• Thomas Custom Guitars

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    Thomas Custom Guitars

    Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

    Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich tonal qualities. Thomas guitars, on the other hand, are usually noted for their odd (sometimes controversial) shapes and zany features. Built by the late guitarist/machinist/luthier/and

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Doobies, Brothers

A Discussion with Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons

American music rarely is more pure than when it comes from the minds, hands, and mouths of the Doobie Brothers. An uncommon mix of talent, the Doobies have, since their…

Danny Fender

Danny Fender was one of the great guitarists you may never have heard. He died December 3, 2024, at age 54. Fender was well-known among his people, the American Roma.…

Greg V

Tailgate Troubadour

Greg V.’s Tailgate Troubadour is an outstanding album that crawls under your skin and sticks with you. But it wasn’t really meant to be. “It was basically a deluxe business…

Steve Hackett

No pigeonholes, please!

Photo coutesy Steve Hackett. It’s been said that musicians often “follow their muse” at certain points in their careers, but Steve Hackett, who is entering his fourth decade as a…

Billy Sheehan

Talas Time Travel

Billy Sheehan earned notoriety and commercial success in the ’80s and ’90s as a member of David Lee Roth’s post-Van Halen band and then with the supergroup Mr. Big. He’s…

Have Guitar Will Travel 082 – Drew Holcomb, Foy Vance and Christophe Paubert

In the latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan connects with three artists – two musicans and a winemaker! Drew Holcomb talks about growing up in…

Louis Stewart

Irish Jazz Giant

Next to Jameson whiskey, Louis Stewart remains Ireland’s leading export – and his playing can be just as intoxicating. The consummate creative jazz artist, his soft-toned archtop sound reflected the…

Chuck Loeb

“Most Wanted” For Melody

From its terrific melodies to the meat-and-potatoes playing that makes him a mainstay of smooth jazz radio, guitarist Chuck Loeb’s latest CD, Presence, is full of the stuff for which…

Have Guitar Will Travel 139 – Buck Dharma from Blue Oyster Cult

In episode 139 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Buck Dharma from Blue Öyster Cult. In their conversation, Buck…

Johnny Rivers

A conversation with..

There are perhaps a handful of guitar riffs so distinctive they become indelibly associated with an artist. For Johnny Rivers, the opening of “Secret Agent Man,” which he wrote with…

In Memoriam: Tom Verlaine

Tom Verlaine, co-founder of the influential garage/new-wave band Television, died January 28. He was 73 and passed after a battle with prostate cancer that had metastasized. Born Thomas Miller in…

Jol Dantzig

Back to Hands-On at Hamer

Jol Dantzig with a Hamer Monaco III. Photos courtesy Jol Dantzig. When the Hamer Standard first appeared in an unassuming black-and-white ad in a guitar magazine in the mid 1970s,…

Paul Gilbert

Mr. Big Takes it Down a Notch

Paul Gilbert and the crew that makes up Mr. Big – bassist Billy Sheehan, drummer Pat Torpey, and vocalist Eric Martin – reunited a couple years ago on the heels…

Joe Satriani

Creativity and Chaos

Calling any player “the hardest working guitarist in the business” is rather like referring to one as the “best guitarist” – do it, and you’re just asking for trouble. But…

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…

The Rascals’ Gene Cornish

Wild Legacy

Gene Cornish is fond of the time he spent in the ’60s pop band The Rascals, which he credits for having never been sidetracked or making a bad decision… until…

Noel Redding

Up to Date With

When Vintage Guitar interviewed bassist Noel Redding in the Fall of 1992, he recounted his musical and personal history in an eloquent and easygoing manner, focusing primarily on his adventures…

Happy Traum

Folk Guru: 1936-2024

On July 17, folk music lost one of its guiding lights with the death of Happy Traum at age 86. A major player in the Greenwich Village and Woodstock scenes,…

Robben Ford

The Space Between the Notes

When it comes to blues, Robben Ford has always been inspired by the most profound practitioners of the form and gone his own way with the understanding that true blues…

Heavy Hitters Rock Crown Guitar Fest

Want a surreal experience? Try looking up from your oatmeal to see Robben Ford and Pat Metheny strolling past your table, Lee Ritenour and Daryl Stuermer grabbing waffles in the…

Carl Verheyen

Well-rounded and busy

Carl Verheyen says it all came to him when he heard the Eagles’ album called The Long Run. At that point, he was heavily into jazz, and practicing eight hours…

John Pizzarelli

Better Days

In just over a one-week period in April of 2020, John Pizzarelli turned 60, lost his father (famed jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli) to coronavirus, then his mother, Ruth, passed. Not…

Brian Tarquin

Brian Tarquin

No Idle Hands

Brian Tarquin is more than keeping busy. In the space of six weeks, he recently released two very different instrumental CDs centered on his playing with a multitude of guests,…

MARK DUTTON

Mark Dutton

A.K.A. “Muddy”: Vintage Vibes, Retro Grooves

Mark “Muddy” Dutton is one cool cat with an impressive resumé and an affinity for the budget-friendly basses of yesterday. Dutton laid down his retro grooves in bands alongside notable…

John 5 - Telewiedler

John 5

Telewielder

Since ditching his spot backing alternative-metal singer Marilyn Manson 10 years ago, superhuman guitarist John 5 has used his skills to spread the gospel of guitar far and wide while…

John Ellis

John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo before his family moved to California when he was a…

Fretprints: The Beatles’ Revolver

Sonic Floodgates

If any rock album can be labeled “groundbreaking,” it’s the Beatles’ Revolver. A sweepingly innovative masterpiece, it divides the ’60s in half, evades categorization, anticipated Sgt. Pepper and the “white…

Dave Amato

Speedwagon Six-Stringer

Joining an established rock act like REO Speedwagon might be the dream of many a Vintage Guitar reader, but such was exactly what occurred for guitarist Dave Amato in 1989.…

Paul Reed Smith

Roaring With Hendrix

Believe it or not, Paul Reed Smith can play the hell out of the guitar. In a world where most builders spend more time at the drawing board than unleashing…

John Jorgenson

Continued Gypsy

John Jorgenson’s latest offering is French Gypsy jazz played by a California boy as recorded in Nashville and honed while touring the world over. Jorgenson’s fascination with the music of…