• 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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Victoria Vic 105

The Victoria VIC 105

Raw And Responsive

August 21, 2013 · Zac Childs

Victoria VIC 105 Price: $1,495 Contact: Victoria Amp Co.; phone (630) 820-6400; victoriaamp.com. In the 1990s, Mark Baier put himself…

Gibson Kalamazoo Award

Designer's Dream Come True

February 1, 2016 · Gil Hembree

In 1978, Gibson craftsman Wilbur Fuller produced the company’s first hand-carved, tuned-by-ear custom guitar. The instrument, which in a blind…

Charlie Ballantine

Midwest Expressive

May 21, 2019 · Pete Prown

Befitting a guitarist from America’s heartland, Charlie Ballantine’s mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot…

Larry Collins 1944-2024

January 8, 2024 · Ward Meeker

Larry Collins, a guitar prodigy mentored by renowned flatpicker Joe Maphis, and half of the ’50s brother/sister act The Collins…

John Abercrombie

1944-2017

May 9, 2019 · Pete Prown

After a lengthy illness, jazz guitarist John Abercrombie died August 22 at a hospital outside Peekskill, New York. He was…

Michael Johnny Walker

Michael Johnny Walker

Vintage Attitude Required

July 5, 2016 · Johnny Zapp

The term “vintage” isn’t always literal when it comes to gear, but it certainly can be used to describe attitude.…

  • Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings

    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,…

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ARTISTS

Martin’s Gibson

April 28, 2021 · Ward Meeker

Greg Martin’s infatuation with the sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard started in 1966, when, “I saw the picture of John…

Mike Keneally Makes the Gravy

June 23, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Dig his Meaty “Celery” The track is called “Celery,” but Mike Keneally sure makes it meaty! With a splash of…

Al Di Meola

Still Elegant

October 8, 2019 · Pete Prown

For close to 45 years, Al Di Meola’s career has brimmed with guitar virtuosity, taking him from red-hot fusion to…

Keith Richards’ 1963 Gibson SG Custom

Ready to Ramble

February 9, 2022 · Jim Carlton

In 1961, Gibson introduced the double-cutaway Les Paul to replace the original version, which had been endorsed by guitarist Les…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Dumble Overdrive Special OD150 WR

March 6, 2019 · Dave Hunter

Alexander Dumble’s creations were already established as legendary when we probed our first example in this space back in May…

Ecco-Fonic

October 12, 2014 · Michael Dregni

John Adomono was an American guitar hero of the Cold War years. JFK named him his favorite guitarist, and Adomono…

Tokai Talbo

March 7, 2022 · Michael Wright

For aficionados of copy guitars – replicas of mostly American classics that give U.S. manufacturers apoplectic fits – perhaps no…

Steve Wariner’s ’62 Fender Jazz Bass

January 27, 2014 · Willie G. Moseley

An eye-popping collectible in its own right, this Olympic White ’62 Fender Jazz Bass scores a few points higher on…


NEWSWIRE

APPROVED GEAR

Jon Kammerer Customs Tone Pod Scorpius Deluxe

Comfort and Joy

September 11, 2023 · Oscar Jordan

For 25 years, Jon Kammerer has been on an evolving pursuit to design a comfortable guitar with superior tone and…

Cicognani Pompeii PP603

Dimensional Echoes

December 6, 2021 · Oscar Jordan

Cicognani Engineering has been making noise with a terrific lineup of amps and effects, earning raves from notable artists like…

Carvin Audio’s X1 Preamp

Welcome Back

October 14, 2019 · Pete Prown

The recently re-tooled Carvin Audio has stayed active with product offerings aimed at the player/sound-reinforcement segment. Its new X1 combines…

Mesa Boogie’s Badlander 50 Combo

Rarin’ Recto

June 13, 2022 · Charlie Wilkins

When Mesa Boogie introduced its Dual Rectifier amps in the early ’90s, they cemented a place in rock-and-roll history. Over…

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Billy Strings

Live, Volume 1

August 13, 2025 · Rich Kienzle

Billy Strings has travelled far from his days as bluegrass flatpicking prodigy, though that style remains a linchpin of his…

Tomer Cohen

From Israel to NYC

December 14, 2023 · Pete Prown

Twenty-five-year-old Tomer Cohen plays jazz with the earthy feel heard in improvisations by Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, and early Pat…

Classics: May 2022

“Wild” Jimmy Spruill’s ’66 Fender Jaguar

January 9, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Wilbert Harrison’s 1959 version of Leiber and Stoller’s “Kansas City” shares space at the summit of all-time blues/pop classics, its…

Fretprints: Mick Ralphs

Delivering in Bad Company

April 29, 2024 · Wolf Marshall

Unabashedly British and irresistibly swaggering, Bad Company personified ’70s arena rock. Detractors denounced them as machismo, but fans have bought…

Check This Action: Animals Let Loose

April 12, 2023 · Dan Forte

As a kid, I dug The Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Manfred Mann, and pretty much the whole British Invasion. But,…

Alairex H.A.L.O.

