Zakk Wylde
Storming the stage like King Conan The Biker, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde was one of the highlights of the Tony MacAlpine Benefit Concert at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles last December, laying waste to screaming guitar maniacs with a ferocious onslaught that included Black Sabbath and Allman Brothers classics. Wylde has been […]
Beckley and Bunnell
Few bands warrant a career-retrospective box set, let alone two. Then again, most don’t keep going after 50 years. America is an exception. Their new eight-disc collection, Half Century, compiles archival material including alternate mixes, demos, rehearsals, unreleased tracks, in-studio performances, radio interviews, and home movies. The trio of vocalists/guitarists Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and […]
Kristian Borring
Born in Denmark, Kristian Borring now lives in one of the most-remote major cities on earth – Perth, on the far western coast of Australia – yet is making international waves with serious jazz chops. With his trio, Number Junky, Borring is unveiled as a tour-de-force on Earth Matters, delivering sensational improvisations left and right. […]
Pink Floyd in North America 1966-1983
David Gilmour playing a rare Stratocaster doubleneck? You’ll see that 1972 photo and others in this reference book documenting Floyd’s many North American tours (FYI, one Strat neck was set up for slide). Largely a compilation of tour dates, setlists, and memorabilia with brief historical descriptions, what makes this tome interesting is the way it […]
Prestige Heritage Premier P90 FM NAT
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 […]
Wally Stocker
After decades away from the music scene, guitarist Wally Stocker is back on his feet again and back where he belongs, playing lead guitar with a new lineup in The Babys. From 1977 to ’80, the group amassed a string of radio-friendly hits including “Isn’t It Time,” “Every Time I Think of You,” “Head First,” “Back […]
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
The first volume of this set featured never-before-heard London performances, captured by Dutch fan Tom Huissen, who toted a monaural reel-to-reel recorder to various clubs. It offered new insights into the post-Clapton Bluesbreakers showcasing Peter Green, introduced on the album A Hard Road. The 17 performances (restored by Mayall himself) offered further evidence of Green […]
In Memoriam: Rusty Russell
Rusty Russell, a Nashville-based guitarist, songwriter, photographer, and writer who accompanied notable country and jazz musicians in studios and on stages for 35 years and was a Vintage Guitar contributor for two decades, died March 27. He was 66 and battled lung cancer. Born in Casper, Wyoming, he moved with his mother to Denver, where […]
2021 July Issue on Spotify
This This month we feature Blackberry Smoke, Mark O’Connor, Steve Cropper, Ian Crichton, Jane Getter, Jesse Aycock, Ally Venable, Al Stewart, Cheap Trick, Blackberry Smoke, Tony Joe White, Black Sabbath, Jorma Kaukonen, Southern Culture on the Skids, and many others! Spotify is free, or available without ads via paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search […]
Terry Burrows
Two boards, three pickups, some hardware, and various electric bits and pieces: Stratocasters are simple creations at heart. But setting one up perfectly, repairing it – especially stageside in the heat of a gig – and modding it are all art forms. These two manuals offer hard-won wisdom. These are not books about how to […]
Check This Action: Folk-Music Meccas
Though I was only six or seven, I experienced the Folk Boom of the late 1950s and early ’60s via my parents’ cocktail parties, when their friends would break out instruments and sing “Michael, Row The Boat Ashore” and “Tom Dooley.” It was the commercial vein of folk, á la the Kingston Trio and Limeliters, […]
Heritage Guitars’ H-157W
In 1985, Heritage Guitars took over a certain factory space at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former owners decided to move production to Nashville. Since then, Heritage Guitars have continued to craft instruments in the mold of those classic six-strings that first made Kalamazoo famous to guitarists worldwide. Their H-157W is a […]
Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe
Jimi Hendrix passed into infinity at the tender age of 27. The fact that his influential career lasted only four years over 45 years ago speaks volumes. A visionary former chitlin’ circuit guitarist imprinted the world with his virtuosity and meaningful art. Robert Keeley has created a tool that allows you to summon the textures […]
AnalogMan Jim Weider Big-T Bridge Pickup
AnalogMan’s Jim Weider Big-T Bridge Pickup Price: $135 Info: www.buyanalogman.com Jim Weider is one of the few guitarists who can truly wear the title “Telemaster” without being crushed by the heavy mantle. Besides his obvious prowess as a player, he is known for his beyond-reproach tone that recently has been abetted by his collaborations with […]
Greg Martin plays “Shotgun Effie”
Fresh Headhunters riff Greg Martin co-founder and lead guitarist in Kentucky Headhunters, shows us the opening riff to “Shotgun Effie” from the band’s new album, “That’s A Fact Jack.” That’s his gorgeous ’64 ES-335 running into a ’69 Marshall Super Lead 100 and matching 4×12. Read our interview with Greg and review of the album in the […]
1905 Gibson F-2
In the opinion of most American mandolinists, Gibson brought mandolin design to a level of perfection in 1922, with the introduction of the Master Model F-5. It wasn’t much earlier – 25 years or so – that Orville Gibson created the F model as one of two mandolin body styles (the other being the symmetrical […]
Check This Action: Box of Cacti
The 1970 debut album by Cactus blasted off with a gnarly guitar riff for the ages, as the band’s rendition of “Parchman Farm” out-rocked any and all transformations of jazz composer Mose Allison – yes, even the Who’s “Young Man Blues.” Before “shred” became a term, the barrage from Jim McCarty’s Les Paul threw down […]