Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 108 i Australian Guitar

UNKNOWN ZONE Howdy Aus Guitar, Just wanted to say cheers for another great issue – those Foo Fighters and Angus Young interviews were just tops. Keep up the good work! But I’ve gotta ask, who is this Pete Hawkes fellow? I like to think I’m pretty dialed into guitar music, particular Australian stuff, but I haven’t the faintest idea who this guy is. I think it’s really great to feature new artists and I found his work interesting but did you really need to spend three whole pages on the bloke? Please shoot for Van Halen next time, haha? KEVIN, VIA EMAIL Thanks Kevin. We gotta give everyone a shot at the title. Trust us, if we could get Eddie on the phone we would. He’s currently not taking our…

The National Museum of American History is filled with important artifacts; items that played a key role in shaping the culture of the United States such as Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, the original Star-Spangled Banner and a replica of Eddie Van Halen’s custom-made Frankenstrat, which was acquired in 2011. The rock’n’roll icon has now donated additional pieces to the museum when he visited and spoke as part of the Smithsonian Institute’s “What It Means To Be American” program. Van Halen detailed his experiences growing up in America, from his origin as a Dutch immigrant to the formation of one of the most important American rock bands of all time. He also discussed the various innovations and inventions he has brought to the table when creating guitars. He donated an EVH…

It’s rare that a guitar becomes as iconic as the musician wielding it, but for Willie Nelson his trusty acoustic Trigger is a personality of its own. The debut episode of Rolling Stone’s new mini-documentary series “Mastering The Craft” details the legacy of the battered, autograph-covered, Martin N-20 acoustic, and its contribution to Nelson’s lasting impact within country music. In the video, Nelson discusses the guitar’s origin, when he blindly purchased it in 1969 and the 50-year history it’s spent at his side. From his infamous Fourth of July picnics to the confiscation of his possessions by the IRS, the two are inseparable – the Silver to Nelson’s Lone Ranger. Speaking of Trigger’s future Nelson says, “I figure we’ll give out about the same time. We’re both pretty old, got…

Rodrigo y Gabriela pretty much redefined the term ‘guitar duo’ immediately upon arriving on the scene. They’ve won over the mainstream media and guitar geeks alike with their covers and original material, and their latest album 9 Dead Alive is perhaps the best document yet of their singular vision. Each song is a personal celebration of someone who has passed on but whose influence continues to resonate in the 21st century. Subjects range from Austrian neurologist/psychiatrist/Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) through to Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero have been playing guitar together for more than 17 years. First as young thrash metal fans in their native Mexico City, then as innocents abroad street musicians in Dublin,…

The world is short on guitar heroes at the moment. There are plenty of great players who can pull off daring feats of shredsmanship – probably more than there ever was – but the vast majority of today’s shredders look like they just stepped in from an outdoor springtime christening. Seriously, what’s with the nice shirts and neat haircuts, folks? And that’s why players like Jacky Vincent are so important in getting people excited about guitar. Vincent can play his arse off, with chops that recall the golden age of shred but with a sense of melody that wasn’t present in most of the shredders of the late ‘80s. And it helps that he looks like a freaking rock star. Not in a contrived, shallow way. Not in a ‘looks…

PRICE: $599 • Frequency Response of 49Hz to 43kHz• Maximum SPL of 108dB• 5 inch woofer design• 1 inch tweeter• 75 watt bi-amp output power• Balanced XLR input• Unbalanced ¼ inch jack input• Auxillary Link output• Auxillary Link input for MP3 devices• Hi-cut EQ option• Hi frequency boost option Tannoy is a name often associated with great monitoring options. The Tulsemere Manufacturing Company was founded in 1926 and they have been producing audio products ever since, starting off with loud speakers for communication systems and public address systems. Their dual concentric design, released around the middle of last century, earned Tannoy the reputation as the manufacturer of the world’s best monitor system for studios. Tannoy Reveal 502 Nearfield Monitors are a combination of high quality sound and affordability, putting a set of Tannoy monitors within the price range of home studio…

PERIPHERY Juggernaut: Alpha Juggernaut: Omega ROADRUNNER/WARNER There’s an episode of the excellent Classic Albums documentary series detailing the creation of Rush’s 2112 opus, which features a multi-part, dystopian concept suite. Although the label balked at a perceived lack of commercial appeal, it proved their breakthrough record. Band members suggest during the program that despite the music’s ambitious nature, large numbers identified with the raw anger channelled within it. On paper, crafting a dexterous two-album, 80-minute prog-metal concept piece referencing the occult isn’t a shortcut to lofty chart positions and potential Grammy awards. But although (or, perhaps because) they flaunt their unadulterated creative aspirations, the heavy music masses identify with these six djentlemen. While its thematic intricacies are ambiguous, the over-arching subject matter of Alpha and proggier companion piece Omega are…

