THE THRILL OF THE CHASE

Let’s make no bones about it: the world of vintage guitars can be an intimidating place. The stakes are high, and recognising the various tells that indicate whether an instrument is a fake or the real deal can seem like a dark art known only to grizzled veterans of the scene. However, one young guitar dealer from Birmingham, Alabama is making waves with both his social media savvy and refreshing transparency.

We meet with John Shults of True Vintage Guitar in Nashville as the heavy summer air turns stormy. In addition to sharing some entertaining tales of his many guitar safaris, he shows up with a small but devastating array of gear for our perusal, including a first-year Stratocaster, one of the cleanest ’53 Goldtops you are ever likely to see, a 1959 Gibson EDS-1275, an Americana-branded 1963 Magnatone 262B Custom, and a 1946 Fender Model 26 Deluxe. There’s also the pièce de résistance: the 1958 Les Paul Standard that John flew to Cape Town to obtain back in March, and which now resides with Joe Bonamassa.

Nicknamed PJ because of the name handwritten on a label on its case, the ’58 Burst is hand delivered for our shoot by Bonamassa