Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2016 i Guitarist

As you’ll no doubt have noticed, we’ve devoted this month’s cover feature to the meaty question of how to get better tone. All guitarists have mental templates for what great guitar tone is, usually gleaned from records. It might be, for example, the molten lead sound Leslie West got with a Les Paul Junior at Woodstock, or it might be Stevie Ray’s piano-like Strat sound on Little Wing. But while we have all these mental snapshots of what good tone is, they’re completely static. In other words, they ignore, crucially, the dynamic elements of tone: how does a guitar and amp respond to your touch? Does the attack and the clarity of the tone in question really suit your playing style? We often talk in the Guitarist office about players…

SCHECTER HELLRAISER HYBRID C-1 FR S £989 WHAT IS IT? Twin-humbucker bolt-on with Floyd Rose and Sustainiac system SCHECTER HELLRAISER HYBRID PT £889 WHAT IS IT? Tele-inspired twinhumbucker single-cut The California workshop of Schecter Guitar Research was the first port of call for quality replacement parts back in the mid-70s, and a few short years later, complete Schecter-branded guitars were being used by the likes of Pete Townshend, Mark Knopfler and Ritchie Blackmore. Since the late 1990s, Schecter’s Diamond Series guitars have been built in Korea, then shipped back ‘home’ to the US for a full setup. These new Hellraiser Hybrid series guitars borrow some of the more sought-after features from the popular Hellraiser and SLS ranges (hence the ‘Hybrid’ name), such as the SLS’s ultra-slim neck. Both our review…

Alter Bridge 23 November to 2 December Various UK arenas Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy reach another career milestone on this tour; the O2 Arena and their biggest headline show to date. It’s well earned, too. “We’ve worked really hard for a lot of years and it’s great to see that the momentum keeps building,” says Mark Tremonti. But as the band release their fifth album, The Last Hero, we’re surprised to hear that Mark’s cutting back on his rig for this tour, which has Gojira, Volbeat and Like A Storm supporting. “I got used to playing with two half stacks”, he explains, “…two heads [a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and 6L6-loaded Bogner Uberschall] and just a couple of pedals on the ground in my solo band – keeping it real…

1 J Rockett Audio Designs Lenny £159 There are only about 300 Dumble amps out there, and when any do surface on the market they go for up to £100k, so it’s little wonder pedal companies are offering us affordable alternatives. As the name suggests here, J Rockett’s latest boost stompbox in its Tour Series has SRV’s sound in its sights – namely the late legend’s Dumble Steel Stringer. Its boosted mids aim to imitate his Steel Stringer being pushed on a clean setting. In principle, it should offer enough gain for leads without moving into distorted territory, but coupled with a Tube Screamer-type overdrive you’ll have a righteous boost at your feet. Head to p125 to read our review. www.rockettpedals.com 2 MXR Shin-Juku Drive £166 MXR’s new collaboration with…

PRACTICE OR TALENT? In the early 90s, there was a much-touted theory going about that, to become really expert at anything, you had to put in around 10,000 hours of practice. The reaction to this theory at the time was the question of where innate talent might fit in. It may be, of course, that talented people practise more and try harder because they are good at it, but the question remains: can expert levels be achieved by dedicated practice alone? As someone who has a very moderate level of natural talent, and being of a certain age, I have certainly gone well over the 10,000 hours of guitar playing now, but how long have I spent actually practising? I suppose the answer is, not enough! When I watch a…

The Rolling Stones In Mono (Abkco) Classic 60s Stones albums reissued in their original mono form Back in the 1960s, stereo was considered to be merely a passing phase by studio producers of the time. To that end, this new-fangled technology was often offered only a back seat and most of the time was spent getting the mono mix dead right. This led to some stereo mixes from the period emerging with some, ahem, eccentric placing of instruments – drums on the left, sir? Whether the mono mixes are actually ‘better’ is the cause of much debate, but this boxset covers no less than 14 of the Stones’ studio albums – each preserved with their original cover art – and a whole host of singles and EPs. To our ears,…

