-
Peter Stuart Kohman
1939-’42 Gibson SJ-100
$100 Cowboy Flat-Top
Through the 1910s and early ’20s, Gibson catalogs denigrated flat-top guitars as inferior, unworthy of the company name. But that tune changed in 1926, when it introduced the L-1 and L-0 alongside its unique archtops. Perched at the bottom of the line, one feature set them apart from traditional flat-tops – a narrow waist and…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
Vox Symphonic Bass
Fender Bender
Despite the way collectors and dealers freely apply the term “lawsuit guitars,” documented examples are few. One time it did happen was triggered by the Vox Symphonic Bass. A report in the June ’65 Musical Merchandise Review included the headline “Fender Files Infringement Suits” and detailed action in a federal district court with the defendant…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
1962 Gretsch Country Gentleman Custom
Atkins Oddity
By the early 1960s, the Fred Gretsch Company was riding high with an array of eye-catching electric guitars highlighted with models endorsed by Chet Atkins. At the top were the PX6122 Country Gentleman, PX6120 Hollow Body, and PX6119 Tennessean. The original Atkins models appeared in ’55 – the 6120 proved a major success, while the…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
United They Stood, Part 2
Ghosts of Jersey City
In the history of guitars, the tale of United Guitar Corporation is a ghost story – little documented and lost in partially self-imposed obscurity. Operating from 1939 into the late ’60s/early ’70s, United was a wholesale firm that built instruments exclusively for others to sell. In ’52, it made one brief attempt to compete in…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
Six-String Basses from the 1950s and ’60s
The Big Twang!
Electric bass, bass guitar, baritone guitar; four, five, or six strings – many varieties of low-tuned instruments are available today. In the 1950s, however, choices were fewer. Bassists played upright or a four-string “Fender bass.” Occasionally, a guitarist would tune down to hit low notes. The Fender Precision, which first appeared in ’51, set the…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
United Guitar Corporation
United They Stood…. A Jersey City Tale
The history of the United Guitar Corporation, which unfolded in Jersey City, just over the river from the glitter of New York, is one of the great obscure stories in 20th-century guitar lore. Jersey City, “left of the Hudson,” was home to the Oscar Schmidt Company, builders of the pre-war Stella guitars iconic in blues…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
The Bass That Waited
Rickenbacker’s Early 4000 and 4001
In the January and February installments, we looked at Gibson’s Thunderbird, an instrument condemned by its maker to a quick demise only to be reborn due to late-blooming popularity. Another early bass represents a flipside to that tale – one that was in production for years before becoming a major success. Most players today are…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 11
Burns Oddities and Ends
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…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 10
Saga of The Lost Supersounds
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. Electric guitars date back less than a century, but the stories of their development sometimes seem as lost as…
-
Peter Stuart Kohman
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 9
Late ’60s: Baldwin And Decline
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. Despite Ormston Burns Ltd’s many successes, by 1965 the chronically under-capitalized English company was in a precarious financial situation.…
