The Strat in Transition

Leap Forward, Step Back

April 22, 2019 · George Gruhn

Believing the long-term survival of his company hinged on creating the world’s best electric guitar, in 1953, Leo Fender set…

Bruce Kulick

Wielding Power On BK3

May 15, 2014 · Lisa Sharken

With his new album, BK3, Bruce Kulick brings out the big guns on what he calls his “…strongest solo disc…

FOMOfx Virtual Jeff Pro

Whammy For All

December 8, 2022 · Bob Dragich

On most guitars, installing a traditional vibrato is a task ranging from difficult to impossible. And even done right, mechanical…

Hilton Valentine

1943-2021

January 24, 2022 · Dan Forte

“The first song I learned on guitar was ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by the Animals.” The statement could have…

Jerry Kennedy

A-Team Guitarist, A-List Producer

August 17, 2024 · Rich Kienzle

Jerry Glenn Kennedy, a 13-year-old who recorded for RCA Victor as “Jerry Glenn,” got the shock of his young life…

 Greg Koch

Way Of The Gristle

January 14, 2026 · Oscar Jordan

On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love…

  • Rush

    Rush

    Rush 50

    The goal of any anthology is to capture the broad scope of an artist’s career. Rush 50 is a strong attempt, starting with their first singles (previously unreleased) all the…

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ARTISTS

Fretprints: Steve Khan

Khan-sequential Guitar

April 8, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him…

Sonny Burgess

1929-2017

May 9, 2019 · Michael Dregni

Sonny Burgess, one of the last of the great Sun Records stars, died August 18. He was 88 and had…

Heavy Hitters Rock Crown Guitar Fest

April 29, 2014 · Debra Devi

Want a surreal experience? Try looking up from your oatmeal to see Robben Ford and Pat Metheny strolling past your…

MARK DUTTON

Mark Dutton

A.K.A. “Muddy”: Vintage Vibes, Retro Grooves

January 24, 2017 · Johnny Zapp

Mark “Muddy” Dutton is one cool cat with an impressive resumé and an affinity for the budget-friendly basses of yesterday.…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: Marc Schoenberger’s Rickenbacker Combo 600

January 27, 2026 · Ward Meeker

Marc Schoenberger was part of the early-’70s vanguard on the Southern California guitar scene – not as a gigging musician,…

Fender Custom Color Strat main

Custom-Color Stratocasters

July 1, 2014 · R.K. Watkins

The Stratocaster was born in 1954. A solidbody with three pickups, contoured back and top, vibrato, and bolt-on neck, it…

Q&A With George Gruhn: A Strong Case

And When to Get an Appraisal

March 3, 2022 · George Gruhn

Some of my vintage guitar cases are very worn. One Martin case from the ’40s is missing a latch and…

Fender AA964 Princeton

What’s (Not) in a Name

October 24, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Getting the job done – five simple knobs on the Princeton’s control panel. 1966 Fender Princeton • Preamp tubes: one…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Keeley Electronics Dark Side

Floyd Fare

August 10, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

In the multi-verse of effects pedals, Robert Keeley’s compressors, dirt boxes, and workstation gizmos are a thing of beauty –…

The Eastman SB55

Little Devil

May 6, 2022 · Michael Dregni

When re-creating a classic, it’s all too easy to feel hidebound to the original – especially if it’s an icon.…

The Fender Bullet Deluxe/JP-90

No Frills, Didn’t Fly

January 23, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

    Fender has tried more than once to market basses with a low-budget vibe. And while the idea is…

Fender Mustang II Amp

Practiced Past

December 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

When you check out an amp like the Fender Mustang II, you may wonder if the term “practice amp” still…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Carl Verheyen

Well-rounded and busy

April 8, 2010 · John Heidt

Carl Verheyen says it all came to him when he heard the Eagles’ album called The Long Run. At that…

Dale Watson

Dale Watson

Keep On Truckin’

April 14, 2016 · John Heidt

The seeds of the latest album from Dale Watson were sown in 1998, when he released The Truckin’ Sessions .…

Seymour Duncan’s Whole Lotta Humbucker, 59/Custom Hybrid Pickups

Dream Babies

June 17, 2014 · Zac Childs

Seymour Duncan’s Whole Lotta Humbucker Price: $94 59/Custom Hybrid Pickups Price: $89 Info: www.seymourduncan.com. In lean times, who can afford…

Micki Free

Feel and Tone

November 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

  He was the real-life team member on the infamous Charlie Murphy/Prince basketball game parodied on “Chappelle’s Show,” but Grammy…

Bobby Womack

Bobby Womack

1944-2014

February 25, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Guitarist, soul singer, and songwriter Bobby Womack passed away June 27. He was 70 and had suffered from diabetes, Alzheimer’s,…

Mosrite Joe Maphis

July 14, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

The 1960s were arguably the most memorable decade in the history of American guitar manufacturing. True, some legendary electric guitar…

Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought

Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought?

