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Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs

Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie Govan and Marco Minneman in their scary-good fusion trio, The Aristocrats. Bryan and his four- and five-string basses help the band tackle challenging instrumentals without losing sight of the song; think modern-day Dixie Dregs or fusiony Satch/Vai. Here, he plays “Aristoclub” (from their latest album, “Duck”) while plugged into his touring rig – a Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion preamp, GK 2001RB power amp, and two GK RBH410 speaker cabinets. In-between are a Boss OC-2 Octave, Digitech Bass Driver, Xotic Effects EP Booster, and a Demeter Opto-Compulator. Catch our interview with Bryan in the April issue. Read Now!

Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs

Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie Govan and Marco Minneman in their scary-good fusion trio, The Aristocrats. Bryan and his four- and five-string basses help the band tackle challenging instrumentals without losing sight of the song; think modern-day Dixie Dregs or fusiony Satch/Vai. Here, he plays “Aristoclub” (from their latest album, “Duck”) while plugged into his touring rig – a Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion preamp, GK 2001RB power amp, and two GK RBH410 speaker cabinets. In-between are a Boss OC-2 Octave, Digitech Bass Driver, Xotic Effects EP Booster, and a Demeter Opto-Compulator. Catch our interview with Bryan in the April issue. Read Now!

Artists

Fretprints: Steve Khan

Khan-sequential Guitar

Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him one of the 22 greatest jazz guitarists and Musico Pro’s Antonio Gandia praised him as “the voice of the guitar in Latin Jazz.” He has been making waves as a solo artist since 1977, collaborated […]

by Wolf Marshall
Classic Instruments

1962 Premier E-727

One of the least un-derstood aspects of American guitar history is the role of musical instrument distributors. It’s one thing to be able to manufacture guitars, but quite another to get them to customers, especially in an era when your purchase was likely to be from a local store or teacher (excepting mail order). Enthusiasts […]

by Michael Wright
VG Approved Gear

Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb

Smart Stomps

After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help guitarists groove. The Max Preamp/Dual Compressor gives models of famous compressors, with three compressor circuits – the classic DynaComp pedal capable of squashed, chicken-pickin’ sonorities, and two studio favorites, the LA-2A and FET 1176, which […]

by Pete Prown
Artists

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Ruffian Riffs

Grown men wearing capes. Stadium concerts with self-indulgent instrumental solos. Lyrics that had nothing to do with reality. Rock stars living in castles. By the mid ’70s, all of it aptly described the state of rock music. The punk-rock movement offered an alternative. And while the Ramones, Iggy & the Stooges, and the Dictators made […]

by Greg Prato
Artists

Mick Jones

Foreigner at 40

Somewhere in the world right now, a Foreigner song is playing on the radio. Literally. Thanks to nearly 20 mega-hit singles, 75 million units sold, and legions of fans, the band has earned a solid place in pop-music history. Founder, guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Mick Jones guided the group to dizzying heights from […]

Artists

Paul Quinn

Relentless Persistence

For Paul Quinn, music begins and ends with the blues. The soft-spoken guitarist began playing by listening to British blues icons and helped make Saxon one of Europe’s biggest heavy-metal acts. Quinn has been there since the band’s inception in 1976, and it recently released its 20th album, Sacrifice. “It was good to make it,” […]

VG Approved Gear

Sturdy and “Purdy”

Dashboards Pedalboards

Founded in 2010 by guitarist Ashley Dasher and based on his vision of the ideal touring pedalboard, Dashboards offers well-crafted, easy-to-use pedalboards. And they look sharp, too! With lightweight, yet sturdy, one-piece aluminum construction, they’re dressed up with a powder-painted finish and polished chrome handles. Our test pedalboard had an optional backlit logo, 1/4″ solderless […]

GIBSON-F2-2-HOME-MAIN-BIG
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 […]

George Gruhn and Walter Carter
VG Approved Gear

Square Amps’ Chippy

Radio King

Matt Richards builds basic cathode-bias amps housed in the carcasses of vintage radios. They’re designed to be compatible with various tubes, giving the user a range of output and tone choices. His Chippy amp has a single Volume knob on the front and a negative-feedback loop pot on the back that acts as a combination […]

VG Approved Gear

The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face

Fuzz Buzz

There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations from designers Bob Ebeling and Colin Simon harken to the glory days of ’60s fuzz tone, rejoicing in the extreme end of the distortion spectrum. After all, those were the heady days of the Space […]

