Special Focus: Resonator Guitars Then and Now

The resonator guitar is often considered a blues instrument, but its origins and history reveal a more complex identity. In this feature, we’ll briefly chronicle the birth of the resonator guitar, portray its early exponents and players, and describe its evolution into an established member of the acoustic guitar family.

Features and Departments

  • David Grier: The versatile Nashville bluegrass and country player discusses his new album and his favorites guitars
  • Bruce Cockburn: Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers examines the legendary guitarist’s jazzy approach to harmony with an in-depth look at examples from Cockburn’s expansive oeuvre.
  • Woodstock at 50: A comprehensive look at the acoustic guitars played at Woodstock 50 years ago, from CSNY to Arlo Guthrie to Joan Baez
  • The Kingston Trio: Longtime Martin archivist Dick Boak details the huge impact that the Kingston Trio, with their polished repertoire of folk- and calypso-derived songs, clean vocal harmonies, and clean-cut college boy stage personae, had on American culture, popular music, and instrument sales and innovations.
  • Woodshed: Learn “Spanish Rag,” a cool modern rag by Diego Garcia
  • The Basics:  Classical and fingerstyle guitarist Michael Chapdelaine teaches the rudiments of nylon-string guitar to steel-string players
  • Weekly Workout:  Using the 12-bar blues in E as a template, Pete Madsen demonstrates ways of navigating CAGED chord shapes on the entire fretboard
  • Makers & Shakers: Steve Uhrik of Retrofret Vintage Guitars talks shop
  • Songs: Acoustic Classics: Bruce Cockburn’s “If I Had a Rocket Launcher” and Arlo Guthrie’s Woodstock version of “Amazing Grace”; Woodshed: “Spanish Rag” by Diego Garcia; World Premiere: “Solitudes” by Kinloch Nelson; Pickin’: “Sometime Next Summer” by David Grier; Campfire: “Tom Dooley”
  • New Gear: Reviews of the Waterloo WL-AT archtop, National M-14T Thunderbox, G7th Performance 3 Capo, and a range of guitar straps from Ernie Ball
  • Mixed Media: We review Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow’s new book on Robert Johnson, plus new releases from Catfish Keith, Simba Baumgartner, Shane Parish, François Vola, and more.
Key Dates
  • Advertising reservations due by June 14, 2019
  • Advertising materials due by June 21, 2019
  • Issue on sale August 6, 2019

*subject to change