April 2020 • VG’s 400th Issue

An old soul, 23-year-old Marcus King has been a performer since age 11, and new album shows off his mature songwriting and vocals. It’s also bursting with splendid guitar playing and dirty blues riffs. We also speak with Aussie intro-guitar legend Martin Cilia, who plays stages worldwide with some impressive vintage guitars. We dig into new music with Jim Cregan, Yasi Hofer, Jonathan Kreisberg, Don Latarski, Christie Lenée, Coco Montoya, and Dave Specter. Michael Wright looks at the symbolism behind the Epiphone U.S.A. Spirit II, while Dave Hunter unearths a fascinating Cordovox Rotating Speaker cab. Country legend Ricky Skaggs goes under Wolf Marshall’s “Fretprints” microscope, and Living Colour’s Vivid is re-examinged in “Pop ’N Hiss.”

Anyone on the lookout for new gear (and who isn’t?) will want to see our objective reviews of AnalogMan’s Peppermint Fuzz, the Walrus Audio EB-10, Xotic Effects’ XVP-250K, the Danelectro 59X12, Jam Pedals’ Rooster Limited, the Schertler Unico, Gold Tone’s F-12, and Victoria’s Deluxe 1×12.

And because you’re always on the hunt for new music, we tell our thoughts on the latest from Pink Floyd, Marshall Tucker Band, Black Stone Cherry, Coco Montoya, Frank Zappa, Toto, Richard Thompson, and more.