Innehållsförteckning för April 2022 från Guitar World

WHILE READING THIS issue’s stories (which I do, over and over and over and over again), I couldn’t help but notice a bit of sad Judas Priest-centric irony. On page 20, HammerFall’s Oscar Dronjak mentions the vintage dream-team combination of Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing: “The styles of Tipton and Downing complement each other perfectly,” he says. “They’ve taught me so much about playing guitar and writing music. Then, over on page 40, reporter Jon Wiederhorn points out that a new-ish At the Gates song — “Spectre of Extinction” — appeals to Martin Larsson and Jonas Stålhammar’s shared affinity for classic Judas Priest — “a true Tipton and Downing moment, at least until the song darts off into a detuned, nitro-fueled death-thrash hybrid.” So, if you were a…

MIXING MYTHOLOGICAL AND fantasy literature with progressive metal is nothing new to Michael Romeo. Since 1994, the guitar star has guided his New Jersey-based band Symphony X through a series of albums based on the classic works of Homer (The Odyssey), Milton (Paradise Lost) and Dante (The Divine Comedy). “I always wanted to say something a little more interesting than ‘Let’s get up and party!’” Romeo says. “Some of the themes in classic works are just as relevant today as when they first appeared. Plus, when you’re dealing with heavy concepts, it gives you a roadmap for writing music. You don’t have to just do verse, chorus, verse, chorus. You can do whatever you want and write stuff that’s really big.” Back in 2018, Romeo took time away from Symphony…

“Sometimes you feel like you’re stepping on holy ground when you cover some of these songs” FOR THE PAST 34 years, Texas blues guitarist Sue Foley has had one instrument by her side — at every gig and on every album. It’s the pink paisley Fender Telecaster she bought at a music store in Canada. From the moment she saw it, she felt drawn to it, and the second she plugged it in, she knew it was a lock. Foley promptly nicknamed the guitar “Pinky,” and throughout the decades it’s been her North Star. “It’s pretty precious to me,” she says. “For the longest time, I never traveled with another guitar. If a string broke on Pinky, I would stand on stage and change it on the spot. Now I’ve…

GIVEN THAT ANTHONY Garone wrote an entire book dedicated to mastering King Crimson’s 1974 epic “Fracture,” one of the most notoriously difficult guitar pieces in all of prog-rock, you’d think he’d have a mind-blowing story of hearing that string-skipping behemoth for the first time. But as a 16-year-old with an insatiable appetite for riffs, he initially considered it just another musical meal: “I didn’t think about ‘Fracture’ as a song,” he tells Guitar World. “I thought, ‘This is food for a guitarist.’ It was calories in, calories out. I remember I had a Sony Discman, and I put it on. I didn’t even listen to the song. I paused it every few seconds and played the notes that I heard. It was such an arrogant and youthful folly thing to…

GIBSON’S RECENT DECISION to revive the Maestro brand name with the introduction of a new line of pedals is truly a no-brainer move as musicians have always held the Maestro name in high esteem. From the debut of the world’s very first stomp box effect (the FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone) way back in 1962 through the development of numerous innovative and even revolutionary pedals that shaped the sound of music in the Seventies (and again during the Nineties), Maestro effects earned acclaim that grew into legendary status decades after Gibson discontinued the brand in the late Seventies. While Gibson could have reissued more than a dozen former Maestro pedals and effects, including the vintage FZ-1 Fuzz (“Satisfaction”), PS-1A Phase Shifter (heard on classic Led Zeppelin, Rush and Isley Brothers songs), oddities like…

STREET PRICES: $2,199, AD27e; $1,699, AD22e MANUFACTURER: Taylor Guitars, taylorguitars.com The AD27e Flametop features a big leaf maple top with customized V-Class bracing that enhances a darker, woodier character. The AD22e is the first smaller Grand Concert shape model to join Taylor’s affordably priced, classic-themed American Dream series. The body edges of both models are chamfered to provide enhanced playing comfort. Both models feature Taylor’s Expression System 2 electronics featuring three behind-the-saddle sensors and treble, bass and volume control knobs. THE BOTTOM LINE: These new additions to Taylor’s American Dream series provide highly appealing tones with unique character, perfect for performers seeking sounds that stand out from the crowd or session players looking for tones that occupy an ideal spot in a mix.…

