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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…
Les Paul
Birth of a Guitar Icon
Fifty years ago, Gibson’s new Les Paul Model was quickly becoming one of the company’s most popular guitars, and (though…
Joanna Connor
Blue-Collar Virtuoso
Joanna Connor’s latest is her most-potent album to date. Best Of Me serves up a feast of guitar styles and…
Fishman’s Aura Spectrum DI, ToneDEQ
Potent Preamps
Unlike most electric guitarists, acoustic-electric pickers tend to worry about preamps. A lot. This front stage is critical because acoustic…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Rock-And-Roll High School(er)
Building a From-Scratch Class Project, the Conclusion
In my November ’22 column, Ceil Thompson’s class-project guitar was nearing completion – the lacquer coats were applied and, after…
Epiphone Excellente
Sonny James' Epiphone Excellente
The Epiphone Excellente was the fanciest flat-top Gibson made in the 1960s, and to some ears it was Gibson’s best.…
1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
Silver Serenade
Amplifier collectors swarm to models with descriptors like “first year” and “golden age,” but other types can be far more…
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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
Chris Tapp
Heavy Adversity
Unphased by knee-jerk comparisons to rock duos like the White Stripes, Royal Blood, and Black Keys, The Cold Stares have…
Jeff Berlin
Flashback to Jack
Fusion bassist Jeff Berlin’s new album, Jack Songs, is an all-star tribute to Jack Bruce, the trailblazing virtuoso and frontman…
Arliss McMinn and the California Playboys
The "Fenderized" Teens
“What started in California?” you ask. The list includes a broad range of inventions, fads, pop culture, and social movements.…
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,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos
This Gibson RB-3 five-string from 1925 is a rare piece, as is any five-string banjo from the era dominated by…
The Valley Arts Custom Pro Bass
Keeping the Arts Alive
In 1969, when a North Hollywood guitar teacher named Duke Miller teamed up to start a music store with students…
B.C. Rich Eagle
When my son was young I used to do “guitar shows” for his classes, showing off 10 or so electric…
Rickenbacker 481
It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Peerless Retromatic
Modern Vintage
Peerless Retromatic Price: $1,699 Info: www.peerlessguitars.eu While many new guitars of the last decade have touted authentic (or semi-authentic) “retro”…
Elite Acoustics EAE D6-8 Pro
Power-Packed
A knee-jerk first impression of the Elite Acoustics D6-8 Pro might be, “Dang, that is small.” But its one-foot cube…
Fender’s Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster
Songs Not Included
Fender can’t guarantee its Jason Isbell Custom Tele will instill every player with Isbell’s talent for songcraft, but it sure…
The Clark Gainster
Trick Your Tweed
Before he got into the effects pedal biz, Michael Clark had a reputation for building killer tweed-inspired amps. In 2001…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Lonnie Brooks
1933-2017
Blues guitarist/singer Lonnie Brooks died April 1 in Chicago. He was 83. Born Lee Baker, Jr., he was one of…
John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson’s Gypsy Jazz Orchestra
Call it a “Gypsy jazz wall of sound.” John Jorgenson’s new album, Istiqbal Gathering, features the master guitarist backed by…
Tommy Skeoch
Rock and Roll Forever
Tommy Skeoch is revered for delivering guitar tone with equal parts attitude and guttural conviction. Since his departure from Tesla…
The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends
The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends
The blues is the foundation of nearly all American popular music, and this book by Vintage Guitar’s music editor…
