• Thomas Custom Guitars

    Classic Instruments

    Thomas Custom Guitars

    Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

    Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich tonal qualities. Thomas guitars, on the other hand, are usually noted for their odd (sometimes controversial) shapes and zany features. Built by the late guitarist/machinist/luthier/and

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  • Dan’s Guitar RX: A ’57 Strat Goes Under the Knife

    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 represented a bit of American history, the guitar deserved to be restored. B.K. got it in the spring of 2022, while helping sort the estate of an uncle who had passed away. Among his belongings…

  • The Martin OM-28

    The Martin OM-28

    Although popular music of the 1920s featured the tenor banjo as the preferred rhythm instrument, the guitar’s popularity rose steadily through the decade, and by the ’30s, it had overtaken the banjo. As had been the case with tenor banjos, mandolins, and classical/minstrel banjos in earlier eras, the best-selling fretted instrument attracted the most attention…

The Schaffer-Vega Diversity System

Making Rock Roll

December 8, 2021 · Michael Dregni

“ The best thing I ever did in the beginning was not use effects,” AC/DC’s Angus Young told VG in…

Gibson Les Paul Special 3/4

January 18, 2010 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Gibson’s double-cutaway Les Paul Special 3/4 from 1959 is one of the rarest Les Pauls from the “golden era.” It’s…

Robin’s ’80s Import Basses

April 15, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

While the Robin guitar brand’s reverse “imported then domestic” chronology has been documented in this space, the basses shown here…

The Guitars of Ernst Heinrich Roth

International Influence

December 21, 2023 · Cliff Hall

Now just a sleepy town in Germany, over the last 200 years, Markneukirchen has been home to countless luthiers ranging…


The Watkins Clubman

The hokey, amphetamine-tempo’d folk music known as “skiffle” was all the rage with Britain’s youth in 1955, and rock and roll barely yet a glimmer in the collective eye, when…

One of Two of a Kind

Gibson’s L-3 Ganus Brothers Special

Making custom instruments has always been problematic for companies designed to manufacture in quantity. Though it had an unenforced policy against one-off projects, this guitar illustrates how the company did…

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…

VG Q&A: A Gilded ’63 Jazz Bass

Plus, Swappable Pickups, Bartell Guitars, and a Mystery Lap Steel

I am the third owner of a 1963 Jazz Bass with a neck stamp “7Jan63A,” pots dated that May, and serial number from that spring. It also has original gold…

Fender 5E3 Deluxe

Fender 5E3 Deluxe Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, 12AX7 PI Output tubes: two 6V6GT, cathode-bias Rectifier: 5Y3 tube Controls: Independent Volumes for each channel, shared Tone. Output: 15 watts RMS +/-…

  • Classics: February 2024

    Classics: February 2024

    Sean Slade’s 1964 SG Junior

    They might not seem to have a ton in common aside from first names. J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr.’s co-founder and guitarist developed a style equal parts guitar heroics and left-side-of-the-dial insouciance. In Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar helped popularize the alt-country movement by merging influences from Doug Sahm to The Stooges. But that might be where…

  • ’72 Marshall “NARB” Tremolo 100

    ’72 Marshall “NARB” Tremolo 100

    Mirror Image

    When is a Marshall not a Marshall? When it’s a Narb, of course. Long a fascinating footnote to the company’s history, this alternative brand arose as something of a bet between colleagues. For all the undeniable classics produced by Jim Marshall and his right-hand men Ken Bran and Dudley Craven, it seems the company’s marketing…

Fender Mustang

Truly Transitional

April 28, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

Despite its short scale, the Mustang has a potent sound, and as a result it was used by many notable…

Rex Solidbody

Italian Connection

November 30, 2023 · Michael Wright

An internet search for “Rex guitars” will turn up a fair – if confusing – amount of information about the…

Mosrite Joe Maphis

July 14, 2020 · Willie G. Moseley

The 1960s were arguably the most memorable decade in the history of American guitar manufacturing. True, some legendary electric guitar…

The D’Angelico Excel Mandolin

March 13, 2015 · George Gruhn

The 1,164 archtop guitars made by John D’Angelico have brought him great renown as the finest individual archtop guitar builder…


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…

The Norma EG 470-2 Deluxe

Everyone of a certain age – and no doubt some younger folks – remembers the sage career advice given young Benjamin Braddock in the classic film The Graduate: “Plastics.” In…

Jim Kelley FACS Reverb

Truly a deserving name in the early era of the “boutique” amp scene, Jim Kelley is also an extremely under-recognized one. After working at Music Man amplifiers and other jobs…

Vox Symphonic Bass

Fender Bender

Despite the way collectors and dealers freely apply the term “lawsuit guitars,” documented examples are few. One time it did happen was triggered by the Vox Symphonic Bass. A report…

Hilary Gardner’s jazz/country connection

Classic sounds on “Silver on the Sage” Hilary Gardner and her band are devout fans of classic cowboy (and other types of) songs that they deliver with intimate arrangements. Here,…

Sigma by Martin

Sigma by Martin

Following the Line

Long overlooked and relegated to an obscure corner of the collectible market, Sigma by Martin guitars have recently gained popularity among a new generation of collectors. If you’re one who…

  • “Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland

    “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 Guitar” podcast, host Ram Tuli is joined by Howie Statland of Rivington Guitars, New York City. They discuss famous players and the effect they have on the value of collectible instruments. Guitarists are often influenced…

  • Hangin’ with Kid and Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen

    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 Rick Estrin & the Nightcats. One of the best blues guitarists around, here, he’s joined by his wife, Lisa, and bandmate Endre Tarczy to play “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” from his latest album, “Spirits.” Kid…

Rickenbacker Transonic Home Feature Image

Rickenbacker Transonic

March 24, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Rickenbacker Transonic TS100 Topology: Solid State Output: 100 watts RMS Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass controls and Hollow, Mellow and Pierce…

Zac Schulze gets straight to it!

December 8, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

If you’re a fan of Cream, Zeppelin, and Rory Gallagher (who isn’t?), you’ll dig Zac Schulze Gang, a British power…

GA-20’s Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty

FlashBack Sounds, Forward Steps

August 8, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Musical gateways opened by Jimi Hendrix and the Doors led Matt Stubbs to become a disciple of Johnny “Guitar” Watson,…

Classics: November 2021

Gibson Les Paul Personal

October 28, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Billy Soutar loves the vibe of his 1969 Les Paul Personal and matching LP-12 amp. While the guitar’s mahogany body,…