•  Joey Molland

    Classic Instruments

     Joey Molland

    The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was part of a quartet signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, yielding glorious AM hits like “Come and Get It,” “Day After Day,” and “No Matter What.” The foursome fell into obscurity and tragedy a few

    Read more >>

  • Gibson EDS-1275 and EMS-1235

    Gibson EDS-1275 and EMS-1235

    It’s hard not to associate doubleneck electric guitars with images of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page or fusion guru Mahavishnu John McLaughlin in the ’70s; however, the fact is that by the time the Big Js were stopping shows with these multi-headed beasts, they were already relics of the past. Doubleneck Spanish guitars got their first…

  • Michael Bloomfield’s ’63 Telecaster

    Michael Bloomfield’s ’63 Telecaster

    This Guitar Killed Folk!

    A silver-spoon teen who loved sneaking into Chicago’s southside blues clubs, Michael Bloomfield reveled in absorbing all he could from the many legendary players he saw perform in the city’s famed joints. The de facto lessons served Bloomfield well as he went on to contribute to the works of many famed performers while forging his…

Beyond the Parlor Part Three: Women

Beyond the Parlor

Part Three: Women

December 28, 2015 · Tim Brookes

Ed. Note: In the final installment in his series on the guitar in 19-century America, Tim Brookes offers a study of several…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Finding An Old Friend, Part 2

What Goes Around…

July 26, 2024 · Dan Erlewine

In the September, issue I told the story of the ’58 ES-335 I sold to my friend, Al, for $225…

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

Gibson GA-83S Stereo-Vib

March 16, 2016 · Dave Hunter

If you hung around the audio world’s collective R&D room long enough in the late 1950s and early ’60s, you’d…

Rickenbacker Transonic Home Feature Image

Rickenbacker Transonic

March 24, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Rickenbacker Transonic TS100 Topology: Solid State Output: 100 watts RMS Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass controls and Hollow, Mellow and Pierce…


VG Q&A: Fret Differential

And Examining Two Budget Archtops

Can someone please explain the differences between playing an instrument with jumbo frets versus one with smaller/shorter frets? – John Mackey Until you master playing with tall frets, it’s very easy…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Mending Chuck Panozzo’s 1960 ES-125

Thinline Revival

Like you, I got a kick out of the February “Classics” feature on Chuck Panozzo being reunited with his Gibson ES-125TC, which had suffered water damage and was literally coming…

Gibson Wall-Board Guitar

Out of the Woods, Off the Wall

In the world of “guitarcheology,” it’s well-documented that the truly interesting stuff – prototypes, one-offs, custom instruments – usually surface close to the source. For instance, in the 1970s, Fender…

Nat Talks Strings!

The Strings of Power Hey there! Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars dives into the world of guitar strings, discussing the differences between flat tops, half rounds, and flatwound strings.…

Danelectro’s Four-String Basses

The guitars and basses made by Danelectro in the ’60s epitomized “no frills.” And though they were considered the nadir of American-made electric instruments of their time, many a babyboomer…

  • Dan’s Guitar RX: A 1955 Gibson Touch-up

    Dan’s Guitar RX: A 1955 Gibson Touch-up

    Team Effort.

     To keep work flowing in my shop, repairs often become a group effort. Recently, Gene Imbody, T.K. Kelly, Paul Schmittauer, and I worked to repair a beautiful ’55 Les Paul Special and GA-30 amp belonging to Jake Curtis, who inherited the set from his grandfather, Vernon Benschoter. They’re both in very good condition, and Jake…

  • McKinley James’ Blues

    McKinley James’ Blues

     Family Barn Jam! With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a taste of his new album, “Working Class Blues,” with this run at “Call Me Lonesome.” In the October issue, he tells us how the album was made in the family barn with the only backing…

Classics: June 2022

David Hood’s Alembic Bass

February 8, 2023 · Ward Meeker

Like the engineers and musicians who, in the ’60s and ’70s, helped create legendary songs at FAME Studios and its…

Fender AA964 Princeton

What’s (Not) in a Name

October 24, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Getting the job done – five simple knobs on the Princeton’s control panel. 1966 Fender Princeton • Preamp tubes: one…

A Hero’s Gretsch 6117

March 16, 2022 · Willie G. Moseley

In the 1960s, the astronauts were bigger cultural icons than the Beatles. And no, that’s not the Colorado-based surf band…

EKO 995

February 22, 2012 · Willie G. Moseley

The Beatles’ appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in February of 1964 is often referred to as the most important…


D’Angelico New Yorker

Top of the Line from a Master Builder

Having earned its place in the VG Hall of Fame as one of the finest guitars in the history of the instrument, the New Yorker is significant primarily due to…

Steve Vai

Relentless Explorer

More than 40 years into his career, Steve Vai is still pushing himself as a musician and exploring the boundaries of the guitar. A new custom, multi-neck Ibanez called The…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Tony Nagy

Season 03 Episode 05 In Episode 3.5 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Tony Nagy, manager of the repair shop at Gruhn Guitars. Vintage instruments, prized…

Gretsch 6134 White Penguin

There’s no doubt the White Penguin is one of the rarest Gretsch instruments. It is estimated that no more than a few dozen were made from the introduction of the…

Classics – April 2021 Edition

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.”…

Q&A With George Gruhn: Formica Pickguard on an Early Les Paul?

And Not-So-Strange Variations on an ’87 LP Standard

I’ve just completed restoring a very early Les Paul that was horribly damaged and poorly repaired, then painted black! I’m about to put it together, and am wondering if what…

  • Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!

    Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!

    Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV, but his new album, “Livin’ My Best Life,” is more Houston/BFG-flavored. Here, he and his ’69 Gibson Les Paul Custom (running through an Ibanez TS-10 and a Fender Reverb tank going to a vintage Lab…

  • Gibson’s Crest Models

    Gibson’s Crest Models

    Gibson has produced two guitars bearing the “Crest” name. While both designs date to the 1960s, they’re very different instruments. The first incarnation was a single-cutaway with design ties to the L-5CT, while the second looked more like a fancy ES-335 with a shortened neck. In almost every way – size, construction materials, appointments, and…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Adding Master Volume to a Les Paul

Plus One

November 16, 2023 · Dan Erlewine

My friend Alex Aguilar recently asked me to do something most guitarists would consider sacrilegious – add a Master Volume…

The Gibson Les Paul Special

February 25, 2010 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Gibson’s Les Paul Special was the last of the original Les Paul “family” of guitars introduced, and it was the…

Selmer/RSA Truvoice TV10

Shock and Awe

June 12, 2025 · Dave Hunter

If the British market needed a couple of decades to decide what form the guitar amplifier would ultimately take, we…

Ken Fischer

1945-2006

June 10, 2020 · Dave Hunter

Although by most estimates he produced fewer than 100 Trainwreck amps, Ken Fischer – tech, designer, and amp-maker – will…