PRICE: $1299 • Made in Korea• Select mahogany body• Mahogany necks• Rosewood fretboards• 12” fretboard radius• Epiphone Alnico Classic and Alnico Classic Plus humbuckers• 2 3-way pickup selectors, 12/6/both switch• 24.75” scale length• 20 frets per neck• Epiphone “Deluxe” tuners with Tulip buttons One of the most iconic images in all of rock music is Jimmy Page slinging his Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck, with a 12-string on top and six-string on the bottom. Page used this guitar to perform live renditions of legendary songs like “Stairway To Heaven”, and sure, he didn’t use it on the studio version of the song but it’s hard to imagine anyone picking up an EDS-1275 and not playing that song. The Epiphone Ltd. Ed. G-1275 six-string and 12-string Doubleneck pays tribute to this iconic instrument, and features the Page-accurate extra-long distance between the bridge and…

PRICE: $1299 • Stomp-Head 4.HG (4 footswitches)• Power output: 70 watt / 4 ohm and 8ohm, 50 watt / 16 ohm• Power brake to 40/7/4Watt• Tubes: 2 x12AX7• 2 channels: Clean and Lead• 4 footswitches: Channel [Clean/ Lead], Crunch, Boost, Mute• Clean channel controls: Crunch, Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume• Lead channel controls: Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume• Master section controls: Boost, Master• Boost: fast access to two different volume levels• Serial effect loop• Line out with guitar speaker simulation• Inputs for external controller or a foot-switch to mode controls:• Channel, Crunch, Boost and Effect Loop• Power output selector• Speaker impedance selector: 4-8-16ohm• 2 level loudness mode: Studio / Stage (in Studio position the power is ten times lower• Voltage selector switch 230V/50Hz or 115V/60Hz (optionally) There are two types of guitar amplifiers. Either you use a separate amp head plugged into a speaker cabinet, or you use a…

PRICE: $3099 FRONT PANEL: • Clean and Lead channel featuring separate gain controls• Bright switch for the Clean channel• Bottom switch (Clean & Lead) that adds low end punch• Passive EQ: Bass, Middle, Treble• Lead Volume control for precise level tuning• Mid Boost switch (Clean & Lead), remote controllable via footswitch• Master A and Master B for two different power amp level settings, remote controllable via footswitch• P.T.M. (Power Tube Monitor) system: failure indication via LED for each power tube REAR PANEL: • 2 x 1/4” Stereo jacks for connecting a ENGL Z-4 footpedal: Clean/Lead (channel switching) & Master A/B, Mid Boost and FX Loop off/on• Noise Gate Threshold controls the Gate’s attack• FX Loop equipped with a Balance control, FX Loop off / on, remote controllable via footswitch• Power amp output 4 ohms, 8 Ohms (2 jacks) and 16 ohms• 100 watts…

EONE DVD PACKS After a hard down on the fretboard, everybody needs a little feet up, binge-watchin’ time. Thanks to our pals at eOne Entertainment, we have five amazing DVD packs to give away each valued at $114.95 and containing Rectifty Season 2, Dates Season 1, Hell On Wheels Season 4 and The Village Season 2. That’s some serious quality TV time. For you chance to win a pack, tell us your favourite character from any of the featured shows. UNIVERSAL MUSIC CD PACKS Craving some fresh tunes? We’ve got copies a killer new album from JD Mcpherson called Let The Good Times Roll and the new Queen Forever collection featuring previously unreleased material from Freddie Mercury. Each pack is worth $43 and will be delivered to five lucky winners…

CURRENTLY PLAYING WITH: Don Fernando USUALLY FOUND PLAYING: Heavy-arse riffs, classic rock’n’roll and Delta blues. YEARS ON THE FRETBOARD: 20 years. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PLAYING STYLE? My playing style is all about passion and expression; I am certainly not a technical player or super fast at leads, but I like to use a lot of expression in my playing and try to complement the song that I’m working on. I love to play really tight with the rhythm section and lock in to the riff. FIRST AXE: That’s embarrassing! It was a Samick Strat copy with a cracked earth-red finish. CURRENT AXE: I switch between a few. I’m really loving my Maton Mastersound Junior Style with one switchable humbucker in the bridge, but I also have a Custom…

