Vintage

The ES-295 is one of the most iconic Gibson models of the 1950s. It probably would have earned that accolade on looks alone, but when a Tennessee picker used one to lay down some tracks with a Tupelo truck driver, the result was rock ’n’ roll history. Check out this stellar example from way back in ’53…

A close encounter with an original Ocean Turquoise Fender offset is a rare event indeed, and this ’66 Jazzmaster even has case candy. We take a deep dive…

The Gibson Skylark is an underrated small amp from the late 50s and early 60s that many vintage collectors are focusing on as a viable alternative to pricier Fender equivalents. Read on to discover that great things really do come in small packages…

Like the V and Explorer before it, Gibson’s 60s Firebird range was a radical rethink of the possibilities of guitar design. Of the many Firebirds over the years, the VII is regarded as the pinnacle.

Forget your ’54s and custom colours, the most collectable Stratocaster of them all is the blonde and gold ‘Mary Kaye’.

The ES-225 was Gibson’s first thinline hollowbody, and yet it doesn’t get the same attention as its golden-era Kalamazoo siblings. But with original P-90s and a fabulous neck profile, it’s one of the few remaining 50s Gibsons that doesn’t cost rockstar money.

The Les Paul officially became the SG in 1963, but guitars were still leaving Kalamazoo with the man’s name on their truss rod covers until the tail end of the year. Huw Price gets to grips with one of the last examples, along with that sideways Vibrola…

The roots may be showing on this old blonde, but it sure can sing. Huw Price surfs the airwaves with one of Fender’s first guitars: a 1950 Broadcaster…

Though not as famous as the guitar that bore his name, in the 1950s Les Paul also lent his name to a line of Gibson amps that made a complete signature ‘guitar outfit’. Huw Price gets two-toned with the GA-40…

The black-lacquered, jazz club sophistication of the earliest LP Custom takes more of its styling cues from Steinway than Stromberg. Huw Price steps out with a grand ’56 model…