Soul Salvation

In a world of noise, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is balm for the ears.

Royal Relic

Once the crown jewel of Teisco Del Ray's budget lineup, this circa 1966 ET-460 commands a comparative king's ransom on the vintage market.

MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS

With 22 Grammys, 20 studio albums and more than 40 charting singles, Vince Gill has had one hell of a career. Here are five songs he credits for its success.

IN THE FLOW

As the visionary behind Lava Music, Lu Zitian is bringing innovative smart guitars to the masses.

TIP SHEET

Eric Johnson reveals his five guidelines to improve practice, technique and music knowledge.

VOLCANO GIRLS

Brooklyn, N.Y. indie rockers Momma bring back molten-hot Big Muff fuzz on Household Name.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER

Part Firebird, part SG and a full partner to Romeo, Juliet is Eastman's first original solidbody design.

All Night Long

Hill country blues was created for the juke joints. Here's how the new generation is evolving the sound.

TAYLOR: 724ce Koa Grand Auditorium

SOME PEOPLE ARE obsessed with power; some are obsessed with fame. Taylor chief guitar designer, president and CEO Andy Powers is obsessed with koa, and that's the name of the game for the new additions to the 700 series: the 722ce Grand Concert and 724ce Grand Auditorium, the latter of which is on review here. It's a totally different take on the lovely Hawaiian hardwood from a manufacturer who is passionate about koa.

WALRUS AUDIO: Mira optical compressor

WALRUS AUDIO BROUGHT studiograde compression to guitar effects with Deep Six, a pedal inspired by Universal Audio's industry-standard rackmount 1176 FET compressor. Now the Oklahoma City-based company has introduced Mira, an analog optical compressor that offers smooth, transparent compression in a pedal that boasts studio-quality features, specs and headroom.

KEELEY ELECTRONICS - Halo Andy Timmons Dual Echo

LONGTIME ANDY TIMMONS fans surely: remember an era when the Texas guitar hero gigged with two vintage Electro-Harmonix Memory Man analog delay pedals at his feet.

FENDER: Hammertone effects pedals

FENDER'S NEW LINE of Hammertone effects pedals features nine models, all in the same grey-finished 4.375 x 2.375 x 1.375-inch aluminum enclosure, with differently colored "F" logo "witch-hat" knobs derived from Fender's semi-hollow Starcaster guitar of the mid to late '70s.

A LEGEND COMES HOME

After a 46-year search, Randy Bachman is reunited with his long-lost 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins.

MOONLIGHT SERENADE

Jack Johnson dives deep into his percussive strumming style and enchanting new album, Meet the Moonlight.

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE COMES HOME

One of the most revered blues harp players, Musselwhite finds his way back to the guitar on Mississippi Son.

MOON SHOT

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi reveal the guitar secrets behind I Am the Moon, their ambitious (and massive) quadruple album project.

Southern Charm

With fuzz guitars and lap steel, Rebecca and Megan Lovell cast a spell on Blood Harmony, Larkin Poe's new album of blues-infused rock and roll.

VALCO

KGB DIST distortion pedal

JACQUES

Prisoner BBD - Analog Delay

How I Wrote..."Someday, Someway"

Marshall Crenshaw reveals Gene Vincent's role in his 1982 signature hit.

The Blues Had a Baby

Elvis Presley's Sun Sessions is the sound of rockabilly's accidental birth.

ZERO THE HERO

On Shinedown's latest, Zach Myers does more with less and finds an elusive amp tone in a Kemper.

TIP SHEET

Joe Satriani shares 10 pointers to improve your practice, playing and performance.

STRANGE BREW

Bartees Strange cooks up a heady, dynamic indie-rock concoction on Farm to Table.

MAGIC ACT

With electronics inspired by a famed 1970s studio console, Terry C. McInturff's Spellcaster sounds like a Telecaster from your favorite classic rock album.

UNCOMMON THREAD

Peter Rowan's remarkable career connects bluegrass legends from Bill Monroe, Jerry Garcia and Tony Rice to Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, both of whom join him on his new album, Calling You From My Mountain.

THE BUD POWELL OF JAZZ GUITAR

One of the most gifted and musical jazz guitarists of today, Pasquale Grasso takes inspiration not from his six-string brethren but from the genre's legendary ivory ticklers.

IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

With King Crimson on perhaps permanent hiatus, the notoriously interview-shy Robert Fripp does the unthinkable and sits down for a lengthy talk about his musical beginnings, Crimson's history and the guitars with which he's created some of prog-rock's finest moments.

GOING BIG

Josh Smith's band grows a larger horn section. The result is his big-band extravaganza Bird of Passage.

MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS

Joe Ely shares highlights from his rockabilly career and recalls his former Lubbock, Texas, neighbor: Buddy Holly.