Whitey Kirst jams for us on his late-’70s Gibson Les Paul Standard through through two Marshall MkII Super Lead heads – first a 50-watt, then a 100-watt. Be sure to catch our interview with Whitey in the May issue of Vintage Guitar. READ NOW!
Dan Smith had an idea – a solidbody guitar with routed chambers that would provide unique resonant tonal characteristics. And he knew the shape he wanted. In the early ’80s, Fender became interested in building instruments that would be viewed as high-quality alternatives to Gibson. Not copies, but highly playable guitars with versatile electronics and …
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Sunday, February 9, 1964, was the day that forever changed music and pop culture. “The Ed Sullivan Show” was one of the most popular television programs in the United States and at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, The Beatles made their live debut on American national television before an estimated 73 million people. This single …
Blake Aaron’s fifth solo release, Soul Stories, features eight originals and a couple of covers that have at least one thing in common. Each instrumental relies heavily on the listener keeping the melody in mind. “That’s really important to me; it’s what a song is all about. It’s got to be catchy and deep, which …
Fender has tried more than once to market basses with a low-budget vibe. And while the idea is laudable, most of the offerings never really caught on. In the early ’80s, Fender – then owned by CBS – was on a downward slide thanks in part to quality-control issues and uninspired products. And …
Divided By 13 BTR23C Price: $2,800 Info: www.dividedby13.com. After years of repairing and modding amps for himself and pals like Lyle Workman, Joel Shearer, and Corky James, guitarist Frederic Taccone began building amplifiers from the ground up to better meet his needs and those of his friends. Divided By 13 thus evolved with the philosophy …
The term “rare” is applied to guitars in far too many instances. Usually an appealing term, its overuse can be attributed in part to the fact it’s particularly catchy to the eye of anyone fond of a collectible vintage instrument. The subject here this month, however, is truly deserving of the label. A custom-order Gibson …
“The title says it all,” explains Dave Alvin of his reunion with older brother Phil on Lost Time. Known for a long-standing sibling rivalry, they hadn’t recorded new music together in 30 years prior to last year’s Big Bill Broonzy tribute, Common Ground. But a near-death experience brought them back together. “I’ve lost so many …
If you’re weary of rock concert DVDs with critical commentary, typically unauthorized and of varying quality, this Everly Brothers retrospective is highly recommended. Authorized, with participation of Don Everly and a 2010 interview with his younger brother, the late Phil Everly, it’s an expanded version of a 2016 BBC airing, including a previously unseen 1968 …
Blues man Charlie Parr recently philosophized in VG that National resonator guitars are as much mechanical creation as musical instrument, which is why maintaining the function of vintage Nationals comes with a special set of worries and woes. Since its founding in 1989, National Reso-Phonic Guitar has re-created many great vintage models – and remedied …
Fifteen years ago, you couldn’t give away some of the less-popular guitars from the ’60s, whether they were models with P-90s or cheapo imports from Japan and Germany. Today, however, they’re in hot demand, which explains a surge of reissues among these once-neglected planks. As evidence, we’ll look at the Airline ’59 Custom 1P and …
The Tal Farlow is one guitar in a quartet of full-depth Gibson Artists models first cataloged in the early 1960s. Introduced in ’62, it was based on the ES-350 – the guitar Farlow used with Red Norvo and his own trio in the mid ’50s. A truly professional instrument, built in the tradition of ’50s Gibson …
The latest from guitarist Paul Mayasich and his band of buddies is an eclectic mix of American music. You get blues of all kinds, country, folk, and lots more – all of it laced with Mayasich’s biting electric guitar and acoustic slide. If big crunchy guitar is your idea of a good time, “High Time” …
When he got the invitation, Bobby Black wasn’t sure. The pedal-steel virtuoso, a 20-plus-year veteran of San Francisco’s music scene, had just been asked to join the long-hairs in Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. It was the fall of 1971, and Black was in a comfortable situation – he owned a recording studio …
Vintage Guitar magazine has been honoring those who inspired and awed us as guitar players, fans, and listeners by inducting great players, instruments, and innovators into the VG Hall of Fame. We also choose Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Players of the Year. Who and what goes into the VG Readers’ Choice Awards has always been determined by the readers of VG.
“Saturday Night Live” staff guitarist Jared Scharff uses this custom pedalboard, built by Matt Brewster, 30th Street Guitars, New York City. “I’ve been using it for two or three years,” said Scharff. “For the first five or six years I was on the show, I had a DIY rig with a Pedaltrain board. Then, I …
When you build guitars for a living, you might unwind with another hobby – say, beer-can collecting or crochet. Not Jeff Senn, mastermind behind Original Senn Guitars. He started a band. Call it R&D or just plain fun, but Senn’s band, Crazy Aces, is a funky, kitschy ensemble that plays an amalgam of hard-driving surf, …
James Marshall Hendrix is undoubtedly the greatest rock guitarist who ever lived, and Experience Hendrix LLC is now releasing a vinyl version of this original 2000 collection. The original release consisted of studio jams and home demos recorded between 1969 and ’70, and featured Buddy Miles on four tracks and Billy Cox on one. This …
The south-Philly band Marah, led by brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko, has always danced to the backbeat of its own drummer. Now, they’re releasing a remastered and expanded version of their masterpiece 2000 album, Kids in Philly – on vinyl – and playing a series of reunion shows, of sorts. Marah never broke up, you …
