding to get into the pedal business himself. Twelve years later, Stillman’s Earthquaker Devices is one of the most celebrated brands in the industry. One of its latest, the Avalanche Run, is a delay and reverb combo that produces …

There’s his music, his style, and his metal-culture influence. But above all, Ronnie James Dio is responsible for creating one indelible symbol – the flashing of the goat horns. Rhino has now released this box set of Dio’s first six albums covering 1983 to ’93. And in honor of this event, fans everywhere must join …

Whether you’re a fan of the flat-top or simply appreciate a good archtop, chances are you’re familiar with Collings Guitars. The Texas-based builder is one of the most recognized and respected names amongst aficionados of modern acoustic instruments. Bill Collings and his crew – renowned for their flat-tops, archtops, mandolins, and even cowboy guitars – …

George Cummings is best known as the original guitarist for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, his father’s amateur picking set a course. As a teenager in the late ’50s, he was playing clubs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and into Mobile, Alabama. In the early ’60s, he began attending college …

When it comes to classic guitar tones – whether it’s blues through a Dumble, country through a Fender, rock through a Marshall, or jazz through a Roland – every player knows there’s a magical potion concocted of guitars, amps, and fingers. But, is it possible to cover the sonic spectrum of all genres with just …

Gibson records say the Les Paul Junior was introduced in 1954. But this instrument has tone and volume pot codes from ’53. It also differs in regard to other specifications, most notably that its neck joint is unlike that on any other Junior.

Guild’s Orpheum Slope Shoulder 14-Fret Rosewood Dreadnought Price: $4,999 (list); $3,799 (street) Info: www.guildguitars.com. Compared to Martin’s longstanding factory location in Pennsylvania, Guild’s acoustic guitar factory has been a gypsy. The company first produced guitars in Hoboken, New Jersey, before moving to Waverly, Rhode Island, then to Corona, California, followed by Tacoma, Washington. Today, New …

Many of the oddballs, also-rans, and otherwise unusual creations we see in the amp world fall into the “B-list” category – the budget, student, and catalog amps that often display appealing ’50s and ’60s cosmetics but were never expected to lead the field. British maker Bird felt otherwise in creating the Golden Eagle 4/25. Add …

Andrew Hendryx lesson of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” on Mandolin Andrew Hendryx uses his Collings MF5 (with D’Addario strings) to show you how to play his arrangement of the Van Morrison masterpiece “Into The Mystic,” from his upcoming album, “Deep River.” You can catch Andrew on tour this spring with Dangermuffin and Yonder Mountain …

Thanks to acts such as the Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, and the Punch Brothers, the mandolin is suddenly hip again, particularly among guitarists interested in expanding their stringed horizons. While the lower-end mando market is pretty crowded, the Ibanez M522S is one of the few F-style instruments in the price range. Certainly, pear-shaped “A-style” …

Lance Lopez is a guitar-slinging blues machine that burns like Texas hot sauce in August. He has scorched the festival circuit for years with an enviable body of work and inspired musicianship. His latest project brings together bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi, drummer Kenny Aronoff, and Billy Gibbons. The band is called Supersonic Blues Machine and the …

By now the story of the Band’s epic Thanksgiving 1976 swan song is as well-known as the music itself – how the final show by the group formerly known as the Hawks snowballed to include a cavalcade of rock stars, a complicated full-blown film shoot… and turkey dinner for 5,000 concertgoers. Unless you were at …

1964 Fender 6G6-B Bassman Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Bass Instrument channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Normal channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; shared: Presence Output: 50 watts RMS Utter the word “Bassman” in guitar circles, and most players’ minds rush to the tweed-covered 4×10″ …