Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Guitar World

I’M REALLY HAPPY to have snagged William Zabka — aka Johnny Lawrence from The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai — for this issue of Guitar World. Sure, I enjoy the hell out of Cobra Kai, but Zabka also happens to appear in my favorite Eighties movie (and one of my four or five favorite movies of all time), 1986’s Back to School. Ironically, Back to School is the movie I’d watch when I’d cut class — or cut school altogether — back in ancient times, and I watch it about three times a year to make sure I can still recite the dialog — just like a crazy person — and I can! In terms of our feature, I actually considered interviewing Zabka myself, just so I could ask him…

“[Jose Feliciano] is untouchable for flamenco, but he’s an amazing rock guitarist, too”— PABLO CERVANTEZ BEACH GOONS GUITARIST and frontman Pablo Cervantez admits that his fans are a fervent lot, often rushing the stage and besieging him for autographs and selfies before the band can begin playing. But even he was surprised by one fan at a recent gig. “This guy came at me and wanted me to sign his vaccine card,” Cervantez says. “I was like, ‘Dude, I can’t sign that,’ but he insisted. So I signed it. I hope it’s still valid.” Since starting up the San Diego-based surf punk trio in 2004, Cervantez has become accustomed to seeing bassists and drummers come and go. “Sometimes we have creative differences, and other times the other guys decide they…

IF THERE’S ANYTHING metal guitarists tend to look for in their equipment, it’s most surely power. While there will always be those who choose to rely more on the actual riffs for heaviness, it’d be fair to say a mega majority of metal players are generally in pursuit of tonal extremes — whether through a guitar with extra-hot pickups, a pedal wired to cataclysmic weight or, indeed, the sonic brutality procured by their amp of choice. As Yngwie Malmsteen, a man who embodies heavy metal to its unrelenting core, once famously said, “More is more.” The good news is that tones heavy enough to knock the earth off its axis have never been more attainable and affordable, as demonstrated by this roundup of ear-bleeding metal machinery. Enjoy! JACKSON X SERIES…

WE PUT ON our Sherlock Holmes cap and explored the myths and the reality about this guitar, which Jimi Hendrix supposedly burned at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival (Nope — photos show he played a white Strat); Frank Zappa was given the remains (This is true; see the quote from the January 1977 issue of Guitar Player, below); played it on his 1976 album, Zoot Allures, and after Frank died, his son Dweezil got it (Not quite; Frank gave it to Dweezil while Frank was still alive). It was repaired to be playable, and Dweezil has refurbished it (True). The guitar was given to Frank by Howard Parker, Hendrix’s roadie, at the Miami Pop Festival on May 18, 1968. This rumor probably originated from an interview Frank gave to Guitar…

SOLID STATE AMPS tend to fall into two categories: your meat-and-potatoes “clean and dirty with reverb” bundles — and “everything but the kitchen sink” ones with amp and effects modeling. I have no problem using either type as of late because, frankly, solid state amplification has come a long way from some of the sterile-and anemic-sounding tubeless amps of yore. Case in point: Electro-Harmonix’s brand-new Dirt Road Special isn’t an exact reissue of the late-Seventies “Mike Matthews Dirt Road Special” — a rare 25-watt solid state combo with Electro-Harmonix’s Small Stone phaser circuit built in — but rather, a capable 1x12 combo that builds upon the original’s design by bumping the power up to 40 watts and replacing the phaser with four built-in reverbs pulled from EHX’s Holy Grail Max…

IN THE SAME funny way guitarists have an urge to check out another player’s live rig at a show, I’ve been doing the same — albeit for portable PAs. With soundmen becoming increasingly scarce, many performers have had to rely on themselves to provide sound for their shows. So, naturally, I’ve been paying a great deal of attention to what other players are using in this space. Granted, I’ve been focused on smaller line array PA systems, mostly because they’re easy to set up, portable and generally get the job done with decent encompassing sound. Admittedly, compared to other brands, I wasn’t familiar with LD Systems’ vast amount of pro audio products for musicians and touring professionals, so when I was given the chance to review their battery-powered Maui 5…

