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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…
Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #7
Ray Cummins’ latest exclusive lesson for VG expands on the art of playing “thumbstyle” a la Chet Atkins. Using his…
Robert John & The Wreck’s Henry James
Cali-Style Southern Rock Southern-fried rock from California? You bet it’s tasty. Check out the guitar work of Henry James Schneekluth…
J.D. Simo
Remembering Duane Allman
Chicagoan J.D. Simo began playing professionally at age 10 and just five years later was on the road full-time, eventually…
The Life and Times of Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan and his battered 1953 Telecaster guitar got inside your head and grabbed you in the gut. He…
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…
The Siegmund Doppler Vibe
The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get
Siegmund Doppler Vibe Price: $495 Info: www.siegmundguitars.com. It’s been said that Buddy Guy was the first guitarist to put his…
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Rising Rockers
Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
In an era when the sub-20-watt combo is arguably the most popular guitar-amp format, it’s worth remembering that several classics of the category emanate from the ’50s. And just as…
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ARTISTS
Mike Keneally
Gainfully Employed
Mike Keneally has made a career of inconspicuously assisting Frank Zappa, Andy Partridge, Steve Vai, Dethklok, and Joe Satriani fulfill…
Mark Tremonti
Three-Band Man
The odds of any guitarist being in a highly successful rock band are long. Chances of being in two are…
Jeff Beck
He Can’t Help It… He Just Keeps Getting Better
In 1985, speaking of the ’83 Action Research into Muscle Distrophy (A.R.M.S.) Tour that united Yardbirds alumni Jeff Beck, Jimmy…
Prodigal Sunburst
Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard
A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Metropolitan Tanglewood
A Rare Modern Map
Many guitar aficionados are aware of the instruments proffered by Houston’s Alamo Music. The Texas manufacturer has created unique low-end…
Rick Derringer
Explore The Possibilities
Rick Derringer and his compadres in the McCoys smashed their way into the pantheon of rock and roll in the…
Classics: April 2023
Kim Simmons’ 1973 Gibson Les Paul
For Gio da Silva and several million others in Generation X, the mid ’90s were an exciting time. Young adults…
Tom Petersson
Lower-End Innovator
It’s been a long time comin’… Like his longtime bandmate, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick bassist/songwriter Tom Petersson collects classic stringed…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Classic Character
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Synth Evo
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Musical, Minimalist
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Big Bottom
Hall & Collins Signature Echo
Echo Rock
For guitarists whose lives are dedicated to replicating the echo effects heard on songs like Hank Marvin’s “Apache,” Hall &…
Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer
New Tradition
Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer Price: $3,299 (list) Contact: www.riversongguitars.com Occasionally, a luthier’s innovation defines a new acoustic guitar sound.…
Epiphone’s Inspired by 1955 Les Paul Custom
Dressed to Kill
Produced from 1954 to 1956, the Black Beauty Custom is one of the most revered Les Pauls. Marketed as the…
Tsakalis Experience, Emma ON-1 Okto-Nøjs, and Mad Professor Twimble
World Sounds
It seems that every other stompbox on the market has dual-footswitch functionality, packing two entirely different circuits into one housing.…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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The Artist’s Way
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Life At Full Speed
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Bass Mechanic
Gregg Wright
King of the Rockin’ Blues
Gregg Wright is a force to be reckoned with. He took the top spot in the Southern California Blues Society’s…
Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive
A Step Further
Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive Price: H20 V3 $199 (list); VS-XO $199…
Bryan Sutton
Into His Own
Bryan Sutton ranks as one of the most accomplished and in-demand acoustic players in Nashville. In 1991, fresh from high…
Have Guitar Will Travel – Featuring 005 BottleRock Music Festival Pt. 2
James hits BottleRock again and speaks to blues-rock guitarist Hamish Anderson, singer/songwriter Matt Maeson, and Bay Area picker Milo Horstman.…
