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Classic Instruments
The Electra Endorser
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, which set new standards for psychedelic woodgrain. “But it’s not a ’70s guitar,” you object. No, but arguably, the Endorser CS – which was only…
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams: Funky Syncopation
Fine pickin’ on “The Way You Make Me Feel” Husband-and-wife team Martin D-18, while Teresa comps on an Emmylou Harris L-200 that was a gift from
B.C. Rich Guitars
From Flamenco to Heavy Metal
From one perspective, flamenco and heavy metal might seem as far apart as the sun and the moon, but if you think about the hyperbolic emotion involved in both genres,…
Road to Rock
The Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar
Fans often mark the beginning of rock and roll as either Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions or Bill Haley & the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock,” both recorded in 1954. But…
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Webb Wilder’s take on “Beautiful Delilah”
“Hillbilly Speedball” sample Since the mid ’80s, Webb Wilder has cranked out consistently fine roots-rock. His latest is “Hillbilly Speedball,” and here he grabs his ’61 Gibson ES-330TD plugged into a narrow-panel Fender Vibrolux to play a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah.” He’s joined by George Bradfute (on a ’50s Epiphone upright) and Bob…
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Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz
Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like “Kashmir,” “Little Wing,” and a classical spin through Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” Here, though, he shows us the title track, which is the only original tune. His ’87 Fender D’Aquisto is plugged into a…
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Dan’s Guitar RX: Doubleneck Redux, Part 2
Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
In the November issue, we started to refurbish a doubleneck mandolin/guitar I made for Jerry Schafer in 1977. It needed a new wiring harness, tuners, binding repair, new frets, and a good setup. With teammates Ceil Thompson and Gene Imbody sharing the load, we continued the work. 1) Gene – our go-to guy for tough…
Standel 400S
In the early days of the American electric guitar/amplifier industry, Standel was known for building high-quality amplifiers used by the likes of Merle Travis and Joe Maphis. In fact, a…
Zemaitis Guitar
Tony Z and the Cult of the Zemaitis Guitar
While England has produced some notable guitar brands, such as Burns, Shergold and Eggle, it is rare for an individual maker to gain acceptance in a world where an “established…
Classics: May 2022
“Wild” Jimmy Spruill’s ’66 Fender Jaguar
Wilbert Harrison’s 1959 version of Leiber and Stoller’s “Kansas City” shares space at the summit of all-time blues/pop classics, its guitar part ably handled by New York City session ace…
The Fender Blender
Extreme Fuzz
When Robin Trower segued from his wah-driven blues-rock riffing into the slowed, deep-blues groove of the second half of his ’74 anthem “Too Rolling Stoned,” he kicked it over to…
Classics – March 2021
Scarce and beautiful, Gibson’s Flying V was an ahead-of-its-time marketing failure when introduced in 1958. Made of exotic limba (a mahogany cousin from Africa trademarked in the U.S. as “Korina”)…
Classics: December 2021
1967 Rickenbacker 360/12
Live-music fans who roamed South Florida from the early ’80s until the mid 2000s might recognize Craig Ball’s ’67 Rickenbacker 360/12. Ball was lead guitarist in the Rockerfellas, a band…
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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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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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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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Heathkit TA-16 Starmaker
Basement Jams & Blown Speakers
1966 Heathkit TA-16 Starmaker Combo The days when a kid would break out the soldering iron and take on a serious electronics project just for fun are largely behind us. Back in the ’60s, though, that’s how many an aspiring musician acquired his own precious guitar amplifier, as was the case with this Heathkit TA-16…
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D.K. Harrell and His ’76 ES-335
B.B. King of the Blues Award winner plays “Liquor Stores and Legs” Winner of the B.B. King of the Blues Award, here D.K. Harrell and his ’76 Gibson ES-355, Christal, are going straight to his Lab Series L-5 for a stripped-down run through “Liquor Stores and Legs.” If you like uptown shuffles, relatable lyrics, and…
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Blues guitarist Charlie Apicella’s “Booze and Blues” and “Just Like a Woman”
