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Trending Now
Unabashedly British and irresistibly swaggering, Bad Company personified ’70s arena rock. Detractors denounced them as machismo, but fans have bought more than 40 million albums, 20 million in America alone. Guitarist/founder Mick Ralphs was a prime role model for numerous players. Michael (Mick) Geoffrey Ralphs was born in Herefordshire, West England, on March 31, 1944. […]
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The John Pizzarelli Trio is back on the road supporting its latest album, Stage and Screen. Joined by Isaiah J. Thompson on piano and Michael Karn on double bass, Pizzarelli is flying through tunes mostly associated with Broadway and the movies. We had the chance to dig in a bit with the jazz master. What […]
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FireBelly Amplifiers’ Tweed 1955SE, PR3512SE Price: $949 (Tweed 1955SE); $1,595 (PR3512SE) Contact: www.firebellyamps.com The quest for vintage tone continues, and while budgetary concerns might keep many guitarists from owning the real deal, the demand has created a market for affordable hand-built amplifiers with old-school sounds and specs. The father-and-son team of Steven and Scott Cohen […]
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VG Approved Gear
Rob Wrobel Le Voyage Lace III
Boxed Up
Cigar-box guitars are a 19th-century creation that today are enjoying a trendy surge in popularity, and attracting the design expertise of some talented folks. Why? Well, because cigar box guitars are quirky and equally fun for musical neophytes and advanced players. Take Rob Wrobel, who makes his three-string CBG Model with Lace Matchbook Sensor pickup […]
VG Approved Gear
BBE Sonic Stomp Pro & Green Screamer V2
Maximized Tone
Contributing to a recent burst of creative releases in the effects market, BBE added a pair of stompboxes to its offerings; the Sonic Stomp Pro is a pedal version of their famous Sonic Maximizer circuit, while the Green Screamer Overdrive V2 is their reimagined version of the venerable TS9. The Sonic Stomp Pro takes a […]
Music
Jake Andrews
Train Back Home
In his early 40s now, for some folks around Austin, he’ll always be “Guitar Jake.” When Andrews was eight years old, he sat in with an impressed Albert King at Antone’s blues club, and by the time he hit puberty he’d played with such Texas blues greats as Long John Hunter, Grey Ghost, T.D. Bell, […]
Classic Instruments
Traditional, Temporary
Guild Basses in the Early 1980s
The early ’80s were a unique time in the history of American electric guitars. Fender and Gibson were both owned by corporate interests – the former CBS, the latter the Norlin conglomerate – and both suffered product offerings that had quality issues and/or uninspiring designs. Guild, on the other hand, was still battling the (unfair) […]
VG Approved Gear
The Pigtronix Envelope Phaser 2
Sophisti-Phaser
Pigtronix Envelope Phaser II Price: $249 (street). Contact: Phone (631) 331-7447; Pigtronix.com. Pigtronix effects are known not only for their tones, but their sophistication. So it’s no surpise that the Envelope Phaser II has a potentially daunting array of control knobs and switches, some with familiar names (Sensitivity, Depth, Speed), others less common (Resonance, Staccato, […]
Spotify
2022 September Issue on Spotify
This month we feature Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Danny Gatton, Neal Schon, DaShawn Hickman, Bad Company, Arv Garrison, Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder, Tedeschi-Trucks Band, Walter Trout, Skunk Baxter, Eric Clapton, Montrose, Barney Kessel, and more! Spotify is free, or available without ads via paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,”or if […]
VG Approved Gear
The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force
Tones of Destiny
The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force Price: $199 (per piece, list) Contact: www.providence.jp Providence is a Japan-based manufacturer of effects, cables, guitars, pickups, and audio-switching devices. Though an established brand in its home country for almost two decades, its products only recently found their way to the United States, including a […]
Classic Instruments
Silver Lining
Gibson and the Master Models
Recognized today as visionary, when introduced in 1922, Gibson’s Master Model L-5 and F-5 were expensive to produce and lacked a market. For a time, they placed a considerable burden on the company.
Artists
Fretprints: Kim Thayil
The Grungy Flowering of Soundgarden
In 1991, a movement emerged from Seattle that shook the musical world to its core. Seemingly overnight, a cadre of unlikely “grunge” bands from the Northwest rose quickly to attain musical dominance, sweeping aside the shred, glam, and prog-rock excesses of the ’80s. As the movement took hold, an alternative-rock attitude defined a generation of […]
VG Approved Gear
Walla Walla Maverick Pro Series
To a T
Walla Walla has carved a niche in the world of highly customized guitars and basses in the tradition of those time-honored Leo Fender archetypes. Their Maverick Pro Series offers up one model with classic single-coils and a tremolo bar, and another with humbuckers and a hardtail. You might want to strap a bib on before […]
Music
Carbe and Durand
A Bridge Between
The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe for a pretty common record. With a duo as talented and imaginative as Liza Carbe and J.P. Durand, though, it’s not plain in any way. The real beauty in this album, aside from the obvious […]
Music
Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’
Bluesy and the Folksy
Meeting the demand for fans hankering for two titans of the blues to finally make an album together, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have done just that. These two folksy song-oriented stylists are a perfect match with their charmingly accessible feel and story-comes-first mission statement. Not without its hot licks and mature musicianship, a grounded […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel 063 – Brendan Byrnes
Host James Patrick Regan welcomes guitarist/composer Brendan Byrnes to the latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel.” Brendan is a microtonal player who grew up in the Bay Area and attended Berklee College of Music, then moved to Chicago, where he played in The MDR with drummer Matt Walker. They discuss his new album, “2227,” […]
Artists
Jazz Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel: Deep, Rich, Sparkling on a Baritone
Moody, Introspective, Intimate Kurt Rosenwinkel’s new album features him improvising solo on nine tracks like this one, “Peace Please.” That’s his Collings Baritone SoCo16 LC running through a Pure Tone Offset amp. Catch our review in the March issue. Read Now!
Classic Instruments
Gibson’s 1958-’62 ES-335TD
The Redoubtable “Dot-Neck” Early every guitar conceived or designed by Ted McCarty during his tenure as president of Gibson (1948-’66) is today seen as exemplary of the company’s best work. McCarty, who launched the Les Paul model in 1952, followed with many more ideas that kept Gibson at the forefront of the industry, especially among […]
VG Approved Gear
Blackstar Fly 3
Best In Show... And More
While listening to AC/DC’s Back in Black on a small, audiophile-grade table radio, Blackstar Amplification CEO Ian Robinson had an epiphany: small amps don’t have to sound crappy. Previously, there had been a number of discussions at Blackstar about entering the sub-$100 market. After a year of development, they introduced the Fly 3 battery-powered amp […]
Music
Oz Noy
Who Gives A Funk
Fusion maestro Oz Noy expands his palette of influences by enlisting the help of a horn section and special guests. Noy basks in the funkalicious glory of instrumental ’60s soul. Jazz-rock Strat lines and slide comingle within blues and gospel changes, as lush horn arrangements and solos adorn vibrant production. His band includes drummers Chris […]