Jay Jay French

Twisted Tales

October 3, 2022 · Bret Adams

There are music-business survivors, and then there’s Jay Jay French. Twisted Sister’s founder/co-lead guitarist/manager has led a life of wild…

R. C. Allen

R.C. Allen

1934-2014

October 3, 2014 · Ward Meeker

R.C. Allen, a noted luthier who built archtops for local and regional players of note and was a fixture at…

2024 May Issue on Spotify

May 9, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

This month we feature Gary Clark, Jr., The Beatles, Deep Purple, Johnny A, Scott Hebderson, Kinga Glyk, D.K. Harrell, Frank…

Rickenbacker 481

November 24, 2020 · Michael Wright

It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…

Teye Guitars Gypsy Queen

Teye Guitars Gypsy Queen

The Art of Tone

October 23, 2015 · Sean OBryan Smith

For Austin-based Teye Guitars, taking guitar construction to new artistic heights has been a basic tenet since their inception. Mastermind…

Kid Ramos’ Revelation!

August 29, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

West Coast legend melds blues with gospel Check out Kid Ramos using a ’56 Harmony H62 running through a vintage…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    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…

    Read more >>

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ARTISTS

James Burton

James Burton

May 10, 2016 · Ward Meeker

In rural Louisiana in the early 1950s, it was no small feat when a family scraping by to survive bought…

Steve Dawson

February 9, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

 Channeling Sol Hoopii in “Singin’ the Blues” Steve Dawson used his unplugged Celtic Cross Weissenborn model lap steel and…

John Wetton

1949-2017

March 12, 2019 · Pete Prown

Born June 12, 1949, British bassist and front man John Wetton died of colon cancer on January 31 at the…

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Hosts “Storied Strings” Exhibit

Guitars In Art

August 10, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Dr. Leo Mazow’s vision for the new “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Tracii Guns

Black Diamond Shine

January 11, 2024 · Artemis Records

There’s no denying that with Tracii Guns manning L.A. Guns’ lead-guitar slot, the sleaze veterans become a different animal. Since…

Classics: April 2023

Kim Simmons’ 1973 Gibson Les Paul

December 16, 2023 · Ward Meeker

For Gio da Silva and several million others in Generation X, the mid ’90s were an exciting time. Young adults…

Sigma by Martin

Sigma by Martin

Following the Line

July 5, 2016 · Kevin Dunham

Long overlooked and relegated to an obscure corner of the collectible market, Sigma by Martin guitars have recently gained popularity…

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Beyond the Parlor

Part Two: Man and Machine

April 29, 2016 · Tim Brookes

Ed. Note: In part two of his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes addresses the common belief that the guitar…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

GIBSONBONAMASSA-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model

A Semi-Hollow For Joe

January 29, 2014 · Zac Childs

Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model Price: $3,335 (street) Contact: gibson.com. The collaboration of Gibson and blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa began…

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

Atomic Punk

April 8, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Price: $799.99 (list); $599.99 (street) Contact: www.evhgear.com Decades after the release of the first Van Halen…

Reilander’s Muckbucker Pickups

Fat, But Not Tubby

May 10, 2014 · Zac Childs

Reilander’s Muckbucker Pickups Price: $199 (set) Info: www.reilandercustomguitar.com In the 1970s, great guitar-pickup winders began wrapping extra wire on humbuckers,…

Malinoski’s New Moon

On The Horizon

June 19, 2014 · Pete Prown

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest J Mascis

November 25, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Season 03 Episode 06 In Episode 3.6 of Buy That Guitar, presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is…

Vintage Guitar magazine Namm 2017

Winter NAMM 2017

January 23, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

Experience Winter NAMM 2017 with James Patrick Regan (1 of 42). Experience Winter NAMM 2017 with James Patrick Regan Experience…

Gizmotron

Most Bizarre Guitar Effect of All Time?

March 18, 2015 · Michael Dregni

Led Zeppelin’s final studio album, 1979’s In Through The Out Door, opens with an eerie, otherworldly drone that weaves and…

Lords of Atlantis: Cliché-Free Surf

January 16, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Ivan Pongracic Lords of Atlantis includes members from a handful of high-profile surf bands, and its debut album is a…

Buddy Whittington

Guitar-Lover’s Smorgasbord

May 20, 2021 · Willie G. Moseley

Though his status as a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers has changed since VG last talked to him, guitarist Buddy…

Pop ’N Hiss: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s (Pronounced ‘Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’)

Down-South Guitar Assault

March 31, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

By early 1973, “Southern Rock” had come into its own, spearheaded by Capricorn Records and its keystone act, the Allman…

