Innehållsförteckning för May 2017 från Guitar Player

I’VE ALWAYS APPRECIATED THAT, SINCE 1967, GUITAR Player has covered guitarcraft as an all-encompassing musical stew. We didn’t care if you were male or female. We didn’t care what style you choose as your calling card. Race and religion? Please. Age? Who cares? We equally embraced shredders, noisemakers, soloists, rhythm players, experimentalists, riff fiends, loopers, weekend warriors, pros, beginners, stars, hobbyists, and others, and we considered the entire community first and foremost as GUITARISTS. Of course, one’s unique background certainly informs their musicality, but why break us up into strictly segregated categories when we can simply focus on the fact that we all adore the guitar? This is an admittedly hippy-dippy dream of a love-drenched, rainbow universe. Sometimes, I also fear that it’s just a dream. After all, producing consistently diverse…

JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY! SOUND OFF! GET EXCLUSIVE NEWS. COMMENT. CRITIQUE. SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER. Guitar Player 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 MICHAEL ROSS Nashville Editor hoagyguitarmichael@gmail.com DAVE HUNTER Gear Section & Video Contributor dhunterwordsmusic@yahoo.com PAUL HAGGARD Art Director phaggard@nbmedia.com…

I DIDN’T KNOW A LOT ABOUT Peter Gabriel before working on his debut solo album, 1977’s Peter Gabriel, but it certainly didn’t take long to realize what a genius he was as a songwriter. Just listen to the lyrics on some of these tunes—like “Waiting for the Big One.” It is really amazing stuff. We had an interesting way of working out the songs, which we learned the same day we recorded them. Bob Ezrin had an office at Nimbus 9 Studios, Toronto, with a slightly out of tune upright piano against one wall. We would all head to the office, sit down with our pencils and various forms of paper, and, as Peter played and sang the song, we would write out our own charts. Mine tended to be…

AT 93 YEARS OLD, BOB BAIN MAY BE THE most-recorded guitarist who’s still out there performing. He continues to hold court once a month at a club in Westlake Village, California, and one wonders if the audience is truly aware of how much this man has helped shaped the music of iconic singers, composers, film scores, and television scores. Bain’s amazingly prolific career began in the mid-1940s, in the renowned big bands of Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, and Buddy Rich. Later, while a staff guitarist at Capitol Records, Bain accompanied legends such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald. The esteemed film composer Henry Mancini regularly called upon Bain, and, through the years, they developed an enduring professional relationship. His pulsating riff on Mancini’s television score…

THE MAN WHO CHANGED GUITAR FOREVER ALLAN HOLDSWORTH It’s not often that Guitar Player is credited with naming an album, but our April 2008 cover story on Holdsworth inspired the title of this massive 12-CD box set. I’d say, “Thanks and bravo,” but, apparently, the maestro was somewhat embarrassed by the slogan. Not that he should be, because this collection of albums from 1982’s I.O.U to 2003’s Then! proves Holdsworth’s astonishing technique, unbridled creativity, iridescent tone, dynamic touch, exquisite taste, and expansive melodic strategies have absolutely changed guitarcraft for any player aspiring beyond his or her first barre chord. It’s a humbling experience to relive these seminal albums—how can he be so imaginative and, well, scary brilliant?—but it’s also a treasure trove of possibilities and vision. Dive in and be…

MITCHELL 120 SERIES O120CESB Goodies One of seven new 120 Series models from Mitchell, the orchestra-sized cutaway O120CESB sports an Engelmann spruce top, mahogany back and sides, scalloped bracing, an ultra-light sunburst finish, and a 3-band EQ. Other 120 Series offerings include three dreadnoughts, a mini-dreadnought, an auditorium-sized guitar, and a 12-string. Price $149 street More Info mitchellguitars.com TWA HS-02 HOT SAKÉ Goodies Hand-assembled in the U.S. from audiophile-quality components to deliver an array of tones ranging from classic tubelike drive to searing ’70s-style fuzz. The HS-02 features a 36dB Level boost; Drive, Tone, and Mid controls; a Low Boost switch; S3 relay-based true-bypass switching; and a 3-year warranty. Price $189 street More Info godlyke.com D’ADDARIO HUMIDIPAK RESTORE KIT Goodies The Humidpak Restore Kit’s three-package conditioning system uses patented two-way…

