The Audiovox 736 Electric Bass and 936 Amp
Eight decades ago, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer revealed the story of Paul H. Tutmarc debuting his latest invention – a solidbody electric bass.
The 1935 article...
Eddie Cochran’s Gretsch 6120
One night in the late 1950s, Eddie Cochran set the world alight onstage in the City of Angels. Though the details are lost to...
Howard Leese
Guitarist/ producer/ entrepreneur Howard Leese has come a long way since his early days with Heart in the 1970s. He was onboard when the...
Slim Bryant
Thomas Hoyt Bryant, known to family and friends as "Slim," met Perry Bechtel in Atlanta 1929. "I heard your record, 'Wabash Blues,' and I...
Fender Palomino
Whether all collectors are as attached to nicknames as guitar enthusiasts is unclear. Do salt-and-pepper shaker collectors have fond shortcuts for, say, a Popeye...
Gibson SG Les Paul
In 1961, Gibson replaced its Les Paul series with a new line of lightweight, ultrathin, all mahogany, double-cutaway solidbodies the SG (for solid guitar)....
First Guitar of Rock and Roll
Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the country in July of...
Gibson Goldtops
In the good ol' days of 1952, jazzmeister Les Paul strutted to the center of the world's stage and proudly whipped out his golden...
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...
1976 Hagstrom Jimmy
In the world of archtop guitarmaking, the legendary luthier James L. D'Aquisto (1935-'95) is considered one of the greats. A jazz guitarist, D'Aquisto was...