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Trending Now
A worthy vintage combo in all regards, there’s sad irony in the fact the Director Model A-60 is representative of the downward trajectory of Vega, the company founded in 1881 by Swedish-born brothers Julius and Carl Nelson. Established as a mandolin and guitar maker, Vega became one of the biggest names in banjos in the […]
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Artists
Jimi Bell
Lord of Shred
Recognized worldwide as a master technician, southpaw shredder Jimi Bell first received widespread notoriety for his role sharing a nightclub stage with Joan Jett in the 1986 film Light of Day, which starred Michael J. Fox. His lightning-fast picking then got him an invitation to audition for Ozzy Osbourne, where he was edged out by […]
Music
Van Morrison
...It's Too Late To Stop Now...Volume I, II, III, IV, V & DVD
Wild Nights
In the history of live recordings, there are a handful widely considered to be all-time classics: B.B. King’s Live at the Regal is one, James Brown’s Live at the Apollo 1962 is another. And the original release of Van Morrison’s “..It’s Too Late to Stop Now…” is certainly a third – and interestingly also combines […]
Classic Instruments
The ‘‘Blackburst’’
Les Paul Standard of a Different Shade
Among experienced (and often jaded) veteran guitar collectors, precious few things create an adrenaline rush – strange one-offs, oddball brands that never quite blossomed, guitars with non-standard parts/materials from the factory, or those once owned by an icon. Even better, those personally built by an icon. And every so often, there emerges a guitar like this – a true classic that simply […]
VG Approved Gear
Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab
Lights! Sound! Action!
Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab Price: Amp $1,995 (list); cabinet $895 (list) Contact: www.immix11.com Remember the first time you encountered the Rick 331LS Light Show guitar? You thought, wow, that’s cool, but how does it sound? The Immix Eleven V-Series 30 is a head/speaker design with a little light show all its own, but with […]
VG Approved Gear
Strymon Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe
Modern Spin
Pioneered by Jimi Hendrix, the Uni-Vibe became synonymous with psychedelic rock sounds in the 1960s. Strymon’s modern interpretation is the Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe. The Ultraviolet offers a variety of tone-shaping controls. Its Mode toggle provides three mix configurations; Chorus delivers the classic Uni-Vibe by creating a 50/50-mix of dry/wet signal, Blend reduces intensity by changing […]
VG Approved Gear
M&V Guitars and Pickups Atlas Large-Pole Precision Bass Pickups
Big Bottom
M&V Guitars and Pickups Atlas P Bass-Style Pickups Price: $75 Info: www.mvguitars.com. Let’s face it – when it comes to boutique pickup options, bass players have gotten the short end of the stick. And as for the venerable Fender Precision Bass, well there’s only so many ways you can put a new harness on the […]
Artists
George Fullerton
Guitar Icon
George Fullerton, whose decades-long association with Leo Fender earned the two early electric-guitar innovators a place in history, He died July 4, 2009 at the age of 86. He succumbed to heart failure at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California, the Orange County town where he and Fender had began building stringed instruments in […]
Music
2Frontiers
New Old West
Categories can be bandied about – catchalls like Americana or alt this or that – but this is basically old-timey Appalachian music, and done very well. The set of originals features Gregory Mulkern, a.k.a Banjoelectric (where he employs loops and effects), and Sjoerd Van Ravenzwaaij (a member of the rocked-out traditional Irish group Harmony Glen) […]
Artists
Toy Caldwell
Marine and Marshall Tucker Guitarist Toy Caldwell
One of the earliest VG interviews Willie G. Moseley did with a veteran “Southern rock” musician was a conversation with erstwhile Marshall Tucker guitarist Toy Caldwell in 1992. Toy was just embarking on a solo career, on his own terms. Willie had no idea at the time that he and his brother Tommy were both […]
Classic Instruments
Sigma by Martin
Following the Line
Long overlooked and relegated to an obscure corner of the collectible market, Sigma by Martin guitars have recently gained popularity among a new generation of collectors. If you’re one who has developed a taste for them (or other vintage Japanese brands), you likely know that Martin – as it readily admits – kept few notes […]
Artists
Pop ’N Hiss: UFO’s Lights Out
Shining Bright
Most critics and fans agree that the finest studio album by British hard-rockers UFO was 1977’s Lights Out. The group’s sixth studio effort is renowned as a cohesive yet varied set highlighted by the full-out strut of the title track along with catchy mid-tempo rockers like “Too Hot to Handle” and “Gettin’ Ready” perched alongside […]
Artists
Joe Peña
Bad Breakups, Free Guitars
“[My ’59 Les Pal Junior] sounds so good that whoever’s going to play the main part in a song plays it. I insist! I think the pickups are late ’60s or early ’70s Alnicos, and the damn thing is so warm.” Joe Peña, primary songwriter for the Arizona-based rock band Greyhound Soul, says their latest […]
Artists
Les Sabler
Long-Distance Jazz
Like many musicians, guitarist Les Sabler’s life has been turned topsy-turvy by the worldwide pandemic. Originally from Montreal, Sabler now resides in Nashville, but work on his newest album, a smooth-jazz effort called Tranquility, began in February of 2020 at producer Paul Brown’s studio in Los Angeles. The project ultimately became remote, but not before […]
VG Approved Gear
Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker
Poles Apart
Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker Price: $139 list/ $89 direct Info: www.railhammer.com Developed by Joe Naylor of Reverend Guitars, Railhammers are passive humbuckers that use a combination of pole pieces on the treble side and rails on the bass side. It’s an interesting motif with an effective purpose. The Railhammers’s six oversize poles under the treble […]
VG Approved Gear
Fralin’s Wide-Range Humbucker
Gibson and Fender have a long history of influencing each other’s designs. When hard rock and warm, jazzier textures were on the rise in the early ’70s, Fender wanted some of that double-coil action, so they hired PAF inventor Seth Lover to come up with something new. The result was the Wide-Range humbucker that turned […]
Artists
Arv Garrison
Forgotten Hero of Bebop Guitar
American music history is fraught with tales of forgotten heroes. In the ’40s, jazz guitarists like Tiny Grimes, George Barnes, Chuck Wayne, and Arv Garrison occupied the space between Charlie Christian and Barney Kessel. Garrison’s star shone briefly at a crucial point. A pioneer of electric-jazz guitar, he was a favorite of Django Reinhardt, admired […]
Artists
Joel Shapira
Solo Flight
Guitarist Joel Shapira has released a string of fine recordings, but his latest, In Essence, is his first stab at solo guitar. While the concept has been percolating in his mind for quite some time, it was spurred into existence by a meeting with Greg Schutte, who engineered, mixed, and mastered the record. “I knew […]