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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…

Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker
“Blue Mirror” jam from “The Weight of the World” Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker grabbed his pearl-front Zemaitis…
Roland V-Studio 20
The Roland V-Studio 20
Roland V-Studio 20 Price: $300 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Home digital recording has come a long way in the last 20…

Bruce Bouillet
From The Shadow Of Racer X
Former Racer X guitarist Bruce Bouillet overcame carpal tunnel syndrome to return to his first love – shredding. Now, he’s…

Coco Montoya
Hard Truth
It’s been awhile since Coco Montoya’s last studio effort, but he comes out firing here. From the Albert King-style blast…

Owen Campbell
While the electric guitar might define rock and roll, Owen Campbell elevates the image of the acoustic guitar as an…

Max Cavalera
Roots Revisited
To the casual fan, heavy metal can get a bit “same sounding” after a while. But then there are those…
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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

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford and the Martin Style 00-44G
Special Signature
Of the nearly 200 artists who have been granted a “signature” Martin guitar, only one was given their own style…

Steve Morse
Blazing Ahead with Deep Purple
While many classic British bands have hung up their spurs, Deep Purple is not only fully active after 45 years,…

Andy Bassford
The Harder They Strum
Legendary fish-out-of-water reggae guitarist Andy Bassford has been a first-call sideman for decades. Now, he’s stepping out front with his…

Chris Squire
1948-2015
Yes bassist Chris Squire died June 27th at age 67, after a brief battle with leukemia. Squire co-founded Yes in…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Rick Derringer
Explore The Possibilities
Rick Derringer and his compadres in the McCoys smashed their way into the pantheon of rock and roll in the…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Building a From-Scratch Class Project
Rock-And-Roll High School(er)
Students at Federal Hocking High School here in Athens County, Ohio, are given the opportunity to propose internships in work that…

The Cost of Protection
100 Years of Instrument Cases
Modern guitars are typically sold with a hard case. But that wasn’t always so. Here, we look at the history…

Charlie Starr: Open-Tuning Magic on “Azalea”
Blackberry Smoke frontman on a vintage Gibson Enjoy a bit of the supremely tasty “Azalea,” played by Charlie Starr and…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Ernie Ball Music Man Luke3
Cool-Hand Luke
The latest model in Ernie Ball Music Man’s Steve Lukather signature series was designed to answer Lukather’s demand for an…

Yamaha’s THR100HD Dual Amp
Double Vision
Modeling amps have evolved rapidly as software and circuits have improved and become, dare we say, more organic sounding. The…

Ibanez RGA8
In the Deep End
Ibanez RGA-8 Price: $1,102.21 (approx. $800 street). Info: ibanez.com In the annals of cool, weird, and unusual guitars, they’re nothing…
Sebago Sound DT50
Texas Tone – And More
Sebago Sound DT50 Price: $1,999 Contact: sebagosound.com The DT50 is the 50-watt version of Sebago Sound’s acclaime d Double Trouble…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

George Cotsirilos – Jazz Sans Cliché
Deft work on an L-5 for “The Three Doves” George Cotsirilos grew up listening to Bloomfield, Hendrix, and Clapton, then…

Tim May
The MVP
Renowned studio guitarist Tim May played his first film-score session in 1974, for John Schlesinger’s Day of the Locust. Now…

Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are…

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone
From Surf to Cinema
In the days before seven- and eight-string guitars, the easiest way to go low was to grab a baritone guitar.…













































