Latest articles by Tony Bacon
The lure of celebrity endorsement has long been present in the world of guitars, with early examples dating back as far as the late 19th century
Beyond the tales of Clapton’s lost ’Bursts, the guitarist reached for a variety of instruments during his tenure in Cream, from the iconic ‘Fool’ SG to a mid-’60s ES-335
B.B. King will forever be known as the great bluesman who always played Lucille. But he had many Lucilles
The author of the newly released Electric Blues! T-Bone Walker & The Guitar That Started It All, Tony Bacon, joins us to spotlight T-Bone’s personal contribution to the creation of this game-changing style
Fender’s CBS era is often boiled down to an equation of ‘corporate drive for profit and quantity = lowering of build standards,’ but like many things in life, it's not so simple
Fender’s Custom Shop had a precarious start in the mid-1980s, but the story of its formative years is full of big ideas, some bizarre instruments, and a queue of famous guitarists
We dig into the Japanese guitar industry of the 1960s and ’70s and find notable brands, mischievous copies, diligent makers and original designs that led to the instrument’s renaissance in the 1980s and beyond
From the bold introduction of the Flying V and Explorer, to the acquisition of Epiphone, we celebrate 130 years of Gibson with a recap of the most significant stages of its history
As Epiphone commemorates a century-and-a-half in business, we enlist the help of vintage guitar experts and Gibson’s own archivists to tell its remarkable history
The late guitar hero first began transitioning to the model with which he would become synonymous during the recording of his 1969 album, Beck-Ola
Sold on to collectors or lovingly sacrificed to the music gods, Hendrix’s Strats are the stuff of Arthurian legend
Four decades on, we look back at the birth of Squier and Fender JV, and why Fender decided to go big in Japan...
How Fender's Mexican plant went from converted church with a handful of employees to the powerhouse facility behind some of its top-selling instruments
A perfect union of form and function, guitars have the power to change the course of music and even history itself. Here, we present the most influential guitars of our time
At the tail-end of the 1950s, Fender’s Stratocaster was reigning supreme over the electric-guitar market. Kalamazoo needed to fight back...
In this classic interview from 1994, McCartney looks back on the transition to Wings, its effect on his bass playing, and how he became an entertainer again
We celebrate the pioneers whose envelope-pushing ideas changed the face of the electric era of guitar playing
Taken from a church hall practice room in '66, Slowhand’s legendary Beano ’Burst has not been seen since. Guitarist investigates...
