Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Guitar Player

IT’S ALWAYS SO STRANGE AND UNSETTLING WORKing with print-magazine deadlines, because we’re always a couple of months ahead of whatever the calendar date is. As I write this for the February 2016 issue, it’s actually December 17, 2015, and I haven’t even done my holiday shopping yet. However, in the “other reality” of the printing press, I’ve sailed beyond that date, and I’ve already experienced Christmas, New Year’s, and other life events. Weird. Oh, and in just a couple of weeks, I’ll be writing stuff for the March 2016 issue. Time really does fly when you’re juggling todays and tomorrows like some mystical warlock. So let’s stick with the calendar date for a moment. It’s still 2015, and it has been a brutal, depressing, violent, and terrifying year in a…

A NIGHT AT THE ODEON QUEEN Just four guys making one hell of a racket for their first live BBC TV broadcast in 1975. Crazy tight musicianship and Brian May’s guitar is a feral kaleidoscope of tones and textures. No synths. No slop. Sensational. —MM THE SMITH TAPES: LOST INTERVIEWS WITH ROCK STARS AND ICONS, 1969-1972, EZRA BOOKSTEIN, EDITOR Reel-to-reel recordings of columnist Howard Smith’s talks with counterculture heroes like John Lennon, Dick Gregory, and Abbie Hoffman were MIA for decades. Read ’em now to revisit ’70s America at a crossroads. —MM LIVE IN HYDE PARK THE WHO A magnificent Who tribute band with two original members. Roger still a powerhouse, but wish Pete didn’t need multiple guitarists to mimic what he once did much more ferociously with an SG…

Lou Reed’s Berlin was an important album for me in many ways. I was working with a genius, it was only the second album I played on, it was my first trip to England (which was very exciting as I was a big fan of the ’60s British Invasion), and I got to work with Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood, Aynsley Dunbar, and B.J. Wilson. I expected to be nervous— or maybe even a little intimidated—but I was thrilled to be playing with these guys. I think this was naiveté on my part, rather than confidence. I just kept thinking what an incredible experience it would be. I also knew these guys would kick my ass and push me to a new level, or they would roll right over me. I…

A SCHOOL MUSIC DIRECTOR DUBBED him “Taz” for playing like the cartoon Tasmanian Devil at age eight, and he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at ten. He has jammed with the Scorpions, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Dr. John, Jimmy Herring, Oz Noy, Eric McFadden, and Gary Clark Jr. He and his bassist brother, Dylan, play together in Lions on the Moon, whose selftitled debut album was produced by Terry Manning (Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter, Joe Walsh). And, more recently, at just 12 years old, Brandon Niederauer is starring on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock: The Musical. What made you want to play guitar? School of Rock. I had a guitar teacher showing me things such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and I didn’t want that,…

THE WALLS AND BALCONY SEEM TO BE SHIFTING ABOUT and rumbling ominously at San Francisco’s former vaudeville theater, the Warfield. Happily, it’s not one of the City’s “little” earthquakes. It’s just the Cult doing a soundcheck. “It’s loud onstage because it has to be,” says guitarist Billy Duffy. “This old place really resonates, so if I don’t get my sound above a certain level, everything sounds boomy. If I can’t hear what I’m doing, I get the glum, Mr. Angry Face while I’m performing.” I’m assuming Duffy won’t be pulling any morose faces tonight, as this soundcheck is apocalypse loud. And it’s worth abiding the decibel onslaught, because his guitar tone is massive, feral, and exciting. The band’s winter tour during the last embers of 2015 delivers the hits, but…

THE SPLASH MK3 CERTAINLY ISN’T AN inexpensive reverb stompbox (at $259 street, it sits near the top rung of current reverb-pedal pricing), but it earns its keep by serving up a couple of interesting side dishes from the usual ambience menu. Three reverb algorithms are provided—a moderate size (from springy to room and hall), a large size (hall to chamber and beyond), and an Exciter mode that adds modulation and high-frequency sheen to large- and small-sized reverbs. One of the tasty appetizers is the Excite knob that controls the harmonic textures and presence of the moderate/large reverb algorithms, as well as predelay in the Exciter mode. The other treat is the shrewd Kill Dry switch that instantly kicks in a 100-percent wet signal for luscious and sensual ambient washes. Whenever…

