With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a taste of his new album, “Working Class Blues,” with this run at “Call Me Lonesome.” In the October issue, he tells us how the album was made in the family barn with the only backing coming from his father on drums. Read Now!
With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a taste of his new album, “Working Class Blues,” with this run at “Call Me Lonesome.” In the October issue, he tells us how the album was made in the family barn with the only backing coming from his father on drums. Read Now!
Win a Crazy Tube Circuits White Whale V2 pedal valued at $359! Inspired by the match-made-in-heaven of vintage effects found on 60s American amps, White Whale V2 sets out a new objective to pack bigger real spring reverb and tremolo sounds in the same pedalboard friendly enclosure (17 x 12,5 x 7,5 cm). The 3-spring […]
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest John Majdalani Season 01 Episode 03 In Episode 3 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by “Vintage Guitar” magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined by John Majdalani, co-owner of Cream City Music, Brookfield, Wisconsin. Their discussion keys on “sleeper” guitars; more than 10,000 models are listed in the “The […]
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Low-end tone is a critical component of a live mix or studio recording – if the bass doesn’t sound good, the music will suffer. Badly. The Bassics BPA-1, designed by legendary engineer and gear designer Malcolm Toft (Bowie, James Taylor, Beatles), is essentially the front-end of a bass amp or channel of an analog mixer, […]
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Gibson’s acquisition of Epiphone in 1957 presented a tremendous challenge to guitar designers and marketers at the company. One challenge was to design a new solidbody instrument that could be produced at the Kalamazoo factory using existing tooling and production lines. Another was to make it visually distinct from Gibson’s Les Pauls. The answer? The […]
Jeff Plankenhorn has always made music his way, using stringed instruments he created. He picked up guitar at age 10, influencd by his older brother who played bass and listened to the Beatles and Hendrix. Later, his focus turned to slide instruments. “In college, a fiddle-player friend put together a bluegrass band and said, ‘You’re […]
When he wasn’t crafting Mosrites, Semie Moseley could often be found on the road, providing music for evangelists. It makes sense that his aspirations and beliefs were manifested in these instruments.
Greg Howe enjoyed a somewhat overwhelming reception when he appeared in the Carvin booth at the January NAMM show. One of rock-fusion’s most forward-thinking guitarists, he was there to launch a new signature guitar and mingle with fans of his current band project Maragold, which bridges the gap between funk fusion and pop. Few musicians […]
Rickenbacker Transonic TS100 Topology: Solid State Output: 100 watts RMS Controls: Volume, Treble, Bass controls and Hollow, Mellow and Pierce switches on each channel; Tremolo Speed and Depth, Reverb, and Fuzz-Tortion on Custom channel. Speakers: two 12″ Altec 417. A major artist’s endorsement of a piece of gear is often seen as a springboard to […]
One of the last surviving members of the record industry’s famed Wrecking Crew, Bill Pitman died at his home in LaQuinta, California, on August 11, 2022. He was 102 and fractured his spine in a fall that ultimately caused his demise. Until recently, Pitman’s wife, Jan, said he played guitar daily, often exploring Bill Evans […]
Founded in the early 1980s by Hans-Peter Wilfer, Warwick has a familial connection to another well-known German brand from a time when that nation was divided following World War II. Wilfer’s father, Fred, founded Framus in 1946, and Hans-Peter worked at the company’s facility before it closed in the ’70s. His desire to build stringed […]
K775V Kay Jazz II and K5970V Jazz Special Price: $1,495 (K775V Jazz II electric guitar); $1,150 (K5970V Jazz Special electric bass) Info: www.kayvintagereissue.com First heralded for their acoustics and upright basses, Kay made its mark with electric guitars played by Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney. Kay Vintage Reissue recalls that era with its K775V Jazz […]
In the past, Fender has paid homage to its history with precise replicas of certain classics. The company’s 70th Anniversary Esquire, however, honors its debut 1950 electric guitar without being hidebound to the past. Instead, it takes the original and runs with it. The 1950 Esquire was a one-pickup wonder – a true-blue workhorse designed […]
This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online features where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. The latest installment of Greg Martin’s “Head Shop” series has him checking in from a Kentucky Headhunters’ tour stop in Plano, Texas, and playing a ’65 Fender Stratocaster added […]
No, this is not a history of Joe Maphis, Don Rich, Buck Owens, Roy Nichols, Merle Haggard, and the other pickers who created the Bakersfield Sound. Rather, it’s the tale of the luthiers centered around the San Joaquin Valley city – builders who crafted some of the funkiest, most idiosyncratic – and, yes coolest – […]
Intended to be the masterpiece of a titan in guitar-amp design, Music Man amps of the mid/late ’70s are all too easily mistaken for copies or wannabes chasing a market leader. Far from it, however, this flagship model really is the final evolution in a sonic goal Leo Fender had been working toward for three […]
Guitarists can expand their instrumental range in several ways, from bass to banjo and even the diminutive mandolin, where guitar-like shredding and strumming (the famed “bluegrass chop”) are the norm. A worthy example is the Eastman MD515, which offers fine workmanship at wallet-friendly prices. This model is an F-style, referring to that venerable Gibson body […]
Cheap Trick fans are aware of his contribution to the band’s songs, but few know he actually invented the 12-string electric bass and has been using one since 1977 to create the bright-but-dense sound that fills so much sonic space in its music.
For two decades, the Cash Box Kings have stood apart from the multitudes of “blues bands” that focus on bar-band rock, not actual blues. Inspired by the 1940s-’60s Chicago sounds of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter, the Kings stay true to the roots, even on original tunes. Singer/harmonica player Joe Nosek, vocalist Oscar […]
The first volume of this set featured never-before-heard London performances, captured by Dutch fan Tom Huissen, who toted a monaural reel-to-reel recorder to various clubs. It offered new insights into the post-Clapton Bluesbreakers showcasing Peter Green, introduced on the album A Hard Road. The 17 performances (restored by Mayall himself) offered further evidence of Green […]
As the ’50s drew to a close, Gibson was locked in a heated battle with Fender for a share of the high-end electric-guitar market. But when it came to the six-string bass, the staid company from Kalamazoo managed a definite one-up.
