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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…
Eve Monsees and Mike Buck
& Their Groovy Orbit
This is not a solo album as much as an anthology of Austin artists and styles – from blues to…
David Hidalgo Plays Joe Walsh’s ’59 Les Paul
David Hidalgo Plays Joe Walsh’s ’59 Les Paul The video that helped convince Joe Walsh to reunite with his…
Colby Amplification Park 45
Put It Here
Colby Amplification Park 45 Price: $2,500 (list) Contact: www.colbyamps.com There are legends that gear fanatics all know, and then there…
The Doltones
Sound Recycle Machine
There must be something in those icy fjords. What else can explain the great surf music that has come out…
Donner DST-700 Hyper
Value City
It’s often the case that guitars with roasted necks cost more than gloss poly finishes, but Donner is challenging that…
Ohana Ukuleles
Serious Fun
Ohana Ukuleles Price: $249 (SK-35, CKP-70R); $259 (SK-28) Info: www.ohana-music.com. Just like guitars, ukuleles come in all quality levels, from…
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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
Vinnie Moore
Heavy Melodic Shred
Vinnie Moore emerged in the mid ’80s, garnering praise for his work as a solo instrumentalist and for his contributions…
The Manakooras
Tiki Twang
Call it exotica or tiki twang, but the Manakooras play tropical instro that evokes visions of dreamy Pacific islands. Led…
Leo Lydon
Beefy Tones
The wildly named Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol doesn’t play the typical “doom metal” or “stoner metal” that has been hip…
Kid Ramos’ Raunchy Slide
Kid Carves it up! Proving that tone is less about fancy gear and more about feel, Kid Ramos used his…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
A Hero’s Gretsch 6117
In the 1960s, the astronauts were bigger cultural icons than the Beatles. And no, that’s not the Colorado-based surf band…
Gretsch Country Gent #1
The Gretsch Country Gentleman 6122 was the third of four Chet Atkins signature guitar models created for the legendary guitarist…
Fender’s V-Front 5B4 Super-Amp
Wonder Wedge
Though all tweed Fender amps of the late ’40s and ’50s are lauded and lusted after, the V-front Super might…
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…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
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…
Godin’s A4 and A5 Ultra SA
Brave New Basses
Godin A4/A5 Ultra SA Price: $1,395 (A4 Ultra SA fretted); $1,645 (A5 Ultra SA fretless) Info: godinguitars.com. For years, Godin…
Radial Tonebone Shotgun and Mix-Blender
Swiss-Army Stompboxes
Whether it’s due to shrinking pedalboard real estate, shrinking discretionary budgets, or both, stompboxes that serve more than one function…
Fender Vaporizer Amp
Retro on 11
Fender’s Vaporizer Amp Price: $399.99 (street) Info: www.fender.com Given the popularity of smartphones, tablets, digital recorders, and amp modeling in…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Have Guitar Will Travel – Featuring 006 BottleRock Music Festival Pt. 3
One last show from BottleRock ’18, with guests including Chris Vos (Record Company), Austin Burns (Dani Bell and the Tarantist),…
Joanna Connor
4801 South Indiana Avenue
Blues-rock queen Joanna Connor’s latest release finds her receiving branding advice from none other than Joe Bonamassa. Impressed by her…
Peter Stroud Keeps His Feet, and Keeps Movin’
On “10,” As Always
He has played with Dreams So Real, Pete Droge, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow. It’s the latter gig that occupies…
Carvin’s HH2 Allan Holdsworth
Off With Their Heads
Headless guitars and basses, which had their heyday back in the big-hair/thin-necktie ’80s (think Power Windows-era Geddy Lee), still have…