The move into adulthood can be a complex period of self-discovery, riddled with reckless indifference to personal wellbeing and resulting in hazy memories. Yet the shift usually occurs in private – except for Wil Wagner, frontman and lyricist for The Smith Street Band. Since about the age of 16, his journey so far has laid the foundations for almost every Smith Street song, often serving as a release for a whirlpool of emotions before they developed into a maelstrom. But the experiences of growing up and travelling the globe have altered his life perspective to the point where their latest album, Throw Me In The River, feels a world apart from their previous works. “You know as you go from being 16 to the wise old age of 24, you…

Way back in issues #100 and #101, Australian Guitar ran a double feature on local guitar legend Diesel, aka Mark Lizotte, covering all the ins and outs of his studio setup including an in-depth look at some of his most prized instruments. Since then he’s been cruising around promoting his 2013 release Let it Fly, the latest record in a substantial discography. So with the album already well covered, the studio explored in fine detail and Bluesfest on the horizon, it seemed like the right time to talk about the one area we hadn’t really delved into – Diesel’s live rig. Like his home setup, an immense amount of time and effort goes into pulling together the right gear and guitars, so he finds that perfect balance between convenience and…

The genesis of Periphery’s new twin-album set Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega stretches back to the early days of the band. Somewhere around the time when the term ‘djent’ was starting to morph from a descriptor for a particular combination of tone and attack into the name of an entire genre, founder Misha Mansoor had an idea for a double album. He spoke about it in countless interviews over the coming years, and promised it would be the follow-up to Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal. Fans probably got a bit nervous when the next release ended up being Clear, an experimental EP in which each member of the band wrote a song incorporating an element of the disc’s introductory overture. All the while Periphery’s star was rising. Their self-titled…

Zakk Wylde has long been one of Gibson and Marshall’s most popular artists, with successful signature gear from practice amps and kids’ mini Les Pauls all the way through to limited edition amp stacks and Gibson Custom guitar lines. The very idea of Zakk leaving either for another company at this stage of his career, where his endorsement has carried so much weight, seems utterly unbelievable. But that’s what’s happened: it’s just that Zakk hasn’t taken his considerable endorsement value to other guitar and amp brands. He’s created his own instead. Wylde Audio will make guitars, amps, effects and all sorts of accessories. Wylde Audio wasn’t actually showing at NAMM: Zakk was showing the gear at a secret location off-site, and we were invited along to check out the first…

PRICE: $1799 • Made in China• Mahogany body• Hard Maple top with AAA flame Maple veneer• Mahogany neck• Rosewood fretboards• 12” fretboard radius• Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Slash humbuckers• Sprague “Orange Drop” tone capacitors• 24.75” scale length• 22 frets per neck• Epiphone “Deluxe” tuners with Tulip buttons• Custom “Slash” Hard Case• Certificate of Authenticity Slash was credited with reviving the popularity of the Gibson Les Paul in the ‘80s, a time when everyone was obsessed with Day-Glo superstrats, Floyd Roses and high-output humbuckers. Slash bucked the trend by playing well-worn guitars with vintage-output pickups and – gasp! – no whammy bar! Epiphone has released a number of Slash models over the years, and the latest features the same “Rosso Corsa” (Racing Red) colour as one of his more recent Gibson models. YOU COULD BE MINE Based on the enduring Les Paul Standard…

PRICE: Bass Head $1295 Bass cabinet $2450 BASS HEAD • Solid state pre amp• Solid state power amp• 500 watts at 4 ohm, 300 watts at 8 ohm• Controls: Gain-Volume• EQ: Treble, Bass• XR line out with pre/post EQ and GND Lift switches• FX sends/return, tuner out• Dimensions (W/H/D)11.97”/30.4cm18”/45.7cm | 11.97”/30.4cm• Weight 13.66 lbs/6.2Kg BASS CABINET • Speaker configuration: 8 x 10” + 1” compression driver• Power handling: 1200W RMS• Impedence: 4 ohm mono / 8 ohm Stereo)• Crossover Frequency: 3.5kHz• Sensitivity: 103 dB SPL• Weight: 40.8Kg• Dimensions: 58.5cm x 11.6cm x 47.7cm The irony of some of our favourite brands was (is) the inconsistency across their respective catalogues. Gibson made legendary high-end guitars but their basses were pretty ordinary and unpopular, while their amps (like the GA series) were mostly ignored. Ampeg’s mighty bass amps, from the B-15 to the SVT, quickly became industry standards…

