•  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

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  • 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…

Hangin’ with Kid and Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen

September 5, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Smooth, Funky Blues With Soul Kid Andersen worked with Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop before scoring his current gig with…

Wolf Marshall

Jazz-Lore Generator

January 3, 2025 · Ward Meeker

Wolf Marshall was absorbing music before he could walk or talk. Born to a mother who was a concert pianist,…

The Rickenbacker B14A

Silver Service

April 4, 2022 · Dave Hunter

  For most guitarists today, glimpsing a vintage Rickenbacker combo elicits a response like, “Wait… Rickenbacker made amps?” But remember,…

Hot Wires - A Brief History of the Modern Guitar String

Hot Wires

A Brief History of the Modern Guitar String

June 9, 2016 · Pete Prown

If you’ve ever bent a guitar string and given it a shake, send a silent thank you to guitarist James…


Six-Strings, 60 Years Ago

A Likely First

Had he survived to this day, Elvis Presley – cultural icon extraordinaire – would be 80 years old. The man who would rise from very modest means to become arguably…

Jeff Plankenhorn’s “Alone At Sea”

Tasty slide on a square-neck Oahu Singer/songwriter Jeff Plankenhorn’s music is a rootsy mix that embraces blues and pop while dodging categorization. Here, he and his vintage square-neck Oahu offer…

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…

GRETSCHBURST-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Horses of Another Color

1) This ’57, from batch 253xx, has the added intrigue of a gold G-cutout tailpiece in place of the Bigsby vibrato. In addition to the standard Amber Red stain on…

Fender’s 5E7 Bandmaster

There’s something about the 3×10 Bandmaster that drives vintage-Fender nuts gaga. Introduced in 1953, it underwent substantial design changes in its first few years, earning status as a true classic…

  • 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…

Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought

Gibson’s Earliest Dreadnought?

February 18, 2016 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Gibson was a late entry into the flat-top guitar market, offering its first model in 1926, but Gibson was a…

Simon Adahl’s 1958 Höfner 162

Missing Link

October 12, 2021 · Ward Meeker

He may not be part of anthropological history like Dutch paleontologist Eugene Dubois, but Simon Adahl did have to dig…

The Vox Saturn IV

June 30, 2015 · Willie G. Moseley

In the mid 1960s, England’s Vox company was in the right place at the right time. Buoyed by frontline British…

Guild Aristocrat M-75

April 7, 2010 · George Gruhn and Walter Carter

Guild didn’t intro-duce a true solidbody electric guitar until 1963, but the Aristocrat of 1954 gave the appearance that Guild…


Fixing Tuner Holes in a Rare Gibson

Replacement Plague

I’ve worked on plenty of old Gibsons, but guitars like this 1939 J-55 are rare. It’s only the second one I’ve ever seen, and first I’ve worked on. It was…

'39 Gibson EH-185

’39 Gibson EH-185

Preamp tubes: three 6J7, one 6N7 Output tubes: two 6L6 Rectifier: 5U4 Controls: Instrument Volume, Microphone Volume, Bass and Treble Speakers: one 12″ field-coil speaker Output: approximately 20 watts RMS…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Building a From-Scratch Class Project

Rock-And-Roll High School(er)

Students at Federal Hocking High School here in Athens County, Ohio, are given the opportunity to propose internships in work that interests them. Ceil Thompson, a 17-year-old junior who has been…

Gibson Basses in The ’70s

Gibson Basses in The ’70s

Plucky Trio from the “Downer Decade”

Guitar enthusiasts have long heard that the 1970s were the “downer decade” for Fender and Gibson, both of which introduced a few duds and struggled with quality control. Their travails…

Dallas Rangemaster

The Dallas Rangemaster

Eric Clapton christened it “woman tone.” On the famed 1966 “Beano” album, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, the guitarist ran his Les Paul Standard into a Marshall Model…

National Model N-720

Star of an Era's End

Most acoustic guitar players will likely show disdain for any instrument with a bolt-on neck. Even though there have been many great guitars – from Maccaferri (and before) to Seagull…

  • 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…

Gretsch 6130 Round-up

Head ‘em out!

March 29, 2019 · Ward Meeker

The romantic concept of the “Old West” – an enduring element of American pop culture – was spurred by pulp…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 1

Beginnings – The Early 1960s

January 31, 2018 · Peter Stuart Kohman

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled…

Scott Sharrard’s fiery slide!

August 28, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

Little Feat ace plays outro from “You’ll Be Mine” In case you’re wondering how Scott Sharrard got the gig wearing…

Vega Model 120

April 4, 2017 · Dave Hunter

Viewed from our contemporary perspective, it’s difficult to fully appreciate how different the music scene in general – and the…