• The story of the Martin F-50

    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!

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Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp

Epiphone’s Professional Guitar and Amp

Since the instrument was introduced, those who play the electric guitar have modified it to create new sounds and interesting effects. In the late 1940s and 1950s, amplifiers followed suit…

Classics: October 2021

Ibanez IC200 Iceman

Pete Prown’s obsession with the Ibanez Iceman began when the company’s 1978 guitar catalog landed atop dealer display cases; the teen rocker dreamily eyed what would be the first step…

First Guitar of Rock and Roll

Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295

Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the country in July of 1954, courtesy of Elvis Presley’s supercharged-hillbilly…

Hallmark Swept-Wing

Brief Flight from South of Bakersfield

Bob Shade exemplifies the adage “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The guitar builder has an enviable assortment of ’60s Hallmark guitars and basses, and they’ve inspired his own…

GA-20’s Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty

FlashBack Sounds, Forward Steps

Musical gateways opened by Jimi Hendrix and the Doors led Matt Stubbs to become a disciple of Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Earl Hooker, and the guitar Kings – Albert, Freddie, and…

Ted Newman Jones’ West-Texas Guitars

Melodious Coterie

Boxcars Among the vast papers, drawings, photographs, and tapes at Texas Tech’s Crossroads of Music Archive is a guitar beloved by the late Jesse “Guitar” Taylor. Known as “Dice,” it…

GIBSON-EB-2-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Gibson EB-2

Kalamazoo’s Biggest Bass Innovation?

In the mid 1950s, Gibson president Ted McCarty was paying close attention to two new instruments impacting the musical-instruments market – the solidbody electric guitar and the electric bass. Both…

Fender Jazz Bass

“Stack-knob” is a catch phrase that for decades has perked the ears of collectors; these relatively rare examples of the earliest Fender Jazz Bass are among the first electric basses…

Gibson GA-80T Vari-Tone

In the late ’50s and early ’60s, Gibson was apparently convinced the Vari-Tone switch was the way of the future, with its instant access to six different tones. But a…

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 Mitzner that the boy was not only passionate about the…

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford and the Martin Style 00-44G

Special Signature

Of the nearly 200 artists who have been granted a “signature” Martin guitar, only one was given their own style number. It wasn’t Clapton. It wasn’t Cash. Rather, it’s Vahdah…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 7

1965: Summer Of The Hollowbodies

The Way Back Beat survey of instruments designed by James Ormston Burns continues with the final products developed by his company before it was bought out by U.S. keyboard manufacturer…

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Homer Haynes’ ’59 D’Angelico Excel

From 1932 to 1964, independent builder John D’Angelico produced some of the finest jazz guitars. After apprenticing and working in the violin trade, D’Angelico transitioned to building archtop guitars with…

Gibson Marauder M-1

Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck guitar!” So they do. And the result is almost always…

Michael Bloomfield’s ’63 Telecaster

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…

Familiar Names Create Music as J&B Brothers

Austin-Powered

The J&B Brothers make a sound equal parts Texas country, blues, folkie, rock, jazz, and soul – the spices that make music from the region so damn tasty. They’re also…

Soul-jazz legend Calvin Keys

Exclusive spin on “Six to Seven” Calvin Keys has worked with Jimmy Smith, Ahmad Jamal, and Ray Charles. Here, he and his ’72 Gibson Johnny Smith play “Six to Seven,”…

Cole Eclipse Pro Special

Straight-from-the-catalog instruments are fun – and reassuring – because you know exactly what you’ve got. But there’s another kind of thrill – and satisfaction – when you find something that’s…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 7

1965: Summer Of The Hollowbodies

The Way Back Beat survey of instruments designed by James Ormston Burns continues with the final products developed by his company before it was bought out by U.S. keyboard manufacturer…

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…

Gibson Blond j-35 Photo: Kelsey Vaughn, courtesy George Gruhn. Vintage Guitar magazine Home Feature

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…

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+

The Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+

Early Mesa/Boogie Mark Series amps were something of a sensation, but even with the line now having stretched all the way to the massively featured Mark V, many fans of…

Star Board: Jared Scharff

Star Board: Jared Scharff

“Saturday Night Live” staff guitarist Jared Scharff uses this custom pedalboard, built by Matt Brewster, 30th Street Guitars, New York City. “I’ve been using it for two or three years,”…

Tech 21 Trademark 60

Incredible sound at a nice price

In the past six years we’ve focused mostly on used gear, but occasionally included new stuff that works so well it’s impossible to ignore. This month’s entree, the Trademark 60,…

National Bel-Air, Photo courtesy George Gruhn Big thmbnail

National Bel-Air

The idea of Gibson providing guitar parts to another prominent guitar maker is laughable today, but in the 1940s and ’50s, relationships were cozier between some of the major instrument…

Christopher Thorn

Alt-Rocker/Studio Guru

Best known as half of the guitar tandem in the ’90s alternative-rock band Blind Melon (that’s his rhythm on “No Rain,” using his Gibson J-30), Christopher Thorn has since recorded…

Ricky Phillips’ Fender Custom Shop five-string

Ricky Phillips with his Fender Custom Shop bass in 2008. Photo: Willie G. Moseley. Most professional guitarists or bassists, upon reaching a certain level of success, are seen as “Les…

1924 Martin 00-45

1924 Martin 00-45

When trying to determine originality, guitar dealers and collectors have a tendency to study instruments with the care of a forensic pathologist. Still, modifications can be difficult to detect, and…

Eleonora Strino’s old-school jazz

Italian jazzer lays it down on “It Don’t Mean a Thing” Eleonora Strino brings serious old-school jazz chops, put to great use on original compositions and interpretations like this take…

Toys For Tots and Dreams Psychedelic Realized Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

Toys For Tots and Psychedelic Dreams

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. As Christmas rapidly approaches,…