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Classic Instruments
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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Gibson EDS-1275 and EMS-1235
It’s hard not to associate doubleneck electric guitars with images of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page or fusion guru Mahavishnu John McLaughlin in the ’70s; however, the fact is that by the time the Big Js were stopping shows with these multi-headed beasts, they were already relics of the past. Doubleneck Spanish guitars got their first…
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Michael Bloomfield’s ’63 Telecaster
This Guitar Killed Folk!
A silver-spoon teen who loved sneaking into Chicago’s southside blues clubs, Michael Bloomfield reveled in absorbing all he could from the many legendary players he saw perform in the city’s famed joints. The de facto lessons served Bloomfield well as he went on to contribute to the works of many famed performers while forging his…
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…
Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his…
Classics: January 2023
Jay Mitzner’s ’53 Gibson Les Paul.
Overhearing his 13-year-old son noodling on a beginner guitar in his bedroom one day in 1958, it occurred to Murray…
Gretsch’s “Golden” Tenors
In the 1950s and early ’60s, the electric guitar was establishing itself as a key part of the new voice…
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…
Selmer/RSA Truvoice TV10
Shock and Awe
If the British market needed a couple of decades to decide what form the guitar amplifier would ultimately take, we shouldn’t be surprised; well into the rock-and-roll age, the U.K.…
Classics: Steve Kimock 1968 Goldstop
It was a moment when the angels did sing. Wanting to chat with his de facto big brother, one fateful day in the summer of 1969, 12-year-old Stevie Kimock walked…
The ViVi-Tone Aggrandizer
• Preamp tubes: 6C5, 6F5 • Output tubes: two 6B5 • Rectifier: 80 • Controls: Volume, on/off switch • Speaker: 10″ field coil • Output: barely scraping double digits… if…
Gibson’s 17″ Pre-War Electrics
ES-300 of 1940-’43
Among musicians and collectors, Gibson’s pre-World-War-II ES-300 may be less popular today than the ES-250, but in terms of sheer numbers, it was Gibson’s most popular 17″ pre-war electric, despite…
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Dan’s Guitar RX: A 1955 Gibson Touch-up
Team Effort.
To keep work flowing in my shop, repairs often become a group effort. Recently, Gene Imbody, T.K. Kelly, Paul Schmittauer, and I worked to repair a beautiful ’55 Les Paul Special and GA-30 amp belonging to Jake Curtis, who inherited the set from his grandfather, Vernon Benschoter. They’re both in very good condition, and Jake…
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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…
Vox/Thomas Organ V-14 Super Beatle
Solid Sound
After producing some of the most-iconic guitar amplifiers of the early 1960s, Vox leaned unwittingly into a failing technology –…
Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P asks “Who’s Gonna Ride”
’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the…
Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines
Archtop Elite
The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather…
The Fender “High-Powered” Twin
1958-’59 Fender Twin Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: four 5881 (6L6 equivalents), fixed bias Rectifier: GZ34 (5AR4)…
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…
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.…
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…
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 a new wiring harness, tuners, binding repair, new frets, and…
“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…
Rickenbacker Transonic
Rickenbacker Transonic TS100 Topology: Solid State Output: 100 watts RMS Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass controls and Hollow, Mellow and Pierce switches on each channel; Tremolo Speed and Depth, Reverb, and…
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Jason Isbell
New Vistas, Old Gear
Jason Isbell’s powerful songs, compelling vocals, and formidable guitar skills have made him one of America’s most-respected singer/songwriters. A charismatic performer, his critically-lauded albums, solo and backed by the formidable 400 Unit, have earned six Grammys and nine Americana Music Awards. With an eclectic style melding country, blues, and Southern rock, his appeal transcends genres.
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“Boogie Mod” Dual Showman
What do you do when the humble blackface Bandmaster you acquired sight-unseen turns out to harbor one of rock’s hottest lead circuits? Celebrate! And then go tracing its connection to California’s seminal high-gain guitar amplifier. Randall Smith’s legendary Boogie lead circuit started as a prank played on an unsuspecting client before he applied it as
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Albert King’s THC Flying V
Coterie Complete
Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music producer, he has collected an assortment of instruments and music memorabilia, particularly related to his home town of Memphis. One of his guitars recently became part of a recording project that began at the renowned
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VG Q&A: Parlor Mystery
Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the sound hole it reads “The American No. 5” and there is no other identifying script. The bridge is a pyramid-type. We’re curious about its age and manufacturer; I’m guessing Lyon and Healy from the 1920s.
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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!
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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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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 Houston/BFG-flavored. Here, he and his ’69 Gibson Les Paul Custom (running through an Ibanez TS-10 and a Fender Reverb tank going to a vintage Lab…
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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 the L-5CT, while the second looked more like a fancy ES-335 with a shortened neck. In almost every way – size, construction materials, appointments, and…
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…
Harmony H27
Fancier Than You May Think
“The H27 was fanciest semi-hollow bass ever offered by Harmony.” During the guitar boom of the 1960s, the Chicago-based Harmony…
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…
Kalamazoo KG-1
Collectible value in guitars can be defined any number of ways, and not just by having a popular brand name…
