Eric C. Shoaf's A Brief History of Signature Guitars is mostly about Gibsons for the simple reason that Gibson's had lot more signature models than any other maker. Eric covers everything from Nick Lucas to Johnny Smith, stopping well short of most of our current models (B.B. King Lucille, Chet Atkins, Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts Fusion, Ace Frehley, Joe Perry, Jimmy Page, Leland Sklar, Noel Gallagher (Epi), Jack Casady (Epi), John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Ron Wood, Elvis, Hank Jr., Don Everly), but then again, it's a vintage guitar magazine.

Eric also offers his opinion of the Best Buys in Vintage Guitars, which answers some of the most commonly asked questions that we get at Gibson.

Willie Moseley's interview with George Thorogood includes lots of talk about the Gibson ES-125TC. It was our cheapest thinbody, cutaway archtop electric in the '50s and '60s, but it's got the big warm sound of a P-90 pickup. Vintage ES-125s are coming on strong, thanks to musicians like Thorogood, Tracy Chapman (she played one on the Grammys and on her video of "Give Me One Reason") and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. After you read what Mr. Thorogood has to say, check out the modern version of the ES-125, the ES-135.

Gibson's archives helped Ward Meeker authenticate the first cherry red ES-335.

An interview with Aerosmith by Lisa Sharken finds Joe Perry and Brad Whitford talking about Les Pauls. Perry mentions his "Les Paul and Wizard rig," which at the time was his secret sonic weapon. But now it's available on the Joe Perry Les Paul signature model.

Our favorite of all these articles is Larry Meiners' Top 10 guitar buys under $1000. All 10 are Gibsons. ranging from 1969 to 1973. Larry's prices are from the 1995 VG price guide, so some might not be available for under $1000 any more. Most of the models are still in production in some form or another, and some, like the Explorer, still have street prices under the $1000 limit. It's a great list of vintage "sleepers."