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Trending Now
Vintage Guitar has put together a Rockin’ 4th of July playlist. Listen and enjoy! 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 complete list HERE. Also On Spotify Vintage Guitar presents Buy That […]
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Mudhoney never really cashed in on the early-’90s grunge sweepstakes. In fact, its members have largely eschewed the G word. Until now. Lead guitarist and cofounder Steve Turner chronicles Mudhoney’s formation and career while providing a parallel (if sometimes jaundiced) primer on the incubation, hatching, and bloated death of grunge. In addition to his personal […]
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VG Approved Gear
Danelectro ’66
Alluring Curves
The new Danelectro ’66 brings together several threads of retro-dom in one hip package. Visually, this Danny brings to mind the Mosrite Ventures models, with its reverse offset, double-cutaway design and wildly slanted neck pickup. But the Korean-made ’66 has a few wrinkles of its own to set it apart from the pack. The ’66 […]
Classic Instruments
L-5 to Super 400
The Story of Gibson’s Big Archtops
The archtop guitar is a uniquely American instrument which can be traced directly to the creative genius of one person – Orville Gibson. In the mid 1890s, the man who later formed the company started building guitars and mandolins with carved tops and backs, and though his creations were quite different from a modern jazz […]
VG Approved Gear
Chemistry Design Werks’ Holeyboard 123
Chemistry Design Werks’ Holeyboard 123 is made of 1/8″ aluminum with overlapping surfaces that can be adjusted from 13″ to 30″ at 1.5″ increments using one or both panels and the expression-pedal pad. Everything bolts together with supplied fasteners to produce a rigid platform on solid rubber feet to anchor pedals with the included zip […]
Artists
Johnny Smith
An American Treasure
Jazz guitarist Johnny Smith died at his home June 11, 2013, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Arguably the most respected and revered guitarist of the modern era (1950 to present), Smith was sincerely humble and reserved about his extraordinary talent. In 1999, his peers and friends celebrated his career with a gala at […]
Artists
Charlie Starr: Open-Tuning Magic on “Azalea”
Blackberry Smoke frontman on a vintage Gibson Enjoy a bit of the supremely tasty “Azalea,” played by Charlie Starr and his ’55 Gibson J-45. It’s just one of the great vintage guitars (check out the two ’63 Everly Brothers in back) you’ll hear on Blackberry Smoke’s new album, “Be Right Here,” which is reviewed in […]
VG Approved Gear
Supro Super 1606 and Reverb 1605R
Little Amps That Could
In guitardom, players far too often believe there is nothing more sonically pleasing than a tall stack. Yet, plenty of diminutive amps offer up massive tone; think Derek and the Dominos’ Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Supro is wise to this. After recently launching a lineup of full-sized Classic and 1964 Reissue amps dubbed […]
Artists
Chris Bishop
Wizards and Technology
Riff rockers Crobot have been promoting their first album, Something Supernatural, with a live show offering full-bombast rock, contagious funk, and science fiction. The band’s success is owed in part to the sonic interludes of guitarist Chris Bishop, who has discovered the missing link between crashing power chords, funky riffs, and hallucinogenic guitar effects, Your […]
Artists
Brian Tarquin
No Idle Hands
Brian Tarquin is more than keeping busy. In the space of six weeks, he recently released two very different instrumental CDs centered on his playing with a multitude of guests, and he published a coffee-table book about guitars. Guitars For Wounded Warriors is a tribute to those who have served. “I wanted to really give […]
Artists
Status Quo’s Francis Rossi
On Guitars, Music, and Elusive Success
“I’m only as good now as I should have been when I was 25,” laughs Francis Rossi, the 64-year-old lead guitarist, singer, and co-composer in Status Quo. “That’s why I practice at least two hours every night. I’ll watch some guitarist in a band opening for us and think, ‘I can’t bloody watch this,’ because […]
Music
Crown Lands
Fearless
This Canadian duo doesn’t disguise its Rush fanaticism. The obvious parallel is Greta Van Fleet, and what that quartet did for Led Zeppelin, Crown Lands does for Rush. On the 18-minute “Starlifter: Fearless Part II,” guitarist/bassist Kevin Comeau and drummer/vocalist Cody Bowles time-travel to the Hemispheres era for a complex, spacey (and quite impressive) suite. […]
Artists
Fillmore Flashback
Mike Campbell on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Legendary 1997 Set
In early 1997, Tom Petty was unsure what the future held for him or his band, the Heartbreakers. But he was searching for something new on the heels of his hit solo album, Wildflowers, and the enormously popular tour that followed. “I just want to play and get away from the land of videos and […]
Classic Instruments
Supro S6651
Supro S6651 Big Star
Don’t we guitarists just love gear that looks like it was salvaged from our mom’s kitchen circa 1961? Give us something in high-gloss pastel, with Formica styling, gas-cooker knobs, plenty of chrome, and an emblem lifted off a fridge door and we go weak in the knees every time. When it comes to kitchen kitsch, […]
Artists
Les Paul
Birth of a Guitar Icon
Fifty years ago, Gibson’s new Les Paul Model was quickly becoming one of the company’s most popular guitars, and (though there was no way of knowing it at the time) was on its way to achieving mythical status in the realm of the electric solidbody. With the recent observation of the model’s golden anniversary, Vintage […]
VG Approved Gear
Deluxe Dirt
Wampler’s Tumnus Deluxe & Paisley Drive Deluxe
Already road-proven overdrive stompboxes, the Wampler Tumnus and Paisley Drive have received a makeover for 2018. But, is there is anything new to gain? The original Tumnus was intended as a Klon-type “transparent overdrive” pedal, but at a manageable price (a ’90s Klon Centaur can set you back $2,000). The new Tumnus Deluxe adds a […]
Artists
Howard Leese
Heart-less But Guitar Laden
Guitarist/ producer/ entrepreneur Howard Leese has come a long way since his early days with Heart in the 1970s. He was onboard when the band’s first hit single, “Barracuda,” swam up the charts, and was an integral member as they earned platinum record awards and sold-out concerts worldwide. And he was there when Heart enjoyed […]
Artists
Tony Rombola
Gothic Blues
Godsmack guitarist Tony Rombola is moonlighting once again, on the third album by Apocalypse Blues Revival with fellow Godsmack member/drummer Shannon Larkin, bassist Brian Carpenter, and singer Shane Hall. The self-titled effort shows the band evolving beyond its blues-rock origins to a range of grooves including gothic psychedelia. Rombola’s playing goes otherworldly and trippy, with […]
Artists
Paul Nelson
Sideman Steps Out
Manhattan native Paul Nelson has been influenced by many great guitarists – some of whom gave him lessons, gigs, and/or recording opportunities. But that hasn’t kept him from recording two solo albums on his own terms. While attending Berklee School of Music intent on a career in the field, Nelson focused on expanding not only […]