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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…
Pop ’N Hiss: Humble Pie’s Smokin’
Free Wailin’
British rockers Humble Pie were steeped in blues and R&B influences that coursed through vocalist/rhythm guitarist Steve Marriott. When they…
Anthony Gomes
Blues, Rock, and Joy
Blues-rock connoisseur Anthony Gomes stays on point with his latest, High Voltage Blues. Leaning into the heavier side, Gomes’ feisty…
T-Rex Replicator
Daily Echo
Among the arcana of tone, few things inspire as much devotion – even obsession – as echo. The Holy Grail…
The Gibson J-185
The J-185 is regarded by many players and collectors as the finest-sounding Gibson flat-top made after World War II. The…
Chris Leuzinger
Country Crunch
Growing up in the tropical air of West Palm Beach, it’s little wonder that Chris Leuzinger’s first musical revelations had…
Guild S-200 Thunderbird
Back in 1958, when Gibson introduced its revolutionary Explorer, Flying V, and mysterious Moderne, the public – rather like Queen…
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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,…
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ARTISTS
Fretprints: Earl Hooker
Unsung Blues-Guitar Legend
Chicago, 1959. Ask any blues musician where to go, and the answer was likely, “Wherever Earl Hooker is playing.” Earl…
Stroger lays it down on “Bob’s Back in Town”
Chicago Blues Mainstay and His Legendary Bass Enjoy as Chicago mainstay bassist Bob Stroger uses his 1960 Jazz Bass (with…
Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts…
Noah Zacharin: Seriously Agile Fingerstyle
“Lester Brown” Live From The Big Lonely From his home in a forest between Ottawa and Toronto, singer/songwriter/fingerpicker Noah Zacharin…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Custom-Color Stratocasters
The Stratocaster was born in 1954. A solidbody with three pickups, contoured back and top, vibrato, and bolt-on neck, it…
The Gretsch 6120 Tenor
This 1958 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 four-string tenor guitar is a very rare variation of the model. Gretsch built other…
Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his…
Joe Long’s “stack-knob” Fender Jazz Bass
If you’re a fan or aficionado of vintage instruments, odds are that any early-’60s Fender Jazz Bass catches your eye.…
NEWSWIRE
APPROVED GEAR
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Live Wire
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Narrow(field) Win
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Take Flight
Crazy Tube Circuit White Whale V2
Twin Tones
Introduced in 2017, Christos Ntaifotis’ original White Whale tremolo/reverb became one of his company’s best sellers. Its success, however, didn’t…
Ibanez BWM1 Bob Weir Cowboy Fancy
Return of Cowboy Fancy
The mid ’70s were a time for bold experimentation in guitar design, particularly with electronics. Guitarists were discovering replacement pickups,…
Square Amps’ Chippy
Radio King
Matt Richards builds basic cathode-bias amps housed in the carcasses of vintage radios. They’re designed to be compatible with various…
Brown’s Guitar Factory Lap Steel
Steel Yourself
At the beginning of amplified music, one of the first instruments to get a magnetic pickup was the Rickenbacker “frying…
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
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More Personal
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Rare Pioneer
The Audiovox 736 Electric Bass and 936 Amp
Rare Pair
Eight decades ago, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer revealed the story of Paul H. Tutmarc debuting his latest invention – a solidbody…
The Fender Tremolux
Most amp nuts are utterly fascinated by Fender’s rapid evolution from archaic to modern through the course of the 1950s.…
Have Guitar Will Travel 095 – Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids)
In episode 95 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Kenneth Pattengale from The Milk…
Coco Montoya
Hard Truth
It’s been awhile since Coco Montoya’s last studio effort, but he comes out firing here. From the Albert King-style blast…
