Few things in life can beat a handful of badass rock licks played on a cool guitar like Nick Perri does here on his Gibson SG. Enjoy, and be sure to read our interview with Nick in the February issue. READ NOW!!
Watch Erin Harpe and her band, the Delta Swingers, playing “Gimme That (Somethin’ Special)” onstage at the New York State Blues Festival. Read more about Erin in the “VG New Gear Yearbook 2019,” sponsored by Sam Ash Music Stores. READ IT NOW!!
In Episdoe 23 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer/songwriter/A-list session guitarist Jedd Hughes. A veteran of the Nashville scene, Hughes grew up in Australia before seeking musical stardom in the U.S. Here, he talks about his long, sometimes rocky, but successful road, including backing Patti Loveless, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou …
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In the midst of its scramble to compete with Fender by developing its radical Flying V and Explorer guitars, the Gibson company likely didn’t realize that Leo Fender was similarly trying to loosen its grip on the jazz guitar market of the late 1950s. At the time, Gibson’s grasp on the segment was indeed firm. Its hollow …
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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 …
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Say hey, fellow guitarists! If you live in the Northeast, it’s great to have a hobby that doesn’t require going outside. Two storms in five days of each other dumped a total of 41″ of snow in my backyard, that brings our ground total to 73″. We had to use just our acoustics after the …
The latest model in Ernie Ball Music Man’s Steve Lukather signature series was designed to answer Lukather’s demand for an instrument that is simple yet versatile. The Luke3 (a.k.a. LIII), available in dual humbucker (HH) and humbucker-single-single (HSS) configurations, is a high-class workhorse that any serious player will appreciate for its playability and extensive tonal …
Dynamic Amps 2040 series Price: $2,570 (VA Combo) David Carambula’s Dynamic 2040 series of amplifiers consists of three models: Vintage American (VA), Vintage British (VB), and the HG DynaLead. All use class AB single-channel design that can utilize a variety of output tubes, with output reduction, tube rectifier, tube-driven tremolo, spring reverb, welded-aluminum chassis, point-to-point …
With his new album, BK3, Bruce Kulick brings out the big guns on what he calls his “…strongest solo disc ever.” Collaborating with friends old and new, he infused their personalities to create an album diverse in style and tones. He also raised the bar on his own musicianship. Kulick recently took us behind the …
James Demeter has a long history in the amp and effects biz. His project-boxed/Dymo-labeled Tremulator pedal pre-dates the ’90s boutique pedal explosion by more than a decade. During his 30 years of 100-percent analog designs, Demeter has produced everything from studio-quality rack effects and multichannel tube amps to a wide variety of first-class vintage-flavored stompboxes …
Few ’60s rockers have had the lasting influence of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, whose 12-string Rickenbacker “jangle pop” sound influenced the likes of Tom Petty and REM, and helped blaze the “country rock” trail later perfected by the Eagles, Poco, and others. McGuinn is still making a difference, as evidenced by his recent four-disc release, …
Most people remember Bill Nelson as the front man/guitar hero in the English band Be Bop Deluxe. Since folding that outfit 35 years ago, he has led a fertile solo career, releasing dozens of solo albums ranging from guitar rock to pop electronica. His latest, Blip!, showcases his hot playing with lush pop. Who were …
Early Mesa/Boogie Mark Series amps were something of a sensation, but even with the line now having stretched all the way to the massively featured Mark V, many fans of these powerful little beasts feel the evolution peaked at the end of the Mark II range, with the Mark IIC+. Though at the time they …
Kramer 84/Pacer Vintage Price: $1,166 (84); $1,267 (Pacer Vintage) Info: kramerguitars.com It’s hard to think of ’80s guitars as vintage, but since all things get older, the guitars of the shred generation have indeed acquired a certain patina. And of the many wild guitars of that epoch, arguably no other manufacturer exemplified the decade more …
More and more, guitarists’ passion for tube amps is being balanced by the rise of quality digital, solidstate, and modeling amps, and for good reason – they’re often inexpensive while packing a huge range of features. The Boss Katana series is an interesting combination of price and tone in this category. The Katana 100 has …
Offering the heart and soul of those crystal-clear first-generation 1980s digital delays, California-based Strymon’s DIG Dual Digital Delay provides not only three classic digital voicings, but dual cascading or parallel delay times. Housed in Strymon’s standard 4×4.5×1.17″ anodized aluminum chassis, the DIG features rear chassis-mounted ¼″ In/Out and Power jacks, including a single Mono/Stereo TRS input …
While many pedal makers tinker away on effects that exhibit their personal tonal philosophies, the fact is that most don’t play gigs or compose music. Seraphim Marcopoulous of ToneConcepts was keen enough to take advantage of his professional relationships with some of the finest guitarists in the industry, asking, “What’s missing?”
Meeting the demand for fans hankering for two titans of the blues to finally make an album together, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have done just that. These two folksy song-oriented stylists are a perfect match with their charmingly accessible feel and story-comes-first mission statement. Not without its hot licks and mature musicianship, a grounded …
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 …
Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett’s new album brings together musicians from all over the world in the spirit of unity, multiculturalism, and diversity. The project joins singers from Palestine and Israel, along with the sounds of Iraq, India, Peru, and the U.S. Hackett’s eclecticism – and his belief that the world needs to come together …
Like plants, Japanese guitars have an almost secret life of which few people outside are aware. While many Americans in the ’60s were seeing fairly low-end commodity guitars at the neighborhood Western Auto, there was actually a thriving and fairly innovative domestic guitar scene that produced some cool and relatively decent guitars, including this Guyatone …
From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you about. Happily, it’s happily back in the lineup with the American Professional model, part reissue, part refined modern guitar. The original Jazzmaster was unveiled at NAMM in 1958 as Fender’s flagship – the upmarket big …
