• The Electra Endorser

    Classic Instruments

    The Electra Endorser

    Flame-top guitars were fairly common during the 1970s “copy era,” but few reached the levels of figure we often see on modern high-end guitars. Then came the Electra Endorser X935CS, which set new standards for psychedelic woodgrain. “But it’s not a ’70s guitar,” you object. No, but arguably, the Endorser CS – which was only…

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Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 4

Shadows and Light

In Beat-era England, before The Beatles, one band reigned supreme – The Shadows. Starting as Cliff Richard’s backing group, this foursome launched an incredibly successful string of guitar instrumental hits…

Wolf Strat

A Legend’s Guitar, Discovered

After possessing it for several years, curiosity finally got the best of the owner of this 1963 Stratocaster. He had to know: Who is Lil’Bill?

Kiss-able Gibson

Gene Simmons' EB-0

A ca. 1960 Gibson EB-0 that once belonged to Kiss bassist Gene Simmons. Photo: VG Archive. In the mid 1970s, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons played this heavily reworked second-generation Gibson…

Holy Cripes!

The Story of Jerry Garcia’s Last Guitars

Steve Cripe left a unique legacy in the annals of music history. He was not a guitar player, not a songwriter. In fact, you may not even know his name.…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 10

Saga of The Lost Supersounds

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 9, 10, and 11 for this special edition of…

Boss MA-1

Spice Up a Small Amp

Normally, when you think of an effect pedal, an image of a stompbox comes to mind; one you step on, or one that performs a dramatic effect on the sound…

Ditson’s Style 11 and the Birth of the Dreadnought

Martin’s Big Step

In the early 20th century, any shopper who walked into the Charles H. Ditson & Company music stores in New York, Philadelphia, or Boston could have bought a guitar, bowl-back…

Tyler Morris Features a Martin Style 2 1/2-17

Tyler Morris Playing a Martin Style 2 1/2-17 Tyler Morris grabbed his 19th-century Martin Style 2 1/2-17 to play a medley of 20th-century licks. He also digs into the history…

Robin Basses

Robin Basses

A Photo Retrospective

Alamo Music Products holds a unique place in the history of electric guitars and basses. The Houston-based company began its journey in the early ’80s as Robin Guitars, importing retro-influenced…

The Gibson Les Paul Model

Its official name – Les Paul model – doesn’t do it justice. After all, Gibson has made over a hundred different Les Paul models through the years. But call it…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz

Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like “Kashmir,” “Little Wing,” and a classical spin through Joni Mitchell’s…

Raul Malo’s Instrumental Side

 Mavericks frontman with a vintage Jazzmaster Though he is renowned and beloved for his vocals in the Mavericks, Raul Malo’s new album, “Say Less,” is a showcase for his…

Silver Lining

Gibson and the Master Models

Recognized today as visionary, when introduced in 1922, Gibson’s Master Model L-5 and F-5 were expensive to produce and lacked a market. For a time, they placed a considerable burden…

1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb

Silver Serenade

Amplifier collectors swarm to models with descriptors like “first year” and “golden age,” but other types can be far more interesting; a transitional model or amp from a short-lived evolutionary…

Martin 5K

ukulele

The braguinha, forerunner of the ukulele, was a small four-string instrument tuned in fifths. Named after the town of Braga in Portugal, the instrument arrived in Hawaii with the first…

Webb Wilder’s take on “Beautiful Delilah”

“Hillbilly Speedball” sample Since the mid ’80s, Webb Wilder has cranked out consistently fine roots-rock. His latest is “Hillbilly Speedball,” and here he grabs his ’61 Gibson ES-330TD plugged into…

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…

Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines

Archtop Elite

The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather and striking rock-and-roll poses, the King epitomized attitude while brandishing…

Vox/Thomas Organ V-14 Super Beatle

Solid Sound

After producing some of the most-iconic guitar amplifiers of the early 1960s, Vox leaned unwittingly into a failing technology – and unknowingly accelerated its own implosion. Still, some of the…

Fender Aluminum

Aluminums Unwrapped

Part of the guitar collector’s creed (an unwritten, unofficial entity, to be sure) includes axioms such as “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” or “The right to pursue…

Bigsby Merle Travis Electric Guitar

In it's original configuration

Longtime vintage guitar enthusiasts are probably familiar with one of the icons of solidbody electric guitars – the late 1940s Bigsby instrument built for legendary picker Merle Travis. The guitar…

Supro Thunderbolt

Supro Thunderbolt

Designed “…exclusively for the electric Bass guitar,” it was simplicity itself, with no “fancy extra circuits.” But much like with Fender’s Bassman, guitarists had other ideas!

Antonio de Torres

The Birth of the Modern Guitar

To date, I have covered most of the major schools of guitar construction/design, and some of their contributions to the evolution of the gut/nylon-string guitar. In the April ’96 issue…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Redd Volkaert

Season 03 Episode 03 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of modern country’s foremost pickers. Any fan of Western swing and…

Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355

Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though Asleep At The Wheel leader Ray Benson quit using this…

Gibson’s First Reissue Les Pauls

Gibson’s First Reissue Les Pauls

On the Road to ’59

Strings and Things Les Paul Many articles have been written about how guitarists and dealers in the mid/late 1970s and early ’80s were asking Gibson to build a Les Paul…

Zemaitis Guitar

Tony Z and the Cult of the Zemaitis Guitar

While England has produced some notable guitar brands, such as Burns, Shergold and Eggle, it is rare for an individual maker to gain acceptance in a world where an “established…

Gibson Goldtops

Molten Mojo, Head-To-Head Vintage Versus Reissue

In the good ol’ days of 1952, jazzmeister Les Paul strutted to the center of the world’s stage and proudly whipped out his golden Gibson electric guitar. Simple-minded purists howled…

William Peale, Jr. Gibson Super 400

Sharp-Shooter Special

The iconic “singing cowboy” was created by Hollywood actors like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and others. Many used fancy, customized guitars, often with their name emblazoned on the…

The Original ES-150

How Gisbson Won The ES War

The story of the ES-150, Gibson’s first commercially successful electric guitar, has been told many times, and its association with legendary jazz pioneer Charlie Christian is a staple of the…