Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Guitar Player

I TRY TO LOOK FOR MUSICAL KICKS IN THE BUTT everywhere, because, well, the older you get, and the longer you play guitar, the more chance you may have of falling into comfort zones that can derail creative growth. My latest artistic wakeup call was provided by the political arena through some of the campaign speeches by Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump. It’s the nature of the beast that candidates tell us they are going to “do something” about particular issues, but any significant data regarding “how” they are doing to enact these promises are typically vague, confusing, or non-existent. Am I doing the same thing with my guitar playing? I believe that every note a guitarist plays should clearly say something profound, as well as perhaps surprise,…

THE JULY “NOIZE FROM THE EDITOR” COLUMN ASKED READERS to evaluate GP’s content and suggest changes as they saw fit. Here is a sampling of those comments. “I’ve been a subscriber since the mid ’80s, and although I don’t spend as much time with the mag as I used to, I tend to focus my attention on things that move me. I still find reading about effects endlessly interesting, and if by some chance you were to share how a guitarist crafted a certain sound that I love, I’d be very happy. Bottom line: For me, it’s all about the gear, and I’d love it if your gear ratings came back.” —BRYAN ZINK “I was happy to see Matt Blackett’s reading-music series, and I enjoy all the gear-related articles. I…

RCA Studios, Hollywood, May 18-19, 1965 WEARING A STRIPED BLAZER AND cuff links—a look that seems more appropriate for a London banker desperately trying to project some faded hipness in the Carnaby Street era—Keith Richards rehearses for the Rolling Stones appearance on the May 26, 1965 broadcast of the American variety show, Shindig! Wielding his 1959 sunburst Les Paul with Bigsby, Richards and crew prepped four songs for the May 20 taping: “Down the Road Apiece,” “Little Red Rooster,” “The Last Time,” and what may have been the world live-television premiere of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” In a partnership with the Bob Bonis Archive, Guitar Player is thrilled to offer limited-edition, fine-art prints of never-before-seen photographs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones from 1964-1966. Bonis (1932-1992) was the…

LET’S FACE IT—GUITARISTS HAVE A NOT-ENTIRELY undeserved rap for being a bit egocentric. We generally like to grab the spotlight and keep it focused on ourselves as much as possible. Given his ferocious chops, refined feel, clever compositional skills, and monstrous sense of groove, one could forgive Oz Noy for wanting to be king of the mountain on his solo records. But ever since the jazz-schooled guitarist first took the Manhattan scene by storm and began releasing albums under his own name, Noy innately understood the value of collaboration. Like many jazz greats before him, the Oz man seems to subscribe to the “primus inter pares” (first amongst equals) approach to band leading and regularly invites such luminaries as guitarists Mike Stern, Steve Lukather, and Eric Johnson to be his…

IF THERE’S ONE THING THAT CONtinually surprises Steve Stevens about his famous guitar intro on Billy Idol’s ’80s-rock mega-hit, “Rebel Yell,” it’s how some cover bands choose play it. “Many of them play that part using two guitar players, which is always a little amusing to hear, because I did it on one guitar,” says Stevens. The two-guitar interpretation is understandable, because the part in question (which, incidentally, appeared in an earlier form on “One in a Million” by Stevens’ former band, the Fine Malibus) does have two distinct voices [Ex. 1]—a rising bass line plucked by the thumb on the lowest three strings, and a repeating dyad plucked by the index and middle fingers on the highest two strings. (Tip: Don’t worry about consciously playing the dyad staccato, as…

ADAPTIVE DELTA MODULATION (ADM) was a process employed by DeltaLab Research in its ’80s-era DL and Effectron series rack processors, and Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) was employed by Lexicon in its PCM and Prime Time series digital delay units from the same period. Strymon painstakingly researched these primitive technologies and sought to emulate their primary characteristics in the far-from-primitive (32-bit floating point) SHARC DSP-equipped DIG pedal ($299 street). In addition to those old-school emulations, there’s also a modern 24-bit/96kHz delay type, should you wish to dwell in the present. The DIG’s dual delays may be configured to run in series (one after the other), parallel (the delays don’t interact with each other), and in Ping Pong mode. By default, the two stereo delays are synchronized, with Delay 1 acting as…