I DISCOVERED PAUL Kossoff from the late, great Pete Way, who is known and loved as the longtime bassist for UFO. A little known and fun fact about me is that when I was 17, I auditioned to replace Michael Schenker in UFO. I didn’t get the gig, but I did meet Pete. He was very kind to me, and we maintained a friendship throughout the years. On the day I auditioned, Pete said my vibrato reminded him of Paul Kossoff. I said, “What’s a ‘Paul Kossoff?’” He says, “You’ve never heard of Free? With Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke and Andy Fraser?” I said, “No!” He then proceeded to make me a cassette of his favorite Free songs, and the first song on the tape was “Walk in My Shadows,”…

“PHYSICAL EDUCATION” Animals As Leaders ARMED WITH THEIR custom-designed and unusually-tuned 8-string to guitars high, ( to tuned C # , A , low , E, A, D, G, B, E), the supremely talented Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes created, in collaboration with drummer Matt Garstka, this highly original and musically brilliant instrumental piece that melds a plethora of advanced playing techniques, sophisticated compositional approaches and stylistic cross-pollinations. The result is an exciting suite of themes that feature otherworldly, Holdsworthian fusion-style harmonic structures, rhythmically intricate syncopations, tricky “math-rock” odd-meter phrases and various other elements of modern prog, funk and metal styles. As indicated at the beginning of the transcription, the playable low range of the guitars’ 7th and 8th strings is expanded by a minor 3rd, with an extended fretboard…

Does Guitar World cover too many old-timers? I’d like to comment on Tom Clement’s letter in the January 2022 Sounding Board (“Old wave?”). I agree with his statement and reasoning for the focus on the “old-timers.” I enjoy history and reading about these great artists; however, I, too, would like to read about the new, up-and-coming guitarists that’ll keep rock and metal alive for the future. Here in central Kentucky, I know of one band that’s doing exactly that: Taylor Road, four men ranging in ages from 18 to 23. Their collective knowledge of rock and metal is extensive and adds to their ability to do a great job of paying homage to the greats in the covers they perform as well as strengthening their own music signature in their…

1 “Balls to the Wall,” Accept I don’t know if the perfect song exists, but this is as close as you can get. The intro riff is to the Eighties metal generation what “Smoke on the Water” was to the Seventies. Classic doesn’t begin to describe it! 2 “Dorian Grey,” Stormwitch The guitar work of Lee Tarot and Steve Merchant has had a massive influence on me. Their way of playing encompasses everything I look for in a metal guitarist/band: great, guitar-driven songs performed with variation and skill in rhythm and lead. 3 “Exciter,” Judas Priest The styles of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing complement each other perfectly. They’ve taught me so much about playing guitar and writing music. When I…

“A lot of it was improvised. Even when we shot the video, I probably played everything in the wrong place. I didn’t write it down and couldn’t remember exactly what I did, so I just faked my way through it. [Laughs] I don’t do these things a lot, especially instrumental projects. The instrumental stuff from me has been very limited and generally just on Extreme albums. But Benny put a gun to my head and forced me to do it. I don’t want to call it a neoclassical track, but it does have those orchestral elements. I didn’t even know any of the other players on this track; I knew who they were but I didn’t know them personally. It was really interesting to hear what I was doing going…

“I’VE WANTED TO DO RECORDS LIKE THIS EVER SINCE WE FIRST STARTED — EVER SINCE GUNS N’ ROSES FIRST STARTED” WHEN GUITAR WORLD CATCHESUPWITH Slash one morning in late October 2021, it’s just a few weeks after the guitarist has wrapped a successful two-month stint of U.S. stadiums and arenas with Guns N’ Roses. And yet, here we are, discussing the imminent release of a new Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators album, as well as a just-announced tour with the band. For some artists, this quick turnaround might engender a bit of musical whiplash. For Slash, it’s just standard operating procedure. “I think I’ve gotten pretty used to sort of living in both worlds at the same time,” he says, then laughs. “You have to, in order to…

