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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…

Ally Venable
Real Gone
Ally Venable has deep roots in blues-rock, but it’s easy to picture her as a festival headliner. A legitimate triple…

National-Dobro 6107A
Preamp tubes: 56, 57 Output tubes: two 2A3 Rectifier: 5Z3 Controls: Volume Output: 6 watts RMS +/- Speaker: one 10″…

Gibson’s 1966-’70 Flying V
In Detail
Body is two-piece mahogany. Pickguard mounts to body with 13 screws. Pickups are patent-number humbuckers with chrome-plated covers. Tune-O-Matic bridge…

Eric Clapton
With Eric Clapton’s 2014 announcement that he would no longer tour, his tribute album to J.J. Cale the same year,…

Epiphone Tony Iommi SG Special
Monkey Time
Digging into the primordial ooze of heavy metal, players often start with Black Sabbath and their resident guitar necromancer, Tony…

Omar & the Howlers
What’s Buggin’ You?
Omar Dykes is back! In 2017, the Austin blues-rocker was stricken with a mysterious flesh-eating rash that rendered his massive…
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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

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…

Neil Giraldo
Road Routine
The hard-driving husband-and-wife rock act that hits the stage as Pat Benatar and Neil “Spyder” Giraldo is responsible for more…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 2
The Black Bison Leads the Herd
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

Thomm Jutz plays “Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies”
Flatpicked English folk with an Appalachian touch Sparse and haunting, Thomm Jutz and his ’48 Martin D-18 share a solo…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Q&A With George Gruhn: Formica Pickguard on an Early Les Paul?
And Not-So-Strange Variations on an ’87 LP Standard
I’ve just completed restoring a very early Les Paul that was horribly damaged and poorly repaired, then painted black! I’m…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz
Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like…

National Bel-Air
The idea of Gibson providing guitar parts to another prominent guitar maker is laughable today, but in the 1940s and…

Mick Taylor’s ’58 Les Paul Standard
The Ya Ya’s Out!
Hard-edged face of the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones introduced the world to the implements, trappings, and accessories of rock-and-roll…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Henretta Engineering Pedals
Good Things, Small Packages
Henretta Engineering Pedals Prices: Green Zapper, Bluebird, and Purple Octopus, $125 each; Chord Blaster, $140 Info: www.henrettaengineering.com. Bigger is not…

Jam Pedals’ LucyDreamer Supreme
Crunchilicious
Like so many boutique gear companies, Jam Pedals has established a distinct sonic stamp. Its effects have an uncompromising retro…

Wampler’s Ego Mini Compressor and Faux Tape Echo v2
Both Ends
With an extensive line of nearly 30 devices, it’s no surprise Wampler Pedals has entries in both the traditional-size and…
Echopark Ghetto Bird
Sweet Emotion
Echopark Ghetto Bird Price: $6,800 (as reviewed) Contact: www.echoparkguitars.com You know you’re holding something special when the guy who previously…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Jared James Nichols
P-90 Proponent
Ladies and gentlemen, Jared James Nichols is bringing savagery back to rock and roll. His weapon of choice – vintage…

Evil Robot EVR-C30
Advances in Mojo
Evil Robot EVR-C30 Price: $999 (list) Info: www.frettedamericana.com. In 2010, music retailer Fretted Americana joined forces with amp wizard John…

Fender’s Dhani Harrison Signature Ukulele
Here Comes The Fun
Ukuleles are inherently charming, and Fender amplifies (literally) that charm with the Dhani Harrison Signature model. A tilted four-inline headstock…

Gretsch’s G6128T-CLFG Cliff Gallup Signature Duo Jet
Tip Of The (Blue) Cap
Hot dog! Gretsch has long dreamed of issuing a Cliff Gallup signature guitar, but the stars never quite aligned –…











































