We’re saddened to hear of the passing of Rick Derringer, legendary rock guitarist and songwriter known for playing classic collectibles. Watch for our memorial in the August issue, and here’s our in-depth interview with Derringer from 1998.
We’re saddened to hear of the passing of Rick Derringer, legendary rock guitarist and songwriter known for playing classic collectibles. Watch for our memorial in the August issue, and here’s our in-depth interview with Derringer from 1998.
Our perception of Japanese guitars has evolved slowly. At one point, they were cheap toys, at other times imperfect copies, then startling innovations. Perspective encircles the truth. So, how should we perceive the Yamaha SA-15? Japan became interested in guitars in the early 1920s, as some musicians there began to perform what we’d today call […]
Read more
At some point, nearly every guitarist realizes they simply can’t function without an effects pedal that creates warm, pulsating modulation. Walrus Audio’s Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo not only works as a standard tremolo, but its Harmonic Mode provides even more options. The Harmonic/Standard toggle allows the user to change from a “traditional” tremolo sound (Standard) […]
Read more
The National Guitar Museum, which has toured the U.S. for more than a decade, recently opened an exhibition titled “Medieval to Metal: The Art & Evolution Of The Guitar.” We asked director H.P. Newquist to share a bit of insight on it. When visitors see “Medieval to Metal,” what are some common reactions? They’re often […]
What do you get when you have a rockin’ pair of 12AX7 tubes and a pair of EL34 power tubes? You get the tonal core of the new Mack tube head, the Atomsmasher DB-40. Bearing the initials of Canadian rocker David Barrett, this mid-power boutique head is built to deliver tone and responsiveness. The DB-40 […]
Looking like a Sputnik-era satellite, the Missing Link from Siegmund Guitars and Amplifiers may be the perfect way to – pardon the pun – round out a pedalboard. Encased in a very attractive polished stainless-steel half dome, the micro-tube clean-powered Missing Link is a unique effect: a transparent signal boost that does not alter the […]
“A lot of people think I go in [to a sale] with an open checkbook, but that’s not the case; we’re very strategic.” – Jerry Fraize When Peter Morton and Isaac Tigrett opened the first Hard Rock Cafe in London’s Mayfair district in 1971, they simply wanted to introduce American culture and cuisine – good […]
Founded in 1969, Wishbone Ash attained fast fame in the U.K. with its meshing of intricate twin-lead-guitar passages and harmony vocals. With their third album, Argus, Andy Powell and Ted Turner (guitars), Martin Turner (bass) and Steve Upton (drums) created an enduring favorite. Unlike its self-titled debut album and the 1971 follow-up, Pilgrimage, the band […]
Located in south-central Connecticut, Black Cat blends an ear for vintage tones with an eye toward modern function and bulletproof construction. On the fuzz front, they have captured two distinct period flavors with a pair of versatile stompboxes. The D&S is a modern replica of a 1974 Maxon D&S (distortion and sustain), which itself was […]
What springs to mind when you hear the term “British blues movement”? Is it covers of Slim Harpo, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker songs by the early Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, Yardbirds, and others? Or is it the blues-rock Big Bang of Eric Clapton’s work on John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, a.k.a. “Beano,” album? Of […]
Blackstar ID:30TVP Price: $399.99 Info: www.blackstarampsx.com. Since forming in 2007, Blackstar has been building user-friendly amplifiers and attracting high-profile artists like Leslie West, Neal Schon, and Gus G. The company’s ID series would seem to represent the next logical step: Blackstar’s first digital non-tube amp line. The 30-watt entry in the ID series has many […]
Amplifiers became a passion for Dennis Kager 45 years ago. And through the years, he has witnessed the zeitgeist surrounding the combination of guitar and amp. A guitarist as a young man, Kager shifted to the “other side” of the amplifier early on, and the duality strengthened and shaped Kager’s concept of sound and how […]
Supro’s Comet 1610RT just may be the perfect desert island amp – a high-gain, low-watt 1×10 combo that maybe doesn’t do it all, but does most everything you’ll ever need on your balmy isle paradise. Think ’30s Gibson EH-150, ’50s Fender tweed Champ, or ’60s Supro Bantam. The Comet is a small amp with big […]
Sure, it oozes coolness. But ornate instruments are sometimes about more than aesthetics, and this one represents a turning point in the history of Japanese guitars.
The title of John Jorgenson’s new three-CD boxed set, Divertuoso, combines two words – “diverse” and “virtuoso” – to aptly describe its contents. Consisting of an album of gypsy jazz (Returning), bluegrass (From the Crow’s Nest), and electric-guitar instrumentals (Gifts from the Flood), Jorgenson said they while they were started at different times, “There was […]
Carr Impala Price: $2,490 (retail, in black); $2,640 (two-tone) Info: www.carramps.com. While the new Carr Impala amplifier gets its name and some of its aesthetic inspiration from the classic Chevy muscle car, its tone inspiration comes from one of the classic ’60 workhorse amps – the Fender Bassman. The Impala’s overall look and vibe are […]
We mine the rich seam of obscure vintage American tube amps on a regular basis here in the pages of VG, but less often do we delve into the equally fascinating histories of B- and C-list British guitar amps of the 1950s, ’60s, and early ’70s. Nevertheless, there was plenty of life in the British […]
Year of the Cat, singer/songwriter/guitarist Al Stewart’s 1976 smash, is being celebrated with a 45th anniversary three-CD/DVD box set. The album has been remastered by producer Alan Parsons, and the DVD features his new 5.1 surround mix. Stewart’s platinum-selling opus reached #5 on Billboard and the lavish title track single peaked at #8. The Scotland […]
In an era of high-tech musical toys, there’s some irony in the fact that the cigar-box guitar – most primitive of homemade stringed instruments – is alive and well. The first examples appeared in rural America, created and built by musicians too poor to have a “store-bought.” Today, Shane Speal is the self-appointed “King of […]
Sure, we all drool over Fender Custom Shop axes, but those instruments are sometimes out of wallet’s reach. Coming to the rescue is Fender’s new American Vintage II series, which attempts several things at once: on the surface, it offers period-accurate re-creations of classic planks, down to tiny details, but more importantly, delivers them in […]
