• Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

    Read more >>

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton

August 13, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 6 of “Buy That Guitar”…

The Minus 5 and the Monkees

Monkee Business

August 2, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

The 1960s – that halcyon decade which Americans today are most inclined to reconsider with dewy eyes – is in…

John Lee Hooker

Mr. Boogie

December 30, 2016 · Pete Prown

John Lee Hooker was the bridge between country blues and electric blues, something elegantly captured during a 53-year career. The…

Beyond the Parlor Part Three: Women

Beyond the Parlor

Part Three: Women

December 28, 2015 · Tim Brookes

Ed. Note: In the final installment in his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes offers a study of several…

Magnatone X-5 Zephyr

Last Gasp

June 14, 2023 · Michael Wright

Ever since Lonnie Mack unleashed The Wham of That Memphis Man and Buddy Holly sang “Peggy Sue,” Magnatone amplifiers have…

Bob Moore

1932-2021

December 2, 2022 · Rich Kienzle

Bob Moore, a charter member of Nashville’s “A-Team” of session musicians and Nashville’s most recorded upright and electric bassist, died…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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,…

    Read more >>

NOW AVAILABLE!

CURRENT ISSUE

Join 25,700+ subscribers & be notified when new articles & more becomes available!

ARTISTS

Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda

Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda

The Un-Twisted Tale of <em>Stay Hungry</em>

May 12, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Step back with us, please, to 1984; Paul McCartney gets dinged for possession of cannibis in Barbados, Carl Lewis collects…

(No title)

May 28, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

 Swampy grooves mix blues with rock Enjoy Bex Marshall and her Ozark 3515BTE Custom Cutaway resonator delivering superbly on…

Pop ’N Hiss: Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak

Fight Or Fall

July 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

At the dawn of 1976, Thin Lizzy was in trouble. Neither of the quartet’s previous two studio albums, Nightlife and…

Robben Ford

The One and Only

April 8, 2014 · Dan Forte

There’s never been a shortage of young guitar hotshots, but in recent years, particularly among blues players, these phenoms seem…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

EKO 995

February 22, 2012 · Willie G. Moseley

The Beatles’ appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February of 1964 is often referred to as the most important…

Vox/Thomas Organ V-14 Super Beatle

Solid Sound

September 20, 2023 · Dave Hunter

After producing some of the most-iconic guitar amplifiers of the early 1960s, Vox leaned unwittingly into a failing technology –…

Vox Symphonic Bass

Fender Bender

July 12, 2023 · Peter Stuart Kohman

Despite the way collectors and dealers freely apply the term “lawsuit guitars,” documented examples are few. One time it did…

Rex Solidbody

Italian Connection

November 30, 2023 · Michael Wright

An internet search for “Rex guitars” will turn up a fair – if confusing – amount of information about the…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Home Feature Image

Bohemian Boho Moonshine

In The Can

June 9, 2016 · Stephen Stone

Here at VG, we see all manner of guitars – those made out of steel, graphite, even animal shells. But…

McGregor Cozmic Fuzzball

Sweet & Gnarly

November 9, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

The culmination of a quest to build the perfect transparent overdrive, Garth Heslop’s Cozmic Fuzzball is the third pedal in…

Seymour Duncan SFX-07 Shape Shifter

Vintage Trem Sounds & Beyond

February 2, 2010 · Dan Forte

Seymour Duncan’s reputation when it comes to pickups (from dead-on vintage replicas to his own designs) has been well established…

The Clark Gainster

Trick Your Tweed

June 10, 2020 · Art Department

Before he got into the effects pedal biz, Michael Clark had a reputation for building killer tweed-inspired amps. In 2001…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Jensen Tornado Stealth Speakers

Sheer Magnetism

April 23, 2019 · Yoel Kreisler

Jensen has been in the speaker game for a very long time and its wares are some of the most…

Manouche courtesy of La Pompe Attack

March 27, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

(Gypsy) Jazzin’ a James Taylor Tune La Pompe Attack shows us their take on James Taylor’s “Traffic Jam,” from their…

Shaw Audio Bass 130

Classic Tone for the Modern World

August 10, 2016 · Sean OBryan Smith

Tennessee amp builder Kevin Shaw loves restoring old cars – and creating fine-sounding amplifiers. His ToneRod SE and Fulltilt 18…

CopperSound Telegraph V2 Autostutter/Killswitch

All the Rage

November 13, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Need the perfect stutter effect or killswitch in a pedal? Massachusetts-based CopperSound Pedals’ latest iteration of its popular Telegraph Stutter…

