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Trending Now
On Things Eternal, jazz-guitar wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical journey. The album is a celebration of those who have passed on, but don’t get it twisted; Wilson understands that what they left behind is the greatest gift of all, and he honors them with […]
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1958-’59 Fender Twin Preamp tubes: one 12AY7, two 12AX7 Output tubes: four 5881 (6L6 equivalents), fixed bias Rectifier: GZ34 (5AR4) tube Controls: Volume, Volume, Treble, Bass, Middle, Presence Output: 80 watts RMS +/- Speaker: two 12” Jensen P12N Many tweed-o-philes get more excited about the small and mid-sized amps that they can crank up in […]
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Designed more than 30 years ago, the latest incarnation of Charvel’s Pro-Mod So-Cal keeps the “super” in superstrat. An eye-catching, ergonomic guitar with alder body bolted to a U-shaped, oiled-maple neck with 12″ to 16″ radius, 25.5″ scale, compound-radius fretboard, and 22 jumbo frets, it also has an ebony fretboard with dot inlays, and other […]
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Billy Bauer’s career was so steeped in tradition that he is often thought of as one of the first jazz guitarists. And while that’s true, his pioneering, progressive attitude and contribution to the artform endured for decades. His big-band time with Woody Herman’s First Herd was a precursor to his association with jazz visionary Lennie […]
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VG Approved Gear
Brown Guitar Factory Chambered Electric
Beast Mode
To use a slightly skewed metaphor, John Brown builds guitars to the beat of a different drummer. After all, who wants a custom builder without vision, churning out yet another version of a Strat or Les Paul? Brown heads Brown’s Guitar Factory in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul. He’s a third-generation instrument builder and repairer, and his […]
Artists
Shane Theriot
Out of the House
Shane Theriot’s new album, Still Motion, is more stripped-down funky “jazz trio” than the lush soul he helps create as musical director for Hall and Oates. And that’s exactly what he was looking to do. “There were multiple reasons. First, I like the space on those beautiful ECM records,” Theriot said, referencing the label Manfred […]
Artists
Steve Winwood
Voice of a Guitar Great
It would seem contradictory to describe someone as both underrated and a virtuoso, but such is the case with Steve Winwood, particularly regarding his guitar playing. • The reaction of even longtime fans when they see him perform live is invariably, “I had no idea he could play guitar like that!” But, ironically, their surprise […]
VG Approved Gear
Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II
Sustain For Days
Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II Price: $175 (list, depending on exchange rate) Contact: www.vibesware.com In the beginning, there was the E Bow, a handheld device that used a powered magnet to create infinite sustain and feedback. Then came “sustainer” pickups, which were mounted internally on a solidbody – also cool, but you lost your neck […]
Artists
Don Felder
Six-Stringed Summer Stock
Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder is spending the summer with a few friends. On an extended tour with Styx and Foreigner in a package billed as The Soundtrack of Summer, Felder is truly enjoying himself. “Since I left the Eagles, I’ve been doing 50 to 60 shows a year,” he said. “Multi-headliners, summer festivals, casinos, […]
VG Approved Gear
James Trussart SteelCaster
Rust Never Sleeps
James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully functional, gigable axes. Trussart began building violins, dulcimers, and hurdy-gurdies from metal in the late ’70s. In 2000, he switched locales from his native France to California and, subsequently, to building guitars. His most famous […]
Artists
John Notto double-up
Dirty Honey guitarist shares riffs from “Can’t Find the Brakes” John Notto used his road-dog Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul ’58 reissue on pieces of two tracks – “Won’t Take Me Alive,” and “Satisfied” from Dirty Honey’s latest album, “Can’t Find the Brakes.” Catch our review and an interview with John in the November issue. […]
Artists
John McLaughlin
50 Years in Fusion
The name John McLaughlin is synonymous with jazz-rock fusion, the genre he helped invent and sustain for the past 50 years. At the end of 2017, the guitarist will be performing a final American tour, this time with co-guitarist Jimmy Herring and John’s incredible band, the 4th Dimension. We recently checked in with the virtuoso […]
Artists
Dean DeLeo and Tom Bukovac unite on the trip the witch
Cosmic Convergence
At a glance, there’s little reason to connect a guitarist like Dean DeLeo to one like Tom Bukovac. One is ’90s-rock royalty, the other a modern-day Nashville studio legend. Strange times, though, can lead to notable things like their new (mostly) guitar instrumental album/project, Trip The Witch. One day early in the pandemic, a friend […]
Artists
Eric Johnson
Rescued Relics
For nearly 50 years, Eric Johnson has been a revered guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and vocalist whose music expands far beyond the ingrained blues roots of his Texas homeland. The multiple-Grammy nominee and winner (for the instrumental “Cliffs of Dover” from 1990’s Ah Via Musicom) is always pushing himself, and his combination of exquisite guitar tone, fleet […]
Artists
Tim Lerch
Tele Jazz Master
If you watch any of Tim Lerch’s videos online, his virtuosity is immediately apparent. What may throw you is his use of a Telecaster, an axe more closely associated with blues, country, and rock. But in Lerch’s hand, it becomes a killer jazz-blues machine, perfect for his tasty single-note runs and jaw-dropping chord improvisations. Lerch’s […]
Music
Black River Delta
Devil On The Loose
Swedish disciples of pre-World War II blues Erik Jacobs, Erik Nilsson, and Pontus Ohlsson, hauled a bunch of gear up to a remote cabin and got down to business. The result is an album so full of genuine love for the genre, it’s impossible to dismiss. Sure, the band consists of three young Swedish guys […]
Artists
Pop ’N Hiss: Bruford’s Allan Holdsworth
Landmark Fusion of One of a Kind
Jazz-rock fusion was vastly popular in the mid 1970s, but began to run out of steam as the “smooth jazz” of Spyro Gyra and Chuck Mangione simply became more lucrative. Even the superlative Weather Report had a radio hit with “Birdland.” Bill Bruford was having none of it. The former Yes and King Crimson drummer […]
Have Guitar Will Travel
Have Guitar Will Travel – 018 Featuring Luke Mossman
In the new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks to guitarist Luke Mossman about his musical upbringing and education, his love of jazz, and how he scored the gig with Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. They also preview his upcoming solo record. Please like, comment and most of all […]
VG Approved Gear
GizmoAudio’s Ripsaw and Sawmill Jr.
Just Like the First Time
Durham Electronics’ ReddVerb Price: $180 each (list) Info: www.gizmoaudio.com Most guitar players’ first pedal was a distortion/OD, often acquired after enduring the taunts from friends and/or bandmates who whisper about how their tone was “thin” and “weak.” The experience takes them down the road to experimentation; the weeks and years that follow becoming a haze […]
Artists
Eric Zolan
Funky and Blue
Guitarist Eric Zolan whips up a perfect confection of jazz, blues, and R&B in his playing, heard on his latest, Calder’s Universe. His authentic approach avoids fusion and post-modern ideas, opting instead for licks that wouldn’t be out of place on a ’60s soul-jazz record. “Calder’s Universe” is a sly mix of vintage R&B and […]