AS I’VE SAID A MILLION TIMES IN THESE pages, I’m a fan of anything that can get kids— or beginners of any age—into playing guitar. The folks at Loog feel the same way, and they have a very interesting take on how best to do that. They sell unassembled 3-string acoustic ($159) and electric ($199) instruments. (They even offer an awesome Lucite model for $299!) Why unassembled? Because, they explain, “When kids build their own guitar, they develop a deep connection to it. It’s an experience that gives them a sense of ownership and accomplishment.” They also say that kids will bond with their parents through the process. I can’t argue with that. Art Thompson and I put this Loog together in about 15 minutes, and the bond we forged…

THIS YEAR, GUITAR PLAYER launched its Play It Forward campaign to encourage experienced “mentors” to inspire newbies, young guitarists, and former players of any age to pick up the instrument and enjoy the experience of getting better and sounding better. Now, GP would like to recognize those who have actually gone out there and started something wonderful for other players. This month, we salute guitar instructor Dave Paris and his student Aaron Brandt. Paris typically invites his students onstage to perform with his Dave Paris Group as a way to see first-hand what it means to be a professional musician. In 2010, he brought up an 11-yearold Brandt to perform the song “Time” by the Christian-rock band Undercover, as Paris felt the tune was a great example of using the…

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN PUNKY MEADOWS, AND HIS glamorous band Angel, seemed poised to be the “next big thing.” They were on the same label as Kiss, and they had big riffs and big hair, but no big hits. Despite pockets of regional success, they ultimately didn’t take over the world. Meadows was out of the music biz for many years, making cameos with Frank Zappa (he’s the Punky in “Punky’s Whips”) and being impersonated by Paul Gilbert in Ampeg ads. But now, he’s back with his first-ever solo album, Fallen Angel [Main Man]. Why release a solo record now? I never stopped playing guitar. It’s in my blood. I’ll play while I’m watching TV. I come up with ideas for songs, record them real quick, and then keep…

JOHN MAYALL’S BLUESBREAKERS LIVE IN 1967—VOLUME 2 JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS You don’t buy a CD like this for its recording quality, but rather to hear a 20-something year-old Peter Green soloing his ass off with badass tone, while laying the groundwork for so many profile blues-rockers that would learn his licks and follow in his footsteps. As the follow-up to last year’s volume 1 release of live Mayall performances recorded at various London clubs in 1967, there’s so much to dig in the magic created by the Fleetwood/Green/McVie trinity that would become Fleetwood Mac.—AT COMPLETE BLUES GUITAR DAVID HAMBURGER, MATT SMITH, WAYNE RIKER This is a very thorough, well thought-out tome that delivers on its title, with three sections— Beginning, Intermediate, and Mastering Blues Guitar—taught by three great…

AT THE RISK OF RESTATING THE OBVIous, you can read music now. That’s just a fact, and I will fight anyone who disagrees. [Ed. Note: I won’t actually fight anyone.] And if you can read these lessons, you can read anything—you just might have to sit with the chart a while. As you stare at new piece, you should instantly take in your time signature (how many and what type of beats per measure—usually 4/4 for rock, pop, blues, country, etc.). You should suss out what your key signature is, because once you know what your key or tonal center is, you can go to a familiar position and find your notes much more easily. Then you have to tackle the actual notes and rhythms, and you should start slowly,…

REPRESENTING THE FOURTH COLLABoration between Dr. Z and Brad Paisley, the DB4 is the outcome of the country star’s request for a rich and warm sounding British-voiced amp. Dr. Z founder Mike Zaite says he started from scratch with this design, deciding early on a U.S.-made N.O.S. 5879 pentode tube for the preamp. “This is the tube that Les Paul chose to be used in his Gibson GA-40 amp,” says Zaite. From there the signal hits a 5-position rotary frequency filter, which provides a selection of tones that range from bright to brown with varying timbres in between. The only other controls on the DB4 are Volume and Cut, with the latter effectively functioning as a tone control for the output section. The amp features a birch-ply cabinet that’s neatly…

RADIAL PEDALS ARE RENOWNED FOR their road-worthiness and these three Tonebone-branded units are no exception. Constructed of heavy steel and fitted with sturdy switches, jacks, and pots, these Canadianmade boxes are all business. Their buffered outputs allow for cable runs of up to 50 feet without signal degradation and they all operate on standard 9VDC power. TWIN-CITY ACTIVE ABY SWITCHER Priced at $159 street, this pedal lets you switch between or combine two amplifiers. Its class-A buffer keeps level inconsistencies at bay and its variable Drag control matches the load on your pickups to that of a tube amp’s input. An isolation transformer on output B and a Lift switch eliminate hum from ground loops, while a 180-degree Phase Switch keeps all your speakers moving in the same direction. The…

