Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Guitar Player

WE’VE ADDED 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONTENT TO GP since the January 2017 issue, but, now, you are holding our “official” 50th birthday issue. The staff worked hard to present an informative and entertaining celebration of five decades of guitar players, guitar gear, and music culture, and it was a blast to go through the Guitar Player archives and revive some of the goodies from our past for a new look. In fact, it’s still humbling to absorb all of the guitar content that past editors Jim Crockett, Don Menn, Tom Wheeler, Dominic Milano, Joe Gore, and Richard Johnston—as well as their brilliant staffs and writers—have indelibly etched into the virtual asphalt of the information superhighway. As I’ve proudly revisited GP’s impact on world guitar culture the past few months, I’ll now allow…

TO HELP CELEBRATE GUITAR PLAYER’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY, VauxFlores is contributing three rad and unique fuzzboxes for our GP50 Giveaway. Here’s what’s on deck for you to win: The Number 23 is a buzzy box with some upper-octave sear, the Gold Standard is called a harmonically rich “racing fuzz,” and the Platano Verde invokes “vintage Latin psychedelia.” For a chance to win, simply send an email with the subject line “GP50 VauxFlores” to mmolenda@nbmedia.com. The deadline for entries is October 20, 2017. I’ll select the three winners at random—one for each pedal—and announce their names in an upcoming issue. Please note that all gear is “as is,” because every pedal was actually used and reviewed by the GP staff. Thank you for participating in my October GP50 gear contest. Good luck!…

I DISCOVERED JULIE IS Her Name while I was in my early 20s. Originally released in 1955, it features the incredible guitar work of Barney Kessel—with Ray Leatherwood on bass—and I fell in love with the strippeddown and dreamy production, the sultry vocal performances, and the cinematic guitar playing. A good example of Kessel’s tour de force is the track “Cry Me a River,” where his intro is a lovely mini-composition that leads into Ms. London’s breathy vocals. To me, it’s right up there with the great intro hooks of all time—as if “Secret Agent Man” was interpreted by Chopin— because it tells you what the song is about even before the vocal begins. Another standout is “Laura,” which was written for the 1944 film of the same name, where a…

OKAY—MAYBE NOT STEAL. “GUITAR Player Editor Arrested at Nashville NAMM Show on Magazine’s 50th Anniversary” is not a headline you want following you around. So, although there were tons of fantastic guitars that I’d love to review, play, and/or own at the summer NAMM show, July 13-15, these five instruments made me want to win the state lottery and immediately bring them all home on the plane with me. ART & LUTHERIE ROADHOUSE PARLOR $449 street No photo I’ve seen does true justice to the gorgeous faded cream finish on this parlor guitar. It quite literally stopped me dead in my tracks as I was rushing to an appointment. I had to stop for a while to grab it off the stand and play it. The sound was focused and shimmery,…

IN ITS 50 YEARS OF EXISTENCE, Guitar Player has produced more than 600 covers. That’s a mammoth assemblage of awesome guitar players peering at you from newsstands or from the bottom of your mailboxes over five decades. Of course, not every cover in the magazine’s history showcased a specific artist—far from it. GP covers have also promoted conceptual themes, gear shootouts and guides, technique and style lessons, how-tos, career advice, and more (see sidebar, “Subject Matter.”) However, when we posted a note on Facebook asking the community what type of content readers would like to see in our official 50th anniversary issue, Lyle Ketchum suggested that we pore over 50 years of artist covers and select the top players from each year. He basically set us up to be pummeled by…

MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE dozens of musicians that John Mayall has fostered over the course of the past halfcentury— Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Aynsley Dunbar, and Keef Hartley among them—but there’s been relatively little discussion about the Father of British Blues’ own unique guitar style. Well, it’s time to remedy that situation, so this month, rather than revisiting the classic Clapton, Green, and Taylor albums, we pay homage to and commemorate the 50th anniversary of a long overlooked gem from 1967, entitled The Blues Alone, where Mayall plays every instrument except drums (provided by Keef Hartley) on the album’s 12 original compositions, predating D.I.Y. records by Todd Rundgren and Paul McCartney by several years. (Mayall even designed the…

“I’M AN ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYER,” SAYS SONNY Landreth. “I suck at playing acoustic. I can play it around the house or record it in the studio, but on a gig in the heat of battle—it’s just a different angle.” Landreth exudes Southern humility, and a Stratocaster through a cranked Dumble or Demeter may forever be his hallmark, but he certainly does not suck on acoustic. Sonny is one of the top electric solidbody slide cats on the planet, and he doesn’t change his technique too dramatically to play acoustic. Tonally, he’s in a different universe. Landreth’s electric hurricane can range from a whisper to a category 5, and he’s a master of utilizing sustain to help facilitate a slew of original tricks and licks that have boggled minds for decades—many…

