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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
Classic Instruments

The Bass That Waited

Rickenbacker’s Early 4000 and 4001

In the January and February installments, we looked at Gibson’s Thunderbird, an instrument condemned by its maker to a quick demise only to be reborn due to late-blooming popularity. Another early bass represents a flipside to that tale – one that was in production for years before becoming a major success. Most players today are […]

by Peter Stuart Kohman
Cort’s Sunset I and II Feature
VG Approved Gear

Cort’s Sunset I and II

Jonesin’ For Tone

When Cort isn’t busy making guitars and basses for major musical instrument companies, they’re hard at work building some pretty cool instruments under their own name. From jazz boxes to the Gene Simmons AXE Electric Bass, Cort covers a lot of territory. Cort’s new Sunset series includes the models I and II chambered-body electrics. Both […]

Music

Ronnie Baker Brooks

Times Have Changed

Second-generation bluesman Ronnie Baker Brooks’ first album in 10 years blends the soul of Chicago, hot guitar licks, and old-school Memphis R&B. Produced by Steve Jordan and recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis and Blackbird Studio in Nashville, this disc shows Brooks at his most soulful. As a self-described bridge between the past and the […]

Classic Instruments

Martin Elegant, a.k.a. “Lula”

It’s an extraordinarily rare event to find a high-grade, historically significant mid-1800s guitar in a pawn shop, but that is indeed where this Martin was discovered. When found in Nashville in the mid 1970s, it was recognized as an exceptional instrument with ornamentation far in excess of any typical Martin of that time, but only […]

Have Guitar Will Travel

Have Guitar Will Travel – 025 Featuring Stef Burns

Episode 24 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features the wild ride life of guitarist Stef Burns, who has played with everyone from Jesse Colin Young to Pablo Cruise and Prince to Peppino D’Agostino, with stops in Alice Cooper’s band and an appearance in Wayne’s World along the way. Host James Patrick Regan digs into gear, […]

VG Approved Gear

Jam Pedals’ Delay Llama & Wahcko Wah

What’s In A Name?

Positioning its sonic M.O. squarely in the 1960s and ’70s, Jam Pedals strives to create a distinct line of effects. Beyond their fun graphics and tongue-in-cheek names, Jam’s stompboxes are set apart in the way they achieve their objective. Hand-made in Greece, Jam Pedals are wired for true-bypass functionality and use NOS chips, transistors, and […]

GIBSON-F2-2-HOME-MAIN-BIG
Classic Instruments

1905 Gibson F-2

In the opinion of most American mandolinists, Gibson brought mandolin design to a level of perfection in 1922, with the introduction of the Master Model F-5. It wasn’t much earlier – 25 years or so – that Orville Gibson created the F model as one of two mandolin body styles (the other being the symmetrical […]

George Gruhn and Walter Carter
VG Approved Gear

Radial Tonebone Shotgun and Mix-Blender

Swiss-Army Stompboxes

Whether it’s due to shrinking pedalboard real estate, shrinking discretionary budgets, or both, stompboxes that serve more than one function never fail to pique interest. Unfortunately, a lot of these knob-, switch-, toggle-, and LED-adorned pedals look like they might require a jet pilot’s license to operate. Not so these two offerings from Radial Tonebone. […]

Artists

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Kevin Borden

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Kevin Borden Season 01 Episode 04 In Episode 4 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined by Kevin Borden, co-owner of Kebo’s Bass Works, Flemington, New Jersey. Their discussion focuses on the market for vintage basses, and Kevin shares insight on […]

Artists

Martin Turner

Low-End Unorthodoxy

When he transitioned from playing guitar, former Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner kept a pick in his right hand and developed a style that combined fluid, melodic lines with an overdriven sound reminiscent of John Entwistle and Chris Squire. On his third solo album, Written in the Wind, he showcases instrumental skill as well as […]

Andrew Hendryx
Lessons

Andrew Hendryx – Lesson: “Into The Mystic” on a mandolin

Andrew Hendryx lesson of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” on Mandolin Andrew Hendryx uses his Collings MF5 (with D’Addario strings) to show you how to play his arrangement of the Van Morrison masterpiece “Into The Mystic,” from his upcoming album, “Deep River.” You can catch Andrew on tour this spring with Dangermuffin and Yonder Mountain […]

Artists

J.D. Simo

Psychedelia and Satan

Psychedelic bluesman J.D. Simo deploys impressive wah skill, blistering fuzz tones, and hypnotic grooves that will expand your consciousness. His latest album, Mind Control, is the perfect retro, echo-drenched, escapist blues prescription for these trying times. With a nod to Northern Mississippi blues and ’60s San Francisco hippie rock, Simo’s power trio morphs these sounds […]

VG Approved Gear

Yamaha THR10

Practice Perfection?

Yamaha THR10 Price: $299 Contact: usa.yamaha.com As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically lack tone and features. Yet whether in a bedroom or hotel room, a practice amp should help inspire an artist by making practice more pleasure than chore. Yamaha’s THR10 is a definite step in the […]

VG Approved Gear

Xotic Effects RC Booster Reissue

Return of A Legend

Twenty years ago, Xotic Effects unleashed its iconic RC Booster. With variable Gain, EQ, and Volume controls, it was a mainstay on pedalboards the world over for players seeking top-shelf transparent boost tones. To celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, it just released an updated version of that classic. While Xotic has produced more-elaborate versions of […]

VG Approved Gear

Tx-Watt Flagship

Tone Big as Texas

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 […]

Artists

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams: Funky Syncopation

Fine pickin’ on “The Way You Make Me Feel” Husband-and-wife team Martin D-18, while Teresa comps on an Emmylou Harris L-200 that was a gift from

Gibson GA-20
Classic Instruments

The Gibson GA-20

Behold, this specimen that checks off all the right boxes for fans of vintage amps; beautifully clean, it has a watertight provenance and emerges from a heart-warming backstory. If we love anything more than a musty old tube amp in outstanding condition, it’s a musty old tube amp with a stirring history – a tale […]

Spotify

2024 May Issue on Spotify

This month we feature Gary Clark, Jr., The Beatles, Deep Purple, Johnny A, Scott Hebderson, Kinga Glyk, D.K. Harrell, Frank BiBussolo, 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 complete list HERE. […]

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