• Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Duke Robillard – Lowdown

    Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the  first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set…

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  • Super PickupGiveaway 2025

    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…

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Fender Custom Shop Marks 30 Years

Dream Makers

May 9, 2019 · Vaughn Skow

In “official” terms, the Fender Custom Shop opened in 1987. But its story actually began February 1, 1985 – the…

Ceil Thompson and her self-made guitar

January 25, 2023 · Dan Erlewine

“Dan’s Guitar Rx”: VG’s Rock-and-Roll High School(er)! In 2022, Dan Erlewine’s “Guitar Rx” column walked readers through a class-project guitar…

Effectrode Tube-Vibe and Goran Fat Boy

Premium Pedalin’

December 13, 2013 · Max Prown

Effectrode Tube-Vibe Price: $429 (Tube-Vibe) Contact: www.effectrode.com Goran Fat Boy Price: $429 Contact: www.goranguitars.com In the annals of guitar stompboxes,…

Matchless Superchief 120

May 30, 2017 · Dave Hunter

A maker at the forefront of the “boutique amp” movement, Matchless is known for its Class-A designs – that is,…

Effectrode Tube-Vibe and Goran Fat Boy

Premium Pedalin’

December 13, 2013 · Max Prown

Effectrode Tube-Vibe Price: $429 (Tube-Vibe) Contact: www.effectrode.com Goran Fat Boy Price: $429 Contact: www.goranguitars.com In the annals of guitar stompboxes,…

Mario Guitars Serpentine

Custom Flagship

July 9, 2018 · Rich Maloof

Given that Mario Martin credits his guitar-building education to a stint at the Fender Custom Shop, it’s no surprise that…

  • Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Carr Skylark Special 1×12

    Take Flight

    Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

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ARTISTS

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Billy Duffy

Weapon: Chosen

January 14, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Billy Duffy has long been a different sort of bloke. As his peers in rock bands of the mid ’80s…

Butch Walker

Butch Walker

Hummingbirds and Ghosts

February 23, 2016 · Ward Meeker

Butch Walker readily admits that when it comes to his life as a musician, performer, and producer, he has some…

Chris Leuzinger

Country Crunch

November 17, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Growing up in the tropical air of West Palm Beach, it’s little wonder that Chris Leuzinger’s first musical revelations had…

Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album

Pulverizing Performance

March 8, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

Brutish power chords and shrieking guitar lines abetted by pounding percussion, overdriven bass riffs, and wailing vocals – at the…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Classics: September 2022

Danny Gatton’s ES-295

May 9, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Glenn Holley was just five years old when he became infatuated with the sound of rockabilly music thanks to Elvis…

BASSMAN-HOME-MAIN-THUMB

1964 Fender Bassman

February 17, 2016 · Dave Hunter

1964 Fender 6G6-B Bassman Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier:…

The Ray Butts EchoSonic

April 29, 2021 · Dave Hunter

If you want to talk star-user ratio, the Ray Butts EchoSonic is near the top of the heap. Most accounts…

The Peoples’ Guitar

Gibson’s Depression-Era Exports

July 10, 2017 · L.B. Fred

Many aren’t aware that some of the archtop guitars Gibson produced during the Depression were marketed under different brand names,…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

The DoleSonic Vintage 108 Woody

Not Your Dad’s Boutique Amp

August 16, 2013 · Sean OBryan Smith

The guitarist’s greatest quests is most often that of the tone that resides within their heads. That quest drove guitarist…

Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive

Category Killer?

April 26, 2019 · Rich Maloof

Taste in overdrives is so subjective. A player might luck into a stellar $50 mini pedal or feel the absolute…

The Vox AC30C2X and AC15C1

Brit-Rock Mojo in a Box

August 20, 2013 · Pete Prown

Fully appointed in classic Vox dress, the famed British amp maker’s new AC30C2X and AC15C1 both sport enough of that…

GIFFIN VITKA

Giffin Vikta

Feelin’ Special

March 20, 2014 · Pete Prown

Giffin Vikta Price: $2,295 Contact: premierbuildersguild.com. Roger Giffin is a guitarmaker to the stars, having built for Eric Clapton, Pete…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

The Soul of John Black

Living In The Sunshine

July 16, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and…

Donner LAX Comp

To The Limit

January 18, 2024 · Pete Prown

Whether used for funky tones, a gentle sonic sheen, or as gatekeeper for your rig’s volume, compressors are handy –…

Gibson’s Style O Artist Guitar and K-4 Mandocello

Gibson’s Style O Artist Guitar and K-4 Mandocello

Two For the Scroll

February 9, 2016 · George Gruhn

The mandolin originated in the Middle East as a bowl-back instrument. Crusaders brought it back to Europe and early Italian…

Danelectro ’84

Love Struck

May 30, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

The Danelectro name first surfaced on amplifiers in the late 1940s, then later on guitars made with Masonite bodies and…

