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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…
The 1966 Murph Squire II-T
So-Cal Attention Getter
Despite what many enthusiasts believe, there has been only one really significant “lawsuit” that defined a class of guitars –…
Schertler’s JAM 150
Plays Well with Others
Schertler’s JAM150 Price: $1,249.99 (list); $999.99 (street) Info: www.schertler.com Schertler’s JAM150 is a compact combo amp capable of pulling double-duty…
Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour
Friendlytown
From his earliest days in Memphis, Steve Cropper’s virtuosity stemmed from his powerful mastery of rhythm and flawless sense of…
DAN ROSE AND HIS TASTY TAKE ON A CLASSIC
DAN ROSE AND HIS TASTY TAKE ON A CLASSIC! Dan Rose used his ’58 ES-175 (with a PAF at the…
Vintage Instrument Research
An Ever-Changing Landscape
Fretted instruments can be examined in much the same way as zoological taxonomist or forensic pathologist would approach them. They…
Kiss
Destroyer 45
Following their Alive! breakout, Kiss hired producer to the superstars Bob Ezrin and cut what became their first platinum album,…
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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
David Bromberg
Testifying for the Blues
Jerry Jeff Walker said it best. Describing David Bromberg’s contribution to Walker’s trademark 1968 song, “Mr. Bojangles,” he said simply…
Josh Smith
Swingin’ Hard
Josh Smith has been very busy. When he’s not on tour or sharing production duties with Joe Bonamassa for artists…
Tinsley Ellis’ new dimension
Unplugged, and Worth the Wait! A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style…
Billy Bauer
Jazz Guitar’s Hidden Giant
Billy Bauer’s career was so steeped in tradition that he is often thought of as one of the first jazz…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Maestro Rover R0-1
The UFO of Rotating Speakers
To record “Little Wing,” Jimi Hendrix plugged his Stratocaster into his usual amplifier, then did the unthinkable; he ran guitar…
D’Aquisto New Yorker Classic
During his 30-plus years as an independent guitarmaker, James L. D’Aquisto was acclaimed as the premier maker of archtop guitars.…
VG Q&A: Jimi Flip
Plus, Precision Bass rests and an odd Galliano
I’ve never read why Jimi Hendrix played and set up a right-hand Strat to play left-handed. Surely, he could’ve found…
Classics: February 2022
Chuck Panozzo’s Gibson ES-125
For nearly five decades, Chuck Panozzo has been the bassist in Styx, enjoying the ride as it went from playing…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Gator Cases MiniVault
Rolling Rack
Every gigging guitarist who lugs their own gear (so, 95 percent of us) knows firsthand how instrument cases take a…
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…
So-Cal Steel
Asher Guitars & Lap Steels Ben Harper Signature Model
If Nashville is the pedal-steel capital, surely Southern California is a lap steel hotspot. David Lindley and Ben Harper, along…
DoleSonic Half Back Stack
Tone Meets Crafts-manship
Shaw Audio Bass 130 Price: $1,350 Contact: www.tremcaster.com, phone: (330) 608-2043 In a day where gear companies often focus on…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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And an Archtop Mystery
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Supergroup Alpha
Vox MV50 AC
The Little Amp That Could
Ready to step onstage but your amp won’t sing? Traveling, but don’t want to lug a lot of gear? Need…
James Trussart SteelCaster
Rust Never Sleeps
James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully…
Laur Joamets
Metamodern Sounds In Country Picking
The time-worn, well-trodden path to Nashville traditionally starts from a Tennessee holler, Arkansas cabin, or Texas jook. For Laur Joamets…
Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip
Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940…