FOR TORONTO-BORN MATTHEW STEVENS, playing guitar was a way to connect with his father, who played and sang. The elder Stevens exposed the younger to Led Zeppelin, and Stevens returned the favor by turning dad on to grunge. But it was a young friend introducing him to jazz that set the budding guitarist on a journey that has led to Stevens making groundbreaking music with trumpeter Christian Scott, and with Esperanza Spalding’s project, Emily’s D+Evolution. He also took time to record his first solo record Woodwork [Crystal Math Records]. A traditional jazz quartet, it features Stevens’ gorgeous tone and fluid technique. When it came time to record his next record, however, he had absorbed the anything-goes lessons learned in Spalding’s power trio. As a result, his new release, Preverbal [Ropeadope],…

IT’S A WHOPPING 30 YEARS SINCE FENDER INTRODUCED THE American Standard Series, and given how significantly tastes, playing preferences and musical styles have shifted since 1987, it’s clearly time for something new. In its updates of four seminal guitar styles and two basses, the range incorporates 92 instruments in all—including all configurations and color options— and intends to present the state of the art in affordable American-made, professional-grade instruments rendered with a hefty bundle of specifications that players have distinguished as clear favorites in recent years. Since the guitar range has several features in common, let’s look at some of the universal specs before diving in on the six individual guitars under review. All American Professional guitar necks have a new “Deep-C” profile, which adds just a little girth to…

THIS IS SUCH A FUN COLUMN TO write, and I love my work as a guitar-cheologist, but this crazy cut of wood is a cut above the rest. Introduced in 1958, but not commercially issued until the early 1980s, the Gibson Moderne is surrounded by more questions than answers. WEIRDO FACTOR If you had this baby in your hands, and plugged it into a fine amp, you would agree there is nothing really wacky about it. It’s a cool, solidbody Gibson through and through. What’s not to like? Sure, it looks something like a hipster’s coffee table in the Jetson’s futuristic home. Originally, it was one of Gibson’s attempts to be less stodgy and more “with it” in 1958, as the Moderne was introduced at that year’s music trade shows…

“GUITARS MADE FOR BEGINNERS should be easier to play, rather than more difficult,” says Taylor’s Andy Powers. Who can argue that? Yet, most players start out on a guitar that even a pro would have a hard time handling, and graduate to better instruments as they progress. Powers was a music teacher for many years before becoming the lead designer for Taylor, so the issue of attracting more players to the guitar, and keeping them playing, is close to his heart. Over the last few years, Powers has been redesigning Taylor’s entire line, one series at time, and he’s applied valuable lessons to the Academy Series, focusing on the absolutely essential elements and leaving off anything he felt wasn’t indispensible. “It starts with the neck,” says Powers. “If you can’t…

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, AND SO HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO get your hands on some free gear. This month, we thank Mike Beigel of Beigel Sound Lab and Mu-FX who offered up his Mu-FX Octave Divider. This “pedalboard friendly,” modern update offers all of the qualities of the original ’70s-era Mu-Tron Octave Divider—such as versatility and accurate tracking—complete with the Octave Down and Green Ringer features used by Frank Zappa and Jerry Garcia. For a chance to win, simply send an email with the subject line “GP50 OctaveDivider” to mmolenda@nbmedia.com. The deadline for entries is May 20, 2017. We’ll select our winner at random and announce his or her name in an upcoming issue. Please note that all contest gear was actually reviewed by the GP staff, and will be “as…