WE WERE ABLE TO SCORE A FEW SNEAK PEEKS BEFORE THIS year’s Winter NAMM Show to share with you—just in case you can’t wait for our full report on upcoming new-gear releases in the April 2016 issue. Stay tuned for tons of great acoustic products to come. Burnt Beauty The Seagull S6 Original SLIM Concert Hall GT ($579 street) is offered in a spectacular burnt umber finish, and it includes Fishman electronics, a solid cedar top, wild cherry back and sides, and a silver leaf maple neck with rosewood fretboard. It’s also made by our friendly neighbors in Canada. seagullguitars.com A Touch of Fab Any Beatles fanatic who saw George Harrison play his rosewood Telecaster during the band’s final rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, likely has retained a bit…

IN THE JANUARY 2016 ISSUE, I mentioned that Guitar Player, Guitar World, and Guitar Aficionado are launching a mentoring initiative to steer experienced and gifted players to inspire people of all ages to take up the guitar. The program isn’t just about getting non-players to play, either. We also want anyone who took up the instrument but got discouraged to give it another chance. We want those dusty guitars out of closets, garages, and storage spaces and back in someone’s hands. If the abandonment was due to physical challenges—such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome— we want to help. If knowledge gaps made playing more frustrating than fun, we want to help. If lapses in technique killed your soul (and murdered your confidence), we want to help. And the “we” is going to…

BE THERE AT FIVE [Mercury, 1956] is a great example of the treasures one can find going through record bins. Twenty-five years ago, while shopping at a Salvation Army store, I bought this record for its cover—I wasn’t aware of George Barnes at the time— and I assumed the music might be lifeless corn. I was immediately knocked out by the great guitar playing, however, and after reading the liner notes, my appreciation for Mr. George Barnes began. Born in Chicago, Barnes (1921-1977) may have been the first player to record with an electric, Spanish-style guitar when he backed Big Bill Broonzy in 1938 on the tracks “Sweetheart Land” and “Lowdown Dirty Shame.” He was just 17 years old. That same year, Barnes was hired as a staff musician and…

“The tone is in my hands and the attitude is in my heart, and I can’t change that,” Pat Benatar guitarist Neil Giraldo told GP in 2004. “So what I do when I play and/or arrange guitar parts is not to think about what I’m doing. If I did, I’d probably lose whatever I was trying to do. I’d screw up, or slow down, or play the wrong thing. I have a ‘Last Man Standing’ kind of approach to playing: This is what I am, this is what I do, and I’m happy to do it.”…

YOU WOULDN’T PUT YOUR SHOES on before your socks, so why would you modify your nut slots before adjusting your trussrod? When you approach problems with your guitar, it always helps to have a working plan. This is how I approach setting up a guitar. More than likely, if you’re in the market for a setup, you are either trying to make your guitar feel better, or are dealing with a problem like buzzing. Let’s say you are looking for the lowest action with the least amount of buzz. I always start with the strings. If there is a kink in the string, it could cause a mysterious isolated buzz, or play out of tune, or just sound bad. Starting off with new strings can never hurt. Tech-savvy guitarists might…

1 Look Ahead. Think of long-term trends. Vintage guitars are expensive these days, but there are still plenty of buying, selling, and collecting opportunities. Also, determine if you are collecting as a passion or as an investment (or both). The answer may dictate how you build your collection. 2 Find a Theme. Many of the finest collections are distinguished not by what’s in them, but rather what’s not. A small collection of exquisite examples often trumps a largeranging collection without a focus. 3 Get Second Opinions. Developing a working relationship with a reputable dealer is invaluable for evaluating instruments, as well as what and when to buy or sell. Tip: Most dealers spend their lives acquiring the information they dispense to collectors for free. If you buy an occasional instrument…

