The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was part of a quartet signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, yielding glorious AM hits like “Come and Get It,” “Day After Day,” and “No Matter What.” The foursome fell into obscurity and tragedy a few

It’s hard not to associate doubleneck electric guitars with images of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page or fusion guru Mahavishnu John McLaughlin in the ’70s; however, the fact is that by the time the Big Js were stopping shows with these multi-headed beasts, they were already relics of the past. Doubleneck Spanish guitars got their first…

A silver-spoon teen who loved sneaking into Chicago’s southside blues clubs, Michael Bloomfield reveled in absorbing all he could from the many legendary players he saw perform in the city’s famed joints. The de facto lessons served Bloomfield well as he went on to contribute to the works of many famed performers while forging his…

History’s Greatest Guitar?
Eric Clapton’s The Fool. A name immediately recognizable to guitarists, yet baffling to others. What is Clapton’s Fool? Very simply,…

Rarities From the Pacific Northwest
As a brand of American electric instruments, the name “Hanburt” is about the furthest thing from being a household term.…

This Gibson RB-3 five-string from 1925 is a rare piece, as is any five-string banjo from the era dominated by…

Fancier Than You May Think
“The H27 was fanciest semi-hollow bass ever offered by Harmony.” During the guitar boom of the 1960s, the Chicago-based Harmony…

The Art of Home Recording
The means to make high-quality home recordings are well within the grasp of every guitarists. But, they can only as good as what you put in. We dig into the…

It has all the appoint-ments of a Martin 00-45, particularly the abalone pearl trim around all the borders of the body, but this guitar is entered into Martin’s books as…

Most guitar aficionados are comfortable with the notion of guitar brands being made by the company of the same name. But when it comes to guitars made by one company…

Most of us are – or should be – aware of the enormous contributions of the late Chet Atkins, the Country Gentleman, to American popular music, from his complex fingerpicking…

Mod Squad
We celebrate devices that have altered the pitch, intensity, frequency, phase, and other characteristics in the sound, feel, and influence of our favorite heroes and songs.

To keep work flowing in my shop, repairs often become a group effort. Recently, Gene Imbody, T.K. Kelly, Paul Schmittauer, and I worked to repair a beautiful ’55 Les Paul Special and GA-30 amp belonging to Jake Curtis, who inherited the set from his grandfather, Vernon Benschoter. They’re both in very good condition, and Jake…

Family Barn Jam! With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a taste of his new album, “Working Class Blues,” with this run at “Call Me Lonesome.” In the October issue, he tells us how the album was made in the family barn with the only backing…

Tugging At Your Heartstrings
Here’s a story that has “Hollywood blockbuster” written all over it. It’s got so many cinematic staples, you can almost…

Last of the Oxbloods
Those who love vintage amplifiers are often fascinated by little anomalies that present themselves in an otherwise period-correct specimen, and…

Doomsayer
Best-known as Ozzy Osbourne’s longest-tenured guitarist, Zakk Wylde has also been the leader of Black Label Society since the late…

A Better Idea
Guitar history is littered with “better ideas,” some of which stayed around, went nowhere, or went somewhere before landing in…

Sunshine State
Created when amps were huge and men were men – or at least had roadies to carry the gear – this 1972 Orange OR80 2×12″ combo veritably screams bell-bottomed rock…

Gibson is widely known for its guitars, mandolins, and banjos, but many are unaware the company built instruments for nearly 30 brands for several distributors and music store chains, primarily…

Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach…

Breezin’ With The Boss of Jazz Guitar
Grammy winner and music legend George Benson has lived a guitarist’s dream. Bridging the gap between pop and jazz helped him sell millions of albums and made him a figurehead…

’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the Memphis Slim House in the Soulsville neighborhood of Memphis (Stax…

In the Epiphone line of the 1960s, the Casino occupied middle ground. In appearance as well as electronics it ranked well below the semi-hollow Sheraton and Riviera or the solidbody…
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.
What do you do when the humble blackface Bandmaster you acquired sight-unseen turns out to harbor one of rock’s hottest lead circuits? Celebrate! And then go tracing its connection to California’s seminal high-gain guitar amplifier. Randall Smith’s legendary Boogie lead circuit started as a prank played on an unsuspecting client before he applied it as
Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music producer, he has collected an assortment of instruments and music memorabilia, particularly related to his home town of Memphis. One of his guitars recently became part of a recording project that began at the renowned
My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the sound hole it reads “The American No. 5” and there is no other identifying script. The bridge is a pyramid-type. We’re curious about its age and manufacturer; I’m guessing Lyon and Healy from the 1920s.
Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric guitar market. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season from all of us at Vintage Guitar!
It’s not often a guitar can be said to have been inspired by a TV show, but that is the case with this 1982 Veillette-Citron Shark, which came about as a result of the success of the program “Welcome Back Kotter.” Well, in a pretty roundabout way, that is! Veillette-Citron guitars were the product of

Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV, but his new album, “Livin’ My Best Life,” is more Houston/BFG-flavored. Here, he and his ’69 Gibson Les Paul Custom (running through an Ibanez TS-10 and a Fender Reverb tank going to a vintage Lab…

Gibson has produced two guitars bearing the “Crest” name. While both designs date to the 1960s, they’re very different instruments. The first incarnation was a single-cutaway with design ties to the L-5CT, while the second looked more like a fancy ES-335 with a shortened neck. In almost every way – size, construction materials, appointments, and…

Preamp tubes: three ECC83 (12AX7), one ECC81 (12AT7, in the phase inverter) Output tubes: six EL34 Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Normal…

Flame-top guitars were fairly common during the 1970s “copy era,” but few reached the levels of figure we often see…

What do you get when you cross a helicopter with a Martin dreadnought? Easy answer – Ovation guitars, perhaps the…

Brief Flight from South of Bakersfield
Bob Shade exemplifies the adage “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The guitar builder has an enviable assortment of…