Growing up in Cowan, Tennessee, Cody Kilby picked up his dad’s banjo at age 8 and had a Gibson Banjo endorsement by the time he was 11.  He started playing his mom’s guitar at 10, and by 17, he was the National Flatpicking Champion.

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He added mandolin and dobro at around age 13, and at 16, recorded Just Me, showing his mastery of each instrument on the recording.  While touring with Sally Jones and the Sidewinders, he caught the ear of Ricky Skaggs, joining Kentucky Thunder in 2001.  Cody’s lightning-fast picking can be heard on a number of projects, including Disney album, O Mickey, Where Art Thou?.  He’s also released a new solo project, Many Roads Traveled, on which he shares his own original compositions.  In rare spare moments, Cody can be found producing and engineering projects for other artists in his home studio.

 In this segment:

•  We get to check out an early-50s Gibson ES-175 Electric Archtop which features the original specs, including a single P90 pickup in the neck position. Later models featured a humbucking pickup.
• The next guitar was an original Epiphone Model 4 roundhole acoustic archtop. As described in the video, this is one of the oldest instruments to be featured in this event. Check out how they determine its authenticity..ONLY PROFESSIONALS!!
• Another guitar featured is a relatively new model in the vintage market, an original Kramer guitar. But what makes this guitar special is the one-off paint job done by San Francisco artist, Mark Erickson.

Highlights include:

• A super-clean Valley Arts Custom Shop Robert Johnson commemorative acoustic guitar from 1995, complete with Robert Johnson accessories and documentation
• A pre-war Gibson acoustic that, despite being heavily modified and bearing the scars of its age, is still appraised in the low thousands
• A 1968 Framus 5/103 Romanze teardrop acoustic
• The first look at the original production prototype of the Peavey T60 from 1977.

In the third segment of Reunion Blues’ Vintage Guitars Road Show, the show hits up Bananas at Large in California. Highlights include:

• A very rough ’69 Jazz Bass with so many modifications – including removal of the binding, and the owner’s name and SSN etched into the hardware – the appraisers get a little upset. Still, the bass’ value will surprise you.
• The single prototype of Fender’s Gold Custom Shop Strat. There was a limited run of 100, which was commissioned for NAMM’s 100th anniversary in 2001.
• Near-perfect 1961 SG-style Les Paul Jr.