THIS MONTH, I’D like to break down a song of mine called “Take Me with You,” which is the last track on my new album, Electric Truth. To my ears, there is a distinct “Pink Floyd” vibe to the tune. My reason for utilizing this song as a vehicle for instruction is that its primary melodic themes are played on the lower, or “bass,” strings, which in and of itself is unusual for instrumental guitar music. In most cases, the higher, unwound “treble” strings are usually utilized for melodies, as the bends, finger slides and vibratos typically employed to emulate the emotive quality of the human voice feel quite natural on these strings, and they also cover the “standard” range of the human voice. One of the cool things about…

“SOUL TO SQUEEZE” FROM THE PARAMOUNT MOTION PICTURE THE CONEHEADS. WORDS AND MUSIC BY ANTHONY KIEDIS, FLEA, JOHN FRUSCIANTE AND CHAD SMITH. COPYRIGHT © 1991, 1993 SONY MELODY AND MOEBETOBLAME MUSIC. ALL RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF SONY MELODY ADMINISTERED BY SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, 424 CHURCH STREET, SUITE 1200, NASHVILLE, TN 37219. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.…

GUITAR: c. mid-Sixties Gibson ES-355TD-SV (both pickups), Bridge Volume: 10, Neck Volume: 8, Bridge Tone: 10, Neck Tone: 10, Varitone: 2 AMP: 1970 Gibson Les Paul LP-1 head (bridge pickup into Normal channel, Hi impedance input, Volume: 8, Presence: 7, Bass: 3, Treble: 6, X Over: 250Hz; neck pickup into Effects channel, Hi impedance input, Volume: 8, Presence: 7, Bass: 3, Treble: 6, X Over: 250Hz, Tremolo: 0, Vibrato: 0, Rate: 0, Reverb: 2) into Gibson Les Paul LP-2 power amp/ speaker cabinet with four Eminence 12-inch speakers (model unknown) and two University 10-inch treble horns EFFECTS: None STRINGS/TUNING: Unknown; later in the Seventies he used Gibson 740XL .009, .011, .014, .022, .030, .036/standard PICK: Unknown standard 351-shape (teardrop) heavy…

“The decade that could’ve been” It was interesting to read how wildly different and disparate something like “the Eighties” means to people [“John Mayer’s Eighties Fantasy,” October 2021]. I guess I just never identified the bulk of that decade so much along the lines of being a pink and sea-green Miami Vice motif merged with a heavily synth-driven / drum-machine-augmented vehicle for songcraft as opposed to probably the more common conception of its being — for close to a solid half of its duration — the hair metal decade. But as Mayer rightly points out, a person’s outlook is often going to be age-specific. As a person born in 1962 and whose first professional band began playing out live, coincidentally, in 1980, my own take on “the Eighties” can be…

“Skip James always felt, like, heavy and haunting, [and] I connected with metal in that same way” THE PLAINTIVE HOWL and ominous, minor-key blues played by Skip James has more in common with the apocalyptic worldview of grindcore bands like Napalm Death than you might think, at least for 30-year-old Austin folk-blues artist Carl “Buffalo” Nichols. “As a teenager, I was really more into metal and punk than I was into the blues,” Nichols says of his upbringing in Milwaukee. “Skip James always felt, like, heavy and haunting, [and] I connected with metal in that same way.” All the time he spent spinning CDs by Son House, Keb’ Mo’ and James from his mom’s record collection finally caught up with him in his early 20s. Inspired by those American bluemen…

FORTY YEARS AGO Fender introduced the Squier brand to provide affordable versions of the company’s flagship instruments like the Stratocaster and Telecaster and compete with low-priced import copies of those instruments. Since then, both beginning players looking for an inexpensive first instrument and experienced guitarists looking for great value have turned to Squier guitars, which have consistently delivered exceptional bang for the buck. While Squier started out offering what were essentially authorized copies of original Fender production models, in more recent times the brand shifted to offering its own original models in addition to the usual Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars (which now also include the Classic Vibe series with period-correct details). Squier’s Affinity, Contemporary and Paranormal series each have their own distinct approach and offer a variety of models and…

