-
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…

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

D’Angelico Excel SS
Classic Versatility
The modern D’Angelico company specializes in hip semi-hollow guitars with a nod toward their namesake, legendary luthier John D’Angelico. Case…

Wampler Effects Pedals
Filling the Gaps
Brian Wampler, who developed a reputation first for modding effects pedals, then for building originals including a custom overdrive for…

Tom Feldmann
“And the Oscar goes to…” If they gave out Academy Awards for the best guitar instructional film, Tom Feldmann’s latest…

Area 51 The Alienist Voicing Boost
Manmade Tone Monster
Gather ’round, children, for a scary bedtime story. Once upon a time, there was no such thing as a high-gain…
Knaggs Guitars’ Steve Stevens Signature Model
Rebel Yell
Knaggs Guitars’ Steve Stevens Signature Model Price: $6,000 Contact: www.knaggsguitars.com Everyone wants to build a better mousetrap, and those who…
-
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

Punk-Rock Pioneer Ivan Julian
NYC Luminary Goes Avant-Garde! Ivan Julian does an experimental take on “Misty” before going into the solo from “Love Is…
Robby Krieger
New Musical Directions
For all of his decades of noteworthy guitar work, Robby Krieger isn’t resting on his laurels. In 2002, Krieger and…
Marty Stuart
Current Traditions
The latest record from Marty Stuart, Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, is a tour de force of country music…

Revealing Jesse Ed Davis
Douglas K. Miller
Jesse Ed Davis was an unsung guitar hero – unless you were a legend like Eric Clapton, John Lennon, George…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony…

Gibson Marauder M-1
Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck…

Matchless JJ-30
Stage Staunch
Rare and sought-after, in part because only about 40 were built, the Matchless JJ-30 John Jorgenson is the only Signature…

Vega Director Model A-60
Enticing Extras
A worthy vintage combo in all regards, there’s sad irony in the fact the Director Model A-60 is representative of…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight

The Gibson SJ-200
Long Live The King
Introduced in 1937, Gibson’s Super Jumbos radiated star power and quickly became the guitar of choice for those who wanted…

Axe-Calibur Guitar Stand
While guitar stands are a dime a dozen, few bring a sense of style nice enough for the living room.…

Echopark Traditional American Acoustic
Small-Body Stunner
Echopark Guitars is the brainchild of Gabriel Currie, who opened the establishment in 2006, after many years of working as…
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…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
More Personal
-
Rare Pioneer

Various Artists
Homegrown Heroes
Subtitled “1950s & 1960s Oddball Labels,” these three boxed sets collect nuggets from dozens of independent record labels that popped…

S’Alright (Or Left)
Southpaw Guitars Marks 35 Years
Even before they started jamming together on old Gibson acoustics in the mid ’70s, Jimmy Duncan and Bill Townsend, co-founders…

Billy Flynn
True Chicago Blues
The phrase “electric blues” is a catch-all for many genres, but for aficionados it refers to a highly specific idiom…

Gibson Everly Brothers SJ-200
Full Dress
Gibson has always had a knack for producing distinctive guitars. The EDS-1275 in Cherry finish will forever be tied to…













































