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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…

Ally Venable
Heart of Texas
On her fourth album, Ally Venable serves up a heaping helping of poignant songs wrapped in Texas-style blues-rock. Ballsy wah…

Name that Twang
The Guild-Duane Eddy Connection
The fledgling Guild company scored a coup when it signed Johnny Smith to an endorsement deal in 1956. Perched atop…

Dick Taylor
From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things
When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing…

The Collins Kids
Mostly-Moseley Memories
Siblings Lorrie and Larry Collins sprang into the public eye in the mid 1950s – dawn of the television era…

Canned Heat
Finyl Vinyl
In the mid/late ’60s, the top American groups of the Blues Revival were Chicago’s Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Los…

Daniel de Visé
King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King
Sixty years, 90 countries, 15,000 concerts – and that tally doesn’t include B.B. King’s early years of juke joints, radio…
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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

Pop ’N Hiss: Taste
Breakout Blues
The ’60s may have been the most musically significant decade in the history of popular music, but very few countries…

Mark Knoll
It's about Time
Despite spending three-quarters of his life as a professional musician, singing and playing blistering lead guitar in various groups, until…

Butch Walker
Hummingbirds and Ghosts
Butch Walker readily admits that when it comes to his life as a musician, performer, and producer, he has some…

Brian Setzer
Rocking Back to the Future
Brian Setzer wears several hats – rockabilly, swing, even hard-rocking Christmas music. But through it all, by and large he…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: February 2022
Chuck Panozzo’s Gibson ES-125
For nearly five decades, Chuck Panozzo has been the bassist in Styx, enjoying the ride as it went from playing…

The Collings SoCo Deluxe
Whether you’re a fan of the flat-top or simply appreciate a good archtop, chances are you’re familiar with Collings Guitars.…

Warwick Thumb Bass
Generational Innovation
Founded in the early 1980s by Hans-Peter Wilfer, Warwick has a familial connection to another well-known German brand from a…

Gibson’s “blond” J-35
In the world of vintage guitars, people tend to use the words “blond” and “natural” interchangeably to describe a finish…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Fender Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass
Ladies’ First
With a quick glance and a dash of judginess, Fender’s Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass looks like what…

JHS 3 Series
Budget Boutique
JHS’ seven new 3 Series pedals strip away cosmetics and frills. History has told us that simple pedal designs can…

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins
New Traditionalists
Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins1 Price: FF $2,265 (list), $1,699 (street); KO $1,999 (list), $1,499 (street) Info: www.breedlovemusic.com. Unlike luthiers…

Grez Mendocino Short Scale Bass
Time-Machine Tone
In the beginning, there was the Precision Bass. Following Leo Fender’s revelation, things branched out in all directions as builders…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Tinsley Ellis
Screaming On The Inside
“Red clay is what you see here in Georgia,” says Tinsley Ellis of the inspiration behind his new album, Red…

Vega Model 120
Viewed from our contemporary perspective, it’s difficult to fully appreciate how different the music scene in general – and the…

Fretprints: Wes Montgomery
Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
Wes Montgomery is an iconic guitarist – a titan in the jazz genre. Boasting a style as unique and inimitable…

Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through The Grunge Explosion
Steve Turner with Adem Tepedelen
Mudhoney never really cashed in on the early-’90s grunge sweepstakes. In fact, its members have largely eschewed the G word.…










































