With a strong focus on the Australian music scene, Australian Guitar is a rich source of information on playing techniques, styles, the wide range of instruments available and all the technology that guitarists have to consider in the 21st Century.
THE VERSO SINE IS A FUTURISTIC ELECTRIC WITH FREELY MOVABLE PICKUPS Last month’s NAMM show wasn’t just about legacy brands unveiling new additions to familiar lineups: it was also for experimentalists looking to break new ground in instrument innovation – and Verso is continuing that tradition with its bonkers new Sine electric guitar. You need only take a glance at the Verso Sine to realize you’re not dealing with your average six-string here, but the developments it ushers in for guitar design go way beyond the outlandish looks and futuristic – albeit slightly intimidating – ergonomics. Because although the Verso Sine looks very much like a guitar of the future, it behaves like one, too: not only does it have freely movable pickups, it also boasts an interactive Sine Pad…
WHEN WRITING FOR a vocalist like Amyl and the Sniffers’ Amy Taylor, punk-rock orthodoxy isn’t going to move the needle – not when she tears into the mic with stream-of-consciousness verses, using C- and F-bombs for punctuation. “The traditional sort of, ‘Here’s four chords, Amy, what can you do on that?’ doesn’t work for her,” guitarist Declan Martens agrees. “She needs to feel the craziness she has on stage when she’s writing, otherwise she’s not inspired. I need to entertain Amy to get her to choose my riffs to write to. I guess it’s just like taking vegetables to a toddler and being like, ‘Please eat this!’” That’s why it’s such a thrill to press play on the Australian pub punks’ third album, Cartoon Darkness: you don’t know what’s coming…
THE CHILDHOOD HOME of AC/DC guitar heroes Angus and Malcolm Young has been demolished, despite the fact it had been listed on the National Trust Register of Historic Houses. Located at 4 Burleigh Street in Burwood, Sydney, the property became the Young home when the family moved in back in 1965, the same year that the pair’s older brother George Young released his debut album with The Easybeats. In 1973, AC/DC formed at the address, and in 2013, it was added to the National Trust Register of Historic Houses. However, when it came to demolishing the property, the company responsible stressed it was unaware of the building’s cultural significance. “We regret that the previous long-term owner did not share this vital part of the property’s background with us,” says Burwood…
“Playing progressive music requires lots of dynamic adjustment” “I WANT TO have control over things. There is no tyranny of volume. At one time, you would have to crank up very loudly to achieve the same result on record. By using reverb, I’m creating an artificial space to give the sound perspective. Playing progressive music requires lots of dynamic adjustment, so the volume pedal is absolutely crucial to be able to vary my own place within the band’s mix. “I’ve had a number of pedalboards over time. There are modern things that reproduce vintage sounds, which gives you a number of simulations. I’m often using amp simulators when recording, so I can perform a screaming guitar solo while comfortably holding a conversation with an engineer, even though the beast seems…
L.A. PUNK LEGENDS X made their major-label debut in 1982 with Under the Big Black Sun. The record, which followed two critically acclaimed indie releases — Los Angeles (1980) and Wild Gift (1981) — spotlights a more refined and polished version of their sound while not losing an ounce of the urgency of the previous two albums. As always, at the heart of the band’s — and the album’s — sound was guitarist Billy Zoom’s sparkling ’55 Gretsch Silver Jet. Zoom’s under-appreciated (and killer) chops are the lynchpin that ties together the left-of-center vocal stylings of Exene Cervenka and John Doe, not to mention D.J. Bonebrake’s rock-solid drumming. Below, Zoom discusses the making of Under the Big Black Sun and then gets into gear, the band’s latest album and his…
LOOKING BACK ON recording the scintillating Go Off! with Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, who was 18 when the album was released, says, “It was all special to us, especially now that we both know how precious and fleeting those times were.” Given Becker’s ALS, one can understand the sentiment. But still, “precious” is an interesting way to define one of the more in-your-face guitar extravaganzas of the Eighties. “That album resulted from me being so inspired by working with Marty,” Becker says. “For Go Off!, I had gotten better at writing and playing, and I was a lot more confident. We just were comfortable with each other. We were getting good at mixing our different flavors. I was able to give more to Go Off!” By the time Go Off!…
