Stella Concert
Circa 1932 Stella Concert. Photo: Michael Wright.
Had blues legend Huddie William Ledbetter (a.k.a. Leadbelly) not played a Stella 12-string, the brand might only have...
Epiphone’s Zephyr Emperor Regent
1955 Epiphone Zephyr Emperor Regent. Instrument courtesy of Lloyd Chiate. Photo: Billy Mitchell, courtesy George Gruhn.
Epiphone's Zephyr Emperor Regent of the early 1950s represents...
Grammer Guitars
Photo: Kelsey Vaughn. Instrument courtesy Jason Davis.
Grammer guitars, made in Nashville in the '60s, are easily recognizable by their oversized pegheads, pickguards and bridges...
Kay Violin-Style Guitar
1938 Kay Violin-Style Guitar.
One prominent thread in the story of the guitar is a quest for more volume - a search that was effectively...
The Gibson Les Paul Model
Photo: Robert Parks, courtesy George Gruhn.
Its official name – Les Paul model – doesn't do it justice. After all, Gibson has made over a...
Martin EB-18
Circa 1980 Martin EB-18, serial #3443. Photo: VG Archives. Instrument courtesy of The Music Shoppe.
The musical instrument business is replete with examples of companies...
Gibson Super 400
1934 Super 400. Photo: Robert Parks, courtesy George Gruhn.
Much of America was still recovering from the Depression in 1934 when Gibson introduced a guitar...
Alembic Distillate DMSB
1982 Alembic Distillate DMSB. Photo: Bill Ingalls Jr.
Active pickups in electric guitars and basses have been around for more than four decades; in 1962,...
Kawai MS-700 MoonSault
1982 Kawai MS-700 MoonSault. Photo: Michael Wright/The Different Strummer.
Most of us tend to think of guitars made in Japan as dating to the 1960s,...
Ray Benson’s Gibson ES-355
Photo: Dale Haussner.
Anyone with a taste for real country music - in particular, Western swing - will recognize this guitar. Even though Asleep At...