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2025 December Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free…
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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…

Keeley Electronics Dark Side
Floyd Fare
In the multi-verse of effects pedals, Robert Keeley’s compressors, dirt boxes, and workstation gizmos are a thing of beauty –…

Darin and Brooke Aldridge’s Family Album
Picture Perfect
The husband-and-wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge are one of the hottest acts on the traditional bluegrass/Americana scene. The couple’s…

Perfect Curves
Fender’s Stratocaster Turns 60
Sixty years down the road since its creation, the Fender Stratocaster is the default image of the electric guitar for…

“Tremolo” Trio
Three new approaches to replacement vibrato systems
Three new aftermarket vibrato systems for common double- and single-cutaway solidbody guitars offer the convenience of “drop in” installation. Each…

2025 June Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature The Meters’ George Porter, Tommy Emmanuel, Jedd Hughes, Dudley Taft, Lari Basilio, Ally Venable, The Police,…

Pop ’N Hiss: Dio’s Holy Diver
Divine Metal
Vocalist Ronnie James Dio was on a roll as he formed the band that would record his 1983 album Holy…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s…
ARTISTS

Pop ’N Hiss: UFO’s Lights Out
Shining Bright
Most critics and fans agree that the finest studio album by British hard-rockers UFO was 1977’s Lights Out. The group’s…

Mick Mars
A Piece of His Action
Since emerging from Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, Mötley Crue has defined the Los Angeles metal scene. Fueled…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz
Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like…

Bob Devos
Update on the Organ Trio
Bob Devos says the idea for his new record, Shifting Sands, was pretty basic. “I wanted to record something that…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Gibson’s “SG” Les Paul
Classic Shape That Filled Big Shoes
In 1961, Gibson replaced the single-cutaway Les Paul with a new line of lighter, thinner, mahogany double-cut solidbodies. Developed under…

Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!
“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin…

Beyond the Parlor
Part Two: Man and Machine
Ed. Note: In part two of his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes addresses the common belief that the guitar…

Jussi Jaakonaho’s beguiling “Beauty Box”
Masterful Tapestry Soak it in as Jussi Jaakonaho and his 1970 Gibson SG Standard jam on ”Beauty Box” through a…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!

Wangs #2204 HW
Chinese Rocks
Even as new technology spawns new sounds, ease of use, and portability, there remains among guitarists a predilection for technologies…

KJ Audio Hanwell 50
Shake The Walls
KJ Audio Hanwell 50 Price: Head $1,900; cabinet $1,600 Contact: www.kjaudio.com No apologies: Minneapolis-based amp designer Kristopher Johnson’s Hanwell 50…

Way Huge Saffron Squeeze MkII
Fresh-squeezed
Twenty years after its launch, the Way Huge Saffron Squeeze compressor has been improved upon. Doing fierce business with an…

The KW Cabs ST-220T SSB
Who Woodn’t?
Like you, Kurt Wyberanec knows that good extension cabinets, like acoustic guitars, serve their player as resonant sound chambers. Those…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
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Rising Tides

Tom Petty and Mike Campbell
Guitars at Heart for 30 Years
Remember the first time you strummed a D chord or fumbled your way oh-so-slowly through “Walk Don’t Run”? Chances are…

John Hart
Mainline Florida
Inspiration can come from a lot of places. For jazz guitarist John Hart, a visit to a familiar place provided…

Johnny Hiland
Mr. Versatility
“…when you’re onstage, in the heat of the moment in the middle of a solo, you want to have bandmates…

Creedence Clearwater Revival
At The Royal Albert Hall
Stop the presses! New CCR is big news, and for one big reason – rarity. Beyond the band’s seven studio…














































