• 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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Eric Gales

Reinvigorated Blues

March 28, 2019 · Greg Prato

Over the years, there have been instances when one renowned blues-rock guitarist or another found sobriety in the nick of…

Fender‘s 50th Anniversary Strat

Height of the Reissue

June 11, 2015 · Ward Meeker

In celebration of the 50th “birthday” of its famous Stratocaster model, Fender has taken the reissue concept to new heights.…

Jazz singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding performing at the North Sea Jazz festival 2012 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo: JBreeschoten/Wikimedia.

Esperanza Spalding

May 15, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Popularly known as that cute female jazz bassist with the Afro who bogarted the Best New Artist Grammy away from…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 011 Featuring Shannon and the Clams

July 8, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

In episode 11 James speaks with Cody Blanchard (guitar and vocals), Nate Mahan (drummer and aspiring luthier) of Shannon and…

Pop ’N Hiss: King’s X’s Gretchen Goes To Nebraska

Faith, Hope & Pain

October 26, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

By the final year of the ’80s, King’s X was a powerhouse of curiosity cleaving its way through the harmonic…

Stefan Grossman

Live at the BBC

January 25, 2024 · Dan Forte

Though he has dedicated much of his career to guitar instruction, Grossman has always been a formidable picker in his…

  • 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,…

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ARTISTS

Have Guitar Will Travel – 035 Featuring Joe Robinson

September 15, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

In Episode 35 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Joe Robinson. Mentored by Tommy…

Paul Quinn

Relentless Persistence

May 8, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

For Paul Quinn, music begins and ends with the blues. The soft-spoken guitarist began playing by listening to British blues…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 029 Featuring Greg Koch

June 23, 2020 · James Patrick Regan

Episode 29 of James Patrick Regan’s “Have Guitar Will Travel” podcast features “The Gristlemaster,” Greg Koch, who talks about his…

A Mick Ralphs Sampler – Definitive Listening

June 27, 2025 · Willie G. Moseley

Curated by Vintage Guitar’s Willie G. Moseley, this playlist showcases the evolution of Mick Ralphs’ sound through various songs he…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Dan’s Guitar RX: Rock-And-Roll High School(er)

Building a From-Scratch Class Project, the Conclusion

September 18, 2023 · Dan Erlewine

In my November ’22 column, Ceil Thompson’s class-project guitar was nearing completion – the lacquer coats were applied and, after…

Classics – June 2021

February 7, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Rob Harrelson’s first guitar – a Kay 1160 – entered his life as a 14th-birthday gift from his grandmother. At…

Gretsch Country Gentleman

August 28, 2014 · Jim Hilmar

Consider American guitar manufacturers that have been in business during the last 100 years and the different instruments they’ve produced.…

EPIPHONEZEPHYR-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Epiphone Zephyr De Luxe Regent and Zephyr Amplifier

June 12, 2014 · L.B. Fred

The Zephyr De Luxe Regent was Epiphone’s second-from-the-top electric guitar produced from the late 1940s through the mid ’50s. The…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

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…

Danelectro Doubleneck

Twice the Tone

May 30, 2025 · Pete Prown

  Jimmy Page. Don Felder. Even Elvis Presley. In fact, who amongst us hasn’t drooled over a 6/12 doubleneck at…

Reddick Voyager Custom

Swap Meet

June 9, 2023 · Pete Prown

The concept of pickup-swapping guitars has been around for decades, almost always with cumbersome results. With the Voyager, Reddick Guitars…

Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor-II PRO

Archtop Ruler

January 24, 2017 · Michael Dregni

In the early 1950s, the grand old luthiers like Epiphone and Gibson couldn’t believe there would ever be a market…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

The Fender Tremolux

January 29, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Most amp nuts are utterly fascinated by Fender’s rapid evolution from archaic to modern through the course of the 1950s.…

Dallas Rangemaster and Scala Combos

Texas Two Step

May 9, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Fascinating also-rans, C-list classics, or both, the amps manufactured by London-based Dallas Music Ltd beginning in 1959 tie directly to…

Pat Martino

1944-2021

August 29, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

Music suffered an incalculable loss with the passing of Pat Martino, who died in his sleep on the morning of…

Eric Clapton

Six-String Stories

January 17, 2023 · Pete Prown

Mr. Clapton has a vast guitar collection – okay, shocker. But within this book, you can drool over Eric’s greatest…

The PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo

Swiss Army Hybrid

September 5, 2025 · Rich Maloof

PRS hits on its long-running trifecta – versatility, playability, aesthetic appeal – with its new twist on the electric/acoustic hybrid,…

