Blackstar Amplification is known for its successful Artisan, Series One, and HT amp lines. Its new HT effects line includes boxes for delay, reverb, modulation, distortion, drive, and boost. All pedals in the series use a heavy-duty 6.25″ x 4.75″ x 2.25″ die-cast chassis with top-mounted controls, side-mounted 1/4″ jacks, tube window, on/off stompswitch with …

The Epiphone Excellente was the fanciest flat-top Gibson made in the 1960s, and to some ears it was Gibson’s best. But in its seven-year production run, from late ’63 until the last were shipped in ’70, only 141 Excellentes were sold. A Brazilian-rosewood/square-shouldered dreadnought, the Excellente was almost called the Sonny James Southern Gentleman model. If …

Okay, Zep police, sound the alarm and prepare to loose the hounds – we are finally about to lift the lid on the Jimmy Page amp. Well, maybe not the Jimmy Page amp, but almost certainly a Jimmy Page amp, and even this claim should be enough to get the keys clacking and the internet …

It’s ironic – and tragic – that Brian Wilson leads off his long-awaited memoir explaining the voices he hears in his head. He’s referring to the mental illness that has troubled his life and career, but he soon segues into the other voices he hears in his head – a near-mystical ability to envision songs …

Credited with creating the trio format and incorporating country and Atkins-style hybrid picking into the burgeoning rock-and-roll style, he was thrust into the spotlight thanks to a young singer named Elvis. Plus, players react to Moore’s passing, and a look at his famed Gibson ES-295.

You can receive more great articles like this in our twice-monthly e-mail newsletter, Vintage Guitar Overdrive, FREE from your friends at Vintage Guitar magazine. VG Overdrive also keeps you up-to-date on VG’s exclusive product giveaways! CLICK HERE to receive the FREE Vintage Guitar Overdrive. As Hawaiian music gained popularity in the 1920s and ’30s, performers …

Brian Setzer wears several hats – rockabilly, swing, even hard-rocking Christmas music. But through it all, by and large he plays only one guitar – a Gretsch. And ideally, just a Model 6120 at that. With his new album, Setzer gets back to his roots, both in playing scorching rockabilly, but also in using his …

Surf’s up – again! Thanks to the prodding of guitarist/impresario Deke Dickerson, The Trashmen recently recorded their first album in 25 years. “I was an obsessed fan,” Dickerson says of the band, whose 1963 hit “Surfin’ Bird” vaulted it to near-legendary status. “They were doing rockabilly mixed with surf, and it was unique in that …

Yamaha THR10 Price: $299 Contact: usa.yamaha.com As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically lack tone and features. Yet whether in a bedroom or hotel room, a practice amp should help inspire an artist by making practice more pleasure than chore. Yamaha’s THR10 is a definite step in the …

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 …

The career of guitarist Chris Spedding has spanned more than four decades and included a commendable solo career, a stint in bassist Andy Fraser’s first post-Free venture (Sharks), and later, an association with Roxy Music. Spedding has always been primarily a studio musician, but has recorded several albums of his own music. He recently released …

In the years immediately after World War II, Americans were settling into a new way of life, and plunging headlong toward an economic prosperity never before experienced by everyday people. Change was also afoot among the nation’s guitar manufacturers. Having been restricted by materials shortages and/or re-tooling to bolster the war effort, guitar makers like …

Blake Aaron’s fifth solo release, Soul Stories, features eight originals and a couple of covers that have at least one thing in common. Each instrumental relies heavily on the listener keeping the melody in mind. “That’s really important to me; it’s what a song is all about. It’s got to be catchy and deep, which …

Riding high after 35 years with an array of original instruments, an impressive artist roster that started early with Pete Townshend and Mark Knopfler, and a line of high-gain amplifiers, Schecter Guitars has come full circle. Established as Schecter Guitar Research by David Schecter in 1976, the company began repairing guitars and selling parts to …

Cort Z44 Price: $569 list/under $400 street Contact: cortguitars.com Just about everywhere you look these days, manufacturers are devising new spins on the single-cutaway solidbody. Cort has been a player on the import scene for decades and, with its Zenox-series Z44, shows it’s serious about being a player in the world of the single-cut. The …

Joe Bonamassa Awarded in 2018 Joe Bonamassa can be safely filed in the “force of nature” category. Thirty years ago, he was a 12-year-old guitar prodigy who once opened for B.B. King. While youthful players like this rarely grow into mature artists, Bonamassa proved the exception – his playing got faster and more-refined, while he …

From the first JTM to models for Clapton and Townshend, Jim Marshall has been building amps since the early 1960s. Though inspired by others, his amps are entities unto themselves. Marshall amplifiers have remained the choice of artists who wanted their sound to be as impressive as their look.