“I enjoy being the only person on stage, so you can talk away to the audience and make jokes without the rest of the musicians going, ‘Oh, get on with it!’” If you played in such diverse musical arenas as fusion with Soft Machine, Gypsy-flavoured jazz with Stéphane Grappelli and world music with classical guitar maestro John Williams, you’d think it would be a matter of changing your style each time to suit. But John Etheridge insists that – in his experience, anyway – it’s not the case. On the other hand, as with Darwinian theory, he muses you just have to adapt to the prevailing landscape in order to survive and that your style can and will prevail on any journey between genres. A recent critically acclaimed project…

Phil Hilborne (PH) has been teaching for 38 years, and regular columnist for Guitar Techniques. He teaches all styles, specialising in classic rock/fusion, and played regularly in We Will Rock You. His pupils have gone on to play with artists such as Ronnie James Dio, Brian May, Tal Wilkenfeld, The Australian Pink Floyd, We Will Rock You and Pop Idol… www.philhilborne.co.uk Denny Ilett (DI), a professional musician for 30 years, teaches any style that comes from the blues: jazz, funk, classic rock and pop. His guitar students tend to be rock or blues players who want to add some jazz harmony into their chord and lead playing. Denny is artistic director for the Bristol Jazz & Blues festival and has toured all over the world. dennyilett@gmail.com Geoff Lea (GL) has…

It’s 1966, and Arbiter Electronics Ltd, captained by Ivor Arbiter – the man responsible for the ‘dropped-T’ Beatles logo and (for better or worse) unleashing karaoke onto Britain – introduces the world of music to its newest arrival, the Fuzz Face: “Fuzz Face is the new fuzz box from Arbiter giving the ultimate in controlled effects,” the sales blurb of the time enthused. “Whilst the new design angle of Fuzz Face is both attractive and amusing, without doubt the keynote of the unit is to be found in its functional construction and operational success… and at the recommended retail price of 8gns is certainly Top Value! The Unit is finished in Red, Black or Hammered Silver.” Certainly radical, nothing before had ever resembled the Fuzz Face. It was something of…

While Guild’s early history was centred on archtops and hollowbodies, clearly inspired by the Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar, its first solidbody range that appeared in the early 60s was very much en vogue with that swinging decade. Of that range, the S-200 Thunderbird was introduced in 1964 and ran through to 1968 before Guild went for a more conservative – and very Gibson SG-like – restyling. Hagstrom’s dual decade of electric guitar manufacture produced a slew of models (many appeared under different brand names such as Kent in the USA and Futurama in the UK) that referenced classics such as the Les Paul and ES-335, not to mention this reasonably conventional-looking H-III, which was launched in 1965, along with the twin pickup H-II. In today’s range, these guitars fall into…

“You can reduce the unwanted and shrill high-end by rolling the tone control from 10 down to eight – creating the singing lead Strat tone used by Beck and Clapton” When I told a guitar-playing friend that I was going to be writing an article on this guitar, he pointed out, “Hendrix sounded great on any guitar.” Well, of course! But lest we forget, the guitars our heroes were playing in the 50s and 60s were the best of the best, particularly Jimi, who was rocking late-60s, big-headstock Strats. Still, with the right tools and guidance, we can get quite a bit extra out of this off-the-shelf Strat. Our Mexican-made model features a right-handed body and an upside-down left-handed neck. Tonally, it’s a little thin in timbre and not hugely…

Electrics BC Rich Mockingbird NJ Classic in Natural. Beautiful guitar about 10 years old but in pretty much mint condition. £400. Email s.ford40@ntlworld.com Portsmouth BC Rich Bich NJ Classic in Natural. Beautiful guitar about 10 years old but in pretty much mint condition. £400 email s.ford40@ntlworld.com Portsmouth Fender 2016 American Special Stratocaster, Sunburst with rosewood neck, great condition. £500. Contact Martin guitarmart1@hotmail.co.uk Basingstoke Fender American Standard 60th Anniversary Telecaster. Beautiful Sunburst finish/rosewood fingerboard. New condition with with top-quality SKB lockable case. £550. Full details and pics supplied if you contact me. geofftate264@gmail.com Fender 1977 Stratocaster, all original, natural ash, maple neck with case, accessories and original purchase receipt. VGC. £1,300 ono. Call Kev 01536 203200 or email c_ kev@hotmail.co.uk Corby, Northants Fender Custom Shop NOS 56 Strat Hardtail, Daphne Blue,…

