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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…
Rich Robinson
Back on the Wing
Rich Robinson. All photos by Neil Zlozower. Emerging as grunge began casting a metaphorical pall over the pop music landscape…
Metallica
72 Seasons
Metallica’s 11th album is a blast from the band’s hard-charging past, and does not disappoint. As the follow-up to 2016’s…
Lil’ Jimmy Reed with Ben Levin
Back To Baton Rouge
Leon Atkins got a cigar box guitar at six, after already playing harmonica. After subbing when blues legend Jimmy Reed…
Steve Kimock flashes back to Zero
Amazing improv on “End of World Blues” We review the reissued 1992 album “Naught Again” by Zero, a band that…
Hall & Collins Signature Echo
Echo Rock
For guitarists whose lives are dedicated to replicating the echo effects heard on songs like Hank Marvin’s “Apache,” Hall &…
Republic’s Classic Concert Ukulele
Dainty Device
National launched its first ukulele in 1927, combining a brass-bodied, nickel-plated uke with the sweet-sounding amplification of a resonator cone.…
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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
Freddie Krc gets “Dandy” on a ’64 SJ
FTop-Flight Tune by Texas Stalwart You can’t blame Freddie Krc for loving his ’64 Southern Jumbo, which he’s using here…
Wayne Kramer
1948-2024
Guitarist and activist Wayne Kramer, best known as a founder of the iconic Detroit hard-rock band MC5, died in a…
Eliza Gilkyson
Not Your Typical Folkie
“My dad was my biggest influence, especially melodically. He loved dark melodies,” says Eliza Gilkyson of her father, the late…
J.D. Simo
Psychedelia and Satan
Psychedelic bluesman J.D. Simo deploys impressive wah skill, blistering fuzz tones, and hypnotic grooves that will expand your consciousness. His…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!
“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin…
Epiphone 1968 Les Paul Prototype
Fraternal Twin
Ted McCarty’s leadership at Gibson was highlighted by the introduction of top-shelf instruments created by knowledgable, intuitive designers and builders.…
Vintage Instruments and the Ban on Ivory Trade
A presidential executive order issued February 11 proposes a wide ban on trade in ivory has widespread implications for trade…
The Gibson ES-5
Instrument Profile
Gibson, like all American guitarmakers, had to shut down electric guitar production for three years during World War II. But…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
ES-Les Paul
F-hole with soul
ES-Les Paul Price: $2,799 to $3,199 (list) Contact: www.gibson.com Gibson’s latest version of the Les Paul isn’t the first with…
Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp
Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank
For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for…
The Legendary Tones Lynch Mod
No-mod Hot Rod
Designed for guitarist George Lynch, the Lynch Mod introduces an additional, non-permanent gain stage to the classic Marshall circuit. The…
Fret-King Esprit III
Déjà Vu, Again
What do you get when you cross a Gibson Explorer with a Fender offset and Firebird vibe? The answer is…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Rivera Shaman Series Pedals
Holy Tones
Rivera Shaman Series Pedals Price: $299 each (street) Info: www.rivera.com. With roots stretching to the late ’70s, SoCal-based Rivera Amplification…
Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster
Flipped Axis
Pity the poor right-handed masses. Emulating the vibe of Jimi’s various Strats has always been tough on them. Some players…
Vintage Tones, ’07 Style
HAO Musical’s Rust Driver and Sole Pressure
For nearly 20 years, Japanese electronics distributor J.E.S. International has been providing gearheads in its country with guitars, amps, and…
Steve Carr
Twenty-Five Years of Tonemaking
In the mid ’90s, Steve Carr was a guitarist playing weekends and working weeknights as a waiter in a swank…
