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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…

Trevor Rabin
Return with Rio
The first vocal album in 34 years from the former Yes guitarist (there was a killer instrumental CD in 2012…

Scott Metzger
Spontaneous Composition
“We started as three side men scheduled to back a singer who was a no-show at this bar in Brooklyn,”…

Dale Watson
Honky-Tonk Hammerin’
Dale Watson remembers well a conversation he once had with Leo Fender. “Leo gave me a guitar, and it was…

The Budda Twinmaster
Return of a Boutique Legend
In the early days of boutique-amp building, there were but a few contenders on the scene. One of the strongest…

Davy Knowles
Manx Bluesman
The Isle Of Man, which sits in the middle of the Irish Sea, measures 15 by 30 miles. The…
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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

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

Rex Brown
Still Smoking
Throughout his career, Rex Brown has delivered the low-end as the bassist for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill. But…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Willie G. Moseley
Season 03 Episode 01 In Episode 3.1 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by longtime VG contributor…

Sue Foley: Tribute to Female Pickers
Revisiting the Work of Pioneers From Austin by way of Ottawa, Sue Foley is known worldwide as a blues…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Rickenbacher Model 200A
Several vintage amplifiers that have graced these pages over the years have taken us back to the early days of…
1944 Martin 00-28
This Martin 00-28 is a highly unusual instrument. Made as part of a group of six created with shop-order number…

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

Lloyd Loar
An Alternative View
The Master Model instruments created at Gibson in the early 1920s are famous for their sound and build. Credit for…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, Nano Big Muff
Add OD, To Taste
Price: Soul Food, $89.25 (list), $62.81 (street); Nano Big Muff, $95.64 (list), $69.80 (street) Info: www.ehx.com Guitarists have an insatiable…

BC Audio JTX45 Octal Plex
Plexi Class
In an amp world full of boutique clones, Bruce Clement has developed a unique twist on the venerable ’60s British…

Yamaha’s Revstar RSP20CR
Mod Rocker
Having spent the last 120 years perfecting righteous guitar tones, Yamaha has set out to increase their coolness quotient. The…
Seymour Duncan’s Whole Lotta Humbucker, 59/Custom Hybrid Pickups
Dream Babies
Seymour Duncan’s Whole Lotta Humbucker Price: $94 59/Custom Hybrid Pickups Price: $89 Info: www.seymourduncan.com. In lean times, who can afford…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
Goodtone Roadrage PD, Mad Professor Golden Cello
Secret Weapons
Goodtone Roadrage PD, Mad Professor Golden Cello Price: $155 Info: www.goodtone.com. Goodtone Amps builder Norm Matthews has a rep for…

The Gretsch 6169 Electromatic Twin Western
What good was selling a newfangled electric guitar back at the dawn of the revolution if you didn’t have an…

Classics: November 2021
Gibson Les Paul Personal
Billy Soutar loves the vibe of his 1969 Les Paul Personal and matching LP-12 amp. While the guitar’s mahogany body,…

Gibson’s “SG” Les Paul
Classic Shape That Filled Big Shoes
In 1961, Gibson replaced the single-cutaway Les Paul with a new line of lighter, thinner, mahogany double-cut solidbodies. Developed under…










































