Marc Schoenberger was part of the early-’70s vanguard on the Southern California guitar scene – not as a gigging musician, but among the crowd that raced the 101 freeway to check out old guitars every time a new issue of the Recycler hit the streets. He’d also been repairing guitars for friends and local shops

“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin D-18 Modern Deluxe on an unplugged arrangement of “I’m Done Runnin’,” the ripping lead track from her new album, “Paper Doll.” Catch our review in the May issue. Read Now!

One of the few family-owned guitar/amplifier manufacturing enterprises remaining in the industry, Carvin was founded by Lowell Kiesel in 1946 and started by making pickups, then transitioned to building lap steels and other stringed instruments. Some of the company’s early guitars and basses used parts from other guitar makers, but as its direct-to-consumer concept caught…

Most industries know a great idea when they see it and aren’t shy about jumping on a bandwagon. In 1969,…

Iconic Axes of Different Hues
Though their colors are complementary, Brian May’s Red Special and Brian Setzer’s ’59 Gretsch 6120 couldn’t be more different in…
On a Tangent In Its Time
Precision Bass has been offered in a myriad of models in its 50 years of existense, including a number of…
Okay, Zep police, sound the alarm and prepare to loose the hounds – we are finally about to lift the…

On November 5th, Phoenix, Arizona’s Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) celebrated the opening of their newest exhibition, “Dragons and Vines: Inlaid Guitar Masterpieces.” Curators teamed up with Maryland-based Pearl Works to…

The Art of Home Recording
The process might seem simple – stick mic in front of amp, press "Record." Truth is, though, that even just one guitar and amp can render results that vary greatly.…

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…

Flame-top guitars were fairly common during the 1970s “copy era,” but few reached the levels of figure we often see on modern high-end guitars. Then came the Electra Endorser X935CS,…

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…

Tyler Morris – 1963 Fender Stratocaster Tyler Morris guides us through his 1963 Fender Stratocaster in Fiesta Red. Follow Tyler at www.tylerdmorris.com!

Fellow musicians called him “Pep” or “Pepperhead.” He was also known as “Mr. Rhythm,” and he could drive a band like no other guitarist. His was a subtle yet unmistakable motivating and metronomic force. Others emulated his style and function, but Freddie Green was the archetype – the most famous rhythm guitarist in jazz. In…

While Fender’s high-powered 5F8-A Twin of 1958-’60 (VG, March ’09) has been much raved about in recent years, there’s a…

Gibson Les Paul Personal
Billy Soutar loves the vibe of his 1969 Les Paul Personal and matching LP-12 amp. While the guitar’s mahogany body,…

Blond Ambition
1961 Fender 6G6(A) Bassman • Preamp tubes: four 7025 (12AX7) • Output tubes: two 5881 (6L6GC) • Rectifier: GZ34 tube…

What is it about Plexiglas? It’s so cool. You can see through it onstage. It’s dense, yet resonant. You’d think…

Like so many Vintage Guitar readers, Steve Evans was propped in front of a TV that February night in 1964 when the Beatles first performed on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”…
What a Dude Does
You can’t keep an iconic rocker down. Brian Setzer’s The Devil Always Collects is his first album in more than two years. Featuring the Grammy winner’s trademark rockabilly fire, it’s…

If you hung around the audio world’s collective R&D room long enough in the late 1950s and early ’60s, you’d have thought that, very soon, everything would be happening in…

Missing Link
He may not be part of anthropological history like Dutch paleontologist Eugene Dubois, but Simon Adahl did have to dig a bit to discover this “missing link” – a first-version…

A Bakersfield/Brooklyn Cowboy
In the history of vintage guitars, Gretsch and Mosrite are sometimes linked, and often associated with ’50s hot-country pickers and ’60s rockers. One guitar takes that connection to a new…
As a maker of high-quality instruments, Gibson was hit hard by the onset of the Depression in the 1930s. Company president Guy Hart, a former accountant, recognized that Gibson could…
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number is 6326H6365 and the label is also printed with “B1172.” The second is what I believe is a Goya-made Greco GR1 from the late ’60s with serial number
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80. Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John
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
Jason Isbell’s powerful songs, compelling vocals, and formidable guitar skills have made him one of America’s most-respected singer/songwriters. A charismatic performer, his critically-lauded albums, solo and backed by the formidable 400 Unit, have earned six Grammys and nine Americana Music Awards. With an eclectic style melding country, blues, and Southern rock, his appeal transcends genres.
What do you do when the humble blackface Bandmaster you acquired sight-unseen turns out to harbor one of rock’s hottest lead circuits? Celebrate! And then go tracing its connection to California’s seminal high-gain guitar amplifier. Randall Smith’s legendary Boogie lead circuit started as a prank played on an unsuspecting client before he applied it as
Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music producer, he has collected an assortment of instruments and music memorabilia, particularly related to his home town of Memphis. One of his guitars recently became part of a recording project that began at the renowned

In the history of vintage guitars, Gretsch and Mosrite are sometimes linked, and often associated with ’50s hot-country pickers and ’60s rockers. One guitar takes that connection to a new level. This custom Mosrite hollowbody has the chassis of an early Gretsch Country Gentleman and was likely built between 1959 and ’62 for a hotshot…

Classic sounds on “Silver on the Sage” Hilary Gardner and her band are devout fans of classic cowboy (and other types of) songs that they deliver with intimate arrangements. Here, they offer a take on the 1936 Leo Robin/Ralph Rainger track ,“Silver on the Sage,” just one of the fine tunes on her latest album,…

“Parlor Strut” on a vintage Harmony! Proving that ’60s import guitars can make cool sounds, Parlor Greens guitarist Jimmy James…

Michael Bloomfield 1963 Fender Stratocaster
Antonio Mazzara’s passion for music started at age 10, when he started playing a nylon-string classical guitar before moving up…

OM Irony
Martin Orchestra Model (OM) guitars made prior to World War II are some of the finest ever made for fingerpicking.…

Gretsch Gets With It!
In 1950, Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster. The first solidbody electric Spanish guitar to bear his soon-to-be-famous name, its thin…