MUSIC MAN VALENTINE £2,449 WHAT IS IT? Signature guitar with tapered ash body, roasted maple neck, plus humbucking and single-coil pickups Ever since Ernie Ball took over the Music Man brand, its guitars have remained some of the best made and most technologically forward-looking available. They’re also immensely rewarding to play. Superb necks, great pickups and hardware, plus impeccable build have enticed a player roster that includes Steve Lukather, Albert Lee, John Petrucci and Steve Morse. The latest addition is James Valentine of Maroon 5, and while a mere stripling by comparison to the aforementioned guitar legends, Valentine has a strong idea of what he wants in a guitar and so, along with the craftsmen at Music Man, has created his dream machine. Valentine’s desire was for a guitar that…

BLACKSTAR ID:CORE STEREO 100 COMBO £249 WHAT IS IT? Programmable, solid-state/digital 2x10 combo with 2x 50-watt stereo power BLACKSTAR ID:CORE STEREO 150 COMBO £329 WHAT IS IT? The same deal as the 100, but in a 2x12 combo with 2x 75-watt stereo power Blackstar’s popular and award-winning ID: series started off as affordable programmable amps with high-quality sounds and effects and up to 100 watts of power. The concept proved so successful that there’s now an equally popular spin-off in the shape of the ID:Core series, which (literally!) expands the Core’s sounds and features into Blackstar’s Super Wide Stereo power stage, together with the multi-purpose bass, electric, acoustic and music home amp, the Bluetooth-enabled ID: Core Beam. Compared with the beefier ID:TVP amps, the ID:Cores are relatively low-powered and intended…

Black Stone Cherry’s Chris Robertson has been a longtime PRS user, and now he’s got himself a signature model with the Maryland firm. But the SE model won’t be available for long. The Singlecut model is loaded with a US PRS 57/08 humbucker in the bridge and an SE Soapbar in the neck for added versatility and it comes in a suitable finish: Black Stone Cherry Burst. The limited-edition European exclusive (£995) will be available until the end of the year. For more information, take a look hereabouts: www.prsguitars.com. Jimmy Page is planning to tour in 2017, and has acknowledged he’s been a bit behind schedule with new material. “It took a lot of time,” Page explained to Planet Rock of his work on the recent Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions…

Last issue, we were talking about the new landscape of the ‘Recording Musician’. The (quaint) job description of ‘Studio Musician’ has become a title now belonging to recent-past history, like ‘cinema projectionist’. Now to add a little science to the discussion. One major difference between recording to tape and recording digitally is this: tape recording is a totally contiguous process. As the tape moves forward, everything that flows through the record head goes to tape. Different tape speeds, the size of the magnetic recording heads and noise reduction (if you are employing it) produce subtly different sounding results, but oh the warmth! Digital recording is completely different. It’s all numeric ‘under the bonnet’. It’s a computer – nothing but zeros and ones. You won’t need to worry about that, though.…

“I’ve still got my very first guitar, a Suzuki I got aged 10. It’s in my sister’s garage, safe in Italy… There’s less chance for her house to burn than mine!” 1 What was your first guitar and when did you get it? “My very first guitar was a Suzuki and I got it aged 10. I got some drums first, so I engaged in playing drums quite loudly for hours and hours every day and the shoemaker that lived downstairs must have been contemplating suicide! He must have spoken to my dad, because my dad arrived home with a secondhand Suzuki guitar and said, ‘Try this, my son.’ I didn’t know what was going on with the shoemaker then, but later he told me.” 2 Suppose the building was…

Gretsch really impressed us with the Streamliner semis it launched this year by packing head-turning quality and tone into a svelte, affordable package. Our very own Dave Burrluck has embarked on an odyssey of customising his Streamliner into a hot-rod mod machine, but they sound and play great straight out of the box. Now you, too, can be in with a chance to own one of these great guitars, as the good folks at Gretsch have kindly ponied up a single-cut G2420 Streamliner in aged Brooklyn Burst to give to the lucky winner of this month’s competition. But first, the vital statistics. The G2420 model has two Broad’Tron humbucking pickups that evoke all the classic Gretsch tones of yesteryear, but remain so usable for modern rock, blues and pop, while…

