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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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Known as longtime musical partner and guitar ace with country singer Dwight Yoakam. But, his real claim to fame might be that as a bona fide roots-music mechanic – a guy who has been under the hood of more recordings than you can shake a Tele at. Where many musicians have longed to be a […]
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Artists
Benson Set to Host Breezin’ With The Stars Retreat
In the December ’24 issue of Vintage Guitar, the legendary George Benson discusses his new album, the forthcoming sale of select guitars from his collection, and another new twist – hosting a retreat where everyday players will rub elbows with world-class musicians. Here’s an excerpt. From January 3 to 6, 2025, you’re hosting a musician’s […]
Classic Instruments
National-Dobro 6107A
Preamp tubes: 56, 57 Output tubes: two 2A3 Rectifier: 5Z3 Controls: Volume Output: 6 watts RMS +/- Speaker: one 10″ Lansing Model 112 Why doesn’t this ever happen to us? You ride along with your brother to an antique radio show just to give him some company – it’s his thing… not yours – and […]
Classic Instruments
Fender’s 5E7 Bandmaster
There’s something about the 3×10 Bandmaster that drives vintage-Fender nuts gaga. Introduced in 1953, it underwent substantial design changes in its first few years, earning status as a true classic every step along the way.
Lessons
Bukka White – Jitterbug Swing
Tom Feldmann teaches the riff from Bukka White’s classic Jitterbug Swing.
www.tomfeldmann.com
Guitar info:
Flammang Guitars Model P30-S, Red spruce top w/toner, Mahogany back/sides, and a 24.56” scale.
www.flammanguitars.com
Artists
Kenny Sultan
Left-Coast Blues Machine
Kenny Sultan is a best-selling author of music books and instructional videos covering blues guitar, and is the guitarist in a blues duo with Tom Bell. As a kid, Sultan’s older brother would take him to blues clubs like L.A.’s Ash Grove before he’d even reached his teens. An accomplished photographer, the elder Sultan built […]
VG Approved Gear
MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22
Crossing the Rubicon
MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22 Price: $999 Info: www.mtdkingston.com Intuitive, player-oriented design, prime materials, and first-class execution distinguished Michael Tobias’s work even before he began concentrating on innovative electric basses in the late 1970s. And let’s not forget Michael Tobias Designs (MTD) helped introduce the newfangled term “ergonomic” to electric guitars and basses. The Kingston Rubicon […]
VG Approved Gear
Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb
Reams of Reverb
Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest to tempt discriminating players with high-tech features and promises of classic sounds. Controls and connections on the R1 are plentiful, including MIDI in/through jacks, 9-volt power jack (no battery), dual footswitches with multi-color LEDs, and […]
Artists
Good Times In Bad
The Origin of Fender’s Vintage Series
The years leading up to CBS Musical Instruments’ 1985 sale of the Fender brand were fluid times at the instrument maker’s headquarters in Fullerton. Faltering in a market death struggle with imports from Japan, in August of ’81, the company hired John McLaren and Bill Schultz – both poached from the guitar-making sector of Yamaha […]
VG Approved Gear
Sturdy and “Purdy”
Dashboards Pedalboards
Founded in 2010 by guitarist Ashley Dasher and based on his vision of the ideal touring pedalboard, Dashboards offers well-crafted, easy-to-use pedalboards. And they look sharp, too! With lightweight, yet sturdy, one-piece aluminum construction, they’re dressed up with a powder-painted finish and polished chrome handles. Our test pedalboard had an optional backlit logo, 1/4″ solderless […]
Artists
Mike Vernon
Surf-Guitar Ace Mike Vernon Chills on “Lucky Boy” Surf-instro revivalist Mike Vernon grabbed his (semi-hollow) Gretsch Tennessee Rose (with flatwounds) plugged into his Roland 77 to play “Lucky Boy.” Named after his dog, the tune is from his new album, “Burnin’ & Churnin’,” which showcases his skill and compositional creativity. Catch our review in the […]
Classic Instruments
Rex Solidbody
Italian Connection
An internet search for “Rex guitars” will turn up a fair – if confusing – amount of information about the brand used on budget guitars and banjos made by Gretsch beginning in the early 20th century. On and off from the mid 1930s until the mid ’50s, Gretsch subcontracted construction of Rex instruments to Harmony […]
Classic Instruments
Gibson Marauder M-1
Every once in awhile, someone in Gibson R&D gets a brainstorm like, “I know! Why don’t we make a bolt-neck guitar!” So they do. And the result is almost always interesting – and almost always a commercial flop. Call it “Les Paul syndrome.” Guitar aficionados are the beneficiaries of both sides of this coin. Not […]
Artists
Punky Meadows
Heavenly Guitar
In the 1970s, glam-rockers Angel carved a niche with five albums of arena-rock anthems and an image that stood in antithesis to their Casablanca label mates, Kiss. After retiring from the music business in the ’80s, guitarist Punky Meadows returned last year with his first solo album, Fallen Angel. What have you been up to […]
VG Approved Gear
Fender’s Duel Pugilist Distortion & Dual Marine Layer Reverb
Double Trouble
Fender launched its Pugilist Distortion and Marine Layer Reverb in 2018, after VP of Innovation Stan Cotey – who’d previously helped design signature amps with Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, and The Edge – developed a series of new-from-scratch pedals. Updated twists on each, the Duel Pugilist Distortion and Dual Marine Layer Reverboffer an extended array […]
Artists
Larry McCray
Redemption Blues
Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.” After 40 years playing the blues, Larry McCray has lived it. And while his star is rising late thanks to a bump from Joe […]
VG Approved Gear
Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II
Sustain For Days
Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II Price: $175 (list, depending on exchange rate) Contact: www.vibesware.com In the beginning, there was the E Bow, a handheld device that used a powered magnet to create infinite sustain and feedback. Then came “sustainer” pickups, which were mounted internally on a solidbody – also cool, but you lost your neck […]
Classic Instruments
The Norma EG 470-2 Deluxe
Everyone of a certain age – and no doubt some younger folks – remembers the sage career advice given young Benjamin Braddock in the classic film The Graduate: “Plastics.” In 1967, such wisdom was humorous because young people knew business was full of “plastic people” in suits. So, it’s especially ironic that someone of a […]