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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…
The Bad Cat Era 30
Retro-Great
So often has the phrase “Mark Sampson era” been applied to pre-2000 Matchless amps or early examples of the Bad…
Electro-Harmonix Pico Canyon, Rerun
Spacious Sounds, Less Space
Electro-Harmonix’s Pico pedals are designed for players running out of space on their pedalboards. Each occupies just 71/3 square inches…
Reverend Greg Koch Signature Gristle ST
Big Time
Greg Koch is arguably the Roy Buchanan of our time, wrestling squawks ’n squeals, burning blues and some absolutely haywire…
Gibson Custom Colors in the 1960s
Burning Embers, Chilled Whites
Unlike its rival from the West Coast, Gibson did not readily embrace the concept of offering custom-color finishes. It wasn’t…
Roman Bulakhov
Ukrainian Trailblazer
If there’s a 21st-century guitar style, Roman Bulakhov is a prime example, particularly how he fuses rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop…
Fishman Fluence Single-Width Pickup
Hum-Free, Cutting-Edge
Fishman Fluence Single-Width Pickup Price: $224 (set) Contact: www.fishman.com Larry Fishman is one of the most respected names in the…
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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…
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ARTISTS
Jimmy Bryant
Country-Jazz Virtuoso
When Leo Fender strode into a cowboy bar on the outskirts of Hollywood one day in 1950, he had no…
The Soul of John Black
Living In The Sunshine
I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and…
Paul Nelson
Sideman Steps Out
Manhattan native Paul Nelson has been influenced by many great guitarists – some of whom gave him lessons, gigs, and/or…
Ronnie Earl
Redemption, Reconciliation, and Reinvention
Ronnie Earl is one of the most prolific blues guitarists working today. And though his solo career now spans almost…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Fender’s 1961 Showman
The Show Must Go On
When Fender stepped up from the tweed-covered amps of the 1950s to the radically redesigned Tolex amps of the ’60s,…
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams: Funky Syncopation
Fine pickin’ on “The Way You Make Me Feel” Husband-and-wife team Martin D-18, while Teresa comps on an Emmylou Harris…
Toys For Tots and Psychedelic Dreams
This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…
Classics – May 2021
This 1940 ES-250 with serial number 96385 left the Gibson factory bound for retailer New York Band on October 25,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Arteffect Bonnie Wah
Cry No More!
Israel-based Arteffect’s new Bonnie wah pedal is an accurate re-creation of the highly soughtafter vintage Vox Clyde McCoy wah. The…
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…
Fender Mike McCready Strat
Evener Flow
Mike McCready’s beat up sunburst ’60s Strat looms large in the history of grunge; heard on Pearl Jam’s illustrious body…
Guild’s Orpheum Slope Shoulder 14-Fret Rosewood Dreadnought
Reviving the ’30s
Guild’s Orpheum Slope Shoulder 14-Fret Rosewood Dreadnought Price: $4,999 (list); $3,799 (street) Info: www.guildguitars.com. Compared to Martin’s longstanding factory location…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha
Mark Sampson
Back Cat
Epitome of the restless designer/tinkerer, Mark Sampson has co-founded four guitar-amplifier companies, two of which – Matchless and Bad Cat…
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…
Have Guitar Will Travel 073 – Crimson Apple’s Shelby Benson and OTTTO
Episode 73 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” is a two-fer starting with guitarist Shelby Benson from the dark-pop band Crimson…
Black Cat Vibe and TWA’s Triskelion Mk. II
Opposites Attract
In today’s world of proliferating boutique pedals, guitarists have a staggering array of divergent options. Case in point, the Black…