“We’re stuck there in the dressing room while the police come in and break up this riot. The road manager actually broke a window so that we could escape” What was your first ever gig? “The first time I played publicly was in my sixth grade, aged 12. I accompanied Timmy Cunningham on a rendition of Greensleeves; he sang it, I played guitar. Six months later, our band – one guitar, two accordions and drums – played at a church function. I got about five dollars for the whole band. I couldn’t get my guitar in tune, I remember that!” Describe your current stage rig… “It kind of varies… I have different bands. On a lot of straightahead jazz, I’ve actually been plugging straight in. I have two AS200 Ibanez…

There are no answers, only better questions. It’s a mantra that becomes ever more relevant the longer you stay on this journey towards ‘better’ guitar tone… even though there’s no such definable thing. The whole subject is a massive grey area of floor, suspended on joists of subjectivity and contention between the black and white walls of ‘sound’ and ‘no sound’. And on it we dance. How to make sense of it? Well, you can start by asking better questions: instead of asking, “How do I sound better?”, let’s ask a better question: “What is it about a guitar tone that makes me feel happy and inspired to play more?” This feature is all about breaking down that huge question into more detail, and equipping you with you a practical…

You want a Fuzz Face, but you’ve no clue where to begin. Well, it’s really all about the transistors… The Dunlop JDF2 Fuzz Face Distortion (the red one) is the modern production version of the original germanium transistor Fuzz Face in this piece. It offers the relatively soft and smooth fuzzy goodness that’s so instantly recognisable. If you want something a little more refined, look for anything boasting NOS NKT275 germanium transistors... though tread with caution as careful component selection is more critical than the simple fact that they’re old! Changing germanium for silicon moves you forward in Hendrix’s fuzzvolution, to whit a pair of BC108 silicon transistors lie at the heart of the JHF1 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Distortion (the blue one). They’re typically less ‘smooth’ and compressed than…

CONTACT JHS PHONE 01132 865381 WEB www.jhs.co.uk Vintage is known for its range of very affordable copies, but the Brit-owned brand is becoming quite unique in the market with a wide range of signature artists and models (both electric and acoustic), a historic range designed by player/collector Paul Brett, and now, for the first time, a nylon-string electro ‘crossover’ guitar to bridge the gap between the classical nylon- and steel-string, designed by luthier Roger Williams and made in China. Roger Williams might be a new name to many, but, based in Lichfield, he’s been making guitars for “the past 20-odd years”, he tells us from his workshop. He has plenty of classical users, but he also hand-makes a version of this Crossover and makes steel-strings, too – Gordon Giltrap is…

“We plugged in the AJ and my friend was ecstatic: ‘That’s exactly the sound I want! But there are two things wrong with it,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t say Fender on the headstock and it isn’t a Telecaster…’” Writer DAVE BURRLUCK Gear Reviews Editor, Guitarist This issue, with a new original guitar in hand, Guitarist’s reviews editor evokes the wrath of the traditionalists. Well, one of them, anyway… Time and time again, we get to play truly great, inspirational guitars that all too soon have to be returned. Yup, we are kids in the sweet shop. One of those guitars that has oodles of ‘wow’ factor is John Page’s Classic AJ. Aside from the personal pleasure of meeting up with John Page again after many years, the AJ was just…

SUPRO 1600 SUPREME 1X10 COMBO £1,049 WHAT IS IT? Supro’s modern take on a 25-watt 1x10 combo reputedly used by Keith Richards Among those lost amplification brands returned from retirement in recent years, there’s none more welcome than Supro. Now under the wing of New York-based Absara Audio of Pigtronix pedals fame, Supro’s roots go right back to the beginning of the electric guitar’s history, while its amps have been used on many highly influential recordings. Supro pays a special tribute to its glory days with the Classic Series, which also includes the 1695T ‘Black Magick’ 1x12 combo (reviewed in issue 407) and is now joined by the Supreme 1600 we have here, a tribute to the original Chicago-built amplifier reputedly used by The Rolling Stones for many of their…

Two years after the loss of legendary Cream bassist Jack Bruce, a celebration of his incredible legacy organised by his son Malcolm and Pete Brown – the longtime collaborator from his Cream years and beyond – will bring together over 30 artists to celebrate his work including Ginger Baker, Billy Cobham and Bernie Marsden with some “very, very special guests”. We spoke to Malcolm about what should be an unforgettable evening. It’s great to see an event celebrating Jack Bruce’s legacy. How did the idea for it start? “I was approached by my UK agent, Don McKay at Rhino, with the idea of putting on a tribute to my dad – something that would truly honour his musical legacy and amazing achievements. I jumped at the idea as I feel…

