December 2023

The new album by iconic rocker Brian Setzer highlights his rockabilly fire while delivering a few surprises. It’s what a dude does!  We also talk new music with Carl Verheyen, Sherly Bailey, Roman Bulakhov, Dom Martin, Scott Holt, Lance Lopez, and Trevor Rabin.

We take a deep dive into the life and career of A-Team guitarist/A-list producer Jerry Kennedy. A session player at 13, he later guided some of the most-enduring recordings by everyone from Roger Miller to Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis to Reba McEntire.

Austin nightclub impresario Clifford Antone was also a musician and collector who gathered early Teles and Strats, custom-color Fenders, and Gibsons from the ’50s. His favorite, though, was a ’52 Precision Bass that he used to jam with a long list of blues legends.

Late-run Park amps were often testing grounds for experimenting with Marshall circuits – hotter preamp stages, different output-stage configurations, etc. The 100-watt Park Model 1229 profiled this month has a tone stage unlike anything in Marshalls of the day.

Wolf Marshall’s “Fretprints” keys on vital licks played by Randy Rhoads on Ozzy Osbourne’s Tribute, Dan Forte’s “Check This Action” examines players who blur the boundaries of jazz, and “Pop ’N Hiss” recalls the attitude behind The Black Crowes’ Shake Your Money Maker.

Need stocking stuffers? Our gear-review staff tells you why Drybell, Keeley, Xotic, Empress, Guild, Paul Hartmanny, Fender, and Tone King all offer great choices, no matter if it’s a holiday gift for yourself or that player in your life.

And of course our “Hit List” review staff is here to recommend great music to freshen your listening days and nights, including new stuff from Brian Setzer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Scofield, Coco Montoya, Little Feat, Geezer Butler, Fleetwood Mac, and more!

It’s all in the December issue of Vintage Guitar!