Over the course of his long career, Vince Gill has been a session artist, a member of Pure Prairie League, a solo giant and, today, a member of the Eagles.

And he’s done it largely with a range of Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster electric guitars, as well as a nice selection of Gibson and Martin acoustics.

Given his somewhat infrequent use of a Les Paul, Gill never felt a need to add a vintage ‘Burst to his collection. But a sad and deeply personal twist of events brought one into his life.

“I bought a ’59 Les Paul from my brother-in-law from my first marriage [to country singer Janis Oliver],” Gill told Guitar Aficionado in 2017. “We were great friends, and he owned this great ’59 sunburst since 1959.

“He’d played it his whole life but got sick a couple of years ago. He called me and said, ‘There’s not much they can do for me. I’m probably not gonna make it. You’ve always been my favorite guitar player. Will you buy my Les Paul?’

“I didn’t have a sunburst Les Paul in my collection, and I previously couldn’t justify the expense because I don’t play a Les Paul that much, But this one came along and I said, ‘There you go,’” Gill continued. “I got the one I was supposed to have. My friend played it for 40 years, and now it gets to live on and still make music.”

The 'Burst occupies pride of place in Gill's collection, which is largely housed in his home studio. Of his collecting habit, Gill, with a chuckle, told Guitar Player in 2022, “I’m sure I’ve got a couple of hundred guitars, but I don’t have a boat or multiple houses or cars. I wouldn’t say it’s out of control, but it’s borderline.”

Gill — who has earned more CMA Awards than any other artist — will take home a once-in-a-lifetime honor on November 19 when the CMA presents him with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. The country legend will join past recipients like Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, in recognition of having “attained the highest degree of recognition in Country Music,” as well as for his humanitarian efforts and philanthropy.

"Vince embodies the very best of what country music stands for," Sarah Trahern, CMA's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "He’s a true trailblazer, one who gives back to the community, honors the roots of our genre, and even now, continues to share his talent with fans across the globe."

Gill is currently casting a long glance over his 50-year music career by curating a series of EPS, titled 50 Years From Home. The first disc, I Gave You Everything I Had, was issued October 17, with others scheduled for release over the coming year.

Through iconic gigs with Aerosmith, as a solo artist and with the Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry has been known for playing his red 10-string B.C. Rich Bich, his oft-favored and ever-changing Frankensteined Burned Strat and his Gibson "Billie" semi-hollowbody guitars, to name a few.

However, one electric guitar from Perry's 600-plus-strong collection stands out: a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Burst. While the guitar has meaning, if you've seen Perry perform live, you'll know he's not one to stagnate on one guitar for more than a song or two. "I always buy stuff that I know I'm going to use or that looks interesting," he says.

That checks out, as dozens of oddballs reside within his collection. "Some of those guitars might not be the hippest guitars in the world, or whatever, but it's always inspiring to pick up something that's got a different sound to it," he says. "You tend to play differently. That's where the ideas come from."

Returning to the 'Burst in question, Perry first came upon the guitar in the early ’70s after trading a '60s Guild Starfire, for it. The guitar stuck with him throughout the decade, during which time he wrote He was thick as thieves with the ’Burst until the early ‘80s, when he sold the beloved axe to a music shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

That's not surprising, as Perry admits to clearing proverbial decks when he left Aerosmith in '79 and after divorced his first wife in the early ’80s. The ’59 'Burst was just another casualty. What's more, Perry was searching for new sounds and wanted to avoid being chained to a guitar so closely related to his image onstage and in the studio with Aerosmith.

But it didn't take long for regret to set in. "There's a fair amount of guitars I don't have anymore that I wish I did," Perry says.

When looking back at the story of Joe Perry's '59 Les Paul, one has to understand that when Perry sold it, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Ace Frehley admits to doing the same thing around the same time, although the former Kiss six-stringer was funding a gambling trip, not rebuilding his life.

So there are stark differences. And who could blame Perry for wanting a change and some extra cash in his pocket as he embarked on a solo career?

Another point to consider is that while 'Bursts were going for decent dollars in the early ’80s, they sure weren't going for the six-figure numbers that late-1950s Les Paul Standards command these days, let alone one played by the guitarist of a legendary band.

As a result, Joe’s guitar was long gone by the time regret set in. When Aerosmith regrouped and rolled into the '90s on a wave of success via Permanent Vacation, Pump and Get a Grip, he had no idea where his favored 'Burst was.

Little could did he imagine that his guitar had made an appearance on MTV in a music video for Guns N' Roses' "November Rain.”

By then, Perry was deep into his search for the guitar. "We were starting to make some money after the band got rolling again," Perry says. "I thought It would be great to track down a couple of guitars that I'm missing. I started making phone calls around Boston and looking around.”

Remarkably, it was his bandmate Brad Whitford who hipped Perry to the news that his ’Burst had landed with another famous owner.

"I remember being in the studio, telling my guitar tech, 'I'm trying to track down my Les Paul,’ when Brad walked over,” Perry explains. “Brad said, ’Your Les Paul? I know where it is.’ He pulled out a guitar magazine with Slash's collection.

“And there it was. That's when I found out Slash had it."

Ironically, Aerosmith had shared the stage with Guns N' Roses in '92. In fact, Perry and Slash were pals. As a result, the guitarist felt emboldened to ask his friend for his guitar back. "I called him," Perry says. "I told him, 'Hey, I'll pay whatever you paid for it.'"

Slash wasn't having it. "He begged me not to ask. He said, 'Please don't ask me that.' But I'd call him every once in a while, just to see how he was, and I'd ask him, just as a joke.” Perry says, "I understood. If I had one of Jeff [Beck]'s guitars, I wouldn't wanna give it up. I definitely understood how he felt about it."

While most of Perry's pleas were joking in nature, the pressure of owning the iconic ’Burst was too much for Slash and had caused an unspoken rift between the two guitarists. "He wasn't around," Perry says. "I tried getting in touch with him, and I realized he didn't want to be asked anymore. It was getting in the way of our friendship."

So Perry mended things with Slash. "I said, 'I'm not going to ask you anymore — not even in kidding,’” he explains.

The 'Burst remained with Slash into 2000. By then, the guitarist was four years out of Guns N’ Roses and deep into his solo career, with his ’59 ’Burst in hand.

But while Perry had stopped asking Slash about the guitar, little did he know his wife, Billie, had taken up the cause. Slash and Perry shared the same lawyer, and she’d been communicating through him to Slash, trying to get the ’59 ’Burst back in Joe’s hands.

By then, after years of owning the guitar and building a collection, Slash was ready to part with the guitar. Joe’s 50th birthday bash was coming up and it seemed the perfect time to reunite him with his instrument.

And Slash had a plan.

Perry had hired Cheap Trick to perform at the bash. “They asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said, 'I want to play a set with you guys. I want to play your songs,’” Joe recalls. “I love those guys.

“So I got up to play a short set with Cheap Trick. And that's when they handed me the guitar."

Just like that, for the first time in nearly two decades, Perry was reunited with his long-lost '59 Les Paul ‘Burst. "I played the set with that guitar," he says. "It was an amazing night, I'll tell you. But I mean… I got my guitar back. I couldn't thank Slash enough. And I got to play with Cheap Trick!"

In the years since, Perry hasn't let the infamous ‘Burst go. The odds are that the guitar will be with him until the end, which is fair. Even though it's not his main guitar, the ‘Burst’s legend will be forever tied to Perry's towering legacy, and vice versa.

At 74, Perry remains a guitar junkie. His collection continues to grow, ebb and flow, and it is always functional. But no matter the space between plug and plays, the iconic ’59 Aerosmith 'Burst remains. Over the years, its legend has grown, with Gibson's Custom Shop even producing faithful recreations of Perry's prized Les Paul.

Though nothing compares to the original, which reminds Perry that there are other guitars he let get away. "I wish I had a few of the pieces I lost at the end of the '70s," he admits. "But I still have some stuff, like custom Aerosmith amps and a lot of old foot pedals.

"There's a fair amount of guitars that were sold or stolen. I don't have the guitar, the [early-70s Fender] Strat, that I played 'Walk This Way' on; I wish I did. But I've got my Les Paul back, thanks to my wife, Billie, and thanks to Slash."

There’s no arguing that the EVH Frankenstein has great looks, sound, and playability, but with its loud red-white-and-black striped colorway, there was no escaping its ties to Eddie Van Halen when others slung one over their shoulder.

Recognizing that some players prefer a little subtlety, EVH broke from the striped tradition when it made the instrument available with relic’d and monotone colorways last year. Those finishes essentially separated the pre-existing color palette, with red, white, and black one-color models released.

The firm has now gone one step further by offering the iconic axe in fresh drips that belie its heritage via Vintage Sunburst, Blueburst, and Silverburst finishes.

Beneath their new coats of paint, the guitars still carry the essence of their predecessors – that’s to say their spec is exactly the same as last year’s models, which in turn echo Eddie’s original creation.

That means the neck pickup is a mere prop, and the middle pickup nought but a gaping wound. The only pickup it provides then is a high-output Wolfgang bridge humbucker that’s carefully designed to “nail Eddie’s classic tone.”

However, those slots can be used for functioning pickups if players feel a partner to the Eddie-esque growl of its humbucker is warranted.

After all, as Joe Satriani said when modding his EVH Frankenstein for the ongoing Best of All Worlds tour, Eddie was a modder and would have reveled in seeing what players did with his six-string canvases.

The Frankentein’s wooden skeleton is comprised of a worn-in, relic’d basswood body blended with an EVH modified C backshape-profile svelte quartersawn maple neck. The maple theme continues to its fretboard, which serves up 22 jumbo frets and a 12-16” radius.

All that, EVH says, amounts to a guitar that delivers “unmatched tone with lightning-fast playability.”

In no surprise to anyone, Eddie Van Halen’s innovative D-Tuna Floyd Rose tremolo and whammy bar are also in place for divebombs and elephant tricks.

The D-Tuna gizmo juts out of the sixth string saddle, helping guitarists effortlessly swap between standard and drop-D tunings without needing to adjust the floating bridge every time.

Other hardware specs include a brass tremolo block, a 1.69” locking nut, and EVH Gotoh tuners.

EVH and Fender are no strangers to making scarily accurate Frankenstein replicas. Fender's 2007 copy proved so convincing the man himself mistook it for his original.

Eddie's son, Wolfgang, would later use the original guitar on his debut album. He admitted that "it’s kind of terrifying holding it," but pushed on as he wanted to honor his father.

The new EVH Frankenstein Relic Series models are limited edition and fetch a reasonable $1,549 each.

Head to EVH Gear for a closer look.

Gibson has released a new 1959 Les Paul replica to commemorate the late Jeff Beck’s time in The Yardbirds, but only 130 will be made. 

Today, Jeff Beck is remembered as a formidable and highly influential electric guitar player, predominantly as a solo artist, but it was his time in The Yardbirds that helped launch his career. 

The band had a matchless production line of next-best-thing musicians, with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page also cutting their teeth in the band.   

As such, the company's latest history-honoring release focuses on those early days of Beck’s career, with the ‘59 ‘Yardburst’ a faithful recreation of the guitar he plied his trade with in the Yardbirds. 

Mirroring the specs of its progenitor, it offers a one-piece lightweight mahogany body with its Murphy Lab-aged tops and Dark Cherry Sunburst finish aiming to replicate the appearance of the original as closely as possible.  

There’s also a '50s rounded C-profile mahogany neck, 22-fret Indian Rosewood fingerboard, Custombucker pickups complete with white bobbins – a key feature of Beck's guitar – and a black three-ply pickguard. 

Each of the 130 models in this limited run are handcrafted by the artisans at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, offering a unique way for fans to celebrate Beck’s potent legacy.  

Though its release comes 18 months after Beck’s passing at 78, his wife Sandra Beck has explained that he was involved with the project’s early steps. 

“Jeff was enormously proud to have owned the original of this guitar,” she says. “He was aware and fully supportive of the amazing job and love that Gibson Custom provided to create this instrument and would have hoped that this guitar would give hours of pleasure to those who play it.”

Each instrument ships in a specially aged Lifton hardshell case, with memorabilia celebrating Beck’s Yardbirds legacy and illustrious solo career.  

Beck would continue to play his beloved ‘59 Les Paul after parting ways with The Yardbirds in 1966. It played a key role in the early Jeff Beck Group albums before he transitioned to an Olympic White Fender Stratocaster. 

His 2014 Custom Shop Strat has recently been seen in the hands of John Mayer, playing it during Dead & Company’s ongoing Las Vegas residency at The Sphere. 

The Gibson Custom Jeff Beck ‘YardBurst’ 1959 Les Paul Standard is available now for $9,999.

Head to Gibson for more information. 

Gibson has unveiled an exclusive Dark Purple Burst finish for three of its electric guitar templates, and its available only via Gibson.com and the Gibson Garage.

The striking, semi-transparent finish has been given to new-look versions of the firm's ES-335, SG Modern and Les Paul Modern Studio guitars, each of which seek to balance vintage, heritage-honoring features with modern appointments.   

The instruments are all handcrafted in Nashville, Tennessee, with the release coming after Gibson gave its '50s and '60s Les Paul Standards the same elegant finish in September last year. 

First up, the Dark Purple Burst ES-335 references the model's near-70-year heritage with specs such as an acrylic dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard and a rounded C-profile mahogany neck.

There are T-Type humbuckers, paired with a hand-wired control assembly, that look to deliver the “timeless versatility” the guitar has become famous for. A lightweight ABR-1 bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece combo is paired with Vintage Deluxe tuners with Keystone buttons.

As one would expect from such a name, Gibson has merged history with modernity with the SG Modern. This model's mahogany body has been treated to an AA figured maple top, with a mahogany neck and ebony, 24-fret compound radius fingerboard also making the cut. 

Meanwhile, an asymmetrical SlimTaper neck has been chosen for “fast and silky access to the highest frets”. 

The SG Modern draws its “powerful tones” from Burstbucker Pro Alnico 5 humbuckers, with split-coil tones harnessed from its push-pull Top Hat knobs. Other premium features include genuine mother-of-pearl inlays and Grover Rotomatic tuners.  

Last but certainly not least is the Dark Purple Burst Les Paul Modern Studio – perhaps the most contemporary-minded guitar of the trio. 

The headline here is its weight-relieved mahogany body and maple cap, which aim to counter the Les Paul’s traditionally back-aching ancestry. 

Its bound, compound-radius ebony fretboard seeks to continue that theme with “improved action and playability,” while a modern contoured heel looks to deliver improved upper-fret access. 

Other modern features include coil tapping, phase control, and pure bypass switching, which works alongside 490R and 498T humbucker pickups. 

While its purple peers offer gloss finishes, the Les Paul Modern Studio comes with satin finish.

The ES-335 ($3,499), SG Modern ($2,499), and Les Paul Modern Studio ($1,999) are available to order exclusively via Gibson.com and the Gibson Garage.  

Head to Gibson for more information. 

This interview was first published in the June 2001 issue of Guitar Player.

Historically, successful rock guitarists have often been larger-than-life celebrities. But for Tool guitarist Adam Jones, staying as unidentified as the Loch Ness Monster is not only welcome, it's part of his master plan. He and bandmates Maynard James Keenan (vocals), Danny Carey (drums), and Justin Chancellor (bass) have never appeared in any of their videos, they rarely grant interviews, and they frequently perform on stages so dimly lit that their faces are masked in shadows.

“We've gone to great lengths to stay pretty anonymous,” Jones admits one afternoon from the recreation room of Larrabee Studios in L.A., where Tool mixed their new album, Lateralus.

Jones isn't a shredder, a pop guitarist, a jazz man, an avant-garde iconoclast, or a blues player, but his performances often include elements from all those genres. His melodies are oblique, his riffs angular, and his passages unpredictable. He'll pluck a shimmering arpeggio one moment, segue into a droning mantra, and then tear into a distorted barrage of wailing chords.

Coming off a three-year hiatus (due to a legal battle with Tool's former record label), Lateralus shows Jones at his most dynamic and expressive as he conjures an array of bizarre licks and alluring tones. An exercise in concentration and tenacity, the album abounds with unconventional meters and abrupt rhythm shifts. None of the tracks are under six minutes, and most are over eight.