Mike McCready is one of the few lucky owners of a ’59 Burst we know who will happily tour the globe with it, but maybe he can give it a holiday now the Gibson Custom Shop has announced 50 Historic Spec models meticulously based on the wear of his own instrument. Still, the rest of us will have to shell out well over $9,000 for one (150 VOS models come in at around £4,779 each). “I bought it up in Seattle,” the Pearl Jam and Temple Of The Dog lead guitarist told us of how he found the original back in 1994. “I got a really good deal on it from Danny’s Music in Everett [Washington]. I think I traded a few guitars in for it and it cost about…

In keeping with this month’s theme, I thought I’d ramble on a bit about tone from my perspective as a working musician. My initial thoughts when thinking about guitar tones are that: a) ‘good’ or ‘bad’ tone is obviously entirely subjective; and b) what I decide is good or appropriate tone for my playing depends on whether I’m working for someone else or doing my own gig. To this end, I have two main pedalboards for both of these situations that perform entirely different functions. However, there is an oft-repeated caveat that I’d like to add before I start nit picking about bone vs graphite nuts, and so on – which is that in my experience, people, for better or worse, always essentially sound like themselves no matter what they…

THE HAND-MADE TALE Earlier in the year, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours at Vanquish Guitars, playing a couple of their beauties and chewing the fat with Adrian Hardman, and your recent feature of one of his guitars (review, issue 412) got me thinking. While £3k or so is an awful lot of money, it’s not a great deal more than what an off-the-peg USA single-cut costs, but the difference in quality and the purchasing experience is palpable. Indeed, the more I think about it, the less attractive the premium but ‘standard’ offerings are compared with a bespoke guitar, custom- built and tailored exactly to my preferences. Similarly, I was fortunate enough recently to play through an acquaintance’s recently purchased 633 Engineering amp and, again, I was…

Flying Machines’ eponymous debut album was fuelled by a Kickstarter campaign, with backers aplenty investing in the band’s pioneering take on contemporary fusion. It’s a mix of ambient, melodic music with the occasional explosive guitar interlude, courtesy of frontman Alex Munk’s Eastman T186 and his tempered compositional technique. “I started out on classical guitar,” he says. “I was about 13 or 14 when my father bought me my first electric, and I swiftly ditched the classical stuff! From that point on, I was improvising along to records and teaching myself.” So, what type of music was it that made the young Alex stray from his classical studies? “I was listening to my dad’s records, like Dire Straits and Genesis, and then I had a bit of a lightbulb moment when…

Everyone agrees that the guitar is not an instrument that gives instant returns. You might be able to get a tune out of a keyboard after just a few lessons, but playing a blistering solo on a guitar takes years of practice. It’s a case of blood, sweat and tears as we search for enlightenment in our quest to achieve that easy fluency that we witness in all the top players. But even the Olympians had to start at base camp in their struggle for the summit – it’s just that some seem to be gifted with golden wings while the rest of us endure boots of lead. So, how do those knights of knowledge – the guitar teachers – pass on their skills to their students? What are the…

We asked Professor Gary Marcus from New York University, neuroscientist and author of several books on the workings of the brain, to shed some light on the learning process itself… So, exactly how does one assimilate a new task? “Every time you learn something you’re changing your memories, but we only know some things about the neural basis of memories and so there are different circuits involved in memory in different places; there are different kinds of memory. When you’re talking about a skill that you practise a lot, you’re talking about learning a motor skill. People call it ‘muscle memory’, but it’s really in your brain – it’s in your cortex and the subcorticals distribute it across the brain.” Is there a particular environment that’s good for learning? “One…

A chance to visit one of the country’s great guitar legends in the studio where he’s laying down tracks for a forthcoming release is not something you turn down. So, we set off for a top-secret location somewhere off the M4 corridor in eager anticipation. We ended up so far off the map that Guitarist’s otherwise trusty sat-nav initially failed to pinpoint Robin Trower’s exact location, but when we eventually rolled up to the studio’s car park, we were sure we were in the right place. Even with modern soundproofing, the sound of a Fender Strat with that familiar signature vibrato could still be heard echoing around the countryside. Once inside, we were led into the inner sanctum to discover the machinery behind this epic sonic assault: two Marshall amps,…

