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IN DETAIL
Gretsch’s 1953-’57 Duo Jet
Gibson’s Les Paul and ES-295 gave credibility to painted guitars, and by the mid ’50s Gretsch was making all of its new models available in swanky colors, including its workhorse, the solidbody Duo Jet. By R.J. Klimpert

GIBSON K-4 MANDOCELLO
Gibson was founded as a mandolin builder in 1902, with instruments of revolutionary design. The most successful was the mandocello, and the pinnacle of the company’s mandocello concept was the K-4. By George Gruhn and Walter Carter

RICHARD BENNETT
He has had a long and varied career as session player, producer, and touring sideman for folks with names like Mark Knopfler, Neil Diamond, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, and others. His collection of guitars is no slouch, either. By Zac Childs

IBANEZ DESTROYER II
Neck-through guitars with fancy electronics didn’t cut it with the heavy metal bands in the early 1980s. Rather, players with poofy hair, spandex pants, and in-your-face playing styles were attracted to the radical shape of this sharp axe. By Michael Wright

THE DIFFERENT STRUMMER
Lap Steel Guitars: Part One, The Origins
Would we have had the electric guitar without the craze for Hawaiian music? Maybe, maybe not. But we certainly would not have had that mighty little wonder, the Hawaiian lap steel guitar. By Michael Wright

BASS SPACE
Doug Killmer’s ’63 Fender Jazz
Loopy, goofy and loping, Norman Greenbaum’s 1970 hit “Spirit in the Sky” was sort of a caboose on the psychedelic ’60s train. Today, though, it‘s considered a classic, and this is the bass you hear on it. By Willie G. Moseley

WHEN ONLY GIBSON IS GOOD ENOUGH
Any city has guitar shops with experienced people working on older instruments. Nashville musicians have plenty of options. One recent addition to the scene is different, however. By Steven Stone

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