Tool were hugely influential to alt-metal bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Incubus, and Linkin Park, and if Lateralus is any indication, Jones and friends will likely be a shining beacon for the next frontier, as well.

Your playing is very striking. It's muscular at times, and delicate at others, but it's never catchy in a conventional pop sense. In fact, it's very hard to hum a Tool guitar part.

“I've never wanted to be a conventional guitarist in any way. When I started playing guitar, my heroes were all about riffs, not leads. Then I got into more experimental players, such as David Sylvian, Robert Fripp, and Steve Howe. But I also liked Devo and Brian Eno. 

“At the time, it seemed like everyone else was playing lead guitar, and I just got sick of it. I never went down that path myself. You're right about my parts not being catchy, though. If I don't have a guitar when I'm talking to Maynard or Danny about a part, I'll try to hum it, and even I can't do it.”

When do you come up with your best passages?

“The best guitar parts I write come from noodling. I'll sit at home watching TV with a guitar in my hands, and just start playing a riff over and over. It's weird. A lot of the stuff I do comes from blues scales.”

Yet nothing you play sounds like blues.

“Well, my stuff usually starts off as these 4/4 things based on traditional guitar riffs, and then they morph into something that's kind of way out there. But it's good to have a launching point to evolve from.”

When you were crafting parts for Lateralus, what were you striving to accomplish artistically?

“I think visually when I play guitar. I look at each song as a little film. I like to start with an opening shot, and then segue into different scenes. I like to drift off in the middle, go somewhere totally unexpected, and then have everything resolve itself in the end. It's a whole experimental journey.”

The visual and experimental aspects of your style often lead you to construct parts that don't sound like guitars.

“I just do what I do best, which is try to take Tool to the next level. I'm always thinking of something new I can add in. I like to do volume swells with delay to create ambient sounds. I'll scrape the strings of my guitar with various things, and I place electronic devices over the pickups to get weird sounds.”

What kind of electronic devices?

“I get a lot of cool sounds out of an Epilady. It uses a spinning wire – almost like a guitar string – to rip the hair off a woman's legs. I place it over the pickups and control the speed of the motor by keeping my thumb on the coil. 

“I got the idea from Dave Navarro, who I once saw perform a solo with a vibrator when he was in Jane's Addiction. I thought that was so cool. And then I started listening to German industrial bands like Einsturzende Neubauten, who use crazy stuff on their instruments to take their sound to another place. So I'll buy a bunch of toys, rip the guts out, and use the motors to make some noises.”

You also use alternate tunings.

“I use drop-D because I like to have an evil tone, and I can get a lot of weird sounds and textures by simply moving my fingers around. After I had been playing drop-D for a while, I started doing drop-B, and then, on the song Parabola, I tried drop-B/E. It's normal 440 tuning, but the E string is dropped to B and the A string is dropped to E. It's even more evil-sounding than drop-D.”

How did you come across the drop-B/E tuning?

“We did Prison Sex [from the band's 1993 album, Undertow] in drop-B, and I just wondered how the E would sound next to the low B. That was a long time ago, before everyone got excited about 7-string guitars.”

Do you use any other tunings?

“I've tried DADGAD and tuning all the strings to the same note, but I always go back to the dropped tunings.”

Do you layer guitar parts to get such a huge sound?

“Not very much. There are a couple of songs on the album where I overdubbed a few layers, but for the most part, it's just one guitar. You see, I want to be able to pull off everything I do in the studio onstage. I usually do one pass routed through different amps, or two passes where I'm playing the exact same notes to make a part more powerful.

“I plug into three amps at the same time – even when I play live. For what I want, I don't think one amp would do the trick. One amp is for a solid-state sound, one for more of a non-master-volume tone, and the third fills in the bottom with a cardboard crunch. 

“If you used the amps individually, you'd find that one doesn't have much low end, and one doesn't have enough high end. But they're really good together because you're getting three different things at once, and you can hear all of that in the sound. That's why it sounds so big.”

What kinds of amps are they?

“I use a modified non-master-volume Marshall bass head and a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, which I swapped out with a Sunn Beta Lead for the recording. But my favorite amp is a Diezel, which is a four-channel tube amp from Germany. It's awesome.”

Are you still using Gibsons?

“I have some Gibson silverburst Les Paul Customs – they made those guitars from '79 to '81 – and I dedicate one for the tuned-down songs. When we're recording, I'll use a Gibson SG if I want to play something softer.”

Do you switch between pickup settings very much?

“I do sometimes when we're recording, but live, I just use the treble pickup. I turn the other one off, then I can use my pickup selector to kill my guitar sound real quick. When I use the tone knob, I either turn it all the way up or all the way down, and I leave it that way.”

How about acoustic guitars?

“I used a Guild that I borrowed from a friend for a couple of things on the record, but when I'm playing with the band I usually want to feel the power of an electric guitar. If I want a softer tone, I'll just turn down or play with a lighter touch.”

What pedals are you using?

“I like to keep it really simple. I use an Ibanez digital delay and flanger, a Boss EQ pedal, and a Dunlop 535Q wah. I don't use the wah in an obvious, '70s porno-movie way. I use it for transitions and flavors – it's good for subtle changes in tone, and it's a big part of my sound. There's wah on nearly every song on the new record.”

Do you use the same setup live as in the studio?

“Making a Tool record is not like making Sgt. Pepper's. I'm comfortable with having the same sound live and in the studio. In fact, I'm not comfortable playing something that couldn't be easily reproduced onstage – even if it sounds great. 

“I get the best takes when I'm just using my usual gear, because I'm more at ease. That's really important when you're totally under the microscope in the studio. Every little mistake matters, so you want to make yourself as comfortable as possible.”

When did you first pick up the guitar?

“We always had a guitar sitting in our house. My dad was self-taught, and he showed me some chords. Then my brother and I would jam together and make really bad music. Later on, I went to high school with Tom Morello, and we started a band together.”

What did you call yourself and what was that experience like?

“It was called the Electric Sheep. I played bass and he played guitar. When I joined the band, I was the best person in it because Tom had just started playing. But when Tom went away to college, he started practicing and practicing. When he came back, he blew me away. He was too good for me! [Laughs]”

Have you had any formal musical training?

“I played violin when I was a kid, and I can't tell you how many times someone tried to kick my ass while I was walking home from school. My violin case usually prevented my head from smacking really hard against the pavement! But I didn't let that stop me, because I really liked playing, and I had a good teacher. He played Monty Python music for me, and did these really absurd things. He made me appreciate that music could be serious and fun.

“One time, we had a recital for the parents, and just before we went on, he gave us all toy guns, and said, ‘Okay, at this particular point, I want you to stand up and start shooting at the other side of the orchestra.’ That kind of thing affected me a lot, and I think I brought that love for the bizarre into Tool.”

Most of the songs on Lateralus are more than eight minutes long – which is unusual in today's marketplace of easily digestible pop. Do you ever worry about going on too long and losing your listeners?

“When I was a kid, I never thought once about whether a song was too long. Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd and King Crimson did these huge, epic things, and when they were done, I always wanted to hear more. 

“Tool have never compromised the length of a song just because we're concerned about what people want to hear. We just go with how we feel. That's why we won't do edits for radio – they corrupt the song. We're only concerned about getting from one place in the song to the next, and then to the end. At that point we ask, ‘Well, did it resolve itself or not?’”

How is writing an eight-minute epic different from writing a three-minute pop song?

“I don't think I could write a three-minute pop song! What we're doing isn't pop music. It's not the priority of this band to be radio-friendly. If it takes three minutes to express an idea, fine, but if it takes 20 minutes, then that's what it takes. 

“It's about how a song feels. There's a lot of jamming involved when we compose, and a lot of scrutiny and tearing something apart and putting it back together. We explore as many paths as we can for a song, just so we know we've chosen all the right ways.”

When Tool formed in 1989, you were working in Hollywood as a special effects designer on films such as Predator, Edward Scissorhands, and Jurassic Park. How did you divide your time?

“I thought, ‘Here's my job working on special effects for movies, and here's my hobby playing guitar.’ I met Maynard through a friend of mine that he was dating, and we became good friends. He played me a tape of a joke band he was in back on the East Coast, and I went, ‘Maynard, you sing good!’ I kept bugging him to start a band on the side with me – just for fun.

“Danny lived downstairs from Maynard, and he didn't want to play with us. Then we had a practice session, and the guy who was supposed to drum for us didn't show up. So Danny felt sorry for us, and agreed to play. He said, ‘Well, I'll sit in on the sessions, but that's it.’ And he sat in and went, ‘Wow, we should jam again.’ We started rehearsing a couple of times a week, and pretty soon Tool became an actual band.”

When Zoo offered the band a record deal in 1991, you quit working in Hollywood to focus on the band. Was that a tough decision?

“It wasn't hard. Even though we all had steady jobs, when we got signed we said, ‘Okay, well let's give this a try.’ That's how I look at life. It's like you're surfing – you grab a wave and try to ride it as long as you can. And if you fall off, you can try to grab the same wave or go catch a different one. 

“It was a little frustrating to have my parents going, ‘What are you thinking?’ But I loved music, and I wanted to give this an honest shot. I'm glad we did.”

Tool reached their peak in the late '90s at a time when bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were ruling the charts. Most of your former peers have broken up – how have Tool managed to stay together?

“Maybe because we don't take ourselves too seriously. When we started the band, I don't think any of us were saying, ‘We're going to work real hard and get signed.’ When we first got an offer, we all laughed and kind of blew it off. We've kept that attitude throughout. No one has allowed what we've done to go to his head, and everything we do still has a ring of comic relief to it. But beyond that, it's the respect we have for each other that makes it all worthwhile.

“The four of us click so well when we play. There's no real formula, it's just the chemistry of the whole band. And as long as we continue to enjoy playing together, we will. The minute that ends, Tool will end, as well.”

On this day, in 1964, the Rolling Stones made their historical debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The band kicked off their appearance on live national television to rapturous applause with a rendition of Chuck Berry’s Around and Around (originally the flip side to his 1958 Johnny B. Goode single).

Later in the show, the Stones performed their Time Is On My Side single. It was already creeping up the Billboard Hot 100 charts by the time the band appeared. It eventually peaked at number 6 the following month. It was the Stones' first hit on American soil as the British Invasion got underway following the Beatles’ record-breaking appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show earlier in February that year (when an estimated 73 million Americans tuned in to watch). 

As is obvious from the video, the audience struggles to contain themselves and Sullivan has to ask for quiet several times when trying to introduce them. In fact, CBS got many complaints after the broadcast and Ed Sullivan is said to have declared: “I promise you they’ll never be back on our show. It took me 17 years to build this show and I’m not going to have it destroyed in a matter of weeks.” 

The Stones’ manager tried to change Sullivan’s mind, but Ed wrote back before he would even consider booking them again, "I would like to learn from you, whether your young men have reformed in the matter of dress and shampoo.” 

But for guitar players, The Rolling Stones’ appearance is most notable for Keith Richards’ use of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard. According to Gibson’s Head of Product Development, Mat Koehler, this was “the shot heard around the world,” that eventually brought the now iconic ‘Burst to the fore of the electric guitar world.

GP spoke to Richard Henry, a UK-based guitar dealer who has traded numerous ‘Bursts over the years, including the famous ‘Greeny’ Les Paul Standard. Now owned by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett the same guitar once belonged to guitar heroes Peter Green and Gary Moore.

He has also crossed paths with the infamous ‘Keith ‘Burst’ – a guitar that has passed through the hands of many a guitar legend over the decades…

Speaking of Richards’ old axe Henry told us: “The previous owner was a guy called John Bowen, who traded it in at Selmers [music store in London]. Keith bought it from there and famously used it on The Ed Sullivan Show in ’64.

“Later [in 1966] Clapton used it at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Jimmy Page also used it in the studio. Ian Stewart, the Stones’ Road Manager, sold it to Mick Taylor who used it with the Bluesbreakers. Taylor brought it back into the Stones’ camp when he joined the band. There’s footage of him playing it at Hyde Park [in 1969.]

The rumors are it either got stolen at the Marquee [Club in London], or it got stolen in France at Villa Nellcôte. It then eventually ended up in the hands of Cosmo Verrico from the Heavy Metal Kids. He had it for a short while and then sold it to [UFO and Whitesnake guitarist] Bernie Marsden.

“Bernie had it for about a week and flipped it. Later it went to a guy called Mike Jopp who owned it for many years. Dave Brewis at Rock Stars Guitars sold it for Mike to an American investor. I think it currently resides in a private collection in New York.

“Someone asked me what I thought was the most historically important ‘Burst. I said it’s not Jimmy Page’s. It’s not Peter Green’s [Greeny]. It’s not Mike Bloomfield’s. It’s not Eric Clapton’s. And it’s not Jeff Beck’s. It’s Keith Richards’ because he was the first pop star to use a ‘Burst.”

Elsewhere on the show, Brian Jones plays a prototype Vox MK III “Teardrop” guitar  and Bill Wyman plays his trusty Framus Star Bass. 

Keith Richards is interviewed in the current issue of Guitar Player, onsale now and available to buy here.

The Gibson Les Paul Standard of 1958-1960 is commonly considered one of the most valuable standard-production guitars ever made. Drill down, though, and you can make a good case for the pickups used on those instruments as the most valuable and most desirable single component ever featured on an electric guitar. 

These pickups are, of course, the hallowed “Patent Applied For” (PAF) humbuckers, which not only formed the template for the majority of full-sized humbucking pickups made over the past five and a half decades, but are also still regarded by aficionados as being the most sonically exalted pickups ever known to man.

Whether or not they justify the outlay, a good pair of original PAFs made between 1957 and early 1962 (the span during which the PAF was manufactured by Gibson for guitars) will cost you somewhere in the region of $4,000 to $10,000 on the used market today, which is a lot of money for two Alnico magnets, four plastic bobbins, two metal base plates and about a mile and a half of very thin wire. 

Is the PAF’s purported “magic” just hype, the inflated elitism brought on by the laws of supply and demand? The latter might influence these high prices, as it always does, but most guitarists who have spent time with a good set of PAFs, in a good guitar, will tell you that there’s truly nothing quite like them, despite the excellent and ever-improving efforts of several new pickup manufacturers.

In 1955, Gibson president Ted McCarty tasked engineers Seth Lover and Walter Fuller with developing a hum-rejecting pickup. The resultant hum-free design reconfigured the basic ingredients of Gibson’s single-coil P-90 into a dual-coil unit, in which two similar but reverse-wound coils with opposite magnetic polarities were placed side-by-side and wired together in series. 

As a result, the configuration rejected much of the hum that single-coil pickups can produce – which is negated when the signals from two “mirror-image” coils are summed together – but passed along all of the guitar tone.

In addition to their hum-rejection, the double-coil pickups’ side-by-side coil positioning also produced a warm, rich sound that can often be fuller than that of the average single-coil pickup, even one (like Gibson’s P-90) that contains the exact same amount of wire in its single coil as is used in the humbucker’s two coils together. 

The engineers also added a thin metal cover made of nickel silver (aka “German silver”), an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel, which further reduced electrostatic interference.

Creations made in the first five or six years of the new pickup’s existence became known as PAFs because of the “Patent Applied For” decal that Gibson affixed to their bottoms from the time of their first appearances in the Les Paul Model goldtop and Les Paul Custom in 1957 (the very first Gibson humbuckers, some with three coils, were used in lap-steel guitars before that, and had no decal). 

It’s worth noting that Gibson was not the first company to develop the humbucking concept, but was the first to apply it successfully to a widely produced electric guitar, just ahead of Gretsch’s implementation of the Filter’ Tron in 1957. 

Gibson was, in fact, granted its patent in July of 1959, but either decided to use up old stickers for another year and a half, or resisted putting new “Patent No” stickers on the pickups to keep competitors from searching out the file at the U.S. Patent Office (the stickers eventually applied mid-way through 1962 carried the number awarded to a bridge patent).