E-Series Professional In-Ear Monitor Headphones Audio-Technica Available Now With the E-Series, Audio-Technica brings the critically acclaimed sonic signature of its M-Series headphones to an in-ear design. Three new models feature powerful drivers, sound-isolating housings and detachable cables. $399 (ATH-E70) $199 (ATH-E50) $99 (ATH-E40) www.audio-technica.com pro@atus.com AmpliFire 12 Atomic Amplifiers Available Now AmpliFire 12 is the latest professional digital guitar amp modeling processor from Atomic Amps featuring patented tube amp modeling powered by Studio Devil. Custom speaker impulses cab IRs via USB, a full suite of effects, and now with 12 programmable footswitches, dedicated expression jacks, and more. PC and Mac editor app. Meet your total amp rig replacement and direct recording tool! $799 www.atomicamps.com Shredneck BelAir Models Shredneck LLC Available Now Shrednecks practice and warm-up tools are for guitar and…

As part of Guitar Player’s 50th Anniversary, we are celebrating the advertisers who believed in founder Bud Eastman’s mad idea, and supported the infant magazine through its first five years, 1967-1972. They are: Acoustic Amps, Alfred Publications, AKG, Altec-Lansing, Ampeg, Bigsby, Bill Russell Capo, Black Diamond Strings, Carlsboro Amps, Coral, Danelectro, Darco Strings, Dunlop, Eko, Electro-Harmonix, Electro-Voice, Epiphone, Ernie Ball, Fender, GHS Strings, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Hagstrom Guitars, Hallmark, Hammond Organ (Leslie), Harmony Guitars, Heathkit, Hohner, JBL, Kustom, La Bella Strings, Martin, Mel Bay Publications, Messenger Guitars, Mosrite, Ovation, Peavey, Randall, Rickenbacker, Robb Guitars, Rowe/DeArmond, Sigma, Standel, Sunn, TWA, Vox, and Yamaha. Thank you all! JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY! facebook.com/guitarplayermag twitter.com/guitarplayernow instagram.com/guitarplayer…

JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY! SOUND OFF! GET EXCLUSIVE NEWS. COMMENT. CRITIQUE. SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER. FACEBOOK.COM/GUITARPLAYERMAG TWITTER.COM/GUITARPLAYERNOW GUITARPLAYER.COM MICHAEL MOLENDA Editor In Chief mmolenda@nbmedia.com ART THOMPSON Senior Editor athompson@nbmedia.com KEVIN OWENS Managing Editor kowens@nbmedia.com JUDE GOLD Los Angeles Editor judegold@gmail.com JIMMY LESLIE Frets Editor jl@jimmyleslie.com DAVE HUNTER Gear Section & Video Contributor dhunterwordsmusic@yahoo.com PAUL HAGGARD Art Director phaggard@musicplayer.com…

As you can probably tell, we had a lot of fun doing this track, and we were all playing outside the envelope a bit. I’ve always loved songs— especially when written by an artist like Peter Gabriel, and produced by a mastermind such as Bob Ezrin—that take you out of your comfort zone and into a new place. The barbershop quartet at the beginning was made up of Joey Chirowski, Jim Maelen, Tony Levin, and Peter Gabriel, and Tony actually had a tuba solo.. How cool is that? But what amazed me the most was Robert Fripp playing banjo (that’s him on the left channel), and his wonderful, Neil Levang-type phrases played on his famous black Les Paul (on the right channel). Brilliant stuff! (By the way, Levang was an…

IN THE 50 YEARS THAT GUITAR PLAYER has been printing magazines there have been incredible highlights in the development of gear. Back in 1967 when GP began writing about all things guitar, the equipment landscape was evolving right along with music. Amplifiers were getting bigger and louder as Marshall and Vox vied for arena supremacy, effects took a big leap forward with the advent of the Vox Wah-Wah (followed closely by the famous Uni-Vibe), and in 1969 alone, Mesa/Boogie launched its revolutionary Mark I combo, Ampeg went power-mad with the SVT, and Electro- Harmonix etched its place in stompbox history with the Big Muff. Whew! As if a fuse was lit on an innovations skyrocket, the number of guitar- product launches from that point to where we are today has…

WE MAY HAVE MISSED THE EARLY BLUES and jazz sides, Les Paul’s sound-on-sound masterworks, and the birth of rock and roll guitar, but Guitar Player’s launch in 1967 still made it possible for us to cover tons of incredible and historic moments in the evolution of recorded guitar playing. In 50 years of reporting on players, performances, tones, and techniques, we’ve documented literally tens of thousands of albums. It would be extremely difficult to look back at all of those releases and select a “top albums” list for our 50th Anniversary issue—especially one that explicitly represents guitar history and our reader community. So we didn’t. Instead, we opted for a collection of notable albums that exemplifies GP’s diversity of styles, genres, and players. There are some obvious choices on our…

