Picture the archetypal 1930s blues man, photographed with a studio backdrop, jaunty hat, knowing leer…. What else do you see? A guy with not too much money, that’s what! That’s why the guitar in his lap was usually something like a Gibson L model – small, shapely, and sunburst. The iconic Robert Johnson L-1 was [...]
When a vintage-minded guitarist recollects cracking open the case of a big ol’ hollowbody and catching a glimpse of flame, minds wander to dreams of Gibson ES-5 or Kay Jimmy Reed Thin-Twin axes. As one unboxes the Babicz Octane, many of the same emotions are stirred, given the classic look of the hollowbody beauty’s flame-maple [...]
The D’Addario family has been making musical-instrument strings since before brothers-in-law Rocco and Carmine moved to the U.S. from Italy in the early 1900s. A longtime music-industry fixture, D’Addario & Company long ago branched out from strings into other areas, like a recent crop of cleaning gear, tuners, and assorted goodies. Tuners The guitar-pick shaped [...]
In the July issue we looked at affordable L-style flat-tops for the acoustic blues player. This month, we look at similarly inspired instruments, but at a premium price point. All three are American-made, one comes from a cadre of skilled workers, one was made by the hands of a solo luthier, and the third is [...]
Huss & Dalton 00-SP Gibson Robert Johnson L-1 In the July issue we looked at affordable L-style flat-tops for the acoustic blues player. This month, we look at similarly inspired instruments, but at a premium price point. All three are American-made, one comes from a cadre of skilled workers, one was made by the hands [...]
How much more vintage can you get? If you’re talking about guitar tone woods, not much more vintage than the tops on guitars by LBenito. Built in Chile, using alerce trees that date back 3,000 to 4,000 years, the wood that makes up the top of LBenito’s guitars was 1,000 years old when Pythagoras (d. [...]
When experienced luthiers reach “a certain age,” they often make changes in their work. • Antonio Stradivari developed the long-pattern violin circa 1691, only to abandon it a decade later. In the late 20th century, James L. D’Aquisto’s late-career archtop designs were quite radical, although they are now much-copied. Portland-based luthier Charles Fox, already thinking [...]
Writing about new gear is a problematic situation when you’re called Vintage Guitar magazine. Fortunately, most of the gear we review is based on long-accepted concepts. Even the advanced technology of a modeling guitar or amp falls in line; the gear is designed to faithfully reproduce favorite sounds produced by instruments and amps of the [...]
After proving my love for luthiery from both sides of the workbench, as a builder of 25 years and a buyer/player, why have I ordered a Variax Acoustic 700 modeling guitar? It’s not really an acoustic or even an acoustic/electric. It’s not a real instrument, is it? It’s a computer in a guitar-like container! When [...]
