• 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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Electra MPC

Standard X340

One of the more successful Japanese-made guitar brands of the 1970s was Electra, the brand name used for electric guitars sold by St. Louis Music of St. Louis, Missouri.  If…

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…

Gibson Style U

Harp Guitar

Gibson Style U. Courtesy Gruhn Guitars. This Gibson Style U harp guitar, made in 1906 or ’07, represents the top level of the Gibson lineup in the company’s first quarter-century,…

Bill Gruggett

Still Buildin' em in Bakersfield

The agrarian area of California that includes such cities as Bakersfield and Tulare has a special significance to country music lovers and guitar lovers alike. The musical mystique, of course,…

Fender Ltd & Montego

Jazz Guitars

The Ltd was introduced as CBS Fender’s entry into the archtop jazz guitar market. It was to be a prestigious example of Fender’s ability to produce a highly crafted, handmade,…

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…

1980 Renaissance T-200G Home thumb

Renaissance T-200G

What is it about Plexiglas? It’s so cool. You can see through it onstage. It’s dense, yet resonant. You’d think it would be the perfect medium for a mean rock…

Ted Nugent 1962 Gibson Byrdland

Ted Nugent’s 1962 Gibson Byrdland

Anyone who’s ever caught Ted Nugent on tour has seen this instrument, and during the Summer of 2003 it was intended to be the only guitar used by the Motor…

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.…

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…

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…

Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize”

Austin Great Goes Full Steam for “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews makes a VG-social-media curtain call by playing “Eyes On The…

1942 Martin D-45

The Martin D-45, offered from 1933 through 1942, is well-known as the Holy Grail of acoustic guitars. While players and collectors debate whether it’s the “best guitar ever made,” in…

Gibson Roy Smeck Electric Tenor Banjo

Photo by Julie Woods. At the dawn of electrical amplification, no one knew where the new technology would take stringed instruments (or keyboard instruments, for that matter). As the electric…

Mosrite Stereo 350

Remember that line from the old song, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all…”? In some ways, it’s a summation of the life of Semie…

B.C. Rich Eagle

When my son was young I used to do “guitar shows” for his classes, showing off 10 or so electric guitars that started with conventional shapes – a Les Paul…

The Guitars of Ernst Heinrich Roth

International Influence

Now just a sleepy town in Germany, over the last 200 years, Markneukirchen has been home to countless luthiers ranging from brilliant to brutish, and has exported millions of instruments…

Paul Reed Smith Guitars

The World of Paul Reed Smith

Just after we entered the small, crowded office, the door burst open and an intruder blurted out, “Excuse me. Check this out. Is it right?” The company’s R&D chief handed…

Gibson Super 400 PN

The Gibson Super 400 Premiere cutaway acoustic first appeared in Gibson literature in the 1940 catalog, on a page showing it and the L-5 Premiere in clear “natural” finish. The…

Greg Lake’s 
Zemaitis Doubleneck

Twice as Heavy

With progressive-rock juggernaut Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (1947-2016) played more than one instrument made by the renowned British luthier Tony Zemaitis. Known for their fancy tops of…

Hot Wires - A Brief History of the Modern Guitar String

Hot Wires

A Brief History of the Modern Guitar String

If you’ve ever bent a guitar string and given it a shake, send a silent thank you to guitarist James Burton. His solos on “Suzy Q” and “Hello, Mary Lou”…

Gibson Barney Kessel Custom Prototype Vintage guitar magazine

Gibson’s Experimental Kessel Prototype

Gibson Barney Kessel Custom model

This is a guitar which for all practical purposes appears to be a Gibson Barney Kessel Custom model, but the label clearly indicates it was made as an experimental prototype.…

Jeff Plankenhorn’s “Alone At Sea”

Tasty slide on a square-neck Oahu Singer/songwriter Jeff Plankenhorn’s music is a rootsy mix that embraces blues and pop while dodging categorization. Here, he and his vintage square-neck Oahu offer…

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…

Gibson Mark 53

1978 Gibson Mark 53. Photo: Michael Wright. Part of the fallout from the guitar boom of the 1960s was an increased academic interest in guitars that manifested itself in the…

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…

Guild in the Post-Fender Era

Guild in the Post-Fender Era

Round and Round She Goes

Since its beginnings in 1952, Guild has gone through many changes in ownership, location, marketing approach, and design philosophy. In the course of a change in ownership and three moves,…

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…

Fall Philly 2014

[caption id="attachment_19277" align="alignleft" width="300"] We are here at the Philly show checking out all the killer guitars! Here's a '54 Goldtop Les Paul, 59 TV Junior, '55 Junior, '59 Epiphone…

All That Glitters

Gibson’s Copper Iridescent Les Pauls

Like large celestial bodies, some guitar collectors have a gravity that draws objects to them. In 2016, rare custom-color Les Pauls began entering Joe Bonamassa’s orbit. Brought to Gruhn Guitars,…