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2026 February Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Tinsley Wllis, Jimmy Aaughan, Duke Levine, Joshua Hedley, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Pink Floyd, Coyote Motel, Julian Lage, Jocelyn Gould, and more! Spotify is free or available…
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Rock ’n Roll Fantasy Camp Celebrates 30 Years of Changing Lives Through Music
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For 30 years, Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp has done something no one thought possible — bringing everyday musicians into rehearsal rooms, studios, and onto stages with…
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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…
The Story of Silver Street Guitars
Building a Better…. Gibson?
In the late 1970s, trends combined to spawn several new guitar companies in the Chicago area motivated by a desire…
The Pigtronix Envelope Phaser 2
Sophisti-Phaser
Pigtronix Envelope Phaser II Price: $249 (street). Contact: Phone (631) 331-7447; Pigtronix.com. Pigtronix effects are known not only for their…
Steve Vai
Relentless Explorer
More than 40 years into his career, Steve Vai is still pushing himself as a musician and exploring the boundaries…
Xotic Bass BB Preamp V1.5
In Your Face
Sometimes, bassists need boost, too, like when that bass-solo interlude from Sade’s “Smooth Operator” comes along and it’s time to…
Willie Nelson
Soon after arriving in Nashville in 1960, Willie Nelson signed a songwriting contract with Pamper Music, co-owned by Ray Price,…
Tinsley Ellis’ new dimension
Unplugged, and Worth the Wait! A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style…
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Classics: Jeremy Graf’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster
A lifelong vintage-guitar nut who has had “a million guitars,” Jeremy Graf’s all-time favorite is this 1961 Stratocaster. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Graf was just seven when, for reasons…
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ARTISTS
Paco de Lucia
1947-2014
Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia died February 26 after suffering a heart attack in Cancun, Mexico. He was 66.…
Dick Taylor
From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things
When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing…
Instro-Meister Eric Penna
Blues Switch-Up in Trabants Eric Penna’s main gig is playing bass for the garage/surf band Insect Surfers, but he side-hustles…
Molly Miller – top-flight instrumental rock, jazz, and twang
Trio rips on “2 West” Instrumental guitar music is having a moment. Offering a stellar example, Molly Miller and her…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part One
There are many ways for an advertiser to attract attention, and in the history of 19th- and 20th-century print hucksterisim…
Gibson’s Style O Artist Guitar and K-4 Mandocello
Two For the Scroll
The mandolin originated in the Middle East as a bowl-back instrument. Crusaders brought it back to Europe and early Italian…
Classics: September 2023
Bill Fudge’s Micro-Frets Huntington
Several years before he became a luthier who deserves much greater recognition, Ralph Jones sold new Fender guitars and amps…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Building a From-Scratch Class Project, Part Two
Rock-And-Roll High School(er)
In the August issue, we introduced you to Ceil Thompson, a high-school intern in my shop who’s building a guitar…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Classic Character
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Synth Evo
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Musical, Minimalist
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Big Bottom
Brown’s Guitar Factory Lap Steel
Steel Yourself
At the beginning of amplified music, one of the first instruments to get a magnetic pickup was the Rickenbacker “frying…
Orange TH30 Combo
Small Clubs, Big Tones
Orange TH30 Combo Price:$1,379 (list) Info: www.orangeamps.com Beyond their eye-catching color, Orange amplifiers have always rendered a distinct sound. Today,…
Rockn Stompn Sequential Power Strip
“Good” Power!
Power. Juice. Electricity. The brilliance of Ben Franklin, James Watt, and Nikola Tesla helped harness, if not tame, this vital…
Ibanez AF95
Jazzed UP
In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Shoulders Of A Legend
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The Artist’s Way
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Life At Full Speed
Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp
Make Way
Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp Price: $475 (retail)/$320 (street) Info: www.headwaymusicaudio.com. Designed in England and manufactured in Korea, the…
Cast Engineering Texas Flood OD
Bring On The SRV
Tube Screamers, those famed overdrives from Ibanez, have been screaming off the shelves ever since guitarists first learned the little…
Rickenbacker 481
It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…
Check This Action: A Year In Their Life
Recently, I stumbled onto one of those “reaction” videos by a New Zealander named Courtney, who wasn’t sure if she’d…
