Fender 6G6-C Bassman

Brown Sound

July 31, 2024 · Dave Hunter

There are several revered classics amid the ever-evolving circuits in the amplifier known as the Bassman, but one of the…

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits

May 30, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

It’s no shock the late Tom Petty’s right-hand man and MVP on Don Henley hits like “The Boys of Summer”…

Tyler Morris Features a Martin Style 2 1/2-17

October 16, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Tyler Morris Playing a Martin Style 2 1/2-17 Tyler Morris grabbed his 19th-century Martin Style 2 1/2-17 to play a…

Dallas Perkins dazzles on “Mexican Puppets”

March 14, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Dallas Perkins: Elemental Experiments Progressive-rock shredder Dallas Perkins brings it with “Mexican Puppets,” a track from his new instrumental album,…

Crucial Audio DUB-1

Lesson Learned

March 5, 2019 · Pete Prown

It’s not uncommon for novice guitarists to seek out stompboxes with zillions of features. As guitarists mature, however, they learn…

Fender’s Player Plus Meteora HH

Familiar Face

March 30, 2023 · Pete Prown

Billed as “futuristic and familiar,” Fender’s Meteora design first arrived as part of the Parallel Universe line – mashups of…

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ARTISTS

Ty Tabor

On a Roll

March 2, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor is on a roll. Despite the band being on hiatus due to bassist Dug Pinnick’s…

Greg Martin plays “Shotgun Effie”

February 7, 2022 · Doug Yellow Bird

Fresh Headhunters riff Greg Martin co-founder and lead guitarist in Kentucky Headhunters, shows us the opening riff to “Shotgun Effie” from…

Dan Wilson’s celebration of jazz legends

September 28, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Homage with Superb Musicality On his latest album, “Things Eternal,” jazz wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs…

John McLaughlin

50 Years in Fusion

May 21, 2019 · Pete Prown

The name John McLaughlin is synonymous with jazz-rock fusion, the genre he helped invent and sustain for the past 50…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

’53 Gibson Les Paul Junior

May 2, 2018 · George Gruhn

Gibson records say the Les Paul Junior was introduced in 1954. But this instrument has tone and volume pot codes…

Ray Cummins – I’ll See You In My Dreams

January 1, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Ray Cummins Plays the 1956 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 prototype “Dark Eyes” VG ace online tutor Ray Cummins uses the…

The Martin 3K

April 29, 2021 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

The continuing appeal of Hawaiian music through the past 100 years is based in part on the music itself, which…

J.D. Simo

Playing for Elvis

July 13, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

Psych-blues guitar maestro J.D. Simo was the wizard behind the guitar work heard on Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann film…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Gamechanger Light Pedal

Spring Thing

April 24, 2024 · Pete Prown

All-analog and made with a genuine spring tank, Gamechanger Audio’s Light Pedal adds a wrinkle to the reverb equation in…

Six-String Kicks

Six-String Kicks

Wood from Famed Bowling Alley Set to Sing

March 31, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Few things scratch America’s cumulative itch for nostalgia like Route 66 – the famed wagon-trail-cum-highway that offered passage to those…

Falbo Alpha Series Hollowbody

Falbo Alpha Series Hollowbody

Top Dog

April 7, 2016 · Bob Dragich

Falbo Alpha Series Hollowbody Price: $3,450 (base); $6,250 (as reviewed) Info: www.falboguitars.com Frank Falbo set the acoustic guitar world on…

Eastwood Black Box Series

Stomp City

May 4, 2023 · Pete Prown

Eastwood Guitars promises retro-themed gear at wallet-reassuring prices, as seen in their new Black Box Series of stompboxes. Among the…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Magnatone Varsity

Magnatone Varsity

Less is More, Plus

February 22, 2016 · Pete Prown

Magnatone Varsity Price: $1,699 (list); $1,799 (as tested) Contact: www.magnatoneusa.com Magnatone earned a cult of admirers in the mid 20th…

Check This Action: Folk Festival of Blues

October 9, 2025 · Dan Forte

I heard blues records earlier than I can remember. My dad had Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee albums, and a…

1843 Martin & Coupa

Retail Rarity

September 20, 2019 · George Gruhn

In 1833, C.F. Martin, Sr. and his family arrived in New York City. A trained luthier, Martin had studied under…

Al Joseph

Prog-Metal Creation

September 20, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Al Joseph is breaking new ground in prog-metal. Known for his riveting guitar playing and instruction with Jam Track Central,…

’66 Epiphone Casino

April 6, 2020 · George Gruhn

In the Epiphone line of the 1960s, the Casino occupied middle ground. In appearance as well as electronics it ranked…

Nioma Guitars

Rarities from a West Coast Music School

September 2, 2014 · Peter Blecha

NIOMA musical instruments from the 1930s and ’40s – with their vaguely Hawaiian-looking name – have mystified vintage-guitar enthusiasts over…