Micki Free

Turquoise Blue

December 9, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Grammy winner Micki Free’s latest is loaded with rockin’ badassery. With influences ranging from Billy Gibbons and Carlos Santana to…

The Mavericks

March 30, 2017 · Rich Kienzle

Since reforming five years ago, the Mavericks have released two studio albums and 2016’s All Night Live, Vol. 1. And…

Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers

Full-Throttle Rockabilly

October 30, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Ruby Dee, guitarman Jorge Harada, and crew serve up 200-proof rockabilly. Their brand of music is not Stray Cats glitz…

1937 Martin 0-21

February 8, 2024 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Martin is known for its orderly model-naming system, under which all guitars of a certain style from any particular year…

2021 December Issue on Spotify

December 8, 2021 · Doug Yellow Bird

This month we feature Zakk Wylde, Samantha Fish, Mark Tremonti, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Seth Lee Jones, Dave Murray, Naia Izumi,…

Jim Lauderdale

Sweet Music

April 27, 2020 · Michael Dregni

“I consciously did not want to make a knockoff of a Gram record or an Elvis record.” Jim Lauderdale is…

2025 January Issue on Spotify

January 15, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Lynyrd Skynyrd, Plasmatics, Jerry Douglas, Phil Lesh, Mark Farner, Larkin Poe, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ronnie Baker…

Echopark Traditional American Acoustic

Small-Body Stunner

January 25, 2017 · Steven Stone

Echopark Guitars is the brainchild of Gabriel Currie, who opened the establishment in 2006, after many years of working as…

Musicvox MI-5 12-String

Musicvox MI-5 12-String

That Timeless Jangle

April 15, 2015 · Pete Prown

The Musicvox MI-5 12-String Price: $899 Info: www.musicvox.com. Since its appearances in the Austin Powers movies, Musicvox guitars have received…

Fender Player II Series Telecaster

Twang Banger

May 30, 2025 · Dave Hunter

As the world’s first mass-production solidbody electric guitar fast approaches its 75th birthday, Fender continues to offer variations on the…

Producer Dave Cobb Draws Artists of All Ilks

Music-City tune Charmer

December 7, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Grandson of a Pentecostal minister, as a kid, Dave Cobb attended church every day, weaving old-time hymnal music into his…

Nancy Wright

December 9, 2016 · Dan Forte

The ubiquitous saxophonist of the San Francisco blues scene for 30 years, Nancy Wright finally stepped to the fore and…

Bird Golden Eagle 4/25

Soaring In Birdland

April 24, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Many of the oddballs, also-rans, and otherwise unusual creations we see in the amp world fall into the “B-list” category…

Martin 0-28K

Martin 0-28K

June 8, 2015 · George Gruhn

The exotic figuration of Hawaiian koa wood on this Martin 0-28K from 1923 has a visual appeal that matched the…

Booker White’s 1933 National Duolian

Hard Traveled

May 30, 2017 · Michael Dregni

“Hard Rock.” That’s the name used by Mississippi blues man Booker White to christen his 1933 National Duolian. And Hard…

Kiss

Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY

February 9, 2024 · Bret Adams

This 1984 concert is the only known soundboard recording with guitarist Mark St. John, whose tenure is one of the…

Vinnie Moore

Heavy Melodic Shred

March 18, 2016 · Lisa Sharken

Vinnie Moore emerged in the mid ’80s, garnering praise for his work as a solo instrumentalist and for his contributions…

Woodstock 1969

Ten Years After

September 8, 2025 · Dan Forte

Though he was a multifaceted guitarist, Ten Years After’s Alvin Lee had a reputation as a speed demon – not…

Gwenifer Raymond

Fierce Fingerstyle

November 10, 2021 · Pete Prown

Expect the unexpected from Gwenifer Raymond. Born in Wales, England, she was inspired by underground bands like the Pixies and…

Carbe and Durand

August 30, 2016 · John Heidt

The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe…

Gibson J-200 Rosewood

March 1, 2022 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

The Gibson company was founded on the belief that carved-top guitars were superior to flat-top designs, and consequently, Gibson was…

Traynor YGM-4 Studio Mate

Behind The Eight Ball

April 15, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Vintage-amp bargain hunters often compare the quality and features of smaller Traynor combos to Fenders and those of the larger…

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…

Styx

Crash of the Crown

April 4, 2022 · Bret Adams

BreaBreaking While 2017’s concept album The Mission embraced progressive rock, the new Styx album has even higher ambitions. Returning to…