•  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…

Gibson Basses in The ’70s

Gibson Basses in The ’70s

Plucky Trio from the “Downer Decade”

February 29, 2016 · Willie G. Moseley

Guitar enthusiasts have long heard that the 1970s were the “downer decade” for Fender and Gibson, both of which introduced…

Dwight Twilley’s ’57 Fender Super

Cowboy Fringe

February 8, 2023 · Dave Hunter

Plenty of vintage amps have made it into these pages on their own merits. But when a hallowed creation also…

Valco El Grande

Valco El Grande

February 16, 2016 · Dave Hunter

Preamp tube: one 6SL7 Output tube: one 6V6GT Rectifier: 5Y3 Controls: Volume, Tone Speaker: 8″ Rola speaker Output: 5 watts…

The Fender Tremolux

January 29, 2024 · Dave Hunter

Most amp nuts are utterly fascinated by Fender’s rapid evolution from archaic to modern through the course of the 1950s.…


Epiphone Rivoli

Former Gibson president Ted McCarty (1909-2001) is credited for his leadership of the company when it peaked in terms of innovation, design, and execution. Under his guidance from 1948 until…

Star Board: Craig Bartock

Star Board: Craig Bartock

This month, we take a guided tour of the pedalboard belonging to Craig Bartock, guitarist with Heart. Craig Bartock, a well-known (and busy) guitarist/composer, has been the touring lead guitarist…

First Guitar of Rock and Roll

Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295

Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the country in July of 1954, courtesy of Elvis Presley’s supercharged-hillbilly…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Redd Volkaert

Season 03 Episode 03 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of modern country’s foremost pickers. Any fan of Western swing and…

Alternative ’60s Club Classics

Amps Beyond the Everyday

The “club amp” has been a perpetual best-seller since the dawn of guitar amplification, and several big-name ’60s models are among the all-time classics. But what if you’re looking for…

  • 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…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton

August 13, 2024 · Vintage Guitar

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 6 of “Buy That Guitar”…

Classics: July 2022

Jack Jones Doubleneck

March 7, 2023 · Ward Meeker

In November of 1954, 16-year-old Jack Jones walked into a Seattle pawn shop and noticed a strange doubleneck guitar. “It…

Carson Creation

One Very Personal Stratocaster

May 9, 2023 · Willie G. Moseley

An itinerant Western-music guitarist who befriended Leo Fender and other employees at his up-and-coming company in the early ’50s, Bill…

VG Q&A: Parlor Mystery

Plus, a Pro’s List of Repair Glues

January 2, 2026 · Dan Erlewine

My neighbor has an old parlor guitar that he asked me to clean up after years in storage. Inside the…


The Höfner Model 485G

At the end of World War II, the town of Schönbach, in western Bohemia, became Luby, Czechoslovakia, and the people of German ethnicity were expelled. The changes affected the fortunes…

The West Avalon R

Too Funky

1971 West Avalon R • Preamp tubes: two 12AX7, two 12AT7 • Output tubes: two EL34 • Rectifier: solid-state • Controls: Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Reverb, Bright switch • Output:…

Dave Gant’s Amp Collection

Key Collection: Nashville pro Dave Gant fosters an impressive gathering of amps

Dave Gant grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, and while the city of 17,000 will never be confused with Memphis or Nashville in terms of musical impact, it is the birthplace…

Gibson Style J Mando-bass

Decades before Audiovox or Leo Fender dreamed of making a fretted electric bass, Gibson started manufacturing fretted acoustic mando-basses that were tuned the same as an upright bass. Joe Spann,…

Ibanez Tube Screamer

From the first notes of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood,” you can hear it loud and clear; that snarly tone is not just pure Stratocaster and amplifier! To get that…

Gretsch 6130 Round-up

Head ‘em out!

The romantic concept of the “Old West” – an enduring element of American pop culture – was spurred by pulp novels before John Ford introduced the world to My Darling…

  • 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…

Gibson GA-20

The Gibson GA-20

November 16, 2015 · Dave Hunter

Behold, this specimen that checks off all the right boxes for fans of vintage amps; beautifully clean, it has a…

Dave Murphy: Acoustic Country!

May 15, 2025 · Vintage Guitar

 Classic Ballad Style Country/folk/rock singer/guitarist Dave Murphy wrangled guitarist Chris Tarrow for this take on “Josephine,’ from Dave’s new…

Ditson’s Style 11 and the Birth of the Dreadnought

Martin’s Big Step

April 15, 2019 · George Gruhn

In the early 20th century, any shopper who walked into the Charles H. Ditson & Company music stores in New…

Selmer Modele Jazz and Stimer M.10 Amp

Electricfying Early Jazz

March 6, 2015 · Michael Dregni

In the 1930s, the quest for volume was the Holy Grail of guitar construction, as guitarists sought instruments to slice…