Tracii Guns

Peaces Old and New

May 9, 2019 · Greg Prato

The hair/glam metal movement of the ’80s spawned its share of guitar shredders. One often overlooked is Tracii Guns, whose…

Sheryl Bailey

New Ground in The SBQ

August 6, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Sheryl Bailey has enjoyed a steady upward trajectory since her career launched 20 years ago. One of the leading proponents…

Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93QM

Semi-Hollow Magic

May 13, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

There comes a time in a guitarist’s life when one becomes hollowbody curious, and semi-hollow guitars are often the gateway…

Ana Popovic

Relentless

January 30, 2024 · Oscar Jordan

Rising victoriously after 14 cancer treatments, Ana Popovic continues to push the boundaries of blues-rock. Her latest album tells the…

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Rockin’ Down the House

August 31, 2015 · Pete Prown

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom Price: $999 (Space Cadet)/$699 (MVX-15) Contact: www.musicvox.com For nearly two decades, Musicvox’s designs…

Catch Ron Bosse Rumblin’

February 10, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Great jazz on a Strat Ron Bosse learned to play saxophone in grade school and was raised on classic rock,…

John Pizzarelli

From Stage to Seven-String

April 28, 2024 · John Heidt

The John Pizzarelli Trio is back on the road supporting its latest album, Stage and Screen. Joined by Isaiah J.…

John Mayer

Sob Rock

July 13, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

John Mayer’s latest is a somber ode to the soft-rockin’ ’80s – think Henley and Hornsby. But don’t start eye-rolling…

Tim Bogert’s Modified Fender

One Fudged Bass

August 22, 2013 · Willie G. Moseley

When Vanilla Fudge helped pioneer the progressive-rock movement in the latter half of the ’60s, bassist Tim Bogert played more…

Gibson’s J-45 50s Faded

Lore Holder

January 18, 2024 · Michael Shirek

In the decade leading up to World War II, guitar builders started scaling up their acoustic offerings to meet the…

PAISLEY_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Brad Paisley

Two Vital Guitars From the Collection of a Modern Superpicker

April 21, 2014 · Ward Meeker

Brad Paisley’s 2011 book, Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, is…

Adam Levy’s Wistful Elegance

February 28, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Vintage ES-335 on “And They All Sang” Famous for supplying charismatic guitar parts while backing Nora Jones and Tracy Chapman,…

Reverend Freakchild

Songs Of Beauty For Ashes Of Realization

June 20, 2024 · Dan Forte

Though its nine tracks revisit and rearrange originals from his 16 albums, the Reverend’s latest project is as ambitious as…

Supro’s Dual-Tone 1624T, Coronado 1690T

Supro’s Dual-Tone 1624T, Coronado 1690T

1964 All Over Again

January 24, 2016 · Michael Dregni

Supro’s Dual-Tone 1624T, Coronado 1690T Price: $1,595 (Dual-Tone[LEFT]); $1,795 (Coronado) Contact: www.suprousa.com If there was a time machine handy to…

Album of the Year

February 8, 2017 · Vintage Guitar

From 2012 to the present — read about each Readers' Choice Awards Albums.

Tim Sult

Heavy-Duty Metal

November 30, 2016 · Greg Prato

With a new Clutch recording, the listener always knows what lies in store – colossal riffing, valley-deep grooves, and manly-man…

Waterloo WL-14

Waterloo WL-14

Modern Johnson

February 16, 2016 · Chip Wilson

Waterloo WL-14 Price: $2,100, $1,890 (street) Contact: www.collingsguitars.com or www.waterlooguitars.com Robert Johnson slid into a photo booth, dangling a cigarette…

In Memoriam: Leslie West

1944-2020

November 22, 2021 · Ward Meeker

Leslie West, guitarist/frontman in the pioneering hard-rock band Mountain, died December 22, 2020, after going into cardiac arrest. He was…

Walla Walla Maverick Pro Series

To a T

July 10, 2019 · Pete Prown

Walla Walla has carved a niche in the world of highly customized guitars and basses in the tradition of those…

Robert Cray

Sweet Soul Music

March 30, 2017 · Oscar Jordan

Robert Cray’s new album with producer-drummer Steve Jordan and the Hi Rhythm section is a no-brainer slam-dunk – and a…

Gretsch Country Gentleman

August 28, 2014 · Jim Hilmar

Consider American guitar manufacturers that have been in business during the last 100 years and the different instruments they’ve produced.…

Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

Road to Rock

The Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

March 10, 2016 · Pete Prown

Fans often mark the beginning of rock and roll as either Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions or Bill Haley & the…

Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie Quartet, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Dewa Budjana

Fusion Heros

February 27, 2017 · Pete Prown

The ECM label is renowned for its brand of atmospheric jazz-fusion highlighted by gorgeous audio quality. Two of its guitar…