ONE OF THE biggest drawbacks that kept many guitarists from using guitar synthesizers was the commitment required. In the past, guitar synthesizer systems required dedicated controllers or special pickup systems, and the sound modules were usually housed in bulky floor controllers or rack mount units. This was fine for players who were fully dedicated to making a guitar synth their main instrument, but for guitarists who just wanted a couple cool synth sounds for occasional leads or some lush pads for a few rhythm parts it was a bit much. The Boss SY-200 Synthesizer pedal provides a compact, easy-to-use alternative that’s perfect for everyone from guitarists who to explore a handful of synth sounds and textures to full-blown guitar synth enthusiasts. Housed in a unit that’s only slightly larger than…

IN THE PREVIOUS two columns, I presented improvised solo phrases played over a two-chord vamp in 6 8 meter, inspired by the classic Allman Brothers Band song “Dreams.” On the original track, guitarist Duane Allman improvised over alternating C/D and D chords, with each chord lasting the length of a single bar. As I detailed in the prior two columns, Duane navigated these changes by drawing notes from three different scales: D Mixolydian (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C), D major pentatonic (D, E, F#, A, B) and D major hexatonic (D, E, F#, G, A, B). Duane had the ability to craft his brilliant solos with an ear toward the shifting harmonic environment laid beneath. In “Dreams,” he improvised melodies with the appropriate chord tones in mind while…

FOR THE PERIPHERY track “Blood Eagle,” which my bandmates and I recorded for Periphery IV: Hail Stan, we employed sevenstring guitars tuned to drop-A, one half step down (low to high) Ab, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb. For this column, I’d like to focus on the rhythmic figures I play behind Misha Mansoor’s guitar solo in this song. As I mentioned last month, I like to multi-track many of my guitar parts using different tones or signal processing chains, as this can result in a fuller, broader sound. In this instance, I tracked the rhythm part with a humbucker tone and also with a single-coil tone. The former provides low-end thickness, and the latter adds more attack and bite. FIGURE 1 illustrates the first three bars of the rhythm…

Dave Dillard AGE: 60 HOMETOWN: Carrollton, TX GUITARS: Nash S63 Strat, 1990s Mexi Strat (signed by Robin Trower), Epiphone Pro Les Paul SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Frank Marino “Midnight Highway,” Robin Trower “Little Bit of Sympathy” and originals GEAR I WANT MOST: Marshall 2x12 cabinet with Vintage 30’s Justin Fleming AGE: 42 HOMETOWN: Jacksonville, FL GUITARS: Dean Dime DOF, Dean Thoroughbred, Ibanez RG Series SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Megadeth “Peace Sells,” Pantera “Domination” GEAR I WANT MOST: Washburn Dime Southern Cross Jason Gerber AGE: 40 HOMETOWN: Brooklyn, NY GUITARS: Fender Squier Strat, Ibanez RX20, Fender Standard Strat SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Nirvana “Lounge Act,” Nirvana “About a Girl,” Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” and originals GEAR I WANT MOST: Fender Jazzmaster, EVH MXR Phase 90, Orange Crush amp, Taylor acoustic Matt Karis…

EMILY WOLFE’S SOPHOMORE album, Outlier, takes her bluesy rock stylings and adds a sheen of pop gloss to the recipe, thanks to producer Michael Schuman’s ear for commerciality. That shouldn’t come as a surprise; Wolfe has been vocal about her equal appreciation of Ariana Grande and Stevie Ray Vaughan. “To me, pop is so important and so relevant. When you listen to modern pop, those songs are immediately stuck in your head. To me, that’s the point of art, to stick. I would defend pop music to my grave.” Wolfe started playing at age five but had a couple of false starts before she found her groove. “It didn’t come easily at first — it definitely took a minute. I started to try to teach myself, and then I had…

