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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…
Heil Talk Box
When Peter Frampton began using the Heil Talk Box in 1974, he remembers it being viewed with skepticism as an…

Alex Masi
Danger Zone
Grammy-nominated guitarist Alex Masi has been maneuvering his way through the shark-infested waters of the music industry since the 1980s.…

Kirk Douglas
Music In a Blender
As guitarist on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” “Captain” Kirk Douglas has an enviable gig. He also performs on…

Lil’ Jimmy Reed with Ben Levin
Back To Baton Rouge
Leon Atkins got a cigar box guitar at six, after already playing harmonica. After subbing when blues legend Jimmy Reed…

Classics: June 2023
Danny Gattons ’51 Nocaster
From learning a first lick to playing an entire song with friends, musicians thrive on motivations big and small. Growing…

Frank Zappa
Apostrophe (’) 50th Anniversary
Great googly-moogly! Frank Zappa’s potty-mouth masterpiece is a half-century old and now fêted with a 75-track box set. The original…
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…
ARTISTS

Jazz Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel: Deep, Rich, Sparkling on a Baritone
Moody, Introspective, Intimate Kurt Rosenwinkel’s new album features him improvising solo on nine tracks like this one, “Peace Please.” That’s…

Dave Amato
Collect 'Em and Smile
This year marks Boston-born Dave Amato’s 19th annum with REO Speedwagon. The guitarist moved to California in 1980 and became…

Nancy Wilson
One Heart
The Covid-19 pandemic halted much of our lives, but there was a silver lining. Many musicians who couldn’t tour or…

Greg Martin
Elder Statesman
Albums by Kentucky Headhunters have a history of making guitar players shake their collective heads at the great sounds made…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gibson Les Paul Juniors
Beauties in Black: Two Rare Gibson Les Paul Juniors
Guitar dealers tell guitar stories much like anglers tell fish stories. There are those they “got” and those that got…

Thomas Custom Guitars
Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better…

1965 Epiphone Emperor
The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response…

History of the Fender Bassman
High Times for Low-End
If they could have just one amplifier, many guitarists – from bar-room grinders to arena megastars – would choose a…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

PRS P22
Split Personality
PRS P22 Price: $6,092 (as tested, retail), $3630 (street) Info: prsguitars.com. While PRS has for several years offered a piezo…
Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX
Saddle Up!
Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX Price: $175 (Raw Hide); $230 (Hard Core XXX) Info: www.metalpedals.com. For many discerning…

Godin
Godin’s 5th Avenue CW Kingpin II and Richmond Dorchester – Funky to Fab
We’re living in a golden age of retro guitars – a period when you can barely turn around without tripping…

Gretsch Richard Fortus G6636T-RF Falcon
Flying Fingers
Through the decades, the Gretsch White Falcon has been spied in the hands of everyone from top Nashville session cats…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023
Lasting Legacy
It’s ironic that Robbie Robertson was famous mostly for his songwriting, because beneath the minimal, compositional style that marked his…

Albert Cummings’ creative milestone album
Guitarist Shines on “Ten” Albert Cummings jams like a boss on a Custom Shop Strat through a ’67 Super Reverb.…

Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
Alt-Blues Summit
Blues is a language of many dialects, and when regionalisms collide, sparks fly. So it has been since Texas six-stringer…

Paul Gilbert
The Dio Album
It’s been almost 13 years since the passing of vocalist and metal visionary Ronnie James Dio, yet his essence looms…







































