Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Guitar Player

THERE ARE A LOT OF AWESOME DELIGHTS ABOUT charging through the Guitar Player archives to find cool stuff to celebrate the magazine’s 50th anniversary. But there are some sad moments, as well. Obviously, there are the articles on scores of guitarists who are no longer treading the planet along with us. A half-century is quite a time span, so the “guitarist graveyard” is, unfortunately, well populated. But I also found some less mortal, though no less tragic, bummers—all of the players we covered who were once on the brink of success, but are now forgotten, struggling, or simply out of the music industry. You can well imagine that the past 50 years have seen us interview “next big things,” respected players eking out livings in the club circuit, and artists…

GUITARS ARE NATURALLY PERCUSsive— pluck a string, and a quick transient decays rapidly. Although we often try to violate the laws of physics with compression, feedback, limiting, distortion, E-Bows, and other techniques that increase sustain, there’s a parallel universe where the goal is making the guitar more percussive. Of course, muting strings is very percussive, but we can take this concept much further with signal processors. Expanders. These are the opposite of compressors (which above a certain threshold, produce less output for an equivalent input increase). With expanders, signals below a threshold produce less output for a given input decrease. For example, if the input is below the threshold, and it drops 10dB, with 1:2 expansion, the output will drop 20dB. With 1:4 expansion, it will drop 40dB. This can…

JENSEN TORNADO STEALTH SERIES Goodies Jensen has added three new lightweight 12" neodymium speakers to its Jet series: The Tornado Stealth 100, which is based on the original Jensen Tornado used in Fender’s GB Signature Twin Reverb, and optimized for clean tones with shimmering highs; the rock-ready Tornado Stealth 65, designed for easy breakup and punch while delivering warm low end, relaxed mids, and rounded highs; and the authoritative, tonally versatile, distortion-responsive Tornado Stealth 80. Price $159 (100), $156 (65), $173 (80) street More Info jensentone.com FENDER ACOUSTIC SFX HAND-RUBBED WALNUT STAIN LIMITED EDITION Goodies Fender’s furniture-grade, two-channel, 160-watt Acoustic SFX combo amplifier is now available with a hand-rubbed walnut-stain finish. Features include one 8" low-frequency driver and one 6.5" side-radiating speaker; adjustable Stereo Field Expansion (SFX) technology; and onboard…

MARCUS KING’S FATHER, MARVIN KING, IS a blues guitarist, as was his father before him, and that helps explain how the phenomenal 20-yearold sounds as if he has been playing, singing, and writing for ages. The Marcus King Band [Fantasy/Concord] features meaningful contributions from a host of veterans from the Allman Brothers family of bands, including Derek Trucks, bassist Todd Smallie, keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, and album producer Warren Haynes. King—who spent two years diligently studying jazz in his hometown at the Fine Arts Center of Greenville, South Carolina—thrives on the additional experience, as does his crack band of millennial-aged players. King has his own thing, yet analogies to the Allman Brothers Band abound, with his vocals closest to Haynes, his guitar style like a jazzed up Dickey Betts, and a…

GuitarPlayer EDITOR’S PICK LATIN FOR “TO MAKE NEW,” NOVO IS a fitting brand for Dennis Fano’s new operation, which sees the long-time progenitor of retrocool-boutique—via his own builds and those licensed to Premier Builder’s Guild—striking back out on his own after the dissolution of his agreement with PBG. Our review sample is his Serus J model, which clearly bears plenty of Fano DNA, while taking it all in a new direction thematically. Given the guitar’s 25.5” scale length, nouveau-offset body, and high-quality Mastery bridge and vibrato unit, it’s no stretch to see this as Novo’s twist on the Jazzmaster format. However, there are more than enough new ingredients here to take things in alternative directions. Fano is using tempered woods in many of his Novo guitars, and this Serus J…

IF THERE EVER WAS A GOLDEN AGE for electric guitars, the mid 1950s to the late ’60s was surely it. So many styles, variations, and innovations were popping up faster than The Beatles could put out 45s. Interestingly, a lot of the guitars some players considered junk because they weren’t a Fenny or a Gibby have grown quite a reputation. The intrepid explorers who sought out their own sound and look boldly took these non-Fender/non-Gibson “whack jobs” into studios and onto stages. But here’s a model that no one chose! This guitar is so obscure that I’m not sure it was ever assigned a model number or a nameplate. It’s likely a mid-’60s Zenon, Zimgar, Tele-Star, or St. George made by Teisco or Kawai in Japan. As far as I…