Given the PAF’s simple ingredients, wherein lies the magic? Lover purportedly spec’d Alnico V for the pickup’s single bar magnet, which was positioned at the bottom of the coils between the six adjustable polepieces in one coil and six fixed steel slugs in the other. But Gibson is said to have used Alnico II, III, IV and V somewhat indiscriminately from 1956 to ’61, depending on what was available, and the sound and feel of these pickups can vary somewhat as a result. 

Specs also called for 5,000 turns of 42 AWG plain-enamel-coated wire per coil, but most PAFs actually have unevenly wound coils (as revealed by their resistance readings), as well as considerable variances in the total numbers of turns, and the rough patterns of the windings. 

That mismatch between coils can attribute a certain “bite” and added harmonic texture to the guitar tone, which is a big part of the hallowed PAF sound. The fact that these early humbuckers also were not wax-potted further enhances their complexity and overtone content. 

Such inconsistencies mean that any two original PAFs will likely sound quite different, and resistance readings of anywhere from slightly under 7k Ω to around 9k Ω (in some rare extremes) also tell you that their perceived output and the ratio of bass, midrange and treble will also differ wildly.

Put together these and a handful of other variables – the precise metal that the polepieces and base plates were made from, for example, as well as the fine-points of other minor components – and a good PAF would seem easy enough to reproduce. Yet most players who have used them extensively agree that the best modern efforts can come close, but rarely totally nail “that sound.”

Part way through 1961, Gibson became more consistent in its use of Alnico V magnets. The length of the single magnet in each pickup was also reduced slightly, from 2 1/2 inches to 2 3/8 inches – a seemingly minor change, but significant to collectors. 

Coil winding also became somewhat more consistent around this time, although resistance readings of pickups from 1961-’63 can still vary quite a bit. 

These were the same ingredients still in use when the “Patent No 2,737,842” stickers hit the base plates in 1962, so these early “Pat No” pickups are no different from late PAF pickups other than in the thin water-slide decal that adorns them. 

A more reddish looking polyurethane wire replaced the purplish plain-enamel wire in 1963, and this generally denotes the end of the “golden age” of Gibson humbuckers, although the pickups that followed throughout the rest of the ’60s are still well-regarded.

To taste the legendary tones of which great PAFs are capable of, dip into Eric Clapton’s playing on John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton from 1966, much of Paul Kossoff’s early work with Free, Michael Bloomfield’s post-Telecaster playing of the late ’60s, or seek out any of the contemporary players of the past several years who have applied these hallowed hunks of magnet and wire to their art: from Mark Knopfler to Joe Bonamassa to Slash. 

And be aware that these pickups were loaded into all of Gibson’s humbucker-carrying guitars between 1957 and early ’62, not just the Les Paul, although PAFs used in some fully hollow archtop-electrics with narrower string spacings – such as the Byrdland or L-5 – will have a narrower pole spacing in the neck position, and sometimes in both positions.

“Do you remember when you got your magic Les Paul?”

So asked Andy Ellis of Peter Green in the November 2000 issue of Guitar Player. The guitar in question was none other than Green’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, a legendary instrument that the Fleetwood Mac founder used to write and record many of the group’s seminal blues cuts, including “Black Magic Woman,” “Oh Well” and “The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown).”

Green’s Les Paul was considered “magic” for its out-of-phase sound, a nasal tonality missing from the typical Les Paul repertoire. 

Oddly, Green didn’t think much of the assessment.

“I never had a magic one,” he replied to Ellis. “Mine wasn’t magical... It might have looked similar to others from a distance, but it was an old-fashioned one with a funny-shaped neck – a kind of semicircle neck. It just barely worked. The pickups were strong, but I took one of them off. I copied Eric [Clapton]. 

"I heard him play one night, and he was on the treble pickup all night long. It sounded so good, I thought I’d take my bass pickup off altogether. Try and wait for the same luck. As if it was luck! It takes a lot of genuine practice and worry to get a sound like that.” 

ELLIS: But judging from all the Fleetwood Mac photographs, you must have put the pickup back on your Les Paul.

GREEN: I put it back on the wrong way around so that the poles – the pickup screws – were facing in the opposite direction. People would say to me, “You got that special out-of-phase sound.” I don’t know what out-of-phase is. Phase for what? Phase – it sounds like a good name for a group. 

Mind you, it didn’t make any difference to me. People would say that I got a special sound and try to force me to agree, but I don’t think so.

As it happened, Ellis already knew the “secret” behind the sound of Green’s Les Paul. In 1994, he’d approached Jol Dantzig, then with Hamer Guitars, to have him build a custom dual-humbucker guitar inspired by Green’s Les Paul. Ellis told the story in the same issue in which his Peter Green interview appeared. 

By the time of his visit to Dantzig, Green’s Les Paul had long been the main instrument of Gary Moore, who had befriended Green in the late '60s and purchased the guitar from him a few years later, in the early '70s. 

“As we discussed the wiring possibilities,” Ellis wrote, “Dantzig recalled that Gary Moore stopped by the Hamer factory in the early '80s with Green’s Les Paul.

“I asked if I could check out the wiring," remembered Dantzig, "and I carefully examined the pickups and their controls. Everything looked totally stock – the pickups were wired in phase – but I knew they didn’t sound stock when played together. 

“I used a compass to measure the pickups’ magnetic polarity. I discovered that one magnet was oriented north-to-south while the other was oriented south-to-north. The pickups were magnetically out of phase – this was the secret we’d all been searching for!"

“Dantzig agreed to incorporate magnetically out-of-phase pickups and reverse the neck pickup in the custom Hamer,” Ellis continued. “I sent a pair of Antiquity humbuckers to Seymour Duncan, requesting that he flip the magnet on one. Before I could explain why, Duncan said, ‘Ahh – you want the Peter Green mod.’”

So did the wiring replicate Green’s nasal tone? The answer, Ellis said, was an unequivocal yes. 

“In a dual-pickup setting where each humbucker has its own volume pot, you can bleed the relative phase shift to create timbres ranging from a piercing howl to a subtle treble boost.”

But as Ellis points out, the resulting tone isn’t the same that you get from wiring humbuckers out of phase. It seems that magnetically out-of-phase pickups are responsive to pitch, creating an entirely different sort of sound. 

“Oddly, the resulting sound is sweeter and more musical than what you get from wiring humbuckers out of phase,” Ellis writes. “Magnetically generated phase shift seems to respond to pitch changes – the higher the note, the more pronounced the effect. Chords and bass notes don’t have the thin, shrill sound of out-of-phase wiring, yet high notes played on the top strings have a pronounced hollow cry.”

In the years since Ellis wrote his story, Green’s guitar changed hands several times. Moore sold the guitar in 2006 for financial reasons. It eventually ended up in the hands of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, who purchased it in 2014. 

Jason Isbell is no stranger to a great guitar, and in Gibson TV’s new episode of The Collection the four-time Grammy Award winner gives host and Director of Brand Experience at Gibson, Mark Agnesi, a close look at his hoard of six-string treasures.

“Jason’s episode of The Collection is possibly my favorite episode of the show to date,” says Agnesi. “I see him as more of a guitar curator than a guitar collector. Every guitar in his collection is there for a reason and helps him tell a musical story.”

From his formative musical days to his current approach as one of the guitar world’s leading players, Isbell shares stories and gives insights with an intimate tour of his extensive cache of classic instruments.

Recalling his memories of being a guitar-obsessed teenager, Isbell says: “I stopped playing sports in school and just played the guitar all the time. And so any time I had any money (when I was 16 I worked at Walmart pushing buggies) I spent it all on Chandler Tube Drivers and Cry Baby [wah wahs] and all that kind of stuff.”

Since then, Isbell as amassed an impressive collection of vintage guitars that would “make any guitar nerd jealous.” And though they may be rare, collectible pieces they are also the guitarist’s tools of the trade – instruments he takes out on the road to perform with.

Making up this stockpile of Holy Grail axes are a bunch of incredible vintage Gibsons, including a ‘64 Firebird III, ‘61 Les Paul SG Standard, ‘56 Les Paul TV Special Tenor, ‘61 ES-335TD, ‘46 Gibson J-45, ‘60 Les Paul Custom, ‘53 Les Paul Goldtop, ‘59 Les Paul Standard “Red Eye” and 2019 Custom Shop “Red Eye” Replica.

“Two pickups and that middle position – that’s the magic thing for me, because you’ve got so much versatility,” says Isbell cradling his famous ’59 ‘Burst. “If you’ve got good, old pots and your wiring harness works like it should then you can get a lot of different tones.”

Of course, Isbell’s world-class collection doesn’t just end there. He also gives us a look at a ‘34 Martin 000-28, ‘65 Fender Telecaster, ‘58 Fender Stratocaster, ‘53 Blackguard Fender Telecaster, ‘60 Fender Stratocaster, ‘30s National Style 3, 70s Gretsch White Falcon, and a ‘59 Gretsch 6131 Jet Fire Bird.

This year sees the tenth anniversary of Isbell’s landmark album Southeastern and on September 29, a “reimagined and reamplified” edition is set for release via Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers.

In addition to a remastered LP, this special ten-year anniversary reissue appears as 3CD and 4LP Deluxe box sets. A selection of Southeastern apparel is also available.

Catch Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on tour now.

The following article originally appeared in Guitar Aficionado in 2012. 

Although he was born in 1977, Joe Bonamassa is already a seasoned blues veteran. Having traded licks onstage with B.B. King at the tender age of 12 he made his solo debut a decade later with the album A New Day Yesterday.

He was destined to be a guitar aficionado, growing up as he did behind the counter of his parents’ music shop in upstate New York, Bank Place Guitars. At 14, he received a $5,500 inheritance from his great-grandmother and used the windfall to acquire his first vintage instrument, a 1954 hard-tail Stratocaster, from a local seller.

“It had a few issues as a collector’s piece but certainly wasn’t a bad beginner guitar,” said Bonamassa. “But I wasn’t satisfied with just one old guitar. By my late teens I had vintage examples of all the classics: a 335, a Telecaster, and others.”

Bonamassa reflected on a period in the mid 2000s when his guitar buying became so frenetic that he often found himself purchasing an instrument, only to remember later that he already had one – or three – almost identical examples. “It got to be so gluttonous,” he recalled. “I’d be on tour in a place like Japan, jet-lagged and ready to start my day at four in the morning. No Starbucks would be open, so I’d just go to the website Gbase and throw something on the credit card.

“I ended up with all these guitars I didn’t even play – a bunch of old [ES-5] Switchmasters and ES-350s and even four Trini Lopezes – guitars that were killer to look at but not useful to me on the stage or in the studio. Finally, I just said, ‘Garage sale!’ and got rid of a ton of stuff.”

By 2012, Bonamassa had pruned his collection to a mere 90 guitars, half vintage instruments and half recent models, mostly Gibson Custom Shop guitars that “sound and play killer and look just like the originals, if you saw them from row G.”

At the heart of the collection was a trio of that most desirable of solidbodies, the sunburst Les Paul Standard, comprising two 1959s and a 1960 with a 1959 neck profile. But the stable also included less coveted pieces, such as a 1969 Grammer Johnny Cash flat-top acoustic.

“You’ve got to see this special guitar,” Bonamassa said as he bolted from the couch and disappeared into a laundry room. He returned with an old, heavily stickered case. “This one is so rare I just had to have it, even though I’m not much of an acoustic guy,” he said, nimbly fingerpicking a series of ninth and 13th chords. “Now everyone who plays it wants it. It sounds incredible and just seems to have a lot of songs in it.”

Another unobvious collector’s piece was Bonamassa’s 1972 Gibson ES-355TDC, its twin humbuckers bearing the embossed Gibson logo on their covers. The guitar hails from what many consider to be a dark period in the company’s design and quality control, but Bonamassa sought it out because of its similarity to the ax played by blues legend Freddie King.

“This was my first and only eBay purchase,” he said. “I ended up in a pitched battle to win it for $2,900 – a steal considering that these are harder to find than a ’59 Les Paul or even an original korina Flying V.”

Bonamassa directed us out of the courtyard and upstairs to a small room where he displayed a nice cross-section of his collection: the ES-355, along with a 1961 ES-335, a 1963 Gibson Firebird I, 1953 and 1954 blackguard Fender Telecasters, a 1955 hardtail Stratocaster, a 1932 Martin 0-17, and a 1970 Martin D-41.

A trio of brown cases – two Liftons and a Stone – were placed on the floor, each holding one of Bonamassa’s three ‘Bursts. The guitarist tenderly unlatched each case and revealed the guitars. Their gorgeous maple tops appeared faded into varying shades of scarlet and amber, and they glowed, as did their owner as he gazed upon them.

“I could’ve bought a house or these three-quarter-million-dollar guitars. I chose the guitars in a heartbeat. I love them. They’re like my children,” he said, with emotion.

His ‘Bursts at his feet, Bonamassa held forth on the subject of originality and his overall philosophy as a collector. “Refrets don’t bother me, but the pickup rings have gotta be right, the pickguard has gotta be right, and I’ve gotta open up that electronics cavity and see some vibrant original solder. I’ve seen some really good fakes out there, and it really bothers me. People are getting scammed for real money by guys who steal original parts to put on fake guitars. 

“I’m not a spiritual guy,” he continued, “but if you buy a guitar with a scratched-out serial number, chances are it was stolen at some point, and therefore it’s not good karma to play it. I find, on the other hand, that guitars with good histories don’t fight you. Somehow, they tend to stay in tune and play better. So all my guitars have got to be clean and honest. Playing wear is just fine, though.

“Check out the worming on the back of Principal Skinner,” he said, lifting his favorite ‘Burst from its case to show where the finish has succumbed to an oversized Seventies-era belt buckle. “Honest playing wear.” 

The ‘Burst triplets make an appearance on Driving Towards the Daylight, along with a handful of Bonamassa’s other vintage guitars. A collector in the best possible sense, he viewed his axes not as investments but as musical tools.

“I really pared things down for the recording sessions [for Driving Towards the Daylight]. I only used about 20 guitars, but they were the best guitars in the world – all the best examples for sure. At one point, I looked at them and thought, If I can’t get the job done with this, then I really need to stop buying guitars and just go home and practice.”

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Serial: 9 0829)

“This one’s called Magellan, because it’s been around the globe with me – at least where it’s safe to travel with such an expensive instrument.

“Airline rule has it that if you want to carry onboard an expensive guitar, you must buy a seat for it. The good news is that they will serve both a ‘Burst and its owner a gin and tonic.”

1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Serial: 0 0137)

“I’m the third owner of this truly special ‘Burst, which was ordered in June of 1959 and delivered in August of that year. Although the stamp indicates that it was made in 1960, it’s obviously got all 1959 features.

“I sometimes call it Batman because of the weird winged bridge, a one-off. And I’m honored that Gibson Custom recreated the guitar in exacting detail as Collector’s Choice #3.” 

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Serial: 9 1951)

“This guitar was originally known to the general public as the Skinner ‘Burst [after the auction house that sold it in 2006], but I have renamed it Principal Skinner.

“Killer in every way. This is the most rock Les Paul I own. Big flame equals big tone.”

1969 Grammer Johnny Cash

“This guitar has an unusual look – a grey-‘burst finish – which was apparently designed to look good with Johnny Cash’s black attire.

“It’s a rare bird with an incredible tone. Everyone who plays this guitar is surprised by the sound and wants to take it home.” 

1972 Gibson ES-355TDC

“This isn’t much of a collector’s piece, but Freddie King played one, and so I had to have one too.

“It’s all original, down to the embossed covers on the pickups, and extremely rare. Just try to find another from the same year.”

1932 Martin 0-17

“This 0-17 came from my repair guy in L.A. Someone who had inherited it from her grandmother had left it in the shop and forgotten about it, so I offered to give it a second life.

“It’s a really sweet-sounding little guitar.” 

The Dreadnought was originally developed by Martin in the earlier part of the 20th century when steel strings were becoming increasingly popular and Hawaiian music was all the rage. Hawaiian musician Mekia Kealakaʻi played a crucial role in the Dreadnought’s birth in 1916 when he received his custom-built instrument, and the design entered production the same year as exclusive models, namely the D-111 and D-222, for retailer Ditson.