Molly Miller

Dr. J(azz)

June 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Molly Miller is on a quest to bring instrumental music back to storytelling. Her new album, St. George, fuses jazz,…

Lipe Guitars Maestro

Lipe Guitars Maestro

Whole Lotta Mahogany

February 2, 2015 · Zac Childs

Lipe Maestro Price: $4,900 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has a wall of gold records. Why? Not because…

Sue Foley: Tribute to Female Pickers

March 19, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

 Revisiting the Work of Pioneers From Austin by way of Ottawa, Sue Foley is known worldwide as a blues…

Strymon Zuma

Power Station

July 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Are you tripping over a spiderweb of effects power cords? Have a pedalboard that requires an advanced degree in electrical…

Andy Summers

The Next Phase

January 10, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Best known for his innovative guitar playing in the Police, veteran English guitarist Andy Summers was into other genres of…

Nuno Bettencourt

Extreme Versatility

March 16, 2024 · Greg Prato

When Extreme reunited for its fifth album, 2008’s Saudades de Rock, it seemed a foregone conclusion the band was back…

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Live in Maui

December 9, 2021 · Pete Prown

This 1970 performance was contrived for Rainbow Bridge, a hippie movie that flopped. The gig itself was faintly ridiculous, as…

Wally Stocker

A Baby Grows Up

September 11, 2014 · Ken Sharp

After decades away from the music scene, guitarist Wally Stocker is back on his feet again and back where he…

Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp

Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank

September 20, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for…

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV

January 6, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: three ECC83 (12AX7), one ECC81 (12AT7, in the phase inverter) Output tubes: six EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal…

GA-20 – “Double Gettin”

March 17, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

VINTAGE GUITAR EXCLUSIVE! GA-20 – “Double Gettin” GA-20’s Matt Stubbs tells it like this: “‘Double Gettin’’ originally appeared on our…

Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka

Heavy Steps : Road Ready

February 9, 2022 · Ward Meeker

“Rock and roll is a young man’s game.” Once upon a time, it was the genre’s calling card. A half-century…

The Eastman SB55

Little Devil

May 6, 2022 · Michael Dregni

When re-creating a classic, it’s all too easy to feel hidebound to the original – especially if it’s an icon.…

The National Silvo Electric Hawaiian

September 4, 2014 · George Gruhn

One of the most innovative companies of the pre-World-War-II era, National found out quickly that innovation was a double-edged sword.…

Molly Martin

Molly Martin

D-35 Savior

January 6, 2016 · Kathleen Johnson

Sometimes, it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Such was the case with singer/songwriter Molly Martin. As the summer…

The Universal Audio Astra Modulation Machine

Stately Shimmer

May 10, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Famous for well-regarded interfaces, plug-ins, and vintage-gear emulations, Universal Audio has entered the pedal business with the Astra Modulation Machine,…

Webster-Chicago RMA 375 Model 166-1

Grammy Winner

July 18, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Modified or repurposed amps generally don’t fit into our monthly discussion here, but some are representative enough of a certain…

1944 Martin 00-28

March 16, 2015 · George Gruhn

This Martin 00-28 is a highly unusual instrument. Made as part of a group of six created with shop-order number…

Ernie Ball’s MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal

Ernie Ball MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal

Total Control

January 28, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Ernie Ball’s MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal Price: $179 (list); $129.99 (street) Info: www.ernieball.com. Just when you thought you were done…

Positive Grid’s Bias Head

Tone-Tweaker’s Dream

May 21, 2019 · Pete Prown

Designed to be a dream machine for players who just love to “experiment” with tone, the Positive Grid Bias Head…

 Yasmin Williams

Art of Collaboration

October 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

Yasmin Williams turned heads a few years ago with her brilliant solo acoustic music, often playing the guitar flat on…

First ’Burst

May 30, 2017 · Walter Carter

In May of 1958, a worker at the Gibson factory pulled two Les Paul guitars – serial numbers 8 3087…

Dobro Model 27

Brother Oswald's Dobro – Country Music History Maker

December 22, 2014 · Vintage Guitar

The melodic, evocative warbling of a resonator guitar has for decades been a fixture in country music, and knowledgeable fans…

Henry Gross

Open

December 11, 2017 · John Heidt

Henry Gross’ latest album is an amazing mix of pop, rock, country, and ballads. Those who remember him for nothing…

Dick Taylor

From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things

March 2, 2017 · Dan Forte

When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing…