• Veillette-Citron Shark

    Classic Instruments

    Veillette-Citron Shark

    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…

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A Guide to Vintage Dobros

John Dopyera left National in 1929 to begin work on a secret project – a single-cone resonator guitar he believed superior to the Triolian. His instrument became synonymous with resonator…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland Season 01 Episode 10 In Episode 10 of VG’s “Buy That Guitar” podcast, host Ram Tuli is joined by Howie Statland…

Rosalie Allen’s SJ-200

Trophy Flat-Top

On the pages featuring the Super Jumbo 200, Gibson’s 1940 catalog trumpeted, “This king of the flat-top guitars was especially created for professional entertainers who want an instrument adaptable to…

National Style O

National Style O

Although it has never been the favorite guitar of Hawaiian players, National’s Style O, with its shining metal body and tropical imagery, stands today as one of the strongest icons…

Classics: September 2022

Danny Gatton’s ES-295

Glenn Holley was just five years old when he became infatuated with the sound of rockabilly music thanks to Elvis Presley. “By 10, I had more than 30 of his…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tommie James

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tommie James Season 01 Episode 05 In Episode 5 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar mag, host Ram Tuli speaks with…

Teisco Del Rey Basses

’60s Egalitarianism from Japan

Teisco Del Rey basses from the 1960s are exemplary of the Japanese-made instruments that swept into the American market like a tsunami during the “guitar boom” – and were the…

The Fender “High-Powered” Twin

1958-’59 Fender Twin Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: four 5881 (6L6 equivalents), fixed bias Rectifier: GZ34 (5AR4) tube Controls: Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass, Middle, Presence Output: 80…

Fender Stratocaster

Aiming High

In 1953, Leo Fender started planning a new standard guitar – the Stratocaster. His partner, Don Randall, who headed Fender Sales, Inc., came up with the name before the design…

The Charvel Model 4

Certain guitar brands develop a mystique among aficionados – sometimes it’s even deserved! Somewhere on this continuum lie Charvel USA guitars made in the early ’80s in San Dimas, California.…

Vega Model 120

Viewed from our contemporary perspective, it’s difficult to fully appreciate how different the music scene in general – and the guitar scene in particular – was back in the early…

Supro Guitars and Amplifiers Part I

Supro Part 1

Some of the earliest electric guitars, amps-in-cases, pickups under the bridge, fiberglass guitars, built-in electronic vibratos. Sound curious enough for you? The subject of Supro guitars and amplifiers represents a…

GRETSCHBURST-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Horses of Another Color

1) This ’57, from batch 253xx, has the added intrigue of a gold G-cutout tailpiece in place of the Bigsby vibrato. In addition to the standard Amber Red stain on…

Wandré Modele Karak

We all recognize that guitars are art, but rarely has the instrument been as consciously approached from this perspective by the maker as with the ’60s creations of Wandré Pioli.

Realistic Entertainer-34

As prolific as the Radio Shack chain was in the ’60s, it’s surprising we don’t see more vintage Realistic guitar amps today. Maybe they were never valued enough to be…

Matchless JJ-30

Stage Staunch

Rare and sought-after, in part because only about 40 were built, the Matchless JJ-30 John Jorgenson is the only Signature Series amp ever made by the original company. Designed for…

The Airline GIM 9151A

After The Fall

1970 Montgomery Ward Airline GIM 9151A Preamp tubes: three 12AX7 Output tubes: four 6L6GC Rectifier: solid-state Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass     on each of two channels Output: approximately 40…

Gibson J-185

The Gibson J-185

The J-185 is regarded by many players and collectors as the finest-sounding Gibson flat-top made after World War II. The only flat-top of its size and shape made by Gibson…

Dan’s Guitar RX: A ’57 Strat Goes Under the Knife

Battle-Scarred

B.K. Vaught recently walked into my shop with a vintage Strat that had been modified and refinished. While its changes represented a bit of American history, the guitar deserved to…

The Peoples’ Guitar

Gibson’s Depression-Era Exports

Many aren’t aware that some of the archtop guitars Gibson produced during the Depression were marketed under different brand names, including Kalamazoo, Recording King, Cromwell, Fascinator, and Kel Kroyden, among…

1939 Gibson Super 400 Premier

The Gibson Super 400 debuted in 1935 as the first production-model 18″ archtop guitar with f-shaped sound holes; 30 years prior, the company’s Style O was the same size and…

The Burke Guitar

The Axe that Time Forgot

For more than 60 years, aluminum has been used as a component in guitar construction. Exactly whose idea it was originally has never been a cut-and-dried matter of fact, but…

Carson Creation

One Very Personal Stratocaster

An itinerant Western-music guitarist who befriended Leo Fender and other employees at his up-and-coming company in the early ’50s, Bill Carson was the “test pilot” for the Fender Stratocaster prototype,…

Travis Bean Interview

Metal Machine Music – The Next Phase

“Bean is Back!” proclaimed the signs at a recent California guitar show. Indeed, Travis Bean, builder of the short-lived-but-legendary ’70s instruments that bear his name, has reentered the guitar-manufacturing arena…

Classics: Mike Semrad’s ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom

Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska – at least as far back as his great-grandmother, who sang at the city’s opera house. But his…

Pieces of a Prototype

Secrets of a Socal "Parts" Guitar

  If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood used to make your body. …

Ampeg Horizontal Basses

From Liden, NJ. to Linden Avenue, Burbank, CA.

The Ampeg Horizontal Bass, perhaps because of its rarity and odd beauty, has become quite a collector’s item. And because production records for Ampeg products were lost or destroyed after…

Martin 00-42 Special

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…

100 Years of Boston’s MFA

Playable Exhibits

Musical instruments – guitars – present an interesting philosophical dichotomy. On one hand, they’re utilitarian objects whose very purpose – arguably their only purpose – is to create art, to…

The “Conversion” Les Paul

The “Conversion” Les Paul

Myth, Magic – and Mojo!

One of the more intriguing topics in guitardom is the Gibson Les Paul “conversion.” What is it? Most of the time, it’s a reference to Les Pauls made from 1952…