1939 Gibson Super 400 Premier

February 28, 2017 · George Gruhn

The Gibson Super 400 debuted in 1935 as the first production-model 18″ archtop guitar with f-shaped sound holes; 30 years…

Barney Kessel’s ES-350 Rides Again

Return Of An Icon

October 13, 2022 · Rusty Russell

Bruce Forman acquired Barney Kessel’s beloved Gibson ES-350 in mid 2021. In prep for recording Reunion!, he made the guitar…

Janne Haavisto

Finnish Instro Auteur

April 25, 2019 · Pete Prown

There’s a long history of instro and surf-rock from Scandinavia, perhaps none deeper than that of Janne Haavisto, formerly with…

Tracii Guns

Black Diamond Shine

January 11, 2024 · Artemis Records

There’s no denying that with Tracii Guns manning L.A. Guns’ lead-guitar slot, the sleaze veterans become a different animal. Since…

Steve Turner

The March To Fuzz

April 29, 2024 · Dennis Pernu

Thirty-five years after Steve Turner and Mudhoney became forever linked with two legendary pedals by coining their debut EP Superfuzz…

John Mayall

1933-2024

May 30, 2025 · Pete Prown

Drummer Mick Fleetwood was only briefly a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but that was enough to launch his platinum…

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,…

Larry McCray

All In the Family

April 15, 2010 · John Heidt

“A lot of people…think [blues is] all the same. So I try to take that element out. I don’t want…

GJ2 Arete 5-Star Featured Image

GJ2 Arete 5-Star

Monster of Rock

June 5, 2015 · Pete Prown

Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $3,999 Info: www.gj2guitars.com. Grover Jackson is a name forever associated with classic metal and…

Scott T. Jones

Midwest Fusion Ace

November 3, 2022 · Pete Prown

A lot of guitarists aspire to play jazz-rock, but it’s a high bar. Based in St. Louis, Scott T. Jones…

PRS Fiore

Tone Poet

October 11, 2023 · Pete Prown

If you’ve seen guitar wizard Mark Lettieri (VG, November ’22) at work, you know how expressive he is. Whether laying…

Steve Morse

Return of the Dixie Dregs

April 14, 2020 · Pete Prown

Steve Morse has been revisiting the past. A member of Deep Purple since 1994, this year he reunited with the…

Stéphane Wrembel

Roll Over, Django

June 9, 2020 · Michael Dregni

Talk Gypsy jazz with most devotees and they’ll quote you chapter and verse on Django Reinhardt. Talk with acclaimed Gypsy…

A Mick Ralphs Sampler – Definitive Listening

June 27, 2025 · Willie G. Moseley

Curated by Vintage Guitar’s Willie G. Moseley, this playlist showcases the evolution of Mick Ralphs’ sound through various songs he…

The JangleBox J-Boost

Seamless Sheen

March 5, 2019 · Oscar Jordan

Twelve years ago, Janglebox founder Steve Lasko set out to create effects pedals that capture the sparkling clean chime made…

Fender Coronado XII Wildwood

Instrument Profile

June 10, 2020 · Michael Wright

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Yea, baby! Okay, to be honest, there’s no real evidence that this 1967 Fender…

Vega De Luxe Electric Plectrum Banjo

April 5, 2017 · George Gruhn

Billed as “the latest orchestral sensation… unparalleled for versatility,” Vega’s electric banjos – developed to compete with one being made…

Black River Delta

March 15, 2016 · Oscar Jordan

Swedish disciples of pre-World War II blues Erik Jacobs, Erik Nilsson, and Pontus Ohlsson, hauled a bunch of gear up…

The Return of Jerry Kennedy’s 00-18

Seventy Years Gone

August 10, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

Nashville legend Jerry Kennedy has won Grammy awards and owned numerous collectible instruments. And if Guinness World Records tracked such…

Fretprints: John Abercrombie

Modern-Jazz Innovator

January 11, 2023 · Wolf Marshall

John Abercrombie operated in four dimensions. A guitarist of unbounded breadth and depth, he redefined space in long, improvised flights…

Frank Gambale Vintage Guitar magazine

Frank Gambale

Soulmine

December 11, 2013 · Oscar Jordan

Frank Gambale has had an amazing career playing the music he loves. From being the go-to guy for sweep-picking, and…

Paul Benjaman: Tulsa twanger

August 27, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Funky solo from “Undercover of Night” On his new album, “My Bad Side Wants a Good Time,” Paul Benjaman serves…

Kinga Glyk’s four-string tightrope

May 24, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Star bassist shines on “That Right There” Superstar bassist Kinga Glyk brings everything from funk-fusion virtuosity to booty-moving grooves. With…

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo – Live!

Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman with Marty Stuart

September 8, 2025 · Dan Forte

A premier folk-rock band morphing into psychedelia in the mid ’60s, the Byrds pioneered country-rock with 1968’s Sweetheart of the…

Wolf Strat

A Legend’s Guitar, Discovered

December 28, 2017 · Pete Prown

After possessing it for several years, curiosity finally got the best of the owner of this 1963 Stratocaster. He had…