• The Supro Thunderbolt S6420

    Artists

    The Supro Thunderbolt S6420

    Lightning Strikes

    Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the preferred workhorse. It’s been a long time since Supro amps were any kind of secret find or hidden gem; players have long recognized the eccentric splendors of certain mid-sized examples, with their thumping tremolo and

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Stéphane Wrembel

Roll Over, Django

Talk Gypsy jazz with most devotees and they’ll quote you chapter and verse on Django Reinhardt. Talk with acclaimed Gypsy jazz guitarist Stéphane Wrembel, and he’ll speak about Pink Floyd.…

Bob Brozman

World Instruments, World Music

Photo courtesy Bob Brozman. To many, the terms “musician,” “artist,” and “entertainer” are rarely applicable to one person en masse, but Bob Brozman fits the category. What’s more, the term…

Doug Doppler

Art Appreciation, Import-Style – Doug Doppler’s Ibanez Collection

Doug Doppler recalls how, at age five, his first swimming lesson fell on the same day as his first guitar lesson. Beyond mere coincidence, there is no connection between the…

Banjo Master Tony Trischka Plays “Chinese Breakdown”

Prime “Earl Jam” sample! One of the most influential figures in roots music, Tony Trischka, master of the five-string, shows us how he does it on “Chinese Breakdown,” from his…

Carlos Santana

Musical Outreach

Carlos Santana’s creative drive is obsessive, restless – and relentless. For his latest album, Blessings and Miracles, he pooled the cosmic energy of his wife (renowned drummer Cindy Blackman Santana),…

Nili Brosh: Super Busy Super Shredder

Exclusive look at “Lavender Mountains” and her Ibanez LA Custom RG770” Nili Brosh recorded her new single, “Lavender Mountains” using her Ibanez LA Custom RG770 running through a Mesa Boogie…

Anne McCue

Comes Into Her Own

As impressive as 2004’s Roll was, the eclectic Koala Motel (on Messenger Records) represents a major step up in Anne McCue’s playing and especially songwriting. Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, John…

Sebastian Nagel’s Satisfying Funk

Winston Brothers groove it up on “Drift” Sebastian Nagel and his band, The Winston Brothers, balance groove, melody, and space in their super-satisfying instrumental funk. Here, Sebastian runs his ’56…

Ace Frehley dies at 74

As Kiss reached its apex in the mid/late ’70s, “Space Ace” Frehley became the quintessential guitar hero. Supremely influential to a generation of rock players who followed, he died unexpectedly…

Tim Bogert

Then and Now with Vanilla Fudge

Innovative bassist Tim Bogert first graced the pages of Vintage Guitar in June, 1993. At the time, the veteran of Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and Beck, Bogert & Appice (amongst other…

Sebastian Nagel

Meditations in Funk

Germany’s Sebastian Nagel is a producer, composer, session guitarist, performer, and fan of the funk. His latest project finds him joining Colemine Records for an odyssey into the groovy world…

Pop ’N Hiss: Prince’s 1999

Music, Sex, and The New World Order

1981, the world was enveloped in the Cold War, with its nuclear weapons, Reaganomics, and uncertainty. Prince Rogers Nelson had survived a contentious tour with Rick James and being booed…

Mick Taylor

Shedding Light on the Genius of Mick Taylor

The mid/late 1960s were a fertile and progressive time for rock guitar, with “Swinging London” serving as the birthplace and incubator for the blues-rock idiom, in particular, as budding English…

John McLaughlin

50 Years in Fusion

The name John McLaughlin is synonymous with jazz-rock fusion, the genre he helped invent and sustain for the past 50 years. At the end of 2017, the guitarist will be…

Billy Sheehan

New Music, Old-School Basses

Among rock bassists, Billy Sheehan has been a standout in four decades. Whether with Talas in the ’70s, tapping toe-to-toe with Steve Vai in the ’80s incarnation of David Lee…

Pop ’N Hiss: Prince’s 1999

Music, Sex, and The New World Order

1981, the world was enveloped in the Cold War, with its nuclear weapons, Reaganomics, and uncertainty. Prince Rogers Nelson had survived a contentious tour with Rick James and being booed…

Richard Williams

Kansas’ Team Player

Unleashing pent-up creativity is a gratifying experience for a band, as Kansas guitarist Richard Williams can attest. The band known for the prog-/hard-rock hybrid exemplified by “Carry On Wayward Son”…

Carl Verheyen’s Passionate, Ebullient virtuosity!

It’s about the song! Enjoy as Carl Verheyen and his ’58 Fender Strat glide through pieces of “Dragonfly,” “Electric Chair,” and the title track from his new album, “Riverboat Sky.”…

Tommy Emmanuel

Advocate of the Atkins Legacy

Photo: Brian Blauser Experiencing a Tommy Emmanuel performance is one of those “You-shoulda-been-there” musical epiphanies. Emmanuel strides onstage with his acoustic guitar, displaying a self-assured countenance under his widow’s peak,…

Charlie Musselwhite’s blues chops on a vintage J-45

See it Here: “Blues Gave Me a Ride” Charlie Musselwhite and his ’54 Gibson J-45 do it up (so) right on “Blues Gave Me A Ride,” from his latest album,…

Eddie Kramer

Gaurdian of Jimi's Sound

People who think they know Jimi Hendrix’s music inside and out may have to think again. A new batch of compact discs being released this April might make you hear…

Eric Gales

Stand Up

In a recording career that spans 30 years and includes 18 albums of his own and 28 more tributes and compilations, Eric Gales has earned a reputation for blindingly fast…

Greg Koch

Making It Work

The latest release from guitar master Greg Koch is From the Up’Nuh with his son, Dylan, on drums and B3-whiz Toby Marshall on organ. Collectively, they’re the Koch Marshall Trio,…

Steve Knight

Jazz For People

Chicago resident Steve Knight’s first album, Persistence, takes listeners back to the days of warm jazz-guitar tones, popular tunes, group interaction, and feel. With inspired accompaniment from drummer Jeff Stitely…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 030 Featuring Lzzy Hale

Episode 30 of James Patrick Regan’s “Have Guitar Will Travel” podcast features Halestorm co-founder Lzzy Hale. They delve into the band’s origins and the vital early support of her parents,…

Chris Tapp

Low-End Addendum

On the latest Cold Stares album, Voices, guitarist Chris Tapp did the unthinkable – he hired a bass player! With the addition of Bryce Klueh, the Stares made a record…

Doug MacDonald and the Three T’s

Jazz Veteran Brings the Swing! West-Coast jazz legend Doug MacDonald used his Benedetto Bravo to show us a bit of “Lester Leaps In,” from his new album, Live In Hawaii. To…

Eric Clapton in Mayall’s Blues Breakers

A God is Born

John Mayall Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton casts a long shadow in the annals of modern music. Released in 1966, it was dubbed “The Beano Album” to portray its transcendent…

Johnny A.

On the fast track

When VG first caught up with guitarist Johnny A. in 2001, his instrumental release, Sometime Tuesday Morning, was perking ears all over the place. Before he signed to Steve Vai’s…

Philip Sayce’s Guitar Meditation

Exploring, Expanding Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into a ’68 Super Reverb) play “Lady Love Divine,” one of…