I write regularly for Reverb.com.

Sometimes that means a column, where I can have fun covering all manner of subjects that whirl in and around vintage and modern guitars.

Other times, it’s a deeper dive for a longform take on a big subject, and you’ll find me rummaging around all kinds of guitaristic subjects.

Also, I’ve been raiding my archive of interviews that I’ve conducted over the decades, and I’ve presented them in a series called Bacon’s Archive. I’m turning up quite a lot of full, unpublished transcripts that shed new light on musicians and music industry people.

There’s a complete index of my columns, features, and interviews at the Reverb site, which you can find here. There’s also a separate index at Reverb of my Bacon’s Archive interviews, here.  

Alternatively, you can take a wander below, and if something takes your fancy, click or tap on the link and you’ll be whisked off for what I hope turns out to be some pleasurable time spent reading.

 

Chet Atkins … Interview from 1995. Click here to read the Q&A.

Jeff Beck … Interviewed in 2005. Click here to read the feature.

Bowed Guitars: A Brief History of Guitarists Using Violin Bows … From Eddie Phillips to Jimmy Page to Sarah Lipstate and more: click here.

British Guitar Embargo: When Brits Were Banned from Buying American … How import restrictions stopped most UK guitarists buying new American guitars. Click here to read it all.

Jack Bruce … Interviewed in 1989. Click here for a Creamy chat.

Burns: The Classic British Guitar Brand … From Roding Valley to Black Bison. Click here to read about the real thing.

Dick Burke … Interviewed in 1993 about his time at Rickenbacker. Click here to read the Q&A.

Geezer Butler … Interview from 1992. Click here for the feature.

Ray Butts … Interviewed in 1995 about Gretsch pickups and more. Click here to read the Q&A.

Bill Carson … Interview from 1992 about his time at Fender. Click here for the feature.

Collectables: What Will Be the Collectable Guitars of the Future? …That’s the question I put to a team of guitarists, dealers, writers, and auctioneers. Click here to find out what they said.

Controls: 6 Offbeat Vintage Guitar Control Systems … From a Godwin Guitar-organ to B.C.Rich’s Bich. Click here for full knob access.

Pete Cornish … Interviewed in 1982 about pedalboards. Click here to find out more.

Dan Armstrong: A Clear, Concise History Of Ampeg See-Throughs … Story of the early clear-plastic electric. Click here for transparency.

Danelectro 6-string Bass: The UB-2 Makes Its 50s Debut … Was it a bass? Was it a guitar? Click here for the upbeat lowdown.

Duane Eddy … Interview from 1995. Click here for some twangy Q&A.

Fender Bass: Did Leo Fender Really Invent the Electric Bass? … Well no, not really. Check out the rest of the story. Click here to read the column.

Fender Early Days: The Scrappy Rise of Fender’s Early Sales Team: From Lap Steels to Teles … Click here for Fender associate Dale Hyatt’s recollections.

Fender Jaguar: How The Jaguar Became Fender’s New Model For 1962 … The birth of the high-end Fender. Click here to read the column.

Fender Jazzmaster: Californians Go High-End … How to live comfortably in the shadow of the Strat and Tele. Click here for illumination.

Fender Rosewood Telecaster: The Story Behind George Harrison’s Rosewood Tele … George used it on the roof, but how come he had one? Click here and read up on the history.

Fender Signature Guitars: The Story Of The Brand’s Artist Models … Click here for my take on early scribbles from God Clapton, James Burton, and Yngwie Malmsteen. 

Robert Fripp … Interview from 1991. Click here for the feature.

George Fullerton … Interviewed in 1992 about the early days of Fender. Click here to read the feature.

Future Shock: 6 Guitars That Tried To Predict The Future—And (Mostly) Failed … Gibson’s Ultratone of the 40s, the Micro-Frets Orbiter, Veleno guitars, and more. Click here and all will be revealed. 

Peter Gabriel … Interviewed in 1989. So, click here for the Q&A.

Gibson & B.B. King … I try to work out how many Lucilles B.B. King actually played. Spoiler alert: I don’t know, exactly. Click here to see where I ended up.

Gibson ES Artist: When Gibson Put Moog Preamps In Guitars. It must have seemed like one way to counter the synth revolution. Click here for more.

Gibson Les Paul: The First Comeback … Story of the ’68 relaunch of Goldtop and Custom, with input from Les himself and Gibson personnel. Click here for more.

Gibson Les Paul: How Many Bursts Did Gibson Really Make? … A romp through what’s left of Gibson’s records to attempt an answer. Click right here to join in the exercise.

Gibson Les Paul: Why Do Collectors Pay So Much for Bursts? … Valuable investment, overpriced bauble, or simply a great guitar? Click here to find out.

Gibson 335—Eric Clapton: The Enduring Mystery Of The Albert Hall Guitar … Did EC really acquire it while in The Yardbirds, or years later? Click here and test the arguments. 

