• Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the  first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set…

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  • 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…

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Hall of Fame – Innovators

February 9, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

From 1991 to the present — read about each Readers' Choice Awards Innovators.

Yamaha’s THR100HD Dual Amp

Double Vision

July 3, 2019 · Pete Prown

Modeling amps have evolved rapidly as software and circuits have improved and become, dare we say, more organic sounding. The…

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…

Fender’s 1961 Showman

The Show Must Go On

September 23, 2019 · Dave Hunter

When Fender stepped up from the tweed-covered amps of the 1950s to the radically redesigned Tolex amps of the ’60s,…

Guild Surfliner

Hang Ten

June 5, 2023 · Bob Cianci

The Surfliner is Guild’s first new solidbody to come along in decades. A thoroughly modern design with classic features, there’s…

Noah Zacharin: Seriously Agile Fingerstyle

February 29, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Lester Brown” Live From The Big Lonely From his home in a forest between Ottawa and Toronto, singer/songwriter/fingerpicker Noah Zacharin…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

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ARTISTS

J.D. Simo

Tele-Free Trio

January 8, 2014 · Zac Childs

J.D. Simo moved to Nashville seven years ago and quickly landed in the coveted hot spot as the lead guitarist…

Billy Gibbons

On The Move

December 4, 2013 · Lisa Sharken

Before ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons launched his career as guitarist and front man with a Texas-based group called the Moving…

 Greg Koch

Way Of The Gristle

January 14, 2026 · Oscar Jordan

On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love…

Band of Heathens’ Gordy and Ed: Low-Key and Tasty!

April 25, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Austin heroes play vintage-laden twofer Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi use a few of their favorite things to play…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Martin OM-18 and 000-28

March 13, 2014 · Bill Bush

What makes these two Martins remarkable is not necessarily their rarity or historical importance, though both would be welcome additions…

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Rickenbacker Electric 12-Strings

Double-Bound for Glory

May 21, 2016 · Richard R. Smith

George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success…

Prototypes and Pathfinders

Five Amps That Set the Tone – Or Hoped To

October 2, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Groundbreaking and undeniably collectible guitar amplifiers have made frequent appearances in this space over the years, but so have prototypes,…

Freddie King’s Gibson ES-345 Keeps on Playin’

Family Ties

May 29, 2019 · Ward Meeker

Watching her baby boy become rapt whenever his grandma played country blues on her guitar, Ella May King had a…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

EHX Slap-Back Echo

Alright, Mama

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

Unlike the vast echoes of modern delays, the original “slap back” tone of the 1950s was a short delay that…

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Echopark Clarence

Wayback Machine

June 10, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Gabriel Currie’s Echopark Guitars have been played around the world by some of the music industry’s heaviest hitters. His is…

Friedman Amplification JEL-20

Firebreather

August 4, 2024 · Charlie Wilkins

For 25 years, Dave Friedman has been creating amplifiers that helped him (eh-hem) gain amp-guru status. His limited-run Jake E.…

Tim Bogert’s Modified Fender

One Fudged Bass

August 22, 2013 · Willie G. Moseley

When Vanilla Fudge helped pioneer the progressive-rock movement in the latter half of the ’60s, bassist Tim Bogert played more…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Franck L. Goldwasser

Who Needs This Mess?

August 11, 2024 · Dan Forte

After moving from his native France to Oakland in ’83, Franck Goldwasser haunted blues clubs, quickly earning the nickname “Paris…

Kramer Pacer Deluxe

Superstrat or Bust

August 26, 2025 · Michael Wright

On rare occasions, the zeitgeist – not some lucky designer – creates a guitar that captures hearts and minds. Such…

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2015 Readers’ Choice Awards

February 15, 1990 · Vintage Guitar

Each year, VG asks readers to select Readers’ Choice winners for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and…

Gibson’s 1966-’70 Flying V

In Detail

July 1, 2020 · Ward Meeker

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…

Tedeschi Trucks Band

All The Way Live

May 25, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Live albums can be a remedy for contract disputes or a way to stall for time during a creative dry…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 039 Featuring Lyle Workman

December 1, 2020 · Art Department

In Episode 39 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist/composer Lyle Workman, whose new solo…

Fender’s 6G9 Tremolux

Fender’s 6G9 Tremolux

March 23, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: two 7025, two 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6BQ5/EL84 Rectifier: GZ34 Controls: Bright channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Normal channel:…

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Music Man HD-130 Reverb

November 13, 2018 · Dave Hunter

Intended to be the masterpiece of a titan in guitar-amp design, Music Man amps of the mid/late ’70s are all…

Fabrizio Grossi leads band through exclusive take on “Right Down Below.”

