Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2017 i Guitar Player

WHEN INDUSTRIES GET DISRUPTED, GO SIDEWAYS, OR disappear into that long good night, there is typically not one easy answer for why the business tanked. Of course, that fact doesn’t often prevent heated barroom debates, social-media kiss-offs, and tabloid journalism from embracing a “single-reason theory” and targeting a specific scapegoat. I’m not trying to do any of that here. But I do wonder (and fear and agonize) over our own apparent complicity in creating a cultural environment where the sweat and artistry of musicians is often considered far less worthy of compensation than the toil of those who bag our groceries at the supermarket. I’ve got nothing but respect for grocery baggers, by the way—I just think professional musicians should get paychecks, too. In the name of brand building and…

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…

THIS BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN SONG FROM 1977’S PETER Gabriel is what might be called an “epic power ballad.” It is majestic and powerful, but, at the same time, subtle and sublime. (OMG, I sound like a music reviewer!) I loved the way producer Bob Ezrin orchestrated this piece with all of us musicians as the “orchestra.” While you can find lots of examples of the use of fifths in Wagnerian orchestral and symphonic works that can be easily applied to rock music, I still learned a lot from watching Bob sort that out. I played acoustic guitar all through the basic track. That’s me in the right channel. Robert Fripp played the big power chords in the choruses. I later overdubbed some of those Wagnerian power lines I was talking about, and…

THERE’S AN UNSETTLED, VOLCANIC font of creativity that ricochets across Andy Summers’ mind’s eye. Whether he’s gazing through the viewfinder of his favorite Leica camera, searching for those strange and beautiful shadows of everyday life, or guiding the music seeping from his heart and fingers, he always appears to seek mystery, artistry, and the delicious tension of the unknown. Perhaps this is part of the reason Summers’ guitar has exhibited a rainbow of colors throughout his career—blues, rock, anti-rock, jazz, classical, and experimental— when most guitarists would be blissfully and forever fulfilled if they were able to forge just one unique guitar sound. And, at 74 years old, he’s not done yet. For his latest solo album, Triboluminescence [Flickering Shadow/Cargo], Summers once again cleared out his timbral and compositional toolboxes…

BY NATURE OF THE FACT THAT ACOUSTIC guitars predated electrics by a few centuries, the list of highly influential guitar-wielding instrumentalists and singer-songwriters is huge by comparison. In that light, trying to whittle this story down to just 50 “transcendent” acoustic players was a challenge for all of us. We haggled endlessly over the 50 candidates and ultimately did our best to present a wide swath of guitar pioneers, stylists, and innovators who have, each in their own way, pushed the envelope of guitar music for the benefit of humankind. Of course, there are many more in the genres of blues, country, classical, folk, jazz, pop, rock, and new age whose contributions to the lexicon of modern guitar music would earn them a place on any list of Top Acoustic…

We focused this report on the strings we’ve had on our instruments for a while, because we wanted to give readers a real-world view on how the most recent string formulations stand up regarding longevity, tuning integrity, tonal quality, and breakage. That exercise required a few months’ worth of gigs, rehearsals, practicing at home, and feedback from peers. But the strings that made the short list due to recently marketed new formulations certainly aren’t the only options for enhancing the tone of your favorite guitars. Here are some other strings that have been used by enough editors and musician friends for us to call your attention to. Guitar Player will publish comprehensive, “field test” reviews on many more strings in the near future. CLEARTONE z Cleartone has provided the staff…

ANDREW WHITE FREJA 133 $699 street The stunning wood cropcircle inlays might just steal eyeballs away from the tanned and lovely men and women at the beach. The Freja 133 also includes a solid Sitka-spruce top, curly maple back and sides, a satin-finished Spanish cedar neck, and an oil-finished rosewood fretboard. andrewwhiteguitars.com WHEN PLANNING ALL THOSE WONDERFUL leisure activities that surround the days of summer—swim dates, nature hikes, camping trips, parties, vacations, and general hanging out—don’t forget to invite your music along. If you want a groovy new acoustic guitar for your al fresco solo concerts, these recently released models—and a summer NAMM scoop or two—look cool, sound great, and offer price tags from nearly pocket change to hefty limited- edition bucks. BREEDLOVE USA SERIES CONCERT DAY LIGHT MAHOGANY $1,599…

