• Thomas Custom Guitars

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    Thomas Custom Guitars

    Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

    Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich tonal qualities. Thomas guitars, on the other hand, are usually noted for their odd (sometimes controversial) shapes and zany features. Built by the late guitarist/machinist/luthier/and

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Danny Fender

Danny Fender was one of the great guitarists you may never have heard. He died December 3, 2024, at age 54. Fender was well-known among his people, the American Roma.…

Tomas Janzon swings on “Ascending”

Silky-Smooth on a vintage hollowbody Hip as all get-out, Tomas Janzon plays some of the silkiest jazz you’ll hear this year. Here, he demonstrates on “Ascending,” a track from his…

Barry Bailey

Guitarist Barry Bailey, co-founder of the Atlanta Rhythm Section and acclaimed studio musician, died March 13 in Madison, Georgia. He was 73 and battled multiple sclerosis for 17 years. Bailey…

Rich Robinson

Back To The Future

The Black Crowes’ new six-song EP, 1972, shows the band exploring rock classics from that year – the seeds of which propelled them to superstardom. For more than 30 years,…

Dick Taylor

From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things

When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing 11 CDs and other goodies – the cover of the…

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…

Jamie Kime

Jamie Kime

Lord Of The Jam

Jamie Kime’s first solo record, Alleys, displays a mix of lush guitar tones, poignant soundscapes, and evocative panoramas. We recently sat with him to discuss it, and his recent gig…

Peter Stroud and Audley Freed

Two Guys, Many Guitars, One Big Hat

Many a noteworthy rock and roll band from the Cotton Belt has been propelled by guitar-playin’ good ol’ boys with names that ring through music lore in (sometimes) poetic-sounding tandems…

Reunited

Bruce Forman Honors Barney Kessel

From 1957 to ’60, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne recorded four LPs for Contemporary Records as a group called Poll Winners, a byproduct of each…

Richie Kotzen

Richie Kotzen

Fight For Familiarity

So he’s not burning up the Top 40, but Richie Kotzen has been a soul-crooning monster guitarist for a very long time. With almost 20 solo albums and group projects…

Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke

Godfather of Bass

Despite being widely credited for pushing the electric bass past its status as a rear-of-the-stage device intended to simply help drummers provide rhythmic backing, and in turn influencing two generations…

Paul Burlison

Train Keeps Rollin'

Paul Burlison does not know how to make a long story short, but that’s just fine because his stories are such great ones. Like a slow-movin’ freight, a milk train,…

Kenny Burrell

Playing It, Meaning It, Living It

Few can claim the title of living legend. Kenny Burrell is just such a person. In fact he’s more – he’s living history, past, present and future. His credentials are…

Fretprints: Robben Ford

The Early Years: Emergence of a Blues/Jazz Virtuoso

“Who is this kid?” gasped incredulous attendees of the Guitar Explosion festival at the Hollywood Bowl in June, 1973. It was a typical summer day, but the concert was anything…

Have Guitar Will Travel 088 – Kevin Bernier and De’Wayne

In Ep 88 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Kevin Bernier of the Suffers, and with power-pop singer De’Wayne. Kevin tells how the Suffers…

Ron Bosse

Unison Groove

While Boston-based guitarist Ron Bosse was inspired to begin his six-string journey while listening to classic rock, he became a jazz player and has been active for decades. “The first…

Grant Geissman

Still Feeling Good

Admired for the iconic phase-shifter solo on Chuck Mangione’s 1978 smash “Feels So Good,” Grant Geissman can today look back on a successful career as a solo artist and sideman.…

Tony Gilkyson: Country-Rocker, Punk

Tasty licks On A Vintage Kay An alumnus of country-rock’s Lone Justice and punk-rockers X, Tony Gilkyson plugged his vintage Kay Sizzler into a ’64 Fender Princeton Reverb for a…

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…

Dick Taylor

From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things

When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing 11 CDs and other goodies – the cover of the…

Neil LeVang

Neil LeVang

Six Strings Behind — and Beyond — Champagne Music

Neil LeVang was about to get a lecture. Days earlier, the A-list studio guitarist’s new boss, Lawrence Welk, had golfed with a couple well-known singers who mentioned that LeVang had…

Mr. Smith goes to Rudy’s

“Upstairs” at a famed NYC guitar boutique

Nashville has Music Row and London has Soho, but if your heart starts palpitating at the mere mention of carved wood, PAFs, and steel strings, it’s hard to beat New…

Pop ’N Hiss: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s (Pronounced ‘Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’)

Down-South Guitar Assault

By early 1973, “Southern Rock” had come into its own, spearheaded by Capricorn Records and its keystone act, the Allman Brothers Band, whose music was melodic, popular, and brought plenty…

Vintage Guitar magazine Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

Into the New Rising Sun – Speculating on Jimi's Later Career Move's

It has been 40 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix. In his honor, this month we will look at two unexplored aspects of his life and work, including the…

Bob’s Playboy Pickers

Bob Wills was, first and foremost, a fiddler. But he began his career in childhood, strumming guitar and mandolin chords at rural Texas parties and dances behind his father, ace…

Tom Petersson’s Gretsch 12-string Basses

Tricked-Out Trio

Cheap Trick fans are aware of his contribution to the band’s songs, but few know he actually invented the 12-string electric bass and has been using one since 1977 to…

John Frusciante

Red Hot On The Empyrean

Best known for his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante thoroughly enjoys every aspect of making music, and continuously experiments with new and unusual ways to create…

Jeff Hanna

A Half-Century of Dirt

Equal parts anniversary party, all-star jam, and “you really needed to be there” celebration, a September ’15 performance by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the Ryman Auditorium kicked off…

’Bursting with Surprises

’Bursting with Surprises

Celeb Guitars Make a Splash at U.K. Guitar Show

Peter Hoarty and his wife, Gail, have been hosting guitar shows in England since 1998, when they rented space to sell a few of the 50-some vintage amps and more…

Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale

Blowin' Down the Road

Photo: David McClister, courtesy Reprise Records. Blowin’ Down the Road With Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale by Dan Forte It’s fitting that The Road To Escondido, the long-awaited collaboration between…