Fretprints: Kim Simmonds

Ode to the British Blues Icon

December 23, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

Leader and guiding spirit of Savoy Brown, Kim Simmonds was an architect of the ’60s British Blues movement. A powerful…

Adrian Legg

Adrian Legg

The Wizard of Strings

January 22, 2016 · Pete Prown

Aside from witty asides on social issues, natural disasters, and Renaissance history, Adrian Legg’s formidable fingerstyle and deep musicality remain…

Pink Floyd & The Dark Side of the Moon

Martin Popoff

March 20, 2024 · Pete Prown

This book marks the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s masterwork – composer/bassist Roger Waters’ meditation on madness set over angsty,…

The Pettyjohn Crush Compressor

Big Squeeze

October 3, 2019 · Pete Prown

Compressors can be a real mystery to guitarists who don’t understand the concept. Recording engineers bandy about words like “hard-knee”…

Jessi Colter

Edge of Forever

October 8, 2024 · R.K. Watkins

 After husband Waylon Jennings’ death 22 years ago, Jessi Colter resumed her recording and performing career with several albums that…

Yamaha Weddington Custom

A Better “Classic”

December 9, 2024 · Michael Wright

In 1987, classic American guitars like the Les Paul and Stratocaster were still going strong, with few changes since their…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

Orianthi Lights It Up

December 7, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

New Music, Signature J-200 With her still-newish signature Gibson J-200, Orianthi strums and sings a chill version of the hard-rocking…

Kristian Borring

Time Zone

October 8, 2025 · Pete Prown

Kristian Borring is a jazz guitarist who lives in Perth, Australia, but sends his fearless playing echoing around the planet…

Laurence Juber

Laurence Juber

Still Wingin’ It

June 21, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Fingerstyle guitarist Laurence Juber is best known for his association with Paul McCartney’s Wings, but has recorded two dozen solo…

Vic Juris

The Core of Big Apple Jazz

April 22, 2019 · Jim Carlton

Every noted jazz artist in the world is familiar with Vic Juris. His body of work commands serious respect and…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Coulter Company

The Coulter Company

More Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

July 5, 2016 · Peter Blecha

The eye-catching and technologically innovative stringed instruments created by Frank Evans Coulter in the early 20th century are so exceedingly…

Gibson EH-150

An Odd Gibson EH-150

10 Strings, Lap-Style

December 1, 2021 · George Gruhn

Lap-steel guitars were the first commercially available electrics – ancestors of the guitars we plug in today, regardless of their…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 6

1964: Nu-Sonics and Transistor Trials

February 7, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines

Archtop Elite

January 3, 2025 · Wolf Marshall

The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir SS

Touch of Grey

April 26, 2019 · Michael Dregni

When Bob Weir introduced his D’Angelico Premier SS at NAMM last January, he performed a set of Grateful Dead and…

Preston Thompson 00-45

New Old Vintage

July 24, 2019 · Steven Stone

Given their scarcity, few mortal pickers will ever own a pre-war Martin 00 or 000 with 45-level appointments. But a…

EHX Ripped Speaker Pedal

Tore Up

May 3, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Since the dawn of rock and roll, guitarists have (by accident or with intent) loosened tubes, sliced, or poked holes…

Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.

December 21, 2022 · Tom Guerra

Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Six-String Kicks

Six-String Kicks

Wood from Famed Bowling Alley Set to Sing

March 31, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Few things scratch America’s cumulative itch for nostalgia like Route 66 – the famed wagon-trail-cum-highway that offered passage to those…

The ’66 Vox UL 730

Beatle Juice

April 14, 2020 · Dave Hunter

Despite the massive lust for early “copper-panel” Vox AC30 and AC15 amplifiers, one JMI-made line is far rarer – the…

Tom Principato

Bridging the Big Pond

March 2, 2017 · Willie G. Moseley

Tom Principato’s 18th album, Live and Still Kickin’! portrays the energy of its title and was recorded on two continents.…

Arteffect Bonnie Wah

Cry No More!

