December 2019

Aerosmith co-founder Joe Perry reflects on how he was drawn to the guitar as a child, being influenced by the Beatles, Cream, and Hendrix, and his latest work with The Hollywood Vampires. We also study Charlie Christian’s 1940 Gibson ES-250, and reveal the story of Raphael Ciani – the ghostly great-uncle of NYC builders. Turning south, we dig into the roots-rock guitar scene of West Texas, including a look at three special guitars built by Ted Newman Jones. Dave Hunter shows how to record bass at your place. We offer a pictorial on the Surf Guitar 101 Convention, then pay homage to tube-amp legend Aspen Pittman and guitarist Neal Casal.

No other mag talks new music like Vintage Guitar! This month, we rap with Scott Gorham, Michael Schenker, Dudley Taft, and Sunny War.

This month’s “Pop ’N Hiss” classic vinyl column features Iggy & the Stooges Raw Power, Wolf Marshall’s “Fretprints” breaks down three key licks in the Pearl Jam catalog, and our gear reviewers offer honest feedback on EarthQuaker’s Rainbow Machine Polyphonic Pitch Mesmerizer, the Electro-Harmonix Attack Decay Reverse Simulator, Xotic’s Super Sweet Booster, the D’Angelico Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford, Eastwood’s TB64, the Furch Red Master Choice, the de Lisle Quadralux Reverb, and Tagima’s Stella.

When it’s time to chill with great new music, start by reading our reviews of the latest from Paul McCartney, Marc Bonilla, Pat Travers, the Allman Brothers, Bad Company, CCR, Nat Turner Rebellion, Ronnie Earl, more!