Season 02 Episode 9 The Gibson Les Paul. In Episode 2.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Michael Slubowski, administrator of the Les Paul Forum. Michael has played and collected Les Pauls for most of his life, and together they dive into the beauty and history of Gibson’s most-revered guitar. Links: […]
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This month, we feature Jason Isbell, Steve Vai, Mark Sampson, Midge Ure, Michael Manring, Steve Hackett, The Outlaws, Larry Carlton, Albert King, B.B. King, Allen Hinds, Thin Lizzy, Tab Benoit, 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 […]
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Calexico has long crisscrossed the border between American (blues, country, rock and roll) and Latin-American sounds, but the band’s latest is a borderless exploration of shimmering, luminous music. Vocalist/guitarist/accordionist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino are at the heart of the band, working more than 20 years now with an array of fellow players; this […]
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Classic Instruments
The Beatles’ Casinos
Of all the guitars made famous by the Beatles, the only one that John, Paul, and George had in common was the Epiphone Casino. Each owned one and used it for countless recordings and performances.
VG Approved Gear
Boss Box 40
Throwback Three-Fer
For players of a certain vintage, there’s something gratifying about an old-school compact Boss pedal at your feet. Even with the evolution of more-sophisticated pedals, those bright, uniform boxes reliably recall a formative time. Boss is celebrating its compact pedal line with Box 40, a special-edition set containing reissues of the three that introduced the […]
Artists
Sebastian Nagel’s Satisfying Funk
Winston Brothers groove it up on “Drift” Sebastian Nagel and his band, The Winston Brothers, balance groove, melody, and space in their super-satisfying instrumental funk. Here, Sebastian runs his ’56 Gibson ES-125 (converted to lefty and souped up with ’60s DeArmond pickups) through a ’70s Fender reverb tank and a ’63 Super to play “One […]
Artists
Reinier Voet’s double-up demo
Gypsy jazz, direct from Amsterdam Reinier Voet shows us bits of “Swing 49” and the solo-guitar piece “Bagatelle Nr1,” both from “Images,” the new album by the Reinier Voet Quartet. The disc mixes his original music with tunes by Django and Monk, along with a “jazzified” version of a Hungarian traditional. His guitar is a […]
Classic Instruments
Danelectro Viscount
1961 Danelectro Viscount Preamp tubes: two 12AX7, one 6AU6 Output tubes: two 6V6GT Rectifier: 6X5 Controls: Volume, Tone, Vibrato Strength, Vibrato Speed Output: 12 watts RMS Amp nuts of yesteryear likely aspired to the delights of Fender, Vox, or Marshall, or maybe hankered after high-end creations from Mesa/Boogie or others who were pushing the envelope […]
Music
Cash Box Kings
Oscar’s Motel
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 […]
VG Approved Gear
Misa Kitara
Axe of the Future?
Misa Kitara Price: $789 Info: www.misadigital.com. The guitar synthesizer has been around for more than 30 years and made significant inroads to contemporary music, thanks to fusion heroes like Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Steve Morse, and Allan Holdsworth. The latest wrinkle is the Misa Kitara, which shifts the paradigm. Instead of a […]
Artists
Kenny Lovelace
The Killer’s Axe Man
Playing behind the Killer, you wouldn’t want to hit a wrong note. Kenny Lovelace has picked his guitar with Jerry Lee Lewis for 47 years and counting, so he must be doing something right. It wasn’t always that way, however. “The first time I played with Jerry Lee, in 1966, I was standing right next […]
Classic Instruments
Q&A With George Gruhn: Formica Pickguard on an Early Les Paul?
And Not-So-Strange Variations on an ’87 LP Standard
I’ve just completed restoring a very early Les Paul that was horribly damaged and poorly repaired, then painted black! I’m about to put it together, and am wondering if what I thought were a home-made replacement pickguard and jack plate could have been from the factory on the early models? They’re made from white Formica, […]
Artists
Steve Ripley
First Takes & Extra Takes
Ed. Note: Guitarist/producer/recording artist/guitar innovator (we could add more to that list!) Steve Ripley has passed away (January 3, 2019) at his home in Pawnee, Oklahoma after battling cancer. He was 69 (1950-20019). Most guitar players first became familiar with Ripley from the 1980s Kramer-Ripley Stereo Guitar, with a pickup where each of the six […]
Artists
Jake Shimabukuro
Ukulele Hero
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 […]
Artists
Jon Butcher
Beyond the Axis
One of the most-influential guitarists to emerge from Boston, Jon Butcher has just released his 14th album, 2Roads East. We caught up with Butcher as he prepared to tour. 2Roads East is perhaps the most reflective and soul-oriented thing you’ve done. It’s a “song” album with great guitar as opposed to a pure guitar album. […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel 064 – Luis Carlos Maldonado
“Have Guitar Will Travel” host James Patrick Regan speaks with multi-instrumentalist Luis Carlos Maldonado. Growing up in Arizona and SoCal, he took to guitar after being turned on to progressive rock by U.K. and King Crimson and encouraged by his brother, Train bassist Hector Maldonado. Like most professionals, he’s been through a lot of gear […]
Artists
Pop ’N Hiss: Led Zeppelin’s IV
Heaven Sent
It’s impossible to overstate the influence Led Zeppelin’s “untitled” fourth album – call it IV, ZoSo, Runes, Four Symbols, whatever – has had on musicians of all stripes. Released November 8, 1971, the album was a towering creative achievement that has been the subject of unequaled acclaim, speculation, and lore. Of its eight songs, “Stairway […]
Music
Paul McCartney & Wings
Band on the Run 50th Anniversary
McCartney’s 1973 classic is a post-Beatles favorite for its title cut (a #1 U.S. single) and rockin’ singles “Jet” and “Helen Wheels.” The new mixes are a departure from that condensed analog sound of the ’70s, where pop, rock, and soul would blast from AM radio as a single sheet of sound. These versions cleanly […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel – 045 Featuring Ryan Roxie
“Have Guitar Will Travel” host James Patrick Regan welcomes Ryan Roxie to the latest episode. The guitarist has enjoyed an amazing career – backing Alice Cooper, jamming with Joe Satriani, Slash, and Gilby Clarke, living the life of a rock star, and playing a Les Paul that also belonged to Mick Mars and Tracii Guns. […]
VG Approved Gear
Fender PM-2
Sitting-Room Savoir Faire
Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of favor mid-century when popular ensembles demanded the volume better provided by big-bodied dreadnoughts. The last several years, however, have seen a rebirth of the parlor segment – everything from well-built econo boxes that appear ripped […]