If Hadden Sayers’ 2011 release, Hard Dollar, was a way to get his feet wet again, his latest, Rolling Soul, represents a full return to the music world. The guitarist had been at it hard and heavy for more than a decade before personal events took him a bit out of the music realm. “I …

Rodrigo Sanchez is one half of the fiery acoustic duo known as Rodrigo Y Gabriela. They have evolved from a stripped-down dual-acoustic-guitar sound to catapult their music in new directions. On their latest release, Area 52, Sanchez and partner Gabriela Quintero enlisted the help of producer Peter Asher and a 13-piece Cuban orchestra. The result …

Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop to present an exclusive eight-part series on beginner fingerpicking. Hosted by VG Online contributor Tom Feldmann, it will teach the Mississippi John Hurt classic “C.C. Rider” and Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Mojo Hand” at a pace easily followed by anyone! › › In Lesson 7, …

  In Episode 40 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with bassist Johnny Hatton, whose current gig is with Brian Setzer but has also backed Elvis, Liza Minnelli, and The Righteous Brothers. They talk about his ’61 Fender Precision, which his dad bought new at the Mel Bay store, as well …

The mid/late 1960s were a fertile and progressive time for rock guitar, with “Swinging London” serving as the birthplace and incubator for the blues-rock idiom, in particular, as budding English musicians began discovering the sounds of everyone from Chicago blues artists such as Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters to the country blues of Robert Johnson …

When guitarists talk tremolo or vibrato, you can bet the magnificent Magnatone amps will find their way into the conversation. The watery, warbling “true vibrato” that the larger Magnatones are capable of producing is never forgotten by players fortunate enough to have experienced it. In searching to expand the Magnatone legend, the subject is likely …

Best known as Zakk Wylde’s right-hand man in Black Label Society, Dario Lorina is an accomplished shredder in his own right, as evidenced by his second solo/instrumental album, Death Grip Tribulation. Who are some of your influences? When I was younger, Eddie Van Halen was my number one guy. Riding in the car with my …

For 50 years, Todd Rundgren has been compiling one the most eclectic and impressive resumés in music. From forming the Nazz in 1967 to stints with Utopia, Runt, The New Cars, and a successful solo career, his accomplishments as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, engineer, and record producer are rarely equaled by even his most-distinguished contemporaries. After also establishing …

Train guitarist Luis Carlos Maldonado’s musical upbringing and skill on the fretboard has earned him cherry gigs with artists like John Waite, UFO, and Glenn Hughes. He hails from the SG school of melodic-rock swagger, yet it’s his way around a melody that made him invaluable in great bands. He’s a prolific solo artist and …

In his prime, Howard Roberts played more than 900 studio dates annually and recorded the hippest guitar records of the era. His legion of fans still revere his incalculable influence and musical legacy. Vesta Roberts, who grew up in a family of lumberjacks, gave birth to Howard just three weeks before the Wall Street Crash …

Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7 types) Output tubes: two 5881 (a more-rugged 6L6 type), fixed-bias Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Bass Instrument channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Normal channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; shared: Presence Output: 50 watts RMS Insiders from the golden era of the New Jersey amp manufacturer have frequently spoken of Ampeg founder Everett Hull’s unwillingness …

Nearly every musician who plays popular music – be it soul, R&B, pop, or the others – has been influenced by Donald “Duck” Dunn. And certainly, every person who has listened to a radio since 1961 has heard his playing. The revered bassist, who passed away in May of 2012, provided the groove on some …

The unique and insular Bentonia style may be the deepest and darkest of all blues. Skip James personified the music: he sang haunted songs in an eerie, high-pitched voice that would send a cold shiver down even Robert Johnson’s back. Henry Stuckey was the first known musician to come from the remote Mississippi crossroads; he …

Allen Hinds has spent a considerable amount of his 60 years playing guitar, and has kept busy lately with two new releases while also teaching at Musicians Institute, doing session work, and touring Japan and/or Europe a time or two each year. All this came after years of gigging with various acts and a late-blooming …

The son of bluesman Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis was born into a world of blues, R&B, nightclubs, and stages. As a guitar prodigy, he played in his father’s band, and as a teen was signed to Epic Records. The albums Here Comes Shuggie Otis, Freedom Flight, and Inspiration Information made him the most talked about …

Vintage Guitar is teaming with Collings Guitars and Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop to present an exclusive eight-part series on beginner fingerpicking. Hosted by VG Online contributor Tom Feldmann, it will teach the Mississippi John Hurt classic “C.C. Rider” at a pace easily followed by anyone! › › In Lesson 2, Tom discusses tuning, chords, and the …

The latest album from guitarist Mark Elf shot to the top of the jazz charts, but the route to success for Mark Elf Returns 2014 wasn’t so easy. “I was supposed to record in December of 2012, but Superstorm Sandy hit; my house and many others were flooded. I lost everything on the first floor …