• Veillette-Citron Shark

    Classic Instruments

    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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Ro-Pat-In’s First Electric Spanish

Granddaddy to the Stars!

The story of George Beauchamp’s invention of what would become the first commercially successful electric guitar is shrouded in the mist of murky memory. But one critical element of the…

United They Stood, Part 2

Ghosts of Jersey City

In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost in partially self-imposed obscurity. Operating from 1939 into the late…

Tony Mottola

Mr. Big, Guitar Pioneer

Some argue that Tony Mottola was more legendary than famous. In a career spanning 50 years, the guitarist logged thousands of studio dates and made hundreds of concert and television…

Star Board: Rudy Jaramillo

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…

Dad’s Day 2021

VG’s Annual Salute to Fathers Who Inspire

Marty Ashby’s very musical family has been playing together since he was a little kid. Here’s a shot of them in 1969; dad Jim (who operated Ashby Music in Baldwinsville,…

Five Classic Amps

Five Classic Amps

A Tone-Spotter’s Arsenal To Cover It All

When it comes to classic guitar tones – whether it’s blues through a Dumble, country through a Fender, rock through a Marshall, or jazz through a Roland – every player…

Gibson Wall-Board Guitar

Out of the Woods, Off the Wall

In the world of “guitarcheology,” it’s well-documented that the truly interesting stuff – prototypes, one-offs, custom instruments – usually surface close to the source. For instance, in the 1970s, Fender…

Gibson 1953 GA-40 Les Paul Model

Brown Sound

Gibson landing Les Paul’s name on the headstock of its debut solidbody electric in 1952 was the biggest guitar-star endorsement of its time. And, as was the way, an amp…

Ampeg’s Jet Reverb Prototype

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Parsons/White StringBender

From the origins of country-rock to Jimmy Page, Metallica, and a slew of modern country-pickin’ wizards, the string bender lends unique sounds to any form of music by giving players…

Nat Talks Strings!

The Strings of Power Hey there! Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars dives into the world of guitar strings, discussing the differences between flat tops, half rounds, and flatwound strings.…

Gibson L-00

1933 Gibson L-00

While most of the instruments featured in this space are high-end, often elaborately ornamented models that were expensive when new and command high prices today as collectible, the L-00 was…

JMI Vox AC15 “Two-Tone” 1×12″

TV Star

The permutations of early Vox models remain endlessly fascinating to vintage-amp enthusiasts, and few get us as worked up as a rare transitional version of the hallowed AC15. The “TV-front”…

First ’Burst

In May of 1958, a worker at the Gibson factory pulled two Les Paul guitars – serial numbers 8 3087 and 8 3096 – off the line and sprayed their…

Wes Beech

Life in The Plasmatics

From the moment he met Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams, things for Wes Beech were never really “normal.” Walking into the basement of their loft for an audition, Beech…

The Oud

The Oud

Ancient to Modern

If Beatles guitarist George Harrison had used an oud instead of a sitar to give “Norwegian Wood” its distinct sound, the name Munir Bashir may be more recognized today than…

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie”

This may well be the most desirable Fender Stratocaster on the face of the planet. And it happens to be a beat-up mongrel assembled from parts taken from three 1950s…

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…

Selmer Truvoice

Selectortone Automatic

Selmer Truvoice Selectortone Automatic, ca. 1961 Preamp tubes: one ECC83, two EF86 Output tubes: two EL34, cathode-bias Rectifier: GZ34 Controls: Channel I: Volume, Tone. Channel 2: Volume, Tone, six pushbutton…

Rickenbacker Electric 12-String

Double-bound for Glory

George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success with musicians came early. Rick steels were the measure of…

The Leo Krebs Tape Echo Amplifier

Twenty-Three and Thee

If you have no recollection of the revolutionary amplifier with 19 knobs, 23 tubes, and built-in tape echo created by Leo in California, chances are you’re thinking of the wrong…

The Guild Starfire Bass

In the mid ’60s, Guild took its knocks for making guitars that looked “inspired by” Gibson models. Fans of the brand think the sterotype is unfair, of course, and certainly,…

Fender Deluxe Reverb

Vintage Guitar magazine Hall of Fame 2011 Instrument

In the June ’07 issue of VG, amp profiler extraordinaire Dave Hunter said of the Fender Deluxe Reverb, “If guitarists were to vote for the one ‘best amp for all…

Reverend Freakchild – Surprises at Every Turn!

Pushing Boundaries of Blues, Folk, and Rock After a smash-and-grab from his car a few years ago, Reverend Freakchild made this National N-series his main squeeze. Here, they show us…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 2

The Black Bison Leads the Herd

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled the first three installments for a special edition of VG…

Zemaitis Guitar

Tony Z and the Cult of the Zemaitis Guitar

While England has produced some notable guitar brands, such as Burns, Shergold and Eggle, it is rare for an individual maker to gain acceptance in a world where an “established…

Gretsch 6130 Round-up

Head ‘em out!

The romantic concept of the “Old West” – an enduring element of American pop culture – was spurred by pulp novels before John Ford introduced the world to My Darling…

The Acoustic

Black Widow

In the late ’60s, when Domino guitars were fading away, tube amplifiers were out of vogue. Old technology, man! Cool bands played through solidstate amps that delivered lots of clean…

Rob Allen Custom Basses

As a leading-edge shop owner ca-rrying 26 high-end bass-related lines, I’m regularly approached to become an authorized dealer for many products. I’m fair but skeptical with the inquiries and always…

Gibson Style U

Harp Guitar

Gibson Style U. Courtesy Gruhn Guitars. This Gibson Style U harp guitar, made in 1906 or ’07, represents the top level of the Gibson lineup in the company’s first quarter-century,…