Musical chameleon Steve Kimock has played with Ratdog, Kingfish, Heart of Gold Band, the Other Ones, Rhythm Devils, and the Missing Man Formation. For this clip, he grabbed his fretless Continental Tri-cone resonator and plugged into a Two Rock TS1 to play “Careless Love.” He also shows us some key – and very cool – instruments! Read our exclusive interview with Steve in the October issue. READ NOW!!
Each year, readers choose new members for the VG Hall of Fame in the Player, Innovator, and Instrument categories, along with our annual awards for Album of the Year, Featured Artist of the Year, and Player of the Year in four categories – Rock, Blues, Country, and Jazz. See prior inductees… Enter your vote below …
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In 1965, fuzz was the “it” sound. Guitarists had recorded with fuzz before, of course, but after Keith Richards plugged into a Maestro Fuzz-Tone on “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” its sound was suddenly essential. In England, finding fuzz was an endeavor; the Maestro was expensive and difficult to track down. As a result, even …
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The means to make high-quality home recordings are well within the grasp of every guitarists. But, they can only as good as what you put in. We dig into the most essential piece of gear outside the recording system itself – the microphone.
Lipe Maestro Price: $4,900 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has a wall of gold records. Why? Not because he’s a musical star, but because he’s a star to the stars. A former top builder at Ibanez, his creations have helped Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, and many others become luminaries on the …
If you’re going to play neo-classical guitar, nothing beats having a conservatory education. Guitarist Tony MacAlpine has that and is partially responsible for the neo-classical shred boom of the 1980s. But don’t hold that against him. While guitarists have imitated his style, MacAlpine raises the bar by challenging his own abilities and compositional vision. His …
We mine the rich seam of obscure vintage American tube amps on a regular basis here in the pages of VG, but less often do we delve into the equally fascinating histories of B- and C-list British guitar amps of the 1950s, ’60s, and early ’70s. Nevertheless, there was plenty of life in the British …
So, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Waylon Jennings walk into a bar… No, wait, they walk into a NAMM Show. And, no joke, when they carry their iconic tooled-leather Firebird and Tele, respectively, past the Homestead HS50, with its eyecatching raised-pattern “Country & Western Brown” cover, they have no choice but to turn around and plug …
Introduced in the late 1950s as Fender’s “jazz guitar,” the Jazzmaster was also supposed to compete in the market with Gibson’s semi-hollow ES line. But despite its very specific moniker, the guitar never caught on with the jazz crowd. Lucky for Leo, the Jazzmaster was hijacked by many of the top surf and instrumental bands …
Peerless Retromatic Price: $1,699 Info: www.peerlessguitars.eu While many new guitars of the last decade have touted authentic (or semi-authentic) “retro” features, the Peerless Retromatic represents an evolution in the retro-guitar revolution. That’s because in addition to its sexy design and vintage-inspired accoutrements, the Retromatic is refreshingly modern, giving its player the choice between a humbucker …
Fender’s new nine-product Bassbreaker series combines popular traditional amplifiers with modern technology. Classic tones and flexibility are the name of the game, which means a plethora of wattages and sizes providing the kinds of tonal succulence guitarists have come to know and love. The Bassbreaker 45 Combo is the series flagship, and it has a …
The Gretsch G5655T-CB Electromatic Center-Block Price: $1,275.00 (list); $899.00 (street) Contact: www.gretschguitars.com It’s no secret that hollowbodies don’t excel in high-gain situations. Gretsch’s Electromatic line of guitars use a solid-spruce center block designed to cut feedback when things get loud. The smallest of the line, the G5655T-CB shares the 1.75″ deep, double-cut body and 13.5″ …
Ed. Note: In part two of his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes addresses the common belief that the guitar was strictly a ladies’ parlor instrument by finding guitars being made – and played – by men. “Over the last century,” began a recent guitar history, parroting conventional wisdom, “the guitar has evolved from a …
Mick Jagger’s famous 1968 statement – “What’s the point in listening to us doing ‘I’m A King Bee’ when you can hear Slim Harpo do it?” – has been a (sometimes) credo for the Rolling Stones. Why indeed? Except for the fact that the Stones have time and again proven they can indeed play the …
Betty Mabry was known far and wide by the sobriquet of the Nasty Girl. She earned the moniker for being too wild for her men to handle – and among her men were Miles Davis (whom she married in 1968), Jimi Hendrix, and Sly Stone, none of whom were exactly slouches when it came to …
Don Rich’s recording career lasted only 13 years, beginning as the fiddle player on Buck Owens’ 1961 debut. But Owens released as many as four albums a year, and like Merle Haggard’s Strangers and Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours, Owens’ Buckaroos cut several albums without their leader. This 17-track compilation – with three cuts culled from …
Though it got most of the looks in the family, Fender’s Jazz Bass is nonetheless the tag-along younger brother to the Precision. Benefitting from the elder’s success, it was designed in response to market demand for something with a brighter, more-aggressive tone. In the process, Fender also made it “sexier” via a streamlined silhouette, so …
Roland Micro Cube Price: $130 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Every once in a while you have to pinch yourself and thank your lucky stars to be a guitarist in the 21st century. The Roland Micro Cube is a good illustration of this phenomenon; a dinky, portable amp that runs on AA batteries, it weighs just over …
Though their colors are complementary, Brian May’s Red Special and Brian Setzer’s ’59 Gretsch 6120 couldn’t be more different in terms of their origin or their roles in helping to create legendary music. One is home-made, the other represents the innovation of its era. One appeared on stages worldwide, rendering purist tones of a bygone …
Approach longtime players with a (yet another) single-cut/single-coil solidbody, and you may find it tough to get their attention. But, the Prestige Heritage Premier P90 does just that. Founded in 2003, Prestige Guitars now offers 14 electric and acoustic models with four variations of each. The company makes about 1,200 guitars a year, and after …
