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This month, we feature The Dobbie Brothers, Popa Chubby, Joey Molland, Carlos Alomar, Cream, David Bowie, Rush, Norman Harris, Greg Koch, Rik Emmett, Chris Walz, Elmore James, and more! Spotify is free or available without ads via a paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,” or if you already have an account […]
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Dallas Perkins: Elemental Experiments Progressive-rock shredder Dallas Perkins brings it with “Mexican Puppets,” a track from his new instrumental album, “Experimental Truth.” That’s his ’94 PRS Custom 24, and the album also features his ’98 Custom 24. Read our review in the March issue. Read Now!
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Artists
Doug Fieger
A Knack For Classic Guitars
The founding member of the Knack toured with the band while also battling cancer. His instruments reflect his musical influences, and are outstanding not only for their history, but for their condition.
Artists
Pop ’N Hiss: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Texas Flood
The Blues, Reborn
Music in the early ’80s was dominated by the shiny blips and bloops of keyboard-driven new wave and the first rumblings of fleet-fingered guitar explosions of glam metal. The blues, meanwhile, was virtually forgotten, though its embers were being fanned by devotees like Dallas-born Stevie Ray Vaughan and his debut album, Texas Flood. Backed by […]
Artists
Tagore Grey
British Steel
If you’ve been starving for good old-fashioned hard rock, the Treatment has your number. The British band has been building its reputation for more than a decade, delivering in-yer-face guitar riffs and solos that echo Def Leppard and AC/DC. Their latest, Waiting for Good Luck, features guitarists Tagore Grey and his brother, Tao. We asked […]
Artists
GA-20 Knows Bo
Duo does it right on “Crackin’ Up” GA-20’s Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty paused for a moment while touring Europe to shoot this VG exclusive video. Pat (left) is on his ’60s Kawai S4T running through a ’61 Gibson GA-18T while Matt uses his signature Waterslide T-Style through a ’59 Fender Deluxe on this fresh version of […]
VG Approved Gear
Collings I-30 LC
Desert Island Axe
If you found yourself stranded on that proverbial desert isle with – horror of horrors – just a single guitar at your disposal, the Collings I-30 LC just might make you one blissful castaway. That combo of playability and tone comes courtesy of Collings’ version of a lightweight, fully hollow 335 body shape, a sweet […]
VG Approved Gear
Victoria Silver Sonic
Sonic Intoxication
For nearly 20 years, Victoria Amplifier Company has been making head-turning retro-styled amps. Mark Baier and his crew recently introduced the Silver Sonic, a lower-watt version of their popular Golden Melody amp that pulls together a host of features and circuit cues from the golden era of tweed amps. The Silver Sonic sports an elegant […]
Artists
Phil Campbell
Motöring Ahead
From 1984 through 2015, Phil Campbell was the guitarist in Motörhead, and for the last 20 years of the band’s existence was its sole guitarist, appearing on classic releases such as Orgasmatron, 1916, and Bastards, among others. With the 2015 passing of Lemmy Kilmister, the band came to an abrupt end. Instead of retiring, Campbell […]
Artists
Mundell Lowe
Jazz All Around
Mundell Lowe is arguably the most successful jazz guitarist of his era. He routinely performed with such luminaries as Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughn, and many others. He perpetuated a career as a major name on the jazz circuit for seven decades and can look back on a life […]
VG Approved Gear
Fender PM-2
Sitting-Room Savoir Faire
Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of favor mid-century when popular ensembles demanded the volume better provided by big-bodied dreadnoughts. The last several years, however, have seen a rebirth of the parlor segment – everything from well-built econo boxes that appear ripped […]
Classic Instruments
Warwick Thumb Bass
Generational Innovation
Founded in the early 1980s by Hans-Peter Wilfer, Warwick has a familial connection to another well-known German brand from a time when that nation was divided following World War II. Wilfer’s father, Fred, founded Framus in 1946, and Hans-Peter worked at the company’s facility before it closed in the ’70s. His desire to build stringed […]
Artists
Joe Satriani
Creativity and Chaos
Calling any player “the hardest working guitarist in the business” is rather like referring to one as the “best guitarist” – do it, and you’re just asking for trouble. But if output equates to effort, there’s no doubt Joe Satriani works his as… err, fingers off! The rock shredder has been doing what he does […]
Artists
Kim Simmonds
1947-2022
The British blues movement of the late ’60s lost one of its original proponents and practitioners when Savoy Brown lead guitarist Kim Simmonds died December 13, following a year-and-a-half bout with colon cancer. He was 75. A native of Wales, Simmonds became aware of the blues thanks to the record collection of an older brother. […]
VG Approved Gear
Martin GPCE Inception Maple
Bold Beginning
Almost 100 years ago, Martin reinvented the flat-top box when it began delivering X-braced, square-shouldered, and oversized dreadnoughts. Now, the company is again reinventing the acoustic guitar to keep up with the realities of the 21st century. The new GPCE Inception Maple looks and sounds like a Martin, but there’s plenty going on under the […]
VG Approved Gear
Zerberus Nemesis Stone-Top
Let's Get Stoned
When German luthier Frank Scheucher was first approached about building a guitar from stone, he had the same reaction you’re probably having right now: Say what? It’ll weigh a ton. And even if a player could lift it, does stone resonate – at all? However, experimentation led to a line of models like this Nemesis. […]
Artists
Paul Reed Smith
Roaring With Hendrix
Believe it or not, Paul Reed Smith can play the hell out of the guitar. In a world where most builders spend more time at the drawing board than unleashing epic solos, Smith ain’t that guy. Exhibit A is the latest release from his band, Eightlock. Lions Roaring in Quicksand shows Smith sharing decibels with […]
VG Approved Gear
The Pigtronix Envelope Phaser 2
Sophisti-Phaser
Pigtronix Envelope Phaser II Price: $249 (street). Contact: Phone (631) 331-7447; Pigtronix.com. Pigtronix effects are known not only for their tones, but their sophistication. So it’s no surpise that the Envelope Phaser II has a potentially daunting array of control knobs and switches, some with familiar names (Sensitivity, Depth, Speed), others less common (Resonance, Staccato, […]
Artists
Phil DeGruy
Laughin’ Matters
Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that. His flashy, inventive playing is complemented by amusing asides and lyric parody. In fact, his observations on modern life could qualify for any stand-up comedy stage. His unorthodox instruments attract the musicians in every crowd, […]