OF the relatively small cadre of name guitarists who possess a sound that can readily be identified within just few notes, Billy Gibbons holds the high ground. As far back as 1968 he was getting accolades from Jimi Hendrix, and after forming ZZ Top with bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard in 1969, Gibbons quickly cemented his stature as a guitar-slingin’ badass with a string of albums that began with the 1971 release, ZZ Top’s First Album, and continued with Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango!, Tejas, Deguello, and El Loco—all of which led to massive touring throughout the ’70s, helping to make Gibbons a certified American blues-rock legend. As the ’80s rolled around ZZ Top got to work on creating its biggest selling albums—Eliminator and Afterburner,—both of which…

IT’S TRULY AMAZING HOW CERTAIN blues licks and phraseology have evolved both rhythmically and melodically after being handed down over the course of many generations. One case in point, and perhaps the most notorious, is the signature twobar, “bugle call” riff from “Dust My Broom.” Though earlier inferences to the song’s melody exist—the title lyric “I believe I’ll dust my broom” first surfaced on singer Carl Rafferty’s “Mr. Carl’s Blues,” recorded in 1933—the famed guitar figure didn’t began to take shape until a year later. Ex. 1 depicts arguably the first recorded appearance of the series of eighth-note triplet doublestops essential to the “Dust My Broom” riff courtesy of blues singer and slide guitarist James (a.k.a. Kokomo) Arnold’s 1934 Blue Bird recording of “Sagefield Woman Blues.” Pre-dating Robert Johnson’s composition…

IN DIFFERENT WAYS, THESE TWO NEW pedals sent me on a sonic trip to the 1970s. The Mu-FX Octave Divider is a rebirth of the original, mid-’70s Mu-tron pedal, and the SviSound Overzoid reminded of the days when many guitar stars simply adjusted their instrument’s Volume knobs to produce clean, gritty, and overdriven tones from their amps. MU-FX OCTAVE DIVIDER Led by Mike Beigel, the visonary inventor and co-founder of Musitronics in 1972, Mu-FX is now recreating and improving upon the ’70sera effects of the original company with the Tru-Tron 3X (an update of the venerated Mu-Tron III), Boostron 3 (a tonal stew of an Alembic Stratoblaster boost, a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer compressor, and a Pro Co RAT distortion), and the modernized Octave Divider reviewed here. All models are…

In my January 2016 “Noize From the Editor” column, I asked readers to tell the Guitar Player staff what changes they’d like to see in the magazine this year. Here are some of your responses. PETER BECK | Include a “suggested listening” section in every artist feature. Many of the artists you cover have extensive catalogs, and I have no idea where to start. A list of some of their best tracks would be great. RICK WALTON | I would like to see a small beginner section in lessons, or to perhaps categorize lessons as Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. MIKE ANDRACCHIO | Articles on strengthening your fretting hand, as I have a lot of problems with that. LOU MARINO | I think the best thing GP has done were the…

ARE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT PLAYING LONG SETS with your Les Paul because it portends a “pain relief” session lying flat on the couch the next morning? Do your shoulders and neck ache after bouncing around stages? You may be a prime candidate for Slinger Straps’ ergonomic line of guitar straps. The Hip Strap ($29 direct) employs a waist-belt-designed guitar strap to completely remove the weight of a guitar or bass from your shoulders. Some modification is required. You will need to install a strap button on the lower bout of your guitar in order to ensure the Hip Strap holds your instrument at an optimal playing position. If you’re not ready to go 100-percent “waist-ed” (or don’t wish to drill an additional strap button into your baby), the Sling Strap…

AFTER A FORMATIVE JOURNEY THROUGH FOLK and rock—as well as years of classical study— Denver’s Janet Feder eventually broke bad and began preparing her baritone guitars with small objects such as steel rulers, horsehair, and rocks. She also tunes one or two strings in unexpected half-steps, higher or lower. With sonic innovation and traditional melody as twin cornerstones of her artistry, Feder’s recent, self-produced THISCLOSE is an intimate treat for fans of truly alternative guitar. Why did you choose the baritone? Because the first time I heard a baritone classical, I cried. After a lifetime of playing guitar, this was the sound I’d been hearing in my head. Somewhere, between my own melodic/textural universe, and the big low end of the baritone, I’m more inclined to forego playing all the…

