• 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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Phil Manzanera’s “Magdalena”

Roxy Music legend solo instrumental Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera used his beloved ’64 Gibson Firebird VII to create this exclusive run through “Magdalena,” one of five new tunes on…

Jim Marshall

Father of the Mighty Marshall Stack

When it comes to guitar amplifiers, two names stand tall beyond the others: Leo Fender and Jim Marshall. Even “civilians” recognize these names. Two names, from two different countries, with…

1973 Hayman 3030H

If England has a Leo Fender, his name is James Ormston Burns. Like Fender, Burns was a seminal influence on electric guitar design in the U.K., creating the guitars played…

Tech 21 Trademark 60

Incredible sound at a nice price

In the past six years we’ve focused mostly on used gear, but occasionally included new stuff that works so well it’s impossible to ignore. This month’s entree, the Trademark 60,…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Rick Hogue

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Rick Hogue Season 01 Episode 09 In Episode 9 of VG’s “Buy That Guitar” podcast, host Ram Tuli is joined by Rick Hogue…

Gibson Top Tension Banjos

  Although most bluegrass banjo players consider Gibson’s Mastertone banjos with one-piece flange and flat-head tone ring – such as Earl Scruggs’ Granada and Don Reno’s Style 75 – to…

Acoustic Black Widow

Black Widow Guitars

In the late ’60s, when Domino guitars were fading away, tube amplifiers were out of vogue. Old technology, man! Cool bands played through solidstate amps that delivered lots of clean…

Stratospheric Variations

A History of offset double-cut guitars

When you think about it, it’s quite remarkable how few guitar archetypes there really are. By “archetypes” we’re referring to aesthetic design, or shapes. If you pull back and squint,…

The Story of Silver Street Guitars

Building a 
Better…. Gibson?

In the late 1970s, trends combined to spawn several new guitar companies in the Chicago area motivated by a desire to “build a better Gibson.” The list included Dean and…

1933 Gibson L-5 “Special”

Though many collectors focus on instruments in fine original condition, every so often one emerges that, regardless of condition, is no less exciting than a paleontologist finding the “missing link.”…

Antique Guitar Amps 1928-1934

Which came first – electric guitar or amp?

The influence and restraints of technology on amplifying the guitar Let’s pretend for a moment that former Gibson historian Julius Bellson misinterpreted stories of Lloyd Loar’s experiments with electrified instruments…

Earliest Gretsch 6120

…Revealed!

The Gretsch company rose to the upper echelon of guitar manufacturers in the 1950s with the introduction of a diverse and dynamic array of electric models. Arguably the most identifiable…

Fender Princeton feature

The Fender Princeton

1962 6G2 Fender Princeton Preamp tubes: One 7025, one 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6V6GT in fixed bias Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls: Volume, Tone, Speed, Intensity Speaker: one 10” Oxford 10J4 Output:…

Classics: January 2022

Sam Ash’s Early PRSs

Sammy Ash first laid eyes on a PRS guitar in the early ’80s, after catching a glimpse of one in Guitar Player magazine. “I stopped at the newsstand to look…

Classics: August 2021

Guild F-20 Troubadour and Dan Armstong Lucite

John Wiley couldn’t have known it then, but when his parents rewarded two years of applying himself to guitar lessons by giving him a brand-new Guild F-20 Troubadour in 1960,…

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…

Dan Armstrong Design

The Pinnacle of Modern Design

This installment will focus on the famous Dan Armstrong line of guitars and basses. These instruments were introduced to the market in 1960 as the “Dan Armstrong See Through” Guitar…

Bob Spalding: Instrumental Legend

Ventures Guitarist plays “New Space” sampler With a catalog that extends more than 60 years, The Ventures just keep on rockin’. Longtime guitarist/bassist Bob Spalding indulged us by grabbing three…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 6

1964: Nu-Sonics and Transistor Trials

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 4, 5, and 6 for this special edition of…

Ovation UKII 1291

Rodney Dangerfield of solidbody electric guitars

1980 Ovation UKII 1291 If there’s a Rodney Dangerfield of solidbody electric guitars, it would be named Ovation. For more than a decade, Ovation tried unsuccessfully to leverage its achievements…

The Real Story of Martin’s 14-Fret Orchestra Models

OM Irony

Martin Orchestra Model (OM) guitars made prior to World War II are some of the finest ever made for fingerpicking. That’s rather ironic, considering they were created specifically for flatpickers.…

Audiovox and Serenader Amps

An Interview with Bud Tutmarc

Introduction With this month’s feature story on the Audiovox bass (page 80), plus a comparison between Audiovox pickup (page 81) and early Dobro pickups, it seems appropriate to also dedicate…

2021 Readers’ Choice Awards

Each year, Vintage Guitar asks fans to select Readers’ Choice winners for Player of the Year in four categories, along with Album of the Year. Included are selections for the…

Gretsch 7680 Super Axe

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…

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…

Vintage Gibson Amplifiers

EH-100 and 125

“No longer is the electric Hawaiian Guitar restricted to professional players – here is a genuine Gibson instrument that costs only $100, complete with instrument, case, amplifier with slip cover,…

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…

Movie Star, Rancher

Mid-’50s Muse of Wire and Wood

In the years immediately after World War II, Americans were settling into a new way of life, and plunging headlong toward an economic prosperity never before experienced by everyday people.…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 5

1964: Solid Heyday

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 4, 5, and 6 for this special edition of…

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…