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Vintage Vault

Vintage Vault: How a Sunburst 1960 Gibson Les Paul Broke My Heart
Vintage Vault

Vintage Vault: How a Sunburst 1960 Gibson Les Paul Broke My Heart

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A 100-Plus-Year-Old Mystery Banjo Travels from Alaska to Nashville
Photo courtesy of Fanny’s House of Music
Vintage Vault

A 100-Plus-Year-Old Mystery Banjo Travels from Alaska to Nashville

Black electric guitar in front of two Marshall amplifiers on a patterned rug.
Vintage Vault

Check Out This Pristine 1959 Les Paul Custom

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A Mysteriously Excellent Kay Effector
Vintage Vault

A Mysteriously Excellent Kay Effector

Did Hendrix Play This Rare 1968 SG Custom?
Vintage Vault

Did Hendrix Play This Rare 1968 SG Custom?

This 1968 Gibson SG Custom, just one of two produced, might have been in Jimi Hendrix’s hands during a legendary jam session.

When Does a Guitar Become “Vintage?”
Vintage Vault

When Does a Guitar Become “Vintage?”

This collaborative effort between Japanese and American guitar builders aimed for old-school quality without breaking the bank.

The Slanted Fret Rickenbacker 481
Vintage Vault

The Slanted Fret Rickenbacker 481

The body style may have evoked McCartney, but this ahead-of-its-time experiment was a different beast altogether.

A New Yorker Fit for Memphis Minnie
Vintage Vault

A New Yorker Fit for Memphis Minnie

This National electric is just the tip of the iceberg of electric guitar history.

An Elegant PRS and the Truth About Angry Larry
Vintage Vault

An Elegant PRS and the Truth About Angry Larry

This 2019 PRS Custom 24-08 has a 10-top, making it one of the company’s most elite models, and it longs to be played.

Revisiting a Forgotten Hippie-Era 6-String
Vintage Vault

Revisiting a Forgotten Hippie-Era 6-String

The idiosyncratic, Summer of Love-era Musicraft Messenger had a short-lived run and some unusual appointments, but still has some appreciators out there.

The Sorrento Swinger: A Japan-Made Guitar for Its Era
Vintage Vault

The Sorrento Swinger: A Japan-Made Guitar for Its Era

Originally priced at $25 and tagged for the student market, this guitar built at the Kawai factory sounds surprisingly good, but its neck is a “husky” fit.

Bass Players, Beware: A Low-Ender Novelty for One-Man Bands
Vintage Vault

Bass Players, Beware: A Low-Ender Novelty for One-Man Bands

While this forgotten, oddball instrument was designed with multidextrous guitarists in mind, it never quite took off—making it a rare, vintage treasure.

An Acoustic Piece of Italian-American Luthier History
Vintage Vault

An Acoustic Piece of Italian-American Luthier History

When our columnist stumbled upon this 12-string hanging streetside in NYC, he knew he’d struck gold.