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Classic Instruments
The story of the Martin F-50
Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric guitar market. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season from all of us at Vintage Guitar!
Star Board: Rudy Jaramillo
Rudy Jaramillo is quick to mention that his effects setup is very simple. “I go into my 1) Boss tuner, then to a 2) Boss Blues Driver that has been…
Weymann Model 890 Jimmie Rodgers Special
Hey Hey, Tell ’Em About US
Jimmie Rodgers has been called many things; while active from 1927-’33 he was billed as “the Singing Brakeman” and ”America’s Blue Yodeler” but, in the decades since, the “Father of…
The Gretsch Round-Up
In 1954, what could possibly be more “contemporary Western” than a Gretsch Round-Up? Introduced in 1954, the Round-Up (listed in Gretsch literature as model PX6130) and the Rancher (PX6022) were…
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Veillette-Citron Shark
It’s not often a guitar can be said to have been inspired by a TV show, but that is the case with this 1982 Veillette-Citron Shark, which came about as a result of the success of the program “Welcome Back Kotter.” Well, in a pretty roundabout way, that is! Veillette-Citron guitars were the product of…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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…
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…
Retro Inspired Basses
Cool Looks, Classic Sounds
Danelectro Dano ’63 long-scale bass in Aqua. Photos courtesy of Evets. Danelectro Dano ’63 short-scale bass in Red Burst. Photos courtesy of Evets. Eastwood Club Bass in Sunburst. Photos courtesy…
Vega De Luxe Electric Plectrum Banjo
Billed as “the latest orchestral sensation… unparalleled for versatility,” Vega’s electric banjos – developed to compete with one being made by Gibson – were of little consequence in the market.…
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,…
Alternative ’60s Club Classics
Amps Beyond the Everyday
The “club amp” has been a perpetual best-seller since the dawn of guitar amplification, and several big-name ’60s models are among the all-time classics. But what if you’re looking for…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
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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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Jon Butcher’s psychedelia mastery
Jon Butcher tales his Olympic White ’63 Strat for a rip on “Jam,” a track from his new album, “Nuthin’ but Soul.” The disc is an homage to sounds of Motown, Stax, James Brown, and Sly Stone highlighted by Butcher’s mastery of Hendrix-style psychedelia. It was recorded using a ’63 Princeton, a Vibrolux, and a…
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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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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 a narrow-panel Fender Vibrolux to play a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah.” He’s joined by George Bradfute (on a ’50s Epiphone upright) and Bob…
Epiphone’s Zephyr Emperor Regent
1955 Epiphone Zephyr Emperor Regent. Instrument courtesy of Lloyd Chiate. Photo: Billy Mitchell, courtesy George Gruhn. Epiphone’s Zephyr Emperor Regent of the early 1950s represents not only the most deluxe…
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…
1982 Gibson Victory Custom
When you consider their status as a last-gasp instrument made by Gibson in its waning days as a property of Norlin Industries, the ironically dubbed “Victory” series of guitars and…
Orville Gibson’s Handmade 1906 Artist Mandolin
Proving a Point
This instrument, bearing a handwritten label reading “Made by O.H. Gibson 1906 Kalamazoo Mich” is arguably the most elaborate scroll-model mandolin ever made by Orville Gibson. The 1906 date is…
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…
Recording Acoustic Guitars
The Art of Home Recording
Recording an acoustic guitar is very different from recording an electric, employing different microphones, placement, and technique. Here are a few essential steps.
1000 Years of the Guitar Part 2
History of the Guitar
A hand-colored postcard photo of a woman in a Spanish costume, ca. 1910. Well, we’re on the cusp of the new Millennium. Excited? Last month we began our look at…
Epiphone Excellente
Sonny James' Epiphone Excellente
The Epiphone Excellente was the fanciest flat-top Gibson made in the 1960s, and to some ears it was Gibson’s best. But in its seven-year production run, from late ’63 until…
Gibson R&D Electric Guitar
Crude Beginnings
Alvino Rey and the prototype lapsteel he has kept for more than 61 years. Photos: Lynn Wheelwright Talk about skeletons in your closet!! Believe it or not, this is the…
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…
Fender’s First Reissues
The CBS Era Concludes in Style
By the late 1970s, cumulative changes in the details of the various classic guitar models on the market – Fender’s Stratocaster and Telecaster, and Gibson’s Les Paul – were so…
’39 Gibson EH-185
Preamp tubes: three 6J7, one 6N7 Output tubes: two 6L6 Rectifier: 5U4 Controls: Instrument Volume, Microphone Volume, Bass and Treble Speakers: one 12″ field-coil speaker Output: approximately 20 watts RMS…
Perfect Curves
Fender’s Stratocaster Turns 60
Sixty years down the road since its creation, the Fender Stratocaster is the default image of the electric guitar for nearly all the human race. From early adopters like Buddy…
Gibson Reissue ’58 Flying V
The Phantom V
A number of years ago I purchased a reissue/limited edition Gibson Flying V constructed in the 1958/59 configuration (strings through the body type). Upon inspection, I took note of the…
Eko’s “Celluloid” ’60s Basses
Cool or Gaudy?
By the early 1960s, Europe’s industrial bases had mostly recovered from World War II. Many musical-instrument manufacturers stuck to products popular in their respective countries, but some were innovating, especially…
Carvin DN640K
Doubleneck instruments have always been a unique niche in the guitar market, for good reason. They’ve also carried an air of superiority or the insinuation that they were intended for…
“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…
Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!
Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV, but his new album, “Livin’ My Best Life,” is more…
1952 Bigsby Doubleneck
Few instruments combine excellent craftsmanship, historical significance in the development and evolution of the guitar, and memorabilia appeal as much as this Bigsby guitar, custom made in 1952 for the…
Gibson’s 1958-’62 ES-335TD
The Redoubtable “Dot-Neck” Early every guitar conceived or designed by Ted McCarty during his tenure as president of Gibson (1948-’66) is today seen as exemplary of the company’s best work.…
Jimmy Day’s 1950 Fender Super-Amp
Just Like Hank
As fascinating as we might find any vintage amplifier, at its heart, it’s often just a dusty box of archaic technology. Occasionally, though, one is a nexus to a point…