Honoring B.B., Rainey Being V.P. of the North Jersey Blues Society isn’t the only thing that separates Charlie Apicella from the typical blues player. A devotee of B.B. King (and others), he pays homage on a new album, “Iron City: Live in NYC,” by plugging two of his favorite guitars into the ’65 Guild Thunder…
Toys For Tots and Psychedelic Dreams
This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. As Christmas rapidly approaches,…
Peavey T-45
It’s been more than 25 years since the Peavey Electronics Company introduced its revolutionary T-60 guitar and T-40 bass to a market that was immediately impacted by their quality and…
Raul Malo’s Instrumental Side
Mavericks frontman with a vintage Jazzmaster Though he is renowned and beloved for his vocals in the Mavericks, Raul Malo’s new album, “Say Less,” is a showcase for his…
Gibson’s 1958-’62 ES-335TD
The Redoubtable “Dot-Neck” Early every guitar conceived or designed by Ted McCarty during his tenure as president of Gibson (1948-’66) is today seen as exemplary of the company’s best work.…
The Gibson Les Paul Model
Its official name – Les Paul model – doesn’t do it justice. After all, Gibson has made over a hundred different Les Paul models through the years. But call it…
Geddy Lee
Bass Conservator
In its 40-plus years, Rush evolved on its own terms. Mixing rock and jazz influences, the band’s 19 studio albums fostered a cultish fan base of prog-rockers, headbangers, and others…
Bill Gruggett
Still Buildin' em in Bakersfield
The agrarian area of California that includes such cities as Bakersfield and Tulare has a special significance to country music lovers and guitar lovers alike. The musical mystique, of course,…
Gibson’s GA-8 Discoverer
Sonic Satellite
By the end of the 1950s, “space” was the name of the game, and any forward-thrusting gear that hoped to grab a share of the rock-and-roll market was named accordingly.…
Intriguing Twosome
A Look at Gibson’s EB-6
As the ’50s drew to a close, Gibson was locked in a heated battle with Fender for a share of the high-end electric-guitar market. But when it came to the…
Q&A With George Gruhn: A Strong Case
And When to Get an Appraisal
Some of my vintage guitar cases are very worn. One Martin case from the ’40s is missing a latch and the handle is falling apart. I have newer, better cases…
Six-String Basses from the 1950s and ’60s
The Big Twang!
Electric bass, bass guitar, baritone guitar; four, five, or six strings – many varieties of low-tuned instruments are available today. In the 1950s, however, choices were fewer. Bassists played upright…
The Slingerland May Bell
It’s hard to imagine a more poorly “documented” guitar brand than Slinglerland. The company has been around since before World War I and made a lot of guitars and banjos…
Freddie King’s ’73 ES-355
Thinline Crown
Influenced by Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and others including jump-blues saxophonist Louis Jordan, Freddie King was an integral piece of…
James Ashborn
Innovative Entrepreneur
Circa 1850 James Ashborn guitar. All photos: M. E. Brune. James Ashborn was born in England circa 1816 and came to New England in the late 1830s, for reasons unknown.…
Tony Nobles Resonator
Museum-Bound Resonator
This guitar is a special project built after I was approached by the new Braunfels (Texas) Museum of Art and Music to show a guitar in an exhibit of Texas…
Gibson’s Experimental Archtop
Orville Gibson invented the carved-top guitar in the 1890s. The Gibson company refined the design with the addition of f-holes in 1922, and brought the concept to full potential in…
Echoplex, Part I: Pre-Echoplex Days
Don Dixon and Mike Battle
Don Dixon, Guitar Player Seeing the name Don Dixon, many think, “Producer for R.E.M., Smithereens, etc., recording artist, husband of songbird Marti Jones.” All correct. But when that Don Dixon…
1912-’16 Manuel Ramírez Model 26
Manuel Ramírez was one of the most important makers of the Madrid school at the turn of the 20th century. His well-organized shop was staffed by talented makers such as…
Fender’s 6G9 Tremolux
Preamp tubes: two 7025, two 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6BQ5/EL84 Rectifier: GZ34 Controls: Bright channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Normal channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; tremolo Speed and Intensity for both channels…
Dean DeLeo and Tom Bukovac unite on the trip the witch
Cosmic Convergence
At a glance, there’s little reason to connect a guitarist like Dean DeLeo to one like Tom Bukovac. One is ’90s-rock royalty, the other a modern-day Nashville studio legend. Strange…
Custom Pearl
PH-44 Phaser
This month, our “Little Known Wonder” is the Pearl PH-44 Phaser. The Pearl Instrument Company made a series of effects in the early ’80s called Sound Spice effects pedals. Although…
