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Vintage Guitar has put together a Rockin’ 4th of July playlist. Listen and enjoy! 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, Listen to the complete list HERE. Also On Spotify Vintage Guitar presents Buy That […]
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One of 35 grandchildren of the late R.L. Burnside, Cedric grew up in the rundown Holly Springs, Mississippi, home that housed four generations of Burnsides. An award-winning drummer, he was behind a kit with his grandfather by 13 and later played with uncle Garry as the Burnside Exploration, as well as recording with Lightnin’ Malcolm, […]
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Artists
John Hart
Mainline Florida
Inspiration can come from a lot of places. For jazz guitarist John Hart, a visit to a familiar place provided the impetus for his latest record, Exit From Brooklyn. After spending a quarter century in New York City, in 2014, Hart moved to begin teaching at the University of Miami. “I’m back and forth. I […]
Artists
Mick Jones
Foreigner at 40
Somewhere in the world right now, a Foreigner song is playing on the radio. Literally. Thanks to nearly 20 mega-hit singles, 75 million units sold, and legions of fans, the band has earned a solid place in pop-music history. Founder, guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Mick Jones guided the group to dizzying heights from […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel – 037 Featuring Vic Johnson
Join host James Patrick Regan for the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” this time featuring Vic Johnson, guitarist with the Busboys, Dr. Dre, and Sammy Hagar’s Circle. They talk about everything from Vic’s growing up in the Colorado music scene, his early gear, and moving to L.A., where he had one of the […]
Artists
Ian Crichton
“We’re A Real Band”
Having weathered fame and changing musical trends, guitarist Ian Crichton has carved an indelible niche as the guitarist in Saga, the Canadian progressive-rock group that has spent four decades recording and touring. Their latest album, Symmetry, is an acoustic recording with reimagined classics and potent new material. Crichton plays with passion and effortless authority, and […]
Artists
Mark Lettieri
Baritone Funk
Snarky Puppy’s Empire Central was recorded in front of a live audience and pays homage to the city of Dallas. Deep within the bowels of the band’s sophisticatedly funky 19-piece jazz ensemble, Mark Lettieri is one of three stellar guitarists, distinguishing himself with his melodic thumbprint and a host of textures. He shared his secret […]
Music
Black River Delta
Devil On The Loose
Swedish disciples of pre-World War II blues Erik Jacobs, Erik Nilsson, and Pontus Ohlsson, hauled a bunch of gear up to a remote cabin and got down to business. The result is an album so full of genuine love for the genre, it’s impossible to dismiss. Sure, the band consists of three young Swedish guys […]
Music
Micki Free
Turquoise Blue
Grammy winner Micki Free’s latest is loaded with rockin’ badassery. With influences ranging from Billy Gibbons and Carlos Santana to Jimi Hendrix, the former Shalamar guitarist charts his own course with rock and roll, Indigenous American-style. Highlights include Free shredding with Steve Stevens on “Bye 2020,” and Stevens adding impressive nylon-string soloing on “My Big […]
Classic Instruments
The España 6/12 Doubleneck
More is always better, right? Eleven is better than 10 on an amplifier, three pickups are better than two, and so on! That’s the promise of the seven-string. So when Jimmy Page showed up onstage in the ’70s with a doubleneck guitar, crowds went wild. Strum rhythm parts on the 12, break into a solo […]
Artists
Zakk Wylde
Doomsayer
Best-known as Ozzy Osbourne’s longest-tenured guitarist, Zakk Wylde has also been the leader of Black Label Society since the late ’90s. With Ozzy off the road in 2021, Wylde has made the most of his time; not only has BLS issued a career-encompassing 12-LP box set, None More Black, but there’s a new studio effort, […]
VG Approved Gear
DSM Humboldt ClearComp 1078 Dynamic Threshold Compressor
Smooth and Sweet
When it comes to compressor pedals, the modern standard is to pursue studio-quality results in a pedalboard-friendly box. DSM Humboldt Electronics’ ClearComp 1078 Dynamic Threshold Compressor is a fresh design that largely achieves that goal in a unit that can be easily adjusted on the fly. The ClearComp dynamically modifies the threshold with fixed gain […]
VG Approved Gear
Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 FR E HSS
Ultimate Hod Rod
Designed more than 30 years ago, the latest incarnation of Charvel’s Pro-Mod So-Cal keeps the “super” in superstrat. An eye-catching, ergonomic guitar with alder body bolted to a U-shaped, oiled-maple neck with 12″ to 16″ radius, 25.5″ scale, compound-radius fretboard, and 22 jumbo frets, it also has an ebony fretboard with dot inlays, and other […]
Artists
Eliot Lewis
Growing Up With Legends
Eliot Lewis was just 10 years old when he started rubbing elbows with legendary performers, thanks to a friend’s father who was a heavyweight in the music business. “Every week, he’d take us to see acts like the Who, Alice Cooper, and Elton John,” he recalled. Earlier, though, the music of Glen Campbell prompted him […]
VG Approved Gear
J. Rockett Audio Archer, The Dude, and El Hombre
Overdrive Ecstasy
Part of the success behind J. Rockett Audio Designs lies in the fact that, like any player who might tackle building a pedal for themselves, Chris Van Tassel and Jay Rockett design stompboxes that they love to play. Their effects attract some of the finest players in the world, so the formula is working. The […]
Artists
Gene Simmons
Night Vision
Between stints on its lengthy End of the Road farewell tour, Kiss has been issuing an Off the Soundboard series of live recordings, but a recent highlight is the 40th anniversary super deluxe edition of 1982’s crucial comeback album, Creatures of the Night (see review in this month’s “Hit List”). Vocalist/bassist Gene Simmons sat with […]
VG Approved Gear
James Trussart SteelCaster
Rust Never Sleeps
James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully functional, gigable axes. Trussart began building violins, dulcimers, and hurdy-gurdies from metal in the late ’70s. In 2000, he switched locales from his native France to California and, subsequently, to building guitars. His most famous […]
Artists
Catch Ron Bosse Rumblin’
Great jazz on a Strat Ron Bosse learned to play saxophone in grade school and was raised on classic rock, and in high school became a jazz guitarist. A Berklee grad, today he runs the Bosse School of Music and a recording studio. Here, he uses a Fender Custom Shop Strat to play “Rumble Strip,” […]
Overdrive
What’s So Special About Guitar Picks
You may have one in your pocket. They only cost about 25 cents. But if you have always used one to play guitar, you are lost if you don’t have one. They are picks! Skinny little bits of celluloid, plastic, nylon, or any of a hundred other substances. There really isn’t anything special about picks except that […]