Ward Meeker

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Ward Meeker

Essentially unchanged today, the Strat remains one of the most-popular guitars in the world (see sidebar), and early models are among the most collectible. Unlikely as it seems in 2024, every so often, one emerges in near-pristine condition. This ’54 was bought used two years later at Henry’s Music and Jewelry, in Akron, Ohio, so 15-year-old Jackie Diethrich could use it while taking lessons.

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Ward Meeker

One of those uncles, David Kiely, tasted pop stardom as a member of The Marauders, a Merseybeat band that played The Caravan Club, had a hit in 1963 with “That’s What I Want,” and rubbed elbows with Gene Vincent, the Beatles, Stones, and Roy Orbison. Scoring a hit spurred Kiely, who used the stage name Danny Davis, to splurge on a new Gibson Hummingbird. One of four shipped to the U.K. in ’63 (David told the family Mick Jagger also got one) it became part of the band’s sound and image.

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Ward Meeker

Following tradition with a masonite (“Hardboard”) top and back, spruce sides, and maple neck, it checks boxes we equate with “classic.” While always entertaining and appreciated for their light weight, comfortable necks, and friendly tones, stalwart semi-hollow Danos like the Silvertone 1444 (with its “dolphin-nose” headstock) were never champions of sustain. Here, though, that bass-bout soundhole teams with the chamber beneath it to create a new experience.

1 month ago | vintageguitar.com | Ward Meeker

Arguably the greatest guitar find in decades, it was rediscovered after having spent 50 years in an attic two hours from London. The 12-string belonged to the former road manager for the ’60s folk duo Peter and Gordon, who had been gifted the instrument by Gordon Waller after they called it quits in 1968. Not long after, the guitar (in its unusual Maton case) was stashed away to suffer the “out of sight, out of mind” fate of so many material possessions.

1 month ago | vintageguitar.com | Ward Meeker

Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and raised in Bradenton, where he grew up hearing string bands. At age five, he started playing ukulele before physically growing into the mandolin, banjo, and guitar. At 16, he and friend/guitarist Joe Dan Petty joined a band called Circus Act before Betts bailed to join The Jokers, which played rock songs in venues throughout Florida.