PRICE: $289.95 • Assembled in USA• Delay, Mix, Repeats, Modulation Depth and Rate controls• Blinking blue delay time knob• Up to +3dB repeat level boost• 15ms-600ms delay time• Modulation Rate Range 0.2Hz to 4 Hz• TRS insert jack• 9V battery or external 9V-18V powered It’s interesting that analog delay seems as popular today as it was back when it was the only option. Sure, there’s definitely a place for digital delay and all that it can do: crystal clear reproductions of the original note, cool panning stuff, weird pitch-shifted psychedelic extrapolations, backwards swooshes. All of that is great. But some players really connect with the organic nature of analog delay. People say it’s ‘warmer’, so what does that mean, exactly? Basically, analog delay is rounded down, smoothed off, often more compressed, often with richer harmonic overtones, and more…

PRICE: $300 • Dimensions: L9.9 x W3.9 x H3.0• Weight: 3.20 lbs• Internal power: 9V battery (supplied)• External power: 9VDC, 2.1mm, center pin negative (not supplied)• Candy Purple• Sw1. Increases gain to add slight overdrive to the output tramnsistor• Sw2.Slightly lowers the filters center frequency and reduces the bandwidth for a more nasal wah sound• Sw3. Significantly lowers the center of the filter band for a bass heavy wah• Sw4. Slightly reduces gain and increases bandwidth for a cleaner sound. Wah-wah pedal is a tricky one for engineers to design: the earliest incarnations had no user-customisable features whatsoever. You bought the wah-wah that sounded closest to what you wanted to hear and that was what you used. But for the last 15 years or so there has been a wah-wah revolution driven by pedals with all sorts of knobs…

JMC Academy, one of Australia’s leading creative industry colleges, has unveiled its new Digital Design and Songwriting courses for commencement in 2015. JMC Academy has added two exciting new courses to its existing range of contemporary music and entertainment industry diplomas. As of February 2015, Songwriting will be offered at all three JMC campuses nationwide (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane), while Digital Design will be offered at JMC Academy Sydney. Both courses are available in two forms – a Diploma, with a study duration of eight months, or a Bachelor’s Degree, with a duration of two years. Rejecting the oft-held idea that good songwriting comes either naturally or not at all, the JMC Songwriting course aims to give students a comfortable environment in which to brainstorm and express their ideas, as…

Metal’s long-standing Bay Area heroes Machine Head are heading Down Under to give us a taste of their new album, Bloodstone & Diamonds. The headline tour kicks off this June, and punters can expect a solid lashing of metal classics from their 20+ years in the business of crushing eardrums. Frontman Rob Flynn says, “To say that we are f*****g stoked beyond belief would be the understatement of the year! We cannot wait to plunder your cities into the dust!” Catch them doing just that on Monday 22 June at 170 Russell in Melbourne; Wednesday 23 at The Metro, Sydney; Saturday 27 at Eatons Hill in Brisbane; Sunday 28 at The Gov in Adelaide and Monday 29 at the Astor Theatre in Perth.…

WHEN: SUNDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2015 WHERE: SYDNEY COLLEGE OF THE ARTS, ROZELLE REVIEW: EMILY SWANSON PHOTOS: PETER ZALUZNY The team behind St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival have always had their fingers on the pulse when it comes to what’s up-and-coming and who’s about to break, and this year we were delighted to find a solid helping of guitar-heavy acts on the bill. The hype surrounding Syracuse noise punks Perfect Pussy – in part for their name, in part for their manic live shows – led to a swelling crowd early in the afternoon. Don’t be fooled by frontwoman Meredith Graves’ cherubic face: peel away the wide smile and she’s an absolute banshee who can wail with the best of them, gender be damned. She tore through an utterly abrasive set taking…

When Bluesfest rolls into town, country rocker Hunter Hayes will be in tow, making his way Down Under for the first time. But even though this will be his live debut in Australia, he’s spent almost his entire life playing the guitar, an obsession that began very early on while he was growing up in Louisiana. The last few years have seen him ride a gargantuan wave of success across the United States, but before hitting double digits, Hayes had already been gifted guitars by celebrities, taken to the stage at a number of festivals, performed on TV and even played a short set for US President Barack Obama. Just over a decade later Hayes had a contract with Atlantic Nashville Records then became the youngest male act to chart…

