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Ward Meeker
The Guitars of Gary Rossington
A Legend’s Legacy
When the time came for Gary Rossington’s family to decide what to do with his guitars and amps after his passing in March of 2023, daughters Mary and Annie along with his wife, Dale, looked for advice from his lifelong friend and bandmate, Rickey Medlocke. The stash was considerable – 71 guitars including his famous…
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Ward Meeker
Wes Beech
Life in The Plasmatics
From the moment he met Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams, things for Wes Beech were never really “normal.” Walking into the basement of their loft for an audition, Beech didn’t know he was about to become part of a stage-storming, car-smashing, guitar-chainsawing artistic statement called the Plasmatics. The product of Swenson’s high-functioning mind (if…
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Ward Meeker
Classics: Mike Semrad’s ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska – at least as far back as his great-grandmother, who sang at the city’s opera house. But his first glimpse into the true power of music happened in high school, when one night in 1962, overachieving pep-band director Bob Olson stirred things up…
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Ward Meeker
VG Q&A: Fret Differential
And Examining Two Budget Archtops
Can someone please explain the differences between playing an instrument with jumbo frets versus one with smaller/shorter frets? – John Mackey Until you master playing with tall frets, it’s very easy to press the string too hard/farther than needed to create the note, because the flesh of your finger will push until it hits the fretboard…
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Ward Meeker
Fender Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass
Ladies’ First
With a quick glance and a dash of judginess, Fender’s Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass looks like what you’d expect when a Gen Z TikTok influencer storms the design room. But boomer, check yourself! Because behind all that rizz is Fender’s first signature-model bass bearing the name of a female player, and it’s…
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Ward Meeker
Don Culig
Dream Finish
The Covid pandemic forced immeasurable change on humanity. Much of it involved temporary adaptation, but there were also plenty of new norms. And there’s no shortage of people like Don Culig, who, after losing his, was given the opportunity to chase a dream. Laid off in the summer of 2020, Culig pondered his options and…
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Ward Meeker
Blu DeTiger
Funk-Pop Pioneer
When she was seven years old, sibling rivalry spurred Blu DeTiger to get a bass so she could play along with her brother on his new drum kit. After honing her skills for a few years at School of Rock, taking lessons, and playing in high-school bands, she also became a DJ on the New…
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Ward Meeker
Steve Cropper
Friend, Legend
Even before he began to record seminal music using an Esquire plugged into a Harvard amp – creating one of the favorite pairings in history – Steve Cropper was the epitome of a team player. Sixty-plus years down the road, his new album, Friendlytown, celebrates collaboration and the joy of the guitar tag team. With…
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Ward Meeker
Classics: Harold “Sonny” Wright’s 1965 Gibson J-45
Growing up 10 miles from Earl Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina with a music-loving father and two older sisters who could impress on the piano, it makes sense that Harold Wright became a musician. And while he followed in the girls’ footsteps by starting piano lessons when he was 12, after two years, he (and…
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Ward Meeker
Jim Weider
Telecaster Master, Camp Counselor
Ever dream of hanging out with a couple handfuls of guitar legends while breathing fresh mountain air and (mostly) unplugging from the world? If so, Jim Weider has something you’ll dig – a summer camp for guitar-music fanatics to gather and bond. Dubbed Masters of the Telecaster Guitar Camp and set for September 30 through…