Following the demise of Ditson, Martin started marketing the Dreadnought under its own brand in 1931. But the now iconic Martin Dreadnought really came into its own in 1934 when it changed from a 12- to 14-fret neck design.

Finally, 100 years after Martin made its first guitar on U.S. soil, the archetypal American flat-top had arrived.

When America entered the Second World War following the December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, guitar production was suddenly and irrevocably altered due to the war effort and materials shortages. Hence, pre-war Martin acoustics are among the most collectible flat-tops in the world.

David Davidson of Well Strung Guitars recently showed us this stunning example from the pre-war era.

“This is a 1936 Martin D-18 with a shaded top – probably the cleanest one in the world,” he tells us. “Shipping records show they shipped two shaded top guitars in ’36. The Martin ledger goes all the way back to before the American Civil War, which is pretty amazing.

“It’s possible that not all ‘dark tops’, as they were referred to in the Martin catalog, were recorded being shipped as such, and some collectors estimate the figures to be higher. Even so, there aren’t many out there.”

Pre-war Martins are regarded by collectors and players as some of the best flat-tops money can buy. “In my mind, this is the pinnacle of a great-sounding Martin,” agrees David. “Purists will sing the praises of ‘30s Martins, but I’ve had a lot from the ‘40s and ‘50s that sound great as well.

“The look of this guitar is beyond belief, but it sounds incredible, too. I don’t do as much with acoustic guitars as I do electrics, but I’m pretty familiar with them and I can tell you that when it comes to these pre-war Martins, they’re very desirable.”

And when it comes to investing in a vintage piece, these instruments have a strong track record. “Even during the recession from 2008 to 2012, they never seemed to lose a dime,” recalls David. “While electric guitars were struggling, acoustics were generally doing well. This one happens to be a really amazing piece, and it has all the good things people look for, including forward-shifted, scalloped X-bracing.”

While we’re used to seeing sunburst Gibson acoustics, such finishes are far less common with respect to vintage Martins. “The sunburst on a Martin is unique,” says David. “It looks different to the sunburst on a Gibson flat-top. These guitars were made as a direct response to Gibson making sunburst flat-tops; they had a little competition going on. In fact, the whole thing is rooted in – often unspoken – competition.

“I’m sure they saw each other’s products at the trade shows in the 1930s and, presumably, Martin thought they might be losing some market share if they didn’t do a sunburst guitar. It’s called a ‘dark top’ in the catalog, although people tend to call it a shade top or shaded top.”

Finish aside, the shape and size of a guitar is crucial with respect to its look, not to mention its feel and tone. “Gibson had their Jumbos, which are often called dreadnoughts, too, but these larger guitars aren’t comfortable for every kind of guitarist,” points out David. “Alternatively, 000-sized Martins can fit a player’s body better.

“Because of the way the guitar is shaped, it sits lower on your thigh, and the [lower bass bout] feels significantly smaller against the forearm. I think that’s why the 000 guitars were so popular with female players and/or those of smaller stature.”

According to David, the Martin Dreadnought (originally spelled Dreadnaught) was developed for enhanced volume and fullness of tone. However, the difference in sound between Martin D- and 000-designated instruments may be less obvious than some people think.

Explains David: “The Dreadnought was made to be played standing up. It was made bigger and louder so that players back in the day – be it in a church group, an outdoor singalong or whatever – had a guitar that was able to project when standing. Nevertheless, a lot of players ended up playing them sat down.

“You get more bottom-end with a Dreadnought than you do a 000. There’s not a dramatic difference between them, but I think there is a dramatic difference between a 000 and 00 or 0. There’s significantly less low-end with the smaller 00 and 0; that’s another reason why I think a lot of people prefer 000s. Not only do they fit better and are easier to play both sitting down and standing up, but the sound is rich and full. I mean, either is wonderful.”

Although many notable guitarists have used 18-series Martins, these guitars were (and remain) relatively affordable.

“An 18-series guitar is nowhere near the top of the line,” highlights David. “It was one of the lower Martin guitar styles made at that time – the 28-series was considered the midline – and there wasn’t a huge difference in price between a D-18 and 000-18. It was really about which was the more comfortable of the two.”

“People like the 18s for recording, particularly fingerstyle. If you use an 18 – which is generally a brighter guitar than a 28 – for fingerstyle, it can balance out nicely. It can sound more subdued playing fingerstyle on a 28 because they’re less bright, but they often sound better using a plectrum. A plectrum is going to make any guitar sound brighter than your fingers because it’s a harder material.

“D-28s are associated with bluegrass, but you can use one to play just about anything. Same with a D-18. It really comes down to how you decide to play them. Dreadnoughts can be bigger and boomier if you strum them a certain way. You can get a lot out of them if you want it. Or they can be very subtle when gently picked.”

Throughout the decades, Martin acoustics have remained workhorse instruments with a reputation for quality and consistency, although some extra care may be required in colder regions. “I’ve rarely come across an early Martin Dreadnought I didn’t like,” says David. “The only times they’ve not been that great have been when there were tons of repairs – too many cleats stopping the good vibrations of the soundboard.

“But they can be treacherous to own, especially in cold, dry climates. That’s when you really have to give them a lot of care and feeding. The only guitars I’ve seen that seem to do well in virtually all climates are made of maple. Maple rarely cracks.”

Vintage guitar veteran David Davidson owns Well Strung Guitars in Farmingdale, New York.

info@wellstrungguitars.com / 001 (516) 221-0563

Gibson has announced the next rare guitar on offer via their Certified Vintage program is a ‘Burst called 'Sunny.'

This “immaculate” 1960 Les Paul Standard was previously owned by Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett who gave the guitar its nickname on account of its tone.

“'Sunny' is special because not only is she in immaculate condition, but her tone is so present and bright,” said Hammett. “It’s like the sun cutting through clouds on an overcast day. Hence the name ‘Sunny.’ That’s the truth. The name came because she was so full and bright sounding.

Appearing on electric guitars in 1957, Gibson PAF humbuckers are generally prized for their open, articulate sound, though each pickup is unique (the bridge pickup in ‘Sunny’ measures 8.2k ohms while the neck pickup reads 7.6k).

This, along with the natural variation in wood, gives each ‘Burst a unique personality.

And with its highly figured maple top and rich Cherry Sunburst finish, this example stands out as among the most desirable of its type.

Originality is also a crucial factor when it comes to determining the value of vintage guitars and ‘Sunny’ appears with no major mods. However, like so many Les Pauls from this era the original tuning keys appear to have perished, though Gibson says the guitar has now been restored with “correct 1950s Kluson single-line/single-ring” tuners.

Such repairs are essential in order for the instrument to remain playable. As Mark Agnesi told us in a recent interview: “If you’re talking about value, what’s it really worth to you if you can’t play it?”

Fully authenticated by its maker, this 1960 Les Paul Standard, serial number 0 1490, is covered by Gibson’s new limited lifetime warranty and ships with its original case along with a modern Gibson Deluxe Protector Case.

“The reason I chose Gibson Certified Vintage for the worldwide offering is because having a mint vintage Gibson guitar can sometimes feel like having a brand-new Gibson guitar,” continues Hammett. 

“They’re made that well. And this is what’s really special; the fact Gibson recognizes this and is willing and ready to re-warranty these beautiful instruments.

 “I think this is just a great reflection of Gibson’s integrity towards the past, present, and future.”

All Gibson Certified Vintage guitars are offered via the Gibson Garage in Nashville, TN.

Select models will be available for purchase here.

'Sunny' is available now for shipping or pickup at the Gibson Garage.

Call (615)933-6000 for more information.

“The blues had a baby,” goes the old Muddy Waters line, “and they named it rock and roll.”

By the early 1960s, though, the family tree had started to get incestuous, as the scratchy, haunting Delta porch songs of yore were hijacked on both sides of the Atlantic by a new strain of blues that applied speed, attitude, volume and chest hair.

Blues had met rock. And it was the start of a beautiful relationship.

Conventional wisdom tells us that blues rock peaked in the mid to late ’60s, and it’s a watertight argument.

From that five-year period alone came world-shaking albums from icons including Cream, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Peter Green’s original Fleetwood Mac.

If you don’t remember the 1960s, then you probably weren’t there. (Or you were too high.)

As the decade drew to a close, the blues-fueled energy of the early ’60s mod clubs had drifted, and all-night dancing had been replaced by a laid-back, dope-smoking vibe.

Key players such as John Mayall, Eric Clapton and Peter Green reached a crossroads in their careers, as the blues scene split between purists and those following the path toward out-and-out rock.

Meanwhile, the likes of Free, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull took their first steps toward ’70s greatness.

British, Irish and American heroes took the blues, made it their own and turned it into the full-throttle rock that we know today: from the rough-edged ’70s swagger of Rory Gallagher to Jimmy Page, whose love of blues informed Led Zeppelin’s dazzling career.

Many rock subgenres blossom but then wither on the vine. Others are simply cynical media inventions, coined to lump disparate acts into an editorial-friendly pigeonhole.

Blues rock is different. Unlike, say, acid folk or prog jazz, the two ingredients are co-dependent, joined at the hip in both sentiment and musical content.

“No matter what direction rock goes in, it has to stay with the blues,” Eric Clapton once said, “because that’s the spine and body of it.” And if anybody would know, he would. His blistering Les Paul/Marshall tone on John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers’ 1966 debut Beano album defined the blues rock sound.

Celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers is a blues rock institution whose alumni also include Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Walter Trout and many other notable musicians.

In this live clip from the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, blues rock luminary Gary Moore joins John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers for a stunning rendition of “So Many Roads.”

Trading solos with Buddy Whittington, the late Irish guitar legend’s performance is fire.

The following appeared in the November 2020 issue of Guitar Player.

Mick Taylor’s 1958 Les Paul Standard isn’t the most famous example of that model, but as the ’Burst that Charlie Watts is holding aloft on the cover of Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, it’s one of the most seen.

Taylor revealed that the guitar had an aftermarket Bigsby B7 vibrato when he purchased it, but he fitted the guitar with a factory-stock nickel-plated stop tailpiece, which is how it appeared during his tenure in the Rolling Stones, from 1969 to 1974.

The guitar had its original Kluson keystone tuners at the time, but these were later changed out for Grovers.

As it happens, that isn’t the only modification Taylor made. Apparently, he swapped out its double-black PAF pickups at some point.

The guitar, which is now one of many Stones guitars in the collection of Hard Rock International, has been thoroughly inspected by Hard Rock guitar tech Kip Elder, who confirms the pickups currently in the guitar are not original.

“We got a 10.2k-ohm reading for the bridge pickup, which typically registers about 8.5k,” he told VintageGuitar.com.

The guitar was frequently confused with the 1959 Keith ’Burst over the years, but Elder confirms that the first digit of its serial number is an eight.

Taylor played the guitar at the Stones’ Altamont Speedway concert on December 6 and can be seen performing with it in a video for “Love in Vain,” from the group’s 1972 tour. (It can easily be identified by the screw holes left from the Bigsby.)

Taylor still owned the guitar when Guitar Player interviewed him in the early 1980s, but Jeff Nolan, Hard Rock’s director of memorabilia, says the company purchased it from him around that time.

The finish has faded to a beautiful lemon ’burst since the guitar’s heyday, but as Nolan attests, “It’s an absolutely gorgeous example. I see so many ’Bursts in my job that I wanted to dislike this guitar. But it’s so, so good.

“It’s incredibly resonant, and the action is still perfect, even after all these years of not being in use.”

Keith Richards may not be renowned for the liquid blues improvisations that so many Les Paul players can boast, but he was unquestionably the first British rock star to embrace the then-discontinued Gibson solidbody.

Richards was first seen using his ’Burst in 1964 on the Rolling Stones’ second U.S. tour.

More Les Pauls were added to his arsenal during the decade, only to be replaced with Telecasters in the 1970s, once he was fully into his bluesier style.

Richards bought this 1959 ’Burst second-hand in London, in the latter part of August 1964. “It was my first touch with a really great, classic rock and roll electric guitar, so I fell in love with them for a while,” he told Guitar magazine in 1997.

The original owner, John Bowen, purchased the guitar – serial number 93182 – new in 1961 and had it fitted with an aftermarket Bigsby vibrato.

The guitar is easily identified by dark figuring near the cutaway on the top’s lower bout.

Jimmy Page was photographed with the guitar at a session for Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham, either checking it out or using it for the recording.

Likewise, Eric Clapton borrowed the ’Burst when Cream played at the 1966 Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival.

These appearances led some to speculate, erroneously, that the guitar had been owned by all three men.

Richards parted with the ’Burst in 1967, when he sold it to future Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, then performing with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

The guitar re-entered the Stones’ world in 1969 when Taylor joined up, and it appeared on the 1969 American tour, where it was used for slide work, tuned to open G for “Honky Tonk Women” and open D for “Street Fighting Man.”

The guitar was among the haul of instruments stolen during the making of the Rolling Stones' 1972 album, Exile on Main St. Thieves took several guitars owned by Richards, Taylor and bassist Bill Wyman after Richards failed to pay drug dealers for the heroin being consumed at Nellcôte, the French villa where Exile was recorded.

The New York Post reported in July 2025 that the guitar has shown up in a collection of vintage guitars gifted to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2025.

“Hi, my name’s Slash. Can you sell me some Les Pauls?”

Back in 1988, that was how the man born Saul Hudson first came in contact with the Gibson guitar brand. Guns N’ Roses had only recently released their debut effort, Appetite for Destruction, an album on which Slash, in what is now rock-guitar lore, recorded most of his parts using a 1959 Les Paul copy built by luthier Kris Derrig. As the band hit the road in support of the record, he took the Derrig with him. Not surprisingly, the axe, one of his only guitars at the time, quickly took a beating from intense onstage use. So Slash retired the Les Paul copy from live work and went looking for the real thing.

Which is what led him to Gibson. “At that point, Guns N’ Roses hadn’t quite crested that wave. We were sort of still a fledgling L.A. club band that had a record deal, just like all the rest of ’em,” Slash recalls. “But I called Gibson and they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll work something out.’ They sold me two Les Pauls at dealer cost. And that’s how our relationship started.”

That relationship has grown into, arguably, the most visible and fruitful collaboration between an artist and guitar brand of the past 30-plus years. Slash has not only been instrumental in returning the Les Paul to unrivaled prominence in the guitar universe, he has also helped design some of the best-selling and most highly regarded artist models in the marketplace.

And the partnership has only gotten stronger and deeper with each year. In 2017, Gibson named Slash its first-ever Global Brand Ambassador, and today the Slash line of Gibson guitars continues to expand (see, for one, the signature J-45 acoustic offerings). What’s more, the brand recently launched a record label, Gibson Records, which issued the 2022 Slash (featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) album, 4, as its debut release.

Now, Slash has aligned with Gibson on another new venture – a massive, deluxe hardcover book, The Collection: Slash, which is the first offering from the newly created Gibson Publishing. Across its oversized 364 pages, Slash tells the stories behind the guitars he has used throughout his legendary career, all of them accompanied by gorgeously detailed photos of the instruments themselves. The premium coffee-table tome is a must-have for any guitar fan, and is available in Standard, Deluxe and a truly stunning, limited-to-500-copies Custom Edition that is hand-signed by Slash and nestled inside a clamshell protective box with premium case candy.

In any iteration, The Collection: Slash is a package unlike any seen before. As for why the man himself wanted to do it? “I mean, what’s better than a book full of guitars?” Slash asks with a laugh. “And the way Gibson proposed putting it together, I just thought it was so cool. It was an exciting prospect, and it just started from there.”

In addition to chronicling dozens upon dozens of instruments from Slash’s substantial stash (including, in a very cool move by Gibson, many quintessential non-Gibson models) compiling The Collection: Slash afforded the musician the opportunity to become reacquainted with some of the lesser-used six-strings in his life.

“I have to admit that I buy a lot of guitars,” Slash says. “And I’m a little bit of a pack rat, because I’ve never gotten rid of anything. And while you’re constantly aware of additional things that you keep adding to the stockpile, doing an exposé like this I realized that, while I play a lot of these guitars pretty regularly, some of them, they don’t get enough use. It made me feel like, God, I want to put ’em all in a room where everybody can just walk in and look at them! Now, in a way, they can.”

