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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…
Ibanez BWM1 Bob Weir Cowboy Fancy
Return of Cowboy Fancy
The mid ’70s were a time for bold experimentation in guitar design, particularly with electronics. Guitarists were discovering replacement pickups,…
John Tropea
A Life in the Studios
John Tropea has spent much of his life in a studio, playing guitar, helping make hit records for people with…
Sonny Burgess
1929-2017
Sonny Burgess, one of the last of the great Sun Records stars, died August 18. He was 88 and had…
Black Cat’s D&S and N-Fuzz
Two Faces of Fuzz
Located in south-central Connecticut, Black Cat blends an ear for vintage tones with an eye toward modern function and bulletproof…
Epiphone Zenith Fretted and Fretless Bass
New Groove Territory
For decades, guitar players have known the name Epiphone. Renowned for making great-sounding jazz boxes like the Zephyr and Emperor…
Jeff Plankenhorn
New Innovations For Lap Steel
Jeff Plankenhorn has always made music his way, using stringed instruments he created. He picked up guitar at age 10,…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
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…
Josh Meader
Jazz Evolution
Josh Meader is a jazz and fusion player who breaks ground with virtuosity that’s never flashy for its own sake.…
Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P asks “Who’s Gonna Ride”
’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the…
Reggie Young
Never Too Late
After six decades as a session musician, guitarist Reggie Young has released his first solo album, Forever Young. A showcase…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Carvin 8-15-B
Mail-Order Prize
In the days when the printed catalog was king, Carvin guitars and amplifiers often boasted a stature that outweighed their…
1942 Martin D-45
The Martin D-45, offered from 1933 through 1942, is well-known as the Holy Grail of acoustic guitars. While players and…
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Hosts “Storied Strings” Exhibit
Guitars In Art
Dr. Leo Mazow’s vision for the new “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of…
Matchless Superchief 120
A maker at the forefront of the “boutique amp” movement, Matchless is known for its Class-A designs – that is,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Donner LAX Comp
To The Limit
Whether used for funky tones, a gentle sonic sheen, or as gatekeeper for your rig’s volume, compressors are handy –…
Godin
Godin’s 5th Avenue CW Kingpin II and Richmond Dorchester – Funky to Fab
We’re living in a golden age of retro guitars – a period when you can barely turn around without tripping…
The Eastwood Super Axe
Chet Powered!
Wait – what? Did Eastwood just bring back the Super Axe, that incredibly rare bird from the late ’70s? Indeed,…
Fender American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass
Ageless Anchor
It wasn’t literally the first electric bass, but Fender’s Precision was the genesis of the instrument the world knows today.…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Guild Aristocrat M-75
Guild didn’t intro-duce a true solidbody electric guitar until 1963, but the Aristocrat of 1954 gave the appearance that Guild…
Jared James Nichols’ glorious goldtop
Mods and pedals need not apply! Watch Jared James Nichols tear it up on “Dorothy,” his ’52 Gibson Les Paul,…
Jimi Hendrix
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision
It’s astonishing – and fortunate – that so much unreleased Jimi Hendrix material exists, given his brief recording career. It…
Mesa Boogie’s Badlander 50 Combo
Rarin’ Recto
When Mesa Boogie introduced its Dual Rectifier amps in the early ’90s, they cemented a place in rock-and-roll history. Over…
