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Trending Now
Season 03 Episode 01 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of modern country’s foremost pickers. Any fan of Western swing and honky-tonk is likely familiar with his work, which masterfully blends country, blues, jazz, and rock. The “Titan of the Telecaster” explains what makes it his favorite […]
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Popularly known as that cute female jazz bassist with the Afro who bogarted the Best New Artist Grammy away from Justin Bieber in 2012, Esperanza Spalding’s new album is soul-jazz surrealism at it’s finest. Spalding courageously sidesteps the acid chick jazz of her female contemporaries. In its place is theatricality, poetry, joy, and the progressive […]
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Classic Instruments
The Morley Rotating Wah
Chromed Tone
There was a time in the mythic ’70s when guitarists were real men and lugged around 15-pound Morley Rotating Wah pedals to gigs and studios. And if they weren’t real men, they had roadies who were! From the accelerator-like pedal to the chrome-plated chassis, Morley’s RWV and the firm’s other super-duty pedals were the American […]
Artists
Brian Setzer
Sparking Another Rockabilly Riot
Three decades, umpteen records, and several stellar bands into his career, and Brian Setzer still makes rockabilly sound fresh and exciting. This album has much of the verve of his debut, 1981’s Stray Cats, and his so-called “’68 Comeback Special,” Ignition. For a musician this far along in his career, that’s saying something about his […]
Artists
Thinkin’ Thin
Heroes of the Semi-Hollow
The semi-hollowbody electric guitar is one of the most revered axes in the plugged-in universe, offering the playability of a solidbody with the warm, woodier tone of a fat archtop. Yet the term “semi-hollow guitar” is somewhat confusing, as few can agree on a precise definition. There is the classic design of the Gibson ES-335 […]
VG Approved Gear
Effectrode Blackbird Vacuum Tube Preamp
Uncaged
In a nutshell, the Effectrode Blackbird is a tube amp’s entire preamp section in a floor unit. And just why the heck would someone want that? The Blackbird is housed in a heavy metal chassis with a Daka-ware knobs and high-grade components. It’s no accident that the box’s tubes are accessible on top, allowing the […]
Artists
Michael Schenker
Golden Guitar Jubilee
Incredibly, it’s been 50 years since Michael Schenker recorded his first guitar bit on a studio album – the Scorpions’ debut, Lonesome Crow. To celebrate the anniversary, the guitar great has issued his first Michael Schenker Group album in 13 years; Immortal features an abundance of guests – singers Ronnie Romero and Joe Lynn Turner, […]
Music
Dennis Jones
About Time
On About Time, bluesman Dennis Jones turns up the heat with blistering guitar, impassioned vocals, and epic tales of 21st-century woe and triumphant comeuppance. Produced by Jones and Brian O’Neal of The BusBoys, the album pairs clear but sinewy production and musicality with real-life themes, in the best tradition of contemporary American blues-rock. Drawing from […]
Artists
Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs
Time-Signature Shifts on “Aristoclub Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie Govan and Marco Minneman in their scary-good fusion trio, The Aristocrats. Bryan and his four- and five-string basses help the band tackle challenging instrumentals without losing sight of the song; think modern-day Dixie Dregs or […]
Artists
The Mystery Lights: Garage Punk Meets Musicianship
Influences From the Kinks to Beefheart The Mystery Lights’ Mike Brandon used his ’60s Silvertone 1429 plugged into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for this exclusive run through “Together Lost,” from their new album, “Purgatory.” Catch our review in the January issue. Read Now!
VG Approved Gear
Brimstone Audio Crossover Distortion XD-1
Bi-Amping in a Box
Brimstone Audio Crossover Distortion XD-1 Price: $299.95 Info: www.Brimstoneaudio.com. Brimstone Audio is a relatively new company that hit the ground running, entering the stomp-box arena with some innovative ideas that offer tone geeks unparalleled aural flexibility. The XD-1, for example, is essentially two amps in a box. It allows the user to generate the kind […]
Classic Instruments
An Odd Gibson EH-150
10 Strings, Lap-Style
Lap-steel guitars were the first commercially available electrics – ancestors of the guitars we plug in today, regardless of their shape. The popularity of Hawaiian music in the 1930s had a great deal to do with a surge in popularity of lap steels – and quickly after, the introduction of Spanish-style steel-string and electric guitars. […]
VG Approved Gear
The Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15
Living Loving Gain
While many have tried via transistor trickery to replicate the tone of Jimmy Page’s Hiwatt at Led Zeppelin’s legendary January ’70 Royal Albert Hall performance, the Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15 is the most authentic reproduction yet, with a few welcome updates. Commonly referred to as the JP-30, this Hi-Tone is a 30-watt, all-tube head. The review […]
VG Approved Gear
PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow
Multi-Functional Gem
While most guitarists are familiar with PRS (and some dream every day of adding one of the company’s Private Stock axes to their collection), the company’s import SE line typically gets much less play in the git-tar press. Developed at the request of Carlos Santana so beginners and “weekend warriors” could experience playing a PRS […]
Music
Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin
Brasil
With a career spanning more than 50 years as a first-call studio pro who has played on some of the biggest pop and rock tracks in history, Ritenour’s discography boggles the mind. He and longtime partner/pianist Dave Grusin are pairing up again, crafting beautiful music with world-class musicianship. Joined by Brazil’s top musicians, the ensemble […]
Classic Instruments
Star Board: Bruce Kulick
Bruce Kulick played lead guitar in Kiss for more than a decade, and today stays busy as a solo performer and tours as a member of Grand Funk Railroad. Speaking of, here’s his primary pedalboard setup for that gig. “It’s simple and old-school,” he said. “I put them together with short cables, batteries only, and […]
Classic Instruments
The Epiphone Devon Tremolo EA-35T Combo
Tonally TransAtlantic
After giving the upstart Fender a run for its money in the amplifier department throughout the 1950s, Gibson segued into something that looked like surrender; by the early ’60s, its amps appeared to be afterthoughts or scattershot offerings to a rapidly evolving market. And while amps carrying the Epiphone badge were even more like outcasts, […]
Classic Instruments
Teisco Del Rey Basses
’60s Egalitarianism from Japan
Teisco Del Rey basses from the 1960s are exemplary of the Japanese-made instruments that swept into the American market like a tsunami during the “guitar boom” – and were the primary contributor to the demise of America’s budget-guitar industry. Which means, of course, that an untold number of American teenagers played instruments like these. During […]
VG Approved Gear
Carl Martin’s Red Repeat Delay Echo, Greg Howe’s Lick Box
Boxes of Rock
After hearing – and taking to heart – feedback from players, Carl Martin recently upgraded its Red Repeat Delay Echo by adding tap tempo and modulation functions. The former allows players to tap-in desired tempos for specific songs, while the latter, along with the use of the Depth and Speed mini-pots, allows players to control […]