AT THIS POINT, I’d like to think we’ve moved past the controversy surrounding the Silver Sky model introduced by PRS Guitars and John Mayer. As a collaborative signature instrument that’s distinctive for Mayer and his style of playing, I’ll concede there’s nothing avant-garde about the Silver Sky; nevertheless, “haters gonna hate” over its similarities to another iconic guitar. But those who have dug deeper into what makes the Silver Sky noteworthy from its adopted beginnings already know that the clear-cut refinements in its design are as considerably thoughtful as they are ergonomic. Many great players have discovered this, and have since embraced the Silver Sky as an idealized version of the other renowned single-coil star. The only obstacle has been its premium cost, which has made it out of reach…

STREET PRICE: $149 (Fuzz-Tone FZ-M, Ranger Overdrive, Invader Distortion, Comet Chorus) or $159 (Discoverer Delay) MANUFACTURER: Gibson, maestroelectronics.com A mini toggle switch provides different functions on each pedal, from Classic/Modern character (Fuzz-Tone FZ-M) to modulation on/off (Discoverer Delay). All five pedals share common features like true bypass switching, heavy duty wedge-shaped cases and a trio of red, yellow and blue LEDs. THE BOTTOM LINE The Maestro legacy lives on with a long-awaited return that introduces five new pedals that capably cover the daily needs of guitarists with affordable, no-nonsense overdrive, distortion, fuzz, chorus and delay effects.…

THE COMMENTS SECTION of social media posts for brand-new guitars is like catnip for guitarists. Just scroll through the polarizing opinions from the clowder of the “cooler than thou” as they incessantly debate said guitar’s worthiness or dissect its looks with a pithy “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” — only to beat that aesthetic down to within an inch of its proverbial life. But since there’s no place for that diatribe here, allow me to put in my two cents toward a newly released one — the Guitar Center Exclusive Fender Custom Shop Dealer Select Stratocaster HST Journeyman. Sure, that’s quite a mouthful, but wait — Guitar Center? Yes. Whether you knew it or not, the music retailer has been collaborating with blue-chip guitar manufacturers like the…

THIS MONTH, WE will continue looking at my tune “Take Me with You,” from my latest record, Electric Truth. Last month, I demonstrated how I focused on the use of the low wound strings to present the tune’s signature melodic lines, as I love the fat, warm sound that the low strings provide. Many players seem to ignore the lower strings while soloing, but I find that using them serves to widen the scope of the musical expression very effectively. Let’s fast-forward to the end of the tune, where the song ramps up to a double-time feel while I continue to perform low-string motifs, some of them repetitive in nature, through the outro section. FIGURE 1 illustrates the opening lick I play during the outro double-time section. As you can…

LAST TIME AROUND, I mentioned how the commonly overused tone descriptions “warm” and “mellow” really didn’t apply to B.B. King’s sound [March 2022]. However, one particular instance where these terms are perfect is Eric Clapton’s recordings on Cream’s 1967 sophomore album, Disraeli Gears, which is where Mr. Slowhand introduced the world to his famous “woman tone.” Produced by rolling back the guitar’s tone control(s), this sound is characterized by a less percussive attack, focused, vocal-like midrange and smooth, singing sustain. Cream recorded Disraeli Gears over the course of four days in mid May 1967 at Atlantic Studios in New York City following a brief stint of shows in the United States. Clapton’s main rig in the studio was a pared-down version of what he was using on stage — a…

