In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 9, 10, and 11 for this special edition of VG Overdrive. See the complete history. Many who own Burns and Baldwin guitars are curious to date their instrument, and wonder just how rare these …

Pure Höfner showpiece in concept and execution, only 12 were made. And for as pedestrian as it may be in terms of materials, its design was a radical departure. Today its sole purpose is to entice aficionados and collectors!

When he transitioned from playing guitar, former Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner kept a pick in his right hand and developed a style that combined fluid, melodic lines with an overdriven sound reminiscent of John Entwistle and Chris Squire. On his third solo album, Written in the Wind, he showcases instrumental skill as well as …

R.C. Allen, a noted luthier who built archtops for local and regional players of note and was a fixture at vintage-guitar shows in Southern California, died March 2. Allen was renowned for sharing his secrets of guitar building and was the last of the original electric-guitar builders in Southern California. Known for his archtops, he …

The term “rare” is applied to guitars in far too many instances. Usually an appealing term, its overuse can be attributed in part to the fact it’s particularly catchy to the eye of anyone fond of a collectible vintage instrument. The subject here this month, however, is truly deserving of the label. A custom-order Gibson …

Using his concert-sized 1930s Stella Decalcomania with mother-of-toilet-seat (MOTS) fretboard, Tom Feldmann shows you how to play the main riff from Son House’s classic “Death Letter Blues.” Check out Tom’s “Guitar of Son House” at www.guitarvideos.com Submit riff lesson requests at tom@tomfeldmann.com See more lessons, we are adding new lessons monthly!

Aerosmith’s 2011 Back On the Road tour was a two-month jaunt that consisted of 18 shows and took the band to places it had never been in Latin America before concluding in Japan. Normally, such a tour doesn’t create much hoopla, but this was different. The band hadn’t played there in seven years, but more …

Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb Price: $200 Info: www.strymon.net. In just a few short years, Strymon has established itself as a premier developer of pedal effects. With boxes like the highly praised El Capistan dTape Echo, they’ve cut out a niche building DSP effects that recapture the sounds of iconic analog gear with remarkable authenticity. …

Misa Kitara Price: $789 Info: www.misadigital.com. The guitar synthesizer has been around for more than 30 years and made significant inroads to contemporary music, thanks to fusion heroes like Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Steve Morse, and Allan Holdsworth. The latest wrinkle is the Misa Kitara, which shifts the paradigm. Instead of a …

3rd Power Dream Weaver Price: $3.299 Info: www.3rdpower.com. Purchasing a new amp is much more than buying a piece of gear – think of it as hiring out a job. In most cases, you hope this new employee will help you sound great, cover the required tonal bases, prove reliable, and have the right amount …

Dr. Jenny Boyd is founder and director of Spring Workshops, “organizing psychotherapeutic groups for people in need of personal development.” She is also the “Jennifer” who inspired Donovan’s “Jennifer Juniper.” Like her sister Pattie, Jenny became a model in swinging-’60s London. Pattie married and divorced both Beatle George Harrison and Eric Clapton; Jenny married and …

Vintage V52 Icon Price: $459 Info: www.jhs.co.uk The U.K.-based distributor John Hornby Skewes offers guitars under the brand Vintage that cater to a market interested in traditional sounds and old-school looks. The V52 is the company’s take on the ’50s-style Tele. A striking guitar that hearkens to the days of pompadours and early rock that …

George Cummings is best known as the original guitarist for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, his father’s amateur picking set a course. As a teenager in the late ’50s, he was playing clubs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and into Mobile, Alabama. In the early ’60s, he began attending college …

In its early years, the Gibson Les Paul Custom evolved through several body-style and spec changes and was the earliest Gibson solidbody to have a Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece; the Les Paul model (a.k.a. “goldtop”) did not have them until late ’55. First appearing in Gibson catalogs in 1954, the company actually made a …

In the august and revered Hall of Fame of Fuzz, the Jordan Boss Tone deserves a prominent pedestal. Perhaps it should be in a cabinet of cute curiosities. Or maybe it’s as a memento mori, an example of a dead end in the search for overdriven guitar tone bliss. Either way, there should be a …

American music rarely is more pure than when it comes from the minds, hands, and mouths of the Doobie Brothers. A rare mix of talent, the Doobies have, since their inception, been fronted by two musicians with unique voices and distinct guitar styles, each of which has driven the band’s sound from Tom Johnston’s huge …