“I’m A Woman” sings Koko Taylor in her face-smacking distaff take on Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man” to open this collection of Alligator’s best, past and present. Telecaster god Albert Collins follows with “I Ain’t Drunk,” a joyous ode to intoxication chased by feverish, industrial-strength slide guitar on “Strange Feeling” from Michael Burks, a bluesman …

With their first offering, Benjamin Harrison and Chrystal Gilles of SynapticGroove set out to fill the gap between heavy effects users and straight-into-the-amp players. Apparently, they’re on to something. They can already count Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow), Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses), and Dan Boul (65amps) among fans of their Snapperhead Overdrive/Distortion. Lightweight, powdercoated, and …

Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Bass Instrument channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Normal channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; shared: Presence Output: 50 watts RMS Insiders from the golden era of the New Jersey amp manufacturer have frequently spoken of Ampeg founder Everett Hull’s unwillingness …

If the name “Pat Rush” doesn’t immediately ring a bell, the names of people he’s played with – Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, James Cotton, Allman Brothers, Dr. John, Jeff Healey – certainly should. VG recently sat down with Rush to discuss his long career and some of the more incredible instruments in his collection. You …

Step back with us, please, to 1984; Paul McCartney gets dinged for possession of cannibis in Barbados, Carl Lewis collects four Olympic gold medals, Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first woman to receive a major-party nomination for Vice President, and late that spring, glam-rockers Twisted Sister released their watershed album, Stay Hungry. The band had been …

A presidential executive order issued February 11 proposes a wide ban on trade in ivory has widespread implications for trade in vintage musical instruments as well as antique art, furniture, firearms, swords, knives, and jewelry. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has been tasked with writing and enforcing new regulations for import, export, and domestic trade …

Collaborations have rendered some of the greatest tunes in the history of music. Whittle the subject to “just” guitarists, and the truth remains – two are often better than one. The axiom is holding true for Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Each a top-tier star in their own right, the two, now married for more …

The Z.Vex Fuzz Factory pedal unleashed sonic possibilities ranging from a horde of wasps to the (presumed) sound of the end of the world and became a go-to stompbox for extreme-rock and heavy metal guitarists. The company’s latest twist, the Fuzz Probe, takes the Fuzz Factory and adds a Theremin-like proximity control, giving its user …

Call it a “Gypsy jazz wall of sound.” John Jorgenson’s new album, Istiqbal Gathering, features the master guitarist backed by the full Orchestra Nashville – strings, woodwinds, brass, even percussion. The result would make Django Reinhardt himself envious. For Jorgenson, it all came naturally. “Recording solo guitar with a full orchestra is very different than …

Strings and Things Les Paul Many articles have been written about how guitarists and dealers in the mid/late 1970s and early ’80s were asking Gibson to build a Les Paul that more closely conformed to ’59 specs. The following is not an attempt to rehash any of them, but rather to provide an overview of …

By sound and association, Blackberry Smoke walks a fine stylistic line. A good ol’ rock band when it started rollin’ in Atlanta 15 years ago, its following has more recently grown in front of crowds gathered to see headliners like country superstars Zac Brown Band and Eric Church. So, it sort of made sense that …

Rudy Jaramillo is quick to mention that his effects setup is very simple. “I go into my 1) Boss tuner, then to a 2) Boss Blues Driver that has been modded. I don”t know what was done, but it makes an amp sound more like itself, if you know what I mean. From there, the …

In May of 1958, a worker at the Gibson factory pulled two Les Paul guitars – serial numbers 8 3087 and 8 3096 – off the line and sprayed their bodies yellow in the center, bordered in red. The result of months of experimentation, Chicago Musical Instrument Company (Gibson’s parent) hoped the look would imply …

Here at VG, we see all manner of guitars – those made out of steel, graphite, even animal shells. But I’d never seen a guitar with a body made of a can until I saw a Bohemian Boho Series guitar. Obviously the novelty factor played a part in Bohemian’s decision to base a series of …

Veteran guitar monster Richie Kotzen has done it all from opening for The Rolling Stones, recording with Stanley Clarke, to coming to the rescue for Poison and Mr. Big. Having recorded a stack of solo albums, he now joins former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan, to form The Winery …

In the 1930s, the original Dobro company went through a series of ownership changes and licensing agreements. It did not regularly publish catalogs, and its model numbers were typically also the price of a model, which may have varied from one distributor to the next. Specifications were not strictly followed. Consequently, it’s not surprising to …

Effectrode Tube-Vibe Price: $429 (Tube-Vibe) Contact: www.effectrode.com Goran Fat Boy Price: $429 Contact: www.goranguitars.com In the annals of guitar stompboxes, there are no tones more elusive than the mystical swirls of a modulation pedal and the warm roar of an overdrive box. Builders big and small put their stamp on these two classic designs, tweaking …