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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. …

Siegmund Midnight Special
Tried ’N True, Twisted
Siegmund Midnight Special Price: $1,895 (list, as tested) Contact: www.siegmundguitars.com Driven by a quest for preserving the original tonal qualities…
Mosrite Basses
The Golden Decade: Ventures and Beyond
Mention the Ventures to a pop-music aficionado and the conversation will likely focus on the surf-music phenomenon of the early…

Steve Lukather
Bridges to Toto’s Past
Discussing his ninth solo album, Steve Lukather is a ball of energy – reflective, witty, ready with a joke. “I…

The Dr. Z CAZ-45
Prescription Filled
When word got out in early 2020 that Mike Zaite and Alan Phillips (founder of Carol-Ann Amplifiers) were collaborating on…

Eliot Lewis
Growing Up With Legends
Eliot Lewis was just 10 years old when he started rubbing elbows with legendary performers, thanks to a friend’s father…

ESP GL-56
Is it Really Vintage?
Like the “aged” guitars crafted by Fender and Gibson, this ESP solidbody looks like an ancient road warrior, one that’s…
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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

Motörhead Bassist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister Passes
1945-2015
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, founding bassist for the iconic heavy metal band Motörhead, died December 28, two days after reportedly being…

Brian Setzer
Still Rockin’ the Holidays
Brian Setzer’s guitar – usually a Gretsch 6120 – is the compass that leads him down various musical roads, live…

Steve Ripley
First Takes & Extra Takes
Ed. Note: Guitarist/producer/recording artist/guitar innovator (we could add more to that list!) Steve Ripley has passed away (January 3, 2019)…

Chris Walz
Debut, Long Time Coming
Chris Walz has done his share of performing. He played young Woody in the stage production of Woody Guthrie’s American…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Buddy Holly’s ’58 Magnatone 280
1958 Magnatone Custom 280
When guitarists talk tremolo or vibrato, you can bet the magnificent Magnatone amps will find their way into the conversation.…

Carvin 8-15-B
Mail-Order Prize
In the days when the printed catalog was king, Carvin guitars and amplifiers often boasted a stature that outweighed their…

Sound City L/B 120 Mark IV
Preamp tubes: three ECC83 (12AX7), one ECC81 (12AT7, in the phase inverter) Output tubes: six EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal…

A Guitar for Mr. Richards
The Saga of Ted Newman Jones
For anyone who visited the tiny workshop inhabited by guitar builder Ted Newman Jones in the 1970s and ’80s, two…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

HomeWrecker Pickups
Slumbering Strats, Awake!
In 2011, session guitarist Joshua Hernandez began winding pickups in his living room. From these modest beginnings, and with no…

MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit
Do It Yerself
MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit Price: $265 (list) Contact: www.modkitsdiy.com A good friend jokingly remarked that building tube amps…

Andy Green Pedals’ Seaverb
Endless Reverb
Andy Green offers “basic building blocks” of tone – a concise lineup of effects including distortion, overdrive, fuzz, and reverb.…

“Tremolo” Trio
Three new approaches to replacement vibrato systems
Three new aftermarket vibrato systems for common double- and single-cutaway solidbody guitars offer the convenience of “drop in” installation. Each…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero

Phil DeGruy
Laughin’ Matters
Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that.…
Muireann Bradley
I Kept These Old Blue
If you conveyed the soul of a 1930s bluesman into an Irish teenager, you might have Muireann Bradley, who is…

A Guitar for Mr. Richards
The Saga of Ted Newman Jones
For anyone who visited the tiny workshop inhabited by guitar builder Ted Newman Jones in the 1970s and ’80s, two…

The Ibanez Black Eagle
Time Keeps On Slippin’
Sure, it oozes coolness. But ornate instruments are sometimes about more than aesthetics, and this one represents a turning point…











































