“I wasn’t really a Coltrane fan, but when I heard Kind Of Blue I was like, ‘Hell, as long as it’s got soul.’” For sacred-steel specialist Robert Randolph, it’s all about soul. After absorbing the philosophy of his church and using his talent to create a hybrid of uplifting secular music, Randolph has just released, …

Dale Watson remembers well a conversation he once had with Leo Fender. “Leo gave me a guitar, and it was so shiny and new, I said, ‘Well, I just hate to take this out and play it and get it all scratched up.’ And Leo said, ‘Well, then, give it back. I like knowing that …

In the June ’07 issue of VG, amp profiler extraordinaire Dave Hunter said of the Fender Deluxe Reverb, “If guitarists were to vote for the one ‘best amp for all occasions,’ [it] would very likely earn a majority decision’.” And while this year’s nominees in the VG Hall of Fame “Instrument” category pitted the “DR” …

On June 23 of last year, the blues lost one of its greatest singers with the death of Bobby “Blue” Bland at age 83. Best known for a 20-year run with Duke Records that yielded such classics as “I Pity The Fool,” “I’ll Take Care Of You,” and his reworking of T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday …

Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh, Klunk! It’s not the most artful musical introduction, but it was effective. And by the time a screaming Hammond organ slides in over the pounding bass-and-drums, most listeners are hooked. The song is “Gimme Some Lovin” by the Spencer Davis Group, and the 1966 record is a showcase not only for the vocals and …

In the mid 1950s, Gibson president Ted McCarty was paying close attention to two new instruments impacting the musical-instruments market – the solidbody electric guitar and the electric bass. Both had been developed by an upstart company called Fender, and Gibson’s original solidbodies, the Les Paul guitar and Electric Bass (VG, February ’06) were introduced …

    Fender has tried more than once to market basses with a low-budget vibe. And while the idea is laudable, most of the offerings never really caught on. In the early ’80s, Fender – then owned by CBS – was on a downward slide thanks in part to quality-control issues and uninspired products. And …

To guitarists raised on his “Hot Licks” instructional video series, session and touring great Arlen Roth is something of a legendary figure. His latest release, Paint It Black, is the third in a series of instrumental albums that takes a fresh look at timeless songs by preeminent figures in pop music. As its title infers, …

Jazz bass great Anthony Jackson (August ’11) once told Bass Player magazine, he was drawn to Jack Casady’s “big, rich, metallic sound with a full bottom and a curious, guitaristic way of playing.” When Jackson saw Casady perform live, he was “struck by his dignity and serious mien.” For about 45 years, Casady has been …

“Art for art’s sake.” The expression is common. But how often is it practiced? In a basement studio on Chicago’s North Side, Carl Johnson epitomized the maxim while building archtop guitars bearing the Albanus brand from the 1950s until the ’70s. Rather than seek fame or fortune, Johnson was content to live modestly and draw pleasure watching …

Collaborations have rendered some of the greatest tunes in the history of music. Whittle the subject to “just” guitarists, and the truth remains – two are often better than one. The axiom is holding true for Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Each a top-tier star in their own right, the two, now married for more …

MXR SF01 Slash Octave Fuzz Price: $129 (street) Contact: www.jimdunlop.com Slash Cry Baby Classic SC95 Wah Price: $129 (street) Contact: www.jimdunlop.com MXR’s new Slash Octave Fuzz pedal employs three fuzz “flavors” – Sub-Octave, Fuzz, and Octave Up – that offer a palette of distinctive, utilizable sounds. The pedal, built with analog circuitry, true-bypass switching, and …

The hokey, amphetamine-tempo’d folk music known as “skiffle” was all the rage with Britain’s youth in 1955, and rock and roll barely yet a glimmer in the collective eye, when this outrageously stylish Watkins Clubman hit the scene. Admittedly, the Clubman’s chintzy, pre-rock aesthetic is a big part of what makes it so appealing. Dubbed …

Giffin Vikta Price: $2,295 Contact: www.premierbuildersguild.com Roger Giffin is a guitarmaker to the stars, having built for Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, Mark Knopfler, Andy Summers, David Gilmour, and many others. He also ran the Gibson Custom Shop in California for many years before striking out on his own. Now producing his own …

In rural Louisiana in the early 1950s, it was no small feat when a family scraping by to survive bought a new Fender Telecaster for their 13-year-old son, especially when that $280 had been set aside to buy a car so their father could stop thumbing a ride to work. Guy and Lola Burton, however, …

Rare it is when a band forms, blows the doors off with their music, falls apart, regroups – and hits new highs. In fact, this first new album from the Squirrel Nut Zippers in 18 long years just may be one of their best. Like their landmark 1996 album Hot, this is a kaleidoscopic whirl …

Yes’ Chris Squire didn’t intend to make a masterpiece with 1975’s Fish Out of Water, but he inadvertently did – and knew it. For the ensuing 40 years, the late bassist never dared make another solo album, well aware he couldn’t top himself. Fortunately, the landmark is now reissued with 5.1 Surround remix, vinyl, and …