-
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…

Godin A6 Ultra Baritone
Sub Sandwich
The basic premise of a baritone is that it allows guitar players to occasionally twang genuine bass notes – not…

Ceil Thompson and her self-made guitar
“Dan’s Guitar Rx”: VG’s Rock-and-Roll High School(er)! In 2022, Dan Erlewine’s “Guitar Rx” column walked readers through a class-project guitar…

Scott Sharrard
Destined for the Gig
Anyone who has seen the Gregg Allman Band in person or caught its new CD/DVD, Back to Macon, Ga, knows…

Dario Lorina
Black Label Soloist
Best known as Zakk Wylde’s right-hand man in Black Label Society, Dario Lorina is an accomplished shredder in his own…

Gibson Wall-Board Guitar
Out of the Woods, Off the Wall
In the world of “guitarcheology,” it’s well-documented that the truly interesting stuff – prototypes, one-offs, custom instruments – usually surface…

1962 Gretsch Country Gentleman Custom
Atkins Oddity
By the early 1960s, the Fred Gretsch Company was riding high with an array of eye-catching electric guitars highlighted with…
-
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

Midge Ure
Many Facets and Musical Stylings
Humanitarian, activist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Midge Ure has been a vital performer since the ’70s. Former guitarist/vocalist for Ultravox,…

Buzz Osborne
Heavy Bass
Over the years, fans have come to expect the unexpected from the Melvins. But they just may have outdone themselves…

Jimmie Vaughan
Full Plate, New Strats
After trading football for guitar at age 13, Jimmie Vaughan forged a remarkable career as a blues-roots guitarist, first with…

Ian Crichton
“We’re A Real Band”
Having weathered fame and changing musical trends, guitarist Ian Crichton has carved an indelible niche as the guitarist in Saga,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Prototypes and Pathfinders
Five Amps That Set the Tone – Or Hoped To
Groundbreaking and undeniably collectible guitar amplifiers have made frequent appearances in this space over the years, but so have prototypes,…

Classics: Harold “Sonny” Wright’s 1965 Gibson J-45
Growing up 10 miles from Earl Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina with a music-loving father and two older sisters who…

Keith Richards’ 1963 Gibson SG Custom
Ready to Ramble
In 1961, Gibson introduced the double-cutaway Les Paul to replace the original version, which had been endorsed by guitarist Les…

Eric Bibb plays “Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie”
Soulful Blues Beyond I-IV-V Sensational fingerstylist Eric Bibb uses the ’47 Levin Model 13 Ambassadör to honor us with a…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
-
Live Wire
-
Narrow(field) Win
-
Take Flight

Valvetech Suplex
A Kinder, Gentler Plexi
Used by rock royalty, the 100-watt Marshall Model 1959 Super Lead unleashed hellacious tones. Problem was, it was ridiculously loud…

Dr. Z 35th Anniversary Carmen Ghia 1×10
Start Me Up
At the forefront of high-end boutique design, the Carmen Ghia was Dr. Z’s first commercially available amplifier when launched in…

Ya’ Gig What Ya’ Pay For
Incase’s Tour Bag is ultra-functional, durable
It wouldn’t be a surprising reaction. “A $200 gig bag?” And one could reasonably assume the price includes a guitar.…

3rd Power Amplification’s Solo Dream 1, Solo Dream 4, and Switchback 112
Dream Babies
Recording/touring guitarist, studio engineer, and industry veteran Jamie Scott made the metamorphosis into amp designer by learning to repair and…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
-
More Personal
-
Rare Pioneer
Paul Reed Smith
Lions Roaring in Quicksand
The new album by guitar builder Paul Reed Smith and his band, Eightlock, offers soul-based sounds with deep grooves, three…

The JangleBox J-Boost
Seamless Sheen
Twelve years ago, Janglebox founder Steve Lasko set out to create effects pedals that capture the sparkling clean chime made…

Robert Randolph
Soul Power
“I wasn’t really a Coltrane fan, but when I heard Kind Of Blue I was like, ‘Hell, as long as…

Beauty and the Bastards
This album is a set of songs beautifully assembled by guitarist Danny Mangold. He recruits various friends, including his former…













