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…

THE PROPULSIVE ENGINES OF NO Doubt—guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young— definitely do not go into a creative dry dock when vocalist/media star/entrepreneur Gwen Stefani is focused on, well, Gwen Stefani. So in 2014, looking to do a side project, the trio secretly reached out to AFI vocalist Davey Havok, demoed four songs, wrote 28 additional songs—determined they had a band (but no label or manager)—got serious and wrote more songs, and, ultimately recorded their selftitled debut album, Dreamcar [Columbia], with producer Tim Pagnotta. “We kept the band a secret because we wanted to write music simply for the sake of writing music,” says Dumont. “It’s a unique group to make an album with. Three quarters of it have been together forever, and then there’s Davey’s freshness…

WHETHER YOU’RE INTERESTED IN a high-profile artist gig or a casual tribute band, the audition process can be intimidating. During my time in Nashville, I’ve seen the audition format range from video submissions to solo performances (usually to tracks without a band) to one-on-ones with the artist to open-to-the-public cattle calls. With every audition, preparation is paramount. Once you are presented with the three or four audition songs, you should master these five essentials. ABSORB SIGNATURE PARTS It is of the upmost importance to recreate the signature licks of a song. Be ready to transpose them on the spot if the artist wants to do the song in a different key. Learn the other key parts—second guitar lines, keyboard riffs, etc.—to show the artist you’ve done some deep research and…

SOMEBODY FORGOT TO TELL ROBIN Trower that, at the age of 72, he’s supposed to be slowing down. In 2016, the veteran guitar master issued Where You Are Going To, packed with enough fiery blues-rock to satisfy his legion of fans for years, and he recently followed it up with Time and Emotion [V-12], a deeper, more expansive and extravagant work on which he raises the bar for brawny, soul-rattling soloing to almost vertiginous heights. “I don’t see any reason to stop,” he says, adding, somewhat casually, that he’s working on yet another new record. “The fact is that I write a lot, and I enjoy playing, so I keep making records. Now, that said, I’m always trying to improve, and I imagine that will continue. Certainly, in this last…

YouTube has brought scores of awesome guitarists to the forefront of both the guitar community and popular culture. Obviously, with so many burners online, there’s a lot of distortion over who might be worth checking out. These two guitarists are audience favorites and accomplished players, so start here. Jess Greenberg 1,280,992 subscribers Greenberg specializes in covers of classic-rock songs—Hendrix, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, etc.—and typically charts millions of views for each video. She has a sweet voice and marvelous technique. She also posts performances on electric guitar. Sungha Jung 4,566,435 subscribers Jung not only has dazzling fingerstyle chops, his original compositions showcase a beautiful melodic sensibility. The 20-yearold from South Korea exploded across the web eight years ago, when his cover of the movie theme from Pirates of the Caribbean logged…

WHEN ONE THINKS OF GUITAR AND Pink Floyd, the first thing that usually comes to mind is David Gilmour’s soaring electric lead playing on such classic rock staples as “Money,” “Time,” and “Comfortably Numb.” But the guitarist’s brilliance on the Stratocaster should not obscure the fact that his acoustic playing has always been an important component of Pink Floyd’s music and sound. One of the best examples of this is the intro to “Hey You,” featured on the band’s enormously popular and enduring 1979 concept album, The Wall. Written by Roger Waters, the song begins with a somber-sounding two-chord progression that alternates between arpeggiated Em(add9) and Dm(add9) chords. But what really makes this intro come to life and sound so shimmering and hauntingly beautiful is what Gilmour did with it,…

API’S 2520 AMPLIFIER HAS ADDED its trademark warmth to broadcast consoles and recording studios for over four decades. The company’s first guitar pedal, the TranZformer GT ($492 street) features a similar discrete circuit design preamp with +30dB of gain. An onboard API 525 feedback-type compressor offers six levels of threshold—from 2:1 to 20:1— with fixed average attack and release times of 5ms and 100ms respectively. Also included is a 3-band equalizer. The compressor and EQ are switchable on and off when the hardwired bypass switch is on. The TranZformer GT has a ¼" input along with ¼" and XLR outputs. Three buttons control phase reverse and ground lift, which are useful when plugging the pedal simultaneously into an amp and P.A. Tested with a Fernandes T-style into a Supro Comet,…