The opening frame of Alex Winter’s 2020 intimate-portrait “biopic” documentary, Zappa, shows Frank Zappa onstage at the Sports Hall in Prague, Czech Republic, in 1991 holding the Stratocaster you see on the cover of The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa, a 34-minute collection of rare Zappa solos on an audio cassette that Guitar World released in 1987. “This is the first time I’ve had a reason to play my guitar in three years — and now I will try and tune my guitar,” he says. It was to be his last recorded guitar performance. In fact, it was several years before that — in October 1986 — that I interviewed Zappa at his Laurel Canyon Fortress of Solitude, now occupied by Lady Gaga, to plan out the tracks of…

STREET PRICES: $459.99 (Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT); $449.99 (Paranormal Toronado) MANUFACTURER: Squier, fender.com The Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT features three angled single-coil pickups in a unique configuration with versatile switching capabilities. The Paranormal Toronado offers a pair of Squier Atomic humbucking pickups and a 24.75-inch scale length to deliver distinctive tones. Notable deluxe features of the Contemporary Stratocaster Special HT include a roasted maple neck and sculpted neck heel. The Paranormal Toronado’s upscale styling touches include Mystic Seafoam or Three-Color Sunburst finish options and chrome knurled flat-top control knobs. THE BOTTOM LINE: Offering classy styling and unique tones, these highly affordable new Squier models are equally perfect for beginners seeking outstanding value as well as experienced players looking to expand their sonic options without compromising quality and playability.…

STREET PRICE: $389.99 MANUFACTURER: Boss, boss.info A total of 171 different sounds are arranged in 12 groups: Lead, Pad, String, Bell, Organ, Bass, Dual, Sweep, Noise, SFX, SEQ and Arpeggio. The unit stores 128 internal presets, making it easy for users to program their own sounds and recall them instantly. THE BOTTOM LINE: The Boss SY-200 Synthesizer offers guitarists the easiest and most affordable gateway to the wonderful world of guitar synthesis by providing true plug-and-play performance in a compact pedal unit that delivers 171 awesome synth sounds.…

HELLO, AND WELCOME to my new column for Guitar World! Over the course of these lessons, I will discuss and demonstrate many of the approaches I use for soloing, rhythm guitar, songwriting and all guitar-centric things. I hope you dig it! I’d first like to talk about the 10 or so different sounds that one can get out of a Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul, simply by manipulating its electronic controls. A standard-issue Les Paul sports two humbucking pickups, each with its own volume and tone controls. The three-way toggle switch offers neck pickup only, bridge pickup only, or both pickups together, which allows the player to blend the sounds of the two pickups in myriad ways, by simply adjusting the volume and/or tone of each. Let’s begin on the…

“DEAD INSIDE” Nita Strauss THIS NEW TRACK from Nita Strauss’ upcoming second solo album features the rising-star metal guitar goddess collaborating with Disturbed vocalist David Draiman in the creation of a well-written song that strikes the perfect balance between flashy, virtuosic hard-rock riffing and compositional depth, catchiness and appeal. Nita kindly informed us that she had employed a couple of different guitar tunings for the recorded arrangement of the song, using drop-D down a whole step, or what some refer to as “drop-C” tuning (low to high: C, G, C, F, A, D) for some parts and, for others, such as the main riff in bars 5-8, regular drop-D tuning (low to high: D, A, D, G, B, E). For our transcribed arrangement, however, we ended up following Nita’s own…

I RECENTLY READ an online article that described B.B. King’s tone as “warm and mellow.” To me, that was the equivalent of saying Eddie Van Halen played great power chords, as it only tells a very small fraction of the story and almost completely ignores the more important details. Yes, B.B. King’s tone could sometimes be “warm” and “mellow,” but more often it was bright, brilliant, aggressive, percussive, voice-like, honking and dynamic. For example, listen to any version of King’s best-known song, “The Thrill Is Gone” — warm and mellow are probably the last adjectives that come to mind when one hears his punchy, metallic, biting tone. Many blues guitar fans consider the version of “The Thrill Is Gone” that King recorded September 10, 1970, at Cook County Jail in…