-
Classic Instruments
Zac Schulze gets straight to it!
If you’re a fan of Cream, Zeppelin, and Rory Gallagher (who isn’t?), you’ll dig Zac Schulze Gang, a British power trio that’s carrying the torch with both hands; they’ve played Clapton’s Crossroads and the Rory Gallagher Tribute Fest. Here, Zac flies solo on “High Roller,” tearin’ it up on his ’54 Guild Aristocrat M75 through…
Roger Mayer
Straight-shooting Effects Builder to the Stars
In the early 1960s, a young Research Laboratory engineer named Roger Mayer filled his “spare time” hanging out with a jaw-dropping collection of up-and-comers on the fledgling London blues-rock scene,…
Brennen Leigh’s Heart-Tugging Honky-Tonk
Shades of Norman Blake and Dolly Parton A student of the “Carter Scratch” guitar technique – melody on the low strings, rhythm on the high – Brennen Leigh plays and…
Prodigal Sunburst
Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard
A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything Joe Walsh does brings an undeniable charisma. For decades, Walsh…
-
Jon Butcher’s psychedelia mastery
Jon Butcher tales his Olympic White ’63 Strat for a rip on “Jam,” a track from his new album, “Nuthin’ but Soul.” The disc is an homage to sounds of Motown, Stax, James Brown, and Sly Stone highlighted by Butcher’s mastery of Hendrix-style psychedelia. It was recorded using a ’63 Princeton, a Vibrolux, and a…
-
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…
-
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…
Martin 5K
ukulele
The braguinha, forerunner of the ukulele, was a small four-string instrument tuned in fifths. Named after the town of Braga in Portugal, the instrument arrived in Hawaii with the first…
Magnatone X-5 Zephyr
Last Gasp
Ever since Lonnie Mack unleashed The Wham of That Memphis Man and Buddy Holly sang “Peggy Sue,” Magnatone amplifiers have been the stuff of legend. Magnatone guitars, on the other…
Fender’s Ltd and Montego
Jazz Guitars
The Ltd was introduced as CBS Fender’s entry into the archtop jazz guitar market. It was to be a prestigious example of Fender’s ability to produce a highly crafted, handmade,…
Ted Newman Jones’ West-Texas Guitars
Melodious Coterie
Boxcars Among the vast papers, drawings, photographs, and tapes at Texas Tech’s Crossroads of Music Archive is a guitar beloved by the late Jesse “Guitar” Taylor. Known as “Dice,” it…
Albert King’s Flying Vs
Kings Ransom: Seagal, Gibbons, and Albert King's Flying Vs
In a quiet, wooded canyon blissfully removed from the hustle and bustle of nearby Hollywood and the roar of Pacific Coast Highway, sits the very private retreat and Shangri-La of…
Gibson Tal Farlow
The Tal Farlow is one guitar in a quartet of full-depth Gibson Artists models first cataloged in the early 1960s. Introduced in ’62, it was based on the ES-350 – the…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Fender Prototypes
Gone… And Forgotten
Philip Kubicki has been active in the music industry for over 30 years. He began building acoustic guitars at age 15. At 19, he was one of the first employees…
The Fender Telecaster
Simplicity. You can sum up the success of Fender’s venerable Telecaster model with one word. A cross-cultural phenomenon right down to its name – in a bind, the company essentially…
Music Man’s Hybrid Boogie Amp: The RD-50
Say hey, fellow guitarists! If you live in the Northeast, it’s great to have a hobby that doesn’t require going outside. Two storms in five days of each other dumped…
Sixty Years of Tele-Kinetic Guitar Heroes
Flying Saucers! Tail Fins! Robots!
Taking a cue from the burgeoning world of television, in 1951, Leo Fender married the name “Telecaster” to his new electric-solidbody guitar. Originally dubbed “Broadcaster” (which infringed on a Gretsch…
Ampeg Gemini II G-15
Preamp tubes: three 12AX7, one 6CG7, one 7199. Output tubes: two 7868. Rectifier: solidstate Controls: volume, treble and bass on each channel; echo (reverb) and speed and intensity (tremolo) on…
Gibson F-5 1923
1923 Gibson F-5. Gibson F-5 mandolins signed by Lloyd Loar from mid 1922 to 1924 are considered the Holy Grail by most American mandolin players. Within that group of grails,…
Electro-Harmonix’s Mike Matthews
EH is Back!
EH is back!” So ran the ad copy for the Electro-Harmonix Corporation in the early 1980s. By that time, the company had been in business well over 10 years and…
The Fender “Wide-Panel” Twin
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 lot to be said for a Twin that’s closer to…
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…
Robin Basses
A Photo Retrospective
Alamo Music Products holds a unique place in the history of electric guitars and basses. The Houston-based company began its journey in the early ’80s as Robin Guitars, importing retro-influenced…
The Gibson J-185
The J-185 is regarded by many players and collectors as the finest-sounding Gibson flat-top made after World War II. The only flat-top of its size and shape made by Gibson…
Ibanez Destroyer
Odd Retro Nod
The early/mid 1970s were the “glory days” for imported copies of classic American-made guitars and basses. Back then, the “vintage” vibe as it related to American-made electric guitars was in…
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 amps out there that wear the…
Gibson Trini Lopez
In the early 1960s, as Les Paul was leaving Gibson’s artist roster, the company recruited three of the most respected jazz guitarists to put their signatures on new “artist” model…
Fender 5E3 Deluxe
Fender 5E3 Deluxe Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, 12AX7 PI Output tubes: two 6V6GT, cathode-bias Rectifier: 5Y3 tube Controls: Independent Volumes for each channel, shared Tone. Output: 15 watts RMS +/-…
Dan’s Guitar RX: Installing an Acoustic Pickup System
Un-Unplugged
For years, one of the most common jobs I’ve been asked to do is put a pickup in an acoustic guitar. Compared to most of my work, it’s pretty basic,…
The D’Angelico Excel Mandolin
The 1,164 archtop guitars made by John D’Angelico have brought him great renown as the finest individual archtop guitar builder in the history of the instrument. His mandolins, however, are…
Carvin Factory Tour
Carvin Does It Different
Imagine a company that builds 600 high-quality guitars and basses per month, with a normal backorder count of 700. “Well, that’s okay…” some guitar enthusiasts might observe, “but some guitar…
Vega Director Model A-60
Enticing Extras
A worthy vintage combo in all regards, there’s sad irony in the fact the Director Model A-60 is representative of the downward trajectory of Vega, the company founded in 1881…
Wolf Marshall
Jazz-Lore Generator
Wolf Marshall was absorbing music before he could walk or talk. Born to a mother who was a concert pianist, he napped beneath the instrument as she practiced pieces by…
Standard in Custom
Schecter’s Custom Shop Marks 35 Years
Riding high after 35 years with an array of original instruments, an impressive artist roster that started early with Pete Townshend and Mark Knopfler, and a line of high-gain amplifiers,…