Heavenly Possibilities

July 22, 2014 · Oscar Jordan

Alairex H.A.L.O. Price: $399 Info: www.alairex.com. Guitarist Alex Aguilar is a veteran player, former guitar-mag columnist, and today runs an…

Coral Electric Sitar

Coral Electric Sitar

April 6, 2016 · George Gruhn

For centuries, Indian musicians have utilized the resonant sympathetic strings of the sitar to create the unique sounds of classical Indian…

Michael Gregory Jackson inspires on “Meditation in E

August 30, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Classic ’70s Bluesy-Jazz Flavor Jazz guitarist Michael Gregory Jackson changes it up by using a classic (and seldom-seen) ’59 SG…

Sue Foley: Tribute to Female Pickers

March 19, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

 Revisiting the Work of Pioneers From Austin by way of Ottawa, Sue Foley is known worldwide as a blues…

Budda’s Baby Budda Amp Head

Big-Boy Tone

September 21, 2015 · Oscar Jordan

Budda Amplification staked its claim in 1995 with the Twinmaster boutique amplifier. Its hand-wired construction and user-friendly tones were hits…

The Daddy Mojo Ozark

All But The Kitchen Sink

May 21, 2019 · Bob Cianci

For a decade, Daddy Mojo has been making cigar-box guitars that refine the vibe of those rudimentary instruments. In 2016,…

Zac Sokolow

LA LA Land

June 25, 2025 · Pete Prown

LA LOM rekindles of the sound of “psychedelic chicha” – a south-of-the-border reaction to the electrified 1960s. Picture the Ventures…

Faces

At the BBC: Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings, 1970-1973

August 13, 2025 · Dan Forte

Rod Stewart & Faces were sloppy and raucous enough to make the Rolling Stones look like Air Supply. Okay, not…

Mundell Lowe

Jazz All Around

July 3, 2019 · Jim Carlton

Mundell Lowe is arguably the most successful jazz guitarist of his era. He routinely performed with such luminaries as Charlie Parker,…

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…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Installing an Acoustic Pickup System

Un-Unplugged

November 10, 2022 · Dan Erlewine

For years, one of the most common jobs I’ve been asked to do is put a pickup in an acoustic…

Music Man Game Changer

Twelve Tons of Tone

March 24, 2014 · Tom Guerra

Music Man Game Changer Price: $2,275 (street) Contact: www.gamechanger.music-man.com Since the introduction of the electric guitar, builders have sought ways…

Letritia Kandle

and the Magnificent Grand Letar

February 11, 2014 · Deke Dickerson

Run down the list of early electric-guitar innovators and an all-male group typically comes to mind – Les Paul, Alvino…

David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band

Live at the Capitol Theatre

September 12, 2023 · Pete Prown

Once, there was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; decades later came Crosby, Stevens, Willis & League – better known as…

Cliff Gallup

Crazy Fingers

April 22, 2019 · Michael Dregni

There was a custom at Owen Bradley Film & Recording Studios in Nashville; artists cut vocal tracks with backing from…

The Airline GIM 9151A

After The Fall

October 13, 2021 · Dave Hunter

1970 Montgomery Ward Airline GIM 9151A Preamp tubes: three 12AX7 Output tubes: four 6L6GC Rectifier: solid-state Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass…

The Leo Krebs Tape Echo Amplifier

Twenty-Three and Thee

July 7, 2022 · Dave Hunter

If you have no recollection of the revolutionary amplifier with 19 knobs, 23 tubes, and built-in tape echo created by…

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Gibson 1958-’60 Les Paul Standard

A ’Burst by Any Other Name…

June 9, 2016 · Ward Meeker

One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twelve. That’s the number of Les Paul Standards Gibson produced between 1958 and 1960. Amongst guitar…

Seth Lee Jones

Pedal Pusher

July 27, 2022 · Pete Prown

Thanks to giants like Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Sonny Landreth, we’re living in a golden age of bottleneck guitar,…

Republic’s Classic Concert Ukulele

Dainty Device

October 3, 2019 · Michael Dregni

National launched its first ukulele in 1927, combining a brass-bodied, nickel-plated uke with the sweet-sounding amplification of a resonator cone.…

Glenn Hughes

Golden-Voiced Bassist

December 26, 2017 · Greg Prato

In the past year, Glenn Hughes has experienced highs like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

Ray Cummins' latest lesson changes things up by mixing country, jazz, and blues.

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #4

March 8, 2017 · Ray Cummins

Ray Cummins' latest lesson changes things up by mixing country, jazz, and blues. He takes a simple chord progression, adds a…

Overview of the electric room at Guitarlington guitar show, taking place this weekend in Arlington, TX.

Guitarlington 2016

October 17, 2016 · Vintage Guitar

[caption id="attachment_25877" align="alignright" width="640"] Overview of the electric room at Guitarlington guitar show..[/caption] [caption id="attachment_25878" align="alignright" width="480"] A 1936 Martin…

Mick Fleetwood & Friends

Celebrate the Music of Peter Green & Early Years of Fleetwood Mac

May 10, 2022 · Oscar Jordan

British blues icon Peter Green passed away July 25, 2020, at the age of 73. As one of the founding…