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Classic Instruments
Javier Batiz
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80. Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John
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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…
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Dan’s Guitar RX: A ’57 Strat Goes Under the Knife
Battle-Scarred
B.K. Vaught recently walked into my shop with a vintage Strat that had been modified and refinished. While its changes represented a bit of American history, the guitar deserved to be restored. B.K. got it in the spring of 2022, while helping sort the estate of an uncle who had passed away. Among his belongings…
Daion Headhunter HH-555
The trajectory of the Japanese guitar industry in many ways has mirrored that of the United States, though in a…
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…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Daniel Escauriza
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Daniel Escauriza Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 8 of “Buy That Guitar,”…
Kustom’s The Bag
A New Dimension in Electro-Thoracity
When Steppenwolf’s John Kay took the stage, it was easy to believe he was performing a suitably ’60s ceremony celebrating…
Basses from Bakersfield
The history of guitar manufacturing in the Bakersfield area of California includes names like Mosrite, Hallmark, and Standel. One of the most unusual (and rare) was the Gruggett Stradette. Guitar…
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…
Vintage Instruments and the Ban on Ivory Trade
A presidential executive order issued February 11 proposes a wide ban on trade in ivory has widespread implications for trade in vintage musical instruments as well as antique art, furniture,…
Small Screen, Big Pickin’
Crew Strives to Keep it Real on “Nashville”
It’s not often that prime-time network television captures an audience of working class, professional musicians. In 1968, players watched Elvis Presley and Scotty Moore swap their Gibson SJ-200 and a…
Gibson K-5 Mandocello
The violin-style f-holes of Gibson’s F-5 mandolin, L-5 guitar, and other Style 5 instruments, are the most famous and most significant elements of Lloyd Loar’s legacy as the designer of…
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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…
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Classics: February 2024
Sean Slade’s 1964 SG Junior
They might not seem to have a ton in common aside from first names. J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr.’s co-founder and guitarist developed a style equal parts guitar heroics and left-side-of-the-dial insouciance. In Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar helped popularize the alt-country movement by merging influences from Doug Sahm to The Stooges. But that might be where…
Gibson’s Fabulous Florentines
Archtop Elite
The image of Elvis Presley on his 1968 NBC “comeback special” was, in a word, badass. Dressed in black leather…
1924 Martin 00-45
When trying to determine originality, guitar dealers and collectors have a tendency to study instruments with the care of a…
Dallas Rangemaster and Scala Combos
Texas Two Step
Fascinating also-rans, C-list classics, or both, the amps manufactured by London-based Dallas Music Ltd beginning in 1959 tie directly to…
Benson Model 300H
Wrecking Ball
Even with all the excellent guitar amps available by the late ’60s, nothing was quite good enough for jazz and…
Gibson’s Depression-Era Exports
Many aren’t aware that some of the archtop guitars Gibson produced during the Depression were marketed under different brand names, including Kalamazoo, Recording King, Cromwell, Fascinator, and Kel Kroyden, among…
KayKraft Style A
Almost any guitar can be viewed in terms of a confluence of influences that produced it, from the company history to the history of guitar evolution to the kind of…
Late 1920s Gibson L-1 (Flattop)
Gibson "Florentine"
Because I don’t know what to call this Gibson guitar, I refer to it as a “Florentine,” for lack of a better name. Though the body decoration is unlike any…
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…
Echoplex EP-2
Sam Phillips didn’t invent tape echo with his mid-’50s recordings of Elvis, but he just as well may have. So influential, so inspirational were those songs – with their warm,…
Etched in Time
“Signature” Gibsons from the Early Days of Cable
In 1984, Christian Roebling went from being just another guy watching TV to creating what was likely the first television program to focus on and feature guitar players and builders.…
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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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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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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.…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland Season 01 Episode 10 In Episode 10 of VG’s “Buy That Guitar” podcast, host Ram Tuli is joined by Howie Statland of Rivington Guitars, New York City. They discuss famous players and the effect they have on the value of collectible instruments. Guitarists are often influenced…
Thomm Jutz plays “Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies”
Flatpicked English folk with an Appalachian touch Sparse and haunting, Thomm Jutz and his ’48 Martin D-18 share a solo…
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:…
The España 6/12 Doubleneck
More is always better, right? Eleven is better than 10 on an amplifier, three pickups are better than two, and…
Fender Jazz Bass
“Stack-knob” is a catch phrase that for decades has perked the ears of collectors; these relatively rare examples of the…
