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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…
J.D. Simo
Tele-Free Trio
J.D. Simo moved to Nashville seven years ago and quickly landed in the coveted hot spot as the lead guitarist…

B.C. Rich Acrylic Warlock
Most industries know a great idea when they see it and aren’t shy about jumping on a bandwagon. In 1969,…

Deluxe Dirt
Wampler’s Tumnus Deluxe & Paisley Drive Deluxe
Already road-proven overdrive stompboxes, the Wampler Tumnus and Paisley Drive have received a makeover for 2018. But, is there is…
Yamaha THR10
Practice Perfection?
Yamaha THR10 Price: $299 Contact: usa.yamaha.com As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically…

D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir SS
Touch of Grey
When Bob Weir introduced his D’Angelico Premier SS at NAMM last January, he performed a set of Grateful Dead and…
Classics: November 2023
Al Caiola’s Gretsch Prototype
Robby Zolezzi has been a touring pro guitarist since he was 18 years old, having taken up the instrument at 11, spurred by…
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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

Walter Strauss
Right-Hand Man
West Coast fingerstylist Walter Strauss has a remarkable picking technique – powerful and surprisingly percussive – as heard on his…

Steve Miller
Some People Call Him Rock Icon
Not until after he turned 40 did it occur to Steve Miller that he never really needed to fear whether…

Nils Lofgren Shines Solo – Again
Star Grabs Vintage J-50 for “Ain’t the Truth Enough? An in-demand sideman for more than 50 years, guitar wizard Nils…

Chris Tapp
Low-End Addendum
On the latest Cold Stares album, Voices, guitarist Chris Tapp did the unthinkable – he hired a bass player! With…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Blues guitarist Charlie Apicella’s “Booze and Blues” and “Just Like a Woman”
Honoring B.B., Rainey Being V.P. of the North Jersey Blues Society isn’t the only thing that separates Charlie Apicella from…

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…

National Style O
Although it has never been the favorite guitar of Hawaiian players, National’s Style O, with its shining metal body and…
Nioma Guitars
Rarities from a West Coast Music School
NIOMA musical instruments from the 1930s and ’40s – with their vaguely Hawaiian-looking name – have mystified vintage-guitar enthusiasts over…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Rockn Stompn Sequential Power Strip
“Good” Power!
Power. Juice. Electricity. The brilliance of Ben Franklin, James Watt, and Nikola Tesla helped harness, if not tame, this vital…

Boss IR-2 Amp & Cabinet
Sim Plus
With the rise of home recording, videos, and gigging without amps, Boss has introduced its IR-2 Amp & Cabinet, a…

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…

EHX’s Bad Stone Phase Shifter, C9 Organ Machine, and Pitch Fork Polyphonic Pitch Shifter
Pedal Heaven
When it comes to stompboxes, there are the standard go-to effects that every guitarist, whether a gigging musician or a…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

LSL Instruments’ Lucid OD and OG OD
Lively Drives
LSL Instruments is best known for high-end Leo-style guitar builds, but they’ve also started delving into overdrive pedals. The Lucid…

Nuno Bettencourt
Extreme Versatility
When Extreme reunited for its fifth album, 2008’s Saudades de Rock, it seemed a foregone conclusion the band was back…

Neal Schon
Spacesaver Sale
Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But…

Relic the Hague’s Scumbag
Rock-and-Roll Animal
On the surface, the Scumbag is a simple rock beast. With a 25.5″-scale neck, maple fingerboard, and bolt-neck construction, it…













































