Geddy Lee

Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass: A Compendium of the Rare, Iconic, and Weird

Silver Lining

Gibson and the Master Models

Fretprints: Johnny Meeks

Rock-and-Roll Guitar Pioneer

  • Joe Satriani

    Joe Satriani

    The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy…

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NEWSWIRE

ARTISTS

Nancy Wilson

Beautifully Unbroken

May 9, 2017 · Johnny Zapp

Responsible for guitar-laden classics such as “Crazy On You,” “Love Alive,” and “Devil Delight,” Nancy Wilson has been inspiring musicians…

Blues Icon John Mayall

Check This Action

March 7, 2022 · Dan Forte

Few living blues artists could merit a package of 35 CDs. But what makes John Mayall: The First Generation most…

Multi-Generational Blues

Ronnie Baker Brooks

September 8, 2025 · Oscar Jordan

On Blues In My DNA, second-generation blues man Ronnie Baker Brooks continues the legacy of his father, Lonnie Brooks, by…

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…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

Hallmark Swept Wing Semi-Hollow

April 30, 2010 · Willie G. Moseley

1967 Hallmark Swept Wing semi-hollow bass, serial #003127. Photo: Michael G. Stewart. Instrument and image courtesy of Bob Shade. The…

Teisco Guitars, Part I

Rock 'n' Roll Dreams, Part I

April 25, 2002 · Michael Wright

Few non-American guitar brands have meant so much to so many American guitar buffs as Teisco guitars. Indeed, through their…

Dan Armstrong Design

The Pinnacle of Modern Design

February 5, 2002 · John J. Slog

This installment will focus on the famous Dan Armstrong line of guitars and basses. These instruments were introduced to the…

ORVILLEGIBSONA-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Orville Gibson A model

March 20, 2015 · George Gruhn

All carved-top guitars and mandolins trace their ancestry back to Orville Gibson of Kalamazoo, Michigan. However, as this A model…


APPROVED GEAR

Carl Martin Vintage Series Pedals

More Effect, Less Coin

March 13, 2007 · Vintage Guitar

If you’re the type of hardcore gear geek who spends as much time evaluating guitarists based on what’s in their…

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT

Shagadelic

July 21, 2014 · Pete Prown

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT Price: $799 (guitar); $899 (bass) Info: www.musicvox.com. Popularized in film and television, Musicvox Spacerangers…

PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF

From Jimi to Eric to Angus

September 29, 2011 · Pete Prown

PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF Price: $3,908 (retail)/$2,329 (street) Contact: PRSguitars.com. The PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special…

D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir SS

Touch of Grey

April 26, 2019 · Michael Dregni

When Bob Weir introduced his D’Angelico Premier SS at NAMM last January, he performed a set of Grateful Dead and…

  • Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster

    Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster

    Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…

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  • Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps

    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 or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…

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  • Vivi-Tone “Skeleton

    Vivi-Tone “Skeleton

    A Master’s Magnificent Misfire

    The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…

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  • 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 per customer, any double entries will be automatically disqualified. See previous winners!! *ELIGIBILITY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.One entry per…

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  • Paul Johnson

    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 pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…

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Cliff Goodwin, Solo

December 1, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Joe Cocker alum plays “Leap of Faith,” Cliff Goodwin was Joe Cocker’s guitarist for a decade and has also backed…

K.K. Downing

Preaching Metal

July 7, 2022 · Bret Adams

Classic heavy metal will never fade as long as K.K. Downing remains one of its torchbearers. Sermons of the Sinner,…

The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face

Fuzz Buzz

October 14, 2019 · Michael Dregni

There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations…

Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos

Gibson’s Mastertone Banjos

July 10, 2015 · George Gruhn

This Gibson RB-3 five-string from 1925 is a rare piece, as is any five-string banjo from the era dominated by…

The Hagstrom EDP46 DeLuxe

June 20, 2025 · Michael Wright

World War II was responsible for an unbelievable amount of what we today know as the modern world, from computers…