Trending Now
Trending Now
Designed more than 30 years ago, the latest incarnation of Charvel’s Pro-Mod So-Cal keeps the “super” in superstrat. An eye-catching, ergonomic guitar with alder body bolted to a U-shaped, oiled-maple neck with 12″ to 16″ radius, 25.5″ scale, compound-radius fretboard, and 22 jumbo frets, it also has an ebony fretboard with dot inlays, and other […]
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1958-’59 Fender Twin Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: four 5881 (6L6 equivalents), fixed bias Rectifier: GZ34 (5AR4) tube Controls: Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass, Middle, Presence Output: 80 watts RMS +/- Speaker: two 12” Jensen P12N Many tweed-o-philes get more excited about the small and mid-sized amps that they can crank up in […]
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On Things Eternal, jazz-guitar wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical journey. The album is a celebration of those who have passed on, but don’t get it twisted; Wilson understands that what they left behind is the greatest gift of all, and he honors them with […]
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A Grammy-nominated guitarist with an enviable career, Rick Vito has played with everyone from Bonnie Raitt to John Mayall and appeared on hundreds of recordings. He even did a stint in Fleetwood Mac. As a proud disciple of Peter Green, in February of 2020, Vito fronted the Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of […]
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VG Approved Gear
Gallagher Bluegrass Bell
Ready, Set, Ring
Pickers sure love to talk about their guitars, and more than a few will enthusiastically tell you about their favorite acoustic’s “bell-like” tone, describing its chime and the way it rings. Perhaps this is where Gallagher Guitar drew inspiration for its Bluegrass Bell, a proper dreadnought that shares many specs with the bluegrass cannons of […]
Classic Instruments
Gibson Basses in The ’70s
Plucky Trio from the “Downer Decade”
Guitar enthusiasts have long heard that the 1970s were the “downer decade” for Fender and Gibson, both of which introduced a few duds and struggled with quality control. Their travails continued until both were sold to new owners – Fender in ’85, Gibson in ’86. Exemplary of those unsuccessful instruments was a trio of solidbody […]
VG Approved Gear
Danelectro Baby Sitar
Paint It Sunburst
Legend has it that during a break in the filming of Help!, George Harrison picked up a sitar left behind by the prop men and attempted to play it. Soon after, he began taking lessons from sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar. Then, when John Lennon brought forward the droning drop-D composition that became “Norwegian Wood (This […]
VG Approved Gear
Alday B-Blender
One For The Masses
Taylor 814ce Price: $129.95 (list) Info: www.b-blender.com Why aren’t we guitarists ever happy to have our guitars sound like guitars? We wanted to emulate a trumpet’s blare, so we invented the wah pedal. We had to have an organ’s warbling vibrato, so we cobbled together bizarre tremolo effects and rotating-speaker systems. And we wanted a […]
Artists
Ray Edenton
1926-2022
Ray Edenton, acknowledged rhythm-guitar master of Nashville’s A-Team, died September 21 at his home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. He was 95, and retired in 1991, after over 15,000 sessions. “There was Ray playin’ rhythm, and there was everybody else,” said fellow A-Team guitarist and former Mercury Records Nashville producer Jerry Kennedy. “I hated to do a […]
Classic Instruments
1905 Gibson F-2
In the opinion of most American mandolinists, Gibson brought mandolin design to a level of perfection in 1922, with the introduction of the Master Model F-5. It wasn’t much earlier – 25 years or so – that Orville Gibson created the F model as one of two mandolin body styles (the other being the symmetrical […]
Artists
Rich Robinson
Back To The Future
The Black Crowes’ new six-song EP, 1972, shows the band exploring rock classics from that year – the seeds of which propelled them to superstardom. For more than 30 years, the band has been mining epic ’70s swagger, and they do it oh so well. Here, they cover songs by T-Rex, David Bowie, and The […]
Music
Romane
Soir de Trottoir
Patrick Leguidecoq, better known as Romane, has been a pioneer of the Gypsy jazz revival. Beginning with his now-classic 1992 album Swing for Ninine, he’s hailed today for his ongoing efforts to spread the good word about Django Reinhardt’s music through his teaching. This new album is Romane’s first in a decade and signals a […]
Music
Croy and the Boys
Hey Come Back
There’s something about the Telecaster – as well as its forerunners and inspired imitators – that attracts musicians whose music then reflects the guitar’s straightforward character. It’s a guitar that speaks to players interested in getting right down to picking. Providing the instrumental spine to Corey “Croy” Baum’s smartly constructed, witty, often moving original songs, […]
Spotify
2023 April Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Marty Stuart, Steve Vai, Sunny War, Merle Travis Bio, Kansas’ Leftoverture, Gary Moore, Big Bill Broonzy, Billy Strings, Stephen Ulrich and much more! Spotify is free, or available without ads via paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,”or if you already have an account Listen to the complete […]
Artists
Band of Heathens’ Gordy and Ed: Low-Key and Tasty!
Austin heroes play vintage-laden twofer Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi use a few of their favorite things to play “Heartless Year” and “Don’t Let the Darkness,” from the new Band of Heathens album, “Simple Things.” As they prove, with great instruments, come great stories – and great music. Gordy is running his real-deal ’52 […]
Classic Instruments
Delta Labs Concept 1
Preamp tubes: Two 6U8A, two 12FQ7, in addition to more-common types Output tubes: eight 33JV6 horizontal-output tubes Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Resonance, Distortion; Echo effect: Mix, Repeat, Delay; Tremolo: Speed, Intensity. Pushbuttons for voicing. Output: 300 watts RMS +/- Speaker: two 12″ and four 10″ Eminence speakers You’d be forgiven for assuming […]
VG Approved Gear
Schertler’s JAM 150
Plays Well with Others
Schertler’s JAM150 Price: $1,249.99 (list); $999.99 (street) Info: www.schertler.com Schertler’s JAM150 is a compact combo amp capable of pulling double-duty as an acoustic amp and a multi-instrument PA. Built in Italy and engineered in Switzerland, its elegant design is matched by its natural acoustic timbres and versatile feature set. The handsome wood cabinet (also available […]
Artists
Jack Bruce 1943-2014
Jack Bruce, an icon of electric bass, died October 25 in Suffolk, England. Best known for his work with Cream in the 1960s, he was born to musician parents in 1943. As a youngster, he underwent formal music training on cello, then shifted to upright bass, and though he fancied jazz and also played guitar […]
Artists
Randy Bachman
The Album Title Says It All
Canadian guitarist/guitar collector Randy Bachman is known worldwide for his classic licks in songs by the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, but he has also recorded jazz with the likes of Duke Robillard, J. Geils, and Gerry Beaudoin. “Those albums got great reviews, but I eventually realized I’m really a rockin’ blues guy,” Bachman reflected. […]
Artists
Larry Campbell
All-Americana Multi-Instrumentalist
You’ve probably seen his face, and maybe even watched his hair and beard go from black to gray. Whether it’s fiddling with Bob Dylan, supplying steel at the Americana Music Awards, playing lead for Bruce Springsteen’s MusiCares Person Of The Year honor, or sitting in with the Roots on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” […]
Music
Bob Weir
Ace: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
When is a Grateful Dead album not a Dead album? When it’s Bob Weir’s solo debut from 1972, also featuring members of the fabled jam institution. Now remastered, the disc is a longtime fan favorite with cuts that become Dead concert staples; “One More Saturday Night” is boogie-woogie with barrelhouse piano and Allman-esque harmony guitar, […]