February 18, 2016 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Gibson was a late entry into the flat-top guitar market, offering its first model in 1926, but Gibson was a…

Pop ’N Hiss: Dio’s Holy Diver

Divine Metal

June 5, 2023 · Bret Adams

Vocalist Ronnie James Dio was on a roll as he formed the band that would record his 1983 album Holy…

Whooooo Wal You?

John Entwistle’s fretless ’78 Wal

January 10, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Wal began building electric basses in the early 1970s as a collaboration between Englishmen Pete Stevens and Ian Waller. Their…

Gibson GA-200 Rhythm King Vintage Guitar magazine

Gibson GA-200 Rhythm King

July 9, 2015 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tubes: two 12AX7, one 12AY7, two 6BJ8, two 6SK7, one 6V6 (used as a voltage divider) Output tubes: two…

Check This Action: One Sax, Three Guitars

June 7, 2023 · Dan Forte

It starts with a tenor saxophone floating above spare electric guitar arpeggios. After a dipsy-doodle cadenza, the sax states a…

EarthQuaker Devices Zoar

Fuzz Fury

October 28, 2024 · Pete Prown

An all-analog, transistor-based fuzzbox, EarthQuaker’s new Zoar is billed as a “Dynamic Audio Grinder Distortion Pedal.” In plain English, it…

Jimi Bell

Lord of Shred

March 15, 2019 · Tom Guerra

Recognized worldwide as a master technician, southpaw shredder Jimi Bell first received widespread notoriety for his role sharing a nightclub…

Molly Miller

Dr. J(azz)

June 3, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

Molly Miller is on a quest to bring instrumental music back to storytelling. Her new album, St. George, fuses jazz,…

Tech 21’s Fly Rig Brit and Cali

Little Monsters

March 15, 2019 · Pete Prown

In this age of shrinking guitar rigs, Tech 21’s Fly Rig pedals show just how guitar-related technology is getting smaller…

Greg Martin’s ’65 Fender Stratocaster Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

Greg Martin’s ’65 Fender Stratocaster

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

November 12, 2017 · Doug Yellow Bird

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online features where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on…

Crown Lands

Fearless

February 9, 2024 · Pete Prown

This Canadian duo doesn’t disguise its Rush fanaticism. The obvious parallel is Greta Van Fleet, and what that quartet did…

Check This Action: Walking In Memphis

May 1, 2025 · Dan Forte

I first visited Memphis in 1990, and it struck me that radio stations played loads of music from the area.…

Vernon Reid

Kind of Blue

July 18, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Vernon Reid went against the grain of rock guitarists in the 1980s, conjuring Parliament-Funkadelic, Ornette Coleman, Bad Brains, Carlos Santana,…

The ‘‘Blackburst’’

The ‘‘Blackburst’’

Les Paul Standard of a Different Shade

January 12, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Among experienced (and often jaded) veteran guitar collectors, precious few things create an adrenaline rush – strange one-offs, oddball brands that never quite blossomed,…

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Ruffian Riffs

November 2, 2018 · Greg Prato

Grown men wearing capes. Stadium concerts with self-indulgent instrumental solos. Lyrics that had nothing to do with reality. Rock stars…

Have Guitar Will Travel 059 – John Smith

October 26, 2021 · Doug Yellow Bird

On the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer/songwriter John Smith, whose playing…

Al Di Meola

Still Elegant

October 8, 2019 · Pete Prown

For close to 45 years, Al Di Meola’s career has brimmed with guitar virtuosity, taking him from red-hot fusion to…

OVERTURE-JS_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Overture JS-Session

Do-It-All Guitar?

August 5, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

Overture JS-Session Price: $ 1,499. Info: overtureguitars.com When designing a new guitar, builders often face a quandary. Some go to…

The Thompson Tremor Bender

Big Bend

April 29, 2020 · Zac Childs

Longtime musician and professional tool-and-die maker Don Thompson recently introduced the Tremor Bender, a retrofit stringbending device for most Fender-…

Bayou Guitarworks Hardware

May 10, 2022 · Johnny Zapp

Players often buy a factory aged guitar and swap the plastics and hardware to more accurately represent the overall aesthetic.…

Home Feature Image

Gretsch’s “Golden” Tenors

January 30, 2014 · Edward Ball

In the 1950s and early ’60s, the electric guitar was establishing itself as a key part of the new voice…

The Beatles’ Casinos

January 17, 2018 · Andy Babiuk

Of all the guitars made famous by the Beatles, the only one that John, Paul, and George had in common…

Have Guitar Will Travel 076 – Nashvillains

May 26, 2022 · James Patrick Regan

Ep 76 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Troy Johnson, Scott Lindsey, and Brett Boyette of the band Nashvillains. The…