• Artists

     Jason Isbell

    New Vistas, Old Gear

    Jason Isbell’s powerful songs, compelling vocals, and formidable guitar skills have made him one of America’s most-respected singer/songwriters. A charismatic performer, his critically-lauded albums, solo and backed by the formidable 400 Unit, have earned six Grammys and nine Americana Music Awards. With an eclectic style melding country, blues, and Southern rock, his appeal transcends genres.

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Jeff Healey

Musical Renaissance Man

  Since his breakthrough debut in 1988 with the release of his platinum-selling See The Light, Jeff Healey has garnered acclaim as one of Canada’s most renowned six-string exports. Known…

Have Guitar Will Travel 083 – Martin Guitar: Thomas Ripsam, Chris Martin and Rich Robinson

The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” digs deep into the story of – and latest happenings at – C.F. Martin. Host James Patrick Regan talks with Thomas Ripsam,…

Steve Carr

Twenty-Five Years of Tonemaking

In the mid ’90s, Steve Carr was a guitarist playing weekends and working weeknights as a waiter in a swank French restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 1998, he…

Brian Tarquin

Music, Books, and Bookings

Brian Tarquin is thriving in “steady as ya’ go” mode. Since his VG  interview in February ’15, he has released two CDs and compiled a book on guitar amplifiers. The…

Jay Jay French talks Freddie King!

Guitarist/author Jay Jay French grabbed his ’53 goldtop and friend/bassist Bobby Held for this run-through of Freddie King’s “The Stumble.” Read our interview with Jay Jay and review of his…

Buddy Emmons

Buddy Emmons

1937-2015

Buddy Emmons, who revolutionized the pedal-steel guitar both musically and technically, died July 21 in Nashville after suffering a heart attack. He was 78. Emmons did extensive session work in…

Brian Setzer

Return to Rumble

Like any guitarist at his level, Brian Setzer lives life answering the call of music. Grateful for the gift, he’s able to instantly convert thoughts to riffs and songs, as…

Pat Martino

1944-2021

Music suffered an incalculable loss with the passing of Pat Martino, who died in his sleep on the morning of November 1. An icon of the jazz world, he leaves…

Ray Cummins

Pal of Chet, Friend of Les

Chester and Lester were enamored of his talent. Moreover, they called Ray Cummins a friend, and his journey includes turning adversity into a career as one of the country’s more-respected…

Jimmy Vivino

Showtime!

Growing up in New Jersey, Jimmy Vivino was in many ways a typical Italian-American kid. His life centered around family – his parents, siblings, and extended relatives – all of…

Noah Zacharin

Simple Pleasures

While some regard folk guitar as a relatively simple style, Noah Zacharin is a seriously agile fingerpicker. Also a fine singer/songwriter, his album, Points of Light, uses his six-string dexterity…

VG Q&A: Jimi Flip

Plus, Precision Bass rests and an odd Galliano

I’ve never read why Jimi Hendrix played and set up a right-hand Strat to play left-handed. Surely, he could’ve found a lefty model. Does anybody know? – Garry Curry The…

Wayne Kramer

1948-2024

Guitarist and activist Wayne Kramer, best known as a founder of the iconic Detroit hard-rock band MC5, died in a Los Angeles hospital on February 2. He was 75 and…

James Williamson & Deniz Tek

Stooge meets a Birdman

The words “proto punk” arouse recollections of furiously strummed guitars and amps cranked to 10. For many, its sound and aggression were embodied by Iggy and the Stooges. But when…

Andrew Hendryx on a ’64 Fender Mandocaster

 Andrew Hendryx Demoing ’64 Fender Mandocaster On a recent mandolin safari, Andrew Hendryx visited a shop in Asheville, North Carolina, and had a go on a ’64 Fender Mandocaster.…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

More Trouble

In 1997, the rock music being embraced by radio and MTV was primarily pop punk (Green Day), rap metal (Limp Bizkit), nu metal (Korn), alt rock (Radiohead), and Britpop (Oasis).…

Guy Pratt

Rickenbackers and a Resistance

Guy Pratt has been the bass player for Pink Floyd since signing on for the tour to support 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason. With the gig came a rapid…

Steve Earle

Guitar Talk

Photos by John Peden. Though bandied about haphazardly and almost always inappropriate, when applied to the life and times of Steve Earle, the adjective “extreme” is not hyperbole. The acclaimed…

Peter Frampton

Part One: The Humble Pie Years

Formed with two formidable front men in Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton, Humble Pie was one of the earliest “supergroups” to emerge from the British Invasion and embody aspirations beyond…

Gibson’s “SG” Les Paul

Classic Shape That Filled Big Shoes

In 1961, Gibson replaced the single-cutaway Les Paul with a new line of lighter, thinner, mahogany double-cut solidbodies. Developed under the aegis of Ted McCarty and introduced as the “new…

Fretprints: Toy Caldwell

Southern-Rock Eclectic

Marshall Tucker Band was arguably the most unusual Southern-rock group of the ’70s. Its namesake wasn’t the leader, a member, or mascot, their virtuosic lead guitarist didn’t use a pick,…

Neal Schon

Neal Schon

“The Guitar Is My Voice”

Long before Neal Schon helped Journey sell more than 80 million albums, he was a rock-fusion gunslinger who turned down Eric Clapton’s request to join Derek and the Dominos so…

Ian Lemmy Kilmister. Moterhead

Lemmy Kilmister

In the 25-plus years that Motorhead has been purveying its fast, furious, high-decibel entertainment, there have been changes and there have been constants. The World’s Most Brutal Heavy Metal Band…

Bondra & Morris – Fallin’ For You

Bondra & Morris – Fallin’ For You Check out “Bondra & Morris” featuring Vintage Guitar online contributor Tyler Morris (Guitar), Cody Bondra (Vocal/Acoustic), Connor Quigley (Bass), and Matt Kelley (Drums).…

Ceil Thompson and her self-made guitar

“Dan’s Guitar Rx”: VG’s Rock-and-Roll High School(er)! In 2022, Dan Erlewine’s “Guitar Rx” column walked readers through a class-project guitar build by Ceil Thompson. It’s the epitome of custom-made cool,…

Patterson Hood

Drive-By Truckers Change Gears

It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says the record flowed from the band. “Everybody finally got a…

Have Guitar Will Travel 104 – Pete Sears and Roger McNamee (Moonalice)

In episode 104 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host, James Patrick Regan. is at BottleRock and he’s speaking with the legendary bassist Pete Sears &…

First Guitar of Rock and Roll

Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295

Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the country in July of 1954, courtesy of Elvis Presley’s supercharged-hillbilly…

Buddy Whittington

Guitar-Lover’s Smorgasbord

Though his status as a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers has changed since VG last talked to him, guitarist Buddy Whittington has forged ahead with a solo career. In ’07,…

Mary Kaye

Beyond the Stratocaster Connection

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.…