This month, Cast Engineering is helping us celebrate Guitar Player’s 50th anniversary by offering up their Pulse Drive Tremolo pedal for my gear giveaway. One lucky reader has a chance to add this cool stompbox to their pedal collection. The Pulse Drive functions as a tremolo/boost with 30dB of signal level on tap, and it was designed to emulate the sound of ’60s tubeamp tremolos. You can get all swampy or chopped-up by playing with the Depth and Rate knobs, or turn the Depth control all the way down and crank Level to deploy the Pulse Drive solely as a boost. This pedal was hand built in Atlanta, Georgia. For a chance to win, simply send an email with the subject line “GP50 Pulse Drive” to mmolenda@ nbmedia.com. The deadline…

ONE OF THE MOST important and inspiring records I’ve ever discovered is Julian Bream Plays Granados and Albéniz: Music of Spain, Vol. 5. Is it the best of the lot? I can’t say, but it absolutely opened a new universe of guitar and composition for me. This album served as a gateway for an ongoing archeological dig for other Spanish and world music on guitar, and it led me to Spanish composers Francisco Tárrega, Frederico Mompou, and Fernando Sor; Brazilian composer Heitor Villa- Lobos; Paraguayan virtuoso Agustín Barrios; and Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. On side one, Enrique Granados’ “Dedicatoria” was the first piece to capture me. Transcribed from piano, the guitar piece is as lovely and lilting as it was when it was conceived in the 19th Century. Granados’ “Danza…

“I’M SO EXCITED!” EXCLAIMS TOMMY EMMANUEL. “I’ve only been waiting for 35 years to get on the cover of this magazine [laughs].” One of only a handful of guitarists dubbed a “Certified Guitar Player” by the legendary Chet Atkins, Emmanuel was the clear choice for the featured spot among this issue’s Top Acoustic Players. The über-talented fingerpicker has earned a pair of of Grammy nominations, as well as a pair of the Australian equivalent ARIA Awards. He even represented his homeland by performing at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics. Emmanuel’s melodic mastery extends his appeal far beyond guitar geekdom, but those zealots—which include many of the readers of this magazine—are at the core of his huge fan base. “I remember when GP had a poll about a dozen…

Joan Armatrading. Armatrading’s propulsive rhythm-lead style always brings her exceptional songs to life. Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham seamlessly melds acoustic and electric textures, as on Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” Eric Clapton. His 1992 album, Unplugged, kicked off a massive upswing in acoustic players and instrument sales. Donovan. His take on clawhammer picking astounded Swinging London in the ’60s, and, hey, he taught the Beatles how to fingerpick. Nick Drake. “Cello Song,” from 1969’s Five Leaves Left, is a lovely example of sensitive fingerpicking and emotive collaboration with the cello of the title. Emmylou Harris. The Grammy-winning songwriter has her own Gibson signature model, the L-200 Emmylou Harris. Steve Howe. The Yes guitarist has treated fans to many wonderful acoustic- guitar moments, but check out 2001’s Natural Timbre for a full-on acoustic…

STILL POTENTIALLY THE MOST RADICAL guitar effect out there when used in anger, the fuzzbox is also one of the earliest transistorized pedals available, landing on the scene long before milder forms of overdrive and other relatively polite effects. And the Maestro Fuzz-Tone is the granddaddy of them all. First released in 1962, the Fuzz-Tone evolved from a circuit designed by Nashville studio engineer Glen Snotty, who was inspired by one of recording’s great “happy accidents” in the studio. Snotty first devised the circuit to produce a transistorized re-creation of the sound he’d heard when recording Marty Robbins’s 1961 hit record “Don’t Worry,” when the tube preamp in the mixer channel that Grady Martin’s short-scale Danelectro bass was plugged into went on the fritz and started producing an appealingly distorted…

IN HIS SEPTEMBER 1976 COLUMN, STEFAN GROSSMAN ABANDONED (FOR A TIME) HIS DISCUSSIONS on transposing piano pieces to guitar, and started focusing on fiddle tunes. Savvy guitarists should always look to other instruments for melodic inspiration, and, besides being a fertile “lick stimulus,” “Last of Callahan” is also a butt kicker for your technique, as you’ll be playing a bass line and melody simultaneously…