Steel Guitar ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL and life-changing records I’ve ever purchased was Steel Guitar by the great Speedy West. I was lucky enough to find the Stetson re-release of this 1960 album at Jack’s Record Cellar in San Francisco’s Western Edition in the late ’80s. West, on pedal-steel, was the other half of a great duo with guitarist Jimmy Bryant. Both released fantastic instrumental sides, while sometimes taking turns being listed as leader. West also played with Tennessee Ernie Ford, Loretta Lynn, and others, and he is in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He was also a beloved presence at steel-guitar conventions until his passing in 2003. After hearing the album’s opening track, “Speedin’ West,” I knew I had finally found something I had been searching for—great…

WHILE DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR LEARNing guitar, the Zivix jamstik+ [$299 street] sends standard MIDI data to interface with Mac apps— making it suitable as a MIDI guitar-type controller for Mac, but also Windows. Before getting too excited about this, please note there are only five frets (although you can transpose octaves and semitones) and sketchy pitch bending. However, the jamstik+ uses physical strings, and even though they’re triggers that don’t actually generate notes, in conjunction with the neck and frets they provide a guitar-like feel. What’s more, the jamstik+ sends very “clean” MIDI data. The tracking is excellent, because there’s really nothing to track, the velocity response has good dynamics, and you won’t have to do the cleanup often associated with MIDI-retrofitted traditional guitars. Apps for iOS and Android can…

PICTURE THIS: YOU’RE ABOUT TO CRASH right into the print deadline for the October 1973 issue of GP, and a one-page article just bit the dust. The artist could have bailed on his interview at the last minute, or the writer went on an unscheduled trip to whiskey wonderland. It’s doesn’t matter. You’re desperate to fill that empty page. Then, a young assistant says, “I started a stamp collection for the Boy Scouts, and there are a lot of stamps with guitars on them.” And the editor shouts, “Guitar stamps! Write it now!” Sometimes, a nutso idea can become a great idea if it saves you from running blank pages in your magazine.…

EVER FIND YOURSELF IMPROVISING over a static (unchanging) dominant-seven sharp-nine (7#9) chord? In this scenario, most guitarists will instinctively draw from the trusty five-note minor pentatonic scale (intervallically spelled 1, b3, 4, 5, b7) or the six-note blues scale (1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7), both of which sound solid, satisfying, and cool when played over this chord. But you may reach a point where you find yourself looking for other options beyond these familiar sounds, in order to change things up and add harmonic color and a splash of haunting, jazzy dissonance to your lines. In this lesson, I’ll show you an effective way of doing that using an eight-note entity called the half-whole diminished scale. As its name implies, the half-whole diminished scale is built in alternating halfsteps…

THE WINTER NAMM SHOW IN JANUARY DOESN’T JUST SHOWCASE TONS OF cool products in various categories. It’s also an event where artists can display and discuss the making of their very own signature gear. Throughout the past decade or so, signature products codesigned by manufacturers and guitar stars have become more and more plentiful—and successful— and, in most cases, the artists have a significant hand in what the public actually purchases in the music stores. In this issue, we’ve reviewed the new Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Firebird (p. 86) and the Carvin Steve Vai Legacy Drive (p. 92), but we also wanted to give readers a peek at some of the other signature goodies that will be seeing the light of day in the coming weeks and months. (For more signature…

LTD EC-1 Vintage Black Traveler Guitar Available Now TWO LEGENDARY DESIGNS. ONE GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP. Join us as we celebrate 25 years on the road with the LTD EC-1, now available in stunning vintage black. Specs, features, and our full lineup of cutting-edge travel guitars available online. $599.99 www.travelerguitar.com travel@travelerguitar.com 909-307-2626 TUSQ Picks Graph Tech Guitar Labs Available Now TUSQ Picks are a totally new class of pick. Each model comes in three different tones, (bright, warm, deep), three shapes, and three gauges. Drop TUSQ picks onto a hard surface to hear each tone. TUSQ Picks feel alive, transmitting the feel of the string and your picking attack instantly to your fingertips. MSRP: $5.95 (4 or 6 pack), $56.95 (48 or 72 pack) www.graphtech.com 1-800-388-7011 sales@graphtech.com ATH-M50x Professional Monitor Headphones Audio-Technica…