• Zac Schulze gets straight to it!

    Classic Instruments

    Zac Schulze gets straight to it!

    If you’re a fan of Cream, Zeppelin, and Rory Gallagher (who isn’t?), you’ll dig Zac Schulze Gang, a British power trio that’s carrying the torch with both hands; they’ve played Clapton’s Crossroads and the Rory Gallagher Tribute Fest. Here, Zac flies solo on “High Roller,” tearin’ it up on his ’54 Guild Aristocrat M75 through…

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Kid Ramos’ Revelation!

West Coast legend melds blues with gospel Check out Kid Ramos using a ’56 Harmony H62 running through a vintage Fender reverb tank and a Pro Junior to play an…

Eric Bibb plays “Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie”

Soulful Blues Beyond I-IV-V Sensational fingerstylist Eric Bibb uses the ’47 Levin Model 13 Ambassadör to honor us with a bit of Lead Belly’s “Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie,”…

Star Board: Craig Bartock

Star Board: Craig Bartock

This month, we take a guided tour of the pedalboard belonging to Craig Bartock, guitarist with Heart. Craig Bartock, a well-known (and busy) guitarist/composer, has been the touring lead guitarist…

B.C. Rich Guitars

From Flamenco to Heavy Metal

From one perspective, flamenco and heavy metal might seem as far apart as the sun and the moon, but if you think about the hyperbolic emotion involved in both genres,…

1983 Peavey T-20 and T-20FL Vintage guitar magazine

Peavey T-20

The Next Step

Introduced in 1982, Peavey’s T-20 was different from other basses in the Peavey lineup, the two-pickup T-40, and the single-pickup T-45. The T-40 (“Bass Space” October ’06) and its six-string…

The House of Stathopoulo Harp Guitar

Surreal Missing Link

One of the rarest Epiphone instruments in the world, the House of Stathopoulo harp guitar lends a glimpse into a transitional era prior to the formation of what would become…

Ecco-Fonic

John Adomono was an American guitar hero of the Cold War years. JFK named him his favorite guitarist, and Adomono played a command performance at the White House. He performed…

Kendrick 2210

Big things come in small packages

The shipping box reads “Delicate Instrument,” but don’t let that fool you. The Kendrick 2210 is delicate in same way that a surgical scalpel or nitro glycerine are. With explosive…

A 5E3 Mystery

Readers of Vintage Guitar occasionally stumble on unique, prototype, or otherwise fascinatingly non-standard amps, and it’s a pleasure to share when they’re made available to us. In an upcoming issue,…

Rob Allen Custom Basses

As a leading-edge shop owner ca-rrying 26 high-end bass-related lines, I’m regularly approached to become an authorized dealer for many products. I’m fair but skeptical with the inquiries and always…

Etched in Time

“Signature” Gibsons from the Early Days of Cable

In 1984, Christian Roebling went from being just another guy watching TV to creating what was likely the first television program to focus on and feature guitar players and builders.…

FENDER BANDMASTER 5E7

Fender 5E7 Bandmaster

Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6L6s, fixed biased Rectifier: 5U4G tube Controls: Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass, Presence Output: 28 watts RMS +/- Speaker: three 10″ Jensen…

Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts

Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers Band “At Fillmore East.” Like so many guitarists, for Martin,…

Gibson SJ-200

On the Trail to the Original

Is this the first Gibson SJ-200? Maybe. Technically, Gibson called it the Special L-5, but it is also known in guitar lore as the prototype SJ-200. Photos courtesy of Ken…

Fender’s Tweed-to Tolex Transition

Best Face Forward

Through its 75 years, Fender has been responsible for myriad leaps forward in the history of guitar-amplifier design and manufacture. Arguably the most dramatic was the transition in 1959-’60 from…

National Style 3 Hawaiian

Metal-bodied guitars built by the National String Instrument Company before World War II represent a giant leap in guitar design and technology. When they debuted in 1926, they were startling…

Barney Kessel’s ES-350 Rides Again

Return Of An Icon

Bruce Forman acquired Barney Kessel’s beloved Gibson ES-350 in mid 2021. In prep for recording Reunion!, he made the guitar his exclusive daily player. “All it needed was a little…

Ampeg Gemini II G-15

Ampeg Gemini II G-15

Preamp tubes: three 12AX7, one 6CG7, one 7199. Output tubes: two 7868. Rectifier: solidstate Controls: volume, treble and bass on each channel; echo (reverb) and speed and intensity (tremolo) on…

Supro Resophonic FolkStar

Fiberglass. In 1961, it was a space-age material; lightweight, easy to mold, and super strong, it could be used for just about anything. Back then, neighborhood kids who liked guitars…

Coral Electric Sitar

Coral Electric Sitar

For centuries, Indian musicians have utilized the resonant sympathetic strings of the sitar to create the unique sounds of classical Indian music. Traditional sitar design combines a body fashioned from a…

The Micro-Frets Saga

Genius in MD

Had fate been just a notch kinder, Ralph Jones might today be a ’60s counterculture icon alongside Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali, and Steve McQueen. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But at the very…

Rick Vito’s Tale Of Two Grails

Find of a Lifetime

Whether it was by watching “Bandstand” on TV or learning the licks of Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry, or the Ventures, Philadelphia native Rick Vito’s inspirations are all legendary. And as…

Gibson’s 17″ Pre-War Electrics

ES-300 of 1940-’43

Among musicians and collectors, Gibson’s pre-World-War-II ES-300 may be less popular today than the ES-250, but in terms of sheer numbers, it was Gibson’s most popular 17″ pre-war electric, despite…

1968 Teisco May Queen

Perennial Classic, Made in Japan

While many Japanese guitars from the 1960s took their inspiration from American and European models, to the observant eye, there’s a strong undercurrent of Japanese design evident in many of…

The “Last” Trainwreck?

Ken Fischer’s prolonged illness and subsequent death at the age of 61 remains one of the great tragedies of the guitar-amp world. Aside from the fact he was a good…

Selmer Modele Jazz and Stimer M.10 Amp

Electricfying Early Jazz

In the 1930s, the quest for volume was the Holy Grail of guitar construction, as guitarists sought instruments to slice through the sound and fury of a jazz band. And…

Gretsch Model 40 Hawaiian

Short-Lived Flat-top

The Hawaiian guitar style came to the American mainland during the Pan Pacific Exposition of 1915. And while the popularity of Hawaiian music and playing faded in the ’40s, the…

Classics: November 2023

Al Caiola’s Gretsch Prototype

Robby Zolezzi has been a touring pro guitarist since he was 18 years old, having taken up the instrument at 11, spurred by TV and movie themes played by Al Caiola emanating from…

G&L Legacy

One Heckuva Guitar

I enjoy covering sleeper gear in this column. During the past 11 years, we’ve looked at bargains like the Gibson L-6S, Seagull S-6+, Martin D-1 and the Peavey Bandit, to…

Martin D-1

Not Your Typical Martin

Over the years, I’ve tried to include instruments in this column that were functional and affordable. Occasionally, we’ve lucked out and found spectacular instruments that offer more than your money’s…