FEATURES

VG HALL OF FAME
SRV, a Gibson, a Fender, and John D’Angelico
An elite group of inductees enters VG’s Hall of Fame, led by the legendary Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan, as well as America’s most lauded archtop builder and two great axes!By Dan Forte, George Gruhn, VG staff

TOM PETERSSON
Lower-End Innovator
From early bands like the Bol Weevils, Grim Reaper, and Fuse, through fame and fortune with Cheap Trick, the “inventor” of the 12-string bass has always loved his low-end instruments. By Willie G. Moseley

MR. SMITH GOES TO RUDY’S
“Upstairs” at the Famed N.Y.C. Guitar Boutique
If your heart starts palpitating at the mention of carved wood and PAFs, it’s hard to beat Rudy’s Music Stop. We go upstairs, and with the help of G.E. Smith, peruse some of Rudy’s greatest funkified treasures. By John Peden

AMP-O-RAMA
The Gretsch 6169 Electromatic Twin Western
In the mid 1950s, Gretsch was one of the hottest names in electric guitars. But it didn’t have an amp line. So it turned to OEM supplier Valco, which made spiffy-looking amps like this one. By Dave Hunter

THE GIBSON ES-5
When production of guitars resumed after World War II, Gibson set out to prove that it recognized the importance of the electric guitar and was fully committed to it. The result was the be-all, end-all of electric guitar design. By George Gruhn and Walter Carter

KEN FISCHER 1945-2006
Though by most estimates he produced fewer than 100 Trainwreck amps, he will be remembered as one of the most authoritative and intuitive tube-amp gurus ever to have touched soldering iron to circuit. Plus, excerpts from a 2005 interview with the man himself. By Dave Hunter

FENDER CORONADO XII WILDWOOD
Straight out of the Summer of Love, there’s no real evidence that the Roger Rossmeisl-designed Fender Coronado XII Wildwood was ever associated with sex or rock and roll. But drugs? Well, we know it was injected with something! By Michael Wright

BASS SPACE
The Ibanez Destroyer
From the glory days of the “copy era,” this Fuji-Gen creation mimicked the Gibson Explorer (seven years before Gibson made an Explorer bass) and used “P/J” pickups 10 years before Fender used them! By Willie G. Moseley

THE DIFFERENT STRUMMER
Happy Trails To You!
After 15 years spent mining the histories of companies other than Fender and Gibson, TDS bids adieu with a look back at some of the greatest memories created along the way. Can you say “Temple of Doom?” By Michael Wright

DEPARTMENTS

Vintage Guitar Price Guide

Builder Profile
Electric Gypsy Guitars

Upcoming Events

Vintage Guitar Classified Ads

Dealer Directory

Readers Gallery

FIRST FRET

Reader Mail

News and Notes
VG 20th Anniverary Contest Winners, Marshall Jams with Burrell, vintage Dokken CD/DVD, Cream City Guitars’ new digs, In Memoriam, more!

Kenny Wayne Shepherd I Blues From the Backroads
By Michael Dredgni

Rick Stockton
Sounds Abound
By John Heidt

Better Days In NOLA
New Orleans Guitar Renaissance
By Chip Wilson

Ask Zac
By Zac Childs

Coco Montoya
Skins to Strings
By John Heidt

Bob Devos
Update on the Organ Trio
By John Heidt

Stéphane Wrembel
Roll Over, Django
By Michael Dregni

John Sebastian
Lost Treasures From the Early ’70s
By Dan Forte

COLUMNS

Q&A With George Gruhn

Acousticville
Repairs, Needed vs. Not
By Steven Stone

“401K” Guitars
Solutions For Selling
By Gil Hembree

Fretprints
Elmore James
By Wolf Marshall

TECH

Guitar Shop
Precious Metal
By Tony Nobles

Dan’s Guitar Rx
Time Changes Everything
By Dan Erlewine

Talkin’ Amps With…
Bill Yates: Vintage Amps Under $1,000, Part Two: Ampeg
By David Jung

REVIEWS

The VG Hit List
David Gilmour, Tommy Castro, Holmes Brothers, John McLaughlin, Twang Dragons, The Unreleased Beatles, more!

Check This Action
The Real Deal
By Dan Forte

Vintage Guitar Gear Reviews
Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi, Babicz Blue Flame Octane, Koch Twintone, Clark Gainster!

Gearin’ Up!
The latest cool new stuff!