• 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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Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams

Old Soul, Fresh Sounds

Seattle’s Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams is a rare find in the guitar universe. At a time when music influences run the gamut producing a mishmash of styles, James keeps it…

Bob Barry

Jazz Lenser, Guitar Lover

Photographer/jazzographer Bob Barry is a busy man. Of course he enjoys frequent personal appearances at galleries and events showcasing his art, but his duties on the board of directors for…

Michael Lee Firkins

Meditations in Southern Rock

Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box guitar style showcased a blend of country, blues, and hi-tech…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part One

There are many ways for an advertiser to attract attention, and in the history of 19th- and 20th-century print hucksterisim there have been few stones left unturned in the battle…

Larry Collins 1944-2024

Larry Collins, a guitar prodigy mentored by renowned flatpicker Joe Maphis, and half of the ’50s brother/sister act The Collins Kids, died January 5 in Santa Clarita, California. He was…

Randy Rhoads

Diary of an Axeman, 30 years Later

(RIGHT) Rhoads’ polka-dot guitar was built in 1979 by Karl Sandoval, with a mahogany body, modified ’60s Danelectro non-adjustable maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and bow-tie inlays, two DiMarzio…

Phil Chen

1946-2021

His business card read “Phil Chen De Bassman,” and his picks had “OD” after his name, standing for the Order of Distinction award he received in 2014 for his contributions…

Allen Hinds

Finding His Spot

Allen Hinds has spent a considerable amount of his 60 years playing guitar, and has kept busy lately with two new releases while also teaching at Musicians Institute, doing session…

Daniele Gottardo plays “Spirals”

American rock guitar meets European classical Guitar virtuoso Daniele Gottardo used his Charvel Custom Shop guitar (with scalloped fretboard) to play this VG-exclusive take on “Spirals,” from latest album, “Inkblot.”…

Leon Rhodes

Country-Jazz Genius, Terrific Texas Troubadour

Leon Rhodes 1932-2017 We are saddened to hear of the passing of guitar legend Leon Rhodes, one of the most-beloved players from the golden age of country music. Leon emerged…

Neal Schon

Spacesaver Sale

Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But don’t dial 9-1-1 for Neal Schon. Holder of 800 instruments…

Earl Slick

Zig Zag Back To The Top

Earl Slick landed his dream gig back in 1974, when a friend referred him for a gig with David Bowie, replacing Mick Ronson. During this period, Slick recorded three monumental…

Bryson Willoughby

Mojo Thunder’s Collective Consciousness

Kentucky’s favorite alternative Southern rockers, Mojo Thunder, extrapolate fresh ideas from disparate genres to produce an album as passionate as it is musically satisfying. The twin-guitar assault of Sean Sullivan…

Rick Vito

Disciples Of Greeny

A Grammy-nominated guitarist with an enviable career, Rick Vito has played with everyone from Bonnie Raitt to John Mayall and appeared on hundreds of recordings. He even did a stint…

Fretprints: Johnny Meeks

Rock-and-Roll Guitar Pioneer

In the 1950s, “rock” music was a melange of blues, country, and hillbilly that also snared elements from boogie-woogie, gospel, Western swing, doo-wop, and prototype R&B. Called “rockabilly,” its emissaries…

Singing Cowboys

…and Beautiful Guitars

In his interview in the October ’06 issue of VG, David Lindley talked about what grabbed his attention prior to rock and roll. “There was cowboy music,” he said. “I…

Mark Karan

Dead and the Dog

Photo: Alan Hess. Ten years, 800 shows, and countless solo flights into the journey, Mark Karan, lead guitarist of Bob Weir and RatDog, thinks he may have found his secret…

Jim Campilongo & Steve Cardenas

Mutual Musical Idiosyncrasies

Steve Cardenas and Jim Campilongo have been playing guitar together for a long time, though the constellations only recently aligned so they could record. Captured on three nights in September…

Britt Daniel

Spoonful of Sounds

If the Beatles were still around, chances are they’d be checking out Spoon. Like the Fab Four, the group revels in sonic exploration, creativity, and stunning pop tunes. Since forming…

Dario Lorina

Black Label Soloist

Best known as Zakk Wylde’s right-hand man in Black Label Society, Dario Lorina is an accomplished shredder in his own right, as evidenced by his second solo/instrumental album, Death Grip…

Jesse Aycock

Oklahoma’s Finest

Super-sideman Jesse Aycock (Hard Working Americans, Elizabeth Cook) has a new self-titled album highlighting his understated (but mindblowing) guitar, slide, and lap steel. Jesse’s singing voice is also surprising –…

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…

Mike Beigel

Resurrection of the Mu-Tron III

Mike Beigel is no guitarist. But that never held him back in crafting one of the most legendary of all guitar effects pedals, the famed Musitronics Mu-Tron III envelope filter.…

Stroger lays it down on “Bob’s Back in Town”

Chicago Blues Mainstay and His Legendary Bass Enjoy as Chicago mainstay bassist Bob Stroger uses his 1960 Jazz Bass (with its original pickups) plugged into an Ampeg B2-RE head and…

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…

Adrian Smith

Different Scales

Guitarists usually spend years learning their scales, but Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith enjoys scales of the aquatic kind. In his new memoir, Monsters of River and Rock, Smith details his…

Dweezil Zappa

Solo Sounds

To properly perform the music composed by his father, Frank, Dweezil Zappa had to revamp his playing style. The fruits of his labors can be heard on his new solo…

Neil LeVang

Neil LeVang

Six Strings Behind — and Beyond — Champagne Music

Neil LeVang was about to get a lecture. Days earlier, the A-list studio guitarist’s new boss, Lawrence Welk, had golfed with a couple well-known singers who mentioned that LeVang had…

Marty Friedman

Wall of Shred

Between playing on Cacophony’s landmark 1987 shred album, Speed Metal Symphony, and Megadeth’s 1990 classic, Rust in Peace, Marty Friedman introduced the world to his solo work with the 1988…

Don Leady, Austin Legend

One of Texas’ “Big Guitars” on “Rattler Run” Co-founder of the LeRoi Brothers, leader of the Tail Gators, and one of the Big Guitars From Texas, Don Leady is an…