Gibson Explorer: Birth of the Futuristic Vision … How this angular guitar came to be. Click here for its early-days story.

Gibson Flying V: A Failed Modernist Experiment? … How the safe, predictable Gibson company designed and produced the most radical guitar of the 50s. Click here to read my thoughts on the matter.

Gibson Hendrix Strat: Yes, you read that correctly … A shortlived plan that soon disappeared. Click here to see if the world has gone mad.

Gibson Oddities: 6 Questionable Guitar Choices From the Brand’s Storied Past … Six weird ‘uns from Gibson history. Click here for uncensored fun.

Gibson SG—Eric Clapton: The Story Behind EC’s “The Fool” Standard … How, when, and why did God switch to an SG? Click here for a foolish frolic. 

Gretsch Country Gentleman: 5 Things You Probably Don’t Know About The Gent … Or maybe had forgotten. Click here to remind yourself.

Gretsch Revived: How A Brand Came Back from the Brink … Click here for the return of Gretsch in 1989.

Guitar Magazines: A History, From S.S. Stewart’s to She Shreds … The origins and development of guitar mags in print and online. Click here for the front-page news.

Guitar Trends 2010s: Electric Tales That Shaped the Decade … Tracing the echoes—some fading, some growing yet—of 2010s guitar culture. Click here to enjoy some time travel.

Hofner: Beyond the Beatle Bass: The Hofner Guitars You Should Know … German six-strings from Committee to Galaxie and Club to Golden Hofner. Click here to ignore the umlaut.

Ibanez JEM—Steve Vai: How Steve’s Superstrat Reinvented The Signature Guitar … A longform look at the origins of an important 80s guitar. Click here for a handle on the story.

Seth Lover … Interviewed in 1992 about Gibson pickups and more. Click here to read the humbucking truth.

Phil Lynott … Interview from 1981. Click here for a live and dangerous feature.

Magnatone … How to Resurrect a Vintage Amp Brand for the 21st Century … Click here to see how Ted Kornblum launched new amps with an old name.

Paul McCartney … interview from 1994. Click here to find out how this Beatle reinvented bass playing.

Ted McCarty … Interviewed in 1992 about his time as Gibson president. Click here for some six-string tales.

Mellotron: “The Sounds of Life” At Your Fingers … The origins of the proto sampler keyboard. Click here and read a tape-playing story.

New Year’s Resolutions: Setting Your Goals Using Bacon’s Archives … Click here to have nine kindly artists help you plan for the coming months.

Orange Amps: A Conversation with Founder Cliff Cooper … Colourful amplifiers from a shop in London to international success. Click here for a graphic story.

Jimmy Page … Interview from 2014. Click here for sessions days, Yardbirds, early Zep, and more.

Jaco Pastorius … Interviewed in 1976. Click here for some fretless Q&A.

Les Paul … Interviewed several times between 1989 and 2009. Click here to read a carefully compiled Q&A.

Tom Petty … Interviewed in 2009. Click here for some 12-string tales.

Robert Plant … Interview from 1988. Click here to hear some vocal stories.

Don Randall … Interviewed in 1992 about his time as sales boss at Fender. Click here for the feature.

Rickenbacker—John Lennon: How He Ended Up In An Ad For A Guitar He Only Played Briefly … Lennon and his Rose-Morris Rickenbacker model 1996. Click here to read all about it.

Rickenbacker—Roger McGuinn: Chasing the Byrds Frontman’s Flock of Ricks … Click here to find out how Roger put the jingle-jangle in folk-rock.

Selmer Shop: The London Store Where Clapton, Page, & Beck Bought Guitars … It was the place to go in the 60s for a good guitar, or just to hang out. Click here to make sense of your A-to-Z.

Sgt Pepper—The Making Of … Interviews in 1987 with George Martin, Geoff Emerick, and Ken Townsend. Click here for a splendid time.

Dan Smith … Interviewed in 1992 about his time at Fender. Click here for an insider’s view of a significant revival.

Unusual Electrics: The Thinking Behind 5 Guitar Oddities … Non-standard stuff from National, Dean, Fender, Gibson, and Malinoski. Click here to live a little wilder.

Eddie Van Halen & The Wolfgang Saga: How 3 Brands Built Eddie’s Signature Guitar … How Music Man, Peavey, and Fender/EVH refined Van Halen’s personal instrument. Click here for the longform story.

Tina Weymouth … Interview from 1988. Click here to hear from Talking Heads’ low-lying expert.

Forrest White … Interviewed in 1992 about his time running the Fender factory. Click here to visit a location of international importance.

Woodstock Guitars: A Guide To The ’69 Festival’s Iconic Axes … 50th-birthday detail on the guitars that survived the mud. Click here for a drug-free experience.