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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!
Rickenbacker 481
It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we do an injustice to pianos and cornets, which have reached…
Bex Marshall and her ’63 Hummingbird
Family History Straight from the “Classics” feature in the August issue, here’s Bex Marshall playing the ’63 Gibson Hummingbird bought new by her uncle, David, in his days with the…
Mossman Guitars
Triumph over Tragedy
The story of Mossman guitars is one of both tragedy and triumph. Often forgotten in the rejuvenated interest with acoustic guitars of the 1990s, Mossmans are best known for their…
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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…
Gibson Style J Mando-bass
Decades before Audiovox or Leo Fender dreamed of making a fretted electric bass, Gibson started manufacturing fretted acoustic mando-basses that were tuned the same as an upright bass. Joe Spann,…
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…
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…
Gittler Guitar
Avraham Bar Rashi
One of the most intriguing electric stringed instruments to ever appear on the American amplified music landscape was the rare and starkly-minimalist Gittler. Simply an electric guitar constructed with as…
Stratospheric Variations
A History of offset double-cut guitars
When you think about it, it’s quite remarkable how few guitar archetypes there really are. By “archetypes” we’re referring to aesthetic design, or shapes. If you pull back and squint,…
Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355
Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though Asleep At The Wheel leader Ray Benson quit using this…
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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.…
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Zac Schulze gets straight to it!
If you’re a fan of Cream, Zeppelin, and Rory Gallagher (who isn’t?), you’ll dig Zac Schulze Gang, a British power trio that’s carrying the torch with both hands; they’ve played Clapton’s Crossroads and the Rory Gallagher Tribute Fest. Here, Zac flies solo on “High Roller,” tearin’ it up on his ’54 Guild Aristocrat M75 through…
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Jon Butcher’s psychedelia mastery
Jon Butcher tales his Olympic White ’63 Strat for a rip on “Jam,” a track from his new album, “Nuthin’ but Soul.” The disc is an homage to sounds of Motown, Stax, James Brown, and Sly Stone highlighted by Butcher’s mastery of Hendrix-style psychedelia. It was recorded using a ’63 Princeton, a Vibrolux, and a…
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The Electra Endorser
Flame-top guitars were fairly common during the 1970s “copy era,” but few reached the levels of figure we often see on modern high-end guitars. Then came the Electra Endorser X935CS, which set new standards for psychedelic woodgrain. “But it’s not a ’70s guitar,” you object. No, but arguably, the Endorser CS – which was only…
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Webb Wilder’s take on “Beautiful Delilah”
“Hillbilly Speedball” sample Since the mid ’80s, Webb Wilder has cranked out consistently fine roots-rock. His latest is “Hillbilly Speedball,” and here he grabs his ’61 Gibson ES-330TD plugged into a narrow-panel Fender Vibrolux to play a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah.” He’s joined by George Bradfute (on a ’50s Epiphone upright) and Bob…
Kramer Duke
Shorter Steinberger Syndrome
If you think the headless, downsized Kramer Duke series was conceived and designed as a copy of the groundbreaking Steinberger bass, think again, because that’s not half of the story.…
The Fender “Wide-Panel” Twin
While Fender’s high-powered 5F8-A Twin of 1958-’60 (VG, March ’09) has been much raved about in recent years, there’s a lot to be said for a Twin that’s closer to…
Holman Guitars
From Kansas… to Oz?
1966-67 Holman Classic, same body as the Wurlitzer Cougar. Whether or not you think they’re from Oz probably depends on your tastes, but one thing’s for certain – they’re not…
Tonk Brothers/Washburn 5241
From the late 1920s through the early ’40s, Gibson produced instruments under a variety of brand names for retailers like Montgomery Ward and mail-order houses like Tonk Brothers. While the…
Horses of Another Color
1) This ’57, from batch 253xx, has the added intrigue of a gold G-cutout tailpiece in place of the Bigsby vibrato. In addition to the standard Amber Red stain on…
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…
Lloyd Loar
An Alternative View
The Master Model instruments created at Gibson in the early 1920s are famous for their sound and build. Credit for their design is often laid at the feet of “acoustic…
1912-’16 Manuel Ramírez Model 26
Manuel Ramírez was one of the most important makers of the Madrid school at the turn of the 20th century. His well-organized shop was staffed by talented makers such as…
The 1966 Murph Squire II-T
So-Cal Attention Getter
Despite what many enthusiasts believe, there has been only one really significant “lawsuit” that defined a class of guitars – Norlin v. Elger, 1977 – but there have been plenty…
B.C. Rich Guitars
From Flamenco to Heavy Metal
From one perspective, flamenco and heavy metal might seem as far apart as the sun and the moon, but if you think about the hyperbolic emotion involved in both genres,…
Mark Sampson: Matchess
Man
The garage behind Mark Sampson’s Southern California home is a Batcave for vintage tube amp lovers. Dark, dusty storage areas are crammed with ancient tan-colored Vox AC-10 “TV” models from…
Fender 6G6-C Bassman
Brown Sound
There are several revered classics amid the ever-evolving circuits in the amplifier known as the Bassman, but one of the best-sounding might be a brief iteration that few have realized…
Star Board: Craig Bartock
This month, we take a guided tour of the pedalboard belonging to Craig Bartock, guitarist with Heart. Craig Bartock, a well-known (and busy) guitarist/composer, has been the touring lead guitarist…
Fender Prototypes
Gone… And Forgotten
Philip Kubicki has been active in the music industry for over 30 years. He began building acoustic guitars at age 15. At 19, he was one of the first employees…
The Sebastian ‘Burst
Inspirational Icon
The mere mention of a Gibson Les Paul Standard made between 1958 and 1960 commands attention. But one like this, made famous in the hands of John Sebastian in the…
The Epiphone Excellente
When Gibson acquired Epiphone in 1957, the plan was to introduce a new line of Epis that would be made in the Gibson factory but designed to be slightly less…
G&L F-100
1981 G&L F-100-I If guitars are in your blood – really in your blood – you can’t walk away from them. That was certainly the case with Clarence Leonidas Fender,…
Park Model 1229
Half-Stack Heaven
Vintage Park amplifiers have long offered happy hunting for those seeking stealthy “Marshall in disguise” kicks. But the maker used the sister brand to try a few nifty circuit changes,…
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…
Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines
Archtop Elite
The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather and striking rock-and-roll poses, the King epitomized attitude while brandishing…
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…
