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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 Drew & Sebastian Avenger
Multi-“caster”
At first glance, the D&S Avenger looks like a long-lost prototype from Leo’s shop, with its offset-waist shape and familiar…

Sweet Sustain
Guitar Tech Craig’s Dino Sauce Compressor
Imagine a Strat tuned to open G, a D chord being floated at the seventh fret with a Craftsman deep-well…

The Strat in Transition
Leap Forward, Step Back
Believing the long-term survival of his company hinged on creating the world’s best electric guitar, in 1953, Leo Fender set…

Ellis Guitars TX3
“T” For Texas
Houston is the closest major U.S. port to the tropical hardwoods of South and Central America, so it makes…

Electro-Harmonix Synth9
Downright Synth-Ful
For 40 years, guitar synthesizers have come and gone, but the Electro-Harmonix Synth9 looks to be a game-changer for several…

Toronzo’s Tasty Blues!
Chicago Blues Master plays “Something To Do, Man” More than “just” a great blues player, Toronzo Cannon is an outspoken…
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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
Gregg Wright
King of the Rockin’ Blues
Gregg Wright is a force to be reckoned with. He took the top spot in the Southern California Blues Society’s…

Robin Trower
20 Albums In
On his 20th album, Something’s About to Change, Strat stalwart Robin Trower once again dives into the blues for a…

Pepper Keenan
Down with CoC
It’s difficult enough to be a member of one metal band, let alone two. But Pepper Keenan is pulling double-duty…

Sarah Borges’ plays “Wasting My Time”
Roots-rocker’s solo, essential take Sarah Borges grabbed her Stonetree Custom Roscoe Special for this take on “Wasting My Time,” from…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

George Ducas: Modern Honky-Tonkin’
Taste of “Long Way From Home” Singer/songwriter George Ducas is a Nashville traditionalist influenced by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and…

VG Q&A: Odd Dots
Import fretboard markers, and Kay’s Model 1961
In the mid ’60s, why did some Japanese electric-guitar manufacturers put the marker on the 10th fret rather than the…

The Martin 3K
The continuing appeal of Hawaiian music through the past 100 years is based in part on the music itself, which…

Peavey Forum Basses
Durable, Dependable
In his 2003 book, American Basses, author Jim Roberts noted that for all of Peavey’s innovative offerings in the 1990s,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

G&L Fallout
Form Follows Function
G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten…

Supro Super 1606 and Reverb 1605R
Little Amps That Could
In guitardom, players far too often believe there is nothing more sonically pleasing than a tall stack. Yet, plenty of…

EarthQuaker Devices’ Erupter
Bring The Fuzz
EarthQuaker Devices is one of the most admired pedal builders today, thanks to their original designs that feature tweakable controls…

Epiphone’s 75th Anniversary Electar “1939” Century
Little Heartthrob
Many vintage amp connoisseurs have a special place in their hearts for the early Epiphone Electar amplifiers. David Bromberg is…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Kevin Keaton’s 1958 Esquire
Swamp Thing
June 10, 2020, was a summer night like most in the life of Kevin Keaton, a postal mail carrier and…

Taylor T5z-12 Classic DLX
12-String Tech
Taylor’s acclaimed merging of acoustic and electric guitars continues to evolve with the T5z-12, a thinline 12-string with five-way pickup…

Dan Wilson
Akron’s Finest
On Things Eternal, jazz-guitar wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical…

Fender’s Duel Pugilist Distortion & Dual Marine Layer Reverb
Double Trouble
Fender launched its Pugilist Distortion and Marine Layer Reverb in 2018, after VP of Innovation Stan Cotey – who’d previously…










