YAMAHA FG830 £360 It’s 50 years since Yamaha entered the steel-string market with the FG range. The new 800 series features this all-gloss, solid spruce-topped dread with laminate rosewood back and sides, which is a good high-quality entry point to the genre. It may lack a bit of oomph, but this is a very good guitar – ideal for a start-up acoustic player or as a gigging spare. The electro cutaway version costs £536. www.uk.yamaha.com SEAGULL S6 ORIGINAL Q1T £519 A Canadian dread in Godin’s modern Seagull range. If you can get over its ‘Marmite’ small headstock, it is a competent guitar with solid cedar top and laminated wild cherry back and sides. Its dark ’burst finish gives it a ‘Depression era’ vibe, while the Q1T preamp gets you heard…

If you like to use long cables or your pedalboard looks like an aerial view of New York City, you might like to check out the range of signal management solutions currently on offer from Mesa Engineering. Guaranteed to give your signal path a darn good seeing to, they present improvements in extraneous noise reduction, plus buffering galore. More on p120. TC Electronic has a rather clever octave box out on the market at present. Not only does it give you some doomy levels of bass, it will also add highs as well. And if that wasn’t enough, hook it up to a computer for some additional magic. Head to p122 to read more. J Rockett Audio Designs has been delivering some tasty effects recently and our foursome this month…

1 J ROCKETT HOOLIGAN £179 ORIGIN: USA TYPE: Fuzz pedal FEATURES: True bypass CONTROLS: Level, Gain, Gunk, bypass footswitch CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output POWER: 9V battery or 9V adaptor (not supplied) DIMENSIONS: 59 (w) x 104 (d) x 45mm (h) Sonic Distribution 0845 500 2 500 www.rockettpedals.com The Hooligan is a version of JRAD’s WTF Fuzz in Tour Series form. The company has made some tonal tweaks to the Paul Trombetta-designed pedal and made the design simpler by losing the ‘Boost’ section and the EQ switch. The stepped WTF knob is now named Gunk and it’s this, in conjunction with the Gain knob, that gives the Hooligan its special character. Keep the Gunk knob at minimum and you’ll get nicely voiced low-to-medium overdrive. Turning it up, though,…

Writer DARRAN CHARLES Guitarist, Godsticks This month, Godsticks’ singer took time out to interview new FX8-devotee Guthrie Govan regarding his live application of the multi-effects pedalboard I intended the second part of my report to concern the FX8’s performance in a live setting but, as I’ve not actually had the opportunity to use it live yet, that will have to wait until next time. However, I was lucky enough to recently interview Guthrie Govan who has been using the FX8 live exclusively since The Aristocrats tour of the USA in 2015. In fact, Guthrie was one of the players who inspired me to drop my scepticism about multi-effects units and try out the FX8… What was the main motivation behind eschewing your pedalboard in favour of the FX8? “During the…

Officially available in Fender’s catalogue from 1963, Candy Apple Red quickly became one of the company’s most popular colours. In fact, it’s said that if you scratch the surface of a 60s Candy Apple Red Strat (hypothetically speaking, we’re not advising you to do so!), you’re likely to find a Sunburst finish underneath, as many guitars seem to have been resprayed this colour at the request of customers. After all, it was the 1960s and it seemed that everyone wanted a red Strat! Part of the allure of this custom colour was the fact that it was metallic, the finish being achieved by using a silver undercoat that was subsequently oversprayed with translucent red. A novelty, no doubt, in the decade that saw the Stratocaster’s rise in popularity. The other…

Gilmour’s Funky Blues Difficulty 10-15 mins per example Tutor: Richard Barrett | Gear used: Fender Strat, Vox AC15 C1 THERE ARE two challenges in this month’s solo/licks. First, playing in the key of B b m is not as comfortable for your average guitarist as the more friendly A, D or E. The normal lifeline of our position markers, is now not quite so safe a bet! Though the relative distances and patterns don’t change (at least, not much), the muscle memory can still be disrupted by the nanosecond it takes to calculate your position. I’ve chosen B b for this solo for two reasons – it pops up fairly regularly in the blues, partly because it’s a popular key for brass. But it’s really about extending the comfort zone…