The Sammick Viper
Some guitars hit the market at the perfect time to becom e classics – think Les Paul and Stratocaster. Some experience brief popularity, then...
Martin’s Gibson
Greg Martin’s infatuation with the sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard started in 1966, when, “I saw the picture of John Sebastian of The Lovin’...
Carson Creation
An itinerant Western music guitarist who befriended Leo Fender and other employees at his up-and-coming company in the early ’50s, Bill Carson (1926-2007) was...
Two Generations of Rock: The Kentucky HeadHunters and Black Stone Cherry
Whether you’re talking music or family, in the rolling hills of Kentucky, roots grow deep and strong. The Kentucky HeadHunters and Black Stone Cherry...
The Murph 12-String
Here’s a story that has “Hollywood blockbuster” written all over it. It’s got so many cinematic staples, you can almost hear “Oscar” murmured in...
Alive! Guitar Revived
Gifted to Peter Frampton after a 1970 Humble Pie concert at Fillmore West in San Francisco, for years, this ’54 Les Paul Custom made...
Arlen Roth
By any measure, Arlen Roth’s recent spate of creativity would be impressive. It began with his solo acoustic CD, Drive It Home, in 2001,...
The Original ES-150
The story of the ES-150, Gibson’s first commercially successful electric guitar, has been told many times, and its association with legendary jazz pioneer Charlie...
Pieces of a Prototype
If you were a guitar – particularly one with a natural or translucent finish – your “fingerprint” would be the grain of the wood...
Rickenbacker 481
It’s hard to imagine an instrument other than guitar that has undergone more innovation through its modern history. Perhaps we do an injustice to...