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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…

Jake Shimabukuro Plays the Beatles “Something”
Silky-Smooth Shimabukuro Jake Shimabukuro’s playing is a silky delight on this run through the Beatles “Something.” That’s his Kamaka tenor…

G&L Fallout
Form Follows Function
G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten…

Remembering Ronnie
Phillips Finishes Guitarist’s Final Recordings
Ricky Phillips has many fond memories of his friendship and musical association with Ronnie Montrose (1947-2012). The bassist is finishing…

Have Guitar Will Travel 064 – Luis Carlos Maldonado
“Have Guitar Will Travel” host James Patrick Regan speaks with multi-instrumentalist Luis Carlos Maldonado. Growing up in Arizona and SoCal,…

Jerry Miller
Back to Basics
Jerry Miller is back. For many he never left – especially admirers of his innovative playing with the legendary Moby…

Gibson’s “Non-Reverse” Firebirds
When Down Was Up
Some guitars get no respect, at least historically. At the dawn of the ’70s, Gibson’s original (1963-’65) Firebirds were already…
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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

Neal Schon
Spacesaver Sale
Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But…
Alex Machacek
Stripped Down
When you get the thumbs-up from icons like John McLaughlin and Chick Corea, it’s got to feel good. But, fusion…

Fretprints: Led Zeppelin
One of the truly classic rock albums, Led Zeppelin’s IV brought together the band’s towering advances achieved with its first…

Pop ’N Hiss: Led Zeppelin’s IV
Heaven Sent
It’s impossible to overstate the influence Led Zeppelin’s “untitled” fourth album – call it IV, ZoSo, Runes, Four Symbols, whatever…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”
This may well be the most desirable Fender Stratocaster on the face of the planet. And it happens to be…

Marshall 2100 Lead & Bass
Rock Breaker
Adescendant of the legendary “Bluesbreaker” combo that helped launch the cranked-Marshall sound into the annals of rock, the 2100 combo…

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…

Horses of Another Color
1) This ’57, from batch 253xx, has the added intrigue of a gold G-cutout tailpiece in place of the Bigsby…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight

Gibson Falcon 5
Timeless
Drawing inspiration from its classic Skylark amplifiers of the 1950s and ’60s, Gibson is revisiting those beloved tones with the…

Andrews Spectraverb 16
No Limits
Taking inspiration from Fender’s classic AB763 Deluxe Reverb, the hand-wired Andrews Spectraverb 16 uses a pair of JJ 6V6 power…

Fishman’s Fluence Greg Koch Gristle-Tone P90
A Quiet Place
With the miracle of micro-electronics, you can pack a massive amount of tone into a tight space. Case in point:…

Swart Atomic Jr.
Splitting The Atom
When Swart decided to split their Atomic Jr. five-watt combo into a piggyback, they not only went from an 8″…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer

Rivera Shaman Series Pedals
Holy Tones
Rivera Shaman Series Pedals Price: $299 each (street) Info: www.rivera.com. With roots stretching to the late ’70s, SoCal-based Rivera Amplification…

Tom Principato
Bridging the Big Pond
Tom Principato’s 18th album, Live and Still Kickin’! portrays the energy of its title and was recorded on two continents.…

Mike Zito
Mike Zito’s latest serves up large helpings of boogie, blues, and roadhouse-ready rock. His guitar work is stellar as usual…

TWA Triskelion MK3 Harmonic Energizer
Functional Filter
Based on the Systech Harmonic Energizer pedal made famous by Adrian Belew, Frank Zappa, and Greg Lake, the TWA Triskelion…













































