A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style O heard on several tracks from his new album, “Naked Truth,” to show us this exclusive run through a bit of “Tallahassee Blues.” The disc is the first fully “unplugged” album of his career, and you can catch our review in the April issue. Read Now!
A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style O heard on several tracks from his new album, “Naked Truth,” to show us this exclusive run through a bit of “Tallahassee Blues.” The disc is the first fully “unplugged” album of his career, and you can catch our review in the April issue. Read Now!
Marshall Crenshaw’s brief chart run remains a bright spot of 1980s rock – effectively, the final blast of New Wave before the genre was buried by Thriller, Purple Rain, and other Big ’80s production jobs. During that span, Marshall wrote and recorded a number of cassette classics, notably “Someday, Someway” and the extra-jangly “Whenever You’re […]
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The fledgling Guild company scored a coup when it signed Johnny Smith to an endorsement deal in 1956. Perched atop the jazz-guitar scene at the time, Smith helped Guild join the fray of artist “signature” instruments that had become a marketing staple. Unfortunately, the effort sputtered because Smith was not pleased with the guitar bearing […]
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(Ed. Note: Duane Eddy was featured in the June ’95 issue of VG, following the release of his Twang Thang box-set anthology, which included 40 songs he helped re-master and liner notes by Dan Forte, who became a VG contributor a few years afterward. The conversation expanded to include Eddy’s life and career. Here are […]
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Since the dawn of amplification, engineers have sought a better mousetrap – a more-transparent signal chain that preserves signal and adds less noise. With its new Acoustic Pedal, Orange takes inspiration from its past advances and packages them neatly in a preamp that gets the most out of an acoustic/electric guitar’s signal. The Orange Acoustic […]
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After Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death in 1990, an army of Strat cats rushed into the breach, vying to be the next blues god. One of the first through was Chris Duarte, who understood the value of not overplaying while adding enough habanero to keep it spicy. Thirty years later, Duarte is back with an album […]
Some years back, an insurance company promoted itself as “the quiet company.” While they probably wouldn’t like to hear it, in many ways that description fits Yamaha guitars. Whether you say acoustic or electric, Yamaha is almost never the first name that leaps to mind. Nevertheless, since the mid 1960s, Yamaha has been quietly turning […]
This month we feature Jeff Beck, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Savoy Brown, Uriah Heap, King Crimson, The Yard Birds, The sons of Adam, La Pompe Attack, The wilson Brothers, Dallas Perkins, and more! Spotify is free, or available without ads via paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,”or if you already have an […]
In the multi-verse of effects pedals, Robert Keeley’s compressors, dirt boxes, and workstation gizmos are a thing of beauty – particularly in the realm of pedals that provide multiple sounds. Guitarists who have a hankering for fuzz, delay, and modulation effects will undoubtedly dig the Dark Side, which purports to mimic the popular guitar sounds […]
The term “versatile” is laughable when it comes to Larry Campbell. A handful of the artists he has recorded, produced, and toured with includes Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Judy Collins, Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Simon, David Bromberg, and Rosanne Cash. In this set featuring vocals by his wife, Teresa Williams, Campbell sings and plays […]
In 1952, Gibson’s Les Paul model guitar was brand spanking new. But it wasn’t cutting-edge. True, it was the company’s first solidbody electric guitar, and thus earned a bit of notoriety. But just being Gibson’s first solidbody didn’t win it any real accolades. After all, Leo Fender’s Broadcaster and Telecaster models accomplished the same duties […]
In an amp world full of boutique clones, Bruce Clement has developed a unique twist on the venerable ’60s British plexi circuits using octal preamp tubes, true point-to-point wiring, and a range of customizations. The result is an amp with a voice of its own – and possibly one of the best plexi-style amps ever. […]
Remember the first time you strummed a D chord or fumbled your way oh-so-slowly through “Walk Don’t Run”? Chances are you wanted to be in the Beatles, or you wanted to be Elvis, with the flat-top and the hips. Tom Petty was that kid, too. Today, nearly 50 years beyond “Love Me Tender” and “Love […]
There are music-business survivors, and then there’s Jay Jay French. Twisted Sister’s founder/co-lead guitarist/manager has led a life of wild highs and lows, personally and professionally. Some were common pitfalls, others his alone. In his book, Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock ‘N’ Roll, French (with co-writer Steve Farber) combines the Twisted Sister […]
Grammy-winning flatpicking wizard Billy Strings was everywhere in 2022. Rightly seen as part of the vanguard of a new generation of Appalachian-inspired players rooted in the sounds of Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Clarence White and other past icons, for the young phenom, this project is deeply personal. It’s a return to his roots with his […]
The unique and insular Bentonia style may be the deepest and darkest of all blues. Skip James personified the music: he sang haunted songs in an eerie, high-pitched voice that would send a cold shiver down even Robert Johnson’s back. Henry Stuckey was the first known musician to come from the remote Mississippi crossroads; he […]
Renowned studio guitarist Tim May played his first film-score session in 1974, for John Schlesinger’s Day of the Locust. Now a legitimate first-call session player, May has contributed to thousands of film scores, TV soundtracks, and record dates. Still, he’s probably best known for his scalding version of “Johnny B. Goode” that was so nicely […]
Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595. Info: louisamps.com Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than 17 years. His first build wound up in the hands of the late Danny Gatton, and other greats who have played through his Louis Electric amps include Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Jorma Kaukonen, and Hubert […]
Henry Gross’ latest album is an amazing mix of pop, rock, country, and ballads. Those who remember him for nothing more than his ’70s hit “Shannon” are in for a treat.
Supro’s Dual-Tone 1624T, Coronado 1690T Price: $1,595 (Dual-Tone[LEFT]); $1,795 (Coronado) Contact: www.suprousa.com If there was a time machine handy to scoot us back to 1964, where we would naturally stock up on new guitars and amps, a blue-and-silver Supro would be at the top of most guitarists’ must-grab lists. Happily, time travel isn’t necessary. Fifty […]
The Danelectro name first surfaced on amplifiers in the late 1940s, then later on guitars made with Masonite bodies and lipstick-tube pickups, along with electric sitars, baritone guitars, and “Longhorn” basses. In 2006, the Evets Corporation bought the name and began to offer a fetching line of retro-styled guitars and basses. Its most-recent, the Danelectro […]
Befitting a guitarist from America’s heartland, Charlie Ballantine’s mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot of guitar sound and style. His instrumental work is beautiful and complex, ranging from melodic journeys to raging heavier sounds. Charlie’s latest CD is Where is My Mind?, a strong album that marks him as […]
