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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Dumpstaphunk’s fourth studio album combines earthy ’70s funk, vintage soul, ripping guitar, and New Orleans swagger. The NOLA natives consist of Ivan Neville on keys, Tony Hall (bass, guitar, and vocals), Nick Daniels III (bass and vocals), Devin Trusclair on drums, and Ian Neville on guitar. This next-generation ensemble continues to blend the New Orleans […]
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When Electro-Harmonix heard that guitarist J Mascis’ prized Deluxe Big Muff Pi was stolen years ago, they decided to make things right. The Big Muff is crucial to the sounds he has long created in Dinosaur Jr, so a collaboration was inevitable. The J Mascis Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi is a fuzz/distortion/sustainer pedal based […]
We understand how you might react. “Another drive pedal?” There are so many… a lot of them similar, or nearly identical? But then again, some are different… (Cue Captain Kirk voiceover…) Prepare, then, gearhead followers, to embark on a journey of drive, fuzz, and distortion unlike anything you’ve experienced before! Just step aboard (okay, on) […]
Every fan of blues music is familiar with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Founded in 1974 by two guys who would go on to become Texas musical legends, guitarist Jimmie Vaughan and vocalist/harpist/front man Kim Wilson, the band spent its first decade building momentum around the south before tasting international stardom in 1986, when their first album […]
Somewhere in the world right now, a Foreigner song is playing on the radio. Literally. Thanks to nearly 20 mega-hit singles, 75 million units sold, and legions of fans, the band has earned a solid place in pop-music history. Founder, guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Mick Jones guided the group to dizzying heights from […]
More than 60 years since their inception, The Ventures are still a rockin’ band, featuring longtime guitarist/bassist Bob Spalding and drummer Leon Taylor (son of original drummer Mel Taylor) plus the guitar/bass team of Ian Spalding and Luke Griffin. Their latest is the cosmic concept album New Space, retaining their timeless “instro” sound. We checked […]
Boss’ SD-1 has 40 candles on its cake and the company is celebrating with the SD-1-4A, a new Super Overdrive has a swank finish plus those three knobs you’ve come to love. There aren’t many features, but that’s the beauty – it’s all about tone. Aside from Level, Drive, and Tone, the box offers buffered […]
• Preamp tubes: 6C5, 6F5 • Output tubes: two 6B5 • Rectifier: 80 • Controls: Volume, on/off switch • Speaker: 10″ field coil • Output: barely scraping double digits… if you’re lucky. “Aggrandize: v.tr. 1. increase the power, rank, or wealth 2. cause to appear greater than is the case.” So says the Oxford English […]
Traditional music from India makes ready use of stringed instruments such as sitars, veenas, and tanpuras. But Rahul Mukerji is on a different tangent. “The influence of fusion has been more prominent in my life than traditional Indian music,” the guitarist explained. “I grew up on a diet of rock and metal, which are very […]
No, this is not a history of Joe Maphis, Don Rich, Buck Owens, Roy Nichols, Merle Haggard, and the other pickers who created the Bakersfield Sound. Rather, it’s the tale of the luthiers centered around the San Joaquin Valley city – builders who crafted some of the funkiest, most idiosyncratic – and, yes coolest – […]
Following a stint of nearly four years in the Royal Southern Brotherhood, Texas-based guitarist Mike Zito is focusing on his solo career and has a new album, Keep Coming Back. Like his other recordings, it’s chock full of personal, gutwrenchingly honest songs. Zito was co-founded the RSB, but left in October of 2014. “It was […]
Frank Gambale has had an amazing career playing the music he loves. From being the go-to guy for sweep-picking, and later replacing Al DiMeola in Return To Forever, Gambale drops jaws wherever he goes, and whether playing straight jazz, instrumental rock, or contemporary fusion, he plays from the heart and head. Gambale’s current project is […]
Charis Acoustic SJ Price: $4,800 (base); $7,100 (as reviewed) Info: www.charisacoustic.com. The spiritual aspects of music perhaps originate with the creation of the musical instrument. To that end, Charis Acoustic builds guitars under luthier Bill Wise’s stated mission to reflect his spiritual commitment with the love and care that he puts into his craft. The […]
Fingerstylist melds melodies, polyrhythms, and visceral picking on “Fabara” Walter Strauss shows his extraordinary technique with help from his Sexauer JB-16 while playing “Fabara,” a song from latest album, “For Melody, Wherever She May Find Me.” “The tune is an exploration off a melody from the balafon, a wooden xylophone played in West Africa,” he […]
“The first time the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, I was in my mother’s womb,” says Jack Petruzzelli. “That was February ’64, but then when they appeared the second time I was out of the womb.” What could be more appropriate for the guitarist/keyboardist of the Fab Faux, the spot-on Beatles tribute band featuring Jimmy […]
One day in the mid 1950s, up-and-coming thoroughbred jockey Bill Shoemaker was playing host to his friend, bandleader Hank Penny, who had come calling with a special gift in a brown case.
Guitarist Larry Coryell died February 19 in New York City after performing the previous night at the Iridium. He was 73 and passed away in his sleep, from heart failure. A pioneer of jazz-rock, Coryell was noted for being comfortable in almost every style. Dubbed “the Godfather of Fusion” after introducing a new feel to […]
Nickel Creek’s new album, Celebrants, is the trio’s first in nine years. Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins, and guitarist Sean Watkins crafted 18 songs that crack the boundaries of Americana, bluegrass, and rock. Watkins plays his vintage Gibson like a boss, creating visceral textures and vistas with a dizzying right hand. It’s Nickel […]