Here, Slash takes us on a tour of some of the standout guitars in The Collection: Slash, recalling when each instrument came into his life and how it continues to be a part of his musical experience today.

KRIS DERRIG REPLICA

One of the most famous Les Pauls is not a Les Paul at all. Featured on almost all of Appetite for Destruction (“I played an SG on ‘My Michelle,’” Slash reports), the Kris Derrig replica is the source of that album’s coveted guitar tones, and arguably reignited the Les Paul flame single-handedly in the ’80s. It also originally boasted Seymour Duncan Alnico II humbuckers, which were the template for Slash’s signature pickups.

“Getting the Derrig was an interesting sort of perfect storm,” Slash recalls. “Because I went from having no identifiable sound during the basic tracks for Appetite to getting this guitar, with these particular pickups, played through a particular rented Marshall amp. All those contributing factors made for a really great guitar sound that has served me ever since.”

Amazingly, the heavy wear across the top and back is almost entirely the result of Slash using the guitar, then in pristine condition, onstage for less than a year. “I’m hard on my guitars,” he admits. “And with the Derrig, I realized what an effect my live attack had on it. That’s when I finally broke down and called Gibson and said, ‘I need a Les Paul.’ I just didn’t want anything to happen to it. So I put it away.”

GIBSON LES PAUL “JESSICA”

When we think of Slash’s Les Pauls, designs like the Derrig and his signature models come to mind. But it’s likely another Les Paul, one he calls Jessica, that we’ve seen him wield most often. Slash acquired the guitar from Gibson – one of the two factory seconds with three-piece tops the company sent him after he retired the Derrig copy from road work. “It became my main stage guitar with Guns and through Velvet Revolver,” he says. “It still is.”

Onstage, he continues, “Jessica is the main Appetite guitar. I open the set with her for ‘It’s So Easy’ and ‘Brownstone,’ I play ‘Paradise City’ with her, and I play ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ with her.”

As for what makes the now heavily worn instrument stand apart from his many other Les Pauls? “The guitars that you take out on tour and play the most are the ones you feel most comfortable with, the ones that give you what you want from them, the ones that are consistent,” he says. “Back then it was one of two guitars that I had for the road, so I made it work. And now it’s a central part of what I do.”

GIBSON LES PAUL “THE FIRST ‘BURST” – 8 3096

While Slash has always been adamant about the fact that he acquires guitars for their playability rather than pedigree, this Les Paul is one that offers both in equal measure. Dubbed “The First ’Burst,” this Standard was one of two that left Gibson’s factory on May 28, 1958 with ’Burst specifications, including PAF humbuckers and a Cherry Red finish. One of those instruments featured a three-piece top, while Slash’s ’Burst is a two-piece with a slightly off-center join.

“It was definitely an acquisition because of what it is,” Slash says of the First ’Burst. “But it’s also a really great-sounding guitar. And that was the bigger selling point for me – it has amazing tone.”

So much so that Slash has used the historic guitar in the studio, specifically, on the Conspirators’ 2014 album, World on Fire, which was recorded not long after he acquired the instrument. That said, he adds, “I wouldn’t take it on the road.” For that, he continues, “Gibson made me a replica, which sounds really great as well.”

1959 LES PAUL STANDARD – 9 0844

These days, Slash owns several authentic ’59 ’Bursts. But this one, acquired in the early 1990s, was his first, and it remains his favorite. “It has a particular sound that I’m drawn to, a certain kind of attack and personality that I recognize,” he says. “It’s the go-to ’59 for me because I know what it does.”

In addition to sporting a gorgeous finish, the guitar is easily identifiable via a telltale “snakebite” – small holes in its top that evidence the one-time addition of a Bigsby vibrato. And while Slash keeps it away from the stage, he says he has used it in the studio with the Conspirators on several occasions, in particular the ballad “The Great Pretender,” from 2016’s Living the Dream, and the band’s cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”

“The PAF pickups just sound so sincere,” Slash says. “The guitar is much different from, say, the Derrig, which is a much more modern-sounding Les Paul – it’s louder, it’s got more attack. If you do like a slow blues thing or anything like that, the tonality on this particular ‘59 is really great for that kind of stuff.”

2002 SLASH LES PAUL PROTOTYPE

This limited-run Custom Shop guitar is “what I would call the first ‘official’ Slash model,” Slash reveals. “This is when I think of us as going into business together for real, and when Gibson started to actually have this idea of me sitting down and designing a guitar with them and then putting it into production.”

The 2002 Slash Les Paul boasts a rich Tobacco Burst finish and Seymour Duncan Alnico II humbuckers, as well as a custom “Slash” truss-rod cover. But the most unique aspect is undoubtedly the inclusion of a piezo pickup system that offers a selection of acoustic and hybrid acoustic/electric sounds, controlled via a three-position mini-toggle switch between the guitar’s volume knobs.

“I did use the piezo for a second, and it actually sounded really good,” Slash says. “But my physical approach to an acoustic sound didn’t work on electric guitar – I hit it too hard when I’m playing acoustic stuff, so doing it on electric was not really conducive to that sort of attack. So eventually I phased it out. But it was a cool idea at the time.”

EARLY 1970S EPIPHONE 6830

This Japanese-made steel-string acoustic isn’t the oldest guitar in Slash’s collection, but it is the one he’s had the longest. “I think I was probably in high school when I got it,” he says. “And I cherish the fact that I’ve managed to keep it and nothing’s happened to it.”

Slash calls the Epiphone the first “good acoustic” he ever took ownership of, and he received it in a moment of goodwill. “When I was 15, I would do some babysitting, and this one kid I babysat for, his parents had it hanging on the wall next to a mandolin,” he recalls. “I asked them, ‘Can I play it while the kid’s sleeping?’ I was still playing it when they got home, and they actually ended up giving it to me.”

These days, the Epiphone is far removed from all-night strum sessions. “I haven’t pulled it out and played it in a long time, because the tailpiece is threatening to come off and I had to bolt it down,” Slash says. “So I just sort of leave it alone. It’s more of a keepsake than anything.” He laughs. “Besides, I have plenty of acoustic guitars to beat on. I don’t need to beat on that one.”

1959 GIBSON FLYING V – 9 1705

“When I was doing the Use Your Illusion records I was looking for different guitars for different songs, and it was the first time I ever had any money to do that,” Slash recalls. “I became aware of the korina ’58s and ’59s, and so I went to my friend who is a guitar broker. He came up with two Explorers and this V, and I bought all three. It was one of those purchases where I was like, ‘Well, let’s see how these sound.’ And it was, ‘Oh, this is fucking awesome!’”

For fans looking to hear that sound, tune your ears to Guns N’ Roses’ cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” “I went to the studio, that guitar was there, and I laid all the tracks down in a couple of hours,” Slash says. “The tone on it was so great that it was literally a one-take solo – just a throw-and-go. That guitar, because of the way it sounded, is what led that to be such an easy thing to do.”

As for what he thinks is so special about those original Vs? “They just have a certain tonal quality, this smooth, sweet tone that you cannot find in any other guitar,” Slash says.

1980 BC RICH MOCKINGBIRD

As a teenager, Slash chose a B.C. Rich to be the first “good, brand-name instrument” he ever owned. He has a variety of examples, the most recognizable of which is this red 1980 Mockingbird, which he famously employed in the studio and the music video for the Use Your Illusion track “You Could Be Mine,” as well as on Velvet Revolver songs like “Sucker Train Blues.”

“This is the one guitar that I have a photographic memory of acquiring,” Slash says. “I bought it from a guy in front of [defunct L.A. nightclub] the Cathouse. I hardly knew him, but I saw him regularly every Tuesday night when I would go down there. He told me he had a Mockingbird that he was looking to sell, and he goes, ‘I’ll bring it down.’ And the following Tuesday at, like, 11:30 at night, he comes walking down Highland Avenue with a guitar case. I bought it from him on the sidewalk.”

While the guitar is one that Slash will often reach for when he’s in need of a whammy bar, some of the Mockingbird’s unique appointments – an onboard preamp, Varitone switching, coil splits – are roundly ignored. “The knobs are a cool novelty-type of thing, but I’ve never found much use for them,” he says. “I was never one of those ‘coil-tappers.’”

The Collection: Slash, Custom Edition

Limited to 500 copies worldwide, and hand-signed by Slash, the Custom Edition ($999) measures 297 x 420 mm (11.69 x 16.54”) and comes inside a premium clamshell protective box with case candy, including an Axe Heaven Appetite Les Paul miniature guitar, an exclusive Slash bandana, a guitar pick tin with Dunlop guitar picks, a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity. 

The Collection: Slash, Deluxe Edition

The Collection: Slash Deluxe Edition ($249) is presented in a Les Paul slipcase and measures 240 x 340 mm (9.45 x 13.39”). It includes a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity. The initial print run of the Deluxe Edition is hand-signed by Slash and limited to 1,000 copies. 

The Collection: Slash, Standard Edition

The Standard Edition ($149) offers a widely accessible version of the coffee-table book featuring 364 pages in hardcover, in a slightly more compact size of 240 x 340 mm (9.45 x 13.39”). 

To order any edition, visit Gibson.com. 

Would psychedelic rock have happened at all were it not for Jeff Beck’s attempt to emulate a sitar with his Fender Esquire and Sola Sound Tone Bender fuzz?

As Eric Clapton’s replacement in the Yardbirds, Beck kicked off his 20-month tenure with ingenuity at his first recording session with the group, in April 1965, for “Heart Full of Soul.”

Songwriter Graham Gould’s exotic hook suggested a sitar line, but the musician hired for the job couldn’t perform it to anyone’s satisfaction.

“What he was doing was totally magical, but it just didn’t have any groove to it,” Beck revealed. “And I showed him on guitar what I thought would be a good idea, which was that minor riff with the D string droning an octave below. And everyone said, ‘That sounds great. Let’s just leave that.’” 

With one line, Beck introduced an evocatively exotic sound and musical scale to rock and roll.

“When I heard Jeff’s playing, it was noticeably different, even then to my young ears,” Aerosmith’s Joe Perry recalled. “There was a sound to his guitar that kind of stood out and was different from the usual pop stuff. The notes he was playing. It was more lyrical, to me.”

What was different about Beck’s playing was certainly his talent for bends, which he developed by listening to Indian ragas by Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan. He marveled at their fluid string bending.

“How could this be adopted into the guitar?” he recalled wondering, “this bending of the string, to such an extent that you can play a melody with one bend?”

He came close on the Yardbirds’ next single, 1966’s “Shapes of Things,” widely considered the first psychedelic rock release.

He continued to push the emerging genre forward with the group’s next release, the fuzz guitar-drenched “Over Under Sideways Down.”

But it was with “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” that Beck, playing alongside new band member Jimmy Page, blew young guitarists’ minds by combining his Indian-tinged lead work with incendiary solos in which he conjured a maelstrom of sirens and revving engines.

Though he soon moved on to blues rock and jazz fusion, Beck established a template for psychedelia – as well as heavy metal – that would be followed by countless future guitarists.

Don’t miss our December 2022 issue where we examine 50 psychedelic guitarists from the past 60 years of rock!

Back in 2020, a non-branded, early '60s-era Japanese sunburst electric guitar that was once played by Jimi Hendrix went up for auction.

Now, the storied guitar – which doesn't come with strings – has gone up for sale, via GWS Auctions, once again. 

According to GWS, the guitar was acquired by Hendrix shortly after he returned home from the army in 1962, and was used by the guitarist during his time in Tennessee, where he played with the likes of Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, and Jackie Wilson.

He also reportedly took the guitar with him when he moved to New York City in 1964, and used it often for his performances at venues such as Cafe Wha? and the Cheetah club.

When Hendrix moved to London in late 1966, he is said to have left the guitar in New York, at the apartment of one of his best friends, Mike Quashie.

The guitar will be sold with a signed and notarized letter of provenance from Quashie, in addition to a statement from the collector who the seller acquired it from, who reportedly spoke with Quashie before he passed away. 

The guitar will also be sold with its original case, and a third letter of provenance stating that the guitar was given to Hendrix by his father.

Live bidding for the Hendrix-played 'early '60s-era Japanese sunburst model begins Saturday, October 15, with a minimum bid of $50,000.

It's not the only Hendrix-affiliated guitar to hit the auction block in recent weeks. A 1969 Olympic white Fender Stratocaster the guitar hero used in the latter part of his career went up for sale via Gotta Have Rock and Roll just last month.

For more photos of the guitar, and info on its sale, stop by gwsauctions.com.

British blues-rock legend Paul Kossoff (1950-1976) would have turned 72 this week.

Although the Free guitarist’s untimely death at the age of 25 was a great loss to the guitar world he remains one of the most influential ‘Burst slingers in music history.

Synonymous with the Les Paul Standard, Kossoff’s tone is a touchstone for many – including Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus who cites him as one of his biggest influences.

Yesterday, on Kossoff’s birthday, Fortus shared an audio clip of an inspired guitar solo he recorded for a tribute album in aid of Melia Clapton’s Turn Up For Recovery.

To record this outstanding guitar solo, Fortus ran his recently acquired 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard into a pair of rare vintage tube amps – a mid-’60s Park and a ’59 Fender Bassman.

A dream guitar for decades, the purchase of this Holy Grail of tone was funded by the guitarist’s gargantuan gear sale at Chicago Music Exchange that comprised over 200 items including amps, acoustic guitars and electric guitars.

“My initial goal was to buy a ‘Burst, but I figured I’d get a refin or a headstock repair – something more affordable,” Fortus told Guitar Player.

“I went through everything and sold anything that I didn’t use. It was an interesting process. I’d amassed this collection over the years because I never sold anything; I only bought stuff.”

A discerning musician with an ear for great tone, the GnR guitar twin carefully set about finding the perfect ‘Burst. It was, however, as if the guitar found him instead.

“As soon as I played it, I knew it was the one,” he recalls. “I played eight different ‘Bursts that were up for sale and when I plugged this one in, I was like, ‘Fuck. This is definitely the one.’ 

"They vary. Wildly. But I knew straight away. It's absolutely perfect."

At that point, Fortus was certain he had found exactly what he was looking for and became the second custodian of a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

“It’s had one previous owner who owned it from new,” he tells us. “It's in great shape. It’s definitely been played but it’s been really well taken care of. It's completely faded but there's no scratches or anything.”

Right now, Fortus is out on the road with Gun N’ Roses, although his beloved ‘Burst won’t be making an appearance on stage any time soon. Like Slash, he intends on keeping it safely locked up at home in the vault.

“I use it all the time in the studio to record with,” he enthuses, “and I've played live with it once. But I'm not going to be taking it on out with Guns.

“Slash takes his Derrig on tour, but he doesn’t take his old ones out either.”

Browse the Guns N' Roses catalog here.

Eric Clapton (or “God” as he was sometimes referred to in the ‘60s) took blues guitar to another level when he exploded onto the scene in 1966 with John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton.

Dubbed the Beano album, this blues-rock masterpiece showcased a 21-year-old Clapton turning guitar tone on its head with a cranked Marshall tube amp and Gibson Les Paul Standard.

In the pre-Hendrix era of the mid-’60s, Clapton’s revolutionary sound introduced the electric guitar world to what is now considered an industry standard in tone.

There is beauty in the simplicity of this rig. But his approach to playing guitar solos was perhaps a little less straightforward.

In this 1987 film clip, interviewer Melvyn Bragg of the U.K. arts series The South Bank Show asks Clapton to provide us with some insight.

“What goes through your mind when you're about to start a solo?” he asks.

Clapton’s answer implies things aren’t as calm as they might appear.

“You go through 100 different changes in your head about what approach you're gonna take,” he replies.

“And usually by the time you’ve gone through those changes it's time. It’s just like someone’s shoved you through a door and you’ve suddenly got to do an act.

“For me, I just start singing.”

Clapton’s explosive guitar sound rippled across the decades and has inspired some of the best blues-rock maestros of our time.

