Samantha Fish

Blues Belle Stretches Out

July 9, 2019 · Dan Forte

In 2012, Samantha Fish’s Runaway was named Best Artist Debut at the Blues Music Awards. Known for her energetic blues-rock…

One Unforgettable ’60s-Oddity Magnatone

Monster Mash

July 2, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Drew Moniot and his band, The Sequins, were on top of the world, playing Gibson SGs through endorsement-deal amp stacks…

Scott Henderson

Voodoo Carnival

January 14, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

Scott Henderson continues to blow minds with his ever-evolving guitar mastery. From his early years blending bop and Holdsworth to…

Dave Alvin

Return of the Battlin’ Brothers

January 24, 2017 · Elliot Stephen Cohen

“The title says it all,” explains Dave Alvin of his reunion with older brother Phil on Lost Time. Known for…

Martin D-28 Standard

January 14, 2026 · Michael Shirek

If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing…

Pop ’N Hiss: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom

January 24, 2022 · Pete Prown

There were innovative Stratocaster records before Ah Via Musicom, but Eric Johnson’s 1990 opus changed the rules of the game…

  • Rik Emmett

    Rik Emmett

    Ten Telecaster Tales

    At the risk of starting a brawl, Rik Emmett’s guitar work was arguably too good for Triumph. As evidence, his latest project centers on a custom-built Loucin that inspired both…

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ARTISTS

Robbie Robertson

The Many Sides of

October 26, 2015 · Dan Forte

It’s difficult to say which is more ironic: the fact that Robbie Robertson, one of rock guitar’s true stylists, is…

Soul-jazz legend Calvin Keys

January 27, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Exclusive spin on “Six to Seven” Calvin Keys has worked with Jimmy Smith, Ahmad Jamal, and Ray Charles. Here, he…

 Greg Koch

Way Of The Gristle

January 14, 2026 · Oscar Jordan

On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love…

Rodney Crowell

Same Roots, New Branches

April 22, 2019 · Rich Kienzle

Rodney Crowell arrived in Nashville in 1972, bent on finding a niche for himself in the country music he’d loved…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Matchless Superchief 120

May 30, 2017 · Dave Hunter

A maker at the forefront of the “boutique amp” movement, Matchless is known for its Class-A designs – that is,…

The Thompson Tremor Bender

Big Bend

April 29, 2020 · Zac Childs

Longtime musician and professional tool-and-die maker Don Thompson recently introduced the Tremor Bender, a retrofit stringbending device for most Fender-…

Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts

August 29, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers…

Ronnie Wood’s ’69 Hiwatt 100 DR103

January 3, 2014 · Dave Hunter

1969 Hiwatt 100 (Model DR103 Preamp tubes: four ECC83 Output tubes: four EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal Vol, Brill Vol,…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule

Bruising Tones

March 24, 2014 · Tom Guerra

Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule Price: $125-$340 Info: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk. From the ever-expanding world of boutique pickups…

Walrus Audio Deep Six and Mayflower; Celestial Effects’ Cancer Wah the Fuzz?

Walrus Audio Deep Six and Mayflower; Celestial Effects’ Cancer Wah the Fuzz?

Trio of Tappers

October 14, 2015 · Pete Prown

Stompboxes range from organic, transparent circuits that let a guitar’s natural tone shine through, to effects that intentionally color the…

McGregor Pedals’ Crunch and Crunch Plus

Transparent Pair

May 5, 2022 · Phil Feser

McGregor Pedals founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Mad Scientist” Garth McGregor Heslop hand-wires pedals in his Vancouver shop. Two of them…

Fender American Professional Jazzmaster

Return Of The Rebel

April 19, 2019 · Michael Dregni

From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Kurdt Vanderhoof

These Go to XI

March 29, 2017 · Greg Prato

When it comes to thrash metal, the “Big 4” – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax – get credit for popularizing…

J.D. Simo

Psychedelia and Satan

December 2, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Psychedelic bluesman J.D. Simo deploys impressive wah skill, blistering fuzz tones, and hypnotic grooves that will expand your consciousness. His…

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos

Various artists

June 19, 2024 · Michael Dregni

You may think you know Stax, but this seven-CD set of 146 tracks (140 never before released) proves again how…

Mojo Thunder

The Infinite Hope

July 2, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

The rockin’ Kentucky outfit is back with stomping tunes, passionate lyrics, and a charismatic double-guitar assault. Drummer Zac Shoopman, bassist…

2023 February Issue on Spotify

February 2, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Jim McCarty, Joe Robinson, Vinnie Moore, Tom Rotella, Anthony Gomes, Humble Pie, Jimi Hendrix, The Cult,…

