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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

Alex Skolnick
Bit of Metal, Bit of Jazz
The worlds of metal and jazz guitar couldn’t be more opposite – one specializes in volume and riffing, the other…

Boss Katana 100
Impressive Amenities
More and more, guitarists’ passion for tube amps is being balanced by the rise of quality digital, solidstate, and modeling…

The Real Story of Martin’s 14-Fret Orchestra Models
OM Irony
Martin Orchestra Model (OM) guitars made prior to World War II are some of the finest ever made for fingerpicking.…

The Roland Space Echo
Perfect Slap-Back
When Brian Setzer kickstarted the Stray Cats into action in 1979, his gear lineup was a hodgepodge of orthodox rockabilly…

Fender’s ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb
Improving on a Good Thing
Fender’s ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb Price: $999.99 list Contact: www.fender.com In 1968, Fender gave its amp line what collectors today…

Fender’s Tweed-to Tolex Transition
Best Face Forward
Through its 75 years, Fender has been responsible for myriad leaps forward in the history of guitar-amplifier design and manufacture.…
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VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…
ARTISTS
Billy Sheehan
New Music, Old-School Basses
Among rock bassists, Billy Sheehan has been a standout in four decades. Whether with Talas in the ’70s, tapping toe-to-toe…

Rory Gallagher’s Photo-Finish
Legend’s Best
The year 1977 saw upheaval in rock and roll, from the death of Elvis Presley and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash…

Kevn Kinney
Small 'N Happy
As any fan of Drivin ’N Cryin can attest, Kevn Kinney at his creative best surrenders little to the greatest…

John 5
Telewielder
Since ditching his spot backing alternative-metal singer Marilyn Manson 10 years ago, superhuman guitarist John 5 has used his skills…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Dan’s Guitar RX: Doubleneck Redux, Part 2
Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
In the November issue, we started to refurbish a doubleneck mandolin/guitar I made for Jerry Schafer in 1977. It needed…

Gibson’s First Reissue Les Pauls
On the Road to ’59
Strings and Things Les Paul Many articles have been written about how guitarists and dealers in the mid/late 1970s and…

Fender’s “First-Gen” Strat
The Fender Stratocaster is arguably the most popular electric guitar model in the world. From the time of its introduction…

Gibson Tal Farlow
The Tal Farlow is one guitar in a quartet of full-depth Gibson Artists models first cataloged in the early 1960s. Introduced…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

The Postal Delta Zephyr
No Reservations
It’s nice to find guitar builders producing hand-made guitars that are more than a rehash of familiar models, while using…

Gibson’s “Non-Reverse” ’Birds
In the ’60s, Gibson strived mightily to meet the demands of players of all levels while also working to maintain…

The Cicognani SexyBoost2
Top-Tier Driver
Italy’s Cicognani Engineering makes amplifiers, pedals, and nifty accessories. With a client list that includes Robben Ford, Richard Fortus, and…

D’Angelico Excel EXL-1
Laudable Likeness
Few vintage guitars are as vaunted as John D’Angelico’s original handcrafted Excel archtops. Building a new – and affordable –…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero

Matchless DC-30
Preamp Tubes: One EF86, three 12AX7s (one for PI) Output Tubes: Four EL84s in class A, cathode-bias. Rectifier: GZ34 Controls:…

Eilon Paz
Stompbox: 100 Pedals of the World’s Greatest Guitarists & Stompbox Vintage & Rarities
Sure, we’ve all got a “thing” about guitars. And for many, amps strike a similar chord. But there’s something special…

VG Q&A: Parlor Mystery
Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the…

2023 April Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Marty Stuart, Steve Vai, Sunny War, Merle Travis Bio, Kansas’ Leftoverture, Gary Moore, Big Bill Broonzy,…














































