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Trending Now
If you listen to early electric blues and R&B records, you’ll often notice the original sessions were cut without a bassist. To recapture that 1940s and ’50s vibe, McKinley James recorded his new album, Working Class Blues, with just guitar and vocals, backed on drums by his father, Jason Smay, who has played with J.D. […]
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Classic Instruments
Small Screen, Big Pickin’
Crew Strives to Keep it Real on “Nashville”
It’s not often that prime-time network television captures an audience of working class, professional musicians. In 1968, players watched Elvis Presley and Scotty Moore swap their Gibson SJ-200 and a Super 400 during Elvis’ “Comeback Special.” More recently, it’s been done with grace in a fictional musical drama. “Nashville” aired for four seasons on ABC, […]
Artists
Chris Tapp’s “Got No Right”
Cold Stares’ Guitarist Digs In, Grooves Out Chris Tapp grabbed his real-deal Gibson ’52 goldtop (running through a Kingtone Blues Power pedal into a Fender ’65 Super Reverb) to do tasty bits from “Got No Right,” a song from new Cold Stares album, “Voices.” The disc is a feast for anyone who craves a bit […]
VG Approved Gear
Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor-II PRO
Archtop Ruler
In the early 1950s, the grand old luthiers like Epiphone and Gibson couldn’t believe there would ever be a market for solidbody guitars. In contrast to their glorious archtop hollowbodies, the electric planks lacked beauty and artistry and tone. But times and tastes changed, proving that notion wrong – at least on the point about […]
Music
The Rolling Stones
Live At The Wiltern
There’s a moment in the DVD of their Los Angeles concert in 2002 that says everything about the Stones. In the middle of “Hand Of Fate,” Ronnie Wood stops strumming to light a cigarette. When it goes out seconds later, Keith Richards stops riffing to offer his lighter. In other hands, such casual air could […]
Artists
Kevn Kinney
Small 'N Happy
As any fan of Drivin ’N Cryin can attest, Kevn Kinney at his creative best surrenders little to the greatest singer/songwriters in pop – his message is delivered in succinct, pointed turns of phrase transmitted by a voice like no other and accompanied by riffs that sink deeper than a treble hook. Drivin ’N Cryin […]
VG Approved Gear
Phantom Guitarworks’ Teardrop
Droppin’ In On The ’60s
Phantom Guitarworks is dedicated to producing odd-shaped guitars based on designs introduced in the early 1960s like the Vox Mark VI “Teardrop,” which helped the company make a name in guitars. While Jack Charles at Phantom is painstakingly true to the originals, this limited edition Teardrop hollowbody, in all of its purple-and-chrome glory, ups the […]
Classic Instruments
Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend, Part 2
What Goes Around...
In the September, issue I told the story of the ’58 ES-335 I sold to my friend, Al, for $225 in 1966. Al passed away earlier this year and left the guitar to me. He’d modified its electronics, so I’m restoring them, and I’ll complete the job with my repair buddy, Gene Imbody. A master of […]
Artists
Jeff Beck
Blow By Blow
What is jazz? What is rock? These questions perpetually confound and divide music experts and listeners. Similar spirited debates have raged over “jazz-rock fusion.” While there is no definition, Jeff Beck fans know the answer is Blow by Blow. The groundwork for jazz-rock was laid by Miles Davis, whose In a Silent Way (1969) and […]
Artists
Greg Howe
A New Wheelhouse
Greg Howe is a globe-trotting, guitar-clinic-teaching, concert-performing fusion monster. He’s known for taking risks and pushing his playing into fresh environments. His latest album, Wheelhouse, shows the guitarist coming full circle to delve into the stylistic tropes that brought him worldwide attention. Crammed with funky grooves and wah-imbued soloing, it also contains soul-drenched blues, swing, […]
VG Approved Gear
Area 51 Fuzzwah
Two Great Tastes
Fuzz wahs are nothing new, of course. Released under scores of badge-engineered monikers, they’ve promised aural overload ranging from sirens to tornadoes. Problem is, most have sounded like novelty toys – funky and great for party tricks, but that’s about it. Area 51’s Fuzzwah changes that. This pedal can make the weird sounds, sure, but […]
Spotify
2022 July Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Andy, Summers, Joe Walsh, Jack Day Trio, Grand Funk Railroad, Bill Haley’s Comets, Robin Trower, Popa Chubby, Rolling Stones, MSG, Surfrajettes, Mike Campbell, Rush, and more! Spotify is free, or available without ads via paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,”or if you already have an account Listen […]
Music
Carbe and Durand
A Bridge Between
The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe for a pretty common record. With a duo as talented and imaginative as Liza Carbe and J.P. Durand, though, it’s not plain in any way. The real beauty in this album, aside from the obvious […]
Artists
Jerry Riggs
Heavy Metal Forever
Jerry Riggs grew up in the ’60s/early ’70s, and though his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, wasn’t a mecca like Nashville or Macon, he says, “I was lucky to be exposed to a lot of great music, from Chet Atkins to James Brown, from Hendrix to traditional Appalachian mountain folk songs. I’m privileged to have grown […]
Music
Dale Watson and his Lonestars
Live at the Big T Roadhouse
On Sundays, when he’s not on the road, Dale Watson and his band play the Texas Big T Roadhouse and host their Chicken S#!t Bingo game. This record captures the fun. It showcases not only a terrific band, but Watson’s natural talent as an MC and gameshow host. There’s plenty of great music, too. Watson’s […]
VG Approved Gear
Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model
A Semi-Hollow For Joe
Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model Price: $3,335 (street) Contact: gibson.com. The collaboration of Gibson and blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa began with a limited run of goldtop Les Paul’s in 2009, followed by a more-affordable Studio version and another Custom Shop version, the latter sporting a beautiful flamed-maple top. Gibson and Bonamassa have teamed up again […]
VG Approved Gear
Dutch Kazoo Analog Fuzz Pedal
OD Treat
Dutch Kazoo Analog Fuzz Pedal Price: $225 retail Info: www.dutchkazoo.com It’s not easy for a new boutique overdrive or distortion pedal to stand out in today’s thick fog of clipped signals, high gains, and crunchy fuzz. After all, properly tweaked, they all can be made to sound about the same, right? This may not be […]
Music
Aerosmith
1971: The Road Starts Hear
This long-lost relic was recorded before the band’s 1973 debut LP, with guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford (aged 21 and 19), bassist Tom Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer fueling the fire behind frontman Steven Tyler. Using Perry’s two-track Wollensak 1280 tape machine, these songs were captured at their basement rehearsal space (in a Boston […]