TONEBONE BASSBONE V2 RRP: $469 URL: www.ambertech.com.au Another new product from NAMM 2015, the Tonebone Bassbone V2 was designed as a control centre for bass guitar and takes the original Bassbone to the next level. The Bassbone V2 features an assignable power boost or mute footswitch, dedicated effects loop and a PZB booster that increases the impedance and boosts the signal of piezo electric transducers. Best of all, none of the features from the original have been left out. You still get the same built-in Radial DI and amazing passive interactive EQ that has made the Bassbone popular with artists as diverse as John Patitucci, Will Lee and Chuck Rainey. DV MARK LITTLE 40 II RRP: $1450 URL: www.cmcmusic.com.au DV Mark has completely revamped its award-winning line of heads, combos…

Making mistakes is part of the learning process and almost always result in making you a better engineer and player. If you do it once, you won’t do it again, right? Not necessarily! Even the top professional engineers make mistakes too. LED ZEPPELIN “Since I’ve Been Loving You” The kick pedal has a consistent annoying squeak throughout the whole track. CHRISTINA AGUILERA “Beautiful” At 3:45, headphone bleed can be heard on the vocal track. NIRVANA “Polly” Before the start of the third verse, Kurt’s vocal comes in too early but this mistake was kept and ‘written in’ to the song on later recordings. THE POLICE “Roxanne” Right at the start of the track a strange atonal piano chord can be heard and Sting laughs. During tracking he accidently leant against…

PRICE: $1349 • Solid mahogany back and sides• Solid mahogany neck• Pressure tested solid cedar top• Rosewood fingerboard• Rosewood bridge• TUSQ nut by Graphtec• TUSQ saddle by Graphtec• Handcrafted in Quebec, Canada• EPM Quantam under saddle pickup• Optional Tric case La Patrie guitars have been hand crafted in a small village of Quebec, Canada, for over 30 years. The entire village is employed to build guitars, and I imagine they all dress like elves and it is quite a magical place. This small village of magical guitar construction and wonder is called La Patrie. The La Patrie CW QI Concert Guitar is a classical style nylon string guitar. The CW is the top of the line of their seven different ranges of classical style guitar. It is constructed of exceptional tone wood choices; every part of the guitar uses a…

PRICE: $4999 • Made in USA• Two-piece mahogany body• Two-piece bookmatched flame maple top• No chambering or weight relief• Mahogany neck• Rosewood fretboard• Gibson G FORCE tuners• Gibson USA 1957 Tribute humbuckers• USA-made hardshell case Gibson USA has really shaken up their product line over recent years. The 2014 New Model Year was a pretty drastic reinvention and it continues in 2015 with a variety of new features designed to bring Gibson USA into the modern era. If you want a traditionally-appointed Gibson you can still get it: it’s just that that stuff is now primarily the domain of the Gibson Custom division. That’s where to go if you want an authentic reissue of a ‘59 Les Paul Standard, a ‘61 SG and the like. What Gibson USA is offering is still the essence of classic Gibson sound and…

PRICE: $2550 • 130 watts, 2 x 12” DV Mark Neoclassic speaker (8 phms)• 4 x Thomann EL34 and 1x ECC83 power tubes,• 2 independent channels (solid-state): bright/normal, volume, treble, middle, bass and right/normal, volume, treble, middle, bass, reverb, tremolo, deep/ normal,• Dimensions: (WxHxD): 45.6 x 52 x 25.4 cm• Weight: 11.9 kg Of all those “much longed for” products that were discontinued at one time or another, Music Man amps must surely be at the top of the list. Music Man Inc. was a company run by Forrest White, Tom Walker and silent partner Leo Fender (they’d worked together at Fender Musical Instruments), and their products have a decidedly Fender-ish style and feature set. The range was quite diverse in terms of power, tone and facilities, and every product was of a professional standard…

PRICE: $3900 • Fijian mahogany dressed naturally and lightly oiled• Fitted with a bolt-on maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard with 21 medium jumbo frets• Maple fretboard• 25.5” scale length• Unique “Fican” headstock• 1:1 ratio banjo-style tuners• Violin style tuners and dressed with a waycool tornado etched plate• Neck is a C type profile• Versatile tonal range• Equipped with two WSC Tone Maven series humbucker pick ups in neck and bridge position.• Pickups deliver a broad rich tone with warm bass• Graph Tech piezo bridge pick-up.• Graph Tech Acousti-Phonic preamp Crafted by Stuart Monk, Fican Guitars is a new brand committed to unique designs that break free of the ‘solid body electric guitars are supposed to look like this’ establishment of the last, oh, 60 years or so. The look is unconventional – just check out the Australian Fican Electric Guitar model for…