WINNERS! HERE IS THE CURRENT LIST OF HAPPY CAMPERS WHO HAVE WON PEDALS in Dana’s GP50 Giveaways. We’re continuing the contests throughout the remaining 2017 issue dates, so don’t forget to check this page each month and get your entries launched. January: Dennis Dembinski, Wampler Sovereign Distortion; Juan Carlos Rodriguez Garcia, Wampler Latitude Tremolo Deluxe; Dale Valiquette, Wampler Tumnus Overdrive/Boost; Mike Mermelstein, Wampler cataPulp British Distortion. February: Bert Cotton, McCaffrey Reactor Boost; Glenn Meizlesh, McCaffrey Green Vodka March: Tom Packlick, Diamond Fireburst; Jonathan Aron, Diamond Counterpoint; Blair Stretch, Diamond Tremolo; Bojan Hostic, Diamond Halo Chorus; Masi Claudio, Diamond Blaze; George Munyan, Diamond Compressor; Rodney Allison, Diamond Quantum Leap; Kane Miller, Diamond Cornerstone. April: Paul Vizza, Deep Trip Hell Bender; Kenneth Helle, Deep Trip Bog; Steve Krueger, Jam Red Muck; Mike…

IT ’S NOT AN EARTHSHATTERING realization, but it’s still a bit unsettling. You see, the Monkees can’t tour or release music as the Monkees unless they get permission from the entity that actually owns the name, the Monkees. The public may envision Micky, Peter, Davy, and Michael as a band, but “the band” was actually a television show, and none of the members of the Monkees actually control the rights to be the Monkees. What does any of this have to do with Brendon Small? More than you might think. In 2006, Small created (with Tommy Blacha) the cartoon series Metalocalypse—and the mythical legendary metal band Dethklok—for the Adult Swim network. The popular TV show launched four Dethkolk albums (one, The Doomstar Requiem, a full-blown metal opera), and actual live…

“WE WANTED AN UPBEAT RECORD,” says guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen in describing the agenda behind Queens of the Stone Age’s new Mark Ronson-produced album, Villains. “We’re a rock band, and we write big riffs, so we wanted things to be catchy and simple.” In QOTSA, Van Leeuwen shares guitar duties with frontman Josh Homme and Dean Fertita, and he says that a shared sense of humility is the biggest key to their interplay. “It’s not about me—it’s about all of us,” he notes. “If somebody plays a significant guitar part, it’s my job to support it. And, likewise, they support what I play. So we have an understanding: ‘Do your thing. I’ll back it.’” Here, Van Leeuwen shares three ways the guitar trio supports each other. Stay in Your Frequency…

PERHAPS IT WAS THE STILL-WRENCHING memory of losing him on April 15, 2017. Or maybe it was the continuing awe and respect guitarists hold for his supernatural technical and creative powers. It was most likely a heartfelt blend of both, because when we asked the GP community to select its most indispensable guitar heroes, it responded with a colossal barrage of votes for Allan Holdsworth. When we tallied your selections, Holdsworth was named almost ten times more than any other player. Furthermore, your impassioned and well-considered praise for this transcendent artist through Facebook and Twitter posts forged a communal tribute that was informative, celebratory, and powerful. Here’s a sampling of reader comments… “Holdsworth represents how the past (overdriven blues-based pentatonic playing) paved the way for the future,” says Todd Mason. “He…

MOST ARTISTS DO NOT LIVE IN IMPENEtrable bubbles where they conceive work solely from the firestorms raging in their right brains. They desperately need the world around them to inspire beauty, horror, anger, bliss, and all of the other elements that trigger creative action. So we thought it would be fun—and possibly instructive— to look into some of the cultural, technological, political, and musical events that swirled around guitarists between our first issue in 1967 and today. It’s far from a comprehensive timeline—and it’s more focused on entertainment than world or U.S. politics— but it provides some brief and amusing nuggets regarding the environments surrounding guitarists as they composed their riffs, songs, and solos throughout the past 50 years. Did any of these events forge or inform your own compositions…

WHEN I RECENTLY HAD TO LEARN HOW to play James Taylor’s celebrated version of this classic Carole King song, I was particularly struck by his acoustic fingerpicking, which typically employs the thumb (p), and index (i), middle (m), and ring (a) fingers. “You’ve Got a Friend” was recorded in 1971 for Taylor’s Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon album, during the same sessions and using the same studio musicians that performed on King’s version of the song (from her Tapestry album), and its four-bar intro encapsulates the precision and intricacies of Taylor’s signature fingerpicking style. Ex. 1 illustrates how Taylor transposed King’s piano-based version of the intro from the key of Ab to A, by performing it as if it were in the acoustic guitar-friendly key of G and…