In a recent Musicians Hall of Fame interview, Joe Bonamassa told Joe Chambers how it felt to be standing on stage next to the man himself.

“It was insane,” he recalls. “I was shocked to find out that he knew who I was.”

Recounting the story of his Royal Albert Hall appearance in 2009, Bonamassa reveals how Clapton’s simple rig allowed his talent to shine through, much like it did in the mid-'60s.

“He showed up with a brand-new Custom Shop Strat – it was an Eric Clapton model. Daphne Blue. And he had a brand-new ‘57 reissue tweed [Fender] Twin… And a Monster cable.

“It sounded like Eric Clapton. It sounded like the Blues Breakers.”

Browse the Joe Bonamassa catalog here.
Browse the Eric Clapton catalog here.

Chicago Music Exchange has long been a Mecca for guitar players seeking out their perfect Gibson.

With a huge array of Gibsons on offer, it's always a good idea for those on the lookout to keep tabs on what they have in stock.

From the newest Standard and Artist models to Murphy Labs aged instruments, they’ve got it all.

Some of the coolest Gibson electric guitars to be found at Chicago Music Exchange are the CME Exclusive instruments.

Working with the Gibson Custom Shop directly, these "CME spec" guitars cannot be found anywhere else.

The CME Exclusive Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s and CME Exclusive Gibson Les Paul Standard '60s have been thoughtfully put together with specialist knowledge, expertise and passion.

Recently introduced as “love letters to one of rock’s most fundamental brands,” this fine pair of ‘Bursts can be seen and heard in action here…

Making the most of what the Gibson Custom Shop has to offer, these special order Les Pauls have been tastefully designed with looks, sound and feel in mind.

Of particular merit are the instruments' CME T-Type pickups – a collaborative design originally developed for a run of CME Exclusive SG Standards back in 2019.

Delivering classic hard rock tone, these unique humbuckers are replicas of the vintage Gibson ‘T-top’ design, as found in Jimmy Page’s “number one” Les Paul.

Here’s a brief rundown of the specs…

Gibson USA Les Paul Standard '60s Tomato Soup Burst

Body:

• Solid mahogany with AA figured maple cap
• 1960-style Tomato Soup Burst gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish

Neck:

• Solid mahogany with Slim Taper profile
• 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with medium jumbo frets and 12” radius

Pickups & Electronics:

• Dual CME T-Type humbuckers
• 3-way pickup selector switch
• Independent pickup volume and tone controls
• Hand-wired Orange Drop capacitors

Hardware:

• Nickel-plated ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and aluminum stop bar
• Grover Rotomatic tuners with kidney buttons

Plastics:

• Cream pickguard, switch washer and jack plate
• Gold ‘top hat’ knobs and amber switch tip

Gibson USA Les Paul Standard '50s Dirty Lemon Burst

Body:

• Solid mahogany with AA figured maple cap
• Late ‘50s-style Dirty Lemon Burst gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish

Neck:

• Solid mahogany with Vintage '50s profile
• 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with medium jumbo frets and 12” radius

Pickups & Electronics:

• Dual CME T-Type humbuckers
• 3-way pickup selector switch
• Independent pickup volume and tone controls
• Hand-wired Orange Drop capacitors

Hardware:

• Nickel-plated ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and aluminum stop bar
• Vintage Deluxe tuners with plastic keystone buttons

Plastics:

• Cream pickguard, switch washer and jack plate
• Gold ‘top hat’ knobs and amber switch tip

Visit Chicago Music Exchange for more information.

Great blues tone isn't rocket science – you just need to get a happening sound in your head, and then use the right tools to replicate the magic.

All great players have specific guitars, amps, and effects that are essential to their sound.

Some, like B.B. King, used the same setup for decades – in his case, a Gibson ES-355 through a Lab Series combo or a Fender Twin Reverb – while others tweak their systems incessantly in the pursuit of groovier tone.

Stevie Ray Vaughan favored one guitar – a Stratocaster – and a few key effects throughout his career, but he experimented a great deal with amps and speakers.

No matter which player you choose to emulate, it's important to understand that merely replicating every detail of their gear is no guarantee that you're going to sound exactly like them.

Tone is, after all, 90% touch and 10% hardware.

Buddy Guy would sound like himself no matter what equipment he used, and the same holds true for most great players.

Still, some guitars and amps can inspire you to play a certain way, and using rigs similar to the ones used by players you respect may help you zone in on a killer sound that can later be morphed into something uniquely yours.

ERIC CLAPTON

"Clapton Is God" graced many a structure in the late '60s, and for good reason – he practically wrote the book on how to play blues-rock electric guitar.

Attaining a credible Clapton sound requires that you first determine which period in his long career you like best.

During his time with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Clapton famously used a late-'50s Gibson Les Paul Standard through a model 1962 Marshall 2x12 combo.

Part of the secret here is that Clapton's amp was equipped with KT66 output tubes, which have a more refined midrange and clearer top end than either EL34s or 6L6s.

With Cream, Clapton went to high-volume heaven with 100-watt Marshall heads and 4x12 cabs.

He also used a Vox wah-wah and, occasionally, a fuzz.

After his Les Paul was stolen, Clapton played a '61 SG-style Les Paul, and then a Gibson ES-335 for Cream's farewell concert.

With Blind Faith, Clapton used a Gibson Firebird through a Fender Showman.

He then switched to maple-fretboard Strats through Fender tweed Champs during his Derek & The Dominos/"Layla" period.

Both setups yielded tones that rate among Clapton's best.

ALBERT COLLINS

The "Iceman" had one of the most original tones around – just listen to his fabulous sting on such classic cuts as "Frosty," "Too Many Dirty Dishes," "Iceman," and "Put the Shoe on the Other Foot."

Collins certainly did things his own way.

He played a beat-up Fender Telecaster, with a Gibson humbucker in the neck position, that he tuned to open Fm.

He used a capo – often at the fifth or seventh position – and he snapped and popped his strings with his thumb and forefinger.

Collins also favored '70s-era Fender Quad Reverb amps (100 watts into four 12s), and he used a 100' cord.

This latter detail allowed him to get friendly with the audience, while the added cable capacitance helped defrost his icy highs.

ALBERT KING

Almost every blues guitar player "borrows" something from Albert King – even Stevie Ray Vaughan based his blistering style on King's mammoth bends and lightning-bolt stabs.

Almost no one tries to duplicate the left-handed bluesman's gear, however, which isn't too surprising, considering that King played a flipped-over Gibson Flying V with the low-E string closest to the floor.

According to repair ace Dan Erlewine (who built King's replica V, "Lucy"), Albert strung his guitar .009, .012, .024W, .028, .038, .050, and tuned it C, F, C, F, A, D (low to high.)

Steve Cropper, who produced a number of King's albums, offers a different tuning – C, B, E, F#, B, E (low to high) – which he says allowed King to create a one-finger Em chord by raising F# to G. (Another important aspect of King's tone was that he played exclusively with his fingers.)

Onstage, King often plugged into an Acoustic 370 solid-state guitar amp driving a 2x15 enclosure with a built-in high-frequency horn – a real pawnshop prize!

While a Flying V is the way to go here, just about any quality, dual-humbucker guitar can be coaxed into the Albert zone.

Consider, however, that Otis Rush gets a chillingly similar sound with a Fender Strat!

Amps? That's a good question, as almost nothing available sounds anything like an old Acoustic 370.

Our advice is choose an amp (or amp channel) with enough clean headroom to preserve your note attack. Crank the volume, but go easy on the distortion – King's tone was big and bold, not squashed and compressed.

B.B. KING

The King of the Blues' sweet, singing tone stands out as one of the great guitar sounds of all time.

King's original tone recipe was a Gibson ES-355 through a long-discontinued Gibson Lab Series 2x12 combo amp.

From the '80s, he played a Gibson Lucille model stereo guitar, which features a TP-6 fine-tune tailpiece and no f-holes.

King used both pickups simultaneously and strung his guitar with light-gauge Gibsons (.009-.042).

Though he favored vintage Lab Series amps, he often ran through a Fender Twin Reverb onstage.

Replicating B.B. King's sound requires running your amp's output stage fairly hard, while avoiding the fuzzier distortion produced by high-gain channels or stompboxes.

T-BONE WALKER

Often called the father of electric blues, T-Bone Walker helped establish the guitar as a featured lead instrument in the 1940s.

Guitarists inspired by Walker's playing (or his flashy stage moves) include Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Billy Gibbons, Albert King, Otis Rush, Michael Bloomfield, and Duane Allman.

Walker cut his teeth on primitive acoustic-electrics, but his signature ax was a blonde, maple-bodied Gibson ES-5 that he bought at the peak of his career in the early 1950s.

Walker held the guitar perpendicular to his body (when he wasn't playing it behind his head or between his legs), and it's likely that he plugged into a Gibson tube amp.

T-Bone Walker forged the basic vocabulary of rock and roll using double-stops, half- and quarter-step bends, and his patented, third-to-second-string unison bends.

His unorthodox playing style probably created a little extra string lift and snap, and he preferred his tone dry, clean, and relatively bright compared to jazz guitar players of the time.

A deep-bodied guitar – preferably with P-90-style, single-coil pickups – running through a reasonably clean-sounding tube amplifier are essential ingredients for T-Bone tone.

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

Stevie Ray Vaughan forged a sound that defines big blues tone.

Five basic ingredients are required here:

• Rosewood fretboard Fender Strat strung with heavy-gauge strings (Vaughan used GHS sets as heavy as .013-.060)
• Ibanez Tube Screamer overdrive (either a TS-9 or an older TS-808)
• Rotating speaker (he favored vintage Fender Vibratones, but you may wish to substitute a stompbox-sized simulator here)
• Vox wah wah pedal
• Fender tube amp with four 10" speakers

Vaughan often combined amps – Fender Super Reverbs with 1x15 Fender Vibroverbs, Marshall and Dumble rigs with Fender combos, and so on.

Heavy electric guitar strings are an important part of the Vaughan recipe, but remember that Stevie tuned down a half-step – you'll want to do the same if you plan on performing his gargantuan bends on girthy gauges.

Choose your Strat carefully for lightness and resonance, and set your amp's controls to produce a clear, beefy clang from the neck pickup. (Fender Super Reverbs do this naturally.)

I’ve never seen one before this – or even knew it existed. But there it was in the Gibson ledger from 1969. It’s got the original tags, too. The tags say it’s an all-gold finish, with gold Bigsby, which is pretty cool.

It may have been some kind of presentation piece or a trade show guitar. It’s an unbelievable piece and is in virtually brand-new condition. It plays well, too, and the T-top pickups sound great.

It’s an all-gold finish meaning everything, including the back of the neck, is gold; Goldtop finishes are also self-explanatory.

It has various original paperwork and tags with it, including some that state ‘all-gold, special order, gold Bigsby.’

Somebody had it down previously as a ’68, but there’s no dot in the ‘i’ [of the headstock logo] and the serial number corresponds to early ’69; Gibson repeated ’66 serial numbers in 1969.

It’s a little on the heavier side, as they were – especially with a Bigsby. ’68 and ’69 guitars can be a little weighty, but all in all they’re really cool.

I mean, they were definitely still trying to put out some special pieces in the late '60s. This is a good made-in-the-USA pre-volute electric guitar. Obviously, 1970 is the beginning of the end for a lot of things. But not all guitars that came out of the Norlin era were bad.

Way too many people still believe the fairy tale that they were using '50s wood to build the late-'60s guitars. That simply is not true. There were no leftover '50s bodies made into ’68 Les Pauls. It never happened. I think that’s purely wishful thinking.

Gibson brought the single-cutaway Les Paul back in ’68 due to popular demand. They were pretty dead until Keith Richards went on The Ed Sullivan Show with The Rolling Stones in ’64 playing his ’59 ’Burst.

People’s interests were regenerated, and everyone was making a big hubbub of trading these '50s single-cutaway Les Pauls around. So Gibson decided they weren’t going to sit on the sideline and started making them again.

However, the fact that they reintroduced a P-90 guitar was pretty shocking to me. They could have just put T-top humbuckers in it and had a Les Paul Standard with dual humbuckers and the appointments as a ’57 or ’58 Goldtop. But for whatever reason they liked that ’55/’56 ABR-1/P-90 thing.

At this point, Gibson was a company that didn’t yet fully understand the significance of its own history. There were a few older cats hanging around, but I don’t think there was the same kind of thought process that went into it as nowadays.

Some of the first Les Paul Goldtops that came out in ’68 have an SG-style crown inlay because they didn’t have the Les Paul Model silkscreen logo ready to go in time. I have one of them. They made about 20 or so of those.

In ’69, pretty soon after the reissue P-90 Goldtops came out, they changed to Les Paul Deluxes with mini-humbuckers.

The Les Paul Custom was reintroduced in ’68 as a dual-humbucker guitar, rather than being three-pickup like earlier ones. I think they were listening to people on some level who were complaining they didn’t like the third/middle pickup.

And at that point the two-pickup Les Paul Custom was born – though they did make a very small amount of dual-humbucker guitars in ’57 and ’59.

As the Les Paul Custom kept evolving – or devolving, depending on how you look at it – Gibson continued to come up with some interesting stuff.

I have one from the early ‘70s with a Brazilian rosewood top. And I have one that’s like a tuxedo, a kind of Randy Rhoads creamy white colour on the top, but the sides and back are black. I also have a ’72 in Sparkling Burgundy, which is really nice. So they were trying a few interesting things to woo people back.

Gibson used gold as a basecoat for their Sparkling Burgundy. You’ll often see those guitars fading to a gold-ish colour as the translucent red fades away.

While the finish on this guitar is virtually mint, gold Gibson finishes are known to fade and wear to a greenish hue. The way it was explained to me is there’s a bronze powder in the paint and that’s why they turn the colour they do. 

For every person I meet that doesn’t like a Bigsby I find the person sitting next to them thinks it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened. They’re wonderful both ways.

I think the naysayers are probably people that just read internet forums and can’t judge a guitar for what it really is. If you play it for a minute, you’ll discover it’s pretty darn good.

Ultimately, it’s the player that makes the guitar.

Vintage guitar veteran David Davidson owns Well Strung Guitars in Farmingdale, New York

info@wellstrungguitars.com
001 (516) 221-0563

It’s a story we hear less and less these days: a dusty, old guitar gets pulled out of the closet where it’s been sitting untouched for decades, only for the owner to discover it's worth a fortune.

But that’s exactly what happened when U.K. vintage guitar dealer Mike Long of ATB Guitars received a call from the daughter of an elderly gentleman regarding his long-discarded 21st birthday present – a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Prized by guitar heroes since the ‘60s and with only around 1,500 having been made between 1958 and 1960, these instruments are among the most valuable of their type. Referred to as ‘Bursts on account of their sunburst finishes, Gibson Les Paul Standards are notoriously scarce.

As the old joke goes: Gibson made around 1,500 ‘Bursts but only 2,000 have been accounted for. And with new and old replicas aplenty, professionally authenticating a guitar can make all the difference. Indeed, a newly discovered 'Burst is big news among collectors.

Guitar Player spoke to Long last night while he was en route to Joe Bonamassa’s Royal Albert Hall concert in London, 'Burst in hand. Bonamassa, a prominent electric guitar collector, was apparently keen to inspect the recently unearthed find.

“It’s not every day a ‘Burst walks through the door with someone who has no idea what it is or how much it’s worth,” Long told us. “I’m amazed this still happens. They had no idea what they had at all.”

Stumbling across ATB Guitars during a search for nearby guitar stores, the owner’s daughter – a local teacher – initially contacted the vintage specialists to grab a simple quotation for insurance purposes.

“She said her dad was moving house and that she’d been entrusted with his guitar,” recalls Long. “She wanted us to do a basic evaluation so she could adjust her insurance if need be. 

"She’d searched online for ‘Gibson Les Paul’ and had come up with values of around five thousand pounds and was expecting to adjust her household premium accordingly.”

Having viewed some quick snaps, Long's initial thought was that the guitar may indeed be a replica. But that idea soon changed when it was brought in for inspection. 

Almost immediately they knew they were looking at something truly special.