Henry Peters AGE: 62 LOCATION: Vancouver, BC, Canada GUITARS: Two Halo 10-string fanned-fret babies SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: I’m an elementary school principal, so I play “I Am a Pizza,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and “There Goes John Jacob Jinkleheimer Schmidt” for my kindergarten students GEAR I WANT MOST: 4 EMG Crossroads Strat Pickups (or the Surf 7-string models) and an Etherial Zatha 10 Paul Woods AGE: 47 LOCATION: Pepperell, MA GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Classic and SG Special, Schecter Hellraiser and Apocalypse V1, Hamer Vector, Steinberger Spirit, Ibanez MiKro bass and acoustic SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Judas Priest “Starbreaker” and “Saints in Hell,” my own songs — “Digital Slayer” and “Dash to Our Demise” GEAR I WANT MOST: Fender Stratocaster HSS, Marshall JCM800 Rob Hayes AGE: 37 LOCATION:…

“If I limited myself to Black music and black metal, I’d end up painting myself in a corner”— MANUEL GAGNEUX SWISS-AMERICAN MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST Manuel Gagneux formed Zeal & Ardor in 2014 on a dare to combine black metal with Black music. The resulting hybrid of buzzsaw riffs, trip-hop groove, haunting lyrics and gravedigger chants turned heads, and the feedback convinced him to continue the project, which he called Zeal & Ardor. “I’ve never believed in boundaries,” Gagneux says days before beginning a tour with Opeth and Mastodon. “I love combining all these different styles I’m into and just take them in whatever direction feels inspiring. Then I throw it all up against the wall to see what sticks. I’ve done that since the beginning.” Gangeux s full-length 2016 debut, the pained,…

FEW COMBINATIONS OF words seem to please guitarists as much as “more gain.” For some, that might just mean an overdrive set low and used almost as a boost to subtly kiss their amp’s front end. For others it can embody a whole new universe of soft or hard clipping, brimming with new opportunities for sustain and saturation. Since the invention of the Gibson Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone in 1962 and the Arbiter Fuzz Face in 1966 — and then the consequent arrival of Boss, MXR and Electro-Harmonix in the early Seventies — tone has become something of a personal quest for every player, using the right pedals and amps to best capture the magic in their hands. As we all know, a good amp shouldn’t need pedals, but that doesn’t…

STREET PRICE: $849 MANUFACTURER: PRS Guitars, prsguitars.com The three single-coil 635JM “S” pickups are sweetly voiced for stinging bite and high-end chime. The guitar features an 8.5–inch fingerboard radius that combines a vintage feel with a modern, slightly-flattened arc for agile playing. The SE retains the original 635JM neck shape that features comfortably rounded shoulders. THE BOTTOM LINE: The SE Silver Sky is something special to behold — not because it’s an accessible version, but more that it’s nearly indistinguishable in sound and feel from its flagship model.…

THE VAST MAJORITY of acoustic flattop steel string guitars built today feature spruce tops — in fact, I’d estimate that more than 90 percent of them have spruce tops. In more recent times, luthiers and guitar companies have focused more on experimenting with different materials for the backs and sides, but in the not-too-distant past guitar makers were more willing to use different top materials too. Recent supply chain issues inspired Taylor Guitars master guitar designer Andy Powers to think outside the (typical flattop) box, and he decided to work with readily available materials when developing new models for the company. Taylor’s ample supply of big leaf maple inspired the new AD27e, which uses that material for the back, sides and, most interestingly, the top. Taylor’s new AD22e features a…

THIS MONTH WILL be the last installment of our analysis of a solo that I played over the two-chord progression heard in the Allman Brothers Band classic, “Dreams.” For quick review, “Dreams” is played with a jazz waltz feel in 6 8 meter, and Duane Allman solos over alternating C/D and D chords, with each chord lasting one bar, which actually feel like two bars of 34. The scales that he relies on for soloing here are 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). If you check out live versions of this song, you’ll hear Duane also draw notes from the parallel D minor pentatonic scale (D, F, G, A,…

HELLO, AND WELCOME to my new Guitar World column! It’s an honor to be here and to have this opportunity to share some of my thoughts about guitar playing and music with you all. Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is a major influence of mine and of every blues guitarist I’ve ever known or listened to, from B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and beyond, and he will certainly remain a vital blues influence for every generation to come. T-Bone Walker was the epitome of class and excellence, in both his signature original guitar playing style and his incredible singing voice. His playing incorporated elements of jazz and swing while also…