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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…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…
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NEWSWIRE
ARTISTS
Danny Gatton
Unfinished Business
The reality is obvious to any aspiring musi-cian, especially when another gig’s not guaranteed: compromise adds zeroes to paychecks. But…
Corey Harris goes back to his roots
Great take on Skip James’ “Special Rider Blues” Corey Harris used his Germandt koa-body parlor guitar to do this exclusive…
Tony MacAlpine
Post-Modern Neo-Classical
If you’re going to play neo-classical guitar, nothing beats having a conservatory education. Guitarist Tony MacAlpine has that and is…
Tom Petersson
Lower-End Innovator
It’s been a long time comin’… Like his longtime bandmate, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick bassist/songwriter Tom Petersson collects classic stringed…
CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS
Greg Koch: Gristly “Blues”
Greg Koch: Gristly “Blues” Greg Koch fearlessly wrings the sort of vibrato that only a Tele will tolerate from his…
Paul Reed Smith #11
The eleventh instrument made by Paul Reed Smith, from 1977. Photo by Whitney Lane. Rick Kennell, bassist for ’70s prog-rockers…
Martin D-28 and D-45
Definitive Flat-tops
Martin’s pre-WWII dreadnought guitars set the standard for the modern flat-top, and thus both have been inducted into the VG…
The Komet Constellation
Amid the general run of vintage amps we have explored in this space, the occasional “modern classic” has proved itself…
APPROVED GEAR
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Lively Drives
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Posh Squash
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Chet Powered!
Seymour Duncan SFX-07 Shape Shifter
Vintage Trem Sounds & Beyond
Seymour Duncan’s reputation when it comes to pickups (from dead-on vintage replicas to his own designs) has been well established…
Chaos Audio Stratus Multi FX Pedal
Smart, Swift Stomp
Imagine a world where all of your pedals work together so seamlessly that you can quickly and easily experiment with…
Gretsch G2420T Streamliner
Bang For The Buck
Want to rock like they did back in the glory days, but don’t have pockets deep enough for a top-line…
Positive Grid’s Experience Hendrix For Spark & BIAS FX 2
Get Experienced
In the pantheon of guitar gods, few are studied to the degree of Hendrix. And, given the warp speed at…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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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
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
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
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…
