Sebastià Gris used his Gibson SG as eye-candy to play a sample of “Clickbait,” from his latest album, “Oli, All i Julivert.” It was custom-finished by his friend, David Solé, at Leno Guitars, who also built the Small Jumbo he used to record the album. He finishes with a bit of “Akhatova.” Read Now!
Sebastià Gris used his Gibson SG as eye-candy to play a sample of “Clickbait,” from his latest album, “Oli, All i Julivert.” It was custom-finished by his friend, David Solé, at Leno Guitars, who also built the Small Jumbo he used to record the album. He finishes with a bit of “Akhatova.” Read Now!
Vince Gill and longtime friend, collaborator, and pedal-steel giant Paul Franklin share a love of country music history. Bakersfield, their 2013 collaboration, paid homage to the timeless, twang-heavy music of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys celebrates the late, iconic Texas singer and his Western-swing […]
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This month we feature Marty Friedman, Twisted Sister, Blackberry Smoke, Blue Öyster Cult, Rick Vito, Judas Priest, Kay-Ta Matsuno W.C. Clark, HSAS, Mark Knopfler, 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 Listen to the […]
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Anyone with a taste for real country music – in particular, Western swing – will recognize this guitar. Even though Asleep At The Wheel leader Ray Benson quit using this early-’60s Gibson ES-355 in about 1985 (and eventually sold it), it’s the guitar fans inevitably associate with him – and, with a Lone Star Beer […]
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From 1994 to the present — read about each Readers’ Choice Awards Players.
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Roland’s Blues Cube Artist Price: $1,169 (list)/$899 (street) Contact: www.rolandus.com Roland has reinvented and relaunched its Blues Cube combos with a series featuring Roland’s exclusive Tube Logic design that carefully emulates the preamp and poweramp tube responses of classic tube amps. One of these, the Blues Cube Artist, features a classic old-school appearance – cream-colored […]
The title of John Jorgenson’s new three-CD boxed set, Divertuoso, combines two words – “diverse” and “virtuoso” – to aptly describe its contents. Consisting of an album of gypsy jazz (Returning), bluegrass (From the Crow’s Nest), and electric-guitar instrumentals (Gifts from the Flood), Jorgenson said they while they were started at different times, “There was […]
Ibanez RGA-8 Price: $1,102.21 (approx. $800 street). Info: ibanez.com In the annals of cool, weird, and unusual guitars, they’re nothing like an eight-string axe. It’s a strange beastie, sporting a mammoth neck that begs for new fretting approaches. The trend that’s driving eight-string guitars onto the market are metal and shred players who are searching […]
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 […]
Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+ Price: $1,599 (list) Contact: www.suprousa.com Upon introduction in 1964, the Valco-made Supro Thunderbolt Model S6420 was a misfit. Like Fender’s 4×10 Bassman, it was designed “exclusively for the electric Bass guitar [sic],” according to catalog copy. Further, the Thunderbolt was decked out in special silver-blue “rhino hide” tolex, signifying through a honking […]
Okay, Zep police, sound the alarm and prepare to loose the hounds – we are finally about to lift the lid on the Jimmy Page amp. Well, maybe not the Jimmy Page amp, but almost certainly a Jimmy Page amp, and even this claim should be enough to get the keys clacking and the internet […]
At the end of World War II, the town of Schönbach, in western Bohemia, became Luby, Czechoslovakia, and the people of German ethnicity were expelled. The changes affected the fortunes of more than Framus and Tatra guitars – it also redirected the trajectory of Höfner guitars, perhaps best known for the “Beatle bass” played by […]
EarthQuaker Devices is one of the most admired pedal builders today, thanks to their original designs that feature tweakable controls which allow players to easily dial in their own unique sounds. With more than forty pedal offerings, the EarthQuaker line covers everything from guitar synth to psychedelic reverb. Their latest – the Erupter – is […]
Most people remember Bill Nelson as the front man/guitar hero in the English band Be Bop Deluxe. Since folding that outfit 35 years ago, he has led a fertile solo career, releasing dozens of solo albums ranging from guitar rock to pop electronica. His latest, Blip!, showcases his hot playing with lush pop. Who were […]
Michael Angelo Batio is one of the most prodigious guitarists on Earth. Since his stint with the rock band Holland in the ’80s, Batio has written his ticket with a combination of freakish talent and hard work. His current album, Intermezzo, is a note-intensive prog-metal rollercoaster that includes some similarly gifted guests like George Lynch, […]
Vintage Instruments, Traditional Sounds Nashville Honeymoon plays country music laden with Bakersfield influence – the best kind! Here, Hank Maninger plays his ’62 Guild Starfire III, while Lynne Maes sings and strums a ’60 Martin O-15 to do “Sears Roebuck,” from their latest album, “Just Like Yesterday.” Catch our review in the December issue. Read […]
Sheepdogs guitarist plays “So Far Gone” Ewan Currie and his band, The Sheepdogs, do retro-rock the right way. Here, Ewan and his ’74 Les Paul Deluxe show us some of “So Far Gone,” off their new record, “Outta Sight.” Our interview with Ewan appears in the December issue. Read Now!
For more than three decades on the Texas roadhouse circuit, guitarist Jack Kay’s love of vintage Fender and Marshall tones often had him using both amplifier brands at the same gig. Envisioning one capable of producing American and British sounds, the founder of Tx-Watt embarked on a quest to build the ultimate amp. After 10 […]
Mike Rutherford prefers focusing on the future, even if recent projects have required the guitarist/bassist to think about life. Late 2014 saw the release of a three-CD retrospective, R-Kive, featuring favorites from his days in Genesis as well as selections from band members’ solo careers, and Sum of the Parts, a feature-length documentary that uses […]
Ten years into what has become a stellar career, when Brad Paisley hits your town to play a show these days, it’s with nine semi tractor-trailer rigs and a fleet of buses. His five studio albums have all reached multi-platinum status and he has volleyed 12 songs into the #1 position on the country charts. […]
While not well-known in California guitar lore, Ed Sanner’s electronics designs have been heard by millions of guitar fans, and he has recently returned to building unique stomp boxes. Sanner didn’t take up guitar until the age of 18, but his interest in electronics began earlier. “I used to tinker with electrical things as a […]
Michigan-based Mojo Hand Effects has been building a variety of hand-assembled pedals since 2010. Their latest, the Swim Team, pulls double duty as a chorus and flanger packed into a single box. The Swim Team is housed in a 4.5″ x 2.5″ x 1.25″ die-cast chassis with cool aquatic-themed paint. Its control array includes knobs […]
