• 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…

Replacing Rotted Tuning Keys on a ’62 ES-335

Buttons for a Buzzcock

February 8, 2022 · Dan Erlewine

Steve Garvey played bass in the seminal punk band Buzzcocks during its classic era – 1977 to ’81 – with…

1985 Guild Nightbird Prototype Home Main Big

1985 Guild Nightbird Prototype

March 17, 2016 · George Gruhn

In early 1984, Mark Dronge, son of the Guild founder Alfred Dronge, was president of Guild. That year, Mark and…

Nils Lofgren Shines Solo – Again

September 26, 2023 · Vintage Guitar

Star Grabs Vintage J-50 for “Ain’t the Truth Enough? An in-demand sideman for more than 50 years, guitar wizard Nils…

The Höfner Model 485G

December 27, 2023 · Michael Wright

At the end of World War II, the town of Schönbach, in western Bohemia, became Luby, Czechoslovakia, and the people…


Dan’s Guitar RX: Creating the Iris DE-11

Something New From Something Old

In last month’s “Approved Gear,” VG reviewed the Iris Guitar Company DE-11. If you missed it, I’d suggest you grab the issue and check it out. This month, I’ll take…

Gibson’s 1966-’70 Flying V

In Detail

Body is two-piece mahogany. Pickguard mounts to body with 13 screws. Pickups are patent-number humbuckers with chrome-plated covers. Tune-O-Matic bridge with Gibson’s basic spring vibrato (a.k.a. Vibrola) tailpiece. Control pots…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 5

1964: Solid Heyday

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 4, 5, and 6 for this special edition of…

The First “Mary Kaye” Stratocaster

The Fender “Mary Kaye” Stratocaster. A term guitar aficionados have come to associate with a ’50s Strat with blond finish with gold-plated hardware… Although Mary Kaye never owned one and…

Nioma Guitars

Rarities from a West Coast Music School

NIOMA musical instruments from the 1930s and ’40s – with their vaguely Hawaiian-looking name – have mystified vintage-guitar enthusiasts over the decades when they’ve occasionally surfaced in retail shops and…

  • 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…

United They Stood, Part 2

Ghosts of Jersey City

July 11, 2022 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost…

Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!

September 26, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV,…

Premier Twin 12

February 5, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Sometimes it takes just the slightest aesthetic twist to get an amp nut all worked up. This 1960 Premier Twin…

Dallas Shaftesbury 30

March 7, 2017 · Dave Hunter

We mine the rich seam of obscure vintage American tube amps on a regular basis here in the pages of…


John Sebastian & Arlen Roth

Reimagine the Lovin’ Spoonful

In the ’60s, the Lovin’ Spoonful boasted one of the most impressive song catalogs in rock and roll. During the age of psychedelia and college courses examining the Beatles and…

Greg Lake’s 
Zemaitis Doubleneck

Twice as Heavy

With progressive-rock juggernaut Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (1947-2016) played more than one instrument made by the renowned British luthier Tony Zemaitis. Known for their fancy tops of…

A Master’s Pallet

George Fullerton’s Fender Jazzmaster

A Master's Pallet

This Jazzmaster is an interesting example of what went on behind the scenes at the Fender factory with the research and development of body shapes and materials, and during the…

The Story of Jay Gower

Startup in Music City

In Nashville today, there are enough professional luthiers to meet the need for guitar repairs, modifications, and custom builds. In the 1950s, though, musicians typically returned broken instruments to the…

 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…

Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1 Basses

Horizontal Vibe

Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 take their design inspiration from Ampeg’s quirky mid-’60s Horizontal Bass series, the brainchild of Dennis Kager, an amp technician and guitar specialist who worked for…

  • “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…

Classics: September 2021

Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225

May 6, 2022 · Ward Meeker

Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me…

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…

Star Board: Carl Verheyen

March 7, 2014 · Ward Meeker

In each issue of “Signal Chain,” we’ll take a guided tour of pro players’ pedalboards. We’re calling the feature “Star…

Sue Foley

Femme Flamenco

December 10, 2024 · Greg Prato

In a time when pop-music performers rely heavily on post-recording fix-ups and pre-recorded tracks onstage, it’s refreshing – even admirable…