Ed Sanner

Fuzz Redux

Tony Holiday

Motel Mississippi

Jim Campilongo

Taking Chances With Kindness

Bob Weir

Ace: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Samantha Fish

Blues Belle Stretches Out

  • Midge Ure

    Midge Ure

    The Unexpected Retrospective

    While guitarist Midge Ure was a member of Visage and was briefly in an early version of Thin Lizzy, he’s best known as the front man of the British power-prog…

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NEWSWIRE

ARTISTS

John Ellis

February 9, 2023 · Ward Meeker

John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo…

Gregg Wright plays “Hey Li’l Girl”

May 27, 2022 · Vintage Guitar

Fiery riffs from a blues-rock legend! Gregg Wright has opened for Albert and Freddie King, and toured with The Jacksons.…

Blues guitarist Charlie Apicella’s “Booze and Blues” and “Just Like a Woman”

September 29, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

Honoring B.B., Rainey Being V.P. of the North Jersey Blues Society isn’t the only thing that separates Charlie Apicella from…

Ray Benson

Ray Benson

Where There’s a Wills, There’s a Wheel

March 30, 2016 · John Heidt

Asleep At the Wheel’s latest album is the band’s third tribute to Bob Wills. Long-time leader Ray Benson recently talked…


CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS

The Roots of Echo

Pre-Echoplex Devices, Part I

November 9, 2004 · John Teagle

Post-WWII advances in recording techniques, including the use of artificial reverberation and delay enhanced music as opposed to merely capturing…

Electra MPC

Standard X340

November 1, 2013 · Michael Wright

One of the more successful Japanese-made guitar brands of the 1970s was Electra, the brand name used for electric guitars…

Classics: Steve Kimock 1968 Goldstop

January 3, 2025 · Ward Meeker

It was a moment when the angels did sing. Wanting to chat with his de facto big brother, one fateful…

Gibson GA-80T Vari-Tone

May 6, 2015 · Dave Hunter

In the late ’50s and early ’60s, Gibson was apparently convinced the Vari-Tone switch was the way of the future,…


APPROVED GEAR

Killer B Standard

Feel the Buzz

March 6, 2017 · Rich Maloof

In a marketplace crowded with indie guitar builders, Killer B differentiates its Standard model with uncommon contours and a customizable…

Summitt Guitar Pack

Soft case that protects and serves – in style

May 11, 2004 · Ward Meeker

The Summit Guitar Pack EG201 soft case could be considered the Swiss Army knife of guitar cases. To call this…

Kirn Vaquero

Ride ’Em, Cowboy

February 9, 2023 · Bob Cianci

Veteran builder Ron Kirn, noted for his Fender-inspired creations, has produced his first original design, and it exudes quality along…

Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor-II PRO

Archtop Ruler

January 24, 2017 · Michael Dregni

In the early 1950s, the grand old luthiers like Epiphone and Gibson couldn’t believe there would ever be a market…

  • Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive

    Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive

    Icon In Reach

    If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the trigger, its creator now has a realistic alternative. Expanding on the original single-channel SLO Overdrive pedal, the SLO Plus introduces a Normal channel alongside Overdrive, each with dedicated controls that allow for detailed tweaking of…

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  • Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100

    Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100

    Playpen Power

    For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Baby introduced a few years back with a new trio – the Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby. All 100-watt amps with solid-state Class A/B output stages, Jfet preamp stages (another form of solid-state), and two footswitchable channels, they’re housed in 12″ x 3.25″ x…

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  • Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay

    Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay

    Double Echo

    Based on the famed Roland SDE-3000 rack unit, Boss’ SDE-3 combines some classic delay sounds of the 1980s, updated with a bevy of modern tricks and features. Like a lot of delays, it can be run in mono, but you’ll get the biggest bang going in stereo to different amps or outputs. The core of…

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  • Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue

    Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue

    Dual-Mode Delivery

    The evolution of Randall Smith’s legendary high-gain Mesa/Boogie design into the revered Mark IIC+ of the mid ’80s established a rock amp that many guitarists still consider the epitome of the form. Building on what was already a high-gain amp by the standards of the day, the M/B team piled on even more gain, more…

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  • Taylor Guitars Expands Jacob Collier Offerings With Two New 5-String Models

    Taylor Guitars Expands Jacob Collier Offerings With Two New 5-String Models

    Academy Series and GS Mini 5-String Models Bring Jacob Collier’s Innovative DAEAD Tuning To More Players Worldwide At Accessible Price Points EL CAJON, Calif., November 10, 2025 — Taylor Guitars, the leading global builder of premium acoustic guitars, today announces the expansion of its collaboration with Jacob Collier with two new 5-string models designed to make…

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1976 Hagstrom Jimmy

May 6, 2022 · Michael Wright

In the world of archtop guitarmaking, the legendary luthier James L. D’Aquisto (1935-’95) is considered one of the greats. A…

National Bel-Air, Photo courtesy George Gruhn Big thmbnail

National Bel-Air

May 4, 2016 · George Gruhn

The idea of Gibson providing guitar parts to another prominent guitar maker is laughable today, but in the 1940s and…

The Chicago Blues Box Buddy Guy Signature Amp

Buddy’s New (Tool) Box

June 24, 2020 · Art Department

Whether you’re a blues guitarist, jazz guy, or a power-chord rock player, certain players draw your attention, whether for the…

Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan

In Session (Deluxe Edition)

October 9, 2025 · Bret Adams

Talk about a summit – this session was a Luke Skywalker-meets-Yoda moment. The live album, originally released in 1999, is…

VG Q&A: Jimi Flip

Plus, Precision Bass rests and an odd Galliano

October 12, 2023 · Peter Stuart Kohman

I’ve never read why Jimi Hendrix played and set up a right-hand Strat to play left-handed. Surely, he could’ve found…