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Harp Legend Charlie Musselwhite

Harp legend Charlie Musselwhite has recorded and performed with a stunning array of guitarists in his band – Harvey Mandel, Luther Tucker, Robben Ford, Junior Watson, Charlie Sexton, Kid Anderson, and steeler Freddie Roulette to name but a few. Here, he takes the reins (strings?) himself, using his Gibson Nighthawk plugged into a Magnatone Varsity Deluxe to play a bit. In the May issue, we review his latest album, “Lookout Highway.” Here’s our review. Read Now!

Rick Derringer 1947-2025

We’re saddened to hear of the passing of Rick Derringer, legendary rock guitarist and songwriter known for playing classic collectibles. Watch for our memorial in the August issue, and here’s our in-depth interview with Derringer from 1998.

Harp Legend Charlie Musselwhite

Harp legend Charlie Musselwhite has recorded and performed with a stunning array of guitarists in his band – Harvey Mandel, Luther Tucker, Robben Ford, Junior Watson, Charlie Sexton, Kid Anderson, and steeler Freddie Roulette to name but a few. Here, he takes the reins (strings?) himself, using his Gibson Nighthawk plugged into a Magnatone Varsity Deluxe to play a bit. In the May issue, we review his latest album, “Lookout Highway.” Here’s our review. Read Now!

Rick Derringer 1947-2025

We’re saddened to hear of the passing of Rick Derringer, legendary rock guitarist and songwriter known for playing classic collectibles. Watch for our memorial in the August issue, and here’s our in-depth interview with Derringer from 1998.

Classic Instruments

Yamaha SA-15

Our perception of Japanese guitars has evolved slowly. At one point, they were cheap toys, at other times imperfect copies, then startling innovations. Perspective encircles the truth. So, how should we perceive the Yamaha SA-15? Japan became interested in guitars in the early 1920s, as some musicians there began to perform what we’d today call […]

by Michael Wright
Artists

Six-Strings, 60 Years Ago

A Likely First

Had he survived to this day, Elvis Presley – cultural icon extraordinaire – would be 80 years old. The man who would rise from very modest means to become arguably the greatest star of any generation was the first true rock and roll front man/heartthrob. Blending the gospel music he heard as a child in […]

by Michael Dregni
Artists

David Catching

Desert Eagle

Producer and owner of the enigmatic Rancho de la Luna studio in the California desert, guitarist David Catching has been touring with Eagles of Death Metal since 2004. In November of 2015, the band was performing at the Bataclan Theater, in Paris, when three gunmen burst in, killing 90 concert goers and injuring more than […]

Music

The Jayhawks

Paging Mr. Proust
Power Pop With Twang And Thunder

Those with only a casual ear to the pavement will likely file the Jayhawks under murky signifiers such as “Americana” and “Alt Country.” While those tags were once perfectly apt, the truth is they’ve been thoroughly inadequate since the second Clinton administration. In 1995, Jayhawks co-frontman Mark Olson bailed abruptly, though amicably, leaving guitarist Gary […]

Music

The Quaker City Night Hawks

El Astronauta

Advertised as “The spirit of ZZ Top meets Texas boogie rock,” the Night Hawks play up the image of unpretentious good ol’boys you could have a beer with. They’re plaid-shirt dudes in cowboy hats and beards, ensconced in Memphis soul, blues, old cars, and cheap whiskey. Their latest album displays clever artistry with drummer Matt […]

Artists

Paul Gilbert

Farewell, Mr. Big

Formed in 1988, Mr. Big was an all-star effort made up of bassist Billy Sheehan, drummer Pat Torpey, vocalist Eric Martin, and guitarist Paul Gilbert. With more chops than a butcher shop, the band used its superpowers to write crowd-pleasing rock anthems and #1 hits. With help from drummer/friend Nick D’Virgilio stepping in for Torpey […]

Music

Mustangs of the West

Down at the Palomino

Los Angeles’ all-female country quintet has a new record featuring 12 super-cool songs. Produced by Kirk Pasich and Colin Devlin, the album features Suzanna Spring on guitar and vocals, Sherry Rayn Barnett on lead guitar and vocals, Holly Montgomery on bass and vocals, Aubrey Richmond on violin and vocals, and Suzanne Morissette Cruz on drums. […]

