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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…

Depression-era classic by Roger McNamee
Moonalice guitarist on a ’42 000-21 Roger McNamee used his ’42 Martin 000-21 to play the Depression-era classic “Brother Can…
Custom-Order Gibson B-45-12
The term “rare” is applied to guitars in far too many instances. Usually an appealing term, its overuse can be…

Delta Labs Concept 1
Preamp tubes: Two 6U8A, two 12FQ7, in addition to more-common types Output tubes: eight 33JV6 horizontal-output tubes Rectifier: solidstate Controls:…

Selmer Truvoice
Selectortone Automatic
Selmer Truvoice Selectortone Automatic, ca. 1961 Preamp tubes: one ECC83, two EF86 Output tubes: two EL34, cathode-bias Rectifier: GZ34 Controls:…

Rich Robinson and Marc Ford Of The Magpie Salute
Wiser Time
Musical chemistry is a special, sometimes flammable rapport between two musicians. It’s a rare thing – highly sought, difficult to…

Höfner’s Fledermaus Gitarre
A Bat By Any Other Name
Much like the scant records of almost every large-scale American guitar manufacturer, production logs at Höfner’s headquarters in Hagenau, Germany,…
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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

Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams
Old Soul, Fresh Sounds
Seattle’s Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams is a rare find in the guitar universe. At a time when music influences run…
Nate Bergman
Skankin’ With Lionize
The members of Lionize blend heavy rock with reggae to create infectious tunes… kind of like if the guys in…

Tagore Grey
British Steel
If you’ve been starving for good old-fashioned hard rock, the Treatment has your number. The British band has been building…

Add Some of Dickie Betts’ Style to Your Playing
Add Some of Dickie Betts’ Style to Your Playing Hey there! Just wanted to share that mandolinist Andrew Hendryx and…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Fender’s Tweed-to Tolex Transition
Best Face Forward
Through its 75 years, Fender has been responsible for myriad leaps forward in the history of guitar-amplifier design and manufacture.…

Greg Lake’s Zemaitis Doubleneck
Twice as Heavy
With progressive-rock juggernaut Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (1947-2016) played more than one instrument made by the renowned…

Booker White’s 1933 National Duolian
Hard Traveled
“Hard Rock.” That’s the name used by Mississippi blues man Booker White to christen his 1933 National Duolian. And Hard…

Big Beat Boys
Musings on Fab and Gear, 50 Years Ago
Americans tend to link the beginnings of the Beatles phenomenon to a specific date – February 9, 1964, when the…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

The Chicago Blues Box Buddy Guy Signature Amp
Buddy’s New (Tool) Box
Whether you’re a blues guitarist, jazz guy, or a power-chord rock player, certain players draw your attention, whether for the…
Music Man Game Changer
Twelve Tons of Tone
Music Man Game Changer Price: $2,275 (street) Contact: www.gamechanger.music-man.com Since the introduction of the electric guitar, builders have sought ways…

GJ2 Arete 5-Star
Monster of Rock
Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $3,999 Info: www.gj2guitars.com. Grover Jackson is a name forever associated with classic metal and…

Golden Age Pre-73 MkIII, Ear Trumpet Edwina, and Avantone CR-14
The Front End
Strike up a conversation with anyone who records music and they’ll talk your ear off about mics and preamps. If…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
For decades, Stuart has been one of country music’s biggest champions, and may yet be its savior. His Fabulous Superlatives…

Hilary Gardner’s jazz/country connection
Classic sounds on “Silver on the Sage” Hilary Gardner and her band are devout fans of classic cowboy (and other…

Robert Lockwood, Jr.
1915-2006
With the death of Robert Lockwood, Jr., the blues world lost one of the few direct links to Robert Johnson…

The Fender “High-Powered” Twin
1958-’59 Fender Twin Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: four 5881 (6L6 equivalents), fixed bias Rectifier: GZ34 (5AR4)…











































