• 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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Wah-Wah Pedals

An Evaluation of Effects and Pedals

The idea for this article came about when I purchased a box of effects pedals from the owner of a music store which had closed in the late seventies. Most…

An Early Manuel Ramírez

This fascinating instrument from the shop of Manuel Ramírez ca. 1909 is unusual in that the complete history of the instrument is known to us, there having been only two…

Tom Petersson

Lower-End Innovator

It’s been a long time comin’… Like his longtime bandmate, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick bassist/songwriter Tom Petersson collects classic stringed instruments. Now a resident of Nashville, Petersson still plays the…

Gretsch Jet Firebird

One of the flashiest Jets in the Gretsch Company’s Air Force

Given the number of jet-related model monikers in Gretsch’s 1950s and ’60s catalogs, one might get the impression the company built airplanes. There were the flashy “fighters” like the Duo-Jet, Silver…

The Les Paul Becomes The SG

Double Time

It may be difficult to imagine now, but Gibson’s original Les Paul was only a modest success. Introduced in 1952, the Gibson Les Paul Model (a.k.a. goldtop) reached peak production…

Univox Hi Flyer

Legacy of the Ventures

The Ventures had a powerful impact on both the worlds of rock music and guitars, as reflected in this ca. 1973 Univox Hi Flyer (a.k.a Hi Flier). In the early…

Guild in the Post-Fender Era

Guild in the Post-Fender Era

Round and Round She Goes

Since its beginnings in 1952, Guild has gone through many changes in ownership, location, marketing approach, and design philosophy. In the course of a change in ownership and three moves,…

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…

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…

Gretsch Country Gent #1

The Gretsch Country Gentleman 6122 was the third of four Chet Atkins signature guitar models created for the legendary guitarist in the ’50s. The little-known truth is it was also…

Geddy Lee

Bass Conservator

In its 40-plus years, Rush evolved on its own terms. Mixing rock and jazz influences, the band’s 19 studio albums fostered a cultish fan base of prog-rockers, headbangers, and others…

Movie Star, Rancher

Mid-’50s Muse of Wire and Wood

In the years immediately after World War II, Americans were settling into a new way of life, and plunging headlong toward an economic prosperity never before experienced by everyday people.…

Gibson’s 1958-’62 ES-335TD

The Redoubtable “Dot-Neck” Early every guitar conceived or designed by Ted McCarty during his tenure as president of Gibson (1948-’66) is today seen as exemplary of the company’s best work.…

Orange OR80 Combo

Sunshine State

Created when amps were huge and men were men – or at least had roadies to carry the gear – this 1972 Orange OR80 2×12″ combo veritably screams bell-bottomed rock…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 11

Burns Oddities and Ends

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 9, 10, and 11 for this special edition of…

The Airline GIM 9151A

After The Fall

1970 Montgomery Ward Airline GIM 9151A Preamp tubes: three 12AX7 Output tubes: four 6L6GC Rectifier: solid-state Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass     on each of two channels Output: approximately 40…

Two Tickets to the Top

Keeley Electronics’ Katana and Flexi 4×2

Any gearhead who’s been paying attention the last seven years knows the name Robert Keeley. Since 2001, he and his staff at Keeley Electronics have produced a variety of boutique…

Marshall Amplifiers

From Birth to the 21st Century

From the first JTM to models for Clapton and Townshend, Jim Marshall has been building amps since the early 1960s. Though inspired by others, his amps are entities unto themselves.…

Supro’s 600R DeLuxe

Supro’s 600R DeLuxe

“The Magic of Concert Hall Sound”

In the early days of reverb, no one was thinking about surf music; they were striving instead to replicate the warm, resonant, live sound of a concert hall. So, when…

Dave Murphy: Acoustic Country!

 Classic Ballad Style Country/folk/rock singer/guitarist Dave Murphy wrangled guitarist Chris Tarrow for this take on “Josephine,’ from Dave’s new album, “A Heart So Rare.” Dave is using a U.K.-made…

Meet The GitWik

Cooperative Cognition

When it comes to identifying guitars, basses, amps, and effects, nobody knows it all. Anyone save for the true specialist, whose interest is focused on a particular model, make, or…

Earliest Gretsch 6120

…Revealed!

The Gretsch company rose to the upper echelon of guitar manufacturers in the 1950s with the introduction of a diverse and dynamic array of electric models. Arguably the most identifiable…

The Martin 3K

The continuing appeal of Hawaiian music through the past 100 years is based in part on the music itself, which evokes exotic images of life on a Pacific island, and…

Paul Reed Smith Guitars

The World of Paul Reed Smith

Just after we entered the small, crowded office, the door burst open and an intruder blurted out, “Excuse me. Check this out. Is it right?” The company’s R&D chief handed…

Gibson F-5 1923

1923 Gibson F-5. Gibson F-5 mandolins signed by Lloyd Loar from mid 1922 to 1924 are considered the Holy Grail by most American mandolin players. Within that group of grails,…

Ecco-Fonic

John Adomono was an American guitar hero of the Cold War years. JFK named him his favorite guitarist, and Adomono played a command performance at the White House. He performed…

Boss MA-1

Spice Up a Small Amp

Normally, when you think of an effect pedal, an image of a stompbox comes to mind; one you step on, or one that performs a dramatic effect on the sound…

Veleno Guitars

Shiny Metal (Rare) Birds

Throughout the years luthiers have built guitars out of a lot of exotic materials, from Torres’ paper mache acoustics to Danelectro’s masonite to Dan Armstrong’s lucite guitars to Steinberger’s all-graphite…

National Style 3 Hawaiian

Metal-bodied guitars built by the National String Instrument Company before World War II represent a giant leap in guitar design and technology. When they debuted in 1926, they were startling…

Ibanez Tube Screamer

From the first notes of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood,” you can hear it loud and clear; that snarly tone is not just pure Stratocaster and amplifier! To get that…