Classic Instruments
100 Years of Boston’s MFA
Musical instruments – guitars – present an interesting philosophical dichotomy. On one hand, they’re utilitarian objects whose very purpose – arguably their only purpose...
Classic Instruments
Mark Erlewine’s 40 Years with Willie Nelson’s Trigger
For a decade, Willie Nelson chased fame as a performer in the Nashville mold of the ’60s – hair coifed, striding to center stage...
Classic Instruments
Doc Buffington’s ’48 Fender Pro Amp
Ever plugged into a well-played vintage combo, run your hands over its road-worn tweed covering – scuffed to a cashmere-like texture – and thought,...
Classic Instruments
Last ’Burst?
Certain instruments are nearly as famous as the heroes who play them – we know them as Blackie, Lucille, Greeny, Number One. And don’t...
Classic Instruments
Two Legendary Les Paul Deluxes
In the late 1960s, Gibson reintroduced the single-cutaway Les Paul based on its classic ’50s model. But, a new version called the Deluxe proved...
Classic Instruments
The Les Paul Becomes The SG
It may be difficult to imagine now, but Gibson’s original Les Paul was only a modest success.
Introduced in 1952, the Gibson Les Paul Model...
Classic Instruments
Bird Golden Eagle 4/25
Many of the oddballs, also-rans, and otherwise unusual creations we see in the amp world fall into the “B-list” category – the budget, student,...
Classic Instruments
The Strat in Transition
Believing the long-term survival of his company hinged on creating the world’s best electric guitar, in 1953, Leo Fender set out to improve on...
Classic Instruments
Watkins Joker
This could be just what every well-heeled young “Beat” guitarist and singer in Britain needed in the early 1960s – a guitar amp/PA with...
Classic Instruments
Songbirds: Museum with a Mission
Ask anyone who geeks out on vintage guitars, from the well-heeled collector to the dreamer whose prized possession is a relic’d reissue, and you’ll...
