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Classic Instruments
VG Q&A: Harmony History
And an Archtop Mystery
I recently received two guitars as gifts and am trying to learn more about them. The first is a Harmony I believe is from the early ’70s. Its serial number is 6326H6365 and the label is also printed with “B1172.” The second is what I believe is a Goya-made Greco GR1 from the late ’60s with serial number
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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…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Alan Greenwood
Season 02 Episode 1 VG’s “Buy That Guitar” podcast opens its second season with host Ram Tuli joined by Alan Greenwood, founder and publisher of Vintage Guitar. They discuss the magazine’s history, the Price Guide, and the current state of the vintage market. Links:Vintage Guitar magazine Subscribe to our “Overdrive” newsletter for the latest happenings…
Classics – June 2021
Rob Harrelson’s first guitar – a Kay 1160 – entered his life as a 14th-birthday gift from his grandmother. At…
Five Classic Amps
A Tone-Spotter’s Arsenal To Cover It All
When it comes to classic guitar tones – whether it’s blues through a Dumble, country through a Fender, rock through…
Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts
Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers…
Sovtek MIG-50
Curtain Call
Given their development in the twilight years of the U.S.S.R. and arrival at the fall of the Iron Curtain, it…
Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip
Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940 Martin D-28 to play “Wishbone,” a standout track from his…
Gibson Super Jumbo 100
The Super Jumbo 200 is Gibson’s most celebrated flat-top model, and deservedly so, thanks to its use by cowboy movie stars in the pre-World War II years and by country…
Quest for Volume
Django Reinhardt's Selmer #503
Revolutionary jazz demanded a revolutionary jazz guitar. In the summer of 1935, just as his Quintette du Hot Club de France was starting to make waves, Django first began using…
The Fender “Korinacaster”
Double-Cut Kuriosity
There’s irony in the fact that Leo Fender, creator of the first solidbody electric guitar to be mass-produced, wasn’t the adventurous sort. Rather, history tells us he was a pragmatic,…
John Pizzarelli Swings On A Vintage D’angelico
Jazz Ace on an Heirloom Guitar For this exclusive rendition of “Just In Time,” swing ace John Pizzarelli grabbed the D’Angelico Model B that was played by his late (and…
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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…
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Jim Campilongo & Steve Cardenas
Mutual Musical Idiosyncrasies
Steve Cardenas and Jim Campilongo have been playing guitar together for a long time, though the constellations only recently aligned so they could record. Captured on three nights in September of 2022, New Year showcases harmonic personalities merging through atmosphere, reverb, and ancient acoustic guitars. It’s also a meditation on the beauty and strength of…
Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought?
Gibson was a late entry into the flat-top guitar market, offering its first model in 1926, but Gibson was a…
Scott Sharrard’s fiery slide!
Little Feat ace plays outro from “You’ll Be Mine” In case you’re wondering how Scott Sharrard got the gig wearing…
Guyatone Micro Effects
Little Boxes, Big Effects
Musical-instrument accessories importer Guyatone introduced its first series of Micro Effects three years ago to widespread praise. Knowing it was…
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 –…
Jabo, Vince, and Broadcaster 0048
Special Addition
It’s routine for Vince Gill, as one of Nashville’s true connoisseurs of electric and acoustic gear, to receive tips about rare guitars for sale. In 2012, one such call shined…
1971 Dumble Special 16 #0001
Prehistoric Beast
1971 Dumble Special 16 • Preamp tubes: three 12AX7 • Output tubes: eight 6L6GC (most likely) • Rectifier: solid-state • Controls: Volume 1, Volume 2, Treble, Middle, Bass, Accent; Bright…
Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 8
Late ’65: Transistors, Troubles, and Takeover!
In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled installments 7 and 8 for this special edition of VG…
Coral Electric Sitar
For centuries, Indian musicians have utilized the resonant sympathetic strings of the sitar to create the unique sounds of classical Indian music. Traditional sitar design combines a body fashioned from a…
Watkins Joker
Beat-Gen Beaut
This could be just what every well-heeled young “Beat” guitarist and singer in Britain needed in the early 1960s – a guitar amp/PA with reverb, tremolo, mic stand, and tape…
Built to Survive
Gibson and Montgomery Ward in the Great Depression
In our nation’s darkest economic times, one of its most-revered guitar manufacturers was treading headlong toward extinction before an unlikely hero started placing big orders.
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“Boogie Mod” Dual Showman
What do you do when the humble blackface Bandmaster you acquired sight-unseen turns out to harbor one of rock’s hottest lead circuits? Celebrate! And then go tracing its connection to California’s seminal high-gain guitar amplifier. Randall Smith’s legendary Boogie lead circuit started as a prank played on an unsuspecting client before he applied it as
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Albert King’s THC Flying V
Coterie Complete
Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music producer, he has collected an assortment of instruments and music memorabilia, particularly related to his home town of Memphis. One of his guitars recently became part of a recording project that began at the renowned
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VG Q&A: Parlor Mystery
Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues
My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the sound hole it reads “The American No. 5” and there is no other identifying script. The bridge is a pyramid-type. We’re curious about its age and manufacturer; I’m guessing Lyon and Healy from the 1920s.
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The story of the Martin F-50
Our friend Nate Westgor from Willie’s American Guitars shares the story of Martin’s first step into the booming 1960s electric guitar market. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season from all of us at Vintage Guitar!
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Veillette-Citron Shark
It’s not often a guitar can be said to have been inspired by a TV show, but that is the case with this 1982 Veillette-Citron Shark, which came about as a result of the success of the program “Welcome Back Kotter.” Well, in a pretty roundabout way, that is! Veillette-Citron guitars were the product of
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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,
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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…
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Gibson’s “SG” Les Paul
Classic Shape That Filled Big Shoes
In 1961, Gibson replaced the single-cutaway Les Paul with a new line of lighter, thinner, mahogany double-cut solidbodies. Developed under the aegis of Ted McCarty and introduced as the “new Les Paul,” it exemplified a new marketing emphasis for Gibson. According to Les Paul himself, it was designed and introduced without his consultation or knowledge.…
Hofner 185
Have you heard the line, “If Hendrix had a Magnatone, Strats would be worth $200 now?” A highly debatable proposition,…
Ghalia Volt’s Stompin’ slide!
Belgium Born, Delta Fostered Brussels native Ghalia Volt moved to the U.S. in 2013 to busk in music-rich cities like…
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,…
1978 Dean Z
The mid 1970s were a turbulent time in guitar history. The American guitar establishment – at least Gibson and Fender…
