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Classic Instruments
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.
EKO 995
The Beatles’ appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February of 1964 is often referred to as the most important event in the history of rock music, having inspired thousands…
The RFT 12AX7
The Righteous Flame-throwin’ Tube
“…there is a time and place for that out-front spank, but if your mood shifts to slightly more mellow, there is a simple solution…” Those who plug into Fender amplifiers…
The Guild and Gibson Johnny Smith Models
The name “Johnny Smith” is synonymous with class, elegance, and style. Most guitar players are familiar, if not with the man or his music, certainly with the guitars that bear…
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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.
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…
Sun Rises Again
January, 1950: 27-year-old Sam Phillips opens Memphis Recording Service, soon to become famous as Sun Studio and launching rock and roll with the 1951 Jackie Brenston-Ike Turner ode to an…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tommie James
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tommie James Season 01 Episode 05 In Episode 5 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar mag, host Ram Tuli speaks with…
Gibson’s “blond” J-35
In the world of vintage guitars, people tend to use the words “blond” and “natural” interchangeably to describe a finish with no stain or pigment. However, in some cases, blond…
Beyond the Parlor
Part Three: Women
Ed. Note: In the final installment in his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes offers a study of several women who played the guitar, and what the instrument meant…
The Dallas Rangemaster
Eric Clapton christened it “woman tone.” On the famed 1966 “Beano” album, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, the guitarist ran his Les Paul Standard into a Marshall Model…
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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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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
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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.
Fender Headless Bass
Forgotten Prototype
Reflecting back through my years in the guitar industry, much of my time has been spent in product development, prototyping, and the making of specialty guitars. In recent years, quite…
Fender Telecaster, Part II
Go Tele It On the Mountain, Part II
Given the simplicity of its design, it’s truly remarkable how much staying power the revolutionary Telecaster has exhibited in the half-century since its introduction. Especially for a slab of wood…
Fender Mustang Bass
Truly Transitional
Ca. 1967 Fender Mustang Bass, serial number 219057. VG archive. Instrument courtesy of Rockahaulix. Fender’s short-scale Mustang Bass, introduced in 1966, was a transitional instrument in many ways. The company…
Eric Schulte Custom Guitars
1960 Schulte Custom Doubleneck, courtesy of Eric Schulte. You know the experience. You stop at your favorite music store, scan the axes hanging on the rack, and get a little…
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…
Gibson Basses in The ’70s
Plucky Trio from the “Downer Decade”
Guitar enthusiasts have long heard that the 1970s were the “downer decade” for Fender and Gibson, both of which introduced a few duds and struggled with quality control. Their travails…
In Detail: Gibson’s 1954-’58 Les Paul Junior
In 1952, Gibson’s Les Paul model guitar was brand spanking new. But it wasn’t cutting-edge. True, it was the company’s first solidbody electric guitar, and thus earned a bit of…
Rossmeisl Guitars
Father and Son Operation
The story of Roger Rossmeisl’s career in the guitar industry had its roots with his father, Wenzel. Wenzel was born around 1900, Roger in 1927 in northern Germany, near the…
Martin OM-18P Plectrum Guitar
While the most commonly played and collected Martin guitars have a six-string neck, the company has also made a number of historically noteworthy four-strings. Beginning in the 1920s and carrying…
Burke Guitar
Axe That Time Forgot
For more than 70 years, aluminum has been a component in guitar construction. Exactly whose idea it was originally has never been a cut-and-dried matter of fact, but it has…
History of the Fender Bassman
High Times for Low-End
If they could have just one amplifier, many guitarists – from bar-room grinders to arena megastars – would choose a Fender Bassman. One of the most lauded and influential amps…
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…
The Leilani Lap Steel and Amplifier
You can receive more great articles like this in our twice-monthly e-mail newsletter, Vintage Guitar Overdrive, FREE from your friends at Vintage Guitar magazine. VG Overdrive also keeps you up-to-date…
Epiphone by Gibson Firebird 500
Race on
Gibson will forever be celebrated for its heritage of innovation, including guitars that didn’t look like the common perception of guitars. And for all the influence some of its unusual…
1967 Robert Bouchet
One singular work of the late French master Robert Bouchet, whose influence in the world of guitar making was enormous, is an exceptionally fine and well-preserved example from 1967 –…
The Collins Kids
Mostly-Moseley Memories
Siblings Lorrie and Larry Collins sprang into the public eye in the mid 1950s – dawn of the television era – on a program called “Town Hall Party.” The big-sister/little-brother…
Custom-Color Stratocasters
The Stratocaster was born in 1954. A solidbody with three pickups, contoured back and top, vibrato, and bolt-on neck, it was different. And it changed the way people looked at,…
The Vox/Thomas Organ V-8 Berkeley Super Reverb
Organ Transplant
Most fans of classic British guitar amplifiers have heard the tale of how the great all-tube Vox models of the early 1960s transmogrified into disappointing solid-state Vox-in-name-only creations from the…
Gibson Grenada Five-string
The Gibson Granada five-string banjo is primarily known for being played by Earl Scruggs, who had an enormous impact on the sound and style of bluegrass music after joining Bill…
Molly Miller – top-flight instrumental rock, jazz, and twang
Trio rips on “2 West” Instrumental guitar music is having a moment. Offering a stellar example, Molly Miller and her trio show us “2 West,” filmed during soundcheck on their…
The Sammick Viper
Some guitars hit the market at the perfect time to becom e classics – think Les Paul and Stratocaster. Some experience brief popularity, then slip into obscurity – think Bond…