“OUR PHILOSOPHY IS TO BE AN OPEN SOURCE, BECAUSE we get as much as we give—sometimes more,” says Santa Cruz Guitar Company honcho and acoustic-guitar whisperer Richard Hoover. These are not simply facile, “feel good” words. Hoover really means what he says. So if you’re lucky enough to take his factory tour of the company in sunny Santa Cruz, California, you should become inspired and fascinated by his openness and curiosity. First, he sits down with your group for a chat, taking notes on anything interesting, and encouraging you to do the same. During the tour, he talks freely about all aspects of the acoustic-guitar business—even if other builders are in the mix. From its humble beginnings as a custom shop, to international acclaim from players such as Tony Rice…

THE SUBJECT OF @#*&! In the July issue, reader Don Bertram wrote that he felt Guitar Player was being too conservative by censoring profanity in its pages. Our standard answer about that—also stated in our response to his letter—was that we don’t want parents and educators to prevent children using the magazine as a resource because “bad words” are published within. However, we invited other readers to weigh in on the question of whether we should keep GP’s language in the crew-cut 1950s, or loosen up and embrace modern times. “I would never worry about a parent being offended by Guitar Player. Please uphold the high standards of your magazine’s tradition. Don’t let a few dissenters sway you to go along with the modern-day ‘Dumbing Down of America.’ Common decency…

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@musicplayer.com ART THOMPSON, Senior Editor athompson@musicplayer.com MATT BLACKETT, Associate Editor mblackett@musicplayer.com KEVIN OWENS, Managing Editor kowens@musicplayer.com JIMMY LESLIE, Editor, Frets section j@jimmyleslie.com PAUL HAGGARD, Art Director phaggard@musicplayer.com…

IN 1980, WHEN I BOUGHT Second Edition—originally released in a metal canister as Metal Box in 1979—I enthusiastically played it for my friend Keith Fillmore, whose observation was, “I would not buy this!” It isn’t for everyone, obviously, but I think it is a brilliant record that’s totally smothered in innovative, adventurous, and inventive guitar work by Keith Levene. On the track, “Poptones,” for example, Levene employs sadistically raw, open-string major-7 arpeggios that recall “Midnight Cowboy” played with a velvet icepick. For “Albatross,” he produces cinematic jangles enhanced by the metallic sound of his aluminum-neck Travis Bean guitar. His innovative voicings—which venture from strangely beautiful to extremely dissonant—still sound jarring and captivating to my ears today. I believe The Edge was greatly influenced by the underrated Levene, and I wonder if…

I’VE MENTIONED BEFORE ABOUT ALICE COOPER’S SHARP wit and humor, and nowhere is that more evident than in the lyrics of “Cold Ethyl,” from 1975’s Welcome to My Nightmare. When we were first learning the song in the studio, I wasn’t really paying attention to the lyrics. I was busy learning the arrangement and developing my part. And, as we started recording, the first few takes were used to see if any changes were needed before we nailed down the final version. Once that was all straight, we began recording takes to get a performance. “Cold Ethyl” was a lot of fun to play. Even better, Alice liked singing with us as we did the basic tracks—which helped us get a far better sense of the song than if we…

“I MIGHT HAVE HAD A BETTER CAREER if I was able to focus on one type of music, but I have to be so many different things to satisfy my itch,” says Vince Gill. Sitting in Gill’s small but gorgeous home studio, and surrounded by more than 70 museumquality vintage instruments, it’s hard to imagine him having a better career. The man has sold more than 26 million albums, garnered 18 Country Music Association Awards (including two Entertainer of the Year and five Male Vocalist of the Year awards), been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Guitar Center Rock Walk, and earned 20 Grammys. And, he has somehow managed to do it all while retaining a reputation as a musician’s musician and the nicest guy in…

IF YOU’RE INTRIGUED BY THE GROOVY Fender PM-2 parlor guitar reviewed on p. 102, here are some other models you may want to check out. If you’re new to the parlor game, you can read very studious chronicles about these svelte guitars all over the web, but I simply dig the fact/fable that these small-bodied jewels appeared in private recitals lavishly set up in the parlors of the wealthy during the early 1900s. Imagine the artists, gypsies, folkies, and jazz musicians who carried dusty parlors across their backs, and through the servant entrances of great mansions to kick off the modern house concert. Such romantic musings are apt, as contemporary parlor guitars are sexy, vintage-looking boxes that recall the era of wax cylinders and 78s. They also tend to have…