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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…

The Doltones
Sound Recycle Machine
There must be something in those icy fjords. What else can explain the great surf music that has come out…

Eastwood’s Airline Bighorn
Goin’ “Old-Store”
Most everyone has seen a department-store-catalog guitar (or two!) from the ’60s or ’70s. With their funky, cool body shapes…

Paul “Mayo” Mayasich
The latest from guitarist Paul Mayasich and his band of buddies is an eclectic mix of American music. You get…

Lazer Lloyd
Blues in Israel – A Common Bond
If you ask guitarist Lazer Lloyd, the state of Israel is an appropriate place for blues music. Originally known as…

Star Board: Craig Bartock
This month, we take a guided tour of the pedalboard belonging to Craig Bartock, guitarist with Heart. Craig Bartock, a…

National N-275
Gibson is widely known for its guitars, mandolins, and banjos, but many are unaware the company built instruments for nearly…
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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,…
ARTISTS

Scotty Moore
Can't Keep a Good Man Down
As the world marks the 50th Anniversary of the recording of “That’s Alright Mama,” one can’t help but wonder what…
Jim Marshall
Father of the Mighty Marshall Stack
When it comes to guitar amplifiers, two names stand tall beyond the others: Leo Fender and Jim Marshall. Even “civilians”…

Billy Sheehan
Back to Big
Though there’s no denying Billy Sheehan’s exceptional technical talents on the bass, he has always kept sight on the importance…

Steve Vai
Taming The Hydra
After finishing a sold-out tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson for the G3 Reunion concerts, Steve Vai joined Adrian…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Epiphone Riviera
The Epiphone Riviera helped reinvent Epiphone in the 1960s as a modern guitar company whose instruments sported such contemporary features…

The Coulter Company
More Rarities from the Pacific Northwest
The eye-catching and technologically innovative stringed instruments created by Frank Evans Coulter in the early 20th century are so exceedingly…

Built to Survive
Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression
In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely…

Peavey Forum Basses
Durable, Dependable
In his 2003 book, American Basses, author Jim Roberts noted that for all of Peavey’s innovative offerings in the 1990s,…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Valvetech Suplex
A Kinder, Gentler Plexi
Used by rock royalty, the 100-watt Marshall Model 1959 Super Lead unleashed hellacious tones. Problem was, it was ridiculously loud…

Ernie Ball Music Man Luke3
Cool-Hand Luke
The latest model in Ernie Ball Music Man’s Steve Lukather signature series was designed to answer Lukather’s demand for an…

Blackstar Fly 3
Best In Show… And More
While listening to AC/DC’s Back in Black on a small, audiophile-grade table radio, Blackstar Amplification CEO Ian Robinson had an…

Eastwood’s SD-40 Hound Dog and Classic AC
Subjective as it is, the term “mojo” usually refers to gear that’s been played-in over the years. Eastwood tries to…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Blackstar HT Club 40
Monster of Rock
Blackstar HT Club 40 Price: $699.99 (list) Contact: www.blackstaramps.com Standalone combo amplifiers that cover broad sonic terrain are popular with…

Robben Ford
Made To Last
When Robben Ford approaches traditional blues, he takes ownership, transporting it to new places. This latest five-song EP is no…

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

Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
Live at Levon’s!
The term “versatile” is laughable when it comes to Larry Campbell. A handful of the artists he has recorded, produced,…













































