Few album reviews bother to assess the very instruments that shape the music but for musician Chris Vincent, it’s impossible to separate the songs from the guitars that birthed them. In a world increasingly overrun by digital perfection, Vincent doubles down on the power of living, breathing instruments. On his most recent album Good Crook, two extraordinary Gibson archtops take center stage. They are not just tools, but rather co-conspirators in crafting the record’s soulful, raw sound.

Photo provided by Chris Vincent

At the heart of the album lies Vincent’s main writing and performance guitar, a 1947 Gibson L-7 affectionately named Gloria. “It’s a guitar with as many personalities as there are emotions,” Vincent explains. “Many archtops cut and bark through a band incredibly well but lack any real subtlety. I hang my hat on late 1940s Gibson archtops—for me, there may be different guitars, but none better for the way I approach the instrument.” Featuring a LaceSensor Slimline pickup and strung with Thomastik-Infeld .013s, Gloria shines on every full band cut, blending seamlessly with the drumming of New Orleans jazz legend Johnny Vidacovich.

“Gloria found her way to me when I switched from largely electric archtop guitars to fully acoustic about four years ago,” explains Vincent. “The good ones can be extremely responsive — from incredibly subtle to instantly powerful depending on [the] approach. Gloria is one of the great big-bodied Gibsons from the late 1940s, a once in a lifetime guitar and an incredible tool.”

He adds that for him as an artist, Gibson as a brand boils down to two simple things: “musicality and reliability.”

For Good Crook’s sparse, intimate solo moments, Vincent reaches for a rare 2019 Gibson prototype round-hole archtop, reviving a sound-hole design largely abandoned since the 1930s. Paired with a 1951 DeArmond FHC pickup and vintage amps—a 1965 Princeton and a 1964 Super Reverb—this guitar offers a soulful counterpoint to Gloria, capturing Vincent’s nuanced touch.

In the studio, Vincent takes a purist approach, using only one guitar pedal: a hand-wired JR Barnyard Octal Tube Preamp designed to emulate the warmth of vintage Gibson amps. “It’s about tone that breathes,” says Vincent, a sponsored artist for Fred Kelly SpeedPicks, who uses a modified thumb pick on all his playing.

Critics and fans alike celebrate Vincent’s rhythmically fluid, often percussive blend of blues, jazz, Western swing and hard bop textures, all filtered through a powerful yet subtle slide technique. On Good Crook, the guitars tell a story as rich as the songs themselves—one of craftsmanship, individuality, and the enduring power of American archtop guitars.

“These guitars aren’t just tools—they’re voices, and we’re in it together,” Vincent says.

Good Crook is available on all streaming services now and the artist will drop a new video this Friday, Aug. 8.