JangleBox Acousticomp

Sweet Woodiness

November 26, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Compression and sustain are the icing on most guitarist’s tonal palette. While many use such effects in service of electric…

Fender Mike McCready Strat

Evener Flow

August 27, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Mike McCready’s beat up sunburst ’60s Strat looms large in the history of grunge; heard on Pearl Jam’s illustrious body…

 Isaiah Mitchell

Crowe’s Feat

December 2, 2022 · Pete Prown

When not playing with the Black Crowes, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell works with Earthless, a power trio that just released Night…

Check This Action: My Kind of Blues

August 7, 2024 · Dan Forte

The notion of blurring the boundaries of jazz is almost laughable, since the umbrella already covers so many variations. From…

My Years With UFO

Michael Schenker

September 8, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

One of the most-underrated rock guitarists in history, it’s about time homage was paid to the master of the Flying…

Gator Cases MiniVault

Rolling Rack

August 4, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Every gigging guitarist who lugs their own gear (so, 95 percent of us) knows firsthand how instrument cases take a…

Collings I-30 LC

Desert Island Axe

October 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

If you found yourself stranded on that proverbial desert isle with – horror of horrors – just a single guitar…

Republic 207 Tricone

Brass Ring

July 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Resonator guitars appear to inspire a particular kind of affliction among players. And it’s a difficult addiction to maintain, given…

Laurence Juber

Laurence Juber

Still Wingin’ It

June 21, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Fingerstyle guitarist Laurence Juber is best known for his association with Paul McCartney’s Wings, but has recorded two dozen solo…

Republic’s Classic Concert Ukulele

Dainty Device

October 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

National launched its first ukulele in 1927, combining a brass-bodied, nickel-plated uke with the sweet-sounding amplification of a resonator cone.…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 009 Featuring Mt. Joy

June 10, 2019 · James Patrick Regan

In this episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, James Regan talks with Matt (Quinn) and Sam (Cooper) from the indie band Mt Joy. The band…

Paul Quinn

Ramming It

November 30, 2016 · Greg Prato

As one of the leading bands of the early-’80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Saxon is responsible for…

GluBoost MasterGlu, Fill N’ Finish, MasterTint, and Gludry Accelerator

Stick-To-It-Iveness

May 21, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

There exists a subculture of guitarists who build, customize, or resurrect their own instruments, or help friends with theirs. GluBoost’s…

“Boogie Mod” Dual Showman

January 2, 2026 · Dave Hunter

What do you do when the humble blackface Bandmaster you acquired sight-unseen turns out to harbor one of rock’s hottest…

EHX String9

Orchestral Stomp

September 11, 2023 · Pete Prown

The EHX String9 String Ensemble lets guitar players create electronic-string sounds, in full polyphony and without requiring a special pickup…

Elite Acoustics EAE D6-8 Pro

Power-Packed

September 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

A knee-jerk first impression of the Elite Acoustics D6-8 Pro might be, “Dang, that is small.” But its one-foot cube…

Ted Greene Remembered

November 10, 2020 · Jim Carlton

You know what happened: discretionary income for the first time and the rise of the indies with things that the…

Fender PM-2

Sitting-Room Savoir Faire

April 16, 2019 · Dennis Pernu

Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of…

Jim Dunlop BG95 and EVH95 Signature Cry Baby Wahs

Voodoo Chasin’

April 16, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Wah users needn’t settle for stock tonal options like those heard on the “Theme From Shaft” or “Voodoo Child (Slight…

Fretprints: Toy Caldwell

Southern-Rock Eclectic

August 8, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

Marshall Tucker Band was arguably the most unusual Southern-rock group of the ’70s. Its namesake wasn’t the leader, a member,…

Fretprints: Fenton Robinson

Unsung Blues Icon

June 4, 2022 · Wolf Marshall

In the encyclopedia of American music, there oughta be a picture of Fenton Robinson next to “unsung blues hero.” Drop…

Catch Ron Bosse Rumblin’

February 10, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Great jazz on a Strat Ron Bosse learned to play saxophone in grade school and was raised on classic rock,…

David Hamburger: masterful playing, 00-18 deep dive

July 26, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

David Hamburger and his ’56 00-18 Singer/songwriter David Hamburger is also an impressive fingerstyle player who knows a great guitar…

Richard Williams

Kansas’ Team Player

April 14, 2020 · Bret Adams

Unleashing pent-up creativity is a gratifying experience for a band, as Kansas guitarist Richard Williams can attest. The band known…