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Ever wonder about that strange-looking guitar Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac has been playing all these years? The same one John Mayer has occasionally been spotted with as well? It’s the Rick Turner Model 1, and if you want the straight dope on this unique instrument, you’ve come to the right place. Rick Turner, co-founder […]
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Artists
Adrian Smith
Different Scales
Guitarists usually spend years learning their scales, but Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith enjoys scales of the aquatic kind. In his new memoir, Monsters of River and Rock, Smith details his love of fishing as a way to relax between mammoth Maiden gigs. VG talked to him about both kinds of scales. Where did you get […]
VG Approved Gear
Prestige Heritage Premier P90 FM NAT
Liberating the P-90
Approach longtime players with a (yet another) single-cut/single-coil solidbody, and you may find it tough to get their attention. But, the Prestige Heritage Premier P90 does just that. Founded in 2003, Prestige Guitars now offers 14 electric and acoustic models with four variations of each. The company makes about 1,200 guitars a year, and after […]
VG Approved Gear
Rivet ’63/’64 Pickup Set
Pole Position
Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints at Kahler and Gibson. With Rivet, Petschulat has developed a unique pickup design with two mini-coils that, once connected to their base, allow a variety of tonal options via various wiring cards. Rivet pickups are […]
VG Approved Gear
Yamaha THR10
Practice Perfection?
Yamaha THR10 Price: $299 Contact: usa.yamaha.com. As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically lack tone and features. Yet whether in a bedroom or hotel room, a practice amp should help inspire an artist by making practice more pleasure than chore. Yamaha’s THR10 is a definite step in the […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel 061 – Tim Sparks
In episode 61 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with world-renowed guitarist Tim Sparks, a National Fingerstyle champion, performer, and online instructor. Tim talks about growing up in North Carolina, where he studied under Segovia protégée Jesus Silva and developed a love of Eastern European music. They dig into the state […]
Artists
Johnny Smith
An American Treasure
Jazz guitarist Johnny Smith died at his home June 11, 2013, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Arguably the most respected and revered guitarist of the modern era (1950 to present), Smith was sincerely humble and reserved about his extraordinary talent. In 1999, his peers and friends celebrated his career with a gala at […]
Artists
Bex Marshall and her ’63 Hummingbird
Family History Straight from the “Classics” feature in the August issue, here’s Bex Marshall playing the ’63 Gibson Hummingbird bought new by her uncle, David, in his days with the U.K. pop band The Marauders. More than just a favorite guitar, it’s a great piece of family history. Read Now!
Classic Instruments
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 […]
Classic Instruments
Stromberg Master 400
Considered by many to be the ultimate orchestral rhythm guitar, these very rare instruments are among the most sought-after, and possess a sound epitomized by a power and projection unsurpassed by any other archtop acoustic.
Artists
Have Guitar Will Travel – 032 Featuring Brad Gillis
For Episode 32 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan sits with Brad Gillis to discuss his storied career – from Rubicon and the Alameda All Stars to forming Night Ranger and replacing Randy Rhodes in Ozzy Osbourne’s band, it’s a fascinating tale. In recent years, Brad and his iconic ’62 Strat (and […]
VG Approved Gear
Orange TH30 Combo
Small Clubs, Big Tones
Orange TH30 Combo Price:$1,379 (list) Info: www.orangeamps.com Beyond their eye-catching color, Orange amplifiers have always rendered a distinct sound. Today, the company offers an assortment of amps, and its TH30C combo offers something to guitarists who need upscale tones for small-/mid-sized venues. Rated at a variable 30 watts output pumped through a Celestion G12H30, the […]
Artists
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie plays The Blues... On Guitar
In a career spanning 45 years, Charlie Musselwhite has taken the blues to places it’s never been – literally (playing every corner of the globe) and artistically (on his two dozen solo albums and backing such diverse artists as Tom Waits, INXS, Doc Watson, Bonnie Raitt, Eliades Ochoa, Eddie Vedder, the Blind Boys Of Alabama, […]
Music
Cash Box Kings
Oscar’s Motel
For two decades, the Cash Box Kings have stood apart from the multitudes of “blues bands” that focus on bar-band rock, not actual blues. Inspired by the 1940s-’60s Chicago sounds of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter, the Kings stay true to the roots, even on original tunes. Singer/harmonica player Joe Nosek, vocalist Oscar […]
Artists
Jimi Hendrix
Into the New Rising Sun - Speculating on Jimi's Later Career Move's
It has been 40 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix. In his honor, this month we will look at two unexplored aspects of his life and work, including the largely untapped oeuvre of Jimi’s later studio work – the period after 1968’s Electric Ladyland, when he was touring heavily but still recording countless hours […]
Classic Instruments
First-Rate Second Fiddles
Jimi’s Gibsons at the Hard Rock Cafe
No two ways about it, as his career hit stride, Jimi Hendrix was a Strat guy. Not famously loyal to any particular guitar going back to his days hustling chitlin-circuit gigs with Slim Harpo and Tommy Tucker, from the moment he could upgrade from the Supro Ozark and Danelectro of his youth to the Epiphone […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel 052 – Cesar Gueikian
Gibson’s newly appointed Brand President, Cesar Gueikian, returns to “Have Guitar Will Travel,” with host James Patrick Regan. Cesar is supremely passionate about Gibson and its guitars, and here he talks about the company’s acquisition of Mesa-Boogie, Gibson’s artist model program, their vision for Epiphone on its 150th anniversary, revived archtop construction at the Custom […]
Music
Marcus King
Young Blood
Young gun Marcus King enlists Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys as producer on this latest project. Young Blood combines blues, rock, and a pervasive swampy feel with southern-fried vocals and mondo guitar playing. The single, “Rescue Me,” is an impassioned psychedelic-blues track full of humidity and a literal cry for help. King is equally […]