Gear “Dave Friedman's amps deliver many of the things we love about big ’70s rock, molten ’80s metal, and modern high-gain guitar... If you want a handy sampling of these sounds that travels well, the JEL-20 might be your golden ticket”: Friedman JEL-20 review With its monster tones, is this the ultimate hard rock amp? Best guitar stands and hangers 2024: Keep your precious guitars safe and secure From multi-guitar racks to compact stands and wall hangers, we pick the best from K&M, PRS, Fender, Hercules and more “With a through-neck, two DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups, an onboard booster preamp, and a fixed adjustable wrap-around bridge, the B.C. Rich Mockingbird was the ultimate hard-rock weapon”: How a small Los Angeles shop changed the rock guitar game Used by the Runaways’ Lita Ford, the Alice Cooper tandem of Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, Slash, and Aerosmith's Joe Perry, the Mockingbird made the models of the '50s and ’60s look like old hat upon its mid-'70s debut Latest gear Best 3/4 acoustic guitars 2024: Top models from Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Yamaha, Taylor and more By Connor Godfrey published 7 March 24 Diminutive acoustics with substantial tone for beginners and pros alike “Comically ridiculous appearance aside, this guitar plays great”: Boasting “a Mayan temple of angles” this custom Crosley Radio Tone guitar combines bizarro looks with snappy, versatile tone By Terry Carleton published 5 March 24 Made from a blue-and-gold 1950 Crosley E-15TN tube radio, this custom build has a truly wild appearance that belies its sound and playability. No matter what music you play on this guitar, seeing it will make people smile Best guitar cases and gigbags 2024: The best ways to store and carry your instrument By Richard Blenkinsop published 1 March 24 Protect your pride and joy with our pick of the best guitar cases and gigbags “Breathtakingly beautiful and strikingly different from just about everything that has come before”: An homage to the original Paisley Tele, Joe Yanuziello's stunning, Japanese paper-adorned Gold Paisley Washi Paper Deluxe is a guitar like no other By Dave Hunter published 27 February 24 With a precision-engineered, modded Bigsby, a trio of Curtis Novak’s Guyatone-style GT-V Tokyo Vintage pickups, and a fascinating blend of Telecaster, Les Paul, Guyatone, and Harmony aesthetics, this gorgeous build has incredible looks and equally incredible tone Best wireless guitar systems: cut the cord with these stellar wireless systems for guitarists and bass players By Daryl Robertson last updated 26 February 24 Ditch the cables with our pick of the best wireless systems from Boss, Line 6, AKG, Behringer, Sennheiser, NUX and more “An impressive rethink of the best of early British rock tones”: The Tone King Royalist MkIII 1x12 combo is reviving the attitude of the British invasion By Dave Hunter published 23 February 24 However you slice it, this amp cleverly packages classic British rock tones to suit a wide range of 21st century performance needs “A fun vintage find that delivers unique and useful sounds”: Gibson’s GA-79RVT combo is an underrated gem – and cheaper than many of its rivals By Dave Hunter published 20 February 24 One of the world’s earliest reverb-equipped combos, the GA-79RVT is a quirky, temperamental beast that nonetheless is capable of producing a wide array of sweet vintage tones "A guitar that sounds as aggressive as it looks, with four gold-foil pickups wired in series, resulting in a very hot output…" The green monster that is the 1970 Kimberly Deluxe By Terry Carleton published 6 February 24 More attitude than Godzilla, it's a mean-in-green Japan-made classic "It was all there in the parlor guitar: that depth and inspirational tone. The only reason guitars got bigger was to compete with barking dogs and juggling children in vaudeville…" The big history of small acoustics By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Richard Hoover unravels the history and mystery of parlor guitars "The Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Pennsylvania called me about a stack of leftover Brazilian rosewood that would have been a living tree in the 1700s": How Santa Cruz's Richard Hoover sources antique materials for his luxurious lutherie By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Santa Cruz captain Richard Hoover applied his ultimate artistic expression to his historic Vault Series that made its stunning