 HERE ARE THE WINNING TRACKS FOR THE DEBUT OF GUITAR PLAYER RECORDS’ GUITAR instrumental series, which is managed and distributed digitally by Mi5 Recordings/Universal. Players of all ages and styles were invited to submit works evoking emotional or meteorological turmoil via notices on GP’s website and social-networking channels. The series format is to present two guitar stars, along with four female guitarists and four male guitarists, in a celebration of diversity and stunning guitar technique and/or composition. So, congratulations to the eight players who are joining the legendary Steve Hunter (Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel) and the thrilling blues guitarist Ana Popovic on Awesome Instrumentals, Volume One: Stormy Weather. Stay tuned to guitarplayer.com for information on how to submit tracks for Awesome Instrumentals, Volume Two: Film Noir. ■ "Ice…

Roy Buchanan I’VE AVOIDED WRITING about Roy Buchanan’s debut album for Polydor, because I thought it might be too obvious, but how could I pass over this classic masterpiece in Vinyl Treasures? Released in 1972—after shelving a project that Roy described as a failed attempt at trendy commercialism—Roy Buchanan significantly furthered the potential of the Fender Telecaster. It also influenced guitarists all over the world—most notably, Jeff Beck (who dedicated “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” to Mr. Buchanan) and guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton. I was first exposed to Roy by the 1971 PBS documentary, Introducing Roy Buchanan. Luckily, my father called me into the living room, “Hey Jim! You should hear this guy playing guitar!” At the time, I was 12 years old, and seeing Roy play guitar changed my…

I FEEL COMPELLED TO WRITE A few words about one of my very best friends, Jason Becker. Most of you know who he is, and know his story [We put Becker on our cover for the July 2012 issue]. Bob Ezrin had been slated to produce David Lee Roth’s 1991 album, A Little Ain’t Enough. For whatever reason, that didn’t work out, but before Ezrin left the project, he asked me if I’d be interested in teaching this new shredder guy some stuff about blues. The shredder was, of course, Jason, and he called a couple of days later to set up a time for his first lesson. Before the lesson date, Jason sent over a couple of CDs of his band Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. I gave…

“Marcus King is the first young guitar player I’ve heard since Derek Trucks who plays with such soul and emotional maturity. He blends so many influences together, but it all comes out in his own voice, and that’s the hardest thing to accomplish as a musician. He has the chops to play jazz-influenced stuff, but he also has that ability to portray a melodic picture, and sound like he’s singing through his instrument. I love that he doesn’t go for an overblown tone. He has studied a broad range of styles and eras, and his love of it all comes through in a very unpretentious way. He looks at music through the proper lens. “We had a blast making the record. I love ‘Self Hatred’ when he’s playing alongside Derek…

THE 5 0 -WATT HEAD REMAINS A popular workhorse for guitarists who require the kind of power necessary to take it to a larger stage, while also valuing the headroom and full-throated voice that only large output tubes and big iron deliver. These four new options from respected boutique makers large and small all spring from classic archetypes to offer new twists and tones on some familiar templates. All were tested with a ’57 Fender Telecaster, a Gibson 1959 Les Paul Reissue, and a Novo Serus J with Amalfitano P-90s into a TopHat 2x12 with one early ’80s Celestion G12-65 and one Alnico Cream, a Fryette 2x12 with Fane F70s, a StoneAge 1x12 with an EVM 12L Classic, and a Two Notes Torpedo Live load box and speaker…

THE BELOVED GRANDDADDY OF Fender’s “offset” series became a major road warrior for alternative players almost from its inception; the weapon of choice for surf guitarists, then punk, then alt-rock and beyond. It was conceived with very different ends in mind—or mis-conceived, you might argue—although its unexpected applications have rendered it yet another undeniable pre-CBS Fender classic. Developed in 1957 and released for sale in 1958, the Jazzmaster was, as the name implies, Fender’s first conscious effort to appeal to jazz guitarists. It’s often said that Leo Fender moved to the separate rosewood fingerboards from the original onepiece maple neck/fingerboard, because he didn’t like the worn and tarnished look of the maple after use. But this new ’board was first used on the Jazzmaster, and was also considered something that…

