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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…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Bo Diddley
1928-2008
Bo Diddley. Photo: F. Scott Schafer. Rock-and-roll pioneer Bo Diddley died of heart failure June 2 at his home in…
Tom Guerra
Rock and Roll Swagger
After 15 years and four albums with Connecticut trio Mambo Sons, Tom Guerra just released his first solo album, All…
In Memoriam: Rusty Russell
Rusty Russell, a Nashville-based guitarist, songwriter, photographer, and writer who accompanied notable country and jazz musicians in studios and on…
Steve Gunn
Folk Rock’s New Visionary
Steve Gunn’s Way Out Weather is a textured effort that takes cues from a diverse palette including John Fahey, Chicago…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Tony Nobles Resonator
Museum-Bound Resonator
This guitar is a special project built after I was approached by the new Braunfels (Texas) Museum of Art and…
Classics: Mike Semrad’s ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska – at least as far back as his…
Jack Westheimer
Pioneer of Global Guitarmaking
Ca. ’63 Teisco Model SD-4L. Today we pretty much take it for granted that if you want an inexpensive guitar,…
Andre Segovia’s Hauser
Built in 1937
While visiting the Spanish guitar exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City during the fall of…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face
Fuzz Buzz
There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations…
Cordoba 15CFM
Hawai’i Not?
The ukulele phenomenon shows no signs of slowing, with models ranging from well under $100 on up to thousands. The…
ZVEX Woolly Mammoth 7
Fuzzy Beast
Zachary Vex masterminds some of the most radical and downright fun pedals known to mankind. And as he states in…
Epiphone’s Wilshire and Coronet
Gotta Rock
Some elemental solidbodies were born to rock – the SG, Telecaster, and Les Paul Special and Junior come to mind.…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…