Jussi Jaakonaho

Sunburst Finnish

July 18, 2019 · Pete Prown

There’s a vibrant instro-guitar scene in Finland and among its chief architects is Jussi Jaakonaho. Well known as a producer…

Zakk Wylde

Electric Heart, Acoustic Soul

February 27, 2018 · Oscar Jordan

Storming the stage like King Conan The Biker, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde was one of the highlights of…

Tom Feldmann

Delta Blues DeLuxe

May 9, 2019 · Pete Prown

Tom Feldmann burst out of Minneapolis with an authentic take on acoustic blues unlike anything heard in years. Gifted with…

Chris Leuzinger

Country Crunch

November 17, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Growing up in the tropical air of West Palm Beach, it’s little wonder that Chris Leuzinger’s first musical revelations had…

Ian Lemmy Kilmister. Moterhead

Lemmy Kilmister

December 29, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

In the 25-plus years that Motorhead has been purveying its fast, furious, high-decibel entertainment, there have been changes and there…

Dallas Rangemaster and Scala Combos

Texas Two Step

May 9, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Fascinating also-rans, C-list classics, or both, the amps manufactured by London-based Dallas Music Ltd beginning in 1959 tie directly to…

Mu-FX Tru-Tron 3X

Get Tha Funk Out

September 4, 2015 · Michael Dregni

The Mu-FX Tru-Tron 3X Price: $369.63 Contact: www.mu-fx.com. Think funk. Think Bootsy Collins’ wacked-out Parliament Funkadelic Space Bass lines. Think…

Hall of Fame – Innovators

February 9, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

From 1991 to the present — read about each Readers' Choice Awards Innovators.

Ernie Ball’s MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal

Ernie Ball MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal

Total Control

January 28, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Ernie Ball’s MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal Price: $179 (list); $129.99 (street) Info: www.ernieball.com. Just when you thought you were done…

LOUIS_BUSTER_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Louis Electric Buster

Beyond Deluxe

December 18, 2015 · Zac Childs

Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595. Info: louisamps.com Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than…

R. C. Allen

R.C. Allen

1934-2014

October 3, 2014 · Ward Meeker

R.C. Allen, a noted luthier who built archtops for local and regional players of note and was a fixture at…

Check This Action: The Sound Of The Surf

September 12, 2023 · Dan Forte

Before acts like the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean sang about surfing, guitar bands in Southern California started playing…

Category 5 Samantha

Hook, Line, and Tone

May 3, 2023 · Charlie Wilkins

Blues-rocker Samantha Fish (VG, December ’21) electrifies audiences with her high-energy shows. A decade ago, she began favoring Category 5’s…

Return of the Trashmen

Return of the Trashmen

Bird Is Still The Word

February 10, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Surf’s up – again! Thanks to the prodding of guitarist/impresario Deke Dickerson, The Trashmen recently recorded their first album in…

Chris Tapp

Heavy Adversity

August 10, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Unphased by knee-jerk comparisons to rock duos like the White Stripes, Royal Blood, and Black Keys, The Cold Stares have…

Eric Bibb plays “Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie”

July 30, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Soulful Blues Beyond I-IV-V Sensational fingerstylist Eric Bibb uses the ’47 Levin Model 13 Ambassadör to honor us with a…

Watkins Rapier 33

October 8, 2015 · Michael Wright

If you were an American teenager in the late 1950s or early ’60s, and you wanted to play the new…

Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

July 8, 2018 · Bob Cianci

The Chicago resident has been exciting blues audiences worldwide for decades. But he built his reputation working the local club…

Lace Cybercaster LS

Modern Mixer

July 10, 2019 · Chip Wilson

The mere name of Don Lace’s Cybercaster may set calloused fingertips to head-scratching. After all, “cyber” connotes cutting-edge, futuristic. How…

Tyler Morris

Tyler Morris – Eleanor Rigby

February 12, 2019 · Doug Yellow Bird

In this series, Tyler Morris will perform music that inspires him, in a laid-back context using just a guitar and…

LsL Instruments’ Soledad

T-Bone with a Side of Sustain

March 31, 2017 · Phil Feser

Based out of Santa Clarita, California, LsL Instruments was founded by Lance and Lisa Lerman in 2008 after many years…

Snowy White

British Blues Deluxe

April 27, 2023 · Pete Prown

There’s a reason Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, and Roger Waters secured the services of Snowy White – his extraordinarily soulful…

Tomas Janzon

From Stockholm With Love

January 4, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

On Tomas Janzon’s Nomadic, the Stockholm transplant based in New York channels his inner Wes Montgomery to unveil fresh compositions…