Hi, everyone. It’s Guitar Player’s gear coordinator, Dana, announcing this month’s two “Birthday Gifts” in honor of Guitar Player’s 50th anniversary. The McCaffrey Reactor Boost Compressor offers Level and Fusion (compression) controls, as well as a Critical Mass Switch that tailors bass response. Also from McCaffrey, the Green Vodka evokes the ’90s-era Sovtek Big Muff fuzz and adds some crafty mods. For a chance to get the Reactor or the Green Vodka into your hot little hands, send an email with the subject line “GP50 McCaffrey” to GP Editor-in-Chief mmolenda@nbmedia.com. (One winner per pedal.) Thanks to the generosity of our manufacturing partners, some lucky and fabulous GP readers will win free gear each month throughout 2017. All giveaway gear has been tested for actual GP reviews, and is “as is.”…

“FREIGHT TRAIN”—ONE OF OUR BESTloved folk songs—came from one of the least-credited folk artists of all time: Elizabeth Cotten. As a guitarist, she was handicapped, since, as a left-hander, she had to teach herself. Her chances of achieving early prominence as a performer were negated by her sex, color, and religion. Married and a mother at an early age—and admonished by church deacons for playing music that “served the devil”—Libba often worked the cleaning, cooking, washing, and scrubbing jobs to which black women turned for support. It took years of legal negotiations before Mrs. Cotten, now 82, finally gained control of the rights to the song she wrote as an adolescent while chopping wood with her brother a half mile from the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, railroad tracks. Did you…

IT ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS OF LISTENING to Aleks Sever to recognize the fire and soul that she brings to her music. Sever’s knack for catchy melodies coupled with her impressive guitar chops is a recipe for success in the instrumental arena, and the guitarist’s fearless approach, inventiveness, and spirit of adventure make her latest album, Extravagant, a gem. “I always try to find something new that exites me or is some kind of breakthrough when I write,” says Sever. “For inspiration I listened to a lot of jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew got played almost every day for a long time.” Along with Miles, Sever cites John Coltrane, Maceo Parker, Prince, and James Brown as early influences. “I was really captivated…

I DOUBT THAT SO EARLY IN GP’S GROWTH WE HAD exhausted all of the guitar stars available to talk about, so I can only surmise this writer was inspired by Johnny Cash’s 1969 live album, At San Quentin, for this February 1970 article on the guitar programs at two prisons. I’ve excerpted the story here so that you can see the original opening layout — apologies for leaving out the section on San Quentin — and, for the most part, the uncredited author avoids romanticizing (or demonizing) the prisoners. He even ends the piece with a subtle warning for potential gangsters: “Should the reader fancy that prison life for a musician is not too bad, be assured that it’s a mighty good feeling at the end of the…

GuitarPlyer EDITOR’S PICK STEMMING FROM A DESIGN THAT JOHN Page introduced when he began his own custom shop in 2006 (Page had previously headed the Fender Custom Shop), the new AJ is an intriguing guitar that advances an age-old platform into an instrument that’s designed to reel in players looking for many of the things a Telecaster delivers in a package that is modernized in all the right ways. It begins with a body that is contoured on the back and front and gets a reshaped lower horn and a streamlined neck heel to facilitate access to the high frets. A P-90 of Page’s own design mates with his version of a Tele pickup, which sits in a reverse-angled mounting plate in order to lend more warmth to the…

IN THE NOVEMBER 2016 GUITAR PLAYER HALL of Fame Awards, Bob Weir was inducted into the Gallery of the Greats along with his former left-hand man, Jerry Garcia. They’re infamous for electrifying San Francisco’s iconic psychedelic ’60s scene, but prior to that, they were a couple of acoustic aficionados playing in Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions. “Jerry was on guitar and banjo,” recalls Weir. “I was mostly on washtub bass. I played some jug, and some guitar.” Just before his jug and washtub glory days, Weir spent time as a teenager working on a Wyoming ranch, hanging around campfires and playing cowboy chords accompanying elder storytellers singing traditional western songs. He harkens back to those times on his first solo album of all original music in three decades, Blue Mountain…

TOM SMOTHERS February 1969 This is the slippery, sliding, satiristic, smothered Tom Smothers of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, whose one-time ambition—to play guitar with his own orchestra—was cut short by a thing called success. But success usually has simple beginnings. “I got my first guitar when I was in the sixth grade, and I also bought a guitar chord book and learned from there.” Most of Tom’s guitar education just happened when he was doing a song and needed a chord to complete the music. Gradually, he accumulated a mass of chords, and got plenty of experience playing at dances and club functions. Around the mid-1950s, Tom was playing his “big gold Gibson with double pickups. I played some lead and stuff like that. I played that Gibson even…