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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…
Steve Dawson
Deeper Roots
Calling Steve Dawson a “roots” artist seems a disservice to a musician so eclectic and wildly talented. On Eyes Closed,…
Category 5 TBR-35 2×10
Backline Star
Don Ritter started Category 5 Amplification designing amps for blues players before expanding to other genres while holding to the…
Sam Kiszka
Ethereal Energy
Guitar rock in 2023 doesn’t get bigger or ballsier than Greta Van Fleet. A veritable steamroller since “Highway Tune” launched…
Duane Betts
Father to Son
It’s understandable if you detect a certain Southern-rock flare in the music of singer/guitarist Duane Betts. After all, his father…
Classics: Norman Harris
Rare Pioneer
As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band…
Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker Set
Classic Retrofit
Fishman recently released the revolutionary Fluence series pickups that utilize an active, hum-canceling pickup design. Following our review of their…
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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
Kenny Brown
Mississippi Slide
The Black Keys’ latest album, Delta Kream, is a collection of blues standards from the Mississippi Hill Country. Drummer Patrick…
Zac Sokolow
LA LA Land
LA LOM rekindles of the sound of “psychedelic chicha” – a south-of-the-border reaction to the electrified 1960s. Picture the Ventures…
Jimmie Vaughan
Full Plate, New Strats
After trading football for guitar at age 13, Jimmie Vaughan forged a remarkable career as a blues-roots guitarist, first with…
Don Latarski
Electrifying
Don Latarski is well-known in the Pacific Northwest as a player, author, teacher, and composer. His acoustic playing is revered,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
The Supro Thunderbolt S6420
Lightning Strikes
Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the…
Marcus King
Swamp Guide
Marcus King is a guitar slingin’ powerhouse barnstormer. Unlike most contemporary pop music – heavy on production, low on everything…
Mel Bay D’Aquisto
Teacher’s Aid
Melbourne “Mel” Bay (1913-1997) began his musical career at the age of 13 in his hometown of Bunker, Missouri. Largely…
Gibson Humbucker
Crunchy, Clean Dirt
Gibson and Fender may be the longstanding heavyweight rivals of the electric guitar game, but they have one very important…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Charis Acoustic SJ
Spirit in the Wood
Charis Acoustic SJ Price: $4,800 (base); $7,100 (as reviewed) Info: www.charisacoustic.com. The spiritual aspects of music perhaps originate with the…
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce
Revved Up
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce Price: $420 Info: www.lazyjprojects.com. The Lazy J Cruiser Deuce is more complex than your classic stomp-and-go…
Xotic Guitar XSS-1 Super S Style
Tribute To The King
Xotic’s S-style guitar line pays homage to the man who revolutionized rock guitar in the ’80s. Hint: He was hot…
Kramer 84 and Pacer Vintage
Tap, Shred, Dive!
Kramer 84/Pacer Vintage Price: $1,166 (84); $1,267 (Pacer Vintage) Info: kramerguitars.com It’s hard to think of ’80s guitars as vintage,…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Johnny Winter
Guitar Slinger
Texas-born guitarist/vocalist Johnny Winter, who died at 70 in 2014, was steeped in the blues, but many of his big…
Leo Lydon
Beefy Tones
The wildly named Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol doesn’t play the typical “doom metal” or “stoner metal” that has been hip…
Guild Starfire I-12
Budget Jangle
Twelve-string electrics were ubiquitous in the swinging ’60s, popularized by bands like The Byrds, Beatles, Searchers, Turtles, Beau Brummels, and…
Hank’s Protos
How Hank Garland Helped Gibson Develop Two Models Not Called Byrdland
There are guitars, there are great guitars, there are great historic guitars and there are great historic guitars bearing deep…