January 14, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Ready for the Soul Garage Experience? Fabrizio Grossi gathered the Soul Garage Experience for this VG-exclusive take on “Right Down…

Gibson’s GA-8 Discoverer

Sonic Satellite

May 4, 2022 · Dave Hunter

By the end of the 1950s, “space” was the name of the game, and any forward-thrusting gear that hoped to…

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25

Stage, Studio, Etc.

March 30, 2016 · Julian Burtell

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 Price: $1,299 (list) Contact: www.mesaboogie.com Housed in teensy cabinets, so-called “lunchbox” amps are all the rage,…

Vivi-Tone “Skeleton

A Master’s Magnificent Misfire

December 12, 2025 · Peter Stuart Kohman

The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and…

Michael Bruce

Eighteen Again

October 8, 2019 · Johnny Zapp

Before there was an Alice Cooper, man and solo artist, there was the band called Alice Cooper. From 1969 to…

Ty Tabor’s Six-String Meditation!

June 29, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

King’s X Guitarists’s solo work is mindful, complex Ty Tabor used his Player Strat (with a JB Jr. pickup at…

Daniele Gottardo

Bittersweetness

September 1, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Italian guitar virtuoso Daniele Gottardo’s latest album, Inkblot, combines the whimsy and wonder of the great early-20th-century classical composers with…

Rebel Boards’ Rockstar Pedalboard

Songs from the Wood

March 3, 2015 · Rich Maloof

Rebel Board’s Rockstar Pedalboard Price: $159 (Rockstar); $199 (Rockstar Pro) Info: www.rebel-boards.com. Puzzle-piecing a pedalboard together is equal parts fun…

Tremcaster Single Ninety Home Feature Image

Tremcaster Single Ninety

Best of Both Worlds

January 7, 2014 · Sean OBryan Smith

Today’s guitar market is one of extreme preferences. For some, the idea of countless options and exotic woods and craftsmanship…

SCHENKER-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Michael Schenker

Acoustic Album, Electric Gear

April 29, 2016 · Pete Prown

One of the most influential guitarists in hard rock history, Michael Schenker has imbued the music of UFO, Scorpions, and…

Paul Gilbert

One-Man Electrical Jam

March 30, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Paul Gilbert’s 16th solo album, Werewolves of Portland, is an ambitious DIY project where he plays all the instruments. From…

Fender’s First Reissues

The CBS Era Concludes in Style

March 2, 2016 · Edward B. Driscoll Jr.

By the late 1970s, cumulative changes in the details of the various classic guitar models on the market – Fender’s…

The Epiphone Devon Tremolo EA-35T Combo

Tonally TransAtlantic

January 25, 2022 · Dave Hunter

After giving the upstart Fender a run for its money in the amplifier department throughout the 1950s, Gibson segued into…

Sue Foley

Femme Flamenco

December 10, 2024 · Greg Prato

In a time when pop-music performers rely heavily on post-recording fix-ups and pre-recorded tracks onstage, it’s refreshing – even admirable…

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…

Carr Amplifiers’ Super Bee

’60s Muscle

October 15, 2021 · Rich Maloof

Inside its chicken hatchery turned amp shop in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Carr Amplifiers has hatched another beauty in the low-watt/single-channel…

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone

From Surf to Cinema

March 8, 2023 · Michael Shirek

In the days before seven- and eight-string guitars, the easiest way to go low was to grab a baritone guitar.…

Chordal Colorations

Iconic Axes of Different Hues

October 3, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Though their colors are complementary, Brian May’s Red Special and Brian Setzer’s ’59 Gretsch 6120 couldn’t be more different in…

Mick Mars

The Other Side Of Mars

December 6, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

On his first solo album, former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars leaves his glam-metal discography in the rearview, instead going…

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…

United They Stood, Part 2

Ghosts of Jersey City

July 11, 2022 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost…