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We celebrate devices that have altered the pitch, intensity, frequency, phase, and other characteristics in the sound, feel, and influence of our favorite heroes and songs.
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Classic Instruments
Yamaha SA-15
Our perception of Japanese guitars has evolved slowly. At one point, they were cheap toys, at other times imperfect copies, then startling innovations. Perspective encircles the truth. So, how should we perceive the Yamaha SA-15? Japan became interested in guitars in the early 1920s, as some musicians there began to perform what we’d today call […]
VG Approved Gear
Mooer’s Slow Engine Volume Swell
Bring It Up
Long out of production, the Boss Slow Gear was one of the coolest pedals of the ’80s, duplicating the sound of a volume swell without putting your pinky to work. Mooer has updated this effect with its new Slow Engine. The Slow Engine uses the popular micro-pedal format that takes about half the footprint of […]
Artists
Nils Lofgren
Great American Journeyman
Nils Lofgren’s resumé stretches 47 years and counting. He joined Neil Young’s band at age 19 and was a member of Crazy Horse before his own band, Grin, landed a record deal in 1971. After Grin, he forged a solo career and in ’84 joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. His tenure with […]
VG Approved Gear
Pigtronix Cosmosis
Space ’Verb
If you’re looking for the hippest category of pedals, it’s ambient reverbs. Cosmosis is Pigtronix’s entry, and it’s a fascinating box billed as a “stereo ambient reverb with morphing.” Equipped with knobs to control Tone, wet/dry Blend, and reverb Size, the standout feature is a stomp switch labeled “Morph,” which sets the speed at which […]
Classic Instruments
1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
Silver Serenade
Amplifier collectors swarm to models with descriptors like “first year” and “golden age,” but other types can be far more interesting; a transitional model or amp from a short-lived evolutionary crossroads – especially in “mint” condition – is enough to send goosebumps up the flesh. Such is the case with this one. Other than a […]
Artists
Farewell to a Venture
Nokie Edwards 1935-2018
Nole Floyd “Nokie” Edwards, former lead guitarist and bassist with The Ventures, passed away March 12 from complications related to ongoing medical problems. He was 82. Edwards was born May 9, 1935, in Lahoma, Oklahoma, the son of Elbert and Nannie Edwards. He began playing guitar at age five, as well as the mandolin, bass, […]
Music
Neil Young
A Letter Home
In more ways than one, Journey Through The Past – the title of Neil Young’s 1972 directorial film debut – would have been a better title for A Letter Home, the latest from Winnipeg’s favorite son. Recorded in the 1947 Voice-o-Graph booth at Jack White’s Third Man Records in Nashville, this all-covers affair is, according […]
VG Approved Gear
The Peavey ValveKing II Micro-head 20-Watt Amplifier
Royal Rock
The Peavey ValveKing II Micro-head 20-Watt Amplifier Price: $429.99 Contact: www.peavey.com Famous for their sturdy build and quality overdriven sounds, Peavey’s original ValveKing amplifiers were marketed to musicians who required great plug-in-and-go tones that wouldn’t send them to the poor house. The new Peavey ValveKing II Micro-head has all the nifty tones everyone knows and […]
Artists
Joe Satriani
More Than Meets the Ear
When he emerged in the late ’80s, rock guitarist Joe Satriani stood apart from the hair-band crowd for several reasons. Like most of his contemporaries, his style was a mix of classical and classic rock, heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. Also like his peers, he was fully capable of the shred-tastic scalar […]
VG Approved Gear
Fender’s 70th Anniversary Esquire
One-Pickup Wonder
In the past, Fender has paid homage to its history with precise replicas of certain classics. The company’s 70th Anniversary Esquire, however, honors its debut 1950 electric guitar without being hidebound to the past. Instead, it takes the original and runs with it. The 1950 Esquire was a one-pickup wonder – a true-blue workhorse designed […]
Artists
Eric Johnson
Acoustic Resonance
On Eric Johnson’s new – and first all-acoustic album – EJ, the guitarist takes a break from the intervallic inventions of his electric work and finds greater depth in his artistry, stripping away the non-essentials and exploring the purity of acoustic performance. The compositions reveal an artist reaching for musical substance, humanity, and intimacy. On […]
Classic Instruments
The Gibson Starfire TR 1000 RVT
Trans-Galactic Toneway
Relatively unsung among early entrants to the field of solid-state guitar amplifiers, Gibson was the first high-output, high-quality manufacturer to bring one to market. And while it quickly proved the touted new technology wasn’t what many guitarists wanted, that didn’t stop others from following suit. The transistor revolution taking over electronics in the 1950s should […]
Music
Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through The Grunge Explosion
Steve Turner with Adem Tepedelen
Mudhoney never really cashed in on the early-’90s grunge sweepstakes. In fact, its members have largely eschewed the G word. Until now. Lead guitarist and cofounder Steve Turner chronicles Mudhoney’s formation and career while providing a parallel (if sometimes jaundiced) primer on the incubation, hatching, and bloated death of grunge. In addition to his personal […]
Artists
Neil Giraldo
Guitarist, Producer, Partner
Quiz time, guitarheads. What was the second video played on MTV? If you guessed “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar, you win. And, since there was no guitarist in the Buggles’ video for the prophetic track “Video Killed the Radio Star” (the first video aired) that makes Benatar’s longtime bandleader/producer/husband Neil Giraldo the first guitarist […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel 056 – Johnny Johnson
The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Johnny Johnson, who before scoring a gig backing Boyz II Men (including during their residency at the Mirage in Las Vegas), did a stint with Earth, Wind & Fire. When he gets a moment, he plays in his own R&B band at Sugar Daddy’s Cigar Bar. […]
Artists
Eli Cook
All Over the Map
Eli Cook’s seventh album, High-Dollar Gospel, is an Americana-style showcase of sounds, instrumentation, and varied tunings played on an interesting mix of guitars – a National tricone, a Rockbridge SJ 12-string, Washburn 12-string modified for slide, and a reissue Strat. The gravel-voiced Cook has been compared to singers like Leon Redbone, but more often to […]
Artists
Danny Kortchmar
Family Reunion
Fifty years ago, singer/songwriters like James Taylor, Carole King, and Jackson Browne were busy conquering the rock charts; behind them, you could hear crack guitarists like Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel, along with bassist Lee Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel. Today, these gents have formed a band called Immediate Family and released a self-titled album. […]