May 12, 2010 · Phil Feser

Israel-based Arteffect’s new Bonnie wah pedal is an accurate re-creation of the highly soughtafter vintage Vox Clyde McCoy wah. The…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest J Mascis

November 25, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Season 03 Episode 06 In Episode 3.6 of Buy That Guitar, presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is…

Orange Super Crush 100 Head

Convincing Crunch

March 13, 2023 · Charlie Wilkins

When speaking of guitar amplifiers that have become part of rock-and-roll lore, you best mention the iconic Orange brand as…

The Jayhawks

Power Pop With Twang And Thunder

April 20, 2016 · Dennis Pernu

Those with only a casual ear to the pavement will likely file the Jayhawks under murky signifiers such as “Americana”…

NANCYWILSON

Nancy Wilson

Sister Act

March 13, 2015 · Will Kelly

After the release of the acclaimed Red Velvet Car in 2010, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band, Heart,…

John Scofield

Uncle John’s Band

August 12, 2024 · Pete Prown

Cue up the title cut and admire John Scofield’s chord-melody approach to the Grateful Dead’s 1971 FM hit. While Sco’…

Chris Hillman 

Time Between; My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond

October 14, 2021 · Rich Kienzle

Though he began as a California bluegrass mandolin picker, Chris Hillman cemented his place in rock history as the Byrds’…

Jimmy Nalls

1951-2017 Guitar Stars Honor a Fallen Hero

April 24, 2019 · Dan Forte

On June 22, the musical journey of guitar great Jimmy Nalls ended due to the effects of Parkinson’s Disease and…

The Hagstrom EDP46 DeLuxe

June 20, 2025 · Michael Wright

World War II was responsible for an unbelievable amount of what we today know as the modern world, from computers…

Strobel Rambler Travel Bass

Traveling in Style 

December 2, 2016 · Phil Feser

As a rule, travel guitars and basses are intended to help one keep up their chops while on the road…

Keeley Electronics Zoma

’65 Vibe

October 9, 2025 · Pete Prown

Inspired by Robert Keeley’s fondness for combining effects, the digital Keeley Electonics Zoma Stereo Reverb and Tremolo simplifies interface and…

George Cotsirilos – Jazz Sans Cliché

December 14, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Deft work on an L-5 for “The Three Doves” George Cotsirilos grew up listening to Bloomfield, Hendrix, and Clapton, then…

The Fender Stratocaster

Aiming High

July 5, 2017 · Richard R. Smith

In 1953, Leo Fender started planning a new standard guitar – the Stratocaster. His partner, Don Randall, who headed Fender…

Heaven and Hell

Neon Knights Reunite

March 3, 2010 · Lisa Sharken

                            In 1979, Black Sabbath was at…

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Heart & Soul Blues

October 4, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi – homeland of the Delta blues – Christone Ingram learned gospel music in the…

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band

Honeysuckle

December 8, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from…

Ian Hunter

Defying the Odds

January 31, 2024 · Tom Guerra

Taking advantage of the time off in the early days of the pandemic, Ian Hunter hunkered down in his Connecticut…

James Elkington

Alt-Tuned Sojourn

April 24, 2019 · Willie G. Moseley

Expatriate English guitarist James Elkington has long been based in Chicago, collaborating with other musicians including Janet Bean, Nathan Salsburg,…

Tomas Janzon swings on “Ascending”

May 30, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Silky-Smooth on a vintage hollowbody Hip as all get-out, Tomas Janzon plays some of the silkiest jazz you’ll hear this…

Oz Noy

Oz Noy

Dishing Out More Twisted Blues

May 15, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Oz Noy is talented enough to pay the bills not only as a first-call New York session cat, but also…

Vox MV50 AC

The Little Amp That Could

April 26, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Ready to step onstage but your amp won’t sing? Traveling, but don’t want to lug a lot of gear? Need…

Charlie Parr

A Muse From Olden Times

November 28, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Charlie Parr makes new music from olden times. And he makes it the old way – not only using just…

1982 Gibson Victory Custom

February 6, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

When you consider their status as a last-gasp instrument made by Gibson in its waning days as a property of…

Check This Action: So Long, Charlie and Top

January 23, 2024 · Dan Forte

I was saddened to hear of the passing of ’50s rocker Charlie Gracie on December 16. The 86-year-old rocker sure…

Music Man’s JP13

Petrucci Pick

February 23, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes…

Jerry and Gordon Kennedy

"It's a Two-Man Collection"

January 12, 2010 · Willie G. Moseley

Guitarist/producer Jerry Kennedy, recipient of four Grammy awards, is proud of his three sons, all of whom are accomplished musicians…