Quest for Volume
Revolutionary jazz demanded a revolutionary jazz guitar. In the summer of 1935, just as his Quintette du Hot Club de France was starting to...
The ’66 Vox UL 730
Despite the massive lust for early “copper-panel” Vox AC30 and AC15 amplifiers, one JMI-made line is far rarer – the 1966 “UL” series. More...
The Travis Bean TB1000S Standard
Guitar history is littered with “better ideas,” some of which stayed around, went nowhere, or went somewhere before landing in the boneyard to be...
NGM Visits Texas
“It was born at the junction of form and function,” country guitar ace Bill Kirchen sings in “Hammer Of The Honky Tonk Gods.” And...
’66 Epiphone Casino
In the Epiphone line of the 1960s, the Casino occupied middle ground. In appearance as well as electronics it ranked well below the semi-hollow...
Trainwreck Express “Nancy”
World’s most desirable amplifier? Aside from any “standard” vintage amps that have been elevated through their associations with major artists, the few original-design, made-by-hand...
The House of Stathopoulo Harp Guitar
One of the rarest Epiphone instruments in the world, the House of Stathopoulo harp guitar lends a glimpse into a transitional era prior to...
’68 Truetone by Kay/Valco
The year 1968 was not a good one for American manu-facturers of stringed instruments.M.C.A. closed the original Danelectro, and what was left of Kay...
Whooooo Wal You?
Wal began building electric basses in the early 1970s as a collaboration between Englishmen Pete Stevens and Ian Waller. Their efforts evolved into a...
Universal Audio’s OX Amp Top Box
Since the mid ’60s, electrical engineers have been trying to drive a stake into the heart of the vacuum tube, first with transistors, then...