April 2025

For more than 40 years, John Sykes rocked with high-volume bands like Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy, blazing on a Les Paul Custom before “shred” had a name. We pay tribute to the British legend.

“Catalog-grade" amps are beloved for their eccentric splendors and have been used by many noteworthy guitarists. The Supro Thunderbolt S6420 is the preferred workhorse. 

Rickenbacker’s 12-strings shifted market momentum after the brand languished as Fender and Gibson moved to dominate the market in the ’50s.

Marc Schoenberger raced the I-5 to buy old guitars every time a new issue of the Recycler hit the streets. After a decade in the game, he’d seen and heard nearly everything. Then came this ’53 Rickenbacker Model 600.

We talk new music with Joe Satriani, The Darkness’ Dan Hawkins, Eric Lindberg, Alan Gogoll, Reverend Peyton, and Popa Chubby. We also chat with Mike Campbell about his new biography.

Wolf Marshall’s “Fretprints” digs into the royal tones and licks of B.B. King’s Live at the Regal, “Pop ’N Hiss” examines Savoy Brown’s A Step Further, and “VG Q&A” solves a parlor-guitar mystery. In “Dan’s Guitar Rx,” Dan Erlewine wraps the restoration of a custom doubleneck he built in 1977.

Our “Approved Gear,” staff spotlights the Chase Bliss Clean pedal, Bad Cat Sampson Era 30 amp, Eastwood Super Axe, LSL’s OG OD and Lucid OD, and Walrus Audio’s Mk II Mako pedals.

Just in time for your playlist freshen-up, we tell you about great new music from Jimmy Vivino, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Darkness, Fantastic Negrito, more!

It’s all in the April issue!