How cool is it to light candles, guitars, or, well, other things with a Zippo imprinted with an image of Jimi Hendrix? Licensed through Purple Haze Properties—a company founded by the guitar legend's brother Leon Hendrix and Andrew Pitsicalis—Zippo is releasing four different Jimi-themed lighters. Somewhat appropriately, Purple Haze Properties is also one of the leading sources for cannabis-related products sold under the Jimi Hendrix name. For example, the company just released a line of gourmet Jimi Hendrix Medicated Macaroons infused with 25mg of THC extractions (sorry—for medical use only, kids). Now, go on and light that fire!…

FRANCESCO ARTUSATO MADE HIS MARK in metal circles by showcasing his amazing technical chops without sacrificing musicality or artistic sensibility. After studying film scoring at Berklee College of Music, the Italian-born guitarist and composer lent his talents to American deathcore band All Shall Perish, released progressive instrumental records as the Francesco Artusato Project, and is currently in the metal outfit Devil You Know. The band just released its sophomore record, They Bleed Red [Nuclear Blast], and, besides Artusato, features Howard Jones (vocals), Ryan Wombacher (bass), and John Sankey (drums). What gear did you use on They Bleed Red? I’m playing 6-, 7-, and 8-string Ibanez guitars—mostly RGAs from the Los Angeles Custom Shop and Prestiges from Japan. They all have Seymour Duncan pickups. Strings are Ernie Ball Slinkys—.010-.046 for the…

WHEN GIBBONS TOOK THE STAGE AT SAN Francisco’s Regency Ballroom recently, he did it against the coolest backdrop of four Magnatone amps, three drum kits, two old-school keyboard rigs, and the most bitchin’, bedazzled, bejeweled, banana-seated bicycle on the planet. He fit right in, with his sparkly jacket, raspberry pants, and omnipresent chapeau, but he also somehow managed to upstage the entire proceedings by his mere presence. There is cool, then there’s Billy G cool. When he starts playing, the first thing you notice is his sound—that thick, greasy, low-down grind that in the hands of a lesser player might be muddy or indistinct, but with Gibbons it never is, even on clashy dominant chords. His artificial harmonics, of which he is the undisputed heavyweight champ, don’t squeal as much…

THIS IS THE FIRST OF AN ONGOING series of lessons that, if studied with any kind of concentration and regularity, will teach you how to read music. That’s right. No more screwing around. You will finally be able to read music. Not tablature (even though tab is a big help and we’ll still use it). Standard notation. Those hieroglyphic dots and lines from the days of yore. The secret code that, once you break it, will allow you to play any piece of music from any time in history. How freaking empowering is that? Before we begin, this might be a good time to address the deafening chorus of objections that are currently being screamed in guitarists’ heads worldwide. YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW HOW TO READ MUSIC TO PLAY…

THERE ARE HUNDREDS—IF NOT THOUSANDS— of new products debuted each year at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California. And, no, we can’t see into the future and detail all those gear releases for you right now. But some manufacturers do allow us a little peek into their forthcoming plans, and they’ve made it possible for us to compile this “petite potpourri” for all of you impatient gear freaks. Enjoy. 1 Collings 360 LT M An offset solidbody with a Mastery Offset Bridge and Offset Vibrato, a solid ash (or alder) body, and custom Lollar P90s. collingsguitars.com 2 Danelectro 64 For Danelectro’s 60th anniversary, here’s a delightful reimaging of a ’60s Mosrite. The 64 pairs a lipstick humbucking pair (with a coil-split option) with a P90. danelectro.com 3 D’Angelico Tear…

I’M A SUCKER FOR HARMONIOUS stage design with a hint of flash. So when I saw I could order a Mojotone Stompbox Suitcab in Vox red tolex to match my red Vox AC30 and red Gretsch, Collings, and Epiphone guitars, my love for style overruled all considerations of practicality. I shouldn’t have worried. After four months of gigs, sessions, and rehearsals, the Suitcab ($334 direct) proved it was no mere fashion statement. These superbly constructed pedal totes are Navy Seal tough and outfitted with helpful features. The USA-made Suitcabs are built from birch ply and include butterfly latches, metal corners, ½” carpet on the pedalboard, rubber feet, and a cushy leather handle. Stair-step foam inside the lid keeps pedals in place during rough transport, rubber passthrough grommets allow tidy routing…