Home

0
Home

Greg Koch: Gristly “Blues”

Greg Koch fearlessly wrings the sort of vibrato that only a Tele will tolerate from his ’53 to play this exclusive version of Freddie King’s “The Stumble” flavored with a bit of delay and running into his Tone King Royalist. Inspired by fan requests, it’s just one of the tracks culled from his catalog that are mixed with two previously unreleased tunes on his new album, “Blues.” Catch our review and an interview with Greg in the May issue. Read Now!


Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!

VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin D-18 Modern Deluxe on an unplugged arrangement of “I’m Done Runnin’,” the ripping lead track from her new album, “Paper Doll.” Catch our review in the May issue. Read Now!


Greg Koch: Gristly “Blues”

Greg Koch fearlessly wrings the sort of vibrato that only a Tele will tolerate from his ’53 to play this exclusive version of Freddie King’s “The Stumble” flavored with a bit of delay and running into his Tone King Royalist. Inspired by fan requests, it’s just one of the tracks culled from his catalog that are mixed with two previously unreleased tunes on his new album, “Blues.” Catch our review and an interview with Greg in the May issue. Read Now!


Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!

VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin D-18 Modern Deluxe on an unplugged arrangement of “I’m Done Runnin’,” the ripping lead track from her new album, “Paper Doll.” Catch our review in the May issue. Read Now!


In the world of archtop guitarmaking, the legendary luthier James L. D’Aquisto (1935-’95) is considered one of the greats. A jazz guitarist, D’Aquisto was an apprentice to perhaps the greatest archtop maker of all time, New York’s John D’Angelico, from 1952 until the luthier’s death in 1964. Toward the end, D’Aquisto was essentially making all […]

Swart Atomic Jr.

Splitting The Atom

When Swart decided to split their Atomic Jr. five-watt combo into a piggyback, they not only went from an 8″ speaker to a 12″, they added more speaker options, including the Mojotone BV-25 and Celestion’s Creamback 75, Cream Alnico, Anniversary, G12 Blue (as tested), and Alnico Gold. The resulting all-tube Atomic Jr. head features an […]

Marshall 2100 Lead & Bass

Rock Breaker

Adescendant of the legendary “Bluesbreaker” combo that helped launch the cranked-Marshall sound into the annals of rock, the 2100 combo is also one of the rarest post-plexi models – and a fast-track to classic British tone. It’s often said that “the Marshall sound” was officially launched in April of 1966, when Eric Clapton cranked up […]

LOUIS_BUSTER_HOME-MAIN-BIG

Louis Electric Buster

Beyond Deluxe

Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595. Info: louisamps.com Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than 17 years. His first build wound up in the hands of the late Danny Gatton, and other greats who have played through his Louis Electric amps include Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Jorma Kaukonen, and Hubert […]

Have Guitar Will Travel 070 – JJ Wilde and J.D. Smigelski

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” finds host James Patrick Regan speaking with indie rocker JJ Wilde and her guitarist, J.D. Smigelski. JJ grew up listening to her family’s rock and folk records in Kitchener, Ontario, and started playing guitar as a teenager. She talks about the grind of being a working musican […]

Carvin DN440T

One of the few family-owned guitar/amplifier manufacturing enterprises remaining in the industry, Carvin was founded by Lowell Kiesel in 1946 and started by making pickups, then transitioned to building lap steels and other stringed instruments. Some of the company’s early guitars and basses used parts from other guitar makers, but as its direct-to-consumer concept caught […]

Fender’s Mid-’50s Precision Bass

The "In-Between" Version

In the world of electric basses, the 1952 Fender Precision is the one that started it all. While it’s true that Gibson, Rickenbacker, and Audiovox all built electric basses some years earlier, the instrument developed by Leo Fender and George Fullerton has always been considered the progenitor of the modern electric bass. The Precision was […]

Leo Lyons

Fifty Years After

More than a half-century ago, Ten Years After sat at the vanguard of British FM rock, blending blues boogies with the solos of guitar star Alvin Lee. An essential part of the band’s attack came from bassist/producer Leo Lyons, whose steamroller lines fueled the Woodstock show-stopper “I’m Going Home.” Today, the 80-year-old Lyons is still […]

Bill Nelson

Brit-Guitar Deluxe

Bill Nelson is one of the unsung heroes of British rock guitar. From his ’70s work with Be Bop Deluxe through a lengthy solo career, Nelson has delivered powerful, artistic songs and thrilling solos brimming with taste, chops, and soul. His latest, Songs for Ghosts, was cut in his studio in North Yorkshire, England, and […]

Gibson’s Budget Redux

The SB Series Guitars and Basses

As the 1960s rolled into the ’70s, Gibson had established itself in the electric-bass market with front-line instruments such as the solidbody EB-0/EB-3 and Thunderbirds, as well as the semi-hollow EB-2 series. However, it struggled to win a share of the budget market despite offering a bass version of its popular Melody Maker and the […]

Gibson J-35

Gibson J-35

Dreadnought guitars originated as early as 1916 with instruments made by Martin and distributed by Ditson, followed in 1931 with guitars sold by Martin under its own brand. The first Martin dreadnoughts were 12-fret slot-heads with an extended slope-shouldered body; in early ’34, the company introduced a square-shouldered dread with a 14-fret neck. Gibson entered […]

Railhammer’s Nuevo 90 Humcutter Set

Joe Naylor has a long history of designing and marketing everything in the music business from high-end amps, guitars, basses, speakers, and effects pedals to his latest Railhammer pickups. His pickups all utilize a unique mix of blades and round polepieces to produce a more balanced tone than what is available by using one format […]

Louie Shelton

Gold Coast Gigmeister

On August 16, 1966, the Beatle-esque guitar riff that opens “Last Train To Clarksville” crackled out of radios across America for the first time. The debut single of the made-for-TV band The Monkees, the song shot to #1, matching the ratings (and timing) of the band’s new network television show. It also marked the hit-song […]

Have Guitar Will Travel 053 – Shane Theriot

For the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan sits with Shane Theriot, musical director and guitarist for Hall and Oates and the internet program “Live from Daryl’s House.” Theriot grew up just outside New Orleans and spent eight years as guitarist for the Neville Brothers. After moving to Nashville he […]

The Legendary Tones Lynch Mod

No-mod Hot Rod

Designed for guitarist George Lynch, the Lynch Mod introduces an additional, non-permanent gain stage to the classic Marshall circuit. The device uses two 12ax7 preamp tubes on a base that fits snugly into the V2 socket of classic Marshall amps, including JMP and JCM 800, as well as several reissues. It was Lynch’s idea to […]

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin

Homage to Ray Price

Vince Gill and longtime friend, collaborator, and pedal-steel giant Paul Franklin share a love of country music history. Bakersfield, their 2013 collaboration, paid homage to the timeless, twang-heavy music of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys celebrates the late, iconic Texas singer and his Western-swing […]

Gibson L-5S Ron Wood Signature

Serious Lumber

In 1972, Gibson introduced the L-5S as a smaller, thinner solidbody version of its L-5 hollowbody. Most mistook it for a Les Paul with a wider body. Though not Gibson’s most popular model, it did catch the attention of a number of high-profile guitarists, including Rolling Stone Ron Wood. Like the L-5, the L-5S was […]

Extreme

Six

Extreme’s sixth studio album – their first since 2008’s Saudades de Rock – was a long time coming. With only a live album released in 2016 to satiate disciples, Six is a recording that will satisfy the devout, yet pique interest from late-to-the-party fans. Vocalist Gary Cherone, bassist Pat Badger, and guitarist supreme Nuno Bettencourt […]

- Advertisement -