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Classic Instruments
Classics: Norman Harris
Rare Pioneer
As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band weren’t going to be millionaires anytime soon. So he did what musicians do – side-hustled. But when most were manning the counter at a music shop or serving tables, Harris was up at the crack
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Yamaha SA-15
Our perception of Japanese guitars has evolved slowly. At one point, they were cheap toys, at other times imperfect copies, then startling innovations. Perspective encircles the truth. So, how should we perceive the Yamaha SA-15? Japan became interested in guitars in the early 1920s, as some musicians there began to perform what we’d today call…
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Greg Koch: Gristly “Blues”
Greg Koch: Gristly “Blues” Greg Koch fearlessly wrings the sort of vibrato that only a Tele will tolerate from his ’53 to play this exclusive version of Freddie King’s “The Stumble” flavored with a bit of delay and running into his Tone King Royalist. Inspired by fan requests, it’s just one of the tracks culled…
Forty Quid of Klunk
Tales of the Harmony Bass
Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh, Klunk! It’s not the most artful musical introduction, but it was effective. And by the time a screaming Hammond…
Mark Lettieri’s funky finesse
Virtuoso take on “Greenspace” Stepping out from his band, Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri exhibits the finesse, funk, and fury that…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland Season 01 Episode 10 In Episode 10 of VG’s “Buy That…
Gibson Super Jumbo 100
The Super Jumbo 200 is Gibson’s most celebrated flat-top model, and deservedly so, thanks to its use by cowboy movie…
Classics: September 2021
Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225
Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me a Dime,” which spurred him to buy Robinson’s 1974 Alligator…
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…
Gibson’s Crest Models
Gibson has produced two guitars bearing the “Crest” name. While both designs date to the 1960s, they’re very different instruments. The first incarnation was a single-cutaway with design ties to…
Fender Precision Bass
The Fender Precision Bass, introduced in 1951, was arguably more revolutionary and more influential on popular music than the Telecaster or Stratocaster. As the first commercially successful electric bass, it…
Dwight Twilley’s ’57 Fender Super
Cowboy Fringe
Plenty of vintage amps have made it into these pages on their own merits. But when a hallowed creation also has a fun artist-related history – like this road-worn 1957…
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Hilary Gardner returns with a fresh take on a holiday classic!
Hilary Gardner returns! Ready to set the tone for your holidays, Hilary Gardner and her band return for a fantastic take on the classic Elvis hit “Blue Christmas” (written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson) just for VG followers! Accompanied again by Justin Poindexter and Sasha Papernik, this time they’re joined by Jen Hodge on…
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The (Way) Back Beat: Top O’ The Line, For Only $150!
The Immortal Danelectro Guitarlin
Having looked at the most expensive electric guitars offered in 1960s – over 50 years ago. Traditional makers – Gibson, Guild, and Gretsch – concentrated on flashy amplified archtops that retailed up into the $700 to $800 range – beautiful instruments, but not representative of where the electric guitar was going. More forward-looking makers offered…
Hangin’ with Kid and Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen
Smooth, Funky Blues With Soul Kid Andersen worked with Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop before scoring his current gig with…
Ram Tuli Crunches Numbers for The Guide
Strats and Data
Combine a knack for numbers with a love of old guitars and you get… well, you might get any of…
The Rickenbacker 4000
The model 4000 was not only Rickenbacker’s first foray into the electric-bass market, it was decidedly different from Fender’s Precision…
Recording King Ray Whitley
As a maker of high-quality instruments, Gibson was hit hard by the onset of the Depression in the 1930s. Company…
The Schaffer-Vega Diversity System
Making Rock Roll
“ The best thing I ever did in the beginning was not use effects,” AC/DC’s Angus Young told VG in his feature interview for the December ’20 issue. And in…
Webster-Chicago RMA 375 Model 166-1
Grammy Winner
Modified or repurposed amps generally don’t fit into our monthly discussion here, but some are representative enough of a certain standard to make an exception. Witness this gem from 1952.…
The Thompson Tremor Bender
Big Bend
Longtime musician and professional tool-and-die maker Don Thompson recently introduced the Tremor Bender, a retrofit stringbending device for most Fender- and Gibson-style instruments. Thompson’s goal was to make a stringbender…
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…
Last ’Burst?
Single-Cut Saga From the End of an Era
Certain instruments are nearly as famous as the heroes who play them – we know them as Blackie, Lucille, Greeny, Number One. And don’t forget E.C.’s colorful Crash Strats. But…
Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023
Lasting Legacy
It’s ironic that Robbie Robertson was famous mostly for his songwriting, because beneath the minimal, compositional style that marked his work with The Band hid a true guitar stylist and…
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Classics: Jeremy Graf’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster
A lifelong vintage-guitar nut who has had “a million guitars,” Jeremy Graf’s all-time favorite is this 1961 Stratocaster. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Graf was just seven when, for reasons he doesn’t remember, he asked for an Elvis Presley record. His mother obliged and brought home Elvis’ Golden Records, a compilation of ’50s hits. “That
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Rising Rockers
Five Alternative Club Classic Amps of the ’50s
In an era when the sub-20-watt combo is arguably the most popular guitar-amp format, it’s worth remembering that several classics of the category emanate from the ’50s. And just as interesting as the well-worn favorites, several lesser-known alternatives were also born in the decade of rock and roll. In the December ’24 issue, we examined
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Classics: Marc Schoenberger’s Rickenbacker Combo 600
Marc Schoenberger was part of the early-’70s vanguard on the Southern California guitar scene – not as a gigging musician, but among the crowd that raced the 101 freeway to check out old guitars every time a new issue of the Recycler hit the streets. He’d also been repairing guitars for friends and local shops
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The Supro Thunderbolt S6420
Lightning Strikes
Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the preferred workhorse. It’s been a long time since Supro amps were any kind of secret find or hidden gem; players have long recognized the eccentric splendors of certain mid-sized examples, with their thumping tremolo and
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Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings
Double-bound for Glory
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success came early and their lap steels set standards of quality, performance, and tone. On the other hand, the company’s electric bass viols and violins excited segments of the industry but never sold well. Same for
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Joey Molland
The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was part of a quartet signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, yielding glorious AM hits like “Come and Get It,” “Day After Day,” and “No Matter What.” The foursome fell into obscurity and tragedy a few
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McKinley James’ Blues
Family Barn Jam! With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a taste of his new album, “Working Class Blues,” with this run at “Call Me Lonesome.” In the October issue, he tells us how the album was made in the family barn with the only backing…
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Jim Campilongo & Steve Cardenas
Mutual Musical Idiosyncrasies
Steve Cardenas and Jim Campilongo have been playing guitar together for a long time, though the constellations only recently aligned so they could record. Captured on three nights in September of 2022, New Year showcases harmonic personalities merging through atmosphere, reverb, and ancient acoustic guitars. It’s also a meditation on the beauty and strength of…
Popa Chubby’s Dangerous Attitude
NYC blues beast rips on “I Don’t Want Nobody A fixture in New York City blues joints and familiar face…
The Fender Princeton
1962 6G2 Fender Princeton Preamp tubes: One 7025, one 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6V6GT in fixed bias Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls:…
Dan’s Guitar RX: A ’57 Strat Goes Under the Knife
Battle-Scarred
B.K. Vaught recently walked into my shop with a vintage Strat that had been modified and refinished. While its changes…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Doubleneck Redux, Part 2
Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
In the November issue, we started to refurbish a doubleneck mandolin/guitar I made for Jerry Schafer in 1977. It needed…