Mike Keneally
Artists

Mike Keneally

Gainfully Employed

Mike Keneally has made a career of inconspicuously assisting Frank Zappa, Andy Partridge, Steve Vai, Dethklok, and Joe Satriani fulfill their musical vision. But, there is another side to this multi-instrumentalist and sideman. Besides pulling triple-duty as a keyboardist, guitarist, and producer, Keneally is a prolific composer. He is compiling a catalog of music from […]

Artists

Vinnie Moore’s Pandemic Musical Inspiration

Instrumental Whiz Adds Vocalists Neoclassical/metal guitarist Vinnie Moore’s latest music features vocals for the first time. Here, though, he sticks to hard-rock instrumental funkiness mingled with melodicism in a passage from “Vertical Horizon,” a cut from his new album, “Double Exposure.” That’s his Kramer Pacer Carrera running through an Analogman KOT into a 1980 Marshall […]

VG Approved Gear

Novax Sweet Annie

Silver Anniversary

Remember chuckling at the Rick 481 slant-fret guitar? Or wondering about those fret intervals on Joni Mitchell’s dulcimer, or the flying frets on Ravi Shankar’s sitar? Ralph Novak did. But he took it all a step further, patenting his Fanned-Fret design in 1989. To celebrate, Novax Guitars has introduced their 25th anniversary Sweet Annie electric […]

Spotify

2023 August Issue on Spotify

This month we feature Steve Lukather, Dominic Miller, Steve Khan, Sam Kiszka, Selwyn Birchwood, Dave Davies, Brennen Leigh, 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 list HERE. Don’t miss Vintage […]

Artists

Rik Emmett

Triumphant Return

Triumph was one of the leading arena-rock acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Striking gold and platinum with albums including Allied Forces, Never Surrender, and Thunder Seven and the radio hits “Fight the Good Fight,” “Lay It On the Line,” and “Hold On,” the trio offered a sound both anthemic and challenging – […]

Martin 0-28K
Classic Instruments

Martin 0-28K

The exotic figuration of Hawaiian koa wood on this Martin 0-28K from 1923 has a visual appeal that matched the exotic sound of Hawaiian music in the 1920s, and koa guitars accounted for a significant part of Martin’s sales through that period. Koa guitars played a larger role in Martin history, introducing steel strings to […]

George Gruhn and Walter Carter
Artists

Aaron Eisenberg

Tonal Dedication

L.A.-based rockers The Soft White Sixties prove you don’t have to be old to be classic. Originally from San Francisco, the quintet deftly blends early R&B influences with ’70s glam rock while also managing to sound quite current. With its recent release, The Ocean Way EP, and a full-length record in the can, lead guitarist/songwriter […]

Music

Otis Taylor

Fantasizing About Being Black

Otis Taylor has no concern for your discomfort with racial issues. It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times, and there’s plenty to reflect upon. He skips the antiquated blues coding about devils and mojos, and looks you in the eye with the truth. Taylor’s latest is a recording about the varying levels of racism […]

Chris Bishop Oscar Jordan Vintage Guitar magazine
Artists

Chris Bishop

Wizards and Technology

Riff rockers Crobot have been promoting their first album, Something Supernatural, with a live show offering full-bombast rock, contagious funk, and science fiction. The band’s success is owed in part to the sonic interludes of guitarist Chris Bishop, who has discovered the missing link between crashing power chords, funky riffs, and hallucinogenic guitar effects, Your […]

VG Approved Gear

Prestige Guitars DC Coupe Custom T Hybrid

“Tele” Twist

The first Telecasters were so good that today they’re made almost exactly as they were 70 years ago. Working just as well for rock as they do for country and blues, there’s been very little reason to change the basic formula. But that doesn’t mean builders should shy away from applying their own twist. Prestige […]

VG Approved Gear

Swart Atomic Jr.

Splitting The Atom

When Swart decided to split their Atomic Jr. five-watt combo into a piggyback, they not only went from an 8″ speaker to a 12″, they added more speaker options, including the Mojotone BV-25 and Celestion’s Creamback 75, Cream Alnico, Anniversary, G12 Blue (as tested), and Alnico Gold. The resulting all-tube Atomic Jr. head features an […]

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