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Louis Stewart

Irish Jazz Giant

Next to Jameson whiskey, Louis Stewart remains Ireland’s leading export – and his playing can be just as intoxicating. The consummate creative jazz artist, his soft-toned archtop sound reflected the traditions of Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery, and Kenny Burrell, yet he could generate as much heat and power as any post-modern bopper. Moreover, he explored […]

During his 30-plus years as an independent guitarmaker, James L. D’Aquisto was acclaimed as the premier maker of archtop guitars. He gained the title initially as the successor to his mentor, New York maker John D’Angelico. Then, after carrying on and embellishing the D’Angelico tradition for more than 20 years, D’Aquisto suddenly changed direction, as […]

Don’t miss your chance to win big! Enter now for your chance to own a complete set of Electro-Harmonix Pico pedals – all nine of them – worth nearly $1,500! Act fast and take your music to the next level with this incredible prize. PICO PITCH FORK Offering a total of 30 pitch shift options […]

Les Paul

2007 Hall of Fame Player

In 1952, Gibson’s new Les Paul model was becoming one of the company’s most popular guitars, and though there was no way of knowing it at the time, it would ultimately achieve mythical status in the realm of the electric solidbody – and do much the same for the man whose name it carried. Lester […]

Keeley Electronics Dark Side

Floyd Fare

In the multi-verse of effects pedals, Robert Keeley’s compressors, dirt boxes, and workstation gizmos are a thing of beauty – particularly in the realm of pedals that provide multiple sounds. Guitarists who have a hankering for fuzz, delay, and modulation effects will undoubtedly dig the Dark Side, which purports to mimic the popular guitar sounds […]

Built to Survive

Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression

In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely hero started placing big orders.

Fretprints: John Abercrombie

Modern-Jazz Innovator

John Abercrombie operated in four dimensions. A guitarist of unbounded breadth and depth, he redefined space in long, improvised flights and bent time like a rubber band. Jazz is too-narrow a label, as is fusion. Everything Abercrombie touched represents a step forward in music and for ECM Records, his label for more than 40 years. […]

Nancy Wright

Playdate!

The ubiquitous saxophonist of the San Francisco blues scene for 30 years, Nancy Wright finally stepped to the fore and released her solo debut in 2009 – a fine instrumental outing in a Blue Note jazz vein. On her third offering, the type of seasoning that comes from decades of “sideman” and bandmate work (recording […]

Adam Levy’s Wistful Elegance

Vintage ES-335 on “And They All Sang” Famous for supplying charismatic guitar parts while backing Nora Jones and Tracy Chapman, Adam Levy’s latest solo album, “Spry,” is music laden with atmosphere and artistic refinement. Here, he offers a flavor via “And They All Sang.” That’s the ’64 Gibson ES-335 heard most on the disc, running […]

Valco FX Five-0

Garage Band

The Valco FX Five-0 was conceived as “Dick Dale in a box.” Offering overdrive, reverb, and tremolo – each with its own on/off footswitch – it’s a multi-effects unit without a learning curve. With Reverb, you can tweak the Size (duration of the tail), as well as Blend to mix in your dry guitar sound […]

Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P asks “Who’s Gonna Ride”

’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the Memphis Slim House in the Soulsville neighborhood of Memphis (Stax and Willie Mitchell’s Royal Studio are nearby), they captured some of the vibe for this one-man version of “Who’s Gonna Ride,” from their new album, […]

Carl Verheyen

Carl Verheyen

On Mustang Run and Making a CD that Lasts

Fresh off a 42-show/13-country European tour with his own band, Supertramp guitarist and L.A. studio ace Carl Verheyen has just released his 12th studio CD, Mustang Run. Following 2010’s live CD/DVD The Road Divides, it’s his first studio disc since the guitar-laden Trading 8s in 2008, and it covers lots of new ground in a […]

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer

New Tradition

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer Price: $3,299 (list) Contact: www.riversongguitars.com Occasionally, a luthier’s innovation defines a new acoustic guitar sound. The Riversong Tradition One Performer blends modern build techniques, visionary design, and Canadian timbers to achieve a sonic profile as unique as Django’s Maccaferri or Bukka White’s National. On the surface, the Tradition One Performer […]

Official Keith Emerson Tribute Concert

Various artists

Five years ago, keyboardist Keith Emerson sadly ended his life, but a half-decade later, his work still resonates through the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the Nice, and other collaborations. Keith also introduced a generation of rockers to classical music, pioneered electronic keyboards, and was a founding father of prog. In the spring of […]

Fretprints: Billy Duffy

Personality of The Cult

Co-founder of The Cult, Billy Duffy was Britain’s last ’80s guitar hero, with an attitude and sound that embodied the essence of rock guitar. While lauded, that X factor was misunderstood by critics. Historically, Duffy bridged gaps between hard rock, melodic metal, punk, and alternative in an era fraught with conformity by adhering to the […]

David Grissom

How It Feels To Fly

One of Les Paul’s favorite aphorisms when assessing other guitarists was, “Can his mother pick him out on the radio?” Or as Albert Collins put it, “Does he have an identification?” David Grissom passed those tests decades ago. His tone is equal parts crunch and definition. His style melds blues, rock, and country with tinges […]

Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album

Pulverizing Performance

Brutish power chords and shrieking guitar lines abetted by pounding percussion, overdriven bass riffs, and wailing vocals – at the advent of the ’70s, the “Detroit Sound” was a precursor to hard rock and heavy metal. While embodied by the MC5, Stooges, and The Amboy Dukes, the most-successful band on the Motor City scene was […]

Steve Morse

Return of the Dixie Dregs

Steve Morse has been revisiting the past. A member of Deep Purple since 1994, this year he reunited with the original lineup of Dixie Dregs, a band that was key to the ’70s jazz-rock revolution and added deep-fried bluegrass and Southern funk licks to the genre, bolstered by Morse’s rapid-fire picking and the contrapuntal bass […]

'39 Gibson EH-185

’39 Gibson EH-185

Preamp tubes: three 6J7, one 6N7 Output tubes: two 6L6 Rectifier: 5U4 Controls: Instrument Volume, Microphone Volume, Bass and Treble Speakers: one 12″ field-coil speaker Output: approximately 20 watts RMS Guitarists playing anything other than big-band jazz or Western swing tend to approach pre-rock-and-roll tube amps with reservation. We’re often fascinated, and might enjoy a […]

Micki Free

Turquoise Blue

Grammy winner Micki Free’s latest is loaded with rockin’ badassery. With influences ranging from Billy Gibbons and Carlos Santana to Jimi Hendrix, the former Shalamar guitarist charts his own course with rock and roll, Indigenous American-style. Highlights include Free shredding with Steve Stevens on “Bye 2020,” and Stevens adding impressive nylon-string soloing on “My Big […]

Don Leady’s Stylish Instro!

Roots-rock doyen does “Blue Cumbia 3” LeRoi Brothers co-founder (and Tail Gators head honcho) Don Leady used his real-deal vintage Danelectro U-2 to accompany himself oh-so-stylishly for this exclusive take on “Blue Cumbia 3,” a track from his new album, “Cumbia Meets The Blues.” The disc is a live-in-studio effort where you’ll also hear Don […]

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