This may well be the most desirable Fender Stratocaster on the face of the planet. And it happens to be a beat-up mongrel assembled from parts taken from three 1950s guitars. Nevertheless, Eric Clapton’s “Blackie” is one of the most recognized celebrity-associated instruments in the history of the electric guitar, and it served Slowhand’s needs …

In the early days of reverb, no one was thinking about surf music; they were striving instead to replicate the warm, resonant, live sound of a concert hall. So, when Supro launched its two reverb-unit models in 1961, not only did the company’s catalog promise “The Magic of Concert Hall Sound,” the pledge was prominent …

The Lazy J 20 Price: $2,700 (reviewed) Contact: www.lazyjprojects.com After moving to England and leaving behind the vintage Fender Deluxe he modified as a gigging amp, Jesse Hoff decided to build a new amplifier from scratch, using the modded Deluxe as his inspiration. After many requests from other players for one for his tweed-inspired creations, …

Moniker Dixie Solid Price: $849 (base) Info: www.monikerguitars.com. Moniker Guitars recently launched a line of customizable electric guitars that players design using an online configurator. Customizing a Moniker begins with selecting among three body types: the LP-style Reedsdale, Tele-style Dixie, or Jaguar-style Zuma (all in alder and available as semi or solid). From there, options …

Keb’ Mo’s latest album, Blues Americana, nearly wrote itself. “Going in, I had planned to make a solo acoustic record,” he said. “I got the songs together, but felt it didn’t really hold up. So, I made the record like I wanted – started simple, with guitar and vocal and a click track, because I …

Ed. Note: Everyone associated with Vintage Guitar magazine is saddened to learn of the passing of B.B. King. In 1995, Mr. King sat for an interview with VG‘s Willie G. Moseley, and we offer it here as part of our remembrance of the King of the Blues. Riley B. King was born on a cotton plantation in …

In rural Louisiana in the early 1950s, it was no small feat when a family scraping by to survive bought a new Fender Telecaster for their 13-year-old son, especially when that $280 had been set aside to buy a car so their father could stop thumbing a ride to work. Guy and Lola Burton, however, …

Roland Cube Lite Price: $169 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. At just under four pounds, and with a 10″ x 6″ footprint, the Roland Cube Lite is about as compact and lightweight as an amp can get while still being considered a real amp and not just another one of those gimmicky battery-operated units. The Cube Lite …

Jim Kelley began making his highly acclaimed guitar amplifiers 1978. His big revelation came while he was still doing mods and repairs. A customer brought in an Ampeg SB12 for service. Seems his girlfriend had overwatered a fern that was sitting on the amp and decided to turn it on to see if she had …

Carr Amplifiers has a fine reputation for high-quality, boutique tube combos with tons of vintage style and panache. Their gear offers point-to-point wiring, tasty tone circuits, high-grade components, and dove-tailed cabinetry, all the things tube connoisseurs crave. The Lincoln is their latest offering, a swank-looking 1×12 combo based on a mint 1964 Vox AC10 that …

Preamp tube: one 6SL7 Output tube: one 6V6GT Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls: Volume, Tone Speaker: 8″ Rola speaker Output: 5 watts RMS We dig old Valco-made amps wearing Supro, National, Airline, Oahu, Bronson and other badges for the way they deliver a sweetly burnished, chocolatey overdrive at studio-friendly levels when you inject a six-string electric and …

Harmonic Design’s VP-90 Price: $100 Contact: www.harmonicdesign.net Harmonic Design must be doing something right. Specializing in replacement pickups, they boast a roster of satisfied customers that includes folks like Redd Volkaert, Otis Rush, Bill Frisell, Robben Ford, and Neal Schon. One of their latest offerings, the Harmonic Design VP-90 (for Vintage Plus) is intended as …

Echopark Ghetto Bird Price: $6,800 (as reviewed) Contact: www.echoparkguitars.com You know you’re holding something special when the guy who previously borrowed your review guitar was none other than Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who apparently used this very Echopark Ghetto Bird – officially called Ancient Sinker Redwood Case Study #002 – for some recent recording work. …

Ray Cummins’ latest lesson changes things up by mixing country, jazz, and blues. He takes a simple chord progression, adds a melody, then bounces between chords and melody, adding a jazz progression on the bridge. Along the way, he shows how to play a few Chet-style licks/endings. Ray is using his Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Strat through his ’63 Fender Vibroverb. Keep up with Ray at http://raycummins.com.

As the 1960s rolled into the ’70s, Gibson had established itself in the electric-bass market with front-line instruments such as the solidbody EB-0/EB-3 and Thunderbirds, as well as the semi-hollow EB-2 series. However, it struggled to win a share of the budget market despite offering a bass version of its popular Melody Maker and the …

Rich Robinson. All photos by Neil Zlozower. Emerging as grunge began casting a metaphorical pall over the pop music landscape of the early 1990s, the Georgia-based Black Crowes offered something decidedly different in its reverential mix of rock and roll that delivered an update on the promises made by the likes of the Rolling Stones, …

Most informed guitar enthusiasts associate veteran “lounge” guitarist Mary Kaye with the unique ’50s Fender Stratocaster model (blond finish, gold hardware) that has assumed her proper name as its designation. However, it’s ironic that she never owned a “Mary Kaye” Strat in the time that she brandished one in publicity photos of the Mary Kaye …