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MusicNomad is running a fun Valentine’s Day challenge for guitar players — and it’s a good one.
Has Your Guitar Been KISSed? 💋🎸 This Valentine’s Day, MusicNomad is asking one big question: Has your guitar been KISSed? Show your guitar some love with a KEEP IT SIMPLE,…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from…
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Pieces of a Prototype
Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

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…

Billy Sheehan
Talas Time Travel
Billy Sheehan earned notoriety and commercial success in the ’80s and ’90s as a member of David Lee Roth’s post-Van…

Various Artists
Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan and Dominic Miller
Bill Frisell is a living jazz icon, famed for his ethereal tone and snaking post-bop lines. Here, he partners with…

One of Two of a Kind
Gibson’s L-3 Ganus Brothers Special
Making custom instruments has always been problematic for companies designed to manufacture in quantity. Though it had an unenforced policy…

Gary Moore: The Official Biography
Harry Shapiro
The ultimate unsung hero, Moore made a seismic impact on heavy guitarists, without being a huge star himself. That’s the…

Steve Cropper
Looking Back at Stax
The gloriously soulful music recorded by Stax Records is still entertaining listeners six decades after its release, and the label…
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VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number…
ARTISTS

Scott Holiday
Unrivaled Son
Regardless of the state of pop or rock music, it’s invigorating when a group comes along to remind us what…
Eric Johnson
Getting Up Close With Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson’s latest release, Up Close, is his most lively studio project to date. With a looser vibe and the…

Billy Flynn
True Chicago Blues
The phrase “electric blues” is a catch-all for many genres, but for aficionados it refers to a highly specific idiom…

Gregg Wright
The Shackles Are Off
Gregg Wright’s latest album was forged with fire, intensity, and the music that molded him, from guitar-centric country ballads, boogie,…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Dad’s Day 2021
VG’s Annual Salute to Fathers Who Inspire
Marty Ashby’s very musical family has been playing together since he was a little kid. Here’s a shot of them…

The Original ES-150
How Gisbson Won The ES War
The story of the ES-150, Gibson’s first commercially successful electric guitar, has been told many times, and its association with…
Electra MPC
Standard X340
One of the more successful Japanese-made guitar brands of the 1970s was Electra, the brand name used for electric guitars…

The Valley Arts Custom Pro Bass
Keeping the Arts Alive
In 1969, when a North Hollywood guitar teacher named Duke Miller teamed up to start a music store with students…
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…
Egnater Tweaker 40
Small, But Mighty
Egnater Tweaker 40 Price: $1,149 (approx. $800 street). Info: egnater.com Egnater has just amplified its Tweaker line with a new…

Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66
Welcome to the Machine
Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66 Price: $2,799 (list) Contact: www.redplateamps.com Redplate builds boutique amplifiers with point-to-point wiring and meticulous hands-on attention to…
Taylor AD11e-SB
Small Gem
This latest addition to Taylor’s American Dream line builds on its Grand Theater (GT) series of small-body guitars, the goal…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
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Remembering a Heavy Hero

Peter Stroud Keeps His Feet, and Keeps Movin’
On “10,” As Always
He has played with Dreams So Real, Pete Droge, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow. It’s the latter gig that occupies…

A Guitar for Mr. Richards
The Saga of Ted Newman Jones
For anyone who visited the tiny workshop inhabited by guitar builder Ted Newman Jones in the 1970s and ’80s, two…

Sam Williams
Sinister Surf
Sam Williams is known as the guitarist for the roots-punk band Down by Law, but now he’s shaking it up…

Mark Lettieri’s funky finesse
Virtuoso take on “Greenspace” Stepping out from his band, Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri exhibits the finesse, funk, and fury that…












































