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Classic Instruments
Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
Christopher Thorn
Alt-Rocker/Studio Guru
Best known as half of the guitar tandem in the ’90s alternative-rock band Blind Melon (that’s his rhythm on “No Rain,” using his Gibson J-30), Christopher Thorn has since recorded…
Arbiter Fuzz Face
When Jimi Hendrix released his first album, 1967’s Are You Experienced, he launched a new level of guitar heroics as well as a sartorial fad for ruffled shirts and band…
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…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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Vivi-Tone “Skeleton
A Master’s Magnificent Misfire
The eternal question “Who invented the electric guitar?” has no single answer. By the late 1920s, many players, tinkerers, and inventors were exploring ways to get more volume from fretted instruments. Steel-string flat-tops from Martin, f-hole archtops from Gibson, and metal-bodied resonators from National were louder than their predecessors, but ran up against physical limits.…
National Res-O-Glas
Map-Shaped Mayhem
Anyone who thinks ’60s Valco/National Res-O-Glas electrics look weird now ought to reflect on what the reaction might have been back then. The bodies of this bizarre lineup were molded…
Chris Butler’s Vox Mark VI: Waitress Server
Melding garage rock with glam, punk emerged in the early ’70s, set on stirring society’s pot. From New York to London, Dallas to Detroit, youthful contempt spurred the creation of…
The Fender Princeton
1962 6G2 Fender Princeton Preamp tubes: One 7025, one 12AX7 Output tubes: two 6V6GT in fixed bias Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls: Volume, Tone, Speed, Intensity Speaker: one 10” Oxford 10J4 Output:…
Fender Jazz Bass
“Stack-knob” is a catch phrase that for decades has perked the ears of collectors; these relatively rare examples of the earliest Fender Jazz Bass are among the first electric basses…
Hanburt Electric Guitars
Rarities From the Pacific Northwest
As a brand of American electric instruments, the name “Hanburt” is about the furthest thing from being a household term. Nevertheless, the recently documented saga behind this obscure line of…
Duane Eddy
Of DeArmonds and Details
(Ed. Note: Duane Eddy was featured in the June ’95 issue of VG, following the release of his Twang Thang box-set anthology, which included 40 songs he helped re-master and…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Stromberg Master 400
The Stromberg Master 400, measuring a gigantic 19″, is considered by many to be the ultimate orchestral rhythm guitar. The instrument of choice for Freddy Green with the Count Basie…
Kramer Duke
Shorter Steinberger Syndrome
If you think the headless, downsized Kramer Duke series was conceived and designed as a copy of the groundbreaking Steinberger bass, think again, because that’s not half of the story.…
Jerry Kennedy
A-Team Guitarist, A-List Producer
Jerry Glenn Kennedy, a 13-year-old who recorded for RCA Victor as “Jerry Glenn,” got the shock of his young life when he walked into a Nashville recording studio in September…
A.J.’s 1950 Fender Broadcaster
$10 at a time
In 1950, A.J. Custer traded his triple-neck steel for a white-guard Broadcaster. Total cost was around $300, which he paid in $10 installments over three years. Fifty years later, we…
Freddie Green
Artistry in Rhythm
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…
Selmer Truvoice
Selectortone Automatic
Selmer Truvoice Selectortone Automatic, ca. 1961 Preamp tubes: one ECC83, two EF86 Output tubes: two EL34, cathode-bias Rectifier: GZ34 Controls: Channel I: Volume, Tone. Channel 2: Volume, Tone, six pushbutton…
’67 Fender Coronado II
One of the first fender Flops
Leo Fender’s company designed many innovative instruments before it was acquired by CBS in 1965. Soon afterward, the powers that be decided the company ought to have a series of…
The (Way) Back Beat: Top O’ The Line, For Only $150!
The Immortal Danelectro Guitarlin
Having looked at the most expensive electric guitars offered in 1960s – over 50 years ago. Traditional makers – Gibson, Guild, and Gretsch – concentrated on flashy amplified archtops that…
Furry Lewis’ 1968 Gibson B-25N
Heart In Hand
Born in the heart of Mississippi’s fabled Delta region – from where Robert Johnson emerged and a blues-music form was born, Walter “Furry” Lewis was seven years old when his…
The 1966 Murph Squire II-T
So-Cal Attention Getter
Despite what many enthusiasts believe, there has been only one really significant “lawsuit” that defined a class of guitars – Norlin v. Elger, 1977 – but there have been plenty…
Dickerson Standard Lap Steel
Though today they are viewed as little more than curious relics of a lost era, during the Great Depression, “mother of toilet seat” Hawaiian lap steels were one of the…
Traditional, Temporary
Guild Basses in the Early 1980s
The early ’80s were a unique time in the history of American electric guitars. Fender and Gibson were both owned by corporate interests – the former CBS, the latter the…
Rickenbacker’s Bakelite Spanish Vs. Fender’s Esquire
Fender Myth Debunked! (Part II)
Even if Rickenbacher’s 1935 Bakelite Spanish model wasn’t the first solidbody electric, it would still be important in the evolution of modern guitars as the inspiration for Fender’s 1949 entry…
Murph Squire 11-T
1965 Murph Squire 11-T We live in a golden age, with an incredible selection of guitars available in virtually any price range. But if there ever was another golden age,…
Valco ‘Thunder stick’
Put your gut money on a dark horse every so often, and you might find the rest of the regurgitating bandwagon world awash in your taillights. Every sublime guitar collection…
Phil Manzanera’s “Magdalena”
Roxy Music legend solo instrumental Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera used his beloved ’64 Gibson Firebird VII to create this exclusive run through “Magdalena,” one of five new tunes on…
Fender Mustang Bass
Truly Transitional
Ca. 1967 Fender Mustang Bass, serial number 219057. VG archive. Instrument courtesy of Rockahaulix. Fender’s short-scale Mustang Bass, introduced in 1966, was a transitional instrument in many ways. The company…
The Collins Kids
Mostly-Moseley Memories
Siblings Lorrie and Larry Collins sprang into the public eye in the mid 1950s – dawn of the television era – on a program called “Town Hall Party.” The big-sister/little-brother…
Gibson Custom Colors in the 1960s
Burning Embers, Chilled Whites
Unlike its rival from the West Coast, Gibson did not readily embrace the concept of offering custom-color finishes. It wasn’t averse to custom work or colorful finishes, but saw them…
Alamo Guitars
Remember the Alamo, Part 1
Mention the Alamo and most of us conjure up a rich variety of images. Whether it’s Davy Crockett (Fess Parker, maybe John Wayne) swinging his flintlock rifle as General Santa…
Ovation UKII 1291
Rodney Dangerfield of solidbody electric guitars
1980 Ovation UKII 1291 If there’s a Rodney Dangerfield of solidbody electric guitars, it would be named Ovation. For more than a decade, Ovation tried unsuccessfully to leverage its achievements…
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VG Q&A: ’71 Mahogany Precision?
Plus, a ’60s Conrad 12-String and Converting a ’65 ES-345TD-SV to Mono