debut at NAMM 2024 last week. 123456789Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors MOST READ1“Dave Friedman's amps deliver many of the things we love about big ’70s rock, molten ’80s metal, and modern high-gain guitar... If you want a handy sampling of these sounds that travels well, the JEL-20 might be your golden ticket”: Friedman JEL-20 review2“Link Wray does it all, but his style also reminds us how captivating a few well-chosen riffs can be when combined with compelling tone, passion, and musicality”: Link Wray's Rumble (1956–62) is an essential document of ‘less is more’ guitar playing3Best guitar stands and hangers 2024: Keep your precious guitars safe and secure4“Eddie Van Halen had me play his 5150 guitar, and then he asked me to show the solo to him, because he’d forgotten it”: Jennifer Batten recalls re-teaching EVH the Beat It solo5“Premium sound for everyday playing without the hassle of amps, pedals and computer interfaces”: With the Katana:GO, Boss has entered the headphone amp market with a bang
Best 3/4 acoustic guitars 2024: Top models from Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Yamaha, Taylor and more By Connor Godfrey published 7 March 24 Diminutive acoustics with substantial tone for beginners and pros alike
“Comically ridiculous appearance aside, this guitar plays great”: Boasting “a Mayan temple of angles” this custom Crosley Radio Tone guitar combines bizarro looks with snappy, versatile tone By Terry Carleton published 5 March 24 Made from a blue-and-gold 1950 Crosley E-15TN tube radio, this custom build has a truly wild appearance that belies its sound and playability. No matter what music you play on this guitar, seeing it will make people smile
Best guitar cases and gigbags 2024: The best ways to store and carry your instrument By Richard Blenkinsop published 1 March 24 Protect your pride and joy with our pick of the best guitar cases and gigbags
“Breathtakingly beautiful and strikingly different from just about everything that has come before”: An homage to the original Paisley Tele, Joe Yanuziello's stunning, Japanese paper-adorned Gold Paisley Washi Paper Deluxe is a guitar like no other By Dave Hunter published 27 February 24 With a precision-engineered, modded Bigsby, a trio of Curtis Novak’s Guyatone-style GT-V Tokyo Vintage pickups, and a fascinating blend of Telecaster, Les Paul, Guyatone, and Harmony aesthetics, this gorgeous build has incredible looks and equally incredible tone
Best wireless guitar systems: cut the cord with these stellar wireless systems for guitarists and bass players By Daryl Robertson last updated 26 February 24 Ditch the cables with our pick of the best wireless systems from Boss, Line 6, AKG, Behringer, Sennheiser, NUX and more
“An impressive rethink of the best of early British rock tones”: The Tone King Royalist MkIII 1x12 combo is reviving the attitude of the British invasion By Dave Hunter published 23 February 24 However you slice it, this amp cleverly packages classic British rock tones to suit a wide range of 21st century performance needs
“A fun vintage find that delivers unique and useful sounds”: Gibson’s GA-79RVT combo is an underrated gem – and cheaper than many of its rivals By Dave Hunter published 20 February 24 One of the world’s earliest reverb-equipped combos, the GA-79RVT is a quirky, temperamental beast that nonetheless is capable of producing a wide array of sweet vintage tones
"A guitar that sounds as aggressive as it looks, with four gold-foil pickups wired in series, resulting in a very hot output…" The green monster that is the 1970 Kimberly Deluxe By Terry Carleton published 6 February 24 More attitude than Godzilla, it's a mean-in-green Japan-made classic
"It was all there in the parlor guitar: that depth and inspirational tone. The only reason guitars got bigger was to compete with barking dogs and juggling children in vaudeville…" The big history of small acoustics By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Richard Hoover unravels the history and mystery of parlor guitars
"The Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Pennsylvania called me about a stack of leftover Brazilian rosewood that would have been a living tree in the 1700s": How Santa Cruz's Richard Hoover sources antique materials for his luxurious lutherie By Jimmy Leslie published 5 February 24 Santa Cruz captain Richard Hoover applied his ultimate artistic expression to his historic Vault Series that made its stunning debut at NAMM 2024 last week.