January 2025
Family of the late Gary Rossington wanted to do something meaningful with his guitars, and with the help of Rickey Medlocke they connected with Chicago Music Exchange CEO Andrew Yonke. Together, they devised a plan that will ensure the guitars continue to be heard and seen.
The days when a kid would grab a soldering iron and assemble their own guitar amp are largely behind us. In the ’60s, though, that’s how many an aspiring player acquired his first, like the Heathkit TA-16 Starmaker. Dave Hunter tells the story of one.
Responding to any ad in The Village Voice, Wes Beech ducked low-hanging pipes dripping with condensation on his way to audition for the Plasmatics, not knowing he was about to become part of a stage-storming, car-smashing artistic statement.
Mike Semrad’s musical roots run deep in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska, where he was a founding member of its first rock band. Through the decades and a series of bands, he has never stopped playing his prized ’57 Les Paul Custom.
We talk new music with Jerry Douglas, Mark Farner, Larkin Poe, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Michael Schenker. We also memorialize Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and stop by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the indutions of Peter Frampton and Foreigner.
By the late ’60s, Albert King was the consummate blues artist, and two albums – Born Under a Bad Sign and Live Wire/Blues Power – epitomize his work of the era. “Pop ’N Hiss” examines their massive influence on guitarists.
An amalgam of blues-rock, progressive aspirations, heavy-metal antecedents, lingering psychedelic overtones, acoustic colorations, and imaginative orchestration, Led Zeppelin’s IV is the defintion of iconic. In “Fretprints,” Wolf Marshall examines its origins and impact.
Dan Forte’s “Check This Action” pays tribute to luthiuer George Bowen.
Our quest to find new gear worth your time and money continues with our objective examinations of the Wampler Catacombs, Fractal VP5, Pinter SB1-R, PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo, and Supro Montauk 1x10.
“Hit List” tells you why it’s worth a listen to the latest from Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman with Marty Stuart, Larkin Poe, Mark Farner, CSN&Y, Ten Years After, and more.
It’s all in the January issue of Vintage Guitar!