“A couple of weeks later, she popped into the shop with a five-latch ‘Cali girl’ case,” continues Long. “I thought, ‘This looks interesting!’ When I opened the case, it was the filthiest guitar I’d ever seen. It had been stored in a closet, unplayed, since the ‘70s!"

After examining the guitar inside and out from top to bottom the ATB team were able to confirm its originality.

“The finish is all original, and there are no major breaks or repairs,” notes Long, “but it’s had a Bigsby added, the PAF humbuckers have been in and out, and the original pickguard has had a switch added.”

Originality and condition are of prime importance to vintage guitar collectors and such modifications tend to impact the value of instruments. However, when it comes to ‘Bursts, they don’t need to be in mint condition in order to command six figure sums.

“I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news,” Long informed the owner. “The bad news is it’s totally unplayable and is in terrible condition. The good news is that once it’s been refurbished it’ll be worth about £175,000.”

The room went silent.

“You could hear a pin drop,” remembers Long. “She couldn’t quite believe it. Her dad couldn’t quite believe it either. They literally had no idea what they had!”

Visit ATB Guitars for more information.

Often cited as the best blues guitar player to emerge from England, Peter Green began his brief career with the unenviable task of replacing Eric Clapton in John Mayall's band. Recorded in '66, A Hard Road – the second Bluesbreakers studio album – proved Green and his '59 Les Paul were up to the task.

While sharing Clapton's respect for American bluesmen, the 21-year-old Green had his own take on Les Paul tone.

His quick, stinging vibrato; penchant for clean, cutting timbres (often drenched with reverb); acute sense of dynamics; and unmatched melodic subtlety set him apart from all English blues players before or since.

Green's haunting, 10-second-long sustained notes in the instrumental "The Super-Natural" established him as England's new tone god.

After a short stay in the Bluesbreakers, Green left to form Fleetwood Mac, which played its first gig at the '67 Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival.

Green wrote prolifically for the band, penning "Albatross" (rumored to have inspired the Beatles' "Sun King"), "Black Magic Woman," "Rattlesnake Shake," and "Oh Well."

In early '68, the group's debut album, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, reached #4 on the British charts. Soon Green added the 18-year-old Danny Kirwan – whose beautiful playing bore an uncanny resemblance to Green's own – to create a twin Les Paul lineup.

In '70, Green abruptly left Mac and the music biz. He sold his magic Paul – with its unique, snarky honk and mysteriously wired pickups – to Gary Moore, who used it to record Blues for Greeny, a 1995 collection of 11 Green originals rendered with tone and heart.

During his brief career, Green played through a variety of tube amps – including a Marshall head and 4x12 cab (A Hard Road) and Orange half-stacks (early Mac).

Most often, however, he wailed through silverface Fender Twin Reverb and Deluxe combos.

Peter Green’s famous '59 Les Paul – now dubbed ‘Greeny’ – currently belongs to Kirk Hammett who acquired the iconic electric guitar from U.K. guitar dealer Richard Henry.

“I rolled into London and I called him up and said, ‘Hey, Rich. What have you got for me? Anything interesting?’” recalled Hammett.

“I plugged it in and I checked the bridge pickup. It sounded nice, bright, full. Great tone. The tonal spectrum was very, very smooth from low to high. I checked the neck pickup. I thought, ‘Oh my God. This is so nice.’ It has that full-on Still Got The Blues sound; I recognised it instantly.

“Then, you know, I put it in the middle position and started playing and all of a sudden, I was like, ‘Holy… Lord!’ I looked up at Richard and I said, ‘I’m not giving this guitar back to you guys.’”

Hammett, who regularly plays Greeny live and in the studio, wowed the audience at an all-star Peter Green tribute performance hosted by Mick Fleetwood at the London Palladium in 2020.

“It was amazing,” said Hammett. “It was a full circle thing for me having Peter Green’s guitar and playing “The Green Manalishi.” That song has been with me for a very, very long time. And to be able to play it with Mick Fleetwood and a bunch of other players who just understand that era of Fleetwood Mac was an amazing thing.

“Greeny was so at home with that song, and all the tones were just sitting there waiting to be used inside of her. It was a transcendental experience. When it came time to do the solo, I dug deep. I didn’t know what I was going to play, but having Greeny in my hands and with that Marshall Bluesbreaker and with that band, I knew I was going to be okay.”

For years, the Beck-Strat marriage has been fruitful and faithful – can you imagine Jeff Beck's groundbreaking '70s and '80s records without his alternately refined/skunky Strat tones and lithesome whammy bar wizardry? 

But you don't have to rewrite history to put a Paul in his hands.

In the wake of Beck's mid-'60s stint in the Yardbirds, he formed the Jeff Beck Group, whose 1968 album, Truth, is a showcase for his brief love affair with the Les Paul electric guitar.

Beck's fuzzed-out fills behind Rod Stewart's vocals on "Shapes of Things" whet our appetite for the main course, which Beck delivers in his subsequent solo. Here, his wailing tone is somewhere between Janis Joplin's boozy alto and an air-raid siren dipped in honey.

A Fender man while with the Yardbirds, Beck turned to the Paul after being impressed by Clapton's stellar Les Paul work with John Mayall.

In the December '73 issue of Guitar Player, Beck said that one of the things he dug about the Les Paul was its robust feel. "Fenders are cheap in feel," he remarked. "You pick up a Les Paul and it's heavy and it really means something – it means business.

“The Fender was nice because you could grip it like a weapon and really chunk out the chords, but when you came to the more subtle stuff it wasn't there. After a while I got so used to the Les Paul, there was no turning back. I picked up my Fender and thought, 'How the hell did I ever play this?'"

Beck eventually found the answer to that one and became disenchanted with Pauls, contending, "I think I can sound more like myself with a Strat." (Blow by Blow, in '75, marked the end of his Paul fling.)

Ah, we'll always have Truth.

Order Truth here.

Les Paul was working as a professional guitarist in the 1930s when he turned his highly inventive mind to building a solidbody electric guitar in order to overcome feedback and other issues that plagued amplified hollowbody instruments.

In 1939, his solution took shape in the form of what he dubbed the “Log,” basically a four-by-four piece of pine upon which he bolted a Gibson neck, a pair of pickups that he built, and his own bridge and vibrato tailpiece.

To make the thing look like a guitar, he sawed an Epiphone archtop body in half and glued the “wings” to the pine block.

Les proved the viability of his concept by using the Log on recordings that he and his trio made with the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby and others, but the hallowed guitar company, Gibson, was unimpressed when Les brought it to Kalamazoo to show to the company chiefs in 1941.

“I took the Log to Gibson and I spent 10 years trying to convince them that this was the way to go,” he famously said. “But it wasn’t easy. If it wasn’t for Leo Fender I don’t think that ever would have come off. Leo saw more in it than Gibson did.”

Besides, Gibson already had the ES-150 electric-archtop (and a matching amp), introduced in 1936 and popularized by Charlie Christian and other jazz guitar players. Who needed a solidbody?

But when the Fender Telecaster detonated on the Southern California scene in the early ’50s, Gibson realized they needed to get in the solidbody game, pronto.

Enter Ted McCarty, who joined Gibson in 1948 and became its president just two years later. Armed with a sharp eye for style, he wanted to make an alternative to the slab-sided Telecaster by designing his single-cutaway guitar with an arched, carved-maple top.

In 1950, he showed the guitar to Les, who approved the design and felt that it was sufficiently close to what he was going after to let Gibson put his name on it.

The Les Paul model would have a rockier start than Fender’s “plank” – and, for a time, even went out of production entirely – but that all changed once players like Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor started slinging Les Pauls.

What Les started with the Log became a success story for Gibson.

While it’s true Rickenbacker’s solidbody Model A-22 Electro “Frying Pan” predated Les’s Log, it was a lap steel, not a Spanish-style guitar.

Les owns the solidbody concept for his vision and tenacity.

There’s irony aplenty that Gibson’s big hit after the Les Paul Model was the thinline ES-335, a highly popular reimagining of what Les started with his crude Log.

Rock was rapidly shedding its roll in the mid-1960s, but if we had to name the first electric guitar player to prominently define rock-guitar tone, it would have to be Eric Clapton.

Slowhand was a devotee of the blues and had left the Yardbirds in early 1965 when they adopted a poppier sound.

He hitched up with John Mayall’s Blues Breakers for some live dates before heading across Europe in a pickup band, but the best part of a year later, he was ready to put some real hair on that blues guitar tone, enforcing new demands on standard studio practices in the process.

In May 1966, Clapton, Mayall, bassist John McVie (later of Fleetwood Mac) and drummer Hughie Flint entered Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London to record their first studio album, Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton.

The featured guitarist brought with him a Marshall model 1962 2x12 tube amp combo and a sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, and declared that he was “going to play loud.”

One of the best accounts of the session has Clapton quoting the engineer’s recollection, rather than probing his own. As Clapton told Dan Forte for Guitar Player in 1985, “I remember reading an interview with [engineer] Gus Dudgeon where he said that I put my amp in a certain place, and he went over and put a mic in front of it, and I said, ‘No, put the microphone over there on the other side of the room because I’m going to play loud.’ I think that sounds like it would be true.”

And Clapton did play loud, pushing his 45-watt Marshall combo – forever after known as a Bluesbreaker – into juicy, trenchant overdrive, made all the thicker and creamier by his PAF-loaded Les Paul.

Almost overnight, this became the sound burgeoning rockers were chasing the world over. For more than 50 years since, “that tone” has never looked back.

Buy the Beano album here.

• Start recording with the best acoustic guitar mics

Mike Bloomfield is known to have possessed benchmark tone. And while a great deal of that sound was down to his inimitable touch, Bloomfield’s go-to electric guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Along with other hard rocking blues guitar heroes such Gary Moore, Paul Kossoff and Jimmy Page, Bloomfield has long been synonymous with the ‘Burst, though Gibson’s iconic single-cutaway solidbody is not the first Les Paul he owned.

Having pored over Gibson catalogs for years he was first introduced to the joys of a Les Paul when his guitar teacher gave him a top-of-the-range “fretless wonder” Les Paul Custom model.

In the mid-‘60s, while on tour with the Butterfield Blues Band, Bloomfield became aware of British guitarists such as Keith Richards, Peter Green and Eric Clapton playing the ‘mid-priced’ Standard model which was prized for its sustain, volume and tone.

Along with these famed British guitarists, Bloomfield did much to popularize the Les Paul Standard and help create a demand that has shown little sign of slowing down since the '60s. Indeed, the sunburst Les Paul is by far Gibson’s most successful electric guitar design.

Following its discontinuation in 1960 when it was superseded by the thin-bodied, double-cutaway SG-style, the single-cutaway Les Paul format was eventually reintroduced in 1968, thanks to players like Bloomfield who used it to devastating effect – as show in this classic live clip.

Performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 with The Electric Flag, Bloomfield pulls a dynamite solo out of the bag that perfectly encapsulates what the 'Burst is capable of doing in the right hands.

Browse the Mike Bloomfield catalog here.

Keith Richards wasn’t the only one rocking a Les Paul Standard in 1964. Though the Rolling Stone did much to popularize the ‘Burst following its discontinuation in 1960, at the time it was George Benson who was seen to be really putting Gibson’s iconic solidbody through its paces.

While synonymous with players such as Mike Bloomfield, Paul Kossoff, Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore et cetera it’s easy to think of the sunburst Les Paul solely as a blues-rock machine. But it certainly wasn’t designed with that later style of music in mind.

During the pre-rock ‘n’ roll years of the early 1950s the fledgling Les Pauls were naturally aimed at the guitarist whose style was more akin to that of the instrument’s namesake. Though Les Pauls later became more strongly associated with electric blues and rock they are dynamic instruments that can easily produce the kind of rich, warm tone favored by jazz guitar players, whether sporting P-90s or (from ’57) humbuckers.

The overwhelming popularity of Gibson’s electric archtops meant their Les Paul instruments were never fully embraced by the jazz community (Fender also tried, and failed, to break into the jazz world with a solidbody during the ‘50s with the Jazzmaster.) However, as leaders of the electric guitar market the company was able to successfully apply several tried and tested concepts to their debut solidbody released in 1952.

In many ways the original Les Paul Model/Goldtop was an amalgamation of specifications inherited from Gibson electric models released earlier in 1951. For example, the glued-in mahogany neck – including the headstock logo and crown inlays, trapezoid fretboard inlays, and single-bound rosewood fretboard – is virtually identical to that of the CF-100E. Meanwhile, plastic pickup covers notwithstanding, the same dual P-90 configuration and electronics/controls feature on the first incarnation of the L-5CES and Super 400CES flagship guitars.

That leaves us with the Les Paul’s body, which was its USP by virtue of a solid construction. While Gibson guitar bodies had already featured single-cutaways, carved tops, maple tops and mahogany years prior, the Les Paul body was unique in its essential blueprint.

Patently, the Les Paul is a quintessential Gibson design (with the exception of the Les Paul-designed combination bar bridge/tailpiece which was swiftly replaced by a simplified stud tailpiece in '53.)

All that said, the Les Paul remains far greater than the sum of its parts. And had it not been for Les Paul’s dogged determination to succeed with his earlier solidbody electric guitar inventions (notably the ‘Log’) – not to mention his groundbreaking playing technique and pioneering recording studio innovations – the guitar world and its pantheon of heroes might appear very different today.

Ultimately, how the design was interpreted by future artists and put to good use making music is what really matters. Speaking of which…

On this day, in 1966, the psychedelic supergroup known as Cream – comprising Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker – released their debut album, Fresh Cream.

Bolstered by the pioneering pop-rock single I Feel Free the album hit the U.K. top ten in January 1967 – the same month it was launched in the U.S.

Although many people associate Cream-era Clapton with an SG Standard, in this 1966 promotional TV clip of the band miming to “Wrapping Paper and “Sweet Wine” the young guitarist can be seen playing a Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Famously using a ‘Burst paired with a Marshall in the 1966 Bluesbreakers sessions, a 21-year-old Clapton established a touchstone of blues-rock guitar tone.

However, by the time the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album was released in July ’66, Clapton was already rehearsing with Cream – during which time his beloved ‘Beano’ ‘Burst was stolen.

While Clapton never got a chance to record or perform in public with Cream using the Beano ‘Burst he did manage to borrow a few guitars in the meantime, notably Keith Richards’ Bigsby-fitted 'Burst (as used on the Rolling Stones 1964 The Ed Sullivan Show appearance.)

Before the summer was out, Clapton would score another ‘Burst – this time from Andy Summers – using it to record Fresh Cream with. Unfortunately, the precious instrument would suffer a headstock break within months, prompting Clapton’s move towards a Gibson SG Standard.

Though the guitarist acquired a third ‘Burst towards the end of Cream’s short two-year lifespan that guitar did not hang around for long. It’s fair to say Clapton had a run of bad luck with ‘Bursts in the early days. Nonetheless, he did much to popularize the now iconic electric guitar during the ‘60s. Indeed, the single-cutaway Les Paul has since become Gibson’s most successful electric guitar design.

Buy Fresh Cream here.

Released in 1971 on Capricorn Records, At Fillmore East captures the Allman Brothers – guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, keyboardist/singer Gregg Allman, bassist Berry Oakley, and drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks – in the zone and at the peak of their powers.

All one can hope for when buying a live record is to hear the self-conscious studio restraints vanish and the intangible elements of spirit and heart make their way to tape for the ages. At Fillmore East delivers in spades.

“In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” exemplifies the Allman Brothers’ magic. This Dickey Betts-penned composition ebbs, flows, peaks and simmers, while the entire group melds into a musical army.

This track is a mystical journey that never leaves the high altitude of stellar. It starts seductively with the iconic Am9 - Am, Am9 - D changes, and with volume swells and cinematic unison harmonies that preface a boulder rolling down a hill. Dickey and Duane play great solos, and the band churns in support.

Other tracks, like “Statesboro Blues,” still hold up 50 years after the fact as quintessential blues-rock tracks. Duane’s Les Paul through a Marshall sounds like a flamethrower, while he exhibits a slide technique so exceptional, it’s still the high bar for guitarists to aspire to.

