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.
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.
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 […]
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We’re saddened to hear of the passing of “Fast Eddie” Clarke, guitarist in the classic lineup of Motörhead with Lemmy Kilmister and “Philthy” Phil Taylor, both of whom died in 2015. In 1982, Clarke formed Fastway with UFO bassists Pete Way, which recorded seven albums. You can read our 2012 interview with Clarke below. Eddie […]
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With the rise of home recording, videos, and gigging without amps, Boss has introduced its IR-2 Amp & Cabinet, a small box with a range of amp and cabinet sounds called impulse response (IR) captures. In a nutshell, impulse responses are not just a simulation, but add the ambience of a room, speaker size, microphone […]
There’s nothing like a guitar with a pedigree, and you couldn’t ask for much more than the one attached to this Aria Pro II Prototype! A thoroughbred all the way, its family lines include an underrated brand, a legendary manufacturer, and a legendary guitar designer. The brand is Aria, which almost always takes a back […]
In a simple system, even a basic direct-input box with little in the way of adjustments will work fine. But what if your setup includes a plethora of pedals and effects? This can lead to problems because each device raises the impedance and noise floor while lowering the overall signal output. Fire-Eye electronics has a […]
Harp guitars with a standard six-string guitar neck and varying numbers of sub-bass harp-style strings have been made by a variety of American builders. Some of the best-known include Gibson, Joseph Bohmann (of Chicago), Knutson (Seattle), and the Larson brothers (Chicago), who made them primarily under the brand of Dyer (a distributor based in St. […]
Bettie Serveert is still going strong, 25 years after bursting on the scene in Amsterdam at the height of alternative rock. Palomine, its acclaimed debut, mixed fuzzy riffs and folky jangle with engaging vocals by singer/guitarist Carol van Dyk. And while most contemporaries have long since hung it up, the Betties – van Dyk, guitarist […]
Blue Cheer was the most-notorious band to emerge from San Francisco’s psychedelic scene in the late ’60s, its decibel-drenched assault steamrolling the “peace and love” stereotype of the hippie movement. Founded by bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson in 1966, the band took its name from a batch of LSD made by San Francisco chemist/acid king Owsley Stanley. […]
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. […]
Carl Verheyen is a member of that elite (and shrinking) group of musicians known as “session guitarists.” Super-qualified pickers, they’re the hired guns brought in for the most demanding and important recording dates. They command triple-scale fees, but work in a pressure cooker where time is money, where skillsets call for expertise in blues, jazz, […]
This month we feature Elton John’s Davey Johnstone, Chris Leuzinger, John 5, Keb’ Mo’, John Hall and Larry Hoppen from classic-rockers Orleans, Micki Free, Scott T. Jones, Johnny Meeks, Chuck Berry, and more! Spotify is free, or available without ads via paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,”or if you already have […]
If you grew up listening to music in the ’70s, you probably associate the name J. Geils with a five-piece band that played raucous rock and roll to hip-shaking partiers. Led by guitarist John “Jay” Geils, the group toured the world and recorded more than a dozen albums, selling millions through the early ’80s. Originally […]
Even with all the excellent guitar amps available by the late ’60s, nothing was quite good enough for jazz and studio great Howard Roberts – so he co-designed his own. This 1971 Benson combo spent many years with a former Roberts student, and reveals what might have been one of the world’s top combos, had […]
“When I would play with musicians from the neighborhood, I noticed that my passion for Brazilian music was making me different from other guys,” explains guitarist Kiko Loureiro, a player who found his niche by combining his Brazilian heritage with his love of metal, shred, and fusion. His current album, Sounds Of Innocence, seamlessly blends […]
Star bassist shines on “That Right There” Superstar bassist Kinga Glyk brings everything from funk-fusion virtuosity to booty-moving grooves. With her ’09 Fender Jazz plugged into an Apollo Twin interface, here she plays “That Right There,” from her new album, “Real Life.” Catch our review of the album and an exclusive interview with Kinga in […]
Matt Richards builds basic cathode-bias amps housed in the carcasses of vintage radios. They’re designed to be compatible with various tubes, giving the user a range of output and tone choices. His Chippy amp has a single Volume knob on the front and a negative-feedback loop pot on the back that acts as a combination […]
It’s one of the most unlikely success stories in music. Armed with a four-string tenor ukulele, a young Hawaiian videos himself playing solo in Central Park. His dynamic instrumental arrangement of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” goes viral, viewed more than 17 million times. His command of the instrument and interpretations of material […]
Why would Bob Dylan and Country Joe McDonald lend glowing testimonials, and David Grisman offer his studio and production skills to Marc Silber? It’s because Silber has been around some 60 years in both the Greenwich Village and Berkeley folk scenes as instrument dealer, collector builder/repairman, player, and songwriter. He was also an expert at […]
Having earned its place in the VG Hall of Fame as one of the finest guitars in the history of the instrument, the New Yorker is significant primarily due to its superb quality and aesthetic artistic appeal, rather than being an innovative instrument.