Artists

The Return of Slash and The Conspirators

4 From the Floor

In the weeks before they gathered to record a new album in the spring of 2021, guitar legend Slash, frontman/songwriter Myles Kennedy, and their cohorts in The Conspirators had to pull the reins on their rock-star lifestyles. In normal times, they’d have jumped on a jet in L.A. and been at Dave Cobb’s RCA Studio […]

VG Approved Gear

Supro Amulet 1×10

Old-School Soul

Paying homage to low-powered tube amps from yesteryear, the Supro Amulet was designed to re-create classic Supro sounds with a few added features. The Amulet is a 15-watt/Class A 1×10 with tube-driven reverb, tremolo and three-position attenuator for 15-, 5-, or 1-watt operation. Bass, Treble and Mids round out the EQ section, and there’s a […]

VG Approved Gear

Vintage Revo Surfmaster Quad

Four Your Love

A swank retro plank with four pickups? Heck, yeah! The Vintage Revo Surfmaster Quad is a semi-hollow with a quartet of pickups from noted U.K. winder Alan Entwistle, along with his ATN Variator knob serving up 75 tonal possibilities. The Quad has an offset shape vaguely like a Jazzmaster, but with a body made of […]

VG Approved Gear

Cicognani Pompeii PP603

Dimensional Echoes

Cicognani Engineering has been making noise with a terrific lineup of amps and effects, earning raves from notable artists like Robben Ford, Kee Marcello, and Phil Campbell. Their Pompeii PP603 is based on the sought-after Binson Echorec P.E. 603 echo/delay. While the original was used by many artists of the ’70s including Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind, […]

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer
VG Approved Gear

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer

New Tradition

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer Price: $3,299 (list) Contact: www.riversongguitars.com Occasionally, a luthier’s innovation defines a new acoustic guitar sound. The Riversong Tradition One Performer blends modern build techniques, visionary design, and Canadian timbers to achieve a sonic profile as unique as Django’s Maccaferri or Bukka White’s National. On the surface, the Tradition One Performer […]

Artists

Festive Frets

Suggested Listening for Your “Guitholidays”

Listen to VG’s “Festive Frets Holiday Play List” on Spotify! From the two-string refrain that kicks off Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” to the rejuvenated acoustic blues of John Fahey or the jazz twists of Larry Carlton and Kenny Burrell, fans of guitar music are privileged to have a slew of suitable music  when the […]

Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar
Classic Instruments

Road to Rock

The Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar

Fans often mark the beginning of rock and roll as either Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions or Bill Haley & the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock,” both recorded in 1954. But three years earlier, in early March of 1951, Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats were credited on a 78-rpm single called “Rocket 88.” Played in […]

Artists

Kurdt Vanderhoof

These Go to XI

When it comes to thrash metal, the “Big 4” – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax – get credit for popularizing the style. But there were other trailblazing bands at the dawn of thrash, including Metal Church. The band recently issued its 11th album, XI, which included a reunion with singer Mike Howe. We recently spoke […]

VG Approved Gear

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone

From Surf to Cinema

In the days before seven- and eight-string guitars, the easiest way to go low was to grab a baritone guitar. Radio waves and film scores of the ’60s were filled with examples of the middle sister of the guitar family – from surf to country to cinematic Westerns. A rebirth of sorts is in session, […]

Uncategorized

VG Hall of Fame 2012 Inductees

VG Approved Gear

B&G Guitars’ Caletta Standard Build

Small But Mighty

B&G Guitars are made in Tel Aviv by a talented shop that translates the best traits of traditional guitars into high-quality instruments for today’s player. With the Caletta, their aim was to merge a Stella and a Martin – that is, combine the compact size, playability, and tone of guitars played by early blues fingerstylists […]

Classic Instruments

Dwight Twilley’s ’57 Fender Super

Cowboy Fringe

Plenty of vintage amps have made it into these pages on their own merits. But when a hallowed creation also has a fun artist-related history – like this road-worn 1957 Fender Super Amp formerly owned by Dwight Twilley and used by his lead guitarist, Bill Pitcock, IV – It adds a dimension to the tale. […]

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