Absolutely no one before Duane sounded like him, and his contributions to the Allman Brothers and Derek & the Dominos’ Layla sessions – not to mention his contributions to Boz Scaggs, Herbie Mann and Wilson Pickett – are part of the significant legacy this young man left us before his untimely death at 24.

While the group is informed by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Muddy Waters, Blind Willie Johnson and the like, they take the next step of redefining the blues guitar as they hear and feel it. The listener gets to hear them innovate the genre.

“Done Somebody Wrong” features a great Gregg Allman vocal, to which Duane answers by making the guitar seem like another human voice, while Dickey digs in, never to be upstaged or diminished.

Speaking of which, Mr. Betts has a style we could all learn from. He plants himself with a pentatonic idea so thoroughly, he torturously depletes its every possibility before ascending to the next chapter.

His solos are like a slow walk up a dark stairway in a movie thriller.

Dickey’s artistry blossomed on the post-Duane LP Brothers and Sisters, and his original gem “Jessica” shows him at the top of his game. Together, Duane and Dickey are the quintessential guitar duo, and they pioneered and defined the timeless marriage of harmony guitars.

It’s safe to say At Fillmore East influenced and opened the door for Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elvin Bishop, Dixie Dregs and other influential southern rock groups that followed. 

The Allman Brothers’ influence was so distilled and true, most of those groups couldn’t help but retain the language and spirit of the southern rock genre the Allmans helped create.

Pick up a copy of At Fillmore East here.

Penning a hit record needn’t be an arduous task; indeed, some of the greatest songs ever written were put together in mere minutes. Anthem’s such as “Yesterday” by the Beatles, “My Sharona” by the Knack, and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” are all famously cited as examples.

Add to the list “Tush” from ZZ Top’s 1975 album Fandango!

Here, Billy Gibbons explains how he and Dusty Hill bounced off each other when writing the song’s lyrics. Poignantly, this ZZ Top set closer would be the last song Hill sung with the band prior to his passing earlier this year.

Fandango! was a half live/half studio album. It also spawned one of your biggest and most enduring songs, “Tush.”

That’s a funny story. The whole song unfolded in five minutes. We held an afternoon rehearsal down in Florence, Alabama, and we were playing in a dirt-floor rodeo arena without air conditioning. It was so fiercely hot.

I made up this introductory riff, and I recall the lighting director: He pulled the headphones off and he put his finger in the air, and he was grinning and pointing, and he said, “Don’t lose it.” I looked over at Dusty and I said, “Man, we’ve got about four, five minutes before we collapse from this heat.”

And so we ran through a 12-bar blues using that headline figure. Then Dusty leaned over, and he said, “What are we going to call this thing?” And I remember, the three of us were all big fans of Roy Head. In fact, we used to play “Treat Her Right” as part of the ZZ Top repertoire. And the flip side of Roy Head’s “Treat Her Right” single was an instrumental called “Tush Hog,” which was a Texas slang term that meant “That’s just about as good as it’s gonna get.” It didn’t get better than a tush hog! [laughs]

So “Tush” came together pretty quickly.

Yeah. And it goes to show you that sometimes the most effective thing can be the most simplistic thing, which is not always the easiest to do. I gave Dusty the title, and he said, “Okay... ‘I’ve been up!’” And I said, “Yeah... ‘I’ve been down!’” He said, “‘Take my word, my way around.’”

We got it down and got the heck out of that heat box! Then, later on, we polished it up and took it to the studio.

“Tush” is a song that features the classic electric guitar and amp combination of Pearly Gates played through a Marshall Super Lead. But you also used something called a Cooper Time Cube in your setup.

Yes, we did. It was a rather primitive contraption, but quite effective. Basically it was a small speaker and a microphone at either end of a stretch of 25 feet of garden hose. And the way it was set up, the hose was in a simple coil, but the law of physics prevailed.

The time it took for the sound to travel through this coil of hose gave it a very distinctive… I want to call it a kind of fractional delay. It wasn’t enough to call it slapback. You couldn’t detect any kind of a slap, but there was a delay. So we didn’t really know what it was, but I was curious when I saw the name Cooper Time Cube. I said, “Well, I dunno what it does, but we’re going to use it!”

Browse ZZ Top music here.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, ZZ Top's First Album – the band’s 1971 debut long-player – opens with the track "(Somebody Else Been) Shakin' Your Tree.” It would be the album’s only single and although it did not make it into the Billboard charts the song kicked off a legendary recording career that certainly has its fair share of entertaining stories.

We caught up with the one and only Billy F. Gibbons to talk ‘Bursts, pedal steels, and how Jeff Beck managed to hook ZZ Top up with America's first 110-volt Marshalls…

"(Somebody Else Been) Shakin' Your Tree" was the only single released from your debut album. How did it come together?

That was an interesting song in that it was actually the first track that we tackled for the album. We wrote the music for that one down in Houston. We had a nifty little rehearsal space, which was right next to a cantina. [laughs]

So yeah, a good start. And I remember we drove up to Robin Hood Studios [in Tyler, Texas], and we got there late at night and hunkered down, because we realized we had polished the music track but we had not completed the lyrics.

We only had the title, which was kind of a bluesy, colloquial slogan: “You better watch out! Somebody’s messing around with your girl.” It was an entertaining twist of words. I remember staying up until the wee hours completing the verses.

What was your main electric guitar and amp on the song?

I was playing Pearly Gates, that ’59 [Gibson Les Paul] sunburst. That was the standby in the studio and still is. And we had the very first wave of Marshall hundred-watts. It was a Super Lead 100, and those had been arranged for delivery through Jeff Beck.

I’d actually met Jeff in 1968. The Moving Sidewalks had played a few dates with him, and we got to be quite friendly. We were using Vox amps at the time, and I was eyeballing these big tall structures – Marshalls. Because the sound was fierce.

I said, “Jeff, what is this?” And Jeff said, “Well, if you really have an interest, I can call Jim Marshall and see if we can make arrangements for delivery here to the States.” So we actually got the first 110-volt Marshalls. They landed in New York, and then they came to California, where we were living at the time. And, brother, plugging in that thing for the first time and cranking it to 10? Talk about having a blast!

This song is unique for its use of a pedal-steel guitar in the main melody. How did that come about?

I had been fooling around with the pedal steel, and we came to an interesting discussion within the studio. We were in the lounge, and I said, “Is this too country for a rock and roll song?” We tossed a coin in the air and it came out heads. So we headed in with this pedal steel, casting caution to the wind.

Were you an accomplished pedal-steel player at the time?

Not in the least! It was a four-pedal Emmons eight-string, and I had only gotten as far as learning the first two pedals, which took it from a C to an F. It was basically a one-and-four pedal combination. But I’d been toying around with the bottleneck so long that, you know, the steel in hand felt quite natural, so it wasn’t a big challenge.

The big challenge was to learn how to get the one-and-four change and make sure I was hitting the proper three strings out of eight. But I think it came out okay!  

Buy ZZ Top's First Album here.

“We got some uh… The guitar keeps cutting off, you’ve probably noticed. Just gonna put that right,” says Free vocalist Paul Rodgers as the vast crowd attending 1970’s Isle of Wight Festival politely gaze on. Buzz… Crackle… “Oh shit! Sorry about this...”

Managing to keep his cool, guitarist Paul Kossoff is suddenly back and after a quick tune up the band count in to “Be My Friend,” a track Free would go on to record the following month for their fourth studio album, Highway.

In this rough and ready film of Free’s performance at the legendary Isle of Wight Festival, Kossoff is seen playing his stripped-top 1959 Les Paul Standard (prior to it being refinished in 1975 by renowned UK luthier Dick Knight at the behest of a later owner.)

One of classic rock’s quintessential ‘Burst players, Kossoff owned several of these iconic axes, although the Les Paul seen here is believed to be his favorite.

Kossoff used the same electric guitar during Free’s Top of the Pops appearance earlier in June 1970 when they performed their biggest hit “All Right Now” in the BBC studio. It is thought Kossoff used this ‘Burst to track the top ten hit. Check out this clip to get a closer look at the legendary instrument in action.

Kossoff began gigging with Free in 1968 aged just 17. Their debut album, Tons of Sobs, appeared in Spring 1969, followed by the eponymously titled long-player that Fall. But it was to be the 1970 studio album Fire and Water along with its closing track “All Right Now” that would really help the band break through.

Breedlove has teamed with actor/musician Jeff Bridges to create three ecology-conscious signature models. They include the American-made flagship Oregon Concerto Bourbon CE ($2,699) and two additions to the American-developed and overseas-made Organic Collection: the Concert Copper E ($699) and the Amazon Concert Sunburst CE on review here. 

All three are made of solid tonewoods from sustainably harvested forests (not clear cut) and feature the motto "All in this Together" inlayed on the fretboard. Being unfamiliar with the granadillo wood used for the guitar’s back and sides, and always interested in attainably priced and ecologically sound instruments, I was very curious to give the Amazon Concert Sunburst CE a look and a play.  

This is a stunningly attractive guitar. A unique tobacco sunburst radiates through a thin UV finish, showing off the tight grain of its torrified solid Sitka spruce top, none of which is covered by a pickguard. The gold hardware – including the frets and tuners – adds elegance, and the pinless Delta bridge lends a classical element. 

As it turns out, granadillo is a lovely wood that looks to my eyes like a cross between walnut and cocobolo. The body binding is black walnut. You can’t miss the fretboard inlay with the timely motto running its full length, or Bridges’ signature inlay adorning the back of the headstock. I never would have guessed the inlays, including the headstock logo, are plastic and not mother-of-pearl. 

The Amazon Concert Sunburst CE is ultimately playable. I had no trouble reaching notes anywhere and everywhere, which encouraged me to strive for chords and licks with complete confidence. In fact, the fingerboard flow is so smooth that it’s easy to get carried away and start shredding.

A soft cutaway facilitates access to the higher frets, where I spent more playing time than usual. Its 25.5-inch scale length contributes to a snappy string feel. As a vertically challenged dude with hands on the small side and repetitive stress injury to my arms and hands, I completely appreciate the slim neck profile and width as well as the guitar’s easy factory action and relatively small body. 

Breedlove’s midsized concert is the brand’s bread and butter. The Amazon Concert Sunburst CE doesn’t sound as chunky as a flagship Oregon Concert, but that’s hardly surprising considering the massive price difference. 

The Amazon is still a great option, because, for a third of the cost, it delivers a much higher percentage of Breedlove’s best tone. Within its own ecosystem, the sound is well balanced, with great volume and projection. Notes and chords sing out with plenty of pop and presence.

I plugged it into a Fender Acoustic Jr. Go, and while the amplified tone was more acceptable than awesome, it was also well balanced from string to string. Kudos to Breedlove and Bridges for their good work making great guitars while keeping an eye on the big picture. 

The Breedlove Jeff Bridges signature All in this Together project benefits the Amazon Conservation Team, which works with indigenous colleagues to protect rainforests and traditional culture.

It’s nice to know an instrument that feels so good in hand is also part of a feel-good plan, and that there’s no worry when taking these woods across borders. I couldn’t stop reaching for the Amazon Concert Sunburst CE and wound up walking around my home grounds, playing all sorts of cool chords and tricky licks that came so readily on the instrument.

I proudly showed it off on my buddy’s boat and at my neighbor’s garage. He doesn’t play, but he was so knocked out by its looks that he wants one as a wall decoration. I’d recommend this guitar to practically anyone, particularly players with smaller hands or beginners in the market looking for an especially easy-playing instrument.

For all it offers at a reasonable price, and without using clear-cut wood, Breedlove’s Jeff Bridges Amazon Concert Sunburst CE earns an Editors’ Pick Award.

Specifications

• PRICE: $999 street, with signature deluxe gig bag
• NUT WIDTH: 1.69”, bone
• NECK: African mahogany
• FRETBOARD: African ebony, 25.5” scale, plastic All in this Together inlay
• FRETS: 20
• TUNERS: Premium Breedlove chrome with black buttons
• BODY: Solid granadillo back and sides, torrified solid European spruce top
• BRIDGE: African ebony with bone saddle
• ELECTRONICS: Breedlove Natural Sound= (Microsonic VT HD 2-AAA) with sound-hole flywheel volume and tone controls
• FACTORY STRINGS: Olympia light (.012–.053)
• WEIGHT: 5 lbs
• BUILT: China
• CONTACT: Breedlove

Despite the coronavirus pandemic hitting on the year of PRS's 35th anniversary, the guitar company has maintained a steady stream of new electric guitars. One such release from the past 12 months was the 35th Anniversary SE Custom 24, which launched back in October 2019.

With only 3,500 guitars - finished in Black Gold Wrap Burst - made in its initial run, some PRS enthusiasts missed out. Luckily, the company has announced a limited run of 3,000 models in a brand-new Faded Blue Burst finish.

The 35th Anniversary SE Custom 24 combines the standard Custom 24's sleek looks and playability with the extra switching options of the Paul's Guitar model.

The guitar's pickups can be adjusted via two mini-toggle switches, allowing users to put each, or both, pickups into either humbucking or single-coil modes.

The model also includes a 24-fret wide thin neck with abalone ‘old school’ birds and PRS's patented tremolo.

The 35th Anniversary SE Custom 24 is available now for $999. For more information, head to PRS Guitars.

A rare, non-branded early 1960s Japanese sunburst electric guitar once played by Jimi Hendrix has sold at auction for $216,000.

The guitar - according the late guitar legend's brother, Leon Hendrix - was played by Hendrix in the early to mid ‘60s. It was sold by GWS Auctions for over four times its starting bid price of $50,000.

Hendrix is said to have begun playing the instrument “shortly after he returned home from the U.S. Army in 1962.

"After leaving Fort Campbell, Jimi moved to Clarksville, Tennessee for a short time where he played on the Chitlin' Circuit with the likes of Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, Ike and Tina Turner and Jackie Wilson before moving to Harlem, New York in early 1964 where he stayed until late 1966 playing venues such as Cafe Wha? and the Cheetah Club.

“Jimi moved to London in late 1966 and left this guitar in New York at the apartment of one of his best friends, where Leon [Hendrix] recalled seeing it many years later.”

The guitar - which came without strings - was offered with a letter of provenance from Leon Hendrix. 

For more info on the guitar, stop by gwsauctions.com.

A rare, non-branded early 1960s Japanese sunburst electric guitar once played by Jimi Hendrix is headed to the auction block.

According to the late guitar legend's brother, Leon Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix played the instrument in the early to mid ‘60s. More specifically, GWS Auctions - the house hosting the auction - says that Hendrix began playing the instrument “shortly after he returned home from the U.S. Army in 1962.

"After leaving Fort Campbell, Jimi moved to Clarksville, Tennessee for a short time where he played on the Chitlin' Circuit with the likes of Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, Ike and Tina Turner and Jackie Wilson before moving to Harlem, New York in early 1964 where he stayed until late 1966 playing venues such as Cafe Wha? and the Cheetah Club.

“Jimi moved to London in late 1966 and left this guitar in New York at the apartment of one of his best friends, where Leon [Hendrix] recalled seeing it many years later.”

The guitar - which comes without strings - is offered with a letter of provenance from Leon Hendrix in addition to a copy of the above video interview. Hendrix is also willing to have a private lunch with the winning bidder, at the bidder's expense.

The current starting bid for the guitar is $50,000.

For more info on the guitar, stop by gwsauctions.com.

Back in January (doesn't that seem like three lifetimes ago?) the Gibson Custom Shop confirmed that an Adam Jones Silverburst Les Paul was in the works.

Since then, we've heard little about the long-rumored and buzzed-about guitar, which is based on the Tool guitarist’s original 1979 Les Paul Custom Silverburst. Now though, Gibson has confirmed on social media that the instrument is entering production.

“Yes it’s #official,” wrote Gibson CMO Cesar Gueikian in an Instagram post featuring him posing with Jones, who's holding a finished example of the guitar.

Jones made an Instagram post of his own, captioning a photo of Silverburst body blanks at the Gibson Custom Shop with “It doesn’t get more official than this. Gibson Signature Guitars now in production!”

Frustratingly, we still have no concrete information about the guitar other than its finish, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we learn more.