When a Carvin instrument has been featured in this space over the years, it was a either a doubleneck or an unusual custom instrument. And while the 1977 LB70 featured this month was a production bass, it was still unique. Carvin was founded in the mid (more…)
Peter Hoarty and his wife, Gail, have been hosting guitar shows in England since 1998, when they rented space to sell a few of the 50-some vintage amps and more than two dozen guitars that had begun to flow out of the couples’ house and into their garage-cum-music-room. “I began collecting valve amps at a […]
Doubleneck instruments have always been a unique niche in the guitar market, for good reason. They’ve also carried an air of superiority or the insinuation that they were intended for pro players; i.e., those who could deftly switch from one instrument to another (more…)
Sitori Sonics pedals Price: $188 list (Doob Dreamer, Reel Repeat); $168 (Tidal Phase) Info: sitorisonics.com. Despite the vast possibilities of electronic guitar effects, boutique pedal builders perhaps sometimes focus their effort in the cheeky names to evoke a vibe. Sitori Sonics is no exception, (more…)
Andrew Watt’s star was rising on the New York club scene when bassist Glenn Hughes took his career up a notch. Hughes and drummer Jason Bonham needed to augment their latest project, and Watts had the vibey chops needed to turn their California Breed album into a reality. You’re a young guy. Why are you […]
In 1978, Gibson craftsman Wilbur Fuller produced the company’s first hand-carved, tuned-by-ear custom guitar. The instrument, which in a blind sound-off with some of the best instruments of its era, won the hearts of Gibson brass, ultimately became the Kalamazoo Award. Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars tells us that the Kalamazoo Award was a (more…)
Epiphone ’61 Casino 50th Anniversary Price: $1,415 (with tremtone); $1,332 (with stop/trapeze tailpiece) Contact: www.epiphone.com Airline ’59 Custom 1P Price: $899 (with case) Contact: www.epiphone.com Fifteen years ago, you couldn’t give away some of the less-popular guitars from the ’60s, whether they were models (more…)
Keb’ Mo’s latest album, Blues Americana, nearly wrote itself. “Going in, I had planned to make a solo acoustic record,” he said. “I got the songs together, but felt it didn’t really hold up. So, I made the record like I wanted – started simple, with guitar and vocal and a click track, because I […]
While not well-known in California guitar lore, Ed Sanner’s electronics designs have been heard by millions of guitar fans, and he has recently returned to building unique stomp boxes. Sanner didn’t take up guitar until the age of 18, but his interest in electronics began earlier. “I used (more…)
Kay entered the electric bass market in the mid 1950s with the K162, which later morphed into the similar K5965 (VG, March 2011), and while each met with a modicum of success, in 1960, the Chicago-based instrument maker introduced two near-polar-opposite four-strings. The epitome of the aesthetic excess for which Kay’s electric basses became known, […]
